Lost

I came to an intersection the other day and realized something…I WAS LOST! I became acutely aware that I had no idea where I was. I thought I was where I was supposed to be, but realized my Garmin had not brought me to my destination. I, also, noticed that there were no signs at all. I looked left and right and not one street address to tell me where I was. I just held up my hands and thought you must be kidding. So I took a left and drove a mile and nothing. Turned around drove two miles and then nothing. No signs anywhere! After roaming around I finally stumbled onto a sign that told me where I was.

I became acutely aware of something…you know it too…without signs we are lost! If we don’t have something telling us where we are we have no idea where we are going. The same with our Christian walk. God gives us plenty of signs every day. He puts us in this life with a clear direction and a road map to get there. God is not trying to get us lost…he is trying to get us FOUND!

So if you are lost in this life. If you don’t know where you are going I have a great suggestion…let God lead! Stop if you are lost. Don’t panic. Let God speak to you. Don’t go off looking for the way out. Instead, know that God knows exactly where you are. He will lead you out! He has put clearly marked signs in front of you. He is constantly telling you to turn left or right, not to do this or to do that, to say this or not to say that. The question is are we paying attention!?

This takes TRUST. This takes PATIENCE. This takes a heart that is willing to LET GO.

I found where I was going. Eventually, my Garmin got me to the right place. However, in life, in my journey to make a difference I only want the ONE leading me and that is Jesus Christ. Let Him lead you today and never be lost again.

Love you all!

Rev. Jim

Pets Are People Too!

It was just last week that Lisa and I had to put down our dog Noey.  She was a beautiful black lab that gave us so much joy.  Lisa had Noey for 15 years!!  There was a bond there.  A real relationship that was based on one thing…LOVE.  Noey gave us so much love.  She thought she owned the place, but that was just Noey.  She didn’t require much, just food, a time to be let out and lots of hugs.  I never thought it would hurt so bad, but it did and it does.  Pets are people too!

How I wish life was that unconditional too.  Think about it.  What a great life it would be to experience that unconditional love wherever you are.  How great it would be if people would always be true to you and not say those ugly things behind your back.  Noey was always there with plenty of wagging tails and licks on the face.  How about knowing people would listen to you and not bite back when you come for help.  Noey never bit, even when disciplined.  She loved us always.  How about a life where people recognize your pain and have empathy.  When we felt bad Noey knew it and just cuddled up next to us.

What an amazing gift Noey was.  My hope is that people can be that way too.  Let me let you in on a little secret…with Jesus Christ all things are possible.  The hardest of hearts can be melted if Jesus is allowed to be involved.  The worst pain can turn into peace when Jesus’ hands are allowed to heal.  The greatest fears are cast aside when Jesus’ love is allowed to pour over it all.  When Christ gets involved unconditional things become a way of life.

Let Him be a part of your life today.  Come discover who He is and what it means to let Him be Lord of your life.  We look forward to sharing it with you!

Love You All!

Rev. Jim

Gossip!

What a great service on Sunday.  All three services were filled with emotion, love and laughter.  That is what I love about our church.  We worship from our hearts.  The Word of God opened our hearts as well.  We learned about how to DO NO HARM.  James teaches us that the most harmful thing we can do to one another is use words that hurt.  We talked a lot about Gossip, Resolution and Witness on Sunday, and it seems that the GOSSIP part of the message hit home the most.  Some are reading this right now and they know that they are the ones that have been a victim of gossip.  Some are reading this and they know that they are truly gossipers!  I am sorry for those that have been hurt by gossip.  I have been a victim as well.  I told the church that if I had a dime for every word that has been put in my mouth that I didn’t say we could pay off the deficit!  It hurts I know.  Now I want to say this as well.  To all who engage in gossip and continue to talk about, lie about and deceive others with your words, my heart breaks for you, because you are wasting your life.  My advice to you is this…STOP IT!  QUIT IT!  REPLACE YOUR WORDS WITH WORDS THAT LOVE AND BUILD UP!

God has given us a life that He wants us to live in abundance.  Gossipers are shallow, have low self esteem, and are power hungry people.  They want to steal your abundance and make themselves the center of attention.  They want to control the world around them.  They want others to hurt like they hurt.  They need to feel important and by the spreading of lies and rumors they feel empowered.  What a horrible life.  What a life that is completely the OPPOSITE of what God commands us to be.

If you are around these kinds of people, don’t be scared of them.  They don’t hold any power over you.  Stand up and tell them like it is!  Tell them to stop!  Tell them to get real!  Tell them that although you might not be perfect, to hurt others with their words is unacceptable.  Remember, nobody can hurt you.  They can say things about you, but remember you are bought and paid for with the blood of Christ.  You are loved that much.  So hang in there and walk with courage.  Pray for those who continue to hurt with their words.  Don’t let them make you do the same!

See you next Sunday as we celebrate the love of God and learn more how to stay in love with the One that loves us!

Love you all!

Rev. Jim

An Altar Filled!

Sunday services are always a blast, but we have so many traveling and we are even encouraging people to travel.  However, our attendance in the summer has been surprisingly high.  Yesterday was no exception.  But when you have great music, great people and the Word of God present, great things happen.  Typically, at the end of the service we invite people, during the last hymn, to come and pray at the altar.  We always have people come, whether it is just one or two.  But on this Sunday you couldn’t find a place to kneel.  People were waiting to find a spot.  It was overwhelming and beautiful.

As a church we need to be kneeling more.  We need to find ourselves in a place of prayer during the day.  This country needs that too.  In Israel a warning horn is blasted right before the Sabbath begins.  This gives people a warning that soon no work will be done for the next couple of days in honor of the Sabbath.  That horn needs to be going off in our hearts right now.  It should be a reminder that we are a people of prayer and that there is an altar of prayer somewhere that has your name on it!

Find it today.  Use it today.  Kneel now and lift up your prayers with an open heart.  You have a God that loves you and wants to answer your prayers.  So many are in need of this incredible gift.  You need it too.

Come join us at Stockbridge First.  It is filled with people just like you.  It is a place where people pray for one another, care for one another, love one another.  You will be glad you came.  I promise!

Peace be with you today!

Rev. Jim

Be Thankful

I am so fortunate to have a church filled with kids.  I don’t have any of my own so I really treat these kids as if they were my own.  The kids will run up and hug me and give me high fives.  The parents are wonderfully tolerant of me as I cut up and enjoy being silly with them on Sundays!  However, as I spend time with the kids I really understand that we are just “grown children” ourselves.  What I mean by this is that we tend to complain and whine just as much as they do.  In fact, I believe all the kids do is mimic us!!

Why can’t we be thankful?  What makes us focus on the things we don’t have instead of what we do?  I am content I must say.  My wife is alive and free of cancer.  I am the pastor of a wonderful, growing church.  I am surrounded by people who care about me and genuinely want good things for me.  My family is wonderful.  I live in the greatest country the world has ever seen.  There is not much I desire except a long and healthy life and I am in control of some of that if I exercise and eat well.  Oh, did I fail to mention this one…I AM LOVED BY GOD SO MUCH THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON FOR ME!

So stop.  Take a deep breath.  Life is good.  Go and live it.  You might not have everything you want, but I bet if you look deep enough you will discover that you have everything you need and when you see that you will see the face of God!

Hope to see you Sunday to celebrate it!

Peace,

Rev. Jim