Praise 101
1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his heavenly dwelling; praise him in his mighty heaven!
2 Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness!
3 Praise him with a blast of the trumpet; praise him with the lyre and harp!
4 Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with stringed instruments and flutes!
5 Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals.
6 Let everything that lives sing praises to the LORD! Praise the LORD!
Psalms 150:1-6 (NLT)
In one of the most famous of the many anecdotes people told about the great football coach Vince Lombardi, my favorite is the one where he brings the world champion Green Bay Packers to the center of Lambeau Field after a particularly bad practice. He asks for silence, and when the players have all quieted down, he reaches into the equipment bag and pulls out a familiar shape. Holding it up so everyone can see it, he yells "gentlemen, we are going back to the basics. This is a football." You could have called that "Football 101."
Last night we had one of those opportunities you remember for a long time. A chance to see God at work in all His glory, in a way that left you thanking Him again and again. We got to see New Hope's own Emma dance in a production you could have called "Praise 101."
If you looked at Emma, you'd be hard pressed to see the soul of a dancer within her. She's pretty serious for a little girl going on eight. My impression is that she likes things done right - precise. People like that don't usually gravitate to the arts. But when they do... watch out!
There were a bunch of kids on the program Friday night, and they were in full possession of all those gifts God gives to help kids enjoy life, and that give those who are charged with getting them to do what's needed - indigestion.
We saw little boys who were supposed to be twirling streamers as a "peace" candle glowed - smack each other.
One little girl was so out of synch with the others at one point, I thought she'd be trampled.
One little boy, fresh from a "talking to" over the "peace" incident, stood and cried silently on stage, even as he waved his flag - though limply.
The idea was to teach kids to worship. By letting them express their joy and love toward God with dance, tambourines, and drums, they could learn how to give their all to the One Who made them the wonders they are. It's just that sometimes I wondered if the kids would come through it without being hurt by a flying flag, or whirling streamer, or in a collision of dancers occupying the same spot on the stage at the same moment.
That possibility kept you on the edge of your seat. Seeing all of the miss-steps and the kid happenings was something you could have spent the night doing. Watching for mistakes could have kept you busy all night.
I decided to watch Emma. Emma danced for God.
She concentrated on her steps. Her movements were graceful and precise. She took great pains to make sure she was at the right place, at the right time, doing the right movement. And through it all, she rejoiced. She's still little, but she knows how to praise God with her all. Her shy smile as she was brought down front to be recognized came from the knowledge that she had done all she could do for Jesus that night. They asked her how long she had been praising God and she said two years (her parents said 4). Time flies.
I think Emma's passed Praise 101.
To all you adults out there who haven't - come to worship God this Sunday with all your heart, soul, and intellect. Give it everything you've got - just like Emma did. Make God smile.
Grace!
David
A Glimpse of New Hope is my attempt to share the hope I have found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Should you no longer wish to receive it, or find that you have received it in error, please write me at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I will immediately remove you. Past "Glimpses" are archived at www.newhopevalp.org Thanks and God bless, David Wilson
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Thursday, May 19, 2005
School Days
11They won't go to school to learn about me,
or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons.
They'll all get to know me firsthand,
the little and the big, the small and the great.
Hebrews 8:11 (The Message)
There they were, at Valparaiso Elementary's graduation day - all those 5th graders we met 5 years ago when we first came to New Hope. As we walked into the cafeteria, their voices rang out "Miss Bunny", "Brother David", and we grinned and waved back. How they have grown! As the program began, each of the kids was called for one award or another, and it was hard to keep from cheering out of turn.
I watched them as they accepted the awards, and I looked carefully at the teachers as they presented them. Bunny and I don't really know who the best teachers are, not by any statistics at any rate. But as I looked at their eyes and saw the way they interacted with their kids, I formed some opinions. When we were talking afterwards with a parent, it turned out I was right. The teachers that I saw loving the kids and that the kids loved back by visibly trying to make sure they made their teacher proud were the ones every parent wanted their kids to have.
"Some families drive 30 miles just so they can have Mr. ____ as their child's teacher", one parent told me. That's a pretty amazing testimony of the influence one person can have with a child. Teaching really can be a place to serve God and society. What a difference they can make!
But now, fifth grade has ended, and that teacher is forever part of the child's past. Their influence may last a long time, but they will never be with "their kids" again. It was bittersweet realizing that one period was ending in the kid's lives, and they move into 6th grade next year - the great unknown - without the teachers and staff of Valparaiso Elementary that have known them most of their lives.
There is always some apprehension when changing schools, meeting new teachers, leaning new routines. We love these kids, and prayed that they'd go on and have a great time next year. Still, I was leaving with a little sadness. We'll just have to trust God, I told myself.
Then this verse in Hebrews popped into my mind, "They'll all get to know me firsthand, the little and the big, the small and the great."
Not only will this teacher never be left behind, but He'll also make sure every single "student" has His full attention. I thank God for that. For after the books and FCATs are long past, the relationship those kids have with Jesus will continue. They'll never be out of His care.
Nor will you!
Grace!
David
A Glimpse of New Hope is my attempt to share the hope I have found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Should you no longer wish to receive it, or find that you have received it in error, please write me at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I will immediately remove you. Past "Glimpses" are archived at www.newhopevalp.org Thanks and God bless, David Wilson
11They won't go to school to learn about me,
or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons.
They'll all get to know me firsthand,
the little and the big, the small and the great.
Hebrews 8:11 (The Message)
There they were, at Valparaiso Elementary's graduation day - all those 5th graders we met 5 years ago when we first came to New Hope. As we walked into the cafeteria, their voices rang out "Miss Bunny", "Brother David", and we grinned and waved back. How they have grown! As the program began, each of the kids was called for one award or another, and it was hard to keep from cheering out of turn.
I watched them as they accepted the awards, and I looked carefully at the teachers as they presented them. Bunny and I don't really know who the best teachers are, not by any statistics at any rate. But as I looked at their eyes and saw the way they interacted with their kids, I formed some opinions. When we were talking afterwards with a parent, it turned out I was right. The teachers that I saw loving the kids and that the kids loved back by visibly trying to make sure they made their teacher proud were the ones every parent wanted their kids to have.
"Some families drive 30 miles just so they can have Mr. ____ as their child's teacher", one parent told me. That's a pretty amazing testimony of the influence one person can have with a child. Teaching really can be a place to serve God and society. What a difference they can make!
But now, fifth grade has ended, and that teacher is forever part of the child's past. Their influence may last a long time, but they will never be with "their kids" again. It was bittersweet realizing that one period was ending in the kid's lives, and they move into 6th grade next year - the great unknown - without the teachers and staff of Valparaiso Elementary that have known them most of their lives.
There is always some apprehension when changing schools, meeting new teachers, leaning new routines. We love these kids, and prayed that they'd go on and have a great time next year. Still, I was leaving with a little sadness. We'll just have to trust God, I told myself.
Then this verse in Hebrews popped into my mind, "They'll all get to know me firsthand, the little and the big, the small and the great."
Not only will this teacher never be left behind, but He'll also make sure every single "student" has His full attention. I thank God for that. For after the books and FCATs are long past, the relationship those kids have with Jesus will continue. They'll never be out of His care.
Nor will you!
Grace!
David
A Glimpse of New Hope is my attempt to share the hope I have found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Should you no longer wish to receive it, or find that you have received it in error, please write me at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I will immediately remove you. Past "Glimpses" are archived at www.newhopevalp.org Thanks and God bless, David Wilson
Monday, May 16, 2005
I Saw Jesus At the Zoo
Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?" 3Jesus said, "You're asking the wrong question. You're looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do.
John 9:1-3 The Message
I saw a lot of God's work Saturday at the Zoo.
Yes, there were lions and tigers and bears a plenty, but oh my, I saw Jesus too. We had 30 New Hope folks out to see the wonders of God's creation at the Zoo at Gulf Breeze. Young and old, we had come to have a great time together. And we did. One of the things I love about New Hope is that we have fun! Sometimes it might be hard to tell we are Baptists. :)
Our friend Allan was with us. He's high maintenance to be sure, since though he has the body of a 23 year old man, he has the mind and heart of a child, with the energy to match. Allan can be very insistent, frequently interrupts, and has all the fears and insecurities of a child as well. He's a joy, and he's a handful. But he's ours - we love Allan. At first, I had responsibility for him. We rode out in the same car and began our adventure at the zoo together.
But not for long, because Diane Weech became Allan's fast friend Saturday. (note to self - check on sainthood for Baptists for Diane)
Diane made sure Allan had a great time, and I watched as she helped him explore the wonders of the zoo. He loved some parts and didn't like others - no bat cave for Allan, and he got scared even in the restroom. Yet I heard him laughing and chattering as he took it all in. But it was at the end of the train ride that I saw something amazing. The train held about 40 people, and was driven by a young man who also served as our guide to what we saw. It was a hot and humid day, and sitting behind an engine inside a metal enclosure can't be the best way to keep cool. But the young man did a great job the whole way. It was a great way to see hippos, gorillas, a rhino, and herds of other African animals.
We made the circuit, and all too soon the train returned to the station. We all began to disembark and started gathering to leave the park. Allan had gotten on the train hesitantly, but getting off, he was scared to step down. So the attendant got a set of stairs and helped Allan down. He was very kind, and turned to leave, thinking nothing of it. That was his job.
Allan stopped him, and after first trying to shake his hand and finding that they were both full, he put his hand on the man's arm, and told him thank you - three times. The young man seemed to really appreciate the gesture.
It is at times like that that I get a glimpse of what God sees in Allan and those like him. They practice the truth of "the greatest is love" every day. Sometimes we need to be reminded of just how God can use us to touch others with Jesus' love.
When Allan did that Saturday, he looked a lot like Jesus to me.
Grace!
David
A Glimpse of New Hope is my attempt to share the hope I have found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Should you no longer wish to receive it, or find that you have received it in error, please write me at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I will immediately remove you. Past "Glimpses" are archived at www.newhopevalp.org
Thanks and God bless, David Wilson
Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?" 3Jesus said, "You're asking the wrong question. You're looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do.
John 9:1-3 The Message
I saw a lot of God's work Saturday at the Zoo.
Yes, there were lions and tigers and bears a plenty, but oh my, I saw Jesus too. We had 30 New Hope folks out to see the wonders of God's creation at the Zoo at Gulf Breeze. Young and old, we had come to have a great time together. And we did. One of the things I love about New Hope is that we have fun! Sometimes it might be hard to tell we are Baptists. :)
Our friend Allan was with us. He's high maintenance to be sure, since though he has the body of a 23 year old man, he has the mind and heart of a child, with the energy to match. Allan can be very insistent, frequently interrupts, and has all the fears and insecurities of a child as well. He's a joy, and he's a handful. But he's ours - we love Allan. At first, I had responsibility for him. We rode out in the same car and began our adventure at the zoo together.
But not for long, because Diane Weech became Allan's fast friend Saturday. (note to self - check on sainthood for Baptists for Diane)
Diane made sure Allan had a great time, and I watched as she helped him explore the wonders of the zoo. He loved some parts and didn't like others - no bat cave for Allan, and he got scared even in the restroom. Yet I heard him laughing and chattering as he took it all in. But it was at the end of the train ride that I saw something amazing. The train held about 40 people, and was driven by a young man who also served as our guide to what we saw. It was a hot and humid day, and sitting behind an engine inside a metal enclosure can't be the best way to keep cool. But the young man did a great job the whole way. It was a great way to see hippos, gorillas, a rhino, and herds of other African animals.
We made the circuit, and all too soon the train returned to the station. We all began to disembark and started gathering to leave the park. Allan had gotten on the train hesitantly, but getting off, he was scared to step down. So the attendant got a set of stairs and helped Allan down. He was very kind, and turned to leave, thinking nothing of it. That was his job.
Allan stopped him, and after first trying to shake his hand and finding that they were both full, he put his hand on the man's arm, and told him thank you - three times. The young man seemed to really appreciate the gesture.
It is at times like that that I get a glimpse of what God sees in Allan and those like him. They practice the truth of "the greatest is love" every day. Sometimes we need to be reminded of just how God can use us to touch others with Jesus' love.
When Allan did that Saturday, he looked a lot like Jesus to me.
Grace!
David
A Glimpse of New Hope is my attempt to share the hope I have found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Should you no longer wish to receive it, or find that you have received it in error, please write me at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I will immediately remove you. Past "Glimpses" are archived at www.newhopevalp.org
Thanks and God bless, David Wilson
Friday, May 13, 2005
Cherish Is the Word
Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. 23The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. 24So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.
25Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church--a love marked by giving, not getting.
Ephesians 5:22-25 The Message
Years and years ago, in a galaxy far, far away a man sat down to write a song to try to express in words just what he felt for his love. As you know, most men have great difficulty in accomplishing this feat. Ask a man to fix the dishwasher or washing machine, and he turns into McGyver. Ask him to "do something about that back door sticking", and he turns into Bob Villa. But ask him to tell a woman how he feels, and he gets mush mouthed.
That's why we men appreciate the work of those rare examples of the gender who can communicate while in love. Many of these are poets and songwriters. Very frequently, a man, when faced with his limitations, will buy a book of poetry, or a special song, and hand it to his love and say "this is how I feel" because though the heart is eager, the ability is weak. One of those songs way back when was "Cherish" by a group called "The Association". Here's a snippet of the words.
Cherish is the word I use to describe
All the feeling that I have hiding here for you inside
You don't know how many times I've wished that I had told you
You don't know how many times I've wished that I could hold you
You don't know how many times I've wished that I could
Mold you into someone who could
Cherish me as much as I cherish you
We'll have to ignore the "mold you into" part for the purposes of this email, (he was doing so well, too) but I hope you can see that even the most gifted of our gender have real issues in communication. He did though, grab just the right word.
Cherish. To hold dear.
When you read the passage above in the Message paraphrase, what word jumps out at you?
If you're most people, conditioned by years of exposure to what the world has done with this passage, it would be "submit".
That's a shame, because that's not the crux of what is being communicated. When we flash on that word, we reduce our ability to understand what the passage says to the same level of men who cannot communicate their love to their wives.
The word to focus on is "cherish".
A man must first - cherish, hold dear, go all out, give his all - to his wife before he can ever hope to have her respect as an equal partner in their marriage. And as much as a woman needs to know she is cherished, a man needs that respect. Well, I've run out of words. Maybe the end of that passage will help make it clear that cherish is the word.
31And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." 32This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. 33And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband. Ephesians 3:31-33 The Message
I like that "I don't pretend to understand it all" part. I never have understood how someone as gifted, as grace-filled, as beautiful as my wife could have given me her heart.
But I cherish it, and her.
