Whatever Takes Us Away

I mentioned this in a previous post "It's around the corner" that we would be having a service project day soon. So, next Saturday, April 7th we will be having our "Dusty Attic, Dirty Ground, Divine Clean Up" project in and around the church grounds. Why the 7th? Well, the following day is Easter - we will most likely have more people showing up that day and we will be having an Easter Egg hunt for the little ones outside (weather permitting). We'd like to have things looking as nice as possible, and it just needs to be done - don't worry, it'll be fun!

In addition to the clean up, afterwards we are planning on having a cook-out/picnic/worship time.

So, bring your mud shoes, torn blue jeans, dirty old t-shirt and a desire to make our little patch of land look a little better and be prepared to put your back into this cleaning.

Passage for meditation:
Luke 24:13-35

Where does Jesus meet you and open your eyes?

Okay, this Sunday's Youth Group meeting will be at our house. Reason: Wii Game Night

Everyone will get to pick 3 of 5 games to compete in a tournament. Following the individual game tournaments we will be choosing teams for Baseball.

Don't think this is only fun and games night! There will be instructional/devotion time, music and prayer (bring your Bibles). And, if we have enough time we'll preview some of the ATF DVD. I will try to have copies of the DVD for everyone (as long as the computer holds up).

See me or Tina Sunday if you need directions to our pad (or e-mail me).

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:5b-6 - NIV)

How often do you look for something precious that you lost? Yet you continue to look, knowing the end result before beginning your quest; the lost item is still lost. How true of us all at some point in our lives. We look in vain, struggling to remember the last time we had that valued item, wondering if we will ever hold it again. The same is for our lives and faith in Christ Jesus, we look for the living among the dead not knowing that He is with us always.

We try everything we can think of, worldly speaking, to try to get a glimpse of the Risen Lord; neglecting to reflect, meditate, fast, pray, and read and lean on God’s Word: Absolute Truth. Each time we try to do something, we fail. Each time we put our trust in ourselves, in some thing other than the power of God, we fail. We want to rely on the things of this world to help us in our desperation and times of distress. How quickly we forget about Easter!



Resurrection: the revitalization or revival of something

This is two-fold for us as Christians. Christ was raised from the dead, bringing new life to him and new life to those who would believe on His Risen persona, revitalized; and, it brings revival. Easter was when it happened and began for us. If he died, and nothing more, what would we believe in?

The Apostles appeared before the Sanhedrin, were questioned and the words they spoke amazed even some of the leaders and teachers of the law. Gamaliel, a teacher of the law addressed those gathered, “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go!” (Acts 5:35-38 – NIV) Even during their times long ago, leaders and teachers of the law understood what impact the Risen Lord could have. If they persecuted these men, and they spoke the truth, how might that come back on them? They would be fighting against their own God!

As Easter approaches, take time to look beyond yourself to find the real Risen Lord. Let the Holy Spirit do good works in you and through you. Look towards heaven for those lost treasures. Allow yourself to be open to the guidance of the Spirit, and let that Spirit lead you into a better relationship with the One who gives all good gifts. Look for the living among the living! Look for the Risen Christ this season. Let us be revitalized and pray for revival in the church.

Christ is Risen - He is Risen indeed!

Okay, for my younger readers you may not understand the historical significance in this, but for everyone else here's a picture long waited for.

Paisley & Adams at the same table? Could it be? Well, in fact, it most certainly is. Bitter rivals and enemies for decades, sitting together trying to work out their differences and attempting to unite Northern Ireland.

The follow up to the previous post? Well, I was beginning to wonder if anyone in the world would understand where I was going with this and the previous post, so here it is. N. Ireland has been divided by religious lines for a long time (Protestants vs. Catholics) and there has been bloodshed over the region. The younger of the two men pictured was a leader for the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and a Catholic, the other a devoted Protestant preacher. So, how is it that both, supposedly believing in Jesus, yet lead many against the other - are now sitting together working towards the betterment of their home land? Divine intervention?

