Question of the Day ??

If you could ask God to do one specific thing in your church (not general like having the Holy Spirit take control), what would it be?

Thought of the Day !!

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17 (NIV)

When we do something in God's/Jesus' name, it means that others know what we're doing is because we belong to Him. Many good deeds are done everyday by people of all faiths and backgrounds. How will people know that your words and deeds are done in the name of the the Lord Jesus?

One way is to make it known that you are a Christian. We are not to boast. But when we're not afraid to bring Jesus into conversations with others, they will begin to get a clue. When we're given praise, we may give a humble reminder that we would be able to do nothing without our Lord and Savior.

What I get from this scripture is that we should be speaking and doing deeds that are Christlike, but that we should also be letting others know why we do them.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the Day ??

What's the first thing you do every morning...besides wake up?

Thought of the Day !!

As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner, except to feast his eyes on them?
Ecclesiastes 5:11

As the old saying goes, you can't take it with you. After a certain point, having more money doesn't do you much good. Once your needs are satisfied, consider what good you can do with the rest. Don't become consumed by wanting more than you need. This will only lead you down a road of sin that the devil has paved before you. This roads leads away from God and His Love.

Remember, Jesus told us that we could only have one master. We will wind up loving one and hating the other. Which would you rather love; God or wealth? Which would you rather hate? With both come the desire and craving for more. With God comes eternal riches. With wealth comes temporary possessions that can be taken away at any time either by death, IRS, a poor market, theft, etc. So which will you choose?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the day ??

(1) Who lives in a Pineapple under the sea?



(2) And how in the world did he get it there?

Thought of the Day !!

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

Don't worry about your child or your parent. Don't worry about your job when the company is downsizing. Don't worry about the lab results that the doctor says won't be back for a few days. Don't worry.... Yeah right! A parent will worry about a child that hasn't come home and is way past curfew. It's only natural for a person to worry about his or her job when people are being laid off left and right around him or her. And who doesn't worry about the possibility of cancer after a biopsy?

But still, the Bible tells us not to worry. Jesus teaches this to us from the Sermon on the Mount. "Do not worry about your life," he says. He explains that God loves us so much that He will ultimately take care of us.

Our anxieties are hard to let go of sometimes. But God cares enough for us that He is there for us to cast them onto. In this life tragedy will happen because we live in a world tainted by sin and poor choices. But things could be worse. I know for a fact that God has reached out at times and prevented something bad in my life from getting to be more than I could handle. I know that He's watched out for me at times to make sure I've been left with the possibility to make the right choices...even if they were hard to make. And I'm sure He's done the same for you.

"Don't worry" may be a hard statement to hear and to adhere to. But the more and more you abide in Jesus, casting your burdens upon Him, and the more you learn to have faith in His direction, the easier it will be.

May God bless you today, and may He take away the anxieties that plague you.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the Day ??

This past weekend at my School of Congregational Development, Leonard Sweet tried to set an image in our mind. It was the image of the Perfect Storm. You may remember the book or movie that came out several years ago where two storms come together to make the perfect storm. Those of us in this area may feel as though we witnessed the perfect storm last year with Katrina.

Sweet said that we're living in a perfect storm where three are colliding. I forgot the three, but know one was post-modernity and think another was consumerism and don't remember the third.

Our churches are the boats. Where are they the safest? Not where they feel the safest or where they might think they are, but where they really are?



Sweet's answer is that the safest place is driving into the storm. Most churches may think that tied up in the harbor is the safest. But look at what happened to all those on the Biloxi Coast last year. Even though the boat sank in the perfect storm, we have something that it does not. What would that be?

Thought of the Day !!

James and John, Zebedee's sons, came up to him. "Teacher, we have something we want you to do for us." "What is it? I'll see what I can do." "Arrange it," they said, "so that we will be awarded the highest places of honor in your glory—one of us at your right, the other at your left."
Mark 10:35-37 (The Message)

This passage comes directly after Jesus has told his disciples for the third time that he must suffer, die and then rise three days later. This last time he's even gone into great detail of the suffering that he will endure. It will entail being spat upon, being mocked and even flogged. Then finally he will die.

In each of the three times that Jesus shares this with the disciples, they respond to him in the wrong way. They respond as the world would respond; with selfish motives of power and gain. But this time is, in my opinion, the worst. Jesus has just given them some grave news to think about, and even though there is good news to come with the resurrection, I don't think that they understood this yet. Then comes a response so hideous I dare mention it. They ask for a favor.

Think about it. Jesus is about to go to his death. And in essence they say, "Hey Jesus, before you do that, would you do us a big favor?" How selfish can they be? But then again, how selfish we can be at times too.

Don't they understand? Haven't they been listening? Before we go casting stones in their direction, let us think about how we just might hear what we want to hear as well in the gospel. Many people hear how Jesus wants to take our burdens away, while forgetting that he wants us to take up the burden of our crosses and follow him.

The key to this whole issue is to allow Jesus to abide in us and therefore guide our responses to everything. I challenge you today to go into the world and before every decision and every response to someone or something, ask yourself this question. "How would Jesus want me to respond?"

