I removed an old spa and began the installation of a new one today. In fact, I also relocated another spa by taking it out of one backyard and delivering it to another back yard.
But one of the yards was a mansion in Camarillo, and the other was a very humble rental house in Silverstrand (a part of Oxnard, CA).
And the amazing part is - one was a toy, and one was a part of therapy for a man who suffers a great deal of pain and needs the hot water to keep going.
I was very happy to be part of both customer's lives, and I hope that there will be a chance to share Christ with each of them. I started the process today by establishing some relationship, and mentioning Jesus and God's faithfulness several times. Planting little seeds.
Father God - honor my attempt to be faithful to your word - bring the harvest. Touch Serge, Jenn and Chris. Amen.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Be bold, He is.
Have you spoken to somebody about Christ today? I have been focusing on this in my life for the past couple of months, and it's amazing how many times you can work "Jesus," or "I will pray for you," or "God knows" into a conversation. If you are looking the person in the eyes, and if you know the person in any way at all, you might also be surprised how many times that will open a door to further discussion about a relationship with Jesus.
Try it!
Luke 12:8-9 (New International Version, ©2011)
8 “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. 9 But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.
Luke 12:8-9 (The Message)
8-9"Stand up for me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God's angels. But if you pretend you don't know me, do you think I'll defend you before God's angels?
Try it!
Luke 12:8-9 (New International Version, ©2011)
8 “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. 9 But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.
Luke 12:8-9 (The Message)
8-9"Stand up for me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God's angels. But if you pretend you don't know me, do you think I'll defend you before God's angels?
Monday, March 14, 2011
Busy busy boy
I just had a whirlwind weekend. I had a busy week first, then I had a lot of work on Saturday. Sunday I traveled with our Pastoral Search Committee to a church about an hour away. A 'debriefing' followed at a local restaurant, then the drive home, an afternoon with some friends over while trying to nap, digest and spend time with my daughter - who we later drove to LAX to jet back to school in Florida.
So much for my day of rest.
But - it was all heartwarming and good. First, the pastor we went to hear did a fine job. He's not as flashy as some we have heard, but his manner was perfect in another way: it allows the Spirit to 'sneak' the message into your heart. He fully allows the Holy Spirit to do the heavy lifting, and I am very happy to announce that all of the people who went with us reported that the message hit home. That's a step in the right direction. Anointed preaching is powerful even if it isn't loud.
And the afternoon was not a disaster: I did get a short nap, and Hope, Kristen, Noni and Barbie had a 'girls night out' before we loaded up and drove KJ to LAX. And a late flight on a Sunday night is apparently 'the bomb' as far as we can tell. No crowds, no lines for security or check-in, and the TSA agents were actually in good moods. Too bad we didn't find that out sooner: Kristen graduates in eight weeks.
Are you following all of this?
So much for my day of rest.
But - it was all heartwarming and good. First, the pastor we went to hear did a fine job. He's not as flashy as some we have heard, but his manner was perfect in another way: it allows the Spirit to 'sneak' the message into your heart. He fully allows the Holy Spirit to do the heavy lifting, and I am very happy to announce that all of the people who went with us reported that the message hit home. That's a step in the right direction. Anointed preaching is powerful even if it isn't loud.
And the afternoon was not a disaster: I did get a short nap, and Hope, Kristen, Noni and Barbie had a 'girls night out' before we loaded up and drove KJ to LAX. And a late flight on a Sunday night is apparently 'the bomb' as far as we can tell. No crowds, no lines for security or check-in, and the TSA agents were actually in good moods. Too bad we didn't find that out sooner: Kristen graduates in eight weeks.
Are you following all of this?
Friday, March 11, 2011
The Greatest Commandment
Mark 12
The Greatest Commandment
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[b] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[c] There is no commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
So - then I guess the next logical question is, "who is my neighbor?"
Do I love the lost as much as Jesus? Am I even trying to come close to that level of care for people I don't even know, people who may very well be trying to make trouble in my life? People who rail against the things I hold dear?
Jesus gave us marching orders in several passages of the Bible. This is only one of them, but He Himself declares it as the most important - that seems to me to be pretty clear. I need to love those around me as I love God: with all I have.
The Greatest Commandment
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[b] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[c] There is no commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
So - then I guess the next logical question is, "who is my neighbor?"
Do I love the lost as much as Jesus? Am I even trying to come close to that level of care for people I don't even know, people who may very well be trying to make trouble in my life? People who rail against the things I hold dear?
