When Sticks and Stones Come Your Way, Duck

Social media can become pretty unsocial. I have noticed more and more people posting

negative things about Christians or accusing Christians not to care because of the actions of

a certain politician. The world has a negative view of Christians. Some of that is prophetic

and some of that is our fault.

Let’s first look at what we can’t fix, people not liking us because we are believers in Christ.

Jesus is speaking to the apostles and giving them one last lesson before He is arrested. He

speaks of how the world will hate those who follow him, “If the world hates you, know that

it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but

because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”. That’s

from John 15:18-19.

There are some things you don’t have control over. How someone feels about you based on your belief you can’t fix. You can try. You can treat them with incredible kindness and let them see Christ in you. But be prepared for it not to work. And that’s ok. As a believer we are commanded to try. As I mentioned in our Sunday night class recently, you can’t force someone to accept the Gospel.

Which takes us to the thing we can control, which we just mentioned. We can control ourselves. One reason non-believers don’t like believers is because over the years we have given off a bad vibe. Those Christians who think they are better because they have the Holy Spirit. Those Christians who have bad reactions in public or say the wrong things when the time comes.

We can have better control over ourselves if we do what James says in chapter one, verse 19, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” Seems easy enough, right? I mean, how hard can that be?

Well, at times, it’s really hard. But we have to do our best, then pray God fills in the gap where we fall short. Remember what Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter two, verse 13, “13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” God is working in you. You are and will always be a work in progress. Don’t worry about sticks and stones. But be aware of your words that can hurt others and your

and Jesus’ reputation.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Glen

Be An Influencer, Show Others Christ

Can you imagine teaching yourself Greek at four years old? Being the top of your elementary school at 5 or enrolling in college by 14? Now imagine, because of an illness, you pass away at 28 years old and you were such a positive influence on your community 7,000 people show up for your funeral.

That’s what happened in 1843 when Robert Murray McCheyne passed from typhus. McCheyne knew early on that God was calling him to something great. He committed himself to prayer every morning. He wrote poetry, hymns and letters concerning faith, God and the church. By the age of 22 he was the pastor of St. Peter’s Church in Dundee, which had over 1,100 regular attenders.

McCheyne was a great influencer of his day. This was before the internet, cell phones and social media apps. In 28 years, this young lad in Scotland had such a positive influence on his community, that men openly wept as they walked down the road after learning of his passing. What’s amazing is that he still influences us today.

When I think of McCheyne, I think of First Timothy chapter four. In verse 12, Paul writes, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” Paul was telling a young Timothy to not let your youth be a stumbling block for people. They can and will look past it if you make these things a priority.

What is it that is a stumbling block between you and sharing the Gospel with others? We sometimes find that our minds work against us, and we convince ourselves that we are unworthy to share the Gospel, to act in a way that points people to Christ. Of course we’re not worthy, none of us are worthy. God chooses to use “unworthy” people for His purpose.

Sometimes we convince ourselves of some reason why we can’t share the Gospel or teach, or sing, or play or whatever the church may need. We need to stop making excuses. Go, live a life that points people to Jesus. Become an influencer for Christ, for the Kingdom, for God.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Glen

Rejoice, even when it's time to punt

When I went on my first mission trip to Mexico, I went down with two crews. One crew was medical and the other a vacation Bible school crew. We were told that we would be in the same place the entire week. I was on the VBS crew and everything we set up for the week, all of the pre-work we did, was done with the understanding that we would be in the same spot all week.

Well, imagine our surprise as we got to Laredo, Texas, that we would not be in the same place all week and in fact we would be in a different location daily. Everything was packaged and boxed for the week. It was ready to go. Not anymore. One phone call told us everything we prepared for was all wrong. We immediately went into action, pulling everything out and re-packaging it to fit

our needs for the week.

It was a long night, but necessary because the details of our trip changed. That’s when I learned a valuable lesson, in ministry, sometimes, you have to punt. We can plan all day every day for months leading up to a ministry event, but all the planning can’t protect you from the unknown.

The things we can’t control, when they happen, throw us off. Those things weren’t expected, needed or wanted. But they happen. As my friend JD says, “What are you going to do? Quit?” Of course not. All you can do is press forward.

Let me give you a couple of scriptures that will make you want to pull your hair out. First, from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ” Rejoice always? Give thanks in all circumstances? Paul says it again in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

Yes, always rejoice! No matter the circumstance, no matter the thing that happens that you have no control over. Just punt, regroup and repackage. Many times, someone’s opinion of you isn’t based on your daily walk. Many times it’s based on how you react in certain situations. Remember, you are always being watched, even when you can’t see the person watching.

So the next time something goes wrong or you have to punt the ball, rejoice. Again I say, rejoice!

See You Sunday!

