A Life of Worship...

Deut. 10.12 “Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,” 13 “and to keep the LORD’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?”

I think we should ask ourselves what sits on the throne of our heart. This time in which we live is indeed exciting. We are seeing the fulfillment of scripture before our very eyes. But, are we really seeking His kingdom first, though? Am I submitting my life to His purpose and plan? Am I really living a life of worship? I must say that I still struggle in areas of my life when it comes to submission to His plan. I still forget sometimes that it is His timing, His plan. I would seek sometimes to push things along, if you will, maybe before I am ready, out of step with His timing for my life.

I believe it can be traced back to our worship. A life of worship will place us in step with what He is doing, where He is taking us. Let me explain why. Our worship of Him is relational. A life of worship of the Father will mean we are in relationship with the Father. I love what Pastor Hal has preached about God's sovereignty and might. It is impossible for me to know God exhaustively, but we can know Him relationally. That is an amazing truth when you really think of it. I have a relationship with my wife and children. It is very hard to imagine that I could ever have an exhaustive knowledge of them in this life. Now imagine God and our finite understanding. Scripture even says that we see as through a mirror darkly…

Now imagine that I studied the “exhaustive” biography of Dana Farmer to gain knowledge of who she is, but never met her personally. I might know many things about her, but I would never know her the way I do having spent seven years in a relationship with her. Our worship is relational. A life of worship submits to the words of the Father, to the Son who is the Word made Flesh, to His Spirit- walks with Him. He has revealed His nature and character to us in His word, and sees us through every aspect (Philippians 1.6).

William Temple was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1942- 1944. This is how he describes worship:

It is submission of all our nature to God-

It is quickening of conscience by His holiness, nourishment of mind by His truth, purifying of imagination by his beauty, opening of the heart to his love, submission of will to His purpose. All of this gathered up in adoration is the greatest expression of which we are capable.

That is the way I want to worship Him.

-Chris Farmer

A Cheerful heart makes the face cheerful! (Proverbs 15:13)

If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands… nod your head…. shout hooray. If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it; If you're happy and you know it do all three! Remember this song? We may not sing the song out loud, however our faces surely show it.

Many a happy Spirit-filled Christian has been asked by others, “Why are you always so happy? As I have observed you, you don’t seem to get gloomy and downhearted. What is your secret?” What an opportunity this gives to testify to our joy in the Lord! The secret for some is to get their souls full of joy each day in their time alone with God. (You will fill me with joy in your presence. Psalm 16:11) They do this before they go about their day. They carry the blessing of the secret place into their day’s activities. The first great and primary business to which we ought to attend every day is to have our soul happy in the Lord.

A heart bubbling over with joy makes your life more attractive to the unsaved, is a powerful witness to Christ’s grace, and makes a more lasting impact on others than almost any other aspect of your Christian life. Measure your own life’s testimony by your joy. Ask yourself…. Is my spirit singing the song today?

- Elaine Wood

Let us encourage one another

This past Saturday, Pastor Chris and I took a group of children from Kid’s Church on a “Kid’s Day Out”. We went to play putt-putt golf and then took the children out for ice cream. The thought of taking ten children, boys and girls ages 5-12, out on such an adventure was initially a little bit scary. But our prayer was that these children would develop friendships with one another and begin to feel a bond of Christian fellowship, even at that young age. I cannot express how wonderful each one of the children were; they were so well-behaved; even the children who typically do not interact with one another enjoyed playing with each other and seemed to have a wonderful time. Our prayer is that all of the children will be able to develop friendships with one another that will be nurtured into adulthood.

Relationships are very important to God and His Kingdom. Developing bonds of friendship with other Christians gives us strength and encouragement in our walk with the Lord. Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us “We must also consider how to encourage each other to show love and to do good things. We should not stop gathering together with other believers, as some of you are doing. Instead, we must continue to encourage each other even more as we see the day of the Lord coming.”

