What do you know about this picture without any doubt whatsoever?

That turtle did not get on that fence post by himself. Someone else had to put him there.

That popped into my admittedly strange mind today when I was reading the first of the letters attributed to the apostle Peter. That rough hewn Galilean fisherman is one of my favorite characters in all of Scripture simply because of his so obvious flaws in character. Impulsive, unlearned, rough, crass, and with an opinion of himself that didn't square with who he really was, Peter was as they say all over the South, "a real piece of work." Now for those of you who are not clued into Southern expressions, that one has more to do with how much work is yet to be done than it ever has with what sort of person the "piece of work" is now.

Peter needed work.

A LOT of work.

Oh he had his moments, but there were always others coming down the road that showed everyone just how short of the mark he was. At root, Peter was all about Peter and how things affected him. He's the absolutely last person I would ever expect to write something like this.

8 Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything.
1 Peter 4:8 (MSG)
See, I read that and it made me go "Whoa! How'd he get there?"
I'd say Peter had help getting to that point in his life. He'd been led past "what's in it for me?", and made his way by "what difference does it make?"
Now, with everything he has within him, he's practically begging his fellow followers of Jesus to make love the end all be all of their lives - of every waking moment.
What changed Peter?
His great failure, and Christ's great forgiving grace.
Peter never forgot just what Jesus had done for him. Have you?
Do you need a touch of God's amazing grace today? Open your heart, confessing your need and accept His love as help for your soul. Find the freedom that only a life hid in Christ's love can give.
You can't get there without help.
Grace and peace,

David

 A Little bird told me....

Bunny and I are wishing Spring forward with everything we've got. After last week's arctic weather here, we've stepped our efforts up even more. We look for every possible sign of progress toward the wonder that is Spring. Just last evening we noticed that it wasn't dark when we left the church whereas it had been in December. The tree trimmers are at work pruning in preparation too. Good signs.

We need it. Darkness and cold weather can really discourage folks who live for the light and warmth of summertime like us. Add a dash of tiredness, a little grief, and sprinkle a pinch of worry and you have yourself a real discouragement casserole.

What do you do when you get discouraged?

Do you sink back into the gloom?
Pretend you're not?
Or do you look hopefully for signs that no matter what you see, God sees you?

For some reason this old song popped into my head while I prayed this afternoon. I wonder how many people it has helped over the years to remember - If God is for us, who can stand against us?

Why should I feel discouraged
and why should the shadows come
why should my heart feel lonely
and long for heaven and home

When Jesus is my portion
a constant friend is He
His eye is on the sparrow
and I know He watches over me
His eye is on the sparrow
and I know He watches over me

I sing because I'm happy
I sing because I'm free
His eye is on the sparrow
and I know He watches me

29 What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin*? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.  30 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.  31 So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31

God is good. All the time.

Grace and peace,

David

Found!

After two days trapped in the rubble of his own home, toddler Claude Redjeson was running out of time. But in the aftermath of the destruction, rescuers from around the world have and are converging on Haiti with one mission in mind - save lives. Ordinary people from around the world with an extraordinary passion for saving lives.

A team that had been in Spain the day before, and arrived in darkness amid devastation, defied the dangers and pulled Claude from the jaws of death. Félix del Amo, a Spanish mountain rescuer and diver, along with Óscar Vega Carrera, a Spanish firemen, succeeded in getting Redjeson out of the rubble.

Look at the picture of Claude as he's presented to his mother. Awesome!!!

He was lost, but now he's found.

I know how that feels.

A rescuer came for me one day and pulled me out of death's grip. Forever. His name was Jesus, and all I had to do to be rescued was acknowledge my need, His ability, and accept His leadership over my life. I chose faith in Jesus.

It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. 9 Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master"—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. 10 With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!" Romans 10:8-10 (MSG)

Do you know someone who is trapped?

Bring them to Jesus. Or bring Jesus to them. But go!

Are you trapped? Pick up a Bible and read it. Spend some time asking Jesus to reveal His love for you. Decide to follow Jesus.

You should see the look on HIS face when you do.