Yes, cherish is the word.
Grace!
David
A Glimpse of New Hope is my attempt to share the hope I have found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Should you no longer wish to receive it, or find that you have received it in error, please write me at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I will immediately remove you. Past "Glimpses" are archived at www.newhopevalp.org Thanks and God bless, David Wilson
Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. 23The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. 24So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.
25Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church--a love marked by giving, not getting.
Ephesians 5:22-25 The Message
Years and years ago, in a galaxy far, far away a man sat down to write a song to try to express in words just what he felt for his love. As you know, most men have great difficulty in accomplishing this feat. Ask a man to fix the dishwasher or washing machine, and he turns into McGyver. Ask him to "do something about that back door sticking", and he turns into Bob Villa. But ask him to tell a woman how he feels, and he gets mush mouthed.
That's why we men appreciate the work of those rare examples of the gender who can communicate while in love. Many of these are poets and songwriters. Very frequently, a man, when faced with his limitations, will buy a book of poetry, or a special song, and hand it to his love and say "this is how I feel" because though the heart is eager, the ability is weak. One of those songs way back when was "Cherish" by a group called "The Association". Here's a snippet of the words.
Cherish is the word I use to describe
All the feeling that I have hiding here for you inside
You don't know how many times I've wished that I had told you
You don't know how many times I've wished that I could hold you
You don't know how many times I've wished that I could
Mold you into someone who could
Cherish me as much as I cherish you
We'll have to ignore the "mold you into" part for the purposes of this email, (he was doing so well, too) but I hope you can see that even the most gifted of our gender have real issues in communication. He did though, grab just the right word.
Cherish. To hold dear.
When you read the passage above in the Message paraphrase, what word jumps out at you?
If you're most people, conditioned by years of exposure to what the world has done with this passage, it would be "submit".
That's a shame, because that's not the crux of what is being communicated. When we flash on that word, we reduce our ability to understand what the passage says to the same level of men who cannot communicate their love to their wives.
The word to focus on is "cherish".
A man must first - cherish, hold dear, go all out, give his all - to his wife before he can ever hope to have her respect as an equal partner in their marriage. And as much as a woman needs to know she is cherished, a man needs that respect. Well, I've run out of words. Maybe the end of that passage will help make it clear that cherish is the word.
31And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." 32This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. 33And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband. Ephesians 3:31-33 The Message
I like that "I don't pretend to understand it all" part. I never have understood how someone as gifted, as grace-filled, as beautiful as my wife could have given me her heart.
But I cherish it, and her.
Yes, cherish is the word.
Grace!
David
A Glimpse of New Hope is my attempt to share the hope I have found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Should you no longer wish to receive it, or find that you have received it in error, please write me at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I will immediately remove you. Past "Glimpses" are archived at www.newhopevalp.org Thanks and God bless, David Wilson
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Tar-baby ain't sayin' nuthin', en brer Fox, he lay low.
"Stay alert. This is hazardous work I'm assigning you. You're going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove. Matthew 10:16 (The Message)
Joel Chandler Harris' Song of the South was part of the literature I grew up with. His amazing world of Brer. Rabbit, Brer. Fox, Uncle Remus and the gang was almost required reading for a boy growing up in Middle Georgia. Just up the road from where I lived was the museum that enshrined Harris' work. The Disney film came along, and put the words Harris wrote to music. "Zip-a-dee-do-dah, zip-a-dee-ya, my oh my what a wonderful day..." is now swirling around in your head and you'll have trouble the rest of the day shaking it. The quote above comes from a scene when Brer. Bear got mad, and everyone scattered rather than face his wrath.
But Harris' story was written in an earlier time, and today it doesn't get mentioned much in literature classes at all. His use of the dialect of the slaves on Georgia plantations in his work is seen as insensitive and out of step with today's culture. So rather than have to face the protests, most teachers simply bypass Harris' work. Too many landmines.
I stepped on one of those this weekend, when I answered the phone and got an earful of criticism and wrath.
Why?
Santa Claus.
Handed the phone by a member right before Sunday School started, I was treated to the most one-sided conversation I've had in a long time. It seems that sometime late last year, Santa Claus came up in one of our children's groups. Most church leaders will tell you that with children under 12, the whole "Is Santa real?" question is quite the hot potato. No one really wants to get into it, and most try to deflect or avoid with responses like "What does your family say?" or the ever popular "what do you think?" We're trying to help families come to know Jesus and so we try to stay focused on that. Sometimes though, you get pinned down. It's happened to me.
So apparently, the question was asked and the truth was given to a 9 year old. So his irate mother called to let me know she wanted an apology from everyone involved. Nothing I said helped - in fact whatever I said in apology or otherwise just made it worse. It ended when she told me she'd tell everyone about how horrible we were, called me some names, and hung up.
It's bothered me ever since.
Friends, at New Hope we love people. Our goal is to reach out in love to all people, no matter what. And somehow, unknowingly, we've had a door into the lives of an unchurched family slammed in our face. That breaks my heart. I've been praying off and on ever since Sunday that God would keep reaching into the lives of that family, if not through us, then through some other church.
It's not that what was said wasn't true - it was. And I'm on record as hoping to keep the church focused on the Incarnation around Christmas time. But the world hasn't caught onto how Santa Claus' gifts pale in comparison to the gift of a Savior yet. In fact the mom told me that "we had ruined a sacred holiday for her family." We might know that isn't a very high view of what's sacred. But we don't need to go tap-dancing through every minefield we see.
I want to encourage you today, to focus on living the Jesus-life among the wolves by concentrating your efforts on what really matters - building bridges for the unchurched to walk across to meet Jesus. Don't get distracted and lose an opportunity to share the way home. And pray that a mom and her child find Jesus someday to be far better than Santa ever dreamed of.
If that ever happens to me again, I'm going to make like Brer. Fox. "...he lay low."
Grace!
David Wilson
A Glimpse of New Hope is my attempt to share the hope I have found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Should you no longer wish to receive it, or find that you have received it in error, please write me at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I will immediately remove you. Past "Glimpses" are archived at www.newhopevalp.org Thanks and God bless, David Wilson
"Stay alert. This is hazardous work I'm assigning you. You're going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove. Matthew 10:16 (The Message)
Joel Chandler Harris' Song of the South was part of the literature I grew up with. His amazing world of Brer. Rabbit, Brer. Fox, Uncle Remus and the gang was almost required reading for a boy growing up in Middle Georgia. Just up the road from where I lived was the museum that enshrined Harris' work. The Disney film came along, and put the words Harris wrote to music. "Zip-a-dee-do-dah, zip-a-dee-ya, my oh my what a wonderful day..." is now swirling around in your head and you'll have trouble the rest of the day shaking it. The quote above comes from a scene when Brer. Bear got mad, and everyone scattered rather than face his wrath.
But Harris' story was written in an earlier time, and today it doesn't get mentioned much in literature classes at all. His use of the dialect of the slaves on Georgia plantations in his work is seen as insensitive and out of step with today's culture. So rather than have to face the protests, most teachers simply bypass Harris' work. Too many landmines.
I stepped on one of those this weekend, when I answered the phone and got an earful of criticism and wrath.
Why?
Santa Claus.
Handed the phone by a member right before Sunday School started, I was treated to the most one-sided conversation I've had in a long time. It seems that sometime late last year, Santa Claus came up in one of our children's groups. Most church leaders will tell you that with children under 12, the whole "Is Santa real?" question is quite the hot potato. No one really wants to get into it, and most try to deflect or avoid with responses like "What does your family say?" or the ever popular "what do you think?" We're trying to help families come to know Jesus and so we try to stay focused on that. Sometimes though, you get pinned down. It's happened to me.
So apparently, the question was asked and the truth was given to a 9 year old. So his irate mother called to let me know she wanted an apology from everyone involved. Nothing I said helped - in fact whatever I said in apology or otherwise just made it worse. It ended when she told me she'd tell everyone about how horrible we were, called me some names, and hung up.
It's bothered me ever since.
Friends, at New Hope we love people. Our goal is to reach out in love to all people, no matter what. And somehow, unknowingly, we've had a door into the lives of an unchurched family slammed in our face. That breaks my heart. I've been praying off and on ever since Sunday that God would keep reaching into the lives of that family, if not through us, then through some other church.
It's not that what was said wasn't true - it was. And I'm on record as hoping to keep the church focused on the Incarnation around Christmas time. But the world hasn't caught onto how Santa Claus' gifts pale in comparison to the gift of a Savior yet. In fact the mom told me that "we had ruined a sacred holiday for her family." We might know that isn't a very high view of what's sacred. But we don't need to go tap-dancing through every minefield we see.
I want to encourage you today, to focus on living the Jesus-life among the wolves by concentrating your efforts on what really matters - building bridges for the unchurched to walk across to meet Jesus. Don't get distracted and lose an opportunity to share the way home. And pray that a mom and her child find Jesus someday to be far better than Santa ever dreamed of.
If that ever happens to me again, I'm going to make like Brer. Fox. "...he lay low."
Grace!
David Wilson
A Glimpse of New Hope is my attempt to share the hope I have found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Should you no longer wish to receive it, or find that you have received it in error, please write me at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I will immediately remove you. Past "Glimpses" are archived at www.newhopevalp.org Thanks and God bless, David Wilson
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Mothers and the Boys Who Love Them
1Three days later there was a wedding in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there. 2Jesus and his disciples were guests also. 3When they started running low on wine at the wedding banquet, Jesus' mother told him, "They're just about out of wine."
4Jesus said, "Is that any of our business, Mother--yours or mine? This isn't my time. Don't push me."
5She went ahead anyway, telling the servants, "Whatever he tells you, do it."
6Six stoneware water pots were there, used by the Jews for ritual washings. Each held twenty to thirty gallons. 7Jesus ordered the servants, "Fill the pots with water." And they filled them to the brim.
8"Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host," Jesus said, and they did.
9When the host tasted the water that had become wine (he didn't know what had just happened but the servants, of course, knew), he called out to the bridegroom, 10"Everybody I know begins with their finest wines and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you've saved the best till now!"
11This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of his glory. And his disciples believed in him. John 2:1-11 (The Message)
It's been many years now since my Mother went home to be with Her Lord. But it hasn't gone away.
There are days when it's easier, when you remember silly little things, like the way she used to fix the boys instant cheese grits with torn up bits of sliced processed cheese, and they treated it like manna. "No one else could make grits the way Grandmother did," they'll say. Bunny and I would shake our head and laugh. Some days are laughing days.
Certain songs bring her memory closer. Old show tunes, big band numbers, and any song where someone yodeled. Yes, her first brush with fame was singing with "Uncle Ned" on the radio, and yodeling. A strong voice would come in handy later on when two boys competed for how far away from where they ought to be they could get. Oh and anytime the Star Spangled Banner is sung, I think I hear her too. Some days her memory is like a picture in my wallet.
Certain seasons too. No one ever was a bigger kid, or got more of a thrill out of Christmas than my Mother. Every year, no matter how old we got, under the tree we'd always find a couple of gifts from "Santa" or if she was pressed for time "SC." I'll probably never know how far in debt she went some years to get my brother and me what we wanted for Christmas, or for our birthdays. Of course as soon as our two boys were born, our benefits were cut in favor of the grandsons.
Seemed reasonable.
After a somewhat rocky start, ("You're going to what?") my Mother and my wife got along pretty well. The fact that they both had two boys, and both loved them fiercely, helped a lot I'm sure. There's something about the way a mother loves a boy. Girls most often grow up with mothers, boys grow away toward their fathers. But that love from their mother never leaves.
So when I read the passage above, particularly in the emotionally charged paraphrase by Eugene Peterson, I see a real mother and son relationship and out of that, the Son is recognized for what He really is - Messiah.
No one but Mary could have "pushed" Jesus and assumed He'd agree to be moved to action. No one except His mother. Mothers know their sons for who they really are, and mothers see what they can become. As they raise them to maturity, they fade into the background, but they never leave.
Women are unique in all of God's creation inherently. But a Mother takes that unique gifting and gives it away - willingly, gladly, joyfully. As one who continues to benefit from that gift, and who is grateful to be married to someone who continues to give, my prayer is that God will bless each Mother who reads this with a glimpse of just what you've given and it's lasting effect on your children. Lincoln was right - no one is poor who has a godly Mother.
Grace!
David Wilson
A Glimpse of New Hope is my attempt to share the hope I have found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Should you no longer wish to receive it, or find that you have received it in error, please write me at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I will immediately remove you. Past "Glimpses" are archived at www.newhopevalp.org Thanks and God bless, David Wilson
1Three days later there was a wedding in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there. 2Jesus and his disciples were guests also. 3When they started running low on wine at the wedding banquet, Jesus' mother told him, "They're just about out of wine."
4Jesus said, "Is that any of our business, Mother--yours or mine? This isn't my time. Don't push me."
5She went ahead anyway, telling the servants, "Whatever he tells you, do it."
6Six stoneware water pots were there, used by the Jews for ritual washings. Each held twenty to thirty gallons. 7Jesus ordered the servants, "Fill the pots with water." And they filled them to the brim.
8"Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host," Jesus said, and they did.
9When the host tasted the water that had become wine (he didn't know what had just happened but the servants, of course, knew), he called out to the bridegroom, 10"Everybody I know begins with their finest wines and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you've saved the best till now!"
11This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of his glory. And his disciples believed in him. John 2:1-11 (The Message)
It's been many years now since my Mother went home to be with Her Lord. But it hasn't gone away.
There are days when it's easier, when you remember silly little things, like the way she used to fix the boys instant cheese grits with torn up bits of sliced processed cheese, and they treated it like manna. "No one else could make grits the way Grandmother did," they'll say. Bunny and I would shake our head and laugh. Some days are laughing days.
Certain songs bring her memory closer. Old show tunes, big band numbers, and any song where someone yodeled. Yes, her first brush with fame was singing with "Uncle Ned" on the radio, and yodeling. A strong voice would come in handy later on when two boys competed for how far away from where they ought to be they could get. Oh and anytime the Star Spangled Banner is sung, I think I hear her too. Some days her memory is like a picture in my wallet.
Certain seasons too. No one ever was a bigger kid, or got more of a thrill out of Christmas than my Mother. Every year, no matter how old we got, under the tree we'd always find a couple of gifts from "Santa" or if she was pressed for time "SC." I'll probably never know how far in debt she went some years to get my brother and me what we wanted for Christmas, or for our birthdays. Of course as soon as our two boys were born, our benefits were cut in favor of the grandsons.
Seemed reasonable.
After a somewhat rocky start, ("You're going to what?") my Mother and my wife got along pretty well. The fact that they both had two boys, and both loved them fiercely, helped a lot I'm sure. There's something about the way a mother loves a boy. Girls most often grow up with mothers, boys grow away toward their fathers. But that love from their mother never leaves.
