Never Forsaken!
Have you ever experienced a season in life where you felt as though God had “left you” or that you weren’t as close to Him as you had been at a previous time? It’s really not that uncommon, even in the life of the staunchest believer. While we never want to put our focus or emphasis on the negative, we do need to be aware that we live in a world that is under the influence of the prince of darkness, and that the order of evil that surrounds us offers constant attack to the children of God. It’s no wonder, then, that Christians can sometimes feel alone, surrounded by evil, or even forsaken by God. I am reminded today as I read through Isaiah that God will never, ever take his hands off of me! “But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me. Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb?” (Isaiah 49:14-15). What the prophet is saying is that it’s inconceivable to think of a mother “forgetting” her nursing infant, or for a pregnant mother to ‘forget” about the baby that lives and grows inside her. The comparison is simple. As much as these two scenarios demonstrate that level of love, God’s love for His children is even greater! I rest more comfortably in God’s hands than does a baby nursing at his mother’s breast or a sweet, innocent child developing in the womb. I am safe and secure, despite what the world tells me! And for that, I thank my Lord today.
They that Wait on the LORD
While talking with my wife last night, prior to going to bed, I told her of “all” the things that I would be involved in today. It was at that point, while I was trying to figure out how I was going to succeed with every task, she reminded me of yet one more thing: The Pastor’s Blog. Thankful for the reminder but now even more fearful of time constants for the soon coming day I went off to sleep. (Thank you, LORD, for the sleep time.) After waking 45 minutes earlier than normal I immediately started thinking again of the tasks for the day. After sitting down in the chair at the computer desk to prepare this blog I was quickly reminded of how it feels to lose control of things. My son had used the computer last and he likes to adjust the chair to his own comfort level which always gives me the sense of falling all the way backwards when I first sit down. While looking up from an almost reclined position I noticed a quotation that I have placed on the bulletin board over the desk which states: OUR GREATEST DANGER, Letting the Urgent things crowd out the Important. So now, after getting priorities straight once again by spending time with the LORD, I set out to accomplish the tasks at hand. Confident that as I go He will sustain me in each moment of the day. May you experience a great day as you walk with our Lord Jesus today as well.
Is. 40:31 “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” I look forward to the GREAT DAY of services at CHBC this Sunday! See you there! DRC.
Snow Day!
What a beautiful day it has been – yes, freezing cold, but the heavy snow was amazing while it lasted. I have to say though, i am really looking forward to spring and SUNSHINE!! I am getting ready to pick up my wife to head to the annual Outback Steakhouse fundraiser dinner for FCA – the food is always amazing, but more importantly, it raises thousands of dollars in scholarship money for kids in our community. By the way, Choir practice was incredible last night – all I can say is church get ready for the new song this Sunday, “Glorious” – it’s going to be a great service – C U then!
The Fire
Ok, Mateo is taking the easy way out. I have posted this link. I hope that it will play on your computer, wherever you are.
If you have facebook you can add it to your page to share with others.
WARNING! The material in this video has come from Scripture, and has been known to change lives on a grand scale.
Praying that you have a great week.
Mateo
Pondering Points
I just had a great meeting with a member here at CHBC named Brian Thorne. He is a passionate follower of Christ who is a co-worker in the gospel with us. He has a ministry called “Pondering Points.” He writes these short and powerful devotions and then emails them out to people. It is a great way to minister to people. I want to post his most recent entry and also to let you know that we will be forwarding these Pondering Points to you very frequently. It is just another way to stir you up to love and good deeds. Enjoy!
THIS WEEKS PONDERING POINT
A pondering point is a short story or quote that helps you focus on a great point to ponder through your week….
Today I learned an awesome fact about revolutionary times warfare that I wanted to share. In the early days of war the muzzle loaded cannon was a beast. It would be loaded with a deadly projectile then fired at the enemy. Having this great weapon in your arsenal was a major advantage. These massive cannons were almost unstoppable…until a weakness was found. To combat this threat soldiers would be equipped with metal spikes, their sole job was to infiltrate the enemies lines jam the nails in the cannon touch hole. This would disable the weapon where it would be unable to make the contact needed to fire. Once the weapons were disabled the soldiers would signal the awaiting army to move forward against the enemy’s position.