Grace and peace,

David
Visit with me at my blog:
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/

Visit with Bunny at her blog:
http://henleythegreatdane.blogspot.com/

Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

"Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? 5 When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, 6 and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, 'Celebrate with me! I've found my lost sheep!' 7 Count on it—there's more joy in heaven over one sinner's rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.
Luke 15:4-7 (MSG)

Saturday I came up to the church to do some work that I normally do on Sunday morning. My thought was that it would be a lot warmer then. Actually the difference between anything below 40 degrees seems to be irrelevant to my body, but I digress. :)

Some of our young people were up here playing their Star Wars RPG and came walking over to the office followed by a cute dog. "Brother David, this dog just showed up and we don't know where he came from." The dog didn't have a collar or any identification and I didn't recognize it. But I told them I'd figure out what to do with it.

It was a really cute pekinese type dog, with beautiful fur and was very friendly. Yes, it was a little unsure of all the strangers, but when I picked him up his shivering quickly ceased. Still, it was so cold I could not see leaving the dog to find it's way home. The picture of that puppy outside later when darkness fell was unacceptable.

I saw Jim, Mary, and Ka'rin Quinnell over in the fellowship hall and walked over to ask them what they thought I should do. They agreed that the pup was too well kept to be homeless and probably belonged to someone nearby. They suggested I call the Valparaiso Police and ask them if they had any reports of lost dogs. So I did. You get an idea of how small Valparaiso is by the dispatch operator's offer to send a police car to pick up the dog. I told her that since I had to pass the city hall on the way home, I'd drop it off, but first I wanted to drive through the neighborhood and see if anyone had lost him.

So I started praying that God would help me find the owner and that this little one would be able to be in the arms of someone who loved him. I walked over to the Honda dog-mobile and we drove away from the church. 50 feet past the first corner, I saw a couple of women loading up an SUV. I had the dog in my lap and it went off into vibrate mode and they lit up like the sun.

"Kiki! Where have you been?" And the celebration began. :)

Mission accomplished.

As I drove on home, I couldn't help but think of what it must look like in heaven when God's children are "found". I know that the good people who are part of our churches need care, need instruction, need everything we can reasonably give. But my heart tells me that God's heart for the lost should be our heart too.

It's an awesome feeling to be a part of getting someone (or some dog) "found". I hope we get more opportunities to experience that here at New Hope in 2010.

Grace and peace,

David Wilson

Was reading earlier about the some of the darkest times in history. Moments in time when it looked as though all was lost  - and would have been if it wasn't for some individuals that said "I will stand firm."

Christopher Columbus was under great pressure the last few weeks of his journey to find the New World. His crew was threatening mutiny, but he kept telling them, just a little while longer. In the face of opposition that would have robbed him of the fulfillment of his mission, he stood firm.

George Washington, if he had been pragmatic about the army he commanded at Valley Forge, would have seen only the army of that winter, not the renewed and strengthened one he saw in Spring. He looked ahead and stood firm.

Winston Churchill looked across the Atlantic where Germany had consolidated its conquests by kicking the last British troops into the sea at Dunkirk and went before the English people and told them not to quit - that this would be their finest hour.

They held onto hope until things changed. They stood firm. What's the secret to doing that?

The great British General Wellington, when asked after Waterloo the difference between his victorious troops and the beaten French said this "My men are not braver than the enemy. They are just brave 5 minutes longer."

If we can learn from history, we can certainly hear and learn from God's Word right?

3 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.14 And do everything with love1 Cor 16:13-14 (NLT)

15 With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.2  Thess 2:15 (NLT)

There are far too many times people quit when if they had just held on a little longer they would have realized what they longed for.

My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this grace.
1 Peter 5:12 (NLT)

Peter - biggest failure there was, who once He experienced the risen Christ became the Rock Jesus saw he could be.

Rocks stand firm. Peter did once he let his love for and faith in Christ rule His life and overcome his fears..

There's still time to decide that your future is not going to depend on your goodness but on God's grace. Still time to rely on the strength of God in you rather than your own strength. Still time to retrace your steps back to where you stepped out of God's will. Go back and decide that the next time you are tested, you'll stand firm.

Grace and peace,

David

It's cold!

