What I've Been Up To... Part 1

I admit it. I am guilty of one of the most important principles of blogging-- if you want to keep people reading, keep posting regularly. But I guess I just haven't had the time or the discipline to put my thoughts onto screen. I can't possibly go into all the stuff that's been going on lately, or to give you detailed observations of Sundays at Eden since Easter, but here is the abridged version of my life over the last 6 weeks:

• Like I mentioned in my last post, Easter was a blast, not only at Eden but in general.
• On Saturday, April 25, Eden had its first Family Meal & Movie Night. We had a great spaghetti dinner and then we watched the movie Fly Wheel. Honestly, we didn't have nearly the number of people we were hoping for, but then again we didn't market the event much either. Nevertheless, it was a great time spent with the Eden Church Family as well as we had a non-churched couple come for the meal and the movie. Here's the awesome part: That couple have been coming every Sunday since then and bring their grand kids. They're asking questions about God and He is definitely working in their lives.
• After Easter, we did a series of messages at Eden called Where's My Bailout? I hate to talk about money, but Jesus tells us to teach what He and His Father taught. There are 500 verses in the Bible about Heaven and Hell, less than 500 on faith, and there are nearly 2,300 verses in the Bible dealing with what God says about money, possessions, and being good stewards! People are really concerned with their money and stuff and as the body of Christ, we need to be teaching them God's plan. It was really hard boiling down all God says into three messages when we could spend years on the subject, but it came down to three main issues:
  --Am I Putting God First in My Finances? When we put God first by tithing (giving God 10% of my money before anything else) He promises to bless us and provide for our needs. This is one of the few places where God actually dares us to test Him. I have never met someone who went broke who also put God first in their finances. By the way, tithing should always go to a local church, not some televangelist with wild hair, or some other ministry. We should be generous, but God calls us to bring our tithes to the local church. If we give to other ministries, that comes after the tithe. Also, if you are unemployed, I realize that 10% of 0 is 0.
  --Am I Working Hard? God does not reward laziness. Even if you are retired (which is not a Biblical concept) or even well off, you need to be active. Volunteer, plant a garden, do something with your life. If you have a family, provide for them! I understand that you might not have a job or can't find one right now. I am there myself. But you need to get off your rump and try! Paul tells us that a man who does not provide for his family is much worse than an unbeliever! Ouch!
  --Am I Trusting God and Investing in Him? Jesus said that we need to lay up treasure in heaven where it cannot disappear. But instead, we are so worried about the economy. Lets be honest... We do not have a terrible economy. It's just not as good as it has been. I've been to third world countries, and we still are rich beyond compare. The reason so many people are worried about money is because when the stock market died, so did their god. Our Lord has all the riches imaginable and He WILL SUPPLY OUR NEED! But are we trusting in Him?
• In Summary: Here is God's Bailout Plan-- 1. Put God First in Every Area including FINANCES. 2. Work Hard. 3. Trust God and Seek Him First.
• Christina and I now have a house to rent. It needs a lot of work because no one has lived in it for almost 10 years, so no maintenance was done. But the landlord is a great guy and giving us a great rate, so we're happy to do a lot of the cosmetic work ourselves.
• Anyone know where I can get a good slightly used refrigerator?

Reflections from Sunday --Easter Sunday (4/12/2009)

Sunday was Easter, and it was a great day! I get excited every time I get to be with my Christian bothers and sisters and spend time with Jesus. I'm sure you can guess that Easter is just about the busiest time of the year for a church (except Christmas). It is hard for to believe that it has come and gone, but here are some thoughts I have as I've pondered over the day and the message I preached.

The message was called Remembering Jesus. The Bible reading for the message was John 6:47-58. Here are some of the basic points of the message:

