Great Morning

What a fantastic start to the day! I was able to sit and have a great conversation with a new friend about some differences in our spiritual backgrounds and belief systems. What a wonderful way to reach understanding and common ground with such an open and frank dialogue.

It reminded me of Paul's teaching to his young disciple Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2-3 "Preach the word in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."

Earlier he had warned Timothy of such false teachers in 1 Timothy 1:4-7 "These (false teachers) promote controversies rather than God's work - which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm."

I constantly run into people who want to argue scripture and interpretations. This morning was so refreshing because there was none of that. Just a simple dialogue of where we were each coming from with our understanding and I think both of us were encouraged.

Those that want to spend time arguing over this translation or that one, this interpretation or that one, or even if God is male or female are picking at the bone and missing the meat.

God loves you and he loved you enough to send his only son (Jesus, God in flesh) to die for you so that you could have a good life now and a wonderful eternity. The choice is left to us to believe that in faith or not. If you choose not to believe and it is real the result of your choice is eternally devastating!

Essential?

Hey thanks for all the responses lately on FB. It is great to engage in conversation with people with questions not agendas.

Here is the next question that can be responded to either on FB or directly on the blog ...

Is "church" essential to your life? Not Shelby Christian, but "church".

Let's hear it ... remember anonymous responses are read and pondered but not printed.

Two Defining Forces in Your Life

Part of a sermon on God and Country ...

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall. When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must have stung quite a bit.

The complaint: 'Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 A.M, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special? Any response would be appreciated.

The response: Regarding 'A wake-up call from Luke's jets' On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four-ship fly by of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day. At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the fly by, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured.. A four-ship fly by is a display of respect the Air Force gives to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects. The letter writer asks, 'Whom do we thank for the morning air show? The 56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.

Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you....Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom. Lt. Col. Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr. , USAF

Godless Chatter

There are so many in the world who want to attack the truth of Jesus Christ, but are lacking the courage to do so face to face. Paul told his young disciple Timothy to "turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing wandered from the faith."

Life is so short and so precious. Why waste it with meaningless conversation with those who have agendas that want to question God, but lack the courage to sit down and discuss things openly.

So until Jesus returns to claim his bride, the church (and he is coming) I'll just put God first and keep on reaching!

What Are You Afraid Of

I have been thinking a lot this week about "the fear of the Lord". The Bible talks about it a lot, but Jesus most used command was fear not. The obvious answer is that the fear of the Lord is not a scared fear, but a respect and reverent fear.

It seems to me that most people today have neither. Sunday I am preaching the second half of the God and Country series. My message asks the question, what have we done with God? It is kind of like "where's waldo?" We are so caught in self and what we want that we forget that God is even around, much less in control.

We elect leaders that swear an oath to serve with their hand on the Bible and then never open it, but rather make the decisions that THEY think needs to be made.

Then this week we watched a city spend $1.4 million on a memorial service and the Savior of the world had to be buried in a borrowed tomb. Just saying ...