Good Seeds

Luke 8:15 (NLT)
¹⁵ And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

Jesus’ parable of the seeds has provided us with lots of reasons that people just do not accept the teaching; stay true to the teaching; or compromise the teaching and fall away. Just looking at the stats, it appears that 3 out of 4 people will eventually reject our message about Jesus Christ. But the picture painted by Jesus is much different. I know that the planting and sowing in the 1st Century was much different than we see in today’s modern agricultural world. However one thing remains constant: the farmer wants to maximize his return, doing whatever possible to reap a bounty crop in the fall. He scatters his seed in throughout the field. The field has been carefully and diligently prepared to receive the seed, germinate the seed and give long lasting nurishment to the seed as it progresses from seed to seedling to  growing plant to harvest time. That means adding fertilizer and such to the soil. It means busting up the clods, raking the rocks, disturbing what otherwise was a beautiful field of wild flowers and weeds. And speaking of weeds, the process of removing weeds occurs all season long, with constant care to keep the nourishment of the soil going totally into plant growth.

The occasional seed finds itself falling onto the path–not intentionally, but its there. A very small walkway connecting the fields with the road. It will not prosper there and the farmer gives it no attention. Some seeds find themselves in a rocky area. This is where rocks were piled up perhaps or had not be properly prepared to receive seeds. The farmer knows they are not going to grow to maturity–he let’s them grow, but pays no attention to their needs. Some seeds find themselves living among weeds. They are choked out by competition for nourishment. Again, this was not the good farmers intention, and he ignores those seedlings as well, knowing their demise is imminent.

The farmers concern is for the vast large area, compared to the small paths, rocky corners or weed infested outer area. He wants to make certain as much soil as possible is prepared properly, because other than that–this seed growing to maturity stuff is out of his hands. No amount of cheering, getting on his needs and begging, or beating his chest can make the seed grow. God is giving this miracle the boost needed to grow and mature.

And as the seed is planted (good-hearted people who hear God’s word) and they hold fast (cling to it) and practice patience a large harvest will come. Will it happen over night. Sometimes, but usually it is a slow and steady. One day all you see is dirt and the next week or two–small green dots and before long–you are reaping the harvest.

So we prepare the way–plant the seeds and wait on God to deliver. And I guess while we are waiting–we could plant some more seeds, prepare some more soil to hear God’s word. The simple life of living evangelism in our every day experiences. Letting others see Christ in us.

Attention Cyclists

Here is a very cute and in my opinion, funny short video. I know–ear buds and bikes do not mix; blending into traffic is necessary instead of creating your own lane–but really this is just too funny.  Enjoy

Ants, Lessons, and more

In between rain drops, my 3 day weekend consisted of much yard work. We planted, dug up, and replanted flowers and bushes all around our yard. And in the midst of all this work, I noticed that the fire ants are back this year in Georgia. Apparently due to the drought, they took the last couple of years off, but not this spring. Wow, the mounds are appearing as fast as I can sprinkle the little pellets which ward them off. It seems they just pack up shop and move to another location in the yard. I wonder when my entire front lawn will sink 12 inches from the loss of dirt which mounds up becuase of the hard work of these little creatures.

Noah must have taken them aboard the Ark, but I am at a loss of why? That is until I remembered the Proverb which equates hard work, advance planning and an industrious life style. Read for youself:

Proverbs 6:6-8 (NLT)
⁶ Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!
⁷ Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work,
⁸ they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.

So, I will take a lesson from the ants, but admit that I am still on the warpath–at least for these fire ants, whom you don’t want to irritate.

If more Christ followers would learn the lesson from the ant, we would be making a greater impact on our world for Jesus. Instead, we get caught up in the pursuit of worldly interests and loose site of building up our store in heaven.

Matthew 6:19-21 (NLT)
¹⁹ “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.
²⁰ Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.
²¹ Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Horsing Around…

One of my mangagment team members was to have lunch with me today. He was buying and I was excited to have the chance to talk and enjoy the company. But he calls me this morning and tells me that he will not be having lunch with me, because I need to be out riding my bike. I typically do work first and then if there is time, I play. But knowing the difficult  nature of my Bike Ride Across Georgia this year (mountains), he literally was pushing me out the door for a noon time ride. So, about 1:00 pm I took off for a 33 mile juant around the area. I rode past a horse farm and a horse decided to follow me along the fence line. I have often enjoyed racing the fenced animals on occasion, but I was concerned whether the horse would stop at the fence line or do something I would probably regret. He stopped and I continued the ride.

