pastor jason pettus

Reality and Respone

2008-07-25T13:48:00.001-07:00

In life there is a constant reality that demands a response. There is always something that is and then what is must be followed by a response.

This morning Asher and I were enjoying a game of chase through the house. He was laughing and squealing, as he often does when anybody chases him, and he turned to make sure I was actually chasing him. Sometimes I'll break off the chase to go the other direction so I can pick him up and tickle him only to let him go so we can start the chase again. This morning when he looked back to see if I was still chasing, he veered to the right toward the dining room and when he turned around the front of his head met a wooden column that was there. It was a knock out.

As I picked him up off of the ground, I expected two responses. 1. Asher would cry. 2. Everybody else in the family would come and inquire as to why Asher was crying. Both of my expectations were met.

There was a reality followed by responses.

If Asher began crying right now, which he wouldn't because he's on his fat belly playing with cars at my feet, or if people in my house came and began to inquire about Asher's crying, which they wouldn't because he's not. But if those two things started happening right now that would not create the reality of Asher striking his head and beginning to cry.

Why? Because reality comes first and then comes the response.

So it is in Christ.

Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

For those in Christ the reality is "we have been justified through faith," and this reality creates a response. The response is "we have peace with God" and now "we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." Not only do we rejoice in that, "but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us".

What a blessing! We have peace with God and rejoice in Him. That joy exists even in suffering, which produces perseverance. When the reality is that we are those who persevere, we gain character. When the reality is that we are people of character, we gain hope. The hope that comes from the reality of being one who has character, which comes from the reality of persevering, which comes from the reality of being able to rejoice in suffering, which comes from being justified by faith, that hope does not disappoint.

And why do we have this response? "(B)ecause God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Having hope, character, perseverance, and joy does not create the reality of being justified through faith in Christ. It does not create the reality of God's love in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is only after we have been justified through faith in Christ that the responses take place in our life. Our responses cannot make us right with God.

So the question is: what is your reality? Your responses to life will tell you.

What We Think Helps Can Hurt

2008-07-23T06:20:00.000-07:00

Abraham Lincoln' young son Willie died on Thursday, February 20, 1862 at 5 P.M. at the age of eleven in the White House. At the time of his death Washington D.C. was filled with tens of thousands of soldiers who were there to protect the capital from a potential Confederate attack. Sanitary conditions being what they were caused the water to become contaminated. The sickness that caused Willie's death is believed to have been caused by the water he drank.

It is ironic and sad that the condition created to provide Willie and his family safety is what caused his death. What his father believed was the best position to provide for his boy led to an illness that took his life.

What kinds of things do we allow in our lives that we believe protect us, but actually cause sickness in our minds, souls, and bodies?

I am not speaking here of an ecological reality, although there is plenty to be said about our need to provide clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment. I am thinking about the things that we seek or allow in our lives that we perceive as good or ultimate things that are beneficial, but can be causing a sickness in us. I am thinking about material things, emotional things, or activities like sports, work, or hobbies. These are all good and necessary things, but they can create an unhealthy life.

For instance how many people lose their health or important relationships trying to pay for a house, a car, or something material? How many people lose their marriage trying to prove themselves in the business sector or in some other way? They are looking for emotional encouragement, but in the pursuit of it they sacrifice the people they love and genuinely need and who need them. How many parents rob their children of childhood by making them semi-pro athletes, musicians or academicians? Sports, the arts, and education are good things, but at what point can they become detrimental to a child's mental, spiritual, and emotional life.

Willie died because he was in a position that looked "safe", but in reality caused a sickness that killed him. Are you creating an environment for your life with good things that will cause harm rather than make it safer or better?

I Want to Know Where I Stand

2008-07-17T05:14:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday was a special day. God in His goodness and mercy chose to move in a marvelous way and bring several to a place of assurance in their salvation. After everyone of our three services, I had the privilege to talk with a person about their standing in Christ. Many of them were already redeemed in Christ, but uncertain of it.

Over and over again I sought to help people merely seek and receive what Jesus had already given them or wanted to give them.

Over and over again people would ask, "but how can I know for certain that what you explained is true in me?"

I simply told them to look to Christ and trust in Him. In so doing He would reveal their standing over time and give them His rest.

In my devotion this morning C.H. Spurgeon said it like this.

“Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.”

— 1 Thessalonians 1:4

Many persons want to know their election before they look to Christ, but they cannot learn it thus, it is only to be discovered by “looking unto Jesus.” If you desire to ascertain your own election;—after the following manner, shall you assure your heart before God. Do you feel yourself to be a lost, guilty sinner? go straightway to the cross of Christ, and tell Jesus so, and tell him that you have read in the Bible, “Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.” Tell him that he has said, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Look to Jesus and believe on him, and you shall make proof of your election directly, for so surely as thou believest, thou art elect. If you will give yourself wholly up to Christ and trust him, then you are one of God’s chosen ones; but if you stop and say, “I want to know first whether I am elect,” you ask you know not what. Go to Jesus, be you never so guilty, just as you are. Leave all curious inquiry about election alone. Go straight to Christ and hide in his wounds, and you shall know your election. The assurance of the Holy Spirit shall be given to you, so that you shall be able to say, “I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him.” Christ was at the everlasting council: he can tell you whether you were chosen or not; but you cannot find it out in any other way. Go and put your trust in him, and his answer will be—“I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” There will be no doubt about his having chosen you, when you have chosen him.

“Sons we are through God’s election,

Who in Jesus Christ believe.”

C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening : Daily Readings (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995), July 17 AM.

This concept of election is not an easy one. D.A. Carson says in his devotion that we read togeher as a congregation last year that human responsibility and divine sovereignty (which includes God's electing power) are compatible. Here is how he describes it in referencing the death of Christ. He explains that the death of Jesus was God's plan before the creation of the world, but that people had to choose to put Him to death. Those who put Him to death are responsible even though God in His sovereignty destined the death of Jesus.

