Halloween - Satan's Big Day!

Let me start off by saying that I hate halloween! I cringe at the thought of "Satan's Big Day". My mind is changing though. I used to love this day - when I was a kid! And that's why my view of this day is changing. I've done the church harvest festival thing. To be honest, the last church I was at did it pretty well. But what I am realizing, and should never have forgotten, is that we as Christians and the church have this day all wrong. Here's why:

1. Who said this is Satan's day? Since when does he get a day? God made all the days and by that very fact, they are all his! We don't have to reclaim it, we just need to acknowledge that it is his day just like any other day. True, some people choose to celebrate the wrong things on this day, but it is still God's day!

2. It's the candy, stupid! Ask any kid under the age of 12 and you'll learn that it's about the candy. They don't care about the imagery that we get so caught up in. Sure they sometimes want to wear a scary costume. Most of us like to get scared a little. I think that's one of the reasons I like roller coasters (that and that I get to go fast). I have never heard of a story where a kid became an ax murderer because we dressed as one on halloween. I know mansy won't agree with me here, but must kids are fine with being Superman or something simple anyway, we adults need to not freek out because they want to look "cool".

3. It's probably the best night of the year to meet your neighbors. In fact, they'll come knocking on your door! Take the time to begin building relationships that may have eternal significance. Let them know that Christians aren't selfish titewads that look down on the rest of the world.

There's plenty more I could say, but I'm sure I've gotten myself into enough trouble with the church at large. Tonight I'm going to hand out some cool candy that kids will enjoy, and get to know some of my neighbors. How about you?

Is there TiVo in heaven?

I'm reading a book about the Bible right now and as the writer was talking about the creation account in Genesis, something cool occurred to me. If you look at the timing of the events, God created angels before creating our world. That means that the angels got to watch God before during and after creation. How cool must that have been to be able to actually see God speak things into being. As He created light and land and sea and animals and man what awe must have filled them. We get to see the result, but they got to see the process. I guess the engineer in me wishes that I could have been there to watch.

There's a TV show I like to watch called "How Things are Made". I've always like to take things apart and put them back together just to see how they work and how they are made. I can only imagine what it must have been like to see God in action during creation. I hope that when we get to heaven we can see a replay. Is there TiVo in heaven? Just imagine all the things we could watch. There are so many events in the Bible that I wish I could have seen. What event do you wish you could see?

Fear Factor

Today Greg talked about fear. He used the story of farmers in the 30's who wouldn't plant their seed because they were afraid the winds would come and blow them away. He used that to launch into Exodus when the Israelites left Egypt. Everytime something didn't go the way they wanted, they complained and said that they wanted to go back slavery. Fear makes people do stupid things, or sometimes makes them do nothing at all. The Bible tells us that He hasn't given us a spirit of fear and timidity. We are to be bold and strong because God is wiht us. There are plenty of things in life that can produce fear, but we decide how we will respond to it. We can move out inspite of our fear, or we can sit powerless because of it. I believe God expects us to move out. What are you afraid of? What steps can you take toward overcoming that fear?

Morning Workout

Well, I did it. I finally made it to the new gym. The facility is amazing. I started easy to see how my body responds. 20 Minutes on the bike and then some lower back machine work. I'll have a fitness assessment next Friday where they will determine my health age (I'm betting about 60!).

Last night was awesome! We had the Fresh Start team over for a thank you dinner. We catered in a turkey dinner from Claim Jumper. It was good food at a reasonable price, and it was ready when they said it would be.

We (Greg) finally shot (Cody) the new Fresh Start DVD yesterday. After some editing, it will finally be done (after only a year!).

Today is my rest day (So I'm not exactly sure why I started working out today!). I am ready for it. Getting ready for last night's party took a lot out of me (It doesn't take much). I need to get rested for the weekend. I can't wait!

Tuesday or Wednesday?