January came in like a lion almost everywhere in the eastern United States, and has everyone - including Floridians scrambling to keep warm. Sometimes we forget that there actually is a thing called winter down here. We get spoiled. Even today, with the temps peaking in the mid 40s, I've seen several die hard Floridians in shorts and flip flops. It almost seems as if they refuse to believe it's cold.

But just to repeat once again - it's cold!

At this time of year, with the shorter periods of daylight, and now the cold also acting to discourage much unnecessary outdoor movement, some people struggle with the blues. After all the bright lights and shiny things of Christmas, after you return home or the family leaves, or after you just wake up and realize another year is past, the blues can sneak into your heart.

So how to banish them?

Well, let's hear from a man who at the time he wrote this was imprisoned in a dungeon.

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:6-7 (NLT)

There's a challenge in those words and a promise. First, we need to be proactive in pushing back against the chill of the blues. Just telling yourself "I won't worry" is about as effective as telling yourself "I won't eat that chocolate cake over there." Don't ask me about how I know that. :)


Substitute prayer for that useless worrying. Have a conversation with God in which you remember Who He is and what He has done for you, and where you tell Him what you need.

Then breathe in the mercy, grace and goodness that is God. Make sure He is first in your life in everything. And then you'll experience His peace and His presence - His promise is - He'll guard your heart.


So stop and focus on just what we have received in Jesus. Pardon for our sins. Provision for today. Hope for tomorrow. Strength to meet the challenges regardless of what they are.

Turn the heat up - on your relationship with God.

Grace and peace,

David
Visit with me at my blog:
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/

Visit with Bunny at her blog:
http://henleythegreatdane.blogspot.com/

Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

Mondays With Allan

Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters 1 John 4:21 (NLT)

When we lost our big friend Henley the Great Dane to cancer last month, we found ourselves with a house that seemed very empty. Then up walked our friend Allan. On every single visit to our home previously, Allan had never been able to come inside because of his fear of Henley. No matter what we told him about how the worst that could happen would have been some slime if Henley licked him, and maybe some boofing, Allan wouldn't come past the threshold and even asked us to step outside.

But on that day, he came in. It was the first night after we lost Henley and it was a quiet house. Allan fixed that right away. Then he surprised us by staying for supper. After he had eaten he looked at Bunny and asked "when can I come eat with you again?"

Bunny said "How about Monday night?"

And every Monday night since, we've had Allan as a guest at our table.

Allan's a great guest. He'll keep the conversation going, and ask to take your plate to the sink along with his if you are through. His presence and his attitude are that of a servant, and his job is to make you feel better.

He'll never know how much he has done for us in helping us past our grief and reminding us that God uses all His servants in His care for those He loves.

I thank God for His servant of love - our friend - Allan Hill.

Call us if you want to come next Monday night too. :)

Grace and peace,

David Wilson

Our friend Allan Hill had a birthday last week. He's the youngest 27 year old I know. Allan lives just down the road from the church, and very frequently drops by or calls both there and at the house. There are probably very few people who have lived in Valparaiso very long that have not seen Allan out walking, and a large number of those people also know him personally.

Allan's hard not to know.

He's never really met a stranger, and when he does, he's generally within hailing distance of someone he does know, so he does what comes natural to him. "Do you know David? David is my pastor" is what I have heard on several occasions when I ran into Allan while out in the community.

So today when we were at one of his favorite places, Dollar General, when we picked out a gift for him, Bunny asked the clerk if Allan had one of them already. "No, but he will like that.," she said, so our purchase was made. She knew him that well.

I sit here and wonder sometimes, what if the whole community - not just the church - but everyone, was as open and connecting as Allan? What if we knew each other so well that pretty much anyone among us could tell someone else whether something as silly as a birthday gift would make us smile?

Think about it.

And here is what Allan will be getting.



It plays "On the road again" and sways while its ears flap up and down.

I expect to hear it a lot until Allan runs the batteries down. But it will make him happy, and that will be a gift to all of us as well.

Grace and peace,

David

"You just have to give them the look."

A grandmotherly lady was in the middle of her conversation with the Michael's cashier when I walked up. The cashier was giving her a look, but it didn't look like one that agreed with her customer.

"You know, when they are doing something that they shouldn't, just give them the look that says 'I mean it'."

"That doesn't work anymore," said the cashier.