• Jesus said that we need to eat His body and drink His blood to have eternal life. This is not an easy passage. And no, it is not talking about becoming Hannibal Lector. Let me unpack this a little more for you:
• God Created the Entire World-- In Genesis 1, we see that God made the universe and everything in it. Just like a building proves there was builder and a painting proves the existence of the artist, so creation and the clear design we see all around us points us to the fact that something created the world. We know Him to be the LORD God.
• Everything Was Perfect in the Beginning-- God created mankind to know us and to have a personal relationship with us. We were created to show the glory of God and to be on intimate terms with Him. And that worked out great... for a while... and then Adam and Eve fell into sin. Because of sin, there is a curse on all humanity.
• People Have Tried to Get Back to God for Centuries-- The problem is that sin is not based solely on outside actions, but on the inside of the heart (mind, will, emotions, etc.). God destroyed the earth once by water (remember Noah and the Ark?), but right after that, people still sinned (Noah became drunk and one of his sons walked in on him naked). The reason the couldn't? Sin is a heart condition and not merely a matter to be overcome by will power.
• God Gave His People the 10 Commandments-- These laws didn't make people right with God. Rather, they showed people the way they really were. You can't be very self-righteous when you look through the 10 Commandments. When I look at them, I realize how far I am from God's standard. He is way, WAY out of my league.
• You CANNOT Get to God by Doing Good Things-- Think about it... If I killed someone today, and then for the next 20 years I gave millions to charity and I spent time working in homeless shelters, that would not take away the fact that I had committed murder. Or look at it this way. Say you sin only 1 time a day. In 1 year, that's 365 sins. In 3 years, that's more than 1,000 sins. In 30 years, that's more than 10,000 sins. And how many of us can only sin once a day? How many sins does it take to keep you out of heaven and away from God forever? God personally said that just 1 will! That's a high standard that none of us can possibly achieve.
• Jesus Came to Bridge the Gap-- That's why we remember Jesus. That's why His followers take what is called Communion, the Lord's Supper, or the Eucharist: Jesus came and did what we could never do. See, God loves us so much that even though we're the ones who broke the relationship with Him, He is the One who mends it! By the way, many people do not believe Jesus ever existed. To that, I'll say this: I'm a history geek. I love it. And I can show you that there is more historical proof that Jesus existed-- from secular and even anti-Christian sources-- than there is for the existence of Christopher Columbus.
• Here's Why Jesus Told us to "Eat His Flesh" and "Drink His Blood"-- A close look at the context of John 6 reveals Jesus is speaking figuratively. He said He was the bread of life. That means that Jesus needs to be the building block, the source of focus, direction, and sustenance in our lives. Jesus is telling us that while it is His death and His resurrection that removes our sin and places us in heaven, rather than hell, we MUST participate. We need to die to self and thereby discover who we are truly made to be. If we don't identify with Jesus, then He will not identify and save us. This Easter, we need to remember Jesus and celebrate who He is!

Here are a few other thoughts besides the message--

-- We had 43 people at Eden on Sunday! Great! A lot of guests! I am very proud for Eden UB stepping up and bringing people!
-- 12 of the above mentioned 43 were under the age of 14! AWESOME!! Our Children's ministry was pushed to the limits, but they did a great job with all those kids! Man, I get so stoked to see kids loving Jesus!
-- We had several people recommit their lives to Christ! That never gets old!! It's so awesome to see God changing people's lives! It's better than anything I've ever experienced!
-- We had a few people express interest in learning more about Accepting Jesus Christ as Forgiver and Leader.
-- A kid at Eden wants to get Baptised!

All in all, it was the best Easter I've yet to experience as a pastor, and I am looking forward to see what God is going to do next Sunday!

Reflections from Sunday --Palm Sunday (4/5/2009)

Hey guys, I'm back to blogging about Sundays. So here goes:
Sunday was a good day. That was hard to say but yesterday was truly awesome. Let me unpack that a little for you:
Yesterday started out great. I got to Eden and everything was going wonderful... until... THE PROJECTOR MESSED UP! I am sure that it was user error, but I had a few other people take a look at it and we could not get it to work. Sure it worked, but the resolution was all outta whack! This has happened to me a few other times before, but I forgot how I fixed it. Anyway, it wouldn't have been a huge deal, but it really stressed me out because I was using a lot of different media in the message as well as during the singing portion of the worship time. So, we sang out of the hymnals instead. I am glad we still have them for times like this. Other than that stress, it was a good worship celebration. God is still on the throne and if we trust in Jesus, we can't let things get us too down.
On to the message. It was called Who Did Jesus Die For? The text was Matthew 21:4-11 (click the link for the passage). Jesus came in to Jerusalem on a young donkey. Same story every year, right? Wrong!

