Allow me to share a few thoughts on time and punctuality, but first, some background.  Folklore has given us Father Time.  In reality, our Creator is the Father of time.  Even before you and I were created into the here and now of time and space, God, the eternal I AM, has been, is, and always will be.   "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.  They will perish, but you remain… like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end."  Hebrews 1:10-12.   Consider unknowable eternity, and it becomes apparent that our God is awesome, mighty, transcendent, timeless, and the Creator of time.   “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” Galatians 4:4.  What generosity!  What love!  How can I say thanks, dear Father of all time?  

For the follower of Jesus, one way to give thanks back to our Creator, the Father of time, is to “redeem the time, for the days are evil.”   Make an effort each day to keep a “significant” portion of your schedule set apart, devoted to the ministry of God’s Word and to prayer.  This should not be just a priority for pastors, but for every believer.  May God direct each one to know what that “significant” portion of time should be, and then to go out and do the right thing with what we know.    Make it your goal “to attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).   This is best realized as we spend time with Christ, and as we come together with hearts united in worship and minds seeking further transformation.          

Now, on to punctuality.  Could it be that the desire for God, the hunger for holiness, the recognition of our own neediness, and the hope to encourage other believers should all serve as motivating factors to arrive early for our times of gathered assembly?  Could it be that peacefully entering the meeting-place 15 minutes before the opening helps to set our minds on things above?  Could it be that perpetual tardiness in our attendance of Christ-centered events indicates a lack of interest in joining into the ministry of the church, the Body of Christ?   It is a blessing to join into a service even before it starts—but don’t take my word for it; realize it for yourself.  This is not simply a call for punctual attendance,  because if you try to be punctual just to please Rich, it probably won’t be too effective.   So I hear “But Sunday is the only day of the week that I get to sleep in.”  Or someone may say “But I don’t really like to arrive on time anyway—I just come for the parts of the service that I like.”  I believe I know the best response to those self-centered excuses, but ask the Father for counsel.  Trust His guidance, and consider punctuality for the Lord’s sake.                                  

Against my better judgment, I walked into an unknown barbershop last week and, five minutes into a 45-minute haircut, closed my eyes and decided to sleep my way into temporary oblivion after the front of my hair was buzzed off despite instructions to the contrary.  I can laugh about it now.   Last Sunday at an outdoor birthday party a bird deposited something on the back of my shirt.  It’s rather funny now, thinking about it.   Laughter in its purest sense can be helpful. 

While recently contemplating the weight of life, the seriousness of our broken condition, and the many possibilities of things to do, a still small voice reminded me that “A merry heart does good like a medicine.  Prov. 17:22.”   I think that means that it is a good thing to laugh.  The real kind of laughter.  If wisdom is the better part of valor, and in order to get wisdom we need to ask God with a single-minded purpose, I submit that in our asking for wisdom we need to be ready to smile at the world that God has dropped us into.  Trust me, crass “comedy” shows or vulgar bathroom jokes are not what I’m suggesting as incentives to  drum up a little laughter in your life.  Just try this.  Consider how seriously you take your life and how seriously you take others, and ask God to show you how to live a life wherein the “joy of the Lord” is your strength.  Probably closely linked to a healthy sense of humor and a tendency towards spontaneous laughter is that all-important attitude of thankfulness God calls us to embrace.   

I remember as a teenager noting with interest how the mouth of an older man I knew seemed fixed into a perpetual frown.   I would wonder to myself what was up with that.  Didn’t he know that it actually takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile?   Déjà vu hit rather hard the other day when I considered my grim visage in the mirror and noted that I wasn’t necessarily “Mr. Smiley” myself.   So here’s to laughter and a merry heart—pray that we could take that good medicine and have the joy of the Lord in our hearts and minds spill out of our speech and be observed in our countenance.  May God be praised! 

One caution.  It is said that “Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief.”  Proverbs 14:13.  Some of us face systemic areas of pain and heartache.  Why is that a person may make a grand effort to be a smiley, laughing individual around others, determined not to let others get a glimpse into the raw hurts and desperate chaos in his life?  Is it that we want to fool others (and ourselves) into thinking that if we act like there is no problem, then the problem will go away?   May we live honest lives of joyful thanksgiving!

Thoughts on James 3:13-15, with a call to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

If the truth were told, most of us prefer to stay away from dark alleys.   There could be monsters there after all, or just as bad, some thuggish robber wannabe with a big club to knock my lights out.   An interesting corollary truth is that many of us prefer not to reveal what we are really thinking, preferring noise and “busy”ness and distractions to mask the reality that life can be a real mess, and that we are in need of help.   Even the repentant believer in Jesus does well to recognize that she is in need of a Savior!    Especially for the believer in Jesus who wishes to delight himself in the Lord, the struggle of daily living can be an uphill workout without much rest.   To whom can we turn?  We need Jesus!  

