Not a small issue

I'm an emotional person, I have no problem admitting that.  There are times when my emotions get the best of me and I am not able to act the "appropriate" way.  I used to laugh about my messages at Sonrise Bible Church in Rotterdam because I got emotional in half of the messages I preached.  I have no problem admitting I am emotional, but it is hard to preach when you have to worry about electrocuting yourself by getting tears in the microphone.  Forgive me if I care too much about some issues (yes, that is sarcasm).  There are things that always get me upset.  I cried when I watched "My Girl".  Call me a pansy for crying, or even for watching it in the first place, but that's me.  The thought of murdering innocent children bothers me.  It should bother you.  The only thing worse than a child's funeral is a funeral where you are pretty sure the person was lost and headed to eternal separation from God's love in Hell.  That bothers me.  It should bother you.

There are many moral issues the church in America is faced with today.  Divorce rates, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, financial integrity (yes, it's a sin to lie on your taxes), hatred and maliciousness in people's hearts, dare I mention selfishness, materialism, or gluttony?  As I mentioned this weekend, these all seem to pale in comparison to the genocide happening in America.  We are shocked and horrified at what happens in places like Rwanda and Darfur, yet seem to be unhappily settled with the the over 50 MILLION murders of children in our own country.  How did the murder of children ever become an option?  How immoral did we become where murder of children is a "moral issue", not to mention a political one?  The disintegration of morality in America centers around the fact that we no longer respect human life at all.  I don't blame our government (not for this).  Just because something is "legal" doesn't make it right.  Yes, we should work to have our government declare that murder is illegal, no matter how young or old the victim.  Our government does not determine our morals, we do.  If a baby has a chance to live, then we do not have the right to kill it.  It's not an opinion, it's normal decency.  I have several friends that have lost babies to miscarriages, many forced because of the impossibility of the baby to live and the safety of the mom.  Most of them can't understand how anybody could end a healthy pregnancy by killing the child.  We ought not to kill children.  What does that make us if we even argue that point?  I am waiting for an enemy to attack America on the premise that they are attempting to stop the immoral murder of millions of helpless children.  I can't say that I would disagree with them (I don't want that to happen, but it is better than the continued genocide).

I do take some solace in knowing these young lives are in Heaven, not having to deal with our messed up world.  I know many people who are waiting to see their aborted children there, and that is the only peace they can find in the midst of their regrets.  Thankfully, God forgives us even for this (and everything else!).  As a church, a country, and a people we need to seek his forgiveness for all our sins, especially this.

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.