I've really been asking God how we can look at this story --familiar to many of us "church" folks-- in a new and refreshing light. Here are some of the points God showed me:

• Jesus Did It God's Way-- The Jewish crowd wanted a conquering king on a white stallion with a mighty army who came to destroy Rome. Instead, Jesus came as a humble servant-King on a weak animal (so weak that they had to lay clothes on the ground so not to hurt the humble beast) with a bunch of ordinary disciples who came to destroy sin and death. Sometimes we try to put God in a box and we insist He does things our way. But the truth is, He IS GOD and that is why He makes the decisions!
• The Same People Who Celebrate You on Sunday Will Crucify You on Friday-- I think I have experienced this to a much lesser degree. Something at a church service goes really great and everyone loves the direction that our church is taking. Then, later in the week they find out that it's not going to be done their way, but God's way. Man, religious people can get really ticked and when they do, they get really mean... After all, it was the "church" of Jesus' day that put Him to death! Let me unpack that a little more for you:

--The Pharisees were just like many "church" people today-- The Pharisees had the right doctrine (for the most part), the really believed in tithing (they competed to see who gave more), they loved to pray (especially in public), and they really hated sin (but mainly if it wasn't their own). Sounds like a lot of the "holier-than-thou" crowd that makes up a least a pew of every local church in this country. They loved Jesus when He came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday!
-- The Pharisees turned on Jesus because He made them uncomfortable!-- The Bible tells us that many rulers of the synagogues and leaders of the Pharisees believed in Jesus, but they loved the praise of men more than a walk with their God. In Luke 23, we read that when Pilate told the Jewish leaders he found nothing wrong with Jesus, they replied that His teaching was causing a huge uproar all through the country. That's the problem with too many "Christians" today. We like the blessings of Jesus, but not His teachings. We like the fact that He is our Forgiver, but we often times don't like it when He is our Leader. If Jesus is not your Leader (Lord), He is not you Forgiver (Savior).

• It was the Humble Thief who Really Accepted Jesus-- This guy was humble. He just asked that Jesus might, maybe, perhaps, think of him later when Jesus was exalted in heaven as King. Jesus said that even better than that, that man would go to Paradise with Him!
• You See, Jesus Died for Everyone, but Not Everyone Follows Him!-- Jesus died for the Pharisees but they didn't want any part of it because they were too proud and wanted their will to become God's will. It doesn't work like that. Jesus never came so that we could be comfortable! Jesus came so that we would become CONVICTED and CONVERTED. For far too long, the American church has had their middle finger pointed at God and said they didn't want His teachings. They did not want to follow His Word. Then they weep and moan and wonder why He has allowed us to go through such problems. Many think that the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD (which Jesus predicted 40 years before) was punishment for the Jewish people not following Jesus. That makes me wonder if all the stuff going on isn't God removing His hand of blessing on us as a nation.
• Here's How to Apply All of This To Your Life in a Nutshell-- Jesus died so that we could live. Jesus came to give us life and to set us free from all the things that tie us down. Most importantly, He came to glorify the Father. Are we really accepting Jesus, or do we want a Jesus-Lite? If you have Jesus as your Lord & Savior, you need to live like it. I need to live like it. I challenge you (because God has challenged me) to live this week like we live for Jesus. After all, He Died for Us... For You!

By the Way!!!!
Eden's Easter Services are as Follows:

Son-Rise Service/Breakfast-- Sunday at 7 AM
Sunday School-- 10 AM
Worship Celebration-- 11 AM

This coming Sunday's (Easter) message is going to be a Holy Communion Service. The whole message is talking about that Communion, or the Lord's Supper, is and why you need to take part. If you can make it, you need to be there! You don't want to miss it! Bring a friend too. We have gifts for every guest/ visitor who comes.

Some Things That Are On My Mind & Why the FOCA Must be Defeated

Yeah, I know that I haven't blogged for a while and I haven't been posting my thoughts on Sundays. I assure you that I am still alive and that I am still preaching. I just didn't blog. Oh well. Enough small talk. Lately, some things have been either consuming my thoughts or just simply interrupting my normal ones. Here's a few:

