they are watching

The cry for happiness is what I heard last week as a man sat in the front seat of my car.  I sat and listened to him share all the ways he had tried to find it and each time he ended up further away from his desired destination of happiness.  The thirty minutes of sex was a fix and would not last.  The new cars and the nice house or new project on the house would all fade as soon as the newness wore off.   Money would not do it either because he had plenty of it.  But he was still missing it…. God’s love. 

What was so crazy is this man believed in God and would pray to God.  He shared with me how God has answered his desperate prayer more than once.  He said, “I have hit bottom and realize I can’t help myself anymore.  I need God.  Everything in my life has always been about me and my ego and I have hurt a lot people because of only thinking of me and the person that I have damaged the most is me.”

His last point to me was, “Tell people this life doesn’t work, it only creates more misery. What you have is what I want.  When I see you and your wife together I can tell you love her and she loves you.  When you are with your children I can tell you like being a parent. That smile that is on your face; I want that.” 

I never knew this guy was watching my life so closely.  I really thought he could care less.  Here’s the take away.  Someone is watching your life and desires what you have. You’re probably thinking they could care less about you and God.  However, the entire time God is at work in ways you can’t see.  So never stop being the light for those in darkness.

Matthew 5:16 (KJV)   Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

we must never forget

Yesterday I had a very sad hospital visit at Henry Medical Center.  I went to see a young man and his family who had over dosed and was on life support.  They will be removing it this morning at 10am.  It was so sad to look at the pictures of this young man that were around the room, so healthy, so happy and yet he lay there so broken.

Alan Greene went with me and we had prayer for the 20 year old who given up hope and bought the lie of the devil that he would be better off dead.  Jesus reminded us in his Word of the devil’s main objective. 

John 10:10 (NIV)   The thief (the devil) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

As I was sharing with this mother that I believe God can still speak to people when they are in a comatose state, her reply to me was, “I hope he finds the peace he has been looking for.”

My friends, that broke my heart because somehow this young man who lived in Henry County didn’t have a chance to know the love of God and the peace of God. 

Stockbridge Community Church, we must never get slack or lazy in doing all the good we can for all the people we can because that is what God has called us to do.  He has called us to give hope and without it, people will die. 

Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)   Where there is no vision (of God), the people perish:

People only see God in the good that his people do.  So let’s keep doing good that people may see God through us and find hope.   Remember, it feels good to do good and you are the most like God when you are doing good.

Has anyone seen that Nunn with my 2nd life lesson point?

July 23, 2009

Before I begin to share today, I wanted to remind everyone that this Sunday is the deadline to bring school supplies for our School House Rock Outreach Project. We still need more writing paper, child size scissors and construction paper. Thank you for supporting teachers and children at Austin Rd. Elementary!

Well I told you on Tuesday’s post that I was going to tell you another lesson that I learn from the Nunn, but to be honest with you I can’t remember what the second thing I was thinking about was. I didn’t write down what I was thinking, so it is gone. If the thought returns I will share i… and no I am not OLD, I just have a very good forgetter.

I know there’s a lot of debate going on about government controlling health care on the news and there are many opinions about it. So I thought I would share with you my thoughts for what they are worth. I don’t have a political opinion, I have a practical one. The one positive thing this has done is started conversation over a big problem… and it is health care in our county and it’s cost. I think this is a big issue and we have to solve it the right way and the only way to do that is by having conversations about it.

I don’t think having a government take over is the answer. For one reason it never helps the poor. Last week while on vacation, we drove to Cleveland, Ohio to have a picnic on the shore of Lake Erie. I needed gas so I pulled off the interstate and ended up in the projects or government funded neighborhood. So many people had looks of hopelessness and rejection. It seems everything the government “runs” is not good… outside of the army.

Every time you take a person’s need to work and earn away from them, you rob them of their will. You destroy their life because you tell them, if they will live here we will provide everything for you. It kills the human spirit.

A life lesson I have had to learn as a parent and as a pastor is that you can’t do life for people. You must let them fail and not bail them out but offer a way out..