So when I read the passage above, particularly in the emotionally charged paraphrase by Eugene Peterson, I see a real mother and son relationship and out of that, the Son is recognized for what He really is - Messiah.
No one but Mary could have "pushed" Jesus and assumed He'd agree to be moved to action. No one except His mother. Mothers know their sons for who they really are, and mothers see what they can become. As they raise them to maturity, they fade into the background, but they never leave.
Women are unique in all of God's creation inherently. But a Mother takes that unique gifting and gives it away - willingly, gladly, joyfully. As one who continues to benefit from that gift, and who is grateful to be married to someone who continues to give, my prayer is that God will bless each Mother who reads this with a glimpse of just what you've given and it's lasting effect on your children. Lincoln was right - no one is poor who has a godly Mother.
Grace!
David Wilson
A Glimpse of New Hope is my attempt to share the hope I have found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Should you no longer wish to receive it, or find that you have received it in error, please write me at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I will immediately remove you. Past "Glimpses" are archived at www.newhopevalp.org Thanks and God bless, David Wilson
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Pass It On
If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching.8 If your gift is to encourage others, do it! Romans 12:7-8 (NLT)
How many people have you met in your lifetime? You probably can't count that high. Okay, how many can you say made a real difference? Chances are, out of a list of the top ten, there will be a teacher in there somewhere. Think back - who would you choose?
You'd probably not choose someone who laughed at you while scrawling an "F" on your essay. But that's exactly why I'd put Dr. Catherine Futral high on my list of women who've affected my life.
After a long time away, I had returned to Mercer University in Macon, GA to finish my undergraduate degree. I was majoring in business, because that's what my company would pay for, and was checking off the squares of required courses when I ran head on into Dr. Futral. A fixture for years at Tift College in Forsyth, she was teaching in the evening college after Mercer had absorbed her beloved campus. My goal was to get all my English courses out of the way as quickly and as easily as possible. Her goal seemed to be the destruction of the ecosystem by flooding the world with red ink.
To give you a mental picture of her wouldn't be hard. Think English teacher. That was harsh. Okay, think English teacher with a great smile and eyes that twinkled as she explained just how miserable she would be making our lives for the next 12 weeks.
She was a woman of grace, peppering her lectures with humor, and her comments on our work with wit. A committed Christian, and member of First Baptist Church of Forsyth, she'd often bring her faith experiences into her lectures. She'd quote Shakespeare, Faulkner, and the Psalms all in the same example of how to write a compelling paragraph. But when she evaluated your work - well, you'd better be ready to hear the truth.
I'll never forget one paper I wrote which received this comment: "Until the very last line of this paper, I felt that it was one of the best I had read. However, your thoughtless comma splice in the last phrase ruined it for me - and you." Beside that snippet she inscribed a large red "F".
Can I call that the gift of encouragement?
It was for me. My mission from that point on was to make Dr. Futral see the error of her ways. She kept trying to change my style, wanting me to use less punctuation - create shorter sentences - eliminate the passive voice. At one point, I ran a paper through a grammar checker program (new technology at the time) and handed it in. Her comment? "This isn't your work." "Oh yes it is," I replied, "and it's perfect." "It may very well be perfect as far as grammar is concerned," she shot back," but it is perfectly awful prose." You've never seen a smile leave anyone's face as fast as mine did. "You can do better," she said now smiling as she handed it back to me, "write it like David this time - from the heart."
Maybe she was from another time, when teaching was less a career and more a calling. All I know is that she gave her best and expected ours. I think of her often and thank God for her. In a sense I'm still writing partly for Dr. Futral. She believed in me. Every time I write I remember, "from the heart."
Do you remember someone who encouraged you along the way? Someone who helped you become the person you wanted to be?
Let them know it. They gave you their gift - pass it on.
Grace!
David Wilson
A Glimpse of New Hope is my attempt to share the hope I have found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Should you no longer wish to receive it, or find that you have received it in error, please write me at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I will immediately remove you. Thanks and God bless, David Wilson
If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching.8 If your gift is to encourage others, do it! Romans 12:7-8 (NLT)
How many people have you met in your lifetime? You probably can't count that high. Okay, how many can you say made a real difference? Chances are, out of a list of the top ten, there will be a teacher in there somewhere. Think back - who would you choose?
You'd probably not choose someone who laughed at you while scrawling an "F" on your essay. But that's exactly why I'd put Dr. Catherine Futral high on my list of women who've affected my life.
After a long time away, I had returned to Mercer University in Macon, GA to finish my undergraduate degree. I was majoring in business, because that's what my company would pay for, and was checking off the squares of required courses when I ran head on into Dr. Futral. A fixture for years at Tift College in Forsyth, she was teaching in the evening college after Mercer had absorbed her beloved campus. My goal was to get all my English courses out of the way as quickly and as easily as possible. Her goal seemed to be the destruction of the ecosystem by flooding the world with red ink.
To give you a mental picture of her wouldn't be hard. Think English teacher. That was harsh. Okay, think English teacher with a great smile and eyes that twinkled as she explained just how miserable she would be making our lives for the next 12 weeks.
She was a woman of grace, peppering her lectures with humor, and her comments on our work with wit. A committed Christian, and member of First Baptist Church of Forsyth, she'd often bring her faith experiences into her lectures. She'd quote Shakespeare, Faulkner, and the Psalms all in the same example of how to write a compelling paragraph. But when she evaluated your work - well, you'd better be ready to hear the truth.
I'll never forget one paper I wrote which received this comment: "Until the very last line of this paper, I felt that it was one of the best I had read. However, your thoughtless comma splice in the last phrase ruined it for me - and you." Beside that snippet she inscribed a large red "F".
Can I call that the gift of encouragement?
It was for me. My mission from that point on was to make Dr. Futral see the error of her ways. She kept trying to change my style, wanting me to use less punctuation - create shorter sentences - eliminate the passive voice. At one point, I ran a paper through a grammar checker program (new technology at the time) and handed it in. Her comment? "This isn't your work." "Oh yes it is," I replied, "and it's perfect." "It may very well be perfect as far as grammar is concerned," she shot back," but it is perfectly awful prose." You've never seen a smile leave anyone's face as fast as mine did. "You can do better," she said now smiling as she handed it back to me, "write it like David this time - from the heart."
Maybe she was from another time, when teaching was less a career and more a calling. All I know is that she gave her best and expected ours. I think of her often and thank God for her. In a sense I'm still writing partly for Dr. Futral. She believed in me. Every time I write I remember, "from the heart."
Do you remember someone who encouraged you along the way? Someone who helped you become the person you wanted to be?
Let them know it. They gave you their gift - pass it on.
Grace!
David Wilson
A Glimpse of New Hope is my attempt to share the hope I have found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Should you no longer wish to receive it, or find that you have received it in error, please write me at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I will immediately remove you. Thanks and God bless, David Wilson
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Mama Tried
(This week I'm writing about women who have made a difference in my life)
41Sitting across from the offering box, he was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. Many of the rich were making large contributions. 42One poor widow came up and put in two small coins--a measly two cents. 43Jesus called his disciples over and said, "The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. 44All the others gave what they'll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford--she gave her all." Mark 12:41-44 (The Message)
When I think of my grandmother, I see her hands. Small, wrinkled and scarred from years of work - first picking cotton in the fields of Southwest Georgia, then in "Mr. Willingham's Mill" where she worked from age 7 to age 72. She had lost portions of some fingers in the twine rolls there, but continued to work 6 days a week to feed her family. Her hands were seldom idle, even in the last few years of her life. But when they were, she'd rub them together over and over, as if she could wring the last bit of pain from her life. Often, I'd see her bowed over her Bible, her hands clasped in silent prayer.
She buried her husband early, after he was struck by a car, walked home, then died the next day. Then came her daughter, set ablaze while lighting the stove and in her fright, racing away and preventing anyone from helping. Soon the car in which her oldest son was riding in was struck by a train within earshot of his home. She gathered the remaining children together and loved them even more.
The depression came, but I'm not sure she noticed much. They were bitterly poor, but rich in what matters - so rich that when two other children needed a home, she took them in. Took me decades to figure out that Aunt Barbara and Aunt Peggy weren't really related at all. Others came and went - folks used to say that Bertie was a "soft touch", but in those years when people were often wanting, Mama did all she could do.
She raised her family, made sure they got an education, and lined them up every Sunday and marched them across the railroad tracks to Rebecca Baptist church. There they would hear about someone who loved them no matter what. His name was Jesus. They learned that He gave His life for them. Mama made sure her kids knew Jesus.
My mother was one of those who was baptized in that little church, and after coming home from WW2, settled into a home next door to raise her family. I don't remember Rebecca Baptist, but I was told that on more than one occasion my Mother took me to the front porch to lay on hands.
When Mama died, there wasn't much for the family to divide. My Aunt Geneva got her sometimes sharp tongue. My Mother kept her giving heart. All I got was a memory of a woman who spent her life giving to her family everything she had - one day at a time. Maybe she couldn't make her kids lives better than hers, but mama tried. Her legacy was a family who loved God and each other.
Fiercely loyal, surprisingly warm, always faithful. When her life was over, it was clear she had put into her family all she had. They might not have been perfect, but Mama tried.
I thank God for women like that. What a difference they make!
May God bless all those women who give their lives away to their God and to their families.
Grace!
David
(Friends, as we look forward to honoring Mothers this weekend, don't forget to thank all the women who have made a difference in your life. They may have never had children of their own, but that doesn't mean they haven't made a difference. Let them know.)
A Glimpse of New Hope is my attempt to share the hope I have found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Should you no longer wish to receive it, or find that you have received it in error, please write me at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I will immediately remove you. Thanks and God bless, David Wilson
(This week I'm writing about women who have made a difference in my life)
41Sitting across from the offering box, he was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. Many of the rich were making large contributions. 42One poor widow came up and put in two small coins--a measly two cents. 43Jesus called his disciples over and said, "The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. 44All the others gave what they'll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford--she gave her all." Mark 12:41-44 (The Message)
When I think of my grandmother, I see her hands. Small, wrinkled and scarred from years of work - first picking cotton in the fields of Southwest Georgia, then in "Mr. Willingham's Mill" where she worked from age 7 to age 72. She had lost portions of some fingers in the twine rolls there, but continued to work 6 days a week to feed her family. Her hands were seldom idle, even in the last few years of her life. But when they were, she'd rub them together over and over, as if she could wring the last bit of pain from her life. Often, I'd see her bowed over her Bible, her hands clasped in silent prayer.
She buried her husband early, after he was struck by a car, walked home, then died the next day. Then came her daughter, set ablaze while lighting the stove and in her fright, racing away and preventing anyone from helping. Soon the car in which her oldest son was riding in was struck by a train within earshot of his home. She gathered the remaining children together and loved them even more.
The depression came, but I'm not sure she noticed much. They were bitterly poor, but rich in what matters - so rich that when two other children needed a home, she took them in. Took me decades to figure out that Aunt Barbara and Aunt Peggy weren't really related at all. Others came and went - folks used to say that Bertie was a "soft touch", but in those years when people were often wanting, Mama did all she could do.
She raised her family, made sure they got an education, and lined them up every Sunday and marched them across the railroad tracks to Rebecca Baptist church. There they would hear about someone who loved them no matter what. His name was Jesus. They learned that He gave His life for them. Mama made sure her kids knew Jesus.
My mother was one of those who was baptized in that little church, and after coming home from WW2, settled into a home next door to raise her family. I don't remember Rebecca Baptist, but I was told that on more than one occasion my Mother took me to the front porch to lay on hands.
When Mama died, there wasn't much for the family to divide. My Aunt Geneva got her sometimes sharp tongue. My Mother kept her giving heart. All I got was a memory of a woman who spent her life giving to her family everything she had - one day at a time. Maybe she couldn't make her kids lives better than hers, but mama tried. Her legacy was a family who loved God and each other.
Fiercely loyal, surprisingly warm, always faithful. When her life was over, it was clear she had put into her family all she had. They might not have been perfect, but Mama tried.
I thank God for women like that. What a difference they make!
May God bless all those women who give their lives away to their God and to their families.
Grace!
David
(Friends, as we look forward to honoring Mothers this weekend, don't forget to thank all the women who have made a difference in your life. They may have never had children of their own, but that doesn't mean they haven't made a difference. Let them know.)
A Glimpse of New Hope is my attempt to share the hope I have found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Should you no longer wish to receive it, or find that you have received it in error, please write me at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I will immediately remove you. Thanks and God bless, David Wilson
Friday, April 29, 2005
To Love - To Life
To love at all is to be vulnerable.
Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.
But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable...
The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers...of love is Hell. C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
Anastasia Elizabeth Wilson entered heaven three years ago this week. She never drew a breath outside her mother's womb.
She was our first grandchild.
It hurt. Dreams were crushed. Hearts shattered. Tears flowed.
To this very day, there's a heartache. If Bunny and I discuss those days, it's in tears. As we talked about it last night, we agreed the events were a sad story, with no joy anywhere within.
But we live on. We love on.
We could do so timidly, like a child venturing out over a frozen lake who knows he shouldn't be doing it at all.
We could do so blindly, like someone who doesn't want to hear the truth and so sticks his fingers into his ears and screams la la la la la at the top of his lungs.
Or we could live each day in love with life, just as it is, with all its hopes and dreams, joys and sorrows.
Why? Or maybe more importantly, how?
Paul writes in Corinithians:
"Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it--because it does. " Cor 14:1 The Message
Life includes the highest of joys and the deepest of heartaches. That's just life. Nothing I've ever experienced was as heartbreaking as the events around Ana's death. But God has shown us His love directly again and again and through many, many people. We are surrounded at New Hope by children, some of who need love so badly they'll beg to be held, or work to catch your attention, or will just sit next to Bunny when she's on the floor teaching, and lay their head on her shoulder.
Friends, to make it through the valley of the shadow of death, you need to know that God is with you, and that there is life on the other side of the valley. Our lives depend on receiving God's love through His Son Jesus and the Spirit's presence with us AND on giving love to others as God has given to us.
Hurts never become happy.
But we can find joy when we live to love.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
To love at all is to be vulnerable.
Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.
But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable...
The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers...of love is Hell. C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
Anastasia Elizabeth Wilson entered heaven three years ago this week. She never drew a breath outside her mother's womb.
She was our first grandchild.
It hurt. Dreams were crushed. Hearts shattered. Tears flowed.
To this very day, there's a heartache. If Bunny and I discuss those days, it's in tears. As we talked about it last night, we agreed the events were a sad story, with no joy anywhere within.