• I am officially too stupid to work at Wal-mart! Huh? PEOPLE WHO WORK AT WAL-MART: THE FOLLOWING MAY SEEM INSULTING, BUT IT'S NOT: To work at Wal-mart you need to apply, right? Well on the online application you have to take an assessment. No problem, right? After all, I've never "officially" worked retail, but I have sold stuff and worked in constumer service before. Well, I failed the assessment. It was one of those self-evaluations with a scale of 1-5. I am terrible at those!! I never thought of myself as incapable of being a Wal-mart greeter, but evidently I am.
• My diet is really not working out. My goal is to loose 40 lbs. before my July 11, 2009 wedding. I was doing great for about the first two months. I lost 10 lbs. I might have gained it all back and then some. I really struggle with weight. I want to be fit for my wife and future family not to mention that I am being a really bad steward of the body God gave me.
• So this won't sound like a gripe list: I am really excited about Easter. Easter and Christmas are the two most anticipated dates for a minister (besides vacation, which could be more holy). Is Eden ready to receive a whole bunch of guests? I'm not sure that we're ready. But I do know that God often uses the weak to show His strength. I am really praying and believing that He is going to show up BIG this Sunday and on Easter. I know that when we expect God to show up, He never misses a chance to show Himself.
• Secret Sins Seem to Be the Worst Kind. Why? Because you feel as though you can't confide in anyone. I've talked lately to some people who have been dealing with secret sins and I've had to deal with some of my own before. I take that back. God has had to deal with them. He is the only one who can.
• I am EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED WITH OBAMA. I didn't vote for the guy. I figured he'd drop the ball. But I want our president to succeed. He is the president of us all. But he either continually makes bad decisions or fails to make them at all. This wouldn't bother me so much if he didn't promise to do things in a more open and different way. The only difference so far is that Washington DC is more secret and corrupt than ever. Way to go, Mr. President! Not to mention his die-hard support for abortion and the FREEDOM OF CHOICE ACT (FOCA).
• About the FOCA-- The Freedom of Choice Act of 2009 if pasted would put the final nail in the coffin that is America. This act is anything but freedom. It makes any law regarding limits to abortion criminal and void. Seriously, no state could legislate anything regarding abortion or "reproductive rights".
• Get this: I am a school board member and I know this for sure... If a 14 yr. old girl at Eastern Local wants an aspirin, she needs parental consent. Aspirin is generally very safe. But if the FOCA passes the same 14 yr. old girl could go to a clinic and get an abortion with out parental consent. Independent medical studies have shown that all forms of abortion are potentially life threatening to the mother. Many women have mild to severe side effects after having an abortion including: sterilization, hysterectomy, cancer of the uterus, cancer of the vagina, cancer of pelvis, genital trauma, major side effects from medication, etc. But we refuse to get the parents involved.
• As a minister, I am required by law and conscience to report any indications of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. But the FOCA allows abortion providers to get around this law. Girls may be getting raped by their fathers or someone else, and forced to have an abortion without anyone ever being investigated.
• My mother works for St. Joseph's Hospital in Parkersburg, WV. They are owned in part by the Catholic Church and as such refuse to provide abortions or controversial medications that can cause abortions. They have that legal right. The FOCA would force all doctors and nurses, and hospitals to perform abortions on demand. If my mother was a Jehovah's Witness and had a moral objection to participating in a blood transfusion, the hospital would have to get another nurse. Under to FOCA, the hospital could not make that exception if my mother has an objection to performing an abortion.
• That said, most Catholic hospitals in the US would close rather than perform murder on demand (oops, I mean abortion). The Bishop who oversees St. Joseph's has already made it clear they would close rather than perform one abortion. In our area, at least half of our hospitals are owned in part at least by the Catholic Church. Typically, they are better ranked hospitals too. My mother tells me that already there is a shortage of capacity in the area hospital beds. So, Obama, the great health care reformer will cause a health care crisis in this country like we've never had.
• Even if you do think abortion is okay in some instances (like rape and incest and mother's health [which account for less than 1% of abortions]), this Freedom of Choice Act would spell disaster for this country.
• I really believe that America will be judged by God for this. In the Bible, God destroyed nations when "their sin had reached it's fullest capacity." God IS keeping score and we just keep pushing the line. I truly believe we can't have peace and prosperity while killing the unborn! Do you realize we, the USA, the great Beacon of Hope and Freedom, have killed 3 times as many babies that Hitler killed in the entire 2nd World War? Hitler was evil, but we think we're just giving people the freedom to choose. CHOOSE AMERICA! Choose Life & Choose to follow God, not self!

