"There's no place like home"

          There is no place in the world like America. I have had the privilege to see much of this world and its splendor. There is such dignity and character offered to those who dwell there. Many mysteries surround the earth and I must confess I have often been intrigued. However, there “aint no place like home!” No nation has been as blessed as this place; it is without discussion that we have been bountifully blessed by God.

                There are few places in the world where people wait for years to leave their homelands, and leave it all for the opportunity to live in the United States. It is not perfect, it is not what it used to be, but it still is the best place on earth.

We are special, some call it exceptional! We are great because we were formed by God for a divine purpose.

               Only twice in the history of mankind have a people been called together to form a new nation, a new people by the direct call and purpose of the Almighty God: Israel and America.

               Christopher Columbus, in his “Book of Prophecies,” wrote “It was the Lord who put into my mind the journey. I could feel his hand upon me... there was no doubt or question that inspiration was from the Holy Spirit because he comforted me with rays of marvelous illumination from the Holy Bible...it was the fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied the feat that the gospel must still be preached in so many nations is what convinces me.” Unbelievable.

               When the pilgrims gathered off the shore of Massachusetts, they wrote their manifesto- that this new land was dedicated to the glory of God!

               To the gainsayer, that criticizes our exceptions. Beware, you will never make America a socialistic, Islamic, Hindu, or Buddhist nation. All religions are welcome to come under the umbrella of our freedom, only because we are without a doubt, a Christian nation. May it always be so.

See ya Sunday!

Pastor

 

 

Finding Forgiveness

Every road had two directions.  In our lives it is so much the truth.  So often as a pastor and as a counselor, I see those who blame others for their problems and circumstances.  Their philosophy is everything I do is someone else’s fault.  And in the other direction, there are those laden down with guilt.

I believe one of the great maladies of our day is the guilt that many bear.  An old legend has it that after Pilate betrayed Jesus, he went to Switzerland and climbed a high mountain and jumped to his death.  Even to this day, the mountain is called Mt. Pelatmos, which means Pilate.  Legend says that, at that mountain, you can hear the voice of Pilate moaning, trying to rid himself of the guilt.

That is legend.  However, there are many who suffer from guilt.  We, in America, have managed to rename sin, but we haven’t an idea of what to do with guilt.  Some go to the psychologist.  Some forgive themselves.  Some blame others.  And sad, but true, some turn to alcohol, drugs, or even suicide.  The Bible says in I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Friend, if you are under a load of guilt God can and will forgive.  Life is to be enjoyed, not endured.  Find strength in His grace.  May God help you as you journey.

               .

See ya Sunday!

Pastor

Celebrating Mothers

Its Mother's Day this weekend, and I wanted to say a word about the mothers in our nation.  Personally, I am grateful for the wonderful, godly Mom that God allowed me to have.  My mind is filled with the blessings of growing up under her good influence.

She only attended school until the eighth grade.  Her father died and she quit school to tend to the house and take care of the duties at home.  She is the youngest of eight children.  I know that many feel this same way, but to me, my Mom is the best.  They just don't come any better than her.  Tender, kind, compassionate, and understanding just barely describe how good a woman she is.

When I was a child, she scolded me when I did wrong, and then she tenderly hugged me and told me it was for my good.

After summer vacation she, more that anyone else, looked forward to school starting up again.  My brothers and I were a handful in those days!

When I was a teenager, she worried and prayed over me and warned when it was necessary.  During my college days she would call me, and would constantly send me what I called "care packages."  They were filled with food mostly, and other necessities.  I have never had a birthday that she didn't write and send me something.  When I was married she cried, as well when I  told her about her first grandchild. 

Her influence on my life is immeasurable.  She never had a job outside the home, never ran a corporation, nor was voted one of the 10 most powerful women in America.  But she was there when we needed her.  The thing I remember most is that she always had time for us.  I love her dearly for that.  She was the heart of our home and tower of strength when needed.  She gave up much for her children, and we all (four boys, and one girl) rise up and call her blessed.

