Impressed, Challenged, Encouraged...

Last night, I had the privilege of talking with a few guys in our church. I can call them "young" (they're close to my age, so that is young, right?). As I heard their testimonies, I heard something significant from both of them.

Both of them had been impacted greatly by older men who have chosen to invest in their lives. These "older men" are not seminary trained, they don't get paid by the church, they aren't officially recognized by the church to do this. So why do they do it? Why do they take the time to invest in younger guys and walk with them through life?

My guess is that there are several reasons, so I will speculate with a couple!

1. They love Jesus and they love the Bible. Jesus modeled this, and the Bible teaches it.
2. They love people. They love to see spiritual growth. They love to see God's hand at work in the lives of people.
3. They probably had someone invest in them!

I am not sure if all of these are accurate, but I would bet (if I did such things, haha) that they are. What is awesome is that God is using the older men and the younger men to impact their families, OBC, their friends, and their jobs for the glory of God.

Excuse me, please, while I get a little "preachy" for a minute. This is not happening enough at OBC. I think the need is great, and I am praying often about it. I am praying that God would raise up mature Christians who want to pour their lives in other men and women. As I said, the need is great and I really desire to see it happening more. And yet more than just seeing the need, I saw a glimpse last night of what God can do through that investment that will ultimately last forever.

Paul, why did you use those adjectives?

Listen to these words of peace to the church at Thessalonica spoken by Paul

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. (ESV)

Two adjectives sort of surprised me, or at least stood out to me when I read this today. Paul recognizes that God loved us and gave us two things (among many others) through grace: eternal comfort and good hope. Not just comfort and hope, but comfort that will endure forever, and hope that is of good quality (as opposed to being worthless).

The Thessalonian church needed those words, and I think we do as well. We need to be reminded that comfort and hope are stronger when they are given from an eternal perspective. Sometimes, I think we get too used to living on earth, that we forget to realize God has an eternal plan. Lots of things can give comfort here (money, chicken noodle soup and crackers, a hug), but those things in no way could be looked at as eternal. Lots of things give us hope (maybe I will get a promotion, maybe the Cowboys can win a playoff game, etc.), but those hopes are not necessarily good.

How much better is our grace-filled encouragement of eternal comfort and good hope!

God is good, all I need to do is open my eyes!

Recounting the goodness of God in a few ways that I have already seen this morning (and it's still fairly early)...

1. Today is my official "spiritual" birthday. Although it was many years ago, it is still fresh in my mind. Far beyond just remembering a date, I know that God has changed my life!
   
   
2. I got to spend time at breakfast with an OBC'er who has a passion for God and has shared his faith with others around him. Two people he has worked with shared with me that he has impacted their lives for Christ! I love people who don't leave their faith at church, but take it with them!
   
   
3. My computer says the high is supposed to be 55 degrees today. I have been waiting for some Delaware fall weather! I think we have some today. I love it.
   
   
4. I had the privilege of hearing a word of testimony/prayer from Tony Graffanino who plays baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers. I have to confess that I am often VERY VERY (I meant to use the same word twice, even if spellcheck doesn't approve) skeptical of athletes who speak at Christian events. They seem to get a platform, not because of their holiness, but because they are Christian celebrities. At the risk of overgeneralizing, often, I believe that their words seem a little hollow, generic, and full of cliches. However, that was not the case with Tony. I heard him boldly share the gospel in such a complete way that God had to be honored. I had to repent of my prideful pre-judgment of him, and thank God for anyone (baseball player or not) who has boldness to share the unbelievable message of grace and hope that is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, God is good, and if we open our eyes a little bit we can see it.

You are not alone.

Another theology lesson from my theology teacher (i.e. my 3 yr old son)...

We were eating today at my son's favorite restaurant. You get three McGuesses as to what the name of the restaurant is! He is going to see his grandma (i.e. get whatever he wants for a couple of days), and he is pumped up. Anyway, in the midst of eating his Happy Meal (in reality he played with the toy more than he ate, but that's beside the point), he told me "You are not going to be alone, daddy! God is going with you." Later he said, "Even when no one is with us, we are not alone!"