My dreams and early morning thoughts focused on the things I needed to get done "today" and lementing that I didn't get some things done yesterday. I was in the shower when I realized that today is Tuesday, not Wednesday. What a welcome relief! It felt like getting an extra day in my week. Even better, I didn't have a couple of meetings today that I thought I was going to have, so I have been able to get a lot done. The newfound "extra" time will allow me to get started on a couple of projects I want to work on. It has also allowed me to finish up some loose ends on some others. A couple things coming up are appreciation dinners we will be hosting for two of the ministries I lead. It will be a great time to show appreciation for the volunteers in these ministries. One ministry, the Fresh Start Coaches, has such impact in the kingdom. These people are on the front lines of leading new believers toward growth in their faith. The numbers are God sized. New believers are everywhere and these people help to guide them into two groups I lead that equip them for their faith journey.

I finished studying the book of Joshua in my devotions this morning. Two things jumped out. First, Joshua's bold statement that, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" is such a great battle cry to rally the people to follow the one true God and Him alone. As the people looked back at all God had done for them, how could anyone not be able to joyfully make this statement? Second, there was peace in the Middle-East! When was the last time there was peace there?

I heard today that we are days away from closing on the construction loan to build the new house. Yes, I've heard that before, and I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high. I can't wait to get going!

Seeds

This weekend we began a new series called "Seeds". Greg Rohlinger preached a great message today on the parable of the soils. Basically, we need to examine the condition of our heart (soil) to see how receptive we are to God's message (Christ is the seed).

He also pointed out that we will be talking about using the seeds that God has given us. Tithing is a key element of that. Sometimes obedience in giving comes before the joy of giving. Giving has been a long journey for me. When I had no money, I thought of my service as my tithe. That my time was more important than my treasure. I have grown to understand that what matters is that you give every area of your life to God, your time, money, and abilities. Trusting God with your finances and stuff can be really hard. The more you have or the more you make the harder it gets to turn it over to God. I think that's when it's more an issue of obedience. When you don't have any money and you have to weigh giving or paying bills, giving becomes more a matter of faith.

I think it takes a combination of faith and obedience to find balance in the area of giving. The ideal is that we obey in faith and find joy in that. The Bible says, "God loves a cheerful giver." Sometimes you may not feel very cheerful when you give, that's when you simply need to be obedient. Often, joy will follow when you have obeyed. For me now, it is great joy to give, and when I can give more I have greater joy! I hope to be able to give more each year. We give more now than I ever thought possible. Not because we're rich, but because we believe that it honors God and He blesses us for it. Not financial or material blessings necessarily, but true joy in knowing that we are participating in something much bigger than ourselves.

If you haven't begun tithing, I encourage you to start you will find joy in it!

Blue Angels

I'm not sure where the name comes from, but all I can picture is an angel holding its breath for a long time. The Blue Angels are in town and they are practicing today. Seeing jets fly isn't new around here. We're close to Luke AFB and we see jets all the time. We also have several pilots that attend the church. Though common, jets are still cool to watch.

Paige is on break and spend some time today with our nephew Zachary (this afternoon she's spending time with our neese Lauren baking chocolate chip cookies - I get to taste test!). I joined Paige and Zach at a nearby park for a picnic lunch. While eating we heard a loud roar and looked up to see two Blue Angel jets flying very low overhead. It was amazing! They made a hard turn and were so close you could see into the cockpit and read the writing on the side of the plane. They made several passes and have been flying around the area all afternoon getting ready for the show on Saturday and Sunday.

Goodyear Airport is very near the school where we meet for church. Parking, traffic, and people should make for an interesting weekend. Hopefully some people will end up at church and find Jesus - The ultimate flight!

Home

We're back! Paige & I just got back from a few days of R&R in San Diego. We stayed at a really nice hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter (a revitalized area of downdown) which was really cool. We had a great time together and saw a lot of neet stuff. We even toured the Midway which is an aircraft carrier.

