10 Things I Need to be Reminded of -

  

10. Spring has not been canceled.  I looked ahead on my calendar to make sure it's still on there.  It is.

  

9. There is such a thing as thing as too much hot sauce on a taco.  I am being reminded of that right now.

  

8. The Kingdom of God is not about buildings.  A new office doesn't excite me as much as a new Christian.

  

7. I don't make the rules about what is sin and what is not.  I asked God if I could, He said that He's already got that covered.

  

6. Blessing comes in unique ways.  I called a friend today to encourage him.  He encouraged me more than I him. 

  

5. Kids can teach you neat things. Example: Cheese balls really are fun and good.  In fact I think they are a vegetable (orange = carrot)  - they go great with meat.

  

4.  We need to lighten up.  Ya, there's bad things going on in the world.  Ya, there's profound hurt being carried around.  But, faith/joy shouldn't be buried by headlines.

  

3. There will always be things we don't understand about each other as a church - but we can still love each other.

  

2. Prayer works.  It's about more than just getting answers, it's about learning to be like Jesus.  He believed in talking to the Father... me too.

  

1.  Jesus does the saving.  We do the living.

  

Living, 

Pastor Dave

 

Empty Pockets

When the Master came to spend the day with me I really wasn't prepared.  He stopped by my home and asked if we could visit.  I nodded hoping he didn't know what was in the pocket of my soul.

 

As we talked, the scenery changed to match the topic.  He told me about his love for me as we stood in the middle of some vast ocean.  We visited the Grand Canyon when he told me of his grace.  When he called me to calm in my busyness we walked on the beach of some tropical island.  We floated in the vastness of space when he brought up the topic of worshipping the Father.

 

When he asked me about what was in my pocket I found we were slouched over in a dark closet.  My feet seemed to be stuck to the floor.  The odor was bad enough that my sense of smell couldn't contain it, so it spilled over to include my sense of taste.

 

"Can we go back to the beach?" I asked.

 

"Yes, I'd love to show you more there," he relied.  "But, I need you to know this place is real and impacting all other places we visit.  I know about your pocket."

 

I reached in my pocket and pulled out fear.  It was just a handful and didn't seem like that big of a deal.

 

"Your fear that you exposed robs you of the joy of the ocean, the canyon, the beach, and the universe."

 

I waited for him to continue as I held the tarry substance in my hand.

 

"You are afraid that you aren't good enough, that your faults will be common knowledge, that your past will be discovered, that your hidden thoughts will be revealed, that what is broken can't be mended, that I am really too good to be true, and that you're missing what is real.  You travel with me, but the pocket of your soul limits the places we can go."

 

"What do I do?  No matter how far I throw it the lump seems to end up back in my pocket," I confessed.

 

"You must quit keeping it in your pocket.  Stop pretending I don't know it's there.  We can throw it as many times as it takes.  As we spend time together it will shrink and when it's smaller we can throw it so far that it won't find you again."

 

We instantly stood on the rim of an active volcano as we talked about His power.  The rumbling earth vibrated under my feet.  As I looked at the scene I felt what was in my hand start to shrink.

 

"I have a lot of places to take you this year," he said as we threw fear away again.

 

Empty Pockets,

 

Pastor Dave

 

My Friend

Saturday is the memorial service for a friend.

 

Some might say calling him a friend is a stretch.  Let's face it, we only knew each other a handful of months.  He was older than me.  He had lived a life that was drastically different from mine.  He did time in jail.  He made a bunch of the bad choices that I wasn't even tempted to make.  We had different backgrounds.  We had different heritages, different gifts, different diseases, different... everything.  Oh, yah, and least important of all - different skin colors.

 

It's interesting to me that we had almost nothing in common.

 

Jesus.

 

Sometimes in conversation and fellowship there is a heart connection.  You don't have to know everything.  You don't have to spend mountains of time together.  You don't have to have much in common.  You end up just enjoying the interaction as if it's a favorite pair of jeans. Sometimes people just fit.

 

It's amazing how some hearts can be so quickly sewn together when the common thread is a Savior.  Two completely different materials can make a wonderful garment for the Holy Spirit to wear.

 

Jesus.

 

I find myself asking the "why" question.  Not the "why did he have to die" question, that's for a different moment.  Right now I'm wondering a little bigger than that.  Why did our Father God sew our fabrics together for such a short time?

 

It's possible I had something that he needed before he faced eternity (the arrogance of that thought makes it hard to even read).  My friend was ready for eternity before our fabrics came together.  God knew how short his time was - I don't think He brought him into my life for him, but the reverse is what I am talking to God about.  What did God want to teach me through him?  What patches did he bring that my soul needed to be complete?

 

Jesus.

 

Many of us cross paths for such a short time.  Have you ever wondered why?  Have you  learned from that person who was just "dropped" into your life?  Can you hear the Holy Spirit whispering to you through people?  We are often too busy or guarded or angry or selfish or weak or....

 

God and I will continue to talk about how the Holy Spirit used James to grow me.  Right now I'm just saying "thank you" for my friend with whom I had one thing in common -

 

Jesus.

 

That's enough.

 

Dave