STAND UP AND BE COUNTED

Count off one two, one two, one two. Remember those days when your gym teacher would tell your PYS ED. Class count off one two? I liked that better than choosing two team captains. I don’t know about you but I was always the one that was picked last. It was very degrading as the self proclaimed captain would choose all around you and even pick the girls instead of you. For a guy that was traumatic! Most of the time you would be chosen by your skill level, but there were times it just came down to who your friends were. I guess I liked the fact that if the teacher made us count off one two, one two, at least I would be picked.
In God’s kingdom it is different. We choose to be on His team. We can’t be good enough. We can’t impress Him with our skill because He knows that it will not be enough. If we want to be counted in His number it won’t be one two, one two” It will be following Christ no matter what. When we do follow we find that it is over some rough road sometimes. Sometimes we suffer and sometimes that suffering doesn’t go away for a long time. But when it is all done we can be counted in that number. 2 Thes 1:3-12…

These uncertain times...

...we live in are starting to get the attention of many. The idea of how life has always seemed to just work is slipping through our fingers. Most are being affected by the way the world has changed. Food prices, gas prices, home foreclosure's, loss of jobs, should I say more? In my lifetime I have never seen a time when people who really wanted to work couldn't find work. A time when the basics of life are not easy to come by. As a pastor I see it every day. Phone calls for assistance come in daily. Then people wonder why the church isn't doing the job that they think it should be doing. We are strapped because people who did give can't give like they did give. They are struggling also.

I get so tired of the negative political ads. All they are really doing is telling people that if you want to get ahead of someone else then just bring out the bad stuff about that person so everyone will have a poor opinion of them. What would happen if that were happening in our school elections for class president? Our kids would be in real trouble. What an example our children are seeing from us. This is exactly what we all hated, being made fun of or someone cutting us down in front of others. But we excuse it because they are government leaders. I think it should be against the law to run a negative add of any kind. I don't care if it is politics or cell phone service. Our whole society seems to be based on defaming others, and we accept it like it is normal. The Ten commandments actually say thou shalt not bear false witness. Boy that idea is out the door. If you want to win in this world you got to make something up about your opponent. Their is no true honor or real pride in this country. God help us! We deserve punishment and I know it's coming. Stock market crash, more hurricanes, tornadoes, food contamination's, cancer, you name it and more are coming. I say again, God help us!

Fitting in! Advise from the excluded!

We are drawn to groups. We all have a desire to fit in. It seems to me that churches should be easier to fit into. But just like in high school there are different groups that form and some are excepted in and some feel like they are on the outside looking in. How does that happen in the place that is supposed to be so inclusive? If we are excluding people from feeling like they belong then are we guilty of judging? Judging who should be excepted is a sin. Christ died for all and if we limit that we are guilty of choosing who receives salvation and who doesn't. But you are probably thinking, I don't exclude people if someone feels left out it is not my fault. Our actions can be fences that say, "Keep out, this means you." If we don't see this in our lives but someone gives us a hint that it just might be there, then rather than disregarding the idea we need to explore it. Ask yourself some questions to see if it could be true. Like, do I ignore people or evade them? Do I have a standard that says if you dress, talk or act different than me then you don't belong in my group? Teenagers do this a lot but I wanted to focus more on the adults. Do we create barriers that will keep certain people from being included?

How do I fix this if I find it in my life? There are somethings that we can do but they all take a conscious effort. First, try to put yourself in their shoes. Understanding how it feels to be left out makes us aware of how people can be pushed away by our Acton's. Next, try to think of what it would take to include that person. Making them feel important, making them feel comfortable can bridge the exclusion gap. Last, it may take talking to others in the group about how others see them. We must work together in including others. If you find this in your church it then becomes your responsibility to do something about it.

