Out of My Hat

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Monday, 26 August 2013

Tell Your Story

Posted on 07:24 by Unknown
In reading through the Gospels,, we find stories of a people that had unusual encounters with Jesus. They were unusual in that Jesus was able to do what no one had ever done before. He healed lepers of their dreaded disease. He caused the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the mute to speak and the crippled to walk. He even caused the dead to come back to life!

Pretty incredible stuff!

The people that were touched by His miraculous ministry couldn't help but tell others about it. The crowds followed after him seeking more great signs and to listen to his teaching; to see for themselves if this was the expected Messiah.

As one who has had a spiritual encounter with Jesus, shouldn't I (and you, too, if you have had such an encounter) be telling my story? I know that not everybody has a fantastic "saved from the gutters of life" kind of story. Thankfully, most of us don't have a "prison salvation" or near death kind of salvation story. You may even think that you have a boring story.

How can an encounter with the God of the universe be boring?

Perhaps we've become too familiar with our God. I am so thankful that He allows us this wonderful relationship that the sons and daughters of God can come before Him as...well, as sons and daughters. We don't have to wait while the masses vie for His attention; we can walk right to the front of the line and speak with our Heavenly Father. We are the adopted brothers of His Son, Jesus.

It's a pretty big deal!

Even if your grew up in a home that knew Jesus; even if you first encountered Him at a young age--you have a story to tell. And our stories must go beyond that first encounter. What of the daily encounters with Our Lord and Savior. Have these become so common that we no longer value them? Have we taken for granted that we are lost and condemned without Him? Have we forgotten that spiritually speaking, we all have "saved from the gutter" stories? Have we become so puffed up with ourselves that we think that we deserve a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus?

If it's been a while since you've shared your story, share it with somebody--today!

You can use me as an excuse if you need one. Just say, "A blog I read was encouraging believers to share their conversion stories. I really haven't done that in a while. Can I practice on you?"

When you've finished (keep it brief if you can), you might ask them to share their story. If they don't have a story, you may have an opportunity to tell them about God's great love and how He desires to have a personal relationship with them through Jesus!

Knowing Jesus is a big deal!
Tell your story.

John <><
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Saturday, 24 August 2013

Thoughts on Community

Posted on 09:27 by Unknown
This weekend is little bit less active than the past few have been. Chris is working today (one of those few Saturdays that she gets scheduled to work) and I'm hoping that she can get an early shove.

I did manage a quick trip into the farmer's market in Springfield, a fill up on the del Sol (39.9 mpg) and a few errands. Now to spend some time finishing tomorrow's sermon notes.

It's been a little while since I've been to Charity Baptist is Springfield. I'm looking forward to being there again, although it does mean that I'll miss the concert at Hopedale tomorrow night.

This past week seems to have flown by. I guess that's a good thing. One of the things that I'm realizing is that I have a very small community of people in my life. I'm not sure that I can call the people that I work with a part of my community. Sure we are co-workers and serve a common purpose for a few hours each day, but I really have nothing else in common with them. They are not a vital part of my life (the job--well, the pay is) and I am not a vital part of their lives. I actually fell a greater "community" sense with a pastor that I just met than with the people I have worked with for years.

Is it that the shared ministry is more important to me than the shared mission of separating airplanes? Is there a greater sense of brotherhood with a fellow laborer in ministry than with other air traffic controllers? Although I get along with my co-workers, I can't say that I really look forward to seeing them everyday. For the most part, they are just a part of the job. That is not the case when it comes to ministry work.

Strangely enough, church life and work life share a lot of similarities. While I love my church and enjoy going there to worship and serve, in many ways the social atmosphere isn't very different from work. I'm not sure that I can call the people at church a part of my community. Other than sharing a few hours a week, I really have very little in common with most of them. They are not a vital part of my life and I am not a vital part of their lives.

I'm really not sure where this rant is going. I just started writing and this is what has turned up on the page. In rereading what I've written, one might get the idea that I feel lonely in ministry or am dissatisfied with work, church or life in general. Neither is really true. Perhaps it is just a realization that I know very little about the people that I come in contact with every day. Maybe I need to find a way to expand my "community" by being better about connecting with people outside of the areas that define our relationships. Maybe my life is too segregated--work is work, church is church, family is family, etc.

Is that what we've become as a society? Are we different pieces of different puzzles as we wander through the week and find ourselves in different places and different roles? Is it okay that I see you everyday and know nothing about you? Do I care if you you know anything about me? Have we become so narcissistic that other people just don't matter?

I'm going to have to think on this some more. Any thoughts...?

