GO

This sign stands at the parking lot exit of a church that one of my pastor friends serves. It is a reminder to every Christian that our church buildings are not where Jesus has called us to be. He instructed His disciples and us to "GO" and make disciples. If we are waiting for the local bus to drop off seekers at our church doors so that we can lead them to faith in Jesus Christ, we will be found to be like the servant who buried his master's money in the ground for safe keeping. Our churches are the places that we go to learn and to be strengthened and taught in the faith but it is the world in which we live that we are to witness to God's love for us; as it is expressed in the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.

IT'S OUR JOB!

Storm clouds always seem to be on the horizon in our country lately. We are so polarized in our beliefs that I wonder if we won't just come apart at the seams soon. Both sides (liberal & conservative) are convinced that they are so right that the opposition just has to be evil. Let's face it, friends, both sides - for the most part - love their country but look at it through different lenses. Many years ago a guy by the name of Rodney King pleaded, "Can't we all just get along?" It seems to me that that question is even more pertinent now than it was in 1991 when Mr. King uttered them. It is our job as Christians to not only pray for our country and its leaders but to seek to live at peace with our neighbor. This is indeed a difficult task due to the high emotions that exist on both sides and their unwavering convictions. I won't tell you which side of the fence that I stand on but all who know me and those who can read between the lines of my posts certainly know. I won't tell you in this forum because there is no opportunity for discussion and I don't want to try to shove anything down anyone's throats. I will tell you this though; I love my country and I love my God and try to live up to His commands and I challenge everyone who reads my blog to try to do likewise. My message yesterday centered around the parable that Jesus told about three men who were charged by their master to take care of his possessions while he went traveling. When he returned, two of the three men had invested his master's possessions and multiplied them. The third man took what he had been responsible for and buried it in the ground for safe keeping. The master was furious with him because he had done nothing but squander what the master gave him so he lost the little that he had. (You can read about this in Matthew 25:14-30 for yourself.) Sometimes it seems to me that many Americans are like the man who didn't improve upon what his master gave him as we simply make use of the privileges of our birth as Americans without seeking ways to improve the plight of others who have less than we do. How will God judge us when we leave this earth if we don't leave it better than we received it? These words ring in my ears each day that I moan about the circumstances that we are currently facing; "... if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."(2 Chronicles 7:14) I believe that God's people are those who profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and so it is up to us to become humble servants and to pray and seek God's face for the benefit out this great United States of America. Let us pray...

A Sign From God

Ooops!!! He already did, didn't He?

HEROES

The guy in the picture is a boyhood hero of mine. His name was Hopalong Cassidy and he was played by an actor by the name of William Boyd. Not all of the good guys wore white hats back then but you could still tell them apart from the bad guys. It seemed like they smiled a lot. They always stood up for what was right and decent. Hoppy's horse's name was Topper and unlike most of the other cowboy heroes' horses of the time, Topper was not a Golden Palomino. He was white and I suppose an Arabian. Hoppy and Topper had many great adventures and they kept me occupied for a half hour at a time on Saturday afternoons. I'm not sure why I wanted to share all of this with you except because I am so frustrated with the lack of heroes and people who can be counted on to do the right thing, simply because it is the right thing to do with no hidden agenda, today. Which brings me to a verse from the Bible that we would all do well to follow: "... whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

I just don't see that many people doing the right thing just because it is the right thing to do and I believe that our country is suffering greatly because of it. Keep a watchful eye upon our leaders - both political and religious - and hold them to the highest standard. Make them be accountable for their actions and call upon them to live up to the trust that you place in them.

I'm sorry to have been away from this for so long. I will have updates to it soon. Our family Marines; SSGT Dan Hagler and his wife SGT (now) Stevie. They are both stationed in Iraq. Second tour for both of them. His sister, Collene, is in Afghanistan (Army). Your prayers for them and for all of our troops are greatly appreciated. This pic was taken at the MC Birthday Ball last November.

THE WALLS ARE STILL STANDING

The winds may blow and howl. They may rip and tear. They may destroy temporal things but Jesus Christ's Church will stand despite all of the violence that attacks it.