Carson writes:

God’s sovereignty over the death of Christ does not mitigate the guilt of the human conspirators. On the other hand, the malice of their conspiracy has not caught God flat-footed, as if he had not foreseen the cross, much less planned it. The text plainly insists that God’s sovereignty is not mitigated by human actions, and human guilt is not exculpated by appeal to divine sovereignty. This duality is sometimes called compatibilism: God’s utter sovereignty and human moral responsibility are compatible. Complex issues are involved, but there can be no serious doubt that this stance is either taught or presupposed by the biblical writers.. If Jesus died solely as a result of human conspiracy, and not by the design and purpose of God, it is difficult to see how his death can be the long-planned divine response to our desperate need. If God’s sovereignty over Jesus’ death means that the human perpetrators are thereby exonerated, should this not also be true wherever God is sovereign? And then where is the sin that needs to be paid for by Jesus’ death? The integrity of the Gospel hangs on that element of Christian theism called compatibilism.

D. A. Carson, For the Love of God : A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God's Word. Volume 1 (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1998), July 17.

This whole idea of election and human responsibility came to be true and reasonable to me my second year in college when I read C.H. Spurgeon's sermon "Election." Click on the word and you can read the entire sermon.

Here is the section of the sermon that hammered the nail in my theological coffin regarding the sovereignty of God and human responsibility.
But there are some who say, "It is hard for God to choose some and leave others." Now, I will ask you one question. Is there any of you here this morning who wishes to be holy, who wishes to be regenerate, to leave off sin and walk in holiness? "Yes, there is," says some one, "I do." Then God has elected you. But another says, "No; I don't want to be holy; I don't want to give up my lusts and my vices." Why should you grumble, then, that God has not elected you to it? For if you were elected you would not like it, according to your own confession. If God this morning had chosen you to holiness, you say you would not care for it. Do you not acknowledge that you prefer drunkenness to sobriety, dishonesty to honesty? You love this world's pleasures better than religion; then why should you grumble that God has not chosen you to religion? If you love religion, he has chosen you to it. If you desire it, he has chosen you to it. If you do not, what right have you to say that God ought to have given you what you do not wish for? Supposing I had in my hand something which you do not value, and I said I shall give it to such-and-such a person, you would have no right to grumble that I did not give to you. You could not be so foolish as to grumble that the other has got what you do not care about. According to your own confession, many of you do not want religion, do not want a new heart and a right spirit, do not want the forgiveness of sins, do not want sanctification; you do not want to be elected to these things: then why should you grumble? You count these things but as husks, and why should you complain of God who has given them to those whom he has chosen? If you believe them to be good and desire them, they are there for thee. God gives liberally to all those who desire; and first of all, he makes them desire, otherwise they never would. If you love these things, he has elected you to them, and you may have them; but if you do not, who are you that you should find fault with God, when it is your own desperate will that keeps you from loving these things—your own simple self that makes you hate them?

One man in particular stands out in my mind who talked with me Sunday. He explained that he felt terrible about his sin and was not sure about his salvation because he seemed to like sin so much. I asked him if he wanted to be free of it. He said, "more than anything." I told him that the desire to be free of sin is supernatural. This desire to be free of sin is a gift God had given him in the process of his salvation. It is a gift God gives to all followers of Jesus. I also explained that having received grace and God's indwelling Spirit, sin would be found in him less and less and one day God would restore the world and we (all who are in Christ) would live sin-free in a sinless new world where God dwells with man - heaven (Revelation 21).

Talked with My Pastor

2008-07-14T06:19:00.000-07:00

Last week I received a huge lift. I got to spend almost an hour talking with my pastor. My pastor is Brother Bob Mowery (Bro. Bob). He served as the senior pastor of Park Avenue Baptist Church for 35 years. He is a man of great integrity and wisdom. It is dumbfounding to me that he served a single church for the same amount of time that I have lived on this earth. That is amazing.

I had the opportunity to share some of the challenges I have faced as a leader and listen to him share story after story of how he had faced similar situations. He share both his victories and his failures and in the process gave me hope.

There is one thing that I will pass on to you. One of the things he said last week that I heard him say several times in sermons over the years is, "One hundred years from now the only thing that will matter is where we stand with Jesus." What a wonderful and true perspective.

I know I tend to get worried and caught up in many things that seem important, but really in the grand scheme of things aren't.

I am going to take Bro. Bob's advise and regularly ask myself this simple question: "One hundred years from now will this (whatever this may be) really matter?" If not, don't get too bent out of shape about it.

The Bible teaches the same thing:
Philippians 3:20-4:1 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. 1Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
Matthew 6:33-34 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Blessed

2008-07-12T14:26:00.001-07:00

I am truly blessed by God. We had family pictures yesterday. I am overwhelmed with the precious family my God has given me.

Here are some of my favorites.

But I am also reminded that the world is a fallen sinful place because I got eaten up by chiggers, while we were getting these pictures made. It is my hope that there are no chiggers in heaven. Until I am convinced otherwise it is my firm belief that chiggers are a part of the curse upon our world that makes the earth groan for the return of Christ.

Talk Can Be Cheap

2008-07-11T06:24:00.000-07:00

The actions of our lives and the attitudes of our hearts are of greater value and importance than the words we speak. It is one thing to say something truthful and affirming about the greatness of God and the worth of people, but it something all together different to live in a way consistent with the words.

God gets frustrated with people who are "all talk."

Through the prophet Jeremiah God told the people going to the temple to worship to stop talking about their faith and start living it. These people would in essence go to church, but their religious activity didn't impact their true beliefs. Their behavior proved that the did not truly believe. So God told Jeremiah to “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message: “ ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. 3This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!”(Jeremiah 7:2-4).

