Jesus & the Swine Flu

We are facing a "pandemic"! People are running through the streets donned with surgical masks and hand sanitizer. We are walking our days out in fear and anxiety over who had, has or will have the dreaded virus.

While I am not here to minimize the threat, and even horrible loss that has been connected to this sickness, I do want to take a minute and see how Jesus handled the issues of sickness in his day.

We are called to be followers of Christ. As children we all played "Follow the Leader", the basketball game "Horse", "Simon Says", or some other game that called for us to follow after someone else and do whatever they did. As followers of Christ we are called to play a similar game, to do what he did and, in his words, even great things.

Leprosy was a big deal in his day. It was contagious and people would walk around the leper colonies to avoid contact. When a leper came around other people they were required to make the statement "unclean, unclean" so people would not get too close. But in Matthew 8 Jesus reached out and touched them, and even crazier, healed them. In fact, not one time in the Bible does Jesus say the word leprosy, he never acknowledged the sickness, just the person.

James 5 says that if you are sick the elders of the church are to "anoint you with oil and the prayer of faith will save the sick". Instead of running away from and avoiding the sick, Jesus and the disciples went after them.

We are going to be devoting this Sunday at The Bridge to this end, saving those who are sick! If you know anyone that is suffering from any sickness bring them with you this week. We are believing God is going to do great and mighty things in the lives of HIS people!

Pass this on to anyone you know that needs prayer and let them know there is still a community of Christ followers that are "following our leader"! Visit us one the web at www.thebridgehotsprings.org for information and directions!

The Horrible Truth About Your Pastor (By Mark Johnston)

A ministry friend of mine, whom I have known for many years put this on his most recent blog and I feel to pass it on to you today. There are so many emotions I felt while reading it that I feel it is worth the hand-off to you. God bless!


He’s a human being.

"Yep. He worries – like you do. He puts his pants on (or she puts her pants on – or her skirt… or, well, you get the picture) one leg at a time… just like you do. He gets overwhelmed… just like you do.

He feels pressured sometimes. Fifty years ago, he would’ve been a success if he helped people grow close to God. Today, to be a “success” he needs the gift-set of a CEO. He’s supposed to keep attendance and finances on a steadily upward trajectory, speak with a remarkable blend of hipness/diplomacy/skill/humor/passion/anointing, smile constantly, maintain a blog, twitter, network, write a book, regularly convert other Starbucks customers to Jesus, speak at conferences, be covered in at least one national publication… and in his spare time help people grow close to God.

The thing is he’s not a superhero to be revered or an archaic throwback to be derided or a goofball to be avoided. He’s a human being who happens to have been called by God to help you grow spiritually. He’s a leader and a servant; a boss and a busboy; a vision-caster and an empathic listener. Sometimes he leans too far in one direction, sometimes in the other. That’s because he’s human.

But here’s what else I know about your pastor: he prays for you. He works hard to shepherd and feed you. Know why? Because he loves you. He loves you, the passionate Jesus-follower who gives their best to Christ and his body… He loves you, the faithful supporter who’s always at everything… He loves you, the sporadic attendee who assures him “you’re plugged in” when you both know you’ll forget you said that by the time you get to the parking lot… He even loves you, the critic who questions his vision and motives and the direction of the church when he’s not around to defend himself.

His heart, all at once, bubbles over with anticipation and hope for you when you move forward, grasp a little more of God’s grace, and do good for others… and breaks for you when you stumble, suffer, or slack off spiritually. He loves to see you succeed, rejoicing with you in your victories. He hurts to see you fail, weeping with you over your weaknesses. He forgives you. He hopes you’ll forgive him too.

He has nothing to gain in this world by leading and serving you. He’s burned his bridges. All of his “could’ve been’s” have died at the cross of Jesus so he could do this. And you know what? He doesn’t mind at all. If he was asked to run as president, he’d decline… because pastoring you – and doing it well – is more important to him than anything else in the world.

I just thought you’d want to know. Your pastor, whoever he or she may be, is first of all a human being just like you; who just happens to have been called by God to help you grow spiritually.

And he’s glad. I hope you are too."

Creativity & Teamwork

I am sitting in my parent's office at their house. We are in South Florida getting ready for the weeding of the century on Saturday and catching up with old friends. It has been a great trip so far. We had dinner with John & Brenda Paquette. They are some of the most creative people I know. We just bounced ideas off of them and got a lot of input and ideas back.

