It's been a little over a year since the last time that I had the opportunity to share God's Word with the congregation during weekend service. A lot has happened since then, and the message this time was particularly relevant and timely. It was my prayer all week long that the message would be solidly on the truth of God's word and that His people's hearts would be ready to receive it. From all indications, it appears that those prayers were answered.
One side effect of teaching on the storms found in Scripture is this belief by some that I have the "inside track" in identifying the type of storm and what the correct response should be. I'm being viewed as some "spiritual meteorologist". This opinion is far, far from the truth. I can barely identify my own storms and only after much prayer can I determine my response... and sometimes not be comfortable that the response that I've chosen is the proper one.
So I will be meeting with some dear brothers and sisters who say they want to properly embrace the storm they are experiencing. I will share with them the truth... that God has already completely equipped them with all that they will need to identify their storms and how to respond. I'll offer some practical suggestions on how to do that, but they need to know that God's Word when applied correctly (and a heart that is yielded to what the Spirit is doing) is all that they need.
Days have turned to weeks. Weeks into months. Many months in fact. Retirement (from the secular workforce) is in full swing, but serving the Lord is over the top as is evident here as I am typing this from the church office of Metanoia (Harvest Bible Chapel) of Brasov, Romania. Romania!!! I've only been in Romania less than 24 hours and already have fallen in love with the place. Looking forward to spending time with Pastor Adi, his wife, and church leadership here.
Asking the Lord for wisdom, discernment, guidance, a word to share with Pastor Adi, and a blessed time with co-laborers for Christ who are like-minded and like-hearted in our desire to serve Him.
It is approaching 3 months since my last blog post. At that time I had just given my first sermon and was looking forward to a relaxing Summer... trying to just loosen my grip a little more on the things of life. but less than 2 weeks later the greatest "storm" I've ever experienced in my life (so far) happened. The sudden and tragic death of my oldest son was something that I was not expecting. The blinding white-hot pain physically squeezed my heart when I first heard the news. I was in a daze for the next 36 hours. Then the fog mysteriously lift as I made my way to the airport to fly to New York to deal with the funeral arrangements. What I didn't know at the time is that the news was announced at church services that weekend. 1000 of God's people were praying for me and my family. They prayed for peace, comfort, strength, and the opportunity to share the love of Christ with those who needed it. All of those prayers were answered...abundantly. Way too much to tell in even a blog post.
God is indeed amazing.Then two weeks after that, I was given an assignment that had significantly more pressure and time requirements. That meant LESS time for serving at church. It was brought to my attention that there were some new pension plan changes that would dramatically reduce my pension benefit. (This was on top of the change that the company made in 1999 that essentially wiped out my pension benefit) So not wanting to lose the rest of what little remained (and to keep more time for service), I made the decision to retire from IBM this November. Immediately I thought of our failed attempt to buy a larger, more expensive house last year. There would be no way that I could consider this decision if we had bought that house. So I now seem at least one of the reasons why the "King said 'no' "last year.
God protects us from things that we don't know.And while that is going on, there were some other family decision (all good) that would impact our regular routine.
Plenty of changes and tragedy in such a short time. By God's grace, never once did my faith in the Lord waver. I had to deal with the question, "You preach God's word and tell others to trust in Him for everything, but do YOU believe that?" The answer was an emphatic, "YES!" (there was never a moment of doubt)
I hope that I learned what I needed to learn and grow in the areas that I needed to grow. I'm looking forward to a time of quiet and rest but for some reason I don't think that is going to happen. ;-)
This past weekend I had the honor and privilege of delivering a message to our congregation. Our senior pastor was on vacation, and me being an elder (this past March) and never having had the opportunity to teach since being installed as an elder, I was given the mission to share from God's Word.
A few months ago when Pastor Jon invited me to teach, I was absolutely excited and immediately and appreciatively accepted. Later that evening, the reality of the situation sunk in. I would be standing before nearly 1000 believers, sharing truths from the Bible, God's inerrant and eternal word. At most churches, this would not be a weighty matter. Many churches don't place importance on the Bible and are as quick to share stories from the latest issue of "Reader's Digest" or the latest book on Christian living as they are to share from the Bible.
