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

Arms Wide Open

How could anyone resist it?

We had walked the mall together, my son and I, toward the store in which my wife worked. He'd had a hard day at his Grandmother and Granddaddy's, exploring, playing and he was just worn out. But he put on a burst of speed and swung in front of me.

He stood there in my way, a curly-haired little boy, with his arms stretched outward and upward toward me, looking at me expectantly and saying "carry me Daddy, carry me."

Could you resist that? Could any Father?

I know I couldn't, and that's why one of my sons didn't walk at the mall very often. He knew that if he got tired all he had to do was turn to his Father and say, "carry me."

That's been a long time ago now, but his trusting and expectant smile still warms my heart today. Sometimes now it's his Daddy that gets tired. Coupled with the joy of ministry is the responsibility. And there are days when it's as if my heart gets as heavy as that little boy's legs.

And I know that I can do just as my son did.

Jude 1:20-21 (Msg)
But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, [21] staying right at the center of God's love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!

The act of praying to God out of the center of His will, expecting Him to refresh you with His grace is how relief, how rest... really comes.

Jesus Christ comes, in His love, in His mercy, and meets me right at the point of my need. Every single time I call. That's the real Christian life - living with your arms wide open, ready to receive God's love and mercy.

He'll meet you too - right now. Reach out to him with the faith of a child.

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.

Seeing Jesus

John 1:15-18 (Msg)
John pointed him out and called, "This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word."

[16] We all live off his generous bounty,
gift after gift after gift.
[17] We got the basics from Moses,
and then this exuberant giving and receiving,
This endless knowing and understanding—
all this came through Jesus, the Messiah.
[18] No one has ever seen God,
not so much as a glimpse.
This one-of-a-kind God-Expression,
who exists at the very heart of the Father,
has made him plain as day.

It was Jesus Who showed us what God is like. Even now, His Holy Spirit guides the believer through the maze of life's choices. The Bible says above that Jesus made God "as plain as day."

So let me ask you a question.

What about your life? If people watch you live it (and they do) can they see what a Christian marriage is like, what Christian parents are like, what Christian employees are like?

For the Christian, we have our example in Jesus.

For those still seeking, there is only you and me.

Let's pray and ask God for more of His loving guidance, and encourage each other onto greater love for Him through our everyday lives. If we do that, people observing should see Jesus at the center of everything we do, as plain as 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.

Suspended Animation

In the older science fiction movies, it seemed someone was always stuffed into a tube sleeping. They were voyaging across the stars and were in a state of suspended animation - asleep to what was happening all around them.

I'm wondering today if there aren't people who feel that way about God - that He's there, but asleep or indifferent as we journey along in our life's voyage. While reading the Psalms today, I came across this picture of what happens when we awake to God.

Psalm 40:1-8 (Msg)
A David psalm

I waited and waited and waited for God.
At last he looked; finally he listened.
[2] He lifted me out of the ditch,
pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
to make sure I wouldn't slip.
[3] He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
they enter the mystery,
abandoning themselves to God.

[4] Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
turn your backs on the world's "sure thing,"
ignore what the world worships;
[5] The world's a huge stockpile
of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
Nothing and no one
comes close to you!
I start talking about you, telling what I know,
and quickly run out of words.
Neither numbers nor words
account for you.

[6] Doing something for you, bringing something to you—
that's not what you're after.
Being religious, acting pious—
that's not what you're asking for.
You've opened my ears
so I can listen.

[7] So I answered, "I'm coming.
I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
[8] And I'm coming to the party
you're throwing for me."
That's when God's Word entered my life,
became part of my very being.


Don't you love that last part? "I'm coming. I read in your letter what you wrote about me. And I'm coming to the party you're throwing for me."

Consider this your invitation to that party.

Listen! Hear God call out your name. Then wake up and turn your back on the world's "sure thing" for treasure no moths, no rust, and no thieves can ever touch.

This world is filled with a God with love enough for all who will make His way theirs.

Sleepers - awake!

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.

Changing Directions

It was really a neat sight to see all the schoolchildren lined up several deep along the fence at Valparaiso Elementary, all the cars lining the parking lot across the street, and people up and down Hwy 190 awaiting the visit of President Bush.

