And another thing...

A husband and wife were at a party chatting with some friends when the subject of marriage counseling came up.

"Oh, we'll never need that. My husband and I have a great relationship," the wife explained.

"He was a communications major in college and I majored in theater arts."

"He communicates real well and I just act like I'm listening."

Go ahead and smile, it'll do you good.

Too many times people treat each other badly, in a misguided attempt to exercise control over the other. Perhaps the ultimate is the "last word syndrome." Counselors will tell of people who left their offices trying to get in the very last word. Reminds me of the "did not", "did too" of childhood.

That's supposed to die out as you mature. But now, it doesn't have to. You can have the last word, even if you are dead. Or can you?

A California man has come up with a new device that will allow people to record digital video messages which may be viewed by visitors to their gravesite. The playback would either be via remote control through infrared or sonic triggers, or with the use of a swipe card affixed to the device. That way a person could let people know what they wanted to say but couldn't, or they could add something else as in "and another thing I always wanted to tell you was..."

Uh huh.

Proverbs 16:1 (Msg)
Mortals make elaborate plans,
but God has the last word.

Whatever you've done here with the time God has given you is what will really be remembered as what mattered.

Have you loved God with everything you've got?
Have you loved your neighbor as much and as well as you've loved yourself?
Have you lived up to what Jesus has done for you by seeking to obey His principles for life?

Those acts, multiplied over a lifetime, far surpass any recording you could do. And those you minister to will pass that love along. Folks, that message will be heard in all the right places.

Start living for eternity 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.

The Worst Book

While I was at our local library yesterday, I picked up a book filled with the worst. The idea behind it was to prepare people for the worst thing that can happen to them. Now that I've read it, I no longer have to worry about what I'll do if:

- I have to jump from a bridge into a river.
- I have to deal with army ants
- I'm in a car dangling over a cliff and need to escape.
- I've decided to jump from a building into a dumpster
- I need to jump from a moving train.
- I'm attacked by leeches, or sharks, or killer bees, or alligators
- I fall into quicksand, or a cesspool, or frigid water
- I need to bribe a foreign official, deal with UFOs or charging bulls

These are just a few of the worst case scenarios the book tries to prepare you for. But even though they have given the reader an exhaustive list of what to do if your life may be in danger, they left out the biggest dangers and the best way out.

The biggest danger anyone can ever face is life without God, followed by death without God.

Job 27:1 (Msg) ".... What hope do people without God have when life is cut short?
when God puts an end to life?....

They don't have any hope. But God has provided for everything. The best way out?

1 John 4:9 (Msg)
This is how God showed His love for us: God sent His only Son into the world so we might live through Him.

All anyone needs to do is embrace God's love through Jesus Christ, His Son.

The writers of the "Worst Case Scenario" must have spent days thinking up the worst things that could happen to someone. You've got your own list I'm pretty sure. Just know this friends, in the words of the song, "Can't nobody love you like Jesus."

Open the book filled with the best love ever today. Let His love flow into your heart and through you to others.

Ephes. 5:2 (Msg)
Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

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.

"Know It All's"

Our friendly neighborhood UPS man just brought me a present from a book publisher. Looking at the cover, I can see that it has a foreword by Dr. Charles F. Stanley, an attempted depiction of Michaelangelo's Sistine chapel painting of God and man reaching for each other, and a blurb promising great things. "The 40 Day health experience that will change your life forever!"

I don't think I'll read it.

After all, I know diets. I've personally lost enough weight to equal that of a 3rd grader - at least a couple of times.

And I've seen Charles Stanley on TV. He doesn't need to lose any weight. So how would he know anything about it?

Then there's that picture. I think God's arm was bigger in the real one, and Adam's was much rougher looking.

If they had just come to me before they made all these errors. Nope. No need to read that book. Oh, but wait - didn't I just read something about people who think that way?

Proverbs 28:26 (Msg)
If you think you know it all, you're a fool for sure;
real survivors learn wisdom from others.

Oops....

