One Person at a Time...

Next Step #7

Next Step #7 in our "Living in The Holy Spirit" follow up is a reminder from the Apostle Paul to pray in the spirit and to pray in our minds; and to sing in the spirit and to sing in our minds.  We find the reminder in 1 Corinthians chapter 14.  The Apostle Paul actually devoted 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14 to a discussion of the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, the most important spiritual gifts, and to the proper use of "tongues" in the church.   In chapter 14, Paul makes it clear that he wished that every Christian would pray in tongues, and he told the Corinthian believers that he thanked God that he spoke in tongues more than all of them, but for Paul such speaking was more valuable in personal prayer than in corporate worship.  In fact, Paul said that he would rather speak five "intelligible" words in worship--meaning words that the whole congregation could understand, than 1000 words in a tongue, since then only God would understand.  Paul tells us, though, that speaking and singing in tongues is part of his personal worship and prayer.   Here's what he wrote, "So what shall I do?  I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind."  (1 Corinthians 14:15 NIV)  Obviously, since Paul distinguishes between praying and singing with his spirit and his mind, and he is talking about tongues, he's telling us that praying and singing with his spirit is praying and singing in tongues.  It's been seven weeks now, since some of you who are reading this post came forward during worship to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.  Are you praying and singing with both your spirit and your mind?  Are you taking time each day--and throughout the day each day--to praise God, to offer your petitions to Him, to confess your sins and turn from them, to pray for others?  Are you offering those praises and prayers in your spirit as well as with your mind?  Remember, obedience is the key to increasing faith.  Obedience is the key to blessing.  God's ways are always the RIGHT ways for us to live and grow as His children and servants.  Take some time right now to pray in your spirit and in your mind, because as Paul reminded us BOTH are beneficial for our life and growth as followers of Jesus!

This Sunday at New Life

Hi Everyone!  This Sunday's tough question is "Does Prayer Really Work?"  You'd probably guess that my answer is "Yes," but you may not guess the approach we'll be taking to get to that answer.  In fact, you'll want to be there to experience the approach we'll be taking and the ways that God's "yes" come to us in prayer.  Sometimes His "yes" is actually a "no."  Okay, that's starting to sound confusing, so you'll just have to BE THERE on Sunday to find out what I mean.  As always on the day after returning from a week-long missions experience, the message will likely have a few "bonus" points that aren't in the message that's already been posted on the church website.  Hope to see you Sunday!

Away for a Week!

Hey Everyone!  "One Person at a Time..." is going to be away on a missions trip for the next week--- July 23-30, so the only posts will be appearing on Thursday and Friday.  They are pre-written and saved to be posted then.  That means no posts on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday next week.  In the future, I'm going to figure out how to take the technology with me and send posts from wherever I am, but for this week, the Blog is taking a missions trip.  PLEASE review some of the previous posts; look up some of the links and read this Thursday and Friday.  I'll be back to the keyboard next Sunday (July 1).  Grace and peace to you all!

This Sunday at New Life!

Join us Sunday as Missionary Matt Geppert will be with us to address the tough question:  Why do we have to go on overseas missions when so many folks right here don't know Jesus?  His message title is "If You Don't Go, You Won't Know!"  Matt is son of Missionaries Mark and Ellie Geppert, founders of the Southeast Asia Prayer Center (SEAPC).  I have been mentoring Matt for the past year and a half or so in Bible and urge each of you to be in worship on Sunday to hear this dedicated young man present the Gospel message in a relevant and interesting way.  I'd be there if I weren't going to be in Guadalupe, Mexico with New Life's Community and Family Mission Team, working on Tapestries of Life Ministries' orphanage.  I know you'll be glad you were there!

Next Step #6...

It's Friday and time for our next "Next Step" in Living in the Holy Spirit.  Today, let's focus on the "fruit" of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law."  Notice that the Apostle Paul said this is the "fruit" (singular) of the Spirit, not the "fruits" (plural) of the Spirit.  That means that when the Holy Spirit is in control of our lives we demonstrate the nine character traits Paul lists.  Sometimes we think we need to be more loving or more patient (and we probably do!), so we think that we need to emphasize the "fruit" of love, or the "fruit" of patience, but actually the "fruit" of the Spirit is ALL nine characteristics.  I point that out simply to remind us that while we may find ourselves thinking that we need one or two of these traits more than the others, when the Holy Spirit is in control of our lives ALL nine begin to manifest themselves more and more. 

In fact, one of the easiest "tests" we can give ourselves to determine whether the Holy Spirit is in control of our lives is to see how much "fruit" is evident in us as we go about any given day.  Are we more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled TODAY than we were yesterday, or right NOW than we were an hour ago?  As we call on the Holy Spirit to fill and control us, we can wonder whether He is truly in charge OR we can take an honest look at how our lives are becoming more "fruitful" or not, and then we can KNOW if He is filling and controlling us, or if we are losing the battle.  If He IS filling and controlling us, then the "fruit" will be evident and we can pause to praise and thank Him for that. If we are resisting that filling and control, then we must go back to the first role of the Holy Spirit--the conviction of sin, and let Him convict us of our sin, so that we will REPENT--turn around--and move back into His presence and power.  The process is on-going, and sometimes it seems painfully slow.  The KEY is to let the Holy Spirit control and fill us more and more and more, day by day by day, and when we fall short, to recognize it.  I know this seems awfully simple, but as Pastor Randy Marshall once put it, "The Christian life says easy and does hard."  It "does hard," more often than not, because we try to do it ourselves instead of letting the Holy Spirit do it in us!

