Got Smarts?

Smart phone? Why does a phone need "smarts"? What would happen if you lost your phone? Would you have a panic attack? Statistically speaking, a person's phone is one the last things he or she feels they can live without. These phones hold all of our information that if lost, it would feel devastating. We depend on them, completely. Doubt it? What is your cell phone number? Wife's cell? Kids? Friends? Most people stumble at their own number, because they say they don't call themselves (ok, that is my excuse). What happened to memorizing? Do you remember when, if you didn't have it memorized or written down, and carried with you, you did not have it, do you? Our children will seemingly never have to commit anything to memory, because they have devices at their fingertips, at all times, that can.

Technology is giving everyone the ability to do more, and although we feel getting more done is accomplishing more, I think we are missing some of the most simple and valuable parts of our lives. Sleep has become "overrated", and caffeine/energy drinks are a multi-billion dollar industry, and yet we seem to have less and less time to get what we think needs to get done accomplished...to what end?

We live in a more and more complicated world, and the propensity is for us to be distracted from the simple and most valuable things: us, and our relationship with God. God did not make it complicated, and wants us to rely on Him over any technology needed to reach Him. God said we matter most in His creation, so then in response we should matter most to each other. That is pretty simple, huh? Then why does everything get so complicated? Simply because that is not from God. Look at this verse:

"For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,"   1 Corinthians 14:33.

Confusion happens when we try to play God in our lives, and for our lives - especially in the church. Two important things we need to grapple with in this verse: First, confusion is not from God, and second, that Paul says it refers to His church - he is talking about the Body of Christ - fellow believers, and not just anyone. We are accountable to God and to each other then - simply doing what God asks, and seeking His peace would be the smartest thing we could do.

So when criticism, dissension, anger, and things like gossip happens between fellow Christians (the church) we have to realize the source, and it is not God. God asks us to focus on Him, and to obey Him, as He desires only what is best for us. When we as the church, are at our best, is when we are simply dependent on God, and celebrate this together in community. This means that we don't require devices or ceremonies or anything to help us relate to Him, but simply come wholly as ourselves, before a Holy God, gathering together to celebrate who He is and what He has done, then to live it out daily, and then Repeat...now that is the smart thing to do.

...just prayin'

In His grip,

Pastor Pat

Know It All!?

How much do you know? How much you know, is directly equal to how smart you are, right? No one wants to look stupid about anything, or any subject…ever. We look at people in other areas of the country and how they live, and often times, we label them. In politically correct terms, we refer to people in a lower class than ours as “simple”. Labeling someone as simple seems like a degrading comment, as if they are not educated enough to be complicated. When you say it like that, it simply sounds wrong.

Have you seen this TV show called “Duck Dynasty”? When I first heard about it, people told me it was about “simple” folks who made it big. It was first described to me like it was kind of a modern day Beverly Hillbillies story. If you have seen the show, you know that it was no dumb luck that helped this family succeed. There are college degrees and business acumen that would rival a Fortune 500 Company’s, but you will probably never hear about it. They truly are simple folks, with very simple values. They also close each show as their family simply gathers for family dinner around one big table, and the patriarch simply thanks Jesus for all He has given them.

I am not saying you need to watch the show, albeit it is as funny as funny gets, but that a simple family kept things simple, and never lost focus on what matters most. I guess what I am saying is that if simple is a “bad” thing; I want as much of it as I can possibly get.

So when it comes down to knowledge, it should not then be about how much you know, but what you do with what you know. Information should not be a ladder by which we climb over people, but the food we desire to feed our minds (and the kind of food you consume is all up to you). When it comes to knowing more, for me, I want to keep it simple like Paul:

1 Corinthians 2:2 (ESV)
“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

Simple works, and simple is almost always simple, otherwise it stops being simple, right? (That was not simple, sorry.)

Keep it simple: Simply Jesus.

…just sayin’

In His grip,

Pastor Pat

People Over Problems

When we look at a problem, for the most part, that is all that we see: the problem. When horrible events happen like the bombing at the Boston Marathon yesterday, we see the horror and devastation, and then the talk goes right to naming the cause and preventing any more of it. We don't gloss over the damage, but we do get past it as quickly as possible.

The bombing was horrific, as were the images on TV that were re-broadcast over and over again. We can see things so quickly today, and with so much digital coverage, we have become a little desensitized as to the reality of it. The attack was more than a possible political statement, more than a possible act of terrorism. The bombing has forever physically changed the course of some people's lives, and they will never be the same again. People died, were critically wounded, and for those close to the incident, some were traumatized. This event hurt people, and did more than just create or draw attention to some problem.

