Ancient Words

Holy words long preserved for our walk in this world;
They resound with God's own heart, O, let the ancient words impart.
Words of life, words of hope, give us strength, help us cope;
In this world where-'er we roam, Ancient words will guide us home.

Ancient words ever true, changing me, and changing you;
We have come with open hearts, O let the ancient words impart.

Holy words of our faith, handed down to this age,
came to us through sacrifice, O, heed the faithful words of Christ.
Holy words, long preserved for our walk in this world,
They resound with God's own heart, O, let the ancient words impart.

Ancient words ever true, changing me, and changing you;
We have come with open hearts, O let the ancient words impart.

Ancient words ever true, changing me, and changing you;
We have come with open hearts, O let the ancient words impart.

We have come with open hearts, O let the ancient words impart.
O let the ancient words impart.

--Writer Unknown

Heart Flaws: Pessimism and Worry

I have been unable to blog on a consistent basis here of late but hopefully things will slow down for me in just a little over a month from now. Summer time is always the busiest time of the year for me. Maybe some time soon I will be able to share some of what else is making life so hectic for me right now.

Things are going okay here. Cody and the boys left yesterday for their annual trip to Wisconsin. They should be be back around the middle part of next week. It is always nice up there this time of year and I would love to have gone but there is just too much going on here that will not allow me to get away.

This past Sunday, I began a series of lessons on heart flaws; ones that are especially difficult for us as Christians. And Sunday's lesson was specifically on worrying too much and negativity/pessismism. The funny thing is of the 150 or so in our assembly Sunday morning, it was probably me that needed to hear the lesson more than anyone. I hope I was listening.

Of course, not all worrying is bad. I think it is commonly agreed that a little stress keeps us going and can be a good thing, so long as we don't allow our worrying and anxiety to deprive us of the joy that we should have as Christians. But think about some of the things we worry about. We worry about things that have already happened. We can't live in the past though (Luke 9:62). Or we tend to worry about things that will inevitablly happen. Or worry about something that will never happen. Again, yes, some of these are examples of our natural human reaction to life, and to a degree that is just the way we are, but the point is that God does not want us to allow these things to rob us of the overall happiness we should have as kingdom citizens.

Jesus' words in Matthew 6:19-34 provide a great text about this very subject. Notice what we can learn about being overly anxious from this text:

• It is unneccesary (v.32)
• It is a lack of trust (v.26, 31)
• It is prohibited (vv.25, 31, 34)
• It is pointless (v.27)
• It is what those that do not belong to God do (v.32)

So what can we do to overcome this tendency among us?

• Follow Joshua's lead in Joshua 24:15. Determine in our minds that we are going to conquer our penchants for being negative and pessimistic. Make the commitment that we are going to follow God regardless so there is little room for overly worrying about things. Afterall, God is in control.
• Follow David's example, and when we fall, get back up. Paul charges us to be steadfast in our labors, knowing they are not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).
• Accentuate the positive (Philippians 4:8).
• Trust in God and stop trying to rely on ourselves (Isaiah 26:3-4; Philippians 4:13; Romans 8:28-31).
• Get busy for the kingdom and do something good for someone else (Matthew 6:33).
• Pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17; 1 Peter 5:7; James 5:16).

I hope to write more soon. Peace!

We Shall Assemble

We shall assemble on the mountain,

we shall assemble at the throne.

With humble hearts into His presence,

we bring an offering of song.

Glory and honor and dominion,

unto the Lamb, unto the King.

Oh hallelujah, hallelujah!

We sing the song of the redeemed.

We shall assemble on the mountain,
we shall assemble at the throne.
With humble hearts into His presence,
we bring an offering of song.
Glory and honor and dominion,
unto the Lamb, unto the King.
Oh hallelujah, hallelujah!
We sing the song of the redeemed.

--Twila Paris

Getting People's Attention

In Acts 2 we read about the Holy Spirit's descent upon the apostles. This was a special Jewish feast day called Pentecost, which means "50." This celebration occured 50 days after the Passover, which consequently always fell on "the first day of the week," if I understand correctly. In any event, this great feast was a commemoration. And multitudes of Jews and proselytes from all over the world would make the long journey to Jerusalem in order to participate in these festivities. Literally thousands of people would convene at this time of the year. And there were many different languages represented.

