Pastor Earl's Blog
Not a Routine, but a Relationship- May 6th 2012
by Norman Moore
www.HolinessToday.org
My personal devotional life grows out of a strong desire to be with the Lord. My heart is confidently eased into His presence as I recall His promises: “Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:8a). “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
My time with the Lord is not a routine; it’s a relationship.
Our younger granddaughter, nine-year-old Kennedy, was at our house. As I was about to leave for the nearby do-it-yourself car wash I asked her, “Kennedy, do you want to go with me to wash the truck?” She said, “Sure! Maybe we can make it a share day!” (A share day is any fun activity with Papa Norman and something good to eat.)
I drove in to the bay at the car wash and showed Kennedy that the coin slot required $2.50*. I asked her, “How many quarters does it take to make $2.50?” She looked up, squinted, counted on her fingers, and answered “10.” I said, “Would you like to put the coins in the slot?” “Sure” she said. She counted each quarter as she pushed it into the coin slot. Then she asked to hold the spray wand. When she pulled the trigger on the handle, the force of the spray was so strong it pinned her against the block wall! With absolutely no control she sprayed the ceiling and me; she eventually mastered her aim at the truck. When that was completed I backed the truck out of the bay to dry it off with two old bath towels. Kennedy took a towel and started to dry off the truck. She had fun using the hand wringer to squeeze the water out of her towel.
It was enjoyable to be together. We created a lasting memory in about 20 minutes. When we got back to the house, I noticed there were water spots on the glass and the aluminum wheels weren’t perfectly clean. But so what! My purpose wasn’t a perfectly washed truck—it was to have a meaningful time with Kennedy.
Similarly, my personal times with the Lord are meaningful moments of being together.
These times always include reading a long passage of Scripture and praying through the verses, asking the Holy Spirit to apply them to my life. I listen. And as a kindergartener contemplative in common words and quiet tones I visit with God, my Abba Father. It is a time when I submit to the sovereign authority of my Heavenly Father, who “in all things . . . works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28). It is a time when I enjoy fellowship with Jesus, who says, “You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:14).
It is also a time when I sense the presence of the Holy Spirit, who “helps us in our weakness.” We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express” (Romans 8:26). I discontinue being arrogantly impressed with my own opinions.
I’ve never written “devotions” on my daily To-Do list, like:
1. Go to the post office. 2. Stop at the bank. 3. Fill the car with gas. 4. Mow the lawn.
It’s not motivated by false guilt and fear, as though I must “log-on,” but out of an intense longing to be with the Lord and not miss the daily opportunity! “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).
Do I ever miss this daily time with the Lord? Yes, sometimes. But rarely. A strong desire to be with the Lord overrides laziness, apathy, and neglect and creates priorities, discipline, and avoidance of missed opportunities. It is not a routine. It’s a relationship.
Norman Moore, a tenured evangelist in the Church of the Nazarene, lives in Long Beach, California.
Large Thank you with Graphics
Thank you for everyone who helped out this weekend with the roofing project.
The food was great and the workers were amazing.
Our Mission : To Touch Everyone with the Love, Hope and Joy of Following Jesus.
Touching lives with a smile- April 29th 2012
During my recent trip to Rwanda I was reminded of a very simple principle – you can touch someone’s life with the love, hope and joy of following Jesus through a warm hello and a smile.
As you might imagine I stuck out in Rwanda.
Two main reasons: I am very large in comparison to the people there and I am very light skinned compared to the people there. Despite these differences I discovered that a smile and a warm greeting are universal. Each day as we traveled from place to place we were intentional about greeting people warmly. “Maraho” means “Hello” and when we greeted people in their native language their faces lit up with a smile. They were truly pleased to be greeted and acknowledged by this person who was different than them.
A smiling face turns even the darkest day around.
CBS News writes, “Smiling has a number of benefits, including helping you present a more-positive image to others, calming you, and actually making you feel happier. (CC Holland)”
During this life I have met a diverse group of people, from different parts of this country and countries around the world. I have not met one who didn’t appreciate someone greeting them with a smile on their face. I wonder could the key to fulfilling our mission everyday be as simple as a putting a smile on our face?
How about trying it with me this week? SMILE and say Hello like you mean it everywhere you go and just see what happens.
Check out this video on Youtube about the importance of smiling and touching people with God’s love, hope and joy. This could be you….
“Validation” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao)
Another Bozo on the Bus: Thoughts on the Prayer of Self-surrender - April 22nd 2012
by Wesley D. Tracy on HolinessToday.org
The secret of the holy life is self-surrender. Always has been, always will be. That’s the conclusion Mary Reuter reached in her 1,112-page Duquesne University Ph.D. dissertation.
She was right, according to the saints in every age. They have termed it self-denial, self-donation, or self-surrender.
After 30 years of spiritual detours and dead ends, Augustine found the essence of the holy life in a moment of self-surrender-and that’s why we call him Saint Augustine. Teresa of Avila prayed, "Govern everything . . . O Lord, so that my soul will always be serving you . . . Let me die to myself so that I may serve You." Every New Year’s Day, John Wesley led his people in a Covenant Service that included this prayer of self-surrender:
O Lord Jesus, I give Thee my body, my soul, my substance, my fame, my friends, my liberty,and my life; dispose of me and all that is mine, as it seems best to Thee.
