Daily Encouragement 29 Sept 2017

Daily Encouragement

Having the correct perspective changes things. Joy comes from having the proper view of reality. The Apostle Paul, had the correct perspective when He wrote the following to Timothy:

1Timothy 1:15;  “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

When we consider who we really are, it is easy to have a joyous life.  In Paul's letter to the Romans, we are told, “All have sinned.”  It continues to say, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.”  How can we not be joyous knowing that we are sinners and the wages of our sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus?  When our focus is narrow and our vision is dim we lose sight of the eternal picture.  We must learn to look eternally.  When we see life as Jesus sees life, we will have joy.  We are sinners saved by grace, saved for eternity.  Joy in this life is about your perspective.  Continue to look for His presence in your life daily.

In Christ Name, 

That Crazy Pastor

What do I think About an NFL Player Protesting?

Today we had a See You at The Pole event at our School. As a Christian School an opportunity to pray for a community is a daily norm for us. Our community needs prayer, as does our state and country. We are, like most schools in our area, a multi-cultural school. With students and staff from many different backgrounds and cultures. But, before I go too far, I want to warn you. I am a retired military veteran (20+years, US Navy), I am a Pastor at a Baptist Church and Christian School, I own a gun, I own and ride a motorcycle, I am married to a woman, I have children and grandchildren. I tell you these facts knowing that they will color (for some) the view you now have of me and that is sad.

You see a prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. Some of you now have a prejudice against me without ever having met me. And, some of you now have a prejudice for me without ever having met me, both views are wrong and short sighted. You may never consider yourself prejudice, but you are. 

So, let me state the obvious. As a Veteran, I committed my life to protect and defend the Constitution of these United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I did so willingly, serving what I believed was a greater good. I never considered I was fighting for the wrong parts of America, I fought for the right. I fought for my family, friends, loved ones. I fought for the guy on my left and right. I wanted my shipmates to get home safe and have a safe home to get back too. So, I see these protest in the following way:

1. Each NFL player has the right to protest peacefully. If they choose to take a knee, they have the right to do that. I fought for the right! Just as anyone in the stands can refuse to stand or take off their cap.

2. Each NFL player has the right to stand for the National Anthem. As does each American. I stand, take off my hat and place my hand over my heart, not as a reflection of or in agreement with the things that are wrong with America but just the opposite, the things that are right about America! 

3. I choose therefore to stand in honor of those men and women who died, not for the wrong in this country, not to disrespect a portion of our citizens, but to honor those who have made us all free, for the idea of a free America, for the ideal that America represents. 

It is those who died, who believed with their last breath that the potential greatness of this country was worth not just the fight, but was worth their life. They died so that this ideal, this country could live. Abraham Lincoln said it like this, "It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus for so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Even with all the perceived issues, The United States of America affords the greatest opportunities of any country on the planet. Has America always gotten it, right? No, but we have gotten it right more than we have gotten it wrong. Why else would millions continue to flock to our shores? We are the land of opportunity. When things go wrong, we have a legal system the ensures our rights to a fair hearing, to certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Among these rights is the right to protest. So, an NFL player taking a knee in protest does not bother me, they have the right. However, do so with a purpose. The President of the United States made some remarks about the NFL players. He also has the right to free speech, while I do not agree with the language, He has a right to an opinion. In response, nearly, every NFL team responded in protest, along with their owners. For this reason, it is evident that those owners and players who knelt in protest following the President’s remarks where not protesting a social issue, they simply and clearly where responding to one man’s remarks, like a first grader responding when a classmate calls him or her a name. For me this felt more like a playground confrontation between two toddlers than a call for social reform! Why had these owners and players not did this before? If it was an important issue the day after the President’s remarks, it was an important issue the day before.

This isn’t about making real social change, it is about self. The selfish person will protest what someone said about them, with no real plan or solution to a real social issue. I attempted to educate my children to the fact, that, when someone calls you a name you have a choice. If the comment, name, accusation is true and you can fix it, do so if it is needed. If the comment, name, accusation is not true don’t believe it. In the end, the one making a rude comment is almost always expressing a commentary of who they are, not a commentary on who you are. Dr. Martin Luther King said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Simply, protesting because someone offended you does not address the issue, being hateful, calling names, and pointing fingers is not a solution. Dr. King understood that. We cannot solve the racial (prejudice) problems in America with more division, more racism, more prejudice. We must find the common and gather there, converse with each other, dropping the assumptions and picking up our humanity. Like Dr. King, "I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word."

What is Our Goal?

What is Our Goal?