We are in a battle.  Walt Kelly’s comic figure Pogo famous statement “We have met the enemy and he is us” has some truth to it.   Our struggle is with our “self”, that flesh that keeps inserting its sensual, selfish nature to disrupt the work of the Spirit.   But it’s not only “self,” the struggle is also with the world, the pride of life,  the consumerism and cronyism and peer pressure to stay “sane” and “calm, cool, and collected.”   And as if “self” and the world was not a big enough dual enemy, we find that the struggle is with our enemy, the devil, who is out to steal, kill, and destroy.   We are in a battle, folks, with well-meaning people falling all around us and staying down—defeated, discouraged, and unable to get up anymore.  

Now more than ever, we need help.  We need the transforming work of Jesus Christ through the Spirit of the Lord in our hearts.   If we have ever needed the cross of Jesus Christ to chip away at cold hearts and infuse us with a passion for our Father, we sure do need Him now!    Consider these words from the Scriptures:  Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.  But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.  James 3:13-15.    There it is again.   There is the reality of truth, and then there is the base façade of lies that is earthly (of the world), sensual (“self” and the flesh), devilish (of Satan, who is out to steal, kill, and destroy).   If we wish to walk in victory, to get up again when we fall, and if we wish by the grace of God to fall less and less and to live holy lives as we glorify our Father more and more, we must be honest.  The fight will only be won through honesty with our Father and with each other, first to recognize that we need Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior, to live a life of a repentant believer, and to be filled with the Spirit.   Fight on, brothers and sisters.   We are in a battle!      

Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda      

by: Shel Silverstein

All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
Layin' in the sun,
Talkin' 'bout the things
They woulda coulda shoulda done...
But those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
All ran away and hid
From one little Did.

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'    Matthew 25:34-40

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.   I John 3:17-18

With God, all things are possible.    Matthew 19:26

Actions can speak louder than words.   This year, bring your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength before a God who loves you; love Him in return!   BE a follower of Jesus; DO the will of the Father!      

You know, there is so much going on at church, so many committees, so many things to do, so many meetings, I wonder what we would be like if we were a really big church!   I mean, if we have this many things going as a small church, what would we be like if we were a lot bigger!”   This thought was laughingly communicated to me recently, and today I reflected some more on it. 

Some of this has to do with Rest.  Is my heart at rest in Christ?   Is your heart able to become quiet before your Maker, honest in speech and intent in listening to His heart for You?   

Rest in Jesus.  Hope in God  

When it seems that all the props I have leaned on are either pulled out or are being pulled out, what is left?   I come back to Jesus Christ—there is no other foundation to be laid except the foundation of Jesus Christ.    We can set goals.   We can create programs.   We can institutionalize and codify great ideas.   We can “market” the church to the community.   For what?    Upon calling a local church to see if we could partner with them on a weekend event, I was asked by the operator to explain my situation, after which she put me in touch with their “Director of Marketing.”   What exactly are we marketing?   Too much of the peripheral things that we aim at as believers have become the foundation, at the expense of the One Foundation, Jesus Christ.   This is not rhetoric, friends.   Jesus Christ has to be the foundation of all things, including but not limited to our cell groups, our ministry events, our prayer meetings, our preaching, our teaching, our evangelism, our goals, our vision.     Surrender  ALL  to Jesus!  

Cardinal Danneels of Brussels once wrote: “When I get home after a long day, I go the chapel and pray.  I say to the Lord, “There it is for today, things are finished.  Now let's be serious, is this diocese (church) mine or yours?”   The Lord says, “What do you think?”  I answer, “I think it's yours.”  “That is true,” the Lord says, “it is mine.”  And so I say, “Listen, Lord, it's your turn to take responsibility for and direct the diocese (church).  I'm going to sleep.”     

Yes, God has called me to be His undershepherd of this local church, the Body of Jesus  Christ.   We have all been called by Jesus Christ to be His sons and daughters.   This is His church.  We are His followers.  May we follow His call as the Chief Shepherd.   We need His direction.  We must keep our foundation in Jesus Christ, Sunday through Saturday, moment by moment. Let us encourage one another in this!                                                                      

Jesus says “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5.   Very simple; without Jesus we can do nothing.  Since faith is more than a dusty sheaf of creeds or a gilded Bible on the coffee table, we wish to live out a faith that works.   Here we are again to pray: “Lord, teach me to abide in You.  And Dear Father, please abide in me.”  So what does it mean to “Abide”?
  