Obviously, there is a danger in assuming that our own personal experience is the standard by which all truth should be measured. Just because we've had some exposure to what an author has written on, doesn't give us the ability or discernment to decide it is worthless and unworthy.

We all need to learn, to grow, to change. We all have varied experiences. Don't let your prideful tendency to value what you have experienced rob you of something that might literally change your life. I don't know whether this book will or not, until I read it.

And you won't know whether God's Word can change your life either, unless you read its Truth and apply it to your life. To place your experience over the Bible's Truth isn't only foolish, it's a sin. Don't make that mistake.

Make today one to remember. Learn more about God. Then apply that knowledge to your 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.

America and me

America and me go way back.

My first memory of real pride in being an American was our seventh grade graduation ceremony, at Union Elementary in Macon, Georgia. It was a small school on the then outskirts of a growing city, with two seventh grade classes totaling maybe 40 children.

We had practiced our parts for weeks. One girl was to lead everyone in the pledge of allegiance, another boy recited the declaration of independence from memory. My part was to recite the preamble to the Constitution. Once I got through that, I could breathe.

I remember vividly to this day singing with my fellow graduates,

"This is my country, land of my birth.
This is my country, greatest on earth.
I pledge thee my allegiance, America, the bold.
For this is my country, to have and to hold."
This is my country.

We sang a part of that song when I graduated that might not be sung today, as our nation struggles with what to do about God. It went like this:

With hand upon heart I thank the Lord For this my native land,
For all I love is here within her gates.
My soul is rooted deeply in the soil on which I stand,
For these are my own United States.

It was a different nation then. Some things were wrong, and needed to be changed. Others were right, and needed to be preserved. We've finally lived up to our "created equal" boast, but left our Creator behind. The Bible points us to truth when it says:

Proverbs 14:34 (Msg)
God-devotion makes a country strong;
God-avoidance leaves people weak.

This 4th of July, we are going to celebrate America. But if we fail to worship the One Who gave us our real freedom - everyday - we will have missed more than the point of this devotional.

May God bless the United States of America.

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.

Where Would Jesus Eat?

My friend and fellow preacher-creature Arnold Hendrix was back in town for his home church's 50th anniversary celebration this weekend. We went to the local diner at lunch to enjoy each other's company and some good food.

As we left, Arnold (an actual native Floridian) asked the proprietor about someone. "Does ___ still come in every morning?" "Oh yes, she said, about 8."

"Well what about _____?"

"He's a little later, about nine. You know we have two waves - the early one, mostly retirees, and the late one."

Arnold thought of another person and asked, "What about old ___.? He's been coming here 20 years and still thinks he's one of the new kids."

She turned and looked over her shoulder, "he was right there today. We were teasing him about coming here so often. He gave it right back though, said he might stop coming here, since he could get that sort of aggravation at home."

Her smile wasn't that of a businessperson who's running a money-making enterprise. It was that of a friend. Her customers were her friends and family, and unfortunately if nothing changes, in about a month Doris' Diner will close to make way for a wider highway. They call that progress, but I'm not convinced.

Years from now, people will ask, wasn't that where Doris' place used to be? And they'll remember fondly for a while - not the food (though it's excellent), but the fellowship. People knew each other there. It's exactly the kind of place Jesus would have loved.

Friends, that's a lot like a place Jesus does love - and how that place, His church, should be.

Like the diner, people come from everywhere, all walks of life to be fed the Word of God. They receive nourishment for their souls, and are strengthened. But more than that, they become family, adopted by God, and embraced by His people - in a place where people matter - where everybody knows your name.

Some think a successful church has great programs.
Some think a successful church has great music.
Some think great preaching carries the day.
Some think a successful church has the right denominational banner on its masthead.

But Jesus said that the world would spot the church right away - it would the one that had followed His plan.

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." John 13:34-35 (NLT)

It's a shame Doris' has to close. If we could get some good preaching and some praise and worship in there, they'd have a head start on a bunch of churches. It's for sure they'd win the covered dish Olympics hands down.

