Are You Connected?

You have heard the phrase:  "It isn't how much you know that matters - its really WHO you know that matters."   I believe that this statement is really true!  No matter how much you know - there are always others who know more.  Most of us know people who think they know more than enough for all of us - and we can't wait to get away from them!

One of the most important things that I have learned in my almost 30 years of ministry is that knowing Jesus is far more important than knowing about him, that knowing your friend is more important than knowing about them, and that knowing your enemy makes it easier to make them your friend.
I love the story in Luke 10:2-4 about how Jesus is the gatekeeper/shepherd - and the sheep follow him - because they know him, they know his voice.   In John 14 we read about how we come to know God - through knowing Jesus his son.    We are reminded again and again that "knowing" someone is about more than know about them.

One day at a fancy banquet the great voice Charleton Heston stood up to read his favorite passage of scripture - the 23rd Psalm.  It was magnificent and beautiful.  Then another man got up to read scripture and it was the same.  His voice was not beautiful or loud - not nearly as impressive - but as he quoted and recited the words it became evident that he was truly moved.  Heston stood and led the applause to the man's beautiful testimony and Heston spoke one last comment.....  "I knew the words on the page,....but this man knew the shepherd."

Our connections are vitally important.  Our one connection with Jesus is the most important of all.  Are you connected?

Blessings on the journey!

Pastor David

I Surrender - Part 3!

1 part commitment to living as a living sacrifice.
1 part identifying which God you are going to love with all your heart.
3 parts Surrender
=  a Life pleasing to God. 

Sound easy?  I don't think so.  Last week I said 2 parts surrender - your past and your future.  Today - there is a third surrender.  What else is there you ask?  What doesn't fit in the past or the future?  How about - YOUR substitutes.  What?  What substitutes. 

You know what I mean - all those things you have that you keep putting in the place of God - or in the way of your following him. 

Let's make a short list of what those substitutes could be:

your job

your cash flow

your heritage

your home

your addiction - (food, drugs, alcohol, etc....)

your church (yes)

You can make this list as long as you want.  But the fact of the matter is there is an endless number of possiblitites.  Anything you can put the word "your" or "my" in front of can become a substitute for the real thing.  It is the dilemma of the rich young ruler.  Hungry for more real food we reach for anthing we can get to our mouth - to our soul - but if we have too much to choose from we will never surrender - anything of real value. 

 Here is the reality:  no matter who we say we worship - we really worship what we believe deep down gives us life.  How do we know?  How do we know what we are really worshiping?  Here are places to look: 

Where do you spend your time?

Your money?

What do you feel you can't live without?

Where do you turn when you are frustrated or empty?

If you are thirsty for the water of life - you have to go to the ever-living spring.  (Jeremiah 2:10-13)  And you have to surrender everything that gets in the way.  

Keep taking the steps!

Pastor David



I Surrender - Part 2!

On the journey to living a life pleasing to God - we have found a series of steps and on this journey we have found:

Step 1:  Make your life a living Sacrifice - Romans 12:1.  This is about being all in - a whole person involvement in becoming the person God wants us to be.

Step 2:  Deciding on and committing to the God that is big enough to create the universe and caring enough to love each one of us.  See Psalm 145 for a description of this kind of God. 

Step 3:  Surrendering Our Past.   This means to stop holding on to the things from our past - and most of us have things that we don't want to let go of.   The longer we hold on to things that keep us from being fully committed to serving God the tighter our grip seems to get.

Step 4:  Surrendering our Future:    Even if we do give up, surrender our past there is more for us to surrender - including our future.  We all want to think that we have one.  Jeremiah 29:10 says that God has one for us.  The problem is that we don't always see the future God has for us.  We see only the future we have created.  And the future we have created is always filled with us!  It's about us, serves us, celebrates us.    In order to truly have the future God has for us we have to surrender the futures we have created for us.

I wonder - who's future for you do you think will be better? 

Pastor David -