Pastor Glen

 Learn from Failure, Lean on Jesus

Losing stinks. I didn’t like to lose when I played sports and I didn’t like to lose when I coached Grayson and Riley. And I’ll admit it, I’m a sore loser. You work hard to do your best and sometimes it just isn’t good enough. Sometimes there is someone out there whose best is better than yours. And yes, that stinks, because we want to think we are the best.

It also stinks when you try to do your best, to be obedient to God and you stumble. You have a bad thought, say the wrong thing or do something you know you shouldn’t do. And then you realize, your best wasn’t good enough. You failed.

Failure is a good thing. I know, for someone who hates to lose that is a tough thing to say, but failure can help us to be better.

First, it keeps us humble. A good reminder that we aren’t perfect and that sometimes our best isn’t good enough. Thankfully we have Jesus, who was and is perfect. Through His perfection, when our best isn’t good enough, His is. John wrote in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Second, failure is a learning experience. Riley was my goalie in soccer. We won a lot of games because he kept the ball out of the net. But we lost some games too. Every time someone scored on him, we would talk about what went right and what went wrong. Sometimes there was nothing he could have done and sometimes he knew he made a mistake. When we are honest about our failures and examine what went wrong, we can learn how to prevent it from happening again.

Finally, failure is a realization that we are human, and all humans fail. It should help us to find compassion for others. I’ve said many times that Christians should be more open about their failures and share with others. Do you know how many people are just like you who fail and think they are all alone in their failure? Don’t be afraid to share your failures.

It’s ok not to like failure. We shouldn’t. Jesus said in His sermon on the mount, “Blessed are those who mourn” Matthew 5:4. When we mourn our failures we will correct them.  Losing stinks. Failure stinks. But, what we gain from it can be invaluable. 

See you Sunday!

Pastor Glen

Whose light is it anyway?

I saw something on social media recently that said, “Your self worth revolves around your own ability to see your own light. So let it shine.” 

Do you see a challenge with this statement? There are a lot of yours in one sentence. Your self worth, your own ability, your own light. What should be a striking difference between those who believe and those who don’t, is where we find value. 

First, we should find greatest value in our relationship with God. Not only did He create us, but He provided a way for us to be reconciled with Him through His only son, Jesus Christ.  Romans chapter five, verse eight says “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” That alone should give us ample reason to see the incredible value of our relationship with God. 

But it doesn’t end there. He is faithful to us even when we are not faithful to Him. He provides protection, guidance, joy, hope, peace and the list goes on. My life is worth nothing unless I have a relationship with God. That relationship only happens through Christ.

Second, I have no ability except that which is given to me by God. Throughout my life I can see how God has worked to bring me where I am today. Read what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;  and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;  and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.” All that I am is because of Him.

Finally, it’s not my light that needs to shine, it’s His. One of my favorite verses is John 3:30 and I like the NIV translation. John the Baptist is approached by some of his followers who are not happy that this new guy, Jesus, is pulling followers away from John. Look how John responds, “He must become greater, I must become less.”

What John knew and what we must understand, is whatever we do in life, it should lift the name of Jesus above our own. Our desire should be to point people to Jesus so they can discover what we already feel, the incredible mercy, love and grace of God. 

Your self worth revolves around Jesus, who died on a cross so we may be reconciled to God who provides us our abilities. Allowing the light of Christ to shine in a dark world. Let His light shine in you.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Glen

Let Love Rule

February is the month of love. At least that’s what the greeting cards say. In 2024, the Valentine’s Day industry was expected to reach around 26 billion dollars. That is a lot of flowers and candy. It’s America’s 9^th favorite day of the year. But did you know Valentine’s Day has Christian roots?

The Feast of St. Valentine is a celebration that takes place on February 14^th. It was originally a Christian feast that honored Valentine, a 3^rd century clergyman, who ministered to persecuted Christians. Valentine was arrested and later martyred. His body was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14^th. 

Sometime in the 14^th and 15^th centuries, the feast turned into a celebration of love between two people. That is when the rise of courtly love took place. Courtly love emphasized nobility and chivalry. In other words, show me how much you love me. It’s where we get the idea of knights going on adventures to earn their ladies love. For us today, men don’t have to slay dragons, just fight the lines at the flower shops and gift stores. 

Love is the main theme throughout the Bible. The word appears in some form over 500 times. Loving your family, thou shall honor thy mother and father, to loving your neighbor, as thyself, it’s all about love. That is because God is love. It is who He is, His inner being, His essence.

We are also supposed to be about love. “Let all that you do be done in love.” – 1 Corinthians 16:14. Everything. Every action and word should be wrapped up in love. I know. It’s hard. But that is who we are supposed to be, reflecting the light and love of God. 

What we do is reflective on the church, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and God. Either we are reflecting something that is loving, which attracts people to Jesus or we are reflecting something that pushes them away. 

Make loving others a part of your character, your inner being, your essence. Together, by showing the love of God, we might see some become saved.

- Pastor Glen