But we live on. We love on.
We could do so timidly, like a child venturing out over a frozen lake who knows he shouldn't be doing it at all.
We could do so blindly, like someone who doesn't want to hear the truth and so sticks his fingers into his ears and screams la la la la la at the top of his lungs.
Or we could live each day in love with life, just as it is, with all its hopes and dreams, joys and sorrows.
Why? Or maybe more importantly, how?
Paul writes in Corinithians:
"Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it--because it does. " Cor 14:1 The Message
Life includes the highest of joys and the deepest of heartaches. That's just life. Nothing I've ever experienced was as heartbreaking as the events around Ana's death. But God has shown us His love directly again and again and through many, many people. We are surrounded at New Hope by children, some of who need love so badly they'll beg to be held, or work to catch your attention, or will just sit next to Bunny when she's on the floor teaching, and lay their head on her shoulder.
Friends, to make it through the valley of the shadow of death, you need to know that God is with you, and that there is life on the other side of the valley. Our lives depend on receiving God's love through His Son Jesus and the Spirit's presence with us AND on giving love to others as God has given to us.
Hurts never become happy.
But we can find joy when we live to love.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Is It In You?
Psalm 105:2 (The Message)
Sing him songs, belt out hymns,
translate his wonders into music!
In December 1989 the United States Army deployed the use of High Voltage Rock Music to force General Noriega out of hiding. Noriega who was wanted by the USA to face charges of violating racketeering and drug laws and money laundering.
After failed diplomatic pressure on Panama and the Panaman dictator President Bush deployed his troops to capture Noriega. It was at the Nunciatura that the General seeked refuge from the army. The US troops surrounded the building and in an attempt to force the dictator out they played rock music constantly.
In 2002, the Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority police also used music.
When students gather each afternoon at the end of the Orange Line, often a time for teen tensions to flare, they’re now greeted not just with the shouts of their peers, but tunes played by the Pops floating from newly installed speakers.
.... “We tried arresting the kids last year. That didn’t work at all. We just wanted to try something different,” said William Fleming, acting chief of the MBTA Police.
.... On a recent afternoon, as the delicate strains of Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” drifted from the speakers, commuters, police, and teens milled about, their movements taking on an almost choreographed quality.
Just a few days into the experiment, it appears to be working, despite the fact, said MBTA officials, that several teens have issued critiques of the music in terms that cannot be reprinted.
.... “Ever since this music’s been playing, people are leaving earlier,” said Devante Jones, a senior at West Roxbury High. Guess that tactic worked.
And for two weeks now across the street at Valparaiso Elementary, PE teachers have been playing square dancing music for three hours a day. Enough! You can have Panama, I'll leave the bus stop, just don't make me alemand and dosie do any longer!
If they continue, I'm going to have to go back to my roots and set up my speakers and blast some Stylistics, Temptations, Four Tops and Otis Redding at them, and if it still continues - I'll go nuclear with the Bee Gees at full blast. "You should be dancing...... yeah."
Funny how music effects us, isn't it.
Last night New Hope hosted a senior adult choir from Georgia. Just hearing English spoken with my native accent was heavenly. They presented "Singing With the Saints" a program chock full of the music that was popular in the church 30 years ago when I became a believer. Times have changed, and so has the music we sing in worship.
But one thing hasn't - the Holy Spirit still uses music to move people closer to God. It's a heart -language that transends generations and cultures. And if we can get past the date the music was written, and the accompanying notes, we'll frequently find that the music we sang and the music we sing today both glorify God.
So for an hour last night, I watched as those senior saints sang their hearts out for God's glory. Watching their faces I knew their hearts were fixed on God. Awesome!
Now when we get to heaven, just to be fair to my new friends, I've got an hour of Matt Redmond, Steven Curtis Chapman, Third Day, and Casting Crowns they get to listen to - or whatever music I'm worshipping with when I come home.
It's the language of the heart, of praise to our Loving God. Is it in you?
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Psalm 105:2 (The Message)
Sing him songs, belt out hymns,
translate his wonders into music!
In December 1989 the United States Army deployed the use of High Voltage Rock Music to force General Noriega out of hiding. Noriega who was wanted by the USA to face charges of violating racketeering and drug laws and money laundering.
After failed diplomatic pressure on Panama and the Panaman dictator President Bush deployed his troops to capture Noriega. It was at the Nunciatura that the General seeked refuge from the army. The US troops surrounded the building and in an attempt to force the dictator out they played rock music constantly.
In 2002, the Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority police also used music.
When students gather each afternoon at the end of the Orange Line, often a time for teen tensions to flare, they’re now greeted not just with the shouts of their peers, but tunes played by the Pops floating from newly installed speakers.
.... “We tried arresting the kids last year. That didn’t work at all. We just wanted to try something different,” said William Fleming, acting chief of the MBTA Police.
.... On a recent afternoon, as the delicate strains of Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” drifted from the speakers, commuters, police, and teens milled about, their movements taking on an almost choreographed quality.
Just a few days into the experiment, it appears to be working, despite the fact, said MBTA officials, that several teens have issued critiques of the music in terms that cannot be reprinted.
.... “Ever since this music’s been playing, people are leaving earlier,” said Devante Jones, a senior at West Roxbury High. Guess that tactic worked.
And for two weeks now across the street at Valparaiso Elementary, PE teachers have been playing square dancing music for three hours a day. Enough! You can have Panama, I'll leave the bus stop, just don't make me alemand and dosie do any longer!
If they continue, I'm going to have to go back to my roots and set up my speakers and blast some Stylistics, Temptations, Four Tops and Otis Redding at them, and if it still continues - I'll go nuclear with the Bee Gees at full blast. "You should be dancing...... yeah."
Funny how music effects us, isn't it.
Last night New Hope hosted a senior adult choir from Georgia. Just hearing English spoken with my native accent was heavenly. They presented "Singing With the Saints" a program chock full of the music that was popular in the church 30 years ago when I became a believer. Times have changed, and so has the music we sing in worship.
But one thing hasn't - the Holy Spirit still uses music to move people closer to God. It's a heart -language that transends generations and cultures. And if we can get past the date the music was written, and the accompanying notes, we'll frequently find that the music we sang and the music we sing today both glorify God.
So for an hour last night, I watched as those senior saints sang their hearts out for God's glory. Watching their faces I knew their hearts were fixed on God. Awesome!
Now when we get to heaven, just to be fair to my new friends, I've got an hour of Matt Redmond, Steven Curtis Chapman, Third Day, and Casting Crowns they get to listen to - or whatever music I'm worshipping with when I come home.
It's the language of the heart, of praise to our Loving God. Is it in you?
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Friday, April 22, 2005
No Stairway to Heaven
Some of you know I love to play guitar. It's a great relaxer and gives me another creative outlet. If I was any good at all at it, that would be a huge plus, but I'm approaching mediocrity at a snail's pace.
The other night, I was trying to learn the acoustic part to a Led Zeppelin song, "Stairway to Heaven." I had stumbled across the music and tabs to it and so started trying to learn to play it. Never having been a big Zeppelin fan when they were big and I was young, now I really have begun to appreciate their music more, and in particular, "Stairway." So I was fumbling around, making noise.
My son Sean, an accomplished and self-taught guitarist, walked in behind me. When he heard what I was trying to do, he laughed and said "what are you trying to do, get ready to go to the guitar store?"
Let me explain what he meant.
One of the most common songs people play at a guitar store, when trying to impress everyone with how well they play is, you guessed it, "Stairway to Heaven." It has so become so bad that Sean stated some guitar shops put signs up saying "No Stairway to Heaven."
I guess everyone gets tired of seeing people try to be something they are not.
The Bible has a lot to say about people who fake it, but one of my favorite verses perhaps says it best.
9Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. 10Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. Romans 12 - The Message
When we "clean up our act" around some people, when we "watch what we say" if the pastors around, when we have one set of ethics for business and another for church...
We are faking it.
If we are to love from the center of who we are, Jesus has to own our heart. He has to be our treasure. We cannot be Christ-followers any other way. There are no short-cuts, no "stairways" to heaven. It takes loving Christ more than yourself, and it takes doing that every day.
The good news? Stay after it - after Him! Over time, as you continue your journey with Christ, you'll look back one day and find you've made progress. There'll be more of Christ and less of you.
Gotta run, Purple Haze is next on my list of songs to learn. :)
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.
Some of you know I love to play guitar. It's a great relaxer and gives me another creative outlet. If I was any good at all at it, that would be a huge plus, but I'm approaching mediocrity at a snail's pace.
The other night, I was trying to learn the acoustic part to a Led Zeppelin song, "Stairway to Heaven." I had stumbled across the music and tabs to it and so started trying to learn to play it. Never having been a big Zeppelin fan when they were big and I was young, now I really have begun to appreciate their music more, and in particular, "Stairway." So I was fumbling around, making noise.
My son Sean, an accomplished and self-taught guitarist, walked in behind me. When he heard what I was trying to do, he laughed and said "what are you trying to do, get ready to go to the guitar store?"
Let me explain what he meant.
One of the most common songs people play at a guitar store, when trying to impress everyone with how well they play is, you guessed it, "Stairway to Heaven." It has so become so bad that Sean stated some guitar shops put signs up saying "No Stairway to Heaven."
I guess everyone gets tired of seeing people try to be something they are not.
The Bible has a lot to say about people who fake it, but one of my favorite verses perhaps says it best.
9Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. 10Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. Romans 12 - The Message
When we "clean up our act" around some people, when we "watch what we say" if the pastors around, when we have one set of ethics for business and another for church...
We are faking it.
If we are to love from the center of who we are, Jesus has to own our heart. He has to be our treasure. We cannot be Christ-followers any other way. There are no short-cuts, no "stairways" to heaven. It takes loving Christ more than yourself, and it takes doing that every day.
The good news? Stay after it - after Him! Over time, as you continue your journey with Christ, you'll look back one day and find you've made progress. There'll be more of Christ and less of you.
Gotta run, Purple Haze is next on my list of songs to learn. :)
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Hiding In Plain Sight
When I heard the learn'd astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and
measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much
applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out, I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars. by Walt Whitman
There has never been a generation with more tools with which to find God.
Radio stations fill the airwaves with praise and preaching. TV channels are exclusively devoted to the same. The average American household contains 7 Bibles. When you Google Jesus Christ, 19 million websites are ready to deliver the information.
We've been MasterLife'd, Experience God'ed, Purpose Driven, and still, how many of us really know God?
Whitman's poem caught me today at a needy moment. Frustrated because I wasn't happy with the way my message for Sunday morning was going, I took a break and pulled a literature book off the shelf. I felt like the poet had been looking over my shoulder all morning as I tried to fit God into my purpose, instead of spending time listening to His Word. I was looking for points to deliver, for principles to teach. That's all there in the Scriptures to be sure. But just like Whitman had to leave the lecture to find the stars, sometimes you really need to step back from the Scriptures and embrace the wonder of God's love.
More than anything else, the Bible is given to bring us to God through His Son, Jesus. Jesus put it this way, when confronted by some people who memorized the words without getting to know the author...
"You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! John 5:39 (The Message)
Friends, it's wonderful to know the Bible, and awesome to be given the opportunity to teach it. Just remember, it's not about information - it's about Jesus. Teach someone biblical truths without helping them find love for Jesus, and you've hidden God's love for them in plain sight. Help them find Him, and His love will lead them into the Scriptures.
It's always about Jesus.
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 I heard the learn'd astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and
measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much
applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out, I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars. by Walt Whitman
There has never been a generation with more tools with which to find God.
Radio stations fill the airwaves with praise and preaching. TV channels are exclusively devoted to the same. The average American household contains 7 Bibles. When you Google Jesus Christ, 19 million websites are ready to deliver the information.
We've been MasterLife'd, Experience God'ed, Purpose Driven, and still, how many of us really know God?
Whitman's poem caught me today at a needy moment. Frustrated because I wasn't happy with the way my message for Sunday morning was going, I took a break and pulled a literature book off the shelf. I felt like the poet had been looking over my shoulder all morning as I tried to fit God into my purpose, instead of spending time listening to His Word. I was looking for points to deliver, for principles to teach. That's all there in the Scriptures to be sure. But just like Whitman had to leave the lecture to find the stars, sometimes you really need to step back from the Scriptures and embrace the wonder of God's love.
More than anything else, the Bible is given to bring us to God through His Son, Jesus. Jesus put it this way, when confronted by some people who memorized the words without getting to know the author...
"You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! John 5:39 (The Message)
Friends, it's wonderful to know the Bible, and awesome to be given the opportunity to teach it. Just remember, it's not about information - it's about Jesus. Teach someone biblical truths without helping them find love for Jesus, and you've hidden God's love for them in plain sight. Help them find Him, and His love will lead them into the Scriptures.
It's always about Jesus.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
A Scrap of Blue
It wasn't really all that big, the scrap of blue plastic that lay in the road ahead of me, as the Great Dane and I made our morning rounds. But in the middle of the road, it stood out, and made me wonder what it was and where did it come from.
Lifting my eyes as we continued, I found its source - a home near the water, with roof damaged from Ivan, had been temporarily protected by the blue FEMA tarps. In the weeks that followed the hurricane, everyone's efforts had been to clean up and protect what was left. With the shortage of material and labor to repair, many homes are still not back to the way that they were before. The tarp was tattered, and sections of the roof were uncovered again.
But the rain comes.
Last week, we received a foot and a half of rain, accompanied by pretty fierce winds. Temporary measures to fix permanent problems only work so long. A scrap of blue tarp told me that. I walked on praying that not too much damage had been done.
What about you? Have you tried to make do, instead of making things right?
You see, I'm convinced that people suffer a lot of needless pain, for a lot longer than God would have them do, simply because they would rather hide from the problems, or paper over them, than fix them in a God-honoring way.
And friends, sooner or later, your "tarp" will tear, and there will be more than a scrap of blue in your life. The rains will come, and damage will follow, that could have been avoided if only you turned to God.
Why not take action today to mend broken relationships, to cease sinful behavior, to make things right between you and God and you and your fellow men and women. It's not too late, as long as you have breath in your lungs, you can say "Forgive me."
Here is what the Master Builder has promised to do if you will:
If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.1 John 1:8-9 (NLT)
God will make it right. Trust Him.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
It wasn't really all that big, the scrap of blue plastic that lay in the road ahead of me, as the Great Dane and I made our morning rounds. But in the middle of the road, it stood out, and made me wonder what it was and where did it come from.
Lifting my eyes as we continued, I found its source - a home near the water, with roof damaged from Ivan, had been temporarily protected by the blue FEMA tarps. In the weeks that followed the hurricane, everyone's efforts had been to clean up and protect what was left. With the shortage of material and labor to repair, many homes are still not back to the way that they were before. The tarp was tattered, and sections of the roof were uncovered again.