Sunday we visited a large church in the area. While it was big and they do a lot of cool stuff, I have to say that it really made me appreciate Palm Valley Church! One thing that amazed me was a conversation I had with their leader of the prayer room (for new believers, re-commitments, and those needing prayer). I asked him what they did for new believers and he looked at me with a quizative look and said, "oh, we don't get many of those. I gues we go through some verses with them or something." This coupled with some things from the service (like: no one ever shared the gospel or gave people an opportunity to accept Christ), gave me the feeling that their focus was on the believer only (not even guests, though they did mention that visitors didn't need to give inthe offering). That said, the message was great and I made some notes to study more.

The rest and time away was much needed for both of us and I am recharged (though tired from the trip home) and ready to dive in (I have a meeting at 8:30 that I need to prep for early in the morning).

We stopped by Julian (a small down known for it's apples - tourist trap) on the way home and ran into a couple we went to college with. It's such a small world! He is the teaching pastor of a church in which God is doing amazing things (as if anything God does isn't amazing!). His church of 150 merged with a church of 50 and now they're running 400. Do the math! That's God math!

That's all for now.

Finally!

Wednesday night is finally here! This has been the longest three days ever! Yes, I am excited about leaving in the morning for San Diego with Paige, but these three days have been filled with tough things happening. The amazing thing is I could see God's hand in everything that has happened this week. I can even see how he prepared me and others for what was to come. How cool is that! I don't often see things so clearly, but I am so excited to go on vacation after so much God stuff happening in my life! I know this all may sound weird, but that's OK.

A week ago I began praying to see God more fully in my life. To be filled with His Holy Spirit in a way that I never have before. I want to be totally in tune with God's purposes in my life and His actions in changing my heart for His glory. I am a long way from being dialed in, but this week was a huge start and I give God all the glory and honor He so richly deserves. Not so much for what he's doing, but for what He has done and for who he is.

God's plans are best!

After two days of elevated pain I was beginning to wonder if this would be a trend for a while. Graciously God allowed me to wake up today to relatively minor pain. I felt good and strong. Since it will be a short week I was looking forward to getting a lot done today.

When I got to the office I received a message that the father of someone in the church had died. Those calls are never fun. After talking with the family I made plans to visit them (Dave went with me).

I went out to the car (the Buick) and guess what? A dead battery! Fortunately Paige is on break and was able to bring me the Tahoe.

We went on the visit. Praise God he was a man who had a relationship with Christ.

When we got back I started working on the car. It's up and running.

It is now 12:30 and I am just starting to work on what I had planned.

In my devotions earlier this morning I was reading about Caleb asking to go take some land. He was 85 and ready for battle. I thank God that He strenghened me today for the battles He knew I would have. It would have been a lot harder if I were in a lot of pain. God's plans are always best. He knows what we need even before we ask (but He likes for us to ask).

Worship

It's amazing how much stuff there is out there on worship. It's also amazing how much stuff there is out there about worship that's wrong. I've been working on curriculum for a new believer's study to explain worship Biblically, and simply. The idea here is milk not meat. This is for first steps, not a theological discourse.

Most of what I have found focuses on the idea of "worth-ship" - ascibing value to someone or something. In this case God. The application of this is often singing songs.

The problem with this is that it isn't a Biblical view of worship. The Bible is clear that God is the sovereign creator of the universe. As such, He already has all the value there can possibly be. He is God. He declares His first place in all the world and in the first command to "love the Lord your God." Jesus addressed this in His discussion with the woman at the well. He said that God seeks worshippers who will worship in "spirit and in truth."

We don't need to ascribe value to God, we need to accept the value He already has. We need to acknowledge who He is, that He is, and what He has already done. This is the truth! Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life..." We need to worship in Him who is truth. We also must have a relationship with Him to be able to truly worship. In order to worship in the "spirit" we must have the spirit, and the only way to have that is through our relationship with Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the promise given to those who follow Him.

So, we worship God by living for Christ and celebrating what he has done in the world and in our lives. We can express worship in a variety of ways. Yes, singing is one way we can express worship. The Bible is filled with examples of people expressing worship through song.

