Emotions...

I am not a counselor. I counsel, but I am not a trained counselor. There are many things I am not trained to help a person overcome. But one thing I seem to run into a lot is not deep, dark stuff from the past. It is a mistaken approach to life that many people live by, but it's dangerous.

Many people seem to live by their emotions. I think that the church has even helped this happen by telling people that God's goal for our life is for us to be happy. That we are in the center of God's universe. He is pursuing us.

Please don't be offended, but I truly think that sometimes God doesn't care at all if we are happy or not. (Just ask Job, Jonah, Moses, or Paul). You see I don't think I am in the center of God's universe. I think He needs to be in the center of mine.

With the popular teaching that God wants you and I to be happy, I think it has led us to believe that happiness is a top priority of life. Therefore we allow our emotions to be our master. To quote a popular pastor "Emotions make great servants, but lousy masters."

If you are making life decisions based on how you feel, how happy you are, or how happy someone makes you, you are headed for tough times. Emotions lead us up and down like a roller coaster. When we are happy we choose to be devoted, generous, and caring. When we are NOT happy we tend to be less devoted, stingy, and self-focused.

One of the attributes I love about God is that He is not whimsical. He is immutable. Unchangeable. He will always act in accordance with His character. Could you imagine if God behaved in accordance to His feelings! I am pretty sure that there would be times I would be in BIG trouble.

Let's remember, God is not in existence for our happiness. Rather, the opposite is true. We exist to make God happy.

The Cause

I am reading a book by Matthew Barnett called "The Cause Within You". I love what God has done through Matthew's life. If you have never read it before I would encourage you to read "The Church That Never Sleeps" written by him as well. That book helped form the vision for ministry that God laid on my heart.

In his book "The Cause..." he wrote "Fear cannot own you when a great cause rules your heart." For some reason that line just jumped off the page at me. I wasn't sure why, but it stuck with me. I prayed over it and I came to believe that God is going to call me or Journey Community Church or both to do something that has the potential to "scare" us.

This past week it came. Our Crisis Pregnancy Center in our small little city help over 10 young lady's each week. Over 550 people were helped in 2010 through the crisis pregnancy center of Fernley NV. In a town of 18000 people it just seemed to me that was a lot of people. We have supported this ministry since our beginning in 2009 for $250 a month. I knew it wasn't a lot, but it was to us, a new church in a struggling economy. But I always wanted to do more and knew that one day we would increase our support and increase our volunteers there.

Our CPC lost it's financing support from Reno and now has to find new ways to raise $2000 per month in order to keep their doors open. I shared this with our small group because we are studying the book "The Hole In Our Gospel" and it challenges us to find ways to increase our "reach" into the world. So I shared it as a prayer request. Then God immediately convicted me and said "Really Rod, do you really need to pray about it?" The answer was no, I didn't need to pray about it. I know what God expects of His people in times like this. He expects us to protect the unborn...to stand up and defend life...to keep the CPC open in Fernley.

So we are. Yep, there is some fear, but it does not own me. A great cause rules my heart. Not sure how this is going to get done, but that is not my concern. My concern is faithfulness and generosity.

What I ask:

Pray and Give and Volunteer to help this place of hope, help and love stay open in Fernley. 550 women and girls last year!!! Wow, that is a place that we must keep open.

It's a great cause! It's a moment of, as Bill Hybels calls it, Holy Discontent. A great cause will wreck you. Help if you can, Pray when you think of it, and do not FEAR...

Take care and Hit 'em straight!

Rod

Playing golf (and life) in the wind

If you want to play golf in Northern Nevada, then you better learn to play in the wind. The wind blows all the time around here. I am not talking about breezes, I am talking 30 or 40 mph sustained winds with 60 mph gusts. It wreaks absolute havoc on a well struck pitching wedge. So you have to learn how to hit punch shots, stingers, and even learn how to putt in this wind, because yes, it will move your putt. It's amazing how your games changes drastically when you play in the wind. It can be exciting, but it can also be miserable. You have to pay attention, understand which way the wind is blowing, look for the signs in the trees, the flag and even what is blowing across the green. You have to understand that not every par 5 can be reached in two, or sometimes even in 3. You have to make choices on hitting a ball in a different direction than you would normally hit the ball. But the most important 3 parts of playing in the wind is your stance, your grip, and your swing.

Your stance can be a little quieter than normal. By that I mean, try not to sway or rock your knees too much. The quieter the better chance you have to hit the ball straight and if you choose the right angle the wind can actually help you out.

Your grip is important too because if you grip too tight, you are not going to get the ball trajectory you wanted. You see sometimes in the wind you need to hit it high and sometimes you need to hit it low. Grip is directly tied to trajectory.

Finally, your swing. Here's a saying you need to remember. "When it's breezy, make sure and swing easy." Tempo is the heart and soul of the swing. The harder you swing the more damage the wind can do. A good tempo, a steady tempo will get the ball where you want it to go.

I am seeing a lot of people playing out their life in the wind right now. What usually is a simple game with a simple plan all of a sudden becomes difficult. Couples are struggling with their marriages, just trying to hang on, and their fingers are slipping. People losing their jobs after 15 or 20 years working there. Now at the age of 50 or so, they wonder "who is going to hire me?" Parents seeing their kids getting "loose" out there on the world and they aren't doing so well. It's getting tough out there, people blowing around in the wind and not knowing exactly which direction to go and how hard to push. In this time I think 3 things are important to remember.

First is your stance. What are you standing on? God's Word gives us the values and principles that we need to live by each and EVERY day of our lives. Sometimes when we are doing life in the wind we need to quiet our stance and be still and know that HE is God and we are not. Listen to Him speak to you through His word to provide a good direction.