These people talked a big game, but they didn't live it.

In Jesus' day the same thing was happening. The religious leaders knew the prophecies and the stories about the power of God, but lived as though they weren't true. They could teach the Pentateuch frontwards and backwards and follow "their" rules like nobody's business, but they didn't obey the Father.

Jesus explains with an extraordinary story and striking statement that the most sinful people of the day were ahead of these religious leaders.

Matthew 21:28-32 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 29“ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. 31“Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

The "sinners" at first said, "no thanks God, I'm good." But then changed their minds and sought to honor the will of the Father. The "religious" said, "Yes, Lord. Amen. Praise and Glory!" But they never actually obeyed and loved God and people.

In our day and in our nation we have Christian bookstores, Christian radio, Christian television, and churches all over the place and yet my own denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, actually declined in influence this year. The light is getting dim and the darkness is on the move. There are many who claim Christ, but what is the impact.

Is the ministry of Jeremiah and the story of Jesus something for the church today?

Pray for Us

2008-07-07T07:27:00.000-07:00

1 Thessalonians 5:25 "Brothers, pray for us."

I read this during my devotion time this morning and felt compelled to again ask for your prayers. There is nothing wrong. So many times the only time someone asks you to pray for them is when something is wrong. That's not the case today.

Well there is nothing in particular wrong. There is a great deal that is wrong. The devil is at work seeking to destroy lives, families, and the church. People are suffering from sin and sickness. Society is being contaminated with pornography, rage, greed, lust, and hate. Billions are living without Christ and face an eternity separated from the love of God.

There is a lot wrong, but these are the same things that have been wrong since the fall.

I would simply ask that you pray for me - a young pastor. Pray that I will maintain my spiritual fervor. Pray that I will love and lead my wife and children and serve them as Christ serves the church. Pray that I will lead our congregation as a good shepherd. Pray that God's Spirit will inspire and enable my preaching. Pray that I will lead as Jesus leads. Pray that I will not work in the flesh, but in a spirit of prayer. Pray that I will not allow the time I need to give to prayer to be pushed out by other important needs.

Pray for me. C.H. Spurgeon in his devotion for today explains why in more detail.

This one morning in the year we reserved to refresh the reader’s memory upon the subject of prayer for ministers, and we do most earnestly implore every Christian household to grant the fervent request of the text first uttered by an apostle and now repeated by us. Brethren, our work is solemnly momentous, involving weal or woe to thousands; we treat with souls for God on eternal business, and our word is either a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death. A very heavy responsibility rests upon us, and it will be no small mercy if at the last we be found clear of the blood of all men. As officers in Christ’s army, we are the especial mark of the enmity of men and devils; they watch for our halting, and labour to take us by the heels. Our sacred calling involves us in temptations from which you are exempt, above all it too often draws us away from our personal enjoyment of truth into a ministerial and official consideration of it. We meet with many knotty cases, and our wits are at a non plus; we observe very sad backslidings, and our hearts are wounded; we see millions perishing, and our spirits sink. We wish to profit you by our preaching; we desire to be blest to your children; we long to be useful both to saints and sinners; therefore, dear friends, intercede for us with our God. Miserable men are we if we miss the aid of your prayers, but happy are we if we live in your supplications. You do not look to us but to our Master for spiritual blessings, and yet how many times has He given those blessings through His ministers; ask then, again and again, that we may be the earthen vessels into which the Lord may put the treasure of the gospel. We, the whole company of missionaries, ministers, city missionaries, and students, do in the name of Jesus beseech you

C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening : Daily Readings (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995), July 7 AM.

The American Dream

2008-07-04T05:58:00.000-07:00

What is your dream? In America we have the freedom to pursue whatever it is we desire. The question is can we discipline ourselves to desire what is best? There is nothing you can't acquire with hard work, but what is truly worth your life's effort?

I read this today and it struck me that this couple experienced a joy few know. They disciplined themselves and desired something, but then sacrificed it for something better and God blessed it.

Martha Scarborough celebrated Independence Day, July 4, 1870, by giving birth to a son, Lee. When the boy was eight, Martha and her husband George, a part-time Baptist preacher, moved to Texas to raise cattle and share Christ. A dugout shelter first served as home, then a log cabin near Clear Fork Creek. George and Martha dreamed of a beautiful house atop a nearby hill. They saved frugally, but times were lean, and years passed before they accumulated enough to proceed with the long-discussed house. Lee, meanwhile, grew into a brawny 16-year-old cowboy.

One day, their work behind them, George said to Martha, “Let’s go up the hill and select a suitable place for the home. We have saved money for that purpose, so we had as well begin plans to build.” Arm in arm, the couple strolled to the grassy crest of the hill behind their cabin. This was a moment long anticipated. At the top of the hill, he said, “Here is the place. This is the most suitable location we can find.” But Martha turned toward him, her eyes filling with tears. “My dear,” she said, “I do appreciate your desire to build me a new, comfortable home on this place of beauty, but there is another call for our money which is far greater. Let’s live on in the old house and put this money in the head and heart of our boy. I fear that if we use this money to build a home we shall never be able to send Lee to college. I would rather a thousand times that we should never build this house if we can invest the money in our boy.”

George was disappointed, and he said little for several days. Finally one evening past midnight he yielded. The house was never built, but Lee Scarborough left home on January 8, 1888, for Baylor College in Waco, Texas. He eventually became a powerhouse for Christ, a Southern Baptist leader, a writer, a seminary president, a pastor, an evangelist, and a business leader who built colleges, seminaries, churches, hospitals, and mission stations around the world.

Robert J. Morgan, On This Day : 265 Amazing and Inspiring Stories About Saints, Martyrs & Heroes, electronic ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000, c1997), July 4.

