A New Start...Between you and God in 2010

Listen to this truth as the beginning of a new year and a new start comes around... " God never created us to live separately and independently of each other. He likes it when His children care for and nurture each other. He is frustrated when we sulk and feel sorry for ourselves, making everyone else responsible for our happiness. He wants us to be active members of the family. He wants us to get our life from Him. An isolated person seeks only his own desire, not God's. He receives no counsel and sets himself up for deception." John Bevere

I KNOW you've been offended by church leadership. I KNOW the church let you down in a time of need. I KNOW they haven't recognized your gifts the way you hoped they would. I KNOW you feel justified to not commit because you have friends you respect that have been offended too, and they don't go. Why do I know? I KNOW, because I've felt the same way more than once over the years. It hasn't been easy for the church to have me in it and it hasn't been easy for me to stay committed to the church. It's been very painful at times. Yes it's true that I am and have been on staff at a church, but believe me when I tell you I have been on both sides of this issue. I've felt justified to feel like I've been kicked when I've been down by the church and it's leadership and it was a deep hurt, and I've also felt some of the deepest love for me when catastrophe has hit me on a personal level, but God is calling you and me to believe and remember that all the people in the church who have let you down or built you up in the past are His servants and not yours. He wants you to trust that He is capable of dealing with them on His own and doesn't need you to act on His behalf. Consider with me when I suggest that God is putting situations and people in your life to test how you will respond?! Will you react to man's in-perfect ways and run by not committing your life and resources to the church because of them, or will you, in spite of their offenses, become stronger and deeper by turning to God for your strength and identity. The latter reaction chooses to love Him and His Bride more than how much you've been offended by all of us less than perfect people?!

I think we erroneously put being committed to the church on the same level as we do our joining a rotary club, our child's travel sports team or a group of friends we run with socially...if somebody does something we don't like we take our ball and go home. We don't participate anymore unless somebody else changes their way of doing things. That same logic doesn't apply to what God expectations are of us in committing to and taking care of His children and His Bride....both of which He is coming back for regardless of how mistreated you think you've been. Woe to those who think that they have the option of disowning the in-perfect church and doing their own thing independent of it because the people, and even the leaders in it didn't do things the way we wanted them to. I hope you haven't fallen into that trap. It is one of Satan's biggest tactics to get us separated from one another so we don't have the power together the way God intended when He built it through his Apostles. Woe to young people in their 20's and 30's who have reduced their logic to a generational gap way of thinking so they don't attend church, and even a bigger woe to the more mature folks who have not respected younger leadership and worship ideas for the same reasons. I think you will be held even more accountable because you should be the wise mature ones who have had more time to interact with our God and realize that it is possible to learn and grow in your relationship to God when being led by younger folks in the church.

If you choose to come back this Sunday or at the beginning of 2010 with a fresh start don't be misled again by Satan into believing that now you are above being offended or the new church you choose to attend won't have some of the same less than perfect people in it because IT WILL! They are all still there. In every church you might consider joining. It hasn't changed because of something I'm writing here. You are the one that will have to change. You'll have to filter injustices and offenses with a different heart. One that let's God do the judging so you can focus on the SERVING of his people and His Bride unconditionally. When you attend and commit to church with this mind and heart set you'll be doing so with joy and not disappointment. You'll be obeying Him because you are in relationship with Him, and in love with Him and the fruit will be that you'll be satisfied with Him while you love His fallen children. He'll use you to make a difference in other people's lives whether anybody pats you on the back or not, and suddenly, that reason, and that reason alone..... will be ENOUGH for you to stay involved when people in the church don't handle you and other circumstances the way you would.

So what do you say friend...Is this the new beginning you've been looking for to be all you and God have wanted you to be in the church He has placed near you? I hope it is. Even if earth doesn't rejoice, I know heaven will! Like the story of the Prodigal son, God is waiting and watching for you. He hasn't given up because He knows you've had to deal with some things in your life (correctly or incorrectly). He's just glad you are coming back, and when he sees you coming down the road he will run to meet you. He's missed you there. He's not promising that your kin and friends and other peers will always see you the way He sees you. This is between you and Him...

Have a blessed 2010! May it be the first year of the best years of your life because finally, you've decided to live it for Him and not for others !

Ray Marsh

How's your F. A. C. ???

In the sport of football there is a statistic that fans don't always find in the program or even on websites, but you better believe that scouts, coaches, general managers and owners are very aware of it. It's called "Yards After Contact" or Y.A.C. This statistic is valuable because it is a telling sign that separates the average players from the tough ones after they have gotten the hand off from the QB or caught the pass from him.
What do you do with the ball after you have it on your possession?

