For the next five Sundays we'll be focusing on the Epistle to the Galatians during our worship at Life in Christ. This Sunday: Be Free...from DIY Spirituality!
Do you watch the DIY Network? When it comes to backyard projects or home remodeling or updating the landscaping around your house, doing it yourself can be fun and save you money. But many people today are practicing do-it-yourself spirituality which, in the end, is the "different gospel" the apostle Paul writes about in his letter to the Galatians.
Join us for worship this Sunday at 8 and 10:45 am with Christian LIFE Hour (Learning Is For Everyone) at 9:15 am. Hope to see you this Sunday at LICL!
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Hang it up, please!
OK, I'm minding my own business while driving south on 83rd Avenue on my way to the office. Suddenly a huge SUV starts drifting into my lane...it keeps drifting...it keeps drifting...it's gonna hit me!
Do I hit the gas and try to speed around it? Nope! Not enough room.
Do I break and let the SUV take my lane? Quick rear view mirror check...nothing behind me. Hit the breaks!
And, oh yeah, HONK THE HORN!!
The SUV finally realizes what is happening and jerks the vehicle back into the proper lane.
As I move past the SUV (which is now in a left turn lane) I see that the driver is talking on his cell phone!
Come on! Do you really have to talk on the phone while you're driving?
Navigating traffic in the Phoenix area requires full concentration. We have people driving here who have no idea where their turn signal is. Some believe a yellow light is just as good as green. Others drive as if the speed limit was just a suggestion.
Please, stay off the phone while driving! Do it as a favor to me. When that SUV began its assault against my poor, defenseless Mini-Cooper, my life flashed before my eyes.
Growing up in Massachusetts in a large family. Playing touch football with my brothers and sisters. Commanding PT 109. Writing "Profiles in Courage."
Suddenly, I realized, "This isn't even my life!"
So put your phone away and stay in your own lane. My insurance company and I will appreciate it!
Do I hit the gas and try to speed around it? Nope! Not enough room.
Do I break and let the SUV take my lane? Quick rear view mirror check...nothing behind me. Hit the breaks!
And, oh yeah, HONK THE HORN!!
The SUV finally realizes what is happening and jerks the vehicle back into the proper lane.
As I move past the SUV (which is now in a left turn lane) I see that the driver is talking on his cell phone!
Come on! Do you really have to talk on the phone while you're driving?
Navigating traffic in the Phoenix area requires full concentration. We have people driving here who have no idea where their turn signal is. Some believe a yellow light is just as good as green. Others drive as if the speed limit was just a suggestion.
Please, stay off the phone while driving! Do it as a favor to me. When that SUV began its assault against my poor, defenseless Mini-Cooper, my life flashed before my eyes.
Growing up in Massachusetts in a large family. Playing touch football with my brothers and sisters. Commanding PT 109. Writing "Profiles in Courage."
Suddenly, I realized, "This isn't even my life!"
So put your phone away and stay in your own lane. My insurance company and I will appreciate it!
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Why is prayer so hard?
Is it because we haven't got down the right techniques? Is it because we don't have the right devotional book or tool? No, the answer is simple and Rev. Scott Murray provides it for us. From his "Memorial Moment" of March 8:
Sinners must pray. This fact goes against all that we know and feel in our hearts. Satan, the world, and our sinful flesh all conspire against us, so that we would be inclined to flee God and avoid prayer. Like the guilty child, who has broken mother's vase, we avoid facing our Father with our transgressions...we flee from God's presence for fear of being swallowed up by His righteousness. He is holy. I am not. The calculus is quite simple.
This is why we Christians practice repentance and faith. None of us like to admit failure. Who wants to come before the Lord and confess the ways in which we failed to make His will our own? But to come clean before the Lord and then take heart in the forgiveness and grace which God poured out on us in baptism is to know that God has removed the barrier that makes it so very difficult to face the Lord in prayer.
Now we can pour our hearts out before the Lord. We can share our own petitions and concerns. We can pray on behalf of our neighbor. We don't need a special technique or the latest devotional book. All you need is God's Word and a quiet place. Read some Scripture. Meditate on what you've read. Pray. Speak to the Lord as you would a good friend. Pray with confidence that all the promises found in Scripture that God hears our prayers is your guarantee that the Lord is listening. Trust Him. Give Him room to work in your life. Don't give up. Pray.