It got me thinking about our gifts and abilities. We are all gifted in so many different ways. But when we put them all together in a team we can accomplish much more than by ourselves. I am learning that in order to do what God has called it takes a great team. This is no one man show. The old school Senior Pastor and everyone else attending will only allow you to go so far, but when you equip and empower a group of people to apply their strengths, your potential is unlimited.

I am so excited about the bridge because God has begun to bring together a great team. We are in the learning phase and are getting to know each other, but as synergy is developed we will be able to apply the individual strengths to the team and watch what God will do.

If you are reading this and you are trying to do life alone, it's time to rethink some things. We have been challenging The bridge to a 10-10 Challenge, now being renamed as the 3:10 challenge. Spending 10 minutes a day in prayer, praying for 10 minutes for 10 people to be saved and being a part of a small group with 10 people - because you were never designed to live life alone.

Doing What You Love...

I am sitting in Starbucks working on this blog, making contacts with people, planning the rest of my day and just enjoying what God is doing in my life. We had a new small group kick off last night, Success iN Life (SNL). It is designed to help people find true, Biblical success in their lives. We talked about what success looks like last night. We had a white board out and people gave words to define success. We had money, security, "Mother Theresa", but my favorite was from Mike Bates, he said, success for me is Happiness. Wow what a statement. I believe that true success is seen in that simple word that most of us find hard to find - happiness.

The true test of success in life is whether or not you are truly happy where you are. The Bible says, "the joy of the Lord is our strength". The word joy denotes happiness. I have heard many people preach that joy and happiness are two different things, I don't thank so. I think that when you are fulfilling God's purpose for your life, you can truly say I am happy - right now, where I am! That is truly freeing.

Now, don't get me wrong, in this world you will have trouble, BUT BE OF GOOD CHEER, He has overcome the world. In other words, you can be happy even in the middle of trouble, if you know you are living the life God has purposed for you to live.

I believe that every person has been given the gifts and talents necessary to fulfill the purpose you have been given life to achieve. Like Esther in the Old Testament, you are here for such a time as this. While I do not believe in predestination in the Calvinist tradition, I do believe that God has a purpose, and yes, even a destiny for your life. The key is unlocking that destiny and your potential to be all you were created to be.

So, how do I do that, how do I "get happy"? Well it starts with a relationship with your maker. You have to have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ to be able to have him share your propose with you. Then you have to learn to hear his voice, this comes from reading his word and spending time listening in prayer to the Spirit speaking to you.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, determine your purpose, and begin to take the steps necessary to achieve that purpose. Maybe that means going back to school, or getting your finances in shape, of making that very important decision to become a follower of the Christ. Wherever you are today, throw caution to the wind, put up your sails and see where the Spirit blows your life today!

By the way, I will be preaching next week, August 16, in Melbourne, FL at Fusion Church, Sunday at 10:30AM. Pastor Brian Gregory and I would love to see you there, contact me for more information!

Until next time...

No Perfect People Allowed...

BEST POEM IN THE WORLD

I was shocked, confused, bewildered,
As I entered Heaven's door.
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp--
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.

Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, What's the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How'd all these sinners get up here?
God must've made a mistake.

And why's everyone so quiet,
So somber - give me a clue.
Hush, child, He said, they're all in shock.
No one thought they'd be seeing you.

I think we all fit in this category from time to time. We all "Think of ourselves a little higher than we ought". But I have learned that God does not look at the outward appearance, but the heart.

At The Bridge we have become a church of mis-fits, just like David's crew in I Samuel 22:1- (The Message) So David got away and escaped to the Cave of Adullam. When his brothers and others associated with his family heard where he was, they came down and joined him. 2 Not only that, but all who were down on their luck came around—losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts. David became their leader. There were about four hundred in all. At The Bridge we love seeing what God can do in the lives of messed up people.

We just finished a series based on the book, No Perfect People Allowed. Together we learned that God came for the messed up, that you can come as you are! If that describes you, great, you are the reason Jesus came to the Earth - the sick are in need of a physician, not the well...

I'm Coming UP!

I was just talking to Gus this morning and he reminded me of a message I preached a few months back. (Its good to know someone is actually listening!) I decided to make it the topic of this blog. As we stand in this economic climate we need to be reminded that everything that goes down, in the Kingdom, must come up!