By: Terry Ryan

As a Southern Baptist Pastor I have recently began to look at the denomination and ask, "What is our goal?" In a recent on line article by Ed Stetzer (First-Person: Southern Baptist weight 'What Now?', http://bpnews.net/44930/firstperson-southern-baptist-weigh-what-now), posted Sunday, June 14, 2015, Dr. Stetzer affirms what many in Southern Baptist life have seen as a growing trend over the last two decades, a trend toward decline. In fact this is no longer a trend toward decline, we are in decline as a denomination. In the Florida Baptist Witness Blog, posted 15 June, 2015 (http://gofbw.com/blog?id=246) Kevin Bumgarner leads with, "The three people who spoke Sunday evening (June 14) during the Southern Baptist Convention's 2015 Pastor's Conference in Columbus, Ohio, set a somber, yet inspiring, tone for the two-day event." Bumgarner quotes Ted Traylor, a Baptist Pastor from Florida as saying, "We stand in need of God's favor because we stand in need of unity." Bumgarner goes on to say, "The analogy he (Traylor) was trying to draw was that in one hand we need God's favor, and in the other hand we need God's unity." Certainly, we do need God's favor and God's unity but is that our goal? If so, would it be better to ask, what is the motivation for this goal?" While unity is good for any organization, we also must ask ourselves, "would more unity bring us closer to our purpose?" and just as importantly, "would more unity bring real growth?" When we think of growth we need to think of real Kingdom growth; which means real salvation, real spiritual increase individually. This increase in not just a numeric increase in attendance or even in baptisms, but an increase at the individual level, in the individual heart.

It is curious that after all these years we have become very adept at identifying the issue but seem to miss the solution. While it is clear most Southern Baptist would agree that two of the strengths of the denomination is in the cooperative program and the focus on missions, we seem to have lost the founding principle of who we are. While these two above articles point us toward unity, they miss something. While unity is important, the unity of the local churches, association, and conventions in not what makes a difference to the lost individual within our communities. If a community views a local church as uncaring, detached and irrelevant that community will see any association or unity with that church as uncaring, detached, and irrelevant. The solution to the decline of the Southern Baptist Convention is not to establish more unity within an already declining unit; to do so is simply circling the wagons. When a once functional organization becomes dysfunctional it is often because that organization has lost it's focus on the mission for which it was established.

So, what is the solution? We must go back to the root of who we are as Southern Baptist remembering that unity was achieved not as a goal but as a byproduct of our mission. The Southern Baptist did not establish the cooperative program as our mission; our mission caused us to establish the cooperative program. Therefore, the cooperative program, convention unity, or associational ties cannot be the goal; these are simply tools for the mission and grow out of a common purpose. If we make the tool (cooperative program, convention alignment, association involvement or general unity) the goal, we are dangerously close to idolatry. There is an old saying, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." We have forgotten it seems that it is the sovereign Lord who changes hearts not a churches unity. Dr. Stetzer touches this when he states, "It is as important as it has ever been for Southern Baptists to share and show the love of Jesus." but this cannot be something we do as an add on to other programs and plans, it must be the focus of all we do. We have forgotten our mission. Jesus made his mission clear. While on trial Pilate asked Jesus (John 18:37, ASV), "Art thou a king then?" The answer stated by Jesus is our mandate as well, "Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end have I been born, and to this end am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." Our goal is not unity, our goal is to bear witness to the truth. Unity comes from a common goal but cannot be the goal, for if unity is the goal of an organization that organization will become a closed loop and slowly spin down to die. Unity (a small thing) will come once we focus on the truth (a big thing).

We must return to being witnesses of the truth. This is the goal of our Savior, and it must be our goal. Moreover, as this is our goal we should have a healthy view of what it takes to achieve it. For too long have we been known as much for what we are against as for what we stand for. As we focus on the goal (bearing witness of the truth) it becomes no longer what we are against but the focus becomes the "truth." Paul told Timothy, (2 Tim 3:14-17) "But continue in the things that you have learned and have been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from a babe you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfected, thoroughly furnished to every good work." We must return to the truth as our purpose; the truth is the only purpose in which we can have assurance. Only the truth can save the individual, only the truth can bring real unity,only the truth is reality.

Terry Ryan is the Pastor of First Baptist Church of Cutler Ridge in Cutler Bay, FL. He has been married for 34 years and is the father of 2 sons and the grandfather of 5. He served in the U.S. Navy of 20 years and was formally on the staff of the Florida Baptist Convention.

Recently there have been many reports on the traditional media outlets and on social media about politics, specifically the Presidency of the United States.

(Now, all my friends know that I am a Christian and my belief colors everything I see, as does yours. So, take it or leave it, but here I go.)

