The Love Response

When it comes to the word sacrifice, we must look at attitudes. Our attitudes. Have they grown selfish and inward, or are they ever expanding to include our fellow man? Are we learning to share more, love more and show God’s love more, or are we too busy, too important or too calloused to be bothered by it all?

Eric Fellman speaks of meeting a Chinese couple in Hong Kong, while traveling to China. He said, "A friend took me down a narrow alley to a second-floor flat to meet a man recently released from prison in China. I knew I would be pressed to carry Bibles and literature on my trip. But I was hesitant and tried to mask my fear with rationalizations about legalities and other concerns.


A Chinese man in his 6Os opened the door. His smile was radiant, but his back was bent almost double. He led us to a sparsely furnished room. A Chinese woman of about the same age came in to serve tea. As she lingered, I couldn't help but notice how they touched and lovingly looked at each other. My staring apparently didn't go unnoticed, for soon they were both giggling. "What is it?" I asked my friend. "Oh nothing," he said with a smile. "They just wanted you to know it was OK--they're newlyweds." I learned they had been engaged in 1949, when he was a student at Nanking Seminary.

On the day of their wedding rehearsal, Chinese communists seized the seminary. They took the students to a hard-labor prison. For the next 30 years, the bride-to-be was allowed only one visit per year. Each time, following their brief minutes together, the man would be called to the warden's office. "You may go home with your bride," he said, "if you will renounce Christianity." Year after year, this man replied with just one word; "No." I was stunned. How had he been able to stand the strain for so long, being denied his family, his marriage, and even his health? When I asked, he seemed astonished at my question. He replied, "With all that Jesus has done for me, how could I betray Him?" The next day, I requested that my suitcase be crammed with Bibles and training literature for Chinese Christians. I determined not to lie about the materials, yet lost not one minute of sleep worrying about the consequences. And as God had planned, my suitcases were never inspected.” Eric Fellman, Moody Monthly, January 1986 p. 33.



Sacrifice comes from realizing that someone already sacrificed for you. It is a love response. And here’s the kicker. If there is no love response, it means, quite frankly, there is no love. In other words, if you are not willing to sacrifice for the sake of Christ, you really don’t love Him. Love means sacrificial action.


Rom. 5:6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The Wicker Basket

The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia with his young grandson.
 Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible.  His grandson, who wanted to be just like him, tried to imitate him in any way he could. 


One day the grandson asked, 'Papa, I try to read the Bible, just like you, but I don't understand it, and what I do understand, I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do? 


The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, “Take this old wicker coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water.”


The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house.
 The grandfather laughed and said, “You will have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.


This time the boy ran faster, but again the old wicker basket was empty before he returned home.
 Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was 'impossible to carry water in a basket,' and he went to get a bucket instead.


The old man said, “I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water.  You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough,” 
and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.
 
At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. 


The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his
 grandfather, the basket was again empty.
 Out of breath, he said, “See Papa, it's useless!”


”So you think it is useless?” the old man said.  “Look at the basket.” 
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different.
 Instead of a dirty old wicker coal basket, it was clean.
 
”Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. 
You might not understand or remember everything,
 but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out.” 
 


Moral of the  story: Take time to read a portion of God's word each day; It will affect you for good even if you don't retain a word.

I Am A Soldier

I was reading an old book the other day about the Huguenots, the Waldensians and others that tried to remain true to the commands of God during the Dark Ages, and the contrast  between them and us is absolutely incredible. 

Thousands died cruel deaths; burned at the stake, hurled over cliffs, hung up with meat hooks, starved in prison, and yet very few, if any, turned back from following God. 

Yet today, it seems the slightest thing can turn many of us back from following Jesus.  Our feelings get hurt, so we quit.   Our leadership gets criticized, so we quit.  A pastor doesn’t come visit us at the right time, so we quit.   We don’t want to get involved, so we don’t.   We are afraid to make our neighbor uncomfortable, so we don’t share.  Church doesn't suit our tastes, so we stop attending.  At the slightest hint of resistance, we turn back.  Could it be that the worst enemy the church has is prosperity?

I mentioned this to a friend in another state, and he sent me this piece which I think needs to be our rallying cry.  Read it and see where you stand.  It is entitled, I am a Soldier.

I am a soldier.