As a nation we prayed again. Prayed for the people injured and affected by the bombing. We, as people, prayed for our fellow citizens whose rights were violated, and  who were senselessly injured or killed. As people ran from the blast sight yesterday to get away, so too will we run from the event in our memory, and away from our prayers as well. I am not suggesting that we shouldn't move past this event, we absolutely should, What I am suggesting is that we consider what we are praying for going forward.

Let's not spend undue amounts of time accusing, blaming, or even naming this event. or the person or persons responsible for it. Let's spend time praying, and praying for the people who were directly affected; for their healing, peace and hope for the days ahead. Pray that they learn to know, or lean on who they know, in Jesus Christ.

Let's not pray against anything or for any answers other than the hope offered in Christ. After all the goal of prayer is to hear God, not to have God hear us.

...just prayin'

In His grip,

Pastor Pat

How Big is Your Cross?

Perspective matters, but perspective does not necessarily equal accurate. For example, the further I drive away from the mountains, they start to appear to get smaller, when in fact their size doesn't change, just my perspective does - my "view" if you will. It is the same with events in our lives, and as more time or distance develops between them, we can have a change in our perspective or their size in our life, right? I am not suggesting whether or not this is good or even bad, but just that it happens.

Easter happens once a year, and we gather to celebrate Jesus' resurrection, His defeat over death, and our promise of hope in eternal life through it. Easter Sunday happened by route through the cross of Friday, and it seems to me that even on Easter Sunday, we want the cross to be a thing in the past: and from Sunday to Sunday, we just move further and further away from the event, and the cross.

The cross is a thing in the past, but as we move away, the only thing that changes, is our perspective of it. The purpose of the cross never changes: it is an instrument of death. The cross's emptiness used to be a sign, calling for the next person so it could do what it was made for. What changed about it happened through Jesus' resurrection through it, and is now full of promise because it was not the end, but the beginning of a miracle that changed everything - and anyone who would believe...Jesus lives!

That is powerful. That is the Gospel = through Jesus' completed work...not the cross's.

Now as we move on through the year, something starts to happen - the cross doesn't move. It stays where it was...left as a horrible reminder in the past of the past, and so it's perspective starts to diminish until it is invisible on the horizon. Maybe thats why so many more people go to churches on Easter and Christmas, because the events become more visible...

We all have sin inside of us, and that is a fact. We can't change this, make it go away, or put distance between it. Because of this sin, we are prone to forget the gospel, and to drift away from it, and what was paid to accomplish it. That’s why the Bible urges us not to be “moved [away] from the hope held out in the gospel” (Col. 1:23) and to “let the word of Christ dwell in [us] richly” (Col. 3:16). When we are not anchored in the truth of the gospel, our love for Jesus and our experience of his goodness start become very small, and we end up “shrinking the cross”.

When we shrink the cross, we can't help but shrink the work of the cross in our hearts, and lives as well. Remember God's Word is not a book to be used as a reminder of past events, but as a living and active part of our lives today, just as Christ is alive so is His Word. Paul says that God's Word is "living and active..." (Hebrews 4:12), and "useful..." (2 Tim.3:16). We carry Jesus and His work on the cross when we carry His Word with us. Don't put His Word down, because after all, it can only go as far with us as we are willing to carry it, right?

...just sayin'

In His grip,

Pastor Pat

Trust...Truth

Are you trusting? Do you feel that you are trustworthy? These are two super important questions, because without trust, we can’t be in real relationship. Real relationship is other-focused, where we are more concerned about the other person over ourselves. This is not foreign to anyone; we know we can’t really have a relationship with someone we do not trust, right?

But where does one start? It seems like doubt reigns supreme these days, and we would be foolish to believe everything we hear. No one wants to be taken advantage of, or made a fool out of…but at the same time “Nothing ventured, nothing gained” comes to mind.

Are you confused yet? I am. So what are we supposed to do?

First, I think we should seek the source of trust = truth. Truth is trustworthy. Truth works. Now, here I am talking about objective, facts are facts, truth; not subjective, I believe that something is true, truth. We need to look for a source of truth that is not contradictory, confusing, hard to understand, and never been proven inaccurate or wrong. That would work, right?

GOT ONE: The Bible. Read it, study it, question it, doubt it if you want, but it is truth. The Bible is simply true, but following its truth is not simply easy. Biblical truth can and should be applied to your life, used as the filter for who and how you trust, as well as for who you offer yourself as worthy of being trusted. When this happens then so does real-relationship.

So start here:

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

When we use the Bible as our source of truth, then the Word of God becomes alive and active in our lives. Offering wisdom beyond measure from timeless truths. Open your Bible, read it, relate to it, and use it…nothing will ever be the same again.

Just sayin'...

In His grip,

Pastor Pat