POINT TO PONDER
I don’t know about you, but lately I have felt like a solider trying to take a hill that’s guarded by enemy cannons. The main power of the cannon weapon is that once you hear the boom you run for cover in fear of the impact. It was a massive tool of intimidation. In fact if a line was out of ammunition the general would order the cannons to be fired empty just for the sound. This past week I have been running from the calculated booms of the enemy’s cannon. Just when It seemed I was making ground to take the hill, the thunderous boom has me run for cover. Whether it’s the stress of the economy and job threats, or family issues, health concerns, or the most prevalent when I take steps to minister and reach out. There is a constant barrage of cannon fire looming. Let me encourage you Psalm 24 3-6 Listen to this, (Who may ascend the hill of the Lord Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessings from the lord and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him,) I love that this word proclaims that Vindication comes from our God through our Savior. See what the awaiting army was looking for was the signal that “the nails were in place and the enemy was disarmed“. Guess what? Because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross at Calvary the signal that “the nails are in place and the enemy is disarmed” is forever and eternally proclaimed. Vindication comes from the Lord…Hallelujah! Raise your heads and march forward to conquer that hill. Whatever your facing know that the battle belongs to the Lord. He is with you. God be glorified….march forward for the kingdom!!!!!!
Swift blessings
BT
Thanks for pondering
I don’t know what enemy cannon fire may be looming in your life right now, but I would like to. If you have a prayer request please write
me…..2 Corinthians 10-4 the weapons we fight with have divine power to demolish the strongholds of the enemy, even ones armed with cannons….
BT
YOU AND I
The Apostle Peter in the beginning of his second letter wrote: “To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, …..”
While driving into work today I was listening to a CHBC Celebration Choir CD. The song entitled, “Made to Worship” brought these thoughts to my mind. Before God brought the world into existence His plan was to have a personal relationship with man whom He would make in His own image. We are the result of God’s love,therefore you and I have a purpose in life. The song tells us what some of that purpose is. “You and I are made to Worship. You and I are called to Love. You and I are Forgiven and Free”. When you and I embrace Jesus Christ and surrender our will to Him then you and I will see what God meant for us to be. “He (God) has filled our hearts with wonder so that we always remember”. May you and I always remember that we at CHBC exist to imitate Jesus Christ by sharing His love through embracing East Knoxville and the world? DRC
Sacrifice
Have you ever had to sacrifice something in order to do something else? I had a great talk with someone yesterday and they were telling me how great all of you are and how much they love CHBC! This person works every Sunday but made a deal to work extra shifts during the night in order to come to church Sunday. Honestly our American consumerism says work make money and come to church when you can. Real Christ followers find ways to worship the King! This person told me all they went through just to make it last Sunday and there was a smile the whole time. Most people would not have done half of what this person did to sacrifice so they could come to church. As we continue through the book of Philippians this weekend ask yourself am I willing to sacrifice for the One who made the ultimate sacrifice for me? Is the gospel that important to me that I will do whatever it takes to make sure others hear it? I am so excited for Sunday! God is moving, let’s follow! Remember a sacrifice isn’t a bad or negative thing when you’re doing it for the One you love!
Mark
A Matter of Perspective
One peice of advice that seems to apply in a myriad of situations is to regain or maintain one’s perspective. I was thinking about perspective earlier today, and why we as people seem to struggle with this concept. Our perspective is simply the lens through which we view our circumstances and situations; therefore, truth becomes what is real to us, or what we see. However, an improper perspective can lead us astray, often with tragic results.
Think about a sunset for a moment. The very fact that we refer to it as a sunset demonstrates our lack of perspective. The sun is not setting; it is a stationary star in the sky. It is not going down; rather, our planet is spinning at an incredible pace, giving us the impression of a setting sun. The problem here is that our view of the cosmos, and our opinion of the sun’s actions, is based upon a faulty perspective. Since our world view is self-centered, we only see the setting sun as it relates to what goes on around us.
There is a much bigger system at work all around us that, if we could see, would give us a fresh perspective on the setting sun. In fact, when we see things as they truly are, we begin to feel less self-important and far smaller in terms of the whole universe. But, left to our own limited views and ideas, we simply settle with the erroneous idea that the sun is setting in front of our eyes.
It’s the same way with God. If we form our opinions about God based upon our limited knowledge and vision, we will come up with a very different picture of who God is. If, however, we see things through a biblical lens, or world view, we can see Him, and the way He works, in a very different but more more accurate way.