Today's paper carried the route in it's entirety, and so we were sure we'd get at least a glimpse.

But the presidential motorcade changed direction at the last minute, and we missed out. That's a shame.

Later this week, another big name may be headed our way - Hurricane Bonnie (with Charley not far behind). If she changed directions, no one here would mind at all.

Now in the first case, I could have moved to the route the motorcade took. There's only so many ways into Niceville. In the second case, I could vacate the area in advance of the hurricane's visit. I've got choices.

Just as my choices only matter prior to the president's or the hurricane's arrival, it's the choices you and I make today and tomorrow that will matter before Christ returns. We don't know the day or the hour he's coming either.

So how do we prepare?

Hebrews 10:23-25 (Msg)
Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. [24] Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, [25] not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.

We hold onto His promises and find new ways to reach people with the love of God that is so special to us. And we are to spur each other on to greater service for God than ever before.

Why would anyone do that? Out of love for God and love for people.

We don't want anyone who's willing to make a choice to change directions from missing Christ's arrival in their lives.

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 Weight of the World

Coming to the church today I was treated to the sight of all the kids and their families headed to the elementary school for their first day. Almost without fail, the kids I saw had smiles on their faces. Also almost uniformly, their parents did not.

Why is that?

Some of it could be worry about how the child will do scholastically this year. Then too, there's the social aspect.

For some though, I think the weight of the world began at 7 lbs. 7 ounces.

When a child comes into your life, most people with any clue at all can grasp the enormous responsibility it brings. Tie that to your own "sack of rocks" experiences and boy, you're gonna carry that weight, carry that weight a long time. (Random boomer Beatle reference) :)

So you project forward all the possible dire scenarios even as the gap closes between the outside world and the schoolhouse door.

Someone would like a word with you.

Mark 11:24 (Msg)
That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything.

Just as tightly as you gripped that little one before letting them head off into the classroom, God wants to hold onto you. But He wants to hear your fears, your worries - everything. And as you do that, walk forward in faith. You'll wind up in God's arms.

So pray. Pray over, around and through every action. Pray silently - out loud. Pray when you are alone - with others.

And each morning, gather in a circle, hold your child's hands, and pray that God would give Him everything he or she needs for a great day. You'll be intimately connected to our Father God.

Once you are there, the weight of the world won't be any problem at all.

Oh and grown-ups - it works for jobs 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.

When One Person Cares

All the pieces for a disastrous fourth grade experience were there for me.

My appearance - only a Mother could love (since she pretty much decided how I'd look) that geeky boy with glasses, wierd wavy hair and hand me down clothes.

My point of origin - we were new in the community, just having moved out from the city into a rural area.

My timing - it's better to be new when everyone else is too. We didn't move until a month into the 4th grade. So everyone had picked their friends and the new had worn off everyone - except me.

My personality - didn't have one. I did though have horrible allergies that would cause me to break out into hives that made my skin look like a 3-D map of the world, swell my lip up until it turned inside out, and cause my eyes to close.

So if you were looking for someone to pick on, I was your huckleberry.

All those factors were crushed by one person's care. My home room teacher, Mrs. Pyles cared about me.

Somehow, without ever raising her voice, or making me a teacher's pet, she helped me find a place there, helped me when my allergies took hold, just helped me. She was only one person. But she was more than enough.

Later, much later, I was stuck in a dead end job, having thrown away my chance to get a college degree. I had bills, a young family, and a crushing need to do better. But it had been so long since I was in high school, I knew there was no way I could pass Math.

That was before I met Hazel Struby. She was a math teacher who would not allow me to fail. Shoot - she wouldn't allow me to make a B.

On the eve of back to school frenzy across the street at Valparaiso Elementary tomorrow, I think about those teachers God placed in my life at just the right time and just the right place to do for me what no one else could have done.

Friend, you'll never convince me God doesn't care.

Thing is, He works best through people.

You might be the one He's chosen for someone.

Or someone you know might have been placed within your circle of people just for you.

I'll never be able to repay everyone who has helped me.

