Tension, Tension, Tension!

Romans 14:17 – 19 (NIV) For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

Many of us know tension–intimately. Sometimes tension can be a good thing-sometimes it can help us laser in on what needs our attention.

However, every hospital in this land is filled with folks who are experiencing serious health issues-emotionally, physically, and mentally–and many of those issues are the end result of some kind of tension.

More often than not, my experience finds that the biggest culprit is unresolved tension.

Be that as it may, tension is a fact of our lives. And whether we like it or not, there are very few places if any where we might escape it. But wouldn’t it be nice if we could see church as a place of safety and sanctuary? Wouldn’t it be nice if the one place we could go to escape would be the family of God?

That’s a nice dream but unfortunately, it is just a dream. As long as church is made up of sinners in need of grace, some of the tension of our unredeemed world will always find a way to penetrate.

That being said, we can still try our best to be at peace with each other. We can make the family a safe haven if we but check our own attitudes, our own prejudices and our own sense of superiority at the door.

What can you do to lessen the tension in your life-specifically any tension you might bring into the life of the body? As Paul said in the last verse of Romans, may the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Blessings,

Les, Jr.

On a Mission From God

My oldest son, Kyle, leaves for a two month mission trip to India on May 10th. He will turn 21 on the 13th. For those of you who read this blog and do not know Kyle, he is finishing up his Junior year at Faulkner University–majoring in Bible with an emphasis on missions. Needless to say, Mom and Dad are proud.

What you will read next is a note he wrote to the Orange Grove congregation.

Imagine for a moment that you live in the nation of India. This is the second most populated country in the world. Its largest city, Mumbai (formerly Bombay), is one of the world’s largest cities, with more people than New York City and Los Angeles combined! If you are like the other 82% of the population, you are a follower of Hinduism. This religion claims to follow 330 million different gods and centers around the idea of reincarnation. They believe they are reborn over and over again, moving up or down in society (caste system) based upon how they performed their moral duty (dharma) in their previous life. The goal is to eventually escape this continual cycle of life and merge like a drop of water in the ocean with Brahman, the indescribable, impersonal ultimate being. This religion, which is completely based upon your own performance and personal merit, has no place for grace or even a personal relationship with the object of your worship. This worship can take countless forms. Some Hindu holy men take vows to remain standing or remain silent indefinitely. There are even temples devoted to the worship of rats, with the worshipers believing them to be the ancestors of one of the gods. It is so sad to see people trapped in the lies of this religion.

In addition to about 800 million Hindus, India is home to about 120 million Muslims-more than any other country in the world-making it the center of some of the greatest religious conflicts on the planet. Only 2% of the people in India have the blessing of knowing Jesus Christ. Many of these Christians have been severely beaten or disowned by their families for committing themselves to Christ. I look forward to being able to encourage the Christians of this dangerous nation by bringing greetings from the Church in America. I will be serving in a variety of ways-preaching, teaching, helping with a university that trains Indian preachers, and other unknown duties. Thank you so much for your support, financially and through your constant encouragement. Remember John’s words in 3 John v.8 when he says that contributing to the work of missionaries makes you partners in his work. Please I beg you to pray for the people of India and that God will be glorified through our work there. Pray also that His power will be make perfect in our weakness. I look forward to returning with greetings from the Church in India and sharing with you what great things God is doing there, both for the persecuted believers and for those not yet blessed to know Christ. Thank you again and I love you all.

Kyle Ferguson

Romans Revisited

Last Sunday I began a series of sermons from the book of Romans. I don’t know how many there will be–I imagine somewhere between 18 and 20. But don’t hold me to it.

Romans has always been fascinating to me. It is such a powerful book. And even in my initial introductory sermon, I found things I had not noticed before.

At any rate, I presented Romans as a book of tensions, a letter about tensions. And certainly, that makes it applicable to my church life.

From time to time, I may drop some of that study here on these pages. In the meantime, what book are you studying with any regularity?

How can we as Christians not be involved in the very words of God?

Good questions, huh?

There is so much tension in our brotherhood over issues and doctrines that seem to be not all that important–especially to those of our world who are drowning in sin and sorrow.

So forget the sectarian arguments and get into the book. Better yet, let the message get into you. Share it with another.

What say ye?

Blessings,

Les, Jr.

No More Fridays–Easter Sermon 2007

 Happy Easter!

I hope your Easter weekend is going great. As you can see from the pictures above, we have been doing a little Easter preparation ourselves this evening. Earlier today I spent the morning hours doing some post-Katrina service work with folks from our church family. Some of our work centered on beginning the remodeling of an old trailer used as a bunk house during the bulk of recovery efforts. When completed, one of our dear sisters will have a new and improved place to live.

Others of us spent some time in the home of some nice people from our community doing some Sheetrock priming to help move them on down the road to being back in their own house.

All in all, it was a blessed way to spend a Saturday.

If you are interested, the words below come out of my Easter sermon for tomorrow, April 8, 2007…

Have you ever had a Friday? Not the day of expectation when the job is done and the fun begins, but the kind of Friday that represents or is or was one of the worst times in your life?

Maybe it was the day the doctors said your child had a terminal illness and you began to wait.

Maybe it was the day your spouse finally told the truth and you learned of massive and systematic betrayal.

Maybe it was the day the judge ordered your marriage to be irrevocably over. Maybe it was the day your child began a prison sentence.

Maybe it was the day you were fired from your job.

Maybe it was the day you realized your retirement pension fund was gone.

Maybe it was the day you finally recognized that you had driven away all those who had loved you.

Maybe it was the day for whatever reasons your life became a recognizable, certifiable living hell…

Have you ever had a Friday? Jesus did.

Jesus had a Friday. People all over the world celebrate it as Good Friday-and ultimately it became good for each person who would trust the work of Calvary to save their soul.

But for Jesus the events of that Friday didn’t have a feel good motif. That particular Friday was a day of pain, suffering, and utter aloneness. We read the story of Jesus’ Friday and even then the words can’t quite convey the horror Jesus endured.

It was Friday.

For the Pharisees and Sadducees it was wonderful. For those who wanted Jesus to be silenced, it was a day of celebration. For Satan it was a momentary triumph.

You have to wonder how Jesus could have gone through the whole Friday. He had the power to stop it. He had the ability to turn the tables and make the pain givers the recipients of the same pain they readily dished out.

Certainly if we were in Jesus’ shoes, we would have stopped the carousal at the first moment of discomfort. The train ride would end. The air plane would land. The car would come to a screeching halt. And Friday would be over.

But Jesus knew something others did not. Jesus knew what the disciples could not fathom. Jesus understood would his enemies could not imagine. Jesus had faith in what Satan could not see.

Jesus knew that Sunday was coming.

Matthew 28:1-20…

The Sunday that came after Friday was the definitive event for all time. Sunday came. Jesus arose. Death was defeated. Satan was vanquished.

And Fridays? We still have Fridays from time to time. And they still hurt. But their ability to determine the outcome of our lives has been destroyed.

Sunday came. Sunday still comes. And the Jesus who promised to be with us always is the God over Fridays still.

Are you stuck in a Friday of monumental proportions? Some of you are. You are up to your neck in sin, in heartache, in guilt, and in shame. Your relationships are in shambles; your emotions are ship-wrecked on a reef of despair. For the faithful, Sunday is here!

Romans 8:31-39…

Aren’t you tired of life on a Friday? Sunday is coming!

Les, Jr.

Take a Look!

Check out the link called Casey’s pics on your left for two new pictures! Casey is walking now and continues to be loads of fun and sweetness all rolled into one!