That’s why God gave the church to the world, it is to restore the human spirit by introducing them to God through his son, Jesus. The bible tells us over and over to help the poor, we are instructed not to give a hand out but a hand up. I think it starts by teaching people this one lesson of Lordship that Jesus said in  Matthew 6:24 (NIV) “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve both God and Money. We are instructed by God to listen to him and tell money what to do, but the problem is our culture is listening to money (money talks) and trying to tell God what to do.

how to stamp out evil

Yesterday we talked about pushing back the darkness at SCC and how to do it God’s way, which is described in the verse below.

Romans 12:21 (NIV)   Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

After I got home and turned on the TV I heard the horrible news that a Doctor who performs late term abortions was gunned down in the foyer of his church.

This is not the way to fight evil.  We are never to fight evil with evil because that only makes more evil in the world. 

It is sad to me that this person who pulled the trigger to stop the killing of babies was overcome by the same evil he was trying to stop, murder.

The Bible is very clear, you and I will be overcome by evil or we will overcome evil with good.  I pray that you will be known as a person who overcomes evil with good.  I pray that when our community looks at SCC they will see people who are committed to facing evil and not denying it exists.  I pray they see people who hate evil, people who are not afraid of evil, but resist it.  Most of all I pray that we be known as people who overcome evil with good.  I don’t think God needs another group of people to point out evil in the world, He needs people to stamp it out with good.

Will you find a way to do good in our community to stamp out evil by doing good? 

Acts 10:38 (NIV)   how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

Opportunities Missed

You may be getting this a little later because I am in California at a conference with Rick Warren which is going wonderfully.  It is 7:30pm here which means it 10:30pm on my body clock.  I am functioning on very little sleep. I am rooming with our student pastor Ricky and he can snore with the best of them.  I also had an air vent blowing right in my face so I finally gave up the fight at 4:30am California time and went to the exercise room.

I told you yesterday I was on a plane writing my blog and reading a book.  I was determined I was going to finish a book I started a month ago.  I could tell a young man beside me was interested in talking.  He told me he was on his way to Fiji which is half way around the world because he had joined the Peace Corp.  I didn’t really know there was a place called Fiji, I just thought that was a great name for a company that produces bottled water.

Well I had a short conversation and was determined to do work on the four hour plane ride. So I just kept my nose in the book and wrote my blog and a few important emails.  About 10 minutes before the plane lands, you know when they tell you to sit up in an upright position and prepare for landing. The young man leans over and says, “Do you watch the news?” I said, “Not today, but I do.”  He said, “Did you hear about the man drowning in a rip tide?”  He mentioned the city and I didn’t pay much attention because I thought he was just making small talk.  I said, “No I didn’t hear about that” and he said, “That was one of my best friends and I got the call last night and I am leaving without going to his funeral or anything.”  He said, “I just need to get that off my chest.”  Of course you could have knocked me over with a feather.  I felt like the most selfish person in the world because my goal of finishing that stupid book was more important than being sensitive to a hurting person.  God forgive me.

With God’s help I don’t want to ever let that happen again.

Hebrews 13:2 (Living)   Don’t forget to be kind to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!

Thank you SCC

When I began this Blog in November of 08, it was to let the people of SCC get a little closer to me.  The goal was if I could have a three minute conversation with every person each day, this is what is on my mind.

 

Today, I am so thankful for all the goodness of God that is expressed through the people of SCC every day.  That goodness has never been more expressed than this past weekend when 82 people showed up at all five Kroger stores of Henry County and bagged groceries, pumped gas, greeted the customers, all to benefit A Friends House in Henry County.  It is our belief at SCC that, “when we give, people live.”  Thank you SCC for your God-like heart.

 

I want to say thank you for bringing all the supplies to help the Haven House in Henry County.  It was an overwhelming sense of gratitude as I looked at all the bags of supplies that lined our sanctuary.  I know that many women and children will receive hope and help as a result of the love you expressed by your unselfish gifts to broken people in our county.

 

It is just amazing to me the more I see people reaching out to help other people who are broken, that the person who gives the help is automatically helped.  I have found out in my own personal life that when I give, it brings alive the spirit of God in me more than anything.

 

Stockbridge Community Church, I want to tell you I love you and I am so blessed to be able to serve with you as we make a difference in the lives of the people of Henry County through the power of God that is expressed through love.

 

Matthew 25:34-40 (NIV)   ”Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’