May 3 2010

Jesus said, “I will build my church…”


In the 5th chapter of the Revelation John wrote about the scene revealed to him when Jesus would break the seals and read from the scroll. The whole 5th chapter is remarkable but these verses caught my attention.

“And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9,10)

Jesus said in Matthew 16:18b,

“I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

And he is doing just that. I wonder if we sometimes get off message, out of focus, and busy doing the wrong tasks?

Jesus is building HIS church, not our church. The question then becomes “Will I join Him in what He is doing?”. “Will you join Jesus in what He is already doing?”. You see, in spite of our pettiness, our in-fighting over singing, our doctrinal differences, Jesus is at work gathering His chosen ones who will one day rule and reign with Him. And, it is clear He is doing it quite well. He will do it with us or without us, but He will build His church!

Who are those He is redeeming? They are “from every tribe and language and people and nation”. He is calling to himself people for his own from every people group, pretty effective huh?

I am not the King, I am an ambassador for the King. My role is to serve the King. He says to his people “I have all power in heaven and in earth, go in that power and tell the good news. Baptize those who believe my story and teach them to love the unlovely, be holy, and keep telling the story until I come.”

He enables us to love the unlovely, He empowers our words to the powerless and helpless, and He promises that if we will tell the story as we live our lives while loving others He will do the church building.

Not one person will be left out who should have been saved. So we can confidently say to the thirsty, “Come and drink from this water and you will never thirst again! And to the hungry, eat this bread and you will never again be hungry. And we speak words of life to the spiritually dead and they are raised to eternal life in the power of the Spirit. Why? Because He is “with us” and “in us”. Immanuel is with me today as I go in his name to herald the good news of Jesus.

What if I don’t go? What if you don’t go? What if your church don’t go? Jesus will still be building His church and will keep building it until the last sinner is made a saint and He comes for His own.

His church will be built and it will be from every people group. Let us join Him in what He is already doing.

Agape’

Royce

May 1 2010

How’s the weather there?


The truth is that most anyone can tell you what the weather is NOW! Few can tell you what it will be tomorrow!

I wonder sometimes if God has a great sense of humor. TV stations spend enormous amounts of money for Doppler Radar and other weather intel technology and the salary for someone with a degree in meteorology to tell their viewers what the weather will be. And, sometimes they get it right. At other times they miss it a mile!

The best in the business are those guys who predict major storms each year, especially hurricanes. They have been wrong much more than right at least for the past five years. What becomes glaringly obvious is that weather is out of our league. God alone knows what the weather will be in July, or tomorrow.

Working as a weatherman, or weather-woman, or for my more politically correct readers, weather person is a thankless job with built-in opportunities for lots of people to be mad at you much of the time.

Weather, medicine, and many other disciplines have experienced huge advances in technology and have helped mankind as a result. But, with all of that wonderful tecno-stuff and smart people to use it no person can say with certainty what the weather will be tomorrow afternoon in your town and the best doctor in town can’t cure a common cold.

At times we seem to think we humans have everything all figured out and are self-sufficient. Wait…not so fast there, it just an’t true. I am thankful for technology, and even for the local weather man, but he is infallible.

These tips can help you to predict the weather and are almost as accurate as the best weather station.

  • Spend an afternoon washing your car. Rain will follow soon!
  • Plan a fishing trip for Saturday. Thunderstorms will show themselves.
  • Wait two more days to mow your grass since it isn’t going to rain ’til Wednesday. A downpour will come Monday a.m.

Someone came up with this weather station for the poor man.

It works perfectly every time!

Royce

Apr 30 2010

Food for Yazoo City


Hurricanes make the national news on TV for about two or three days and then some sleazy political type, film star, or pro athlete captures the headlines. Meanwhile the recovery from a twister like the one that spun its way through Yazoo City, MS and further north of Jackson takes a long time.

At once, good hearted people of all stripes begin at once to see what they can do to help. Volunteers start driving in, linemen, and other tradesmen show up to do the work that only they can do. And, everyone of them needs a good hot meal each day.

Then there are the citizens whose homes left the county in a matter of a few seconds and they are left with nothing but memories of what home used to be and little hope for what home will be and all of them need at least one hot meal each day.

One of those volunteers who makes a radical difference is one Mike Baumgardner. Since Hurricane Ike, if a storm hits Mike is on the scene pronto! Carol and I met Mike in Galvaston. He  and some volunteers were serving hundreds of hot meals to anyone who needed them. In the humid summer heat, for hours every day they unloaded trucks, prepared, cooked, and boxed food and served it. And, that is exactly what he is doing now. He told me yesterday that he is serving about 300 meals per day and could do 1,000 if he had the funds.

