An Extreme Tent Makeover Experience

This week I have taken part in helping to build aa home in Etters, Pa that is a project by ABC's show "Extreme Home Makeover". For those who have never seen the show (I find it hard to believe most haven't), Ty Pennington along with a small design team comes to a selected family somewhere and either completely tears down their existing home or just a portion of the home and rebuild it to meet certain needs that family has. The families are selected based on their need and usually are people who have sacrificed to try and help themselves or others. Once the family is selected and plans are made, the company gets a home builder to take the lead in building the home by getting thousands of volunteers both skilled and unskilled. They take a week and build the new home. The family is brought home to a new brand new house. I love watching the show to see how the people are shocked and blessed by their new home. There is another extreme home makover I really want to experience not just for me but for everyone.

A day is coming and I believe it will be soon when we get to experience our home makeover in two ways. First we as believers will be taken to a new location. Our home will no longer be here on Earth but in heavenly glory with our Lord and Savior. We will see Heaven in all its glory and see the saints of old as well as our loved ones who have gone there before us. We will no longer worry about keeping up our homes up here and doing constant repairs. Our heavenly home will not need repairs so there is no need for Lowes or Home Depots in Heaven. We will be there for a short period of time (seven years if you want to know) then we return to Earth with Jesus when He comes back to Jerusalem to rule and reign here on Earth. The second makeover we get to expeience is that of our own tent. Our bodies will be transformed into glorified bodies. What does that mean to us? It simply means that we are changed from these mortal bodies into eternal bodies. Our new "tents" will not suffer from distress, disease or death! Many would desire that today if they are like me but we must wait for the day Jesus calls us heavenward to our eternal reward. Oh for that day to come! Imagine not being affected by old age , cancer or anything else like that! Wow! Now that is an Extreme Tent Makeover! Doctors will no longer be necessary since sicknesses have been done away with. The cool thing with this makeover is that the work has already been done by one man so all the volunteers are not required to do this rebuild. The only volunteers necessary are those who will let Jesus rebuild their lives. Jesus is the Architect and Builder of these new tents. Frank Llyod Wright was a great architect but doesn't compare to to what Jesus can build!

There are two reveals on the Extreme Home Makeover show. The first reveal is to the family that will get the makeover. The design team shows up and checks the family's home out then gets the family off on vacation for the week. The second reveal is when they get home to see the new house. Jesus has revealed Himself to the world when He came as a baby to give Himself as a sacrifice for our sin. He is going to reveal Himself the secons time to us when He comes back for us. My prayer is that many who are lost will have Jesus reveal Himself to them before we get our second reveal. Let's volunteer to help Jesus spread the Gospel to those who are pershing.

Why Me Lord? (II Cor 1:3-5)

Have you ever felt like God was allowing everything to happen to you? You no sooner get through one trial when you face another one. I read the book "Heaven is for real" and was amazed how much this pastor went through personally in regards to his and his son's health. The pastor told how at the hopsital he was angry at God for allowing his son to face death. It wasn't until after his son was better that the pastor learned what his son went through during the operation. What the pastor could not realize is just how many people would be touched because of the circumstances he and his family experienced.

I love the way God does things. We may not understand what He is doing or what the plans are that He has for us. But one thing we know for certain is that He loves us and is doing a work in us. Many times we can't see what God is doing and our faith can falter if we forget who it is that we serve. Some preachers I have heard claim that as a believer you shouldn't be facing hardships or tragedies. I have a slight problem with their theology. Okay! I have a major problem with their theology! Because we are believers does not mean we are exempt from life's heartaches and difficulties. God never promised that we would cruise through life without problems. Actually, I believe it is because we are believers that God will often allow us to through a tough time. Why does He do it? He wants to show us His love and His power and to test our faith in Him. Faith would never grow if it never gets tested. Faith grows when we face these adversities because we need to depend on God to get through them. Each time our faith is tested it gets stronger or it fails. When it takes us through the experience, it becomes stronger just as tempered glass is strong because it is heated up repeatedly. It can withstand more than a regular pane of glass. God wants to teach us a lot of things and the testing of our faith is just one thing we need to learn. The more we grow in our faith the more we learn to depend on and love Him.

