Hard to watch

Today my 14 year old son Davis who will start the 9th grade at Kempsville High School on Tuesday of next week had surgery to remove a growth from his right middle finger. A couple of months ago he mentioned that he felt a knot on the side of his finger. It kept getting larger so we made an appointment to have his primary care physician take a look at it. The primary care physician referred him to a hand specialist. We went to see the hand specialist who examined him and said, "I need to take some fluid from this thing." He exited the room and re-entered with a needle. He inserted the needle and said, "It is rock hard. Can't get any fluid out of it. I don't know what it is. It needs to come out." So he set the date for surgery.

This morning as they prepped Davis for surgery and took him back, I thought to myself, "I sure wish that was me on that stretcher getting ready to have surgery and not my son."  Watching my children suffer is harder than suffering myself.

Then the thought occurred to me, I wonder what God the Father must have gone through as He watched His only begotten Son suffer on the cross. I am sure that the Father suffered tremendous heart ache as He watched His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased (Mark 1:1) endure the cross. For me it added a new level of appreciation for my Heavenly Father today.

Thank you Father God for loving us enough to watch your Son suffer. Because you were willing to endure that heart ache, we have a living hope.

More about Face Book

I am not done with my Face Book soap box. I want to get back on it for a bit.

2 Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.
An ambassador is someone who represents someone else. We most often think of people who represent nations to other nations. The bible teaches us that we are representatives of Jesus to those that do not know Him. God pleads through us to bring others to Christ.

Some Christians seem to forget that they are representatives of Christ when they get on Face Book. Remember for those of you who Face Book that the content of your Face Book page makes a statement to everyone who can see it about who you are. The content of your page either confirms that you are a godly person who walks with Christ, or it exposes your carnality and worldliness.  Can people who see the content of your Face Book page tell that you are different because Jesus is in your life? Or would the content of your Face Book page have little difference from that of any pagan?

Remember Children of God that you are representatives of Christ, even on Face Book.

I don't like Face Book drama

I know that many think that I am antiquated and out of touch for what I am about to say. I don't do Face Book. Don't hear what I am not saying. I am not condemning those who do Face Book. In fact every one in my family does Face Book except me and Ross (he's 10 and too young to do it). My wife and my two teenagers think I am a weird kook who needs to get with the times. They are continually extolling the virtues of the Face Book lifestyle. I know that Face Book is a very popular way for people to keep up with each other these days, and can serve to help people stay connected in a fast paced society. That is a good thing.  My perception of Face Book from the outside looking in is that it can be really time consuming, and quite frankly I have been reticent to involve myself in anything that will take up more time in my life that is already overflowing with things to do. That fear is my primary reason for avoiding it. 

I know that Face Book has many healthy, and positive uses, but I am watching a growing, disturbing trend even among Christians and the use of Face Book. I am watching a proliferation of what I have come to refer to as "Face Book drama". People go after each other on Face Book. In Christian circles they don't often name each other. They post general comments about things that they don't like, or types of people that they don't like. They speak in veiled language so that only their closest friends can "read between the lines" to understand to whom they are really making reference. Often there is a specific set of circumstances they are addressing that those closest to the poster of the material are familiar with. The face book posts become a way for angry people to blow off steam, and take cheap shots in front of their friends when they don't have the back bone or the spiritual maturity to actually go to the person they have the issue with and have a discussion one on one.

How do I know that all this goes on when I do not do Face Book? I hear other people talking about it. I could pay off the note on the Roberson Center if I had a dollar for every time I have heard people in the last year say something like, "Did you see what so and so put on Face Book yesterday?" What usually follows is some cheap shot that one person took at someone else.  I know I have heard at least 20 times in the last month about Face Book drama in different forms.

The bible gives a command in Matthew 18. "If your brother sins against you, go to him." Some Christians are living out a revised version of that verse, "If your brother sins, Face Book about him."

Come on folks, grow up. Enough with the Face Book drama please.

