Get Ready For Your Miracle

We are just a few weeks away from "Revival Fire 09" which will be held at Harvest Church of God in East Galesburg, IL August 16-19. Revivalist Tom Scarrella will be with us for these meetings and we are expecting miracles, signs and wonders in these 5 services. If you are in the area or are close enough to drive in, we invite and encourage you to join us. I wanted to share this brief video clip to introduce Tom Scarrella to you. For more information about his ministry, visit his website at http://www.scarrella.com

It's a Matter of Choice

In my sermon this past Sunday I mentioned how that we so often choose to stay mad, or to carry a grudge, and that there comes a point and time to get over it and look to the future, letting go of the "stuff" that weighs us down. This journey in life is too long with too many mountains and rough roads to traverse for us to carry things with us that weigh us down. Anyway, after the service a group of us went out to eat together and we sent our kids and some of their friends on ahead to get enough seats for us all. After they had already left, some people that were going to go called to tell us that they could not come after all, so we called the kids to change the number. A few minutes later another family decided that they would go, so we called the kids again to change the number. Then we found out someone else was coming... and on it went like 4 times. When we got to the restaraunt there was yet another person who had come that we did not know about, so we were one seat short. We decided to put 4 of the teens at a different table... no biggie, right? Wrong! My wife in her frustration said something to my son about the seating and the battle was on. I'm sitting across the table listening to them go back and forth and when I asked them to stop it, my son jumps on me too. I asked him to just drop it, but he kept going on. I told him that we had it all taken care of, everyone was fine, so let's just enjoy lunch. He continued to go on and on. I tried to ignore it, but he and Libby just kept going back and forth and it was begining to make a scene and everyone was getting edgy. I asked Daniel if he had heard what I had said in my message and he snapped back, "I choose to stay angry!" I asked him what he hoped to accomplish with his anger and this argument and he said, "I know what you said, but right now, I want to stay angry!" I just shook my head and thought how foolish this whole thing was.

Now, the reason I'm sharing this is not to belittle Daniel or my wife. The fact is, we all act this way at times, although we seldom verbalize the fact that we are choosing to stay upset. It may be anger or any number of emotions, but we willing choose to carry needless stuff that will only weigh us down and rob us of our joy. This morning I was thinking about this again and I remembered a story I read some years ago in a devotional book. Allow me to recount it here:

Two men went into the hospital about the same time, having suffered similar heart attacks. One of the men grew depressed and irritable. He felt betrayed by his own body and saw his affliction as a sign of weakness. His attitude was sour and he cursed his fate. The other man took it in stride. He kidded with everyone who came to visit him, and he laughed long and hard during his recovery. He just refused to be brought down by his circumstances. Instead, he occupied his time by cheering up other patients and chatting with the staff. The first man grew weak and frail. The other man left the hospital in good health and resumed his life rather quickly.

The point? The way we face life, the way we choose to approach circumstances and our reaction to them, has a lot to do with how good we will feel about it. If we are negative, then life will be a burden. If we are positive, life will seem like the greatest gift we've ever known. I've discovered that happiness is contagious... it spreads! However, sadness, anger and negativity are all contagious too. When we walk around grouchy and gloomy, we spread a dark cloud over all the people we come in contact with. Proverbs 17:22 says, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." A positive spirit is like a powerful medicine. It has the power to heal. It is so much better to face life with joy than to let life get you down. God gave us this life to enjoy and he blesses us when we embrace it with happiness and contentment. It really is a choice that we all have. We have little control over what life throws at us, but we have absolute control over how we react to it. It's our job to stop grumbling and complaining; to stop being so negative and to control our anger. It is up to us to throw off the junk that weighs us down and steals our joy. Do I have it all together? Not at all; but I am better than I used to be and I am growing. Where anger and depression used to imprison me, I choose to let go of stuff, shake it off and move on. I choose joy, for the joy that comes in serving Jesus Christ is my strength.

Who Are You?

This morning I felt the Lord directing me to write a short message for someone. I don't know who it is for, and I don't need to know. I'm just going to obey God. This is a small excerpt from a sermon I preached a couple of years ago.

We need to understand our position in Christ and that as a Child of God, you are to go out in the power and authority of the name of Jesus;
The name that is above every name.
The name that is mightier than sickness,
The name that is mightier than poverty.
The name that is mightier than death,
The name that is mightier than the enemy.
When Jesus speaks, the Universe listens, and here’s where it gets even better…
He said in John 14:13,14…

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Did you get that?