Second is your grip. This one is a little different than golf. Here we want to grip on a little tighter. You may not always know "what" but you can be absolutely sure of "who". God wants, get that, WANTS, you to grab hold of Him.

Finally, our swing. How are we progressing through these times? You are not called to sit down in the midst of the strong winds and just hope it goes away. You need to make some decisions, even if you aren't feeling good. Sometimes we let our emotions be our guide. I heard a quote attributed to James MacDonald "Emotions make great servants, but lousy masters." The temptation is going to be to let your emotions guide you. Don't let it get away from you. You need to keep up your tempo of life but making your you keep doing what is right, no matter what.

God seeks to honor this kind of life. Can He honor yours?

Been a long time...

Okay, I am going to try this again. I started a blog a year ago or longer, posted a few times, then stopped. So I really want to make this happen and hopefully be used to help, encourage, challenge, or even entertain. So here it goes...again.

Have you been reading all this controversy about Rob Bell and his book "Love Wins"? Wow, what a mess. When Rob first came on the scene I liked some of the stuff he did, the NOOMA videos at times were really good. His book on Sex and God's view shattered some walls in the church...I didn't mind that too much.

But now, I think Rob needs to slow down. I think he is starting to believe his own press clippings here and creating a theology. I am not sure as to why...maybe he felt the gospel needed to be more palatable. He cannot say it is scriptural. God is love, NO DOUBT, but God is also righteous and just. Scriptures teach clearly

And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if any one's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:9-15

Listen--you don't have to like hell...in fact you probably shouldn't like the idea of a place called hell. But is God lying? Is the scripture not true? Of course the answer to both of those is NO!!!

So what do we do? We teach truth, we can warn of God's judgement but we MUST proclaim God's love! My words would be to Rob, I understand that hell is not pleasant, but it is truth. So is it more loving to take it away and allow people to feel better about God today only to go there when it is too late or is it more loving to teach truth and try to prevent people from going there?

For my friend Terry Ferguson

Terry Ferguson passed away this week. I think he was about 54 years old. He was a preacher in Lansing Michigan. I have known Terry since I was a little kid, his family and mine used to hang out together quite a bit. We even went on a few vacations together. Terry was one of my brothers buddy's. They hung out, went to concerts together, and basically spent a lot of time laughing. He was older than me so he and I didn't have a whole lot of "hangin'" time. But I do have some memories.

One of the vacations we went on together was to the Grand Canyon to ride the mules to the bottom of the canyon and spend the night and ride back up the next morning. I remember just before we were to leave Terry bought two things in the gift shop...a pretty expensive cowboy hat and a lot of Pepto Bismol. There was a time when Terry and I were preachers in Michigan at the same time and I was supposed to speak at a Statewide convention and they had Terry introduce me. There was a typo in the program so he followed what it said and introduced me like it was written...Red Idle. He laughed so hard as he was trying to introduce me.

But probably the way I remember Terry the most is that he was a good friend to my older brother and sister. Terry wasn't a big sports nut like my family, but he would sit in the room and watch the games because that is what everyone else was doing. He didn't have to be the center of attention, but he could always be seen sitting on the side, laughing hysterically when his friend Jack or my brother Steve would crack a joke. Terry was "there" for you, you know? He was just the type of guy who everyone likes. You couldn't say a bad word about Terry because there was nothing bad about him. He was a good husband, a good father, a good brother, and a good son. Simply put, he was a good man. A man of God. He will be missed that is for sure. Terry was one of the good guys.

To Luann, his wife, you are in our prayers. To Ken and Carol, his parents, I am so sorry for your loss. I want to leave you with this if I can.

"Grieve not for me, nor let one small tear fall. For things you dream of, I now see. And brother, it's worth it all" Terry is walking hand in hand with Jesus now. WOW.

Trash talking...

Trash talkers have taken over sports. In football, guys are out there now acting like they won a Super Bowl when they make a tackle after a running back gains 7 yards! They pound their chest, mouth off, screaming like they are world champions. Celebrating too early for too little really doesn't make a whole lot of sense. In basketball, a kid slam dunks a basketball and runs down the court staring down the opponents bench and crowd, yet his team is losing by 20 points! Ridiculous behavior to say the least. Check out the score before you go dancing down the court! We lose sight of the purpose pretty easy don't we? I wonder if the church is full of trash talking too?

I mean, have we lost the urgency of the message in the church? You know what I mean? I mean, have we lost our sense of Biblical purpose? The kind of purpose that effects eternity. The kind of purpose that ticks off the enemy. Have we lost our sense of urgency when it comes to the message of salvation and the need of Jesus? Do we celebrate too early and for too little? I am not trying to judge the world here, but I think about Journey and I like what is going on, but I don't want to celebrate too early of for too little. I don't want to be a trash talker. I want to remember what is really important in my life. Why God placed the church here on earth. I want to remember the urgency of what really matters every day of my life. I have two friends here in Fernley who do not know Jesus in a personal relationship way...I am going to talk to them both this week again and encourage them to start their life over again...with Christ.

Take care,

Rod

One Month to Live

I am beginning a new series for Journey in just a few weeks called One Month To Live. This is the study we are starting our Small Groups with as well. I am interested in hearing your thoughts. If you found out you only had one month to live...what would change? What things would you concentrate on? How would you spend your time? Who would you make sure you talked to? What would you tell your loved ones? What is on your "bucket list"?

I have been spending some time thinking about these things. If I were living like I only had 30 days left, I would have to make some changes to how I am living right now. I think I would start with my connection with God. If I start there, then everything else would have a better chance to be successful in helping me to leave a legacy. Because that is what I want, to leave a legacy.

So, what about you? How would you live differently if you had just one more month to live?

Let me know.

Take care,

Rod