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A Thanksgiving Meditation

11/19/2020

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I use a small notebook as a prayer journal.  It doesn’t make me more spiritual than people who don’t, it just helps me stay faithful.  Years ago I became bothered by hearing people’s prayer requests and promptly forgetting some of them.  So I write them down.  It helps me keep faith with those for whom I have promised to pray.  One section of it is devoted to the things for which I am grateful.  It is worth going over.  Every time.  Think about the things for which we should give thanks:  
     How about beginning with life?  As it says in the book of Job:  “If it were his intention and he withdrew his spirit and breath, all humanity would perish
together and mankind would return to the dust.”  Not only is He the Author of life but also its Sustainer.  
     What about our gifts and abilities?  We are each born with different inborn aptitudes, physical attributes and talents.  We may work at developing them but we do not generate them.  
     Our health?  Praise God if you are healthy but living as we do in a fallen world, disease and decay are a fact of life.  No one is healthy all the time and we have to die of something someday.  Praise God for our body’s ability to mend itself and overcome pathogens.  Praise God for its ability to heal from injury.  We didn’t come up with this, it is a gift.  
     What about our ability to earn our living?  We may do work, earn a wage but our ability to do so is not self generated.
     What about this amazing world where we live?  And along with it, what about the senses that God has given to us that allow us to enjoy it.  After a winter storm I look out on a sunny morning and praise God for the beauty that I see and for giving me the eyes to see it.  And ears to hear the meadowlark, and a nose to smell the sage after a rain, skin to feel the breeze, a mouth to taste my food etc.  
Not only has He placed us here in the world but He has equipped us to enjoy it.  
     As you look around your home and see your children and mate, do you praise Him for that?  I remember holding our firstborn and marveling at his perfectly formed body.  I hold my wife, children and grandchildren and am moved to thanksgiving.  How He has enriched my life!  I can remember when all I thought I had in the world was an old truck, a black dog and some clothing stuffed in a backpack.  He has blessed me abundantly.
     Do you thank Him for adversity?  If our way was always smooth would we ever grow?  He shapes us through the difficult times.  
   Do you thank Him for physical closeness?  The hug of a loved one, the bond of shared lives and experience, the grubby kisses of the small ones?  How poor we would be without them!
    Are you thankful for the “basics?”  A roof over our head, electricity, heat, indoor plumbing, food in the refrigerator (even having a ‘fridge!) - most of the world would count these incredible luxuries.  
    I could go on in this vein for as long as I can type.  Maybe longer!  In doubt as to where to begin?  Start with the basics and move outward.  
    “ Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  1 Thess 5:18.  If you are dubious about why to be grateful this should help you out.  It is God’s will that we be thankful in all circumstances.  Boy does this cover a lot!  Not just being thankful for the what but for the when and how - that is His will for us.  Not everything is good or enjoyable but He works in and through all things.  That is the truth behind Rom 8:28 - He causes all things to work together for good.  That is why Job praised Him in disaster.  That is why we praise God.  It is a declaration of faith in His benign will and purpose toward us.  Even when we cannot see it in our present circumstance.  It is a declaration on our part that we trust Him to cause all things to work out according to His will for good.  
     Are you thankful to Him for our Lord Jesus?  Consider what He has done for us and who He is?  The Lord and Creator of the universe regarded us enough, had compassion on us despite our sin and identified with us in our humanity, taking upon Himself our collective guilt and satisfying God’s justice.  All this through His incarnation, death and resurrection.  And at the Father’s right hand He intercedes for us.  He is not ashamed to call us His family and He is preparing to spend eternity with us.  He and the Father sent the Holy Spirit and will complete in us the work that began when we placed our faith in Him.  
    Are you thankful for the Holy Spirit?  He is the one who places us into the family of God the moment we believe, seals us as His own, leads, comforts, convicts, teaches and opens up God’s word to us.  
    This is just a beginning.  One could go on (and on) this way for a long while.  And we should and it is healthy to do it.  Here we are in Fall 2020.  Who could have predicted what this year would bring at this time last year?  All the political upheaval, COVID 19, drought, fires and much more.  But, if you are reading this you are still here!  As stated in an old Persian saying, “This too will pass.”  Sooner or later there is change.  There always is.  But God remains the same, can be trusted and is the Source of everything good.  Search your hearts often and be thankful.   Happy Thanksgiving 

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INDEPENDENCE

6/30/2018

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Happy July everyone!