Fire Hawk is a 5-Star "Coaster"

While at King's Island, I rode their new coaster "Fire Hawk"--twice!  What a ride.  Instead of being seated in a car, one is strapped and barred in the thing in prone position.  You go up the first hill on your back and then as you descend the first slope the whole deal turns over and you are "flying."  It's as close to feeling like superman as I'm ever going to get!  Of course, I rode in the front "car," because that's the only way to get the full effect.  Ended up riding it two more times during the trip, and I definitely give it 2 thumbs and 2 big toes way up!!!  If you're at KI, you've got to give it a try.  I love roller coasters and this is a unique experience that keeps you coming back for more!

Staying Flexible...

Tuesday and Wednesday were interesting days for this 50 year old pastor!  I had the opportunity of driving and chaperoning 7 young people from our middle school and high school ministries for 2 days at Kings Island Theme Park.  We left at 7:25 a.m. from the Marshall home in the church van, and made two stops to pick up young people.  We were on our way be 8:00 a.m. and arrived at KI at 1:46 p.m.  After riding every good ride in the park (some of them 5-7 times!) and watching the closing fireworks display, we headed off to Crestview Presbyterian Church to spend the night.  I had arranged for the youth room to be left open, but as we drove around the back of the church I served as youth pastor for the first 5+ years of ministry, I had a sense that we were going to find a LOCKED door.  I was right!  It was 11:10 p.m. and I had 7 young people in a van who were ready to "crash" after a long day.  A quick call to Crestview's youth pastor drew a sincere apology, and his explanation that he lived more than half an hour a way. Here's where the FLEXIBILITY part comes in!  What to do?  Nancy has an uncle who lives five minutes from the church, so I called him--Thank God for cell phones--and told him that I was standing in Crestview's parking lot with a van full of young people and no way to get in.  He took the hint---"And you need a place to stay!"  I said, "Yes, we do."  He said, "Why don't you come on over to our place?"  THANK YOU JESUS, and THANK YOU UNCLE DAVE! 

Turns out Dave was home by himself as his wife was out of town on a business trip, so he enjoyed the company.  In the end, we all got to sleep in beds--well all but one of us--and were a lot more refreshed for our second day at KI.  It could have been a bad situation, but God provided for better than we expected.  The old makarism is right:  "Blessed are the flexible, for they will not get bent out of shape!"

"Facing Your Giants"

Max Lucado has hit the ball out of the park again!  His book "Facing Your Giants," which has been out for a while, finally made it to the top of my "Books to Read" list while I was on vacation last week.  Lucado does his usual amazing job of taking a biblical character who is well-known to us, and making it seem like he's a member of the family---AND that we're one of his.  This time it's the life of David that Lucado tackles.  With each "giant" David faces, Lucado reminds us that when we face similar giants we can either focus on the giant -- in which case we'll fall; or focus on God -- in which case the giant will fall!  If you're facing any major challenges in your life right now, or just the typical challenges we all face day-today, "Facing Your Giants" is an easy, enjoyable, practical and profitable read!

Jesus Today I'll follow...

Remember the daily task for MEN from yesterday's message?  It is to get up every day for the rest of the summer and say, "Jesus, today I'll follow wherever you lead me."  Remember that the daily task is only for those who want to see Jesus transform their lives--and WOMEN you're welcome to do it, too!  If you were with us for worship yesterday, you know that we tackled the tough question, "Why Do Men Have Such a Tough Time With Church, When Jesus Was a Man's Man?"  (You can read or listen to the answers at New Life's website: www.newlifexn.org)

Jesus has always been in the business of calling men and women to follow Him.  In every era Jesus has found those willing to put Him first, and when He does, He does amazing things in and through them.  Let today be a day when you are one of those who listen to Jesus' call and then follow Him WHEREVER He leads!

The Winner By a Nose...

One of the most enjoyable parts of our week of vacation was when Abby, Everett and I went out on the ocean for a half day of deep sea fishing.  Below is a picture of Abby's "winning" catch.  It actually was the biggest fish caught without assistance from the crew. As you can see it's 1/2 a mackerel!  It weighed 3 1/2 pounds when she reeled it in. The crew said that it was bitten in half by a barracuda as Abby reeled it in.  She said it was really fighting, then all of the sudden it just stopped fighting. Probably missing it's back half made the difference!!!  Even missing half it's body the mackerel made enough "steaks" for us all to enjoy one on Wednesday evening.  Abby also caught a 19" red snapper, but 20" is the legal minimum so she had to throw it back.  Everett and I caught a couple smaller red snappers, and even smaller vermillion snappers, but the legal limit for the vermillion snapper is shorter, so we enjoyed it for dinner as well.  It felt great to bring home the "bacon"--FISH.  Okay, here's the gory "winner":