The office of the President deserves all the Respect we can muster. It does not matter whether we voted for the person in that office or not. The Office of the President and the individual who holds that office need be neither white or black, male or female, Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, the President should however be an American (by law) who supports and defends the Constitution of the United States (as per the Oath) including all the Rights (Bill of Rights) and Amendments to said document. The President should respect the rule of law and the separation of power which is designed to protect us from becoming a dictatorship. And while we cannot expect that every President will be a Christian (because not every American is either) The President is a representative of the people and therefore the President should represent all rights equally. The President is not the representative of industrial unions, lobbyist or special interest, except as far as they represent individuals. The problem with much of media is that we listen to it and believe it. Secondly, on social media as in the main stream media we will often only hear one side. The Liberal, Conservative and Independent will only listen, "like" or share what agrees with a very narrow view of the world and when someone does not agree with their narrow view that person is mocked. It is interesting that we have forgotten how to have honest debate as a means to the truth, instead we only believe what our favorite media outlet reports and we call that truth. We all have friends and relatives who only post one side and are unwilling to even listen to another point of view. Moreover, if you listen to them and still do not agree with their view that somehow makes you less intelligent.

As Christians we are encouraged by the Bible to “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that ask you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15) The debate is not the issue, we should be willing and able to give an answer for the hope that is in us, moreover, we must understand that we cannot change someone’s heart (The is for God to do) but we certainly should be able to convince someone that we believe what we are saying and demonstrate that belief in our actions. As a Christian we should believe that the Bible is God’s Holy Word and therefore it is our guide as we vote. As we use any guide we must understand that we have an obligation to be an educated Voter and vote for the individual who best represents what we believe to be right, to vote in accordance with what is the best thing for the whole country not just our special interest. As Christians we are obligated to vote this way, to make the focus others, to do what is best for all not just our little corner of the world.

How can we possibly be sure that we are doing this, well let’s look at 1 Peter 3:15 again; “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that ask you, a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” We first do it by sanctifying the Lord God in our hearts. We are to worship, adore, respect and revere the Lord, not just verbally, but in our hearts. If you worship, adore and revere someone or something, that person or thing will often be a topic of conversation. To worship someone is to know the details about them. It is in these details that we find our defense, many Christians when asked why they do not witness will say, “I am afraid” or “I do not know enough”, why would that be if you worship, adore, revere the topic you are asked to testify of?

Secondly, we are to give this defense with “meekness and fear”. Meekness and fear here are to present our defense mildly, humbly understanding the seriousness of the event with a reverence for God that is due.

These attitudes, attitudes of worship, humility, seriousness are to be used even as we make decisions about who we are to vote for. An attitude of worship will motivate us to be sure of pleasing God, an attitude of humility will keep it from being about “us” and we certainly need to understand the seriousness of our vote.

The United States of America is the greatest country on earth. We must take the responsibility of voting very seriously, but take it seriously not because we are Americans, but because we are Christians. Moreover, let us show the respect due to all our elected officials, using our vote to put people into office who are worthy of that office.

Did you know that God wants to give you:

Knowledge of who He is

His Word

Belief

His Prayers

His Glory

His Protection

His Joy

His Holiness

A Mission

Unity with Christ

Perfection

A Home

Eternal Life

Love!

That is what He says, and that is in only one chapter of His Book! (John 17). God uses John 17 to speak to our Physical self, our Intellectual Concern and Spiritual Hope. If you desire to know more, read John 17 post any questions you may have here. If you want to hear more, visit First Baptist Church of Cutler Ridge tomorrow, you already have the Sermon Outline!

Are you an Adult?

 That is a question for the ages! As an older Man I see an alarming trend. I see more and more boys and girls who refuse to grow up; because of this they seem to never develop the ability to connect decisions to consequences or put another way, the action to the result! We now live in a world where "it is someone else's fault" for everything that ails us. What happened to hard work, what happened to personal responsibility, what happened to integrity?

I am not opposed to someone keeping the money they earn as long as they earned it legally. I am not opposed to someone living in a nice house as long as they can pay for it. I am not opposed to someone having a new car as long as they can cover the cost. You see, I grew up in a generation that taught me, a nice house was the result (consequence of) work and savings. I learned that to have a nice car you worked and saved money to pay for it. For my generation there was a direct connection between food and work, there was a direct connection between shelter and work. The cloths on my back, yep, clothes were connected to work.

There was a direct connection between food and work

I understand that when I was a child the house, car, food and clothes did not come as a result of my work, but it certainly did come as a result of someone’s work! As I grew my parents made it clear, they provided room and board; this comes with being a family. However, the older I got there was also an expectation that I would contribute more to that family. As I required more of the family resources my contribution needed to grow as well. My parents had no obligation to provide a car (for me personally), a phone (cell or landline for me personally) and when I went out with friends I covered the expense. I was taught there was a difference between needs (things required to sustain life) and wants (cell phones, new cars, concert tickets, internet, etc., those are bonuses and blessings to life). My parents did not have the money to provide many of the extras I wanted, but that did not mean that I could blame them if I did not do what I could to earn those things (legally)! Too often I hear, “if my Father had been better” or “If I had not been raised by a single parent”, this is then followed by “I wouldn’t have turned out this way” or “I would be better off”. I am now 50 years old, and have been married since I was 18, if I am a mess now at this age; it is because I made bad choices! After 32 years of making my own decisions I have no one to blame.