"Then you must not be doing it right," replied the grandmother without missing a beat.

It took everything I had not to laugh out loud.

But I'm wondering today as I read the gospels, what must it have felt like to get a "look" from Jesus?
Matthew 19:25-27 (The Message)

25The disciples were staggered. "Then who has any chance at all?"

26Jesus looked hard at them and said, "No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it."

Okay, so we have here an example of a "look" and not just a glance but a "hard look" from Jesus. How did it work?

27Then Peter chimed in, "We left everything and followed you. What do we get out of it?"

LOL

You'd have to admit that Peter's statement may be one of the dumbest, most clueless ones of all time. :)

And it came after they received Jesus' "look". The "hard" one.

Parents, it's not your "look" that will produce change in your children. It's your LOVE.

Check the gospels. Jesus gave every ounce of love He had to those who followed Him. And though their progress was slow - and even frustrating at times - eventually they became the people who changed the world.

Grace and peace,

David

Practice

Bunny teaches piano up here at church 4 days a week. All of her students right now are children and youth, though she has taught a couple of adults. The adults didn't stick with it. Learning to play an instrument - really play one, not hit the right buttons on a pretend piece of plastic - takes a dedication that looks past what you are doing today to the rewards of tomorrow.

For example, when I'm up here and Bunny is teaching, I hear an awful lot of awful. Not really as much awful playing, because Bunny is very good at what she does and the kids respond (most of the time). But a LOT of awful music - at least from the point of view of someone who listens to music with more than one note being played at once time.

I have no idea what the names of the pieces they are playing are. Most of them I have never heard before. But each piece of music is selected because it helps a student progress in their abilities. They may sound odd at times, but by playing them, students advance to the more complex pieces. There's really no other way.

Just now Emily came in and started playing a song by Coldplay.

I have no idea how many lessons Emily has had,or how many hours she has practiced. But I hear music - music I know and love - coming from the sanctuary - and I know that she has practiced.

Let me ask a simple question.

How much effort are you putting into the practice of your faith - of your walk with Jesus?

He simply said, "Come, follow me."

When you do, it's difficult. There are some spiritual disciplines like prayer and reading the Bible that might seem tedious, even boring every now and then.

Oh, but when you begin hearing the music of God's approval - as your heart changes - as you begin taking on more and more of the character of Jesus - it is awesome! It's as if you were naturally left handed but were forced to use your "wrong" hand all your life. But now, you've discovered just how you were to live all along.

Make the decision to follow Jesus with all your heart. Stay close to Him. Practice.

Grace and peace,

David

Are You Ready?

They had just met a few hours earlier. (LA Times story)

One had just come in country, the other was just about to leave. In terms of where they were placed on the official chain of command, no one would have noticed them. A corporal, a lance corporal.

But where they stood on that day was with the greats.

The day started out normally for any marine on security detail, with Cpl. Jonathan Hale explaining how to run a checkpoint - what to look for, how to handle the flow and the traffic to Lance Corporal Jordan Haeter. Only minutes had passed since the two had met as the sun rose over Ramadi.

Suddenly the two spotted a Mercedes truck coming through the winding lanes of the security barriers. They yelled at it to stop, and waved at the driver to tell him to slow down. But the truck, laden with over 2,000 pounds of explosives, and its driver wired to a switch that would detonate them even if he were killed, sped up.

The Iraqi police who were the first line of defense cut and ran.

The two Marines engaged the truck as it barreled toward them - Hale with his machine gun, Haeter with his M-16. Before the truck was able to make it into the base, it exploded, leaving a crater 5 feet deep and 20 feet across - flattening a house and a mosque nearby.

When the dust settled, Haeter was dead and Yale mortally wounded. 30 others were wounded, but the dozens of Marines and Iraqis who were inside the base were unharmed.

The commanding general of all Marines in Iraq, Gen. Kelly, personally investigated the attack, and when he viewed the security tape, there he saw the two Marines, put together minutes before, standing as brothers firing at the truck headed directly toward them. As the tape rolled you can see the others running for safety, but the two Marines were faithful unto death. They were awarded the Nary Cross posthumously.

When do you think the two men who gave up their lives for their friends made that decision? Was it done in that moment?

