Got Proof?

The proof is in the pudding is a statement referring to the need for one to experience the claim someone is making for oneself, in order to test it to be true or false. We do it in relationships when we tell someone we love them – we follow up with living it out. Otherwise, if we do not, the person who we told we love, has right to question if we meant it, right?

This is the truth requirement for any statement someone makes: prove it. Whether the proof is in evidence one can produce, or proved true by actions that produce the evidence. Either way, there is always some proof requirement for someone’s claims to be true. This is not unreasonable or outlandish, but rather the minimum requirement for a statement to be believed, and does not require an extensive explanation or multiple examples to understand.

That being said, when it comes to our faith, how much proof is there? Over eighty percent of our nation claim to be Christian. In a microcosm of South Orange County do eighty percent of the people you run into display evidence of this? If you haven’t considered this, stop today and hunt for Christian behavior, and I would ask you to, in the process, challenge yourself as well.

Look at this verse from Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth:

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Ord o you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” 2 Cor. 13:5 ESV

WE can not claim or proclaim to have faith and then do nothing to prove it. Faith is evidenced by proof not proclamation.

Got Faith? Then prove it.

…just sayin’

In His grip, 

Pastor Pat

Wanna Fight?

What do you fight for, or what are you willing to fight for? There were so many instances of fights between motorists on the roadways that it has its own name; "Road Rage". We have seen a rise in incidents in youth sports, not only with out of control parents, but now with the kids themselves. Why do you think this is?

I believe this is because there has been a climate change when it comes to what is valuable. Value has become completely subjective and based on individual preference alone. Because of this, then what matters to someone else has no relevance to me. We fight for parking spaces, position in lines, and let's not even talk about limited item holiday sales, yikes!

What happened? What should we fight for? We should fight for what matters most: our kids, our marriages, our family time...our faith. And to take it a step further we should be fighting for the institution of parenting, marriage, family, and faith. It is a battlefield on which kids, marriages, families, and lives of faith are being lost. What can you do about it?

"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

1 Timothy 6:12.

Now that sounds like something worth fighting for, and maybe it's time we started fighting the right fight, and stop fighting for what we want to be right about in our life...

...just sayin'

In His grip, 

Pastor Pat

Rubbish!!

I have always had to find the balance between getting what I need, and convincing myself that what I want, is what I need. Do you ever think about what you used to live without? Seriously, there is so much in my life that I would say I could “not” live without, that I totally used to live without it’s crazy. Not trying to be confusing, sorry.

I must confess I might be tempted to say that I could “not” live without my cell phone, anyone else? I bet I am not alone here, so I typed the words “cell phone” into a Google search = 834 million results. I then typed in the word “Jesus” = 428 million results. That is a HUGE difference, and a telling sign = regardless of statistical reasoning, there is just about one half as much information about Jesus, as there is information about cell phones.

This is not just a random stream of consciousness. My almost sixteen-year-old daughter’s cell phone broke this week, and she has spent almost every waking moment searching to find a way to replace it. She has searched carriers and products on websites and auctions until she has lost the use of her fingers. Why? Because she tells me she can’t live without it, and as I hear her argument, I start to lean toward agreeing with her…then I snap out of it - wait just one picking second!

Now, if we are completely honest, technology has become our savior. It has saved us from countless hours of worrying what our friends are up to, moment-by-moment, or instantaneous real-time sports score updates. We no longer have to blacken our fingers searching through pages of newsprint looking for a story or a coupon; we simply look up the story on our “smart phones” or show the image of the coupon we want to use. Let’s not even get started about paying for something with them…ohhh yea, that!

I am by no means anti-technology, but I am pro-Savior. Ten plus years ago I met Jesus, I was lost, and He found me as I was searching to fill the hole I felt inside of me, with every want I could imagine. Problem was, nothing filled me; I was never satisfied, and I was always wanting more. Then I met Him, in a book: a book I had known about most of my life. Nothing special, no super crisis introduction, just His Words between two hard covers of a big book: the Bible.

Technology is AWESOME, and in and of itself, is not a problem. When technology has at its core motivation to make us ever-dependent, and get us to believe that it is not “if” we need it, but how much we need it, then it becomes one. Technology is not rubbish, but making or putting anything in a position where we treat it as a savior is. Look at what Paul wrote about his priority of Jesus, almost two thousand years ago:

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”
Philippians 3:8 (ESV)

There is no better time for a Savior than now, amen? Then we need to get back to our Savior, hearing His Words, from His book, letting them sink into our hearts and our lives, so as to be forever changed. We need to become completely dependent on Him, and what He has done, over anything and everything else. No rubbish there.

…just sayin’

In His grip,

Pastor Pat

I Got Faith...Yes I Do.

Stick with it, stay the course, don't give up, never quit... These are all statements most of us have probably heard at one time or another in our lives, when we needed encouragement. These encouraging words may have helped or they may not have. Either way, they are just words, and by themselves, mean nothing. The evidence or proof that the words spoken were true, is what we did in response to them. The words only had the power that we gave to them.

Follow me now - Words can be powerful, but not all words are, right? Faith can be powerful, but not faith in anything, right? Faith only in what we want to believe, can create a problem, because we have the tendency to believe what is best for us, most often. But faith based on absolute truth, is absolutely right and has nothing to do with quantity.

"...For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

Faith is not: "I believe therefore I can", that is confidence. And although it can be helpful, it does not mean assured: that is over-confident or self-confident (which is where all those funny stunt goes wrong TV shows are from). Faith also is not the product of persevering; faith is the means by which we can persevere. Obedience proves faith. If I believe something is true, all I have to do to prove my belief is do it, right? It is the same with our faith. Faith is believing what God says is true, so in order to prove what we believe, all we have to do, is do what God says: obey His Word.

Our faith then can only be proven when we give God's Words the power they deserve. When we act on them as the most powerful truths ever, only then will we see evidence of faith that can move mountains...

...just sayin'

In His grip,

Pastor Pat