Your Family’s Christmas

We all have our own family traditions for the way we celebrate Christmas. Some open presents on Christmas Eve and wait till Christmas morning to see what has appeared in the stockings.. Others hold all gift opening till Christmas morning. Some have a big meal on Christmas Eve. Others have always gathered the entire family around the table at high noon on Christmas day.

Our family tradition has not changed since I was a child (and probably before). There is an order to things and everyone knows what to expect: First we go caroling to friends and neighbors (usually in red earmuffs, sort of odd in McAllen’s 80 degree Christmas weather). Back at the house, no presents are opened until the youngest reader has read the Christmas story from the bible, reminding all of the true meaning of Christmas.

I don’t necessarily recommend the caroling part unless you have a particularly gifted musical family. But I DO recommend the bible reading. If scripture is not already a part of your family’s celebration, this would be a great time to start a new tradition. Here’s a suggested order of service for your own gathering around the tree:

1, “Joy to the World”
(Sung with gusto, no PowerPoint required)

2. Prayer of Thanks for Family and for God’s Blessings
(Give the pray-er advance notice)

3. Reading of the Biblical Christmas Story – Luke 2:1-14
(Read by youngest reader OR one verse per person)

4. "Silent Night"
(Sung with reverence)

5. Closing Prayer of Thanks for the Baby Jesus
(Prayer voiced by Adult or Student)

6. Presents Opened

However it is that you celebrate Christmas, find ways for your family to remember the Christ child, Emmanuel, God with Us. Take advantage of the teachable moment to remind one and all of how and why he came.

From our family to yours,
Merry Christmas!

Bro. Mickey

A Public Service Announcement for Sailing Through the Storms of Life

Tips to Consider When Sailing through the Storms of Life

I’ve heard it said that “plagiarism is stealing from one person, research is stealing from many.” So, I give props to all the people and sites listed that I borrowed from the end of this blog.

Food for thought…

Sailors can complain about the weather but that is not going to change it. The weather will be what it will be. The best sailors learn to adjust.

An old African proverb says: You are either leaving a storm, heading into a storm or in the midst of a storm. 

Whether you feel like your vessel is a dingy, cruise liner or pirate ship – there are five things to keep in mind as you navigate through the storms that come your way in life:

1.      Lift your anchor and launch into the deep water. Boats were not made to hang out in the harbor. A boat can survive mild winds and rain in the harbor, but not much more than that. Did you know that during major hurricanes the United States Coast Guard closes ports in the path of larger storms, and they encourage all ships to leave port, heading “East at the best possible speed.” According to the National Weather Service, the worst place for a ship to find itself is the eye of a hurricane, the second worst place is the harbor. As you watch the weather, monitoring the storms that head your way, don’t hug the harbor, raise the anchor and set sail at your best possible speed. Head for deeper water. Outrun the storm’s path if it’s possible.

2.      When you encounter a storm you can’t outrun, steer into it. With top speeds reaching between 15 and 30 miles per hour, commercial ships are not the quickest.  Captain John Konrad, who has experienced hurricanes first hand, says, “When battling a storm at sea, size and mass are your friend. Ships are built of heavy steel and designed to be capable of riding out most storms. Even the largest ships however, like the 1,302 foot long, 170,974 ton container ship, Emma Maersk, can sink if she is beaten by massive waves for too long a period of time.” An interesting ranching side note – when cows are faced with a storm, they disperse and try to hide from it. However, buffalo stick together and take on a group wedge-like formation and hunker down together and let the storm pass right over them. Did you know there are more cattle killed each year by storms than bison? Early settlers referred to the American Bison as “the ones who face the storm” - understanding that sometimes the quickest way through a storm is head on. FYI – Did you know? The American Bison has been clocked doing more than 40 m.p.h. and can outrun a horse in a sprint. The Sioux Indians called the American Bison, tatanka —which actually means "great big thing." But I digress…Back to sailing tips for weathering life’s storms. Is your reaction to storms that occur in life more like a cow or buffalo? 

3.      Get rid of excess cargo. What do you need to throw overboard? What is weighing you down? And, why do we need to do this? According to boating experts, cargo or equipment is often jettisoned to stabilize a vessel during a storm. If you see an unavoidable storm entering your life, consider jettisoning unnecessary baggage that could, in the end, contribute to the sinking of your ship.

4.      Tie yourself to the mast…if you find yourself dealing with an unavoidable storm. Back in the day, when a ship faced a major storm, they tied the captain to the mast so he wouldn’t be washed overboard. In extreme storms, they tied the entire crew to the mast. The word mast means “pole or rod.” So, a mast has an important job. Most masts that I have seen tend to be toward the center of the vessel. The mast supports the sails, which allows the wind to propel the ship.  As a follower of Jesus, I tend to think of him as the mast on my ship. (He’s really the captain of my vessel too… but that’s another blog)…but for this illustration’s purpose…the best thing we can do is tie ourselves to our mast (Jesus) when facing storms in life. It’s usually in those moments, when we find what we are really made of. Truth be known, in the calm or storm, the best thing you and I can do is stay tied to Jesus.

