Proclaiming The Goodness Of God

I love You Lord
Oh Your mercy never fails me
All my days
I’ve been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
I will sing of the goodness of God

All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God

I love Your voice
You have led me through the fire
In darkest nights

You are close like no other
I’ve known You as a father

I’ve known You as a friend

I have lived in the goodness of God

Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me

Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me

With my life laid down,
I’m surrendered now, I give You everything

Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me

Copyright © 2020 Bethel Music-All Rights Reserved 

"What This Church Needs is a Good 5-cent Cigar."

community  

^{[ kuh-myoo-ni-tee ]}: 

a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists

The plan was pretty simple: Sell a successful restaurant (and the adjacent property that housed twenty tenants of a variety of businesses) to an investor who would tear down the properties and build a senior high rise that would overlook the Mississippi River.

In an effort to accommodate the sale, the twenty businesses that occupied the site were given notice that they would need to vacate and relocate elsewhere.

The tenants responded by securing new locations, packing up, and re-establishing their businesses in new locations with the hopes that their loyal patrons would follow them.

Within a few months all of the businesses found new locations and started once again to establish roots. Notices were sent out and patrons such as Cathy and I continued to support their favorite business by following them over to their new locations.

Or I should say most clients followed the businesses to their new location.

One of the businesses that needed to relocate was a cigar and pipe tobacconist store. Over the past forty years it has been recognized as one of the premier spots for aficionados and provided its patrons with a space both indoors and outside to satisfy their passion for enjoying cigars and pipe tobacco.

 

In the past, I have stopped in the shop to look through their ever-growing pile of cigar boxes to see if any of them would meet my need for manufacturing my next cigar box guitar.

I should note that although I tend to prefer to use antiques cigar boxes to build my cigar box guitars, the shop was a great place to search for a box that would inspire me. I also liked the sense of community that I observed and the hospitality shown to me, even though I was only (occasionally) purchasing a used cigar box.

In time, the shop relocated to another city, but they left behind a bunch of displaced patrons who continued to gather in the evenings to sit outside of the (closed) shop to smoke their cigars and pipes like they had for many years. Almost every week for the past eighteen months I would see this group of patrons sitting outside in the evenings no matter what month of the year it was.

Just this week, while driving past the site in the evening, I saw a group of them gathered as though the shop had never moved.

Now, I'm relatively certain that these patrons still purchase their tobacco from the shop in the new location which is only ten minutes away. But their need to gather seems to far outweigh the fact that the temperatures are dropping as the season is transitioning into winter (as they did last winter when these people sat outside).

My observation is that the need for community is stronger than we may realize and in many respects is part of the answer to what ails us.

For many years, some pastors and churches have thought that the reason that people didn't attend was due to a lack of interest. I disagree and submit that perhaps the visitors didn't return because they didn't find what they were really looking for; community.

In fact, when the church was established, the members gathered “daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart…” (Acts 2:46)

The problem is, the church doesn’t have a corner on the market for community.

Community is found in many other venues besides the church such as bars, beer leagues (bowling, softball, hockey, etc.), hunting clubs, coffee shops, support groups, barn raising, sewing bees, potluck dinners, sporting events, and many other venues. It can even be found in dark places such as sharing a needle for drugs or sultry affections under a bridge. 

These patrons of the (former) cigar shop found each other and a place to gather and they appear to have no plans on leaving until the bulldozers raze the buildings and they are forced to find a new place to gather.

If the church would capitalize on this, I know of at least ten people who would relocate on their property.

No, I'm not suggesting that churches build a smoking lounge.

I'm merely suggesting that if community is what attracts people to gather, then that might be part of the formula to keep them in church.

Then, and only then will the main message (the Gospel) be heard by individuals in which relational equity has been established through meeting their need for community.

Perhaps it is time to get back to our roots and once again be the church in which others can find gladness and simplicity of heart through community.

Tommy O's Guitars can be found on Facebook

Control Z

The year was nineteen eighty something and my father-in-law was showing me just how easy it was to use a Commodore 64 Computer. He was convinced that soon computers would be in every home in America.

Personally, I failed to see what the appeal was since it was DOS-based and took way too long to do anything useful. I remember spending an hour or so using command strokes and codes in order to write a program that would show a rocket taking off for about five seconds. That was an hour of my life that I will never get back.

Even when Apple came out, the only usefulness I saw was for writing; even though there were only a few fonts and poor graphics and limited storage.

Printing the finished piece was something that was another lesson in patience as dot-matrix took three minutes to print a single side. Of course back then we were thoroughly impressed by the speed and because we could use a "normal" sheet of paper; including colored paper!

Today, not only are there computers in every home in America, but we can take them anywhere we want because they are small enough for us to carry in our pockets.