There is much to learn about God, and there is also much that is not knowable. He is too big; He is too awesome; He is God! Keeping our perspective based upon Him and His word will help us begin to see our world as He sees it, in truth!
Fat Tuesday
Fat Tuesday is English for the better known day called “Mardi Gras”. Yes, today is Mardi Gas. People from Lake Charles, Louisiana all the way to Key West, Florida are celebrating at parades with floats, costumes, moon pies, king cake, and beads.
I grew up in a Christian home in Louisiana. So, celebrating Mardi Gras was not big on the list of things to do. Sure, lots of people have fun at Mardi Gras. It is also true that many tourist go to the gulf coast and have good clean fun at many of the celebrations. But this is not just your average holiday, and it is often a Rated-R type of celebration.
I have attached a link for those who would like to know a little more of the history and the origins from a religious perspective.
The basic idea is that I will live for today, so that I can sacrifice tomorrow. This logic sounds good at first, but be very aware that this is man’s logic that is rooted in “Self”. This is why I put back on all the weight that I loose every year. I will be conscious of my diet and exercise for a time, so that later I can eat all that I want.
For me this yearly ritual translates directly into self-induced torture. The same can be said of us as Christians today in the American church culture. We are very willing to sacrifice, but only for a time or if the reward is worth it. It seems that we are stuck in the cycle of doing great things for God, so that we can be blessed. Or we are willing to “surrender all” to God, to only take back things that we really desire to have. My pastor use to always say, “We are to be a living sacrifice, but the problem is that a living sacrifice can still crawl off of the Alter”.
The greatest challenge that we have as believers today, is our own desires. Good news is that this is nothing new or unique to our generation. The difference today is the number of distractions that we have that can take our focus and/or our time. I don’t have a magic solution for this one. I know that over the next few weeks Bro. Mark will continue our Sunday morning study in Philippians, and the hard answers for us can be found in the chapters of this book.
From Scripture we can find solutions to this destructive pattern that we all posses, but we still have to make a choice to do what it takes to find freedom from our selfish nature. And if any of us apply the logic that is as the root of Mardi Gras, then we are doomed to repeat the same cycle of pain and regret that comes with living life for our own pleasure.
Fat Tuesday will always be a part of me as long as I continue to eat some king cake each year. But the holiday that is celebrated in New Orleans each year, will also be a reminder to me of just how easy it is to give in to self.
Sometimes I Wonder
A definition of the word wonder is to be amazed. Jesse Burdette and the Celebration Choir of CHBC sing a song entitled “I’m Amazed”. The chorus states: I’m amazed that you (God) love me. I’m amazed that you care….
While going through some books at the church Wed. afternoon I came across a self published booklet entitled “Rev. Raymond Smith, From Hardships to Triumphs” written by Elizabeth Warring Smith in Nov. 1994. At the time of the writing she had been a widow for a year. She wrote the history of her husband for her grandchildren who did not have the opportunity to know their Grandfather. Bro. Smith served God in the ministry for sixty years. During his ministry he served several churches as Pastor and on occasions was called back to those churches as Interim Pastor. For several years he taught what was called the East Tennessee Preachers School at Harrison Chilhowee Baptist Academy in Seymour. I had the privilege of getting to attend many of the classes Bro. Smith taught on Sat. mornings for 4 hours each week.
I had not heard from Bro. Smith for several years until one day in the back parking lot of St. Mary’s Hospital I saw him as he was leaving after making a visit. He shared with me that he had been called to McCalla Ave. Church, where he used to Pastor, to be their Interim Pastor. He asked that I would pray for him as he was leading the church to merge with Bell Ave. so the community could continue to have a strong Baptist presence in a community that had seen so much deterioration in the past years. That merge did take place a short time later and Chilhowee Hills is the result.
Sometimes I wonder about God’s plan for my life. I must admit I sometimes even get anxious but then I stop to realize His plans will always come to pass. Little did I know that as I prayed with and for Bro. Smith and his interim at McCalla Ave. that God had so purposed, at a later date in time (2007), to allow me to be on staff of the church birthed by the merger of two congregations in East Knoxville. So I stand amazed that God would love me and that he would so plan my ministry that even some twenty years later I would be called on staff at CHBC. Bro. Smith’s ministry impacted my life in the seventy’s and eighty’s and is still impacting it today. Sometimes I wonder, no I’m AMAZED! David C.