But here at Harvest Bible Chapel, we place great emphasis on the importance of the Bible as the source for written truth about God and from God. How I handle God's Word would be extremely important. Any twinges of concern didn't go beyond that... twinges. I know that the Lord has called me and equipped me to teach and preach His word. But that doesn't lighten the burden of responsibility.
In the week preceding my time to teach, I took time off from work for prayer, meditation, and study. I asked the Lord to prepare my heart and mind so that I could receive the message that He wanted to be delivered. I didn't want any of my thoughts and biases entering in. It was a great week.
I have a great passion for the Lord, His Word, and His people. That is one of the many things that I love about the Harvest Bible Chapel movement... from the movement's founder (Pastor James MacDonald) right on down and throughout, there is a real and deep passion for the Lord. I wanted the passion that I have to show. I wanted others see it, see that it is real, and catch it too. Being a disciple of Jesus is exciting! Whether we're dealing with pleasant or unpleasant circumstances, there is excitement.
My previous teaching opportunities in Bible college, small groups, or body ministries, have been more of the scholarly angle... teaching more than preaching. Where technical accuracy was required... where every single word that was spoken must be deliberately and specifically selected. But I felt that God was giving me an opportunity to stretch. To be more free in speaking.... WITHOUT compromising the truth of Biblical doctrine.
To make a long story short, what I did this past weekend was not give a sermon... (my message contained very little of the constructs that I had learned in Homiletics class in Bible College), but a simple expedition through God's word, literally verse by verse, sharing the truth from God's word, and sharing from the heart what it means and how to apply to our lives.
Was it a good message? All I know is that God answers prayers that are in line with His will, many had been praying for me, and I was diligent to pray, study, and prepare. As long as God was glorified and His people received the message that I believe was supposed to be delivered.... that's really all that matters to me. I mean that! This isn't same cheesy attempt to fish for compliments.
If you want to see me 'red-line', if you want to see me 'maxing it out', if you want to see when I'm 'all-in' on something, it's when I'm loving God.
Vacations. They're usually just as busy and just as scheduled as our regular routines. It seems like we can't break away from the "performance plan" mentality...even when we're on vacation.
When we decided on spending 5 days at a beachfront cottage at Crystal Cove State Park, I was determined that this vacation would be different. Vacationing in California, the temptation was great to plan a day trip here, and a day trip there. But I stood firm, and we had nothing planned.
Except for cell phones (for emergencies and traveling info) and a few mp3 players we left all electronics home. Instead, we brought a stack of books and stack of boardgames. Cottage #27 (pictured) is known as the "Dive Shack" and is furnished with marine paraphernalia. It is a mere 120 ft or so from the beach. The interior is very rustic but with just the bare essentials to make it pleasant. We did a little shopping at the local Albertson's to get some essentials for breakfast and lunch.
I cannot express the importance of having 5 full and completely unstructured days to unwind and decompress. There was definitely something calming about the unceasing rhythmic sound of the waves on the beach. Without alarm clocks we woke up pretty early in the morning and caught families of sand pipers flitting around the water's edge. Ate a little breakfast and watched dolphins bopping through the water. The day-visitors to the beach would appear and the beach came to life... and we had a front-row seat to it all.
The wooden deck out-front was great for catching some sun, reading a good book, and people watching. Around lunchtime, we individually would grab a snack out of the fridge (no formal 
lunch). The afternoon was spent doing the same kind of nothing and walking the beach. As dinnertime rolled around, we'd watch the day-visitors leave and we would go out to a nice restaurant. After dinner, watch the sun go down, and play a few boardgames. By 9:30 we were totally wiped out and ready to turn in. Who would've thought that doing absolutely nothing was such hard work!
Each day seemed like a week. But by the end, it seemed like the 5 days went by too quickly. In spite of the drive there and back to California, it was absolutely the most restful vacation I've taken...ever. I highly recommend this type of do-nothing vacation to everyone... especially in this overly-connected world.
I remember watching Cecile B. DeMille's "10 Commandments" in the theater during the 70's. I would watch it every year on commercial TV. It was only as an adult could I find humor in the casting of that film. Edward G. Robinson as Dathan was perhaps the most humorous. He is best known for his depression-era gangster films. To hear him say, "Where's your Moses now?" with that same inflection he used in mouthing off to other gangsters was just too funny.