  Do not expect a free ride 

Now, I am not opposed to helping someone with the necessities of life and helping them achieve self-sufficiency and even growth toward more as long as they do not expect a free ride or expect someone to give them the house, car and money with no strings attached. There should be an expectation of that person working their way out of charity, moving toward paying rent, paying their bills, being self-sufficient. Self-sufficient is what Adults become when they grow out of childhood. I know that as I age there may come a time when I am no longer self-sufficient. My wife and I still have both of our Mothers alive. What a blessing it is to have parents who are healthy, however, my mother and mother in law both know that they have a home with us should they need one. They have both been self-sufficient for a large portion of their life and continue to be, but should that change we will do right. Taking care of family is important and when a member of the family can no longer care for themselves we should not make that someone else’s responsibility. I also know that there are many who will never be self-sufficient. What is being discussed here is not an issue of medical, intellectual, physical or emotional ability certainly those issue play a role in self-sufficiency, however, medical, emotional, physical and emotional hindrances to self-sufficiency are also diagnosable and not just opinions and never an excuse for not being the best one can be.

We have a young man at our church 

We have a young man at our church, I am sure many would say He has a disability. Every time I see him I know a couple of things will happen, He will hug me, He will ask me how I am and we will talk about sports! What I see is a person who, is happy, content and knows what unconditional friendship is about. He would never make an excuse because He sees the possibility not the hindrance. Ever though He has a real, identified condition He also still strives to be the best He can be! What an honor to know such a person, and to have Him call me friend is incredible.

God provided water, manna and quail for the children of Israel as they wondered in the wilderness

God provided water, manna and quail for the children of Israel as they wondered in the wilderness but He never intended for them to make that a lifestyle! I have raised two sons. Each of my sons have turned out to be excellent Men, not because I did such a great job, I struggled more often than I succeeded in parenting. My Sons are successes because they have made good decisions. They are responsible for the quality of life they now lead, it was the decisions they have made and the results of those decisions that are to blame or the credit for the life they now lead! As they grew they took on more of the responsibility for the life they had, they began to buy the extras and now they provide the necessities and the extras, because they are Adults! I am proud of the men they are, the Husbands they are, the adults they have become. They both know that if they make a bad choice, and loose it all, they have a home to come to and we will provide food and shelter (the necessities). However, they also know that would be temporary. There would be an expectation that they would work to recover, moreover, they know that they would be required to show progress to self-sufficiency again. They also know that if you move home, you fall under family rule once again. You see adults who pay rent get to decide what time the door is locked! Adults who pay utilities are allowed to leave lights on. Adults who pay for grocery and cook the meals have the advantage of deciding what dinner looks like! Children who do not pay rent, pay utilities, buy the groceries have a bedtime and must eat broccoli!

Children who do not pay rent, pay utilities, buy the groceries have a bedtime and must eat broccoli! 

So, are you a real man? If so, order Pizza tonight with your own money earned doing your work, call your parents (on the phone you pay for) and tell them you love them and invite them over to dinner in the home you pay for! They will love it!

Worth a Thousand Words

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So, I caution you, the images you are about to see will profoundly change your standard of beauty.

We have all heard the old saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words." I fully understand the depth of that saying. When I was young, I found that I could best express myself through art. I would spend hours in my room drawing. I found that a picture really could express my words.
Yesterday, I was reminded of this expression, and it was affirmed when I saw the pictures.
Like any good Grandparent, I believe that my Granddaughter is by far the most beautiful child I have ever seen. Each time I look at her, I am mesmerized, rapt, enthralled and spellbound. Her beauty is beyond description, even a thousand words could not relay the sight, so I will post the pictures and let you decide.
I want to give a special thanks to Sarah, please check her out at
www.MomentsbySarah.com she did an awesome job taking these photos. Of course she had an incredible subject!


P.S.
It has been a while since I posted anything.
Please be in prayer for the survivors of the Haiti Earthquake, the Flooding in Tenn, and Arkansas. The Florida Baptist Disaster Relief Ministry has been very involved in these events this year.
Hurricane Season has begun, so please pray as we prepare here in Florida.
I do not know what we did before all this tech stuff.
So, forgive me for not posting here as much as I should. Apart from the responsibilities of Disaster relief I also attempt to keep up with several sites.
I post on
www.gatherinhisname.com
Keep up with the Disaster scene at:
www.flbaptistdisaster.org
I have this blog here and I have a Facebook page as well.