This Week's WOW 3/30

 

CAPABLE HANDS

By Pastor Carol

“Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  ~~Jesus

I had a unique experience a few weeks ago.  I was on the platform preparing to lead the pastoral prayer when the eyes of my heart saw a people with care-worn faces and sagging, drooping shoulders.  It wasn’t just a few sprinkled here and there, but from side to side, front to back, almost without exception.  My spirit clearly realized that so many of you are carrying burdens on your shoulders from your own personal world that are heavily weighing you down, be they financial, health, relational, family, the uncertainty in the world, on and on the list could go. 

It’s easy to “put on a good face.”  I can do it myself at times.  But underneath the facade is a tug of war going on.  We attempt releasing our burden to God, He reaches out to take it, we pull it back.  He is tugging on it because we asked Him to take it, but we tug harder and eventually we win, putting it back on our shoulders to carry and continue our worry.

I’ve used the following verse before in a WOW, I believe it bears repeating:

As children bring their broken toy with tears for us to mend,

I brought my broken dreams to God because He was my friend.

But then, instead of leaving Him in peace to work alone,

I hung around and tried to help with ways that were my own.

At last, I snatched them back and cried, “How can you be so slow?”

“My child,” He said, “what could I do?

You never did let go.”

May I encourage you to just release those peace-robbing issues to God.  Allow Him to work in His own way and time, knowing He can be trusted!   I’ve learned that God is never late, but He is seldom early.  In the meantime, let Him fill you with peace and rest, which will result in joy-filled faces and straight, square shoulders again.  There is no safer place for our cares than in His capable hands.

~+~+~+~+~+~

WOW 3/16/11

 

Here are a couple of paragraphs from one of my favorite authors about success and fulfillment.  Enjoy!

Pastor Rick

“To reach a dream – and to be fulfilled in the process – one needs to be proactive, in bad times as well as good.  One of the things I’ve observed about successful people over the years is that they do what is right no matter how they feel, and by doing right, they feel good.  On the other hand, unsuccessful people wait to feel good before they do what is right. As a result, they neither do what’s right nor feel good.

            “When you are traveling . . . toward your dream, the majority of the time you will not feel like doing the right thing to enable your dream to come true. You’ll need to do it anyway. . . . If you can always do the right thing – despite how you feel, despite the circumstances, despite what others might say or do in response – you will be satisfied with yourself. And that, at the end of the day, will do a lot to determine whether you feel fulfilled.”

John Maxwell

WOW 3/9/11

 

LIVE vs. DEAD

By Pastor Carol

The following article, author unknown, has been in my file for many years, coming originally from a Lutheran Church newsletter.   I have found it to be an interesting comparison, as well as a challenging barometer.  How many of these categories does our Church fit in?

~+~+~+~+~

LIVE churches have space problems – parking, classrooms, etc.

            DEAD churches have no worries about space.

LIVE churches are always changing things;

            DEAD churches don’t have to – everything just stays the same.

LIVE churches have noisy children and young people;

            DEAD churches are fairly quiet and serene.

LIVE churches have a shortage of staff;

            DEAD churches usually have a surplus.

LIVE churches are always overspending their budget;

            DEAD churches maintain large bank accounts.

LIVE churches struggle to remember new names;

            DEAD churches – everybody knows everybody – for years!

LIVE churches have a challenge developing new leaders;

            DEAD churches don’t – they just use the same ones over and over and over.

LIVE churches spend much on “missions”;

            DEAD churches keep it all “at home”.

LIVE churches are filled with givers;

            DEAD churches are filled with tippers.

LIVE churches operate primarily on faith;

            DEAD churches operate totally on sight.

LIVE churches strain to learn and serve;

            DEAD churches seek rest and comfort.

LIVE churches evangelize;

            DEAD churches fossilize!

~+~+~+~+~



Wow 3/2/11

Pull Up A Chair

By Pastor Donnie

I came across this article this week and it was a reminder to make sure that prayer is a top priority in my day to day living.

When Brent, a beloved longtime youth leader, became terminally ill, countless teenagers and church members visited him at home.  They all noticed that Brent mysteriously insisted on keeping an antique chair near his bedside.  One night, a church elder dropped by.  Brent was clearly struggling, with the empty chair right beside him. 

“I guess you were expecting me,” the elder said.

“No, not really,” Brent replied with embarrassment.

“When I saw the empty chair,” the elder quickly responded, “I figured you knew I was coming to visit.”

“There’s a story behind that old chair, but I’ve kept it pretty private,” Brent said.  “Sit down, and I’ll tell you why it means so much to me.”

Puzzled, the elder complied and began listening.

“As a youth leader, I knew I was supposed to be a man of prayer.  But for years, it felt like my prayers weren’t getting anywhere.  So eventually, except for when I occasionally prayed with a teenager, I just stopped.  I never shared this because I thought spiritual leaders were supposed to know how to pray.  But then a close friend told me, ‘You’re making this prayer thing too tough.  Prayer is just like talking to me.  Sit down and put an empty chair in front of you.  Picture Jesus sitting there, and then start talking to him – just like you talk to me.  Prayer is nothing more complicated than having an honest conversation with Jesus.  So I tried it,” Brent continued.  “As cheesy as it sounds, it worked.  I haven’t told many people because I didn’t think Christians were supposed to stuggle with this stuff.  But it’s really helped me.  Now I sometimes talk to Jesus in that chair for a couple of hours a day.” 

That encounter challenged the elder in his own prayer life.  Two nights later, a friend informed him that Brent had slipped into eternity.

                        “Did he seem to die in peace?” the elder asked.

                        “Yes,” the friend said.  “But there was something strange.  Apparently, just before Brent died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside his bed.  Crazy, isn’t it? He

had a strange attraction to that old chair.”

As Christians we often do the “churchy” things but forget to just simply sit down and spend time with our Savior.  We often forget to make prayer a priority.  Why not pull up a chair and start the conversation?  It’s as simple as that.