Think about it! With so many locations and languages being represented here, what a perfect opportunity for the Holy Spirit to come on this occasion and get the attention of the whole world. What we see transpiring in the first four verses of Acts 2 let all of Jerusalem and the different locations being represented that God was present and actively involved in His kingdom. The apostles, most of which were not highly educated, were now all of a sudden able to speak in other languages (tongues). The Holy Spirit had this impact on them directly so that they would be able to teach the gospel.

Imagine the curiosity this event must have sparked. Concerning the people's reaction to all of this, the text tells us:

"And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, 'Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?'" (Acts 2:6-7)

"And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, 'What does this mean?'" (Acts 2:12)

God, through the Holy Spirit, got these people's attention. Because of these people's curiosity, they were ready to learn. People are no different today. And this is precisely why it seems to me that there is really a tremendous lesson for us in all of this. The Spirit does not miraculously work in us in the way He does in the apostles in this text. But this does not change the fact that we are who is responsible for seeking to accomplish what the Holy Spirit accomplished here. We are now the arms, legs, hands, and feet of Christ. We are now His ambassadors, seeking to deliver God's saving message to people. And so how can we be successful?

I think it has to start with us understanding that we too, must get the attention of people. Like it or not, we are not in a society that flocks to us begging us to teach them about Jesus and the gospel. We might find this on occasion, but generally speaking and for the most part, it is we who are responsible for seeking out the lost. So how do we get enough of their attention so we can get the gospel in their hands? I'm certainly no expert, and undoubtedly welcome your ideas. But here are a few that come to my mind:

• Our examples need to get people's attention (Matthew 5:13-16). Our influence and demeanor as Christians should spark people's curiosity and make them want what we have. There is something about a joyful, peaceful, and secure person that draws others to them. This is how opportunities arise.
• Our teaching needs to get people's attention. We need to support the strong preaching of Christ's gospel. We need to realize the urgency of teaching it (2 Timothy 4:2). But we have to find balance. One one hand, we cannot afford to be arrogant and pompous in our presentation of it. We must remember to always do so in love (Ephesians 4:15). On the other hand, neither can we afford to allow our fears of running people away to cause us to minimize the importance of teaching. That is just as lethal. And so the responsibility lies on us to learn how to discern when, when not, where, and how to speak up.
• Our involvement in the community--individually and congregationally--should get people's attention. We need to be thinking about effective ways to get out and let people in our communities know that we are an active family of God concerned for the souls and well-being of people. We need to demonstrate through our involvement in the community that we are interested in more than merely being right in arguments. I don't know about anyone else, as I can only speak for myself here, but I don't want to primarily be perceived as being content with sitting in our own circles talking about how we are the ones who have it all figured out.
• We need to befriend people in order to get their attention. I remember when I decided that I was going to preach full-time, a friend of mine who was a preacher reminded me that if I was lucky, 1% of my conversions would come from behind the pulpit. He wanted me to understand that I was going to have to get out and meet people and become friends with them. Folks, our conversions, for the most part are going to come in the deer blinds, on the golf courses, on fishing and hunting trips, on shopping trips, over lunch or dinner, in our homes where we are inviting people, etc. We need to be visiting those who are vulnerable, in hospitals, in nursing homes, those who have recently lost loved ones. We must allow ourselves to get involved in the lives of others. And this means that sometimes we might even need to step outside of our comfort zones. I do not think it is a mere coincidence that Jesus spent the majority of His time with those that most in His culture were uncomfortable with--tax collectors, prostitutes, adulteresses, lepers, disease-laden, the poor, the grieved and mournful, etc. Jesus knew that those who were most vulnerable were the ones most likely to respond to His willingness and desire to forgive sins.

Have a great day. Peace!

Every Time

(1) Every time I kneel to pray, I open up my heart to my Lord.
Every time I close my eyes, I feel the sweet embrace of my Lord.

(Chorus):
I don't know why so many things seem to get in the way of seeing my God's glory.
But I try every day to see Him and to thank Him for all the things He's given me.

(2) Every time I see a child, I see the gentleness of my Lord.
Every time I watch a storm, I know the awesome pow'r of my Lord.

(Chorus):
I don't know why so many things seem to get in the way of seeing my God's glory.
But I try every day to see Him and to thank Him for all the things He's given me.