5.      Enjoy the ride… Yesterday is gone and you’re not getting it back. Did you make the most of today? It's about to become a yesterday. For some reason, I have a picture of Lieutenant Dan of the Forrest Gump movie in my head. You know, the scene where he is riding the mast of the shrimp boat during the storm. You don’t need to use his colorful language…or blame God for all the storms you encounter in life. You can rest assured, God will use the storm to bring glory to Himself and make you more like Jesus.

Whatever you are facing at the moment…know that God is there in the midst of your storm.

May your anchor be tight and your compass be true. Sail on, my friends!

It’s a privilege to serve as your Discipleship Pastor, Dean

Props to: Dr. Leonard Sweet, Forbes.com, The National Weather Service, Dictionary.com, the History Channel, and Siri (I told you I borrowed info from several places).

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The air has turned cool and the leaves are beginning to fall.  That means fall has finally arrived.  Things begin to change and schedules become full with more and more events, as everyone tries to cram in everything they can.  However, we call this the most wonderful time of the year.  Sounds a little crazy or backwards, but it is so true.  It seems like we would want our lives to slow down and have less to do in order to say this is the most wonderful time of the year.  Instead, our lives become more complicated and crazy and for some reason we still look forward to it.  It’s when we will spend more time with family and friends.  We focus in on all that we have received and how we have been blessed.  We are reminded to be thankful for all He’s done.  It’s that time of year that we focus in on the birth of Christ and the true reason behind the season – Jesus.  In the midst of this season make sure you stop and remember why we are thankful and the reasons we celebrate.  Psalm 46:10 – tells us to, “be still, and know that I am God.”  In the midst of the craziness, as we are all running around, stop, and remember, stop and refocus on the reason for the season.  In the midst of the craziness don’t leave God behind.

for the journey, 

Mike

“For His eyes are upon the ways of a man, and He sees all his steps.” Job 34:21

     Tuesday night I left my home to run to the store to get a few last minute grocery items.  When I left the store I turned onto the street to head home and the moon appeared in front of me.  It was so full it was as if I could reach out and touch it.

     Just a little over a year ago my family and I moved to Victoria from the Dallas area to accept the position of worship pastor.  This was the farthest from home I had ever lived in my entire life.  Occasionally since moving here there has been the sting of homesickness and when I saw the beautiful moon I could not help but think that those who I loved, that were living six hours away, could step outside and see the same beautiful moon I was seeing.  For a second it would be like they were here and I was there.  Yes I know, that is very sappy!  I thought to myself how amazing it was that almost anywhere in the world you go you can still see the moon.  It’s so big that its presence seems to follow us wherever we go. 

     As I continued driving my thoughts moved from my family to God.  I thought about the fact that God is so big and so powerful that we can see Him and He sees us anywhere we go.  In fact He is omnipresent.  He is wherever we are, wherever we have been, and wherever we will go.  That thought filled my mind and gave me a peace that it hard to put into words.  As I was thinking about that I turned onto my street and the trees quickly blocked my view of the fantastic moon.  At first I was a bit sad that I couldn’t run in and tell my wife to come out and see, since the trees blocked our view, but then I thought even though I can’t see it doesn’t mean that it’s not there.  Of course the moon was there even if my view was blocked by some trees. 

     There are times when we face struggles that cloud our view.  They take our focus off God and simply make it hard for us to see Him.  That does not mean that He is not there.  He is omnipresent He is everywhere.  We must open our eyes, clear our sight line, and refocus.  There He will be as big and beautiful as He was the first time we saw Him.  Take some time this week to step outside, gaze around, and look at the beauty that surrounds you.  Have peace in knowing that even we lose focus or our view becomes clouded God is still there waiting for us to return.  

Tom Smith

Pastor of Music and Worship

A Missions Alert!

The Heartbeat of Northside
Northside has always been a church with a heart for missions. We began as a mission and have begun missions. We have started works in Victoria county and participated in mission efforts as close as the Valley and as far away as Greece. We have sent Northsiders to mission fields in Japan, Zimbabwe, and France. Mission work has always been a priority.

A Developing Need
The good news is that giving to International Missions is up! The bad news is that expenses in International Missions are up even more. For the last five years, the International Mission Board has had operating costs that exceed giving (by millions). Drastic measures are being taken to make our mission efforts around the world financially sustainable.

Missionaries to Come Home
To help alleviate the financial crunch, missionaries over age 50 with five years or more of service are being offered to participate in a “Voluntary Retirement Initiative”. Some 600-800 missionaries and staff will be affected this year. A friend of mine, retired seminary professor Dr. Dan Crawford, is in contact with many of these missionaries and has received the following messages from the field:

· “Just keep praying. The future seems very uncertain. Missionaries are dealing with a range of emotions, unfortunately at this point it does not include excitement.”

· “The biggest challenge for us is not to have several months to better prepare our national partners for the future. It is hard to think that we will be leaving after having the fantastic privilege to serve our Lord here for over 30 years.

· “I find myself today wondering if we will stay, where our ministry is only beginning to take off, or return to the States.”

· “I am thinking of staying at least one more year as self-funded.”

· “It is a very discouraging time for all of us and morale is at an all-time low.”