God doesn't allow us to face trials because He likes to see us squirm or suffer. He allows them to make us grow and purify us. It is the process of sanctification we all go through in our journey. God wants to transform us into the image of His Son and that comes through testing our faith. So when you face the next trial, don't ask "Why me?" instead ask 'What do you want me to learn today Lord?".

Signs of the Times

Once again we see a move to flaunt what God calls sin and force people to accept it as a right and natural. The UN passed a gay rights resolution that states that homosexuals are a protected class. Our president has been pushing this agenda under the radar as he has with many things. The Bible foretold that these things would begin to happen. All the things we once abhorred as wrong are now being accepted or being forced to accept them as good. What these types of releases make me aware of is that Christ's return is even closer than we know. The signs are coming fast and furious.

The time is coming when someone who disagrees with the homosexuals will looked at as evil and intolerant. Some beleive that those times are already here. A pastor who preaches a sermon against that or any other sin society says is acceptable will face prosecution for hate speech. If you would have asked people who lived 100 years ago if they would have thought that society would be accepting of perverted lifestyles, they would have said no way. This country has been getting away from the foundations laid by our forefathers and undermining the principles this nation was built on. God help us before it is too late. We need to get on our knees as believers and pray for the spirirtual health of this nation and its peoples. Many are on the road to Hell and are either ignorant of that fact or are embracing the journey there. We need to step up sharing God's love with the lost. It doesn't matter what their sin is it only matters that they hear the Word and repent of them before it is too late. As you read the newspaper or listen to the news you hear all this things that tell us that time is short and God will send His Son to take those who are waiting for Him to be with Him. Although it saddens my heart to hear society becoming more corrupt and perverted, it also makes me realize how much more effort I need to make in being a testimony for the lost. Christ died for all and He is calling us to be His laborers in the fields which are white unto harvest.

We can allow declarations such as this to discourage us or use them to encourage us to be more deliberate and intentional when it comes to sharing the love of Christ with those around us. How about you? Does it discourage or encourage your faith when you hear things like these? Remember to hate the sin but love the sinners! After all you were a sinner unsaved once too

Pursuit of Social Progress?

I was listening to the radio and I heard a story about Governor Cuomo from New York talking about a bill to legalize same sex marriages in that state. He was proud that as a democrat he stood for social justice and was all for social progress. After all, that is what the democrats do best. The problem is what he calls "social progress" is actually moral decay of our foundations as a nation. When we open the flood gates to allow what was once considered sick and perverted, the nation is doomed and faces God's judgement for going after this garbage.

People like Gov. Cuomo may think this is "social progress" but God has a totally different view of what he believes. You see God who is eternal is the same God today as He was yesterday and will be the same tomorrow. He does not change and His standards remain the same. What He called sin in the past He still does and will always call sin. I don't care what sin you may be speak of it remains sin. As a nation, we have gotten away from the biblical foundations laid by our founding forefathers. We excuse and embrace behaviors once seen as unacceptable in God's eyes. We may change how we view issues and call it "social progress" but God doesn't care what we think. He tells us in His Word what sin is and the consquences of sin. Ultimately the biggest consquence of sin is eternal death and separation from Christ in eternity. What an expensive cost for "social progress". Oh that we as a nation would get on our knees before God and seek His forgiveness and mercy for where we have gone as a nation. If we would do that, He promises to hear our prayers and heal our land (IChron 7:14) As beleivers in Jesus Christ, we need to stand up and hold up God's standards before the nation and the world. We do that by living holy lives before God and the world. Time is short for this world and we need to occupy doing the work of the kingdom while it is still day.

It is time we stop sitting back and watch the "social progress" that the world is pushing. How about we start to push back and remind folks what God declares in His Word? Remember that we are called to a battle for this nation and this worlds's souls. For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son into the world to save the world and not condemn it. Let's stand up and be counted!