But their claim to fame as far as I'm concerned is relationships, and those last, even if the diner won't. We know the church will endure to the last, but it ought not take endurance to keep it together.

Make sure yours is working hard on loving each other. That's the Jesus way.

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.

Who Cares?

Someone once wrote that a preacher should study with the newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other. I'm sure the idea behind that is to not lose touch with the world, but so many times when I read of the critical needs certain people are in, and the lack of a willingness of anyone to do something about it, I'm moved to ask, "Who cares?"

Today's paper carried a story of a woman who was offering one child for sale in order that she might feed the rest of her children. Such things ought not be. In ancient Israel, God wrote into His laws protection for the poor, the widowed and the fatherless. Pundits point out, when such laws are brought up, that there is no record of Israel actually keeping the laws of Jubilee.

In my readings of the Old Testament, I don't see them doing a very good job keeping a lot of the others either.

People are hurting all around us. Mothers and children are in need. Who cares? God does.

James 5:11 (Msg)
...God cares, cares right down to the last detail.

He cares about that child who'll go to bed hungry in a land of plenty.

He cares about the woman who'll cry herself to sleep.

He cares about the man who fears he'll lose his job of 20 years.

He cares about you... right down to the last detail.

God cares. And you and I can help Him. Find someone you can be God's instrument of compassion or care to. Answer the question with, "God cares, and so do I."

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.

Time Is Running Out

Upon receipt of an email from a government official today, I was informed that time was running out for me. You see I got this email from Swaziland that said:

"We have a consignment in our custody valued at $15,000,000.00 USD (Fifteen Million United States Dollars) which was deposited by one of our customers from France. For the past six years it is been recorded in our computer system that the beneficiary of the deposited consignment is dead and up till date we have not received any word from his relatives concerning claims of the deposited consignment.Unless you act immediately, your claim will be forfeit."

How was I supposed to know that my rich and unknown relative had died and left me $15M dollars? Frankly, I am a wee bit skeptical of this since: tracing Wilsons is very difficult (just ask anyone who's done family tree work) and two, all my family together wouldn't have a fraction of that. But if I don't act immediately, my treasure will vanish.

Or will it? No, because it cannot.

2 Cor. 4:7 (Msg)
If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us.

Granted, looking at the wrapper, you'd see just another guy named Wilson, trying to please God, take care of His family, and love people.

2 Cor. 4:16 (Msg)
... Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace.
You see, I have this treasure.

The love of Christ.

And with Him, I will spend eternity. Oh and not one day goes by without His generous love for me giving me more treasure to share. Time isn't running out. I've got all the time in this world and the next one too.

I hope you do too. If I can help you understand how God could love you just as you are, or help you take another step along the way toward Him, write me.

Because unless you have that Christ-treasure, time is running out.

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.

Pray

Walking up the path to my office this morning, seeing the grounds so well kept by one member, I give thanks to God for his work, and ask God to guard and guide him as he walks along the Journey with Christ.

Glancing to my right, I see the hanging baskets another has given and which bless everyone here with their beauty. She and her husband work here together. He's a real role model for the boys he leads in RA's, and she's a blessing in whatever she places her hand on. They're off on a vacation trip, so I breathe a prayer of intercession for their safe return.

Arriving at my office, yesterday's contacts are still on the monitor before me. One family is coping with the devastation of cancer's onslaught. I stop and pray, asking God to comfort, strengthen, and heal. Another deals daily with the prolonged separation from each other, with the wife in a nursing home, and the husband of decades going home each night to an empty house. Hard work that, after decades as a loving couple together. So I pray.

Oswald Chambers wrote, "the purpose of prayer is to reveal the presence of God."

After thinking through some of the problems that our church family members are dealing with, I'm sure looking for Him.

In reading through the Psalms, two things stand out. First, the writers sure did have a lot of problems. Second, they never lost their focus on God. In the 150 Psalms, the names "Lord" and "God" are mentioned more than 1200 times. Even though some of the Psalms were written during times of great distress, they were able to look past those to God.

So I pray. There's a lot of things a pastor does, but two activities top the list.