You got to be kidding me

I have been tuning in from time to time today getting updates on the hurricane. The television stations were all reporting about a couple that refused to evacuate their sail boat in the Ocean View area near 9th View. One reporter said that people pleaded with them, warning them to evacuate, but they would not heed the warnings.

The outcome was predictable. The sail boat broke from anchor and washed up on the shore. The boat flipped on its side (probably totaled) and the inhabitants had to be rescued to save their lives. They put their own lives in jeopardy, as well as the lives of those that had to come to their rescue. I found myself angry with them because of their foolishness. 

Acts 20:25 "Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.


The Apostle Paul spent three years in Ephesus warning people to repent and follow Jesus. He knew full well the consequences of rejecting the gospel message. He was heart broken to the point of tears that many would not heed the warning, repent and be saved.

Sad but true, many that we try to share the glorious gospel of Jesus with will not receive the good news. When someone rejects the gospel, we ought not get angry with them. If we are thinking about this with the right attitude, we will be heart broken for them and we will continue to pray earnestly that they would open their eyes to the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Have we warned someone to receive Christ that has rejected Him? Have we shed a tear for them? Does it break our heart? It ought to.

A hard call

I watched the news off and on for the last several days and struggled to determine if we should cancel church services Sunday. The property Bethel is located on is prone to flooding. We have several inches of rain standing in the parking lot typically after a hard down pour. They are calling for 10 inches of rain...I shudder to think what that may have the potential to do to the church. Also there is the high probability that we will be without power at the church and in the surrounding communities after the storm.

Yet I remember a storm about fourteen or fifteen years ago that was hyped every bit as much as Irene, and we braced for the impact. At the last minute the storm took a sharp right hand turn and missed us for the most part. We hardly got any rain at all. The greatest winds we saw were only 20 mph. So with that memory running in the back of my mind I thought, "I would hate for us to cancel services and have nothing happen."

Then I remembered Isabel. She packed a serious punch. Crippled this area for several days. I thought, "If this is like Isabel, I don't want people out in this stuff trying to get to church. It will be dangerous."  After hours of praying, thinking, and wrestling before the Lord with this decision, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, "It is time to get some counsel from the members of the Church Board." So I did. When I spoke to the members of the Board, Bill Kidd, Tim Bean, Frank Elkins, Lee Simmons, and Darryl Orell something funny happened. God was speaking to their hearts the same way he was speaking to mine.  They too had all been prayerfully wrestling with the issue, and God knit our hearts together with the decision. Now I have peace about it no matter how it turns out.

Decisions, decisions, life is full of decisions. It dawned on me that this situation provided a pretty good pattern to follow for difficult decisions. Some good things to do when you need to make a decision: 1) Prayerfully reason it out. Pray and ask God to guide your thoughts. Ask for wisdom. It is not a sin to use the noodle God put up between your ears. Some times it becomes abundantly clear to you in your spirit what the Lord wants you to do just as you think it through prayerfully. 2) Seek Godly wisdom from people you know love Jesus and have your best interest at heart.

Proverbs 16:16 How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.


Pray through your decisions, seek advice from mature Christians and the Lord will reveal His wisdom to you. When you have the wisdom of the Lord, you have something money can't buy!

Kay is doing well

Today my wife had shoulder surgery at Leigh hospital. Going in we were a little nervous. We knew that she had bone spurs. We also knew she had some scar tissue from an injury she sustained several years ago. Recently the pain had reached unmanageable levels, thus the decision to have surgery. She has been living in chronic pain for the last two years that has become progressively worse.

We were told there was a possibility that she had an issue with the tendon that attaches the bicep, and that it may actually have to be reattached. Recovery from that would be rather extensive. I waited with nervous anticipation to talk to the surgeon after the surgery to find out how extensive her damage was, and to see if the Doctor was pleased with the way the surgery turned out.