I am a soldier in the army of my God;

The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer.

The Holy Bible is my code of conduct.

Faith, prayer and the Word are my weapons of warfare.

I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by

adversity and tested by fire.

I am a volunteer in this army and I have enlisted for eternity

I will either retire from this army at the Second Coming or die in this

army; but I will not get out, sell out, be talked out or pushed out.

I am faithful, reliable and dependable.

If my God needs me, I am there.

If He needs me in Sabbath School to teach children, work with youth,

help with adults or just sit and learn, He can use me, because I am there.

If He needs me in church Sabbath morning, Vespers, Wednesday, revival or

special services, I am there.

I am there to preach, teach, sing, play, pray, work or worship.

God can use me because I am there.

I am a Soldier. I am not a baby.

I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up or

pepped up.

I am a Soldier. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me,

entice me or lure me.

I am a Soldier. I am not a wimp.

I am in place saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name

and serving in His Kingdom.

No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy or give me

handouts.

I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for or catered to.

I am a Soldier, and I am committed.

I cannot have my feelings hurt badly enough to turn me around.

I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside.

I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit,

When Jesus called me into this army, I had nothing,

And if I end up with nothing I will still break even.

I am a Soldier, I am committed, I will win.

My God will supply all my needs.

I am more than a conqueror, I will always triumph.

I can do all things through Christ .

Devils cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me. Weather cannot

weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battles cannot beat me. Money cannot buy

me. Governments cannot silence me and Hell cannot handle me.

I am a soldier. I am committed. Even death cannot destroy me.

When my Commander calls me from this battlefield He will promote me and

then bring me back to rule this world with Him.

I am a Soldier in the army and I am marching, claiming victory.

I will not give up, I will not turn around. I am a Soldier marching Heavenbound.

I am a Soldier. Will you stand with me?

If God is in it, you can do it.

2Tim. 2:3    Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  4 Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.

2Tim. 2:14     Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them.

2Tim. 2:15    Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.  16 Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior.  17 This kind of talk spreads like cancer.

More Than Meets the Eye

Over and over, in the lives of those He met, Jesus went beneath the surface to bring them into a relationship with Himself. Here's a story that comes to mind.

Mark 2:1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

What? The guy needs to walk first…then maybe we can talk about his sins… He didn’t come for that! He came for healing. But Jesus knew there was more to it that what meets the eye. And then something else happens.

Mark 2:6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Again, there is more than meets the eye…even with the teachers of the law.

Mark 2:8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . .” He said to the paralytic, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Jesus understood fully the situation and the needs. He didn’t just look at a paralyzed man hanging there. He looked and saw someone so weighed down with guilt that he couldn’t move in the spiritual realm either. So entangled in their own guilt and shame that they were spiritually paralyzed. Ever known anyone like that? So Jesus goes for the real need first. And the man instantly knew that Jesus understood him and it freed and bolstered his faith, which would take him through the first test of faith. “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”

To help kids today, we have to take the time to enter their world; To understand the story underneath the external. To hear the cry of their hearts and respond to that first by helping get them to Jesus where their souls can be set free and true healing can begin. Unless we recognize that EVERY kid has a story beneath the surface and seek to understand that story, we will never truly be effective with them.  They are continuously talking...are we listening?

Walking Willfully into God's Workshop

Is it possible that the "professionalization" of ministry has somehow robbed us of a simple, deepening trust in God?  Have we gotten so good at our research, our analysis and our application of data, that we somehow have missed actually seeing God?

I marvel at the incredible intelligence God has bestowed on some of my colleagues and in looking at their incredible ministries, sometimes I also feel exceptionally unqualified for my own.  Sometimes I can't even understand the dialog that runs between them, so I stay out of the discussion.  And it is then that I long to be more educated, more articulate, more able to add something to the dialog.  But for what purpose?  If I am to be honest, it is usually for the purpose of making me somehow look better.  To make me look more intelligent. To perhaps be more respected.  And at this juncture, God usually crashes into my little daydream to remind me that He is all I need.