Acts 6:4 (Msg)
Meanwhile, we'll stick to our assigned tasks of prayer and speaking God's Word."

I don't have to get to my office to begin. Neither do you.

Pray.

Don't wait.

Pray.

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've Found the Weapons of Mass Destruction!

It would be safe I think to say that authors William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway were good at their craft. While they vary in style, the books and short stories that they penned have enlivened the reading of millions of people. Yet I found out today that the two men didn't always value each other's work. Here's a couple of quotes from each.

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." -William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" -Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)

The weapons of mass destruction? Words.

Proverbs 15:4 (Msg)
Kind words heal and help;
cutting words wound and maim.

We can choose what to say, how to respond, whether to build people up with our speech or cut them down. That old rhyme about sticks and stones breaking bones and words never harming us just wasn't true. Who among us doesn't remember someone who hurt us deeply with their words?

For the believer in Jesus, words are part of our example of a changed life.

Col. 3:17 (Msg)
Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
Every detail - every word. You'll be amazed at the positive impact you can have on people if you'll become a person who encourages others and who speaks words of grace.

You'll be happy to know that Faulkner and Hemingway, though they never became close friends, through a series of letters and meetings, did grow to respect and value one another. Here's what Faulkner said upon hearing of Hemingway's tragic death.

"He is not dead. Generations not yet born of young men and women who want to write will refute that word as applied to him."

Let's use our weapons to build, not destroy.

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.

When Scuffed Up Is Just Right

When I first came to New Hope, as we pulled into the parking lot two things caught my eye and my imagination - just down the street sat Valparaiso Elementary, and just across the street sat the Little League field.

I love baseball. From time to time I find baseballs here at New Hope that have been fouled off across the street and have found their way into our shrubbery. Since many of the games are played at night, finding them apparently is difficult then. So I have a drawer full. :)

Holding one of those takes me back. To my Little League days as a scatter armed pitcher with more speed than control. Particularly if the umpire had given me a new baseball. They were just too perfect, too slippery to use. So you'd try to rub some mud on them, or try to keep one with a couple of scuffs in the game.

Turns out they do that in the big leagues too. A company out of New Jersey supplies river mud (just where from is a closely guarded secret) to every major and minor league time, and has since 1945. Without it, the baseballs are too perfect to use.

Think about that.

Every stitch is in place. The horsehide cover is blemish free. The classic red stitching and white cover - perfect. But it's useless until rubbed in the mud - scuffed up.

Too many of us are wishing and hoping for lives of pure perfection too. Plenty of money, perfect health, successful job, never a care or worry, no grief nor pain. We think if everything were perfect, we'd be happy. Maybe we would be, but we wouldn't be useful.

There was a man once who was perfect. God sent Him here for us.

Hebrews 2:14-18 (Msg)
Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it's logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil's hold on death [15] and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death.
[16] It's obvious, of course, that he didn't go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. [17] That's why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people's sins, [18] he would have already experienced it all himself all the pain, all the testing and would be able to help where help was needed.

And because he experienced all the grief, the pain, the sufferings that you and I do, he was able to help right where help was needed.

You can too.

Take that pain you have and use it to draw others to God. Share that heartache as you care for another who hurts too. Walk through that valley of suffering and show others how God is faithful. Don't live your life lamenting your imperfections, and don't expect perfection.

Just be available to be used by God as a bridge to your fellow man, just as you are. Scuffed up is just right.

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.

Just the right place to be wrong

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. And every now and then, I get to watch as God finds them and a new child comes into the kingdom. Or I get to see it when someone who was broken is restored through God's amazing grace.

Church is just the right place to be wrong.

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.

You Can Learn A Lot Here

As the nation pauses to remember our 40th president, Ronald Reagan, things are slow in this military town. Many are off from work, observing a day of mourning.

What I'm remembering today is a phrase full of hope though, that I'll always associate with President Reagan, "It's morning in America." The great communicator was bullish on the future of his beloved nation.