Eventually the surgeon did come out and gave an excellent report. The bicep tendon was fine. There were bone spurs removed and scar tissue removed. The surgeon told me he expected  her to make a full recovery and regain total use of her shoulder.

That's the way life is....sometimes it is good news.....sometimes it is bad news. Today is good news. Thank you Lord, we'll take it. Help us to rejoice and praise You even in times when the news is not so good.

The news isn't looking good at this hour with the approach of Hurricane Irene. Most all news outlets are reporting that we could be dealing with a category 2 storm here in our area by late Saturday, early Sunday. Makes me think of an old song that I love called, "Til the Storm Passes By". Here's the first verse and chorus:

In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face,
While the storm howls above me,
and there's no hiding place.
Mid the crash of the thunder,
Precious Lord, hear my cry,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.


Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more,
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky;
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand,
Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

Watch over us precious Lord. Keep us safe until Hurricane Irene passes by.

Did you feel that?

Did you feel that? That's the question everyone was asking. I was sitting in a Chinese restaurant having lunch when it hit. Apparently a 5.9 earthquake hit out in in north central Virginia about an hour ago. People felt it as far away as Canada I am reading on the internet. For a few minutes I thought someone had slipped some Sake into my hot and sour soup. By the time I figured out what was going on, it was over.

Most Tuesday mornings we get together as a church staff to discuss issues that need to be discussed, to pray for each other, and to pray for those in the church that we are aware of that are dealing with difficulty. We also have some time in the scriptures together. This morning our devotion was from James 1 where the bible says to "count it all joy when you encounter trials."

After the earth quake was over, it occurred to me just how fast these trials can occur. Some trials you can see coming. We know Hurricane Irene is on the way and we are praying that we are able to stay out of her path. If she hits us, at least we can say we had advance warning. But some trials hit you so fast you do not see them coming.....just like the earthquake......I heard no warnings....everything just suddenly felt unstable beneath me. When the ground beneath me gets unstable, I am so glad my life is built on the Solid Rock, The Lord Jesus Christ. With Him in your life, the trials are still scary, they are still painful, and they can rock your world.....but you know that eventually no matter how bad it gets, He is still in control and in the end things are going to work out.

On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking (or today shaking) sand. Build your life on the Solid Rock. He will be there for you, even when the world is shaking beneath your feet.

Finishing Well

I enjoy watching golf on TV. Last Sunday afternoon I witnessed the most painful thing I have ever witnessed in 30 years of watching golf on TV. I tuned in for the final round of the PGA Championship which was played at The Atlanta Athletic Club, John's Creek, GA. For those of you unfamiliar with professional golf, most golf tournaments are four days. Each day the players play 18 holes. They add the scores each day. The player with the lowest score after four rounds wins. Typically the tournaments start on Thursday and end on Sunday. There are four tournaments a year that are called "Majors" (the PGA Championship is one of them). They are the most prestigious tournaments and therefore the hardest to win.

Thirty four old Jason Dufner played great the first three days, and he was having a great round Sunday. He carried a four stroke lead to the tee of the fifteenth hole. He had a four stroke lead with four holes to play in the tournament. He had this one in the bag. Here is a guy who had never won on the PGA tour at all, and he is leading one of the most prestigious tournaments by four strokes with only four holes to play. That is when it all started to fall apart. Dufner bogeyed three of the last four holes and ended up losing the tournament. For the first 68 holes of the tournament, he dazzled the field. But in the end he fell apart. He did not finish well.

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.


 Notice that the bible says we are to run with endurance. Golf tournaments are long in comparison to other sporting events. A football game is over in about three hours and a baseball game is about the same. Most basketball games are done in about two hours, but a golf tournament lasts four days. Golf tournaments are analogous to the Christian life. The Christian life is not a sprint, it is a marathon. And it matters how we finish. More and more my prayer is these days, "Lord help me to finish the Christian life well." As I get older (just turned 45 August 10th) I find myself thinking about that more and more. What a tragedy it would be to run most of the race well, only to blow it at the end.