In the center of the picture, you should be able to make out the Methodist church's bell tower and roofless building. The church is on the Island of Grenada in the southern Caribbean and it was ravaged in 2004 by Hurricane Ivan. Note that even though the roof is gone, the building still stands. I was reminded of Christ's promise that He would build His church and the gates of Hell would not prevail against it the first time that I saw it and it will always remain in my memory as an illustration of the strength of the Church in the face of the violence of this world.

This past weekend, Pastor Fred Winters of the First Baptist Church of Maryville, IL was gunned down by a lunatic with a handgun as the pastor stood in the pulpit of the church at their 8:15AM worship service. The gunman approached Pastor Winters in the pulpit and the gunman and Pastor Winters briefly exchanged words and then the man opened fire on Pastor Winters. Pastor Winters apparently raised his Bible to shield himself from the gunshot but even though it seemingly stopped the first shot, three more rounds were fired before the gun jammed. Had the weapon not jammed there may have been several more funerals being observed tomorrow.

The reason that I've brought this incident up is that while I was contemplating the events of Sunday, March 8, it occurred to me that the Bible that Pastor Winters held up against the bullets that were used against him did indeed protect him from the first shot, but in the end he died.

How often do we lift up the Bible by itself to ward off the evils of this world without going to its Author for instruction, comfort, healing and power? Every Sunday morning I declare that the Bible that I hold up before my congregations is the Word of God for the people of God and while I sincerely believe that declaration to be true, the Bible itself declares Jesus Christ to be the Word of God. Jesus is the Word Incarnate and while the Bible is God's verbal revelation of His loving acts done on behalf of His people, it is the Word Incarnate, Jesus Christ, who saves us from our sins. I feel that too often the people of God trust in the inanimate object that we call the Bible to deliver them from evil while forgetting that Jesus Himself instructed us to pray to the Father to deliver us. I am beginning to realize that for many Christians the Bible is lifted up to have the same sovereignty as God.

God reveals Himself to us through His written Word, the Bible, but more importantly He has revealed Himself to us through His Son Jesus Christ by the power of His Holy Spirit. I have no doubt that the Bible has been and will continue to be used to draw many - myself included - to the truth of God's love and desire for us to spend eternity with Him; but I am equally convinced that many Christians have elevated the Bible to be equal to or even superior to its Author.

Hebrews 4:12 declares "... the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit , of both joints and marrow, and able to judge thoughts and intentions of the heart." Let us always take care to use the Bible as an instrument of revelation rather than one of devastation.

Pastor Winters lifted up his Bible and today we have every reason to believe that he is looking into the face of the Author and as he was met at the gates of heaven heard "well done, good and faithful servant." Will you be welcomed similarly because of your faith in the Word Incarnate, or will you hear "...depart from me, accursed one, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels" because in the process of your religiosity, you failed to lift the Creator above the created. Use His Word to strengthen your faith and to draw others to Christ but please don't worship the Book and forget the Author.

THE VOICE OF THE TURTLE

For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. (Song of Solomon 2:11-13 KJV)

How I miss Ernie Harwell reading those words each year on the opening day of the baseball season. Today was that day; at least for the exhibition season and my Tigers won 5-4 over my Atlanta Braves. Don't know exactly why I like the Tigers so much but I first went to a game at Briggs Stadium in 1952 and have been hooked ever since. Virgil Trucks was the pitcher that day and that is really all that I remember about the game. There have been hundreds since at Briggs Stadium, then Tiger Stadium and finally Comerica Park. What sweet memories! But, in all honesty, I think that the most treasured memories that I have of Detroit Tigers baseball is listening to it on a crystal radio that I built myself with the antenna wire clipped to a piece of water pipe in our upstairs dormer bathroom for better reception. I had a tiny little earphone to listen to it on. My mind's eye could visualize every pitch and every crack of the bat put me right on the field with the action. Now, I get to listen to the games on my laptop computer because I'm off in the northern hinterlands of Michigan where NASCAR is king - very few baseball broadcasts. By the way as I look out our window, I see snow flakes the size of quarters. O, goody! More snow. ;-( Tonight is Ash Wednesday so I guess that I had better start getting ready for our service. Be blessed during this Lenten season and look for ways to enjoy where God has place you. As Spring unfolds I know that I won't have any trouble doing the same.