I'm that way about the local church. On days like this, when I can pray and think about what God has done and is doing here, I am overwhelmed with gratitude that He's given me a role in what He does. And during the day to day life of a church, you can discover moment after moment of pure joy.

For example: Wednesday night, the girls who sing in our "New Hope Girl's Worship Team" were having their devotional time. Part of that is to remember the central truth of the Bible lesson they learned the Sunday before. The idea being that if they can remember it three days later, it will stay with them long enough to become a principle.

So last week they learned about Jesus healing ten lepers. Remember?

12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance,
13 crying out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
14 He looked at them and said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, their leprosy disappeared.
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, "Praise God, I'm healed!"
16 He fell face down on the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, "Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?
18 Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?"
19 And Jesus said to the man, "Stand up and go. Your faith has made you well."
Luke 17:12-19 (NLT)

So when the girls were asked to tell the story, the responses were all over the board, but most did remember the central truth... with some modifications in one case.

One girl wrote: "The ten people had "lepotitus.""

And Jesus healed them... anyway.

No matter what you call the need, Jesus can meet it if we go to Him in faith.

Yes, you can learn a lot here. And seeing children grow into mature believers gives me hope for a new morning in America.

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.

Vacations and Vocations

Mark 6:30-31 (Msg)
The apostles then rendezvoused with Jesus and reported on all that they had done and taught. [31] Jesus said, "Come off by yourselves; let's take a break and get a little rest." For there was constant coming and going. They didn't even have time to eat.

Ever been that way? So busy that you didn't even have time to take a break to eat? That's not the Jesus way folks. On a regular basis, Jesus withdrew from the crush of His vocation and rested and renewed.

The late Vance Havner said, "If you do not come apart, you'll come apart."

It's still true today. During these hot summer months, take time to look at all the activities you've stuffed into a day, and make sure that you're not missing those times of renewal and restoration. Worship regularly, and make time for God in your personal devotions. Come apart from the world, or you will come apart.

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.

For Best Results, Keep Free from Interference

We have a DSL connection here at the church, and normally it works pretty well. The ability to go through large amounts of information in a hurry really helps me in researching sermons, and the speed it gives us in downloading means Bible studies and other resources are a snap to receive.

Except when it isn't working well. Like this week. I'd be hard at work trying to find more information on a passage of scripture's context, or illustrative material to help shed light on what that scripture means for today, when suddenly the internet just would stop working.

When that occurred, I'd have to go to the church office where all the electronics reside, and reset all the devices. After a few times, I decided it was time to get help. So I emailed our provider to ask what I could do to fix it. I gave them all the situational details, info about our system and waited to hear their response.

When it came, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Please ensure that your modem is not near any of the following devices: your PC, printers, scanners, fluorescent lights, copiers, telephones, cell phones, hubs and switches, or any other electrical device that might cause interference."

Hmm... It was two feet from a printer, sitting on a hub, three feet from a copier, four from a telephone, three from a PC, a foot from a router, and I had my cell phone in my pocket. Oh and the lights? Fluorescent.

Guess we'll have to build a room on the roof just to house the modem.

Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it.

There's no way a perfect place for that can be found, and still do what we need to do with it. No way to be completely free of interference, and still be in a working office. That's unrealistic.

Yet when you think about it, there are people even within our churches who want exactly that complete freedom from interference before they will serve, before they will commit their lives to following Christ in helping their churches live out His purposes. Talking to several pastors over the last few weeks produced a chorus of examples of interference.

- One pastor said, "The music has to please them. Could be hymns, could be choruses. Could be solos, could be choir. But know this, if it isn't what they like, you'll get interference, and they won't "worship"."

- Another pointed out, "The preaching has to please them. Wrong version of Scripture. Too long. Too short. Too many illustrations. Not enough. Whatever the reason, if it isn't delivered the way they like it, don't expect them to listen."

- And another said, "The people have to please them. Too many old people. Not enough. Too many young people. Not enough. Too formal. Too casual. Too friendly. Not enough. If the atmosphere that surrounds them isn't just right, how can you expect them to "worship"?"

Not with all that -- Interference.