Here’s what you need to realize, you’re not a nobody.
You’re not just a member in some church.
I'm not just some insignificant guy who pastors a small church over in East Galesburg, Illinois.
We serve at the pleasure of the Most High God!

Satan does not want you to understand this.
You see when you are a somebody in Heaven, even Hell knows who you are!
Say what?
I submit to you that Hell knows who you are, because you are a somebody in heaven! You are a child of the King of King with full rights, privileges and authority!

And the Devil is trying to play you like a fool…
Acting like he doesn’t know who you are!

Listen to me…
You don’t have to go around intimidated by the enemy.
You don’t have to run from some devil.
God is on your side and He’s given you power over all that the enemy has to throw at you.

You need to start telling the enemy to get his hands off your finances.
Tell him to get his hands off your children.
Tell him to get his hands off your body.
Tell him to get out of the house and stay out!
God is on your side!
Now act like it!

That Ain't Right!

Yesterday one of my church members helped me pick up something for our church and while there we were also getting some large light fixtures for his garage. There was a lot of stuff piled up in this room so I climbed in over it all and grabbed the first light fixture and turned to hand it to Nathan. As I handed it over to him I was just commenting that we needed to watch the box because it was tearing. As he grabbed the box, the corner of it hit a gallon of paint and it fell to the floor. Nathan started screaming and danced out the door, screaming all the way. I could not help myself and I busted out laughing, thinking the paint had hit his foot. As I continued to laugh, I looked down and I saw that the bottom of the box had ripped out and the light fixture, which probably weighed 70 pounds or more and fallen more than two feet and landed across all of Nathan's toes on one foot. I know, I should have gone rushing to his aid to make sure he was okay... right? But no... I started laughing even harder. You know, the kind of gut busting, tears rolling down the cheeks kind of laugh. I really wanted to ask him if he was okay, but I could not stop laughing. By this time he has run/danced down the hall and into a door that was three rooms away and he's still screaming and says, "I can hear you laughing all the way in here. You're not right." Yeah, I just started laughing more. I finally somewhat composed myself enough to go check on him and he is still walking around gingerly, limping and he kept saying, "I think my toes are broke." I cracked up again. He gives me this look and says, "thanks Pastor!" He then pulls off his shoe and the top of his sock has several circles of blood, and he screams, "oh my god, I'm bleeding." Being the gentle compassionate man that I am, I burst into laughter again. The poor man has smashed his toes and has several little cuts just behind his toe nails and I'm laughing at him. That ain't right. A little while later while driving down the road I asked him why is it that we tend to laugh when we see someone else get hurt. Isn't that really a strange reaction? I wonder what it is in us that makes us react that way? I'd like to say that I feel bad for it, but the truth is, I've had to fight off the laughter this morning as I sat here and wrote this. Again... that ain't right.

Oh... by the way... the tables were turned just about an hour later when we were moving a soda machine in our church and Nathan pushed the machine and pinned my little finger between the machine and a table. As he laughed, he said, "you had that one coming Pastor."

That ain't right.

One Way

I just had a chat with someone online about their belief's and they threw a phrase out at me that really gets my goat. The phrase? "There are many paths up the mountain." They were trying to make the argument that it does not really matter so much what you believe, nor WHO you believe in, just so long as you believe in something. So many people seem to believe that all gods are in reality one and the same god who has wears different masks, or has revealed himself in different ways to different people. The belief in this way of thinking is that we will all end up in the same place, but that we just take a different road or path to that place. Sounds wonderful, but it just is not true. The reality is that many are trudging up the mountain, not realizing that they are on the wrong mountain, and sadly, most will not realize this until the get to the top, or finish their course. The many paths up the mountain concept only works if you absolutely know that there is only one mountain. The fact is, their are multiple mountains (false gods) and we must discern which mountain is in fact the right mountain. My friend asked me the question that I know others will ask. "How do you know you are on the right mountain?" That can be a very long answer, but for the moment, let me just say, "weigh the evidence."
Not what "sounds good" but the evidence that leads to truth. If you search for God with all of your heart, you will find him.

