The Cost of Christmas
Well, it's almost Christmas. The traffic is thicker and our patience is thinner. We're beginning to put one eye on the calendar and the other on the checkbook make sure that one doesn't get ahead of the other. That fear can begin to start - what if we don't have enough? Don't you miss those days as children when you never gave a thought to Christmas' cost?
My family was not wealthy by any means, but neither were we poor. Like many, we lived from week to week, knew our banker or loan officer well, and while we never lacked, we never prospered. Yet every Christmas that I can remember came and went leaving me filled with the belief that I had been blessed. If I wanted a "Johnny 7 One Man Army Gun" badly enough, it seemed to find its way to the tree. If a "Model Motoring by Aurora" racetrack caught my fancy, well, apparently Santa knew that too.
Even though I knew from my trips to the stores that such things had prices, I never concerned myself with the cost.
Yet there was a cost - a sacrifice for my parents - every year. As I grew older, I'd catch snippets of conversations about the bills, and their struggle to pay them. "What are we going to do?", I'd hear my Mother say with worry and fear coloring her voice. "I don't know, but they are going to have Christmas," replied my Father, somewhat more hopefully, but still unsure. And off they'd go to the Western Auto, or to Sears, or to somewhere else they could buy toys and pay on time.
Gradually I realized that my Christmas gifts cost them dearly. In time, in energy, in stress. My mother would cut corners - patch jeans, save pennies. My father would work overtime even after his regular swing shift. So somehow, every year there'd come Christmas. It came with a cost.
It always has.
A few days after the first Christmas, Joseph and Mary went to church to dedicate their son. An old man named Simeon, who had been told by God he wouldn't die until he saw Messiah was there.
Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, "This child will be rejected by many in Israel, and it will be their undoing. But he will be the greatest joy to many others. 35 Thus, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul." Luke 2:34-35 (NLT)
At eight days after his birth, Jesus' 14 year old Mother would just be discovering what it means to have a baby boy - a son. She'd be just like all parents with their first-born - finding themselves looking over at them in amazement, not able to believe what God had given them. Times like that are like the best of Christmas - pure joy.
But Simeon told her of the cost of Christmas too.
And on the way home, as they went past the city gates, they passed those punished for their crimes by the Roman authorities. A peculiar method Rome had picked up from a country they had conquered, and improved to make it even more cruel. It was a very effective public display found outside the city gates of most cities.
Joseph, Mary and the baby passed by, still filled with joy, under the shadow of the cross.
For God so loved... He gave... His one and only Son.
For me... for you, for whoever will believe in Him.
The cost of Christmas has never been higher, or so willingly paid.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
It Could Be Today
One of the best things to happen to me this Christmas season is that I've tried to forget everything I already knew about Christ's birth. (Yes, those of you who know me well, forgetfullness isn't much of an effort.) We have the Christmas story so dialed into our conciousness that we go on automatic, like cows headed for the barn, and never think there could be aspects of the events we don't know that would surprise us.
So I have deliberately tried to forget what I knew, and gone back to look at the story with fresh eyes.
Today, our weather here is rainy and seems to be headed toward a cold, cold weekend for Christmas. There's even a chance of snow flurries on Christmas Eve. That will make travel very difficult here in the South. But not as difficult as that of Joseph and Mary.
You see we just arrange the figures in the nativity each year knowing they are all supposed to show up at the stable. But they all got there from somewhere else. The shepherds came from nearby fields, but they had to decide whether to risk their livelihood to see what God had done. Going back the next morning to find the owner of the sheep standing over stacks of wolf-killed sheep rapidly approaching their sell-by date of expiration wouldn't have been pleasant at all. But they were willing - because God had acted!
Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem after an arduous trip from Nazareth. Going up and down over mountains and hills means that today’s distance of 100 miles might have been double or even triple for Joseph and Mary. The lack of roads meant they had to climb the hillsides along a narrow muddy path in winter. It’s not very safe for a strong carpenter like Joseph. But add a pregnant woman riding on a donkey? How careful they had to be! Joseph wasn’t a rich man. So where did they stay at night? The mother of the Son of God must have slept beside the road. Gangs of robbers on the roads made night traveling dangerous.
And there was no telling when the baby would come. The fear and frustration of not being able to find shelter each night with a baby so close must have made a stable seem much better than it ordinarily would.
I wonder if Joseph remembered a little prophecy from a man called Micah, and reassured Mary?
Micah 5:2 (The Message)
But you, Bethlehem, David's country,
the runt of the litter--
From you will come the leader
who will shepherd-rule Israel.
He'll be no upstart, no pretender.
His family tree is ancient and distinguished.
Friends, I wish I could tell you how many times I've been about to go insane with worry, and a scrap of Scripture popped into my head, telling me exactly what I needed to hear. Calming me, reminding me of God's unchanging promises and unending love.
Maybe you think you know all you need to know about the Bible and what it says. Well, if you still struggle with fear, with worry, with living a godly life, my gut feeling would be that you know more about the words than the Author.
Try this. Pick up a version of the Scriptures you have never used before. Borrow one if you can. Go to God in prayer and ask Him to begin again with your heart as though you had never heard of His love for you. Ask Him to amaze you, to draw you inside the stories of how He worked in people's lives.
Then pray every day that He will work inside yours.
Your greatest day yet lived could be today.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
One of the best things to happen to me this Christmas season is that I've tried to forget everything I already knew about Christ's birth. (Yes, those of you who know me well, forgetfullness isn't much of an effort.) We have the Christmas story so dialed into our conciousness that we go on automatic, like cows headed for the barn, and never think there could be aspects of the events we don't know that would surprise us.
So I have deliberately tried to forget what I knew, and gone back to look at the story with fresh eyes.
Today, our weather here is rainy and seems to be headed toward a cold, cold weekend for Christmas. There's even a chance of snow flurries on Christmas Eve. That will make travel very difficult here in the South. But not as difficult as that of Joseph and Mary.
You see we just arrange the figures in the nativity each year knowing they are all supposed to show up at the stable. But they all got there from somewhere else. The shepherds came from nearby fields, but they had to decide whether to risk their livelihood to see what God had done. Going back the next morning to find the owner of the sheep standing over stacks of wolf-killed sheep rapidly approaching their sell-by date of expiration wouldn't have been pleasant at all. But they were willing - because God had acted!
Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem after an arduous trip from Nazareth. Going up and down over mountains and hills means that today’s distance of 100 miles might have been double or even triple for Joseph and Mary. The lack of roads meant they had to climb the hillsides along a narrow muddy path in winter. It’s not very safe for a strong carpenter like Joseph. But add a pregnant woman riding on a donkey? How careful they had to be! Joseph wasn’t a rich man. So where did they stay at night? The mother of the Son of God must have slept beside the road. Gangs of robbers on the roads made night traveling dangerous.
And there was no telling when the baby would come. The fear and frustration of not being able to find shelter each night with a baby so close must have made a stable seem much better than it ordinarily would.
I wonder if Joseph remembered a little prophecy from a man called Micah, and reassured Mary?
Micah 5:2 (The Message)
But you, Bethlehem, David's country,
the runt of the litter--
From you will come the leader
who will shepherd-rule Israel.
He'll be no upstart, no pretender.
His family tree is ancient and distinguished.
Friends, I wish I could tell you how many times I've been about to go insane with worry, and a scrap of Scripture popped into my head, telling me exactly what I needed to hear. Calming me, reminding me of God's unchanging promises and unending love.
Maybe you think you know all you need to know about the Bible and what it says. Well, if you still struggle with fear, with worry, with living a godly life, my gut feeling would be that you know more about the words than the Author.
Try this. Pick up a version of the Scriptures you have never used before. Borrow one if you can. Go to God in prayer and ask Him to begin again with your heart as though you had never heard of His love for you. Ask Him to amaze you, to draw you inside the stories of how He worked in people's lives.
Then pray every day that He will work inside yours.
Your greatest day yet lived could be today.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Do You Hear It?
I will sing of the tender mercies of the LORD forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.
Psalms 89:1-2 (NLT)
Last night Bunny and I attended a concert of our local High School chorus. Two of the singers were New Hope's own - Brittany Edwards and Kristin Morton, so we were eager to see the performance, which is an annual event.
The arts center, an imposing facility, was packed. Announcements were made about the night's program and both verbally and through an insert in the program, we were instructed on how to behave. We thought it a little odd to read such explicit information and laughed about how rigid they were.
Once the performance began, the lights were dimmed and we looked forward to an empty stage. The choir risers were empty, and the grand piano sat alone. I watched as a boy of perhaps 7 in front of us squirmed excitedly, then as he realized no one was coming out on stage, he slumped in his seat.
High above in the balcony, each member of the chorus ringed the edges. In the darkness, they each lit individual battery operated candles. The effect was striking, and the child was turning in his seat and pointing out to his mother what he saw. The concert began, and he turned and sat facing forward.
As the concert continued through several classical pieces, the effect of the music and the darkness had different effects on people. Some seemed to really enjoy simply hearing the music without any distractions. Others found that the combination of soothing music and darkness was ideal for a nap.
Our young neighbor though, found the music.
Looking up, he saw the conductor, who stood out against the darkness as he stood behind the lecturn, illuminated for his use. His eyes lit up, and then his hands rose skyward. Tenatively at first, he tried to follow the conductors movements. And as he did, his gestures became more fluid, more delicate - he was hearing the music as if for the first time. It was glorious to watch.
Friends, I thought about you for the next few moments.
My role as pastor means that I'm involved in shaping for a congregation, and to a certain extant through my devotionals for you, an understanding of the miracle of God's "music" of love for you. My passion in that role causes me at times to anguish over how many are surrounded by that "music" and just don't hear it. Some, like my friends at the concert, simply see grace as a reason to relax and enjoy life, never giving a thought to the Giver. Others hear the "music" but never respond by sharing it with others.
But every now and then, the "music" breaks through to ears ready to hear it- breaks through to the heart.
Once it does, you are changed.
My prayer for you is always this - that you come to know just how deeply loved you are.
Yes, people can get in the way of the "music". Even in the child's case that inspired this devotional, when he pointed out to his Mom what he heard, and showed her his response, she stopped him from expressing his joy. I pray he'll try again.
Just as I pray you'll try again.
The miracle didn't stop with Christmas. Do you hear it?
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
I will sing of the tender mercies of the LORD forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.
Psalms 89:1-2 (NLT)
Last night Bunny and I attended a concert of our local High School chorus. Two of the singers were New Hope's own - Brittany Edwards and Kristin Morton, so we were eager to see the performance, which is an annual event.
The arts center, an imposing facility, was packed. Announcements were made about the night's program and both verbally and through an insert in the program, we were instructed on how to behave. We thought it a little odd to read such explicit information and laughed about how rigid they were.
Once the performance began, the lights were dimmed and we looked forward to an empty stage. The choir risers were empty, and the grand piano sat alone. I watched as a boy of perhaps 7 in front of us squirmed excitedly, then as he realized no one was coming out on stage, he slumped in his seat.
High above in the balcony, each member of the chorus ringed the edges. In the darkness, they each lit individual battery operated candles. The effect was striking, and the child was turning in his seat and pointing out to his mother what he saw. The concert began, and he turned and sat facing forward.
As the concert continued through several classical pieces, the effect of the music and the darkness had different effects on people. Some seemed to really enjoy simply hearing the music without any distractions. Others found that the combination of soothing music and darkness was ideal for a nap.
Our young neighbor though, found the music.
Looking up, he saw the conductor, who stood out against the darkness as he stood behind the lecturn, illuminated for his use. His eyes lit up, and then his hands rose skyward. Tenatively at first, he tried to follow the conductors movements. And as he did, his gestures became more fluid, more delicate - he was hearing the music as if for the first time. It was glorious to watch.
Friends, I thought about you for the next few moments.
My role as pastor means that I'm involved in shaping for a congregation, and to a certain extant through my devotionals for you, an understanding of the miracle of God's "music" of love for you. My passion in that role causes me at times to anguish over how many are surrounded by that "music" and just don't hear it. Some, like my friends at the concert, simply see grace as a reason to relax and enjoy life, never giving a thought to the Giver. Others hear the "music" but never respond by sharing it with others.
But every now and then, the "music" breaks through to ears ready to hear it- breaks through to the heart.
Once it does, you are changed.
My prayer for you is always this - that you come to know just how deeply loved you are.
Yes, people can get in the way of the "music". Even in the child's case that inspired this devotional, when he pointed out to his Mom what he heard, and showed her his response, she stopped him from expressing his joy. I pray he'll try again.
Just as I pray you'll try again.
The miracle didn't stop with Christmas. Do you hear it?
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Holding On To Hope
All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished, but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often. Luke 2:18-19 (NLT)
When you hold an infant, the incredible reality of their innocence and helplessness is obvious. If they are very young, you might be cautioned on just how to hold them, or you might be encouraged if there's a nip in the air to keep them bundled up. Every care is taken to make sure they have everything they need to not just live, but to thrive - to grow.
I love to reach out to their hands and have the baby curl their fingers around mine. Sometimes I'm amazed at just how fiercely they grasp. They hold on tight and at times you have to gently pry your finger from their grasp.
If there's a subplot to the Christmas story, it is in the heart of Mary. For the birth that brought great joy to the world came through pain for her, and at a cost. It was all so different. She had imagined having children with Joseph in her hometown someday, with the birth accompanied by soft music outside which was the custom. If it was a boy, no doubt he would follow in his father's path, becoming a carpenter - respected, but not worshipped.
And yet here she was, far from home, in a stable with animals providing the Muzak - watching shepherds praise her baby as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So she kept her thoughts close and her baby closer. Messiah? Savior? This little one?
Well, until that time He was her baby boy, and as for what might be someday, she'd leave that to the One Who gave her this miracle, and know that as long as she held Him close, she was holding on to hope.
What are you holding onto this Christmas?
Or perhaps I should ask, Who is holding on to you?
Friends, just as I've been amazed at how tightly a baby grasps my finger, there have been times when in trouble I've seen God's hand hold me and keep me secure from harm.
The Bible tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. (Romans 8)
So even when we no longer can hold on - He never lets go.
Remember - no matter what the world might say about you, God spent everything on His gift for you. Do as Mary did - think about that often, it'll bring you hope.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished, but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often. Luke 2:18-19 (NLT)
When you hold an infant, the incredible reality of their innocence and helplessness is obvious. If they are very young, you might be cautioned on just how to hold them, or you might be encouraged if there's a nip in the air to keep them bundled up. Every care is taken to make sure they have everything they need to not just live, but to thrive - to grow.
I love to reach out to their hands and have the baby curl their fingers around mine. Sometimes I'm amazed at just how fiercely they grasp. They hold on tight and at times you have to gently pry your finger from their grasp.
If there's a subplot to the Christmas story, it is in the heart of Mary. For the birth that brought great joy to the world came through pain for her, and at a cost. It was all so different. She had imagined having children with Joseph in her hometown someday, with the birth accompanied by soft music outside which was the custom. If it was a boy, no doubt he would follow in his father's path, becoming a carpenter - respected, but not worshipped.
And yet here she was, far from home, in a stable with animals providing the Muzak - watching shepherds praise her baby as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So she kept her thoughts close and her baby closer. Messiah? Savior? This little one?
Well, until that time He was her baby boy, and as for what might be someday, she'd leave that to the One Who gave her this miracle, and know that as long as she held Him close, she was holding on to hope.
What are you holding onto this Christmas?
Or perhaps I should ask, Who is holding on to you?
Friends, just as I've been amazed at how tightly a baby grasps my finger, there have been times when in trouble I've seen God's hand hold me and keep me secure from harm.
The Bible tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. (Romans 8)
So even when we no longer can hold on - He never lets go.
Remember - no matter what the world might say about you, God spent everything on His gift for you. Do as Mary did - think about that often, it'll bring you hope.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Jo to the world
Walking along the hall of our local hospital, headed to visit a member in ICU, I passed several of the different departments, each of which had decorated their doors for the season. I'm not sure what season though, as it appeared every single expression took great pains not to wish anyone a Merry Christmas.
There was "Happy Holidays" - should be good all year.
Then "Season's Greetings" - only have to change that twice down here, since we only have two seasons.
But finally, I passed a door in which someone had taken silver foil and covered the front, and across the face were the words:
"JO TO THE WORLD." (I think it was missing a letter :)
My question is "Y?"
Is a way of living that emphasizes honesty, integrity, care for your fellow men and women, and selfless living so threatening that it cannot be mentioned? Sometimes I think Harry Potter had the wrong person in mind when he spoke of "He Who Must Not Be Named." It's not Voldemort's name people seem to fear, it is Jesus.
And yet what are they really rejecting?
Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!
Luke 2:9-10 (NLT)
Friends, it is good news. No longer does anyone have to live in fear.
Unless you choose to.
Praying that this time of year is more to you than just a season, a holiday, or debt.
I pray you find JOY!
Grace!
David
www.newhopevalp.org
Walking along the hall of our local hospital, headed to visit a member in ICU, I passed several of the different departments, each of which had decorated their doors for the season. I'm not sure what season though, as it appeared every single expression took great pains not to wish anyone a Merry Christmas.
There was "Happy Holidays" - should be good all year.
Then "Season's Greetings" - only have to change that twice down here, since we only have two seasons.
But finally, I passed a door in which someone had taken silver foil and covered the front, and across the face were the words:
"JO TO THE WORLD." (I think it was missing a letter :)
My question is "Y?"
Is a way of living that emphasizes honesty, integrity, care for your fellow men and women, and selfless living so threatening that it cannot be mentioned? Sometimes I think Harry Potter had the wrong person in mind when he spoke of "He Who Must Not Be Named." It's not Voldemort's name people seem to fear, it is Jesus.
And yet what are they really rejecting?
Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!
Luke 2:9-10 (NLT)
Friends, it is good news. No longer does anyone have to live in fear.
Unless you choose to.
Praying that this time of year is more to you than just a season, a holiday, or debt.
I pray you find JOY!
Grace!