Sounds to me as though a lot of that interference could be cleared up with a simple movement of the receiver to their knees.

Pride and self-preference, or getting our way. That's the real interference, and we've got to ruthlessly eliminate it from our lives. Anytime the spirit of this age tempts us to seek our way, our preferences instead of just desperately seeking God and the fulfillment of His purpose - reaching people, we've got to fall to our knees and seek to see, hear, and feel nothing except the presence of God.

It's past time.

John 4:23 (Msg)
But the time is coming it has, in fact, come—when what you're called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.
"It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship.

"Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth."

For best results in that pursuit, keep yourself free from interference. Stay humble and flexible and willing to meet God wherever He is moving.

Remember. It's not about you.

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.

Swords, Shovels, and Bridal Gowns

Watching TV last night, I saw an account of the D-Day invasion. During those fateful days, American paratroopers dropped into French towns and hoped to liberate them from the Nazi invaders. In some cases they were immediately successful, but in others, they were not. One French town cared for many of the Americans. When the Germans counterattacked, the GI's were forced to leave almost everything behind and flee for safety.

After the war, times were hard for the French people. Food was scarce, but they wanted to return to a normal life. One couple wanted to get married, but couldn't afford a wedding dress. Then they remembered the parachute one GI had stuffed into a corner of their home.

Voila!.

That reminded me...

Isaiah 2:4 (Msg)
He'll settle things fairly between nations.
He'll make things right between many peoples.
They'll turn their swords into shovels,
their spears into hoes.
No more will nation fight nation;
they won't play war anymore.

What a great scrap of Scripture that is! Don't you long for that day, when God will finally bring peace to our world? When that happens, the instruments of war will be changed into tools for peace.

Maybe even wedding gowns.

Pray for that day's soon coming.

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.

Tremors

At first I wasn't sure what it was. It felt like a big truck going by, but then I realized I was no where near the highway, in fact I was in our company's corporate HQ. Then the books started falling off the shelf above my head, and I had to get up. When I did, for a moment it felt like I was surfing. All the people who made the SF Bay area their home looked at me kind of funny. None of them had even moved.

"Did you feel that?", I asked.

"Yeah, but you get used to it," one replied.

Right then and there, I thanked Almighty God for placing me in Middle Georgia, and asked Him to please, please, please see me safely back home. He did.

I was thinking about that event today when I read this verse..

Jeremiah 5:3 (Msg)
But you, God,
you have an eye for truth, don't you?
You hit them hard, but it didn't faze them.
You disciplined them, but they refused correction.
Hardheaded, harder than rock,
they wouldn't change.

Have you felt a tremor lately?

Has something within you seemed not quite right? The things that used to bring you joy, do them still have that effect? Or are they lifeless?

It could just be that you need to examine your faith and practice. Maybe there is a disconnect between what you say you believe and how you really live. Oh, it probably wasn't something you decided to do one day, just the result of a series of little compromises. And now, you haven't felt God move in your heart in a long, long, time.

Friend, draw near to God and He'll draw near to you. Go to Him in prayer, and ask Him to soften your heart, and wash it clean, giving you a new desire to follow Him. It's never too late.

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.

What's That?

Had a conversation with my buddy William Hobbs the other night. It's always fun to talk to William, because at just past two, he's still working out this whole communication deal. You have to listen really intently, and be aware of what he's trying to tell you, and then just maybe you'll get it.

But friends, William doesn't miss a thing. He wanted to see inside the water meter Wednesday night, so naturally I had to make that happen. When he saw the dial for the meter he said "What's that?" Trying to explain what the meter was and how it works was beyond my ability. So I handed him a baseball. (My sales training kicked in- don't know the answer? Distract them!)

He looked at me, grinned his biggest William smile, and said "Ball!"

You'd think we didn't do this every week. :)

I was reading today and came across this verse.

Psalm 118:23-25 (Msg)
This is God's work.
We rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it!
[24] This is the very day God acted—
let's celebrate and be festive!
[25] Salvation now, God. Salvation now!
Oh yes, God—a free and full life!

