A fellow former UMC pastor called me tonight.  He is one of the four speakers at the little church I was talking about a few days ago.  I wasn’t home when he called but apparently he wanted to know if I would be willing to switch my July 27th speaking date with his August 10th date.  Yeah, that’s what I said. Today is July 30 and when you read this it will be July 31. Hmm, still trying to figure that one out. I will call him tomorrow.

I was given a flyer today about a prophecy conference on August 2nd. It sounded great when I started to read about the 3 speakers.  There was one talking about historical prophecies, one talking about current events in Israel, Iran, Islam and the EU.  Cool, I said.  Someone sees Islam as a threat to our way of life like I do.  Islam is our enemy, not the EU.  Anyway, I read on and was extremely bummed out.  The third speaker’s topic is “The Guarantee, the rapture.”  Oh boy.  Now it’s called a guarantee?  I really feel very sorry for people that are waiting for Christ’s return to be a partial return to rapture us.  They will be quite sad to discover themselves in the midst of tribulation without a rapture.  Sorry folks, there is no pre-tribulation rapture.  I mean, there aint no pink lemonade.  (sorry, that was an inside joke).

Final random thought for this evening.  Have you ever felt like you were on the brink of discovering what you have been seeking for years? I mean I feel like I am on the brink of discovering my true calling in Christ which I have been searching for years to discover and yet, I feel like I am so far away from it still.  Oh Lord, please just continue to draw me closer to you that I may discover it more.

Have a great last day of July!

In Matthew 5, during the sermon on the mount, Jesus tells us that we are “the Light of the world”.  There have been songs written about Jesus as the light of the world and letting our light shine but have you ever stopped to consider what this means?

Light is a mystery.  We are a mystery to human nature.  We defy the laws of human nature when we become Christians.  People bent on sin start to change and become new creations.  Only God could do this.

Light is studied by many.  We are studied by those that see this change in us and that is why we need to be different, set apart.  Jesus told us that the world would  know we are His followers if we love one another.

Light pierces the darkness.  Can you see in the dark?  It doesn’t mean that things are not there.  The saying “I don’t see, therefore it doesn’t exist” is not a true statement.  If you don’t see it, you just need to shine some light on it.  We as the light of the world cannot be hidden, as a city on a hill cannot be hidden.

Light exposes many things.  Just as shining a bright light on your face can expose blemishes in your skin or can help you see clearer on a dark night, we often are called to expose injustices and items that need correction in society.  If we turn off the light, these items will never be changed.  We should speak up more about social injustices like abortion, homosexuality, government corruption, etc.

Light is a dualistic.  Light has the carrying capacity of a wave and the awesome power of a particle.  We are humans with bodies that are vessels for the power of the Holy Spirit.

You are the light of the world.  Let that light shine today!

How often do we as Christians do or say something without even realizing, that is unworthy of Christ?  Alot of times I find myself saying “What was he thinking?”  Or “What was she trying to say?”  I realize it sounds like I may be being judgmental, but I am talking about the pretty obvious things.  Let me give you an example.  My daughter was invited to a church for VBS this week.  She told us that she has to take at least $2 every day and no more than $15 for the nightly offering.  WHAT?  Since when does the church dictate how much the minimum offering is.  I laughed at first and said “Well I am sure he was joking”.  He was not.  I said “come on, surely he was joking.”  He was not.  I immediately thought that it must be the way that church operates and checked it off the list of possible churches to attend in the future should I not be able to resolve my issues with the United Methodist Business.

When our friend, a lifelong member of that church, came to pick her up tonight, the first thing she said was “Ignore that $2 thing.  I don’t know why he thought that was appropriate.”  THen it clicked. I judged the entire church based on the actions of one man.  That was wrong of me, but we do that often.  Others do too.  They look at us as Christians and say “Well, if a Christian does it, then it must be ok.”  But of course what they fail to realize is that Christians are sinners too.  We are not perfect, we are just redeemed.

But it will make me think twice before I say or do anything and also will make me not too quick to judge a whole group based on the actions of one.