But I know Who to thank. When I look back, I feel like this:

2 Samuel 22:24 (Msg)
I feel put back together,
and I'm watching my step.
God rewrote the text of my life
when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.

Do this for me today - open the book of your heart to God's eyes. Maybe there's a secret hurt, an unfulfilled longing that you've suffered for too long. If you give it to your loving Father, He'll take the fragments of your life story and rewrite it into His masterpiece.

When one person cares, it makes a difference. When that person is God, He makes all the difference - forever.

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.

It Matters, Because You Matter

It was a cold December afternoon many years ago, when a group of parents stood in the lobby of a nursery school waiting to pick up their children after the last pre-Christmas session. As the kids ran from their lockers, each one carried in his hands a surprise wrapped in bright Christmas paper - a gift for their parents each child in the class had spent weeks crafting with their own hands .

One small boy was so excited he could hardly slow down. He opened the locker, reached in and then was trying to run, put on his coat, and wave to his parents all at the same time. So he lost his balance, slipped and fell. The surprise flew from his grasp and before anyone could move, landed on the tile floor with an obvious ceramic crash.

The little boy just stared in shock. He raced over to the package and shook it, and could hear the pieces clash against each other. Tears began to flow, then a whimper, and finally he cried out loud in big sobs, each followed by a gasp for air.

His father, not really knowing what to do, but thinking he could lessen the hurt, patted his son's head and murmured "It's okay. It really doesn't matter, son. It doesn't matter at all."

But the child's mother rushed over, dropped to her knees on the floor, swept the boy into her arms and said "I know it was beautiful. I am so sorry." And she wept with her son.

Mom was a lot more in tune with the way God works.

You may think no one cares.

Someone may have told you that what you are going through shouldn't bother you so much. After all, it happens to people all the time.

Friend, it matters to God. Because you matter. The writer of Proverbs lets us know God is aware.

Psalm 56:8 (Msg)
You've kept track of my every toss and turn
through the sleepless nights,
Each tear entered in your ledger,
each ache written in your book.

Not only is He aware, but He's taking the things that hurt, that wound, and not just patting us on the head and telling us that "Life's tough, you'll get over it", but He's entering into our pain, and working it all together for good. He won't waste one experience, or forget one tear.

Wherever you are today and whatever faces you - call on God. Because you matter.

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.

Any Way You Can

It's a quiet Sunday afternoon in Valparaiso. Many are taking advantage of the afternoon to practice what one preacher called "the third Baptist ordinance" - the Sunday afternoon nap. This morning I think I helped spread that practice into the morning service.

Not every sermon hits a home run. When a pastor leaves his study, doing everything he knows to do - praying for guidance, seeking God's wisdom, using their training and their skill - he hopes that God will take what will be delivered and make it an event in heaven.

An event? Well really, a party.

Luke 15:10 (Msg)
Count on it—that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God."

That's why we preach.

But you never really know what will happen, and many times you don't actually know what happened once you finish. Except for the snores.

It's been almost three years ago now, that I was involved in a revival at Orianna Baptist in Middle Georgia. The pastor there and I went visiting people during the afternoons before the evening services. He had a real way with those people, as honest and as sincere a desire to see them saved as I have ever seen. I wondered after the first stop, "What in the world does he need with me?"

We pulled up near a modest home, walked around back and onto a deck. Welcomed into that home, I was introduced to an elderly man named Calvin Logan. The pastor had spent a lot of time with him over the last year, but Calvin had never decided to become a disciple of Jesus. His family was worried because Calvin had a lot of health problems, and they were afraid his time might come before he knew God. So we talked for a while, and I tried to help him across the bridge from unbelief to grace. Though he was receptive to a point, we started out the door after a few minutes a little down, a little discouraged. I think both of us felt we had missed a chance.

Before we had cleared the corner of the house a voice called out to the pastor, "Brother Rigdill, he wants to talk to you and the preacher again." We flew up the steps.

In a moment, Calvin was a child of God. He came to the revival that night and made his decision public. For the rest of his life he followed through on the commitment he made that day.

Calvin Logan went home this past week.