Spending time with and developing relationships with other believers is so important to the believer. Enjoying our free time is also important. As summer time approaches, we begin to make plans for all types of summer fun: vacations, trips to the lake, picnics, ball games, you name it. So many fun things, so little time! It is important to remember, however, to prioritize. God should always come first in our life. Jesus commanded us in Matthew 6:33 to seek God’s Kingdom first, to be concerned about His Kingdom and what has His approval. It is important to be in His house on Sunday morning. All those summer activities are just as fun on a Saturday or a Sunday afternoon. Being a part of the body of Christ and worshiping together with our brothers and sisters in Christ will help us to develop those friendships and give us that encouragement in the Lord that we need even more as the day of the Lord comes.

-Pastor Tina Blackburn

Divine Design...

It’s been a real blessing to have a Dad as gifted with wood working as my Dad and over the years I’ve benefited greatly from his talent. Such as every pine wood derby, an event held by the boy scouts, the scout was to whittle away at a block of wood until it took the shape of a car, then race for all honor and glory at an annual race. My fellow competitors always assumed my car was some model we had simply bought and assembled, you could hear murmurs of “they bought that car” or some such rumor to discount my Dad’s gift. Though nearly every year, we came away with the best in show trophy, notice how I still say we, when in all realty I had very little to do with the whole process. The role I did play every year was picking out the style of car I wanted my Dad to construct, I did this by perusing one of the many encyclopedias of automobiles we had laying around the house.

Any craftsman prior to starting their craft has a picture of what it is they’re making. The design, which includes the intended function, is already in mind prior to the first stroke of the brush, or the first cut of the knife. So it is with God when He designed mankind and if we are to ever function properly we must understand what that purpose is. We get a good glimpse of this when we see the first commandment, (Mat 22:37,38) Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. God’s ultimate purpose for humanity was to be family to Him, He is not content with just causing the mandatory obedience that will ultimately occur. (Phil. 2:9-11) Instead His desire is we love Him in the same way He loves us. So He empowers us to love Him this way, (Rom 5:5) And hope does not make us ashamed, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us. The result of loving Him in this way is we function as He intended, it is impossible to love Jesus and not love people.

(Joh 14:21) He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him. This is simple stating a fact, if you love me then the result is you will keep my commandments. The challenge for us, to insure we are properly working is to continually realign our lives and priorities to make the first commandment first in priority.

-Pastor Ted Farmer

Wisdom In An Age Of Drama...

As is the case with many of us, I occasionally will take the time to watch a few of the reality shows on TV that focus on the day-to-day drama of people that we don’t know and really don’t care that much about. It seems that we can relate to their situations or to their storylines and that is what draws us in to the show. I have found that some shows will draw me in to the point where I want to watch from week to week to see how everything will turn out.

Unfortunately, the drama on these shows never really resolves itself. Nobody seems to really learn anything . . . nobody seems to have a real change of heart . . . and their lives never really have any significant change. Although it may seem that they have a personal “Ah Ha!!” moment at the end of each episode, the drama finds a new script, new characters and new plots each week. In reality, nothing really changes. Quite frankly, they are addicted to the drama of their lives. They profit by selling it to a public thirsty for more drama.

The real scary part of these latest reality TV shows is that there is a growing lust for more and more drama while nobody really learns anything from them other than to speak, think and act in an immature fashion despite their age or lot in life. This does have an impact on our society and our kids. It has an impact on Christians and non-Christians alike. Quietly, many of us want to be just like them.

In the Bible, the book of Proverbs speaks often about wisdom. Wisdom, quite frankly, is the opposite of drama. If we all made choices to live in a Christ-like manner in every life decision we made . . . in every word we spoke . . . in every thought we have . . . many of us could avoid and would choose to avoid the drama we develop in our own lives and, quite frankly, would turn away from the TV filled reality shows that distort the way we should interact with one another.

Proverbs 3:29-32 states “Do not plan to do something wrong to your neighbor while he is sitting with you and suspecting nothing. Do not quarrel with a person for no reason if he has not harmed you. Do not envy a violent person. Do not choose any of his ways. The devious person is disgusting to the Lord. The Lord’s intimate advice is with decent people.”

After reading that, I was convicted in my own heart about my own desire to watch many of the shows. If you find that you gain pleasure watching these shows or that you favor a particular character because of how they behave, take a moment and read . . . study if you will, Proverbs Chapters 1 -4 which talk about wisdom. God’s Wisdom is ours for the asking.

