Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
1 Peter 4:12-13 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.
2 Tim 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
James 1:2-4 2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Trials and testing...wow...I must say I have never liked "pain" or "being uncomfortable". The scripture above tells us a bit more about trials....Not that we should seek "trouble" but it would appear clearly from scripture "Trials and Testing" are to be used in our lives to make us mature in Christ.
I thought to myself as the spring gardens are coming into bloom this year...who was the first person to think of fertilizer?
Who said..."Hey what will happen if I put the 'cow exhaust' on this turnip???"
I remember in history class the accounts of the Native Americans teaching pilgrims to bury a fish's head beside the corn plant as a fertilizer?
As I child I worked alongside my grandparents in their garden...yes I have spread cow manure and actually buried fish remains in the garden as fertilizer...IT WORKS GREAT, TOO!
Okay...so what is the point of all of this. Trials, trouble, Testing, problems...the stinky refuse in our lives we would rather not experience....I propose they are the FERTILIZER God uses to GROW us in CHRIST.
Let me stop and be clear...I am not talking about sin. If you are not a Christian or unsure if you are Christian, click on the SMILEY Face ICON and take the Good Person Test. If you are a Christian and you have sin causing problems and difficulty in your life...repent, stop sinning and let the Holy Spirit cleanse you.
Trials are different...when you seek to follow God with all your heart and problems appear to intensify...rejoice in Christ. The scripture tells us trials come to our lives, not because we have done something wrong, but so we can growing closer to our LORD primarily through time alone in prayer.
I have wasted far too much time in my life, wasting my friends time lamenting about the stresses of life. I am sure you know from experience you really don't feel better after "getting it all off your chest" to another frail helpless human. Tell your Heavenly Father about your stress...about how it hurts, about the tough world we live in, about how you love HIM. In addition to prayer....serving others, reading and memorizing scripture are also part of the complete growth plan...
The Holy Spirit will complete His work in you ...GROWING in you up Christ, if you keep close to HIM.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary
Once upon a time…Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary visited a Dynamic Large Church…searching for a place to belong. The preaching they found was so clear and rich with bible truth and the choir/praise and orchestral music comparable to the greatest churches in the world. How could church be any better?
This is the kind of church they had dreamed of belonging… a place to serve God and a home for their family. Harry and Mary loved the Dynamic Large Church, quickly enrolling their children into Bible Fellowship and began to search for an adult bible fellowship class in which to belong.
At first they visited a bible fellowship class and were impressed with the fantastic teaching of God’s word. Hours of study had obviously been invested by the teacher and it showed in the lessons taught. Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary visited for 3 months but no one really engaged them other than saying “Good morning”. The people in the class were pleasant and surely loved God, but they didn’t appear to need any NEW friends. No one invited Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary to go to lunch or called or visited.
As a second attempt, Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary visited another bible fellowship class with another truly awesome teacher. God’s word was taught with clarity and passion each Sunday. Alas, while surely the people in the class loved Jesus and each other….the people in this class appeared to not really need any NEW friends either.
After 6 months Mary and Harry began to doubt if God really wanted them to stay at the Dynamic Large Church….because after all…it is a “BIG CHURCH”.
One day a Godly couple from the second class called and invited Harry and Mary to dinner at their house. Harry wasn’t even sure of who the Godly couple was, but since they called…he thought they should go. The Godly couple, who were not in a leadership position, had by God’s guidance simply reached out in love to Harry and Mary… “Wow, maybe God does have a plan for us at this Dynamic Large Church?”
As a third attempt, Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary were met at the class room door by a greeter who welcomed them to class and gave them name tags as they sat down. Before class started, more people surrounded Harry and Mary made them truly feel welcome. As class started they were warmly introduced to the entire class by the Outreach Leader. The teaching was equally awesome…God’s truth given with the love of a shepherd to a flock. After class the teacher and his wife came over to personally meet Harry and Mary. It really appeared genuine…could it be these people needed at least a few more NEW friends?
