Pastor's Voice | May 1, 2016

THE PASTOR'S VOICE

As Mother's Day nears I want to acknowledge the very difficult circumstances many of our parishioners are currently dealing with. For many, reminiscing on the loss of one's mother in the midst of so many other trials, can make things seem unbearable. I want to encourage and challenge you in this season to remember,

IT'S TIME FOR A DIVINE TURNING AROUND!!!

How will we prepare our hearts, minds, spirits, and lives to receive what the Lord wants to turn around in our lives? We have to get in position. Notice a few things:

He wants all of you

So many think giving God most of their lives is good enough. Some think if they pray, attend church and attempt to do what is right, that that's enough for God. The reality is, God wants all of our lives, not just a part of it. "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. "Mark 12:30 NKJV.

Partial obedience = disobedience
What does it mean to give God your all? It means to stop clinching your fists and to stretch out your hands to God. It's time out for putting things, people, relationships, and careers over God. There is no such thing as being a little obedient. We can't take short cuts and expect to still receive the promises of God. When God says obey, He will not settle for partial obedience. "If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;" Isaiah 1:19 NKJV.

Surrender

When you decide to give God your all, it requires surrendering every area of your life to Him. Even when it does not make sense, we must learn to obey Him. You know what really amazes me? Every time I let go of something, He usually gives it right back, but with a little something extra!

Obedience is better than sacrifice

I love the passage in the Bible that speaks about Abraham preparing to sacrifice his one and only son. As soon as he prepares his son for sacrifice, God exclaims, "Do not lay a hand on the boy," He said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son" (Genesis 22:12 NIV). The angel of the Lord proclaimed, "I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars...your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 22:17-18 NIV). God is no different in our lives. The moment we follow Him, surrender, and let go, God promises He will bless us.

You have to trust that God knows what is best for you. When we surrender and align our plans with His, it may hurt for a moment, but God will turn our sadness into joy and give strength. "For the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10 NKJV. You will get to a place and wonder, why didn't I trust God in the first place? He will give you more than your heart could have ever imagined. I promise, you will obtain peace, which the world cannot give to you.

Reflection:

Is there an area in your life where you have not been obedient? Ask God to help you to be obedient in this area. Request the Holy Spirit to give you the grace to be obedient. Let the Holy Spirit reveal what steps you should take as you become more like Christ.

Blessings and Peace Unto You!

Your Pastor,

Rev. Dr. Larry Green

SPIRITUAL LOITERING

Even though Easter was just a month ago, it is likely that you have quickly moved on to the next "thing." But I want to challenge you to not move on too quickly. I'm sure there are some stories and God moments from this past weekend that are worth lingering over. As Christians we need to do a better job with the discipline of "spiritual loitering."

We are good at things that are fast and require us to produce and accelerate. That's just the reality of the world we live in and it's not going to change. What I'm advocating for is that along the way in your busy, demanding, fast-paced ministry world, you learn the discipline of lingering, loitering, and staying in the moment.

There was a recent article in a psychology journal that talked about attitudes and stress. Do you know what they found was the number one stress relieving attitude? Want to guess? It wasn't gratitude and it wasn't joy. It was AWE. Spiritual loitering is a wonderful way to experience more "AWE" in your life.

I don't think it's a stretch to say that "lingering" is the completion of an experience. And lingering is usually followed by awe and gratitude. Maybe the reason there isn't much awe and gratitude in the lives of Christians is that there isn't much lingering. Lingering helps me to slow down, to savor, to deeply experience. Honestly I'm not very good at this. My default mode is to quickly move back into the world of productivity. . . tasks, projects, and lists. This makes me think of Psalm 46:10 - "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth," a nd Psalm 34:8 (NLT) "Taste and see that the Lord is good."

To taste something is to experience and enjoy it. I'm sure you have had the experience of being in a hurry at mealtime and scarfing down your meal, never really stopping to taste and enjoy. You just inhaled, but didn't enjoy. You simply swallowed but you didn't savor. The same thing can be true in our ministry lives. We can move so fast that we forget to take time to enjoy. I love the fact that in the Old Testament God had a prescribed rhythm of feasts and celebrations that forced the people of Israel to "taste" and enjoy God's goodness. The Bible frequently calls on us to linger. All of the biblical feasts and celebrations are calls to "linger" over the goodness of God.

The challenge to "remember" or "think" or "meditate" is an invitation to loiter.

He causes us to remember his wonderful works. How gracious and merciful is our Lord! Psalm 111:4 (NLT) I remember the days of old. I ponder all your great works. I think about what you have done. Psalm 143:5 (NLT) All people will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done. Psalm 64:9 (NIV)

What unexpected gift do you need to linger over today? Maybe it was a teachable moment with your child, a Bible verse that was just what you needed, a beautiful sunset or a rich conversation with a good friend over a great cup of coffee or cold glass of PEPSI. Take time to loiter over the good work God is doing in our church. Perhaps somebody came to Christ as a result of your Christ-like interactions with them. All of these great things shout for us to stop and "loiter", just hang out and bask in the moment of God changing a life.

Why is this so hard for us? Our first inclination is to blame the noisy and busy world around us. But I believe there is a more fundamental issue. The problem is not just a noisy world, but a noisy heart. I need to slow down and train my heart to be more inclined to linger over moments of "awe".

Think of the most beautiful sight you have ever seen? Seriously, what comes to mind? For me, what comes to mind is the time Betty and I took the children skiing for the first time at Horseshoe Valley in Canada. That night looking out of our window onto that massive mountain slope was breath taking...only to find out it was the bunny slope. My sight was accurate and unobstructed but something was going on inside me that was beyond truth and accuracy and information. I was moved emotionally and drawn to what I was seeing. I had to pause and just stand in "awe". All I could do was to linger in the moment and praise God.

Lingering doesn't just allow me to see God clearly, but it also allows me to see him beautifully.

Let me challenge you today to linger over these words from Leighton Ford.
When you learn to pay attention, he says...

"You will see things you have not seen.

You will be more fully alive.

You will experience life in its depths.

You will be more rooted, less rushed.

You will be a more whole and loving person.

You will live before you die."