That's Excellent

I remember the days of being infatuated with a little girl in 3rd grade. Her name was April! Her mother always dressed her in frilly girly dresses. She had my eye and my heart. I was in love! The only thing that was wrong was she had no idea that I felt that way. I wanted to tell her but the words just wouldn't come out. I spent some time trying to impress her. Dressing nice and combing my hair. I wanted her to notice me. I did everything that a 3rd grader could think of to get her attention. Well,Valentines Day was my opportunity to show her my true feelings. I had my mother take me to get a special card. Not one of those Scooby-Doo ones like I would give the rest of the class but one that expressed my true love and intention. The teacher had each student make their Valentine mail box and decorate it to show the value of the cards that would be received. Every Student got a card from every student. Wow! The day came for the exchange. I anticipated what she would say about my card. It was frilly and pretty just like her. But I heard nothing, after the cards were all opened she didn't even look my way. I saved her Valentine card as my last to open hoping for a gush of her inter most feelings for me. I slowly opened the card and read, "Be Mine" and in her own handwriting she wrote... Robfart! It was one of two things either she was telling me that she didn't have feelings for me or she was really not very good at spelling.



What would happen if we set out to be excellent for God? If we would dress nicely and comb our hair and think about Him all the time? If we could apply this type of excellence to service for Him. Being excellent in our worship, our service, in His commission for us. Do you think He would take notice? Oh that's right He already has taken notice. He loved us so much that He sent His son to die for us. Wow that is a whole lot better than Robfart. Let's strive for excellence in everything we do for Him. From the way your church looks to the way you prepare your sermon or lessons to the way you represent Him where ever you go. That's excellent.



Yours Truly!

Robfart

An inner struggle.

I have always had trouble with a the big decisions in life. Boy it is so easy to get comfortable where you are and it is easy not to have to decide. That is until the gnawing gets to you and you must process all info and make that choice. I have in the past wondered why the things that are important to me aren't at the top of God's to do list. Waiting on God is a necessary thing to do. But God did create us as people who can think for ourselves. Can we please God and make a decision without waiting on His opinion to be known? IF we are following Him we are already moving in His direction. IF we have some traveling experience with God we will start thinking like Him. It will be 20 years next Sept 23 that Sheila and I have been married. Wow 20 years! Their are some things that I still guess about when it comes to how she thinking and our relationship is pretty good. To know what God is thinking I need to spend time with Him. Most people don't have a great relationship with God but they still want to know what God wants them to do. They think it would be great if a Trip-tic for their life would be dropped out of the sky into their lap and they would be happy. But as Teenagers they didn't like the decisions that were made for them so why should that change anything from here on out. God gave us a wonderful gift called a brain, and we can use it to follow the direction that He is going or we can make the decision not to follow him. How much easier does it have to be. Pray, research, follow and make the decision! Then afterward you can second guess yourself!!!

Doing Life!

Did you ever get the feeling that you are being watched? Being followed in your car as you drive? That someone is so interested in you that they recorded your every move? Is God a stalker that is out to get you? Na! More like a parent that is trying to keep a toddler from falling down and getting hurt. Like the parent of a teenager that does care and is checking up on to see if they are where they are supposed to be. Isn't it great that someone cares for us so much?

Wait what was that? Oh just my imagination!

conversation

Hey, what a great day today I wish I had nothing at all to do except lay around. I was thinking about the process that people go through when they except that they are lost. I mean when mortality sets in and they realize that being lost is what they are. But see the problem with that is that most people really don't think about it. They are so busy or distracted that they are never confronted with the idea that their lifestyle right now will effect the life or the death of times to come.

How should we pray for such people? Well if they only run into the occasional bump in the road of life. When they hit those bumps should we pray that God make them smooth? I think not! If life is so easy that there is no pain or heart ache then they brush them off with,"I can handle anything that comes at me." I think we need to pray that they become miserable. That their bed is hard, that food don't taste good to them and that the existance that they live will only force them to run to God sceeming for help!

Should this be the way we pray for all who need Christ? Some need to hear that God loves them and to know that he can heal the past hurts. There are people that have been so take advantage of that they need to hear this rather than more pain.

What should I do when it comes to my family? I don't want the to hurt like that. I don't want them to be miserable. I guess I would need to tell you that God doesn't want it that way ether. But he would rather them suffer now in this vapor we call a lifespain than to suffer for eternity. Wouldn't you?