David
www.newhopevalp.org
Thursday, December 02, 2004
So, You're a Preacher...
One day as Jesus was walking along the shore beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers--Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew--fishing with a net, for they were commercial fishermen. 19Jesus called out to them, "Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!" 20And they left their nets at once and went with him. Matthew 4:21-23
There are times when I have to laugh about the position God has placed me into. Here's a guy who was after the American Dream - had a great job with one of the best companies on earth, great family, new car, new house.. etc. We had just finished a year within which we had reached a level of income we had never seen before. Our friends at church were great, the church was growing, and we were a part of it. Word within the church was I was a shoo in for deacon.
Then God went and made me a preacher.
Which leaves me wide open for questions like the title of this devotional, and several others.
Such as, why?
If it was in pursuit of accomplishment - well I'll have you know I had already achieved great success.
For example, were you aware that I had sold the first full page color Pepto Bismol ad in the known world? Ha! Didn't think so.
Or that I had sold 23 trucks full of Folgers coffee, marking the single biggest purchase on record for that brand? No? Well, now you know.
When the gentleman asked me why this weekend, I didn't share those with him. Instead, I told him I was called.
A calling from God is more than a conversation, it's a hunger, a passion, a consuming fire. When the 17th century scientist Pascal died in 1662, his friend found a scrap of paper in his coat. An excerpt from Pascal's journal of 8 years before was written on it. "From about half past ten in the evening until about half past twelve FIRE..."
We don't know what happened to Pascal that night. Nothing physical changed about him. But the passion for God was ignited in him in a way it never had been before. His life changed. His desires changed. His goals changed. What mattered to him before - what had great significance to him and to the world - no longer mattered. It had been burned away by fire.
"They left their nets at once and followed Him."
Friends, if you want to know Truth - truth that will grab you by heart, mind and soul, truth that will become your desire, your rock-solid foundation, your reason for living each day, that will let you rest easy in the knowledge that your efforts have not been in vain, that your life does matter - then listen to the call of Jesus. Come and follow ...
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
One day as Jesus was walking along the shore beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers--Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew--fishing with a net, for they were commercial fishermen. 19Jesus called out to them, "Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!" 20And they left their nets at once and went with him. Matthew 4:21-23
There are times when I have to laugh about the position God has placed me into. Here's a guy who was after the American Dream - had a great job with one of the best companies on earth, great family, new car, new house.. etc. We had just finished a year within which we had reached a level of income we had never seen before. Our friends at church were great, the church was growing, and we were a part of it. Word within the church was I was a shoo in for deacon.
Then God went and made me a preacher.
Which leaves me wide open for questions like the title of this devotional, and several others.
Such as, why?
If it was in pursuit of accomplishment - well I'll have you know I had already achieved great success.
For example, were you aware that I had sold the first full page color Pepto Bismol ad in the known world? Ha! Didn't think so.
Or that I had sold 23 trucks full of Folgers coffee, marking the single biggest purchase on record for that brand? No? Well, now you know.
When the gentleman asked me why this weekend, I didn't share those with him. Instead, I told him I was called.
A calling from God is more than a conversation, it's a hunger, a passion, a consuming fire. When the 17th century scientist Pascal died in 1662, his friend found a scrap of paper in his coat. An excerpt from Pascal's journal of 8 years before was written on it. "From about half past ten in the evening until about half past twelve FIRE..."
We don't know what happened to Pascal that night. Nothing physical changed about him. But the passion for God was ignited in him in a way it never had been before. His life changed. His desires changed. His goals changed. What mattered to him before - what had great significance to him and to the world - no longer mattered. It had been burned away by fire.
"They left their nets at once and followed Him."
Friends, if you want to know Truth - truth that will grab you by heart, mind and soul, truth that will become your desire, your rock-solid foundation, your reason for living each day, that will let you rest easy in the knowledge that your efforts have not been in vain, that your life does matter - then listen to the call of Jesus. Come and follow ...
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Gatherings
They had come from all over to witness, to celebrate - love. Some on the groom's side, some on the bride's side - but now they were all on one side -for love. It wasn't the size of the crowd that impressed, since you can draw a crowd by any number of means, No, it was their purpose - to celebrate and to lend their support by their presence to this grand leap into the future.
People of all ages, types, races and relationships came into the old church's chapel. Some looked at home there, seeming to have spent a lot of time in sacred spaces. They entered with eyes fixed on the stunning stained glass rendition of Jesus the good shepherd. Coming forward, they found their places in pews older than many of them. Welcomed home, they leafed through the Bibles and hymnals as if they had found a family heirloom.
Others were clearly uncomfortable, like people in someone else's home. Their eyes darted around the sanctuary seeming to not find the peace others received, but a restlessness. They wouldn't linger long after, even though the One for whom the building existed would have certainly loved their company. After all, He created places like that just to bring His people together with Him. To learn, to laugh, and to love - together with Him.
My part was to tie the bow over the knot. To remind the friends, the family, and the couple themselves just who wrote love first, and best, and most often. To give credit to the author of love. To call all who inhabited that space for those few minutes to the sudden realization that God was among us - and available to all.
To build a bridge.
And so I turned down a familiar pathway and read to them the way of love.
1If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.
2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing.
3If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.
4Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
5Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
6Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
7Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
13But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. (1 Cor 13, MSG)
Every time I am part of a wedding, I remember that my Savior's first miracle was at one. And I pray that somehow, as people gather to celebrate love - a love limited by a lifetime - that Love beyond all limits will find them.
Whenever two or more are gathered...
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
They had come from all over to witness, to celebrate - love. Some on the groom's side, some on the bride's side - but now they were all on one side -for love. It wasn't the size of the crowd that impressed, since you can draw a crowd by any number of means, No, it was their purpose - to celebrate and to lend their support by their presence to this grand leap into the future.
People of all ages, types, races and relationships came into the old church's chapel. Some looked at home there, seeming to have spent a lot of time in sacred spaces. They entered with eyes fixed on the stunning stained glass rendition of Jesus the good shepherd. Coming forward, they found their places in pews older than many of them. Welcomed home, they leafed through the Bibles and hymnals as if they had found a family heirloom.
Others were clearly uncomfortable, like people in someone else's home. Their eyes darted around the sanctuary seeming to not find the peace others received, but a restlessness. They wouldn't linger long after, even though the One for whom the building existed would have certainly loved their company. After all, He created places like that just to bring His people together with Him. To learn, to laugh, and to love - together with Him.
My part was to tie the bow over the knot. To remind the friends, the family, and the couple themselves just who wrote love first, and best, and most often. To give credit to the author of love. To call all who inhabited that space for those few minutes to the sudden realization that God was among us - and available to all.
To build a bridge.
And so I turned down a familiar pathway and read to them the way of love.
1If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.
2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing.
3If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.
4Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
5Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
6Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
7Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
13But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. (1 Cor 13, MSG)
Every time I am part of a wedding, I remember that my Savior's first miracle was at one. And I pray that somehow, as people gather to celebrate love - a love limited by a lifetime - that Love beyond all limits will find them.
Whenever two or more are gathered...
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Monday, November 29, 2004
Sacred Spaces
"Everything on earth will worship you; they will sing your praises, shouting your name in glorious songs."
Psalms 66:4 (NLT)
The contrast could not have been more vivid.
As I walked through the church's fellowship hall, the gleaming chrome of the kitchen, sparkling tile floors, and long tables told of meals shared. In the same space was a fan of a hundred chairs, facing a stage where speakers, microphones, and percussion instruments said contemporary worship.
Coming out of there into the chapel was a shock to my soul.
While everything I left immediately behind me had the feeling it was interchangable - replaceable, what surrounded me now was timeless.
The vaulted ceiling's arches lifted spirits to the heavenlies. Echoes shouted from every window, every door. Old walnut paneling and pews were carved by craftsmen and worn smooth by generations. Coloring everything within the space was the stained glass window of Christ the Shepherd.
Of interest to preachers, there were two pulpits. But the space needed no words.
I could feel the need of the artist in stained glass to speak to a little girl, scared that her family was never going to be the same, to have Christ say to her, "I'll hold you like this lamb."
I could hear the passion of the craftsmen who constructed the mighty pipe organ resting in the loft to shout to all that would hear - "He is risen!"
I could see through the woodcarver's skill in his shaping of symbols of the faith surrounding the altar, his desire to show that the faith would endure forever.
Everything in this space seemed set apart for one purpose - to glorify God.
Friends, I am thrilled by modern expressions in music, in the arts, that bring glory to God and people closer to His arms. But is it only the preacher, the singer, the musician who can speak? Where are those who would praise God with the works of their hands and create such sacred spaces?
As we move forward into the future, let's not forget those places built to express an assurance that God has spoken and will speak to those who sincerely seek to hear His voice. We need more sanctuaries and less McChurches.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
"Everything on earth will worship you; they will sing your praises, shouting your name in glorious songs."
Psalms 66:4 (NLT)
The contrast could not have been more vivid.
As I walked through the church's fellowship hall, the gleaming chrome of the kitchen, sparkling tile floors, and long tables told of meals shared. In the same space was a fan of a hundred chairs, facing a stage where speakers, microphones, and percussion instruments said contemporary worship.
Coming out of there into the chapel was a shock to my soul.
While everything I left immediately behind me had the feeling it was interchangable - replaceable, what surrounded me now was timeless.
The vaulted ceiling's arches lifted spirits to the heavenlies. Echoes shouted from every window, every door. Old walnut paneling and pews were carved by craftsmen and worn smooth by generations. Coloring everything within the space was the stained glass window of Christ the Shepherd.
Of interest to preachers, there were two pulpits. But the space needed no words.
I could feel the need of the artist in stained glass to speak to a little girl, scared that her family was never going to be the same, to have Christ say to her, "I'll hold you like this lamb."
I could hear the passion of the craftsmen who constructed the mighty pipe organ resting in the loft to shout to all that would hear - "He is risen!"
I could see through the woodcarver's skill in his shaping of symbols of the faith surrounding the altar, his desire to show that the faith would endure forever.
Everything in this space seemed set apart for one purpose - to glorify God.
Friends, I am thrilled by modern expressions in music, in the arts, that bring glory to God and people closer to His arms. But is it only the preacher, the singer, the musician who can speak? Where are those who would praise God with the works of their hands and create such sacred spaces?
As we move forward into the future, let's not forget those places built to express an assurance that God has spoken and will speak to those who sincerely seek to hear His voice. We need more sanctuaries and less McChurches.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Thanksgiving
Days remembered- with my family gathering in my aunts home, just across the street from the mill village that my family worked in, some all their lives. The home was filled with memories of others long gone but living on in stories told and anecdotes repeated in laughter. The table was filled with the best everyone could bring - but the side table was where my hopes lay - pecan pies, carrot cakes, and everything else.
Some years not everyone could be there. I can remember my cousin's being in Vietnam one year, and in Germany after that, serving his nation in the Army. Years later, another was off in Iraq, flying helicopters. Sometimes it was hard to believe we had chased each other through the living room just a few years earlier as boys.
A mixture of pride and fear crept over us those years, and the prayers at the table spoke of faith in a God bigger than our fears. This year is filled with uncertainty, as our nation is at war. Family after family will sit down to a table with empty chairs bearing witness. Our men and women are away, in harm's way. As we bow our heads tomorrow, many things have changed since I was a boy.
God hasn't.
Hebrews 6
When God wanted to guarantee his promises, He gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee-- 18God can't break his word. And because His word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.
We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. 19It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God
Be thankful. Our God is faithful to care, to love, to save.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Days remembered- with my family gathering in my aunts home, just across the street from the mill village that my family worked in, some all their lives. The home was filled with memories of others long gone but living on in stories told and anecdotes repeated in laughter. The table was filled with the best everyone could bring - but the side table was where my hopes lay - pecan pies, carrot cakes, and everything else.
Some years not everyone could be there. I can remember my cousin's being in Vietnam one year, and in Germany after that, serving his nation in the Army. Years later, another was off in Iraq, flying helicopters. Sometimes it was hard to believe we had chased each other through the living room just a few years earlier as boys.
A mixture of pride and fear crept over us those years, and the prayers at the table spoke of faith in a God bigger than our fears. This year is filled with uncertainty, as our nation is at war. Family after family will sit down to a table with empty chairs bearing witness. Our men and women are away, in harm's way. As we bow our heads tomorrow, many things have changed since I was a boy.
God hasn't.
Hebrews 6
When God wanted to guarantee his promises, He gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee-- 18God can't break his word. And because His word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.
We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. 19It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God
Be thankful. Our God is faithful to care, to love, to save.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Beginning Again
Last week ended with a whine.
The whine could have emenated from the youth who were here at New Hope for a Friday night lock in. Or for those sleep deprived saints, Doug and Ellen Fannon who gave up some sleep to build relationships between kids and God. The day after, I'm sure the youth bounced out of bed and ran off to do stuff. The adults? Well....
But more than likely the whine came from me as I tried to eradicate several viruses, spyware, and even keyloggers that had invaded the church office PC. Every time someone opened a window in Internet Explorer, pop up ads ... popped up, layering the screen. Annoying. The computer ran so slow I thought I was back on my old Atari PC. Aggravating.
The viruses and the spyware though, were extremely dangerous.
So I went to work, updating security, running anti-spyware software, editing the registry. The result? Almost all gone. But not all. So I kept at it, trying this solution after that one, in safe mode and not, until finally I had to admit defeat.
The only way to eradicate it all, is to start over with a fresh hard drive. Reformat and reinstall.
To begin again. I sure hate to have to do that.
We've been studying the book of Beginnings lately (Genesis), and at one point, God came to the same conclusion that I did Saturday night. But He wasn't talking about a tool like a PC, He was speaking of His creation. And he wasn't whining about it - He was hurting.
GOD saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil--evil, evil, evil from morning to night. 6GOD was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. 7GOD said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep... Genesis 6:5-6
Sin broke God's heart.
Folks, when I read that again a few weeks ago, even when I read it now - it brings me to tears.
Because I know God to be love beyond all concepts of love we humans are capable of understanding. He'll go anywhere, do anything to let people know just how much He loves them. The most famous verse in the Bible says "For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son..."
Imagine how He must have hurt then, when man broke His heart.
Yet in His pain, he was merciful, seeing Noah (not a perfect man himself), as someone who He could continue to love - who hadn't given up on God. So God didn't give up on Him, instead, He re-created the world, and set Noah and family in it to try again. And then a couple thousand years later, a baby was born in Bethlehem for the purpose of saving the world. Hope was re-created in a manger. And God showed us how to live.
I want to ask you something. And you don't have to be a believer to answer this.
Given what you know about God, is your life pleasing Him, or is it breaking His heart?
Listen, God is still re-creating lives - if you'll surrender to His plan and purpose for your life. Get rid of all the "viruses" that keep you from enjoying the freedom that Jesus can give. Stop trying to live a good life and allow the Spirit of God to live in you and enable you to live a life beyond limits.
Give Jesus your heart.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Last week ended with a whine.
The whine could have emenated from the youth who were here at New Hope for a Friday night lock in. Or for those sleep deprived saints, Doug and Ellen Fannon who gave up some sleep to build relationships between kids and God. The day after, I'm sure the youth bounced out of bed and ran off to do stuff. The adults? Well....
But more than likely the whine came from me as I tried to eradicate several viruses, spyware, and even keyloggers that had invaded the church office PC. Every time someone opened a window in Internet Explorer, pop up ads ... popped up, layering the screen. Annoying. The computer ran so slow I thought I was back on my old Atari PC. Aggravating.
The viruses and the spyware though, were extremely dangerous.
So I went to work, updating security, running anti-spyware software, editing the registry. The result? Almost all gone. But not all. So I kept at it, trying this solution after that one, in safe mode and not, until finally I had to admit defeat.
The only way to eradicate it all, is to start over with a fresh hard drive. Reformat and reinstall.
To begin again. I sure hate to have to do that.
We've been studying the book of Beginnings lately (Genesis), and at one point, God came to the same conclusion that I did Saturday night. But He wasn't talking about a tool like a PC, He was speaking of His creation. And he wasn't whining about it - He was hurting.
GOD saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil--evil, evil, evil from morning to night. 6GOD was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. 7GOD said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep... Genesis 6:5-6
Sin broke God's heart.
Folks, when I read that again a few weeks ago, even when I read it now - it brings me to tears.
Because I know God to be love beyond all concepts of love we humans are capable of understanding. He'll go anywhere, do anything to let people know just how much He loves them. The most famous verse in the Bible says "For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son..."
Imagine how He must have hurt then, when man broke His heart.
Yet in His pain, he was merciful, seeing Noah (not a perfect man himself), as someone who He could continue to love - who hadn't given up on God. So God didn't give up on Him, instead, He re-created the world, and set Noah and family in it to try again. And then a couple thousand years later, a baby was born in Bethlehem for the purpose of saving the world. Hope was re-created in a manger. And God showed us how to live.
I want to ask you something. And you don't have to be a believer to answer this.
Given what you know about God, is your life pleasing Him, or is it breaking His heart?
Listen, God is still re-creating lives - if you'll surrender to His plan and purpose for your life. Get rid of all the "viruses" that keep you from enjoying the freedom that Jesus can give. Stop trying to live a good life and allow the Spirit of God to live in you and enable you to live a life beyond limits.
Give Jesus your heart.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
In Good Hands
Little girls gather around their leaders, kneeling before they pray. They are asked if there's anything God needs to hear about, anything that's weighing them down. One speaks, then another. In this place made holy by their heartcries, they speak, asking Jesus to hear their prayers. Sometimes if you were to hear them, they'd break your heart.
Who are they? Children of the age we live in. Most all from homes where divorce has been a visitor, many from where plenty has never shown up.
Who are they? The world would say nobody really. Everywhere they go they're really not heard. After all, they're children. Seen and not heard, speak when spoken too. Come back and see me when you grow up says the world.
But they are not in the world's hands. God's Son came so that they would have someone they could go to with their worries and their cares. Jesus hears every word.
