I was so nervous to open this blog but since my wife did it for me I thought now is the time to put it all out there for everyone to see. The last 20 years of my life have been as different as night and day. What was before is gone and a new creation now occupies the old worn out shell. But I have come to realize that by God's grace He is making steady improvement with me. Who would of thought that I would of ended up a Christian, a missionary to Haiti and now a Full time Pastor?........God would!Wow what many mistakes I had made. Thankfully I can't recall all of them and the people I may have hurt in the process. I hope for their forgiveness.Now I walk my life striving to please Christ by what I do, what I say and by what I give. That is so different from the "all about me" attitude I harbored in my younger days. My calling is sure and focused as I preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who haven't had the experience of meeting Jesus as of yet. God is at work in our world today. The question is this: Are you letting Him work in you or do you find yourself on the "outside looking in". Think hard about your answer because we're all just living on borrowed time. Pastor Seth
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
PERFECT HELPER
I would have to say without out a doubt, in my life, aside from God's free gift of Grace poured out on me, the greatest gift that I've received from God is the gift of my wife, Tia. For almost ten years she has stood by my side, supported me when I needed help, partnered with me in raising our two children and loved me when at times I was so unloveable. It is such a blessing to have that type of companion in your life. It is nice to know that someone is there to share my time, my concerns, my hopes and my dreams with. I would say that God has provided me with quite the helper in my wife. Some of you know exactly what I mean, others are still waiting for their companion and still some of you as the scriptures tell us, God has prepared for singleness. But here's the thing. Whether you're married, your husband or wife has passed away or you're single....God has provided you with a Perfect Helper, a life long companion!
"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." John 14:16-17
The time was quickly approaching for Jesus to fulfill His earthly mission and He was trying to prepare His disciples for what lie ahead. Soon He would leave them but He promised "not to leave them". Jesus said that God would send "a helper" that never would leave the believers of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not abandon us, and will never abandon us! Even now our Great King sits on His Heavenly throne awaiting the coming of His children into the Kingdom of God. The Helper that Jesus spoke of is clearly identified in vs. 26 of chapter 14 as the Holy Spirit who, "will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you."
So often we feel alone, like it's just us facing this whole world. We think to ourselves that it's just me in this battle and not to expect any help. Jesus said, "I am the Light", (John 8:12) meaning that He is the One who can light up our dark and alone places, and provide the help that we need to get through.
Now I'll be the first to admit that I am far from the perfect helper. Sometimes I even probably make things more difficult for my wife but with God, He'll always provide what He knows we need, help when He sees us struggling, and step up and in when we seem to only fall down.
I'm sure you've heard the saying "you can't be all things to all people". How true that is. I know that no matter how hard I try I will never be able to be my wife's perfect helper or vise versa but God, through Jesus Christ, with the help of the Holy Spirit can be our "ALL IN ALL".
"May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you; May He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion; May he remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice. May He grant you according to your heart's desire, and fulfill all your purpose." Psalm 20:1-4
"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." John 14:16-17
The time was quickly approaching for Jesus to fulfill His earthly mission and He was trying to prepare His disciples for what lie ahead. Soon He would leave them but He promised "not to leave them". Jesus said that God would send "a helper" that never would leave the believers of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not abandon us, and will never abandon us! Even now our Great King sits on His Heavenly throne awaiting the coming of His children into the Kingdom of God. The Helper that Jesus spoke of is clearly identified in vs. 26 of chapter 14 as the Holy Spirit who, "will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you."
So often we feel alone, like it's just us facing this whole world. We think to ourselves that it's just me in this battle and not to expect any help. Jesus said, "I am the Light", (John 8:12) meaning that He is the One who can light up our dark and alone places, and provide the help that we need to get through.
Now I'll be the first to admit that I am far from the perfect helper. Sometimes I even probably make things more difficult for my wife but with God, He'll always provide what He knows we need, help when He sees us struggling, and step up and in when we seem to only fall down.
I'm sure you've heard the saying "you can't be all things to all people". How true that is. I know that no matter how hard I try I will never be able to be my wife's perfect helper or vise versa but God, through Jesus Christ, with the help of the Holy Spirit can be our "ALL IN ALL".
"May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you; May He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion; May he remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice. May He grant you according to your heart's desire, and fulfill all your purpose." Psalm 20:1-4
Sunday, February 22, 2009
"KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL!"
"Finally, brethren, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:8-9
I remember playing little league baseball when I was young. I remember walking up to the plate in anticipation of hitting the game-winning home run. I remember standing there waiting for the pitch but often looking around at everything else that was going on around me.
HERE COMES THE PITCH....SWING......STRIKE ONE
I would hunker down, pound my bat on the plate, spit (because the big timers did that!), and take my practice swing. But then I'd start looking elsewhere again, seeing what was happening in the other dugout, the stands, or the concession booth.