The conversation typically goes something like this:
God: What are you thinking about?
Me: Like You don't know?
G: Oh, I do know...but I think you need to really hear what you are saying.  So...what are you thinking about?
M: I'm thinking about how inadequate I am to the task You called me to do.
G: Who said you were supposed to be adequate?
M: Well, it would be nice to know that I can handle what you send my way...so perhaps I should go get my doctorate or something.
G: Would that make you adequate to the task I've called you to?
M: Umm...I would at least appear smarter and perhaps people would respect what I say a little more.
G: So this is really more about you than about what I called  you to do?
M: Well...I suppose, perhaps...ummm...maybe... Ok...Yes.  Since you put it like that.

G: Do you think I AM adequate to the task that I have prepared for you?
M: Sure YOU are!  But this is me we are talking about!
G: What was the promise I made right before I left?
M: That You will be with me always?
G: Right!  So this is US we are talking about.  Not just you.  US...you and ME together.  And really, if I so chose, I could actually do it all Myself, but I wanted to share a little with you.  Like a Father in a workshop teaching His child how to make things, I have invited YOU into my MY workshop, and I will provide everything you need.
M: But what about more education?
G: That may be the path that I have chosen for others to go down...but YOUR path is here in my workshop.  Learn of ME.  Learn of MY WAYS.   Don't lose sight of me in the midst of your dreams of grandeur.  That is not the path I have chosen for you.  I have fully equipped you for the path that you must walk.  I have promised to go with you...and as always, I AM!
M: And that is enough for me God.

And so I come back to realizing that God has called each of us render service where HE has placed us, using the tools that He has given each of us.  I have come to realize that He has not called me to be successful.   Only faithful.  And if I am faithful to that calling, that will be enough.

God help me to be faithful and to remember that You called me to serve right where I am with the tools that You have given me...and that YOU are enough.

Not all the wisdom and skill of man can produce life in the smallest object in nature. It is only through the life which God Himself has imparted, that either plant or animal can live. So it is only through the life from God that spiritual life is begotten in the hearts of men. Unless a man is "born from above," he cannot become a partaker of the life which Christ came to give. John 3:3, Steps to Christ page 68

King ME!!!

Ever since Eve bit into the apple and then shared it with Adam, we’ve been a race bound for destruction.  Though they were created with no selfishness, the desire to be like God, which in itself is a noble thing, proved to be their destruction.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be like God, is there?  I mean, isn’t that our goal as Christians?  To be like Jesus?  So what was the problem?  They not only wanted to be like God.  What they actually wanted was to be God.  That’s really what Satan was offering them in Genesis 3:4.   Let’s go to Genesis chapter 3.  We’ll begin in verse 1.

Gen. 3:1   Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”  2   The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,  3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”  4   “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.  5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Did you see that phrase?  “You will be like God”.  The original language, Hebrew, indicates that Satan is offering them a short-cut.  What he is actually saying to them is:  “Your state of being will instantly become God-like.”  Another unstated implication of that statement would be:  You won’t any longer need God since you will be a god yourself.  And with that, a new thought that had never occurred to Eve, suddenly became the temptation that she could not resist.  “I want to be god.”   And with that bite, Eve feels a rush of energy and a change of being and she begins to run through the garden singing at the top of her lungs, “It’s all about ME!”  Well, maybe not just like that, but her focus, which had only been God-centered, suddenly turned selfish.  She wanted to be God.   And it continues, to this day, to be the one temptation that none of us can resist.  

You’ve said it, oh, maybe not in those exact words, but every one of you has fallen prey to that temptation at some point in your life.  You’ve re-mixed the words maybe, but it’s the same thing.  I want it now!  Hey, that’s MINE!  You leave MY stuff alone!  Or maybe you’ve grown more sophisticated: “C’mon lady, the gas pedal is the one on the right!  Step on it already!  I’m late!”  or  “Oh, look at how much she has in that cart.  If I hurry I can make it into line before she does.”  Or “If he thinks for one minute that I’m gonna put up with that, then he’s got another thing coming.”

What do all of those things focus on? Or perhaps I should say, WHO do all those previous statements focus on?  ME.  You see, I have to admit that in my inner core, I am inherently selfish. I want what I want, and I want it now!  I want to do what I want to do, go where I want to go, be who I want to be, say what I want to say, play where I want to play, and I don’t want any negative consequences.  I want to be like a King.  They can order people around, be coddled, made over and pampered.  People are always at their beck and call and if they decide they don’t like someone, they can have them killed with no consequence.  I like the sounds of that.  King ME! Consequence free.

