One Person at a Time...

Tomorrow at New Life!

Tomorrow at New Life, we'll be investigating the 4th Magnetic Mark of Jesus followers:  TELLing others about what Jesus is doing in our lives.  Youth Leader and Worship Coordinator, Brad French, will be bringing the message for the first time at New Life, so you'll want to join us for sure!  Brad's worship leadership has glorified God and helped all of us to draw closer to Him and I'm personally looking forward to hearing what he has to tell us as he opens God's word to us from Acts 4:5-12.  Join us!

Next Step #20

Hi Everyone!

As you may recall from the last several next steps, we’re investing some time in investigating the “FRUIT” of the Spirit.  The Apostle Paul writes the following in Galatians 5:22-23:

         ²²But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, PEACE, patience,   kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

The third trait in the fruit of the Spirit is PEACE! Many folks in our world today think that peace is simply the absence of war, and for many in our world life without war would be great. But the reality is for those who are filled with the Holy Spirit, PEACE is much more than the absence of war. Peace or “shalom” as we find it in the Old Testament, is an overall sense of well-being that comes from God’s presence and sovereignty in our lives. As with joy, peace, doesn’t rely on our circumstances.  In fact, a follower of Jesus, who has been filled with the Holy Spirit may experience peace in the middle of a battle field—whether that battlefield is one of a military nature, or a spiritual nature. Life will always be filled with “war.”  In fact, when Jesus was speaking of the “end-times” He said that there will always be wars and rumors of wars in our world, but that the end is “not yet.” Our peace, as ones who have been filled with the Holy Spirit relies solely on God. His presence is sufficient to bring peace in every situation. Take the time right now to ask the Holy Spirit to fill you anew, and then rely on Him to bring the peace that passes all human understanding to whatever situations you are experiencing right now that would otherwise be unsettling!

When You're By Yourself...

Many years ago, I was watching a college football game.  A receiver received a pass in the flat, and just as he turned around, a linebacker crushed him.  The play-by-play man said to his partner, "You've been in that situation.  What's it like to be out there by yourself?"  The answer was, "When you're out there by yourself, that's when you're all alone."  REALLY? 

This past Thursday, I was scheduled for an "interval" run.  It was a "double step up--step down run," which means I was going to sprint 200 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 400 meters, 600 meters, 600 meters, a mile, then a 600, a 400, and a 200.  Between each "sprint," I was to jog a 400 except that after the mile I was to jog a mile and a half.  The total workout was 7.5 miles, and the goal is to develop extra speed by improving the "fast twitch" muscles.   So what, you ask?

Well, I went to the local high school track at 6:20 a.m. to get the thing over with, and found that the track was locked.  All entrances were chained shut.  PRAISE THE LORD! I thought.  God must be telling me to take the day off.  I drove home wondering if that was really what God was doing, but knowing that I needed access to the track to complete the run.  That evening, Nancy and I went to the open house at the Middle School, and I took my running stuff and drove separately, in case I decided to run AFTER that. Yeah, right!

When the Open House ended and I made my way to the track it was 9:22 p.m.  The track was dark.  No one was there.  I was all by myself--but I was not alone.  That's the point.  My running time is always prayer time.  I have a friend who is my "trainer."  He had given me the "formula" for this interval run.  He also told me, "You probably won't do it by yourself."  But there I was.  As I ran the first 200, noted the time, and started jogging, I thought, "Maybe I'll cut a few laps off that mile-and-a-half jog in the middle.  But as I ran each distance, and prayed for strength to FINISH, I thought, "I'm never alone--NEVER." It was one of those great times when a truth you've always known becomes experientially true in a way it hasn't before.  I felt God in me, with me and encouraging me.  When I finished it was 10:50 p.m.  I was DEAD, but I wasn't alone.  Intervals come again, with a different "formula" this Thursday, but it's okay, because although I'll be out there by myself, I won't be alone!

Next Step #19

Hi Everyone! (Sorry this is two days late!!!—Saturday and Sunday were PACKED—with good things!)

As you may recall from the last couple of next steps, we’re investing some time in investigating the “FRUIT” of the Spirit.  The Apostle Paul writes the following in

Galatians 5:22-23:

     ²²But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

The second trait in the fruit of the Spirit is JOY! Joy and Happiness are often seen as synonyms, but there’s a major difference. Happiness comes from the same root as happenstance.  Happiness is an external trait that comes from being in a good situation.   When the Steelers win, those of us in western Pennsylvania experience happiness. When we have the opportunity to eat our favorite food, we may feel happy. But chance the circumstances and happiness turns to sadness, or anger, or any of a multitude of no so enjoyable emotions. Joy is different.  Joy is INTERNAL. Joy is the abiding sense that all is well, even when the circumstances aren’t. The Apostle Paul told the Philippian Christians that they were to REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS. That kind of reality only comes when the Holy Spirit is resident in our lives.  When the Holy Spirit fills and guides us we can experience negative circumstances and still know that God’s in charge and thus rejoice or maintain our joy.  Happiness comes and go in our lives. Joy abides or remains—as long as we put God first, and live in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Why not take some time right now, to ask God to fill you anew with the Holy Spirit, and to renew your joy, and then let that joy abide throughout the evening and throughout the week!