      We usher the month in with a bang, both literally and figuratively.  The Fourth is usually celebrated with barbecues, recreation and fireworks.  For most of us (if we are honest), it is a festive day off.  But stop a bit and think about what we have here in our nation.  “A lady asked Dr. Franklin “Well Doctor what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”  “A republic,” replied the Doctor - “if you can keep it.”  This was uttered by Benjamin Franklin to a woman who wanted to know what the Constitutional Convention of 1787 had produced.  Here we are, 231 years later about to observe our nation’s annual celebration of our existance as a sovereign nation.  Enjoy your day off and thank God for our representative republic, our Bill of Rights and the separation of powers that both empowers and limits our government.  God has blessed us as a nation; not because of us but in spite of us!  He is not on our “side” but we had better seek to be on His.  


      Do you vote?  Study issues?  Pray for our leaders (look at 1 Tim 2, 1 Pet 2 - it is a command!).  And, do we speak of and to those with whom we disagree with respect?  The public lack of it shown to elected and appointed officials (and by officials toward others) is shameful.  The Lord commands His people to do good to all men (Prv 3:27, Lk 6:35-36, Gal 6:10, 1 Thess 5:15, 1 Pet 3:9).  The overall political tone anymore seems crude, harsh, bitterly partisan and shallow.  What ever happened to showing kindness to all men, especially toward those who oppose us?  In our society name calling, “spontaneous” protests to shout down ideological opponents, violence in the name of causes is becoming commonplace.  To me, such actions indicate weakness on the part of those indulging in it.  Almost as if they fear that their ideas cannot prevail in public discourse.  But the nastiness comes from all sides.  We, as followers of Christ are to be different.  We dare not back down from our convictions but we also dare not fight “fire with fire.”  Read Eph 4:31-32 - where is there room given us to be insulting and mean - spirited?   The challenge for believers (And it is a challenge.) is to give blessing for cursing and to pray for those who abuse us.  


     Our founders handed us a republic based on representative democracy.  In our founding documents they gave us a framework that has served us well for over two centuries.  It is a precious inheritance.  Value it but do not worship it.  God is and always must be the Christian’s first allegiance.  And His priorities should be ours as well - to love God and our neighbor.  


     One final thought - our nation’s independence is a good reason to celebrate.  But as members of the family of God we are not independent but inter-dependent.  We need one another.  As part of God’s church we are dependent on Him and committed to mutual ministry.  
Happy 4th of July
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EXPECTATIONS

