One Nation Under God

I’ ’ve been thinking about that phrase lately.  I know the truth is that the entire world is under the sovereignty of God.  He is in control of all that is happening.   He guides the hearts of leaders just as the river bed guides the river. 

The struggle I have is not with the statement but to the acknowledgement of the nation to that statement.  Just because the phrase is put on our money and we claim it as a national theme does not make it true in our hearts. 

Sometimes I even wonder about my own heart.  Can I truly say that I live as one person under God’s unbridled influence?  Do I really live as if my life were under the constant control of Christ?  Sometimes I wonder.

If I were to live as if my life were truly under God’s total control how would that look?  What different choices would I make?  Where would I go?  What would I do?

The concept of “One Nation, Under God” only makes sense if individuals of that nation choose to live by that declaration as individuals first.  To make such a claim without living it as an individual makes it a false statement.  We cannot truly say we are a nation under God unless we seek to live that way; unless we choose each day to live as if we are under his influence. 

This year’s National Day of Prayer theme is “One Nation, Under God.”  Can we, as a church body, and with others in the Body of Christ, gather together for one day to ask that God would help us to make that statement true in the hearts of Americans?  Will you join us on Thursday, May 3rd to pray for our country? 

The Pastors of this community would like to give you several opportunities to pray.      You can join us from 8-10 am at the Emily Wesleyan Church for a concert of Prayer.  Or you can join us from 12-4pm for specific prayers for government, church, military, family, education, media and business.  EWC will also be open in the evening for those who would like to come and pray on their own.  We know you may not be able to spend 2 or 4 hours in prayer but we invite you to come and go as you can pray.  Join your brothers and sisters in Christ as we pray that the words on our money would be true on our hearts. 

In Christ,

Pastor Jeff

Intentional

I was reminded again this past week of the importance of being intentional.  Dr. Wayne Schmidt shared at our pastor’s conference the importance of being intentional in all areas of our lives. 

Here are a couple of things I am learning.  If it’s not on my calendar it doesn’t get done.  I, like many of you, have to plan my days and my activities to make sure things get done.  But it’s not just the various appointments that I have at work.  It also includes time with my family and time with my friends and time for me (and that includes fishing, hunting, exercise etc.).  If it isn’t on my calendar or planned in my day. it can easily be missed or forgotten. 

So I have to be intentional about life.  If I don’t schedule my day alone with God on a monthly basis I get off track in many ways.  I have put these on my calendar for the next year.  Another thing I have to be intentional about is dating my wife.  (She no longer thinks that trips to the doctor count as a date.)  So in the coming weeks and months I am going to have to be more intentional about getting out with my lovely princess.  (Now I’ve said it, I’m accountable.)

I also have to be intentional with my boys.  Saying “Hi. How was your day?” and listening for 5 minutes is not going to develop the strong relationships I hope will last  through  the years.  I have to be intentional about helping them grow up be the men God created them to be. 

The same could be said for the church.  The ministries of the church need to be intentional.  I know at times we can fall into God’s plan as a church but it’s so much better if we are intentionally looking for it. Emily Wesleyan Church has a mission and a vision of bringing the hope of Jesus Christ to this community.  We want to see God develop strong people, strong marriages, and strong families which will in turn help to develop a strong church and a strong community.  To do this we must be intentional about reaching out to those around us with the good news of Jesus Christ.  We need to be intentional about teaching people the word of God and helping them grow in all their relationships. 

EWC has done a great job in the past and will continue to do so as we are intentional about it.  Join us as we intentionally seek life change in this church and community.

In Christ,

Pastor Jeff

Truth

I had the opportunity recently to listen to Dr. Everett Piper, the president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, on the topic of truth.  In his talk he stated “Ideas are directional.”  He went on to share how many schools and colleges are looking for truth in consensus.  They will gather together in groups and try to discover what truth is then seek to live their lives according to the truth (little “t”) they have discovered.  The only basis they have for these truths is in the fact that the majority of the group agrees. 