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the Day ??

After Jesus' birth, Josepeh is all but forgotten about. What do you think happened to him?

Thought of the Day !!

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love.
Galatians 5:13

As Christians we are people who are free. We no longer live under the strict guidelines of the law. But we also have not been given a license to sin either. We are free to choose. And those of us who are Christians will choose to love God and each other. That is the true nature of a Christian. If we don't have this, how can we honestly call ourselves by that name?

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the Day ??

I was told that there was a conversation going on about whether or not we should be looking to the skies now that Israel and Lebanon are at war. Is this a sign, or just another tragedy in our world?

Question of the Day ??

I was told that there was a conversation going on about whether or not we should be looking to the skies now that Israel and Lebanon are at war. Is this a sign, or just another tragedy in our world?

Thought of the Day !!

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
Ephesians 5:1-4

Sometimes Paul can go from preachin' to meddlin' as they say. But to be truthful, sometimes our lives need to be meddled with because we muddle them all up without even realizing it.

We can start a day in prayer or reading a devotional. But before that day ends, we quite possibly have made ourselves out to be anything but imitators of God. Maybe we cursed someone in our minds or had an impure thought about an attractive individual of the opposite sex. It could be that we participated in a joke that made someone of a different color, denomination, nationality or hair color look bad.

Of course there are a whole host of other things that can be found in people's daily lives that are out of place for us Christians. Often times it's not until we look back on them that we realize that what we did or said or the way we acted was not in accordance with God's will. Make it a habit each day to look back on the day before to see where you sinned without realizing it. And then, after asking for forgiveness, give God thanks for allowing you another chance to get it right this day.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the Day ??

Is there anything more frustrating than computers and changing email accounts and making Outlook work with a new account and ....... Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!




****** This morning the answer is an emphatic

NO THERE IS NOT !!!!!!

Thought of the Day !!

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Galatians 5:6

The only thing that counts for God is our faith. For God gave His Son so that if we have faith in Him we shall live. Right? But how do we express this faith? Paul says that we express it through love. James says that faith without works is dead. So for James this love would be more than just lip service. It would include what we do as well. How are you expressing your faith?

In the love of Christ,
greg

What are we to do?

This little tidbit comes from Andy Stoddard over at 'Mid Toil and Tribulation.


"You have nothing to do but to save souls; therefore spend and be spent in this work."

John Wesley


This was Wesley instructed his preachers to be about. The only job in life was to see the lost come to salvation. That makes good sense, because that's what we preachers are supposed to be about, right? One additional note. Most of Wesley's preachers were lay folks; they had jobs and families and were not in the "full time" ministry. He tells them, yes, there are things you are supposed to be about, but your job is to see souls saves.

Friends, if you are a Christian, then today, that is your most important task. Yes, we have other responsibilities and concerns, but our life's work is supposed to be about seeing the lost come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Question of the Day ??

When is it time to give up on a dream (if ever)?

Thought of the Day !!

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV)

A couple weeks ago I preached on how Jesus sent the disciples out two by two. I also quoted this scripture as part of the reason why. For whenever we do most anything, it's more beneficial to have a helper.

When there was a job to do around the house that I grew up in, I was my dad's helper. I would normally just hold the flashlight. But that made it where dad could finish the job so much faster. When I was older and didn't understand Chemistry, a helper was needed for me to understand...and eventually pass.

We all need help in this world. The ultimate help comes from Jesus in the form of the Holy Spirit. But God also places others in our paths for us to help and consequently, to help us in return. We call them friends or maybe brothers or sisters in Christ. They are there to help us up when we fall. They provide emotional support when we go through difficult times. They make happy occasions even more joyful. And they hold us accountable in love, sharing with us when we've messed up. Then, of course, we do the same for them.

John Wesley created small groups for people to come together to learn and to share and to hold each other accountable in love. Paul normally traveled with a partner or two. Jesus sent the disciples out two by two. Don't you think it would be a good idea for each of us to make sure that we have a partner in this journey of ours?

If you already have someone, don't forget to be there for them when they need you. But if you don't, seek that special friend or even mentor who can help you become the best disciple for Christ that you can be.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the day ??

What is your understanding of the Emergent Church?

Thought of the Day !!

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."
Romans 8:15

When we receive Christ, we receive freedom. We are no longer slaves to this world. We are empowered by God to fight against the devil, who is the tempter. This doesn't mean we will always win the battles against temptation, but we have been freed from the burden of having to win every battle. For we are now adopted into a family of grace instead of one ruled by the strict law. We are now forgiven when we turn our backs on sin and our faces to God through Christ Jesus. And when we do this, Jesus becomes not only our Lord and Savior, but our big brother. And God becomes our Father. What a wonderful family to belong to!

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the Day ??

How early in the morning is too early?

Thought of the Day !!

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Romans 1:16 (NIV)

What is the gospel? It's the good news...the good news of Jesus Christ...that he came to earth to teach us how to live, die for our sins and be resurrected so that we would know that we had a way out of this sinful life that leads to eternal death. Also, according to Paul, it's the power of God for the salvation of all of us who believe. I take this to mean that it is the power of God for all those who take it seriously.