Are there many paths? You bet. But they don't all lead to the same place. They don't all have the same reward. We cannot choose the easy road, the convenient road, but we must choose the one road that gets us to the appointed destination. It's not going to be the path or road that the masses are taking. Jesus said it this way, "Go in through the narrow gate, because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going through it: whereas narrow is the gate and cramped is the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it." (Matthew 7:13-14)

It is clear that there are many paths, but one one path that is right. Suppose you are traveling and you want to enjoy the beauty of the trip, so you alter your course so that you take the road that runs up through the mountain, following the natural twists and turns which brings you to breathtaking views that overlook the surrounding area. When you arrive at the top you get out of your car and look down over the valley and below you can see the Interstate cut through the side of the mountain that is filled with hundreds of cars. All they see is the cutaway mountain and the tail lights of the other cars, but you have enjoyed the beauty of all that is around you. Jesus says that most take the easy route that cuts through without the work and time involved. But being a follower of Christ, a Christian, means that life has twists and turns and bends in the road. There are dangers along the way, but the end result is life while the easy (and popular) path leads to destruction.

Simply put, '"truth is truth." There cannot be multiple and varying truths, for if there is, then they cease to be truth. Jesus said he is the way, the truth and the life. He said that there is one way, through Him, to the Father. If there are "other paths" then that means Jesus lied, which means he is not the truth. You cannot have it both ways.

There may be many paths, but they do not all lead to the same destination. There is one way, and that way is Jesus Christ.

One Thing Remains the Same

Watching the news accounts the last few days; the deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson... I started feeling old, thinking back over 50 years and the changes in the world in that time. In my reflections, I thought about how I've now been serving Jesus for 28 years and this song came to mind. No matter what else changes, my love for Jesus will always be the same. Well, maybe not, because my love for Jesus is even stronger today than it was back then.

A Re-post

A conversation at church last night brought to remembrance something I blogged about a couple of years ago. I came home and looked it up and decided to re-post it. This is from April 7, 2006.

God Smacks Me Upside the Head This Morning

I just got around to reading Rick Warren’s “Ministry Tool Box” for this week, and I found an article that just smacked me right between the eyes. What is funny is I have talked about some of these very things he mentions, but somehow hearing the words come from someone else… well, it was like the Holy Spirit just turned up the volume and it really sank into me.

The article is titled: “How To Recognize Spiritual Receptivity In Your Community.” In it, Warren starts out by saying: “Pastor, you’re surrounded by dirt. To be more precise, you’re surrounded by soil – all kinds of soil. In your community, you have people who are ready to respond to the Gospel and people who aren’t. Your job is to isolate the good soil and plant your seed there.”

He uses the parable Jesus told of the Sower and the Soil to show how some people are open to receiving the Gospel message and others are not.
He stresses that to maximize the effectiveness of our ministry we must focus our efforts on the good soil.
He states, “No farmer in his right mind would waste seed, a precious commodity, on infertile ground that won’t produce a crop.”
But isn’t that what we usually do in the church?
We spend our time, week after week, month after month, year after year trying to coax the same people back into the church that they keep drifting away from. We think we are being good pastors and shepherds… but in reality, we are not. Rather than bringing in a harvest, we are consumed with recycling the same tares over and over.

A statement Warren made in this article that gripped the spirit within me was this: “It usually takes about five times more energy to reactivate a disgruntled or carnal member than it does to win a receptive unbeliever.”

He goes on to say:

“I believe God has called pastors to catch fish and feed sheep – not corral goats! The truth is that some of your inactive members probably need to join somewhere else for a number of reasons. Growing churches focus on reaching receptive people. Non-growing churches focus on re-enlisting inactive people.”

I have been sitting here thinking about the church where I pastor, and I have to confess, most of our efforts (that means me first and foremost) have been on the “wrong soil.”
I have wasted countless hours (months!) trying to corral goats.
Hours are spent each week trying to chase down those that have missed that week, the week before and who show up once a month. (Read the previous article on this blog)

I believe the Holy Spirit has been dealing with me about this for the past few months, and the conversation yesterday which led to my last blog post and this article I read this morning by Pastor Warren have served as the catalyst I needed to get out of the field full of the wrong soil and to start sowing the seed into soil which is receptive to the seed and to reap that harvest.

I will close this with one more quote from Warren’s article: “The message of Christ is too important to waste time, money, and energy on non-productive methods and soil.”

Posted by Darrell at Friday, April 07, 2006

One Step From State Run Television?

