I heard a story used as an illustration - don't know if it's true or not but it gets the point across. A family was having a large party to celebrate the christening of their baby. The baby was asleep on the bed and as the guests arrived coats were placed on the bed. During the party someone inquired about the baby - the guest of honor. When the parents went to check on their child - sadly the coats had been piled on the baby and it had suffocated.
Not a real cheery, heartwarming story! When it comes to Christmas I think we can be just as guilty of celebrating the event and forgetting the person we are actually celebrating. We can get so busy with all the details, parties, presents and such that we forget to include the guest of honor. We fail to focus our attention, love and worship on Him. During all the rush and hub-bub of the season - don't forget about the baby.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Silver Linings
They say every cloud has a silver lining. I don't know that much about clouds, but I do know that God is faithful in spite of our difficulties and trials in life. My family has had a couple very clear examples of that in recent days.
Three days before we left on vacation the sump pump in our basement stopped working for a while and we got water in our basement. The carpet got soaked and we had to empty the basement (with the help of some wonderful guys) and then have a company come in to remove the padding under the carpet, suck out all the water they could, dry the carpet and then reinstall and clean it. It was and still is a mess as well as being a real pain. What we are so thankful for is that it did not happen while we were on vacation. We could have lost everything in the basement as well as had major damage to the walls, etc.
The second example happened while we were on vacation. My daughter Elizabeth had to have an emergency appendectomy. It was not a pleasant thing for any of us, especially being away from home. The provision of God was that we were not traveling and that we had incredible support. It was near the end of our vacation and if we had already been on the road it would have been so much more difficult. As it was, we were in an area we were familiar with, knew where the hospital was and had friends there who opened up their home for us to stay with them and who were able to stay with Elizabeth in the hospital while we packed up and checked out of the cabin we had been staying in. My parents were also there with us and were able to watch our two sons so my wife and I could be with Elizabeth.
Jesus told us that in this world we will have trouble, but he also promised he would always be with us and provide for us. I am so thankful for his presence and provision. He doesn't always remove the storm clouds, sometimes we have to go right through them - but he is right there with us! Thank you, God, for your blessings and help in spite of our difficult circumstances the past few weeks. "How great is our God!"
Three days before we left on vacation the sump pump in our basement stopped working for a while and we got water in our basement. The carpet got soaked and we had to empty the basement (with the help of some wonderful guys) and then have a company come in to remove the padding under the carpet, suck out all the water they could, dry the carpet and then reinstall and clean it. It was and still is a mess as well as being a real pain. What we are so thankful for is that it did not happen while we were on vacation. We could have lost everything in the basement as well as had major damage to the walls, etc.
The second example happened while we were on vacation. My daughter Elizabeth had to have an emergency appendectomy. It was not a pleasant thing for any of us, especially being away from home. The provision of God was that we were not traveling and that we had incredible support. It was near the end of our vacation and if we had already been on the road it would have been so much more difficult. As it was, we were in an area we were familiar with, knew where the hospital was and had friends there who opened up their home for us to stay with them and who were able to stay with Elizabeth in the hospital while we packed up and checked out of the cabin we had been staying in. My parents were also there with us and were able to watch our two sons so my wife and I could be with Elizabeth.
Jesus told us that in this world we will have trouble, but he also promised he would always be with us and provide for us. I am so thankful for his presence and provision. He doesn't always remove the storm clouds, sometimes we have to go right through them - but he is right there with us! Thank you, God, for your blessings and help in spite of our difficult circumstances the past few weeks. "How great is our God!"
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Dropping the Baton
OK, so I know the Olympics are over (I can get some sleep again!) but one final thought keeps coming to me. There were several high profile Track & Field relay races in which the batons were dropped thus disqualifying the entire team from advancing to the finals or placing in a final.
The thing is this - not only did the ones who dropped the batons lose out on a medal, but the entire team lost out. They did not just hurt themselves, they hurt everyone else on their team. The individuals and teams had been training for years and in a split-second all their work was in vain.
What teams are we on? Our families, work, church, specific ministries? Who do we hurt when we drop the baton? When we don't do our part? When we don't come through? When we don't do what we say we will do?
God, please help us to do our part - to follow through and finish well. Don't let my team fail because of me. Help our team to accomplish all that you have given us to do.
The thing is this - not only did the ones who dropped the batons lose out on a medal, but the entire team lost out. They did not just hurt themselves, they hurt everyone else on their team. The individuals and teams had been training for years and in a split-second all their work was in vain.