1/11/2018

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Dear Fellow Travelers,


      It doesn’t often pay to have preconceived ideas or expectation for your life.  Reality seldom fulfills expectations.  We want what we want.  Call it human autonomy, call it self-determinism.  Or call it foolishness.  The last time I checked none of us holds a remote that controls life.  You can battle for financial independence.  You’re still going to die.  You can receive the praise of your peers, achieve standing, plan … for what?  A few good years of retirement before you cash in?  Maybe.  Or maybe plan, work, build and then when it “all” seems to be within your grasp, some idiot makes an ill-advised maneuver in a vehicle and sends you to the hospital or mortuary.  If you’re looking for fairness in this life as we define fairness you’re looking in vain.  Stuff happens all the time that you cannot plan for or anticipate.  Like Sisyphus, the man in Greek mythology who was doomed by Zeus to eternally roll a boulder up a mountain, we often seem to fight a losing battle.  He was condemned to never make it.  Just as he’d get to the peak it would roll down to the bottom and he’d have to start all over.  Tough huh?  Not so far fetched though.  Any dad or mom who tries to keep their home and yard straight will appreciate the story.  Today’s neat house will be tomorrow’s disaster.  That nice mowed lawn will be a jungle in a week, etc..   So, what do we expect, what should we expect?  Well, for one, expect life to be fairly unpredictable (Jas 4:13-17).  I don’t know what will happen in five minutes let alone five days.  By all means, plan.  But, don’t expect things to necessarily go your way.  They might now and then.  Be grateful when things work out but don’t be surprised if the end result is not what you envisioned.  Expect God to act and do what is best, even if what is best doesn’t follow your pre-envisioned script.  It will be better, believe me, than having had your way.  Cindy and I wed and raised a family.  We had ideas about how things were going to go.  The problem was, the kids had ideas too.  Parents can (mostly) impose their vision of “the way things should be” for a while.  And then the little darlings decide to fight for their own ideas regarding how things ought to be done.  Parental satisfaction and comfort (“and sometimes glee’) can come from watching their grandchildren put their kids  through the same things they experienced.  Call it “schadenfreude,” call it revenge, call it sour grapes but it is real.  “Hah, that’s what you get for putting me through that!” one thinks as they watch a son or daughter cope with newly assertive children (say, about 14 yrs old).  Or you’ve given your notice, bought the motorhome (in my case, a it will be nice tent!) and planned your itinerary.  And…you get gallstones or shingles or something much worse.  And at some point, one hopes later than sooner, either something will whack you (a truck maybe, or an illness etc) and you check out.  And maybe, just maybe you will look up from your hamster wheel before that happens and wonder what it was or is all about.  Did anything actually matter?  My life’s ambition has never been to be planted under a nice lawn somewhere.  


     What am I driving at?  Solomon said that life was meaningless, vain, empty and a striving after wind.  Shakespeare (In Macbeth) has a character lamenting that life was an actor "strutting and fretting his hour upon the stage" and that it was “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”  Really?  What a gloomy outlook!  But, absent a regard for God, that is about all life holds for you.  It’s a quick ride.  And death is a wall that no one can climb over or dig under.  All one’s plans and schemes slam against it and lose.  What is thereby exposed is the futility of human aspirations divorced from the fear of the Lord.  Life here is short, and a struggle.  If the only meaning life has is temporal, we are in a world of hurt.  So, the focus needs to be on that which lasts.  But it isn’t just that there is some nebulous “something” beyond this life.  There is a definite promise of reward and of judgment.  Ever see a kid on the ball field just sort of going through the motions?  Coaches hate that.  They want motivation and passion on the field.  How do you approach daily life?  Just squeezing by?  Or are you purposeful?  If God is real, and if this life is not the ultimate end for us, if today’s choices indeed influence our eternal lives then we need to pay attention!  


     God will show us the meaning of things someday.  What is fuzzy now will become clear.  I try not to think much at all about life’s meaning.  I do think a lot about life’s  purpose.  That is something I can sink my “teeth” into.  God calls us to love Him emotionally, mentally and vigorously (Ok, that’s my paraphrase - in sacred writ it says “with all your heart, soul, mind and strength”).  If we love Him, we will also love His Son whom He sent.  That is one purpose.  Is God an “also ran” in my life or my priority?  If He comes first, what does it look like?  Do I pray, do I read and take in His word?  Am I in fellowship with His people as He commands?  Am i serving?  It isn’t people who say they follow Christ who actually follow but those who do.  Our second purpose is to love our neighbor as ourself in obedience to God’s command (e.g., Mk12:31).  One can live a long life and never exhaust those two things.  They become the rudder that steers you.  