How else can we express worship? Not any way we please, but any way that pleases him! That's a tough one. But I'll get more into that in another post. For now, focus on the true meaning of worship, not the popular meaning.

What a Weekend!

Weekends are always crazy at our house. Here's some highlights.

Church:
Service was fantastic. Kids sang, a bunch of guys made "noise" with cans, jugs, and other stuff, and Greg was pumped. I'm not a Raiders fan, but preaching in a throwback Stabler jersey was cool. Here's a question from the message: Which way did the walls of Jericho fall? (answer at the bottom of the post.) Greg challenged everyone to invite four people to church this week that aren't already Christians. If we all do this, next week will be amazing. I trust God will do big things.

It was great to see several people that I have recently visited in the hospital doing well and at church today. That was real encouraging. It's so cool to see God working in people's lives!

Home:
Caleb came home for the weekend as usual, but this time he brought a cold with him. No fun!
I got a call in the middle of the night Friday (or should I say Saturday). No parent ever wants a call in the middle of the night, especially when my entire family was out somewhere. Fortunately, Josh had simply forgotten his keys. After being glad he is OK, we woke me up from a really deep sleep. It's been a while since I have been awakened by one of the boys during the night, and I don't miss it!
Paige is home and she had a great time. I survived!
High pain level for me today. I even had to make a run for extra pain meds this morning. Not fun, but it was such a great morning I'm glad I was able to tough through it.

Sports:
Leinart played well, but they can't win until they get an o-line! Raiders got beat (no surprise here, but this was a week I thought they might have a chance), Schumaker blew an engine in F1 and with it most likely his chances for another title, Brian Vickers won his first Nascar race by taking out the 1st two cars (Jr. and Johnson - his team mate!)- nice job :-( !

The week ahead:
- Invite four people to church (see above).
- Get the week's work done by Wednesday
- Leave early Thursday for San Diego with Paige (I can't wait). We'll be gone until Monday night. The boys will be home (not sure if that's a good thing!). It's great that they're at an age that we can just take off!

The answer to the question: Down! Ya, I know. Greg got me earlier in the week in the office. I was studying something when he walked by and threw this out. Since I was in study mode my brain automatically went to the historical, when the simple answer was correct. It just goes to show that its easy to overthink and complicate things sometimes when the simple answer is often the right answer!

Go Yotes!

Went to opeing night for the Coyotes last night with Josh Caleb and Jessica (it was her first time at a hockey game). Dave Ellis and his boys were there with a friend. It was cool (literally and figuratively). "We" won 6 to 3 over the Islanders. It was electric in that place and the NHL first ever on ice dance team was ok (though their pants could have been a little higher over their um plumber's crack).

The game was a great end to what turned out to be a tough day. When we got to the arena, I sent the kids ahead while I made a couple more phone calls. There are a couple families really going through some tough stuff right now. Sometimes the roller coaster of emotions as a pastor really gets to ya, but we have a great God who is in charge, so I know everything will work out according to His plan.

Paige is off to Prescott this weekend to go scrapbooking with her mom, sister, and a few others. I haven't seen her much this week (report cards and conferences) so I'll especially miss her this weekend (who's gonna fix me breakfast? :-) Fortunately she's beginning a two week break and I'll get her all to myself when we leave next Thursday for vacation.

What I want

In Perry Noble's blog today he challenged everyone to make a list of what htey want and how revealing that list is. Here's a few quick things that came to mind:

#1 I want to more fully surrender my life to God. Every day I want to live for Him more and for myself less.

#2 I want to show Paige how much I love her and for her to know every day that she is the most important thing (yes I know she's a person, but I think you get the idea) to me second only to God.

#3 I want to be a better pastor. Somtimes I feel llike I am learning all over again what it means to be a minister. I have had to unlearn some things about leadership and learn new things about caring for people.

