Count it all Joy

It may be hard to believe but the summer is moving so quickly that if you blink you may miss it. Maybe its just me but I think time is really moving at a faster pace. It is easy to get caught up with the everyday things of life so that life can bog you down. Life has a way of getting the best of you and if you are not spiritually prepared for what may come your way you could find yourself becoming depressed and down in life.

I learned along time ago that living for Jesus is a good life. It is according to the scripture a light and easy yoke that you take on you from Jesus. However, sometimes you can feel a little overwhelmed by the circumstances of life. I like what James said in James 1:2-3 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. Notice that we are to count it joy when we fall into different kinds of trials or tests. Now most of us do not look at it in that manner but if you catch verse three you will begin to have some joy when testings and trials come. Notice the word says that the trying of our faith works patients. That means that if you have trials and tests going on, it is because you have faith! When you have no faith there is nothing to contend for. But because you have faith then a time of testing and trial will come to you. When this test and trial does come you should have joy because you are exercising your faith and with patients your faith will being the victory.

The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. That is clear enough. But consider this. The person who has faith and chooses not to exercise it will also find themselves in the category of not pleasing God. It is only when faith is exercise and contended for that we find ourselves in a position to please the Father. Faith and patients go hand in hand. The trying of your faith produces patients and it is through faith and patients that we inherit the promises.

I think in today's environment we need to encourage each other to hold on to our confession of faith and not give up so easily. I know that in today's world there seems to be no hope given to people with wars, rumors of wars, economic hardship, disease, famine and disasters created by nature and man. But if we will know in whom we have believed and know that he is able we will keep our faith stirred up and our patients will bring us the reward we are desiring.

Bottom line: KEEP THE JOY AND EXERCISE YOUR FAITH.

Thanks Team Trinity

Once again, Team Trinity, you were marvelous! You did an outstanding job for Freedom's Hope. Pastor Richard, you did a great job of organizing. And a big thanks to all the staff for all your hard work to make this possible. Thank you to all of you who helped make this a day of Hope for our community. We had plenty of volunteers and everything went smoothly.

The music of Den and Bobbie West, Legacy, and Brightgray was very good. Then Dennis Phy and Jennfier Patrick sang great patriotic numbers and the music ended with Wayne Nabors, Kellie Young, and Drea Burnett singing the National Anthem. The games were overrun with kids and parents, the petting zoo was a thrill for kids. The food vendors (G's BBQ, Sonic, Domino's, and Moogies) were stacked and packed with hungry people enjoying the evening. And then came the fireworks. This was one of the best fireworks shows in our area, and it was exciting. I really enjoyed the heart shaped fireworks, and -- well, it was Algood!

Thank you Phillip Gibbons for being our MC. David Phy, as always, you had the sound and stage measuring up and sounding professional. Thank you to FNB for the popcorn and face painting, Roland Advertising for the flag and Crane, B&K Embroidery for the shirts, The Country Giant 94.7 for the advertising, Outback Steak House, ERS Party Rentals for the infatables, games, and everything else you contributed.

A special thanks goes out to Pastor Paul Ramsey Jr and Church on the Hill. You and your volunteers were a blessing. Thank you for coming alongside and helping us to sow Hope into the residents of Algood, Cookeville, Putnam County, and the Upper Cumberland.

Overall, it was a great evening of relaxing, listening, and watching. Now I pray you all who worked will enjoy a great day of rest and relaxation with family and friends.

An Insulated Life

God is good. We have heard it so many times that we probable do not pay much attention to what is being said. But it is an amazing fact that God is good. In fact let me tell you how good he is for us. In John 17:15 Jesus said something awesome. He said "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one." Notice that Jesus said we should not be taken out of the world but that we would be kept from the evil one.