HERE COMES THE PITCH....SWING.......STRIKE TWO
"TIME-OUT!!" my coach would holler and he would patiently start his walk to the plate to speak with me. He'd put his hand on my shoulder, kneel to make eye contact with me and calmly say, "Keep your eye on the ball.". Now obviously the fantastic finish to this story would be to say that the next pitch came, there was a crack, loud earth-shattering cheers as I rounded the bases and headed home to my waiting fans who would then hoist me upon their shoulders and carry me off in glory. But the truth is my next swing often resulted in the words..
"STRIKE THREE, YOU'RE OUT!" Oh well, so much for the "ole glory days".
Even though my aim was off, the Coaches directions were right on..."Keep your eye on the ball." In Philippians 4:8-9, the Apostle Paul was saying, "Focus on what's good, not on what's bad". Sure there is a lot of negative in our world today but God doesn't want us to live a life of discouragement caused by our constant focus on all that's wrong in our world and our lives. God wants us to focus on Him, what He's done for us, what He's doing for us, and what He's promised to do still! God makes us the promise in verse 9, that if we will focus on the "positives", the blessings God's bestowed on us, the answered prayers, the healings, and most of all...on His son Jesus Christ, then He will give us peace. It will be His peace, not empty temporary peace.
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27
If we will "Keep our eyes on the ball", if we will keep our eyes "fixed on Jesus", we will always hit a home run. The "Coach" will smile, the angels will shout, and all of God's people with cheer..."Amen".
I remember playing little league baseball when I was young. I remember walking up to the plate in anticipation of hitting the game-winning home run. I remember standing there waiting for the pitch but often looking around at everything else that was going on around me.
HERE COMES THE PITCH....SWING......STRIKE ONE
I would hunker down, pound my bat on the plate, spit (because the big timers did that!), and take my practice swing. But then I'd start looking elsewhere again, seeing what was happening in the other dugout, the stands, or the concession booth.
HERE COMES THE PITCH....SWING.......STRIKE TWO
"TIME-OUT!!" my coach would holler and he would patiently start his walk to the plate to speak with me. He'd put his hand on my shoulder, kneel to make eye contact with me and calmly say, "Keep your eye on the ball.". Now obviously the fantastic finish to this story would be to say that the next pitch came, there was a crack, loud earth-shattering cheers as I rounded the bases and headed home to my waiting fans who would then hoist me upon their shoulders and carry me off in glory. But the truth is my next swing often resulted in the words..
"STRIKE THREE, YOU'RE OUT!" Oh well, so much for the "ole glory days".
Even though my aim was off, the Coaches directions were right on..."Keep your eye on the ball." In Philippians 4:8-9, the Apostle Paul was saying, "Focus on what's good, not on what's bad". Sure there is a lot of negative in our world today but God doesn't want us to live a life of discouragement caused by our constant focus on all that's wrong in our world and our lives. God wants us to focus on Him, what He's done for us, what He's doing for us, and what He's promised to do still! God makes us the promise in verse 9, that if we will focus on the "positives", the blessings God's bestowed on us, the answered prayers, the healings, and most of all...on His son Jesus Christ, then He will give us peace. It will be His peace, not empty temporary peace.
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27
If we will "Keep our eyes on the ball", if we will keep our eyes "fixed on Jesus", we will always hit a home run. The "Coach" will smile, the angels will shout, and all of God's people with cheer..."Amen".
FAITHFUL FANS
This past weekend millions of football fans watched the Superbowl played. What an exciting game it was to watch, especially for fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, fans of the Arizona Cardinals were left thinking how close they'd come to enjoying their first Superbowl Championship. I wonder how many fans spent this week saying, "if only this would've happened" or "they should've ran this play" or even "I could've done much better!". Across the United States no doubt many "Armchair Quarterbacks" rose up to criticize the team they so faithfully had once been supporting. That's the funny thing about sports fans. One moment their cheering for you and the next they're sneering at you. How quick the tide can change when things aren't going as well as some would like?
This is also a growing problem in churches today as fans or members cheer when programs are booming, attendance is up, offerings are high, and everyone is "winning". But just like in sports, sometimes it's hard if not impossible to stay at the top of the game. There's re-building phases, personnel changes, and down-right slow times of progress. But here's the thing. A true fan is a fan in good times and bad. They're always there to lend support and encourage their team. What kind of fan are you?
"but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today", lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" Hebrews 3:14
The great thing about a team is that despite who's on the field at the time, the rest of the players are on the sidelines cheering them on. One thing the players on the sidelines know is that they must be prepared to run onto the field when they're called, ready to contribute to the effort. Churches are full of people who are actively doing the best they can to serve God. Sometimes they're going full steam ahead and sometimes the tank is running a little low. Church leaders, youth leaders, teachers, music teams, and every other member of the church needs "YOU" cheering them on to the "End zone", to the finishing line!