God's Timing is Perfect!

We all face times when we struggle with our faith and our emotions. When those times come, we often begin to question our lives and whether or not we are making a difference in this world. Pastors are are not immuned to those feelings because we are human as well. I often questioned whether or not I was making a difference in the lives of the children Heidie and I ministered to over the years. But just like God He was there giving me an assurance that yes what we did and are doing makes a difference.

Yesterday we were invited to a get together for young lady named Whitney who was leaving to do an intership with a church plant. Her cousins, the Brookers, were there except for Daniel. I counted it an honor to share this time with her and her dad and stepmom. We sat around and ate some good food and had some great fellowship with each other. Karen and Paul Hollis were also there. Their sons were also under our ministry. We shared stories and memories about those years. We talked about kids church and some fond memories we all had. I told them I had seen Eric, another young man from kids church, on facebook and saw he had gotten married. I sent him a congratulatory message on his wedding. He sent back a message I will cherish forever. He shared how blessed he and his sister were to have usd a children's pastors. He said he learned what it meant to love people because of our love for all the kids. He appreciated everything we did for them. As I shared this with Jonathan, he began to share the same feelings. What he didn't know was that I was feeling down somewhat because I have been waiting on God to show me the path He has for us to take. It gets you down when you feel like you are sitting on the sidelines and the game is winding down. You want to get in and get some playing time. When you face that feeling you tend to evaluate what you did and if it meant anything. But once again God was right on time and He sent me a gentle reminder that what we do for Him if we do it faithfully and our of love for HIm will make a differnce in someone's life if not our own. We may not be a Billy Graham or a Mark Buntain, but we sure can touch the small corner of the planet we call home.

So when you are facing a struggle or a problem and you are wodering where God is, remeber that He is neither early or late but always right on time with the answer. After all, His time keeping is absolutely perfect! Look at His watch and not your own!

Take a Closer Look!

Yesterday afternoon I finally got a chance to go do some bass fishing. I left the house and headed to a spot on a creek that runs through our area. I got my waders on and got into the creek and started fishing my way upstream. While I was working my way up through the creek I noticed a boat that had been washed down stream at some point. From where I stood it, looked in decent shape. I decided to check it out better on the way back down. After catching one bass, I made it back to the boat. I was shocked at what condition the boat was actually in. It was badly deteriorated and beyond any salvage. I removed any thought of fixing it up. The closer look showed it's true condition.

When it comes to our spiritual lives, there are times when our lives may be like that boat. From a distance, oiur lives look great and we look spiritually healthy. The problem is that we may not be doing so hot in our walk with the Lord. People see us or what we want them to see and think that we are doing great when in actuality we are struggling just to hold on and survive. Our life may be falling apart just as that boat was. The frame looked good from the distance but if someone was to get close they would see what the truth was. All of us have struggled from time to time in our walk with Christ. Some times Christians should win the Oscar for their performance acting as though everything is fine. We are told to examine ourselves before we take communion. Why don't we examine ourselves on a regular basis. When we see sin in our lives, why not get rid of it and ask God to forgive us and cleanse us from the sin? The issue is that by letting the sin stay in our lives we allow our lives to decay spiritually. Before long our "boat" is looking pretty bad. The outside may look good, but inside where it really matters, it is collapsing and would sink if it were ever put in the water or a storm hit. I think about the old Star Kist tuna commercial . Charlie Tuna was told that Star Kist doesn't want a tuna with good taste, they want a tuna that taste good. God doesn't want a believer to just look good outside but He wants believers that are good or righteous on the inside. God looks at the heart while man looks at the outward appearance.

The great thing for us to remember is that God is in the restoration business. He proved that when He sent Jesus to dies fore us and rose again in victory. He can take that "old boat" we call our lives and restore it to the original plans when He built it. Lets be honest with God and we won't have to worry whether or not people take a closer look. By the way, the bass I caught was a whopping 7 inches. Maybe next time!