OK, we all know that the mainstream media was in the bag for Obama during the election, but this latest maneuver is going WAY over the top. The ABC network has decided to run a prime time program which will allow Obama to promote his government run health care plan to America. ABC refuses to allow a Republican counter opinion, even refusing to allow paid commercials which oppose the Obama plan.
Folks, this is pretty darn close to a state run television such as we have been seeing in Iran. ABC is clearly siding with the Obama camp. A quick fact check shows that since Obama has taken office, ABC's World News and Good Morning America have aired stories that have featured Obama or supporters of his health care plan 55 times, whereas they have only had 18 appearances by those who opposed his plan. (BMI)

The show will be a question and answer type program, which sounds fair, but the fact is, ABC admits that they have already preselected which questions will be asked. Still, ABC claims the program will be a fair and balanced look at the President's plan. This is not a Presidential address which will be aired on all networks and allowing an opposing opinion to be aired. No, this is a blatant attempt to sway gullible, uninformed Americans toward a disastrous health care plan which will cost tax payers more than 1 Trillion dollars and will absolutely strip Americans of choice of health care providers and take us into socialized medical care. If you have not taken a good look at what socialized health care will do to America, you need to do so now, not later. It only takes a cursory look at the Canadian health care system and you will find, for example, that a simple procedure that a 30 minute out-patient proceedure that you can go to your doctor and have the procedure scheduled and performed in about one month here in America, will place you on a waiting list under the Canadian plan, that if you are lucky, you will have done in about 3 years. This is what socialized medicine does. The only way the government can control costs under a socialized plan is to limit the number of procedures done per year, thus creating the long waiting lists. Why do you think Canadians regularly slip into the United States for medical care? Socialized medicine just does not work. But here we are in 2009 under the Obama administration, not crawling toward socialism, but running at break-neck speed toward becoming a socialist nation. In 6 months we have seen the government taking over the auto industry, most of the banking, trying to take over insurance and much more that I don't have time to go into.

America, wake up. Our freedoms are eroding faster than the soil on the bank of a flooded river. ABC is manipulating people and this upcoming broadcast is absolutely wrong. I hope people will begin to boycott the advertisers of ABC. This is the only voice we have, to pull our dollars from companies who back this nonesense.

Stop Complaining!

The following is adapted from something an friend emailed to me. Like so many things forwarded around the net, the original author is unknown, but I liked this and made a few adaptions.

"Do all things without complaining..." Philippians 2:14 NKJV

If somebody were to give you a dollar every time you complained and you had to give one to them every time you showed gratitude, would you be rich or poor?
Many of us would say, "If you had my problems you'd complain too."
The Bible says: "Do all things without complaining," because the more you complain the worse things get.

Some things we need to take notice of:
(1) Complaining is addictive.
The cycle goes: You've a problem; you complain and remain stuck in it; you feel bad, so you complain even more and you end up with stress, not solutions. How foolish is that?

(2) Complaining robs you of God's blessing.
Instead of committing it to God, you're doubting His wisdom and His provision. God put 23,000 Israelites to death for doing that.
"Do not grumble, as some of them did - and were killed...These things...were written down as warnings for us..." (1 Cor 10:10-11 NIV).
Don't just check your attitude, change it!

(3) Complaining affects your health.
"A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body..." (Pr 14:30 AMP).
Be honest, how many calm, undisturbed complainers do you know? Instead of complaining, work on your attitude. Start counting your blessings.
A wise man once said, "I complained that I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet."

Consider what author Barbara Johnston speaks about: "A hand-lettered sign nailed to a telephone pole said, 'Lost dog with three legs, blind in left eye, missing right ear, tail broken, and recently castrated. Answers to the name of Lucky.'"
The Bible says: "In everything (notice, it doesn't say for everything, but in everything) give thanks; for this is the will of God" (1 Thes 5:18 NKJV).

Emotional Roller-Coaster

Just a short blog today. My family and I have been on vacation for the past week. We've been to Gettysburg, New York City, Philadelphia and we are wrapping up the whirlwind tour yesterday and today in Washington D.C.. It has been an interesting trip. As we've visited these places, I've laughed, cried, rejoiced and gotten mad. My heart just ached as I saw the unbelieveable amounts of homeless sleeping in the streets and subways. I could not hold back the tears when I witnessed a woman take an entire meal and throw it in the trash because her daughter changed her mind about what she wanted, so she went and got her another meal. As soon as she walked away from that trash can, a man reached down into it trying to retrieve the burger and fries that had spilled out into the trash. My emotions just went out of control and I found myself wishing I was wealthy so that I could help these people. Last night as we walked back from the Washington Monument, we passed dozens of homeless people making their place to sleep on the sidewalk, within eye sight of the White House, the Capitol Building and our nations monuments. I'm thinking, "Something is wrong with this picture!" I wept as I saw a mother covering her small children as they lay down on the concrete sidewalk across the street from a 5 Star Hotel. It was just gut wrenching. Living in Galesburg, I have encounters with homeless folk, but not on this level. I could go on and on about all the homeless, there just are not enough words to express what I am feeling.