Reflections From Sunday (3/8/2009)

Sunday was another good day. My voice was still a little raspy, but as least I didn't loose my voice. The past several months have been very trying for me, emotionally and spiritually, so the message was as much for me as for anyone else. The message was called Renewing Your Faith. The Scripture passage was Hebrews 12: 12-17:12:
Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. 14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

Here are some thoughts about that text:

• We need to strengthen our weak points. You've heard it before, but a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link. If you have a dynamic prayer life, but you refuse to read and apply the Bible, you don't have a strong walk with God. You might resist that, but its true. You know it. No excuses! I really encourage everyone at Eden to take a Spiritual Growth test. We provide these to people at Eden for them to self-test themselves to see where they are weak in their faith.
• The question that this message answers is this: If FAITH is absolute confidence, then how can we keep confidence when we go through life's rough spots?
• If there is something in your life that causes you to either sin or weakens your faith, GET RID OF IT! I am dead serious about this! If you're a recovering alcoholic, you'd be STUPID to live in an apartment over a bar. The same logic applies to our walk with God. If you are addicted to your iPod, get rid of it. If you can't read your Bible because your watching TV, cancel the Cable or Dish! Why would we be so stupid to give up an incredible walk with Jesus simply because we love to watch a certain TV show? Compared to Jesus, T.V. is nothing but worthless junk.
• We Need to pursue Peace with others. Sorry folks, but you can't love Jesus with every ounce of your being and hate ANYONE. It doesn't work that way. If you have any siblings, maybe you can relate to this: If I hate my brother, that hurts my mother and father because they gave life to him just like they did me. God made each and everyone of us with the capacity to know Him and follow Him. To hate anything that He made so special is to spit in the face of Jesus. I know it's not easy to love people, but they might find it just as hard to love you. Think about it...
• Without being Holy, we can NOT EVER see Jesus. A lot of people have issues with this. I take that back; we all probably have issues with this. a few points about this:
  -- Holiness is not based on external appearance. Women don't have to wear ankle long dresses to prove their love for Jesus. It's obvious they shouldn't dress like a porn star. Ladies, if it's not on the menu, don't show it off. If you love Jesus, you don't need the love of a man bad enough to show him what only your husband should see on your wedding night!
  --Holiness is not about following the rules because you have to.
  --We need to realize that TRUE holiness comes only from Jesus. Holiness means perfection and Jesus is the only person to ever live on earth who is perfect.
  --When we follow after Jesus, He changes our hearts and causes us to become more like Him.
• There are 3 or 4 things that are HUGE Obstacles to Renewing Your Faith:
  --Falling short of the Grace of God (v.15). We've all fallen short of God's mark. That's why we need Jesus. Failing to take a hold of the Grace God offers is foolish. It's arrogance and God's Word says that arrogance (pride) is one of the worst things. It destroys relationships, especially those with God.
  --Being Bitter (v. 15). I've met way too many "Christians" who are full of bitterness. Bitterness will destroy you. If I choose not to forgive someone who hurt me, that won't hurt them, it will only serve to destroy my life. Forgiveness doesn't mean that what they did was okay, it means that you won't hold it against them any more. Trust me, Jesus is much better at judgement or punishment than you could ever be. Forgiveness doesn't mean that you trust an unworthy person, it means you simply let it go.
  --Sexual Sin (v.16). Probably the biggest sin problem of this era. Just because you're married doesn't mean that this doesn't happen. If you look at someone with sexual desire besides your spouse, your sinning. Don't argue with me, take it up with Jesus. He's the one who said it in the book of Matthew. Disclaimer: Before I go farther, I need to disclose that I am virgin and the following comes from a close examination of God's Word. Sex is a wonderful gift from God to be enjoyed within the confines of marriage. Sex is not about an orgasm, but about one-ness with your spouse. Sex is sacred and it is Holy. It is as much a part of worship to God as is Holy Communion or Baptism. If you're not married, this is one way of worship you can't experience! The Bible calls sexual sin profane. Why? Because it is taking something Holy and wonderful and dragging it through the mud. Every person you have sexual contact with has become "one" with you. You have given part of your self away. This is why sex addicts suffer so much, because all they have become is a machine, they've literally given away their entire being and only God can restore that back.
  --One more thing--IRREVERENCE. If you don't deal with what is dragging you down spiritually, then you have no hope. If you don't cut up your 10 credit cards, you're never going to get out of debt. YOU HAVE TO BE SERIOUS WHEN IT COMES TO SERIOUS STUFF! THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR STANDING WITH GOD.
• One last point- Esau. Esau was Jacob's twin brother. Esau hunted and was his father's favorite. Jacob was a Mommy's boy and basically stayed at home. One day, Esau went hunting and came back to the tent. He was really hungry and Jacob was making a stew. Esau said he was starving (like us, if didn't eat for a few hours he started to complain). So Jacob (who's name means "deceiver") said that he'd feed Esau if Esau would give Jacob his birthright. Esau (who was born first) would have a double portion of the inheritance. So Esau sold his inheritance for a little bowl of soup! That is the way with sin. Sin is FUN! That's why we do it. But when we sin, we are trading eternal delight away for a little temporary fun. Folks, when we think about it, this is STUPID! Sorry, but it is. It's the equivalent of me paying you $10 dollars every day for the rest of my life if I can have only $70 dollars now. We end up with a huge debt at the end. That's why Jesus came to pay a debt that we never could. He bought us back.
• We need to RENEW our FAITH and get back on track with Jesus!