Or was it when they made the decision to serve their nation by becoming a United States Marine?

Friends, what kind of decision did you make when you decided to follow Jesus?

12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.13 There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.

John 15:12-13 (NLT)

Will you be ready when the time comes to live out your faith?

Will you deny yourself and pour out your life as an offering out of love for the One who gave His life for you?

Are you ready?

Grace and peace to you,

David Wilson

Not Yet

Bunny and I were on the way to the store last night, and both of us commented on how the same Christmas lights that seemed full of joy and anticipation just a couple of days ago seemed lifeless and frankly tacky now.

The tents that had held the Christmas trees that families bought and took home to bring some of the sights and smells of Christmas were empty, and were being converted to sell the New Year's fireworks so many down here seem to enjoy.

For some, this past week has been pretty hard.

Harriet and Bill Standifer will bury the remains of Harriet's sister and her husband Monday. Both passed away tragically last week, Harriet's sister on Christmas Eve. A pastor friend of mine, Keith McNamar, up in Connecticut lost a one month old nephew yesterday, the child of his brother who has had some real issues with family for years, and been estranged from them and from God.

So this is Christmas?

Yes, and not yet.

Yes, we celebrated the coming of Christ last week. God moved into our neighborhood. But people still hurt. Loved ones still die. Christmas is still a mixture for many of joy and pain - present or past.

But friends, all the presents that Christmas promised have NOT been opened yet. Like this one:

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, God's home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever."5 And the one sitting on the throne said, "Look, I am making everything new!" Rev 21:1-5
There's more coming. More of the Kingdom of God. More of the way God originally designed things to be. Just like those childhood memories some have, where a gift is found hours after all the others were opened, God's final gifts haven't been unwrapped... yet.

So for those of us who hurt, those of us who mourn, there's hope. God hasn't forgotten us. God hasn't said "No" to our cries for help. We are NOT hopeless. He's going to make all things new. He's going to take away all the pain, personally wipe away all the tears, banish death once and for all.

Just not yet.

Until then, we have this promise - "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you."

Heb 13:5 (NLT)

It is that gift we should open everyday until Christ comes again. And we should give each other the love that God has given us, to help each of us get through the "not yet" time we live in today.

Grace and peace,

David

It was at this desk, where a man built a career. He rose from salesman, to territory manager, to manage a district. He'd leave his family late Sunday night or early Monday each week and drive all over the Southeast, returning on Friday. Later on, he'd fly to distant places and meet a salesman that he'd hope to help become better. But every Friday, he'd be home.

Saturday night he'd study his Sunday School lesson at this desk, preparing to teach the class he led for decades. I can remember the men in his class and the respect they had for him as a teacher. But it wasn't just his teaching they were looking at - it was the way he lived his life. There are lots of ways to teach.

He retired from his career, and came home. Enjoyed his wife, his kids and his grandchildren - had a garden, and a shop downstairs. Still every Saturday night would find him sitting at the desk, preparing a lesson. Broadman Commentary, Standard Sunday School Lessons, Open Bible, Amplified - tools of the teacher. In retirement, he did more around the church and around the house. He had the time.

A stroke came, and he was no longer able to teach the class he loved. Some of the other things he enjoyed were affected too. Still, he adjusted. He did what the doctors told him. Lost weight, took his medicine. Though he was not teaching anymore, he still studied his lesson on Saturday night.

Now his wife of over 60 years has fallen ill, and her recuperation comes along slowly. She's being cared for in a nursing home for now. He can tell you how many days it has been since she's been home. Her picture is placed near the desk so he can see his sweetheart every time he sits there.


And the same man who left home to take care of her and his children years ago - still does. Every day he drives himself over to where she is. He can't stay there all day, but after he goes home at lunch to take his medicine, he comes back and stays until darkness approaches.

Then he kisses her and returns to his home alone.

I looked at this desk and realized this weekend, that the lessons he taught all those years at Bethesda Baptist church about what the Bible said...

... he is still teaching.

Every day.

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her...
Eph 5:25 (NLT)

Friends it's one thing to follow when the road is easy and the pathway is bright. The mark of a true disciple is that they are just as faithful in the hard times. I've seen many a man in situations like this one turn inward and pull back from what needs to be done.