I remembered a You-tube about a horse interrupting a bike race in Europe. Here is the video. I can’t translate what’s being said, but it’s apparent–this horse is not horsing around. Enjoy

Steady as a Rock

Psalm 93:1-5 (NLT)
¹ The Lord is king! He is robed in majesty. Indeed, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength. The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.
² Your throne, O Lord, has stood from time immemorial. You yourself are from the everlasting past.
³ The floods have risen up, O Lord. The floods have roared like thunder; the floods have lifted their pounding waves.
⁴ But mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore— the Lord above is mightier than these!
⁵ Your royal laws cannot be changed. Your reign, O Lord, is holy forever and ever.

Often the new church movement is accused of changing with society. We are told that new churches are built around change and bent on destroying tradition and processes which have stood the test of time. What is good enough for our ancestors should be good enough for us. I hope that many of those staunch, non-changing people are not driving cars, or living in nice comfortable housing. But I know they are. Somehow, our definition of un-changing is tempered by our own acceptance of a tolerance of reality that we are a part of enjoying or creating.  If we would ever attempt to seek a middle ground where all people of faith could come together and even hint at practicing the unity that Christ asked of us as followers, maybe Psalm 93 is a step in the right direction.

God’s very entity or being has been around forever. And this same glorious being will be around forever. Our ideas, traditions and opinions will be very short lived. They will last at best a few hundred years, or less. But the nature of our creator is something upon which the church can begin to build unity.

Have you ever looked at something or someone through a screen door? We all have and we did not stop to realize we were gazing through a mesh of wire, so closely strung together that even small bugs can not penetrate. But our mind ignores the aversion and allows the eyes to focus on that which is more important–the world or object beyond. If the church is really, and I mean really focusing on the nature of God, we will easily see past the aversions of opinions we have added to our faith. We will no longer be caught up on the non–essentials, or the traditions we find comfort in keeping, or the ridged new way or the highway attitude sometimes we progressives take. No, we need to get our eyes off those petty things and see clearly the One who puts the perspective view on life–the Almighty One–God the Father, Christ the Son, and Holy Spirit, the comforter.

Fishing Tips

Matthew 4:19 (NLT)
¹⁹ Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

To borrow from Solomon, there is a time to clean and repair the nets, a time to clean and prepare the catch, a time to eat and enjoy the bounty. But eventually we have to spend the time on the water, in the boat to catch the fish.

Fishing for people is no different than how Peter and his associates fished for the perch in the sea. They used techniques which gathered as many fish as possible in the nets. They caught fish of all shapes and sizes. Naturally they were hoping for best, but were realists and understood the large net would gather many fish who would not be kept. As soul winners, Jesus explained to us that the world is now our sea and we are to be busy reaching out to as many as possible, casting our nets far and wide to bring in the bounty that will be His, members of His body.

The fishing business required much hard work and sacrifice. They sought the most effecient and effective ways to accomplish their tasks. Over the years since the 1st Century, equipment and processes have changed and grown to accomplish the task. Today’s commercial fishing is really no different in intent from Jesus days, but certainly the catch is larger and the means is different to accomplish the goals.

When we attempt today to try to win souls in methods used 45 years ago–we will probably still catch some fish. God is good to bless our efforts when we make an honest attempt. But times are changing, our ability to reach thousands more today because of technology should have the church dealing with problems of where do we put all the people. We just can’t find the room or building space to handle the crowds. Unfortunately that is not the problem in many of our churches across the land. We have been content to fish from the shore–one pole and one worm at a time. We rejoice when we catch; we encourage others to join us next week when we will fish some more–but people are dying faster than we can catch new fish–people are leaving our ranks faster than we can bring in another fish. Old ways are killing us.

As I have always said, it’s not the message that needs to change, but rather the methods that need to be constantly upgraded, improved and tweeked to enable the church to stay relevant to the needs around us. We need be fishers for sure–but we need to be better at it, more wise in approach and willing to take risks from time to time to get the message to those who need it the most–the world that lives as close as next door.

Christian or Jesus Follower???

Matthew 16:24 (NLT)
²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.