Sorry, I can’t bring myself to say church anymore when it comes to the UMC.  It’s a business more so than a church.  Today I preached at a small church where I started as a part time pastor 9 years ago.  The church has been struggling to put up attendance numbers for many years but it has also been very spiritually strong during that time.  To me, that church is vibrant and sits in a community that needs to hear the gospel message.  That church is needed.

Many times people have tried to close the church.  One former pastor tried and two different district superintendents have hinted at it’s closing, including the sitting DS (District Superintendent).  I have been filling in once a month for nearly a year now and today I was told that they are having a tent revival in the community August 15, 16, and 17.  I was also told that the DS has said this is it.  The church gets people to attend or it closes.  Funny, I thought Jesus’ only requirement was two or more.  I didn’t realize that Jesus demanded a multitude of people on any given Sunday for Him to be there.  Ok, so there have been days when I was the only one there but those days were also in January or February and after a snow storm and even I should not have attended.

My biggest disappointment however is not in that they want to close it.  Though that really urks me too.  I am angry that the UMC will take everything this church has. They claim hold on the building, the property and all assets of the church.  They also will not permit a church to leave the UMC.  Once your church is a United Methodist Business church, it can never leave.  Welcome to the Hotel California everyone.

So if someone, like myself for example, wanted to break away from the UMC and establish a non-denominational church, it would not be permitted.  Oh, we could start a church, but with no funding and no building because once the church is not a UMC church, it’s assets get divided up among churches in the area.  My second UNREAL moment this week.  LOL.

But let’s not go down that road.  Will you join me in praying a prayer I prayed the last time talk of closing came around?  I prayed to God and asked that if HE wanted the church closed, that it would close.  If He wanted the church to remain open that it would remain open.  It remained open.

Maybe it would be best because maybe the few members that do attend there would go to another denomination. I know, that if they close the church without the consent of the membership, I will never again step foot in a United Methodist Business.

In order to have a meaningful realationship with God, you must know yourself, know Christ and know yourself in Christ.  Knowledge is a very powerful and necessary tool.  When speaking of the house of Israel, God said in Hosea that “my people perish for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6).

By knowing yourself, I mean you must know that you are a sinner. If anyone says that they do not sin, they are without knowledge of themself.  Everyone sins and falls short of God’s calling for us.

Secondly, you must know God.  To know God is to know love because God is love (1 John 4).  God’s love for us is beyond our comprehension and measure.  God’s love is strong.  So incredibly strong that it is the only thing that can conquer sin.  God’s love is so great that He sent His only son to die for us at the right time while we were siners.

Third you must know yourself in Christ. We are all now children of God through our faith in Jesus Christ.  If God is love and we are sinners, the two are like oil and water.  But God’s love is stronger than our sinfulness and therefore we too can be like God and love others.  Our faith changes us so that we can become united in Christ with one another and with God.

You must have all three.   A tripod cannot stand on two legs and neither can we survive without knowing ourselves, knowing Christ, and knowing ourselves in Christ.

I can’t beleive it.  I just can’t believe the nerve of some people.  Earlier this week I cut the grass for someone who was out of town. I don’t know where his property line is so I guessed. I figured i went a little into the neighbor’s yard and figured it was ok.  I do that with my own property and my neighbor sometimes reciprocates.  Well, apparently I missed the mark a bit.  The neighbor cut her grass and now there is a one lawnmower’s worth strip of uncut grass growing between the properties.   Apparently, I didn’t go far enough.  If I was not a Christian, I would probaby take my riding lawn mower down there and blow the grass into her yard.  But of course I won’t do that.  The person I cut the grass for will be back in town tomorrow. I can’t wait to hear his reaction. 

Is it so hard to do a little something for people once in a while?  I don’t know if I will ever understand this one.  Unreal.

I am a geek. I admit it.  I love the Borg episodes from Star Trek TNG.  They are awesome and forever will be in the realm of sci fi hall of fame entities in my book.  The saying resistance is futile has become a common phrase in our society today.  Well, ok, at least among my computer geek friends.  Add in a few lines from Monty Python’s Holy Grail movie and you can hang with us on any given day.  Pretty sick, I know.