A Few other things about Sunday:

• Next week will be my 4th anniversary of being at Eden Church. Wow! Seems like yesterday at times and at other times if feels like 4 decades.
• I came upon a wreck right down the road from the church. I missed it by like 30 seconds. I got to pray for the guy and be there until he was life-flighted. He's going to be okay, by the way.
• I am so proud of our Reedsville Volunteer Firefighters! They do a lot for nothing. Why can't the Church be like that. We're supposed to!
• Christina and I are planning our wedding. Its more difficult being on this side of the wedding than performing one!

Notes From Sunday (3/1/2009)

This past Sunday was a GREAT day! I lost my voice right after preaching in the morning worship celebration, but it was still a great day! God really spoke to me through the message He wanted me to give. The message was called Confident in Christ. The Bible passage was Hebrews 11:1-6--
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken
him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Here are some thoughts that come to mind when we take a look at this passage:

• Verse 1 is not a definition of faith. Rather, it is more of a description of what Faith does. This may not help you much, but the word translated as faith in Greek is the word pistis which means faithful but more than that, it means firm confidence or absolute conviction.
• The word substance means assurance of reality. Why do I bring these last two points out? Knowing NT Greek is not going to radically change your walk with God, but when we understand here what God is really talking about... Wow... We finally get it. Our world tosses around the word faith all the time. "Well I just gotta have faith." That is a common phrase. But the truth is that this faith is unshakable and unmovable. It is absolute conviction that CANNOT change.
• TOO MANY "Church People" don't have this Faith the Bible talks about. What am I talking about? Don't many "Christians" believe? Duh, they do! But the kinda faith that this passage describes is something that is not doubted. We can have confidence, absolute confidence in Jesus Christ. Too many times too many of us (including me) have a very wishy-washy faith. But the truth is, its not faith at all.
• We need to be Confident in Jesus, not in ourselves! I have a real hard time being around arrogant and cocky people. It really grates on my nerves. We all get stuck on our selves at times, but I for one hate when I see it in others. The Bible really speaks out against pride. God hates pride because pride prevents people from having a right relationship with God. On the other hand, having no confidence is wrong, too. I am a person that has more often fallen into this extreme. For much of my life I have had little to no self confidence and as a result, many of my relationships with others suffered. I put friends through some terrible stuff when I was in school. Here's the happy medium we need to strive for: We need to realize that we are all messed up people who are loved and pursued by a perfect and holy God. That confidence we have in Him enables us to live a new life and move mountains of obstacles.
• If We Really Have Confidence in Jesus, We Will Give Him & He Deserves Our BEST! Abel's sacrifice to God was acceptable when Cain's was not because Abel offered God his best. People have always debated and wondered why God chose Abel and not Cain? Was it due to the fact that Abel's sacrifice was a blood offering and Cain's was vegetables and other produce? Not necessarily. All sacrifices don't have to be blood and the Bible doesn't indicate that it had to be blood. No, the main reason, as I see it, is because all sacrifices to God had to be our best offering to Him. CHRISTIANS, DO NOT MISS THIS! Some times we as believers miss out on so many of God's blessings because we refuse to give God our best. Abel gave God his best lamb whereas Cain gave God "some" (not the first or the best) of his produce. When we get out paycheck or whatever, the first check we should write is to God for at least 10%. It's not giving God your best when you chip in $1 at the end of the month when you take home $1200. It's not giving God your best when if you teach in the Church that you look at your lesson late on Saturday Night. God always responds when we give Him our best. It's hard. Abel was killed for it. Yet, if we have absolute faith --confidence-- in Jesus, we can and should give God our best.
• Without Faith, You CAN'T PLEASE GOD! People, please don't miss this-- You can't get to Heaven without faith in Jesus Christ. You can't have your sins forgive if you don't have absolute conviction that Jesus died and rose again and lives forever.
• Churches that don't have Faith in the Mission God has given them REALLY UPSET ME! God made the whole universe and created each and every one of us differently; He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins and now Jesus lives forever. And we respond with INDIFFERENCE?!?!? God is calling us to have great, strong, unshakable, and confident faith in Jesus Christ.