Being ashamed of the gospel is not just being ashamed to call Jesus our Savior. Being ashamed of the gospel also comes when we are ashamed of Jesus' ways, the same ways that he calls us to live by.

We are ashamed of the gospel when we are ashamed to have folks in our church that don't fit in...folks of a different color or background or lifestyle. We are ashamed of the gospel when we are ashamed of our kids or who they hang with because of the way they dress or what they pierce. We're ashamed of the gospel when we're ashamed to admit that we wanted to help someone in need that others thought were not worthy of help. We're ashamed of the gospel anytime we decide to do what the world would want us to do instead of what Jesus would have us do.

Don't be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't be ashamed of calling Jesus your Lord and Savior. But also don't be ashamed of living your life in the manor that he did and that he taught us to.

I guess what I am trying to say is this. Don't be ashamed to Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. And don't be ashamed to love your neighbor (remember the Samaritan?) as yourself.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the Day ??

Many people are coffee drinkers. Let's say that the world ran out of coffee and all that was left was soft drinks. Whether or not coffee is your drink, the question is the same. What's the best soft drink (cola/pop/coke/etc.) to get you through the day?

Thought of the Day !!

So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches.
1 Corinthians 9:26 (NLT)

Paul had a goal in life, and that was to be a true disciple of Christ. There are many goals one can set for himself or herself during a lifetime? Do we want to make a certain amount of money before we're a certain age? Is our goal to retire with enough money to live comfortably? Could it be that our goals are based around how many kids we will have or where our job will take us?

Today, think about the goals you've made and the ones you've accomplished. Then ask yourself if being a true disciple is a part of that list.

I read an email this morning that encouraged me to make a goal for today to do something that would bring a smile to God's face. That seems like a good place to start with our goals. Just imagine how happy God would be with His children if they all intentionally did something to bring a smile to His face.

But if you commit to doing this today, don't let it stop there. Let us see if we can do this on a daily basis.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the Day ??

I just learned that I will be at a class in a couple weeks where Leonard Sweet will be speaking. Has anyone heard him speak or read any of his books? If so, what do you think? Should I be excited? Or should I bring a book?

Thought of the Day !!

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
Mark 11:25

Jesus tells us that the forgiveness of our sins by God is highly dependant upon our forgiveness of others. In the Sermon on the Mount he tells us that if we do not forgive others that our Heavenly Father won't forgive us. When you pray the Lord's Prayer every Sunday morning in church you ask for God to forgive your trespasses as you forgive others.

Forgiving is often very difficult. But the good news is that God wants to help us. He will empower you by sharing His kind of love with you so that you can share it with others. Are you ready to receive this kind of love from your Heavenly Father? If so, your life will change forever.

In the love of Christ,
greg

Question of the Day ??

Miss me?

Even notice I was gone? :)

Thought of the Day !!

(Jesus) called the twelve and began to send them out two b two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.
Mark 5:7-9

Jesus sent the disciples out to proclaim the good news and heal the sick. He also wanted to teach them reliance on God to care for those whom He calls and sends out. This is a reckless kind of faith. It meant taking no food or extra clothing or money to pay for what they might need. Jesus wanted them to understand that God would take care of their needs.

For us it works in much the same way. When God calls us, He has a plan for us. When he called me to preach, I could not get up before a crowd of people without literally shaking. There was no way I would ever be able to prepare myself for public speaking. But when God called me to preach, He gave me the ability to proclaim His Word.

It works this way in all our callings, big or small. As we are sent into the world to do anything, God will prepare us for what we will face. He will provide for our needs. He doesn't want us to have a "Stupid" faith where we expect Him to do everything. Instead, we are to use the common sense that He gave us and have a reckless faith. This means that when we are called and don't know how we will do something, we do it anyway. Those whom God ordains, He also sustains. And He has ordained us all to be ministers and proclaimers of the Good News.

May God call you today. And may you serve with a reckless faith, trusting enough in Him to care for your needs.

In the love of Christ,
greg

I'm no Superman...But I know one who is

I'm BACK...Sort of ?!?!?

Hey there. Due to Questing Parson's assurance that the world is my parrish and me inferring from that that I should get off this vacation and begin posting again, I'm back. Well sort of.

I have the ability to get on via DSL now at my office. But my "Thought of the day !!" email group is on my desktop at home. Seeing how this began as an email ministry, I think that should remain my main emphasis.

I will be getting cable hooked up as soon as I can get them to answer the phone...literally. Friday afternoon I called and no answer. Monday I called and the menu said to dial (2) for new hookup. I pressed (2) and the machine proceeded to tell me that my party was unavailable. I like to have screamed. Then my new secretary would have seen a wonderful side of me. ha ha!!

I have had so much on my mind with trying to make a good impression and listen to all the expectations of this new congregation. So anyway, all the excuses given and so forth, I will try to get the "Thought of the Day !!" started back next week. All I have to do now is figure out how transfer my address book.

BTW - Thanks QP for the guilt trip. Ha ha.

In the love of Christ,
greg