He won't brush aside the bruised and the hurt
and He won't disregard the small and insignificant,
but He'll steadily and firmly set things right. Isaiah 42:3 (MSG)
That's just another reason I love Jesus so.
People achieve power, and they tend to forget where they came from. People achieve success, and poverty is something only "those people" get themselves into. We're quick to pass by on the other side unless it suits our fancy.
Thank God there's Jesus.
With the world to care for, with galaxies at His beck and call, He hears the heartbeat of those little children, and pauses, and cares. He stops for them, and acts on their behalf.
Just as He'll do for you.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Little girls gather around their leaders, kneeling before they pray. They are asked if there's anything God needs to hear about, anything that's weighing them down. One speaks, then another. In this place made holy by their heartcries, they speak, asking Jesus to hear their prayers. Sometimes if you were to hear them, they'd break your heart.
Who are they? Children of the age we live in. Most all from homes where divorce has been a visitor, many from where plenty has never shown up.
Who are they? The world would say nobody really. Everywhere they go they're really not heard. After all, they're children. Seen and not heard, speak when spoken too. Come back and see me when you grow up says the world.
But they are not in the world's hands. God's Son came so that they would have someone they could go to with their worries and their cares. Jesus hears every word.
He won't brush aside the bruised and the hurt
and He won't disregard the small and insignificant,
but He'll steadily and firmly set things right. Isaiah 42:3 (MSG)
That's just another reason I love Jesus so.
People achieve power, and they tend to forget where they came from. People achieve success, and poverty is something only "those people" get themselves into. We're quick to pass by on the other side unless it suits our fancy.
Thank God there's Jesus.
With the world to care for, with galaxies at His beck and call, He hears the heartbeat of those little children, and pauses, and cares. He stops for them, and acts on their behalf.
Just as He'll do for you.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Is that okay?
My father in love is a precise builder. He's a great man, a true believer in Christ, and a model for me. I thank God for him often, and he's a big supporter of my work for God, and for me. Our relationship has grown much deeper over the years.
When I was placed into that wonderful family through marriage, one of the main objects on my agenda was to make sure he felt his daughter had chosen well. So I tried to hang around and help him as he built things. Did I mention he's a precise builder? The old "measure twice, cut once" really applies here, and in those early days, he started me out by allowing me the honor of holding the end of the measuring tape.
Not the one that has the numbers that count - I'm talking about the bare metal end.
Yep, the one that most of the time no one needs to hold.
I can remember hoping that one day he'd trust me enough to measure for him, or even actually cut the wood we were working with. But until that day I'd hold the end of the ruler, as well as I possibly could.
Sometimes I'd even ask him, "is that okay?"
My goal was to please him, and for him to place his trust in my work. (And eventually, he did)
Some of you have noticed that I haven't been writing as often lately. There have been some physical reasons - PC troubles galore, tiredness, even a little illness on my end. But mostly it's been because I really feel the need to listen far more than speak right now.
My core belief is that God loves me so much that He hasn't just overlooked my sins and shortcomings, but He has paid a terrible price for them. Having done that, He hasn't set me adrift and said "okay, now live better!" Instead, He's stayed close, keeping an intimate connection with me through His Word, His Spirit, and the events around me. And out of deep gratitude and love for Him and what He's done for me, I am to live my life to please Him.
It's so easy to just live mindlessly, never really stepping back and asking yourself - "Am I pleasing God?"
You get up and head out for work, for school, or an appointment. You are around people all day, speaking with them about shared interests, work issues, overdue library fees, doctors bills or whatever. Your words, your actions, your attitudes speak to them about who you are, about what you value, about what you believe in.
Was it pleasing to God?
Here I'm not talking about "being a good person", "treating others like I want to be treated", "trying to live a good life", or any of those things we say when we are walking around the edges of a God honoring life. One man that did that to the max was Paul. Here's what he said about that kind of living.
I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. Philippians 3:10
See friends, at the end of the day, everything outside of being right with God and living the Life is second class stuff. Don't you want to go all the way with Christ?
I'm sure some of you do. I know I do.
And sometimes I just have to step back from the work and ask Him - "Is that okay?"
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
My father in love is a precise builder. He's a great man, a true believer in Christ, and a model for me. I thank God for him often, and he's a big supporter of my work for God, and for me. Our relationship has grown much deeper over the years.
When I was placed into that wonderful family through marriage, one of the main objects on my agenda was to make sure he felt his daughter had chosen well. So I tried to hang around and help him as he built things. Did I mention he's a precise builder? The old "measure twice, cut once" really applies here, and in those early days, he started me out by allowing me the honor of holding the end of the measuring tape.
Not the one that has the numbers that count - I'm talking about the bare metal end.
Yep, the one that most of the time no one needs to hold.
I can remember hoping that one day he'd trust me enough to measure for him, or even actually cut the wood we were working with. But until that day I'd hold the end of the ruler, as well as I possibly could.
Sometimes I'd even ask him, "is that okay?"
My goal was to please him, and for him to place his trust in my work. (And eventually, he did)
Some of you have noticed that I haven't been writing as often lately. There have been some physical reasons - PC troubles galore, tiredness, even a little illness on my end. But mostly it's been because I really feel the need to listen far more than speak right now.
My core belief is that God loves me so much that He hasn't just overlooked my sins and shortcomings, but He has paid a terrible price for them. Having done that, He hasn't set me adrift and said "okay, now live better!" Instead, He's stayed close, keeping an intimate connection with me through His Word, His Spirit, and the events around me. And out of deep gratitude and love for Him and what He's done for me, I am to live my life to please Him.
It's so easy to just live mindlessly, never really stepping back and asking yourself - "Am I pleasing God?"
You get up and head out for work, for school, or an appointment. You are around people all day, speaking with them about shared interests, work issues, overdue library fees, doctors bills or whatever. Your words, your actions, your attitudes speak to them about who you are, about what you value, about what you believe in.
Was it pleasing to God?
Here I'm not talking about "being a good person", "treating others like I want to be treated", "trying to live a good life", or any of those things we say when we are walking around the edges of a God honoring life. One man that did that to the max was Paul. Here's what he said about that kind of living.
I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. Philippians 3:10
See friends, at the end of the day, everything outside of being right with God and living the Life is second class stuff. Don't you want to go all the way with Christ?
I'm sure some of you do. I know I do.
And sometimes I just have to step back from the work and ask Him - "Is that okay?"
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Remembrance
In the society in which we live, there are few times when we pause - much less stop.
But we stop today.
No mail. No banks.
Federal employees and many others have the day off from work. Someone must think it's important we remember. It's Veterans day.
Originally, it was put into place to remember the day the guns fell silent in France in the year 1918. But years later that was amended to include veterans of all wars. The date's been changed a couple of times, but we've finally settled on the original date used. So we stop and remember all the brave young men and women that have served.
I suspect many of those who served never got the thank you they deserve. America can be fickle in our praise. We are apt to follow the sound of the guns, awarding heroes wreaths to those who met the enemy in combat, and much less to those who never had to go to battle. My friend who retired from the Air Force recently flew hundreds of hours in defense of our nation. But he never fired in war. He was ready. His life was on the line.
For that I say, "Thank you."
All of you who served.
All of you who pledged "to support and defend the constitution of the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic." Thank you.
All of you who left home and family to provide protection for my home and my family while we enjoyed the freedom and security your vigilance gave.
Thank you.
It is true that
"...the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends." John 15:13
While thousands lost their lives in the service of our country, millions offered their lives, willing to do whatever it took to keep America safe. That willingness can't be bought. But it does have a price.
And today, a grateful America stops to remember.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
In the society in which we live, there are few times when we pause - much less stop.
But we stop today.
No mail. No banks.
Federal employees and many others have the day off from work. Someone must think it's important we remember. It's Veterans day.
Originally, it was put into place to remember the day the guns fell silent in France in the year 1918. But years later that was amended to include veterans of all wars. The date's been changed a couple of times, but we've finally settled on the original date used. So we stop and remember all the brave young men and women that have served.
I suspect many of those who served never got the thank you they deserve. America can be fickle in our praise. We are apt to follow the sound of the guns, awarding heroes wreaths to those who met the enemy in combat, and much less to those who never had to go to battle. My friend who retired from the Air Force recently flew hundreds of hours in defense of our nation. But he never fired in war. He was ready. His life was on the line.
For that I say, "Thank you."
All of you who served.
All of you who pledged "to support and defend the constitution of the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic." Thank you.
All of you who left home and family to provide protection for my home and my family while we enjoyed the freedom and security your vigilance gave.
Thank you.
It is true that
"...the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends." John 15:13
While thousands lost their lives in the service of our country, millions offered their lives, willing to do whatever it took to keep America safe. That willingness can't be bought. But it does have a price.
And today, a grateful America stops to remember.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Semper Fidelis
Today marks the 229th birthday of the Marine Corps. Even as I type this, "America's 911" is engaged in fierce fighting in Fallujah, Iraq. Millions of men and women have served their country as Marines in its history, with valor and with distinction. In many of the most famous battles the world associates with Marines though, they were outnumbered and outgunned - yet they triumphed.
How?
It begins with a simple Latin phrase that every Marine boot learns. "Semper Fidelis" - always faithful.
Everyone understands what "always" means, but the depths of "faithful" are less frequently explored. At it's root there are words associated like "steadfast", "fidelity", "loyal". But it can also mean "closeness to the original", or "a faithful translation of the original."
Think about it with me. For 229 years, men and women have pushed themselves through demanding training, forced themselves into harm's way, bled and died always seeking to remain faithful to the Corps - to the original vision of what being a Marine means. Their fidelity to that vision, and their dogged perseverance in teaching it to successive generations has given us a group of people whose faithfulness extends past their active service into their entire lives. "Once a Marine, always a Marine."
We can learn from that folks.
Our original was Jesus Christ. He patterned for us a way of life - of relating to God and to men and women so different and yet so right that people have been giving Him their lives for over 2000 years. His followers have faced matyrdom, mutilation, and every torture known.
From His death on a cross to now though, His disciples rise each morning with a renewed committment to make a difference that day for Him. Their goal - to be always faithful to the One who gave them new lives, and to pass His teachings to the next generations.
They sometimes fail. But He never does.
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Psalms 136:1 (NLT)
God is always faithful.
He was faithful yesterday; He's faithful today. What He's promised, He will do. May His unfailing love find you today.
Semper Fidelis, and God bless the Marine Corps.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Today marks the 229th birthday of the Marine Corps. Even as I type this, "America's 911" is engaged in fierce fighting in Fallujah, Iraq. Millions of men and women have served their country as Marines in its history, with valor and with distinction. In many of the most famous battles the world associates with Marines though, they were outnumbered and outgunned - yet they triumphed.
How?
It begins with a simple Latin phrase that every Marine boot learns. "Semper Fidelis" - always faithful.
Everyone understands what "always" means, but the depths of "faithful" are less frequently explored. At it's root there are words associated like "steadfast", "fidelity", "loyal". But it can also mean "closeness to the original", or "a faithful translation of the original."
Think about it with me. For 229 years, men and women have pushed themselves through demanding training, forced themselves into harm's way, bled and died always seeking to remain faithful to the Corps - to the original vision of what being a Marine means. Their fidelity to that vision, and their dogged perseverance in teaching it to successive generations has given us a group of people whose faithfulness extends past their active service into their entire lives. "Once a Marine, always a Marine."
We can learn from that folks.
Our original was Jesus Christ. He patterned for us a way of life - of relating to God and to men and women so different and yet so right that people have been giving Him their lives for over 2000 years. His followers have faced matyrdom, mutilation, and every torture known.
From His death on a cross to now though, His disciples rise each morning with a renewed committment to make a difference that day for Him. Their goal - to be always faithful to the One who gave them new lives, and to pass His teachings to the next generations.
They sometimes fail. But He never does.
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Psalms 136:1 (NLT)
God is always faithful.
He was faithful yesterday; He's faithful today. What He's promised, He will do. May His unfailing love find you today.
Semper Fidelis, and God bless the Marine Corps.
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Critics and Believers
Today I was doing some work on the computer that involved combining a large amount of text together. Everything was going well I thought, until suddenly a gray box popped up on the screen and said:
There are too many spelling and grammatical errors in this document for Microsoft Word to continue displaying them. Spellcheck and grammar check have ceased.
It was a busy day, with a lot going on, and the work I was doing was important. So I ignored it and continued. I wrote a little more, moved some text around, and hit enter, saving it under another name. Everything was fine.
I wrote a few more words and there it was again.
Now I wanted to talk to the PC, man to machine. Something like...
"Excuse me? Am I being insulted by a machine? Is what you are saying that I am hopeless, that I will never get it right, and so there's no point in your continuing?"
But I just saved it to yet another name and continued doing what I was doing. Everything good so far.
I hit enter.
The message popped up again. Microsoft had given up on me.
Aren't you glad God isn't like that?
Everybody's your friend when life is good, when your work is praised, when there's money in the bank and all your kids are doing great. When you are doing the right things right - life's a cinch.
But what happens when trouble comes? Whether you had a hand in it, or not - trouble is trouble. The Bible never leads us on by helping us pretend trouble isn't part of life.
Psalm 34:19 (Msg)
Disciples so often get into trouble;
still, God is there every time.
But the Bible also never ceases to remind us we never go through trouble alone.
God is with us. Every time. He never gives up on us.
Psalm 91:14 (Msg)
"If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God,
"I'll get you out of any trouble.
I'll give you the best of care
if you'll only get to know and trust me.
But to really make progress, you've got to put your trust in someone other than yourself, in something other than your own skills, your own abilities. You've got to learn to trust God. He believes in you, now focus your attention on believing in Him and living for Him.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Today I was doing some work on the computer that involved combining a large amount of text together. Everything was going well I thought, until suddenly a gray box popped up on the screen and said:
There are too many spelling and grammatical errors in this document for Microsoft Word to continue displaying them. Spellcheck and grammar check have ceased.
It was a busy day, with a lot going on, and the work I was doing was important. So I ignored it and continued. I wrote a little more, moved some text around, and hit enter, saving it under another name. Everything was fine.
I wrote a few more words and there it was again.
Now I wanted to talk to the PC, man to machine. Something like...
"Excuse me? Am I being insulted by a machine? Is what you are saying that I am hopeless, that I will never get it right, and so there's no point in your continuing?"
But I just saved it to yet another name and continued doing what I was doing. Everything good so far.
I hit enter.
The message popped up again. Microsoft had given up on me.
Aren't you glad God isn't like that?
Everybody's your friend when life is good, when your work is praised, when there's money in the bank and all your kids are doing great. When you are doing the right things right - life's a cinch.
But what happens when trouble comes? Whether you had a hand in it, or not - trouble is trouble. The Bible never leads us on by helping us pretend trouble isn't part of life.
Psalm 34:19 (Msg)
Disciples so often get into trouble;
still, God is there every time.
But the Bible also never ceases to remind us we never go through trouble alone.
God is with us. Every time. He never gives up on us.
Psalm 91:14 (Msg)
"If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God,
"I'll get you out of any trouble.
I'll give you the best of care
if you'll only get to know and trust me.
But to really make progress, you've got to put your trust in someone other than yourself, in something other than your own skills, your own abilities. You've got to learn to trust God. He believes in you, now focus your attention on believing in Him and living for Him.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Training
Bobby's been coming to church a week now, and from what I can tell, he seems to be enjoying it. Playing with the other little ones does seem to take a lot out of him though, as I noticed Sunday morning he slept through my entire sermon.
But what do you expect from a dog?
Yes, Bobby's a dog. It's not unusual for us to have some dogs show up on Wednesday night with their owners. In fact, last night we had four in all. But Bobby has been very consistent in his attendance, and as his pastor, I wanted to commend him.
Really though, the praise should go to Ellen Fannon, as she is the one who's bringing Bobby with her to church. While he's here, Bobby learns about obedience, about how to get along with others, and experiences things he otherwise wouldn't.
Bobby's learning about life, and his caregivers are seeking to teach him while living it.
We have other little ones here whose parents haven't understood that lesson yet. At New Hope, we've always been thrilled to be a part of teaching children and youth about life, and especially about life in Christ. It's exciting to see them learn and grow.
But we only have them for a couple of hours a week. Given that, it is pretty hard for us to change the habits that form the rest of the week. Unless the parents are teaching about living the Christian life while living it, the kids will forget how to really live. That's why the Bible is so insistent on how to teach your children.
Deut. 6:4-7 (Msg)
Attention, Israel!
God, our God! God the one and only!
[5] Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got!
[6] Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you [7] and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night.
How do you get the wisdom of God inside your children?
By living the life in front of them - everywhere you go. It's impossible to give away what you don't have yourself, so let them see you reading your Bible, and praying to God in praise of His goodness, mercy, and grace. Show them about how much God matters to you by being faithful in worship and Bible study.
Teach the children of how great God is - how loving - how wise by using the creation He has provided and through life situations you encounter. Show them God's love in the rainbow, in a flower, even in His providing us with faithful companionship through pets like Bobby. Let them see you relate to others out of Christ's love to you.
Train them in the ways of God, and His path will be easy for them to find when He calls for their life commitment to Him.
Bobby's life's work is to be a therapy dog, giving aid and comfort to people in need. He's learning how to treat people by being with them.
God's clear intent for we humans is that we learn about Him by doing the same.
Grace!
David
Bobby's been coming to church a week now, and from what I can tell, he seems to be enjoying it. Playing with the other little ones does seem to take a lot out of him though, as I noticed Sunday morning he slept through my entire sermon.
But what do you expect from a dog?
Yes, Bobby's a dog. It's not unusual for us to have some dogs show up on Wednesday night with their owners. In fact, last night we had four in all. But Bobby has been very consistent in his attendance, and as his pastor, I wanted to commend him.
Really though, the praise should go to Ellen Fannon, as she is the one who's bringing Bobby with her to church. While he's here, Bobby learns about obedience, about how to get along with others, and experiences things he otherwise wouldn't.