But is that really the case?  Or is there snag in the theory?  Sin causes separation from the life giving source.  Separation has a natural consequence--death.  If you unplug a computer from the power...it dies...oh, perhaps not right away...if it has a battery.  But eventually.  And if you don't plug it back in, it becomes useless for little more than a paperweight.

Are you unplugged spiritually?  Is your battery running low?  Maybe it's time to swallow the pride and plug back in.

Pastor Don accepts New Position

I have been on a personal journey, started by a conversation that I had in my leadership class 5 years ago, that brings me to this point. I was asked the question by my leadership instructor: "Where do you think God will lead you to spend the last years before your retirement that will utilize all of your passions, skills, abilities and experience to make the most impact on the church?" I had no idea. As a matter of fact, I didn't even know how I would find out!

His response was that I needed to pray about whatever burden God laid on my heart. He gave me until the next time we met to come up with a response. As I prayed about it, God laid the 60% of our SDA youth who are NOT in Adventist Education, on my heart. Who reaches them and who seeks to retain them? I began to reason from there. It has to be the local church and more specifically the local level youth leaders. But who supports the local level youth leaders? Hardly anyone. And just because you do local youth ministry better, doesn't mean that you have created a church environment that is enticing and/or even safe for students.

So that pulled things back another level. My burden enlarged to encompass the students, local youth leaders and the climate in the local church. Working with a church to improve the climate, working with the youth leader to custom design a youth ministry for their setting and helping students feel connected to a larger church body as well.

Then, as I pondered it further, the question came to me: But how will we know if we have been successful with a student? How will we know when they get to their young adult years that they a) really have a love for Jesus and b) feel like they belong in their church? Is there a spiritual growth path that we can put people on that would help them become disciple-making disciples? At what point do we need to focus in order to build solid, spiritual young adults? Earliteens? Youth?

Also, what about those students who, though they may have gone to SDA schools through high school, can't afford or choose not to attend an Adventist university? And the vision grew some more.

That's the dream God laid on my heart. But that job didn't even exist. I say didn't, because years ago, I left this dream in God's hands and told Him that if He wanted me to fulfill that dream, He would have to a) create a job that fit that description and b) call me to it.

Today, that happened. The Georgia-Cumberland Conference Executive committee voted that very job description into existence back in November, and today they officially offered me the position. And because God has been leading me towards this for the past 5 years, it was the next natural step for me to take in following Jesus. I would hate to be a pastor who tells others to follow Jesus while refusing to do so myself. So we are taking the next step. Sandy and I accepted the position.

It was not without a struggle because we LOVE our GCA Church family. It is our home. And I LOVE the students at GCA. They are MY kids!! Yet, I feel led to take the next step and must follow if I am to be true to God and myself. So that's the story...now here are the details.

I will continue pastoring the GCA church, even while beginning some of my responsibilities at the conference office, through May 31. June 1 to August 31, I will be taking a Sabbatical and begin writing materials to use in this next phase of my journey to help churches become more youth and young adult friendly places. Sept 1 I will officially begin in this new position at the conference.

We will NOT be moving. We will still need friends. We will still LOVE having students come over and hang out...and we will even be hanging out at GCA some. So though we are changing jobs, we are NOT changing communities.

Well...there it is. I didn't want to have to tell you all this news via e-mail, but since this is a home leave weekend, and next weekend is the music weekend, I was only left with this option in order that the conference could begin the process of finding a replacement for me here at GCA. I am so sorry. I wanted to share this with you face to face. As a result, I will be allotting a little time this Sabbath in church for the adults, and next Thursday's chapel for the students for any who may have questions for me.

Please know that I am NOT leaving because someone did something wrong. I am NOT leaving because someone hurt my feelings or is angry with me. I am NOT leaving because of major issues in the church...(as a matter of fact, I don't think we have any major issues at this point...but I may be blind to them) I am only leaving because I am trying to personally follow the call of God on my life just like I have been trying to teach you to do. And that's the ONLY reason I am leaving. I'm trying to become a better follower of God.

Please pray for Sandy and me as we make this transition. I love you all. I love this church. May we finish strong and then move on to wherever God leads.

Pastor Don​​