(3) Every time I see the cross.

--Philip Organ

The Unknown Is Scary

Trust can be a very difficult thing. Even when we know someone well and can rationally understand that we can trust them, sometimes it is still challenging. For example, at camp last week, to demonstrate this I asked a 7th grade boy to stand with his back facing me and fall back and allow me to catch him. It took him about 4 tries, but he finally did it completely without any hesitation. He admitted that he rationally understood he had no reason to not trust that I would catch him. He was confident I would. But it was still difficult.

The unknown is scary! Trust is something that forces us to let go--to let go of our own will and submit to the will of another. It is part of our human nature to stuggle with this. And this is why it can be such a challenge for us even as God's people to lean back and allow Him to catch and carry us.

What a great example we see in Daniel 3 in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Daniel's friends. The setting is the Jews being held captive to the Babylonians, of whom Nebuchadnezzar is serving as king. Beginning in v.8 we see that King Nebuchadnezzar expected all to bow down and worship not only him but the golden image he had set up. The consequence of not doing so, necessitated being thrown into a fiery furnace. One could easily understand the temptation to do what the king expected, even if they did not particularly care to do so. When word got to Nebuchadnezzar that Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego would not do as he commanded, he was furious. In a rage he confronted them about it. As he reminded them of the fiery furnace in which he would cast them if they refused to bow to him, notice the response given by these three faithful servants of God:

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, 'Oh Nebuchadnezar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliever us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up'" (Daniel 3:16-18).

These three brave friends knew that God would deliver them in one way or another. They trusted in God's presence in their lives. They trusted that God would not forsake them. And they trusted that God's will (to serve Him only and not bow down to other gods) was better and higher than man's will. This was their faith. Their trust in God was the very reason that they were able to confidently submit to God's will. Even if God didn't deliver them from the furnace and decided to let them burn to death (which He did not-Daniel 3:28), that was still okay with them because they trusted that God would have His reasons. They understood that God has a higher will for us and sometimes although we can't see His reasoning, we still have to trust.

Faith is not deciding what I want God to do and then trusting Him to deliver. It means rather, whether He delivers like I want Him to or not, I am still going to bow down and glorify Him regardless. It means that even when I can't see His ways, I will still submit to His will in obedience to the best of my ability. Because I trust Him and what He says. Not that my obedience saves me or obligates God to include my name in the Book of life. But because my trust and faith in Him is required.

May we all always trust that He is an all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful ,and all-present God. He is in charge. If I truly believe that and put my faith in Him, then the whole submission thing takes care of itself. Yes, the unknown is scary. And that is why we often prefer our own will. Sometimes it is a natural tendency on our part. And while the Bible doesn't tell us everything we would like to know about Heaven of the afterlife (the unknown), it certainly reveals enough to us so that I can know that I want to be there. Indeed, I do. And may my trust, faith, and reliance be upon God's ability to get me to that Promised Land rather than on my own abilities (Romans 3:23).

Have a great weekend!

Another Great Conversation With Aaron

I hope everyone had a great Father's Day. Because I am a preacher, I don't get to spend Father's Days with my dad. This time he came here though, so it was really good to be with him.

Camp went great. There were no "incidences" and that is always good. Brett Gerhardt and the rest of the staff do a good job running a "tight" camp and making sure everything goes smoothly. The kids learned a lot and they, along with us as the staff had a great time. God is good!

Well, I wanted to share an interesting conversation I had with Aaron Saturday. Really, it was quite one-sided, but he taught me something I did not know. It went something like this as I was sitting at the computer.

Aaron: Hey dad, I want to tell you something and it is about God.

Jason: Certainly, I would love for you to tell me something about God. What is it?

Aaron: Well it is about how God created the world and us as people.

Jason: Oh? Let's hear it buddy.

Aaron: Well God made a man and his name was Adam. And he was the very 1st man ever. And God thought everything was good in the world that He made but Adam was very lonely and needed a wife like you dad. So God needed to make a woman and her name was going to be Eve. I don't know if she looked like mommy but she probably would act like a mommy. So to make the woman, He took some ribbon and created her. And then everything was perfect until she messed up and disobeyed God.


Hmmmm! You learn something new every day I suppose. Have I stated lately that I love having children? Thank you God for Aaron and Chase. This home would not be what it is without them.