It made me smile, nearly cry, and thank God that my son has the seeds of the knowledge that God will never leave us. He will walk with us always. What a treasure! I think Mommy has been at work doing what the Bible tells us as parents to do.

So, you are right Canaan, even though no one is with me, I am not alone. Thank God.

A good weekend

For many reasons, this past weekend was an enjoyable weekend. In random order...

1. The weather was beautiful!
2. I got to go to someone's 80th birthday celebration. (My normal birthday parties are for 3-4 year olds, so this was significantly different.
3. Sunday's services went well. I enjoyed preaching, I hoped OBC enjoyed listening. :-)
4. I DID get to play golf on Friday in answer to my unofficial prayer request.
5. The NFL team from Texas that will remain nameless (but it starts with "D" and ends with "allas") won another game. I could get used to this!
6. I bought some subs from Wawa. I love those self-serve kiosks. That could be addicting.
   
7. The NFL team from just north of here did not fare so well. (Sorry, I couldn't resist picking on the Philly fans.)
8. I was introduced to a great book that I will share more about later. I am a few pages into it, and think it might be the best book I have read this week!

So, all in all, not too shabby.

The coolest moderator at Ogletown

We had our quarterly business meeting this past Wednesday night. What should be noted is that OBC has the coolest moderator, I think, in the entire Southern Baptist Convention (perhaps the coolest of any denomination). What other moderator wears shorts and an authentic African shirt (my son thought that the shirt had "jellyfishes" on it) while moderating a session of church business? None, I know of!

You are way too cool, Bill!

Does God answer prayer?

You might have expected a serious post after the title, so sorry to disappoint! I know God answers prayer, so I invite you to join me in prayer that it NOT rain tomorrow at 8:00 am when I get the opportunity to play my first round of golf north of the Mason-Dixon line.

In all seriousness, God does answer prayer and He surely is interested in every aspect of our lives, but I am sure that He does not owe me a round of golf tomorrow. So, your prayers may be better directed to more noble pursuits than a hack golfer chasing a white ball through the woods! :-)

Coming this Sunday to Ogletown

Over the last few weeks on Sunday mornings, I have been sharing about the gospel. Well, as I have said (more than once, I think), we will never "move on" from the gospel or outgrow it. What we will do this Sunday, though, is move on from a sermon series about the gospel.

In light of that, we are going to look at a picture of Jesus through the eyes of Mark. Specifically, we are going to look at why so many people are drawn to Jesus (they were in Mark 1 and they still are today). So, if you like Jesus, you ought to come so you can hear more about him. If you don't like Jesus, you ought to come to make sure you haven't missed an aspect of who he was and is that you might like. So, that leaves 1 category of people: those who should come Sunday to Ogletown to hear about Jesus! Life's simple, isn't it? :-)

Seriously, I think we all have our ideas and (mis)perceptions about Jesus. Hopefully, looking at Mark over the next several weeks will correct those.

So, see you Sunday at 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00!

Ephesians 3:20-21 is a reality!

Sometimes, we get strong reminders of the goodness of God. I mentioned a couple of days ago about my sister who was having eye surgery. This morning she had surgery on her other eye. My mom just let me know that the surgery was a success. There was a great risk that permanent damage could be done, so you can imagine the relief. The doctor who did the surgery commented that even though it was an extremely difficult surgery, she "felt God's hand guiding her." As far as God working in even small details, my mom had prayed that the anesthesiologist would not need to poke Jaydeane several times (which has been the case many times in the past). He was able to get it right the first time. It shouldn't surprise us when God does great things, but I think it should amaze us! I would fit in that category. Our family feels so indebted to the people praying in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, and even here in Delaware.

I will continue to pray specifically about this for my sister and my parents over the next few days, but I was directed to Ephesians 3:20-21:

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Book Recommendation

I mentioned a book yesterday, and I wanted to give a few places to buy it. The book is When Sinners Say, "I Do." It was written by Dave Harvey a pastor in Pennsylvania. It is very easy to read. Although it is humorous, it challenges me BIG TIME!

You can order it through Amazon or Cumberland Valley or the Sovereign Grace Store.

P.S.: Check out the comments to find another source for a good price on the book.