But the rain comes.
Last week, we received a foot and a half of rain, accompanied by pretty fierce winds. Temporary measures to fix permanent problems only work so long. A scrap of blue tarp told me that. I walked on praying that not too much damage had been done.
What about you? Have you tried to make do, instead of making things right?
You see, I'm convinced that people suffer a lot of needless pain, for a lot longer than God would have them do, simply because they would rather hide from the problems, or paper over them, than fix them in a God-honoring way.
And friends, sooner or later, your "tarp" will tear, and there will be more than a scrap of blue in your life. The rains will come, and damage will follow, that could have been avoided if only you turned to God.
Why not take action today to mend broken relationships, to cease sinful behavior, to make things right between you and God and you and your fellow men and women. It's not too late, as long as you have breath in your lungs, you can say "Forgive me."
Here is what the Master Builder has promised to do if you will:
If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.1 John 1:8-9 (NLT)
God will make it right. Trust Him.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Do We Really?
So his master said, 'Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. Luke 14:23 (NLT)
Had lunch today with my bride. Parked my trusty Fiero out towards the end of student parking, because the visitors parking is limited to 30 minutes. Enjoyed my lunch, but when I returned to the car, found a parking ticket because I didn't have an OWC sticker. Drat.
So where is a visitor supposed to park? Or are all visitors limited to 30 minutes on campus? Inquiring minds would ask if visitors were expected or welcomed. I know that's not the case, but apparently someone never thought through the problem, probably because it wasn't a problem to them.
Rode back to the church, and on our sign was this statement: "Turned off by church but not by God? Check us out"
After my experience at OWC, I'm a little afraid of that quip. What if they come? Will they be turned off again?
The average church-goer thinks about as much about the barriers that churches put between seekers and God as a fish thinks about water. Since they have always been there - they know where everything is. Since they've always worshipped in a particular fashion - they can't understand why newbies don't get it. Since they've always used "Christian-ese" to describe the things of God - they are dumbfounded when someone says "but what does that mean?"
Do we really want seekers to "check us out"?
If we do, then we'll have to be true to deliver the message of the apostles delivered once and for all, while making sure the places and methods we deliver it with don't confuse, frustrate, or obstruct God's desire to bring them to Him.
Grace!
David
Postscript:
5 minutes after I wrote this, I got an email from a lady on the mailing list who works for the president of OWC. She asked to be dropped from the list.
There's a message there somewhere. :)
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.
So his master said, 'Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. Luke 14:23 (NLT)
Had lunch today with my bride. Parked my trusty Fiero out towards the end of student parking, because the visitors parking is limited to 30 minutes. Enjoyed my lunch, but when I returned to the car, found a parking ticket because I didn't have an OWC sticker. Drat.
So where is a visitor supposed to park? Or are all visitors limited to 30 minutes on campus? Inquiring minds would ask if visitors were expected or welcomed. I know that's not the case, but apparently someone never thought through the problem, probably because it wasn't a problem to them.
Rode back to the church, and on our sign was this statement: "Turned off by church but not by God? Check us out"
After my experience at OWC, I'm a little afraid of that quip. What if they come? Will they be turned off again?
The average church-goer thinks about as much about the barriers that churches put between seekers and God as a fish thinks about water. Since they have always been there - they know where everything is. Since they've always worshipped in a particular fashion - they can't understand why newbies don't get it. Since they've always used "Christian-ese" to describe the things of God - they are dumbfounded when someone says "but what does that mean?"
Do we really want seekers to "check us out"?
If we do, then we'll have to be true to deliver the message of the apostles delivered once and for all, while making sure the places and methods we deliver it with don't confuse, frustrate, or obstruct God's desire to bring them to Him.
Grace!
David
Postscript:
5 minutes after I wrote this, I got an email from a lady on the mailing list who works for the president of OWC. She asked to be dropped from the list.
There's a message there somewhere. :)
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
It Was A Dark and Stormy Night
Charles Shultz, the creator of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and all the gang, had success as a cartoonist because he wrote life into his characters. Each one of them was so human - even Snoopy, that we could readily identify with them. The title of this devotional comes from Snoopy's continual attempt to write the "Great American Novel", always with the same opening words - "It was a dark and stormy night..."
We have those. Nights when we can't sleep because worry prods us awake. Nights when we lie awake in fear, wondering if we are going to make it - if it all is going to be okay. Despite every outward appearance of tranquility, maybe even a spouse fast asleep beside us, the light races away and the storms come.
Few have had a night worse than Abraham.
Later on God tested Abraham's faith and obedience. "Abraham!" God called. "Yes," he replied. "Here I am."2 "Take your son, your only son--yes, Isaac, whom you love so much--and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you."3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son Isaac. Then he chopped wood to build a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place where God had told him to go.
Gen 22:2-3 (NLT)
I was reading this today in preparation for tonight's Bible study, and it jumped out at me: "The next morning..."
That meant Abraham was told the day before, and spent a dark and stormy night in advance of his departure. What follows in the remainder of the chapter is one of the pinnacles of faithful obedience in all of the Bible. How did Abraham do it? How could someone endure such a trial?
Lots of people go through tests every day - a doctor delivers bad news, a spouse says goodbye, the boss hands you a pink slip. Life has its share of everyday troubles, this we know well. In watching people over the years, one trait has stood out for me in those who overcome such difficulties..
They have a Big God.
By that I mean that their God can do whatever He chooses to do - there are no limits to His power, no barriers to His love. He's a Big God.
So when trials come, they turn in trust to God and think "I can't wait to see how He gets me out of this one." That's not to say that they don't stumble at first - shock affects everyone. But when they get their "feet" back under them, they start believing God is able to take care of them.
Abraham had a BIG GOD.
We read this and take great logical leaps. "Well, Jesus raised Lazarus, and Paul raised Eutychus, and besides, Jesus rose from the dead. No sweat.
Might I point out to you that Abraham had absolutely no experience with resurrection?
THUD - (preconcieved notions hitting the floor)
But he believed God.
I'm not going to tell you that a living faith in Jesus Christ will mean that you avoid any of the troubles known to man. But I will tell you this - when you've trusted God with your whole life, He'll take care of you. Nothing will separate you from God's love.
So if it's dark and stormy where you are right now, move closer to the Light.
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.
Charles Shultz, the creator of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and all the gang, had success as a cartoonist because he wrote life into his characters. Each one of them was so human - even Snoopy, that we could readily identify with them. The title of this devotional comes from Snoopy's continual attempt to write the "Great American Novel", always with the same opening words - "It was a dark and stormy night..."
We have those. Nights when we can't sleep because worry prods us awake. Nights when we lie awake in fear, wondering if we are going to make it - if it all is going to be okay. Despite every outward appearance of tranquility, maybe even a spouse fast asleep beside us, the light races away and the storms come.
Few have had a night worse than Abraham.
Later on God tested Abraham's faith and obedience. "Abraham!" God called. "Yes," he replied. "Here I am."2 "Take your son, your only son--yes, Isaac, whom you love so much--and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you."3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son Isaac. Then he chopped wood to build a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place where God had told him to go.
Gen 22:2-3 (NLT)
I was reading this today in preparation for tonight's Bible study, and it jumped out at me: "The next morning..."
That meant Abraham was told the day before, and spent a dark and stormy night in advance of his departure. What follows in the remainder of the chapter is one of the pinnacles of faithful obedience in all of the Bible. How did Abraham do it? How could someone endure such a trial?
Lots of people go through tests every day - a doctor delivers bad news, a spouse says goodbye, the boss hands you a pink slip. Life has its share of everyday troubles, this we know well. In watching people over the years, one trait has stood out for me in those who overcome such difficulties..
They have a Big God.
By that I mean that their God can do whatever He chooses to do - there are no limits to His power, no barriers to His love. He's a Big God.
So when trials come, they turn in trust to God and think "I can't wait to see how He gets me out of this one." That's not to say that they don't stumble at first - shock affects everyone. But when they get their "feet" back under them, they start believing God is able to take care of them.
Abraham had a BIG GOD.
We read this and take great logical leaps. "Well, Jesus raised Lazarus, and Paul raised Eutychus, and besides, Jesus rose from the dead. No sweat.
Might I point out to you that Abraham had absolutely no experience with resurrection?
THUD - (preconcieved notions hitting the floor)
But he believed God.
I'm not going to tell you that a living faith in Jesus Christ will mean that you avoid any of the troubles known to man. But I will tell you this - when you've trusted God with your whole life, He'll take care of you. Nothing will separate you from God's love.
So if it's dark and stormy where you are right now, move closer to the Light.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Verily, Verily
"Expedition V. Rhinoplasty", "Fractious S. Lineart", "Stargazing F. Propensity" all know my name.
I'll open my email inbox and there they are, along with a few of their other brothers and sisters, trying to sell me something I don't want or need. Bunny and Sean get emails like that too, and we've begun comparing names every now and then to see who has the most outrageous.
It didn't take but a couple of those emails to figure out that someone has a computer and a lexicon and knows how to use them. They randomly generate names just so you won't know who is sending them. The names are meaningless. Cool, quirky, but meaningless.
I'm reading through the early New Testament today, sort of hit and miss. The idea was to read only the words of Jesus, and immerse myself in the scenes and people around Him. Thank God for red letter Bibles.
What I found was this - Jesus loved people like no one ever has.
Sure you can read His words to the religious fakes and catch a real edge to His voice - even anger. He did that out of love too - for the people who needed to know God loved them. And in the final week of His life on earth, knowing that His message of love would be rejected by those fakes as God's messages to them had always been - He wept. That's amazing love.
When I reached the end of my Bible journey, I was in the book of John. It was there I noticed another name that was different. Just like those email names in a way, since the person had a name, but used a phrase to replace it.
"The one Jesus loved..."
She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. John 20:2 (NLT)
What made John stop using his name? Was he doing that to say to others "Jesus loves me best?"
No, I don't believe so. I think John grasped what it means to know that God loves us. I think the love Jesus showed the people around Him convinced John that the greatest thing in the world was to be known as someone Jesus loves.
Well friends, verily verily I tell you the truth, you are one Jesus loves too. And when you love Him back with everything you've got to give, gradually, little by little, you'll learn just How much you are loved. Toward the end of His life, after decades of following in Jesus' way of love, John wrote this. He was still amazed by Jesus' love.
See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are! 1 John 3:1 (NLT)
Are you amazed? Try calling yourself "the one Jesus loves."
Go live it!
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
"Expedition V. Rhinoplasty", "Fractious S. Lineart", "Stargazing F. Propensity" all know my name.
I'll open my email inbox and there they are, along with a few of their other brothers and sisters, trying to sell me something I don't want or need. Bunny and Sean get emails like that too, and we've begun comparing names every now and then to see who has the most outrageous.
It didn't take but a couple of those emails to figure out that someone has a computer and a lexicon and knows how to use them. They randomly generate names just so you won't know who is sending them. The names are meaningless. Cool, quirky, but meaningless.
I'm reading through the early New Testament today, sort of hit and miss. The idea was to read only the words of Jesus, and immerse myself in the scenes and people around Him. Thank God for red letter Bibles.
What I found was this - Jesus loved people like no one ever has.
Sure you can read His words to the religious fakes and catch a real edge to His voice - even anger. He did that out of love too - for the people who needed to know God loved them. And in the final week of His life on earth, knowing that His message of love would be rejected by those fakes as God's messages to them had always been - He wept. That's amazing love.
When I reached the end of my Bible journey, I was in the book of John. It was there I noticed another name that was different. Just like those email names in a way, since the person had a name, but used a phrase to replace it.
"The one Jesus loved..."
She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. John 20:2 (NLT)
What made John stop using his name? Was he doing that to say to others "Jesus loves me best?"
No, I don't believe so. I think John grasped what it means to know that God loves us. I think the love Jesus showed the people around Him convinced John that the greatest thing in the world was to be known as someone Jesus loves.
Well friends, verily verily I tell you the truth, you are one Jesus loves too. And when you love Him back with everything you've got to give, gradually, little by little, you'll learn just How much you are loved. Toward the end of His life, after decades of following in Jesus' way of love, John wrote this. He was still amazed by Jesus' love.
See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are! 1 John 3:1 (NLT)
Are you amazed? Try calling yourself "the one Jesus loves."
Go live it!
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Throw the Stone
3The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone 4and said, "Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. 5Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?" 6They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. 7They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." John 8:3-7 The Message
Preparing like thousands of other pastors this week for Holy Week coming Sunday, I've been reading the account of the ministry of Jesus in John's gospel. Today I stopped here. Or I guess I should say "it stopped me."
It probably was easy for the religion scholars to get all worked up over the woman in this story's sin. She was guilty of breaking God's law - no doubt. They could point and yell and grab and drag her to justice. It's always easier to see someone else's sin, and we've got an incredibly powerful ability to get angry when we can do that while keeping our moral distance from those we catch.
If we think about it, our lives are full of those instances. Growing up in the South, I heard about "those blacks. On a trip to Texas, someone wanted to talk about "those Mexicans." Even in church, we have a tendency to try to take the same moral high ground when we talk about "those abortionists" or "those homosexuals".
Feels good too.
Until God shows up.
This day, the men in their ignorance had made the mistake of bringing their feigned outrage to the only one Who had a right to be angry. They turned their attention from her to Him as they kept hounding the Son of God to agree that they were better than the woman they had caught.
Instead, He turned toward them and hurled their words back with brute force. "Throw the stone."
He only made one condition, but it was one neither they, nor you and I can ever hope to meet.
I wonder what it sounded like as the stones dropped into the dust?
I know what it sounded like here as I threw my stone away.
"Lord have mercy on me a sinner."
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.
3The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone 4and said, "Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. 5Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?" 6They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. 7They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." John 8:3-7 The Message
Preparing like thousands of other pastors this week for Holy Week coming Sunday, I've been reading the account of the ministry of Jesus in John's gospel. Today I stopped here. Or I guess I should say "it stopped me."
It probably was easy for the religion scholars to get all worked up over the woman in this story's sin. She was guilty of breaking God's law - no doubt. They could point and yell and grab and drag her to justice. It's always easier to see someone else's sin, and we've got an incredibly powerful ability to get angry when we can do that while keeping our moral distance from those we catch.
If we think about it, our lives are full of those instances. Growing up in the South, I heard about "those blacks. On a trip to Texas, someone wanted to talk about "those Mexicans." Even in church, we have a tendency to try to take the same moral high ground when we talk about "those abortionists" or "those homosexuals".
Feels good too.
Until God shows up.
