Ranger

This is Ranger! He and I became acquainted for about an hour today. He is a beautiful friend and is quite knowledgeable of his job. He along with several of his friends shared their "expertise" with my family and I through the woods of the Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park. It was a beautiful day for a ride and the guides that accompanied us/led us through the oft-trod terrain were quite engaging. Chris had a pony that was just the perfect size for him. His cousin Julia an equally appropriate steed. As for the other two cousins, Caitlyn and Kathleen, their mounts were beautiful animals that were quite patient with them. As for Uncle John, Grandpa, and myself -- well, let's just say that Douglas Fairbanks, John Wayne and James Arness never looked so good atop their trusty stallions!!

I did find one thing particularly interesting. Our guide told us the basics of our horses, how to turn and of course, how to stop. What to do if they began to trot a little faster than we were comfortable ... and how to speed them up if we needed to catch up. Mainly, though, they encouraged us to stay on the path, particularly in a couple of narrow spots. I guess what was interesting was that the horses have been down these paths so often, they could probably do it in their sleep ... I think mine was!!! At times, no matter how much pulling I did on the reins, Ranger just wouldn't turn - even though it meant I might rub my leg against a tree or have to use one hand to bat the branch out of the way. I was simply trying to steer him in a more unobstructed direction.

People are like that from time to time as well. They have walked the same path for so long, that no matter how hard you pull on their reins, they just won't move from one side to another. We might say, they are set in their ways. How unfortunate! I mean, the smoother path ... the path with less obstacles ... the path that has fewer rocks ... could be just a step or two over ... if they would only heed the reins.

Well, I hope you have a very Blessed Thanksgiving. Give thanks, with a grateful heart ... give thanks to the Holy One ... Give thanks, because He's given ... Jesus Christ, His Son.

Until next time ...
... I'm off with Ranger!!

Pastor Todd

Will Someone PLEASE Stop the Madness?!

I am continually amazed at the stupidity of the human race. I'm sorry if that is offensive to some ... but come on folks ... this is a prime Bill Engvall - "Here's Your Sign," moment.

Have you seen the headlines from Sydney, Austrailia? Hold on to your red and green argyle socks for this one ... are you sitting down? Okay - here it is ... "Santas warned 'ho, ho, ho' offensive to women." Sydney Santa Clauses have been instructed to say "Ha, Ha, Ha." Santas have been told that 'ho, ho, ho,' can frighten children and could be demeaning to women because of the US slang usage of the term ...

Of course, someone could venture to say that "ha, ha, ha" is to Christian and that Santa shouldn't use it either ... you know ... its just too close to "ha-ha-ha-hallelujah ...

I suppose we could try "He, he, he," but that might offend some men's groups ... we could try 'hi, hi, hi,' but some might consider that an encouragement to try drugs ... and "hu, hu, hu" just doesn't make any sense at all ... hmmmm ... maybe that's the one for Santa. I mean, we live in a world that just doesn't make much sense right now!

Have a Happy Day!

Out of Water?

Have you heard about Orme, Tennessee yet? If not, you probably will hear about them soon. They are a small town ... 145 residents ... west of Chattanooga. They are in one of the severest drought areas in the southeast. For 3-hours each day, town mayor Tony Reames "drives up a dusty dirt road to the community's towering water tank and begins his nightly ritual in front of a rusty metal valve."

Between 6 and 9 PM, the townspeople drop what they are doing to make sure they are home to wash clothes, do the dishes, take baths or cook dinner ... in short, anything that needs water as those precious 3-hours will be their only opportunity for the day. The city has an annual budget of $13,000. Of that, thus far this year, $8,000 has gone to solve the water shortage.

While our prayers are with them, our concerns must rise as well. As more and more people depend and use water, the supply has to drop. We've seen that in our area lakes. We also probably wonder ... how do people live like that? Only 3-hours of water a day?

The sad thing is this ... there are probably more people in our world today that seemingly try to survive on even less. In fact, there are many within this very congregation. In John 4, Jesus shared with a woman by a well the concept of Living Water ... spiritual drink that all who follow Jesus desperately need on a daily basis. Yet more often than not, most attempt to only drink from the well for one-hour on a Sunday.

How sad that the town of Orme has to be limited to just 3-hours a day. How much sadder that too many Christian's limit themselves to just 1-hour a week when there is a limitless supply.

Drink and be quenched my friends!

Siphoning

It was an intriguing story anyway you looked at it. A 70-year-old man, nonchalantly parks his heavy duty pickup truck with large trailer near the curb of a gas station, raises the hood, and proceeds to have "engine trouble." Or at least, that is the appearance that he desired to give. Once, 70-year-old Hobert Gibson even "chatted with a Florida Highway Patrol officer while on one of his missions."

His mission, you ask? Over the course of several months - on perhaps a daily basis - Gibson siphoned perhaps thousands of gallons of gasoline from the underground storage tanks of gas stations and convenience stores. A trap door in the trailer allowed him to obscure the view of passersby as he stole up to 3250 gallons of gas at a time. No wonder our gas prices are so high!

As I thought about that 'crime' it occurred to me that a similar crime happens every Sunday in churches all across the land. A worship leader, minister, choir, musicians, etc., spend all week carefully preparing, through the guiding of God's Holy Spirit, a time to worship and adore our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As His children, we are blessed with opportunities to raise our voice in song - whether or not we can carry a tune in a bucket. We are challenged to be in His presence in spite of our sinful nature. And, we are commissioned to fellowship with HIM in a way that is second to none.