· “Pray specifically for those whose children could lose their missionary scholarship to college if their parents are no longer missionaries.”

· “God has not told me to leave my place of service. I am staying. I will lose my apartment, car, salary, and benefits, but I am staying until God tells me to go home.”

Back here at Northside, we will soon begin our third missions offering of the year, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. Now, more than ever, we must be faithful in giving above and beyond our normal tithes and offerings to see that we keep our missionaries in the field. Pray. Be thinking of missionaries returning to the states needing basic housing and transportation. Be thinking of how Northside can continue to be the mission-minded church we have always been called to be.

In His service,
Bro. Mickey

The Great Blue Bell Famine 

of 2015

This summer, tragedy struck the great state of Texas.  Blue Bell Ice Cream announced it would be halting production of a staple of most Texan's diets.  Immediately Facebook, Twitter, and the internet were abuzz with photos of people weeping in the aisles of our local HEB, and savoring their last few bites of Blue Bell that they had stock piled in their refrigerator.  Just reading this probably brings back the pain of that moment for many. 

A few weeks ago Blue Bell announced that you would again be able to get your favorite treat in some towns throughout the state.  The next day traffic between Victoria and Hallettsville increased tenfold….. well maybe not that much, but many made the trip to get their beloved treat.

Why all this talk of Blue Bell you ask?  I wondered occasionally during that time how we might feel if some of our other things disappeared or where delayed.  How would people react if we had a Bible shortage or a shortage of church services?  How would people react if they simply misplaced their Bible?  Would Facebook be a buzz, or would it be the topic of conversation around the water cooler?  Sadly, I doubt this would be the case.  Often times we are guilty of taking for granted what we have, and our spiritual walk is of no exception. We should be filled with a strong desire to spend time with God.  Read the following scriptures to see what the Bible tells us about what our desire for the Lord should look like.

“I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.” Job 23:12

“Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.” 1 Peter 2:2

“As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for You, O God.” Psalm 42:1

All of this is not to say we should not be sad about the loss of our favorite ice cream but it is to say that when we miss our quiet time, corporate worship, prayer time, etc. there should be a strong longing in our heart for that time.  Do you crave your time with the Lord?  Do you miss Him when you get busy and forget to make time for Him?  Do you miss church when you are unable to attend?The “Great Bluebell Famine of 2015” has caused me to take a look at my priorities and move a few things around on the list to make sure that my relationship with Christ is front and center.   Have you done that lately?

For the Journey,
Tom

Finding the right path and staying on it!

Finding the right path and staying on it!

This summer, while on vacation in Colorado, Grant and I had the privilege of going hiking with my 80 years old dad in the Colorado wilderness.  Almost every year, since before I was born, my father has gone to Colorado in October to elk hunt.  Every year trees fall across the trail due to storms and old age, and must be cut out of the path for the pack horses to get through.  So our job was walking up the trail and clearing the path – not an easy task.  As we walked and talked we came to a spot in the forest that the path we were on disappeared due to all of the under growth.  We all begin walking around looking for what we thought was the right path.  With some luck we found it, and were successful at reaching the elk camp.

                Take a look at Psalms 1: Oh, the joys of those who do not follow evil men’s advice, who do not hang around with sinners, scoffing at the things of God.  But they delight in doing everything God wants them to, and day and night are always meditating on his laws and thinking about ways to follow him more closely.  They are like trees along a river bank bearing luscious fruit each season without fail.  Their leaves shall never wither, and all they do shall prosper.  But for sinners, what a different story!  They blow away like chaff before the wind.  They are not safe on Judgment Day; they shall not stand among the godly.  For the Lord watches over all the plans and paths of Godly men, but the paths of the godless lead to doom.

                If you stop and looked at your life right now, what path would you discover? The right path or one that is leading you into destruction?  Who is on the path with you?  Are they like minded and leading you to Christ, or are you following evil men’s advice?  Slowly read through this passage once again, pausing and letting each verse sink in.   For those that seek to follow after God, great things are in their future.  But for those that choose to go on a different path – bad things are in store.  If you find yourself on the wrong path stop.  Begin walking/looking around for the right path.  Sometimes we have to place our trust in God and switch paths.  Later we look back and discover that was the best decision we could have made.   

                I was thankful that I had my 80 year old father on the trail with us that day.  Once we found the trail again, he knew we were on the right path that would lead us to elk camp.  Without his guidance I might still be in the mountains of Colorado looking for the right path.  Our journey is to be one that we find joy on.  Look around you this week.  Who do you see is going down the wrong path?  What can you do to help them?    See you on the path.

for the journey…

Mike

In Galatians 6:7, I'm reminded of a truth I try to keep before me..."Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." The Biblical principle of reaping what we sow is as true today as it was when Jesus walked the earth.

Sowing precedes reaping...and sowing matters.  Sowing is work; it takes time and effort.

If you eat three times a day, you'll have twenty-one meals in a week to nourish your physical well-being. Nourishment is required regularly for our physical well being.

We can think of our spiritual well-being in the same way. Some feel that attending a Worship Service once a week is enough bible study and worship to receive adequate spiritual nourishment. Physically, I'd not make it long on one meal a week. I'd become unhealthy in a short amount of time. While the illustration between the physical and spiritual has limits, there is truth to the Biblical principle of sowing and reaping.