Not Curtis Clinard. He's got a man's faith. The Marine Corps motto is "Semper Fidelis" - always faithful. Well friends, the decisions you make today determine whether that is true of you or not. Curtis made many decisions - first to trust Jesus with His life. Then he pledged to love and honor his wife "in sickness or in health." He has. He is.

That's why I added that desk to a list of my sacred places. God used Curtis to prepare other men for trials for many years. Now the demonstration of how to bear them is being shown to all who watch. He's still teaching us.

Merry Christmas to all of you,

David Wilson

Visit with me at my blog:
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

No one should...
Early this morning we got word that our next door neighbors son Taylor, their only son, the son they loved so fiercely, died. He was playing in the first football game of the year, and was struck in the side. I don't know what exactly happened.

Walking in the home this morning was surreal. People were standing around in shock. The boy's dad, a decorated SF major was still in ACUs, as he had been away at drill when the call came in the night before. I walked up to him and hugged him. We cried for a couple of seconds. We talked for a minute about how his wife was doing, how was he doing? That sort of thing. I let him know we were asking everyone to pray for him, his wife and their family. Then he led me into his office.

He asked me if I'd look over his son's obituary - to see if it was okay. He was due at the funeral home and had to leave in a minute. Here was a man who in the course of his service has probably had to write someone's family a letter, telling them that their son "died valiantly in the service of his country and the defense of freedom. That he was "a great soldier and a credit to the company/division/regiment whatever." But now he was concerned with making sure that his own son's life was summed up well.

I had already given him the benefit of my years of studying the Scriptures by crying with him. Now I gave him what I could from my years as a writer. "There's no way to say it all, today." Taylor was an incandescent spirit. He lived in a perpetual state of smile, it seemed to us next door. Unfailingly polite, frequently funny, one of those kids who just seemed to be headed for great things. "What you've written is good. Others will write a lot more." And he headed out to the funeral home, his son's obituary in his hand.

I hate it for him - for Kathy, Taylor's mother. I hate it happened. No one should ever have to write his 15 year old son's obituary. No one should.

So today we weep with those who weep, and mourn with those who mourn. We pray for our friends next door with an empty room for the first time in 15 years. We pray that the grace of Christ will flood in and cause the darkness to flee. We pray for everyone who hurts tonight, and since this is a small town, there's a lot of people hurting. And we remember again just how sin-sick this world is. Come quickly Lord Jesus.

Taylor Haugen, we'll miss you. But we will see you again.

Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. Romans 8:20-21 (NLT)

Change I Can Believe In

It was just a shawl. Lovingly crafted and prayed over by our "Hugs and Stitches" group here at New Hope, the crocheted effort might not have looked like an act of God's handiwork, but it is.

Robert and his wife Jewel are what the Bible calls gently, advanced in years. They speak with the kind of Southern drawl Hollywood has never really captured. They grew up in a time when America was separated by race, in an area not known for racial harmony. Yet I've never known either to ever utter an unkind word about anyone. But I know that when and where they grew up, people knew their places.

Both have medical issues - Robert is in the hospital right now as a matter of fact. They are two of the most loving people I have ever known. The kind of people that cause you to examine whether the way your walk with Christ is progressing will lead you to where they are - mature and solid spiritually, even though their physical bodies are weakened.

Jewel took the shawl home with here Sunday, and called her neighbor across the street to come over, adding "I have something for you." Robert and Jewel's neighbor is an amazingly caring person who has blessed her friends many times and truly been an instrument of God's love to them. She happens to be an African-American.

I say that because lots of things haven't changed about the way people of different races treat each other here in the land of the free. Sure they have where government looks over your shoulder, but not everywhere - and not among many people of Robert and Jewel's ages. That cuts both ways to by the way - when their neighbor came over, she started toward the back door and Jewel threw on the porch light and opened the front door for her friend.

She offered her friend the shawl along with her and Robert's appreciation for how kind the neighbor had been. At first, it was refused with a "that's just too nice, I can't accept that."

Then Jewel told her that she and her friends at church had prayed over that shawl and asked God to bless the person it was given to.

Her neighbor burst into tears and hugged that scarf like a long lost grandchild. the two friends shared tears of joy together.

