His Creative Capabilities

This last week we met my in-laws for a two-day get away in the Texas Hill Country. One of our fun filled activities was to visit an observatory while an instructor updated us on the latest news regarding the stars and planets. After getting a stunning view of the moon through one of their massive telescopes, we proceeded to get into the line to see Jupiter. The problem was that there were several families crowded into this small building, and a few of the children continued to run around the telescopes bumping or grabbing them as they sought to get a view. This of course caused the instructor to stop several times to adjust the sensitive setting on the finder to once again aim our vision toward the intended target. After several of these interactions and as my wife and I came close to the instrument, the guide informed us that the cloud cover had now become too thick to see the planet. We had missed our opportunity.

Walking away a bit disappointed, I thought about how long I had waited and how much I wanted to take advantage of what felt like my only chance to catch a glimpse of the largest planet in our solar system. In reflection, I wonder why I don’t feel the same way about God. Has life become so routine that missing an encounter with God because of distraction or interruption, ceases to disappoint?

Yet the one who fashioned this creation, the actual creator himself, whose creative capabilities are exemplified in not one, but billions of stars, many of which can’t even be seen at this point; wants to meet with me daily, even hourly, in my thoughts, in my actions, and yes, in my prayers. Then I read the Psalmist say,

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

Our creative God has crowned us with glory and honor by giving us the ability to commune with him unlike any other created being. This communion takes place before his return, through prayer and worship.  As a result, let us not be disappointed, because he has made a way for us to meet with him today. Let us anticipate in wonder and confidence, our glorious communion with the creator of all that is good.

Pastor John

Prayer Thought February 13th, 2014

            With the beginning of the Olympics this last week, I am once again made aware of all the amazing stories of sacrifice and competition the games continue to showcase to the world. As a child my parents would allow us to stay up a little later than usual to catch a glimpse of the fierce competition and national pageantry. So many stories of inspiration have been highlighted by the games over the years. Perhaps you have heard a preacher or two talk about Eric Liddell. Eric was a sprinter for Great Britain, as well as a devout Christian, who ran in the Paris Games of 1924. Under his own conviction, he decided to sit out the 100 meters, his best race, because it was held on a Sunday and he believed it wrong for him to run.

            Because of this, he would have to compete in the 400 meters where his shortest time, compared to the other athletes, was considered average at best. But that morning as he approached the starting blocks, an American slipped a piece of paper into his hand with a quotation from 1 Samuel 2:30: "Those who honor me I will honor.” Having qualified for the outside lane he was unable to see the other runners as he sprinted for the first 200 meters. Inspired by the paper in his hand he completed the usually paced run, as a sprint, breaking the world record and capturing the gold medal.

            As I watch these athletes night after night, I wonder about their motivation. What get’s them up early every morning to push their bodies to limits most of us can only dream? What type of person trains their whole life at one particular movement or sport for a chance to compete in a contest held once every four years? Why would an individual sacrifice hours and hours each day for just a chance to stand on a podium with a medal for no more than two minutes?

            I’ll tell you what kind of person- a person who loves their sport- a person who would probably play their sport even if they weren’t Olympians. A person whom, having loved their sport, also longs for greatness and considers the journey part of the prize, even though it can’t compare.

            In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul sees a correlation between the Christian life and sports. He states:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

One of the ways that a Christian runs with self-control is by setting aside a time for prayer each day. Prayer connects us to God, focusing our attention and fueling our journey as we press on to the prize for which we are called. Will you pray with me today as we follow hard after God?

Pastor John

Prayer Thought January 17th, 2014

Last month as winter finally decided to peak its head through fall, I endeavored to try my hand at lighting the old fire pit in our back yard.  It was a cool and crisp afternoon when I finally sat down to enjoy the warm glow of what I thought would be a relaxing time. Things seemed to be going pretty well until I noticed a small lizard trapped in the bowl and frantically making its way around the then simmering cylinder of the pit. And because the fire was ever growing and the heat steadily increasing, his movement quickly became more frenzied. So in response to this emergency, and as the animal lover that I am, I quickly reached my hand into the pit to escort our little friend to safety.

The only problem was, he seemed to be resistant to my overtures and even began to run from the very hand that wanted to save him. As a result my hand was feeling quite uncomfortable as I was forced to place it so very close to the fire in order to accomplish my rescue. And after a few minutes of failing at my task, the lizard continued to run under and around the fire, and my hand began to feel the pain of the now forming burn against my skin. At one point I even got a hold of his tail but he quickly lost it as he pulled away from my benevolent grasp.  Finally as the pain began to cause me to question whether I should just let him go, I was able to pin him against the side and quickly remove him for release to a safer place. 