In bible fellowship class people testified of triumphs God had won in their lives…and reported how they had shared their faith at work, with friends and even some as they visited in prison. A person brought slides one Sunday of the recent mission trip she had been a part. A few weeks later Harry and Mary were assigned to a care group and they were contacted weekly and prayed for by their leader. Harry was invited to weekly men’s coffee group and Mary was invited to meet monthly at the women’s bible study. The care group went out to eat dinner together and relationships were made….Harry and Mary now belonged to bible fellowship class.
Burned-Out Harry began to feel a part…to truly belong and was invited to use the teaching gift as a substitute teacher in this new bible fellowship class. Burned-Out Harry, who had gained his name by being overworked (8 jobs at the previous church they had been a part) was now excited to minister and to be a part of this Dynamic Large Church.
Unsaved Mary…here is the thing….Burned-Out Harry didn’t know Mary was lost. Mary had walked an aisle when she was 10 and had played the part of a Christian for 26 years. Mary always doubted, but just thought she wasn’t trying “hard enough”….if she could only DO something more for God…she would feel His love and be pleasing and “feel something”. Unsaved Mary changed her name one Sunday when she gave her life wholly to Christ as her Lord and Savior!!! Mary was soundly saved and changed. Mary had heard the clear gospel preached from her pastor, heard weekly challenging lessons from her BF leader and seen Christ lived out in the people in her bible fellowship class. Harry knows that nothing would have changed in Mary’s life if they would have not found a place to belong…without a place in bible fellowship, Harry and Mary would have left the Dynamic Large Church and Mary would still be lost.
Everyone who walks through the doors of the bible fellowship class has some things in common.
1) Each person wants to belong to a Dynamic, On Fire for God, Bible preaching – world reaching SMALL church…Bible fellowship is the place for them to belong to that “small church”- in the midst of the large church.
2) Each person is fighting a battle….each person is struggling with something in their lives. Bible fellowship gives them a chance to share and gain strength to deal with their battles.
3) Love…each person needs love. We care about people because Jesus cares about people. Bible fellowship allows us to love and be the hands and feet of Jesus.
By the way….it’s a true story…I am Harry and my wife is Mary!! To God be the Glory for the great things HE has done.
This is the kind of church they had dreamed of belonging… a place to serve God and a home for their family. Harry and Mary loved the Dynamic Large Church, quickly enrolling their children into Bible Fellowship and began to search for an adult bible fellowship class in which to belong.
At first they visited a bible fellowship class and were impressed with the fantastic teaching of God’s word. Hours of study had obviously been invested by the teacher and it showed in the lessons taught. Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary visited for 3 months but no one really engaged them other than saying “Good morning”. The people in the class were pleasant and surely loved God, but they didn’t appear to need any NEW friends. No one invited Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary to go to lunch or called or visited.
As a second attempt, Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary visited another bible fellowship class with another truly awesome teacher. God’s word was taught with clarity and passion each Sunday. Alas, while surely the people in the class loved Jesus and each other….the people in this class appeared to not really need any NEW friends either.
After 6 months Mary and Harry began to doubt if God really wanted them to stay at the Dynamic Large Church….because after all…it is a “BIG CHURCH”.
One day a Godly couple from the second class called and invited Harry and Mary to dinner at their house. Harry wasn’t even sure of who the Godly couple was, but since they called…he thought they should go. The Godly couple, who were not in a leadership position, had by God’s guidance simply reached out in love to Harry and Mary… “Wow, maybe God does have a plan for us at this Dynamic Large Church?”
As a third attempt, Burned-Out Harry and Unsaved Mary were met at the class room door by a greeter who welcomed them to class and gave them name tags as they sat down. Before class started, more people surrounded Harry and Mary made them truly feel welcome. As class started they were warmly introduced to the entire class by the Outreach Leader. The teaching was equally awesome…God’s truth given with the love of a shepherd to a flock. After class the teacher and his wife came over to personally meet Harry and Mary. It really appeared genuine…could it be these people needed at least a few more NEW friends?