Take it for what it is worth on the surface or read into it, you take it how you'd like. Personally, seeing this image, knowing that the elder of the two would have rather died than be at this table even a year ago, gears me up for more. If the N. Irish can fix things, join together, even talk to one another, why can't more churches/denominations do the same? I'd say this is only the wake-up-call to having the world take the church seriously.

Who is who? or Why to we in-fight?

There will come a day when all Christians will be held accountable for their own actions, or inactions as the case may be. One at a time we will stand before the Holy One to be judged, will you be found in the Book of Life? Knowing that, by grace I have been saved through faith, I stand a pretty good chance of meeting with those that have gone before me and meeting with my Savior and Redeemer, when that time comes.

But then I fear, will I really make it? This, I am sure goes beyond denominational boundaries. Will our acceptance be based on what church I attend or belong to? Do the Baptists have a better chance on the entrance eam than the Catholics or Methodist or any other denomination? Doubtful, highly doubtful. So then, why do we, as the Body of Believers, feel it is necessary to fight amongst ourselves? "We're cannnibals, we watch our brothers fall; we eat our own bones and all; we fell asleep on the plane to wake to see we're going down in flames" (Relient K, Down In Flames from The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek). Again, is all this bitterness and fighting necessary?

Rather than builiding each other up in LOVE (as we're instructed) we continually find and create new and inventive ways of breaking each other down; smashing up any hope of ever getting along. Funny isn't it? The enemy certainly thinks so! What better way to ensure his time of power lasts on earth than to have the ones that should be fighting against him fight amongst themselves? Infighting, or Civil War, you choose the term you like better.

How did we end up this way? To that I can only offer suggestions.

Dissention among the ranks. We are a part of an army, are we not? And sadly, many of those who are in charge fail to see the whole Truth: Love. Many of those in command spread lies, take meaning out of context from Scripture, and fail to love and be loved themselves. Pray for our leaders.

Fractured churches. If we believe in the Father, Son & Holy Spirit (Trinity); hold the Bible to be God's Absolute Truth; and place our lives at the cross of Christ we are "Christians". I understand the need for different denominations (as each one reaches people in different ways), but I don't understand why one church claims to be better than others. We splinter ourselves into countless divisions and fail to see what and whose we are as a whole. Pray for all denominations to come together.

Inability to communicate. As with our divisions and dissention we often times fail to communicate between denominations. We fail to share the good things God has done for us and how this or that may be helpful to the church across the street, or in a different country, or a different denomination. Effective Communication is clearly needed and necessary if we want to continue our work in the faith. Pray that we can all communicate more effectively.

Non-ecumenical. This one ties it all together; dissention, fractures, and communication. As I've stated before, there are a number of different churches and each one reaches the lost differently. Some people are drawn to authentic worship through music (myself included), some are drawn towards deep intellictual teaching and preaching (put me in that one too), some like small and intimate settings, others are drawn by loud or even yelling preachers with music in the background; I could go on for a while with this, but I think you get the point. There is a need for different denominations, but there is no need for them to be fractured, there is no reason for one to point the finger at another in blame. We are Christians, right? Not Methodist, Baptists, Catholics, Church of Christ, etc. We belong to Christ, hence, Christians. Ecumenical Christians, not adhering to one denomination over another. We are all struggling towards the same goal, wouldn't you rather there be more people in heaven to rejoice with? Or, would you like to see only those in your specific church? The latter might be a much smaller party and less likely to include many of your friends here on earth today. Pray that we might all come together in the love of Christ.

Think it over. Test it. Seek guidance from the Holy Spirit in this. Don't let us become those on the plane, waking too late to find that we ARE going down in flames. Pray for the Church Universal that we might someday soon be one in body, mind and Spirit! Then, maybe the world that doesn't take the church seriously will change its collective mind.

Easter is coming.

http://egg.d21c.com/egg.swf

Enjoy!