Camp with Our Kids

2008-07-03T05:15:00.000-07:00

I just got back from being at camp with 200 of our middle school and high school students. These kids are having a blast. I absolutely love camp. It is one of the things I miss about being a youth pastor.

Our staff has done an outstanding job. Jeff Armstrong, Cory Hammett, and Bryan Lewis have worked hard to make this camp amazing and it shows. The adult volunteers are doing a great job as well. Their presence in these kids lives is huge.

I am so thankful God brought Jeff here and has called Bryan to serve from within our congregation. I am terribly sad to see Cory headed back to Knoxville, but I know God is going to bless and use him there. Cory is an outstanding man and that guy you can hang with. Cory can keep it real. Thank you for your service Cory. We will always remember you and honor your name.

The students are at Cedarmore Camp and Conference Center. It is a great facility. The staff there is top notch. It's very clean. The food is amazing. The camp leader "T" is too cool. The camp pastor "J" is bringing some great messages. I'm not sure if everybody goes by an initial there, but I like it.

Camp with church is a big deal. I cannot imagine my children missing this experience. It's just one of those special times that prepares someone for a life of faithfulness to God.

There are some things about camp that I think are worth noting. Here are the facts and the fiction about camp.

Fact #1: Camp is fun. Granted, some kids like the outdoors and some kids don't, but camp is fun for everybody. You get to hang with new and old friends all of the time. You get to swim and swing on a wire above or get blasted into the air and land into crisp cold water. There is horseback riding, drama classes, art classes, field games, basketball (Nathan Riley scored 8 points on me like it was nothing), mountain biking, and the list goes on and on.

Fact #2: Camp is life-changing. The Bible studies and large group worship times give students a perspective on the faith that prepares them for life. They gain this perspective with peers and discuss what they are learning with them and other leaders. This makes them friends for life. Some of my best friends are people I went to camp with. Camp builds a strong faith and friendships.

Fact #3: Camp is unique. What makes camp so special is that it is unlike anything else a kid will do the rest of the year. Where and when else will they get away to focus on God with friends and Godly leaders and participate in this much non-stop activity? There is nothing like it and a kid won't forget it. I can recall all the camps I've been to because it is a unique experience.

There is one thing about camp that is not a fact.

A piece of fiction: Camp won't fix a kid. The only way a human heart can be healed and a life made right is with the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can bring light into darkness. Only Jesus can give a life purpose and peace. It is love and forgiveness that we all need. And when we get it, we get life.

What camp and for that matter church, small groups, and youth activities do is put kids in a place to be exposed to Jesus in a way they can understand and receive Him. The most important thing a parent can do is expose their child to Jesus. They must do it first at home. Mom and dad must make their child a disciple (Deuteronomy 6:1-9), but the church can help.

My advice is to train your child in Scripture and get them involved in church. They may be resistant at times. Remember that you send your child to school, the doctor, and a multitude of other places because it is best for them. Getting them involved in the student ministry is best for them. They will find friends and build an enduring faith. It may take time, but they will. And they will have fun doing it.

You'll Always Do Well If...

2008-06-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

I do not like to disappoint people. Everyday I seek to serve my Lord and my people with all I am. Honestly, from time to time I fail them. I say or do something wrong. I do or don't do something I should or not well. And I really like to do things well. We all do. There is not a person who doesn't want to succeed in helping others. Serving others well is the ultimate joy. It is what life is all about - loving God and loving people and serving both with all you are.

But, as I said, it is impossible to always do that with your gifts and abilities. There is something that never fails. There is something that is always beneficial. God has given us something that we can give and serve others with that will always provide what they need.

What is it? It's LOVE!

"Oh, come on," I hear someone moan. "Are you serious? Of course you love people, but surely there is something better we can give. Maybe a formula or a fifty dollar bill would be better?"

I don't think so.

Please understand that when I say that love is the greatest thing you can give I am not saying that you are offering an emotion. Love is bigger and better than our limited emotional capacity. It is a thought, a feeling, and an action.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails.

"Love is patient"- it gives people time.

"Love is kind" - it gives people care.

"Love does not envy" - it celebrates others.

"Love does not boast" - it does not make others feel small.

"Love is not proud" - it is humble.

"Love is not rude" - it gives people respect.

"Love is not self-seeking" - it looks to the needs of others.

"Love is not easily angered" - it gives people the benefit of the doubt.

"Love keeps no records of wrongs" - it truly forgives.

"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth" - it seeks what is best.

"Love always protects" - it defends others.

"Love always trusts" - it looks to the best in others.

"Love always hopes" - it always gives people a reason to go forward.

"Love always perseveres" - it does not quit.

"Love never fails" - it always wins.

My goal is to make sure that every person I encounter knows somehow that God loves them and that I love them.

Spurgeon’s Brilliance and the Danger of Religious Pride

2008-06-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

Charles Spurgeon is one of my heroes. I read his biography by Arnold A. Dallimore the summer I graduated from high school.

Look at how he takes this verse, that could easily be read over and missed, and applies it to our faith.

“Ephraim is a cake not turned.” Hosea 7:8

A cake not turned is soon burnt on the side nearest the fire, and although no man can have too much religion, there are some who seem burnt black with bigoted zeal for that part of truth which they have received, or are charred to a cinder with a vainglorious Pharisaic ostentation of those religious performances which suit their humour. The assumed appearance of superior sanctity frequently accompanies a total absence of all vital godliness. The saint in public is a devil in private. He deals in flour by day and in soot by night. The cake which is burned on one side, is dough on the other.^{^[1]}

The man was insightful. Now consider his insight and see what it might have to say to your life.

There is an old saying. “A little bit of information is a dangerous thing.” There have been times early in my ministry and walk with God, when I was so sure I was right and others were so wrong. I was so proud of what I knew and so disgusted with what I considered ignorance in others.

