Patrick Henry on freedom of religion

I usually avoid to much debate in many of the political issues, but I came across this while preparing for this week's message.

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here." - Patrick Henry 1776

God has blessed this country for centuries due to the guiding principles founded on Him and His Word.  For this country to be restored fully, it will require those who follow Him to live the way He has called them to live.  It is not the failure of the non-believers that hold us back, but the failure of believers to live out their Christianity in a real and powerful way.

Cream Cheese and Hell

We had a nice day at the cream cheese festival last weekend.  The boys had fun playing on the bouncy bounces. Westley actually ran from them to get to the playground so he could just play on the slide.  It was great enjoying the day.  It did bother me having Hell on my mind the entire time.  It's amazing the way people disrespect such a horrible place.  We forget all too easily how real it is (no apologies to Rob Bell).
Crowds are an interesting thing.  The energy that comes from them seems to energize everybody.  For a Christian it can also be a reminder of how important our task is.  I can remember it hitting me one day in high school.  I was sitting outside the commons area watching a couple thousand people going about their lives, and I realized that many of them would end up in Hell.  It broke me.  How will they know if nobody tells them?  Barna reports that roughly 1 out of 4 adults do something to evangelize a lost person every year.  That seems like a decent number, except that it represents 3/4 of believers who go a whole year without sharing their faith one time.
One reason this happens is because Christians aren't afraid of Hell.  They are afraid to talk about it, but not afraid of people going there.  There is nothing wrong with enjoying the cream cheese in life (whether eating it or throwing it at people), but we must constantly be mindful of the eternal destination of the people around us.  We must remain broken for the lost, or we lose any credibility of our own beliefs.  We must remember that it is us that God uses to reach others, if we don't do it than more people go to Hell.  We can't save them, but God uses us to spread His love.  "We Will Never Forget"

New Challenges I Get To Experience

This past weekend Pastor Bob Stoudt spoke in our service.  He has done a great deal not only for our church, but for many other churches and individuals in the North Country.  A few people commented that it would be nice for me to "not have to" speak.  Personally, it drove me crazy.  I have gotten used to being able to share how God is speaking to me every week.  It probably didn't help that we didn't have Sunday night service either.  I love being able to share the Word of God with others.  Pastor Stoudt was talking about how long it had been since he had been able to speak in a church, I'm sure it was eating at him, and he did a wonderful job sharing yesterday morning.  I guess it all gave me plenty to talk about in my blog.

We are in the middle of our building project, literally in the middle of it.  We are paused while we seek clarification on the fire code for the state.  We want to do what's right, but we don't want to do unnecessary work if we don't have to.  I have been through several building and rehabilitation projects over the years (6 in 13 years).  This is the first time I have had to fill the role of "fundraiser" though.  I don't like it.  I like realizing God will provide all that is needed, and that those He leads to give will give.  I don't like being in the position of reminding people to give.  I have plenty of issues in my life I have to deal with, but by the grace of God, giving has never been one of them.  I have always loved to give, especially to the things of God.  He has always blessed me for it.  He has always taken good financial care of my family and me.  I know how faithful He is if we are following His will, and I enjoy sharing that with others.  I believe that is the best way to help others learn to give, let them see what God does when people do give. I can look back and remember programs I grew up being a part of.  "Try it you'll like it" when people would be able to tithe, and if they felt they needed the money back over the course of a couple months, the church would refund them the money.  God took care of people willing to join in.  "All tithe Sunday" was another fun one when the members were encouraged to tithe that week, whether they normally tithed or not.  I saw God do great works while doing those programs.  Money is just a difficult subject to address, but Christ dealt with the subject often.  Guess if I want to be like Him that means I have to do it too.  I "love" it when He stretches me!