It can be so easy to find ourselves yelling "for" one another one moment and then "at" another the next. Let us as a team look upon each other with the same love and compassion that Christ would show us? No matter what the scoreboard says at the end of the day, we are VICTORS together with Jesus Christ. GO TEAM!!
This is also a growing problem in churches today as fans or members cheer when programs are booming, attendance is up, offerings are high, and everyone is "winning". But just like in sports, sometimes it's hard if not impossible to stay at the top of the game. There's re-building phases, personnel changes, and down-right slow times of progress. But here's the thing. A true fan is a fan in good times and bad. They're always there to lend support and encourage their team. What kind of fan are you?
"but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today", lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" Hebrews 3:14
The great thing about a team is that despite who's on the field at the time, the rest of the players are on the sidelines cheering them on. One thing the players on the sidelines know is that they must be prepared to run onto the field when they're called, ready to contribute to the effort. Churches are full of people who are actively doing the best they can to serve God. Sometimes they're going full steam ahead and sometimes the tank is running a little low. Church leaders, youth leaders, teachers, music teams, and every other member of the church needs "YOU" cheering them on to the "End zone", to the finishing line!
It can be so easy to find ourselves yelling "for" one another one moment and then "at" another the next. Let us as a team look upon each other with the same love and compassion that Christ would show us? No matter what the scoreboard says at the end of the day, we are VICTORS together with Jesus Christ. GO TEAM!!
When it REALLY HURTS!
WHEN IT REALLY HURTS!
This past Tuesday after seven months of procrastination I finally went and had my root canal. As many of you know from a CROSSTRAINER that I wrote way back then, I have a terrible fear of the dentist office. In the last few weeks pain had started to set in and I was started to realize that this problem wasn't going to go away on it's own. Even with the pain I wasn't ready to make that dreadful trip to the dentist office but something happened. God sent people who love and care about me to insist that I get the problem fixed. God sent many "preachers" to me to let me know that if I didn't get the problem taken care of....their were going to be some grave consequences!! Has God been sending you messages? Has God sent people into your life who seem to be urging you one way or the other? Is there something inside of you that you need to allow God to remove? Is there something that's causing separation between you and God? Maybe it's a wrong attitude, misplaced obedience, a harmful habit or maybe it is some form of unforgiveness or anger that you can't let go of. Jesus Christ is the Great Physician and He alone is able to take these things from you and give you something much more valuable back.....FREEDOM, VICTORY AND LIFE!!
"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil." Isaiah 1:16
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and many other Old Testament prophets preached the same message. They were telling the people to deal with the problem of sin in their lives, before it was too late. Sure to let go of what had been so common to the people of that day would be difficult and even a little painful but in the end God would bring a blessing upon His people. The people of that day and of our day have this in common; we are all plagued by the disease of sin and it must be dealt with. Like with my dentist visit, it's going to take some "deep probing work" to get to the "root" of the problem, but in the end God will bless us and create in us a cleaner, healthier spirit if we'll only make our way to the cross, the place where Jesus performs His best work!
I pray today that you would allow God to examine your heart, your mind and your soul so that He might take from you that which ails you and will cause you harm. I pray that what causes you pain in your life be exposed so that it might be surrendered to Almighty God who alone is able to cure you of all unrighteousness.
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10
This past Tuesday after seven months of procrastination I finally went and had my root canal. As many of you know from a CROSSTRAINER that I wrote way back then, I have a terrible fear of the dentist office. In the last few weeks pain had started to set in and I was started to realize that this problem wasn't going to go away on it's own. Even with the pain I wasn't ready to make that dreadful trip to the dentist office but something happened. God sent people who love and care about me to insist that I get the problem fixed. God sent many "preachers" to me to let me know that if I didn't get the problem taken care of....their were going to be some grave consequences!! Has God been sending you messages? Has God sent people into your life who seem to be urging you one way or the other? Is there something inside of you that you need to allow God to remove? Is there something that's causing separation between you and God? Maybe it's a wrong attitude, misplaced obedience, a harmful habit or maybe it is some form of unforgiveness or anger that you can't let go of. Jesus Christ is the Great Physician and He alone is able to take these things from you and give you something much more valuable back.....FREEDOM, VICTORY AND LIFE!!
"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil." Isaiah 1:16
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and many other Old Testament prophets preached the same message. They were telling the people to deal with the problem of sin in their lives, before it was too late. Sure to let go of what had been so common to the people of that day would be difficult and even a little painful but in the end God would bring a blessing upon His people. The people of that day and of our day have this in common; we are all plagued by the disease of sin and it must be dealt with. Like with my dentist visit, it's going to take some "deep probing work" to get to the "root" of the problem, but in the end God will bless us and create in us a cleaner, healthier spirit if we'll only make our way to the cross, the place where Jesus performs His best work!
I pray today that you would allow God to examine your heart, your mind and your soul so that He might take from you that which ails you and will cause you harm. I pray that what causes you pain in your life be exposed so that it might be surrendered to Almighty God who alone is able to cure you of all unrighteousness.
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10
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