In some instances my belief was right, but my attitude was wrong. The sin of pride was worse than the misunderstanding of others. God showed me that orthodoxy is not enough. It is not enough to merely know the truth.

If we do not truly love God and people, we are in sin. If we are not constantly humbled by the greatness of God and His grace, we really have no understanding at all.

Our faith must be consistent on the outside and the inside or it is of no use. Like a cake that is only cooked on one side, it will be burnt and bitter and at the same time undone and dangerous.

Let God cook both the inside and outside of your life so that it is balanced in love and truth. We must not allow ourselves to be "one note believers." These are believers who get hung up on one point of doctrine or a faith concept and focus on it at the expense of grace and love. Get excited about the truth God allows you to see, but be humbled by it and pray that God will allow it to grow you into a more faithful servant. Don't let it make you proud and judgmental.

^{^[1]}C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening : Daily Readings (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995), June 23 AM.

Why I Can’t Get Enough "Jon and Kate Plus 8"

2008-06-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

This TV show is a big hit with me and my family. I believe we have watched every single episode. We have watched a couple of them multiple times. This week my entire family gathered in tiny room with a tiny TV (we’re on vacation and Asher the 18 month old was in the main room on the big TV watching “Toy Story” – he loves it) and we watched the latest episode together.

So why am I hooked? I am a man after all. And usually dudes don’t dig this kind of show. So am I getting girly or is there something else? I think something else.

One, my entire family watches it. It is rated 'G' and so my kids can watch it. We all get together and we watch and we laugh. We laugh, when the kids cry. We laugh, when they throw up because their mad. We laugh, as the parents fight. We laugh and we talk. Our kids ask us if they acted like that and we discuss parenting and marriage philosophy - with our children.

Two, it makes me respect and appreciate my wife even more. We don’t have 8, but we have 3 and one is a baby and he’s huge and he’s stubborn. My wife is very organized and keeps our home running well. She is also a pastor’s wife. That fact alone can make some wives crazy, but she is cool with it. Our home and lives run smoothly because of her. We get through sickness, bills, and brawls and then to bed on time having been fed and provided clean clothes, a clean home, and a hug.

Three, it gives perspective. Everyone is crazy. This family is crazy and so is ours and so is yours to some degree. We all are just crazy at different levels and at different times. This show makes our crazy times seem normal and they are. Sometimes things get crazy and you think you are the only family in the world that is crazy. We’re all a little nuts. One thing my wife and I decided early on in our marriage was that only one person was allowed to be crazy at a time. When we are both crazy, we just shut down the shop and reorganize.

Four, it gives me a better appreciation for my children and the struggle of infertility that so many people struggle through. I have my opinions on the issue and I’m sure you have yours, but at the end of the day there are a lot of couples who want to be mommies and daddies who don’t get that chance the old fashioned way. It is good to know that God is sovereign and that through adoption and other means God brings children into hopefully Christian homes where they are raised on Jesus, the Bible, and the Gospel.

I would encourage you to check out the show and see what it does for you.

‘Cause The Bible Tells Me So

2008-06-18T05:43:00.000-07:00

For although all of Scripture is true and important, deserving study, reflection, and carefully applied thought, the Lord God in his wisdom did not give us a Bible of abstract principles, but highly diverse texts woven into highly diverse situations. Despite the diversity, of course, there is still only one sweeping storyline, and only one Mind ultimately behind it. But the rich tapestry of varied human experience reflected in the different biblical books and passages—not least in the different psalms—enables the Bible to speak to us with peculiar force and power when the “fit” between the experience of the human author and our experience is especially intimate.^{^[1]}

The Bible is an amazing gift of God. It speaks to every situation in life and yet provides the fundamental hope of all humanity.

When I say it speaks to every situation in life, I mean that in principle of course. The difficult situations I am facing in my life right now are not recorded in exact representation in the Bible, but there are similar situations where a child of God is challenged and God reveals His character and will. The Biblical situation reveals standards and concepts that guide me in my decision making.

Not only does the Bible help in everyday decisions, it also provides the eternal peace of God. From the first creation recorded in Genesis to the new creation recorded in Revelation the hope of God’s unconditional love is shown and His plan and desire for individuals to find rest in Him is revealed.

From the fall of our ancestors to the rising of the saints we see God willing to cover our sins and bring relational harmony between creature and Creator. In the initial fall our first parents brought death into the world, but God did not abandon them in their sin. He provided a blood sacrifice and covered their nakedness. There were consequences to their actions, but God in His love gave grace. He does that today for all who will trust and believe that Christ is God and came to be the sacrifice for the sin of God’s chosen children. In the end all who trust in Jesus will be covered and their shame will not be revealed. They will walk humbly with God and die peacefully in His mercy.

What an awesome God! What an amazing Word!

^{^[1]}D. A. Carson, For the Love of God : A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God's Word. Volume 1 (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1998), June 16.

Children - My Greatest Source of Theological Education

2008-06-10T05:26:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love love love my three children. Each one of them is unique, and yet there is also in each one something distinctly Pettus.

My children are so much of what makes my life blessed. One of the crucial components they impart to me is a better understanding of God, my Heavenly Father, and what He's attempting to do in my life.

Matthew 7:9 “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?"
My children never hesitate to ask me for what they need. Right now my 18 month old son, Asher, is patting me on the back. Just a second ago he pulled my arm away from my computer (he's strong) and handed me his Toy Story wind up toy and insisted that I wind it up. I did. He smiled and is now patting me. Well, he just dropped it on the cat and is running away. But the point is he didn't hesitate to ask. He knows that as His father, I will help him when he asks.
This is how I can relate to God. I know I can go to Him and seek His help and will receive it every time. He may so "no" or "not yet", but even then it is for His good purpose.

