One Person at a Time...

The Pain of Watching Your Children's Pain...

Our daughter, Abby, had her wisdom teeth out on Monday.  When she came home and the medicaton wore off, she was in great pain for a while until the additional medication took effect.  As a dad, watching her in that condition was hard.  It hurts to see our children hurt, doesn't it?  Whether the pain is physical, or emotional, or spiritual, we want to protect our children from it.  Yet, we all know that some pain is necessary in life.  In fact, sometimes unless we endure pain we can't grow or move forward in life.  No one knows that better that our Heavenly Father.  We can't even imagine the pain He must have felt in watching Jesus endure the pain of Good Friday.  A long time ago, when Nancy was pregnant with our first child, the pregnancy ended with a miscarriage.  I had never experienced pain like that.  In my sorrow I shouted at God, "You have no idea what it's like to lose a child!"  Nancy and I had been praying for God to give us our first child for years at this point, so the pain of that loss was immense.  No sooner had I finished the challenge to God than I realized----Yes, He does.  He has endured the loss of a perfect child.  He had to watch as His Son was executed by those for whom He came as Savior.  It didn't lessen my pain at the moment, but it helped me realize that God does understand the pain we experience when our children hurt, or at the extreme end of matters--die.  While I don't understand the why behind some of the suffering our children face, Good Friday helps me remember that God has endured far more than any of us, and is always there to strengthen us in our times of hurting for the hurts of our children.

This Week At New Life!

After a few day interlude from Palm Sunday, Holy Week activities pick up in earnest at New Life tomorrow evening!  The "Christ in the Passover Seder" will be celebrated at the Saxonburg Firehall at 7:00 p.m.  Covenanting disciple, Mitch Tepper, who grew up as a Jew and became a follower of Jesus as an adult will be the primary leader for this time of worship and fellowship together, as we gain a deeper understanding of how the "Last Supper" was a Passover meal during which Jesus showed us the full meaning of God's grace and love for us! 

Friday morning the men of the church have the opportunity to meet with men from around the area for the Good Friday breakfast at 6:00 a.m. at Saxonburg Memorial Church.  The women also have a Good Friday Brunch at 10:00 a.m. at Zion Methodist Church.  Then the Youth have their Good Friday "Pizza Breakfast" at 11:00 a.m. at the Buffalo Presbyterian Church. Our own Brad French will be speaking and New Life's worship band will provide the music.  (For more details go to Live Relevant!) Then all of us will have the opportunity to worship with our brothers and sisters in Jesus at Crossway Church, when we join them for a Good Friday time of worship at 7:00 p.m.  (Crossway is located on Davis Road in Valencia)

Easter morning we'll gather at 7:00 a.m. at 127 Knoch Road for our sunrise worship.  Then we'll celebrate Jesus' resurrection with two worship services at the South Butler Primary Center at  8:15 & 10:00 a.m.  We'll also enjoy food and fellowship at the Easter Brunch that starts at 9:15. 

If you're looking for a place to worship during this Holy Week, please feel welcomed and encouraged to join us!  If you have any additional questions about who we are, where we are or what we believe check out the New Life website at:  www.newlifexn.org

A Powerful Message from ER

Thanks to Lisa Johns for passing this on to me, and thanks to Ray Comfort and the Way of the Master for seeing the significance in this powerful segment from the television show ER.

Comfort notes that "fair use" allows us to pass this segment on, and he encourages all who see his message to pass it on throughout the internet. So here you are! The segment is a bit long, but it's well worth the 9:27

For this week’s next step we turn to Acts 8:12-17. The Apostle Philip had traveled to Samaria to present the Good News to the people. A sorcerer, named Simon, lived among them.  Eventually, “the people” perhaps the whole village or town where Philip was BELIEVED Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. Many of them were baptized.  Interestingly, they were only baptized in the name of Jesus. Thus, they didn’t receive the Holy Spirit.  Read the text below:   

¹²But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. ¹³Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip performed. ¹⁴When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. ¹⁵As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.   Acts 8:12-17 NLT

                                

We may wonder why Philip would baptize the Samaritans only in the name of Jesus, when Jesus specifically told the apostles to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, but whatever the reason, these early believers received the Holy Spirit as Peter and John laid their hands on them. They were already believers, but now they were Spirit-filled believers. As we know from other Scriptures, salvation comes ONCE through Jesus, while receiving the Holy Spirit also comes once, but being FILLED with the Holy Spirit is ongoing.  I point this out simply to remind us that all believers need to receive the Holy Spirit in order to experience the fullness of God’s presence and work in our lives. The key is not to focus on the initial experience, but to LIVE OUT the Spirit’s presence in our lives day by day. As we’ll see next week in our second look at Acts 8, the Holy Spirit is not a “commodity” to be purchased, but the REALITY of God in us! May we live that reality 24/7 to God’s glory and honor.

                                                                                                                

The Case for the Real Jesus

Lee Strobel has done it again--he's taken a challenge faced by believers, gone to the scholars to get their input, and produced a READABLE apologetic response.  This one is titled The Case for the Real Jesus.  In it Strobel addresses six current attacks on the IDENTITY of CHRIST and reasonable and credible responses to them.  In Strobel's typical fashion, he provides volumes of evidence, but in a manner that is almost "down home."  The Case for the Real Jesus will give you helpful input for engaging friends who may have dismissed Jesus and adopted other "alternatives," AND it will deepen your own faith as you see time and again the reliablity of Jesus and the Bible!

Who Am I?

Here's a great video passed on to me by Patti and Randy Gomola. Amazing what can be done with some white gloves, a black light and a powerful Christian song!