     So, knowing how easy it is to get spiritually and mentally bogged down in daily living, let me exhort you (and myself) to live with purpose.  Seek Him, seek to serve, seek to treat those around us with kindness and respect.  Seek to know Him better daily and make Him known.  Look up from your preoccupations and see things for what they are - temporary.  We Christians should live in this world with purpose.  We should use this world’s stuff and hold it lightly because we know life here is fleeting.  We are to view everything through the lens of an eternal destiny - a mission, if you will.  Only then when we come to the end will we be able to say with Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”  That is what I aspire to and I pray that it will motivate all of us.  And my expectation is that God is good and will sustain and guide us in the process.

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Lov e  Your  Neighbor

1/18/2017

1 Comment

 
       Here we are at the beginning of another new administration.  One regime leaves and another takes its place.  When I was 18 I voted for the first time in any election, national or otherwise.  It all seemed so new and "adult."  Since then, it seems like a revolving door - Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama and now Trump.  And over the years those who liked the loser in any contest reviled, poked fun etc. at the new leader.  Humor is cathartic and at times very refreshing.  We need to be able to laugh at ourselves.  And, humor can be used to make points that need to be made.  I do think that we often  cross the line that exists between valid criticism and disrespect.  In scripture (Ex 22:28 and Act 23:5) we are commanded not to speak evil of or curse the ruler of our people.  I hear and see professing believers violate this constantly.  Whether I care for a leader and their policies or not,  I need to speak respectfully about them and pray for them. In 1 Tim 2 we are commanded to pray for our leaders.  In 1 Pet 2 we are called on to "fear God and honor the king."  The king referred to in the latter passage was reprobate, matricide, murderer, sexual predator etc. etc. - Nero, emperor of Rome.  Peter no doubt detested Nero's deeds yet he was determined to honor his position as king/emperor.  In the same manner, some of us who have served in the military know that although a superior officer or NCO may be unethical, incompetent or worse, we still needed to respect their position and rank.  
   Beloved, however you voted, pray for our leaders, pray for their decisions and speak and write about them with respect.    We do not have to agree with them to do so, just show proper respect.  Even if we oppose them.  Read Rom 13:1-7.  I have a challenge for you all - seek to express your political opinions by sticking to issues and acts and avoid ad hominem attacks.  We should hold our leaders accountable - all of them.  And again, do it respectfully.  Lev 19:18, Gal 5:14, Eph 5:2,  1 Jn 3:11.  How do people know we are Jesus' disciples?  How do we speak and act toward all men, as well as toward one another.  Jn 13:34-35.  
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February 15th, 2016

2/15/2016

1 Comment

 
"IF YOU AIM AT NOTHING..."

     There is an old saying about aimless drifting that goes, "If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time."  There is a lot of truth to this.  Churches especially run the risk of merely maintaining programs and allowing inertia to control direction.  We at Standish have a three fold reason  for existence.  We want to proclaim the gospel, we want to make disciples and we want tot strengthen families.  Everything we do as a congregation ought to fulfill one or more of these goals.  Our prayer is that in doing so we will glorify our Maker and make a difference here where He has placed us.  This focus is a good idea to have in our lives as individuals as well.  How do we approach living our lives?  Is there a purpose that drives us or do we simply let life Happen?"  I think that it is a very important challenge for each of us to try and live life intentionally to glorify God.   Seize the day!  Make the most of the opportunities that each day presents to you.  Start it with time in prayer and the word.  Communicate throughout the day with God and be watchful for opportunities to serve Him.  God will certainly use us if we seek Him and are available for Him to use.  So, will you just let life happen or approach it with purpose?  The way we each answer this will make a big difference in the fruit that we produce.  In Jesus, Tony
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January 31st, 2016