Jesus gave us marching orders in several passages of the Bible. This is only one of them, but He Himself declares it as the most important - that seems to me to be pretty clear. I need to love those around me as I love God: with all I have.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Religion
Mark 12
The Parable of the Tenants
1 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.
6 “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:
“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
11 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]?”
12 Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.
Whenever I see a teaching of Christ which is aimed at the religious 'elite' of His day, I take special notice. As a Christian, I want to be 'like Christ,' and I want to have Jesus as the center of my life. To most people, that makes me 'religious,' yet I don't want to appear religious. Because religion is only man attempting to explain God, and it usually takes on the form of tradition, pomp and circumstance, and has no power to heal or to change people in any positive way.
In fact, it is in the name of religion (or religious zeal) that most historical wars, crusades and inquisitions took place, and in the name of religion that recent acts of terror have taken place.
So I would rather be the one who is active in serving God, but not religious.
The Parable of the Tenants
1 Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.
6 “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:
“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
11 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]?”
12 Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.
Whenever I see a teaching of Christ which is aimed at the religious 'elite' of His day, I take special notice. As a Christian, I want to be 'like Christ,' and I want to have Jesus as the center of my life. To most people, that makes me 'religious,' yet I don't want to appear religious. Because religion is only man attempting to explain God, and it usually takes on the form of tradition, pomp and circumstance, and has no power to heal or to change people in any positive way.
In fact, it is in the name of religion (or religious zeal) that most historical wars, crusades and inquisitions took place, and in the name of religion that recent acts of terror have taken place.
So I would rather be the one who is active in serving God, but not religious.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Like looking at a train wreck...
There is a man who has apparently lost his mind. He also lost his job, his wife left him a while back, and the state just came and took his twin children away from him. He is a known party-hardy boy, and has been observed using cocaine on many occasions. He also drinks to excess constantly, by his own admission.
He has publicly stated that, he's "losing my mind," among other things. And the network first stopped production of a hit show (leading show on TV according to some) due to his out-of-control behavior, and then they fired him due to his out-of-control behavior and his outlandish verbal attacks on the producer, the show, his co-stars, and pretty much everything else in the world.
He makes a lot of money. I have seen anything from a low of 'only' 1.2 million dollars per episode (about one episode per week)up to 2 million dollars per episode. But even if they cancel the show, or replace him with another actor and try to go forward, he will still have income for the rest of his life from the syndication of this one show, let alone other things he has done. Of course, if they DO can the show, all the other actors, writers, technicians, sponsors and crew will just be out of luck, thanks to this one man.
And yet, for some reason, the press just can't seem to get enough of him. They post every little tweet, every word, and he has posted a couple of 'episodes' of an on-line "reality show" - some sort of video blog or some such thing - and it gets headlines. Headlines! Right now - in case you read this far down the road and can't remember - there are serious things going on in our world. Egypt is having a melt-down with people in the street being shot by the government for protesting. Our economy is still wobbling, there are state legislators who have fled from Wisconsin to avoid voting on ending the strangle-hold a union has on taxpayer's money, Quadaffi is running amok, etc. etc. And yet this man gets a headline almost every day!! Can we just give him what he deserves? Which, in my opinion, would be:
Obscurity.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The real power
We are just over a month from Easter. That is the celebration of Jesus rising from the tomb - coming back from death. Overcoming death - defeating it. We tend to forget the real reason we celebrate sometimes - especially those of us who are making plans and attending rehearsals and getting ready for Easter Sunday itself... but it is death being overcome by life which is what we should be looking at.
Death creeps into our lives in many ways, not just disease or physical things. It can come in through relationship problems with loved ones, hopes and dreams which don't come to pass, loved ones who walk away from God and dive into the very things we prayed they would never even look at, let alone touch.
But we can overcome death by appropriating the very same power that brought Jesus back from the dead, that is, the power of Christ Jesus himself. Ask Jesus for that power to be part of your life - I am. In fact for some reason I have been awake most of the night almost begging Him for that power to become real in my life once again.
Death creeps into our lives in many ways, not just disease or physical things. It can come in through relationship problems with loved ones, hopes and dreams which don't come to pass, loved ones who walk away from God and dive into the very things we prayed they would never even look at, let alone touch.
But we can overcome death by appropriating the very same power that brought Jesus back from the dead, that is, the power of Christ Jesus himself. Ask Jesus for that power to be part of your life - I am. In fact for some reason I have been awake most of the night almost begging Him for that power to become real in my life once again.
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