Matthew TwoSix:ThreeNine

This past week we had the chance to hold a worship service on a ship. For me it was a first. I love worship services and preaching. Worshiping on a ship with a group of guys who haven’t had the chance to share in corporate worship for months made it even more meaningful. Huddled up in the crew’s lounge space, we sang worship songs together (thanks to our intern, Gabe, and his willingness to play guitar and sing), shared in the word, prayed, partook in the Lord's Supper, and shared in a message.  The message I shared centered around the fact that God is always with us. It is something I think it is important to remind seafarers. Their time on the ship can be physically and mentally arduous. The solitude can be overwhelming. One of the blessings of being a follower of Jesus is that we are never alone. God is with us. Paul asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” in Romans 8...

The term mentor has been rattling around in my head. We all need someone in our lives who is willing to lovingly lead us. We all need someone who has been there and willing to invest in us.  We need that person who is interested in taking us on a journey of experience and breathing life into us through these experiences.  Paul understood the importance of mentors in our lives and discipleship journeys. He invested significant time and energy in those he mentored. In 1 Timothy, Paul shows us the personal and intimate nature of the relationships with those he mentors. He refers  to Timothy as "my true son in the faith." He views this relationship like a father would have with a child.  Father's want the best for their kids. It is a father's responsibility to lead his family. It is his responsibility to show them how a husband loves his wife. A father wants to share his knowledge with his kids so they benefit from his wisdom. Father's play a pivotal role ...

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3 NIV I was looking through various translations of Proverbs 16:3. I found that I received each one differently. For as long as I can remember, I have considered this as a verse that makes me think of success. If I commit my actions to God, He will be in my plans. Almost like God is some sort of genie in a bottle. It's a transaction based understanding. If I do A, God will do B for me and B happens to be something I planned out.   The New Living Translation seems to support my understanding as it says, "Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed." Essentially, if I commit MY actions to God, MY plans will succeed. I seem to be the central focus of this approach.   There seems to be a flaw in my understanding. If I am the one whose plans are being fulfilled, how can my actions honor God? If I were to truly commit my actions to God, could I still have my ...

One of the blessings of serving at Anchor House is I get to visit quite a few churches. One of the downfalls is that I get the messages intermixed from week to week. I show up for a single Sunday and don't get the benefit of the continuity of hearing an entire series.  This week I decided to re-read the creation story. It has been one section of the Bible that has been a part of many of the sermons I've heard lately. The story of God making the land has captivated me. Genesis 1:9 we see the creation of land "And God said, 'Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.' And it was so." He created the land then put it to work. God doesn't stop with creation, He continues with providing purpose. "Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so" (Genesis 1:11). The land ...

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to divide soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12 The imagery in this passage is vivid.  Most of us don’t run around using swords anymore.  However, we have seen them in museums, history books, and movies, of course.  We know that a double edge sword has a blade on each side of the sword.  As opposed to our kitchen knives that have a blade on just one side. This was a tool meant to make an impact.   Paul the author describes a sword that has the sharpness of a surgical scalpel. It is able to split the joints of the bones from the marrow of the bones themselves. It can divide a soul from a spirit. The operator of the sword has a steady hand with precision.  Prior to this verse, the Apostle Paul has just shared with the audience the importance of rest.  He challenges his audience t...

Sometimes I sit down to write and it just seems like I am trying to write with a pen without ink. There is simply nothing productive coming from the activity. Other times, God just pours it out on me. The ideas flow and the message comes together with ease. More often than not it's the former rather than the latter. It seems God likes to make us work for it. The ones I have to work a bit harder on become the ones I like the most. I think we appreciate the things we have to work for more than the things that come easy. Our LifeGroup recently read about the Miraculous Catch of Fish. You know the story where Peter and his buddies have been out fishing all night and came back to shore completely empty handed. That next morning, Jesus asks them to take him out in the boat. Once out on the water, He has them put the nets back down and they bring in loads and loads of fish. So many fish that two boats almost sank.  I guess Jesus could have just made the fish jump into th...

I recently read a devotional on judgement. It made me feel quite a bit uncomfortable. The devotional quoted 2 Corinthians 5:10, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.". This made me uncomfortable because I don't like the idea of answering to anyone about the things I've done.  I don't think I am alone in this, but I'm not perfect. I'm FAR from perfect. I've made plenty of poor decisions. I've ignored part of the scripture, heck I've run from the Bible.  I know the "mistakes" I've made and the "mistakes" I've chosen. I don't want to be judged, especially by an all knowing God!   As much as I would like to run from it, I know the truth. I am a sinner. I deserve the consequences of my actions. I deserve to pay the price. I deserve to be on that cross.  “Therefore, if anyone i...

Last week our family began to join Julie for her 5:30 am workouts. We have committed to do a 5K together. So, we are doing one of those couch to 5K programs. I absolutely hate running. I know my athletic physique may be state otherwise. However, I do like the way I feel after I workout.  Anyway, today was the start of school for the kids. Even with this they wanted to workout. We decided to help us all get ready for school and work. We'd shower at the YMCA. So, we packed bags with all of our needed supplies. Turns out I forgot a few items. Nothing major, but just enough to throw me out of rhythm. With the new routine, I was seeking the comfort of having what I needed. I wanted to have all of the tools to get the job done. Yet, I didn't have them.  I thought about how this resembles life. God often calls us into something new. Maybe it is a new service opportunity at church or new LifeGroup. Or maybe it is something larger like responding to a calling to t...

Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:3 NIV Nothing…  Pronoun- not a single thing, not anything Adjective - having no prospect of progress Adverb - not at all Without God… Not anything No prospect of progress Not all Away from God there isn't anything. There is no way to advance or make progress. It's a dead end. Without God there is nothing at all. It is empty.   I'm not sure about you, but I struggle to wrap my head around nothing. I think of the desert as barren. Plants and animals are scarce. The conditions are harsh. You look around and can't see a thing for miles and miles. Yet, it is not nothing. You have sand, sun, skies, heat, and the animals that are adapt to the environment. My mind then goes to space. The absence of gravity and oxygen must make it feel like nothing. Yet, you have the planets, the stars, your spaceship, and all of your fancy space technology. In the vast emptiness of space...

This past week my wife had a medical procedure.  Don't worry. Everything is fine.  However, the day was an interesting test of patience. We arrived for check in at her scheduled time of 11:00 am.  After three hours of waiting they finally brought her back to do pre-op procedures.  I was not permitted to join her because of COVID precautions.  We then waited another three hours. After six hours of waiting she was finally getting the procedure we went in for. Of course, the procedure only took minutes to perform.  As the day and waiting dragged on, I grew frustrated and impatient. Minutes seemed like hours and hours like days. As frustration turned to irritation, I could feel it filling my heart with a feeling I didn't like.  Do these people have no respect for my time?  Do they just not care about other people's schedules? I have kids who need their parents to pick them up. I'm hungry. I have things I want to do. Instead of doing these ...

This is something that has been percolating in me for a while.  I have tried numerous times to put my thoughts on paper.  Each time I do, something happens.  I get distracted and do something else instead or I tyoe it but completely fail to save it. I have found that happens when I am writing something and it's just not right because God is still working in me.  So if you are reading this, I finally did it! It seems you cannot say COVID-19 without insighting a STRONG emotional response. For many, fear moves in. Others experience sorrow from the loss of a loved one. Many times it immediately shifts to a soliloquy about mask mandates violating personal rights or failure to wear a mask recklessly placing others at risk. Certainly a debate will begin about the vaccine.  Let me assure you I am not here to debate either polar end of these topics.   Rather, I suggest we need to OPEN OUR EYES!  We might just be missing it. We might be missing ...

We have a pop up camper and enjoy traveling around staying at different campsites. A few weeks ago we were camping and saw a family of racoons in the distance. The mother was walking through the woods with her kids following closely. Cute is probably the best term to describe how they looked. Of course, we know that those mischievous cute critters have a way of finding food at your campsite. To prevent this we have a really good cooler that we use to stow our food away in. As a precaution, we even put a padlock on it at night. We have another cooler that we put drinks in. It is flimsy, to be frank. It's only job is keep drinks cool for the hot Florida days. One night on this trip, we errantly placed the grapes in the drink cooler. I woke up that night to the sight of my wife standing at the camper door saying, "Shoo buddy, you got to go buddy" in the softest most gentlest voice. Would you believe they listened? I would be the one who thought you'd ...

 This morning as I sit down to write this, our nation celebrates our Independence Day. A country born on the ideals of freedom for all. I might suggest it is an ideal we still strive to achieve.  This 4th of July is a bit different than most.  To the south of us loomes a tropical system.  It brings wind and massive amounts of rain with it.  As it passes over the Carribean Islands we pray for the people who call those islands home. We ask for their safety from harm and the impacts of this storm.  Independence Day is a celebration of a bond of an oppressor broken.  The Monarchy in England strived to take care of itself at the expense of the colonies in the Americas.  As our forefathers signed the Declaration of Indepence, they announced that those they represented were free from this bondage of oppression. The ideal of freedom is realized only through Christ. At our baptism, we make a similar statement as our country's forefathers did. W...

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to Him, and placed the child among them. And He said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." - Matthew 18:1‭-‬5 NIV This past Sunday was simply life-giving at Westside Christian Church. The energy and excitement were palatable. My daughter couldn't wait to get to church. She was excited to worship with her friends and have fun together afterwards.   With the VBS takeover, the church was packed! Sure there were a few seats open, but there was a line of people standing in the back. It is safe to say it was "standing room only". Fitting with the story of Zacchaeus that Pastor Russ shared.   Jes...

This past Saturday I got the chance to catch up with my friend at breakfast. We connected months ago over grits, of all things. I learned he really didn't care for grits. Turns out his parents used to make him eat them quite often and in many forms. As he has grown older he's made the conscious decision, he's had enough grits for a lifetime. On the other hand, I really enjoy grits. They are a wonderful breakfast food with butter, salt, and pepper. For dinner, you can't beat some good shrimp and grits. I have a recipe for jambalaya grits that will put a smile on anyone's face. It is like jambalaya meets cheese grits. Yum! My friend and I joke about grits everytime we see each other. I offer him some and he politely refuses. Of course, I respect his wishes and don't give him any grits. How do you offer someone grits? Do you insist they eat and like them because you eat them? Do you put them on their plate anyway? Do you treat them differently bec...