1/31/2016

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​Revival
     If you are getting weary of the strident tone of the political "industry," don't feel alone.  Here we are,  nine months and a few days from the next major election and the pundits in print, radio, on-line and televised media have been overwhelming us for almost a year already.  Talk radio never really quits.  As believers in the Lord Jesus, how should we approach politics?   As a pastor, I want our people to study candidates and issues and vote their conscience.  Am I or Standish Bible Church endorsing any candidates?  Not likely.  Ever.  And never forget that the talking heads in the media are only entertainers.  Stirring the pot keeps listeners/watchers engaged.  These people make their money advertising.  They do not offer a public service.  In fact, a nuisance abatement might be an appropriate response.  They are strident, at times bombastic and they constantly "stir the pot."  They keep their place in the ratings by stirring people up.  
     Listen or watch with discernment.   Philippians 4:8 definitely applies here (as in music, movies etc.).  Is what we listen to, watch or participate in honoring to God?  Are you politically active?  There is nothing wrong with that.  In fact, I find that commendable.  We need to see more believers engaging in government (as well as in every other facet of society).  But remember this,  a leader in and of themselves is not who we are to look to.  We need to look to God and His priorities.  If God's people in our nation would strive to love God and their neighbor as priorities, this nation would change for the better.  We need revival, more than electoral victories.  
     Can you imagine the impact of applying the resources and energy that is now being poured into politics instead being poured into feeding the hungry, funding missions, preaching the gospel and caring for the needy?  If the American church has a failing, it is in failing to keep first things first.  Pray for our nation!  Pray that God's people will step up and seek God's priorities.  For a long time now the church in our nation has increasingly mirrored our society.  There is a lot of the world in the church.  We need to proclaim Jesus to the world in our deeds and words.  Only then will revival come.  
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Holidays

11/24/2015

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     Here again we come to that time of year called “the holidays.”  Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.  Traditionally families gather, feast, relax and travel.  For some, lots of travel takes place.  More than anything else in our society it portends feasting and football.  And it is good to hang out with loved ones and friends and to enjoy seasonal treats that we seldom indulge in at other times of year.  But commonly lost in the shuffle is the actual reason that we celebrate such days.  When Cindy and I lived in Germany we watched with curiosity the festival processions, special church services, parades etc. that the people of our part of Bavaria joined.  Yet when we asked what the reason for the day was we were commonly told, “It is a tradition; we always do this.”  It made us think of our own traditions and why we celebrate them.  As a society we have come far from the original mood and intent of so much of what we celebrate.  It helps to understand Israel’s falling away that the bible records.  They were (and are) like us - they often did “what they always did” at certain times of year.  Special days and seasons lost significance for many and were doubtless commercialized.  Sukkoth, Passover, Yom Kippur, Chanukah surely meant more to some than to others.   How do we confront this?  There are several ways but here are some to consider:


1.  Focus on the main thing:  On Thanksgiving, remember the Lord and His goodness and give thanks.  On Christmas focus on the incarnation of Jesus and the reason for it.  Parents, it is a very good thing to make Him the focus.  What an opportunity to tell your kids about salvation!
We have tried hard to avoid the increasing “paganization” of any holiday observances with roots in our faith.  We celebrate our Savior.  Likewise, for Easter we focus on the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus.  On veteran’s day it is important to remember the sacrifice of those who have served and are serving in the uniformed services.  You get the idea.  


2.  The commercialization of the Christmas season is especially annoying and ungodly.  It is all about stuff.  Advertising starts in September in some places.  There is a short detour for Halloween and Thanksgiving pretty well gets skipped over (except in grocery stores where there is money to  be made selling the traditional foods).  We have chosen to give modest gifts to our grandkids and donate in one another’s names through Samaritan’s Purse or similar care ministries.  It doesn’t make anyone more “spiritual” if one does this, it just helps us focus better on the reason that we celebrate.  Maybe you have a different way to remember Him - this is merely our way.  But to see the emphasis devolve down to crass and kitschy myths and an orgy of spending is painful.  Fight it!


3.  Jesus said that it is “better to give than to receive.”  Look around you for people in need of encouragement and/or help.  Volunteer to help or give.  There are many opportunities to give year round but especially at this time.  When most are enjoying the holidays some are in pretty bleak circumstances.  Love your neighbor.