You see, almost anybody can run towards a goal line when nobody is challenging them or catch a pass when they aren't afraid that somebody is going to pop them as soon as the ball gets to them. The really good ones are the ones that aren't easy to bring down. You won't find them running out of bounds when the ball is in their hands. As a matter of fact many of them look forward to contact so they can be the one dishing out the hard hit (See pic of Sweetness...A.K.A. Walter Payton, and Earl Campbell of the Houston Oilers is another guy that comes to mind).

Recently I ran across a quote that drives this point home to us in life..." Opposition is a natural part of life. Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition - such as lifting weights - we develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and adversity." -Stephen R. Covey

How silly would it be for us to step onto any competitive field or court and not expect some strong opposition from our opponent? Will we ever get stronger or better at what we are trying to accomplish in life if we don't anticipate opposition or avoid contact with it? Playing it safe because we don't want to work or think harder eventually stunts any growth potential you do have (And God has put that potential in all of us). The people that grow are the people that anticipate, and yes even embrace adversity and challenges in life. It doesn't catch them by surprise. When it comes they don't look at it as an obstacle that can stop them but an opportunity to get better by overcoming it. They don't back down, quit or run out of bounds to avoid it.

How about your faith? When things get tough and the adversity comes, does your faith rise up in you because you know and believe that it's just a test to help you get stronger in your relationship with God or are you looking for the sideline? Like the runner in the open field, or the receiver with no one guarding him, it's easy to just go to church on Sunday and avoid applying your faith in the world Monday - Saturday. Are you running out of bounds during the week or do you believe that God and the Holy Spirit in you is strong enough to allow you to endure the hits and keep moving forward? Anybody can call themselves a Christian, just like anybody can call themselves a running back or a receiver. You're still on the team, but what do you do with the ball (Your faith) when the opposition (Satan and this world) sees you are trying to make progress for the Christian team and attempts to bring you down, discourage you and render you ineffective for the Kingdom? So a better question might be... How's your F.A.C. ??? That's Faith After Contact?

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

It's never just a "______________."

At the end of a night of basketball or volleyball in the gym it's easy to just take for granted that everybody will be back next week. Because we think that way, many affirming words are left unsaid, and hugs and high-fives are not given.

God has reminded me on more than one occasion over the past 4-5 years that some guys don't come back next week. In fact some guys don't even leave the gym that very night. When that happens there is a wake of people left behind who wished they had been more faithful with the time God had given them to be in each others lives.

In a basketball game in a church league four years ago I was guarding a man (Mark) who seemed to be in great shape. He certainly ran me all over the gym in the first half of our game. At halftime of our games we would sit on the bleachers and listen to one of the coaches share a devotion or testimony of God's presence in our lives. Mark was sitting on the row directly behind me on the bleachers. About half way through the talk he put his hand on my shoulder, said "wait a minute" as his eyes rolled back he fell onto me and then down to the gym floor. We tried CPR and shocked him four times with a defibrillator, but it was his time and he was gone in a matter of seconds. Have you ever had to meet a spouse at an emergency room to tell them the love of their life is gone? Then to watch and listen to her struggle with how she was going to tell the kids when she got home that they'd never see Daddy again? I know the guys in the league (myself included) wondered for many months after it was over if we had done all we were supposed to do for Mark. Not do all that we could to save him from this physical life, but to make sure he was included in the eternal one we knew about. To this day nobody but God knows for sure.

Just two years after that I was coaching a young boy named Jake in our church youth basketball league on a Saturday morning. His Dad was my assistant on the bench. We enjoyed the game and afterwards talked about when our next practice was and what we would work on to improve our team . Jake and his brother were killed in a tragic train crossing accident just hours later and at the end of the day I was once again in a hospital room with grieving parents who assumed, like we all would, that their boys would be coming back home after spending some time with some friends after our game. We showed up at practice that next week but I don't remember bouncing the first ball. We had six other boys on the team that were wishing they had more time with their friend and needed to be counseled.

And as recently as two months ago I had just given a devotion to a group of young men at our church who play pick up basketball every Tuesday night. At the end of the devotion I asked if there were any prayer requests. Since most of these guys don't attend church they are usually pretty tight lipped so it should have been a clue for me when a young man in his late 20's slowly raised his hand and just asked for prayer for himself and his family. I said the prayer for him and rushed out of the gym to attend to something else that evening. Three days later D'Angelo was murdered and 20-25 guys that he had been playing ball with for a few years came back to the gym the following Tuesday wondering why they hadn't tried to get to know him better, encouraged him each Tuesday, made sure of his eternal destination or like me ...didn't take the time after the prayer to see if there was anything more I could do for him.

