Rollercoasters

I recently went to Six Flags with my speech class. We had a good time. What a great bunch of young people. Against my better judgment, I even rode many of the rollercoasters.

However, that did not prepare me for the rollercoaster of emotions I went through last week. My precious father took sick. He injured his spine a week ago. Within 2 days he became disoriented and began a rapid decline. At present he is unconscious and on a ventilator. The kidney doctor told us he contracted an infection and this is the reason for the decline. So far there is no change, although the doctor said he has seen people in a worse state come out of it.

My Dad is a good man. He loves the Lord and his family. He pastored for most of his life. He has been married to the same woman over 60 years and raised five Christian children.

We all know God is able and we are praying for his recovery. Please pray with me in this regard.

Thank you for your patience. I have had to be there for my Mom and family. It is one of those events you are never prepared for. I will be back in the pulpit on Wednesday evening and Sunday morning.

Please know that I love and appreciate each one of you. May God strengthen each of us for His work! God bless you abundantly is my prayer.

See you Sunday!
Pastor

When life gives you lemons...

Many years ago a preacher went to the World’s Fair. From a distance he saw a man pumping water with one of those old hand pumps. The water was pouring out and he said as he looked, “That man is really pumping water.” However, when he got closer, he discovered that it was a wooden man connected to a pump powered by electricity. The man was not pumping the water, the water was pumping him.

I’m sure all of us have felt the same way. We find ourselves controlled by problems, pressures and the perplexities of life.

I read of a counseling center’s hotline voicemail message that correctly sums up how we often feel. “Thank you for calling. If you are obsessive-compulsive press one repeatedly. If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press two for you. If you have multiple personalities please press 4, 5 and 6. If you are paranoid or delusional, remember, we know who you are, even while you’re on hold; we have been tracing this call. If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully to the little voice and it will tell you what number to push. If you are manic-depressive it doesn’t matter what number you press, no one is going to answer. Have a good day!"

The Bible is full of people who persevered through adversity. Job said it best when he said, “Man born of woman is few of days and full of trouble.”

I’m sure many reading this today are in the midst of some adversity. It is a fact of life. My Mama used to say “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” Hang tough and persevere. You can’t stop a man that won’t quit!

Our fathers were such a people. May we follow their example.

See ya Sunday!
Pastor

Do you have a right spirit?

The person who desires to live an unshakable, spirit filled life, one that is resilient against the tumultuous nature of the times which exist in today’s world, must build his life upon a firm foundation. As Christians, we should inherently recognize in order to be successful in this endeavor, our lives need to be built up and anchored in God’s word. When we study the Bible and actively seek to apply its precepts and principles to life, we will develop the proper spirit necessary to achieve this goal. As the wise man Solomon said, “The spirit of a man shall sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who shall bear.” In other words, when your spirit is right, you will be able to handle the difficulties and adversity that life may hurl at you. Of course the antithesis to this is, when you do not have a proper spirit, you will fall apart in the time of trouble.

There are many voices in the public square advocating a multitude of philosophies, all of them competing to get our attention and seeking to shape our lives and how we perceive the world around us. However, as the adopted sons and daughters of the living God, it is His voice speaking to our hearts that is most important. And God’s voice will only be properly heard when our spirit is right within us. The peculiar thing here is, we attain this right spirit by earnestly seeking God’s face. As King David beseeched the Lord in Psalms 51:”Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me”.

I have been the pastor of the same church for close to 30 years, and during this time I have dealt with quite a few people. Some have had wonderful spirits, and this was always quite obvious just by the manner in which they carried themselves. It was equally evident these dear souls were attuned to hearing God’s voice. Unfortunately, I have also dealt with some whose actions and countenance betrayed a wrong spirit, and they themselves and those around them suffered because of it. I am sad to say, I would question upon what foundation they were building, and how well their spirit would sustain them in difficult times.

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Why not stop today, bow your head and ask God to give you a proper spirit so that you would more clearly hear His voice.

See ya Sunday!
Pastor