I was privileged to serve as a Minister of Students for fifteen years. I can't count the number of times I heard a student say, "When I was at Youth Camp I felt so close to God...now that I'm back to my regular routine, why do I not feel as close to God?" The truth...at camp they were spending 3-4 hours a day in bible study and worship with other followers of Jesus.  Am I recommending you do this three times a day? Not necessarily, it just points to the fact that you reap what you sow.

Involvement in Northside GroupLife is a way you can take a step forward in sowing into your spiritual well-being. At Northside, we have Sunday School Groups, Small Groups, Discipleship Groups, Journey Groups and Support Groups. Each group has different purposes and strengths, but all have one goal...and that is to assist you on the journey of becoming all that God intends you to be.

If you are not involved in Northside GroupLife, now is a great time to jump in. We have new groups starting throughout September. Some require a short commitment; others are ongoing throughout the year.

What have you been sowing lately?  Look back at your schedule. Reflect. How much of an investment have you been making into your spiritual well being?

It's a privilege to serve as your Discipleship Pastor. If I can assist you in finding a group that's a fit for you, don't hesitate to contact the church office.

For the journey...Dean

A Post Pastor Post

It is with much gratitude that I thank all of you who have been faithful or even occasional readers of this blog as I have had a chance to write it.  I think it was Charles Dickens who said, "It is disquieting thought to do anything for the last time."  Disquieting - that is a good word for how this feels.  I am drawn to reminiscing at times like this but I think it better to say, "Thank you."

Thank you for taking a chance on a small town pastor back in 2003.  Thank you for your patience and your encouragement.  I appreciate you overcoming some of my mistakes and affirming, what can only be described as "stumbles forward."  I heard Paul Powell once say, "It is much more likely that a church will make a pastor than a pastor will make a church."  That has been true of you and me.

Northside is a church that has a firm grip on its spiritual heritage and the unchanging message of Jesus Christ.  But it has also been a church that embraced new ministries and undertook new challenges.  Keep doing that as God guides - and He will guide.

Will I do a blog at my new position?  That remains to be seen but if I do, I warn you that you may read things that you have seen before.  If I do blog and you re-read something, please, again, be patient, a new idea will come. 

The Northside Journey will continue in some form during the interim.  Stay in touch so that you can know what is happening as we "Journey Together" to new things.

for the journey...

Tim

"Why did you get so choked up?"

Some of my best memories of my time as pastor of Northside have been the baptisms.  I will never forget baptizing four young students from China.  They had come here to do graduate work and our Chinese Fellowship had befriended them and they had accepted Christ.  That was a big moment for me to see the world has come to us and that anyone in the world can come to Christ.

In some ways my most memorable baptism was one I had a hard time saying anything because I got choked up.  You can't imagine me doing that can you?   A few weeks before, a young African Muslim woman came to my office.  Her name was Maria.  She briefly told me of her treacherous and deadly journey leaving a war torn country in Africa.  She and her family, who are all still Muslims, somehow made it through a series of harrowing moments, through some refugee camps and finally to the United States. 

Maria was very much to the point of her coming to see me though.  She wanted to become a Christian.  She had seen the violence and brutality that had hidden behind a veil of religion in Africa.  She had heard about Jesus in the refugee camps.  She had attended our church, it was within walking distance of the apartment she had found to live in while she attended college here to become a nurse.  Maria was truly ready to give her heart and life to Christ knowing that it would be very costly to her.  Her decision led to her family disowning her and counting her as dead.

As we stood there in those waters for her baptism, I was overwhelmed by the thought that I have never in all my years baptized anyone who had to pay such a high price to follow Christ.  I usually baptize people with the blessing of their family or at least some sort of acceptance.  There was none of that for her.  Yet, there was a joy in her that brought us both to tears.  Several people asked afterwards,  "Why did you get so choked up?"  If you read this and still don't understand, I am not sure I can explain it to you.

Today, August 14, Maria graduates with her RN degree. She remains steadfast in her faith.  There has never been any family help but yet there has been help from her spiritual family at Northside.  Sometimes God brings a person with great needs into your life and you think it is so you can be a blessing to them.  But in reality it is so He can show you how that person can become a blessing to you.  Congratulations Maria, you are that blessing.  May there be many more like you that God brings into our lives and into the family at Northside.

for the journey...

Tim

A New Journey for All of Us

This morning I shared this announcement with our congregation. Knowing many of you are out of town at this time of year and many of you live away and read this blog, I wanted you all to know:

It is with greatly mixed emotions that I tell you today that my time as pastor here at Northside is drawing to a close.  For the past two months, Judith and I have been praying, discussing, consulting and at times struggling with the opportunity to join the staff of South Texas Children's Home Ministries.  That opportunity has turned into a calling from God to go there as strong, as clear and as consistent as His calling was to come here.  I will be serving as the Director of Church Relations working in the existing ministries of STCHM but also working directly with churches, pastors and their families to form new ministries.