Next Step #41

This week’s “Next Step” comes from Acts 7:54-60. I call it “The Holy Spirit’s Ultimate Witness.” By that I mean that as Stephen, the first Christian martyr faced his death, the Holy Spirit filled Him and showed him a vision of heaven. Stephen had been arrested for bearing witness to Jesus.  Ultimately, Stephen was stoned to death for his faithfulness to Jesus. Read what happened just before his death:

⁵⁴The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage. ⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. ⁵⁶And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!”

⁵⁷Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him ⁵⁸and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.

Wow!  What an amazing testimony! Just as Jesus had asked His Heavenly Father to forgive those who executed Him, Stephen prayed for Jesus to forgive his killers! When the Holy Spirit is truly in charge of our lives, we gain the power to forgive those who sin against us—even if that sin is our own murder. Stephen’s death may have been the first “spark” in igniting the “fire” of the Holy Spirit in the life of Saul, who later became the Apostle Paul. We never know what our willingness to give control of our lives to the Holy Spirit will do, and while it may not be as dramatic as what the Spirit did through Stephen, the Spirit WILL witness to and through us in our times of need.

Herbert and Doris

Tuesday was Herbert and Doris Baumann's wedding anniversary.  Nancy called to wish them a Happy Anniversary and to see how they're doing.  Herbert's 92 now, and Doris isn't too far behind, nevertheless, Nancy was surprised to hear that Herbert had experienced an "episode" about six weeks ago and wasn't able to speak.  When Nancy came and told me about her conversation, we were both upset.  They live in Cincinnati, so we couldn't just drop everything and go see them, right?  Right?  After all, it's nearly a six hour drive, and we have our schedules.  About half an hour later Nancy came to me again and asked, "Do you think we should go see them?"  We both knew the answer to that question.  Arrangements were made for Emmy to stay with a friend on Wednesday night, and we headed off to Cincinnati on Wednesday afternoon.  We INVESTED the morning with Herbert and Doris on Thursday and found to our surprise--and joy--that Herbert CAN speak. He just can't always get what he wants to say out.  Probably a mild case of aphasia, resulting from his "episode."  Herbert and Doris were amazed that we would come just to see them.  [Some of you who think of me as only concerned about "young" people, might be amazed by that, too.] Actually, Herbert and Doris are really special to us.  They took us "under their wings" when we first started into the ministry.  We spent many hours at their home, and Herbert often talks about the time he and I painted their house roof (It's a steel roof that's painted bright red!).  That's now a couple of decades ago, but it's one of those memories that gets better with age.

On the way home Thursday afternoon, Nancy and I realized that you never regret the time you "took" to be with people you love.  You only regret NOT taking the time.  We also had the added blessings of getting to visit Nancy's Uncle Dave and seeing his new home; being WITH each other for about 12 hours as we drove to and from Cincinnati--which gave us the time to reconnect with each other, and to ponder what really IS important in life; and an unexpected phone call from Abby as we drove, which since there was no schedule to keep, was more leisurely and informative than sometimes.  Do you have any "Herbert and Doris" people in your lives?  When was the last time you visited them?  If it's been a while pick up the phone or even jump in the car and go INVEST some time with them.  The dividends are guaranteed!

This Sunday at New Life!

You'll want to be there Sunday for the conclusion of our Back to Basics series on Prayer, titled "Everybody Stay Calm!"  The message focuses on SUPPLICATION, which most of us assume means asking God for what we need.  Come and find out what it REALLY means!  I know we're supposed to get some snow, but remember:  we LIVE IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA!  It snows here.  2-4 inches of snow used to be "flurries" when I was growing up.  Now it's a "MONSTER storm!"  Come on---- By Sunday morning the "storm" is supposed to be past, and it'll be a pretty drive to South Butler Primary Center.  I'm looking forward to seeing YOU there at 10:00 a.m.--and remember to SPRING ahead, so you'll catch every minute!

Back on the Road Again, Again, Again

It's not looking much like I'll be part of the 7,000+ runners in the Cleveland Marathon come May 18.  Yesterday and today were my first days of running in the past three weeks.  A funny thing has happened since God has been dealing with my life-long struggle with anger--I don't feel the "need" to go for a run.  Certainly, my body still has the need, from a physical fitness and health standpoint.  Certainly, my prayer life can use the extended times of prayer as I run.  Actually, though, my prayer life is so much more on-going since it isn't being interrupted with bouts of irritation and anger throughout the day.  I've noticed that now that I'm driving "normally" (read as: obeying most of the traffic laws, most of the time) that my prayer time in the car is fairly non-interrupted. (I've even noticed that at the speeds I drive these days, I could probably write or read a book, but so far I've resisted the temptation!) Anyway, I started this post to say that while I don't "need" to run as a way of letting off steam anymore, I realized that I still need the discipline of the run, and the focused start to each day in prayer.  This morning was a challenge to say the least.  Rails to trails was more like "slush to mush."  About 2-3 inches of snow/ice/slush made up the "base," which meant that footing was not fun.  Even so, the four mile run felt good, and as I was thinking about how "short" of a run it was, I realized that four years ago when I started running my first run was 1/8 of a mile!  That was a tough one to take for a guy who lettered in three varsity sports in high school, and always considered myself an athlete.  These days, I consider myself blessed to be able to go out and complete a "short" run, and to probably still have a few long ones in me.  More than that, I'm grateful to God that while I don't "need" to run anymore, I still can, and will, because it keeps me sharp spiritually, and gives me the opportunity to stay in good enough shape to play a little one-on-one with the girls, or go water skiing this summer (the Lord willing!) without too much danger of hurting myself. So, it's back on the road (or trail) again, again, again...