Keeping our Calm in a World that has Lost Theirs

I was talking with a friend of mine that works in the retail business the other day. She seemed a little frazzled while I was in the store, so I asked her what was wrong. "People!" She exclaimed, "People are so rude anymore, nothing is ever good enough, nothing is ever right. You can bend over backwards for someone and they won't even say thank you anymore. What is wrong with people now days?" Wow, what a question. What is wrong with people now days? It does seem that patience has gone out the door. People seem more demanding than ever. Road rage is definitely on the increase and etiquette has gone out the window. What is wrong with people?

My guess is that each of you who are reading this blog have had some trouble with people as of late. Maybe it was the lady that only filled your french fry box half full at the drive thru window because she was too lazy to reach over and put some more fries in the basket and press the button on the fryer to start the process of cooking up crispy goodness. But No! Instead she decides to just fill your fry container half full and stick it in the bag and hand it out the drive thru window because no one in their right mind would serve a half full fry container to a customer at the front desk out of fear of public humiliation. Instead she sticks it to you, loyal drive thru customer, and keeps you from enjoying your fill of its tasty goodness; requiring you to pull into a parking spot, go inside, and inform the french fry gal that the amount of fries in their large fry would fit nicely into the paper wrapper they use in their KID'S MEAL BOX! Glad nothing like that has ever happened to me. Okay, maybe it isn't easy to keep our cool these days. And there are times that I'm not sure if I am part of the problem or part of the solution.

There are a number of times during the course of any day that I can feel my face getting red, my blood pressure increasing, and the desire to say something not pleasant growing in my mind. How do we as Christians keep our calm in a world that has lost theirs? A scripture from Philippians often helps me when my fry container is only half full. Paul says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8. Is it possible that a half full fry container is something to be thankful for? Could a half full fry container be a message from God? I have found that even in the most stressful situation, when I have been wronged greatly, there is something that I can be thankful for. I just need to take a moment and find out what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy in this situation. I have found that I can be part of the problem or part of the solution. I think Jesus worked at being an answer to the world's problems and not an instigator of more sin. Jesus says that if someone asks you to go a mile with them, go two. That means we need to allow ourselves to be used once in a while. That we don't always have to be right. That being a servant is greater than being in charge.

This week, let's try to put on the attitude of Jesus Christ. Instead of getting mad, let's get glad. Instead of being angry, find something to rejoice in. Instead of demanding your way, allow someone else to get theirs. Instead of adding salt to someone's wound, put a little salve on it and give them a bandage while you are at it. Maybe a group of calm, caring Christians can begin to change the attitude of the world.

Who Am I?

Who am I? Have you ever asked yourself that question? I am not a great fan of horror flicks but when I was a youth, I saw a few of them at friend's houses. One that I have thought of often is Friday the 13th. Jason was a serial killer that wore a hockey mask. I remember scenes where you were looking through the mask. Now, usually those scenes didn't end very well for someone but that is not where I want to go. Instead, I want to think about living life through a mask. We put lots of them on in the course of a day. Often when we are depressed, we put on a happy face. When we are with our kids, we have to put on our parent mask. When we are at work, we put on our employee mask. When we go out with friends, we put on sociable mask. When we go to church, we put on a religious mask. It seems like the list is endless. We have to be so many different people in the course of a day.

When I start thinking about who I am, sometimes my head spins. I am a husband, father, son, uncle, cousin, friend, pastor, counselor, student, leader, preacher, teacher, and if I put some thought into it, I could probably find another twenty things that I am. And at times, being one of those things seems to require me to put a mask on. There are days that I don't want to be a father and would rather be the kid's friend. There are times that the kids force me to be a disciplinarian and I hate it when I have to put on that mask; that is not who I am. If you look close enough, you probably have lots of masks in your closet. Some of you have had to become caregivers of family members because of their health and had to put on a new mask. Some of you are working in jobs you hate and have adopted a mask to survive financially. Some of you have lost loved ones and the mask of sorrow covers you like rain. What mask are you wearing today?

Paul gives us a little advice in Galatians 2:20 that just may help, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the son of God, who loves me and gave himself for me." When I read this passage, it says to me, "Aaron, it is not about you, it is about Christ. When I accepted Jesus as my savior I was suppose to die. When I walked through the waters of baptism, I was not suppose to live through it. Aaron's life was suppose to end and Chris's life in me was to begin. When I spend time with my family, I am suppose to be Christ. When I am being a husband, I am suppose to be Christ. When I am pastor, I am suppose to be Christ. When I am being a friend, I am suppose to be Christ. When I am counseling, I am suppose to be Christ. From the moment I arise in the morning to the moment I lay to rest at night, I need to remember it is not about me but about Jesus living through me. I died when I was eight years old and Christ took over my life. Now he gets to live His life through me.