I will be sharing with you in next Sunday's message how all this came about.  I will also walk you  through the process that Northside formed long ago to guide you through the selection process for a new pastor.  I will do my best over the next three Sundays to help us all in this journey.  I will be with you through Sunday, August 23, which is Round Up Sunday.

Let me say now, and very clearly, that my leaving does not come because of a problem, or a conflict or some underlying issue.  We simply sense the call of God on our lives to go be involved in something that He is preparing for us.  We love this church, we love the great staff we have here and we love you, that is much of what I mean when I say we have struggled.  God has given us so many blessings here and there are so many good things happening but this new call on our lives keeps coming and we must go. 

Something unusual about this is that we will not be moving from Victoria for the foreseeable future.  The plan is for me to work in this area and beyond it, but for the sake of your pastor search process and for the sake of the new pastor, we must step away from this church.  We do not intend to step away from the many friendships and relationships we have built here.

I know there are many questions and many emotions that we are all facing.  I wish we could have told you all one by one to address those things.  We regret that we were not able to do that but over the next three weeks we will attempt to help you in this journey you now embark upon.  I will have a few more blog posts before I am done.  We appreciate your prayers.

for the journey...

Tim

Celebrate Recovery

This week's post will look a little different.  I am setting this up to be a resource for those who want to see the quick overview of the principles that Celebrate Recovery is based upon and how they flow from beginning to end. 

We are going to begin Celebrate Recovery in September but I have been talking about what Celebrate Recovery is and how it works.  Below are the basic principles in the RECOVERY Acrostic:

 

Realize I'm not God; I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and my life is unmanageable. "Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor…"

Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to him, and that he has the power to help me recover. "Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted…"

Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ's care and control. "Happy are the meek…"

Openly examine and confess my faults to God, to myself, and to someone I trust. "Happy are the pure in heart…"

Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. "Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires…"

Evaluate all my relationships; offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm I've done to others except when to do so would harm them or others. "Happy are the merciful…" "Happy are the peacemakers…"

Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible readings and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will.

Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words. "Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires…"

 

You can find out much more by getting the book, "Life's Healing Choices" by John Baker and Rick Warren.  Where do you need recovery?

for the journey...

Tim

Power in the Blood

A week ago I went back to my foot doctor to receive and injection in the foot that I broke back in December.  It was something that he suggested some time ago and something I have had done to this foot to help with a problem I was experiencing even before the break.  It is not a steroid injection, but an injection of my own blood, centrifuged down to platelets and plasma.  That platelet rich plasma is injected into an injury to use your own blood's healing powers to help enhance the healing process.  It is a fairly simple process, with no side effects.  Except for the pain of the injection.  That is no small thing.

I was sitting in the chair in the exam room and the doctor was ready to inject the plasma into my foot when the thought occurred to me, I better not cough while he is doing this, that would not be good.  I had been coughing with a sinus infection that week.  Just as I put a cough drop in my mouth, the doctor stuck this ten inch needle in my foot (I know it was not ten inches long, it just felt like it).  I immediately sucked in a breath of air and the cough drop went to the back of my mouth.  I could swallow it or choke on it.  Chocking with a ten inch needle in your foot would not be good. I decided to swallow.  But then I had to fight a cough and I could not catch my breath. 

The nurse that was with the doctor kept saying, "Breathe, sir, breathe."  I wanted to say, "I would if there was any air left in this room," but I could not even get that out.  I did not remember my previous injection hurting like this.  I am glad I did not remember or I would not have agreed to have it done again.  It really hurt.  For a few days after, it was pretty sore but as I write this, I can say my foot is feeling better.  I am not ready to run a 5k race but it feels better than it did.

It is funny how things that help heal us often hurt in the short run - at the beginning. Then over time, God brings the healing to a place where we can feel it.  It is not just in physical things, it is that way in spiritual things as well.  Confession can be pretty painful in the moment but it leads to great healing.  The thought of repentance can fill us with a fear of pain, but later when we really have repented, we find it was a lot more painful to go around doing things our way instead of God's way.  If we have been running from God, the thought of following God can fill us with thoughts of dread.  But when we follow God, our lives become filled with His love.

When Jesus died on the cross, he went through pain, he shed his blood, he went through a dreadful death for us so we would not have to go through it.  There is power in our own blood to help heal a wound.  There is power in his blood to free us from all of our sin. 

This week and next week, we will be talking about "Life's Healing Choices."  Those messages will be an overview of the core of a Celebrate Recovery ministry that we will be starting soon.  I am praying that a lot of us will find healing.  And get free of a lot of pain.

for the journey...
Tim

Every Tribe...

"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb."  Revelation 7:9

A couple of months ago, my wife, Judith, and I went to a Christian concert in Houston.  It was a big, sold out event with thousands of people.  I noticed something different about this concert that I had not seen at previous Christian concerts - the crowd was much more ethnically diverse. 

Now Houston is a very diverse city.  I remember being sent to the grocery store while we were visiting in-laws there and I counted six different languages being spoken by the people in the aisles of Kroger.  This concert must have had people there from all over the world.  I sat next to a family that spoke Spanish listening to a band from Ireland singing about the love of God.  There were Asians, Africans, and some I did not recognize - quite literally as the children's song says, "red, brown, yellow, black and white."  I don't know if that would have happened just a few years ago.  But I am glad to have seen it happen now.