This day, the men in their ignorance had made the mistake of bringing their feigned outrage to the only one Who had a right to be angry. They turned their attention from her to Him as they kept hounding the Son of God to agree that they were better than the woman they had caught.
Instead, He turned toward them and hurled their words back with brute force. "Throw the stone."
He only made one condition, but it was one neither they, nor you and I can ever hope to meet.
I wonder what it sounded like as the stones dropped into the dust?
I know what it sounded like here as I threw my stone away.
"Lord have mercy on me a sinner."
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
After the Doubt
"I doubt it."
Those might be the words you live by.
People have let you down so many times that when you catch a glimpse of hope, or someone seems to come into your life that gives you an indication that things might be different - that your life could change, the first words that come to your mind are "I doubt it."
You aren't alone in that.
One thing I am constantly thankful for are the realistic pictures I get when I read about people's lives as shown to us in the Bible. Despite all the people we sometimes see in church making constant efforts to present a plastic "front" to their lives, when we look at the Bible, we see a quite different person emerging. One who is real in their fears, in their worries, and in their doubts.
I'm preparing for tonight's Bible study, and I come across Abraham and Sarah. "God bless them", my mother would have said. They were so mixed up at times and made so many mistakes along the way. An example:
Then one of them said, "About this time next year I will return, and your wife Sarah will have a son." Now Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent nearby. And since Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and Sarah was long past the age of having children, she laughed silently to herself. "How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?" she thought. "And when my master--my husband--is also so old?"
Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, 'Can an old woman like me have a baby?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? About a year from now, just as I told you, I will return, and Sarah will have a son." Sarah was afraid, so she denied that she had laughed. But he said, "That is not true. You did laugh." Gen 18:10-15 (NLT)
And that's where it ends. We are left with a picture of a woman who doubts that God can do what He says He will do, who laughs almost in His face - is caught doing it, then denies it to His face. Not a pretty picture.
We have several slogans around here at New Hope, but perhaps my favorite is a quote from an old saint named A.W. Tozer. I'm convinced it helped all of us as a church look past our doubts and focus on God's promises. Tozer wrote:
"Anything God has ever done, He can do now. Anything He has ever done anywhere, He can do here. Anything He has ever done for anyone, He can do for you."
Would Sarah have said that? Maybe not at first, but she did grow to believe God could. After the doubt, came a time of reflection, and a realization that God was able. Later we read:
Sarah, too, had faith, and because of this she was able to become a mother in spite of her old age, for she realized that God, who gave her his promise, would certainly do what he said. Heb 11:11 (Living)
Friends, I'm sending this to you today to tell you that God has not changed. But some of us need to. Embrace the idea that God loves you, and that He can do whatever He needs to do to help you see that. He can lift you when you are weak. He can still your heart when you are fearful. He can demonstrate His power anyway He chooses.
He can do that in your life, in the life of those around you, in your community, in a church.
Is anything too hard for the Lord?
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL.
"I doubt it."
Those might be the words you live by.
People have let you down so many times that when you catch a glimpse of hope, or someone seems to come into your life that gives you an indication that things might be different - that your life could change, the first words that come to your mind are "I doubt it."
You aren't alone in that.
One thing I am constantly thankful for are the realistic pictures I get when I read about people's lives as shown to us in the Bible. Despite all the people we sometimes see in church making constant efforts to present a plastic "front" to their lives, when we look at the Bible, we see a quite different person emerging. One who is real in their fears, in their worries, and in their doubts.
I'm preparing for tonight's Bible study, and I come across Abraham and Sarah. "God bless them", my mother would have said. They were so mixed up at times and made so many mistakes along the way. An example:
Then one of them said, "About this time next year I will return, and your wife Sarah will have a son." Now Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent nearby. And since Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and Sarah was long past the age of having children, she laughed silently to herself. "How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?" she thought. "And when my master--my husband--is also so old?"
Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, 'Can an old woman like me have a baby?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? About a year from now, just as I told you, I will return, and Sarah will have a son." Sarah was afraid, so she denied that she had laughed. But he said, "That is not true. You did laugh." Gen 18:10-15 (NLT)
And that's where it ends. We are left with a picture of a woman who doubts that God can do what He says He will do, who laughs almost in His face - is caught doing it, then denies it to His face. Not a pretty picture.
We have several slogans around here at New Hope, but perhaps my favorite is a quote from an old saint named A.W. Tozer. I'm convinced it helped all of us as a church look past our doubts and focus on God's promises. Tozer wrote:
"Anything God has ever done, He can do now. Anything He has ever done anywhere, He can do here. Anything He has ever done for anyone, He can do for you."
Would Sarah have said that? Maybe not at first, but she did grow to believe God could. After the doubt, came a time of reflection, and a realization that God was able. Later we read:
Sarah, too, had faith, and because of this she was able to become a mother in spite of her old age, for she realized that God, who gave her his promise, would certainly do what he said. Heb 11:11 (Living)
Friends, I'm sending this to you today to tell you that God has not changed. But some of us need to. Embrace the idea that God loves you, and that He can do whatever He needs to do to help you see that. He can lift you when you are weak. He can still your heart when you are fearful. He can demonstrate His power anyway He chooses.
He can do that in your life, in the life of those around you, in your community, in a church.
Is anything too hard for the Lord?
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL.
Friday, February 25, 2005
Grey - Go Away!
It was grey today. In a place that gets over 300 days of mostly sunshine.
Everything was wrapped into a big grey package that you kept waiting for the sun to rip open.
But he never did.
I'm not really into grey. (Understatement alert!!!!)
And I'm ready for winter to be over.
The earth around me is beginning its annual revolt against the forces of greyness. Pink azaleas have begun to appear, along with daffodils. Soon the rebellion will be all around me, as each flower, each tree competes to see who can contribute the most to the banishment of all things grey to wherever grey goes until next winter.
Good riddance. Old Man Winter can pack his bags and leave any time. In the meantime though, I've got to look forward, not back, just as I have to look forward to what God has for me, not back through my old grey life without Him.
Listen to how expectantly Paul of Tarsus writes about what's ahead for believers. It's like Spring!
12So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it--yourself life one red cent. 13There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. 14God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!
15This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" The Letter to the Romans, chapter 8 The Message
Call me "Adventurously expectant" about what God's going to do around us and in us beginning again tomorrow - rain or shine. :)
There are things to do and places to see with our loving God. I can't wait to see what's next.
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 was grey today. In a place that gets over 300 days of mostly sunshine.
Everything was wrapped into a big grey package that you kept waiting for the sun to rip open.
But he never did.
I'm not really into grey. (Understatement alert!!!!)
And I'm ready for winter to be over.
The earth around me is beginning its annual revolt against the forces of greyness. Pink azaleas have begun to appear, along with daffodils. Soon the rebellion will be all around me, as each flower, each tree competes to see who can contribute the most to the banishment of all things grey to wherever grey goes until next winter.
Good riddance. Old Man Winter can pack his bags and leave any time. In the meantime though, I've got to look forward, not back, just as I have to look forward to what God has for me, not back through my old grey life without Him.
Listen to how expectantly Paul of Tarsus writes about what's ahead for believers. It's like Spring!
12So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it--yourself life one red cent. 13There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. 14God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!
15This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" The Letter to the Romans, chapter 8 The Message
Call me "Adventurously expectant" about what God's going to do around us and in us beginning again tomorrow - rain or shine. :)
There are things to do and places to see with our loving God. I can't wait to see what's next.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Light In Dark Places
I saw the first daffodil of spring today.
And every robin within 5 miles showed up in front of my office to remind me that Old Man Winter is on his last legs here. I needed to hear that, because after being down here almost six years, apparently my blood has thinned to the point that a 50 degree morning has a real chill to it.
Remember, I was born and raised in Middle Georgia, where a winter just isn't winter unless you have a good old fashioned ice storm, and at least a couple of days without electrical power. When I left there, I gave away all my cold weather gear - my parka good to 5 degrees, my leather gloves, my scarf and stocking hats. I kept one coat, and grumbled about having to do that. I was moving to Florida - why would I need a coat?
But it gets cold here sometimes. Gray days happen, seeming to drag along one after another, until they pull down your spirit with it.
So God sent me daffodils and robins.
As our church has grown, we've embraced so many awesome people. Those families added to the ones who originally dreamed the dream that became New Hope make Sunday each week a celebration of just how good God is.
But there are gray days for some at times.
Today I visited one in the hospital, talked to several going through trials on the phone, and visited with one saint who may be headed home soon. That wasn't an easy visit. Even though she was in good spirits, thankful for her family and church, and confident in her God's love and care, when I left I was touched by sadness, knowing we might not have many more conversations.
As I was walking to the car, I prayed that God would shine His love into that home for all to see. One day, He's going to do that for everyone. One day His light will shine into the darkest places.
7 In that day he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. 8 He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The Lord has spoken!
Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 (Is 25:6-8). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.
One day our Loving Father will end all our pain and heartache. And His own hand will wipe away every tear.
Friends, it may be dark where you are too, but the Light that came into this world through Jesus Christ is as close as you'll let Him be. Take heart! Have hope! If God is for us, who can stand against us?
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
I saw the first daffodil of spring today.
And every robin within 5 miles showed up in front of my office to remind me that Old Man Winter is on his last legs here. I needed to hear that, because after being down here almost six years, apparently my blood has thinned to the point that a 50 degree morning has a real chill to it.
Remember, I was born and raised in Middle Georgia, where a winter just isn't winter unless you have a good old fashioned ice storm, and at least a couple of days without electrical power. When I left there, I gave away all my cold weather gear - my parka good to 5 degrees, my leather gloves, my scarf and stocking hats. I kept one coat, and grumbled about having to do that. I was moving to Florida - why would I need a coat?
But it gets cold here sometimes. Gray days happen, seeming to drag along one after another, until they pull down your spirit with it.
So God sent me daffodils and robins.
As our church has grown, we've embraced so many awesome people. Those families added to the ones who originally dreamed the dream that became New Hope make Sunday each week a celebration of just how good God is.
But there are gray days for some at times.
Today I visited one in the hospital, talked to several going through trials on the phone, and visited with one saint who may be headed home soon. That wasn't an easy visit. Even though she was in good spirits, thankful for her family and church, and confident in her God's love and care, when I left I was touched by sadness, knowing we might not have many more conversations.
As I was walking to the car, I prayed that God would shine His love into that home for all to see. One day, He's going to do that for everyone. One day His light will shine into the darkest places.
7 In that day he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. 8 He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The Lord has spoken!
Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 (Is 25:6-8). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House.
One day our Loving Father will end all our pain and heartache. And His own hand will wipe away every tear.
Friends, it may be dark where you are too, but the Light that came into this world through Jesus Christ is as close as you'll let Him be. Take heart! Have hope! If God is for us, who can stand against us?
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Friday, February 11, 2005
"When You Get the Chance"
A friend and I were finishing a conversation the other day, and right before we ended it, he said "when you get the chance, come see us." It's one of those things you say full of more hope than substance, knowing that in this busy world, it might happen, but likely as not it won't. Good thing to do? Absolutely. Gonna get done? Pretty doubtful.
Call it a hunch, but it seems that's the nature of human interaction - Good intentions.
We so often fail to act on them that we just accept such a lack of love as "just the way it is." After all, we are all busy. "Who has time?", we'll say.
Yet we are the same people who say that we seek to pattern our lives after the One Who in His essential nature is love.
It hurt me to write that.
God's example is so clear.
43"You're familiar with the old written law, "Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, "Hate your enemy.' 44I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, 45for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best--the sun to warm and the rain to nourish--to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. Matthew 5:43-45 The Message
God loves. He loves those who refuse His love, and those who embrace His love. Even before any one of us now alive drew our first breath, or committed our first sin, God had already paid the price Himself for those wrong-doings.
God put His love on the line- on the cross, so that whoever decided to turn away from their old life of lies and embrace the new life of love would have a home to come to, arms to run into, shoulders to cry on. And the Bible says that was His plan from the beginning.
He didn't wait until He "had a chance."
Friends, there are days like this that make me re-evaluate just who I am and what I'm doing. Right now it's busy here. Things are jumping, and I'm doing a lot for God. But am I doing it in love? Purposeing to let God's love flow through me? Letting Him use my hands, my feet, my speech to love others?
So the preacher opened his Bible and His heart this morning friends, and God whacked me upside of the heart. Maybe you are there too. Maybe you are doing a lot, but loving a little. Or maybe you are living and loving on your schedule, and giving the people around you only that love you "get a chance" to give.
I don't know. But I know this - I want to be like Jesus.
Don't you?
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
A friend and I were finishing a conversation the other day, and right before we ended it, he said "when you get the chance, come see us." It's one of those things you say full of more hope than substance, knowing that in this busy world, it might happen, but likely as not it won't. Good thing to do? Absolutely. Gonna get done? Pretty doubtful.
Call it a hunch, but it seems that's the nature of human interaction - Good intentions.
We so often fail to act on them that we just accept such a lack of love as "just the way it is." After all, we are all busy. "Who has time?", we'll say.
Yet we are the same people who say that we seek to pattern our lives after the One Who in His essential nature is love.
It hurt me to write that.
God's example is so clear.
43"You're familiar with the old written law, "Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, "Hate your enemy.' 44I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, 45for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best--the sun to warm and the rain to nourish--to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. Matthew 5:43-45 The Message
God loves. He loves those who refuse His love, and those who embrace His love. Even before any one of us now alive drew our first breath, or committed our first sin, God had already paid the price Himself for those wrong-doings.
7We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. 8But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him. Romans 5:7-8 The Message
God put His love on the line- on the cross, so that whoever decided to turn away from their old life of lies and embrace the new life of love would have a home to come to, arms to run into, shoulders to cry on. And the Bible says that was His plan from the beginning.
He didn't wait until He "had a chance."
Friends, there are days like this that make me re-evaluate just who I am and what I'm doing. Right now it's busy here. Things are jumping, and I'm doing a lot for God. But am I doing it in love? Purposeing to let God's love flow through me? Letting Him use my hands, my feet, my speech to love others?
"If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing." 1 Cor. 13:2 The Message
So the preacher opened his Bible and His heart this morning friends, and God whacked me upside of the heart. Maybe you are there too. Maybe you are doing a lot, but loving a little. Or maybe you are living and loving on your schedule, and giving the people around you only that love you "get a chance" to give.
I don't know. But I know this - I want to be like Jesus.
When Jesus concluded his address, the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard teaching like this. 29It was apparent that he was living everything he was saying--quite a contrast to their religion teachers! This was the best teaching they had ever heard. Matthew 7:28-29 The Message
Don't you?
Grace!