Deuteronomy 10:15 Yet the Lord set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today.
What Asher and my other two children, Mackenzie and Jackson, have is a quiet confidence. This confidence comes from the fact that they never asked me to love them and to make them my own. They know instinctively that I chose them to be my children and I have proven my love for them from the first second they ever saw me. They didn't ask to be Pettus kids. My wife and I decided we wanted them and brought them into the world.
We didn't choose them because of their moral superiority or because of what they would accomplish in our name. We chose to love them and have them because of our desire to have them and love them.
This is what God has done for me. He chose me, as He did the children of Israel. There was nothing in me or Israel that made us worth choosing. God in His grace and sovereignty just chose to have me as His own and love me. This gives me confidence. I can approach God at any time, as my Father, and I can live my life knowing that no matter what God loves me and has made me His own.

Hebrews 12:5-6 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” We are about to begin to discipline Asher. He is now coming to the age when he understands right from wrong and is willingly disobeying us. He will be given limitations like time out and in time a spanking on the hand or bottom. We disciplined his siblings the same way. What has been amazing to us is how much we had to discipline them from ages two to four and now so sparingly. They have learned that life is better when they obey.
God, my Father, has disciplined me. He still is disciplining me. I am not as fast a learner as my children, but I have figured out that life is better when I obey Him. He disciplines me because He loves me. I want my kids to be healthy discerning adults and so I train them to do what is right. When they choose to do wrong, I discipline them.
God does the same thing with me. The big difference is that I, as a father, make mistakes sometimes. God never does.

For these reasons and so many more that I have no space to list here I appreciate my kids and love my God.

What If...

2008-06-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

What if we lived this out every moment of everyday? Wow!

Deuteronomy 10:12-22 what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the Lord set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today. Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. Your forefathers who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Track or Treadmill

2008-06-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

For those keeping up, I did it! This morning I rode the bike and then ran 6 laps - 7.5 miles - and I didn't cheat or stumble. I almost threw up and my runner's bliss turned into a nightmare, but I did it.

Here's what I learned. I can't do anymore than 6 laps. I might be able to go a little faster, but I do not have the time to do more. And let's face it I'm built for comfort not for speed. I actually went over time this morning, but I believe I can pick up my pace and get back within my time constraints. I will not be able to run further because I will not have the time to train to go any further. This is it. I cannot do more than 6 laps without taking away from other responsibilities. This goes back to the point I was a making on the other post.

The other thing I learned was that I could have never done this on a treadmill. I agree with the comments of Linda and anonymous on the other post. You have to do what you have to do and you need to push yourself to do all God calls you to do. I would not have pushed myself on a treadmill. It's too easy to quit. All you have to do is reach back 6 inches on the arm brace and hit the "stop" button, which calls to me longing to be touched the entire time I run.

When I'm on the track, the only place I can stop is at the starting point. Once I get going there is no sense in stopping because I'm out there and no one can carry me back. I have to get home so I keep on trucking.

This is also true of life. There are situations we can put ourselves in and an attitude we can possess that makes it is easier to quit and give up. There are also circumstances we can work in that do not allow the luxury of quitting.

What kind of environment and mindset do you have? Are you living life on a track where you can't quit what your committed to or have you opted for the treadmill life where you can quit whenever it gets hard and you feel like a change?

More Can Be Too Much to Handle

2008-06-05T12:37:00.000-07:00

Last week I added something to my exercise regiment. Instead of driving to the track where I run, I am now riding my bike the 4.3 miles. When I drove to the track, I could run 6 laps. Now that I am riding my bike, I can only run 5 laps.

Even running 5 laps is hard especially when I get to "the hill" that is quite steep going down and up. Because of the fatigue I experience from riding I have been tempted to cheat. Cheating for me means walking.

By adding more I have been doing less of what I was before. I have also been tempted to cheat. And then on Wednesday out of nowhere a beautiful chocolate lab came running up to me and almost tripped me. Because I was so exhausted from climbing "the hill" I did not see her coming. Had I stumbled and experienced a fall, I may well have had to stop running altogether for a time.

So pray that my endurance will pick up, but also learn with me a life lesson. WHEN WE ADD MORE RESPONSIBILITIES TO OUR LIVES, WE WILL BE TEMPTED TO CHEAT AND PRONE TO FALL INTO SIN.

This is true in ministry. If a hard working pastor adds responsibilities to his plate, he will not be able to do as much of what he was doing before. He may even cheat some of those responsibilities out of time, emotion and effort. If that pastor is not careful, in his fatigue he could be tempted by sin he did not see coming and fall. The fall could result in his disqualification of ministry based on Paul's lists (1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:7-9).

The same is true of any person with any job. If you are already working hard and then add more tasks to do, you will not be able to give as much to the things you were already doing. And in your fatigue you may not be able to maintain your spiritual discipline and fall into sin.

Unfortunately, it is all too easy to take on more than what we can handle. After all, we (those of us from the US) are Americans and we can tighten the belt and do anything we put our minds to. That may be true to some extent, but at what cost. What will it cost you to add more stress to your life by trying to please people and do what they want you to do, to make an extra buck (when your needs are already met), or to get more out of yourself and the people in your family or organization?

It may cost you your effectiveness in what you are called to do by watering down your efforts. It may cause you to lose sight of your vision and mission and lose your passion and purpose. It may cause you to become the person you always said you wouldn't be, but can't help but become because of the stress and strain. It may cost you your ministry, your job, your friends, your family, or worse your assurance of the hope you have in Christ.

Even the most highly trained and competent people are capable of taking on more than anyone should and of losing sight of what matters most. Paul wrote his protégé Timothy and told him, "Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." (1 Timothy 4:13-16).

Why did Paul write that to him? Could it be because young Timothy was overwhelmed by the substantial responsibility of leading the massive church at Ephesus? Could it be that Timothy was getting side tracked by non-issues and taking on more responsibilities than he should?

