My Vine is Time!!

What vine do you whine about? That is the question John talked about Sunday in his sermon on Jonah chapter 4. What is causing us to miss the opportunities that God is setting in front of us? I think the biggest is our time. John and I both have preached about the fact that we are given only so much time and we need to take advantage of it. I think all that we remember is that we only have so much time. It is easy to become selfish with that time and miss those opportunities. When is the last time you were driving down the road and saw a car with its flashers on? What is your gut reaction? It is usually "pull over and let's help." But then the selfishness and the worry and the comfort sets in. "We have somewhere to be", "what if they try to steal my car or hurt me", "But it's raining outside!!!". And we drive on past (notice the use of the word "WE") only to wonder later if we could have been a witness to that person that changed their lives forever.

My mom recently told me the story of how she got an email from someone that was from her college days. After several emails to make sure that it was the correct person, this gentleman went on to tell her about the several days that changed his life. Mom was on a summer traveling team from her school and spent several days at this man's church. He was having a hard time of things and contemplating ending his life. During those days Mom made this guy feel like he was worth something, by just including him in conversations and asking about his life. Some 35 years later she found out what a difference she had made. He said that he knew that Jesus was real after spending that time with her and her teammates and dedicated his life to serving Christ. Anyone that has worked in any type of summer ministry position can attest to the fact that after several weeks of running and working long hours and sleeping on floors and hard couches the hardest thing to do is act interested in the people around you. But because she took the time, this man's life was saved and his eternal life was secured.

I love my mom, but that is not the purpose of this story. The purpose is to make sure that the next time someone gives us an opportunity to act like Christ, we take them up on it!

God Works in Mysterious Ways!

Its one of those sayings that you probably heard your mom say when something happened that she couldn't explain. Or maybe when something good happened to you and your a Christian so you figured God was involved. But we tend to overlook many of His works here on earth. God's will is being carried out all over and we are not necessarily supposed to reinvent the wheel all the time. I think we waste time, effort, and money by not just joining the work that is already being done. There is a group of youth ministers in Logan County that are trying to do just that. We see the advantages of joining with other churches to plan events and to do ministry throughout the community. We have found where God is working and we are trying to work along side. However, we still limit ourselves to working with other Churches. WHY?!! God's work is being done and He doesn't need the church to do it. He worked through Babylonian Kings. He worked through a prostitute in Jericho named Rahab. He even worked through Baalam's Donkey (no comments about John James!!!) He doesn't need us. Google Charitable Organizations and see how many are listed. It's amazing! His will is being carried out. We need to realize that just because the word Christian, God, Bible, or Church aren't in the title, it doesn't mean that we as Christians can't get involved. If it is showing God's Love to people than we are Commanded to be involved, both personally and organizationally. I pray that we will see how the world is doing our job and vow to help.

Valentine's Day

I must say that I am glad that I married a woman that does not get overly excited about Valentine's Day. She expects me to tell her "I Love You" on a regular basis (which I do because I do). In fact when she learned that I bought her a present she was surprised. Not because I don't get her presents but because we don't make a big deal about the day. I wonder why is February 14th such a huge event. Even before new year, Wal-mart had a red and pink aisle, and Wal-greens had an entire wall of cards. Even car companies are talking about "love" in their commercials. And why is Chocolate the official food group of February? Why does the world become overly romantic on a seemingly random day in February? Maybe it is because this world has forgotten how to show the people around us we love them. Maybe we have become so wrapped up in how we can "love" ourselves we have forgotten how to love others. I would love to see a world where February 14th is just another day. That would mean "a day where people love others" is normal. What a world that would be.

By the way, this is not an original thought...Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:33, Luke 10:27

He's Everywhere!!!