John <><






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Monday, 19 August 2013

Weekend Thoughts

Posted on 08:03 by Unknown
It's nice to be able to sit on the deck with my coffee and computer and reminisce about the weekend. I really enjoyed my return to Zion Baptist Church (ZBC) in Cainsville MO. We were trying to figure out how long it had been since my last visit; I was thinking around eight years. One of the members said that he knew exactly how long it had been because I visited his wife in the hospital after the birth of their little girl--she is 6.

Although this was only my third trip to ZBC, it really does feel like a sort of homecoming. It is a small congregation with a huge heart for serving the community in the name of Jesus. I really love their pastor. He is a simple, hard working man that runs his business and pastors a rural church. He loves his Lord, loves his flock and loves serving others. Not surprisingly, the church has taken on the heart attitudes of loving God, loving each other and serving the community.

It's a pretty sweet fellowship.

There are so many thoughts running through my head this morning about the weekend that it is very hard to organize them into any orderly post. I think I'm going to just write them out in bullet form and expound on them as the thoughts come to mind.

*This was the thirteenth year of the Zion Gospel Jubilee.
Several music groups from the area (and some individuals) come to sing on an outdoor stage under a big tent. The event normally begins around 1pm on Saturday and lasted until around 10:30 at night with a break for an awesome dinner. (They smoked about 200 pounds of beef brisket and pork butts.) Sunday morning had an outdoor service under the tent followed by lunch and more music. This year, they added the Friday night session with music and magic--my part in the weekend. I also shared twice on Saturday (once in the afternoon, once in the evening) and preached the message on Sunday morning.

*The groups that come to sing look forward to this event.
This year's groups had all been to the Jubilee before. The event is well advertised and people come from some distance to enjoy the music. There was great talent singing praise to our God.

*Life isn't always what we've bargained for.
When you get in a mix of God's people, you find that there are a lot of suffering Christians. It's a myth that those that follow Jesus have great lives. We do have eternal life, but often times our earthly journey can be difficult and lonely. There were times that my heart hurt for the stories of struggle that were shared.

*We are family.
One of the things that always amazes me is the instant bond of fellowship with believers from another congregation. At a family reunion, you can often tell that the people there are apart of your family clan by certain physical characteristics. When meeting with fellow followers of Jesus, there are also characteristics that lead you to believe that we are of the same family.

*Other contacts.
I also had the opportunity to visit with some old friends that lived in the area (by in the area, I mean about 40 minutes away). I enjoyed getting to visit with them in their home and also saw a few other people that I have shared ministry with in the past.

*Blessings of service.
I'll be on a bit of a high for a few days. The blessings of service are grand. I know that this weekend will carry me into the week with a grand feeling and positive attitude. I have another program tomorrow night and am preaching on Sunday in Springfield. It sounds really busy and like I'm doing a lot of work, but the truth is that it's too much fun to be considered work.

*Random thought--
If it turns out that I'm going to keep the del Sol much longer, I'm going to have to put some work into it to make it more serviceable and more comfortable for long trips.

*Final thought (for now)--
There are a lot of hurting people out there. Some suffer in silence and in secret while others are more open about their pain. They need a bit of encouragement and love today. If you know of somebody that is carrying a burden, lend them a hand today. Call them. Offer them a time of rest or a moment that they can set aside their troubles and enjoy a short time of peace with a friend.
For those that suffer in silence, take care to be kind to everybody you encounter. Be a positive influence at work or school. Be kind and courteous to strangers. Smile often. Speak words of encouragement. Show the love of God in all you do.

God loves you.
Jesus died for you.

John <><



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Friday, 16 August 2013

Just random notes...

Posted on 06:57 by Unknown
It's a rare Friday morning that I get to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee. On most Fridays, I'm just getting off of work after a mid shift and ready to take a 3+ hour snooze. I used a day of leave and didn't work the mid last night. After a day of moving Hannah back to Columbia for her senior year of college and with travel for a weekend event ahead of me, I figured a good night's sleep was in order.

So now I am getting ready to get things going for the day and really don't have the time to be on the blog and sitting with my coffee, but...

Sometimes it's good to slow down--even if only for a few minutes.

I'll be spending a good portion of the next couple of days on the highway and won't have the time to read the posts that I normally follow, keep up on Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites and may have some limited cell coverage--all a part of travelling in rural Missouri.

Enjoy your weekend, friends! I'll catch up with you next week.

John <><
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Wednesday, 14 August 2013

Livin' the Good Life

Posted on 23:02 by Unknown
I have a pretty good  great life.
You probably have a pretty good life, too; maybe even a great life.

