Lighthouse Keeper

 Good afternoon folks,

Gayla and I were at a multi-vocational pastors and wives retreat this past weekend. It was a great time. We met many pastor and wives of small attendance churches like ours and were encourage by them. It is good to be with others in the ministry who understand what you are experiencing. 

As those who know me will tell you, I have said many times if I couldn't be a pastor/preacher I would like to be a lighthouse keeper. I say that because the lighthouses are located by the ocean or other large bodies of water and I really like that. The thought of living on a rugged cost and that I can help keep people safe just sounds cool to me. 

On our trip home, our very long trip; Gayla was driving and I was kind of dozing and the Holy Spirit hit me with a thought. As the pastor of a rural church I am a lighthouse keeper. What do I mean by this? At our church we have always prayed to be a lighthouse to our community. But what exactly does that mean? 

Let's start by looking at what it is that a lighthouse does. A lighthouse, structure, usually with a tower, built onshore or on the seabed to serve as an aid to maritime coastal navigation, warning mariners of hazards, establishing their position, and guiding them to their destinations. From the sea a lighthouse may be identified by the distinctive shape or colour of its structure, by the colour or flash pattern of its light, or by the coded pattern of its radio signal.

In a community the church is a place that is readily identifiable. Ask just about anyone in a small community and they can tell you where the church is whether they attended it or not. Why was the church building built and why do people continue to attend Sunday School and the worship services? They attend so that they can learn about and strengthen their relationship with God, and Christ Jesus through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The church body is a visible manifestation of God and His grace. We are or should be there to guide our friends and neighbors through the treacherous waters called life by living and teaching God's Word. When the moral compass starts spinning, when it's hard to tell right from wrong the church through God's Word gives folks an established position. God's Word is always true and it never changes. As God's representatives the members of a church body help guide their family, friends, and neighbors into the safe harbor of God's love and mercy. Yes, the local church is much like a lighthouse and the pastor, the under shepherd is very much like the lighthouse keeper as they try and minister to their congregation and their surrounding community.   

A Panhandle pastor/Lighthouse Kreeper.

Authentic and Joy-filled

 Morning folks, I was reading the last chapter of Dale Sellers' book Stalled this morning and He writes about being authentic and joy-filled. He says, "People need to see an authentic and joy-filled church in today's cynical culture." And then he goes on to say, "This happens when authentic, joy-filled pastor is leading it." Wow, I found those word challenging. 

As I read those words I had to ask myself am I authentic? Why do I preach and teach God's Word. What is my heart like when I study His Word or when I pray. Authentic mean genuine, original, real, actual. Am I genuine in my love for God? Am I real when I worship? Do I actually believe what I preach every Sunday morning? Is my relationship with the God-Head real? As I look at that statement, it hits me that these are questions all of us should be asking ourselves as Christians. Is my walk with Christ Jesus authentic?

Now, what about the joy-filled part? I have to confess this part seems to have been giving me trouble lately. As a matter of fact in my journaling I had to ask am I joy-filled or am I freaking out about our churches lower number lately. And if I'm freaking out am I really being joy-filled? Of course I know joy-filled doesn't mean we go around all the time with a smile on our face and a song in our heart. But ask yourself, "Does being a follower of Christ Jesus fill you with joy?" 

I think more times than not lately I tend to be less joy-filled than I should be. Why is that because I lose sight of who it is that I serve and why I serve Him. I let outside circumstances affect my in-side joy. When this happens my prayer is, "I do trust You Father, let me rest in that trust and help me to listen to You."

May the Lord find you authentic and joy-filled today.

A Panhandle Pastor

A Relay Race - Hebrews 12:1-3

Heb 12:1-3
12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Heb 11:39-40
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Good evening and welcome. Come on in and join me for some more thoughts from Dale Sellers' book "Stalled." 

The writer of Hebrews talks about running a race in 12:1. "let us run with perseverance..." I have heard pastors and Sunday School teachers use these verses in Hebrews 12 to teach that we do not run a sprint, but that our Christian lives are really a marathon. They said that if we try to sprint through our Christian lives that we would surly suffer from burnout. 

I have heard about pastors and church leaders who started out fast and soon faded. I've also seen it with folks who join the church and go gang busters, they are every where and have their fingers in many different pots and then all of the sudden they're gone. The sad thing is nobody seems to know what happened to them.

A marathon where we go steadily along our spiritual journey in face of the alternative sounds like a better option. It definitely sounds like the safer one. I mean head down, putting one foot in front of the other after all slow and steady wins the race, right?

On the other hand Dale has another suggestion for this race we're in. What if it is really a relay? Look at verse 2 of Chapter 12 - "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith," Perfecter in the original language means "to complete, accomplish, carry through to the end..." and now back up to Hebrews 11:29-30 - "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." We are being made perfect, we are not perfect yet and from what I have seen we will not be perfect until we graduate to heaven. And it is only with the saints that have gone on before us are we made perfect. 