Friends, anytime you have a chance to tell someone about the love of Jesus - do it. Any way you can make people understand just how free a gift it is - do it.

There will be times when you'll get to see God at work, and times when you won't. But don't despair - just share His love any way you can, for as long as you can.

On a lazy afternoon, knowing you were used by God makes a big difference.

Any other time 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.

Wanted - People Who Follow the Rules

Let me set the context for you.

There's a mailing list I'm on locally, that does a great service in letting people share their blessings and needs with one another. If you need an item, you post that need. If you have an item to give away, you post that.

Great idea. Very loving and caring.

But far too loose for some.

I got this email today and I had to share it immediately.

By the way, she wrote the subject in big capital letters, the internet equivalent of shouting at the top of your lungs.

Pay close attention to her email signature.

Please put either WANTED OFFER TAKEN etc. in the subject header.

It is frustrating for those of us on individual e-mails to have to read each one because the title is not written correctly! PLEASE!

Love,
xxxxx (name withheld)
Just another person on this list!

It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing.
It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.
~Mother Teresa~

Uh huh. Anyone else notice the irony creep in when we weren't looking?

Matthew 15:1-3 (Msg)
After that, Pharisees and religion scholars came to Jesus all the way from Jerusalem, criticizing, [2] "Why do your disciples play fast and loose with the rules?"
[3] But Jesus put it right back on them. "Why do you use your rules to play fast and loose with God's commands?

That's why the person with a living relationship with Christ won't be remembered as one who keeps the rules, but as one who cares.

Faith is love in action. Now go and practice. :)

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 Wait

Frank and his wife were cleaning out the attic one day when he came across a ticket from the local shoe repair shop. The date stamped on the ticket showed that it was over eleven years old. They both laughed and tried to remember which of them might have forgotten to pick up a pair of shoes over a decade ago.

"Do you think the shoes will still be in the shop?" Frank asked.

"Not very likely," his wife said.

"It's worth a try," Frank said, pocketing the ticket. He went downstairs,hopped into the car, and drove to the store.

With a straight face, he handed the ticket to the man behind the counter. With a face just as straight, the man said, "Just a minute. I'll have to look for these." He disappeared into a dark corner at the back of the shop.

Two minutes later, the man called out, "Here they are!"

"No kidding?" Frank called back. "That's terrific! Who would have thought they'd still be here after all this time."

The man came back to the counter, empty-handed.

"They'll be ready Thursday," he said calmly.

Do you think Frank was happy with that? I'm guessing not. I'm fairly sure he was expecting the shoes to be ready if they were there at all. The show repairman found a way to turn an amazing discovery into a doubled discouragement. Some people just have a knack for that. They've been known to turn up at church on occasion. :)

Once when I was teaching a group of 1st graders on Sunday nights, I was trying to explain about the people who didn't like what Jesus was doing. No sooner had the word Sadducee come out of my mouth when one little girl shouted (my class control skills weren't the best) "I know one!"

"You know one?"

"I sure do. Mr. Hank* is a Sadducee. He never smiles." *(not his real name)

I did.

Hank was a man who accepted Christ and was serious about his faith, and everything else. Though he was blessed, you'd never have known it. There were times I thought I saw a little black cloud following him around.

Friends, if you're alive when you read this, you've been blessed. If you are eating on a regular basis, you've been blessed. If you have family and friends, you've been blessed. I'd go on but you're saying "I know that."

Great. Now tell your face!

Proverbs 17:22 (Msg)
A cheerful disposition is good for your health;
gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.

If you are finding it hard to make it these days, maybe you are in need of an attitude adjustment. Paul wrote to the Corinthians (and Lord knows they were a mess) and said:

2 Cor. 13:11 (Msg)
And that's about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure.

There's a lot to be said for counting your blessings. It always makes me feel better to remember you as I write these devotionals. You are a blessing, now be one! Don't wait.

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.

 
No, But I Saw His Tracks

Sunday was our big VBS celebration extravaganza here, and it was something else! Picture if you will bunches of grinning, hopping, spinning, singing kids, aided and abetted by lots of New Hope's adults. Watch as confetti is shot into the air. Be spellbound as the youth do a skit that was both funny and serious at the same time. And pay careful attention to that guy at the end in the Hawaiian shirt, shorts, and tennis shoes, after all, he's the pastor.