BTW, if you really want to take a bite out of most reality shows . . . go and read Proverbs chapter 5 on adultery . . . or chapter 6 which talks about avoiding disaster by the way you think and act . . . or chapter 7, which is even more advice on avoiding adultery . . . I’m just saying. It is time we start to look at the world around us and how we choose to interact with it.

-Pastor Chris Blackburn

Are you sure you are on the right path? Need guidance?

Recently, I was looking at my daughter who entered her teenage years this past year and it made me think back on my own middle school years. It was a time of trying to figure out who you are and where you are going. No longer at the age that your parents are continually holding your hand, telling you what to wear and wiping your nose. It is a time of emotional ups and downs. Friends are changing; decisions that have to be made are becoming more difficult.

It was this time in my life where I started to search. If there is a God what does he want of me and what does he expect of me? Is he just someone I read about or does he truly know me? During this search I was blessed to get saved, got involved in a spiritually active church that helped me grow in Christ. I started to since that there was even more for me. God had a plan. Not only a plan but he sent his Spirit to help me! Let’s look at some scripture and see what it says about the Holy Spirit:

Who gives us the Spirit and who can receive it?

Luke 11:13 (NIV)If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Acts 2:38 (NIV) Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Why do I need the Spirit?

John 14:26 (NIV)But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 16:13 (NIV) But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

2 Corinthians 3:6 (NIV) He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Galatians 5:22-24 (NIV) 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.

God gives us some instructions.

1 John 4:1 (NIV) Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Through life’s ups and downs, as an adult or child we must know that our heavenly Father has sent us something to help us along the way and that is His Holy Spirit. I praise God for His Spirit that has been a counselor, life giver, truth teller, and has given me love, joy, peace, patients, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Even though sometimes we stumble these gifts are always waiting for me.

- Carolyn Hanneman

The Christian and Government

As a publically-educated, American-born citizen, I have, for as long as I can remember, believed in the power of representative government: the power of the people. Over the course of 2009, and the many political changes that came with it, that belief has been shaken. The hope is still there, that it is and can be, a long-lasting form of government that gives enormous freedoms to this nation’s people, but my trust in representative government has taken a serious hit.

The Apostle Paul, as I’m sure you know, lived under Roman rule: a government that stood decidedly against Christianity in Paul’s time, and yet he writes the following in the first 2 verses of Romans 13:
"Everyone must submit to the governing authorites, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God's command, and those who oppose it will bring judgement on themselves."

My rebellious American spirit says, “No way! Throw out the evil rulers by whatever means necessary. Remove the oppressors!” But is that the plan of God for the believer? If we look at the nation of Israel throughout the Old Testament, we see a repeated pattern: God’s people recognize their need of the One True God and follow Him intensely for a time and then gradually their dedication to Him and to His plan weakens as they are distracted by the world around them and the many idols that it offers. Over and over, this leads to a time when God allows their nation to be attacked by heathen nations often resulting in many years of captivity and slavery for God’s people. The pattern continues with God’s people, crying out to Him in repentance and begging for deliverance. God raises up a leader, delivers His people, and calls them back into close fellowship with Him. They vow to let God be their King once again.

My favorite of these stories are those that include an evil ruler who is shocked into acknowledging the One True God. King Artaxerxes gives Nehemiah and the numerous other captives permission to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and all the supplies needed to do so (Nehemiah 2ff). King Nebuchadnezzer made a decree that anyone who spoke against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego should be cut in pieces and their houses destroyed (Dan. 3:29). King Darius made a decree that all men must tremble and fear before the living and enduring God of Daniel who is a Savior and Deliverer (Dan. 6:26). And there are many others.

Jeremiah spoke the Word of the Lord to Israel when they were in captivity in Babylon: “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:7). My personal resolve in regard to this subject is to replace all my complaining and griping about our current government with prayer to our great God for those who are in authority. My prayer for them and for our nation is that our leaders will be shocked into acknowledging the one true God and that believers will cry out to the Lord in repentance and with an unwavering desire to serve the Lord whole-heartedly.

- Jenny Greene