I often shy away from proclaiming a “favorite” scripture. First, I believe all scripture is “God-breathed” and it all is important. I understand the fulfillment of certain scripture from the OT being replaced or superseded in the NT in our worship area. We no longer need to sacrifice animals for our forgiveness, Christ did that for us at Calvary, once and for all. But I still give importance and equality of the conception or writing of the scriptures as equal across the board, from Genesis to Revelation.

Secondly, choosing a favorite scripture will limit me. At times, certain passages seem to arise to meet my current needs. God speaks directly to me through His word and for the help I recieve I can easily proclaim that for that moment in time, that could be my favorite scripture. That lasts till the next time I feel God tugging again and when I listen–another potential favorite scripture arises.

Third, I don’t want to offend the writers. Can you imagine, Peter coming up to me in heaven and saying, “Hey, how come you had no favorite passage from my two letters? You preached an entire series from my book–twice. Couldn’t you have found at least one verse to be your fave”? 

OK, seriously again, once again God has spoken to a direct need in my life to correct, solidify or reinforce a teaching. I heard on the news that the Christian Children’s Fund is planning to re-name the organization and drop the “Christian” from it’s name, to enable the group to expand their outreach. I don’t contribute financially to this group and I really can’t complain too much for that reason, but the political winds today are certainly bringing forth a negative connotation to the term Christian. I am not certain that originally the term was not necessarily a term  of endearment, but rather a term of distinction.

Acts 11:26 (NLT)
²⁶ When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)

I wonder who were the ones calling this group of Jesus followers, cross bearers, kingdom workers, Christians? Was is a term that helped distinguish them from pagans? Was it a term worn proudly by the church? Like the use of the cross, an instrument of death that came to represent our salvation, Christian became the term worn to signify the church or individual who follows Christ and his teaching. Peter tells us that calling ourselves Christians is a good thing–no matter what the consequences.

1 Peter 4:16 (NLT)
¹⁶ But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!

So, what about the statement I made in church a week ago that rather than be called a Christian, I want to use the term “Jesus Follower”? Probably they are one and the same. To be known as a Christian, you should be a Jesus follower. But the nuance is that the term Jesus Follower, seems to imply a more action oriented term. Today, Christian like the cross hanging around our necks has been watered down. And before long the world will try to bury it and those who claim the name. (See Miss California’s battles to see the world in action against Christians.)

So, let’s arm ourselves for the battle that is coming. Let’s remember we are fighting a war against Satan and his forces. We are called Christians and in case there is any doubt of what we are doing–we are following Jesus all the way–100%.

And for the record, and for Peter’s sake, who will no doubt wonder about this, yes for the moment at least, I like verse 16 of the 4th chapter of his first letter. Hang on for now, because God seems to speak to me often, because I tend to get lost quite a bit and need the help.

Paul

Friday Review

What a week it has been. First, with all the rain we have enjoyed (endured, but since we are coming out of a drought, I am required to be excited about rain–arrgh) my grass has been growing like crazy, which means my lawn mowing has been hectic, trying to squeeze it in between showers. Some weeks I mow two or three times, a little at a time.

And, I am trying to get some miles in on my bike, preparing for the Bike Ride Across Georgia, June 7th to June13th. We depart from the hills of North Georgia and seem to meander for 3 days in and around those hills. I am about half prepared. I have conquered the downhill training, but I am still struggling with the uphill training–go figure. Riding in a recumbent position adds to the uphill difficulty, but God is my co-pilot. Just wish He could do some of the pedaling from time to time.

Carol and I enjoyed a meal out this week with new friends. They treated us to a good meal, and great Christian fellowship and discussion. It was a fun time and productive as well.

Tomorrow, my Georgia biking buddy (as compared to my long-time Indiana Biking buddy Bill) will head to Rome, GA for the infamous, “Up the Creek without a Pedal” ride. We are riding the metric century (62 miles). This ride was featured on a local GPB program about biycling in Georgia. A recumbent rider is interviewed as well and it shows a bike very similar to mine.

I hope to get some good pictures and will put them on my other blog.

This week at Velocity Church we are honoring Mother’s Day by preaching to the guys who are in attendance. We will be nearing the end of our current message series. We will have some great gifts for mom, but mom’s family will have to rise to the occasion and earn those gifts by participating in some wild and crazy stunts. It will be fun and who says we can’t have fun while at church.

For those reading this blog from Velocity–the A team is on board for set up this week. The A team needs a couple of new volunteers, so if you are not an A team member or a B team member–the A-team can use your help. See Face or Hannibal or give me a text or call to volunteer.