However, I have found that I can take my great life and turn it into a crappy life by changing nothing more than my outlook. I don't have to give up any of the things that make my life grand. I don't have to work at a harder job, nor do I have to lose the job that I have. I don't have to give up my health (which isn't perfect but free from anything major) and I don't have to worry about a daily food provision--as a matter of fact, I still get to eat some pretty tasty (if not so healthy) foods pretty much as I choose.

I get to keep my modest home and my beater car. I get to keep all of my friends (both of you guys) and I still get to enjoy a great family.

All I have to do to turn my otherwise great life into something that is unbearable and crappy is to start thinking about all of the things that I don't have (whether or not I need or want them) and all of the things that others have (again, whether or not I want, need or have earned them) and all of a sudden, I am burdened with life's woes and am a miserable person to be around.

I can complain about the government and how "the Man" is oppressing me. I can complain about my job and how management doesn't care about my needs. I can complain about my weight and my health as I shovel in another fast food burger or junk food snack. I can complain about pretty much anything I feel like as long as I can think of a way that my own little world would be better if I had or didn't have whatever it is that would make life better.

I can envy those that have larger, fancier homes even though they may have worked very hard to acquire their wealth. I can complain about the young people that drive nicer vehicles even though I've chosen to drive the no car payment beater.

I can complain about my neighbors or the people that I work with that care more about themselves and their needs than they do about me and my needs--in my world, it's okay if it's all about me.

I hope you get the idea.

We can choose to be negative.
We can choose to ignore our blessings and find fault with every situation.
We can choose to be miserable.
We can choose to be victims of a cruel world.
We can choose to have a crappy life.

Or not.

We can also choose to acknowledge our blessings.
We can choose to value the people around us.
We can choose to appreciate our freedoms.
We can choose to be positive.
We can choose to be a blessing to others.

We can decide that in spite of whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, we will be grateful for the people and the things that we have.

I hope that today is a good great day for you.
I hope that somebody offers you a word of encouragement today.
I hope that you will choose to be a blessing to somebody today.

A smile
A kind word
A kind act
It could be enough to change somebody's day--to change somebody's life.

Blessings to you,
John <><


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Monday, 12 August 2013

Trust Issues...

Posted on 11:56 by Unknown
Most of you have heard of or experienced the "trust fall" where one person falls backwards, trusting another person or persons to catch them. We did a few different exercises to demonstrate trust this past weekend at our youth retreat.

It got me thinking about trust--Who we trust? Why we trust? What does it take to earn our trust? Am I trustworthy?

On the surface, most of us would say that it's better to trust an honest person or one that always does the right thing: but is that really the case?

What if somebody does something that is wrong--anything from spreading gossip to taking something that doesn't belong to them? Do they really trust an honest person or somebody that always does the right thing to keep their misdeed a secret? Wouldn't they be more likely to trust somebody that has the same values (or lack of them) as they have?

I suppose there are many different levels of trust as well as different areas of trust. I may trust a coworker to have my back in a difficult session of air traffic control, but not really trust them in other areas of life. A person might trust another person to be honest about fixing their car but not feel like they would leave them to care for their children. Things like these are based on experiences and knowledge of situations as well as people.

So how does somebody earn your trust?
By keeping their mouth shut?
Or by telling the truth?
By doing what's right?
Or by doing what you need them to do?

Is an honest person really the kind of person that you want to trust?
Or would you rather trust a person that has pretty much the same level of dishonesty as you have?

Is there honor among thieves? Do we count on the bad deeds of others to keep them silent about our own bad deeds?

Are these really the kinds of things that we want to base our "trust" of others upon and are those really the kinds of people that we want to trust?

Hmmm...

Just thinking.

John <><
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Tuesday, 6 August 2013

Tell Your Story

Posted on 09:03 by Unknown
Last Sunday, I once again issued the challenge to tell somebody that needs to know Jesus as Savior that God loves them and Jesus died for them.

Sometimes the conversations can take different turns. When you begin to talk about your own personal relationship with Jesus, you also find out about other people's personal relationship with Jesus. I like this. It helps me to get to know my brothers and sisters in Jesus and it helps all of us to get more comfortable in telling our story.

Have you told your story lately?

It is your story.

Not every story has to be a "saved from a life of drugs" kind of testimony. There should be no shame in telling your ordinary "grew up in a church family" story. You should be proud to share your blessing of having grown up in a family that was dedicated to following Jesus and sharing their faith with their kids of grand-kids. It is a great story.

But the story doesn't stop there. It begins there. What is Jesus doing for you now? How is He working in your life and in your family's life today? It is still your story; you're still living it; and you should still be telling it.

God loves you.
Jesus died for you.

Tell your story.

John <><
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