Her story is repeated over and over around this nation in the lives of good, godly mothers.  We, as your offspring, thank you mothers for your love, your labor, and your gift of life to us.

May God bless you "Moms" of America.

I'm looking forward to celebrating Mother's Day with you this Sunday!
Pastor

Big Talkers Little Doers

Stretching the truth is uncommonly general now day.  People with good imaginations are not scarce at all.  Certain people are always on the prowl for gossip, and if they don't find it they invent it.  As one preacher said "All of their mole hills are mountains."  If they saw six dogs running together they would swear its was no less than 100!  The would also swear everyone else saw 100.  I hear these folks on airplanes as I travel.  Their wealth is enormous, they are extremely successful, and everyone else has problems but not them.
People are boastful these days.  Most of them are great talkers and little doers.  My dad used to say "Dogs that bark usually run away when it's time to bite."  In other words, saying and doing are two different things.  I've found over the years that the leanest pigs squeal the most.  One of the reasons a drum sounds so loud is the fact that there's nothing to them.
As a pastor of the same church for over thirty years, I've dealt with many different people.  I have observed when a man is excellent, he will as cream, soon rise to the top.
The Bible describes the backslider as one who is filled with his own ways.  The wise man Solomon said, "Even a fool is counted wise when he holdeth his peace."

As by the ears the mole is known,

A truth as Proverbs long have shown,

Is seen most plainly though his speech,

Let's glorify God, not ourselves.

See ya Sunday!
Pastor

Cancel the Guilt Trip

The story is told of a man driving past an insane asylum.  As he did, he got a flat tire.  As he pulled over and started to work on the tire one of the patients sat by the fence watching him.  The man took out his jack, tire iron, etc.  He began to loosen the lug nuts and remove them.  He removed the tire and accidentally kicked the lug nuts and they fell into the sewer drain.  He was at a loss for words.  Without the lug nuts he couldn’t put on the spare.  The man behind the fence said, “Mister, why don’t you use one lug nut off each wheel and it will be enough to get you to a service station.”  The driver said, “That’s a great idea. Thanks! By the way, what are you doing in a place like this?”  To which the man replied, “I’m crazy, but I’m not stupid!”
 

One thing that will drive us crazy is guilt.  Guilt is an emotion that hurts and hampers many.  Guilt is that feeling of sorrow and regret over wrong behavior.  In the movie “The Mission” Robert De Niro plays a man who kills his brother in a jealous rage.  He takes asylum in America at a mission.  Because of what he has done he is instructed to carry a heavy pack to do his penance.  He feels terrible yet he doesn’t know what to do with his sin and the shame that came with it.

At times we all feel that way.  Some are tethered about by some transgression.  Some are dealing with guilt over things done years ago.  Guilt hurts us in so many ways.  It damages our relationships.  We can’t get close to others because we feel bad about the past.  Guilt also keeps us stuck in the past.  We play our sins over and over again in our minds.  Someone has said,” Guilt cannot change the past and worry cannot change the future but it sure will make you miserable today”.

The worst trip you will ever take is the guilt trip.  God is a God of forgiveness.  In the book of Isaiah He says, “Come now, let us reason together.  Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool”.

That scripture reminds us that God is willing to forgive us if we ask him.  And once we have we need to forgive ourselves.  It has been said to err is human but to forgive is divine.  Oh!  How true!

See ya Sunday!
Pastor

Tame That Temper

It is no wonder that some believe anger is burning hotter in modern society than ever before.  When you consider some of the phrases which are now common place – “Domestic violence”, “Workplace Violence”, “Road Rage” “Drive-by-shooting”, among others – it seems we live in a world seething with anger.  Consider also that experts state that sixty percent of homicides investigated are committed by one family member who is angry with another family member.  And most every night the news is brimming with reports of civil unrest and mass demonstrations from all corners of the globe which often depict angry mobs rioting in the streets.  Anger that is both ungodly and unhealthy appears to permeate every level of every culture.  As a radio preacher of yesteryear once stated “No form of vice, nor worldliness, nor greed of gold, nor drunkenness itself does more to un-christianize a society than an evil temper”, and we certainly seem to be witnessing this on a global scale.  