Lord help us all to run with endurance, Lord help us to finish well.

 

Being Like Jesus

Our last night of VBS was last night. VBS at Bethel is unlike anything I have ever seen. At the risk of sounding totally biased, let me say Bethel does the best VBS I have ever seen. It starts with the decorations. they are incredible. The church is transformed for the theme. Hours and hours of preparation go into decorating. We have some of the most talented, creative people on the planet that start decorating a couple of weeks in advance and they go all out. The first time I saw our church do VBS when I arrived as pastor, I saw them in the decorating phase and simply could not believe the number of hours they spent and the extent to which they went. To be honest at first I thought it was a little over the top. I have a different opinion now. I see how valuable creating the right environment is. When the kids and the adult leaders show up for VBS and see the whole church transformed with all the decorations, there is an excitement in the air that is hard to explain. They feed on that excitement and the energy it creates all week long.

The other piece to the whole Bethel VBS phenomenon has to do with our adult leaders. They really get into it. They don't complain about being tired, they don't belly ache about how hard their day was, or talk about how much they don't want to be there.....for them it is all about the kids. They love the kids and it is so apparent. That is the intangible piece that makes it so incredible.

Apparently Jesus loved children too. 

Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:13-14



The disciples thought the kids were an interruption to the work of God. Jesus made it clear that they are the work of God.


When you love children, you are being like Jesus. Thanks Bethel for being like Jesus, and loving the children.

Bearing Fruit

I heard that our South Africa Mission Team missed their connector flight in DC because they were late getting out of Norfolk. That means they will be one day late getting to their destination in South Africa. I am expecting to hear great testimony about what God does on this mission trip through our people. Why are my expectations so high? Because of the difficulty they have faced.

I have noticed over time that some of the most fruitful ministry efforts I have seen or been apart of, have come in the face of great difficulty and many obstacles. It seems like all h - e - double hockey sticks is breaking loose, and in the midst of it all God shows Himself mighty and you see tremendous fruit.

The enemy is not going to let you bear fruit for God unopposed. The enemy will throw everything at you to try to throw you off mission.

We are headed into the last night of VBS tomorrow. God is moving. This is my sixth VBS since becoming Pastor of Bethel. I believe all things considered, this is probably one of the best (if not the best) VBS I have seen at Bethel. I have seen the enemy attack. Some of our VBS workers have experienced great difficulty this week. I was talking with one of our workers who was unexpectedly called into work at 2:30am and still made it to VBS. I know of a couple of workers who are dealing with personal health issues. Several are dealing with health issues in their families and extended families. But they were still there serving God!!! They have legitimate excuses to bow out, but they are still there!!! It blesses my heart to see it. The commitment is an amazing testimony and God has honored the sacrifice. I have not heard the number, but I know that our people presented the gospel clearly and a number of children trusted Christ as savior tonight. HALLELUJAH!! That's what it is all about. That's why we do VBS. Names were added to the Lambs Book of Life tonight!

It is a predictable pattern....push through the difficulty, serve God faithfully, God honors your sacrifice, multiplies your efforts and you see the fruit.

"By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples." John 15:8


It is an awesome thing to see that as we have a team traveling half way around the world to reach people for Christ in a foreign land, at the same time we are reaching children right here in our own mission field. Thanks Bethelites for bearing fruit, and glorifying the Father.


By the way, thanks for all the cards, notes, emails and well wishes. You folks sure know how to make a guy feel loved and appreciated. Kay made my favorite. Chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I enjoyed a slice tonight when I got home from VBS. It goes down pretty well with a glass of chocolate milk, by the way. I needed it about like I need a hole drilled in my head. But I didn't let that stop me. It's been a good birthday.

Not sure I like it

45 years ago tomorrow at 11:55pm I came into this world. That means that I was one contraction away from being born on the 11th but I digress.