So what if Noah passed the relay baton to Abraham and Abraham passed it to Moses, who passed it to Joshua, who passed it Samuel and he passed it to David and so on and so forth. Each generation passing the baton to the next until Christ Jesus returns again as our King. Each generation acknowledging the last and then running head long for God until their race is nearly done. Each generation passing  on their experiences, their wisdom, and their love and joy for Christ Jesus to the next. 

Pretty cool isn't it. Thanks Dale for this new perspective it definitely gives us something to chew on.    

A Panhandle Pastor

 

Act, Talk, and Look Like Christ

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Panhandle. I've just started looking at a book by Henry & Richard Blakaby titled Flickering Flame. It is from this book that I got my title for this blog. To quote the Backabys, "Churches bring God glory when they focus on what He cares about - when they act, talk, and look like Christ." Henry & Richard Blackaby; Flickering Flame pg. 14.

What does it mean to act, talk, and look like Christ? It means, 30 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'  31 The second is this: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31).

It means be salt and light to your family, friends, and all those around you:
13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16).

It means love your brothers and sisters in Christ, ^35" By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35).

It means let your word be your bond, 12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear-not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned. (James 5:12).

It means to be in His Word, spending time in prayer, and spending time with other Christians,
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42).

To strive to be like Christ Jesus is more involved than these few verses, but they are a good start. Remember the goal to acting, talking, and looking like Christ Jesus is for you to grow in your walk with Him and represent Him well to those around you.

Thank you for your time,

A Panhandle pastor

Church & Christians

 The Bible tells us that Christ Jesus instituted the church in Matthew 16:18, "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."  It was Christ Jesus, not man who built the church.

And in Acts we read, They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42). In the verse before this we read that 3,000 were added to Christ Jesus' church and what did they do they devoted themselves to the apostles' teachings and to fellowship, ...and to prayer. They went to church. And look at Acts 2:46, Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 

Is the church important, well look at Ephesians 5:25-27, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

You need to know that when I am talking about the church I am not talking about any certain denomination. Also I am speaking of those who meet in established buildings, in homes, in schools, where ever Christ followers meet. It is important to know that I am writing this to Christians, to Christ followers, followers of Christ Jesus and His teachings, to those who makes up the church.

Okay, now with that clarification I think you can see the church is important. It is important for the growth of the Christian spiritually. It is important for the support Christians receive from other Christians who meet regularly. If it wasn't to play an important part in the lives of us who follow Christ Jesus why would He even have created it?

So now the meat of this blog. Why is it here in the United States and I think I can safely say in the western hemisphere that a lot of those who call themselves Christians find it easy to be anywhere but in church on Sundays or Saturdays depending on the denominations. Why is it that with a lot of those who call themselves Christians that anything and everything trumps being in church. The picture I opened with speaks directly to this. 

There is a song titled "Excuses, Excuses" and it is a sadly funny song. Like the song it seems that people come up with all kinds of excuses to keep from attending church, "Sunday is my only day off and to sleep in," "I have to check and water my cattle at the same time church is going on," "Church is full of hypocrites," and the list goes on. But if these people really are Christ followers why do they do everything they can to avoid church. I mean if it's important enough for Christ to die for shouldn't it be important enough for us to attend? 

For these folks who call themselves Christians and yet have no qualms about blowing off church I have a question for you. Do you not know that there are Christians in the Middle East and the Far East that literally risk imprisonment and even their lives to meet together with other Christians in underground churches. 

And your willing to miss because of a sporting event or because a pastor at one of a dozen churches you could attend (freely) stepped on your toes, hmm.

Just a thought.

A Panhandle pastor    

 

Freedom

 Good afternoon, it's been awhile since I posted last and I don't know if anyone will read this post. But here goes, so come on in sit a spell and let's chew on God's word a bit.

I have been reading a book by Dale Sellers titled "Stalled." It is a book for pastors who feel they are struggling in their ministry. I know that I find myself in that boat quite a bit, and until recently I thought this was normal. But now I beginning to think this isn't the case. After listening to Revitalize & Replant podcast by the North American Mission Board and reading Chapter 7 in Dale's book, I'm thinking I'm in need of a paradigm shift. 

Te quotes I'm posting are all from Dale's book and are found in Chapter 7. Now here is my disclaimer - while Dale's book is written for pastor and others in the ministry what he has to say is really good for all Christians and your walk with Christ. So this blog is based Dale's book and if you want to read more buy his book "Stalled."

Dale and his wife were at a crossroads in their life and ministry when their pastor asked them this question "What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail." Wow! What a great question for you and I. What would we do with our Christian lives, what ministry would we be apart of; if we knew we could not fail? We were all created for a kingdom purpose, but we have a tendency to let Satan beat us up and we forget this. Like Joshua we need to meditate on God's Word and remind ourselves that we are special and have a special kingdom purpose. 