Now the word for "evil one" simple means "the one who personifies evil" or literally it speaks of "one who is evil". So literally we are being kept from the evil one by the Word that Jesus has spoken to us. His Word is all we need to stay healthy from the evil one and keeps us from living a lifestyle of sin. We also are not taken out of the world until Jesus returns. He has never wanted us to be out of the world just not influenced by the world. In other words we can live in the world but not be part of the world as far as thoughts, beliefs, and actions.

This concept could be called the "Insulated Theory", not to be confused with the "Isolated Theory". We are insulated from the world but not isolated from the world. In other words Jesus wants us to be in the world going full throttle for Him. He wants us to be the ones who determine the influences and become the trend-setters. He never called us to a life of being influenced by the world so that the church would be a conformed church. No! He empowered us with His Word and that causes us to be isolated and then we are empowered with His Holy Spirit so that we do not have to be isolated. We can be in the world and influencing it for Jesus. We are insulated from evil and, if I can get this into my thinking, I can live victorious, knowing that the evil influence of this world or the evil one of this world is not effecting me because I am insulated by His Word.

On the Job Again

It's Monday morning and I am on the job again. Well, really I never left my job. What I really did was vacate my office for 10 days and worked while I toured. I am not sure I really know how to leave on vacation or on a church tour and not be on the job. Once something gets in your heart you can never leave it entirely. So what I really did was take 10 days, went to Israel and now I am back at my desk physically doing what God called me to do which is be a Pastor to the sheep that he has given me oversight of.

The Apostle Paul had a lot of things going on in his life in II Corinthians 11. He spoke of how he had received things such as five times he received 40 stripes less one, three times he was beaten with rods, was once stoned, three times shipwrecked, in perils with robbers, and well...you get the picture. Amid all the things that came on Paul on the outside, he had things working on him on the inside. II Cor 11:28 says that the cares of all the churches worked him so that he could not let them go. Why? Because he loved them and the churches were in his heart.

That is what I mean by not really leaving my job to go on this tour. The care of the church does not leave you. Thinking about people who God puts on your heart, praying for them and staying in touch are all part of who I am. You cannot outrun it and you cannot deny it. One such case is Joe and Lois. They are lovers of Israel and were not able to go due to health issues. While we were in Israel, Jaida and I thought of them. We prayed and sent a message that we missed them and were thinking of them. That is God's way of keeping us connected.

So now I am back in the saddle and enjoying a great week of ministry with VBS. It's great to reconnect with God's family and friends.

Home at Last

It's Friday and I am glad to be home. Our trip to Israel was a wonderful trip but there is something about coming home and sleeping in your own bed. It is a great feeling and then you also get caught up with all your friends and loved ones. It really is a neat process.

For 10 days Jaida and I traveled to and from the US with 29 other people. Most of whom we knew and some we had never met. In those 10 days we developed a bond with all these 29 people. We have traveled the Holy Land together and made memories with each other that will last a life time. Every stop on the tour you get on and off the bus, moving quickly from site to site. It really keeps your adrenaline pumping in the extreme heat. The anticipation of seeing sights we have never been to before and also re seeing and hearing about places we have been seen before. You try to take it all in but it is still overwhelming after three visits to the Holy Land. You take pictures, stand in awe of what you are seeing, and begin to discuss the impact that each of these unique sites are having on you personally. What I have discovered is that the more I tour the Holy Land the more my eyes are opened to what God is doing in Israel. It really is the land that flows with milk and honey. Funny how all the world is focused on this one small piece of real estate. When you consider how small Israel is and how big the Arab Lands are it amazes me that the world, including the US is wanting to give this land away to the Arabs. What about the Jewish people to whom the land was promised? Do they not have any right to settle and return to the place that brought blessing to the world? Well anyway I am glad that I went again.

God touches my heart every time I go and I get to make new relationships with people and discover with them the reality that God's word is true and will not change. What memories we make and what imparting we received when we take the trip of a life time. I invite you to come and go with us in 2012. Begin to save up now and plan for God to change your life on a journey to the Holy Land of Israel. Oh, by the way, it is good to be home in my favorite chair with my favorite people around me. God is good!