And, they come fully loaded to do a variety of daily tasks that include writing, calculating, reading, spelling, translating, researching, budgeting, banking, writing, taking photos, and sending emails. If we lose them they even have a program built in to help us find the lost item.

 

We use them for entertainment to watch movies, television, play games and read books. Do people even read books anymore?

We use them for seeking out the latest recipe to make a last minute dish or meal. They store, record, post, print, and generally make life as we know it much easier. Not less busy; just easier.

One of the carryovers from DOS programming that I still use is the "command" key. One simply pushes the command button along with "C" and it will copy; use it along with "V" and it will paste whatever it was that you copied. To print, one simply hits Command-P and instantly, a printer will print whatever it is on that is on your screen; even from your phone.

 

My favorite button is Command -Z. This is useful when we mess up; all we have to do is tell our computers: Command Z, and it will undo whatever mess we just created. Instantly, our troubles are over and we go back to where we were before the mistake.

One of the places this doesn't work is when you are using Microsoft Project; then you are in trouble. For some reason the programmers wrote the program so that if you delete something, it’s gone forever. Perhaps this is the real revenge of the nerds.

Another place this doesn't work is when you are living life off the computer.

Many times I wished that I had a Command-Z button to push when I was hand writing a letter or writing a note on a birthday card.

Many times I wished that I had a Command-Z button to push when I have filled out a form wrong, or written the wrong name, or spelled something wrong.

Many times I wished that I had a Command-Z button to push when I said or did something that I shouldn’t have done or said.

Many times I wished that I had a Command-Z button to push to go back to before I had messed up my life.

There is a Command-Z button, so to speak, that will wipe out the wrongs that you have done…and His Name is Jesus.

How do you “push the button” so that your wrongs (sins) will be wiped away?

The Bible tells us that we need to repent (which means to think differently or to reconsider):

“Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.” (Acts 3:19 NLT)

The Bible tells us:

“When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14 Message Version)

NOTE: There will be forgiveness, the slate wiped clean, but there may still be consequences to what you did…

You Never Thank Me

"You're bleeding!" I overheard someone say.

I was at the playground with a couple of my grandchildren when I heard the unmistakable cries of a young child.

I looked around and saw a little girl being consoled by her older sister. The younger sister was holding her sister as she tried to investigate what had caused the injury as well as to find a way to stop the crying.

I left my grandchildren as they climbed the playground equipment and made my way towards the child to see if I could be of assistance.

When I arrived, I saw the injury and asked if they would like a Band-Aid.

The older sister repeated the question to the injured child who replied through her tears with "yes". So I made my way to my car to grab the First-Aid case.

At the car, I unlocked the door and opened up the glove box.

I took out the case (which was brand new and still sealed in plastic). I removed the seal and opened the case and grabbed a couple of different sized Band-Aids, closed the case, placed it once again in the glove compartment, locked the car door, and made my way back to the injured child.

When I arrived, I held out the different sizes and asked her which one she wanted.

She picked one and I removed it from the package and gently placed it upon her injury.

I asked her if she would like the additional Band-Aid which I had brought with; she said "yes", so I handed it to her and made my way back to my grandchildren.

As I was walking away I realized that neither sister said "thank you", which I thought was a little odd, but didn't let it take root in my mind.

Later in the day, I was at Target and a women and myself were both attempting to push our shopping carts past a row of boxes that were semi-blocking an aisle. We were both half-way through the row of boxes when we noticed the other.  

The row would only allow one of us to go through at a time so I decided to back my cart up and wait so that the woman could make her way through the very narrow row.

When she made it through, our eyes met, but no words were exchanged. Once again, as I was walking away, I realized that she too neglected to say "thank you" for my kind gesture.

Two times in one day…

I felt like Phil Conners from the movie Groundhog Day. Day after day he catches a boy who falls from a tree. Day after day the boy runs away and says nothing to Phil who exclaims; "You never thank me!" to the fleeing brat. “I’ll see you tomorrow”.

Perhaps neither sister in the park thought of the words because they were focused on the injury and wanting to get back to why they came to the park; to play!

Perhaps the woman at Target didn’t say the words because she was insecure with me having to move out of the way and then wait to let her go past.

Perhaps they were just lost in their own world.

And then I thought about all (some) of the times when I am negligent to say "thank you" to others who do things for me. I'm not trying to be a jerk; I simply don't always say what is in my heart. I think the words but I don't always say "thank you".

And then I thought about all (some) of the times when I am negligent to say "thank you" to the Lord who does things for me. I'm not trying to be a jerk; I simply don't always say what is in my heart. I think the words but I don't always say "thank you".

And then I thought about the time when Jesus healed some lepers; all of them were sick, all of them were healed. Only one of them came back to say "thank you" to Jesus.

“It happened that as He (Jesus) made His way toward Jerusalem, He crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met Him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

Taking a good look at them, He said, “Go, and show yourselves to the priests.” They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan. 