As I sat there next to the fire for the remainder of the evening, I thought about how God must feel as he continually reaches down into our situation to guide us through to the place he desires. But so often, because our circumstances seem so overwhelming, his hand appears to be part of the problem rather than the solution. We become confused and scared of what he is actually doing within our pain.

One of the great ways to recognize the hand of God, hear his voice, and accept his guidance is to listen to him in prayer. It’s in these times of silence and solitude, that we encounter a God who is willing to bear the burden of our circumstances, stand with us in our frailties, and even hurt with us in our pain. Will you join me today in seeking our benevolent God through prayer?

Pastor John

Warming the Cold

It seemed as though I had just settled down for a cold winter’s nap, when my mind awoke to a frantic knock on my window that frigid New Orleans morning. I recognized the frenetic voice outside my window as the young woman— now my wife— was yelling, “Wake Up! Wake Up!” While I was working for Campus Police it was not out of the ordinary to receive calls in the night, and my mind immediately turned to a flood of apprehension and focused adrenaline as I jumped out of bed and ran to the door. To my surprise and subsequent relief, there stood a pretty young lady holding two cups of steaming hot chocolate with a smile as big as Texas, displaying a childlike glow of excitement in the midst of a flurried white backdrop of freshly fallen snow. 

“It’s snowing, it’s snowing!” she shouted. As we bound down the stairs into a clean blanket of white, it appeared that all of campus had turned out to begin their obligatory construction of the greatest, and therefore largest, snowman that could ever be conceived. The normal routine of study and class had quickly become an afterthought compared to the first snow New Orleans had seen in over four years.

It’s often forgotten memories like these that seem to remerge every year as Fall turns to Winter and the much-anticipated holidays are in full swing. Romantic notions of pageantry and family once again fill our heads producing inner warmth that seems to soften the bitter cold, while heralding a fresh start to the hardened routine of life.

It’s within this sovereignly placed package of celebration that we find ourselves in the Season of Advent, literally meaning ‘coming.’ And with that ‘coming’ over two thousand years ago we can also find ‘warmth’— breaking into the hardened rule and routine of a people who had been conquered and oppressed for hundreds of years. That warmth was felt in the healing of the sick, the casting out of demons, and the solidarity of a suffering servant— presenting freedom both to the poor and oppressed. Moreover it is this eternal warmth that is still felt today in the person of the Holy Spirit. He is ever-present within those who are Christ’s as “the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning’s to deep for words,” most notably during times of greatest joy and loneliest sorrow. [1]

Will you join me in seeking His presence today?  Will you feel the warmth of His spirit as we celebrate this most sacred of seasons?

Pastor John

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[1] Romans 8:26

Prayer Thought

Last weekend my wife and I were able make a visit to my grandparents in East Texas. I was taken back by the toll Alzheimer’s has had on my grandfather’s body. As a young teen I remember the wonderful times of fishing and hiking together. Today my grandfather is utterly dependent on his family for the very essentials of daily living. As I thought about the many stages of life and how our family has changed over the years, I was reminded of Ecclesiastes chapter 3:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted…a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance…

The gift of human life necessitates numerous inevitable stages. Some of these are chosen, but many are simply a result of the human condition. Change is unavoidable as the parasitic breakdown of The Fall takes its toll on God’s good creation. However, for the Christian, there is an overarching purpose to all that is changing.

For example, in Ecclesiastes, “a time to be born,” finds its meaning in the God-given responsibility of a parent to point that child toward a caring and providential Creator. “A time to plant,” becomes an act of obedience to the cultivation of God’s good earth. “A time to laugh,” is made possible by the hope we have in a promised and coming Savior. And finally, “a time to dance,” is expressed most fully in acknowledging the faithfulness of a God who also rejoices over us.

As a Christian, the perceived vanity of life finds its resolution in the fact that God became man in Jesus Christ. This loving act bridged the gap between a perfect and unchangeable Father in heaven, and His ever-changing creation on earth.

Have you found time to connect to the Father through the Son? Has prayer become a daily activity preparing you for the many revolutions of life? Today, let us find our place of hopeful assurance, in quiet communion, with a sovereign and unchanging God.

Prayerfully,

Pastor John