What teams are we on? Our families, work, church, specific ministries? Who do we hurt when we drop the baton? When we don't do our part? When we don't come through? When we don't do what we say we will do?
God, please help us to do our part - to follow through and finish well. Don't let my team fail because of me. Help our team to accomplish all that you have given us to do.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Extraordinary
Last night I watched Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak win the 4x100m free in world record time. They beat the previous world record by 4 seconds - an incredibly long time considering they beat the French team by .08 of a second. Jason Lezak was the anchor and threw down the fastest split of all time, 46.06. (Michael Phelps opening leg was 47.51 and Eamon Sullivan of Australia touched ahead of him, in 47.24 -- a new world record in the 100m. Only the first leg is eligible for world records.) They are already calling this the greatest race of all time.
In talking about the last lap of the race -- "I'm not going to lie", Lezak said, "When I flipped at the 50 and I still saw how far ahead he (Bernard from France) was, and he was the world-record holder 'til about two minutes before that, when Sullivan led off with the world record, I thought, it really crossed my mind for a split second, there's no way.
"Then I changed. I said, you know what, that's ridiculous. This is the Olympics. I'm here for these guys. I'm here for the United States of America. It's more than -- I don't care how bad it hurts, or whatever, I'm just going to go out there and hit it.
"Honestly, in like 5 seconds, I was thinking all these things -- you know, just got like a super charge and took it from there. It was unreal."
Lezak was behind the whole last leg until the very end. Bernard tightened up some which gave Jason the slight window of opportunity to touch a split second ahead of him in the closest finish in the event in Olympic history. After the race, Lezak said "People always step up and do things out of the ordinary at the Olympics."
That got me to thinking about pastor's sermon yesterday. He spoke about taking wise risks and how gymnasts at the Olympics have to take a risk in doing a higher degree of difficulty in order to be able to get gold. If they play it safe, there's no way they can get enough points to win. If they don't risk big, they can't win big.
Pastor also talked about how the great "heroes" of the bible were not supernaturally gifted. They were ordinary people who did extraordinary things. He challenged us to take wise risks and do great things for God.
One thing that struck me about Jason Lezak is that he had prepared ahead of time. He has been training for years and was in peak physical condition. He still did something beyond himself, but if he had not been prepared, he could not have done the seemingly impossible.
Are we preparing daily for the risks God will ask us to take, so that when the time comes we can do the impossible with God's help? Are we ready to raise the dead, heal the sick and win our world for Christ?
In his article about this race, Alan Abrahamson ended it by saying "At the Olympics, people step up and do extraordinary things." In life, are we as Christians ready to step up and do extraordinary things for God?
In talking about the last lap of the race -- "I'm not going to lie", Lezak said, "When I flipped at the 50 and I still saw how far ahead he (Bernard from France) was, and he was the world-record holder 'til about two minutes before that, when Sullivan led off with the world record, I thought, it really crossed my mind for a split second, there's no way.
"Then I changed. I said, you know what, that's ridiculous. This is the Olympics. I'm here for these guys. I'm here for the United States of America. It's more than -- I don't care how bad it hurts, or whatever, I'm just going to go out there and hit it.
"Honestly, in like 5 seconds, I was thinking all these things -- you know, just got like a super charge and took it from there. It was unreal."
Lezak was behind the whole last leg until the very end. Bernard tightened up some which gave Jason the slight window of opportunity to touch a split second ahead of him in the closest finish in the event in Olympic history. After the race, Lezak said "People always step up and do things out of the ordinary at the Olympics."
That got me to thinking about pastor's sermon yesterday. He spoke about taking wise risks and how gymnasts at the Olympics have to take a risk in doing a higher degree of difficulty in order to be able to get gold. If they play it safe, there's no way they can get enough points to win. If they don't risk big, they can't win big.
Pastor also talked about how the great "heroes" of the bible were not supernaturally gifted. They were ordinary people who did extraordinary things. He challenged us to take wise risks and do great things for God.
One thing that struck me about Jason Lezak is that he had prepared ahead of time. He has been training for years and was in peak physical condition. He still did something beyond himself, but if he had not been prepared, he could not have done the seemingly impossible.
Are we preparing daily for the risks God will ask us to take, so that when the time comes we can do the impossible with God's help? Are we ready to raise the dead, heal the sick and win our world for Christ?
In his article about this race, Alan Abrahamson ended it by saying "At the Olympics, people step up and do extraordinary things." In life, are we as Christians ready to step up and do extraordinary things for God?