#4 I want Joshua and Caleb to know how much I love them and would do anything for them. As they progress further into adulthood, our relationship dynamic is changing. I want them to know how very proud I am of each of them and that I will always support them any way that I can.

#5 I want to get started building our new house! It seems like we have been working on the financing forever. I am trying to be patient and wait for God's timing, but it's hard! It was really cool yesterday though, I thought of a couple of cool ways that we can use the house for God's kingdom that I hadn't thought of before (I'll talk about those things sometime in the future).

#6 I want a Ferrari! I know it's very unlikely that I will ever get to drive one, let alone own one, and it's not very spiritual, but it would sure be fun!

What do you want?

NewSpring Church

If you haven't read his blog, you've got to go to www.perrynoble.com

Perry Noble is the pastor at NewSpring Church and God is doing amazing things there. Last week over 200 gave their lives to Christ, and this past week over 400 were baptized. Only God can do that! His blog is right on too. Sometimes, ok a lot of times, it's funny.

It's really cool to see what God is doing other places. Perhaps a new revival is beginning in that church that will spread throughout the country. I pray that it is!

End Times

Every so often the topic of the end times becomes popular. In some circles, it is always popular and always the central focus. I tend to be in the D.L. Moody camp on this subject. When asked why he never preached on the second coming of Christ, he is reported to have replied, "because there are too many people that haven't heard of the first coming." This sin't to say that I avoid the topic, or never read prophetic Scripture, but that's not my focus. I think the main focus many who study the topic focus on the wrong thing. They focus on when Jesus will return (the Bible says not even Jesus knows when that will be, so who do we think we are to declare when it will be), who the bad guys are (whover their enemies or perceived enemies are at the time - which changes), and which country will be blessed (naturally their own of course). The Bible says that we are to be prepared for His coming. It could be at any moment. That could mean today, or another thousand years. The bottom line is that regardless of the struggles we face, we are to endure in our faith and bring others to a saving knowledge of Him who can save them. So don't get caught up in the hype, and study the Scriptures. Don't take anyones word for granted, especially when they name names and times.

Just Relax

I was tired yesterday afternoon, but I didn't think it was a big deal. I got calls (as all of our staff did) and an email from Greg and Mark to get some rest today. When I struggled to wake up this morning and took a two hour nap later today, I knew I needed it! Being a pastor is the hardest job I've ever done. I've worked hard before (some one debate that), but it isn't the physical, it's the mental. It's not a bad thing, it just is.

Caring takes a lot out of you. I'm sure it's the same for any profession in which your main focus is on caring for others. I've never been a Senior Pastor, but as tired as I get sometimes, I imagine that their fatigue is multiplied several times over. I'm glad I serve a church that cares for its staff and encourages breaks. I think burnout is a major reason people leave the ministry. You work really hard to care, then someone complains that you didn't show care for them. Fortunately, we don't have many people like that at Palm Valley, and I rarely ever hear that someone fell through the cracks. I think that's a God thing. I am encouraged often by people in our church, and our office staff is off the hook in this area. They pray for and say words of encouragement often. It's such a joy to see them each day. Marge, Lisa, Julie, Eileen you guys rock!

Time for some MNF - Go Eagles! (I'm not really an Eagles fan, but I'm definitely not a Packer's fan - Favre should have retired)

Sunday Funday

WOW! What a day! It started at midnight with church setup. Because of my health, my part is pretty small compared to all that goes on, but it is cool that I can participate and serve with such wonderful people!

This morning I taught our Fresh Start Class which is a class for new believers. Then the rest of the morning takes care of itself. Today Greg talked about growing in christ. I didn't get to hear much so I'll have to download it at www.palmvalley.org

Know that some people accepted Christ today is huge! I won't know how may until tomorrow, but we average about 4 per week. It's totally a God thing!

After chili dogs and watching football, we went to the opening of Claim Jumper (finally) with the boys and had a blast.

Tonight we're just relaxing and I'm going to do a lot of that tomorrow.

Until then, I'm out.