BE A LIGHTHOUSE

As I was looking through the pictures from our recent vacation, I ran across this one which reminded me of the importance for Christians to be lighthouses to their non-Christian friends and acquaintances. "Huh?" You might say. Well, a lighthouse guards the shoreline of the seas and oceans and gives warning and guidance to ships as they approach the land mass. Jesus calls us to go into all the world and make disciples and teach them to obey His commands. If you think about it, that really is similar to what the lighthouse does for the ships. We are to show people the way and warn them of the pitfalls of life that could result in a permanent life shipwreck. In addition, we also can be a sanctuary for people to come to and take refuge in in times of trouble. Are you letting your light shine into the world and trying to help people find their way to the path that leads to God and eternal life?

WE'RE BACK

I was always led to believe that there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow but here we see off the coast of Bonaire N.E. that there is actually a private yacht there. This particular ship's name is the Octopus and she is the private yacht of Paul Allen of Microsoft fame. She's 414 ft long and has a full time crew of 60. She carries a 40 ft submarine as well as a 63 ft tender and has a flight deck to accommodate a helicopter. Amazing what money can buy, eh?

We spent a week cruising in the Caribbean on the Caribbean Princess and visited the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Dominica and
St. Thomas. The sun burns were minor and we had an overall great time. Cruising is the perfect vacation for me as when the ship leaves the dock, you are disconnected from the world and can do nothing about anything that you leave behind so you may as well begin enjoying it from the first minutes. We had a few glitches at the start because the ship had been in dry dock for 3 weeks having some updates done and she wasn't quite ready for passengers when the day of the cruise arrived. We spent a week (actually 6 days) in the Caribbean and then returned to San Juan, P.R. and then flew into Ft. Lauderdale, FL. In Florida, we managed to visit with friends that we had met on a previous cruise vacation as well as a few church members who were within comfortable driving distance. We would have liked to visit even more but Florida is an awfully long state! We saw alligators (on Alligator Alley, of course) as well as egrets and herons. We were amazed to see signs along some of the roads warning of panthers in the area just like the deer crossing signs up here. On Thursday when we were to leave Florida, it was 35 degrees in the morning and we had to scramble to find somewhere to purchase sweatshirts as we hadn't packed any warm clothes. I brought a cold home with me and it's starting to leave but I could have done without it entirely. It is good to be back home. Coming home is what makes vacations special. Thanks for your prayers.

BON VOYAGE ;o)

It is finally here! Today we leave to begin our vacation. The countdown to this day began on July 4, 2007 when we booked this cruise. (What else do people do to celebrate the birth of our country?) We fly into San Juan, PR and sail to the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Dominica, Grenada and St. Thomas. We will then spend several days in Florida when we return visiting friends and church members (or not!) See you when we return. Pray for safe travel and a relaxing vacation for us, please.

SAD MORNING :o(

God gives us animals for companionship and joy. We have never been without a pet of some kind in the house. This morning when Carol went in to greet our little Parakeet, Boo-Boo, she found him lying in the bottom of the cage expired. Boo isn't in this picture but the guy in the middle could be his twin. He was just a beautiful, brilliant yellow with a little bit of green on his back and belly. Boo never seemed to warm up to me like other parakeets that we have had but always seemed to enjoy harassing me by dive-bombing my head as he raced around the room airing out his feathers. He would, however frequently land on the sofa arm next to Carol and run up and down her arm and peck at the keys on her laptop or electronic Yahtzee game. Sometimes he would chirp at the top of his voice and just annoy the living daylights out of you and other times, he would sing along with the music on the stereo. He liked classical music; especially John Philip Sousa marches and to show that there is no accounting for taste, he also liked Barry Manilow. Since we are leaving on vacation in nine days, there won't be a new pet in the household soon but I'm sure that we will give in to the desire to nurture and enjoy another one of God's creatures before 2009 is too far gone. "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them." (Matthew 6:26) When we take an animal into our homes and domesticate them, we stand in God's stead and accept the responsibility to love and care for them. I hope that your pets are well this morning and that if you have a dog or cat who goes outdoors, you are especially attentive to their well-being on these frigid mornings. It is 10 degrees below zero here this morning.