Matthew 19:30 (NIV)- But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

Matthew 19:30 (TMNT)- This is the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.

In this world we understand that what goes up must come down, but the spiritual world is a kingdom of opposites. It’s a world where the last will be first, where the poor say they are rich and the weak say they are strong. It’s a world where in order to get you have to give, and to increase you must decrease. It’s a world where his strength is made perfect in our weakness. It’s a kingdom that if you want to go up you have to go down. Though you walk through the fire you will not be burned…. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death you will have no fear… In this world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world! And everything that goes down is destined to come up. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy’s coming in the morning! The very fact that you are down is an indication that you are on your way back up!

2 Corinthians 4:7 (TMNT) If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. ⁸ As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, ⁹ but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven’t broken.

Romans 8:35 (NIV) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You may be going down right now, but hold on for a minute, cause your on your way back up with more power and energy that you have ever had before.

Pastor James, why do I have to go down in order to go up, that’s a great question, I’m glad you asked it! Newton's first law: law of inertia- Every body perseveres in its state of being at rest… except insofar as it is compelled to change its state by force impressed. In other words, we are will remain just like we are until the pressure to change becomes greater than the desire to stay where we are. Only when we are allowed to fall to the bottom do we then create the pressure to cause change in our lives.

Newton's third law: law of reciprocal actions- For an action there is always an equal and opposite reaction… The pressure that is created in our lives that pushes us down is not just creating pressure, but also momentum. But remember for every action, the pressure pushing us down, there is an equal and opposite reaction, the momentum that will carry us higher than we were to begin with.

If I were bouncing a ball, the harder I try to push that ball down, the faster and higher is comes back at me. I can push as hard as I want, that ball is still going to respond to the pressure and bounce back to me faster than I push it down. Its like those power balls you get out of the dispenser at Wal-Mart. You can throw them down as hard as you want, but they will keep on bouncing back.

Anybody ever seen one of those things when you were a kid that when you hit it, it lays way over and bounces back up, cause its weighted at the bottom? No matter how hard you hit it, it always bounces right back up. Somebody needs to get a bounce back in their spirit. Somebody needs to look life in the face and say you may hit me and knock me down, but I have to go down in order to come back up.

I may be down now, but I am on my way back up. I may have fallen down one more time, but I have a bounce back in my spirit and I’m on my way back up! Tell ‘em, I’m like George and Wheezy, "Baby, I moving on up…"

There’s a song by the great American Theologian, Rodney Adkins, that says, If you're going through hell, keep on going, don't slow down, if you're scared, don't show it. You might get out before the devil even knows you're there. If you're going through hell, keep on moving, face that fire, walk right through it. You might get out before the devil even knows you're there

It’s time for someone today to make their mind up that you will not quit. I will not give up! I might be down, but everything that goes down, MUST come up!

Take a Stand...

I was reading Isaiah 7 in the Message this morning in my devotion and God began to speak to me in verses 9-11. It says "...If you don't take a stand in faith, you won't have a leg to stand on." ..."Ask for a sign from your God. Ask anything. Be extravagant. Ask for the moon!"

As I was reading this my spirit began to jump. God was telling me it is the season of harvest, the season for faith to be increased. He literally issued a challenge to me this morning to ask him anything. I believe there are many of us who have sown in tears, but now is the time to bring in the harvest rejoicing. Now is the time to fill the barns. We have been building bigger barns, expanding the tent posts and expanding our territory, now God is ready to fill them.

Stand in faith, pray in faith, walk in faith, ask in faith, give in faith. Ask for great things from your God. Stop asking for "believable" things, the things you are pretty sure God can do. Meaning the things that if God does not do, you can pull off yourself. Be extravagant, over the top in your faith. Design the ministry God has placed in your heart and ask for the finances, the staff, the facilities, the people, the buses, the sidewalk trucks, the sound systems, the resources to make it a reality.

Ask for the moon! The time has come that we lose our "earthly" thinking. It's time to shoot for the stars, to have faith that propels us to the heavens.

God is challenging us to move beyond this life of doubt cloaked in false humility. Walk in boldness and confidence knowing that he who began a good work in you is able to finish what he started. He is able to do EXCEEDING, ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL we can ASK or even IMAGINE!

So dream big dreams, pray big prayers, walk in big faith because if you don't stand on faith you won't have a leg to stand on!