Now that's change I can believe in.

A New Operating System

You're reading the very first devotional I have ever written using the Ubuntu operating system. For the less geeky among us, the operating system (Windows, OSX, Linux) is what makes the computer more than a collection of interesting electronic parts. Valuable those parts may be, but unless someone tells them how to live and how to live together - they're just parts.

Yours truly, in the interest of pursuing yet another geek merit badge, and having mastered Windows and Mac, is now working on learning how to work using Ubuntu. It's open source, which means it is freely available to everyone, and that people with programming skills can help develop it further. In fact, some of the neatest applications available for it were produced by people just to help others.

Pretty cool, huh.

Well, I'm sitting here thinking that there are some real parallels to what happens when a person begins their journey with Jesus. When they allow God to work within their lives, they receive a new "operating system." Then God uses them to bless other people and to tell everyone who will listen that what He's offering can't be bought for any price, He's already paid that through Jesus. But that in order to use the new operating system, you have to choose to change.

1 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life— your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life— and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 2 Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2 (MSG)

Changed from the inside out. That's how God works within us to change the way we think and make us what we were created to be.

Think about it. Maybe it's time to change your operating system.

Grace and peace to you,

David

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"It's A Good Tired"

Get the word out. Teach all these things. 12 And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity. 1 Tim 4:11-12 (MSG)

This week New Hope has been supporting a group of youth and their leaders who were doing a Mission OK (backyard Bible Club) across the street from us at Valparaiso Elementary. Our church has been involved over there in some other things during the past year as part of our ministry of service, but this was a Rocky Bayou Baptist initiated and led project that we were thrilled to be able to participate in as support staff.

Today we served all those hard working kids and their support staff lunch over here at New Hope, and I got to spend some more time with them. Friends, I never get tired of seeing people, especially young people, serving others in Jesus' name. Those kids sung, played, taught, witnessed, and puppet-ted (is that a word? :) ) for the neighborhood kids all week and then today they spent the morning ( a coolish 95 degree morning) cleaning up a disabled person's yard.

They came in dragging a bit, and we sent them out refreshed. Or at least refreshed enough to get back home to take a good teenaged nap.

At one point in the week, the adults were a little bummed out. The YMCA kids, who are at the school all day during the summer, would not be coming outside to where the Mission OK kids had their stuff set up. It was too hot. They had already been outside.

One of the youth participating took the whole situation in. Then he said:

"Why can't we go to them?"

So they did. And gained air conditioning and the use of the sound system to help do what they were doing -even better.

Someone said once "a little child will lead them."

Well, from what I saw this week, we need to expand that to include youth.

It was thrilling. I hope we get to do more with our friends from Rocky Bayou, our friends from Valparaiso Elementary, and for our friends from the neighborhood.

Please pray for our New Hope "away team" as they head to Big Creek, KY tomorrow for a week of missionary service.

Grace and peace,

David



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New Jeans

Well, we've settled into summer here now with our usual heat and humidity. For those of you reading this outside the deep South and who have never been here during summer, it is very hard to describe the combination's effects. I can remember a trip I took for work to Chicago in July one year and when I got off the plane, I was shocked at how pleasant it was. It was still 80+ degrees, but the humidity was almost nonexistent.

Humidity is like that ten pounds you lost one time. You couldn't believe how good you felt without it. Well, down here, it feels like we just gained 20 pounds back.

So with the coming of summer, we adjust our clothing somewhat to fit. Granted, FL clothes are more casual anyway, but we do loosen up some more.

And I just got new blue jeans.

Hot does not begin to describe how I feel in these. I'm sitting here in my office and am strategically placed under the A/C vent. There's actually a breeze in here. But these jeans seem to radiate heat.

They replaced a well worn pair of several years that were not so afflicted. In fact I didn't wear shorts that much because the jeans were almost as cool. But a change had to come. The old ones were ripped at the knee and holes were beginning to appear elsewhere. There's no way I could wear those to church. (Yes, down here the pastor sometimes wears blue jeans to work. Not often, but sometimes.)

Now I could spend much time and energy on those old jeans.

I could wear them and refuse to admit there was a problem.
I could start trying to fix them and patch everywhere they had failed.