Do not only derive “abide in Jesus” times in the busyness and activity of life.  Take “abide” seriously.   Create opportunities for spiritual refreshment, quiet seeking of the Lord's will, and supplication and intercession in a quiet place somewhere.   Come regularly before the Lord with His Word spread out in front of you.   Don't count on the “One Minute Bible” to get your “Abide in Me.”   Ask others to pray for you.  Thank God for spiritual blessings, for material blessings, for trials and testings, for all He has done, for who He is, and for all He is going to do! 
  
An analogy came to me recently in a time of prayer, showing how it might look like to grow in a relationship with the Father.   Of course, analogies fall short of reality, but perhaps this will be helpful.  Suppose knowing God Almighty is somewhat like entering relationship rooms, the first room of which I enter upon confession of my sins and trust/belief in the lordship of Jesus Christ the Savior.   Of course, I am called to go further than that, so our Lord invites me into another room, this one more intimate, more personal, more holy—which  hardly seems possible because how can God be more holy, intimate, and personal than I have already experienced?   Yet in that next room I am overwhelmed anew by the majesty of the Creator, and somehow that room is comprised of mirrors that show me my self in ways that I never saw before.   The mirrors show my sin and pride, and I am invited into another room to know God on a more holy, more intimate, more personal level than before.   The joy and reality is almost more than I can bear, but I must enter in, because along with those mirror-aided glimpses of my sin and pride, I can hear the voice of the Father inviting me into closer communion with Him, calling me to read His word, telling me to love His family on earth, as I will love His family in heaven.    The deeper I enter into those relationship rooms with the Lord Jesus, the more I love Him and receive His love, and desire to abide in Him so I can be “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.”  Ephesians 2:10. 

Dear Jesus, teach us to abide in you.           

So another year has rolled by, and you and I still breathe.  Amazing.  As I reflect back on the old year and look forward to the new, a few goals come to mind for our fellowship this coming year.  I have not read President Obama's The Audacity of Hope yet, but I do believe that God desires His children to live in hope.  What better way to begin a new year than to anchor your hope on something solid?
     
Hope for something.  For what?  Money?  Another Yankees title?  A new job?  A national championship for OSU football?  A husband?  A child?  A better relationship with your Mom and Dad?  An exercise routine that turns you into a buff muscle-man?  A miracle cure to acne issues?  What exactly do you hope for this year?  We could go on and on with the possibilities, but here is the foundation to the hope of a Christian.   Hope in Christ.   It is okay, and sometimes even good, to hope for some of those previously mentioned subjects, but at the end of the day, the center of all of our hope must be in Christ.  “He who has his hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.  (I John 3:3). 

Bring your hopes, dreams, goals, desires, burdens, worries, and fears to the Lord Jesus.  Make this a year of diligent prayer before the God of all comfort and the Author and Finisher of our faith.  True hope in Christ will not be deferred! 
  
Some thoughts from I Peter 4 encapsulate what I hope for regarding the fellowship of FJMC as I hope in Christ:

1. That we would grow in passionate, regular, fervent prayer. (The end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. vs. 7)
2. That we would love each other.  Really. (Above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." vs. 8) 
3. That we would know and speak the truth of God.  (If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God.  vs. 11)
4. That the gifts of the Spirit would be expressed and used!  (As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another.  vs. 10)
5. That we would minister out of the “living water” from God.   (If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies.  vs. 11)

There you have it; “The audacity of hope,” to borrow from President Obama.   I hope in Christ as I hope for these areas of growth in our church.   May the glory of the Lord be revealed in and through you and me this year!    

You influence others, whether you like it or not.  Charles Barkley once said “I am not a role model.  I am paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court. Parents should be role models.  Just because I dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids.”  Frustrated at others' expectations for him to be a positive role model, Barkley denies that others are influenced by him.   Denial does not negate the truth that you do affect the lives of those around you.   One simple definition of leadership is influence.  That means that you are leader, because you influence others.   How now shall you live?  Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”   Go shine in Jesus' name!   

Here are some thoughts about leadership and influence, taken from J. Oswald Sanders' book Spiritual Leadership: 

"Desiring to be great is not a sin.  It is motivation that determines ambition's character.   Jesus never said “Do not desire to be great in God's kingdom,” but He did instruct us to be servants.  Only once in the                New Testament did Jesus say that he was going to do something as an    example, and then he washed their feet...  The quality of your leadership depends on what happens during time. The character and career of a young person depends on how he or she spends spare time.  Leisure is a glorious opportunity and a subtle danger.   Minutes and hours wisely used translate into an abundant life."

God makes all things beautiful in His time.  Imagine if every member and attender of FJMC was completely surrendered to the Will of the Father, and unreservedly committed to bringing glory to His name.  Just think what influence that would have on others!   Or what if just five people received God's vision for saving souls for the kingdom?  What could that do for the kingdom, and how would that passion influence other believers to be soul-winners for Jesus?  Or try this dream out.   What if just ten people at FJMC developed a passion to lead mentoring groups to disciple younger people and new believers, and began walking into that vision with a realization that this was God's calling?     