Bobby's learning about life, and his caregivers are seeking to teach him while living it.
We have other little ones here whose parents haven't understood that lesson yet. At New Hope, we've always been thrilled to be a part of teaching children and youth about life, and especially about life in Christ. It's exciting to see them learn and grow.
But we only have them for a couple of hours a week. Given that, it is pretty hard for us to change the habits that form the rest of the week. Unless the parents are teaching about living the Christian life while living it, the kids will forget how to really live. That's why the Bible is so insistent on how to teach your children.
Deut. 6:4-7 (Msg)
Attention, Israel!
God, our God! God the one and only!
[5] Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got!
[6] Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you [7] and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night.
How do you get the wisdom of God inside your children?
By living the life in front of them - everywhere you go. It's impossible to give away what you don't have yourself, so let them see you reading your Bible, and praying to God in praise of His goodness, mercy, and grace. Show them about how much God matters to you by being faithful in worship and Bible study.
Teach the children of how great God is - how loving - how wise by using the creation He has provided and through life situations you encounter. Show them God's love in the rainbow, in a flower, even in His providing us with faithful companionship through pets like Bobby. Let them see you relate to others out of Christ's love to you.
Train them in the ways of God, and His path will be easy for them to find when He calls for their life commitment to Him.
Bobby's life's work is to be a therapy dog, giving aid and comfort to people in need. He's learning how to treat people by being with them.
God's clear intent for we humans is that we learn about Him by doing the same.
Grace!
David
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Just another day
I had just finished my daily devotional time and thought I'd spend a moment checking in with the world. In today's environment, that means the internet, and for me it's navigating to Google's news page.
There's a picture of two smiling former hostages as they arrived home in Italy.
Another of Prime Minister Tony Blair of England - and he's not smiling as he fights for his political life.
One of the private spacecraft that successfully slipped the bonds of earth today out west.
And one of a baby, injured in a rocket attack on an Israeli town.
Just another day.
Hate and heartache, laughter and joy, delivered from all over the world and refreshed every few minutes.
On second thought, maybe I'm not through with my devotionals after all.
How about some good news?
Romans 3:25-26 (Msg) (emphasis mine)
God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear.
God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured.
This is not only clear, but it's now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.
So the next time you read too much of today's "news", remember this verse. While the world seems to rush to spread the news about what's going wrong, God continually is setting things right between people who believe in Jesus' sacrifice and Sonship and Himself.
Just another day of God's love reaching past our failures and drawing us into His love.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
I had just finished my daily devotional time and thought I'd spend a moment checking in with the world. In today's environment, that means the internet, and for me it's navigating to Google's news page.
There's a picture of two smiling former hostages as they arrived home in Italy.
Another of Prime Minister Tony Blair of England - and he's not smiling as he fights for his political life.
One of the private spacecraft that successfully slipped the bonds of earth today out west.
And one of a baby, injured in a rocket attack on an Israeli town.
Just another day.
Hate and heartache, laughter and joy, delivered from all over the world and refreshed every few minutes.
On second thought, maybe I'm not through with my devotionals after all.
How about some good news?
Romans 3:25-26 (Msg) (emphasis mine)
God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear.
God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured.
This is not only clear, but it's now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.
So the next time you read too much of today's "news", remember this verse. While the world seems to rush to spread the news about what's going wrong, God continually is setting things right between people who believe in Jesus' sacrifice and Sonship and Himself.
Just another day of God's love reaching past our failures and drawing us into His love.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
After The Storm
We're coming up on two weeks since Hurricane Ivan passed by, and it seems we are in a holding pattern. Due to the widespread devastation, there are more roofs damaged than roofers to repair them. And too, all the piles of limbs and leaves still line the streets. It will be weeks before all that is cleared.
It was easy to spot that damage after the storm. You could see which shingles were missing - which limbs and leaves were at your feet. But that wasn't all the damage.
After every storm, it takes a while for some of the hurts to reveal themselves.
This morning as I rolled to a stop at church, I looked over at our oak tree. Everything you could every want in a tree - it is. Beautifully shaped, huge trunk, large low branches just perfect for children's adventures. More than once a member has driven up on Wednesday night to find their pastor up a tree - rescuing a little one who went up a little too far.
At first glance after the storm, it looked fine - a few missing leaves. But today, some of the broken branches have revealed themselves with brown leaves among the green. Hidden before, though hurt, now the full extent of the damage is in plain view.
Maybe you've gone through a storm yourself recently. It wasn't your first one, and you've learned over the years what you need to do to get well. But this time, healing didn't come.
Or perhaps an event from your past, that you thought had long been dealt with - now haunts your thoughts again.
It's time then for a visit from the Master Gardener as revealed to us in John's gospel, chapter 15.
John 15:4-5 (Msg)
"Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
[5] "I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing.
If you are dry right now, maybe it's because your relationship with Christ has been damaged by the storms. Or perhaps an old wound, never fully healed, has been uncovered by the winds of life.
Come to Jesus.
Give your hurts to Him.
The life you want - the life full of all the things that matter - only comes through Him. When no one else can spot your hurts - He sees them and seeks to heal - if you'll come to Him.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
We're coming up on two weeks since Hurricane Ivan passed by, and it seems we are in a holding pattern. Due to the widespread devastation, there are more roofs damaged than roofers to repair them. And too, all the piles of limbs and leaves still line the streets. It will be weeks before all that is cleared.
It was easy to spot that damage after the storm. You could see which shingles were missing - which limbs and leaves were at your feet. But that wasn't all the damage.
After every storm, it takes a while for some of the hurts to reveal themselves.
This morning as I rolled to a stop at church, I looked over at our oak tree. Everything you could every want in a tree - it is. Beautifully shaped, huge trunk, large low branches just perfect for children's adventures. More than once a member has driven up on Wednesday night to find their pastor up a tree - rescuing a little one who went up a little too far.
At first glance after the storm, it looked fine - a few missing leaves. But today, some of the broken branches have revealed themselves with brown leaves among the green. Hidden before, though hurt, now the full extent of the damage is in plain view.
Maybe you've gone through a storm yourself recently. It wasn't your first one, and you've learned over the years what you need to do to get well. But this time, healing didn't come.
Or perhaps an event from your past, that you thought had long been dealt with - now haunts your thoughts again.
It's time then for a visit from the Master Gardener as revealed to us in John's gospel, chapter 15.
John 15:4-5 (Msg)
"Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
[5] "I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing.
If you are dry right now, maybe it's because your relationship with Christ has been damaged by the storms. Or perhaps an old wound, never fully healed, has been uncovered by the winds of life.
Come to Jesus.
Give your hurts to Him.
The life you want - the life full of all the things that matter - only comes through Him. When no one else can spot your hurts - He sees them and seeks to heal - if you'll come to Him.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Friday, September 24, 2004
"Blue is my favorite color"
Mark 10:15 (Msg)
"Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in."
While I was checking the mail this morning, a mother and her daughter walked by. I had seen them in the neighborhood, so said hello and asked how they made out in the hurricane.
The mom then explained...
about the loss of power,
the loss of everything they had in the freezer,
the loss of income since her business was closed for a few days,
and the loss of shingles from their roof.
Then she said:
"We went and got tarps from FEMA to cover the damage until the roofers get around to us. They don't look too good, that blue really sticks out on a gray roof."
Her daughter looked up and me and smiling said, "blue is my favorite color."
Sometimes children teach their parents, if we'll listen.
Think about it.
The mom was telling me about things that had happened, lamenting really, about losses that had occurred. She was working in the past, from what was wrong.
Her little girl, like all children, was living in the now. And that folks, is where we have to live too.
We've been given today - because today is all we can handle. So find a reason to praise God in the midst of wherever you find yourself.
"Blue is my favorite color."
Mine too.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Mark 10:15 (Msg)
"Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in."
While I was checking the mail this morning, a mother and her daughter walked by. I had seen them in the neighborhood, so said hello and asked how they made out in the hurricane.
The mom then explained...
about the loss of power,
the loss of everything they had in the freezer,
the loss of income since her business was closed for a few days,
and the loss of shingles from their roof.
Then she said:
"We went and got tarps from FEMA to cover the damage until the roofers get around to us. They don't look too good, that blue really sticks out on a gray roof."
Her daughter looked up and me and smiling said, "blue is my favorite color."
Sometimes children teach their parents, if we'll listen.
Think about it.
The mom was telling me about things that had happened, lamenting really, about losses that had occurred. She was working in the past, from what was wrong.
Her little girl, like all children, was living in the now. And that folks, is where we have to live too.
We've been given today - because today is all we can handle. So find a reason to praise God in the midst of wherever you find yourself.
"Blue is my favorite color."
Mine too.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Starting Over
Sitting here today, my first day back after Ivan ravaged the Gulf coast, I can look out and see trees stripped of their foliage, and some of their fellows lying broken around them.
Looking past them, I can see homes missing considerable amounts of shingles.
And on a brilliantly beautiful afternoon, the air that normally would be filled with the sounds of children at play across the street at Valparaiso Elementary is quiet. They are absent today, many of their families still coping with a loss of power, damage to their homes, spoilage of food and a loss of income from being laid off, as businesses struggle to recover as well.
It's like the whole area is having to learn how to start over.
I'm no stranger to that process. Over fifty years ago, my father and mother anticipated the delivery of two babies. Yet when the twins were born, (my older brothers Michael and Mitchell) due to complications from my Mother carrying them too long, they both died within a week of their birth.
Devastated doesn't begin to describe what my parents experienced.
My mother is in heaven now, but while she lived she very seldom ever talked about it. Oh, she might mention "the twins", but briefly, and quickly move on. It was a deep, lasting hurt that never really went away.
So many people never recover from such a wound. Marriages, even whole lives, just wither and die.
But not when you find the will to start over.
My Mother told me she found that will in Jesus Christ.
One day we were talking, and I brought up the loss of my brothers. She reached over and opened up her Bible and read me this.
10 Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (NLT)
She told me she took God at His Word and started over.
I cannot imagine how much courage it took for her to do that. But whatever amount it took, her God supplied it.
How do I know?
Because 51 years ago today, in the afternoon, my mother's third child, also a boy, was born.
She named him David Anthony Wilson. (My middle name is the same as my brother that I will meet someday in heaven.)
Friends, I don't know what you are facing today. But I know this - the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and yes, the God of Lodie Marie Bowden Wilson (and her sons) is big enough, strong enough, and cares enough to help you start over.
When you do, that's when you understand how deep God's love really is. Start over.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you
Sitting here today, my first day back after Ivan ravaged the Gulf coast, I can look out and see trees stripped of their foliage, and some of their fellows lying broken around them.
Looking past them, I can see homes missing considerable amounts of shingles.
And on a brilliantly beautiful afternoon, the air that normally would be filled with the sounds of children at play across the street at Valparaiso Elementary is quiet. They are absent today, many of their families still coping with a loss of power, damage to their homes, spoilage of food and a loss of income from being laid off, as businesses struggle to recover as well.
It's like the whole area is having to learn how to start over.
I'm no stranger to that process. Over fifty years ago, my father and mother anticipated the delivery of two babies. Yet when the twins were born, (my older brothers Michael and Mitchell) due to complications from my Mother carrying them too long, they both died within a week of their birth.
Devastated doesn't begin to describe what my parents experienced.
My mother is in heaven now, but while she lived she very seldom ever talked about it. Oh, she might mention "the twins", but briefly, and quickly move on. It was a deep, lasting hurt that never really went away.
So many people never recover from such a wound. Marriages, even whole lives, just wither and die.
But not when you find the will to start over.
My Mother told me she found that will in Jesus Christ.
One day we were talking, and I brought up the loss of my brothers. She reached over and opened up her Bible and read me this.
10 Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (NLT)
She told me she took God at His Word and started over.
I cannot imagine how much courage it took for her to do that. But whatever amount it took, her God supplied it.
How do I know?
Because 51 years ago today, in the afternoon, my mother's third child, also a boy, was born.
She named him David Anthony Wilson. (My middle name is the same as my brother that I will meet someday in heaven.)
Friends, I don't know what you are facing today. But I know this - the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and yes, the God of Lodie Marie Bowden Wilson (and her sons) is big enough, strong enough, and cares enough to help you start over.
When you do, that's when you understand how deep God's love really is. Start over.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Picking Up the Pieces
1 John 4:12 (Msg)
No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!
Back in the office this evening checking on the buildings. As I walked around the place on the map called New Hope Baptist, I picked up shingle after shingle. The roof didn't really fare too well under the 100+ mph winds.
But the church did just fine.
After talking to almost every family both before and after Ivan came through, I've not heard of any injuries except for one broken ankle, suffered by Susie Finlayson, characteristically for her, suffered while trying to help someone else.
During the storm, people were calling offering to share homes, power, food, hot water, whatever anyone needed. After, people were calling just to check on one another.
Yes, the buildings may have suffered, but the church is doing just fine, even becoming more complete in Christ's love.
Please keep praying for those affected throughout the South by Ivan.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
1 John 4:12 (Msg)
No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!
Back in the office this evening checking on the buildings. As I walked around the place on the map called New Hope Baptist, I picked up shingle after shingle. The roof didn't really fare too well under the 100+ mph winds.
But the church did just fine.
After talking to almost every family both before and after Ivan came through, I've not heard of any injuries except for one broken ankle, suffered by Susie Finlayson, characteristically for her, suffered while trying to help someone else.
During the storm, people were calling offering to share homes, power, food, hot water, whatever anyone needed. After, people were calling just to check on one another.
Yes, the buildings may have suffered, but the church is doing just fine, even becoming more complete in Christ's love.
Please keep praying for those affected throughout the South by Ivan.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
There's power, and then there's POWER
We are still experiencing pretty gusty winds of I'd guess 50 mph, but it's nothing like it was last night, when the power of Hurricane Ivan came and took our electricity but left our house.
I've seen tropical storms before, but a hurricane - that's a whole different kind of power.
With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. 2 A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.
Romans 8:1-2 (MSG)
There's power than can kill the body, but no power that can touch the soul of one who has given their life to Jesus Christ.
Look to that power as you deal with the storms of life.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
We are still experiencing pretty gusty winds of I'd guess 50 mph, but it's nothing like it was last night, when the power of Hurricane Ivan came and took our electricity but left our house.
I've seen tropical storms before, but a hurricane - that's a whole different kind of power.
With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. 2 A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.
Romans 8:1-2 (MSG)
There's power than can kill the body, but no power that can touch the soul of one who has given their life to Jesus Christ.
Look to that power as you deal with the storms of life.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Keepers and Leavers
Ivan bears down on the Gulf coast as I write this, and we're still here. But literally millions of people have evacuated the area, hoping to find places of safety.The stories coming out tell of some people in panic mode, not being able to take everything with them and having to make tough choices. I've seen vehicles leaving that looked a little like they were moving away for good, with furniture and appliances piled high in the back of the vehicle. Animal welfare shelters are full with animals that have given their owners uncompomising devotion and unconditional love. But when push came to shove.. their owners decided they weren't worth keeping or were too much trouble to take.
What do you take and what do you leave?
Do you grab the TV?
What about the PC?
Maybe the pictures?
What about those golf clubs, the jet ski or atv?
People that have been through a few of these storms talk about how they realized what really mattered to them. Jesus gave us insight into what those choices say about those that make them.
34 Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be. Luke 12:34 (NLT)
The choices you make at times like this really offer a window into your heart.
Maybe this is the time to take a look at just what your "valuables" are.
And the only way to do that is to begin with your relationship with God. Is it something you can take or leave? Or is it the one relationship that every single value comes out of and is evaluated by?
Take time today to remind yourself of what really matters.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Ivan bears down on the Gulf coast as I write this, and we're still here. But literally millions of people have evacuated the area, hoping to find places of safety.The stories coming out tell of some people in panic mode, not being able to take everything with them and having to make tough choices. I've seen vehicles leaving that looked a little like they were moving away for good, with furniture and appliances piled high in the back of the vehicle. Animal welfare shelters are full with animals that have given their owners uncompomising devotion and unconditional love. But when push came to shove.. their owners decided they weren't worth keeping or were too much trouble to take.
What do you take and what do you leave?
Do you grab the TV?
What about the PC?
Maybe the pictures?
What about those golf clubs, the jet ski or atv?
People that have been through a few of these storms talk about how they realized what really mattered to them. Jesus gave us insight into what those choices say about those that make them.
34 Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be. Luke 12:34 (NLT)
The choices you make at times like this really offer a window into your heart.
Maybe this is the time to take a look at just what your "valuables" are.
And the only way to do that is to begin with your relationship with God. Is it something you can take or leave? Or is it the one relationship that every single value comes out of and is evaluated by?
Take time today to remind yourself of what really matters.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Storm Warnings
Here on the Gulf Coast, we are under the gun for Hurricane Ivan. As it approached today, the people in our area reacted in different ways. Some took it very seriously, boarding up windows, buying large quantities of bottled water, and making sure their vehicles were full of gasoline. Others didn't really seem to do anything, And then there were those who I saw headed to the beach with surfboards resting on the roof of their car.
I'm sure every one of them knows of the hurricane. After all, the TV, radio, and every other media outlet was blaring the latest predictions of intensity and landfall. Watching what Ivan had done in Jamaica, the Caymans, and Cuba gave everyone a glimpse of the seriousness of the storm.
They were warned.
As a pastor, I see a lot of storms.
When people decide to live life outside God's will, they place themselves in real danger. Many if not all know better. They've been in Bible Study, heard hundreds of sermons. But all of those don't seem to affect their daily lives. Jesus acknowledged the problem and the results.
24 "These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. 25 Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit— but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
26 "But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. 27 When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards."
Matt 7:24-27 (MSG)
Friends, Bible trivia is a game. Bible study and prayerful application of what you learn to your daily life - that's real. Don't be fooled into thinking the storms won't come - they will. Take time each day to open your Bible and pray for the Holy Spirit to lead you to higher ground.
