Face-Time & Overload

At the age of three, our little Casey is a funny boy. Tuesday night it was apparent that he needed some face-time with his daddy. We spent awhile throwing a football back and forth, tickling, laughing etc., just a daddy and a boy doing their thing. Eventually, I announced that it was time to read a bible story together and that’s when Casey said, “my brain says no.”

Face-time with God is important. But sometimes my brain says no…

One of the best reminders for me—especially as we come up on the Thanksgiving holiday—is the old hymn, Count Your Blessings by
Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1897:

Count your blessings name them one by one
Count your blessings see what God has done
Count your blessings name them one by one
Count your many blessings see what God has done

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed
When you are discouraged thinking all is lost
Count your many blessings name them one by one
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done

Counting blessings and spending time thanking God for them is face-time with Him that will bring great peace to your life.

Why this reminder? Simply because we get so overloaded, overworked, and over stimulated that even when we know we should be thankful, sometimes our brain says no…

I am thankful for you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Les, Jr.

OverLoad: You Need A Sanctuary!

This is the third sermon in a series I call Overcoming OverLoad. Some material and ideas taken from Overcoming Overload by Steve & Mary Farrer—a great book I highly recommend… I am on vacation this week and the next in the series will be by my co-worker, Bill Collins, our Worship & Family Minister at the Orange Grove Church of Christ.

Zechariah 2:10-13, “Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the LORD. “Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.”

Psalms 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Good Morning & Welcome! Two weeks ago we talked about the burden of weariness–a burden that will not go away easily or by itself. Life can often be one weary episode, commitment, or responsibility after another.

Occasionally and maybe even more so, we have to learn how to say no. But even then something always appears to be waiting in the wings—there is always the unexpected that seems so eager to surprise you.

In our scripture reading (Numbers 35:9-15) God addresses one such issue. Someone has been killed. It was accidental. The person responsible could then flee and find refuge in a sanctuary city.

As far as I know, I have never been responsible for the death of another. I hope and pray such a thing never becomes my burden, but the truth is thalong before life ever gets so extreme, I need a sanctuary! Like Superman and his Fortress of Solitude, like Doyle Townsley and his man-town (garage), I need a place of comfort, peace, rest, acceptance, safety, and love. I need a place that allows me to escape the often wicked influence this world has to offer.

Hebrews 11:13 and 1 Peter 1:1 both indicate that people of faith are always aliens and strangers in this world.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 makes it pretty clear those belonging to God are to be separate from the world.

Historically, Christians have tried a lot of different ways to make that happen. Some seem fairly straightforward like withdrawing or retreating to a monastery. Others are a bit wackier like the Stylites or the Pillar-Saints. They were Christian Ascetics who practiced self-denial by climbing up high pillars with tiny platforms on top and living there in order to become more holy. Simon the Elder climbed up on his in 423 and did not come down until his death 37 years later.

There are at least two problems in creating the kind of sanctuary where we withdraw from the world. The first problem is even if we get away from everybody else, we cannot escape bringing our own sinful nature—it follows us everywhere we go! And second, when you see the words of Jesus—in his prayer for his disciples—it is the exact opposite of what he wanted!

John 17:15, My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

As Christians, we need to be in the world. Did you catch what I said? As Christians we need to be in the world, but not of the world—and that’s a distinction sometimes hard to make.

James 1:27, Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

1 John 2:15-17, Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

This is where the idea of sanctuary is so important. We all need a place to retreat from the world. We all need a way to re-energize and renew and reconnect. Obviously, being a part of a church family and having regular fellowship with one another helps. Certainly there are exceptions to every rule, but when you hear of a brother or sister who is really struggling with some sin issue, often the struggle comes about because fellowship is not a part of their life!
We need the sanctuary that comes from relationships. But even with that, each of us needs a time, a place, and a mental attitude where we can be alone with God.

Sanctuary or being alone with God is made up of three interrelated ideas: solitude, silence, and stillness. We need to make a time and make a place to be alone with God—a time and place where we are silent, where we are still before the Lord. Over and over again, we see Jesus going off by himself to commune with God—and if God needs to be alone with God, doesn’t it make sense we need it too?

Psalms 62:1-2, 5, My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. 5, Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.

Lamentations 3:24-26, I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Occasionally someone will suggest I have an adult version of ADHD. WebMD says this is a condition characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. I suspect they are right—I can recognize those things in me. But you know what’s worse than having adult ADHD? Spiritual ADHD! And that is where many of us are. We struggle with the ability to be still, to be silent, and to be in solitude with God.