In bible fellowship class people testified of triumphs God had won in their lives…and reported how they had shared their faith at work, with friends and even some as they visited in prison. A person brought slides one Sunday of the recent mission trip she had been a part. A few weeks later Harry and Mary were assigned to a care group and they were contacted weekly and prayed for by their leader. Harry was invited to weekly men’s coffee group and Mary was invited to meet monthly at the women’s bible study. The care group went out to eat dinner together and relationships were made….Harry and Mary now belonged to bible fellowship class.
Burned-Out Harry began to feel a part…to truly belong and was invited to use the teaching gift as a substitute teacher in this new bible fellowship class. Burned-Out Harry, who had gained his name by being overworked (8 jobs at the previous church they had been a part) was now excited to minister and to be a part of this Dynamic Large Church.
Unsaved Mary…here is the thing….Burned-Out Harry didn’t know Mary was lost. Mary had walked an aisle when she was 10 and had played the part of a Christian for 26 years. Mary always doubted, but just thought she wasn’t trying “hard enough”….if she could only DO something more for God…she would feel His love and be pleasing and “feel something”. Unsaved Mary changed her name one Sunday when she gave her life wholly to Christ as her Lord and Savior!!! Mary was soundly saved and changed. Mary had heard the clear gospel preached from her pastor, heard weekly challenging lessons from her BF leader and seen Christ lived out in the people in her bible fellowship class. Harry knows that nothing would have changed in Mary’s life if they would have not found a place to belong…without a place in bible fellowship, Harry and Mary would have left the Dynamic Large Church and Mary would still be lost.
Everyone who walks through the doors of the bible fellowship class has some things in common.
1) Each person wants to belong to a Dynamic, On Fire for God, Bible preaching – world reaching SMALL church…Bible fellowship is the place for them to belong to that “small church”- in the midst of the large church.
2) Each person is fighting a battle….each person is struggling with something in their lives. Bible fellowship gives them a chance to share and gain strength to deal with their battles.
3) Love…each person needs love. We care about people because Jesus cares about people. Bible fellowship allows us to love and be the hands and feet of Jesus.
By the way….it’s a true story…I am Harry and my wife is Mary!! To God be the Glory for the great things HE has done.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Meeting a Christian Hero!!!
Friday, March 6, 2009, I had the great privilege of meeting Mr. S. Truett Cathy the founder of Chick-Fil-A. Most restaurants in the industry normally report 20% of their sales on Sunday. Mr. Cathy has been wildly successful and done it all steadfastly held to being closed on the Lord's Day.Mr. Cathy spoke to the 2009 National Sunday School Conference in Atlanta. I met him backstage before he went out to speak. I walked up and stood while he was engaged in a conversation with a Chick-Fil-A employee who accompanied him. He immediately stopped his conversation, turned to face me squarely and put out his hand to me.... "Hello, I am Truett." Suddenly, I couldn't remember my name.
I stammered it out as I reached to shake his hand. I quickly told him "Thank you Mr. Cathy for always keeping the Lord so prominently in your business. It means so much to me and my family." He was so gracious and just said "You certainly are kind. Yes. You are too kind to me. Thank you."
My Cathy, age 87, in addition to his business pursuits, has taught Sunday School for 51 years to 13 year old boys. He said he always like to tell people they can always choose the "3-M's" You can choose who will be your master in life, what will be your mission in life and who will be your mate in life. What a servant hearted leader. He spoke for about 15 minutes and received two standing ovations.
Another one of the things I hope I never forget from his presentation..."Do you know how you know someone needs encouragement?" He paused for a moment and then answered "Only if they are breathing!" Everyone needs encouragement he believes and I saw that he gives encouragement to everyone he meets.
He closed his discussion with a question..."When I consider what the Lord has done for us. I ask - Why not be at our best at ALL TIMES? Why Not?......WHY NOT!!.........WHY NOT???"
and he quietly left the podium.
I met this gracious man again at his book signing table. I purchased his latest book, autographed by Mr. Cathy..... it was a great day to meet such a Godly man!!!
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