I Have Met The Enemy....

I was listening to a song by Sean Smith on my ipod at work today, and part of the lyrics go like this:

"trust Me now and make My glory known, bring to Me the heart that you have hidden, bring to Me what you don't understand, follow as you should, you weren't called because you could, you were called because I can"

As a preacher & a pastor, often I feel very inadequate at what I do. Often I don't feel as though I connect with anyone....and yet God shows me time and time again, that it is not about me, it is about Him.

This song just reminded me that I need to remember that in all things, the goal is to draw myself and others closer to Christ. I am scared every time I get in the pulpit. I am a shy individual, and yet I have no doubt that God has called me to do what I am doing.

From these thoughts I started to to think about our country and the church. It seems that the country is sinking spiritually. Every time I turn around there is another whacked out religious nut ( the latest, some guy in Flordia who claims to be Jesus and has a satellite ministry, huge church, etc), or the church is pointing fingers at the gays, or the democrats, or the feminists.

If we will be obedient to all that God has told us to do in the Word, then these issues would not be issues. It's not about what we can do, but what He can and will do if we will get out of the way and let Him.

The people who claim to be christians too often act no different from the rest of the world....and so we have no influence....no saltiness.

The problem with the spiritual condition in the world is not the fault of the liberal media, the gay movement, the feminist movement, the public school system, the democarts or Darth Vader (ok, just threw that last one in to see if you are paying attention).

The problem with the spiritual condition of the world is the church.

I have met the enemy, and he is us.

Lord, help us to be what we claim to be.

Help us to live as we know we should live.

Enable us to love as you love.

Bring revival to your people Lord, and then we can take the living water to a dry and thristy world.

I encourage you to do a google search and check out some of the great revivials that this country has experienced. I guarntee that you will be amazed. Hopefully I can post some links later this week.

Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave

Easter

How was your Easter?

We had a good crowd at church this morning....40 plus people. That may not seem like a lot to you, but less than three years ago, when I first came to Loma Rica Baptist Church there was less than a dozen people....God has been good!

The whole Easter holiday though, strikes me as odd.

My wife and I have had more than one person ask us, "So, what are you (or what is your church) doing for Easter?

I get a puzzled look and think, "I'm doing what I do every Sunday, I'm going to church."

For beleivers, every Sunday is Easter Sunday...because we celebrate the resurrection every Sunday! Heck...every day is Easter day, because I celebrate the risen Savior every day!

Our faith should not be compartmentalized, and put into a package that can be marketed and sold at Wal-mart in a Hallmark card!

So tomorrow, when you wake up to go to work, or to school, or if you are a stay-at-home Mom who is taking care of a family, or if you're retired....you know what scratch all of that....if you know Jesus as your Savior, and you wake up tomorrow...Celebrate Easter tomorrow!

Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave

Grace & the "L" word

Sometimes when I preach, or teach on living the christian life I have been accused of the "L" word: legalism.

Truth is, I beleive it is a fine line that separates grace from legalism. Because of grace, we should be obedient to the instruction we find in the Word, but if obedience out of love turns into nothing more than rules to live by, then legalism creeps in.

I don't recall who said it, but recently I heard (or read) someone say, "Legalism is when we want people to be like us, grace is when we want them to be like Jesus."

I think that's a pretty good definition.

I'm going to close with a song lyric from one of my favorite artists...maybe in my next blog I'll explain why this song means so much to me.

GRACE BY WHICH I STAND
by Keith Green

Lord, the feelings are not the same,
I guess I'm older, I guess I've changed.
And how I wish it had been explained, that as you're growing you must remember,
That nothing lasts, except the grace of God, by which I stand, in Jesus.
I know that I would surely fall away, except for grace, by which I'm saved.
Lord, I remember that special way,
I vowed to serve You, when it was brand new.
But like Peter, I can't even watch and pray, one hour with You,
And I bet, I could deny You too.
But nothing lasts, except the grace of God, by which I stand, in Jesus.
I'm sure that my whole life would waste away, except for grace, by which I'm saved.
But nothing lasts, except the grace of God, by which I stand, in Jesus.
I know that I would surely fall away, except for grace, by which I'm saved.

Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave

Sermons

As I go over my notes for this mornings sermon, I am once again convicted by my own message. It is hard to convey to someone who has not felt compelled by the Lord to prepare a message just what emotions and thoughts you go through in the process

Contrary to popular belief it is not, or should not be, just like preparing for a speech.