More Jesus....Less Crap

Have you seen the signs put up by The Iron City Church, a new church plant in Pittsburgh, started by a friend, Tommy Duke.  The main message is MORE JESUS...LESS CRAP!  I have haven't seen one myself, but when Tommy was telling us about them at our pastor's group yesterday, I thought it was great.  Tommy says he's received a few responses on his answering maching from "Christians" who have used more colorful language than his, to condemn the signs for their lack of taste, sensitivity,etc...

I totally understand where Tommy's going, though.  There IS a lot of crap in churches that has nothing to do with Jesus.  When we started New Life six plus years ago, we wanted the very same thing in our life together.  After all, our mission is sharing the new life of JESUS CHRIST with the world--one person at a time.  People need Jesus and the salvation He purchased with His blood on the cross.  Everything else is really just..........EXTRA STUFF.  It may not all be crap, but any church that's offering MORE JESUS and less crap has got it's theology on straight, and will undoubtedly reach a lot of people that denominational and traditional churches will never reach.  Way to go, Tommy!  More JESUS!

This Sunday at New Life!

This Sunday's mesage is "The Endless Pursuit of Pefection."  As we move to the third "magnetic mark" of Jesus followers, we'll take a look at what it means to seek to live a life of holiness in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Doesn't sound too magnetic?  Consider this:  When we put Jesus first, and seek to follow His instructions in the power of the Holy Spirit, our lives are tangibly different from those around us.  That doesn't mean we become "holier than thou." It means that we become more like Jesus--the most magnetic person who ever lived!  One of Jesus' most amazing traits was that He IS the Son of God, and therefore by far the holiest person ever to step foot on the planet, and yet he attracted wicked people in droves!  The religious leaders of the day, who detested Him, acknowledged that the WHOLE WORLD was going after Him.  Why!  Because Jesus' life reflected true holiness, true perfection---the kind that recognizes sin for what it is, and invites the sinner to exchange that for the life that is truly life!  The more like Jesus we become, the more naturally others will be attracted to us--with the exception of those who are "religious." The religious folks in every age find Jesus somewhat offensive.  His genuine holiness seems too earthy to compare with their stiff and refined rules and regulations.  Join us this Sunday--and find out what it takes to be a more magnetic follower of Jesus by pursuing His brand of perfection!

What Have YOU Been Reading Lately?

I went to the monthly,local ministerium meeting this morning, and since the president and vice-president of the group didn't attend, we had no "agenda."  We had some great conversation together and as it progressed I asked, "What have you all been reading over the summer?"  Here are the answers I got:

• The Meandering Way  by  Gary Schockley
• Simply Christian by N.T. Wright
• Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy
• Irresistible Revolution by Shane Clairborne (Not sure on the author's name and/or spelling!)
• The Life You've Always Wanted by John Ortberg

The ensuing conversation generated by the "reviews" of the books was refreshing--particularly so for a ministerium meeting, I must say!  Now I have a question for my readers: 

What have you been reading?  Seriously, I want to know.  Please, take a couple of minutes and send me a response letting me know what you're reading these days.  Just list the title, author and genre of book-- theology, fiction, romance, etc...  THANKS!!!

Does Sports Imitate Life or Does....

People say that life imitates art.  That's why some are concerned when the latest slasher, or hacker or whatever kind of murder movie comes out.  I was wondering last night as I sat an watched the first half of the Patriots/Chargers game whether sports imitates life, or vice versa.  After all, cheating is part of our world, and it's certainly part of sports.  Which came first--cheating in sports, or cheating in life?  I wasn't there, but my guess is that cheating in life came first.  At some point in the distant past, somebody found out that they could get an advantage, or avoid a disadvantage by cheating, so they did it. When sports came along, sports IMITATED life.  Now, wherever we look sports teams and players are cheating in order to --- gain an advantage or avoid a disadvantage.  To what end?  To WIN. 