On a more personal level, in the years God has given me the privilege to pastor I have often seen the heartbreaking after-effects left in the wake of a violent temper.  The especially tragic aspect is oft times anger of this nature is founded upon misinformation or miscommunication, and destroys what were once loving relationships.  Have you ever been angry with someone for so long that you really can’t remember why?  If we are angry with someone and cannot rationally and reasonably identify the root cause of this, that anger is wrong.  Jesus affirmed this in His sermon on the mount when He declared “Whosoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of judgment.”  At other times our anger can be misguided.  It is one thing to be angry when an injustice has been perpetrated; it is another thing altogether if our intention is to seek vengeance rather than justice.  That type of anger is clearly wrong from a Biblical perspective.

The great C.H. Spurgeon said,” I have no more right as a Christian to allow a bad temper in me than I have to allow the devil in me.” He was exactly right.  The Bible makes it clear that we are never to let the sun go down on our wrath.  Husbands and wives ought not to go to bed angry with one another.  As the comedienne Phyllis Diller once quipped “Never go to bed mad.  Stay up and fight!”
    
When anger takes root in the heart and becomes part and parcel of a person’s natural disposition, it will produce toxic results.  Unchecked, anger of this sort can lead to a host of problems, and can have detrimental effects on every level of an individual’s life – physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  As Christians, we need to be ever vigilant from permitting anger a place in our hearts if we are intent on living as Christ’s ambassadors, for as the Apostle James warns:
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God”.

See ya Sunday!
Pastor

The Truth Shall Make You Free!

The very last verse of the Book of Judges (21:25) declares, “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes”.  It was written as a brief but concise description of how far the nation of Israel had strayed from the truth of God’s law.  In fact, in many cases they were outright rejecting it.  There was no longer a common standard of right or wrong among the people; moral authority was no longer tethered to God’s standard, and Israel teetered on the precipice, soon to descend into the moral decline which ultimately provoked God’s wrath.

To a large degree, America today is not far from an identical situation.  We find ourselves in cultural and moral confusion, the end result of the current favored academic and philosophical fade, Post-Modern Relativism.  This is a fancy way of essentially saying that there is no such thing as “absolute truth”, that truth is “relative” to the individual.  In other words, “what you believe is true is fine for you, but may not be true for me”.  If this sounds a bit bizarre, this little anecdote will hopefully explain why:  There was a college professor, who stood before his class and boldly proclaimed “There are no moral absolutes.”  To which a puzzled young student asked, “Are you sure of that?”  The esteemed professor confidently replied, “Absolutely sure.”  Now, I don’t know about you, but to me the contradiction is profoundly self-evident!

But because of this pervasive belief, our culture suffers from an onslaught of numerous strange departures from previously held moral “truths”.  The “gay” community demands the “right” to marriage, while heterosexuals are running from it.  We are now being told that guns should be outlawed, but pot shouldn’t be.  We find in many states that a 14 year old girl has to get her parents’ permission to go on a field trip, but not to have an abortion.  It is not difficult to see why many feel America has reached the tipping-point, and is perched similarly on the slippery slope as was Israel at the conclusion of the Book of Judges.

In opposition to modern philosophical trends, Christians believe God has revealed and established absolute truth, not only through His written word in the Bible, but that this truth was embodied by His son, Jesus Christ, who emphatically and unequivocally declared: “I am the way, the truth, and the life”.  Secular philosophies suggest we can have freedom by denying the existence of truth; but ultimately this is the path by which we become slaves to sin (and government, for that matter!).  Contrast this to the promise Christ Himself makes: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”.

Yes, I believe America is at a crossroads.  It is time “we the people” decide whether we will continue to sink beneath the shifting sands of Post Modern Relativism, or whether we will return to building our cultural foundations upon the “Solid Rock”. 

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance”.