Actually, as I sat down to write this blog, I had no intention of writing any of the above, but I wanted to talk about an experience while touring one of the American History Museums yesterday. We saw so much that was interesting, even fascinating; but as we turned one corner, there was some of the wreckage of the World Trade Center, and a display set up telling of that fateful day of 9-11. As I stood there and looked at the twisted metal, I began to feel sick to my stomach and then anger welled up in me and then I began to choke up and I had to fight back tears. Looking at these images with my wife and kids, who are now almost 19 and 16, all of the emotions I felt almost 8 years ago resurfaced. I experienced the heart break all over again as in my mind I watched my then little boys body tremble and shake as he stood before the television sobbing uncontrollably and he fell into my arms and said, "Daddy, I didn't know people could be so cruel." That day, my little boy lost his innocence. He's never been the same. Neither have I, nor any of us here in America. As we've toured the various sights and gone through the tight security at so many, I've said several times, "This is what the terrorists wanted. They've won." They have stripped us of something that will never be returned.

It Just Breaks My Heart

OK, so I'm talking with someone today whose life is really a mess. I mean messed up. This person has known Christ before. In fact, she had a powerful walk with God at one time. Somewhere along the line she started making some bad choices, one after until now the cords of her life have unraveled and her life today would not even pass for a shadow of what it once was. She's bound by addictions, had several broken relationships, divorced, now a single mom and she can hardly take care of her children because of her drug use. A once beautiful young woman has been ravaged by her drug use and hard living and she looks much older than she is. I could go on, but suffice it to say, her life is literally in ruins. And today I run into her and we talked. She was fairly honest about her life, not completely, but fairly honest. I confronted her with the fact that she was leaving out, and while obviously miffed, she acknowledged what I was saying was true. So I just asked what to me was the obvious question: "Why are you doing this?" Her response took me a bit off guard. She said, "I'm just enjoying life for awhile and then I'll come back to church." I told her that I nor God was particularly worried about her "coming back to church" but rather her coming back to Jesus. She replied that when she was done having her fun, she'd make her peace with God. I sat there, stunned, for a little bit and I asked her if she was really having fun. I asked her if it was really fun to have STD's? Is it really fun to live with one guy after another and parading men in and out of her children's lives? Is it fun to have to do anything and everything to get the drugs she needed? Is it fun to look in the mirror and see her beauty fading away?
There were several other questions I added to this list, but you get the idea. She looked at me with cold, empty eyes and told me that I was just jealous of the freedom that she had. I left her shortly after that, and as I walked away, I was thinking, "they exchanged the truth for a lie" (Romans 1:25) How truly sad. This young lady really does not see the truth anymore. I don't believe she see's the dullness of her skin, eyes and hair. She is not able to see that no respectable man really wants anything to do with a woman like her as she is. And I know she has no clue that she has taken the devils bait and swallowed it hook, line and sinker and she has chosen to make her dwelling in the pig pen and she does not even recognize where she is. All day I have just been stunned at the choices this woman willingly makes, and I wonder, how will she fell defend herself as she stands before the Lord and all she will be able to say is, " I just wanted to have fun." I pray before that great and terrible day she wakes up and gives her heart back to Jesus. I pray she has that chance. I'm just beside myself tonight, wondering, how in the world does someone, anyone, drift so far away from God that they honestly think they are having fun when their life is being stolen from them?

What's Your Price?

I recently read a story of how there was a huge portion of land in the northern part of Australia that once belonged to the Aborigines, who are a very superstitious people. Apparently that land was absolutely covered with massive amounts green ants. The Aborigine people believed that those green ants were sacred descendants of their pagan gods, so they would not harm the ants. In the early 1970's a mining company discovered huge deposits of uranium in that region, and they approached the Aborigines about purchasing that land and mining the uranium. The Aborigines refused, explaining that if the mining company destroyed the land of the sacred green ants, that their gods would place a curse upon them and that they would face years of drought and famine.

Guess what happened?
In 1974, they ended up selling the land to the mining companies.
Do you know what changed their minds?
8.3 million dollars!
Someone said, “They may be gods, but for 8.3 million they can find another place to live!”

When I read this story, it got me to thinking, at what price are my convictions (or your convictions) for sale?
I can tell you, I have known a lot of Christians who have sold out for a lot less than 8 million dollars. Some sold out for a few minutes of sex. Some have sold out for a little bit more on their tax return. Some have sold out for recognition. I could go on and on, but I just wanted to pose the question today for us to think about: At what price are your convictions for sale?