I've always been a fan of winning myself, whether we're talking about a sports contest, or a board game, or the "game" of life.  But at what cost?  Jesus told us that it was the TRUTH that would set us free, not lies, not cheating, not taking advantage of the "system" whatever the system might be.  But it's hard to believe that a person can live with that philosophy in our day--TRUTH first, truth last, truth in the middle?  Could a person possibly WIN under those constraints?  YES! After all, Jesus asked a question that puts it all in perspective, "What does it profit a man (or woman) to gain the WHOLE WORLD, and lose his (or her) soul?"  When you put it that way----and we MUST put it that way if we call ourselves followers of Jesus--cheating doesn't sound like such an advantage.  It comes back to this:  Who's first in life?  Is it Jesus, and winning the world to Him, or is it something else?  When Jesus comes first then we know that sports will imitate LIFE, because LIFE will set the agenda---that's our "game" today, and as we live it in the power of the Holy Spirit we ALWAYS end up as the WINNERS!

Very Early in the Morning...

In Mark 1:35 we read:  ³⁵Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.  We can't say based on this single verse that Jesus ALWAYS got up very early in the morning, while it was still dark, went out and found a solitary place, where he prayed, but we can say that Jesus often invested significant portions of time in prayer.  This morning when I got to the trail where I typically run and pray it was 5:45 a.m.  IT WAS DARK!  I run in the woods on a trail that's anywhere from 6-8 feet wide.  I thought to myself, "Jesus didn't run while He prayed!"  I also thought to myself, "This is the BEST time of the day to be praying."  There were absolutely no distractions during that hour of running and praying, AND I got to enjoy the day dawning.  Slowly but surely the darkness dissipated as I ran, the trees became more and more discernible along the path, eventually I could look down at my watch and see the face without pushing the "glow" button.

What's the point?  Jesus knew the best time to pray.  As someone put it, "The best time to tune your instrument is before the symphony begins."  I know we're not all morning people.  I know that for some prayer at the end of the day is BEST.  I'm not advocating that if you don't get up and pray for an hour to start off your day that you aren't like Jesus---what I am saying is that Jesus put His Heavenly Father FIRST.  However we do that, we MUST do that.  For me it is by getting up, going out away from everything and getting alone with Him.  For you it may be getting up and going to your study, or a special chair, or a quiet place on the back porch.  Wherever it is---the key is commitment and perseverence.  Not because God will put a gold star on our foreheads if we do it, not because our day will be "better" if we do it, but because God deserves the first and best of our lives--whenever and wherever that is.  After that, it's so much easier to give the rest of the day to Him.  Plan now, to start tomorrow the way Jesus did--by putting God first, and live the rest of the day TODAY that way, too!

Running with Soldiers!

I got quite a surprise when I was out on my prayer/run this morning.  I had decided to do an 8-mile run today, as I've been increasing my mileage little by little, and thought it was time to test myself with a little longer distance.  My chosen course for praying and running was my favorite -- Rails-to-trails.  I started at the Sarver entry point with my plan being to run a little past the Marwood entry point, which would be four miles and then return.  When I had run about 1/2 a mile I encountered half a dozen army soldiers, standing on the trail with clipboards.  I said, "Hi!" as I jogged by, and they returned my greeting.  Soon I came to an orange cone, and then another one.  I assumed (correctly as it turned out) that there must have been some kind of test going on for some army personnel (probably reservists, but I didn't find that out for sure.) 

Before too long three young men in army t-shirts and shorts came running south, as I was running north.  They were running at a good pace, and I said, "Hi!"  A couple of them returned my greeting, one offering, "Good morning, sir."  (SIR!  Not the typical greeting on my morning run!)  There was a gap and then a longer line of soldiers started appearing, each was obviously running a little slower than the one in front of him or her.  By the middle of the line the folks were running about my pace (9:40 miles as it turned out, when I did the math at the end of my run).  I continued to greet the soldiers as we passed.  Most offered a greeting, one who was about my age, said, "Now, there's a motivator!" (I assume he meant that someone of my age was out running voluntarily on a Saturday morning.)  By the time the end of the line came the soldiers were either running quite slowly or walking. I wondered how far they had run.   The cones had continued to be set along the trail about every quarter mile as I ran.  About five minutes after I passed the last soldier, I came to two soldiers dressed in Army windbreaker suits.  They were carrying cones as they walked.  I greeted them, then asked, "How far are they running?"  I wasn't really ready for the answer, "Two miles."  Two miles?  I know that only a handful of them had been running faster that I was running, and they were onloy running two miles.   I was puzzled.  Was it a test, or was I just thinking it was a test.  Was there a time limit?  If there was it had to be about 25 minutes, or a lot of them wouldn't have made it.   Then it hit me---Maybe they had run the two miles from south to north and were just jogging back to the start.  I'll never know for sure, but it was an interesting change of pace for the morning. 

After I had passed the last of the soldiers, I took some time to thank God for those who serve in the military, whether on active duty or in the reservies.  I prayed that he would protect all our soldiers the world over and that He would bring peace soon in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in other global "hot spots."  It struck me that I don't always include such prayers in my morning prayer/run times.  I was grateful to God for giving me that opportunity today and for the soldiers who prompted the prayer.