Day Ten of Our Israel Trip

Well here we are after 10 days of travel through the Holy Land. We are standing in the lobby of the Crowne Plaza located at the Dead Sea. There was a cool breeze blowing but the forecast was no snow in Jerusalem on this day. It has never snowed at the Dead Sea. It is the lowest point on the planet. Yesterday we saw 6 F16 Israeli fighter jets flying below sea level. That has to be cool. Anyway, we boarded our bus for our final day of touring and then being dropped at Ben Gurion Airport for our long flight home.

We loaded the bus and left for En Gedi. What is neat about this spot is that this is the location where David hid in the caves of En Gedi from King Saul. It was here that David and his mighty men hid from Saul in the caves when Saul showed up. They took his water bottle and cut off a piece of his robe when he went to sleep. It is the only fresh water spring in the desert. It was beautiful and quite a climb up to the springs. We saw some local animals and then made our way back to the bus.

From here we went to Qumran. Qumran is the site where the Essenes, a religious sect, had kept the scrolls of the writings of the prophets for studies and copies. It was here that the Dead Sea scrolls were found in the 1940's. These are some of the most important finds since they verify the accuracy of the scriptures.

From this site we traveled to Jerusalem for lunch at Ramot Rachel Kibbutz. It was a great lunch and then we visited the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. While there we heard from Dr. Jorgen Buhler a staff member from Germany. Dr. Buhler's father was recruited by Hitler's SS during World War II. He refused to join and went to another station and joined the army. It was here that he was captured by the Russian army as a POW. While he was captured some Jewish people nursed him and helped him survive. It was Dr. Buhler that helped to raise money and dedicate an Assisted Living Home for Holocaust survivors in Haifa, Israel. What a turn of events. His heart beats greatly for helping bridge the Christians and Jewish people together. Our church is a monthly supporter of ICEJ and it is good seed in good ground.

After the ICEJ we went to Ben Yahuda street for some last minute shopping. We spent about two hours and then made our way to the location of our farewell dinner sponsored by Jerusalem Tours our tour host. It was a great meal with kabob's, veggies, juice, pita bread, watermelon and fellowship. We then made our way to Ben Gurion airport for our final departure back to the US. Needless to say we made it through security and customs with no problems. That 777 airplane was a welcome sight to a bunch of weary travelers. Our 14 hours of flight will be worth it when we unite again with our families and friends.

Day Nine of Our Israel Trip

Day nine got underway on a heat wave. We began our trip from the Dead Sea Hotel the Crown Plaza. We quickly boarded our air conditioned bus for the short ride to Masada. Masada is a Hebrew word for Fortress. It was build by Herod the Great. He was quite the architect and had great vision.

This fortress was initially built because Herod needed a get-away from the pressure of the Romans and the Jews. It was designed so that it could not be accessed unless you were cleared to be there. His palace was built on three levels and the Fortress itself sits on top of a mountain that is straight up on all sides except one which has a path to the fortress. It was highly guarded and is the sight where about 900 Jews held out agains Flavis Silva after revolting against Rome. The Romans built a seige ram that took about 2-3 years to build so that they could breach the walls of the fortress only to find that all the poeple in the fortress had committed suicide.

We took a cable car up to the Fortress and walked down the back side to the bus. It was quite the hike and a lot of fun to see this historical ruin. From there we rode for 30 minutes to a Bedoiun camp. While at the camp we took a camel ride and enjoyed a great lunch with the Bedoiuns. While we were there we received a talk from one of the village leaders and learned a lot about the Bedoiuns. From there we drove for an hour back to the hotel for a chance to float in the Dead Sea or get some treatments. The Dead Sea is drying up at an unprecedented rate. The Sea is about 100 feet lower that in the day of Jesus.

It was good to have some free time to begin to unwind before we head back to Jerusalem tomorrow for our trip home to the US.