CIRCUIT RIDING

Yesterday I had a very pleasant experience. I am part of what we call a clergy cluster group which meets regularly to share what is going on in our ministry and to support each other in times of trial and celebrate with each other in times of joy. Anyway, yesterday our clergy cluster did what we call a pulpit exchange with each of us preaching at the church of one of the other pastors. I traveled down to the Tawas City United Methodist church which is about 90 miles from Hillman so it was quite a long day with the snow and ice covered roads but it was well worth the stressful drive. The people of the Tawas church were very hospitable and I enjoyed them immensely. Pastor Brooks of the Harrisville and Lincoln churches came up and spoke at the Hillman and Spratt churches in my stead and from the feedback from the people of both of my churches, my situation here may be in jeopardy. (Not really, but they said that they really enjoyed him.) It's good to wander outside of the box once in a while and get a little change from the same-o, same-o. We can get stuck in a rut sometimes and begin to take too many things for granted. I even discovered that some pastors get invited out to lunch after worship. ;-)

As a result of the experience, and in conversation with others in ministry, I think that I will be making some changes in the way that we worship in the months to come. Nothing drastic but I have some ideas. Please be in prayer for me and for the churches that have to put up with me as I experiment.

Psalm 23 - NOT FOR DEATH BUT FOR LIFE

Have you ever really considered the words to the 23rd Psalm? We prayed it last week as part of our funeral service and someone sent me an email that so succinctly explained the Psalm that I thought that it was worthwhile sharing:

* The Lord is my Shepherd = Relationship.
* I shall not want = That's supply.
* He maketh me to lie down in green pastures = That's rest.
* He leadeth me beside the still waters = That's refreshment.
* He restoreth my soul = That's healing.
* He leadeth me in paths of righteousness = That's guidance.
* For His name's sake = That's purpose.
* Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death = That's testing.
* I will fear no evil = That's protection.
* For thou art with me = That's faithfulness.
* Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me = That's discipline.
* Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies = That's hope.
* Thou anointest my head with oil = That's consecration.
* My cup runneth over = That's abundance.
* Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life = That's blessing.
* And I will dwell in the house of the Lord = That's security.
* Forever = That's eternity.

Face it; the Lord is crazy about you and wants a relationship with you. That's the whole reason for Jesus being born on this earth and dying for our (your) sins. Before another minute goes by, won't you please invite Him onto the throne of your life. Don't wait for tomorrow for tomorrow may never come.

BTW, today (January 8) was the 74th birthday of Elvis Aaron Presley. Some things that I remember about Elvis:
His appearance on the Ed Sullivan show.
Newspaper headline: "Elvis Trades Blue Suede Shoes for GI Boots"
Elvis marries Priscilla Beaulieu
Coming home from the service and hearing Elvis sing "In the Ghetto" on my AM car radio
Seeing him in concert at Olympia Stadium (Detroit)
Turned down an opportunity to see him in concert at the Silverdome on New Years Eve
Hearing about his death while visiting a brother in Longview Texas at the movie theater with my nieces.

GOODBYE, DEAR FRIEND

We celebrated Garnet Tripp's (right) life yesterday with a wonderful gathering of nearly 300 people at the Hillman United Methodist Church. Garnet will be missed tremendously, not only in his church family but also in the community. His decades of work with the Boy Scouts impacted many young men's lives. The women of the church and the community hosted a wonderful luncheon after the funeral service and I guarantee you that no one went away hungry.

Today, we return to life as normal and look for alternative ways that our church can touch the community and make a difference for and through Jesus Christ. We had a fine example in Garnet as to how to mix faith, family, and community into our life. Now it is our responsibility to go and do likewise.