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Merry Christmas

12/20/2014

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Christmas 2014  
  
    Have you considered the roots of our “Holiday Season?”  It begins with Thanksgiving which is a great thing.  I know that it has been said that “Gratitude is a disease of dogs” (J Stalin),  but I think it is a great thing.  None of us can take credit for our God-given abilities, talents or aptitudes.  As it says in the Bible, “What do you have that you haven’t received?”  Be grateful to God who has given you the wherewithal to do what you can with what He has given you!  Thanksgiving is followed by the celebration of the incarnation (Christmas).  Humanity is pretty messed up.  All of us.  The existence of law enforcement, military establishments, hospitals, etc. constitute a tacit admission that we are broken and need redemption.  According to the Bible, we cannot heal ourselves and are under judgment.  Mankind is and has been in revolt against their Creator and we have paid the price.  But God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son (who willingly gave Himself for the world) that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  That is what Christmas means.  I mean, an infant in a manger is fairly “cute’ and non threatening, and if all we do this time of year is make a passing observance of the nativity and coat it with sentimentality and tradition we lose the whole message.  He came in our skin to pay our debt!  His once-for-all sacrifice was a gift to us all.  He completely identified with us in our humanity and took our burdens on Himself.  That puts the “merry” in Christmas!

    Some may argue that religion has caused all of humanity’s ills.  I disagree.  Yes, it has caused enormous pain and suffering.  But mere religion is not at all a relationship with God through Christ.  Religion by itself is usually a tool by some people to control others.  Jesus teaches that if we have trusted Him as our Lord and Savior our duty is to love God and our neighbor as ourselves.  If more people lost “religion” and followed Christ this world would be a much different place.  And consider the opposite:  The dictatorships of the proletariat, fascism racism and statism have brought us the slaughter of multiplied dozens of millions in the last century alone.  In Soviet Russia, Central Europe, Cambodia, China, etc. millions have died to install just another “boss.”  As in, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”  Jesus didn’t come to save my wallet, place my ideological allies into power, give me “goodies,” etc.  He came as Lord and Savior and, as His follower and subject, I want to go where He went and do what He did.  To love my neighbor, my enemy; those with whom I agree and those with whom I differ.  And to love in action not merely with words.  

     We have had a great year.  Aside from the ministry and all its challenges and pleasures, we have had fun.  Is that a safe thing to say?  It is fun to see God change people!  It is fun to share with one another in service. It is amazing to see Him at work in and through people - and we have a “ringside seat.”  We have also had the bittersweet times of loss when those we love have departed this life.  But it is also our confident hope to be with them again.  Jr High Camp, Soccer Camp, weddings, counseling, coffee with friends, woodcutting, barbecues, church, Bible studies, hospital calls, yard and building maintenance and seeing people grow - it is all good!  Some people worry about life’s meaning.  I figure that will become plain at some point in time, maybe in this life but certainly in the life to come.  But our purpose is a no brainer!  Seek and serve Christ and love people.  Cool ducks!  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
T’was the night after Christmas, and all through the house, 

nothing was stirring, except for a mouse.  

The stockings were scattered and littered the floor,  

wrapping and ribbon in a pile by the door.  

The credit cards maxed; cash advances more, 

in hopes that the tax return’d even the score.  

Kids bicker and argue over whose gift is whose, 

while the only sane critter, the cat, takes a snooze.  

Why do we struggle, spend and obsess, 

when the focus of Christmas was never this mess?  

He came in our likeness, our lives to redeem, 

to turn us from us and to care for the mean.  

The spirit of Christmas is to focus on Christ, 

loving for His sake and apply that to life.  

     AJL

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WORSHIP , Pt 2

10/24/2014

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Dear Ones In Christ,
I am going to vent a little. But you already knew that I was a bit of a crank anyway!  I am getting increasingly weary of hearing the term “worship” applied to the portion of a church service devoted to praising God in music and song. I hear people describe that portion of a service as worship, as in “Man, the worship was awesome today.” What exactly does that mean? That the music and words resonated with them as they participated? That it caused them to praise our Lord? This can be a good thing, but I fear that often it simply reflects a person’s enjoyment and approval of the music, the words and the skill of the music ministry folks.