Sinners must pray. This fact goes against all that we know and feel in our hearts. Satan, the world, and our sinful flesh all conspire against us, so that we would be inclined to flee God and avoid prayer. Like the guilty child, who has broken mother's vase, we avoid facing our Father with our transgressions...we flee from God's presence for fear of being swallowed up by His righteousness. He is holy. I am not. The calculus is quite simple.
This is why we Christians practice repentance and faith. None of us like to admit failure. Who wants to come before the Lord and confess the ways in which we failed to make His will our own? But to come clean before the Lord and then take heart in the forgiveness and grace which God poured out on us in baptism is to know that God has removed the barrier that makes it so very difficult to face the Lord in prayer.
Now we can pour our hearts out before the Lord. We can share our own petitions and concerns. We can pray on behalf of our neighbor. We don't need a special technique or the latest devotional book. All you need is God's Word and a quiet place. Read some Scripture. Meditate on what you've read. Pray. Speak to the Lord as you would a good friend. Pray with confidence that all the promises found in Scripture that God hears our prayers is your guarantee that the Lord is listening. Trust Him. Give Him room to work in your life. Don't give up. Pray.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
100 holes of golf...in one day?!
That's right! My son-in-law, Joshua Doxtator is playing 100 holes of golf today at Trilogy at Vistancia in order to raise money for Special Olympics. This is the fourth year he has done so and is looking to raise nearly $13,000 for his efforts.
Josh is the golf professional at Trilogy so you would think that 100 holes of golf would be a piece of cake, so to speak, for him. But he tells me that by the end of the day, you're just hoping to finish. He teed off at sun up and hopes to be finished around 6 pm.
Interestingly, I have an idea of what it's like to play 100 holes of golf. Understand, the most I've ever played in one day is 18 holes. But I usually take enough strokes to cover at least 100 holes of the worst golf anyone has ever seen!
Go Josh!
Josh is the golf professional at Trilogy so you would think that 100 holes of golf would be a piece of cake, so to speak, for him. But he tells me that by the end of the day, you're just hoping to finish. He teed off at sun up and hopes to be finished around 6 pm.
Interestingly, I have an idea of what it's like to play 100 holes of golf. Understand, the most I've ever played in one day is 18 holes. But I usually take enough strokes to cover at least 100 holes of the worst golf anyone has ever seen!
Go Josh!
Saturday, May 25, 2013
It's Confirmation Sunday!
Our Confirmation classes began studying the Catechism last August and the 2 year group is ready to confess the faith in which they were baptized this Sunday. This has been one of our best groups. They completed all the memory work assignments and participated easily in the Sunday morning lessons and discussion. What is especially thrilling to me is that it appears that all six will continue on with our high school class in the fall. Each have supportive parents and grandparents who faithfully attend worship and Bible study and that makes a big difference with kids continuing to be faithful themselves in worship, study and service.
Our last Saturday service, which is going on hiatus, takes place this afternoon at 4:32 with Pastor John Pope preaching. Holy Communion will be celebrated. Sunday services are at 8 and 10:45 am (the later service is the Confirmation service) with classes for all ages taking place at 9:15 am. Come and join us this weekend at LICL!
Our last Saturday service, which is going on hiatus, takes place this afternoon at 4:32 with Pastor John Pope preaching. Holy Communion will be celebrated. Sunday services are at 8 and 10:45 am (the later service is the Confirmation service) with classes for all ages taking place at 9:15 am. Come and join us this weekend at LICL!
Friday, May 24, 2013
Verse of the Week! Verse of the Week!
My pastor, David Schultz, one time said to me, "George, there are certain verses of the Bible that you must commit to memory. This is one of them."
It's Ephesians 2:8-9: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.
Paul's message is crystal clear - you and I contribute absolutely nothing to our salvation. From beginning to ending, it is God's work. With the empty but trusting hands of faith (also God's gift) we receive the undeserved gift of salvation and eternal life for our very own.
That's what makes the grace of God, as the old song says, so amazing.
Happy memorization!
It's Ephesians 2:8-9: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.
Paul's message is crystal clear - you and I contribute absolutely nothing to our salvation. From beginning to ending, it is God's work. With the empty but trusting hands of faith (also God's gift) we receive the undeserved gift of salvation and eternal life for our very own.
That's what makes the grace of God, as the old song says, so amazing.
Happy memorization!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
What is faith?
I like this answer from Richard C. Eyre's book, Pastoral Care Under the Cross:
Faith is not a power tool that enables us to remake our lives, but an empty tool box that witnesses to our dependence on God as our Master Carpenter.
Faith is not a power tool that enables us to remake our lives, but an empty tool box that witnesses to our dependence on God as our Master Carpenter.
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