In season and out

Have you ever read that passage in II Timothy 4:2; "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction."? I have always been intrigued by the part that says "in season and out of season", and have tried to imagine what those seasons might look like. And, listening to Ron Magnusen this past Sunday reminded me of one of those "in season" moments. It was the July 4th celebration in Faith just 2 months ago. Karen and I were enjoying the parade in town, as we have for several years; you know, waving at all the Beauty Queens, Commanders, Council People, Firemen, float riders, and of course, catching candy. I am focused completely on the activities taking place in the parade. I mean, it is kind of embarrassing to get hit in the head with candy, or this year; bead necklaces. So, as I said, I am focused on the parade, and the people around me as we share the candy. Then, I am tapped on the shoulder, and as I turn to see who it might be; all I see is my reflection in the lens of a television camera, a microphone aimed at me, followed by questions about the 4th of July Parade, and why so many people come to such a small town like Faith year after year. And, to this reporter's surprise, I answered all of his questions and continued to enjoy the parade. You see, like I said, I was focused on the parade. I was "in season" for any questions about the parade. When it comes to being a "christian", are we "in season"? Are we "in season" when the phone rings during our favorite TV show; when we have to wait in line at any store; when someone questions us; when we are wrongly accused? I believe that if we are completely focused on Christ; and not just on Saturday night, or Sunday morning; we will be "in season" when someone asks us anything about our beliefs, our joy, our worship, and our love for Christ. I believe we will be "in season" when they least expect it.

Do you remember your baptism?

This past week-end at HRCC was one of those "I can't believe what God just did" week-ends. If you were at the riverside baptisms Sunday afternoon, you know what I am talking about. INCREDIBLE!! 40+ new believers baptised. 40+ new believers welcomed publicly into the Body of Christ ( known affectionately as High Rock Community Church ) with hugs, tears,and cheers. Whole families were baptised together; fathers and mothers baptised their children; a Small Group joined in the baptism of 1 new believer; 3 people accepted Christ and were baptised on the spot. Did I say "INCREDIBLE"?
As I was standing out in God's water waiting for the candidates to be baptised, I started going back in my mind to my own baptism years ago. I can still see the Baptistry; the painting on the wall; the steps and handrail; the oversized robe that I wore; the Pastor, Rev. Pope, waiting for me; the nerves; my parents; and the water. I wish I could remember every word he said, but it was a long time ago. What I do remember is that as he lowered me into the water, all the nervousness, anxieties, and all the things surrounding me at that time were gone. Under the water; completely covered..........peace and quiet. Then came the hugs, tears, and cheers.
Sunday afternoon I stood again in the water. But, this time AS a Pastor. I stood and waited, not in front of a painting of God's earth, but surrounded by God's earth. I felt the hugs; I saw the tears; I heard the cheers of encouragement. But, what I remember was......... helping each person experience the peace and quiet.......the covering of God's love, in the water. May you never forget.

"Because I love you"

Have you ever been so surprised by a gift from someone, that you really couldn't believe that it was for you? I'm not talking about a gift for your birthday, anniversary, graduation, or Christmas; I'm talking about the gift that you receive unexpectantly......the gift that catches you off-guard; a total surprise......a gift that you feel you don't deserve, or should even except. Well, I have recently been presented one of those gifts. And, I can honestly say that was completely surprised. I found myself saying, " I can't accept that.", " That's really nice of you, but", and "Are you sure you want me to have that?". Finally, after listening to all the reasons for this gift being offered to me......"You have encouraged and inspired me", "I believe that God is using you and there are more things that He will do through you", and "I wanted you to have this". Then the most amazing reason for the gift was expressed, and there was no way to say "no". My dear friend said....."I am giving this as a gift to you 'because I love you'." When someone offers us a gift out of love, it no longer seems unbelievable. It becomes real. So real you can touch it, hug it, and enjoy it. I'm not talking about the gift......I'm talking about love. A love that is real. Not the kind we hear about, or read about, but a love that we can actually see and feel. Do you know that love?.... I'm sure you do......It's the love of God that is offered to us everyday, whether we deserve it or not (and we don't). It's the love of His Son dying on the cross for us. That same love that we find so hard to accept. It is offered to us everyday, and the amazing reason why is......."because I love you." God, thank you for Your gift of love.

P.S. To my dear friend.......thank you for your gift of love.

Does worship connect us to God?

Does worship connect us to God? Sounds like a no-brainer, right? I have to admit that if I were asked that same question a few years ago, I would jump at the chance to blurt out, "Yes". But, over the the past few years, and after hearing that question asked in several different ways by a lot of leaders, pastors, and worship leaders, I now lean more toward the answer of, "Well, kind of". I have come to the conclusion that worship, true worship, doesn't really connect us to God as much as we would like to think it does. In reality, not until we are connected to God, can worship begin.
I see it working like this; we sit down and open our Bibles to spend time with God. Now this is not a time-limited encounter with the Word. This is time that we set aside for God to reveal to us what He wrote for us to read. After careful study (reading and listening), we begin to want to know more. We begin to get hungry. We become desperate for more. There must be more. And, there is. We not only read the words there in the Bible, but we go back over the same words and listen to them this time. They speak to us. They inspire us. They encourage, comfort, direct, calm, excite, and engage us in a conversation with God; prayer. We are now connected to God. We find ourselves talking to Him, asking Him questions, laughing with Him, crying with Him by our side, reaching for Him to hold us, and blessing His name. Sound familiar? We connect with God, and we enter into a worship of Him so real that we can't wait to get to a place where we can share that same worship with other believers. So, when you show up at a service this week-end, don't plan on just listening to the Praise Team play and sing the Worship songs to you; share your worship with us. It is what we all need to hear, and what our Heavenly Father longs to hear.

When the music fades

One of my all-time favorite songs, "The Heart Of Worship", written by Matt Redman, starts with the line...."When the music fades..". To think about it lightly, that sounds like a contradiction. I mean, this is a worship song, right? And a song is composed of music, right? If it fades....what happens then?.........Most of us would probably look for another song where the music doesn't fade. And the reason we might do that, is because we have this idea that we need the music so that we can worship God. The sad part of this process is, we have it backwards. We don't need the music to worship God, we just need to worship God. Our worship of God will generate a song in our hearts. Therein lies "The Heart Of Worship".