Honestly when it comes to birthdays anymore I can't decide whether or not to feel festive and celebratory, or whether or not to be depressed. In all sincerity I am vacillating about every twenty minutes between giddiness and despair.  "OH Boy..tomorrow is my birthday!!!" Twenty minutes later. "Tomorrow is my birthday..again? already? You can't be serious I just had one!"

Getting older in some ways is good. It makes for a great excuse. "I am getting old" gives you a pass at things you could not get away with when you were younger. You can be a little crankier and a little more forgetful without people getting upset with you....They just say, "He's getting older." It's as if the universe understands your plight as you age. I am already getting invitations in the mail to join  AARP... that's a plus. I have seriously contemplated retirement. I have enough in my retirement fund to retire.....but I would have to go back to work in two months because I would be flat broke by then.  With age you actually do become a little wiser and no longer have to learn everything the hard way. That's a good thing. But on the downside, every year there are things I could do before that I can't do anymore. Every year there are things I continue to do that I shouldn't do anymore (but continue to do anyway, can I get a witness?). Like trying to play my 14 year old son Davis in one on one basketball a week or two ago....I walked like the missing link for the next two days.

All in all I have to say, that if I die tonight in my sleep I have lived a charmed life. I had the most awesome parents growing up, the best brother a guy could want. He has awesome taste and married an incredible lady. They have two daughters (my nieces) that are simply two of the most precious little girls I have ever laid eyes on. I have a wonderful wife, three awesome kids, and a church family that is filled with some of the best people I know. I have the wonderful privilege of preaching the bible week in and week out to people who love God's Word and live it. (and they even pay me to do it.....isn't that awesome??) I serve with a cracker jack staff at that church along side men and women who love Jesus and are gifted to do what they do.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8

Depressed or celebratory? Guess it really just boils down to how you choose to think about things. At any given point in life I have things to celebrate and things to be depressed about.

I think I have talked myself into it.......I'm choosing to celebrate.

Another awesome night of VBS tonight by the way! Special shout out tonight to those working in the Preschool Department. Don't mean to slight the rest of you, I am grateful to God for you all. I spent a little time in the two year old room tonight. We had lots of two year old's...it is truly pandamania or pandemonium.... but plenty of dedicated workers. You guys rock! Glory to the Lamb.

The boys are getting thumped in the offering battle. I think I have a sliming coming my way Thursday night.....oh well, small price to pay to motivate the kids to give to a good cause.....the real beneficiaries are the kids in Colombia who are living in poverty.

Wonder if they know?

We are in VBS (Vacation Bible School) this week at Bethel. We are having ours at night from 6pm -9pm. That means that most of our adult workers work all day and then volunteer at VBS each night. As I meandered about the campus last night just watching what was going on, I saw so many adults pouring themselves into the kids. It is exhausting work. These kids are excited. They have been hearing about VBS as the adults talked it up and have been anticipating it for a while, and finally it's here!!! So they are ramped up, full of energy. The adults are tired before they ever get there, and trying to maintain the energy to make it to 9pm. I can see the exhaustion in the faces of many of the adults through their smiles. I just thought to myself, PRAISE GOD! Praise God that there are some people who will do what brings glory to God instead of doing what they feel like doing. Praise God that there are people who will fight through the fatigue, exhaustion that they feel to pour into these precious little lives.

Then this thought occurred to me....I wonder if they know? I wonder if these adult workers know that they are making an investment with their time and energy that will probably outlive them? When you are trying to work with children, and teach them spiritual truth, it is easy to sometimes get the impression that you are wasting your time. It is easy to think, "Why am I wearing myself out doing this? Are these kids getting anything out of this at all?" But I know one thing for sure after a decade of vocational ministry....they are often "getting it" more than you think they are.

Then the verse occurred to me found in Galatians 6:9 And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. 


Keep up the good work workers. I know you are tired. Press on. What you are sowing into their lives will produce a harvest. One day you'll stand in front of Jesus face to face, and he will show you things that your labor produced this week that will amaze you.