If you stop, really stop, and consider all God's blessings in your life, you'll have trouble believing it too. Take a minute and remember what it was like to be a child - full of wonder and amazement at the world God created.

Now listen...

What's that?

Another heartbeat, another testimony of God's love for you.

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.

Do You Have Any Identification?

As I grew from boy to man on 40 acres of undeveloped land, I enjoyed the finest in entertainment activities.

I could ride a bike, climb trees, have nuclear war with my brother (using the approved weapons of course - the dirt clod, the chinaberry or plum, and the dreaded hickory nut), shoot BB guns, play baseball and football, and just have a good time. Later on when we were older, we rode motorcycles, played church softball and basketball, and went hunting and fishing.

We have few if any pictures to look at and reflect on those times we had. We had school pictures, Easter and Christmas pictures, but none of the two of us just living.

But I do have a physical way of remembering many of the things that happened in my life through the years. They are always with me. During the time of the Vietnam war draft, they served as my identification - what made me different than any of the other 18 year old boys worried about going off to war. Of course I've added new ones since then, life goes on after all. Now every now and then I happen to rub or scrape one and I'm brought back to the day it happened - to exactly what I was doing, just how it felt, what others did to help me, and how it all turned out. What were they?

My scars.

If the draft board had come looking for me, they'd have picked me out of a crowd by my scars.

We're looking at ministry this week as we study the Purpose Driven Life, and so I picked up on Paul's reluctance to be drawn off into side issues - issues of practice, not of faith. People had come to the church in Galatia saying that faith in Christ wasn't enough. You needed a "badge" to let the world know.

Paul let them know how they could tell he followed Christ.

Galatians 6:17 (Msg)
Quite frankly, I don't want to be bothered anymore by these disputes. I have far more important things to do—the serious living of this faith. I bear in my body scars from my service to Jesus.

Scars.

Jesus had said, "They will know you are my disciples by your love for one another." But loving one another is risky business. Even in ministry, people can hurt one another so deeply it leaves scars. Someone once told me "I've never been hurt as badly or as often than at church."

Friends, I've been there and done that. I could dwell on those, keep rubbing those scars, and get nothing done. Or I could thank God that He counted me worthy to be His ambassador for Christ and stay in the game.

I won't be called on to write any New Testament books, but in the serious living of this faith, I'm with Paul. If you've been hurt, wounded, even scarred while trying to serve Christ, just count your scars as a measure of identification.

When the Master comes looking for His disciples, you'll be easy to spot.

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.

Take Over!

Weak. I'm feeling pretty weak today. Maybe I should have gotten a hint of what was ahead when as I walked down the road away from our home this morning, a dryer sheet fell out of my pant's leg. Then later, the sinus infection that plagued me the day before reacquainted itself, and a recurring kidney problem reminded me it still knew my name.

Yep, I'm feeling pretty weak.

I sort of feel like the young lady on her first solo after winning her driver's license. She came around a corner and was immediately confronted by a mass of spinning and smoking cars all across the road ahead of her. Being a Christian, she knew she had to rely on God to take care of her, so she took her hands off the wheel and said out loud, "You take it Lord!"

Never did hear how that turned out.

But since I have work to do, I did ask God to take over. To use my weakness today to teach me about Him - about His mercy and His grace. And He lead me to this passage.

2 Cor. 12:9 (Msg)
...He told me,

"My grace is enough; it's all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness."

Paul had a physical problem that wouldn't go away, no matter how much he begged God to remove it. Finally, He realized that the ailment was the least of his problems. Paul understood that he couldn't let himself focus on what was wrong with him. Instead, he had to focus on what was right with God.

He just let God take over.

It's the end of the day here, and everything except the dryer sheet is still with me. But you know, it's been especially good to be with God today in the study of His Word.

What about you? Are you spending all your energies focusing on what is wrong? Why not take a minute right now and begin thanking God for all the things that are right in your life? Go as deep as you need to. But don't stop until your focus has shifted to Him. Then let Him take over.

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.

Letters that touch the heart

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

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.