Mike needs help in a big way!

Anyone who has been to the grocery store recently knows that food is not cheap. In addition to the cost of the food there is the expense of operating the motorhome/kitchen, running a generator, and…., well, you get the picture.

Only God knows how much of his own money Mike has spent feeding people over the past several months but he can’t do any more. On his website at http://disasterassistancecoc.com/index.html There is a PayPal button if you want to help this worthwhile ministry. Every dollar donated will be used to help feed the hungry.

Speaking of feeding the hungry, Mike’s associates are Evangelist Don Hudson and his wife Rosemary. Don delivers food and then gives the bread of life! Don seeks every opportunity to share Christ with those who are ready to listen. What a team! Who was it in the Bible that cared for the needs of body and soul? Hmm….Oh, that was Jesus!

Please help out if you can. Visit Disasterassistancecoc.com site and help feed the hungry in Yazoo City.

Carol and I are planning on driving over to help serve lunch on Saturday. Come by and say hi if you are in the area. Mike is set up and the corner of E. Broadway and Hwy 49 at an abandoned car dealership.

Thanks in advance for your prayers and support.

For Him,
Royce

Apr 27 2010

Questions churches should ask when hiring a preacher but don’t.


I recently read four want ads posted by churches who were trying to find a preacher. The man with the cape could never do all these churches expect. I once wrote a parody of such a want ad. It is astonishingly stupid to ask so much of one man! But that is not the focus of this post.

The ads are dead give-aways of the questions the pulpit search committee will likely ask.

  • Where were you educated and what degree have you earned?
  • How long have you been a minister?
  • What churches have you served and did they grow?
  • Are you married?
  • Have you been divorced?
  • Do you have children?
  • Are your finances in order?
  • What is your vision for a church you serve?
  • Can you live on $***** per month?
  • Etc., etc., etc.

And of course they will want to hear the guy preach, either by a recorded sermon or perhaps in person. The questions above have very little to do with the ministry of leading a church as a preacher, pastor/teacher, or whatever your group calls him.

I have served twice on search committees and both times we hired good, godly men. I have also been used as a reference by ministers seeking a job. One fellow from Arkansas called me to ask about a candidate he and his fellow committee members were considering. He asked “Is he a dynamic pulpit man?” I answered with a question, “Why is that important to you?” My question was met with an uncomfortable silence and then he finally sounded apologetic and unsure saying, “Because we want a very good preacher?”

I explained to this guy that a very good orator, with great credentials, can be a lazy jerk who does all that he does in the energy of the flesh and can not help grow Christians toward maturity and Christ likeness. I suggested that the man go back to his committee and that they should have an extended time of prayer and seeking the mind of the Lord about what their church needed and then interview preachers. Of course he didn’t listen to my advice, and neither did my friend who I tried to talk out of taking the job and it was a disaster! They were the most immature bunch you could imagine. They made the Corinthians look really good!

What churches ought to ask.

  • How do you know you are a Christian? (If he doesn’t answer this one right the interview would be over and I would want to share the gospel with him.)
  • How did you make the decision to become a minister?
  • Tell us about your prayer life? Do you have specific answers to prayer?
  • How much time do you spend in an average week in Bible study?
  • Are you walking in the Spirit?
  • If we hire you will you love our people? (People can tell if you love them or if you are just doing your job.)
  • Is your vision to help us grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, to know him more? (If not what is it?)
  • Do you preach the gospel, regularly and often?
  • How many people have you shared the gospel with in the last 6 months one on one?

There are more, but you get the idea. You see, most churches want a polished preacher who is brilliant and funny in the pulpit, loved and respected by everyone in town, and they want their numbers to increase, both in members and money. And, they often get exactly what they want.

What is your church (or mine) doing for the people of your community that could not be done by a good civic club? The mission of the church is to make men fit for heaven. If lives are not regularly being changed, if spiritual transformation is not changing sinners into saints, if the hungry are not fed, if the mourners have no one to weep with them, if the prisoners have no visitors, if people are not having personal encounters with the living Christ, when your church needs a preacher the first list of questions will do just fine.

If you want a man who is a man of God, who knows God intimately, loves people where they are, like they are, and has no greater passion than to introduce men and women and boys and girls to the living Christ, maybe the first list of questions are not the right ones.

Royce