Bring a guest with you this week and let God’s Spirit move. Our worship will be out of this world awesome this week. You will not want to miss the gathering. God is moving.

May 5th

I am not Spanish, Latin American, or Mexican. I have only been to Mexico twice in my life. I take a conservative stand on illegal immigration. OK, disclaimers are done.

Man, I love Mexican food. I understand that most of what we get in the restaurants is Tex-Mex at best. But call it Americanized or not, I truly love to eat at Mexican restaurants. Moving to Georgia a few years ago has allowed me to enjoy this diet at many different restaurants. From Burritos to the chips, from the tasty beverages to hot-hot-sausa and chips, I love it all.

Now, one thing I have noticed. Very few of the popular Cantinas, are in the best locations. Few are found near the Applebee’s or Olive Gardens. They have found that when a good product available, and the service is good, the people will seek them out and stand in line waiting for tables to open.

Sometimes I believe that the church seems to get caught up in the trappings of looking good. We seek the best location, easy to find, plenty of parking, plenty of room for growth, within just a minimal turns from the main drag, etc. We want our preachers to be hip, our songs to be upbeat, our message to be inspiring. We serve the hottest coffee, have the most exciting youth programs, and wow you with technology. I can’t always find fault with that. We want to make our appeal to as many as possible. But I have to ask, “what are we serving”? When did the Word lose its ability to draw people. That’s the living word, the water which satisfies us to thirst no more, the one who paid the ultimate price to secure our salvation–when did Jesus get replaced with gimmicks, fads, and glitz?

I grow tired building the trappings, setting the scene, only to hear disappointment that the show (church) down the road is offering so much more. Does Jesus make rounds and only show up at certain churches on certain weeks. Church as an institution has dominated our lives for so many years, that we have lost the sense of the truth. We, that is us, you and me, we are the church. When two or three of us gather, Jesus is there, the church has assembled. We pause to remember what Jesus did for us at Calvary, in song, in communion, and in word. We enjoy our company together as the chosen people. We welcome into our midst those who are wandering and seeking a true reality in life, a purpose which extends beyond this life. We gather in thanks and in praise for the one who gave it all for us.

So, if the video is too loud, the band hits a sour note, the parking lot is down the street two blocks, if the preacher lulls us to sleep, why would we complain–because all of that really is not what it is all about. The church is the ‘one on one’ relationship between you and God. If you don’t bring it on Sunday morning, how can you blame others who miss your expectations of entertainment or enlightenment to make the service great.

I see a burrito in my future–and you know what–I will enjoy it and the fellowship of those with me as I do. And the surroundings, though festive and special, will matter very little, because I love Mexican food. And this Sunday, I will be at the house of Lord, with expectations higher than a kite, not because what is happening, but solely because of what happened at Calvary long ago.

Happy Cino de Mayo

Time to Slow Down

It never fails, when I am out on my bicycle, sooner or later someone will honk their horn at me as they pass or soon after they pass. I suppose in the great scheme of things, I have slowed down their world by a total of 15 seconds or so. Try as I want, I can only pedal so fast and try to keep as close to the edge as possible, but still some cars slow way down as they pass, of course irrating the drivers behind them.

But I wonder–where in the world are we going and why do we seem to need to get there in a hurry. We have an entire generation of people who can’t remember when the garage door had to be manually opened. Or that it took several minutes for the TV tube to warm up, or that microwave ovens were not a staple in every kitchen. We have drive through eateries, who serve containers of fries that fit in the cup holders in the vehicle. We don’t slow down for anything anymore.

Maybe it’s the new generation; maybe it’s my aversion for things happening faster than I can keep up with; maybe it’s because they have no purpose in life, but to live and die. If that’s all there is to life–I can understand their attempt to squeeze as much as possible into the life they have.

But in my world view–we are on the brink of an eternal existence. We stand just a few years away from living with Jesus for eternity, where the pain is gone, the sorrow is absent, and death is no more. Call me sacrilegious, (I have been called worse) but I believe this Alabama song hits the nail on the head. It typifies the rush rush of our society.

Part of our message to this fast paced world is that we need to slow down to appreciate God’s creation. But–it seems first we have to catch them to win them. So with that, it’s off  again chasing and running down the lost to give them a chance to slow down and discover God.