We started to leave the concert a little early, to beat the traffic but also because it takes me longer to get places now with this bum foot.  The best way to leave this outdoor pavilion was to exit near the stage area.  I looked back over the crowd as it rose up the slope of the hill and people seemed to extend all the way into the night sky.  They were standing and praising God.  I was reminded of John's experience in Revelation 7, "every nation, tribe, people and language."  It was a beautiful haunting sight and sound; a glimpse of heaven.  I wanted more and yet in that longing there was a sense of assurance that someday there will be.

A group of us have been praying for the Muslim world through this month of Ramadan. It has been an eye-opening challenge.  We will conclude things this week by hearing from one of our missionaries who has returned from a closed country in the Middle East.  All of this has gone to help me understand that God's love keeps getting bigger.  He cannot love us more than he already does, but he makes it possible for there to be more for him to love.  Let's see how big that love can be.

for the journey...

Tim

How Jesus Defined Marriage

This is a special blog post that is a synopsis of my message on July 5, 2015 in response to the legalization of same-sex marriage.  Before the message, I explained that the ministers on staff at Northside, as a matter of personal belief and conscience,would not be performing same sex marriages.  We have also prepared a resource page on our website to help people know how to respond to this issue.  It can be found at www.nbcvictoria.org/marriage.

for the journey...
Tim

How Jesus Defined Marriage

Mark 10:2-9

Have you heard the story of "Love Locks" in Paris?  People began to place a lock on the railing of a footbridge as a nice way of expressing love and commitment to one another.  It started in 2008, and the locks, often with the couple’s name, initials or anniversary, began to be a phenomena.  Thousands of locks were placed on the railing of the bridge.  Historical societies began calling for stopping the practice.  But what is wrong with people expressing the permanence of their love.  Engineers began to question the safety for this old bridge to have this many locks.  Similar objections came about the expression of true live.  The practice went on until the bridge held 700,000 locks, the weight of 20 elephants.  Then some of the railing panels holding those locks began to collapse.  Now they have to be removed so the rest of them don't cave in.

 Can’t we express love any way we want to?  How can my showing my love for the person I love negatively impact someone else?  What is wrong with it?  Have you heard that recently?  We are going through a marriage controversy today with the legalization of same sex marriage.  Jesus lived through a marriage controversy too.  Let us just simply look at his words about marriage as he answers a controversial question. 

 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

“What did Moses command you?” he replied.
 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied.  “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’  ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  Mark 10:2-9

Marriage as Jesus defined it

There were two schools of thought on divorce in that day.  A very liberal one that said it was ok to divorce your wife for any reason and another that said divorce should only come about because of marital unfaithfulness.  It was a divisive issue, a test in which they wanted to trap Jesus.  Can they get him arrested as John the Baptist had been for criticizing the ruler of that region, Herod Antipas who divorced his wife to marry his brother's wife?  What does Jesus say?  Go back to the Bible, the words of Moses is what they had.  The answer to divorce is found in what God intended marriage to be.  Here is a key, God made marriage for a reason, a cause, a purpose.  He has a plan, a definition for marriage so...

Marriage first and foremost is obedience to God’s commands.

He gave commands about marriage and about sex.  Sex was and is to be only in marriage between one man and one woman.  Look at those words, "God made them male and female." Jesus did not have to say that for his day but he did, it speaks and it speaks to our day.  It also speaks to where we must look in our controversy, it also speaks to how we build a strong marriage God’s way, by constant input from the Bible.  That is where we must turn so as not to let the thought of our day influence us more than His word.  What have you read more this past week?  News, opinions, social media or His word?  Let all of His word speak to all we are going through.  Someone may read it and say, "Isn't Jesus saying things have changed about divorce; that marriage had 'evolved?'  No, that certificate they mentioned just stated that this woman had not committed adultery, she just was no longer pleasing to her husband so he was divorcing her.  It kept her from further ridicule.  Jesus said God gave this because of the hardness of men's hearts.  Divorce is a sin with which we cannot trifle.   We, as God’s people, need to embrace the word for our day and let it influence our attitudes and our marriages.  We need to let God show us how to deal with sin in our lives and in our marriages.  How?

Marriage as Jesus defined it is a transformation toward God’s oneness, this one flesh of which he speaks.

God has a bigger purpose than just loving each other, even for a lifetime.  Remember the "Gospel idea" we talked about a couple of weeks ago – two people being transformed by God, "leaving," "cleaving," "becoming one?"  Two people knowing God's power in overcoming sin and doing God’s will and work in life?  A lot of people live long successful lives but never fulfill God’s purpose, just their own.  Marriages can be that way too.  God has transformation for you to experience and for you to be a part of making happen in the world.  Your marriage has an influence on the world.  What kind is it?  We can look in the Bible and see that much of our Middle East problems stem from one bad decision in one marriage.  That mistake?  Abraham taking Hagar to have a child by her, even at his wife Sarah's encouragement.  What were they doing?  Following the influence of their times and not God’s plan.   Ever since then, the children of Abraham - the Jews and the Arabs have been at one another.  Abraham and Sarah gave up on God's plan, redefined their marriage and now we see the pain that is caused by the influence of one bad decision.