Build your life on the Rock of God's Word.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Here on the Gulf Coast, we are under the gun for Hurricane Ivan. As it approached today, the people in our area reacted in different ways. Some took it very seriously, boarding up windows, buying large quantities of bottled water, and making sure their vehicles were full of gasoline. Others didn't really seem to do anything, And then there were those who I saw headed to the beach with surfboards resting on the roof of their car.
I'm sure every one of them knows of the hurricane. After all, the TV, radio, and every other media outlet was blaring the latest predictions of intensity and landfall. Watching what Ivan had done in Jamaica, the Caymans, and Cuba gave everyone a glimpse of the seriousness of the storm.
They were warned.
As a pastor, I see a lot of storms.
When people decide to live life outside God's will, they place themselves in real danger. Many if not all know better. They've been in Bible Study, heard hundreds of sermons. But all of those don't seem to affect their daily lives. Jesus acknowledged the problem and the results.
24 "These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. 25 Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit— but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
26 "But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. 27 When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards."
Matt 7:24-27 (MSG)
Friends, Bible trivia is a game. Bible study and prayerful application of what you learn to your daily life - that's real. Don't be fooled into thinking the storms won't come - they will. Take time each day to open your Bible and pray for the Holy Spirit to lead you to higher ground.
Build your life on the Rock of God's Word.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
A Rising Tide
One of the miracles of last week was in the approach of Hurricane Frances to the Gulf Coast. After battering across Florida, it popped out into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and it appeared that Florida's panhandle would feel the power that destroyed so much property on the way here.
Yet just as Frances approached, it slowed. Not a lot, but enough that when it hit the coast, it hit at LOW TIDE. So a storm surge that could have carried millions of gallons of water over the beaches and into homes and businesses was nullified. There's no power at low tide.
For those who feel that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness seems to have degenerated into tiredness, debt, and just trying to make it through another day,
For you who feel living a life of faith and trust is far too hard most times,
I suggest to you that maybe in your efforts to do it your way, you are living at low tide.
Doesn't mean God's power isn't available to you, just that you want it your way, on your timing, and God doesn't answer to your whistle or whine.
Notice in the verses below Who is supposed to do the heavy lifting.
Hebrews 13:20,21 (Msg)
May God, who puts all things together, makes all things whole...
Now put you together,
provide you with everything you need to please him,
Make us into what gives him most pleasure,
by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.
All glory to Jesus forever and always!
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
What looks so hard without God, is so simple when He's in control. Remember, His power flows into and through our weaknesses. It's not about us. It's about Him - always Him.
Do this. Pray at the beginning of each day, and before each challenge you face during it, for the power of God to be released in and through your efforts to make Him proud.
Let God be God.
You'll be amazed at the power of Love's rising tide.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
One of the miracles of last week was in the approach of Hurricane Frances to the Gulf Coast. After battering across Florida, it popped out into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and it appeared that Florida's panhandle would feel the power that destroyed so much property on the way here.
Yet just as Frances approached, it slowed. Not a lot, but enough that when it hit the coast, it hit at LOW TIDE. So a storm surge that could have carried millions of gallons of water over the beaches and into homes and businesses was nullified. There's no power at low tide.
For those who feel that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness seems to have degenerated into tiredness, debt, and just trying to make it through another day,
For you who feel living a life of faith and trust is far too hard most times,
I suggest to you that maybe in your efforts to do it your way, you are living at low tide.
Doesn't mean God's power isn't available to you, just that you want it your way, on your timing, and God doesn't answer to your whistle or whine.
Notice in the verses below Who is supposed to do the heavy lifting.
Hebrews 13:20,21 (Msg)
May God, who puts all things together, makes all things whole...
Now put you together,
provide you with everything you need to please him,
Make us into what gives him most pleasure,
by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.
All glory to Jesus forever and always!
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
What looks so hard without God, is so simple when He's in control. Remember, His power flows into and through our weaknesses. It's not about us. It's about Him - always Him.
Do this. Pray at the beginning of each day, and before each challenge you face during it, for the power of God to be released in and through your efforts to make Him proud.
Let God be God.
You'll be amazed at the power of Love's rising tide.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Forecasting
Everybody around here has become interested in the weather it seems. Here in the western panhandle, we are beginning to think that the law of averages is eventually going to catch up with us, and one of these hurricanes is going to hit instead of miss.
The other day, when Frances was to come calling but didn't, people in the neighborhood were reacting very differently. One man was covering his windows with precut corrugated tin, while his neighbor stood by with what appeared to be a glass of tea, watching.
In the bayous, boats of all shapes and sizes rode at anchor, while along the water's edge, others sat tied to the docks.
This time it missed, but what if it hadn't?
It reminded me of people forgetting about Christ's return.
1 Thes. 5:2 (Msg)
You know as well as I that the day of the Master's coming can't be posted on our calendars. He won't call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would.
If we cannot know when Christ will return, then everyday could be the day. And what a day!
Are you ready? The forecast for those who are is JOY!
1 Peter 1:13 (Msg)
So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives.
Better get ready!
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Everybody around here has become interested in the weather it seems. Here in the western panhandle, we are beginning to think that the law of averages is eventually going to catch up with us, and one of these hurricanes is going to hit instead of miss.
The other day, when Frances was to come calling but didn't, people in the neighborhood were reacting very differently. One man was covering his windows with precut corrugated tin, while his neighbor stood by with what appeared to be a glass of tea, watching.
In the bayous, boats of all shapes and sizes rode at anchor, while along the water's edge, others sat tied to the docks.
This time it missed, but what if it hadn't?
It reminded me of people forgetting about Christ's return.
1 Thes. 5:2 (Msg)
You know as well as I that the day of the Master's coming can't be posted on our calendars. He won't call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would.
If we cannot know when Christ will return, then everyday could be the day. And what a day!
Are you ready? The forecast for those who are is JOY!
1 Peter 1:13 (Msg)
So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives.
Better get ready!
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Searching
Day-glo orange signs flag the corner of every street in the neighborhood our church sits in. At first, I really didn't pay any attention to them, thinking that they must have been left over from a weekend yard sale.
But as I pulled to a stop opposite one, the wind blew the corner, that had been sagging from the rain, back straight and I saw the words in bold black - LOST!
The poster went on to describe a tabby colored cat, a family treasure, wholly and dearly loved, and to give information of who to contact should anyone see or find her. I pulled away wondering just how hard people searched for lost things.
But I guess that depends on how much you value what is lost. From the signs, I'm betting that kitty is being looked for every chance they get.
It just so happened that my weekly trip through the gospels found me in the 15th chapter of Luke today, and the dots started to connect. For that chapter is full of lost things - a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son.
So how hard would they search?
Luke 15:4 (Msg)
"Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it?
So one lost one was worth risking everything else to find.
So how would someone react to a lost coin?
Luke 15:8 (Msg)
"Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it?
And a lost coin meant turning everything upside down, searching as hard as you can as long as it takes.
And to a lost son? As the son, who has realized how lost he is returns home...
Luke 15:20 (Msg)
"When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him.
A lost son's return means more than risking everything, or working as hard as you can to find what was lost. It meant dropping pride, judgement and his own right to justice in favor of racing to meet someone who was lost.
And that's exactly what God did. For you.
You see folks - you matter to God so much, He'll work in countless ways to find you - wherever you are.
Oh and when you are in His arms...
His search, and yours - are over forever. For He has what gives Him joy, and you have everything He is.
It's called...
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Day-glo orange signs flag the corner of every street in the neighborhood our church sits in. At first, I really didn't pay any attention to them, thinking that they must have been left over from a weekend yard sale.
But as I pulled to a stop opposite one, the wind blew the corner, that had been sagging from the rain, back straight and I saw the words in bold black - LOST!
The poster went on to describe a tabby colored cat, a family treasure, wholly and dearly loved, and to give information of who to contact should anyone see or find her. I pulled away wondering just how hard people searched for lost things.
But I guess that depends on how much you value what is lost. From the signs, I'm betting that kitty is being looked for every chance they get.
It just so happened that my weekly trip through the gospels found me in the 15th chapter of Luke today, and the dots started to connect. For that chapter is full of lost things - a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son.
So how hard would they search?
Luke 15:4 (Msg)
"Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it?
So one lost one was worth risking everything else to find.
So how would someone react to a lost coin?
Luke 15:8 (Msg)
"Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it?
And a lost coin meant turning everything upside down, searching as hard as you can as long as it takes.
And to a lost son? As the son, who has realized how lost he is returns home...
Luke 15:20 (Msg)
"When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him.
A lost son's return means more than risking everything, or working as hard as you can to find what was lost. It meant dropping pride, judgement and his own right to justice in favor of racing to meet someone who was lost.
And that's exactly what God did. For you.
You see folks - you matter to God so much, He'll work in countless ways to find you - wherever you are.
Oh and when you are in His arms...
His search, and yours - are over forever. For He has what gives Him joy, and you have everything He is.
It's called...
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Friday, September 03, 2004
The Run of the House
Growing up as a young boy, I used to enjoy going over to my Aunt Geneva's house on the other side of Macon. It was so different.
We lived in the country on 40 acres of land in a mobile home. Our nearest neighbor was a quarter of a mile away. The nearest grocery store was 5 miles, school was 6.
Aunt Geneva's house was in the city. A store was on the corner, and school was down the street. Railroad tracks ran alongside the street, and one of the busiest streets in the whole town was a block away.
But it was her house that really fascinated me.
It was old, with high ceilings, fireplaces, and wood floors. Every room seemed to lead to another. I don't believe there was a hall in the place. And I explored every inch of it from the attic to my uncle's aborted attempt to build a Cold War bomb shelter in the basement.
Except the living room.
It was off limits to kids. All kids. Even extra specially good kids like me. Oh I would look over into it and notice the gleaming wood floors, the perfect furniture and antiques. But to go into it? Never happen. I thought of that today when I read this verse.
1 John 4:16-17(Msg)
God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ's.
When we give Christ our lives and pledge to follow Him, what we are doing is throwing open all the doors in our life and saying to Jesus, "come on in. My house is your house."
And since God is love, His nature begins to affect what we do, until we do what he would do in an increasing attempt to be like Him. We don't hold Him away from any area of our lives.
And love has the run of the house.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Growing up as a young boy, I used to enjoy going over to my Aunt Geneva's house on the other side of Macon. It was so different.
We lived in the country on 40 acres of land in a mobile home. Our nearest neighbor was a quarter of a mile away. The nearest grocery store was 5 miles, school was 6.
Aunt Geneva's house was in the city. A store was on the corner, and school was down the street. Railroad tracks ran alongside the street, and one of the busiest streets in the whole town was a block away.
But it was her house that really fascinated me.
It was old, with high ceilings, fireplaces, and wood floors. Every room seemed to lead to another. I don't believe there was a hall in the place. And I explored every inch of it from the attic to my uncle's aborted attempt to build a Cold War bomb shelter in the basement.
Except the living room.
It was off limits to kids. All kids. Even extra specially good kids like me. Oh I would look over into it and notice the gleaming wood floors, the perfect furniture and antiques. But to go into it? Never happen. I thought of that today when I read this verse.
1 John 4:16-17(Msg)
God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ's.
When we give Christ our lives and pledge to follow Him, what we are doing is throwing open all the doors in our life and saying to Jesus, "come on in. My house is your house."
And since God is love, His nature begins to affect what we do, until we do what he would do in an increasing attempt to be like Him. We don't hold Him away from any area of our lives.
And love has the run of the house.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
When Tomorrow Didn't Come
September 3, 1752 never came.
I'm not sure what everyone was looking forward to, but having the government steal 11 days from their lives must have meant something to the British people - they rioted in the streets.
The kingdom had adopted the Gregorian Calendar (developed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582) to replace the inaccurate calendar created by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. And in order to catch up to the new order of days, 11 whole days were lost forever.
You know we can't count on tomorrow...
1 Peter 4:7-11 (Msg)
Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted.
Stay wide-awake in prayer. [8] Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. [9] Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. [10] Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: [11] if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help.
That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!
No, we can't count on tomorrow, but we can count on God! And practice God's plan for living like there was no tomorrow - Stuff the most acts of caring and love for your fellow man into every single day - loving God through them. That way God will get the credit.
Don't worry about tomorrow. Just live to please the One Who gives us each day - each day.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
September 3, 1752 never came.
I'm not sure what everyone was looking forward to, but having the government steal 11 days from their lives must have meant something to the British people - they rioted in the streets.
The kingdom had adopted the Gregorian Calendar (developed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582) to replace the inaccurate calendar created by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. And in order to catch up to the new order of days, 11 whole days were lost forever.
You know we can't count on tomorrow...
1 Peter 4:7-11 (Msg)
Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted.
Stay wide-awake in prayer. [8] Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. [9] Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. [10] Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: [11] if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help.
That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!
No, we can't count on tomorrow, but we can count on God! And practice God's plan for living like there was no tomorrow - Stuff the most acts of caring and love for your fellow man into every single day - loving God through them. That way God will get the credit.
Don't worry about tomorrow. Just live to please the One Who gives us each day - each day.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
To Give Voice To Our Hearts
I've been cranky.
There, I've said it to a few hundred of my closest friends. :)
It happens.
Mostly when something is really bothering me.
When all my time honored ways of dealing with discontent aren't working.
Don't you have those? We used to call them "work-arounds", or "patches" in the computer business.
They were handy when you couldn't fix the problem right then. When you were too busy, too overwhelmed, or just too tired to look into it. So you'd work around it.
You can get to the isle of discontent from a lot of places. Worry can send you there. Hurt will buy you a ticket. And you can work around it by feeding your face (there was a time when a half gallon of Bryers..), or feeding your ego (wouldn't I look good in that...), or just retreating into a shell.
But you knew eventually you'd have to face up to what ailed you, and deal with it. And at times, it's hard to put "it" into words. It's hard to give voice to our hearts.
Today I was listening to a worship song, in the stillness of my study, and every barrier fell. Every wall I had put around my heart came down, and the love of Christ flooded in. As the music played, "Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy on me." He did.
Later, I came across this verse and it said exactly what I felt.
Romans 8:26 (Msg)
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans.
Our loving God gives voice to our hearts, to our very souls. When words fail us, His love never does, for He needs no words to communicate with us. We are in Him, and He is in us. It doesn't matter if we cannot say one word. When our hearts turn toward Him...
He hears.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
I've been cranky.
There, I've said it to a few hundred of my closest friends. :)
It happens.
Mostly when something is really bothering me.
When all my time honored ways of dealing with discontent aren't working.
Don't you have those? We used to call them "work-arounds", or "patches" in the computer business.
They were handy when you couldn't fix the problem right then. When you were too busy, too overwhelmed, or just too tired to look into it. So you'd work around it.
You can get to the isle of discontent from a lot of places. Worry can send you there. Hurt will buy you a ticket. And you can work around it by feeding your face (there was a time when a half gallon of Bryers..), or feeding your ego (wouldn't I look good in that...), or just retreating into a shell.
But you knew eventually you'd have to face up to what ailed you, and deal with it. And at times, it's hard to put "it" into words. It's hard to give voice to our hearts.
Today I was listening to a worship song, in the stillness of my study, and every barrier fell. Every wall I had put around my heart came down, and the love of Christ flooded in. As the music played, "Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy on me." He did.
Later, I came across this verse and it said exactly what I felt.
Romans 8:26 (Msg)
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans.
Our loving God gives voice to our hearts, to our very souls. When words fail us, His love never does, for He needs no words to communicate with us. We are in Him, and He is in us. It doesn't matter if we cannot say one word. When our hearts turn toward Him...
He hears.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Feeling a bit sheepish?
As I was passing through the book of John today, I came across some familiar verses of Scripture. In the tenth chapter, Jesus is trying to help the religious teachers understand God's love. This isn't the first time He's tried, and so this time he tries again using a metaphor they are familiar with - shepherds and sheep.
14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,
15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice; and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
John 10:14-16 (NLT)
Personally, it's been a long time since I've seen a sheep in person. But one of my pastor friends grew up on a farm where they raised sheep. His comments about them have forever shattered the image of them I had held. Here's some of his comments:
- if you put a bag over a lamb's head and lead it to another part of the barn, then take the bag off its head, it's lost and will either lay down and not move or will only go where you go.
- you can often corral them with just a broad painted line on the road or floor. If they do cross it, they will jump over it like it's 3-feet high.
- if one lamb jumps out of a second story window, so will any others near it.
It doesn't sound as if being called sheep would be a very good thing. They sound fearful, anxious, easily led astray.
But this story really helps you understand what Jesus was saying.
"One time, grandpa let me out of the truck and told me to take the sheep into the barn. I started into my sheep-dog routine of pushing the sheep to the barn. I chased these things all over a four acre field and couldn't get them to go anywhere near the barn. Exasperated, grandpa got of the truck, opened the barn door, walked out to the sheep, turned around and just walked into the barn. The sheep followed him. As he closed the barn door, he said to me under his breath, "You drive hogs. You lead sheep."
27 My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me,
29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me.
30 The Father and I are one." John 10:27-30 (NLT)
Friends, Jesus will never lead you astray. Listen for the voice of the Shepherd of souls. There are a lot of voices calling out for your attention, some even for your allegiance.
Just remember - the Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep. There is no greater love.
Grace!
David
As I was passing through the book of John today, I came across some familiar verses of Scripture. In the tenth chapter, Jesus is trying to help the religious teachers understand God's love. This isn't the first time He's tried, and so this time he tries again using a metaphor they are familiar with - shepherds and sheep.
14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,
15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice; and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
John 10:14-16 (NLT)
Personally, it's been a long time since I've seen a sheep in person. But one of my pastor friends grew up on a farm where they raised sheep. His comments about them have forever shattered the image of them I had held. Here's some of his comments:
- if you put a bag over a lamb's head and lead it to another part of the barn, then take the bag off its head, it's lost and will either lay down and not move or will only go where you go.
- you can often corral them with just a broad painted line on the road or floor. If they do cross it, they will jump over it like it's 3-feet high.
- if one lamb jumps out of a second story window, so will any others near it.