19th Century Holiness pioneer, Hannah Whitall Smith, wrote, "I do give myself up unreservedly to God to be and to do just what He wills, and I do trust only Jesus to keep me . . . cleanse me, and sanctify me wholly" (Dieter, God is Enough, 1986, p249). Her contemporary, Frances Ridley Havergal, offered her prayer of self-surrender in a song: Take my will and make it Thine- It shall be no longer mine. Take myself-and I will be Ever, only, all for Thee.
A 20th-century pastor offered this prayer while considering a call to a bigger church: Today, O Lord, I surrender to You my hopes, my dreams, my ambitions. Do with them what You will, when You will, as You will. I release into Your hands my need to control, my craving for status, my fear of obscurity. Eradicate the evil, purify the good . . .
The old-timers of my boyhood spoke of "putting your all on the altar," "dying out to sin," and "laying the unknown bundle on the altar." They knew that self-surrender was a step toward sanctifying grace. They knew self-surrender was a prelude to the sanctifying moment and an integral part of the sanctifying journey. That’s why they would testify, "I am sanctified and I am being sanctified." I guess I heard that a thousand times.
Contemporary believers also discover the need for self-surrender. Take Anne Lamott, for example. She does not know "Christianese," the language of church insiders. She grew up in California’s drug and sex culture of the 70s. She fought alcohol addiction for a long time. Then she found Jesus Christ. With her fellow Christians holding one hand and Jesus the other she finally kicked alcohol. She has been sober for some two decades now.
When she became a Christian, she tried to take charge of her life. She wanted to be a real Christian, not just a garden-variety believer. But the harder she tried, the more she failed.
Then followed a pivotal prayer of self-surrender, she prayed, "I told God I was taking my sticky fingers off the steering wheel, and that God could be the driver and I would be just another bozo on the bus."
Have you ever heard a better prayer of self-surrender?
The secret of the holy life is self-surrender. Always has been, always will be.
Which Flag do you Pledge? - April 15th2012
"Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as aliens and strangers here in reverent fear." 1 Peter 1.17(NIV)
I grew up in a time when each morning in grade school we would stop to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. I still remember it word for word.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
We said the pledge as a part of our civic training, to teach us everyday what it meant to be an American.
During grade school I also learned the pledge to the Christian flag in the Christian scouting endeavor of the Church of the Nazarene called Caravans. It goes like this:
I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag and to the Savior for whose Kingdom it stands. One Savior, crucified, risen, and coming again with life and liberty to all who believe.
And while I grew up in a Christian family who went to church every time the doors were open, I didn’t rehearse those words every day of my grade school life. It was implied by the way that we lived that we were to give our allegiances to Jesus and the Kingdom of God, but I am not sure that was always the case. In fact, I am pretty sure the family and the town I grew up in made me a better American citizen than they did citizens of the Kingdom of God. What about you? Are you a better American citizen or Citizen of the Kingdom of God?
It’s no secret that it is an election year. In fact, we are having extra recall elections to make everyone happy.
Remember, if you are a follower of Jesus, your first allegiance is to Jesus and the Kingdom of God.
Jesus is the one you look to for hope and salvation. The kingdoms of this world will pass away. Peter had it right when he said we are to love as aliens and strangers in this life. We are just passing through, this is not our home. May we keep these things in mind as we do our civic duty and vote, knowing that in the end the only allegiance that matters is our allegiance to the Kingdom of God.
Pain-taking: Sharing in Suffering - April 1 2012
Before I left for our trip to Rwanda, Africa I prayed, “Lord I open my heart to what you want to show me on this trip.” I didn’t have some great plan of what I thought the Lord wanted to teach me of show me during the trip. And yet, I felt led to go and experience it all without bias or pre-conceived expectations. God was very good, and he knew just what I needed to see, hear and experience.
To understand my experiences you need a brief background on Rwanda. In 1994 a genocide swept over the country of Rwanda. In 90 days 1 Million people were slaughtered by friends and neighbors at the instruction of the “government.” Today widows and orphans are still working through the trauma and pain of losing family members or of being raped repeatedly by the aggressors. It is a country that was broken, but which is now healing. Our primary work during our stay in Rwanda was with the widows and orphans.
One thing that God is teaching me through this experience is the importance of listening to the stories of people. Each of us have been through challenging and difficult times in our lives. We need people who will listen to our story and walk with us as we move forward and allow God to heal us. God uses people who listen to express the love of God to other people.
Another aspect of this is that God does not want us to remain in our suffering and pain. God wants to heal us and help us move forward. Tragic events do not have to define the rest of our lives, they are simply a part of the story of God’s redemptive grace at work in our lives. God doesn’t want us to be defined by our pain, but by His redeeming, restoring, healing grace at work in us and through us.
So, I think one thing God is calling me to do in response to my trip to Rwanda is this: LISTEN IN LOVE.
I wonder, is that something all of us could do? Could we learn to listen to the stories of the people around us? Could it be that by listening will provide the kind of love that lost and hurting people need from us right now, today? Could it be that God needs us to slow down and notice the pain that people are living in? Could it be that God wants to use us to move people forward towards healing and redemption? It doesn’t take a special degree to listen, it only takes time and love.