Some have had this objection in light of all we see in the Bible, "What is Biblical marriage?"  There is a lot of sex outside marriage; there is a lot of polygamy.   Let me answer it this way, people have been trying to redefine marriage all through history.  One man and one woman to one man, many women.  Men have always been trying to redefine God's plan for sex only in marriage.  Let me borrow a phrase I read this week, "What the Bible describes is not always what it prescribes."  Just look at Abraham’s marriage and family.  We see the pain caused when we do not follow God's plan.  Yet God wanted to bring transformation even back then, through a marriage. He graciously continued to work with Abraham and Sarah and they returned to God's plan.  What does all this point to for us in our day?  We need the constant work of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit works to change people in a relationship and to change people’s ideas of relationship to match God's.  The thought of marriage that, "I find someone to make me happy and love them all my life," is not God’s plan.  He wants two people to become like Christ and then find what they are looking for in following Him.  The transformation of Holy Spirit is exactly what we are looking for in marriage.  Look at what Paul says this fruit of the Spirit is, “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control."  Exactly what we want in marriage.  But it only comes by the Holy Spirit and it only comes in God's plan, not outside of it.  We must stop trying to redefine marriage to be about us.  There must be change in the way we naturally think about marriage and our spouses, for marriage to be what God intended - the way Jesus defines it.

Jesus definition of marriage also involves effort towards God’s permanence.

God intends a marriage to last a lifetime that is the way he will work with you.  We need to not “let” things happen that separate us.  A lot of those bad things we just let happen.  We don’t keep working on marriage and learning to love and give sacrificially.  I can "let" myself be shaped by the world to think that marriage is over when I no longer find happiness.  That is the circumstance of the sin of divorce Jesus is speaking to here.  The way Jesus defined love, was sacrificial. I give something of myself for the good of another. In that sacrifice, I find the other person made better and I find joy in it.  So how does Jesus define this effort?  As constant attention to love another person as he does.

Don’t let those things happen that destroy marriage.   Here is a lesson I have learned:  Salvation is by the grace of God, but marriage is by works. Not the other way around.  You must act in obedience to what God is doing to change you because he will enable you to love this active, sacrificial way and not just let things come that bring separation.  Let me give you an example.  For years the song, "You were Always on my Mind" has been popular.  Brenda Lee sang. Elvis sang it.  Willie Nelson won a Grammy for singing it.  Here is how that song begins,

Maybe I didn't love you
Quite as often as I could have
And maybe I didn't treat you
Quite as good as I should have
If I made you feel second best
Girl I'm sorry I was blind

You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind

And maybe I didn't hold you
All those lonely, lonely times
And I guess I never told you
I'm so happy that you're mine
Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the time

But you were always on my mind
You were always on my mind

Ok, that is just stupid.  That is "letting" something happen that separates.  We must act in obedience that is how you stay together and overcome sin.  Yes, marriage was made to overcome sin, not continue it.  And in obedience to God and his plan that is what happens.

Marriage and a personal saving relationship with Jesus are joined together in the Bible, they have much in common -  obedience, transformation and effort - all of those involve love.  They are inseparable but we can often try to do things on our own.  We need to hear his words, follow his ways to eternal life and then follow his ways for this life.  Have you made that commitment to him?  He has done all he can.  In a sense, he has proposed and waits on your answer.

We must hear words that we often overlook, words that speak about God doing something in our lives and doing it His way. These are not just nice words said at a wedding, they are words of life.  “What God has joined together let no one separate.”  What is God bringing together in your life?

This Boy

I have story to tell you about this boy.  Something special is happening in this boy's life.  He was involved in our children's sports program, Upward this past year.  In Upward he received a Bible.

This boy came to Vacation Bible School.  I taught the Bible study one night for he and his fellow fourth graders.  He made an impression on me.  He was very attentive, bright eyed and interested in what we talked about.  He even made a comment about a particular Bible verse which, though I really can't repeat here, showed me he was getting the point of the verse.  This boy doesn't know how to do "church talk."

This same boy came to Summer Music Camp and during the Bible study time there, he made a realization.  The stories we were talking about at SMC were, as he termed it, "in that book I got from Upward."  He asked his teacher to write down the scripture reference where each day's story was in "his book."  Each night he would go home and read it for himself.

On the last day of SMC, he did not get written down where that day's story came from so he found his Bible teacher before the performance to make sure he would be able to read it that night.  This boy is very interested in the Bible though he does not yet know all our terms.

Sunday, this boy and several of his family members came to church for the first time to a worship service.

We don't always get to see how God is working in a boy or in a girl or in their family, but He is making it clear in the life of this boy.  Slowly, step by step, God is leading this boy to understand His love.  Slowly, step by step, God is using a whole church's efforts to impact this boy.  Would you keep this boy in your prayers?  Will you keep on being the kind of church that God can use to reach this boy and others like him?

for the journey...