...or I could be thankful for what they gave me and move on.

So many people cannot seem to do that, and yet it is critical to living a healthy life, rightly related to God and to mankind. Just let it go. Think about what's coming.

8 Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious— the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. 9 Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Phil 4:8-9 (MSG)
Friends, take a minute right now and thank God for what He has provided you.

Far too often we are prone to only remember the times we struggled, and truth be told, our struggles for the most part would come off as incredible luxury elsewhere.

Look to God.

Praise Him in your home, at your workplace, when you get up and when you lay down to rest.

God is good, all the time.

Grace and peace,

David

--
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Signal to Noise

Free Wi-Fi, get your free Wi-Fi here!

I was just working on our wireless network here at New Hope, swapping out an older and slower piece of equipment for a newer and faster one. Sometimes it is hard to believe how far we've come with all this technology. I've been walking around outside for the last few minutes doing my best Verizon guy impersonation (without the annoying "can you hear me now?" part).

So I'd get 100 feet away and still be surfing the web, but turn a corner and find that I was fading out, turn another and it was "internet? What Internet?" In terms of distance from the broadcast point, I was actually closer. What gives?

Turns out I was also close to another wireless network, blasting away on the same channel.

So my poor little Thinkpad didn't know who to listen to. When I checked what was happening with a cool program for that stuff, turns out that as I got closer to the other guy's place, the "signal to noise ratio" kept dropping. Now my guess is that the higher the noise gets, the less of the signal gets through.

It dawned on me that this wasn't the first time I have faced that problem.

Churches face it all the time as they try to reach their neighbors and friends with the "signal" of the good news about Jesus. But blasting away on the same wavelength are those of us who are not living out our faith in our everyday relationships with people.

That kind of "noise" is real loud. And it can have really serious consequences. Ghandi was employed by a Christian couple when he was working on his education in South Africa. Their coldness and harsh manner with anyone who wasn't exactly like them caused him to reject Christianity even though he professed great admiration for what the teachings of Jesus said.

You probably know someone who calls all Christians hypocrites and refuses to listen. Too much noise!

So friends, we have to really focus on being like Jesus in our relationships with the people God places us in contact with. Here's a great couple of Scripture verses from the Message paraphrase to remind us.

8 Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. 9 That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless— that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing.

1 Peter 3:8-9 (MSG)
Our job - to bless those God placed around us. To Him be the glory.

Grace and peace,

David

--
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When I Pray

In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. Eph 6:18 (MSG)

I can still remember the first time I prayed out loud. I was sitting in a prayer meeting at Bethesda Baptist Church in Macon, GA. I was in the approved section which contained all the Clinards and those related by marriage. My father and mother in law were there, my brother and sister in law were there sitting right behind us. The deacon who was handling prayer that evening turned to our side and asked "David, would you pray?"

Knowing that it must be for David Clinard, (my brother in law) not in any way thinking it could possibly be for David Wilson, I bowed my head and it got quiet. Too quiet for their taste I guess. My brother in love finally asked "which David?" and the reply was "David Wilson."

Gulp.

Just to set the scene, I hadn't been following Jesus all that long back then. And this was a church where when people prayed, they prayed in such a manner that you expected God to answer... right then. Against the eloquence and passion that they brought every week, I had maybe a decent mumble. That is, if I could get my throat to open back up.

Somehow I got through it.

And you know, at the time, I had yet to really understand what struggles those ordinary people around me were under. Now, after having both experiencing some of those myself, and being privy to those inside a congregation, I pray so differently. Something like...

Oh Lord, Help.

I open the church directory and I look at the faces and I know some of the hurts and I ask God to let me bear some of that burden. I ask Him to let us as a community of believers at New Hope to share some of their pain. I acknowledge what He already knows - that I cannot fix it. That we can't fix it. That only He can.

When I pray.

Friends, will you stop for a moment and realize that Almighty God hears your prayers? And that He doesn't just hear them like we hear other people. He hears our hearts and knows our needs. And He acts out of His love for us.

So let's pray. Let's lift each other up. Let's rejoice that God has placed us in Christ and lets us have a part in His plan to bring others to faith.

We can pray.

Grace and peace,

David

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