It doesn't sound as if being called sheep would be a very good thing. They sound fearful, anxious, easily led astray.
But this story really helps you understand what Jesus was saying.
"One time, grandpa let me out of the truck and told me to take the sheep into the barn. I started into my sheep-dog routine of pushing the sheep to the barn. I chased these things all over a four acre field and couldn't get them to go anywhere near the barn. Exasperated, grandpa got of the truck, opened the barn door, walked out to the sheep, turned around and just walked into the barn. The sheep followed him. As he closed the barn door, he said to me under his breath, "You drive hogs. You lead sheep."
27 My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me,
29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. So no one can take them from me.
30 The Father and I are one." John 10:27-30 (NLT)
Friends, Jesus will never lead you astray. Listen for the voice of the Shepherd of souls. There are a lot of voices calling out for your attention, some even for your allegiance.
Just remember - the Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep. There is no greater love.
Grace!
David
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Who Are You Listening To?
Ouch! It was one of those moments that you wished you had missed.
As I entered the post office this morning, a young woman, holding a baby on one hip and dragging a little boy by his arm was trying to exit. The little boy was trying his best to push the door open, but he just wasn't able to.
So I sped up and pulled it open for them, smiling at the boy's efforts on behalf of his mom. He grinned back at me.
She didn't. She wasn't smiling at all. In fact she walked by me all the while telling her son that she had told him to move out of the way, that he knew he couldn't open that door, and probably more as she rounded the corner headed to her car, and away from me.
I said a prayer for the little ones, and for the one God had blessed with them.
What will a person think about themselves if they grow up with a diet of "you can't", "you won't", or "you never will"?
That's why I love our God. In Him we have One who will never treat us as less than a prized possession. We just have to accept that love. I'll give you an example from Scripture of one person who did: Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
When she was presented with God's plan, the Son of God made flesh by the Holy Spirit within her, she could have resisted for a lot of reasons. She didn't. Why?
She was listening to God.
Luke 1:38 (Msg)
And Mary said,
"Yes, I see it all now:
I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve.
Let it be with me
just as you say."
She didn't have all the answers, but with that last sentence, she lets God's messenger know that she has heard what God said. I hope that little boy rises to overcome his mother's words. But I know that all we have to do to know our significance is to hear God and agree that what He says, goes.
Friend, don't let anyone tell you that you are less than God's best. Listen to your Father God. He knows best.
May it be with you today, just as God says.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Ouch! It was one of those moments that you wished you had missed.
As I entered the post office this morning, a young woman, holding a baby on one hip and dragging a little boy by his arm was trying to exit. The little boy was trying his best to push the door open, but he just wasn't able to.
So I sped up and pulled it open for them, smiling at the boy's efforts on behalf of his mom. He grinned back at me.
She didn't. She wasn't smiling at all. In fact she walked by me all the while telling her son that she had told him to move out of the way, that he knew he couldn't open that door, and probably more as she rounded the corner headed to her car, and away from me.
I said a prayer for the little ones, and for the one God had blessed with them.
What will a person think about themselves if they grow up with a diet of "you can't", "you won't", or "you never will"?
That's why I love our God. In Him we have One who will never treat us as less than a prized possession. We just have to accept that love. I'll give you an example from Scripture of one person who did: Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
When she was presented with God's plan, the Son of God made flesh by the Holy Spirit within her, she could have resisted for a lot of reasons. She didn't. Why?
She was listening to God.
Luke 1:38 (Msg)
And Mary said,
"Yes, I see it all now:
I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve.
Let it be with me
just as you say."
She didn't have all the answers, but with that last sentence, she lets God's messenger know that she has heard what God said. I hope that little boy rises to overcome his mother's words. But I know that all we have to do to know our significance is to hear God and agree that what He says, goes.
Friend, don't let anyone tell you that you are less than God's best. Listen to your Father God. He knows best.
May it be with you today, just as God says.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Hello friends,
Today marks the three year anniversary of "A Glimpse of New Hope!"
I do hope that you have enjoyed reading them as much as I have appreciated you letting me share from my heart about what I glimpse of God and His world.
I've picked a few of the devotionals that I've received the most feedback on, and put within that a couple that really helped me out of all those I wrote this past year. Maybe one day I'll have them all in a book for you, but for now, here's last years favorites.
Thank you again for allowing me to share,
Grace!
David
Just the right place to be wrong (6/15/04)
On a morning that dawned, or rather clouded and rained, I spent some time waiting for a friend to undergo a procedure. As I watched the people come and go, it dawned on me that there were way too many people with problems in that place. It seemed like every person that came to the sign in desk had something wrong with them and needed help.
And as I watched the staff try to help them, I wondered just how much all this was costing someone - the person, or their insurance, or the taxpayers. The place was real nice. Did they have to spend all that on TV's for the waiting room? That coffee maker over there - it must have cost a bunch. All those machines in the back, those tests, the professionals - my head was swimming just thinking about it.
About that time a young woman came by in a wheelchair, surrounded by family. She was carrying in her arms a newborn baby. On a dark and rainy day, her smile and of all those around her, brightened us all.
Then followed an older woman, also being wheeled outside, whose husband walked beside her in pride and happiness, as if he were escorting a queen. From the looks they shared, he was.
It made me stop and consider just what that place was all about. Even though everyone entering had something that needed care, or something that was wrong with them, it was okay, because they were in just the right place to be wrong.
Reminded me of church.
Romans 3:12 (Msg)
They've all taken the wrong turn;
they've all wandered down blind alleys.
No one's living right;
I can't find a single one.
Everyone that comes through the doors of a church has one thing in common with everyone else. There's something wrong with them. Oh, the maladies may be wildly different, but in the end they are the same. The one who just got there to the one whose been there 50 years. The one who stands up front and preaches, to the one who sits on the back row and sleeps. Lots of time, energy and money are used to create and maintain a place for the sole use of people who cannot seem to ever be cured - they still do things wrong.
That's okay, because all of them are in just the right place to be wrong, if they want to get better. God has whispered a diagnosis, prescribed a treatment, and in order to really get cured, they need to get close enough, regularly enough to be exposed to His love, until it becomes theirs.
Hypocrites? Sure. But trying to get better. Will they take other wrong turns? Absolutely. But they've stopped by to get directions.
Church is just the right place to be wrong.
Grace!
David Wilson
Letters that touch the heart (5/19/04)
Just a routine visit to the post office this morning really made me think.
As I parked my car, I pulled into the space beside a pickup. In it, there was a man whose white hair and wrinkled face told of many years of toil. Getting out and passing by him, I noticed that he held some notebook papers in his hands, and the folds that creased the pages were full of blue inked script. On the dashboard lay the envelope, with the familiar APO postmark telling of a trip from a person in military service somewhere.
He looked up, and though we never exchanged a word, I could tell that if I'd have offered him the riches of Midas for that letter, it wouldn't have been enough. I made my way to the PO Box and back, and when I got back in my car, that letter was still in his hands.
What did it say?
I don't know. But one thing it did say was obvious. I'm still alive, I still remember you, and you matter enough for me to take the time to write. It reminded me of a letter, written by an aged man to people he loved as his children, telling them about the One who first loved.
1 John 5:13-15 (Msg)
My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God's Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. [14] And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he's listening. [15] And if we're confident that he's listening, we know that what we've asked for is as good as ours.
Please know this - if you are a believer, then the Spirit of the Living God is alive within you.
1 John 4:16-17 (Msg)
God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. [17] This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ's.
God wants to lead you away from a life of fear and into a life of love's full freedom. You may not be there yet - don't give up! Keep learning about God - keep asking Him for more of His presence in your life. It will happen.
1 John 4:18 (Msg)
There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life fear of death, fear of judgment is one not yet fully formed in love.
Do this - commit yourself to writing a letter each day to God. Call it a journal, call it a diary, whatever you want, but in it, write God your heart's desires, fears, and tell Him where you are and what you want your relationship with Him to be.
When you are that real, that open and honest with God - you'll touch His heart. Picture Him in heaven, reading your letter. Can you see the look on His face?
Grace!
David Wilson
Carrisa's World (5/5/04)
Psalm 89:15-16 (Msg)
Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise,
who shout on parade in the bright presence of God.
[16] Delighted, they dance all day long; they know
who you are, what you do they can't keep it quiet!
Carissa comes with friends to New Hope. A lot of times we'll see children come quite a bit before their parents will. Our job then is to love the kids and share Jesus with them. There are times when our folks working with them come out shell-shocked. Imagine getting a bunch of boys to calm down long enough to tell them a Bible story. Or just try getting a group of little girls to focus for an hour.. for 30 minutes... just try.
High energy? You betcha!
Harnessing all that energy and redirecting it into an understanding of God's love and an expression of it in worship is what the goal is. And there are times when it happens, and we catch a glimpse of God at work.
A couple of weeks ago, the girl's praise team combined with our choir to present a special song for worship. You should have seen it! The whole front row of the choir was filled with little girls, the whole back row with adults. Carissa took up her position on the far left-hand side.
It was a great song, that really moved people toward God - His character, His nature - His love. Most of the adults were concentrating on getting the notes just right, and had their heads in their songbooks, with occasional glances toward the director. The girls had memorized their parts, and were free to worship.
No one was more free that day than Carissa.
When they reached the chorus, her face broke into a dazzling smile, and she began to boogie! She just got carried away. I know by Who. For a few moments, Carissa stepped across into communion with the Spirit of God, and left this world behind.
You can go there too.
The password is "Thank You!". It's your entrance into the world of worship.
Psalm 100:4-5 (Msg)
Enter with the password: "Thank you!"
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.
[5] For God is sheer beauty,
all-generous in love,
loyal always and ever.
Forget about yourself, and focus on the God Who wants to meet with you. See His beauty, His grace, His love for you. You'll quickly forget about everything except pleasing Him, and rejoicing in His arms.
Just be careful... in Carissa's world, you can't help but dance.
It's good practice for heaven.
Grace!
David Wilson
William's World (5/04/04)
My friend William Hobbs walked into my office Sunday. At just past two, he is incredibly huggable, but he didn't come for one of those, he came to tell me something. So sermon preparation came to a halt, my chair swiveled around, and I gave over my attention to William's world.
And what a world it is!
For William, every event is a cause for celebration, even what he wanted to share with me Sunday. His little brow furrowed, and when he saw that I was paying attention, his pudgy little hand grabbed the fabric on his chest and he said "shirt", and grinned.
I had to grin back.
Was it a new shirt? Don't know. Was it his favorite shirt? Don't know. Does he just like shirts in general and wanted to see if he could make a convert to his revolutionary way of looking at life? Don't know.
But whatever reason he had behind his statement - it was followed by a grin - so it must be good.
Somehow I think it's always good in William's world.
What happened to the rest of us?
Romans 8:28 (GW)
We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God—those whom He has called according to His plan.
Now folks, is that true or not?
Romans 8:31 (GW)
What can we say about all of this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
And that one - are you saying that there's a someone, something, somehow type of problem in your life that's just too big for God to handle?
Romans 8:37 (GW)
The one who loves us gives us an overwhelming victory in all these difficulties.
You see friends, it is true that a child's view of the world is limited. William doesn't know about war, and HIV, and poverty, or death. But he knows he's loved, and he knows he's cared for - and that's enough for him.
How about you?
I know your world is much bigger than William's, you've got a lot on your mind. But when you strip away everything except that which matters, you'll know this.
You are loved.
By God.
Now go tell.
Grace!
David Wilson
Absence and the Heart (4/25/04)
Psalm 34:18 (Msg)
If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there;
if you're kicked in the gut, He'll help you catch your breath.
It's been two years today.
And right now my mind is flooded with might have beens. So many things are obvious blessings in my life - my wife, my boys, what God has called me to do, that I can get busy, and some of the hurt goes away. But today it's two years, and all I can think of is what we've missed - of what is absent that we had hoped would be here.
She would have had her father's eyes.
There were times when he was a little boy that we'd go off alone - to the store, to the Krystal, to Grandmother's, that I could look over in the seat next to me and see him looking at me. He'd ask questions, I'd try to answer, and the openness - the trust - the love in those eyes just melted me.
Yep. She would have had her father's eyes.
Her smile would have lit up a room, just like her mother's does. There are a lot of ways to measure people. My own personal preference is to look at their impact on others. Some people enter a room and suck all the joy out of it. When they smile it just doesn't look right, like cow horns on a Mercedes. They put it on to try to give the right response, but it isn't who
they are.
Her mother is tiny. But when she smiles - she's huge.
I can see tiny feet beating the earth, little white tennis shoes slapping it as they come, bearing a smile so brilliant it warms this cold earth. She grins from ear to ear, and all you feel is joy.
She'd have her mother's smile.
By now, we'd have covered all the important things. Who loves you best, why Granddaddy's hair is gray, the funniest cartoons, how to eat Krystals and Nuways, and how come Grandmother hugs so hard. We'd have begun noticing new words, and she'd almost be reading. She'd have impacted my wallet and stolen my heart. Again.
Heart. She'd have had her grandmother's.
I have known literally thousands of people over 50 years. Some were self-contained, others - self-absorbed. A few seemed to enjoy this life, and others endured it. Many were bright, even brilliant. Others caught the eye, or in some other way made it through the clutter of a life's experiences to
my heart.
But none have loved me like Bunny has. For no one I've ever known loves that deeply.
Two years ago, as we rolled up calendars toward April 29th, the expected day of joy, our home was filled with baby clothing, baby toys, baby... stuff. People around us shared in that and we added our own items. I remember visiting Target with Bunny and hearing her say a dozen times, "won't that look so pretty on Ana?" The only girl in a string of boys, the only girl in her own home full of men - young and older - the possibility to hold, to love, to care, to dress!!! a baby girl was excitement personified.
And when the days stopped for Ana, her Grandmother didn't stop loving. She found a way to love beyond the pain in helping her daughter-in-love deliver her baby. As I watched Bunny hold that small and delicate baby in her arms, weeping and talking to her as if she could hear... it was the greatest expression of love I've ever seen - through the deepest heartache.
She'd have had her Grandmother's heart.
For me, I don't know what I could have given her. It certainly wouldn't be material things, and her mom and dad would certainly taught her the A, B, C's and enlightened her on them 'Dawgs and Georgia politics.
So I guess she'd have had my prayers each day from infancy to adulthood, my lap to sit in, my knees to ride, and later my shoulder to cry on and my ears to hear.
It's been two years today. Two long years. Her absence hurts our hearts. But one day...
We will see her.
And that thrills my heart.
Grace, mercy, and peace,
David Wilson
The Journey (4/13/04)
We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. Prov 16:9 (NLT)
A young boy headed out to tryouts for his school play. It was the first time he'd ever stretched his fragile self-confidence so far, and his Mother was a little worried about how he'd handle it if he didn't get the part he wanted. When he came home all smiles, she was surprised to hear that the tryout didn't reward him with his dream part, yet he wasn't upset at all, just the opposite.
"What happened, son? I thought you'd be upset that you didn't get the part you wanted."
"I was for a minute Mom. But then they told me I was chosen to clap and cheer."
Grabbing a coke off the counter, he ran outside to play.
Mom just smiled.
Imagine growing up with a dream - a passionate desire that occupies almost every moment of free time. It could be a sport, like baseball, basketball, or soccer. Or it could be an activity like flying or acting. Then think about what you'd do (or what you did) when that dream died.
Growing up, I had two great passions - baseball, and airplanes. When I wasn't outside playing baseball, I was inside reading about airplanes, putting together models, and dreaming about flying.
As I grew, and the years went by, reality interfered with my dreams. By the spring of my 10th grade of high school, my name on a list left tacked to a cork bulletin board after practice meant I'd never be a major leaguer. And by the end of the 11th grade, my eyesight, and a letter from the Air Force Academy, told me I'd never become a fighter pilot.
But life is lived forward, isn't it. My plans didn't work out quite the way I thought they would. So many other joys, so many other dreams that have been fulfilled make it hard to even feel sad about the earlier ones that were ended. And God has His ways of making it up.
Now I'm a pastor of a church.
Every day, I see not just airplanes but fighters. Just two weeks ago, I got to see the Thunderbirds perform four times in one week, since our church is right under the flight path. And I get to know pilots. One of my friends flew F-16's, another I know flew F-4's. I see an average of 30-40 planes a day, and rarely does a day go by when I don't give one a thumbs up.
From where I sit, I'm across from a Little League field. So I see a lot of baseball. Even wander over to give the 9-10 year old kids support every now and then.
So I guess I was chosen to clap and cheer.
Friend maybe where you are, you're feeling a little depressed about what you haven't been able to accomplish that you thought you would. But take a minute and think about all those blessings that have been yours, some of which would have never happened if you'd had your way.
I don't know about you, but I'm going to thank God today for where He's led me, and look forward to where we are headed tomorrow. Another day on the Journey.
Grace!
David Wilson
Hand-me Downs (3/16/04)
1 I will praise you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.
2 I will bless you every day, and I will praise you forever.
3 Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! His greatness is beyond
discovery!
4 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts.
Psalms 145:1-4 (NLT)
When I was growing up, we lived out on 40 acres of land in a 10ft x 55ft trailer, as my father and mother possessed their promise. Mortgages and car notes, doctor bills and braces meant we frequently would give and receive our cousin's clothes, toys and the like. I can remember the first time someone pointed out to me that those were hand-me downs. Up to that point I was just enjoying a bigger bike. Hand-me downs can be just what you need sometimes.
In our front yard here in Valparaiso, there's a purple Iris blooming right now. It hasn't always been there. It was given to my wife by her mother who lives in Lizella, GA. She was doing some work in their yard and decided she had plenty of certain kinds of plants, and not enough of others. So Bunny brought it down here.
But when her Mother gave it to her, she pointed out that the Iris had been given to her years before by my Mother, who went to be with the Lord in 1991. It's pretty neat to see it blooming now, because I have a history with that plant.