But another thing that makes his appearance memorable in the film is that his character, Dathan repeatedly attempted to convince the newly freed Israelites to return to the comfort of the known back in Egypt.
There are quite a few references in the Old Testament to this sentiment. Exo 14:10-12, 16:2-3, 17:2-3, Num 11:4-7, 11:18-20, 14:1-4... just cite a few. This sentiment is also evident in the New Testament. Paul, in his letter to the Galatian church had this to say, (Gal 3:1-3), "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? [2] This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? [3] Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?"
In times of stress and uncertainty, we in our human nature have a tendency to want to go back to the familiar... even if it was oppressive, hurtful, and sinful. At that moment in time, we immediately forget all that God has done for us up to that point. We forget His faithfulness. We become fearful. In the Bible, "Egypt" is a symbol for the (unbelieving) world of idolatry and false religion. And all of these examples in Scripture show how believers are so willing to quickly turn from God and toward the the comfort of the known. Even if it meant back to slavery.
That isn't just some ancient historical account with no relevance today. It is happening today too! There are some who have received the gift of pardon by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone but are now rejecting that truth and turning to religious systems....for some it is a return to a religious system. A return to Egypt.
But it is not just fear that causes some to "return to Egypt". Pride is another reason. Pride in wanting to have a part to play in their own salvation. Pride in not wanting to submit to Biblical authority but to the authority of man-made rules and regulations. Pride that allows one to pick-n-choose what Biblical commands and prohibitions to embrace and which ones to reject. Pride that convinces one that the outward mechanics of religion are a measure of spirituality. Pride that justifies one's personal ambitions when it conflicts with God's sovereign will.
These days are dark and getting darker. Uncertainty, fear, and doubt are running rampant. There are 365 verses in the Bible that make reference to the phrase, "do not fear" (or some combination like "fear not"). Fear is that easy to fall into. Scripture talks about a great falling away (apostasy) from the faith in the last days. Now more than ever believers need to be in God's Word, prayer, worship, and fellowship. Whether it is fear or pride, there is no good reason to return to Egypt.
Wow. It has been 5 months since my last blog post. The passage of time seems to have gone into hyperdrive. IBM workload flared up and had been running 'white hot' up until the week before Christmas. (miraculous considering the economic conditions) A steady flow of ministry responsibilities kept things exciting. A week and a half of some time off during the Christmas / New Years break was great. Peaceful. Mostly restful. I was able to really recharge my batteries.
So here we are, nearly a month into 2010. And of all the exciting things that have already happened in this new year, it is the food memory of fried cardunas that has my attention.
2 weeks ago, I helped out some dear friends of ours (Warren and Michelle) with a Skype issue they were having. They were so appreciative that they wanted to do something in return. They asked if I had ever heard of something called, "cardunas". I said, "are you kidding me?!" Michelle had gotten some from a friend and she fried up a batch. (Warren and Michelle are transplants from the Philly area and one of the few couples that we have cultural things in common with.) Those carduna were a blast from the past!
This past Sunday at church, they informed me that Fry's had a batch of carduna in their produce section. Eva and I went to Fry's later that day and picked up a giant stalk. Even though these carduna were far more mature than what I used to pick as a kid, I wasn't going to let the opportunity pass by. So this morning, Eva cleaned, boiled, breaded, and fried the carduna....
WOW! As with everything Eva makes, they were perfect! Tender not stringy. Crispy not soggy. I believe that she made them BETTER than Nonnie used to make them. Flashbacks of those Springtime outings so many years ago to pick cardunas (they grew wild) came to mind.
Uncle Joe and I would visit a few orchards and we would harvest a bushel-full. Nonnie and Mom would clean 'em and cook 'em. Dad and I would harvest the ones around the property. Since they are basically weeds, there was only a short window of opportunity in the Spring when the carduna were the right size and before they were cut down with the rest of the grass and weeds.
It may sound silly, but it is times like these, that make it feel like Eva and I have been together our entire lives...in a good way!
