Who's In Charge Here?

Yesterday I was reading I Kings chapters 1 thru 4. It's about the death of David and Solomon becoming King. But it's also about one of the biggest mistakes that I think a lot of believers make, myself included.

The book starts our with Adonijah, another son of David, setting himself up as king while David was still alive. In a nutshell, he thought, well, one of David's sons will be king, might as well be me. He met with some of David's spiritual, political and military advisors and friends. They all agreed with him. And so away he went. Planning and moving ahead with his idea of what he should do, what only seemed right to him, and after all, he had the "go-ahead" from some very important people.

Only one little mistake.

He neglected to check with the one who was in charge.

He didn't check with David.

In the end, this mistake would cost him his life.

How different his life might have turned out if he had gone to David first. If he had sought the advice and direction from his father. He then might have had a place in the kingdom, under his brother Solomon and lived a long life.

But he forgot who was in charge.

Don't we do the same thing? We seek counsel from friends, from family, and from our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Don't get me wrong....this is good and we should do this......but......

Don't forget to go to the one who is in charge.

Don't forget to go to God and His Word for the final "say-so".

Al counsel and advice from outside God and His Word needs to match up to what God & His Word says. Even brothers and sisters in Christ can give us wrong/bad advice.

For example, years ago, when my wife and I were experiencing rough times in our marriage, one sister in Christ reccomended to my wife that she leave me. Man, I'm glad my wife listened to the Lord and His Word instead of that sister!

So, the next time we have a decision to make....let's remember to take it to the One who is in charge.

Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave

The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades

Anyone else remember that one hit wonder from the group Timbuk 3?

I thought of that song when I read this in the Word today:

Exodus 34:29-30 (New International Version)
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant...

I thought this was sooooo cool!

Here Moses had spent time with the Lord and people could tell it just by looking at him!

I couldn't help but wonder if that ever happens today. I thought of a few people in our church, and I realized that every time I see them, the love of the Lord shines through them. I'm sure they have their "off" times and "down" times, but every time I see them, I can see the Lord in their face...in their words....in their laugh.

Then I wonder, does anyone see the Lord when they look at me.

Do they see the Lord in me when I am:

Driving down the freeway.
Working on cases at work.
Talking with my children.
Being a customer at a store (where the clerk cares more about talking on the phone to their friends than waiting on the person who ultimately is responsible for paying their salary and allowing them to keep their little minimum wage job!.....ooops....guess we know the answer to that one don't we)

I want people to see the Lord when they look at me.
Not for me. But for Him.

I have received my fair share of compliments and criticisms as a preacher, but one of the ones that has meant the most to me was when someone came up to me afterwards and said, "You know what I enjoy about your sermons? I can tell you have spent time with God."

Wow.

That moved me.

But as a preacher that should be the norm for every message I preach.

But is it the norm for me once I leave the pulpit and walk out the church doors?

I don't know. But I do know that I am going to strive for that.

Exodus 34:29-30 (New International Version)
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant...

How cool is that!

Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave

Happy Mothers Day

Wow....it's been over a month since I posted a blog!

I wonder if anyone will even read this one, considering it has been so long.

I have a lot of reasons why I have gone so long.

Here's a partial list:

Not enough time; felt like I had nothing to say; didn't think it made any difference anyway; and on and on and on.

But the biggest reason when I faced it today was this.

My daughter.

My oldest daughter that my wife and I have.

My oldest daughter that is in the middle of rebellion against God.

My oldest daughter that is in the middle of rebellion against God and had me feeling like a complete failure as a Dad, christian, and a human being.

But today, on Mothers Day, I thought about my Mom in the middle of my sermon this morning.

While preaching the "traditional" Mothers Day message (which if you don't know me, is unusual in itself), I thought of what my Mom must have thought all during my years of rebellion. You see my Mom went to be with the Lord 13 years ago. She never got to see my youngest child (he was born the day after she passed away), and she never saw me become the pastor of the biggest little church there ever was (Loma Rica Baptist Church). She never saw just what all her years of prayer and commitment to the Lord finally brought about in her oldest son.

I told the church this morning, "When you pray to God, ask Him to tell your Mom, "I love you." Ask Him to tell her, "Yes, it took. I know you must have wondered, but the commitment I made to Jesus was real. I'm living for Jesus now. Thanks for praying for me all those years."

So, I will not focus on what I often think of as my failure in the life of my daughter. I wondered away from God and spent a good ten years in the wilderness before I crossed over into the promised land of a life lived for Jesus.

I don't know how long my daughter will be where she is.

But I do know that God answers prayers.

I will keep praying for her.

I will never stop praying for her.

And I will focus on Jesus and what He has done for me.

In the process, I just might blog a bit more.

If anyone is reading this blog still....let me know what you think.

Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave

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