As a 12 year old boy, my Mother convinced me (as only Mothers can) to be part of her consuming passion - planting as many azaleas and flowering bulbs as possible on 40 acres of land outside Macon, GA. She introduced me to many things, did my Mother, but none I have enjoyed less than the tool called post-hole diggers. But in the spring of 1963 I helped her plant by digging literally hundreds of holes for her plants.
When I look at that Iris, I know we've met before.
And when I look at azaleas, daffodils, Iris, and the like in bloom, I remember my Mother's smile as she planted, all the while telling her little boy about how God made all these flowers just so people would notice how much He loves us.
You could say that was a hand-me down. But it sure lifted me up.
May God bring you an awareness of just how far He'll go to get you to notice His love.
Again.
Grace!
David Wilson
Taking It Personally (2/11/04)
1 Thes. 5:11 (Msg)
So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it.
One day a young boy came home from school with a note. It suggested that his parents take him out of school. Partially deaf, the boy was having problems keeping up with the other students. But rather than help him, they sent him away. The note said that the boy was "too stupid to learn."
When the boy's mother read the note, she said, "My son Tom isn't 'too stupid to learn.' I'll teach him myself." When Tom, then known as Thomas, oh and Edison was his last name - died many years later, the people of our nation paid tribute to him by turning off the nation's lights. which he had invented, for one full minute. Thomas Edison invented not only the light bulb we read by, but also motion pictures and the record player. He has over one thousand patents to his credit. You might very well have known all that.
But you wouldn't have if Thomas Edison's mother, Nancy, hadn't taken that offense personally and set out to prove the school system wrong. Edison himself later said of her, "My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me, and I felt I had some one to live for, some one I must not disappoint."
Everyone needs someone like that. And many of you are that "someone" to others around you. You are making a difference, most of the time going unnoticed and unappreciated. That's why I'm writing this.
I'm writing today to thank all of you who have heard society tell you that teenagers won't amount to anything - then set out personally to prove the critics wrong by investing your lives into those of countless boys and girls.
I'm writing today to thank all of you who hear all the time about how churches don't make a difference any more - and have dedicated your lives to proving them wrong by serving your communities in countless ways, sometimes at great cost.
I'm writing today to thank all of you who have been told that your church was dying - and took it personally - telling the devil and all his henchmen - "Not on my watch" - and are doing the hard work of loving people and inviting them to come and meet God in worship. Heart by heart, you are building God's church.
And I'm writing today to all of you who see the wrongs and try to right them, who see the hurts and try to heal them, and who never hear one word of praise. That aggravates me. You could say I take it personally.
Thank you for what you do. It matters. May God bless your efforts. Keep on doing it.
Grace!
David Wilson
The Risk Is Worth It (2/10/04)
Luke 19:26 (Msg)
"He (Jesus) said, 'That's what I mean: Risk your life and get more than
you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag."
There seem to be two dominant schools of thought on why anyone would become a pastor. One group clearly defines a pastor as someone who has been called by God to shepherd His people.
The other group thinks a person has to be crazy.
Maybe the truth is big enough to contain both. :)
To love people is to risk - bigtime.
To love people while bringing God's truth to them, while praying daily for them to grow deeper, while encouraging, prodding, reminding, and scariest of all - trying to model yourself as a growing believer in front of them - that risk is off the scale.
But it's worth the risk.
Oh, there will be stumbles. There will be heartaches. There will be times your heart is broken. But there will be glimpses of joy that are oh so breathtakingly beautiful that your heart can scarce contain them.
I stumbled Sunday morning.
Having preached now for over a decade, and having been confirmed in that calling, and in the way God has shaped me to deliver His Word, I still have a deep desire to constantly grow better in it. So I study other's methods, explore different paths, examine other ways. And Sunday, I tried one out. Here irony doesn't begin to describe what occurred. During a sermon on being authentic as a key to deeper relationships, I wasn't being really me.
I did however discover another method of communication - talking to people in their sleep.
It's Tuesday now, so I can laugh. But it sure hurts when I think about it, so I'll try not to think about it.
And I'll try to remember the rest of Sunday.
Which included ----
Having a teenage girl coming down the aisle in tears after the sermon mercifully ended.
Baptizing her father and sister minutes later.
Having a celebration instead of a sermon that evening where people brought desserts, and having our friend Allan ride home on his bike, and bring back half a box of cookies. Allan's intellectual development might not be that of people his age, but his heart is full grown. It reminded me of another offering in which Jesus commented "she gave all that she had."
Allan wouldn't fit everywhere.
He's insistent on communicating. He's persistent in what he wants to convey. And he has no sense of what's truly important. He'll interrupt a discussion on theology to get people together to sing "Oh How He Loves You and Me", complete with his interpretation in American Sign Language.
And when it happens, it warms me to the depths of my soul.
It's risky to want to get better at what God has called you to be. Whether that is a pastor, a father, a mother, whatever your calling is. It's risky to love people who aren't like you. To put aside your prejudices and love as Jesus did.
It's risky to try to create a place for people who want to love and be loved. To try to develop into a church where the missing can be found.
A place where everyone is welcome just as they are.
A place where we drop our masks and admit we all stumble.
A place where we celebrate every step we take along the Way.
A place worthy of the name - New Hope
But you know what?
The risk is worth it. Faith-life is the only way to get more than you've ever dreamed for.
What have you risked for Jesus lately?
Grace!
David Wilson
Bzzzzzzttt! Someone's praying for you right now (2/4/04)
Little Joe William Sheffield, a 9 yr-old church member of Tifton GA's First Baptist Church is battling lymphoma. That's a big disease for such a little boy, but He's got a big God and God's people helping him every second of every day. Joe William knows that, but his friends at First Baptist wanted to find a way to remind him and his family that they are praying for him.
They came up with a plan. One church member owns a paging company that provides beepers for professionals in the South Georgia area. A beeper was provided to Joe William, set to vibrate. He thought just having that was neat. He's a big boy now, that people need to contact. It made him feel a little better.
But the pastor and the rest of his friends didn't stop there. They organized prayer teams both within the church and throughout the community, and distributed the number of the beeper and instructed the people to call the number when they prayed for Joe William.
Last Tuesday morning, he was on his way to Atlanta for chemotherapy, and feeling a little down. The medicine helps, but it makes those who take it pretty sick for a time, and Joe William wasn't excited about that - neither was his Mom.
And then there was the beeper. It was vibrating continuously - just wouldn't stop. So they stopped to buy more batteries, thinking something was wrong with it. There wasn't. They just had about 35 people praying for them during that half-hour. What a testimony to the love of those people for that little boy, and their belief in a God who loves him too.
That's Who I pray to every day before I send out this devotional. For you.
Friend, I can't send you a beeper, but right now there are people praying for you. I can guarantee you one, but knowing my God, there are far more than we can imagine. Reminds me of one of my most favorite verses.
James 5:16 (Msg)
Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.
Prayer IS something powerful to be reckoned with. So make it your practice to pray for those around you - your family, your neighbors, your friends, your church, and your pastors. Untold numbers of Christians are already doing this - so get on board!
Joe William isn't the only one being prayed for right now - YOU ARE - Bzzzzzzzzztttttttttt!
God loves you.
Grace!
David Wilson
Run Forrest - Run! (1/28/04)
Perhaps it was one of those random neuron moments, but as I was preparing to write the daily devotional today, after finishing my own devotions, I got a picture straight out of a movie. Forrest Gump to be exact. In the movie, Forrest has braces on his legs that make it hard for him to get around, and an object of ridicule and abuse from some other kids. But one day as they chase him, he gets to going so fast that his braces fall off, and in an amazing burst of speed, Forrest is gone!
Something like that happened to me today.
One thing I've found over the years is that if I don't get my heart right, nothing else will be right. So I have certain disciplines that I have to do in order to be ready to receive God's Word. Just as a baseball player will step into the batter's box and swing the bat three times and be ready - not two, nor four - but three, there are rituals I have to perform to be ready to hear.
Unfortunately sometimes I get sidetracked - shackled - by stuff. Today, it was a copier salesman, an AARP tax preparer, a T Shirt vendor, three other phone calls - and my own tendency to wander.
All of that plays against a backdrop of making sure you have the Wednesday night Bible Study prepared, and your Sunday sermon preparation well underway. It's easy to look past God to God's work.
The only problem?
You can't do God's work... without God.
So once the flurry of activity was over, I locked the door, put the phone on hold, turned my cell phone off, closed every window on my PC, put my watch in the drawer, and turned on some praise music.
I asked God to meet with me.
When I felt Him drawing our time to a close, an hour had passed. But within that hour, He gave me more than I could have found in a day. It was as if I had been drinking from a teaspoon, and suddenly a fire hose opened up. So much inspiration and encouragement I filled several sheets on my pad.
Why was it that I had beat my head against the wall all morning and suddenly I was able to race past it?
Jeremiah 29:13-14 (Msg)
"When you come looking for me, you'll find me.
"Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else,
I'll make sure you won't be disappointed."
Friends, I had dropped all my efforts to "get a sermon", or find a "teachable moment". I had stopped trying to change the world. All I wanted was for God to be with me. All I wanted, more than anything else, was to be with God - to be in His presence.
I'm going back there tomorrow. :)
See you there.
Grace!
David Wilson
Words (11/6/03)
I am at a loss for words today.
We've recently had prayers answered by the installation of a beautiful new church sign. It is awesome. Our new logo conveys the idea of "New Hope", and the colors reinforce the theme. Along with it though, are three lines for text messages to our community. Usually, churches display times of service, the pastor's name, and occasionally sermon titles or pithy bits of verse or verses. I'm just not sure about what to put there.
On a trip over to our sister city Niceville recently and back, I got to read several church signs. Almost all seemed to be telling people that God would be judging them, or rejecting them, or some similar statement.
"God will not be mocked."
"The wages of sin are death."
"Not all who call me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven."
All true, although in the second they did leave out the part that says "but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
Why would they leave that out?
Maybe it is just me, but I get the feeling that some folks lie awake at night with the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy. That may pass for religion, but it is most certainly not the faith of the Apostles.
I must have missed something. When we sang that gospel song years back about rescuing people drifting away, were we throwing out a lifeline - or a noose?
Paul, when dealing with people who were unfaithful, squabbling, antagonistic and immature kept calling them "saints." Why?
Because he was so full of the Holy Spirit, and so aware of how black his own sin had been, that he had gained the ability to look at people not as they were, but as they potentially could be. So in the middle of a chapter on how to live the Christian life, he made sure he instructed these immature "saints" on how to choose their words.
Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. Eph 4:29 (NLT)
Focus on "everything."
How would your speech change if "everything" that came out of your mouth was "good and helpful"?
We already know what the result would be - Paul tells us - encouragement. Friends, we need a whole lot more of that.
So I'm going to keep looking for the words to put on our church sign that will encourage people in their struggles each day, and point them to the One who can make their lives complete.
Go out and prove your faith with your face, and your words. Make our faith so attractive to the unbelievers, that they have to know how to have it too. Then tell them.
And choose encouraging words.
Grace!
David Wilson
Today marks the three year anniversary of "A Glimpse of New Hope!"
I do hope that you have enjoyed reading them as much as I have appreciated you letting me share from my heart about what I glimpse of God and His world.
I've picked a few of the devotionals that I've received the most feedback on, and put within that a couple that really helped me out of all those I wrote this past year. Maybe one day I'll have them all in a book for you, but for now, here's last years favorites.
Thank you again for allowing me to share,
Grace!
David
Just the right place to be wrong (6/15/04)
On a morning that dawned, or rather clouded and rained, I spent some time waiting for a friend to undergo a procedure. As I watched the people come and go, it dawned on me that there were way too many people with problems in that place. It seemed like every person that came to the sign in desk had something wrong with them and needed help.
And as I watched the staff try to help them, I wondered just how much all this was costing someone - the person, or their insurance, or the taxpayers. The place was real nice. Did they have to spend all that on TV's for the waiting room? That coffee maker over there - it must have cost a bunch. All those machines in the back, those tests, the professionals - my head was swimming just thinking about it.
About that time a young woman came by in a wheelchair, surrounded by family. She was carrying in her arms a newborn baby. On a dark and rainy day, her smile and of all those around her, brightened us all.
Then followed an older woman, also being wheeled outside, whose husband walked beside her in pride and happiness, as if he were escorting a queen. From the looks they shared, he was.
It made me stop and consider just what that place was all about. Even though everyone entering had something that needed care, or something that was wrong with them, it was okay, because they were in just the right place to be wrong.
Reminded me of church.
Romans 3:12 (Msg)
They've all taken the wrong turn;
they've all wandered down blind alleys.
No one's living right;
I can't find a single one.
Everyone that comes through the doors of a church has one thing in common with everyone else. There's something wrong with them. Oh, the maladies may be wildly different, but in the end they are the same. The one who just got there to the one whose been there 50 years. The one who stands up front and preaches, to the one who sits on the back row and sleeps. Lots of time, energy and money are used to create and maintain a place for the sole use of people who cannot seem to ever be cured - they still do things wrong.
That's okay, because all of them are in just the right place to be wrong, if they want to get better. God has whispered a diagnosis, prescribed a treatment, and in order to really get cured, they need to get close enough, regularly enough to be exposed to His love, until it becomes theirs.
Hypocrites? Sure. But trying to get better. Will they take other wrong turns? Absolutely. But they've stopped by to get directions.
Church is just the right place to be wrong.
Grace!
David Wilson
Letters that touch the heart (5/19/04)
Just a routine visit to the post office this morning really made me think.
As I parked my car, I pulled into the space beside a pickup. In it, there was a man whose white hair and wrinkled face told of many years of toil. Getting out and passing by him, I noticed that he held some notebook papers in his hands, and the folds that creased the pages were full of blue inked script. On the dashboard lay the envelope, with the familiar APO postmark telling of a trip from a person in military service somewhere.
He looked up, and though we never exchanged a word, I could tell that if I'd have offered him the riches of Midas for that letter, it wouldn't have been enough. I made my way to the PO Box and back, and when I got back in my car, that letter was still in his hands.
What did it say?
I don't know. But one thing it did say was obvious. I'm still alive, I still remember you, and you matter enough for me to take the time to write. It reminded me of a letter, written by an aged man to people he loved as his children, telling them about the One who first loved.
1 John 5:13-15 (Msg)
My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God's Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. [14] And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he's listening. [15] And if we're confident that he's listening, we know that what we've asked for is as good as ours.
Please know this - if you are a believer, then the Spirit of the Living God is alive within you.
1 John 4:16-17 (Msg)
God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. [17] This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ's.
God wants to lead you away from a life of fear and into a life of love's full freedom. You may not be there yet - don't give up! Keep learning about God - keep asking Him for more of His presence in your life. It will happen.
1 John 4:18 (Msg)
There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life fear of death, fear of judgment is one not yet fully formed in love.
Do this - commit yourself to writing a letter each day to God. Call it a journal, call it a diary, whatever you want, but in it, write God your heart's desires, fears, and tell Him where you are and what you want your relationship with Him to be.
When you are that real, that open and honest with God - you'll touch His heart. Picture Him in heaven, reading your letter. Can you see the look on His face?
Grace!
David Wilson
Carrisa's World (5/5/04)
Psalm 89:15-16 (Msg)
Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise,
who shout on parade in the bright presence of God.
[16] Delighted, they dance all day long; they know
who you are, what you do they can't keep it quiet!
Carissa comes with friends to New Hope. A lot of times we'll see children come quite a bit before their parents will. Our job then is to love the kids and share Jesus with them. There are times when our folks working with them come out shell-shocked. Imagine getting a bunch of boys to calm down long enough to tell them a Bible story. Or just try getting a group of little girls to focus for an hour.. for 30 minutes... just try.
High energy? You betcha!
Harnessing all that energy and redirecting it into an understanding of God's love and an expression of it in worship is what the goal is. And there are times when it happens, and we catch a glimpse of God at work.
A couple of weeks ago, the girl's praise team combined with our choir to present a special song for worship. You should have seen it! The whole front row of the choir was filled with little girls, the whole back row with adults. Carissa took up her position on the far left-hand side.
It was a great song, that really moved people toward God - His character, His nature - His love. Most of the adults were concentrating on getting the notes just right, and had their heads in their songbooks, with occasional glances toward the director. The girls had memorized their parts, and were free to worship.
No one was more free that day than Carissa.
When they reached the chorus, her face broke into a dazzling smile, and she began to boogie! She just got carried away. I know by Who. For a few moments, Carissa stepped across into communion with the Spirit of God, and left this world behind.
You can go there too.
The password is "Thank You!". It's your entrance into the world of worship.
Psalm 100:4-5 (Msg)
Enter with the password: "Thank you!"
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.
[5] For God is sheer beauty,
all-generous in love,
loyal always and ever.
Forget about yourself, and focus on the God Who wants to meet with you. See His beauty, His grace, His love for you. You'll quickly forget about everything except pleasing Him, and rejoicing in His arms.
Just be careful... in Carissa's world, you can't help but dance.
It's good practice for heaven.
Grace!
David Wilson
William's World (5/04/04)
My friend William Hobbs walked into my office Sunday. At just past two, he is incredibly huggable, but he didn't come for one of those, he came to tell me something. So sermon preparation came to a halt, my chair swiveled around, and I gave over my attention to William's world.
And what a world it is!
For William, every event is a cause for celebration, even what he wanted to share with me Sunday. His little brow furrowed, and when he saw that I was paying attention, his pudgy little hand grabbed the fabric on his chest and he said "shirt", and grinned.
I had to grin back.
Was it a new shirt? Don't know. Was it his favorite shirt? Don't know. Does he just like shirts in general and wanted to see if he could make a convert to his revolutionary way of looking at life? Don't know.
But whatever reason he had behind his statement - it was followed by a grin - so it must be good.
Somehow I think it's always good in William's world.
What happened to the rest of us?
Romans 8:28 (GW)
We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God—those whom He has called according to His plan.
Now folks, is that true or not?
Romans 8:31 (GW)
What can we say about all of this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
And that one - are you saying that there's a someone, something, somehow type of problem in your life that's just too big for God to handle?