We must not sabotage our lives by doing too much. Stay the course and fulfill the mission and purpose of your life and calling. Do not get side tracked by pleasing or trying to outdo other people. Find your joy in doing what God has called you to do and your identify in who Christ says you are.

The only way I know to do that is by doing what Oswald Chamber's encourages on December 21st in his devotion My Utmost for His Highest, "Be ruthless with yourself." Demand that you maintain a healthy pace in life that is productive and protective of your calling and primary responsibilities.

A Vital Dimension In Decision Making

2008-06-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

This week we begin a new sermon series called "Only Jesus". This week I will be speaking from Hebrews 5.7 and talking about how we can know the direction God wants us to go in life.

A big part of fulfilling our unique destiny God has designed for each of us is decision making. We are faced with hundreds of choices everyday. Some of them are important and will have heavy consequences. Some are inconsequential and really do not impact us or others all that much.

One of the things I am learning about decision making is not forgetting to ask the question, "What are the unintended consequences this decision will have?" For years I have made decisions and statements without asking that question and the results have at times been disasterous and sometimes very hurtful to other people.

Right now you cannot watch TV without catching one of those drug commercials. You know that ones that promise to heal you of a discomfort or aging effect, but warn you of the "unintended side effects." Some of those side effects are far more frightening than the ailment one might seek treatment for. "Breath easier," the nice voice on TV says and an attractive person takes a deep breath out in the middle of a gorgeous meadow on a sunny day. Then a very small tiny print appears at the bottom of the screen that is not even readable with HD, as that same nice voice begins to say at a break neck speed, "this drug has also caused nose bleeds, eye bleeds, ear bleeds, abnormal screaming, restless leg syndrome, halucinations of angry clowns, and can cause you to go flat out crazy. Conslut your doctor before taking this drug."

Hello! You might be able to breath, but you'll be wearing a straight jacket living in a padded room.

Wouldn't it be nice in the midst of a major to decision to have the guy with the nice voice come up on your computer screen and say, "This decision you are about to make will have unintended consequences which might include..." and then have a clear honest list of factors we need to be ready to accept and deal with?

I can't get the guy on TV, but I have found that I can get gifted smart people to serve on a team and provide great insight into the possible harm any given decision might cause. I am blessed as a church leader to work with a Godly group of Elders and a Management Team that can help see the harm any given decision can have. They have at their disposal Trustees, a Personnel Team, and other advisory boards to help them. Together we make of formidable unit in our Lord's Service.

Contrary to popular opinion these teams of leaders are not there to slow the organization down or to cause trouble. Their helpful insights and skill are available by God's calling to scope the landscape and see what might be hidden from me and other leaders. We have found that no one of us is as good as all of us.

I cannot say that my decision making average is 1000, but I can say that it is getting better. To all of you who serve along side of me, I thank you and honor you for your wonderful work.

To those of you who are leaders (that means anybody who influences another person, which includes moms and dads, coaches and teachers, pastors, business leaders, and civil servants), don't forget the vital dimension of decision making. Ask the question, "what is the unintended consequence of this decision?"

Technology is Amazing

2008-05-31T13:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks for whoever read this blog in Taipai, Taiwan. This blog has now been read on every continent, other than Antarctica. If anyone ever goes to Antarctica or knows someone who is, please ask them to log on just for laughs.

How crazy is it that a son of a truck driver who is now a good old boy serving in Bowling Green, Ky can share Christ with people all over the world on a free website? Technology is amazing.

Pray Through the Word Blog for June 1

2008-05-31T13:17:00.000-07:00

Here is my devotional response for Living Hope's Prayer Blog with help from Louie Giglio. Click here or on the picture to go there..

“Lost” and Moral Absolutes

2008-05-29T20:56:00.000-07:00

So I watched the season finale of Lost tonight and loved it. Others did not, but we all have our reasons for watching Lost. I like the moral objectivity of the characters.

Most of the characters deal with guilt. That Benjamin guy doesn’t, but he’s crazy. When most of them do wrong or believe they’ve done wrong, they feel guilty. This season we have seen Michael, Jack, and even Sawyer deal with remorse and a deep sense of guilt.

Why do I think that is a good thing? Because in the real world guilt is real. Guilt is not real for mentally disturbed people who are out of touch with reality. For people who have a sense of what is “normal” guilt is a part of life as a sinful creature.

There are some in our society who want us to believe there are no moral absolutes. A lot of people are buying it. I spoke with a professor at Western Kentucky University who polled his class last fall about the 911 terror attacks. Over 50% of them said it was ok that the terrorists bombed the US. About 40% said it was wrong. And a few said it was right or weren’t sure. That is frightening.

The reason the students gave for believing the terrorist attacks were either ok or right was because the terrorists believed what they were doing was right. In essence these confused kids are saying that because the terrorists believed it was right for them that their personal belief makes their killing of others either ok or right. In other words these students have bought the lie that there are no moral absolutes.

I pray that they and the others (a little lost humor) that have been duped with this lie will wake up. Some will wake up once or if they ever become parents. If that blessed day comes for them, they will not allow that child to do what the child feels it wants to do. They will train the child to know the difference between right and wrong. They will teach their child moral absolutes.

Why won’t these students and people in our society accept moral absolutes someone might ask. The answer is simple. If you ever come to a place where you say there is such a thing as right and wrong, you have to ask, “Who says?” Once you start asking that question, you will find God with His hand raised. It will have nail prints in it and with those scars the story of redemption. Soon you will see that the only hope in life is grace through faith in Christ alone. A lot of people are committed to not believing that. In a nation of tolerance there are many who believe Jesus is intolerable.