Your choices affect the direction of your life, influence the lives of your friends, and can even change the spirit of the local church to which you are affiliated.  You are a person of influence right where you are!  What is your mission?  How are you leading?  Whose signals are you listening to?  

“The way to a man's heart is through his stomach” is a dead maxim that should be buried out back somewhere, because it is a surface concept.  I'll admit that the taste of pumpkin pie sends warm fuzzies to my heart, but the saying  “the way to a man's heart is through his wallet” hits closer to home with most of us men.  I wonder how many believers (men and women included) have grappled with their Family of God identity, and rest secure in Christ alone?   Identity can be mistakenly defined or felt based upon our career or upon an inventory of our “stuff”, and idols begin to take over where Christ should be Lord and King. 

That brings us to the question “What shall I do with money?”  For a great functional resource and a convicting read, Randy Alcorn's Money, Possessions, and Eternity serves as a kind of Biblical textbook regarding God's desire for us in how we handle money.   In what order of priority do you suppose the world places the four activities below?  Give to others.  Save wisely.   Acquire possessions.  Live thankfully.  A plain look at the message of most advertisements puts “acquire possessions” first on the list, the implied message being that because I don't have this “good thing” in the advertisement, I am missing out and should acquire this “good thing” in order to live well.   So a worldly priority list may look something like this: 1. Acquire possessions; 2. If you want it, buy it.; 3. Save wisely; 4. Give to others; 5. Live thankfully.    

In the counter-cultural, upside-down kingdom of God, we are called to recognize that “godliness with contentment is great gain.”  (I Tim. 6:6)   Our order of priority in handling money and possessions, as we live out our faith, is more like this:  1. God owns it all; 2. Live lives of thankfulness; 3. Give to others; 4. Save wisely; 5. Buy what we need, and seek God's face before we purchase “wants” that are not needs.; 6. Do not spend money on something we cannot afford.   In a socio-economic environment that expects and almost demands more and more from the government, where does the church fit in with our money and our possessions?   For one thing, Paul's command to the Thessalonians is relevant and applicable today for believers capable of working. “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”  I Thessalonians 3:10.   So we encourage people to be productive members of society, earning a living.  But in that productivity, do not allow the baseness of capitalistic greed to entice you away from a life of simplicity and giving and sincere devotion to the Person and Word of the Lord Jesus Christ.   All that I have comes from God and belongs to God, so I need to treat my stuff in the light of eternity.  

“I had rather exercise faith than know the definition thereof” is a paraphrase of  Thomas a Kempis.   That statement can stir the brain if one allows time to contemplate it.  Yes, we do have a brief definition of faith in the Bible, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” Hebrews 11:1.  Aside from that functional definition, Biblical references to “faith” are usually found in stories of active living, cause and effect, rather than theoretical or philosophical descriptions.   We can measure faith by asking these questions: 1. Am I diligent in obeying the commands of the Father?; 2. Am I fully devoted to love the Lord my God?; 3. Am I making a conscious, active choice to “die daily?”

Diligence.  A tough word.   Seriously, after a commute and a 9-5 day with maybe a few hours of overtime, shouldn't I have “down-time” and “me-time” and “relaxation” and “entertainment?”   How about good old rest?   Why be diligent?  Proverbs 4:23 speaks to that.  “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”  Wow, life is such a gift.  Whether working or relaxing or resting, may God grant us diligence to “keep (our) hearts” for His glory! 

Devotion.  That's easier.  “Do” devotions and get on with the day, right?   How does one “do” devotions?  For those who have not learned Christianese, “devotions” is that regular quiet time of the day which a believer spends in communing with the Father through prayer and the Word.  This time alone with God is foundational for faith in action, and may be the single biggest indicator of how your relationship is with God and your fellow man.  Funny how that works, because it is also not too visible to others.   Unless one asks for accountability in this area or someone asks how the devotional life is going, a believer can go for a long time without a daily schedule of reading the Bible and praying.   But stumbling through life without a daily connection to the Father through prayer and the Word is like the dust rattle of a slow dry drowning.  The dust of that drowning scatters discouragement, desolation, and discontent.  May God draw our hearts to him in fervent devotion, so His love can flow out of us in “rivers of living water!”

Death.  Not much to explain here.  Die to self.   If people accuse me of being in denial about my past or even about my present, that's not all bad.  Being in denial is good if it is on God's terms, because our Lord Jesus Christ said “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”   As we live a life of faith that works, let us be diligent to love the Lord and love our neighbor, and put “SELF” to death to the glory of God!