If we take this passage in Galatians seriously, then we all need to get rid of our masks. The only person that I need to be is Jesus; and the only person that you need to be is Jesus. And if you think about it, do we really have anything better to give than Him anyway. So lets have a mask burning party today and decide to live our lives for Christ, being Christ to those around us. Be Christ as you go to work. Be Christ as you care for the hurting. Be Christ as you spend time with your kids. Be Christ as you love your spouse. Be Christ in your coming and be Christ in your going. Paul's identity was found in Christ and no one else. Sounds to me like being Christ is a lot easier than trying to figure out which mask to put on next.

Pastor Aaron

Dressed for Success

“Lord our God, may your blessings be with us. Give us success in all we do!”
Psalm 90:17

How do you begin your day? When the alarm goes off do you jump out of bed ready to tackle whatever comes your way or do you hit the snooze button hoping for a reprieve? Do you get up late and scurry around or do you get up early so you can enjoy the morning? Are you a prepare breakfast kind of gall or a grab a breakfast bar for the road kind of guy? Each of us have our morning routine but maybe we need to add one piece to our habit. We all need to ask for a blessing on the day.

The writer of Psalms gives us a wonderful piece of advice. He prays, “Lord our God, may your blessings be with us. Give us success in all we do!” Praying for success in your day; is that part of your morning routine? Do you include anywhere in your prayers a request that God blesses the day you are about to live. You know, it doesn’t matter if you are retired, a business owner, an employee of a small or large company, a college student, or even attending primary school we need success in what we do. And God wants to grant us success each and every day. But I wonder how often we actually pray and ask for God’s blessing on our day. When we get up in the morning do we truly give that day to God and seek his direction for what is about to come our way.

In the Message, a modern day translation of the bible, it gives a unique rendition of Romans 12:1. Paul says, “Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life – and place it before God as an offering.” Each day we get an opportunity to make our day an act of worship. Everything we do has a change to be a blessing to the Lord. But we need to allow it to be a blessing. And we need to allow blessings to flow in to our lives. But how do we make that happen? Let me give you some steps in the process.

1. Start your day out by giving it to God. Before your feet hit the floor in the morning tell God that this is His day and you will live it for him. Give all of your working, resting, and playing to God before your day even begins.
2. Ask for success throughout your day. God wants you to have a successful day. Too often our agenda gets in the way of his blessings. Pray that God shows you opportunities to be blessed and to be a blessing.
3. Live that day being Christ to others: Now you have to do what you prayed. Don’t give the day to God and then do what you want. Listen for his direction, look for his leading, and live as if you were Him.

God has great plans for each day of our life. That doesn’t mean that we won’t have bad days or that things won’t go wrong. Satan wants to mess things up for you. But God wants blessings to come our way. Live each day with God on your mind and his plan in your sights and you will find blessings both during and at the end of your day.

Gettin Down with the Good Book

Sixty Six books. Forty authors. A fifteen hundred year time span. Twenty five thousand ancient scrolls. Survived numerous persecutions. Withstood constant criticism. Proved accurate through archeology again and again. Translated into twenty two hundred different languages. Continuing to influence the course of human history. No, I am not talking about the Harry Potter series or Dante's Inferno. I am talking about the living word of God.

Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." God breathed: how did God breathe the scriptures. I see two ways that God breathed scripture. First, God whispered into the ear of the writer. Well, maybe not literally. But there are passages of scripture where God told the author what to write. A couple of examples would be the book of Leviticus, the Ten Commandments, some of the Prophets, and the book of The Revelation. We see God interrupting the course of natural events to speak through one of his prophets. Second, God influences the pen of the author. It is not like God took control of the hand of the person writing, it is more like he influenced their life in such a way that their words were his words. God used history, poetry, and narrative to tell His story in an inspired fashion.

Some would ask, "How do we know that the words we have today are even close to the words written so many years ago?" That is a good question. I don't know about you but I get e-mails that are not right and we have spell check. I have seen the same joke using doctors, lawyers, and preachers. if you read a texts, one word can be spelled in a variety of ways. Maybe the answer comes in understanding that God did not use these faulty levels of communication to instruct people in his word. Instead, he took studious individuals that were driven to perfection to copy his word. During my trip to Israel, I went to where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. I spent a little time learning about the Khirbet Qumram community. This group of avid followers of God were so precise at what they were doing. Hours with a pen and parchment in a small room preserving the word of God. It still amazes me that the text that had been copied for over a thousand years survived with such accuracy.

The point of this post is not to prove the accuracy of scripture or to expound on the historical reliability of God's word. If you don't believe the bible is God's word then just ignore these words and go back to surfing a world wide web full of inaccuracy, lies, and half truths. But, if you believe that the bible could be something more, then spend some time testing it for yourself. See if you find the words in the Good Book to be helpful in living a better life. And if you claim to be a follower of Christ, then study to show yourself approved. If the bible is the Good Book inspired for the human race then we as his followers should read it. So how about closing this blog down and pulling out a Good Book. Pick up that old bible you got for a wedding present or given to you by a Sunday school teacher and reading a portion of it. See what the Book of Psalms, the Gospel of John, or the Letter to the Corinthians has to say. And if you don't have a bible just click here and spend a little time with the Good Book.