I left the last part of the title of this blog blank because the truth is we could put any event or action in the blank. Saying a prayer for a young man who asks for one is NEVER JUST A PRAYER. God had a reason for him asking for it. God knew what was going to happen in just a few days and He had me be one one the last pastors he would ever come into contact with. God knew it would be young Jake's last time in the church, even if it was for a basketball game. He had a reason for him being on my team. It's NEVER JUST A COINCIDENCE that I was his coach that day and maybe one of the last ones to pray with him after his game. For Mark, who like every other guy that night playing in his game, expected to walk out of the gym doors and drive home to his family....NEVER JUST A BASKETBALL LEAGUE. God knew when Mark signed up for the league that we was putting him in our care every Thursday night for the last 8 weeks of his life. God wants to use us in the situations he places us in on a daily basis. We are too busy looking for the flashing lightening and the booming thunder that we believe comes with his missions for us, when most of the time He is just looking for us to be faithful to reach out in love and kindness to the people we work with everyday. To the people we play sports with. To the people who live on either side of us. To the people we go to church with and especially to the people under the same roof we live under.

If my blog does anything for you today I hope it reminds you that all of our days are numbered and that we need to take advantage of, or not take for granted, the time we have with each other in any situation. And lastly that he wants to use you right where you are to love and make a difference in the lives of people around you.

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom"
Psalms 90:12

Life's Stowaways

Recently I returned from a 4 day backpacking trip in the mountains of Tennessee and as I came home and thought about unpacking and a previous trip I had been on I threw all my bags on my backporch...here's why =>

In the Spring of 2005 I went with the rest of our church staff on a short, but enjoyable, mid-week retreat to a camp about an hour from our community. We stayed in dorms on site and for the most part the camp looked well kept and clean. On the morning of the day that we were going to depart to come back home I noticed a couple of small insects on the floor in the shower room and mentioned it to my bunk mates as I was organizing my things back in the room to head to our next group meeting. Another older and wiser staffer said to me that he was going to examine his stuff before he left to make sure he didn't take anybody home with him that he wasn't intending on taking home. The action sounded wise, but I never got around to doing it...Afterall, I didn't see the critters in our sleeping area, just in the shower.

Shortly after I am home, and haven't had time to unpack my bag yet, I realize I need my planner out of my bag to check on the date of an event. I open my planner to find what I'm looking for, and see more than what I'm looking for. Mind you it was only one bug, and it wasn't even big, but I HATE BUGS....especially in my house! What do you think I did next? Finish what I was doing? Heck no! I IMMEDIATELY took my bag and every thing that was in it outside and examined every little pocket or crevice to make sure he (the bug) was a solo. My neighbors probably thought I was nuts, or more nuts than they already think I am. What kind of individual takes his travel bag out in the yard and shakes it vigorously? =)

Do you remember hearing the song when you were a kid...Be careful little eyes what you see? Be careful little feet where you go? Sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally our hearts, eyes and ears go places that have things that, like it or not, come back home with us. They are like stowaways. We can't see them on the surface, and neither can our friends, but don't kid yourself, they are there, and they come out when we least expect them too. We want them to stay in the bag and deny they are there...some wise person has told us to be careful and inspect our hearts and lives to make sure nothing is there that we don't want there, but we didn't see anything near our life that looked threatening so we don't take the time to check it.

Where have you been lately? What have you been exposing your heart to with your eyes? What do you allow your mind to listen to, and convince yourself that no part of it is going to stowaway in your life? We all have stowaways...whether we choose them or not...they choose us. The key is being proactive to avoid them and reactive if we do make contact with them ....Doing an honest, thorough search of your heart to make sure that you are QUICKLY getting rid of anything you or your Lord doesn't want there. When was the last time you had a heart to heart with the Father and told Him how sorry you are for all the crud that you've stumbled upon there recently that doesn't glorify Him or reflect the life you want to live for Him. It is so healthy for our connectedness to Him to go through our bags more frequently than we do to separate ourselves from anything that would keep us further away from him than we want to be. If I was casual about the bug and didn't react, but let him crawl away to a corner of my house, you and I both know how many I would have been seeing later...why should you treat impure thoughts or actions any differently. Separate yourself from your stowaways TODAY!

"Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the guilt of my sin." Psalm 32:5

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