A few other random thoughts going through my mind as I reflect about Sunday:

• I was loosing my voice throughout the message and my voice was basically gone by the time we left. But, if the early Christians faced lions, I can handle being a little horse.
• Sunday night I stayed home rather than lead the GROW IN HIS WORD Bible Study. My lay leader and my mother (she's a Sunday School Teacher) did a great job! The day the church can't survive without their pastor for a service or two is the day that church is in SERIOUS trouble.
• Even though I was sick most of this week, I enjoyed the down time. I didn't feel bad about missing Sunday night. Sometimes as pastors we feel guilty if we're not there all the time. God never called me to do everything. Sometimes, pastors just need break. And why not? Its not like everyone else is always there! Ha ha!
• God has been really speaking to me lately about giving Him my best. I know I talked about that above, but I am really passionate about that. I'll blog about that topic soon.
• I'm getting married in July. WOW! I can't wait, but at the same time I am overwhelmed by all that needs to get done before then.
• If you're in the area, you really need to come to Eden this Sunday! I am SUPER EXCITED to see what God is going to do in people's lives! See you this Sunday at 11 AM!
• REMEMBER TO SET YOUR CLOCKS UP ONE HOUR THIS SATURDAY. We're "springing forward" so you need to go to sleep a little sooner.

Just One Small Change Can Make A Huge Difference!

Right now I am typing on my home PC, which is odd because lately I have nearly exclusively used my laptop. So what, right? Well let me explain why.

Yesterday, my fiancee Christina and I worked at cleaning my dinning room. Years ago my parents got rid out the dinning room table and the room turned into the computer room. It has been continually filthy, thanks mostly to me. So yesterday we cleaned it. Some couples watch movies. Some go one nice country drives. Christina and I clean. She motivates me to get off my hindquarters and actually accomplish things!

Anyway, after we cleaned most of it, I had an idea. We have cleaned this room before but it always go back to looking like a disaster zone withing days. I thought maybe we could re-arrange the room to make it more functional and actually create more space. She thought it was a great idea, provided I didn't fill up that extra space with more junk. So we spent about 4 hours total cleaning and rearranging the heavy computer desk, and moving chairs and etc. Now there is a functional space that includes the computer a little sitting area in one corner, with more floor space than we've had here for a long time. Again, what's the point?

Just a small change can make a HUGE difference. Instead of sitting in my room working on my laptop, I am downstairs working in a clean workspace and feeling very good about it. Just a small change in the layout of this room (as well as a lot of pick-up and throw-away) has changed my work habits and mood.

This principle can be applied to areas of my life besides clutter. Last night I took Christina home to her house and got back around midnight. This morning when I called her, we decided to read our Bibles via phone. We've made a commitment to read the Bible together everyday, when possible. Already today I feel much closer to her and excited about what God is doing and going to do in my life. Already I feel really motivated to get stuff done. Just a small change... But a HUGE impact.

I've heard the following about pilots & airplanes: Even on auto pilot, the plane is constantly being turned and adjusted to correct it's course. Just a one degree difference can be huge. I heard it said that if a plan flying from New York to Hawaii is off just one degree it could end up in Australia (it could be New York to Tokyo and ending up in Australia). All it takes to stay on course is a small change.

So I want to encourage everyone to make just a small baby step today. Read your Bible for 10 minutes today. Pray for 5. Go to church tomorrow even if Sunday is your day to sleep in. Spend 5 minutes telling your spouse how wonderful they are. Play with you kids for a few more minutes. Offer to help an elderly person with their bags at the store. Just baby steps... It can and WILL make a huge difference!

By the way, at Eden tomorrow we're talking about how faith is absolute confidence and how we can have complete confidence in Jesus Christ. Hope to see you there at 11 AM!