Romans 8:37 (GW)
The one who loves us gives us an overwhelming victory in all these difficulties.
You see friends, it is true that a child's view of the world is limited. William doesn't know about war, and HIV, and poverty, or death. But he knows he's loved, and he knows he's cared for - and that's enough for him.
How about you?
I know your world is much bigger than William's, you've got a lot on your mind. But when you strip away everything except that which matters, you'll know this.
You are loved.
By God.
Now go tell.
Grace!
David Wilson
Absence and the Heart (4/25/04)
Psalm 34:18 (Msg)
If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there;
if you're kicked in the gut, He'll help you catch your breath.
It's been two years today.
And right now my mind is flooded with might have beens. So many things are obvious blessings in my life - my wife, my boys, what God has called me to do, that I can get busy, and some of the hurt goes away. But today it's two years, and all I can think of is what we've missed - of what is absent that we had hoped would be here.
She would have had her father's eyes.
There were times when he was a little boy that we'd go off alone - to the store, to the Krystal, to Grandmother's, that I could look over in the seat next to me and see him looking at me. He'd ask questions, I'd try to answer, and the openness - the trust - the love in those eyes just melted me.
Yep. She would have had her father's eyes.
Her smile would have lit up a room, just like her mother's does. There are a lot of ways to measure people. My own personal preference is to look at their impact on others. Some people enter a room and suck all the joy out of it. When they smile it just doesn't look right, like cow horns on a Mercedes. They put it on to try to give the right response, but it isn't who
they are.
Her mother is tiny. But when she smiles - she's huge.
I can see tiny feet beating the earth, little white tennis shoes slapping it as they come, bearing a smile so brilliant it warms this cold earth. She grins from ear to ear, and all you feel is joy.
She'd have her mother's smile.
By now, we'd have covered all the important things. Who loves you best, why Granddaddy's hair is gray, the funniest cartoons, how to eat Krystals and Nuways, and how come Grandmother hugs so hard. We'd have begun noticing new words, and she'd almost be reading. She'd have impacted my wallet and stolen my heart. Again.
Heart. She'd have had her grandmother's.
I have known literally thousands of people over 50 years. Some were self-contained, others - self-absorbed. A few seemed to enjoy this life, and others endured it. Many were bright, even brilliant. Others caught the eye, or in some other way made it through the clutter of a life's experiences to
my heart.
But none have loved me like Bunny has. For no one I've ever known loves that deeply.
Two years ago, as we rolled up calendars toward April 29th, the expected day of joy, our home was filled with baby clothing, baby toys, baby... stuff. People around us shared in that and we added our own items. I remember visiting Target with Bunny and hearing her say a dozen times, "won't that look so pretty on Ana?" The only girl in a string of boys, the only girl in her own home full of men - young and older - the possibility to hold, to love, to care, to dress!!! a baby girl was excitement personified.
And when the days stopped for Ana, her Grandmother didn't stop loving. She found a way to love beyond the pain in helping her daughter-in-love deliver her baby. As I watched Bunny hold that small and delicate baby in her arms, weeping and talking to her as if she could hear... it was the greatest expression of love I've ever seen - through the deepest heartache.
She'd have had her Grandmother's heart.
For me, I don't know what I could have given her. It certainly wouldn't be material things, and her mom and dad would certainly taught her the A, B, C's and enlightened her on them 'Dawgs and Georgia politics.
So I guess she'd have had my prayers each day from infancy to adulthood, my lap to sit in, my knees to ride, and later my shoulder to cry on and my ears to hear.
It's been two years today. Two long years. Her absence hurts our hearts. But one day...
We will see her.
And that thrills my heart.
Grace, mercy, and peace,
David Wilson
The Journey (4/13/04)
We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. Prov 16:9 (NLT)
A young boy headed out to tryouts for his school play. It was the first time he'd ever stretched his fragile self-confidence so far, and his Mother was a little worried about how he'd handle it if he didn't get the part he wanted. When he came home all smiles, she was surprised to hear that the tryout didn't reward him with his dream part, yet he wasn't upset at all, just the opposite.
"What happened, son? I thought you'd be upset that you didn't get the part you wanted."
"I was for a minute Mom. But then they told me I was chosen to clap and cheer."
Grabbing a coke off the counter, he ran outside to play.
Mom just smiled.
Imagine growing up with a dream - a passionate desire that occupies almost every moment of free time. It could be a sport, like baseball, basketball, or soccer. Or it could be an activity like flying or acting. Then think about what you'd do (or what you did) when that dream died.
Growing up, I had two great passions - baseball, and airplanes. When I wasn't outside playing baseball, I was inside reading about airplanes, putting together models, and dreaming about flying.
As I grew, and the years went by, reality interfered with my dreams. By the spring of my 10th grade of high school, my name on a list left tacked to a cork bulletin board after practice meant I'd never be a major leaguer. And by the end of the 11th grade, my eyesight, and a letter from the Air Force Academy, told me I'd never become a fighter pilot.
But life is lived forward, isn't it. My plans didn't work out quite the way I thought they would. So many other joys, so many other dreams that have been fulfilled make it hard to even feel sad about the earlier ones that were ended. And God has His ways of making it up.
Now I'm a pastor of a church.
Every day, I see not just airplanes but fighters. Just two weeks ago, I got to see the Thunderbirds perform four times in one week, since our church is right under the flight path. And I get to know pilots. One of my friends flew F-16's, another I know flew F-4's. I see an average of 30-40 planes a day, and rarely does a day go by when I don't give one a thumbs up.
From where I sit, I'm across from a Little League field. So I see a lot of baseball. Even wander over to give the 9-10 year old kids support every now and then.
So I guess I was chosen to clap and cheer.
Friend maybe where you are, you're feeling a little depressed about what you haven't been able to accomplish that you thought you would. But take a minute and think about all those blessings that have been yours, some of which would have never happened if you'd had your way.
I don't know about you, but I'm going to thank God today for where He's led me, and look forward to where we are headed tomorrow. Another day on the Journey.
Grace!
David Wilson
Hand-me Downs (3/16/04)
1 I will praise you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.
2 I will bless you every day, and I will praise you forever.
3 Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! His greatness is beyond
discovery!
4 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts.
Psalms 145:1-4 (NLT)
When I was growing up, we lived out on 40 acres of land in a 10ft x 55ft trailer, as my father and mother possessed their promise. Mortgages and car notes, doctor bills and braces meant we frequently would give and receive our cousin's clothes, toys and the like. I can remember the first time someone pointed out to me that those were hand-me downs. Up to that point I was just enjoying a bigger bike. Hand-me downs can be just what you need sometimes.
In our front yard here in Valparaiso, there's a purple Iris blooming right now. It hasn't always been there. It was given to my wife by her mother who lives in Lizella, GA. She was doing some work in their yard and decided she had plenty of certain kinds of plants, and not enough of others. So Bunny brought it down here.
But when her Mother gave it to her, she pointed out that the Iris had been given to her years before by my Mother, who went to be with the Lord in 1991. It's pretty neat to see it blooming now, because I have a history with that plant.
As a 12 year old boy, my Mother convinced me (as only Mothers can) to be part of her consuming passion - planting as many azaleas and flowering bulbs as possible on 40 acres of land outside Macon, GA. She introduced me to many things, did my Mother, but none I have enjoyed less than the tool called post-hole diggers. But in the spring of 1963 I helped her plant by digging literally hundreds of holes for her plants.
When I look at that Iris, I know we've met before.
And when I look at azaleas, daffodils, Iris, and the like in bloom, I remember my Mother's smile as she planted, all the while telling her little boy about how God made all these flowers just so people would notice how much He loves us.
You could say that was a hand-me down. But it sure lifted me up.
May God bring you an awareness of just how far He'll go to get you to notice His love.
Again.
Grace!
David Wilson
Taking It Personally (2/11/04)
1 Thes. 5:11 (Msg)
So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it.
One day a young boy came home from school with a note. It suggested that his parents take him out of school. Partially deaf, the boy was having problems keeping up with the other students. But rather than help him, they sent him away. The note said that the boy was "too stupid to learn."
When the boy's mother read the note, she said, "My son Tom isn't 'too stupid to learn.' I'll teach him myself." When Tom, then known as Thomas, oh and Edison was his last name - died many years later, the people of our nation paid tribute to him by turning off the nation's lights. which he had invented, for one full minute. Thomas Edison invented not only the light bulb we read by, but also motion pictures and the record player. He has over one thousand patents to his credit. You might very well have known all that.
But you wouldn't have if Thomas Edison's mother, Nancy, hadn't taken that offense personally and set out to prove the school system wrong. Edison himself later said of her, "My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me, and I felt I had some one to live for, some one I must not disappoint."
Everyone needs someone like that. And many of you are that "someone" to others around you. You are making a difference, most of the time going unnoticed and unappreciated. That's why I'm writing this.
I'm writing today to thank all of you who have heard society tell you that teenagers won't amount to anything - then set out personally to prove the critics wrong by investing your lives into those of countless boys and girls.
I'm writing today to thank all of you who hear all the time about how churches don't make a difference any more - and have dedicated your lives to proving them wrong by serving your communities in countless ways, sometimes at great cost.
I'm writing today to thank all of you who have been told that your church was dying - and took it personally - telling the devil and all his henchmen - "Not on my watch" - and are doing the hard work of loving people and inviting them to come and meet God in worship. Heart by heart, you are building God's church.
And I'm writing today to all of you who see the wrongs and try to right them, who see the hurts and try to heal them, and who never hear one word of praise. That aggravates me. You could say I take it personally.
Thank you for what you do. It matters. May God bless your efforts. Keep on doing it.
Grace!
David Wilson
The Risk Is Worth It (2/10/04)
Luke 19:26 (Msg)
"He (Jesus) said, 'That's what I mean: Risk your life and get more than
you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag."
There seem to be two dominant schools of thought on why anyone would become a pastor. One group clearly defines a pastor as someone who has been called by God to shepherd His people.
The other group thinks a person has to be crazy.
Maybe the truth is big enough to contain both. :)
To love people is to risk - bigtime.
To love people while bringing God's truth to them, while praying daily for them to grow deeper, while encouraging, prodding, reminding, and scariest of all - trying to model yourself as a growing believer in front of them - that risk is off the scale.
But it's worth the risk.
Oh, there will be stumbles. There will be heartaches. There will be times your heart is broken. But there will be glimpses of joy that are oh so breathtakingly beautiful that your heart can scarce contain them.
I stumbled Sunday morning.
Having preached now for over a decade, and having been confirmed in that calling, and in the way God has shaped me to deliver His Word, I still have a deep desire to constantly grow better in it. So I study other's methods, explore different paths, examine other ways. And Sunday, I tried one out. Here irony doesn't begin to describe what occurred. During a sermon on being authentic as a key to deeper relationships, I wasn't being really me.
I did however discover another method of communication - talking to people in their sleep.
It's Tuesday now, so I can laugh. But it sure hurts when I think about it, so I'll try not to think about it.
And I'll try to remember the rest of Sunday.
Which included ----
Having a teenage girl coming down the aisle in tears after the sermon mercifully ended.
Baptizing her father and sister minutes later.
Having a celebration instead of a sermon that evening where people brought desserts, and having our friend Allan ride home on his bike, and bring back half a box of cookies. Allan's intellectual development might not be that of people his age, but his heart is full grown. It reminded me of another offering in which Jesus commented "she gave all that she had."
Allan wouldn't fit everywhere.
He's insistent on communicating. He's persistent in what he wants to convey. And he has no sense of what's truly important. He'll interrupt a discussion on theology to get people together to sing "Oh How He Loves You and Me", complete with his interpretation in American Sign Language.
And when it happens, it warms me to the depths of my soul.
It's risky to want to get better at what God has called you to be. Whether that is a pastor, a father, a mother, whatever your calling is. It's risky to love people who aren't like you. To put aside your prejudices and love as Jesus did.
It's risky to try to create a place for people who want to love and be loved. To try to develop into a church where the missing can be found.
A place where everyone is welcome just as they are.
A place where we drop our masks and admit we all stumble.
A place where we celebrate every step we take along the Way.
A place worthy of the name - New Hope
But you know what?
The risk is worth it. Faith-life is the only way to get more than you've ever dreamed for.
What have you risked for Jesus lately?
Grace!
David Wilson
Bzzzzzzttt! Someone's praying for you right now (2/4/04)
Little Joe William Sheffield, a 9 yr-old church member of Tifton GA's First Baptist Church is battling lymphoma. That's a big disease for such a little boy, but He's got a big God and God's people helping him every second of every day. Joe William knows that, but his friends at First Baptist wanted to find a way to remind him and his family that they are praying for him.
They came up with a plan. One church member owns a paging company that provides beepers for professionals in the South Georgia area. A beeper was provided to Joe William, set to vibrate. He thought just having that was neat. He's a big boy now, that people need to contact. It made him feel a little better.
But the pastor and the rest of his friends didn't stop there. They organized prayer teams both within the church and throughout the community, and distributed the number of the beeper and instructed the people to call the number when they prayed for Joe William.
Last Tuesday morning, he was on his way to Atlanta for chemotherapy, and feeling a little down. The medicine helps, but it makes those who take it pretty sick for a time, and Joe William wasn't excited about that - neither was his Mom.
And then there was the beeper. It was vibrating continuously - just wouldn't stop. So they stopped to buy more batteries, thinking something was wrong with it. There wasn't. They just had about 35 people praying for them during that half-hour. What a testimony to the love of those people for that little boy, and their belief in a God who loves him too.
That's Who I pray to every day before I send out this devotional. For you.
Friend, I can't send you a beeper, but right now there are people praying for you. I can guarantee you one, but knowing my God, there are far more than we can imagine. Reminds me of one of my most favorite verses.
James 5:16 (Msg)
Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.
Prayer IS something powerful to be reckoned with. So make it your practice to pray for those around you - your family, your neighbors, your friends, your church, and your pastors. Untold numbers of Christians are already doing this - so get on board!
Joe William isn't the only one being prayed for right now - YOU ARE - Bzzzzzzzzztttttttttt!
God loves you.
Grace!
David Wilson
Run Forrest - Run! (1/28/04)
Perhaps it was one of those random neuron moments, but as I was preparing to write the daily devotional today, after finishing my own devotions, I got a picture straight out of a movie. Forrest Gump to be exact. In the movie, Forrest has braces on his legs that make it hard for him to get around, and an object of ridicule and abuse from some other kids. But one day as they chase him, he gets to going so fast that his braces fall off, and in an amazing burst of speed, Forrest is gone!
Something like that happened to me today.
One thing I've found over the years is that if I don't get my heart right, nothing else will be right. So I have certain disciplines that I have to do in order to be ready to receive God's Word. Just as a baseball player will step into the batter's box and swing the bat three times and be ready - not two, nor four - but three, there are rituals I have to perform to be ready to hear.
Unfortunately sometimes I get sidetracked - shackled - by stuff. Today, it was a copier salesman, an AARP tax preparer, a T Shirt vendor, three other phone calls - and my own tendency to wander.
All of that plays against a backdrop of making sure you have the Wednesday night Bible Study prepared, and your Sunday sermon preparation well underway. It's easy to look past God to God's work.
The only problem?
You can't do God's work... without God.
So once the flurry of activity was over, I locked the door, put the phone on hold, turned my cell phone off, closed every window on my PC, put my watch in the drawer, and turned on some praise music.
I asked God to meet with me.
When I felt Him drawing our time to a close, an hour had passed. But within that hour, He gave me more than I could have found in a day. It was as if I had been drinking from a teaspoon, and suddenly a fire hose opened up. So much inspiration and encouragement I filled several sheets on my pad.
Why was it that I had beat my head against the wall all morning and suddenly I was able to race past it?
Jeremiah 29:13-14 (Msg)
"When you come looking for me, you'll find me.
"Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else,
I'll make sure you won't be disappointed."
Friends, I had dropped all my efforts to "get a sermon", or find a "teachable moment". I had stopped trying to change the world. All I wanted was for God to be with me. All I wanted, more than anything else, was to be with God - to be in His presence.
I'm going back there tomorrow. :)
See you there.
Grace!
David Wilson
Words (11/6/03)
I am at a loss for words today.
We've recently had prayers answered by the installation of a beautiful new church sign. It is awesome. Our new logo conveys the idea of "New Hope", and the colors reinforce the theme. Along with it though, are three lines for text messages to our community. Usually, churches display times of service, the pastor's name, and occasionally sermon titles or pithy bits of verse or verses. I'm just not sure about what to put there.
On a trip over to our sister city Niceville recently and back, I got to read several church signs. Almost all seemed to be telling people that God would be judging them, or rejecting them, or some similar statement.
"God will not be mocked."
"The wages of sin are death."
"Not all who call me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven."
All true, although in the second they did leave out the part that says "but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
Why would they leave that out?
Maybe it is just me, but I get the feeling that some folks lie awake at night with the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy. That may pass for religion, but it is most certainly not the faith of the Apostles.
I must have missed something. When we sang that gospel song years back about rescuing people drifting away, were we throwing out a lifeline - or a noose?
Paul, when dealing with people who were unfaithful, squabbling, antagonistic and immature kept calling them "saints." Why?
Because he was so full of the Holy Spirit, and so aware of how black his own sin had been, that he had gained the ability to look at people not as they were, but as they potentially could be. So in the middle of a chapter on how to live the Christian life, he made sure he instructed these immature "saints" on how to choose their words.
Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. Eph 4:29 (NLT)
Focus on "everything."
How would your speech change if "everything" that came out of your mouth was "good and helpful"?
We already know what the result would be - Paul tells us - encouragement. Friends, we need a whole lot more of that.
So I'm going to keep looking for the words to put on our church sign that will encourage people in their struggles each day, and point them to the One who can make their lives complete.
Go out and prove your faith with your face, and your words. Make our faith so attractive to the unbelievers, that they have to know how to have it too. Then tell them.
And choose encouraging words.
Grace!
David Wilson
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