NFL & MLB

Before the season started I was able to figure out who would be in playoffs and who would be in the Superbowl. So did many of the commentators who get paid to drone on about such things. 

The Chargers. What is going on? So much talent and so few wins. It goes to show you that talent doesn't win games, teams do. I am still hoping. I will be watching this Sunday.

What would I do without the Padres? Even though I can't see any of their games due to some MLB short sightedness (nice word for stupidity which is a word I wouldn't use in a public forum) they are doing great. Sharing the top NL West and leading the wild card race. Winning isn't everything but it does beat losing. That principle is only applicable to professional sport just in case you thought I had forgotten what JEsus said about losing.

Go Padres

Funny Church Video - Watch at your own risk

Impressions of a New Church

Beginning a new (to me) work of the Lord with a new (to me) church has not been a common event in my life. I think that is a good thing but it's all I have got.

However I have rarely taken to time to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to reflect on the new experience as it is happening. Well, here goes.

Moving from one church to another requires a physical move which means you have to secure the cooperation of your wife. In this case I couldn't have had a better partner in relocation than Julie. Although her health does slow her down she does a great job of getting households relocated. We haven't always agreed on move but this time God convicted us both at the same time. This is such a blessing. You know it is.

Besides this greatly need logistical enterprise in the physical realm there is a greatly need enterprise in the spiritual realm. The church I was leaving were so kind and supportive of us in the transition. The El Cajon Blvd Church of Christ (ECB) showed a lot of love to Julie and I while we ministered with them but showed us as much love as we left them. I have never moved from a church where I was showed so much love and consideration. I can't mention everyone but I do want to mention Chris Delgado and Garey Castle, the elders of that church, who are two of the most godly men I have known. Our churches could do with a lot more brothers as these two. 

As a preacher your spiritual life is so intertwined with your work life that it is almost impossible to separate the two. You can and you need to, but it is difficult. It is so much better when the church is a source of spiritual encouragement and inspiration. God blessed us with such a church in ECB.

The church we have moved to, the Glendale Church of Christ, in California has welcomed us with open arms. I don't just mean that they have been friendly and "nice" to us. I mean that they have opened up their lives to us in so many ways. Admittedly we did know many of them from before but their I am still blown away by their extravagant love for us. Some of them are still trying to figure out this crazy Australian but they are doing so with a lot of love and patience.

I also mean that they are opening up their lives for change as God touches their hearts through His Word, the Holy Spirit and opportunities. So many of them are eager to once again put their shoulder to the wheel. Faith with eagerness. Now, that is a healthy church. And do you know what happens to healthy churches? They grow. They can't help but grow. 

Don't think it has all been plain sailing. Satan (he who must be named) is attacking us. He is working hard on the weak of the flock but the strong will not let him take them. He is trying to confuse us with his subtle deceptions but with the clarity of God's word and true faith in Jesus we will resist him and he will flee.

God is good. All the time. And all the time, God is good.

Where Do You Go When You Hurt?

Many think the church is a group of good people who have all got their act together or who at least try very hard to give that impression. I remember once talking with a sister in the church who was very upset with the bad behavior of one of the other members. After a while it occurred to me that her vision of the church was a little skewed. So I said to her, “The church is full of sinners”. She replied in almost an indignant tone. “Well, I’m just starting to figure that out!”.

To many, church is where you put on your best face. You put on those masks we have and we make out to everyone that we are “fine”. We don’t want to appear to be weak or troubled or struggling with a sin. Where did we get such a distorted view of Christ’s church? I don’t know, but it certainly is not the Bible.

God says, “all have sinned” Rom 3:23. The only difference between Christians and those outside of Christ is that the Christian’s sins have been forgiven and even that wasn’t because we deserved it or paid for it. “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,” Titus 3:5.

The church is like a hospital. It is full of sick people who are getting better but they don’t do themselves any favors by pretending that they are not sick. Look at the founding members of the Corinthian church (1 Cor 6:9-11). We are all sinners. We are not bragging about it or falling into an irresponsible view of sin (Romans 6:1). But each one of us has our struggles and the church is here so we can struggle together. God says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Gal 6:2. Did you catch that? How do we fulfill the law of Christ? Of all the things that the Holy Spirit could have chosen (teach the truth, worship correctly, evangelize the world etc.) He chose our care for each other. That should tell us something? But, how do we do this?

Here are two things that I believe will help.
1. Stop hiding your sin and confess it to a brother or sister and get them to help you. I know that sounds radical for today’s church but it was normal behavior in the first century church (James 5:16, 1 John 1:9).
2. Share your struggles and get people praying for you (1 Thess 5:25, Rom 15:30, Eph 6:19-20). If it was good enough for Paul, it is good enough for us.

So, where do you go when you hurt? You go to church. The church is family. And we are getting better at doing that. We are changing from an institution into a family and we can help. It is such a tragedy when people who are hurting think that church is the last place they should. This isn’t a country club. It is a hospital in a war zone and it needs to become a safe place of healing. That’s God’s plan for his church. “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” 1 Cor 12:26.
Reach out today and help someone who is suffering.

New Beginnings

Don't you just love new beginnings? I do. It is challenging but it motivates me like little else.

As you may know I am beginning a new ministry with the Glendale Church of Christ in the Los Angeles area. This is Sunday is my first Sunday preaching as their preacher. I am filled with questions.

What is God going to do this time with me? What is God going to do with His Church? What is His Church going to do with their God? Who will God send on Sunday as a "finding" answer to their "seeking" prayers. 

God gives us all opportunities to serve Him in lots of different ways. He has called me to preach and I have a great heart to do so. I want so much for Him to be glorified by an every increasing band of brothers and sisters. I don't know how He is going to do it but I do have this abiding belief that He is going to do it. He is God. He does the impossible every day and we still call it impossible.

See you Sunday in body or in spirit. 

Too Busy to be Busy

I am reading Phillip Yancey's book, Prayer Does It Make a Difference, and a paragraph hit me. "Increasingly, time pressure crowd out the leisurely pace that prayer seems to require. Communication with other people keeps getting shorter and more cryptic: text messages, email, instant messaging. We have less and less time for conversation, let alone contemplation. We have the constance sensation of not enough not enough time, not enough rest, not enough exercise, not enough leisure. Where does God fit into a life that already seems behind schedule?"

It seems we are too busy to be busy. We have let our lives get so congested or convoluted that we don't have time to take the time to really live. Does it seem that way to you? Is that why Jesus often went away from the crowds rather than towards them?

What are some ways of escape this "not enough" mentality? Is it a matter of priorities? Do we always seem to have time to watch that one hour TV program we love and not enough time to focus on God in prayer for just a few minutes. 

The early church, by their own testimony, was "devoted to prayer". We used to sing of the "sweet hour of prayer". Be honest, when was the last time you took an hour to prayer?According to research over 90 percent of Americans claim to pray all the time. Am I just part of the 10 percent?