Yet, every Sunday, there are those who will pull their "trailer" in and siphon the fuel of the Spirit from the Body of Christ through their critical spirit, their short-sighted thinking and their overall "It's all about ME" attitude. I want ... I want ... I want ... seems to be their mantra. Yet that is in stark contrast to Jesus attitude which had the mantra ... I serve ... I serve ... I serve ... even to the point of death ... I serve because of YOU.

Are you a servant or a siphon?

Don't just go to church ...

We spend a lot of time "going to church." Some of you travel many miles ... others volunteer on the grounds ... still others are so hungry for God's Word that you come every time the doors are open. But we all know ... at least I hope we do ... that there is so much more than just "going to church."

We are called to "Be the Church." We are the "Body of Christ," and as such, we demonstrate Christ on earth. What are some of the things that Jesus did? He served ... He loved ... He healed ... He taught ... etc. While some of those things that Jesus did, he did from an "Immanuel - God With Us" stand point, but many of those, He did from the standpoint of "he took on flesh and lived among us."

So, how can we "be the church"? My wife shared with me last night that a church in our community, 25 or so of their members took the special volunteer class the school board offers, just so they, as a church, could volunteer at a local school. They adopted that school financially, but they wanted to do more ... they wanted to go.

Our brothers and sisters at Southland Christian Church in Lexington, KY did something different last weekend to "Be the Church." They wrote letters to Britney Spears. In the encouragement from Pastor Jon Weece, "No preaching. No criticizing. Just love. As a church, let’s love Britney the way Jesus loves her."

Let's BE THE CHURCH - instead of just going to church!

See ya Sunday!!

What a concept!

I must admit, there are days in the ministry I long for Jesus' return more than others. I must admit, there are times when "God's People" really get me down because they act more like spiritual infants than the spiritual mature they should be.

Okay, now that I've got that off my chest! I like to surf! I bet you didn't know that about me ... but yes ... I am a surfer ... yup - just give me a mouse or remote and I can channel surf with the best of them!! At home, there are specific channels I surf to - most of them have something to do with sports or the news. But in the office - on the computer - my surfing is usually a little more wide open. I surf to other churches and catch a message from one of the myriad of wonderful proclaimers of God's Word ... I'll check a college to see how the new school year is going ... I'll find news venues from places I have lived in the past, and at times like today, discover that a good friend was in a bad accident. But I have some "bookmarked" surfing areas so that with one or two clicks of the mouse, I can arrive. One of those is good friend and fellow preacher, Arron Chambers. Arron is a wonderful speaker but also accomplished writer. He is also a triathlete. In a recent blog, Arron, comparing some triathlete accomplishments, made this comparison to the Christian walk that is too powerful to leave in his little corner of the world ...

"What if you could only call yourself a "Christian" if you helped to fulfill the Great Commission in the past 12 months by leading someone to Christ? What kind of impact would that have on the Church? What kind of impact would that have on our evangelistic efforts?"

Under that 'guideline' - would you be able to legitimately call yourself a "Christian"? Hmmm ... I must admit, there are days ...

Where Were You?

"Where were you when the world stopped turnin’ that September day?"

That’s the question that begins one of the many songs that came from the day we will never forget. 6 years ago on this very day, time stood still. To answer that question, I suppose every one of us can remember where we were and what we were doing. I had arrived at the office at Hillside Court and was beginning the day. I hadn’t even really turned my computer on yet when the first call came in from Sug Poore. Her words were quick and to the point. Do you have the news on? “No, not yet I replied.” “We’re under attack” is all I remember her saying. Of course the Internet by then was jammed with others trying to find some news. We found a pair of rabbit ears for a television we had and were able to find some snowy scenes of the desperate day.
What took 6 years and 8 months to build was destroyed in 1 hour and 42 minutes. Since then, everything has changed and everything has remained the same. What I mean by that is this.
Everything in our vocabulary has changed. A “Daisy Cutter” used to be something only a gardener might understand. Now it is the nickname of the BLU-82 Bomb. After a heavy rain, boys (and girls) could be found outside rolling mounds of dirt into balls and hurling them through the air … their impact being a ‘dirty bomb.’ Today, we understand that differently to indicate something that contains and is intended to spread radioactivity.
No longer is 9-11 simply the emergency number that we call to summon the fire department or the police. And will we ever hear the two simple words “Let’s Roll” the same again.
Yet while everything has changed, everything remains the same. While our country came under attack that day and many sought refuge in the Sanctuaries of God around the country, that seeking quickly diminished, and today, we are right back battling the same ideological battles that we were on September 10. Our concerns are not focused on those who are lost without a Savior but instead are focused on such mundane things as what kind of music to play and how loud or soft to play it … how warm or cold the building is … the length or breadth of the sermon … and even the clothes on another man’s back. The imminence of the Lord’s Return just doesn’t seem to be a priority once again for most folks.
There are several assurances we have in Scripture. One of them is this emphatic word from God in Psalm 46 … I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. That is not just some empty possibility. That is an emphatic guarantee.
Allow me to close with this thought from the Apostle Paul … For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Where will you be the next time the world stops turnin’?