Anyway, resistance can be a great thing.  If you resist temptation and sinful desires, it makes you stronger.  If you give into the desires of the flesh, you become a drone to sin and it is no longer you who is thinking or living, but the sin living in you.  When you crucify the flesh, it is christ that lives within you.

I don’t really recognize it, but it is mine.  I am talking about the vehicle that I have owned for almost 9 years now and have been driving as my primary vehicle for the last 3.  It started out with 47 thousand miles in October 1999.  It was 2 years old. (now that I think about it, that’s a lot of miles for just two years) It was the family minivan.  It made trips to Tennessee and Cincinnati among several trips to the store and dairy queen too.  It went to ball games and picnics and picked kids up from school.  But in 2005, it became my work car and well, it hasn’t been the same since.  It really took a dive at that point.  I think at one point the outside trash container was cleaner than my van.  Ok, maybe not that bad, but it was bad.

So why am  telling you this? Because I cleaned it tonight.  No, not for the first time.  But I cleaned it for the first time in a long time.  A very long time.  I don’t even recognize it now.  But isn’t it like that with us too?  I remember the reaction my old college roommate had when I told him I was a part-time pastor.  He laughed and asked what the punchline was.  He couldn’t imagine that the guy that used to act like he was David Coverdale singing “In The Still Of The Night”  because he had a few too many was actually a pastor.

When we bought the minivan, we had a plan for it and we cared for it, but I let it fall apart.  Jesus, when He purchased us with His blood, had a plan for us but we often let ourselves go.  Then He takes us and cleans us up so that to some, we are no longer recognizable.  I am certainly not the young kid I was in college, but it is not because of age and maturity that I changed.  It is because God changed me on the inside and cleaned me up.

By the way, if anyone who is local to me is interested in purchasing a now clean 1997 Plymouth Grand Voyager with 164,000 miles for a really great low price, contact me.  God won’t sell me, but I am selling my van.  It still runs great but I want to sell it so I can buy a Jeep (Which I promise to keep clean)

Do you belong to a church that does church well?  Let me explain.  There are many churches these days that are nothing more than social clubs carrying the name of a church.  There are card playing clubs, motorcycle clubs, kid based activity clubs like 4H, etc.  When I was young, I tried to start a shark club.  It was a club where we would study sharks.  It never got off the ground and no, not because everyone was bit, but because I lost interest. I was six years old and moved on to something else.

Anyway, too many churches Do Church well.  They meet the needs of members in the church, they have fellowship dinners, they have little gatherings on Sunday mornings after the worship service, they may meet for Bible Study during the week or even a worship service.  But few, if any, try to get others to join them for purposes other than being part of the club.  I am not making a generalization about all churches. I have seen a few churches like this though.  They won’t take that step out of the boat and spend some of the massive amounts of money they have amassed and try to bring people to Christ or feed the hungry or just generally meet the needs of the people in their community.

Like I said, they often will meet the needs of church members quite well.  But will look past the neighbor that lives 100 yards away and is trying to warm himself with 3 blankets and a few candles because he can’t afford heating oil.  Or they will have a fellowship luncheon, throw away the leftovers and forget about the single mother with 3 children that lives across the street and is feeding her children powered milk and moldy bread because it is still two days until the next welfare check comes.
I am not trying to come down on the man that can’t heat his home or the mother who doesn’t have a job.  I am coming down on those that won’t seek to make a change in these people’s lives.  It happens too often in America.  We are happy in our little churches and wonder why attendance is dropping or the world seems to be forsaking Christ when it is us, who were called to make a difference, that are forsaking our calling.

I just love warm summer mornings.  I am not sure what the weather is like where you are.  If you are near the Carolinas, you may not agree that this morning is beautiful.  But don’t worry, Cristobal will not become a hurricane and hit you, he will just rain on you.  If you are in Anarctica, it may be cold.  If you are in Texas or California, it may be too hot.  But if you live in the mid-west, what a beautiful morning it is already.

It reminds me of the song, “This Is The Day”  That’s a wonderful praise song to remind us that each and every day is the day that God has made for us and we should rejoice no matter what the weather.  Tomorrow, it is likely to rain here but I will wake up saying “This is the day, This is the day, That the Lord has made, That the Lord has made”  Won’t you rejoice with me and be glad in it too?