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Worshipping Worship?
Each week I send out an email newsletter to the Worship & Fine Arts Department here at First Assembly. I always end it with a quote on worship. I think we need to be reminded often what true worship is and to evaluate frequently what or whom we're worshipping and if we're worshipping according to biblical standards. I came across the following quote this week and thought it was very thought provoking.
Steve Bradbury - "It is far too easy, within the current upsurge of creative input in the realm of worship, to find ourselves chasing spiritual or aesthetic experiences, as if the highest achievement of our whole pilgrimage on earth was to enter some kind of praise-induced ecstasy. I wonder sometimes whether it is worship we worship, whether what we experience in music and song is actually our primary motivation, rather than honouring God. Fundamentally, authentic worship is about pursuing that which pleases God, not us. It is about lives lived in service to God and neighbour, lives which are 'living sacrifices', which are engaged in God's work in the world."
I'm all for having creative, relevant worship times in our services. But we must never lose sight of what worship really is. The purpose of true worship is to please and honor God, not ourselves. It is to live our lives everyday in a way that brings glory to him. We must bow our hearts before him - surrendering everything to him.
I want people to experience the manifest presence of God and that is more than just feeling good or experiencing a musical high. It is a life changing experience that only comes when we truly worship and seek him above all else. It comes from seeking his face, not the thrills.
It's easy to forget that it's not about us - it's about him. Ask yourself this question - am I worshipping God or my worship of God?
Steve Bradbury - "It is far too easy, within the current upsurge of creative input in the realm of worship, to find ourselves chasing spiritual or aesthetic experiences, as if the highest achievement of our whole pilgrimage on earth was to enter some kind of praise-induced ecstasy. I wonder sometimes whether it is worship we worship, whether what we experience in music and song is actually our primary motivation, rather than honouring God. Fundamentally, authentic worship is about pursuing that which pleases God, not us. It is about lives lived in service to God and neighbour, lives which are 'living sacrifices', which are engaged in God's work in the world."
I'm all for having creative, relevant worship times in our services. But we must never lose sight of what worship really is. The purpose of true worship is to please and honor God, not ourselves. It is to live our lives everyday in a way that brings glory to him. We must bow our hearts before him - surrendering everything to him.
I want people to experience the manifest presence of God and that is more than just feeling good or experiencing a musical high. It is a life changing experience that only comes when we truly worship and seek him above all else. It comes from seeking his face, not the thrills.
It's easy to forget that it's not about us - it's about him. Ask yourself this question - am I worshipping God or my worship of God?
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Here Goes Nothing
I wonder sometimes where phrases like "here goes nothing" and "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" come from. They both seem relevant today as I hesitantly enter the blogosphere. If you read Pastor Adam's blogs this week, I want you to know Pastor Mike was not the only one dragging his feet in joining the bloghood here at First Assembly (he was just the most vocal).
So, today is the day I post my first blog and it also happens to be my 9th wedding anniversary. (I love you Debbie!) I'm sure I will enjoy blogging once I do it more (at least as much as being skinned alive and dipped in alcohol - just kidding). Hopefully we don't have to also get into artlogs, photoblogs, sketchblogs, vlogs, linklogs, tumblelogs and MP3blogs, not to mention political blogs, travel blogs, fashion blogs, education blogs, etc. I'll just take it slow and learn as I go. My music professor in college always said "if you stop growing you die". Learning to blog doesn't sound so bad compared to the alternative!
Just warning you all - the Olympics start on 8.8.08 and I am an olympics junkie. I'm sure my future blogs will include lessons learned from what happens in Beijing.
First blogging. What's next? Facebook?!?
So, today is the day I post my first blog and it also happens to be my 9th wedding anniversary. (I love you Debbie!) I'm sure I will enjoy blogging once I do it more (at least as much as being skinned alive and dipped in alcohol - just kidding). Hopefully we don't have to also get into artlogs, photoblogs, sketchblogs, vlogs, linklogs, tumblelogs and MP3blogs, not to mention political blogs, travel blogs, fashion blogs, education blogs, etc. I'll just take it slow and learn as I go. My music professor in college always said "if you stop growing you die". Learning to blog doesn't sound so bad compared to the alternative!
Just warning you all - the Olympics start on 8.8.08 and I am an olympics junkie. I'm sure my future blogs will include lessons learned from what happens in Beijing.
First blogging. What's next? Facebook?!?
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