The 23^rd Psalm is one of the most comforting scriptures of all time–until you look at it and realize what God is saying about sanctuary…

Psalms 23, The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Sometimes the Shepherd has to make us stop and be still. It might be the loss of a job. It might be a heart attack and an extended hospital stay. It might be sitting beside someone else in a hospital bed.

But the fact remains. You need the sanctuary of family. You need time alone with God. And maybe, just maybe nothing in your life is going to work the way you envision it until you make time with God a priority.

How can we help you today?

Blessings!
Les, Jr.

OverLoad: You Need A Sabbath!

The following sermon was preached November 1st. This sermon series isabout the problem so many people face: we are overloaded and overwhelmed! Source material and quotes come from Overcoming Overload by Steve & Mary Farrar. It’s a great book and I highly recommend it!

Genesis 2:2-3… Exodus 20:8-11…

Good Morning & Welcome! When I was a kid it was fairly common to be told we couldn’t have any coffee because it would_____________! Yep, it would stunt our growth.

While that has been proven to be an old wives tale, I wonder how many of us are being stunted in our own growth.

In our scripture reading, Luke tells us that as a young man Jesus grew in all the appropriate areas: in knowledge, as well as physically, spiritually, and socially/ relationally. If you’ll pardon the pun, we grow concerned when our own children fail to grow in any of those areas.

• What if we could make a case for a particular area of your life that needed work? If it was stunting your growth as a husband, wife, father, mother, would you be interested?
  
• What if we could make the case that there was a necessary part of your life that was missing and that missing part was affecting everything you did, attempted, or wanted to be? Would you be interested then?

Try reading the following paragraph on the screen?
ReadingiseasierwhenthereissomespacbetweenthewordsAndlifeisnodifferentLifeiseasierwhenthereissomespacebetweentheactivitiesofourlives

It’s difficult isn’t? While years ago, in Greek or Latin, writing would look just like that—we know that something is missing: Space!

Reading is easier when there is some space between the words. And life is no different. Life is easier when there is some space between the activities of our lives.

For centuries western cultures all considered the Sabbath to be a normal and necessary part of life. But somehow, we lost that.

• Maybe it was because we got a bit confused in understanding what the real differences are between the old law and the new.
  
• Or, maybe we just decided such an ancient idea wasn’t what modern humanity needed anymore.
  
• And maybe, just maybe our ignorance is killing us.

So ask yourself this question: Are any of the Ten Commandments not valid today? If your answer is the Sabbath, please, please think again.

The Sabbath transcends the Law! Why did God rest at the end of creation? It wasn’t for Him, it was for our example and it was intended to be a timeless gift—an opportunity for rest!

• Colossians 1:15-16…
  
• Mark 2:23-28…

It is important to get the idea that the Sabbath rest was always a part of the creation.

• When Jesus came, he set the Sabbath free from the some 1500 rules and regulations the Pharisees added.
  
• Through the sacrifice of Jesus, the Sabbath is no longer hemmed in by the need for sacrifice nor the rules of men!

So what’s in the Sabbath for me? Three gifts God gives us:

The Sabbath is a part of the built-in natural rhythm of life!

• We live by natural cycles of day and night as well as the seasons. And we were not made to run 24/7! We need downtime.
  
• We need time to recharge spiritually, emotionally, physically and relationally.
  
• In the Sabbath we find the natural rhythm of rest!

The Sabbath is a time for refreshment and recreation.

• The ancient Hebrew word for refreshed also means to breathe! Everybody needs some breathing room! Do you remember the old Coca Cola advertisement? The Pause That Refreshes!
  
• Here’s some plain English: the root word for recreation is re-create! Let’s twist an old cliché: The family that plays together stays together!
  
• In the Sabbath we find renewal!

The Sabbath is a time for reverence.

So when is the Sabbath? After the Resurrection, the emphasis among God’s people shifted from the last day to the first day. And even though Jesus set the Sabbath free from the rules and regulations of man, we have not been set free from our need for rest, refreshment, and reverence!

Many of us need to make time for God in our lives. Sunday worship with the family is a wonderful place to start. The Hebrew writer exhorts us to “not give up meeting together.”

And the truth is, we need a break—and we need to find it with God! And we need to honor God by finding it with our families.

Being with your family is important for your health and growth.

Balance is the key.

Is your life in balance with God and with your family?

les, jr.