There is an old Ray Stevens song called "Santa Clause is Watching You", and for those of you who do not know who Ray Stevens is check out iTunes. The Song talks about having to be aware that wherever you are and whatever you are doing Santa Clause is Watching. It's actually kind of creepy. But after John's Sermon yesterday about looking for Imago Dei, (the podcast is available at http://www.rushchurch.com/) I realized that people made in the image of God are everywhere. And through my deranged thought process it took me to a song that I havent heard in about 15 years. And as I returned to church yesterday evening to get setup for The Zone I realized that I would soon be surrounded by Imago Dei. Around 6 they started filing in past our group that meets at 5 for Bible Study, even though the Zone doesn't actually start until 6:30. And immediately I was a little perturbed that they were interrupting, but the thought process of the mornings sermon took over and I realized that I was called to love them. So I tried. If you have ever had a chance to come to the Zone when it is in full swing you will notice that these people that are made in the image of God look very different than many people around RCC on a normal Sunday Morning. When you look around the room you see boys with longer hair than most of the girls, t-shirts ranging from Rock Groups like AC/DC and White Zombie to those with Bart Simpson flipping you the bird, more of their boxer shorts than you care to, and enough piercings to sink the titanic. Some of them smell of cigarettes and alcohol and occasionally a group will arrive that have the slightest hint of illegal substances on their breath, and it is a stretch for many of our volunteers and our own kids to see them as Images of God, including yours truly. The Idea of loving the unlovable makes for a great sermon topic, but when the time comes to see these kids as people that we are to love the idea becomes much harder. They are not always the most respectful, they swear and throw their boards when they miss a trick, they go outside to "get some air" and come back in smelling like a Marlboro convention. And I continually get reports of kids outside in vehicles and around the back smoking and while we try to keep these things from happening, I simply must ask the question "If you didn't know Jesus, what would you be doing?" We must look past who these kids are and what they are doing and see that they are worth every dollar and every second spent. They are the people that Jesus was talking about when he says "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."(Mark 2:17) I say that we must see these kids, who society see as "unlovable", as nothing less than the Image of the Creator of the Universe. We must love them without expectation of reciprocation. We must show them that they are worth more than what the world says, there are worth so much that the Son of the Most High God went to the cross for them. We must show them that they are Imago Dei! (and by the way, THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!)

Commercials are the Best Part!!

So this past Sunday, for those of you living under a rock, was Superbowl Sunday. The day that normal people paint their faces, spend $100 on a jersey of their favorite team, invite all their friends over and eat 10 pounds of buffalo wings. It is the event that everyone watches, even people that don't know the difference between a fumble and a field goal. Because of the amount of viewers many companies spend millions of dollars writing, casting, directing, and shooting commercials to be aired during the game. This year the cost of a 30 second commercial was $3,000,000.00. That is $100,000.00 per second. But these companies know that their efforts will pay off. Why? Because the population of the United States of America are consumers. We consume 1.5 billion pounds of hot dogs, 7,358,400,00 barrels of oil (42 gallon), and 3,153,6000,000 reams of paper each year. The culture is pushing us to buy the lastest car, clothes, and cell phone and we are responding by putting ourselves in debt to make sure that we are keeping up with the Jones'. (Sorry Bob and Carolyn) The really scary part is that we no longer have any idea who the Jones' are. We live closer together than any other generation in history and we would rather text, or email our neighbor than walk next door and ask them about their day. I say "enough". It is time for us to stop only caring for ourselves and how we can make our life "easier" and start asking what can I give to this world not just take. The American Church has become a place where people look to come and take what "works" for them and they miss the fact that the joy of Christ is serving others. We are called to do Good Works in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." We are called to be more than just the people that fill the seats, we are called to give up everything and follow Jesus. We do not teach or believe that works "earn" you a place in heaven, but instead we believe what James says in chapter 2 that faith is made complete by our actions. We want you to know that serving others is a command of following Jesus. That includes serving the people that are around us as well as those inside our church family.

The opportunities to serve at our church are abundant and growing everyday. John and Lynn and I are not tired of serving, we are just trying to allow all Followers of Christ to join the service of their Lord.

My prayer for you is that you will allow yourself the be used by God and find a place to use the abilities He has given you.