Silly Talk 2 Timothy 2:23

"Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights." 2 Timothy 2:23 NLT

So this week I got engaged into a conversation that turned into a lot more than it should have. It involved “foolish and ignorant ^speculations” that I knew would “ ^produce ^quarrels.” This took place through the internet so it was a typed public conversation. It all began with a discussion about a video of a class of kindergarten kids singing a song that they were taught in school about how great our president is. The song they were singing was set to the tune of Jesus loves the little children but was replaced with the name of Barack Hussein Obama instead of Jesus. The original point of the post was that there are many people that are making our president out to be like God and how we disagreed with that idea. The point we were discussing was that God and God alone should be praised and it turned into a political debate about policies concerning the poor in which political parties were defended. I knew half way through the dialogue that I should just have dropped it because I knew it was going in the wrong direction and that there would be nothing positive that would come from it. . I thought it, my wife thought it and even told me, “just let it go it’s pointless and someone is just trying to get you frustrated” but I did not listen to myself or to her and I continued to have a dialogue that was pointless and indeed stupid. The problem was I felt personally attacked and when I do I always feel as if I need to defend myself. I was called an arrogant worm, hypocrite and a heathen and my salvation was questioned just because I did not agree with a political party policy. So instead of refusing to engage I defended my character. The question that I have thought about since this conversation is, does it really matter what people think about me? And another is, why do I always feel the need to defend myself? I have concluded to the first question. The answer is usually no and in this case it was a definite no. It shouldn’t have mattered one bit to me what this person thought of me or what he called me. I should have just left it alone at that point because I knew that there would be no benefit to the ongoing conversation except for Christianity to look foolish. The answer to the second question is simple but I think we struggle with it, God is our defender and we don’t always have to defend ourselves. The fact is all that matters is that God knows our hearts and it doesn’t matter what others might say or think. What a great reminder for me to, “refuse foolish and ignorant ^speculations, knowing that they ^produce ^quarrels.^” 2 Tim 2:23

Lightning Flash-Matthew 24:27

Last night a loud thunder and lightning storm woke me up. The flashes of lightning seemed brighter than normal. As I laid there I began to think about the verse, Matthew 24:27, "For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” As I lay there in bed, darkness surrounded me and then in an instant the room lit up with a strike of lightning. I thought, imagine if the next time the lightning struck the darkness disappeared and there Jesus stood looking at me. As I lay there that thought spurred me in to prayer. I began to pray for some family members that are on my heart, I began to pray for some people in my church, I began to pray for some friends back In Michigan and finally I began to pray for myself. I began to talk to God about some areas in my life that I have been struggling with and I began to confess those sins to Him. And my thoughts went back to our evening service where we talked about the subject of judgment and began to pray that people would began to wake up to the reality of their sin. I began to pray that people would get ready for the second coming of Jesus Christ by getting real about their sinfulness. This topic of judgment is a hot topic these days and it is interesting to me that everybody has a take on it. Many people have sincere beliefs but can be sincerely wrong and many people are just sincerely wrong when it comes to this subject. Many people have adopted this motto, “Only God can judge me.” Well that is a true and RIGHT statement that people shouldn’t be proclaiming it lightly BECAUSE God does and will do this. The bible is clear~ ‘And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,’ Hebrews 9:27. See people like to say well only God can judge me and they say it in a way as if God is going to excuse them for their sinful lives. People need to understand God is a Holy And Just God that will judge people according to HIS Standard. And that standard is not you and it is not I, it is Jesus Christ! See judgment isn’t a matter of sin, we are all sinners that will continue to sin. Judgment takes place when we fail to acknowledge sin as sin and this is the reason why people like to say that we aren’t to judge because they don’t want their lifestyles, their thoughts and their actions to be called for what it is-sin. This is why it is so important for people to realize when they claim Christianity they need to make sure that they are really serious about acknowledging and fighting sin in their lives. Sin is so serious and so much of a problem between us and God He had His Son die on a cross. I often wonder how people can think that God would not judge people that make His sons sacerfice seem unnecessary by not acknowledging that their sin is wrong. Especially when He paid such a price for us to get forgiveness. I am no better or no worse to God than the person sitting in jail waiting to be tried for murder. I am no better than any one you reading this. The only thing that will spare me from facing the judgment of God will be the fact that I have acknowledged there are certain aspects of my life that is not right and I am making war on them and relying on God to help to overcome them. It is my prayer that people who profess Jesus Christ as their Savior will examine their lives see what is sin and that they will admit that it is sin. After all just as lighting comes so will the King of King's and Lord of Lord's

I Got Your Back-I Corinthians 12:12-13

Tuesday, I attended my first Lunch, Learn and Lean. It is a group of area pastors that meet once a month to encourage and build each other up. Yesterday, one of the pastors shared how a statement that was made by a fellow pastor challenged him. That statement was “I Got Your Back.” The pastor that made this statement has a son in the army rangers and this is why he said it. He told us how his son shared with him that the other men in his ranger platoon rarely ever go anywhere alone. When they are on base they are always working together, when they leave the base you rarely hear on any of them going somewhere alone. Basically because they have become this close-knit family, if you will, that always has each other’s back. We talked about that Tuesday and we talked a lot about that is the way we should be as a church. We should be a body of people that has each other’s back. You know, that makes a lot of sense. And it even made more sense to me Wednesday morning. I woke up and my day was going as all other days go. Les and I woke up the kids and were getting them ready for school. At 7:50 the phone rang and my wife answered and said it for me. I got on the phone and a lady said, “I didn’t know whom to call. I just woke up this morning and I think my husband is dead, I don’t know what to do!” I, at this point, thought of Tuesday, “ I got your back!” So I said,” I’ll be right there.” And so I have spent most of Wednesday morning with this precious lady that is now facing life after 50 years of marriage. I will spend as much time as possible with her in the next week and days after that just being there for her as much as I can. We have been clearly taught from the bible that we are a body, I Corinthians 12:12-13 says, “For even ?as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, ?so also is Christ.13 For ?by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether ?Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to ?drink of one Spirit.” We are a body of Christ so we are all connected to one another. I wonder how many Christians feel that way though. I wonder how many feel as if they are really connected to the body. I wonder how many feel as if someone has their back. I wonder how many have this question, when it really comes down to it, would someone be there for me when I really need it. We are living in uncertain times, times in which many people are struggling with all kinds of things. Churches are filled with all kinds of people that are hurting and are in need of knowing that someone has their back. So remember we are a body and we are all connected, so look for people that need your encouragement today.