The problem with this is that as Dr. Piper states, “Ideas are directional.”  If that is the case then the truths (little “t”) can take people in directions that they may not want to go. 

Around 150 years ago a man hypothesized that life may have begun from a single cell and evolved into the creature.  Others have taken that hypothesis and claimed it as truth.  This thought has lead others to conclude that life is a random occurrence and therefore as such has no specific purpose.  Without purpose life can be held in the balance of whether or not it holds worth dependent upon the whim of one person or another. 

If an unborn child is inconvenient or possibly disabled it can be aborted.  If an adult is too old or disabled they can be sent away or worse yet euthanized. If a family is not adding to society they can be marginalized and set aside. 

Ideas have consequences.  The writer of proverbs put it well when he said “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”  Proverbs 14:12.  If all we had to go on in this world was our own ideas, our own truth, we would be in a big mess.  Without the Word of God we would be lost. In God’s Word we find Truth (big “T”), Truth upon which all of creation was founded and on which it is held together. 

When our ideas are based upon the Truth of God’s Word we will have Truth not only for the moment but for all times.  These Truths we can base our life and out eternity on. 

Our world needs to know that there is objective Truth and it can be found in God’s Word.  We need to know it so we can share it with the others around us.

In Christ,

Pastor Jeff

 

Soulshift

There’s a story that’s been shared about a father and his three young children who stepped on to subway one day.  The father set down and just seemed to be in his own world while his children went wild in the subway car.  They were running back and forth being boisterous, playing tag, bumping into passengers being a general nuisance.  The other people in the subway car were beginning to get a little upset with the children and finally one of the other passengers appealed to the father and asked him to look after his children. 

The father seemed to step out of the “fog” he was in and look at his children.  He said “I’m sorry, the children have just come from the hospital with me, their mother passed away this morning and I guess they just don’t know how to act.” 

With this simple perspective the attitudes of each of the passengers changed.  No longer was there anger but sympathy.  Instead of wanting to push the children away they had compassion on them.

It is amazing what a little change in perspective can do for our lives. 

As you approach the New Year, ask God if there is a perspective or an attitude that you may need to change in order to get to know Him better this coming year. 

Do you need to refocus on God’s purpose for your life or do you need set up a whole new target for your life?  Where is God leading you?  Have you been holding on to some faulty thinking?

In Steve DeNeff and David Drury’s book Soulshift, the author’s explore 7 shifts in your belief that can make a huge difference in how you approach God and how you approach the world around you.  If you are wondering how you might grow in Christ in the next year you may want to get a copy of this book.

Some of our small group devotions will be based on concepts from this book.

 In Christ,

 Pastor Jeff

 

Reveal

The second year that I went deer hunting with my father. I remember following my him out to the stand he had picked out for me.  It was pitch black when he left me to head to his stand.  I can remember looking at everything around me and imagining the worst.  I had my gun but It wasn’t time to hunt so I hadn’t loaded it yet.  Then all of a sudden I heard something moving near me.  My heart started pounding in my chest.  I saw what appeared to be a huge shadow moving in the darkness.  It stopped way too close for comfort. 

I heard a snort and a stomp and I was scared.  I made some sort of noise trying to scare whatever it was away and it ran off.  I quickly loaded my gun and waited for the sun to rise.

 As the dawn came closer all the things around me that held me in fear slowly came into focus.  What was once scary was revealed to be trees, bushes and stumps.  The morning revealed a rather serene clearing with plenty of room to see what was all around me. 

There is something about the light that can give us so much perspective on the world around us.

The same is true for spiritual darkness.  The world around us can seem like such a dark place.  Times can get tough and without the hope we have in Christ many can find this world a very scary place.  Only Jesus, the Light of the World, can take away the darkness.

This Advent season our theme is Reveal: A Light in the Darkness.  We are going to look for ways we can make a difference in the world around us.  We are going to look for ways to be a light in this dark world. 

Come join us as we look to shine the Light of the World this Christmas season.

 In Christ,

Pastor Jeff