I have known quite a few people over the years who seek out churches based on the style of the music. What I fear that this says about us when we do that is that we are into self worship. We seek out what moves us instead of possibly what actually feeds us. If you like the old hymns and that is what “does it for you,” it can be the same thing. The genre doesn’t matter so much as the attitude of the worshipper. Who is this thing we call worship supposed to be all about? If it is about me and my preferences, then it is self worship. If it is about knowing and seeking God, it is about Him.  

In our world people tend to shop for churches like they do for other things, be it food, clothes, entertainment, cars, etc. It is about my choices, my comfort, my desires. Trying to find what makes me happy. That road eventually leads to bad places, probably sooner than later. It can produce spiritual shallowness, and weakness, that is certain. American churches are “discipling” people to be spiritual consumers.

But, beloved, the church is not a marketplace, nor is it all about “me.” It is a community of people linked together by a shared faith in and commitment to Christ and one another. We don’t “do” church, we are the church. Here are some things to remember as we contemplate the church:

1. Christ is our Head and Master. If He is not at the center of what we do and who we are, ! something is wrong.

2. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Not the building.

3. The church must be Word-based. In 1 Tim 4:13 Paul, speaking by the Spirit, exhorted Timothy, a young pastor, to focus on three things: the public reading of Scripture, preaching and teaching. The Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit should be the focal point of our gatherings. When we spend 35 minutes in musical pursuits and 15 in the Word, things are out of kilter. Drama and singing are fine, but nothing can be allowed to usurp the rightful place of the Word in our worship.

4. Listening attentively and asking God to reveal His truth to us is worship too. Read, listen, take notes if it helps. Ask God to show you what the Word is leading you to do or change as you read and listen.

5. When you sing, what are the lyrics about? Is it Him or is it about me and how I feel? Music certainly can be worship if the focus is on Him and what He has done. Many old hymns and contemporary songs and choruses magnify Him and if we are actively seeking and praising Him as we sing it is worship and can be a powerful thing in our lives. But if it is merely fun to sing a catchy tune - not so much.


6. I dislike the term “worship team” to describe musical ministry. Praise Team or Music Ministry is better I think. No one can lead worship. We can point people to Him and try to facilitate worship, but that is a personal issue for each participant.

7. If we are seeking Him as a life priority, a daily walk, our gathering for worship will most likely be sweet to us, profound and even moving. If we live like atheists all week and put our Christian “hat” on Sunday morning, it will most likely be stale, even stilted unless there is some kind of worship “experience” to move or jolt us. And even then, being merely emotionally moved but not spiritually challenged easily ends up becoming self deception. 


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As Time Goes By

10/14/2014

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Today my best friend and I have been married 36 years. It has been an interesting journey. As God slowly draws back the curtain on our lives together, we learn incrementally what life together really is. I can't say that I fully know what love or life together is about. I can say that we are learning and know much more now than we did on October 14, 1978! Like my relationship with God, it is a daily walk. In my marriage and in life with my family in Christ, the attitude of us all should parallel the words of Robert Browning, "Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be..." He who called us by the grace of Christ into fellowship with one another never ceases working in and through us. And, as we age together and our lives wind down physically, the Spirit who indwells us works still, and even more powerfully as we are forced by weakness and infirmity to rely on Him more and more. What glory awaits as we continue to grow and bear fruit! Indeed, the best is yet to come. Soli Deo Gloria
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    Pastor Anthony Loubet

         Tony has been the pastor of Standish Bible Church since 1987.  He, and his wife Cindy, are graduates of Shasta Bible College. They are the proud parents of three and, even more proud, grandparents of nine.  They enjoy working together in ministry, fishing, hanging out with grandkids.  

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