Demo

I can't take too much time to post, but as demolition has been flying on the auditorium, it is amazing how God is blessing through this time.  He has exceeded our expectations on turning this whole thing into a blessing.  Thanks to all those who have donated their finances, time, and sweat to help us get this done so quickly.  I can't wait to see the end product of what is happening.  You can see some of the work at the church's webpage.  http://www.lfbfc.com/Construction.dsp

Monday Mush

I realize I haven't blogged in some time, and it frustrates me.  I seem to have a hard time finding the time and desire to sit and type things, especially since most of my thoughts I use in messages.  Some things aren't great for church, but perfect for just blogging.  This week we talked a good amount about gossip.  I shared with some people later that when I was researching the area, the biggest internet presence in the community was a gossip page.  People were spending their time trashing each other on the internet.  It wasn't exactly a good impression that was left on the North Country.  I think the best question about gossip was whether it was a sin to share it with our spouses.  Most of you know how much I emphasize communication in the marriage, and I had to really think about the answer.  We shouldn't gossip, but if that is what it takes for us to spend time with our spouses, it may be the lesser of two evils.  In other words, I really don't know how to answer that question.

Jess is still gone, and going to be gone for five more days.  This will be the longest we've been apart since we were married.  JW is being as good as he ever has been.  We are having lots of fun together, but he just doesn't provide the conversation level I am used to.  It's worse because I can't stand talking on the phone for long periods of time.  Thank goodness we both like to text.  I am a person who enjoys being alone, but not this much.  Not to mention, Wes doesn't exactly let me be the kind of "alone" I enjoy.  I will definitely be spending some quiet-time at some of the local waterfalls after she gets back.

The day we are born

Today is Jessica's birthday.  I could be all sweet and talk about how wonderful she is here, but that would annoy most of you as much as it annoys me when I have to listen to you do it.  Plus she doesn't need the big head.

I'll go a different route.  I am very thankful to her parents for raising her so well.  I know Denton and Robin had their hands full, she hasn't changed that much.  They did a great job, and I am thankful.  I hope the parents of the women that will be in our boys' lives will do as good a job.  I try to keep that at the forefront of my mind when raising our boys.  I want them to be the boyfriends/husbands I would want my daughter to be with (thankfully I don't have to worry about that one, I couldn't handle that stress).  Manners and respect for the opposite sex still go a long way.  Our kids watch everything I do and say to and about Jess.  I hope I am being a role-model that is worthy of being called a dad and husband.  If we do as well raising our kids as both our parents did, our boys will be great family men.  So somebody better be busting their tails to get some women worthy of their love!  I am scared.

Fred and Me

I have had many thoughts about what I needed to blog, but never the thought to get it done.  I thought about the odd feeling of joy and sadness at the killing of Osama bin Laden.  I had joy because justice was served, sadness because he needed Christ just like the rest of us.  Lots of thoughts for Mother's Day, spring time, and just life in general.  What got me to finally sit down and write a thought was Fred.  I was sick the last few days and was treated to repetitive runnings of the movie "Cars."  Though I like the movie, kids have a way of overdoing things.  Even more so when one grows out of something just as the younger one is just getting started.

Fred is an old rusty car that shows up a couple of times in the movie.  He first appears when McQueen meets him at the sponser's tent following the race.  McQueen greets him nonchalantly as "Fred" because "Fred" is on his license plate.  It is the equivalent of the kids whose parents all of their belongings with their names in big letters.  Fred is overjoyed that Lightning McQueen knows his name, in fact he feels he is now a big shot.  He shows up again at the end of the movie trying to enter the pits because McQueen knows him.  While trying to get in, Mario Andretti sees him and greets him by name.  Fred promptly becomes overjoyed that Mario knows his name and feels he should for sure be allowed in now!

This all matters to me because it is so similar to our relationship with God.  He knows us by name!  Not only does He know our names, but He knows every little detail of our lives.  He even knows how many hairs we have on our heads, or bodies if you are anything like me.  The best part is, even though He knows everything about us, He loves us!  It is still amazing to me just to think about it.  Unconditional love from the most powerful being in the universe.

There is another parallel that is just as important.  Even though He knows us, that doesn't get us into Heaven.  Just like Fred, knowing someone doesn't mean we have a relationship with them.  We need our "pit-pass" just like Fred did.  God loves us so much he provided those for us to with His death on the cross.  All we have to do is accept our pass, let Him be the one bringing us in the gates, and follow Him to the finish line.

I just have to say it one more time, "Jesus Christ knows my name!"