Galatians 5:1 (The Living Bible) So Christ has made us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get all tied up again in the chains of slavery to Jewish laws and ceremonies. Paul wrote this to the church in Galatia warning them about loosing the freedom that Christ Jesus came to grant them. Freedom from a life based on performance. Freedom from trying to live for Christ Jesus and letting Him live through you. A freedom gained by letting Christ Jesus have access to every part of your life.

"Christ Jesus didn't come to provide rules for us to follow. Not at all. He came to restore us to the life we lost in the garden when Adam and Eve chose the tree of knowledge over the tree of life. Jesus did not come to help bad people behave (or perform) better. He came to make dead people alive." - (Dale Sellers) Gives a whole new spin on things doesn't it. Yes, Christ Jesus came to save us from the penalty of sin (death, and eternal separation from the Triune God.), but He did more He gave us life and look what it says in John 10:10 ~ "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."  

One more quote and thought. "Remember joy doesn't flow out of performance. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit's work in our lives. We are supernaturally filled with joy when we embrace the freedom that comes from being made spiritually alive in Jesus." - (Dale Sellers). I know a lot of you would say yes we know that joy is a fruit of the Spirit ~ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23). But are you truly experiencing the Spirit given joy or are you so hung up on trying to please God you are missing out. Again the finger is pointing back of me. Today I realized I am a numbers guy. I find myself constantly worrying over how many people read this blog, or how many people watch the live stream of our a.m. service, or how many attend or don't attend our church, our Sunday Schools, our Youth. When I start doing that I miss out on the joy of the Spirit and I block potential blessing just waiting to come my way.

So here are some thoughts courtesy of Dale Sellers' book "Stalled," and the North American Revitalized & Replant podcast. 

A Panhandle pastor

Christmas Lights

Good evening from the Panhandle. Christmas has been over for a few weeks now and I have been taking down my Christmas lights. I love the lights, growing up we didn't have them because my dad had not grown up celebrating Christmas and living in Navy Housing most of the time didn't lend itself to putting up lights. So no Christmas lights, but I told myself when I got my own place I would put up lights. 

The Lord blessed me with a wife who loves Christmas lights too, so I have been putting them up since we got married. Now, here in the Panhandle we put lights on the house and on the fence, plus we have light up Nativity figurines and the odd light up snowman or two. At Christmas time it gets pretty bright in our front yard, not gaudy, but colorful and bright. 

And then Christmas is over and it comes time to take down the lights, figurines, and the snowmen. And then our town becomes dark again. We are a small town and we don't have street lights, oh there are a few security lights but they are spread out over town and most are in backyards so not a lot of light out front. When the lights come down and the darkness of winter settles in I have to confess I get a bit bummed. I miss the lights, I like the way they chase away the gloom, I like the festive look they bring. So now I leave my garage lights on to help beat that feeling.

You know it's easy to let this old world get you down, easy to get swallowed if you will by the darkness. It's like that light at the end of the tunnel keeps moving farther away. Bills to pay, kids that are sick, troubled marriages and on and on until we are completely overwhelmed. Wait this isn't a blog to depress you, it's really about hope so don't quit reading yet.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? (Psalms 27:1). Did you catch that? The Lord is my light... The Lord God is my light and why wouldn't He be after all He was light, is light, and will always be light. And if that weren't enough He shared that light when He created well everything ~ The God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:3-4). And is Ecclesiastes 11:7 we read ~ The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.

Now that we have seen that God created Light and that it is good and pleasing I want to talk to you about an everlasting Light. I put up Christmas lights knowing that in about a month's time I'll be taking them down and yes I'll be bummed for awhile when I do. But there is a Light that came and became a part of human history for awhile. In fact His birth was marked by a special event and a special light; And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. (Luke 2:9). 

The glory, the light of God shone around the angles as they announced the birth of the Light of the World. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:1-5). And who is this Light? Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life." (John 8:12). Christ Jesus, the Great I Am, God/man is the Light and His Light will never be extinguished, unplugged, or taken down at the end of a season. Not only that but His Light brings life everlasting.

for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light(for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), ...But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says,
"Awake, sleeper,
And arise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you." (Ephesians 5:8-9, 13-14). 

Yes, the Christmas lights come down and are put away for another year, but the real Light of Christmas is never really put away. Sure some forget about Him, some try to forget about Him, and some deny Him. But Christ Jesus is there shinning His Light of forgiveness, His Light of redemption, His Light of Love. And He wants to be the Light of your life shinning in you, through you and guiding you each and every day. 

So put away the Christmas lights and feel a little bummed it's okay. But remember the One True Light, Christ Jesus and know that He burns bright year round from the very beginning until, how long is all eternity and beyond again? 

Biblesurfer