Drive 2008 Quote and Takeaway #2

2008-05-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

So two weeks later I'm finally getting back to Andy's amazing leadership talk he gave at the last session of the Drive conference. Again, you can get the notes on all of the messages here.

Here is the second quote and takeaway:
“The next generation product almost never comes from the previous generation.” Focus, Al Reis
TAKEAWAY: Be a student, not a critic.

Here are some other things I wrote down, as he was making this point. I don't know if he said them or if they are my own thoughts I scribbled down, while he was talking.
1. Set the High School, Middles School, and College ministries free to show us what ministry looks like, when it reaches the next generation.
2. You can fight it or you can fund it. Andy said that, but I'm not sure what that means so if you were there and can explain it, please do.
3. You can be so cautious that you become irrelevant. Andy also said that because I remembered groaning in pain from conviction, when it shot like a bullet through my brain.

Here are some other takeaways for me.

One, expect and enable change. This does not mean that we can change the message of the Gospel. That is a sin and has a pretty steep price. It also does not mean that we change for change sake or to try to be something we want to be.
What I think this does mean is that I, as a leader, must help my church effectively communicate the Gospel to the culture we are serving in a way that they can understand. The style of communication may change. The music may be different. What I wear may be different. The vernacular I use may change. How we worship is not the only thing that must be free to change. We must also be willing to change the way we do church so that the principles of church life can be lived out in the culture we live in.
It's the same old thing that's been said before: change methods, but not the message.

Two, listen and learn from those you do not agree with. There are really smart people out there doing amazing things. Some of them are doing them to expand the Kingdom of God. Some of them are doing them for other reasons maybe wrong reasons. Either way there is a lot to learn from leaders from all theological, methodological, and vocational backgrounds.

Three, help the church be multi-generational. The church must reach the next generation for Christ. At the same time the church must seek to get the next generation and the previous generation to know, serve and love Jesus together. If we attempt to reach only a segment or specific generation, then the ministry will die once that generation dies. We must seek to reach people of all ages and disciple them to serve the purpose of the church and do what honors Jesus rather than what pleases them or provides their own perceived felt need.

Is Being Stressed Out A Sin?

2008-05-27T05:16:00.003-07:00

Right now I am doing a series of sermons entitled "Rest" based on Hebrews 4. We are looking at the ways in which God has called us and provided for us to be able to rest in His grace and love in every aspect of our lives. You can listen and get the notes here.

In my devotional reading of Spurgeon yesterday I was taken aback by what he said about being anxious. He said in essence that it is a sin and an affront to God.

Here is a portion of what he wrote.
The precept to avoid anxious care is earnestly inculcated by our Saviour, again and again; it is reiterated by the apostles; and it is one which cannot be neglected without involving transgression: for the very essence of anxious care is the imagining that we are wiser than God, and the thrusting ourselves into his place to do for him that which he has undertaken to do for us. We attempt to think of that which we fancy he will forget; we labour to take upon ourselves our weary burden, as if he were unable or unwilling to take it for us. Now this disobedience to his plain precept, this unbelief in his Word, this presumption in intruding upon his province, is all sinful.

C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening : Daily Readings (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995), May 26 AM.

What do you think? Is it sinful?

What Have We Done?

2008-05-24T05:37:00.000-07:00

Psalm 78:4We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.

Today, a large number of our seniors graduate. I will be attending the graduation parties of Travis Breen and Katie Strom. I missed Shelby Babcock’s party last night due to Jackson's ballgame, but Carrie and Asher got to stop by after and represent our family.

Graduation is a big step. It’s a big step for the student and for the parent. The students are stepping out into a world of self-determination. They now must decide the direction of their lives. The parents must take that step of release. Many parents will continue to provide for their children through college, but they will not be able to maintain the same contact with their children and, therefore, cannot make decisions for them.

Theses graduates will now make decisions based on the training they have received. Their faith and world-view will be their moral compass. Their understanding of the Word of God and His greatness will influence the friendships they develop, who they will date and someday marry, and how they will invest their lives.

It is my prayer that the students that leave Living Hope will love God with all they are and love people with the grace and mercy they’ve been given in Christ. I pray they will invest their lives in a local church and expand God’s Kingdom in their own heart and in the world.

The question I must ask and that the parents must ask is: Have we prepared them to do that? Have we trained them in the truth of God’s Word? Have we shown them the importance of making church and Kingdom work the priority of their life? Do they have a Biblical world-view and a Spirit-powered life?

For those who are still preparing your child to launch into the world, let this be a reminder of what we must be doing now. We must as Psalm 78:4teaches “tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.” We must make them disciples who make disciples.

The Start of Summer Opportunities

2008-05-23T06:38:00.001-07:00

School ends today for our kids, which begins the real start of summer for us. I love the summer time. I love the warm weather. I love not being rushed in the mornings to get the kids off and going. I love having more time with my children. It is a joy.

In the midst of all of this time it can be easy to waste some of it. The time we have this summer is going to be invested in something. I am going to seek to look at each second for what it can do to honor God and invest it wisely. There is a time to rest in a way that honors God. There is also work to be done even in the summer that honors God.

I want to encourage you to start your summer reading. As a church, over the summer we are reading The Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney. You can order it by clicking here. I am challenging my children to read the Narnia books along with requiring them to do their daily devotions.

I also want to encourage you to invest your life into the life of an unbeliever. Get to know them and share with them the love of Christ. Let them know and let them see what Christ has done in your life and invite them to know Christ as savior and lord. You will have this opportunity out in your yard, at the gym, on vacation, or anywhere you go. Remember, as you go "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Finally, take time to pray. During the summer months you will have the opportunity to spend more time with friends and family. Use some of that additional time to pray together. It is amazing what happens when we pray with others. It is a powerful experience. I know some people think it's a big deal to pray out loud with other people. It's not. It's just a conversation with God that you are sharing together.

Don't miss these opportunities!