You see this character? For those of you youngsters that have no knowledge or recollection of Muppets, this is Animal - my favorite Muppet. Why this one? Easy, he's the drummer!

Some of you may know I play multiple instruments, and as often as possible I try to learn a new one. I play the drums from time to time and keep my congas in the church youth room (still waiting for God to produce a percussionist for the group). Now, I was once told that when I play drums I look a lot like Animal, arms flailing around, head all over the place; I look like a nut! So, many drummers look like that. For whatever reason, this person was very serious about me looking like Animal.

I think what I failed to see at first was that I didn't just play the drums. Rather, when our praise band would get to practicing or when we would play Sunday mornings, or where ever I'd get into a rhythm (not a metered, musical one). I found that I was worshipping God through the drums. Crazy? Think again. Take a look around the world, we here in America live an incredibly privilidged life, even in some of the poorest areas. Running water, electricity, food that we don't finish and throw away; and when it comes time for church we spare no expenses. With our "worship" times Sundays we use the best instruments, the best sound systems, the best microphones; even at church we get caught up in worldly things. Look to Africa, you don't find Fender guitars, Gretsch drums, Peavey amplifiers - no, you get a hollowed log with dried animal skin tightened on it, rocks and anything else they can make rhythmic sounds with. Does it make it less of a worship experience? Not at all.

My point - I worship God through my music. I get close to God through music. I can feel the Holy Spirit in me through music. Now, there are other means by which I worship our Holy God; prayer, fasting, meditation, reading His Word, but it is music that really gets me close. So, once I realized this I got to understanding my friend's comment about me looking like Animal. Because I get so into communing with God through the Spirit by means of drumming, I tend to lack some semblance of control with my appendages and I look rather crazy.

Not that into playing an instrument? Fine. Find out what helps you connect with God. Find that time, that place, that thing you do that brings you into a closer more meaningful relationship and work at it. Who cares if you look like a complete idiot when you do it? Just look at Animal. He has fun, gets the job done and shares his passion with those he comes in contact with. That's what I like to do. Go worship!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. 1 Thes. 5:16-22 (NIV)

We have reasons to be joyful and to give thanks, however, we sometimes forget to acknowledge the Giver of our gifts. We tend to cling to what we know and are comfortable with, holding on to those evil things we've grow so accustomed to. But, if we look at this brief passage from 1 Thessalonians we see something pretty clearly. We are : to be joyful, to pray continually, and to give thanks - this is God's will for us that are in Christ Jesus. When we accept Jesus as our Savior we will receive the Holy Spirit - who can help us in all circumstances. Now, if we continue to look at this passage we see a loop: if we give thanks in all circumstances, pray continually and do not put out the Spirit's fire we will be joyful always.

Watch out for those things that will drive you and pull you away from God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Test everything to see if it from God or from man. "For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." Acts 5:38-39 (NIV) Test everything and everyone you come in contact with, see what the origins are; God will let you know if it is good or evil.

Example: I have a friend whose blog I read frequently, and from time to time will post a comment. I recently commented on a really good post (as did many others) and when I went back to read his comment back to me I was surprised to see there were even more comments posted, yet many of them lacked something. Big words were thrown around, fingers were pointed, but no solution was presented. Some of the comments posted really got to me, people spoke like intelligent people (worldly intelligence and wisdom), but lacked true wisdom from God, they lacked Biblical principle, they spoke as infants in faith. I'm not judging here, and I am certainly not the authority on all things, but when you speak, when you read, use the Holy Spirit to guide your decisions, your words, your actions and you will be in a good position in your life.

Regardless of your circumstances, good, bad or ugly, think of who you belong to and be joyful always. Jesus came from the Father and Author of Life for each one of us - not so we would be weak, boring, lazy, or complacent; but so that we may have life and have it abundantly and with joy in our hearts. Be joyful to those around you and be joyful in all you do today.

