Pastor Tim’s Musings

It has been a long long time since my last post. I figured it was time for a new one. So here goes…

I was thinking today about lost things. I have “lost” many things in my lifetime. From car keys to check books to tools to pocket-knives and well you get the idea. Some lost things can really ruin your day. Say for instance, you lost $20 dollars. If you were planning to spend it or even save it, losing it will most definitely ruin your day. Some things that I have lost have been found later on, usually after much searching and asking my family if they have seen it. Depending on it’s importance, there can be a lot of celebrating! At the very least we want to tell someone about it. “Hey, I just called to tell you I found my . . .”

I can think of a couple of lost things that can make your day. Since 2007, I have lost around 80 lbs! That is a loss that is worth celebrating:-) (I am trying hard not to find it!) One day I lost my guilt, when I came to Jesus and confessed my sins. That was a great day of rejoicing, not just here, but in heaven too!

Jesus talked about lost things in Luke 15. There was a lost coin, a lost sheep, and a lost son. The three stories (parables) are really one and the same in meaning. All of them were lost, all were searched for and found, and all of them were rejoiced over. Of course the value was different for each one. The woman who lost & found the coin, had a party to celebrate that probably cost more than the coin was worth! The shepherd had a celebration when he found the sheep, and he probably killed a lamb to celebrate with his friends. The father spared no expense to celebrate the return of his lost son. I believe Jesus’ intent for these stories was to help us realize how much rejoicing there is over one lost sinner repenting. “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)

Hopefully, the next time you lose & find something, you will remember that as you rejoice over finding your lost possessions, Jesus and all of heaven rejoice over 1 person who repents.

Hope you have a wonderful week! Pastor Tim

Amazing isn’t it? Two posts in one day! Obviously I began the first post in October.

I have a pet peave at Christmas time. I do not like for people to say “Happy holidays,” instead of the traditional “Merry Christmas.” I know, I know, to be “politically correct” we shouldn’t say Merry Christmas! Why? It doesn’t bother me when people with a different religion celebrate their holidays. Christmas is the celebration of Christ’s birth. We get carried away at times in being afraid of “offending” someone.

There are so many things that I enjoy about Christmas: the carols, the decorations, the lights, cookies!, parties, programs, presents, family and the fact that the Savior was born! There are some things that I don’t enjoy as well: shopping, traffic, making a list, and everything good is fattening! I also don’t really like to decorate the tree. I am the official “light stringer!” It used to be fun for me, but now uh …it’s ok. It was easy for me this year. When we had the flood of August ‘07, we lost our tree. Teresa found a small table top tree at a thrift store. We used it last year and because it is small, when we put it away we left the lights on it. I brought it up, plugged it in and presto -a lit tree! So Merry Christmas!!

I thought I would add a little something to this post. Since I have been to four different FLAME events this year, I have become interested in prayer and revival. I am praying for a personal revival and a Church revival. Not just at Living Word Fellowship, or in the Wesleyan denomination, but a world-wide revival. So I thought I would list the books I am currently reading, and the ones I plan on reading soon. So here they are:

Currently reading: If It Could Happen Here (Turning the Small-Membership Church Around by Jeff Patton; Developing The Leaders Around You by John Maxwell; Whatever Became Of Holiness? by Steve DeNeff; Touch The World Through Prayer, by Wesley Duewel; A Revival Primer by Dale Schlafer; How To Improve Your Prayer Life edited by Stephen M. Miller.

Next to read: Revival Praying by Leonard Ravenhill; The Coming Revival by Bill Bright; Partners In Prayer by John Maxwell; Prevailing Prayer by D. L. Moody; Preacher and Prayer by E. M. Bounds; Prayer: Conversing With God by Rosalind Rinker.

Merry Christmas!!

I just returned from another FLAME class. FLAME is Fellowship of Leaders Acquiring Ministerial Education. I took the class on church leadership and management. (For the record, once I complete the course requirements, I only need 2 more classes for ordination.) I always return from these events with my spiritual batteries re-charged. I appreciate so much the atmosphere and times of worship. The prayer times were awesome! I am planning to attend the FLAME in November and looking forward to it.

Two years ago, I took our oldest son to North Carolina, to a FLAME class. We had a good time. When my class was over we went to North Myrtle Beach. Neither of us had seen the ocean. We got our feet wet and collected some sea shells. I took a video of the sunrise.