David Wilson
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
A Wee Little Man and a Great Big Question
Below is an encounter Jesus had with Zacchaeus. As I read it today, I thought about all the other "Zacchaeus people" I've known over the years. I've tried to put myself in the shoes of one of his neighbors. Maybe you can too.
Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. 2There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. 3He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way--he was a short man and couldn't see over the crowd. 4So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home."
Zacchaeus would have been someone who lived down the street from us. We worked hard, paid our bills, tried to raise our kids the right way, and went to church. We were good people. But people like Zacchaeus - we couldn't understand them - or really, what God was up to.
While we were doing all the right things, Zacchaeus wasn't. But far from being punished by God, he prospered. Even when we had to scrape by to make ends meet, or borrow money to pay our taxes, Zacchaeus had money. He had it all it seemed, and that made it harder.
6Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. 7Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, "What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?"
"That's right!", we would have said. "Who does he think he is? Doesn't he know who he's getting mixed up with? He should be spending his time with us church folks." After all, that's what a rabbi is supposed to do.
But instead, Jesus not only noticed that the guy everyone thought had it all was empty inside, but he made Zacchaeus feel something he hadn't felt for a long time - love. You see Zacchaeus had been playing the game too. If he couldn't be respected, if he couldn't be loved for who he was, he'd be feared for how much he owned and what his power could do. It had been a long time since he'd let his guard down for a moment. But this man... Jesus made him remember how it felt not to measure his life by coins and gold and silver bars. Jesus stood there in a simple robe, and was everything Zacchaeus in his rich silks and gold jewelry wanted to be.
8Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, "Master, I give away half my income to the poor--and if I'm caught cheating, I pay four times the damages." 9Jesus said, "Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! 10For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost."
Now the Great Big Question - would you have loved Zacchaeus?
Could you have seen past the riches to the bankrupt soul?
Whatever means or method you use to share your faith must begin with love. It is that "Jesus-love" that will cause you to look for people like Zacchaeus, and it is that "Jesus-love" that will help you look past their present to their Christ-following future.
Take a look around your neighborhood.
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.
Below is an encounter Jesus had with Zacchaeus. As I read it today, I thought about all the other "Zacchaeus people" I've known over the years. I've tried to put myself in the shoes of one of his neighbors. Maybe you can too.
Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. 2There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. 3He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way--he was a short man and couldn't see over the crowd. 4So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home."
Zacchaeus would have been someone who lived down the street from us. We worked hard, paid our bills, tried to raise our kids the right way, and went to church. We were good people. But people like Zacchaeus - we couldn't understand them - or really, what God was up to.
While we were doing all the right things, Zacchaeus wasn't. But far from being punished by God, he prospered. Even when we had to scrape by to make ends meet, or borrow money to pay our taxes, Zacchaeus had money. He had it all it seemed, and that made it harder.
6Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. 7Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, "What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?"
"That's right!", we would have said. "Who does he think he is? Doesn't he know who he's getting mixed up with? He should be spending his time with us church folks." After all, that's what a rabbi is supposed to do.
But instead, Jesus not only noticed that the guy everyone thought had it all was empty inside, but he made Zacchaeus feel something he hadn't felt for a long time - love. You see Zacchaeus had been playing the game too. If he couldn't be respected, if he couldn't be loved for who he was, he'd be feared for how much he owned and what his power could do. It had been a long time since he'd let his guard down for a moment. But this man... Jesus made him remember how it felt not to measure his life by coins and gold and silver bars. Jesus stood there in a simple robe, and was everything Zacchaeus in his rich silks and gold jewelry wanted to be.
8Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, "Master, I give away half my income to the poor--and if I'm caught cheating, I pay four times the damages." 9Jesus said, "Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! 10For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost."
Now the Great Big Question - would you have loved Zacchaeus?
Could you have seen past the riches to the bankrupt soul?
Whatever means or method you use to share your faith must begin with love. It is that "Jesus-love" that will cause you to look for people like Zacchaeus, and it is that "Jesus-love" that will help you look past their present to their Christ-following future.
Take a look around your neighborhood.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Friday, January 07, 2005
Who Do You See?
Macon, GA - sometime in the mid 1960's. Vietnam is only beginning to be a household word, civil rights aren't right and in a few short years the fight for them won't be very civil. My mom is busy on a Saturday morning, returning Christmas presents. Since this is pre-mall era, we are downtown on the corner of Cherry and First streets - in other words, on the busiest corner in town.
My brother and I come to a proper halt beside our mother as we wait for the light to change. Something causes me to look to my right, and there I see an older black man, sitting, and strumming a beat up guitar. He's wearing a suit jacket, a pork-pie hat, and as he sings, he rolls his head side to side. In front of him sits a tin cup.
I turn to my mother and ask her, "who is that man?"
She immediately grabs our hands and walks us over to "Blind Willie", fishes in her cavernous purse, and produces a five dollar bill, which she places in his cup. Then she says to the man, "Willie, these are my boys, David and Bruce. They noticed your playing and wanted to meet you." He had stopped playing, and now his hand extended outward, unsure as to where to reach, but reaching nonetheless. "Pleased to meet you boys."
We shook his hand. It was warm and smooth and rough at the same time.
Then we went on our way.
In later years, we would see him again and again, and my mother never failed to greet him, and to give something, even if coins were all she had.
I thought about Willie today for the first time in a long while. And I wondered how long he had been there before I noticed.
Reading the gospels this week, what Clarence Jordan described as Jesus' doin's, I was stuck over and over again by how often he noticed people that others did not - and not only noticed them, but gave them respect.
Have you ever noticed this passage?
Not long afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby cities and villages to announce the Good News concerning the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, along with some women he had healed and from whom he had cast out evil spirits. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples. Luke 8:1-3 (NLT)
Luke names several women as members of Jesus' traveling group, and then he writes "and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples."
When "credit" is given for what happens in a church, often it is the most visible who receive it. Most often it is the pastor, sometimes the teachers, or worship leaders, or perhaps a deacon. They are visible - obvious even - but what about those not named, those "many others?"
I'm here today to say thank you.
Thank you for giving to the Lord to support children's ministry, even though your children are grown.
Thank you for supporting the work of your staff, even though they preach from the wrong version and sing the wrong music.
Thank you for digging deep, way past your tithe, time and again, to help your church continue to reach out to people for Jesus' sake.
Thank you for bringing coffee, or paper towels, or crayons, or a hundred other items to church, and never caring whether anyone knew or not.
Thank you for cleaning, and mowing, and painting, and another hundred other things you did though no one saw you do it.
Jesus saw you, and I thank you.
You know, sometimes we have to be taught to see -to know that it is not about us. Look around you and see who has been a help or an inspiration to you and let them know how much you appreciate it.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Macon, GA - sometime in the mid 1960's. Vietnam is only beginning to be a household word, civil rights aren't right and in a few short years the fight for them won't be very civil. My mom is busy on a Saturday morning, returning Christmas presents. Since this is pre-mall era, we are downtown on the corner of Cherry and First streets - in other words, on the busiest corner in town.
My brother and I come to a proper halt beside our mother as we wait for the light to change. Something causes me to look to my right, and there I see an older black man, sitting, and strumming a beat up guitar. He's wearing a suit jacket, a pork-pie hat, and as he sings, he rolls his head side to side. In front of him sits a tin cup.
I turn to my mother and ask her, "who is that man?"
She immediately grabs our hands and walks us over to "Blind Willie", fishes in her cavernous purse, and produces a five dollar bill, which she places in his cup. Then she says to the man, "Willie, these are my boys, David and Bruce. They noticed your playing and wanted to meet you." He had stopped playing, and now his hand extended outward, unsure as to where to reach, but reaching nonetheless. "Pleased to meet you boys."
We shook his hand. It was warm and smooth and rough at the same time.
Then we went on our way.
In later years, we would see him again and again, and my mother never failed to greet him, and to give something, even if coins were all she had.
I thought about Willie today for the first time in a long while. And I wondered how long he had been there before I noticed.
Reading the gospels this week, what Clarence Jordan described as Jesus' doin's, I was stuck over and over again by how often he noticed people that others did not - and not only noticed them, but gave them respect.
Have you ever noticed this passage?
Not long afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby cities and villages to announce the Good News concerning the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, along with some women he had healed and from whom he had cast out evil spirits. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples. Luke 8:1-3 (NLT)
Luke names several women as members of Jesus' traveling group, and then he writes "and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples."
When "credit" is given for what happens in a church, often it is the most visible who receive it. Most often it is the pastor, sometimes the teachers, or worship leaders, or perhaps a deacon. They are visible - obvious even - but what about those not named, those "many others?"
I'm here today to say thank you.
Thank you for giving to the Lord to support children's ministry, even though your children are grown.
Thank you for supporting the work of your staff, even though they preach from the wrong version and sing the wrong music.
Thank you for digging deep, way past your tithe, time and again, to help your church continue to reach out to people for Jesus' sake.
Thank you for bringing coffee, or paper towels, or crayons, or a hundred other items to church, and never caring whether anyone knew or not.
Thank you for cleaning, and mowing, and painting, and another hundred other things you did though no one saw you do it.
Jesus saw you, and I thank you.
You know, sometimes we have to be taught to see -to know that it is not about us. Look around you and see who has been a help or an inspiration to you and let them know how much you appreciate it.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Monday, January 03, 2005
Aha!
"If any of you wants to be my follower," he told them, "you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me.35 If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life. Mark 8:35 (NLT)
They call them aha moments.
Maybe you've had one too.
I remember reading about Hank Aaron,who grew up just west of me in Mobile, AL. Seems when Hank was a little boy, he picked up a baseball bat. (And the rest is history... yes, I know... don't jump ahead of me.)
He picked up the bat and put his right hand at the bottom and the left hand on top. Then he proceeded to learn to hit the baseball far and often. But not as far as he did when one day a coach convinced him to try the more conventional way of left hand on the bottom, right hand on top. Aha! (Okay, now you can say "and the rest is history.")
Today, I was explaining to a little girl about Jesus and His love for her. Haylee is a bundle of energy wrapped in a determined little girl. She's a red haired, freckled example of the kind of work God does when He wants to show us just what kids are supposed to look like. And Haylee wanted to know Jesus "in her heart."
So my wife, (the incredible Miss Bunny) and I made plans to meet with Haylee and her mom this afternoon and try to explain the mysteries of God. I was well into that explanation (after Bunny had laid the groundwork), when I looked down at Haylee and she looked up at me, and I worried for a second that in spite of all the efforts our family of faith had done or would do, Haylee might not understand what it meant to follow Jesus.
So I asked her if she loved Him.
She said yes.
Friends, it was as if a flashbulb illuminated my soul. Aha!
We need to teach people how to fall in love with Jesus, and help them learn what will help them make their love for Him grow!
Maybe it's just me, but it seems that far too much of what we do in our gatherings is rehash the same facts we've known for years, and rarely if ever speak of our love relationship with Jesus. The danger in that, is we wind up knowing an awful lot of Bible, but miss the author, or if we do meet Him, we regard Him as one would a learned professor, rather than someone whose passion caused Him to die well before we ever even noticed He existed.
Then we give people guidelines on what to do each day - how much to read, how long to pray, what to listen to. We teach them self-discipline. Well, I'm pretty disciplined, but I fall off the exercise wagon regularly, because I don't like to exercise - I just know it's good for me.
But love - love will make you want to do whatever it takes to make the object of your affection happy. You want to give them joy. So you forget about yourself, and every day you do whatever it takes - go wherever you need to go.
" 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.'
Can you do that?
If you can, then following Christ will be as natural as breathing. And the pressure, the guilt, the anxiety - will be gone forever.
It's called,
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
"If any of you wants to be my follower," he told them, "you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me.35 If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life. Mark 8:35 (NLT)
They call them aha moments.
Maybe you've had one too.
I remember reading about Hank Aaron,who grew up just west of me in Mobile, AL. Seems when Hank was a little boy, he picked up a baseball bat. (And the rest is history... yes, I know... don't jump ahead of me.)
He picked up the bat and put his right hand at the bottom and the left hand on top. Then he proceeded to learn to hit the baseball far and often. But not as far as he did when one day a coach convinced him to try the more conventional way of left hand on the bottom, right hand on top. Aha! (Okay, now you can say "and the rest is history.")
Today, I was explaining to a little girl about Jesus and His love for her. Haylee is a bundle of energy wrapped in a determined little girl. She's a red haired, freckled example of the kind of work God does when He wants to show us just what kids are supposed to look like. And Haylee wanted to know Jesus "in her heart."
So my wife, (the incredible Miss Bunny) and I made plans to meet with Haylee and her mom this afternoon and try to explain the mysteries of God. I was well into that explanation (after Bunny had laid the groundwork), when I looked down at Haylee and she looked up at me, and I worried for a second that in spite of all the efforts our family of faith had done or would do, Haylee might not understand what it meant to follow Jesus.
So I asked her if she loved Him.
She said yes.
Friends, it was as if a flashbulb illuminated my soul. Aha!
We need to teach people how to fall in love with Jesus, and help them learn what will help them make their love for Him grow!
Maybe it's just me, but it seems that far too much of what we do in our gatherings is rehash the same facts we've known for years, and rarely if ever speak of our love relationship with Jesus. The danger in that, is we wind up knowing an awful lot of Bible, but miss the author, or if we do meet Him, we regard Him as one would a learned professor, rather than someone whose passion caused Him to die well before we ever even noticed He existed.
Then we give people guidelines on what to do each day - how much to read, how long to pray, what to listen to. We teach them self-discipline. Well, I'm pretty disciplined, but I fall off the exercise wagon regularly, because I don't like to exercise - I just know it's good for me.
But love - love will make you want to do whatever it takes to make the object of your affection happy. You want to give them joy. So you forget about yourself, and every day you do whatever it takes - go wherever you need to go.
" 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.'
Can you do that?
If you can, then following Christ will be as natural as breathing. And the pressure, the guilt, the anxiety - will be gone forever.
It's called,
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Thursday, December 23, 2004
The Cost of Christmas
Well, it's almost Christmas. The traffic is thicker and our patience is thinner. We're beginning to put one eye on the calendar and the other on the checkbook make sure that one doesn't get ahead of the other. That fear can begin to start - what if we don't have enough? Don't you miss those days as children when you never gave a thought to Christmas' cost?
My family was not wealthy by any means, but neither were we poor. Like many, we lived from week to week, knew our banker or loan officer well, and while we never lacked, we never prospered. Yet every Christmas that I can remember came and went leaving me filled with the belief that I had been blessed. If I wanted a "Johnny 7 One Man Army Gun" badly enough, it seemed to find its way to the tree. If a "Model Motoring by Aurora" racetrack caught my fancy, well, apparently Santa knew that too.
Even though I knew from my trips to the stores that such things had prices, I never concerned myself with the cost.