Tim

The Light of Glory

Driving north from town at the end of the day not too long ago, I could not help but look at the gorgeous sunset off to my left.  The clouds were in a very unusual, "rough looking" pattern and the glow of the setting sun was shining on them in a beautiful way to bring out the intricate details of their composure.  I had never seen clouds like that before.

After driving a little further, the sun had now set and I glanced back at the clouds.  There was no longer any sunlight on them and the "rough," unusual pattern now just looked ugly and unusual.  The clouds had not changed, the sunlight had.  Without the light, they just looked weird and gloomy.  With the light, they were beautiful and intricate.  Too bad the clouds could not follow the light.

We can be a lot like those clouds.  When we are allowing the light of God to shine on us in what we do in our every day life, he gives us the ability, in some small way, to reflect his glory.  When I am living for myself, when I am not following him or reflecting the light of his love and truth in everyday life, I can just look weird and probably pretty gloomy.  I cannot live the Christian life without the light of Christ and his word.  When I live for his glory and not my own, that light shines.

We live in some very dark times, as I write this, I have just read the reports of terrorist attacks in at least three places world-wide.  We live in changing times, as I write this, the Supreme Court has just made its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.  For those of us who seek to live following the light of his Word, it can seem like the sun is setting.  It is not, it still shines.  We, unlike those clouds, can follow the light. The question is, will we allow it to shine upon us and thus through us as we have opportunity?  Even in dark times?  Even in changing times?

Jesus put it this way, "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."  John 8:12

Where is a place that you will reflect his light today?  How will you do it?

for the journey...

Tim

Note to Northsiders:  I will be gone Sunday, taking my daughter to the airport for her trip to China.  Sunday, July 5, I will be preaching on "How Jesus Defined Marriage."  I appreciate your prayers.

Three Funerals

By the time you read this, I will have done three funerals this week.  One for a Hispanic woman.  One for an Anglo man.  One for an African-American man.  They were all very different people - a hair dresser, a teacher and a plant worker (who went twenty five years without missing a day of work).  they did not know each other but they all had some things in common, they all were people of faith and they all had a connection to Northside Baptist Church.

There are unique cultural expressions of grief.  Hispanic families (in Victoria at least) place sand upon the top of the casket at the graveside.  Anglo families often have a lot of flowers and displays of mementos.  African-American funerals have the elements of resolution reading and music that is unique and life affirming.  I have heard it said that we all laugh in the same language.  It could be said that we all cry in the same language too.  We may have different customs of grief, but we all cry in grief.

There will be nine funerals in one church in South Carolina next week.  The grief caused by one gunman in one church must be close to unbearable.  If we all could attend all these funerals we would see, as I did in these three funerals here, that we are not that different.  Death is common to all races and ethnicities, and so is grief.

Grief can unite us, but the thing that unites people like no other is the love of God that has been shown in Jesus.  It is a stronger "uniter" across cultures than anything else I have seen.  It is too bad the young gunman in South Carolina never saw that or grasped that.  It would be a shame if we did not see it or grasp it.

I am sorry to see three people who attend my church pass away but I am glad to be a part of a church where these three people could worship together with a sense oneness in Christ.  They are now among the new arrivals in heaven along with the nine from South Carolina.  They are now knowing the joy of Christ and the oneness He brings. The pain and the differnces of this earth are gone - and there are no more tears.

It is interesting to me that in heaven, we do not lose our race or ethnicity.  John, in Revelation 5:9, said he saw people there in heaven from "every tribe and every language and every people and every nation" and they were all singing before the throne of God - as one.  God loves our differences and yet, one day, in heaven, we will make us all truly be one family.  Let's keep practicing for that day until it comes.  Let's especially do that this Sunday.

for the journey...

Tim

The Power of God's Word Over Our Words

We were having a problem in my previous church.  We had just started Upward Basketball (a non-competitive, Christian instructional league for children).  People were having a hard time grasping how this children's basketball league was different. 

Though it was in the church's new gym, there was definitely some "un-church-like" language going on.  Parents were working on the referees.  The crowd would say things to the opposing team's coach.  Coaches were jawing on other coaches.  The older kids were trash talking each other during the game.  The tones were harsh.  The language was at times crude.  We had a problem.

The leadership team of our new Upward league struggled with what to do after that first week of games.  Something had to be done but is was such a pervasive problem.  So we came up with a plan to address our talk during games.

I did the half time talks to the crowd the next week to again explain that Upward was different.  This is not a basketball league at a church.  We were a church that had a basketball league.  But we did something else to address the problem that I think was much more effective than anything I said. 

We plastered a single Bible verse all over the gym.  Everywhere you could look in the gym there was a piece of paper with the verse visible.  Every door had it on it.  Even the bathroom stalls and walls had this verse on it.  We left them up all season.  I think that verse made the difference, the others on the leadership team agreed with me. What was the verse?

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  Ephesians 4:29

We all learned a lesson about the power of God's word over our words.  It is powerful and it is effective.

You probably wish there were some places at work, at school or in the community you could put this verse up to see if it would change the kind of things being said, but you can't. Have you thought about starting with your home? 

Our words are most powerful at the places we are least careful - at home, with our family.  We will look at that Sunday.  God has great things to say about what we say.  I hope you will join me.

for the journey...

Tim