If/Then

In our lives, we are often living in a constant state of If/then. When I was young, I remember hearing that as a way of understanding that sometimes we need to do something in order to get something. It is a natural state of being.

Computer programming often operates on that principle or construct. I remember using it in the very infancy stages of computer classes and in math class. You could call it a flow chart or even a way of understanding how things happen in progression.

Think about it for just a moment and think about how often you have operated by the If/then statements of life?

If you do your homework, then you may go outside. If you do your homework, then you may get good grades.

I remember hearing as a teenager: If you clear the driveway, I will buy the gas for your shoveling business. If you cut the grass, I will buy the gas for your lawn mowing jobs. If you wash the car once a week, you can drive the car. These are the blessings.

The If/then principle, as I call it, is not always positive. How many times have we “encouraged” our children to brush their teeth by saying, “If you DON’T brush your teeth, then your teeth will get cavities, have to get fillings and Novocain, and you won’t be a happy camper?” These are often the curses.

For some reason, however, I think we forget that we must often do things in order to reap the benefits. This is not always true, don’t get me wrong. But often times we seem to think that things just automatically happen. I say this – because I think that we have a misconception about being a Christian. We think that once we’ve acted upon this decision to be a follower of Christ, then its easy street for me.

This is not always the case. In fact, it is rarely the case. In order for us to reap the benefit of having a life transformed relationship, we must sow a little too. We must read, we must pray, we must follow, and we must diligently observe all that God has given us.

This week, as I was flipping through the scriptures, I came across the blessings and the curses of Deuteronomy. I won’t go through the curses this afternoon, but what I found to be quite powerful was the way in which we can receive a blessing.

You can’t say it any other way. If you follow the Lord, you will be blessed.

1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. Deuteronomy 28:1-6.

Now before you get upset with me, I know that sometimes God chooses to bless us just for the sake of blessing. That is the true nature of grace. But sometimes, we need to give a little in order to get a little, we need to plant in order to reap, and we need to love in order to be loved.

I hope that you will do that. If you do, you will truly be blessed.

This week, we continue our series on Discovery Church with the sermon on Man vs. Wild. I look forward to seeing you this week.

Please pray for me, and know that I am praying for you.
Greg

Remembering to Remember

Do you remember where you were and what you were doing seven years ago this week? Chances are very good that you do.

I probably didn’t pay attention very well in psychology class, but there is a reason that we remember events and associate them with other things. Sometimes we can’t remember what we had for breakfast, but chances increase that you will remember if something significant happened. We remember dates and times, what we were doing, and what we were eating, when something significant happens.

Upon this reading, or even moving into this week, you may not have remembered that we were quickly approaching September 11th - how quickly we forget. But as you hear the stories on the news and have the images replayed throughout the week – you begin to remember.

I remember being in North Carolina. We were actually planning to return to Pennsylvania after being on vacation the morning of the 11th, but decided wisely to change our plans. We watched silently that day as the news continued to come in about the days events.

No doubt that you will be remembering a lot this week. We not only need to remember, but we should not forget. Those words to me are not a rallying cry, but a call for us to remember in prayer the lives lost and the ways that our lives have been changed forever due to the unfortunate events. We also need to remember to pray, for our nation is no better today, no safer, than it was just a little more than 7 years ago.

I’ve been reading Psalm 42 this morning as I have been remembering. I am hoping that you will take some time to read it. I’m not going to print it here – but ask that you go, read, and remember. Turn to God in the midst of that reading and remember to pray for our nation.

“Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God” Psalm 42: 11b.

This week we will be continuing our Discovery Church series with Bone Detectives. I hope that you will join us and even invite a friend to discover just a little about how God restores us to life. It is a good opportunity to reach out and remember that we are not the only ones who need restoration this week. I look forward to seeing you.

Please pray for me, and know that I am praying for you.
Greg

Happy Anniversary

Today is my parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad and may you have many more in the seasons of life that God ordained. We love you!

Calming the Storm

I know someone who likes the saying, “Into every life, a little rain must fall.” It was often said in response to something happening or something going wrong. I can’t find any references to who said it first, but I know that if I was eight years old, the person to whom I am referring probably would have taken credit.

I think that I heard that saying back in 1996. I was married for about 2 weeks, when Tracy and I encountered our first hurricane. We were living in a basement apartment when Hurricane Fran unleashed herself on us in Durham, North Carolina. We didn’t have a large pine tree shatter our living room like a neighbor, but we did have about 4 inches of water in our basement apartment the morning we stepped out of bed following the storm.

“Into every life,” is probably not what the people of the Gulf Coast wanted to hear over the past few days. They’ve had their share of rain over the past years. I heard one person note on the news that they would have been finished with their repairs from Katrina sometime this week, had it not been for this latest storm.

You’ve probably heard or read the story about Jesus calming the storm. The Bible retells several times that Jesus was out on a boat with his disciples when a storm arose. The disciples were terrified by it, and yet Jesus was sleeping. The storm was so great in one telling, that the boat was taking on water. When Jesus awakes, he calms the storm. He rebuked the wind and the raging waters and the storm subsided.

I’m sure that I am not the only one using this passage today in reference to the latest storm in the Gulf Coast. I’m also sure that I will not be the only one to offer reasons for the storm. I probably stand with some, and differ with others.

Hurricane Gustov battered the Gulf Coast this weekend. While the storm still raged, I believe that God was able to calm the storm even as it rained. I also believe that God still stands able to calm the storms that we experience. As I prayed in the midst of Hurricane Fran, it certainly didn’t go away, but I do believe that our fears were calmed and our lives were protected. I am also sure that the same is true today for those who experience the storm in the Gulf this past weekend.

Yes, into every life some rain will fall, but I believe that the God of the storm is present with us, and has the power to calm our fears and protect us in the midst of the rain.

Let’s continue to pray for those who have been living in the midst of the storms this season. This is not the last one for the season!

O God, you divided the waters of chaos at creation. In Christ you stilled storms, raised the dead, and vanquished demonic powers. Tame the earthquake, wind, and fire, and all the forces that defy control or shock us by their fury. Help us, in good times and in distress, to trust your mercy and yield to your power, this day and for ever. Amen (Andy Langford, UMBOW, p. 509).

Please pray for me, and know that I am praying for you.
Greg