Yet there was a cost - a sacrifice for my parents - every year. As I grew older, I'd catch snippets of conversations about the bills, and their struggle to pay them. "What are we going to do?", I'd hear my Mother say with worry and fear coloring her voice. "I don't know, but they are going to have Christmas," replied my Father, somewhat more hopefully, but still unsure. And off they'd go to the Western Auto, or to Sears, or to somewhere else they could buy toys and pay on time.
Gradually I realized that my Christmas gifts cost them dearly. In time, in energy, in stress. My mother would cut corners - patch jeans, save pennies. My father would work overtime even after his regular swing shift. So somehow, every year there'd come Christmas. It came with a cost.
It always has.
A few days after the first Christmas, Joseph and Mary went to church to dedicate their son. An old man named Simeon, who had been told by God he wouldn't die until he saw Messiah was there.
Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, "This child will be rejected by many in Israel, and it will be their undoing. But he will be the greatest joy to many others. 35 Thus, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul." Luke 2:34-35 (NLT)
At eight days after his birth, Jesus' 14 year old Mother would just be discovering what it means to have a baby boy - a son. She'd be just like all parents with their first-born - finding themselves looking over at them in amazement, not able to believe what God had given them. Times like that are like the best of Christmas - pure joy.
But Simeon told her of the cost of Christmas too.
And on the way home, as they went past the city gates, they passed those punished for their crimes by the Roman authorities. A peculiar method Rome had picked up from a country they had conquered, and improved to make it even more cruel. It was a very effective public display found outside the city gates of most cities.
Joseph, Mary and the baby passed by, still filled with joy, under the shadow of the cross.
For God so loved... He gave... His one and only Son.
For me... for you, for whoever will believe in Him.
The cost of Christmas has never been higher, or so willingly paid.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Well, it's almost Christmas. The traffic is thicker and our patience is thinner. We're beginning to put one eye on the calendar and the other on the checkbook make sure that one doesn't get ahead of the other. That fear can begin to start - what if we don't have enough? Don't you miss those days as children when you never gave a thought to Christmas' cost?
My family was not wealthy by any means, but neither were we poor. Like many, we lived from week to week, knew our banker or loan officer well, and while we never lacked, we never prospered. Yet every Christmas that I can remember came and went leaving me filled with the belief that I had been blessed. If I wanted a "Johnny 7 One Man Army Gun" badly enough, it seemed to find its way to the tree. If a "Model Motoring by Aurora" racetrack caught my fancy, well, apparently Santa knew that too.
Even though I knew from my trips to the stores that such things had prices, I never concerned myself with the cost.
Yet there was a cost - a sacrifice for my parents - every year. As I grew older, I'd catch snippets of conversations about the bills, and their struggle to pay them. "What are we going to do?", I'd hear my Mother say with worry and fear coloring her voice. "I don't know, but they are going to have Christmas," replied my Father, somewhat more hopefully, but still unsure. And off they'd go to the Western Auto, or to Sears, or to somewhere else they could buy toys and pay on time.
Gradually I realized that my Christmas gifts cost them dearly. In time, in energy, in stress. My mother would cut corners - patch jeans, save pennies. My father would work overtime even after his regular swing shift. So somehow, every year there'd come Christmas. It came with a cost.
It always has.
A few days after the first Christmas, Joseph and Mary went to church to dedicate their son. An old man named Simeon, who had been told by God he wouldn't die until he saw Messiah was there.
Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, "This child will be rejected by many in Israel, and it will be their undoing. But he will be the greatest joy to many others. 35 Thus, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul." Luke 2:34-35 (NLT)
At eight days after his birth, Jesus' 14 year old Mother would just be discovering what it means to have a baby boy - a son. She'd be just like all parents with their first-born - finding themselves looking over at them in amazement, not able to believe what God had given them. Times like that are like the best of Christmas - pure joy.
But Simeon told her of the cost of Christmas too.
And on the way home, as they went past the city gates, they passed those punished for their crimes by the Roman authorities. A peculiar method Rome had picked up from a country they had conquered, and improved to make it even more cruel. It was a very effective public display found outside the city gates of most cities.
Joseph, Mary and the baby passed by, still filled with joy, under the shadow of the cross.
For God so loved... He gave... His one and only Son.
For me... for you, for whoever will believe in Him.
The cost of Christmas has never been higher, or so willingly paid.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
It Could Be Today
One of the best things to happen to me this Christmas season is that I've tried to forget everything I already knew about Christ's birth. (Yes, those of you who know me well, forgetfullness isn't much of an effort.) We have the Christmas story so dialed into our conciousness that we go on automatic, like cows headed for the barn, and never think there could be aspects of the events we don't know that would surprise us.
So I have deliberately tried to forget what I knew, and gone back to look at the story with fresh eyes.
Today, our weather here is rainy and seems to be headed toward a cold, cold weekend for Christmas. There's even a chance of snow flurries on Christmas Eve. That will make travel very difficult here in the South. But not as difficult as that of Joseph and Mary.
You see we just arrange the figures in the nativity each year knowing they are all supposed to show up at the stable. But they all got there from somewhere else. The shepherds came from nearby fields, but they had to decide whether to risk their livelihood to see what God had done. Going back the next morning to find the owner of the sheep standing over stacks of wolf-killed sheep rapidly approaching their sell-by date of expiration wouldn't have been pleasant at all. But they were willing - because God had acted!
Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem after an arduous trip from Nazareth. Going up and down over mountains and hills means that today’s distance of 100 miles might have been double or even triple for Joseph and Mary. The lack of roads meant they had to climb the hillsides along a narrow muddy path in winter. It’s not very safe for a strong carpenter like Joseph. But add a pregnant woman riding on a donkey? How careful they had to be! Joseph wasn’t a rich man. So where did they stay at night? The mother of the Son of God must have slept beside the road. Gangs of robbers on the roads made night traveling dangerous.
And there was no telling when the baby would come. The fear and frustration of not being able to find shelter each night with a baby so close must have made a stable seem much better than it ordinarily would.
I wonder if Joseph remembered a little prophecy from a man called Micah, and reassured Mary?
Micah 5:2 (The Message)
But you, Bethlehem, David's country,
the runt of the litter--
From you will come the leader
who will shepherd-rule Israel.
He'll be no upstart, no pretender.
His family tree is ancient and distinguished.
Friends, I wish I could tell you how many times I've been about to go insane with worry, and a scrap of Scripture popped into my head, telling me exactly what I needed to hear. Calming me, reminding me of God's unchanging promises and unending love.
Maybe you think you know all you need to know about the Bible and what it says. Well, if you still struggle with fear, with worry, with living a godly life, my gut feeling would be that you know more about the words than the Author.
Try this. Pick up a version of the Scriptures you have never used before. Borrow one if you can. Go to God in prayer and ask Him to begin again with your heart as though you had never heard of His love for you. Ask Him to amaze you, to draw you inside the stories of how He worked in people's lives.
Then pray every day that He will work inside yours.
Your greatest day yet lived could be today.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
One of the best things to happen to me this Christmas season is that I've tried to forget everything I already knew about Christ's birth. (Yes, those of you who know me well, forgetfullness isn't much of an effort.) We have the Christmas story so dialed into our conciousness that we go on automatic, like cows headed for the barn, and never think there could be aspects of the events we don't know that would surprise us.
So I have deliberately tried to forget what I knew, and gone back to look at the story with fresh eyes.
Today, our weather here is rainy and seems to be headed toward a cold, cold weekend for Christmas. There's even a chance of snow flurries on Christmas Eve. That will make travel very difficult here in the South. But not as difficult as that of Joseph and Mary.
You see we just arrange the figures in the nativity each year knowing they are all supposed to show up at the stable. But they all got there from somewhere else. The shepherds came from nearby fields, but they had to decide whether to risk their livelihood to see what God had done. Going back the next morning to find the owner of the sheep standing over stacks of wolf-killed sheep rapidly approaching their sell-by date of expiration wouldn't have been pleasant at all. But they were willing - because God had acted!
Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem after an arduous trip from Nazareth. Going up and down over mountains and hills means that today’s distance of 100 miles might have been double or even triple for Joseph and Mary. The lack of roads meant they had to climb the hillsides along a narrow muddy path in winter. It’s not very safe for a strong carpenter like Joseph. But add a pregnant woman riding on a donkey? How careful they had to be! Joseph wasn’t a rich man. So where did they stay at night? The mother of the Son of God must have slept beside the road. Gangs of robbers on the roads made night traveling dangerous.
And there was no telling when the baby would come. The fear and frustration of not being able to find shelter each night with a baby so close must have made a stable seem much better than it ordinarily would.
I wonder if Joseph remembered a little prophecy from a man called Micah, and reassured Mary?
Micah 5:2 (The Message)
But you, Bethlehem, David's country,
the runt of the litter--
From you will come the leader
who will shepherd-rule Israel.
He'll be no upstart, no pretender.
His family tree is ancient and distinguished.
Friends, I wish I could tell you how many times I've been about to go insane with worry, and a scrap of Scripture popped into my head, telling me exactly what I needed to hear. Calming me, reminding me of God's unchanging promises and unending love.
Maybe you think you know all you need to know about the Bible and what it says. Well, if you still struggle with fear, with worry, with living a godly life, my gut feeling would be that you know more about the words than the Author.
Try this. Pick up a version of the Scriptures you have never used before. Borrow one if you can. Go to God in prayer and ask Him to begin again with your heart as though you had never heard of His love for you. Ask Him to amaze you, to draw you inside the stories of how He worked in people's lives.
Then pray every day that He will work inside yours.
Your greatest day yet lived could be today.
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Do You Hear It?
I will sing of the tender mercies of the LORD forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.
Psalms 89:1-2 (NLT)
Last night Bunny and I attended a concert of our local High School chorus. Two of the singers were New Hope's own - Brittany Edwards and Kristin Morton, so we were eager to see the performance, which is an annual event.
The arts center, an imposing facility, was packed. Announcements were made about the night's program and both verbally and through an insert in the program, we were instructed on how to behave. We thought it a little odd to read such explicit information and laughed about how rigid they were.
Once the performance began, the lights were dimmed and we looked forward to an empty stage. The choir risers were empty, and the grand piano sat alone. I watched as a boy of perhaps 7 in front of us squirmed excitedly, then as he realized no one was coming out on stage, he slumped in his seat.
High above in the balcony, each member of the chorus ringed the edges. In the darkness, they each lit individual battery operated candles. The effect was striking, and the child was turning in his seat and pointing out to his mother what he saw. The concert began, and he turned and sat facing forward.
As the concert continued through several classical pieces, the effect of the music and the darkness had different effects on people. Some seemed to really enjoy simply hearing the music without any distractions. Others found that the combination of soothing music and darkness was ideal for a nap.
Our young neighbor though, found the music.
Looking up, he saw the conductor, who stood out against the darkness as he stood behind the lecturn, illuminated for his use. His eyes lit up, and then his hands rose skyward. Tenatively at first, he tried to follow the conductors movements. And as he did, his gestures became more fluid, more delicate - he was hearing the music as if for the first time. It was glorious to watch.
Friends, I thought about you for the next few moments.
My role as pastor means that I'm involved in shaping for a congregation, and to a certain extant through my devotionals for you, an understanding of the miracle of God's "music" of love for you. My passion in that role causes me at times to anguish over how many are surrounded by that "music" and just don't hear it. Some, like my friends at the concert, simply see grace as a reason to relax and enjoy life, never giving a thought to the Giver. Others hear the "music" but never respond by sharing it with others.
But every now and then, the "music" breaks through to ears ready to hear it- breaks through to the heart.
Once it does, you are changed.
My prayer for you is always this - that you come to know just how deeply loved you are.
Yes, people can get in the way of the "music". Even in the child's case that inspired this devotional, when he pointed out to his Mom what he heard, and showed her his response, she stopped him from expressing his joy. I pray he'll try again.
Just as I pray you'll try again.
The miracle didn't stop with Christmas. Do you hear it?
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
I will sing of the tender mercies of the LORD forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.
Psalms 89:1-2 (NLT)
Last night Bunny and I attended a concert of our local High School chorus. Two of the singers were New Hope's own - Brittany Edwards and Kristin Morton, so we were eager to see the performance, which is an annual event.
The arts center, an imposing facility, was packed. Announcements were made about the night's program and both verbally and through an insert in the program, we were instructed on how to behave. We thought it a little odd to read such explicit information and laughed about how rigid they were.
Once the performance began, the lights were dimmed and we looked forward to an empty stage. The choir risers were empty, and the grand piano sat alone. I watched as a boy of perhaps 7 in front of us squirmed excitedly, then as he realized no one was coming out on stage, he slumped in his seat.
High above in the balcony, each member of the chorus ringed the edges. In the darkness, they each lit individual battery operated candles. The effect was striking, and the child was turning in his seat and pointing out to his mother what he saw. The concert began, and he turned and sat facing forward.
As the concert continued through several classical pieces, the effect of the music and the darkness had different effects on people. Some seemed to really enjoy simply hearing the music without any distractions. Others found that the combination of soothing music and darkness was ideal for a nap.
Our young neighbor though, found the music.
Looking up, he saw the conductor, who stood out against the darkness as he stood behind the lecturn, illuminated for his use. His eyes lit up, and then his hands rose skyward. Tenatively at first, he tried to follow the conductors movements. And as he did, his gestures became more fluid, more delicate - he was hearing the music as if for the first time. It was glorious to watch.
Friends, I thought about you for the next few moments.
My role as pastor means that I'm involved in shaping for a congregation, and to a certain extant through my devotionals for you, an understanding of the miracle of God's "music" of love for you. My passion in that role causes me at times to anguish over how many are surrounded by that "music" and just don't hear it. Some, like my friends at the concert, simply see grace as a reason to relax and enjoy life, never giving a thought to the Giver. Others hear the "music" but never respond by sharing it with others.
But every now and then, the "music" breaks through to ears ready to hear it- breaks through to the heart.
Once it does, you are changed.
My prayer for you is always this - that you come to know just how deeply loved you are.
Yes, people can get in the way of the "music". Even in the child's case that inspired this devotional, when he pointed out to his Mom what he heard, and showed her his response, she stopped him from expressing his joy. I pray he'll try again.
Just as I pray you'll try again.
The miracle didn't stop with Christmas. Do you hear it?
Grace!
David
This devotional is written by David Wilson, pastor of New Hope Baptist church in Valparaiso, FL. If you find you have received this via a forward and would like to receive it regularly, or find you no longer wish to receive it, drop me an email at dwilsonfl@earthlink.net and I'll make the change to the list. If you'd like to know more about New Hope, visit our website at www.newhopevalp.org . May God bless you.
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