What an exciting weekend! However, there is a downside to it, recovering from the trip and the lack of sleep. All things considered, everything went very well and I am proud of those that went with us on this trip.

Where to begin?
Prior to the trip, we had a few moments of Wii time - notice the little girl (number 2, Madison), beating one of the teens at Wii Sports. Pizza, games, packing and repacking the van. Oh, and a short note to some of the girls that went with us - next time, don't bring like 4 bags, it was an overnight not a week long.

The trip, well, that's a whole other story. Things didn't go as expected from the beginning. We got a little bit of a late start, hit traffic, and as you can imagine, Mapquest doesn't always make things easy. Arrival time: 7:45 pm (close approximation). We missed out on a couple things; opening worship time, drama, first part of Ron Luce's message. We did make it though, after finally going to the right gate; video project in the works to help show that.

However, I think everything went well. We learned a lot from the speakers, and there is an enemy out there that wants to destroy this generation of teens, he wants to "brand" them as his; striping them of anything that might be who they really are. God created each and every person to be different, individual, and set apart for His plan, the enemy has been using corporations, with the lure of money, to take our individuality and our beliefs.

The music was good, some of it a bit too loud (even for me). Red put on a good show, and their CD is awesome. Everyone in our group agreed that Unhindered was awesome as well and the teens wanted to share some of their music with the congregation yesterday during the service. Worship times with Unhindered brought people into a closer feeling and understanding of God and from my point of view, helped make the Spirit of our God a tangible thing.

I was concerned the other day, prior to leaving, that the enemy didn't want me to take someone on this trip. And, while I can't pinpoint any one I am still sure he didn't want someone, or anyone to go. I know he isn't happy about this and he will try to make things difficult on those that went, be on your guard!

That'll about wrap it up for now, I know I will have more to say in the days to come, come back and read again when you have the chance. Take time this week to allow yourselves to recover, reflect on what you experienced, and think of how you can make an impact on those you come in contact with each day.

If you have been reading this blog lately, you'll know that we have a group going to Muncie, Indiana tomorrow (Friday). And you may have noticed that there have been some things going on surrounding the whole trip. More.

So, there's this enemy out there, lurking, hiding in dark places, seizing any and every opportunity to make our lives chaotic - especially if you are trying to do the work of God. It never ceases to amaze me how this enemy will stop at nothing to try and throw a ship off course if it is going the direction God has put it in. For instance, you ask?

Cases in point: NHUMC's Youth trip to ATF. Accommodations made, check. Okay, uncheck that box, the enemy has asked a handsome fee. Money set aside for the trip, check. Uncheck that box as well, the bank made a mistake and somehow misplaced all of our money. Vehicles lined up, check. That one too? Uncheck, Tina's van is having steering problems. Baby sitters for our FOUR kids, check. Okay, it can't be that bad, can it? Uncheck partially. This one sets our departure time back about an hour.

However, this enemy is powerless in comparision to what we have on our side. This dark side enemy, Satan, has been, from the beginning, beaten. The final battle has been decided and he is NOT the victor. God, whom I hold on to dearly, is on our side and wants us to go on this trip. How can I say this?

Cases in point: Accommodations re-made, CHECK! (thanks Riverside UMC) Wednesday our youth bank account was $-400 + because of a bank error, the money was deposited into the wrong church account, money back to us. Vehicles lined up, CHECK! (Thanks McKinney Auto) The problem with the van wasn't as bad as was first thought and has been taken care of. Baby sitters for our kids (4 of them), well there's still a small glitch with that one and I am sure the good Lord will have that taken care of by Friday mid-morning! He wants everyone one of us to go on this trip! And, by His grace and provisions (which are more sufficient than anything any man could provide) we will go on this trip.

I have a feeling that this dark side doesn't want some one, or anyone of us going to this conference. However, we leave Friday afternoon and we'll delivery a blow to the enemy he doesn't want. These chance encounters with the dark side are real, but so is our God.