Jesus said, “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” Then He said to him, “Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”” (Luke 17:11-19 MSG Version)

We are exhorted by the Apostle Paul "In everything give thanks..." (1 Thessalonians 5:18a). Paul, in case you didn't catch it, is saying that we are supposed to give thanks in EVERYTHING.

That's includes good things as well as bad. He is talking about fostering a heart of gratefulness; of thankfulness; to express gratitude. Not just think it, but actually say the words and let others (and the Lord) know that you are thankful.

The Apostle Paul goes on to say; "for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18b)

Did Paul just say that giving thanks in everything is the will of God? 

Yes. 

And he isn't just suggesting it, he is communicated that this is something that we are supposed to do. In EVERYTHING!

I say this because Paul is using the word ‘will’ whose definition includes words like: inclination, desire, and pleasure.

It should be as hard-wired in us as complaining.

And then I thought about my mother-in-law. She is kind of like the leper who came back to Jesus. 

In fact she has a reputation that if give her something, she will write you a thank you note. This includes if you send her a thank you note for something that she gave to you. If you send one, you can expect a note sent to you to thank you for thanking her.

She understands that she is supposed to give thanks in everything.

I want to be that type of person. I want to follow the will of God for my life in Christ Jesus. I want to be the person who says it first, last, and always.

To say 'thank you" in everything has no downside. So, if you are in doubt, just say thank you. Can you really show too much gratitude to the people in your life as well as to the Lord who gives you life?

Say thank you, more often.

"Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (Psalm 107:8)

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

What Is The Gospel?

¹ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, ² by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received:

that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

⁵ and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. ⁶ After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. ⁷ After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. ⁸ Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)

Vacating Valentine's Day

I want to state emphatically for the record that I love Valentine’s Day and participate in it fully.

I have joyfully and romantically given gifts, flowers, and cards to Cathy on Valentine’s Day since 1981.

Many years ago when my children were little, I started the tradition of making Valentine’s Day cards and giving them to them along with candy.

As years passed, this morphed into something that Cathy and I do together for our children, their spouses, and our grandchildren.

I say that because some of you, after reading this blog (or its title), might assume that I’m kind of a Scrooge when it comes to Valentine Day.  I’m not, I am a hopeless romantic and I believe in love.

It’s easy to make or send a card or flowers or candy on Valentine’s Day. After all, people are open to giving and receiving love on this day.

This ritual is participated in by single and married people; young and old alike.

But there are other days of the year besides February 14 on which we are called to love one another. In fact I sometimes question if cards and flowers and candy has the same meaning given on February 14^th as they would have on any of the other 364 days of the year.

I further ponder if the giving of cards, flowers, and gifts wouldn’t potentially have a greater impact of they were given throughout the year (excluding birthdays and holidays where sometimes we may feel obligated to give).

You may be wondering where my “cynicism” to giving on Valentine’s Day comes from…

Although it may come across that way, it’s really not cynicism; I am just pondering…as I look at a dozen roses in a vase on our counter. Roses that were given as a token of my love for my wife with no reason or mixed motivation. I simply wanted to give her flowers.

Next to the vase is a note that Cathy left for me that was written on a scrap of paper as she headed out to work before I woke up.

When I did arise I also saw that there was a voice message to me from Cathy explaining that she was almost was in an accident.

While driving to work on the freeway, her pickup truck spun out and slid to within five inches from slamming into a guardrail. On the other side of the guardrail was an embankment that went down a ways to another freeway.

She was a little shook up and was waiting for a tow truck to arrive and pull her out of the snowbank. There was no damage to the truck and she (and I) were very grateful.

 

I realized (without sounding over dramatic) her note to me and the (tender) words we said as we fell asleep the night before may have been the last expression of our love to each other. I may frame the note.

So, that is why I am exhorting you and myself to “vacate” Valentine’s Day…or at least let’s work on sending notes, cards, flowers, etc. more often throughout the year.

Loving one another is one of the key components to Christianity. The Bible is full of verses exhorting, commanding, and encouraging us to love one another. Here are a few of them:

“You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” Leviticus 19:18

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” John 13:34

“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8

“Let all that you do be done with love.” I Corinthians 16:14

“Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;” I Peter 3:8

“And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” I Peter 4:8

“For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,”  

“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” I John 3:18

“No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” 1 John 4:12-13

“We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

If Valentine’s Day is the only day that you show or express love; well, I suppose that is a start.

But I want to encourage you to be the change in this world that you are hoping to see. Be a person who for the next week or month or year DAILY looks for opportunities to let people know that you love them.

“Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of My brethren, you did it to Me.” Matthew 25:40

That will make the world a much better place to be in.

“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” I Corinthians 13:13

Happy Valentine’s Day from me

All Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This Is My Church

One of the hard parts about being a pastor is trying to be "under-cover" and yet remain true to who you are.