We had quite a few visitors here, and one pair took all the happenings in and replied in answer to a question of "How did you like New Hope?" with "It sure is different. I can see why our granddaughter loves to come here."

It was different.

You could look at the service and point out that we didn't sing a hymn until the very end, when an extended invitation that began with "Grace Flows Down" morphed into "Amazing Grace."

You could point out that the offering wasn't collected, but placed into a box.

You could say that the style was too exuberant, too casual, that you couldn't see Jesus doing that. Granted, I'd have a hard time picturing Jesus singing the "Na, na, na, na" song, but that doesn't mean He wasn't present.

I saw His tracks.

First, there was the chalk outlines of little hands and feet on the sidewalk, with a drawing of a rainbow. I knew someone had told little ones about God's grace.

Then as I was walking to the office this morning, I saw a scrap of paper. That's normal, with the amount of kids we have, I sometimes find scraps of paper out front. Unfolding it though, I saw scribbling words like a little boy or girl would write. It said "Jesus Loves Me!" and had a heart beside it.

Yes, He does, and yes, He was here - I saw His tracks.

Tonight as we cleaned up the glitter, and removed the last traces of VBS 2004, I had to pop in and remind you of how God furnishes His house.

Matthew 21:16 (Msg)      "Do you hear what these children are saying?"    Jesus said, "Yes, I hear them. And haven't you read in God's Word, 'From the mouths of children and babies I'll furnish a place of praise'?"
 
New Hope was a place of praise on Sunday, as Jesus saw His children celebrate His name. Did I see Him? No, but I saw His tracks.

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.

Playing Marbles With Diamonds

Luke 12:34 (Msg)      It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. 

High up among the mountains of western Brazil sits the city of Ouro Preto. When the Portuguese first came to Brazil, the town mushroomed because of the gold ore found nearby. Once that played out, it went back to its sleepy small town existence.

One day a man from Lisbon, a mining engineer, came into town.  Stepping off his horse in the town square, he allowed the animal to drink his fill of water from the central plaza's fountain, a remnant of the earlier glory days.

He happened to notice some children playing nearby, and wandered over to ask where to get a bite to eat. The kids were playing a spirited game of marbles and as he walked up, one flew out of the circle and rolled to a stop at his feet.

Picking it up, he thought he saw something in the smooth stone. He rubbed it against his clothing for a moment or two, and what he saw changed his life. The children, poor and ragged like the town they lived in, were playing marbles with diamonds.

We're in America, not Brazil. Our children for the most part aren't ragged, or poor, and neither are we. Our access to almost everything that we could want is unparalleled in the history of man.

Freedom? We have more of that precious commodity than anyone who has ever lived. But what's happened is we've taken all the precious gifts given us and used them for our own selfish pleasure. In our own way we're playing marbles with diamonds too.

Friend, look at the indicators of where your life's priorities are - your checkbook, your calendar, your relationships with people, your relationship with God.

I've spent some time in our VBS "town square" this week, and too many of the richest kids in the world are poor in the things of the Spirit. We're doing everything we can as a church to help them understand what a priceless gift God's love through Jesus Christ is, but nothing would make more of an impact than a mommy or daddy, aunt or uncle, grandmother or granddaddy, teacher, librarian, fireman or friend in love with Jesus Christ.

Make a decision. Live the 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.

Misplaced Boundaries
 
It was the last day of my summer job before I was off to college. Let's be kind and say I was in a frivolous mood. (we could turn hard and say I was a jerk)
 
Having spent the morning unloading bags of concrete, the early afternoon cutting concrete pipe with a pick, and now having finished digging a ditch with a shovel, I was tired too. Then my eyes saw them - stakes with brightly colored ribbons on them, where the surveyors had just finished laying out the confines of another building's foundation.
 
Something within me saw that as an opportunity to thumb my nose at my bosses, and have some fun too. So I went over and carefully moved each stake. Not a whole lot, maybe a foot here or there. And I was careful to not leave evidence of what had happened.
 