This time I took our daughter with me. She had not seen the ocean, so after class we went to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It was a totally different looking ocean, as the wind in front of the hurricane was blowing in strong. We got our feet wet and sandy, but couldn’t stay long. We also really liked crossing the Chesapeake Bay on the Bay Bridge. It was really pretty on Sunday. It wasn’t so nice on Thursday, but we were ready and took pictures and video.

It was the same ocean, but it looked very different -fairly calm and warm the first time, dark, stormy and rough the second time. Sometimes the same situations in life look totally different. To one person, all they can see is the storm on the horizon. Another person will see beauty in the storm. We should probably all look for the beauty in the storm.

I have been watching some of the Olympics on TV. Last night (8-20-08), I watched the men’s 200 Meter race. Some interesting things occured during that race.

The winner set a new World Record with a time of 19.30 seconds. That is blazing FAST! His nickname is Usain “Lightening” Bolt. He got off to a great start and kept running to the finish. He won the Gold medal!

The second and third place runners were both disqualified for stepping on the line. At first the American team, whose runner (Wallace Spearmon) was third, protested. But when they reviewed the tapes they realized that Wallace had stepped on the line. They then pointed out to the judges that the second place runner had also stepped on the line. The judges agreed and he was also disqualified.

I was a little upset by this, because of course, I am an American and I want the USA to win all the medals! Then I began to think about the rules. These athletes train, in some cases for years, for the Olympics. They know the rules better than anyone. They have practiced and practiced, so stepping on the line should not be a problem for them.

In another race, I observed someone who fell behind by a large margin and then just quit. Now in all fairness, I don’t know if this runner was hurt or not, but they didn’t finish the race. True they were not going to win but, I was always taught to finish what I started.

All of this caused me to think of another race -a Spiritual Race. The Apostle Paul admonished us, Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:24) In Olympic races, there can only be one “Gold Medalist.” In the spiritual race we can all be winners if we keep our eyes on the prize. According to Paul, our prize is a crown that will last forever. (1 Corinthians 9:25)

As far as being disqualified, we too will be disqualified, if we break the rules (10 Commandments). However, unlike the Olympic judging committee, our Savior forgives us and lets us back into the race, if we seek His forgiveness. How great is our God!

When I think about the runner quitting, it reminds me of another of Paul’s writings in Galatians 5:7 where he said You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? Even when we are beaten, discouraged, rejected, dejected, tired and lonely, we must keep on obeying the truth found in God’s Word. If we do, we will be able to say with Paul (Again!) I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)

By the way, my favorite quote from the Olympics so far, was Walter Dix’s. After finishing fifth, and then moving up because of the disqualifications in the 200 Meter and then being congratulated by his manager for winning the bronze medal he said, “I Still Lost!”

*All scripture is from the NIV.

This past week I have been reading the book of Nehemiah. He received a message that Jerusalem was in need of repair. The walls were broken down. Nehemiah began to have a great burden for his hometown. The king allowed him to go and rebuild the walls. It wasn’t an easy job. There were obstacles and oppositions but he and the people helping him, overcame them. God was with them and they rebuilt the walls in record time. Nehemiah 4:6 “So we rebuilt the wall.”

Last week I helped Nathan (our son) replace a fence at his home. We ran into some difficulty as there is a tree a few feet from the fence. You guessed it, our obstacles were roots! We worked and worked and finally as a last resort picked up a chain saw. Isn’t it neat how God works in our lives?

God used my reading in Nehemiah and our experience with the fence to teach me a life lesson. Nehemiah persevered through all opposition & obstacles to build a wall. Nathan and I persevered through roots & crooked gates (maybe in another blog) to put up a fence.

In my life I am facing some obstacles. Sometimes it is difficult to know what to do. The temptation for me is to just walk away from them. That might be the easiest thing to do, but God has shown me that I need to persevere in spite of the obstacles.

Are you facing obstacles or opposition? I know God can help you persevere through them or lead you away from them. I would love to help you seek His direction. If you would like me to help you pray about your situation, e-mail me at pastortim@blwf.org. I will help you pray & if time permits, I will reply to your request. God bless you as you persevere through your obstacles and opposition this week.

This is my first attempt at blogging! I hope to have a new blog each week. I have been reading about King Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles. He followed his father who was a bad king. Hezekiah wanted to follow God and He did! He destroyed all the idols his father had set up and put Israel back on the right track. Sometimes it is difficult for us to go against the traditions and history of the past. When those traditions and history are sinful, we must have a backbone and stand up for what is right. Hezekiah stood for the right and God blessed him. He was successful and God helped him defeat his enemies. I guarantee you, if you follow God with your whole heart, God will richly bless you. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Hope you have a great week. God bless you!