 

What I mean is that when I am at a "church" function or some other service such as a wedding or funeral it is easy for me to be "myself" as a pastor. I know what people expect and I am free to function in that role.

When I am at some other weekly activity such as shopping, at the gym, cutting my grass, or playing hockey, I try hard to not let people know that I am a pastor…especially a "reverend". 

I know that may seem strange to those who are still in preparation (bible school or seminary) or are not yet ordained. Why would I try to be incognito after going through all of the preparation and the process of ordination and then try to conceal the fact that I am an ordained pastor?

Why? Because as soon as people find out that I am a pastor, they get awkward and start apologizing for how they talk to me...or that they swore…or that they gave me a hard time as they teased me and made me the butt of a joke. 

This is happens partially because the stereotypical pastor is holed up in his/her church office trying to stay pure and undefined by the "sinners". The result is that the average person doesn’t know a pastor outside of the church. 

And the average pastor doesn’t know how to reach people outside of the church (building).

Perhaps that is what so many churches are filled with church folk instead of "sinners".

So, people sometimes act weird simply because they don't know how to act around a pastor. They see us a moral standard and are concerned that they will say and do the wrong thing around us. 

I ran into this recently and the end of a hockey game. One of my teammates had seen a documentary on a cult and asked me if I was a part of them. I assured him that I was a Christian not a Scientologist.

He continued and explained why he doesn't go to church. His answers were honest and open as he explained that he knew that God knew how he was doing. He had enough of churches that were run Iike businesses and seemed to be just after his money.

"I don't need to go to church..." He continued as he drew another teammate standing next to us into the conversation.

The other man said; "Yeah, I don't need to go to church either; THIS IS MY CHURCH!" as he pointed at the hockey rink. The first man agreed and said; "Yes, this is my church too!"

I came to realize that these men were correct. They had discovered their need for community at a hockey rink where they could be themselves and not have to make excuses for how they spoke or acted or lived their lives.

They were right that some churches have become business that were no longer serving what these men needed. They are no longer places where people seeking answers and peace and direction can come and find the saving grace of the LORD through Jesus Christ.

They had enough and weren't willing to simply drink the Kool-Aid. They had found life in something other than the church and they weren't going back.

So what do we, who know the LORD and are called to be an ambassador say to them and their concerns and objections? How do we reach them where they are at?

It’s not complicated; in fact the answer is so very simple that we simply don't do it.

We need to go to where they are. 

After all, that IS what Jesus would do because that is what He did. All of the Gospel stories are filled with Jesus hanging with people who were rejected by the religious folks. And they, too, had enough and weren't going back even if they were invited.

Jesus didn't make the church to be a fortress in which we run to to be safe from "them". Christians are the called out and set apart followers who come to be equipped so that we can go out to our worlds. 

Jesus instructed us to not wear special clothing or take special seats or let people be hindered by our "holiness" and self-righteousness. Jesus has had enough of that which is why the church was created. 

Jesus instructed us to NOT put ourselves in a posture where we are away from "them"; and yet we do that over and over again. 

And "non-church" folks have had enough and they aren't going back to church even if they are invited.

Jesus made us to be with people to be His hands and His feet to live our lives being “all things to all people” (1 Corinthians 9:22)

No, this doesn’t mean being a drunk to the drunk. This doesn’t give us an excuse to be immoral and to live lives contrary to the Word of God…the goal is salvation.

He made us (the church) to go after lost sheep, coins, and sons (please read Luke chapter 15).

Jesus made us to sit in coffee shops and play hockey and talk to our neighbors and cut their grass. Eat at local restaurants, walk our dogs, sign our kids up for baseball, let them know what it means to follow Jesus.

Jesus came to show the world what the Father looks like (John 14). When we see Jesus (in scripture) we get a picture of what the Father looks like; how He acts and moves...

Jesus left us to continue this. He wanted that people would know what the Father looks like when they see how we act and care and show the love of the LORD.

He sent the Holy Spirit to do the convicting of sin and of righteousness, and of judgment; which oftentimes is independent of them going to church.... 

And He sent the Holy Spirit to remind followers of Jesus (the Church) of what He said (John 16) and what He wants us to do.

We as pastors need to cry out for more of the Holy Spirit in our churches so that those who come in will be changed. And then we need to send them and go with them back into the world and be Jesus to this world.

Jesus is calling out to pastors, teachers, apostles, prophets, and evangelists to do the work of the ministry INSIDE the church to equip the saints for what they will do for the remaining 95% of their week.

 

Jesus is calling out to pastors, teachers, apostles, prophets, and evangelists to do the work of the ministry OUTSIDE the church and meet people where they are.

So strap on your skates, grab your sticks, and go to "their" church. Join their community and be a part of their lives and watch how He will use you to make a difference in this world.