I went off to school, came back the next summer to the same construction area. But this time I didn't get a job with the construction crew. No, this time I was hired by Gostin Surveying.
 
Yep. Same folks.
 
As the summer went by, I learned a lot about the science of surveying. How precise it had to be, how trusted the surveyor was, and how everything depended on his ability to trust old, sometimes in the eyes of an 18 year old, ancient, boundary markers.
 
You could say my perspective changed.
 
The last day of the summer, I summoned up enough courage to tell Mr. Lester what I had done. To my great relief, he laughed for a good minute and finally told me "we spotted it the next day. Once you know what's right, where the boundaries are, you just know."
 
Folks, the next time you meet someone whose not a believer in Jesus, think about this story.
 
They've heard so many times, seen so many times - the "Christians" around them not living up to their Master's standards that they sometimes break those standards too, just because they want to prove no one will ever lay down a boundary around their life. 

Then love breaks through.

Acts 3:26 (Msg)   But you are first in line: God, having raised up his Son, sent him to bless you as you turn, one by one, \nfrom your evil ways."

As they become believers, meet Jesus and understand how His love and sacrifice didn't draw those lines until He first laid His life on the line for them, and everything changes.

They live to please God, to obey His Word, not because they are afraid of Him, but because they see life - their life, through His eyes. Friends, the best way you can help your neighbor home is by being true in your own walk with Jesus. Earn the right to be heard by your actions, and once the door opens, tell them about Jesus.

Grace!

David

The Church of Perpetual VBS
 
Okay, so everyone whose currently working in our VBS has just suffered a massive coronary... but those of you who have completed yours a while ago ought to be over it enough by now to at least smile. And those of you who haven't been in VBS for years need to hear this too.
 
Church should always be like VBS.
 
Philip. 4:4 (Msg)      Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!
 
VBS is when the church is more biblical than any other time of the year. Why?
 
Everybody's welcome.
Dress doesn't matter.
You're expected to have fun - if you don't, we failed.
You're expected to learn things about God you'll remember forever.
You'll have an opportunity to sing songs that make you move - in heart and body.
 
Psalm 32:11 (Msg)      Celebrate God.        Sing together—everyone!        All you honest hearts, raise the roof! 

And everyone you meet that's serving as a host, teacher, cook, or leader is there doing whatever they do for one reason - to help you find God, learn about God, and love God just like they do.
 
2 Cor. 13:9 (Msg)      We don't just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that it will all come together in your lives.

VBS is when people go the extra mile, do the silly dances, sing the new songs, give the hugs, laugh the loudest, enjoying being Jesus' arms around the children He so loves.
 
That's why kids love it, and why VBS is the single biggest way they begin their walk with Christ.
 
Church should always be like VBS. It can be - come and see!
 
 
Grace!
 
David
(BTW, our VBS continues Wed. night and finishes with an explosion Sunday morning!)
 
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.

Follow The Moose Tracks

I may be on a continuous effort to stay fairly slim and trim, but that doesn't mean I don't keep up with the latest advances in the food industry. It seems as if on almost a weekly basis, new products pop up that I never thought of. They're mostly convenience foods now, but desserts also have really expanded in recent years.

Moose tracks ice cream is one of those expanded offerings that will expand you too if you don't limit your intake of it. It's great, and the story of who invented them and what they've done with their success might lead you straight to God.

Wally and June Blume have been Christians most of their lives. They served their God in their local church, giving of their time, talents and money to help God's kingdom grow. But when Wally came up with the unique ice cream called Moose Tracks, everything accelerated. For some people, when success comes, their attention and dedication to God's business declines. Not for Wally and June - just the opposite, for they are convinced it is just their faithfulness that God rewarded with their successful business growth.

You might say they are living a dream, but what they are really living out is obedience.

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.

That's exactly what Wally and June have done, and what we each can do, regardless of what work we find ourselves doing, or what people we find ourselves with.

So live for God and pass the moose tracks folks. :)

Grace!

David

PS - Oh and look out for two new flavors in the freezer case - Tootsie Roll and Tootsie Pop ice cream. Wally's been busy. :)

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.

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.