This is the Word of God that we are preaching from and about. It has the power to change lives for eternity.

The message this morning has to do with Ephesians 3:1.

Paul writes that he is a prisoner of Jesus. This is not some flip comment from Paul. It is a statement that he repeats at least five other times in his letters.

Being a prisoner is not something I have strived to be. I like my freedom. I like my independence. I like to be able to call the shots in my life. I like to be in charge.

And that is why I need to remember, that I am to be a prisoner of Jesus.

For too long I have be an "escaped convict" of Jesus. I have the prison clothes on. I mingle with the crowd, but something about me causes me to stand out because I don't belong with the crowd. God has called me to be a prisoner.

If anyone happens to read this before I preach this morning, please remember me in your prayers. This is going to be a hard message to preach, but I beleive it is a needed one. I know I need it.

Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave

Downpour

It's late, but I want to post a bit about our first Downpour study at church. We watched the dvd lesson last week, and went over the study this week. I appreciated all of the people who shared.
One person talked about "hasty repentance" and I thought that was so very much how we often repent. It's like we just want to get it out of the way.
Another high point for me was hearing the testimonies of salvation from several differnet people.
Testimonies always get to me.....because it's the grace and mercy of God in action, each and every time. And no matter when, where, or how it happens, it always comes down to realizing our need for Jesus.
Downpour.
It's appropriate.
I'm anticipating not just a downpour, but a flood.
If you're anywhere in the vicinity....come and join us.

Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave

Ok....here we go again!

It's been some time since I have blogged.

If you were to ask me why it has taken so long, I would have to say, I don't really know.

It seems as if the past couple of weeks have been like walking in a spiritual swamp.

Since I have called this blog, "Pastor Dave Lets His Hair Down", please allow me to indulge myself on this post, by sharing some thoughts and feelings I have had over the past couple of weeks.

As a pastor, I wear a lot of hats (teacher, preacher, counselor, administrator, comedian, and a few others). Of all of these, my favorite is when I get to preach. I love to study the Word, pick it apart, dissect it, put it back together, and then share it with the congregation. There is something extra-special when you are preaching the Word of God, and you feel "the connection"! I'm talking about that special moment when you know that you are connecting with the congregation and with the Holy Spirit, and it comes back to you. It is the most awesome of moments, that I cannot even begin to describe to you, and unless you have experienced it yourself, there is no way I can adequately describe it to you.

Having said all that, let me just say that the last couple of weeks in the pulpit I have felt like I was riding a tricycle with one wheel about to come off, or like I was driving a four cylinder car that was only running on three cylinders! I was getting somewhere, but it wasn't working like it was supposed to.

I didn't know what was wrong....but I knew something was wrong.

Now, our church has begun doing the DOWNPOUR study by James MacDonald. As I began to do my daily lesson each day, I began to sense something happening to me. I can only describe it as a "shifting" of sorts spiritually.

Then my wife called me at work, just as I was finishing the last lesson for this week. After talking with her, I went outside in my car and broke down and cried. I can't even tell you why I was crying...I just was. But with the tears there was a cleansing, a washing, a renewing in my heart.

Just as I couldn't tell you what was wrong before, I can't tell you what is "right" now, just that I know it is right, that all is well with my soul.

It's at this point that I'm supposed to tie this all up in a neat little biblical/spiritual package with a couple of handy, dandy verses for future use. Only problem is, I don't have any cute little sayings, or clever, catchy phrases, or any verses to use, either in, or out of context.

So I leave you with this.

It was dark, and it was dry, and it was muddy, and it was mucky.

Then it rained.

And it is now, fresh, and clean, and clear and free.

Please pray for me, as I continue to live this life, one step at a time, following in the footsteps of Jesus.

Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave

Prayer Request Update

Thank you for all your prayers.

The surgery went well, and the doctor believes he got as much of the tumor out as possible.

Henry will still have to go through chemo, and other procedures in order to ensure that the cancer is completely gone, but at this time all parties involved believe that it has been defeated and destroyed.

As I receive further updates throughout the long process of healing I will post them here.

One of the amazing things to see through all of this is the grace that God gave his family as they had to wait for the results of all of this. While we were praying for Henry and his family, his parents lifted our faith when we talked to them by the strength of their faith in God through all of this and by the outpouring of the grace of God that was evident as they shared the details of what was happening as well as the thoughts and emotions they were feeling.

Still praying,
Pastor Dave