Guiseppe DiPasquale

Guiseppe DiPasquale

Seeing my grandfather's name engraved on the memorial wall at Ellis Island was more moving than I had expected. Maybe that was because it came at the end of touring the island, after reading the accounts of the people who immigrated to America in the late 1800's and early 1900's and realizing what so many, like my grandfather, went through to come to this nation.

During this period of open immigration, men, women and children came by the thousands every day hoping to carve out a better life for themselves and their families. Leaving behind the familiarity of their home countries, Italy, Gerrmany, Greece and many others, they ventured across the Atlantic on freighters and on steamships taking with them only what they could carry. The pictures of them disembarking with their arms full of their belongings (before the days of rolling luggage with telescopic handles) and their immigration papers in their teeth to present to officials painted a picture of a different kind of heroism than we are used to today.

These men and women left behind everything they knew and set out for a country they had never seen before. Most left their father and mother behind, seeing them for the last time. They risked an uncertain future, decisions on where to settle had to be made, jobs had to be found, a place to stay was needed and yet they came, millions in total.

Abraham did something similar, only not by sea, 4,000 years earlier. He left his home in Ur of the Chaldees in response to God's call:

"The Lord said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people, and
your father's household and go to the land I will show you'." Genesis 12:1

And New Testament history is filled with accounts of people who left all behind to follow the Lord, some moving great distances phyically, and some sacrificing much materially. And still others made choices right where they were, never moving an inch, to forsake all and follow Christ in a walk of faith that at times can be both incredibly difficult and tremendously rewarding.

What's interesting is that the answer to "Why" is the same in both situations. They made a decision to change the course of their lives because of the chance of a better life, one filled with hope for the future, one filled with new opportunities, and despite the risks and hardships they launched out in faith. Immigrant heroes and heroes of faith have more in common than you might think, a courage and a bravery to not settle for the status quo but to go after the life God intended.

By the time I was born, my grandfather was in his 60's, a frail man speaking broken English. He never talked about his journey to America, never mentioned Ellis Island and what he went through when he left Italy behind. This week I've gained another piece of perspective to be thankful for.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Within Range

Within Range

"Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while he is near."

With the colonial troops running out of ammunition in their fight against British forces at the Battle of Bunker Hill, Colonel William Prescott is said to have made the now famous statement "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." He wanted to be sure that the opposing forces were within range before anyone fired off their precious ammunition. The same scene is repeated in war movies of every kind and in movies such as the recent Pirates of the Caribbean where the mates were told to hold their fire until the other ship was within range of their cannons.

At a Tigers game this year (they lost in 10 innings), we went early to watch a little batting practice. There were probably about 50 people there, crowded by the left field fence, hoping to catch one of the home runs hit into the stands. And then there's the throwing of the bouquet at weddings, with all the single young ladies trying to catch the coveted "you're next" bouquet, hoping to be within range of the beautiful bride's toss.

When I wrote "within range" in my Daytimers last Friday, I was thinking about it in a spiritual sense, being within range of God's blessing, favor and protection. We've been told "Come near to God and He will come near to you" and to "approach the throne of His grace with confidence". In Song of Solomon, the beloved is told that if she didn't know where to go, she should stay close to the shepherd. We each want to be close enough to the Lord to be able to hear His voice, even the still small voice, when He is speaking to us. We each want to be close enough to the Lord to experience His presence and His power in our lives, pressing through like the woman with the issue of blood, to receive a touch from Him.

But we have to face the reality that sin separates us from God. Our own choices and decisions, including the time and effort we put into our relationship with the Lord, have a tremendous impact on our being "within range" of the Lord's blessing on our lives. Is there an area in your life, something you've not yet been able to surrender, that is keeping you out of range of the blessings and benefits of being a son or a daughter of the King? Make the effort to draw closer to the Lord, make whatever adjustments are necessary to put your life "within range" of the blessings of His love.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Already Dead

Already Dead

"In the same way, we count ourselves dead to sin
but alive to God in Christ Jesus." Romans 6:11

The four men were joined together by something they had in common, each having contracted the same incurable, debillitating disease. As they gathered together one evening, they were considering doing something that was very dangerous, even life threatening. As they sat discussing their options, the dim prognosis of their disease factored into their decision. They knew if they succeeded, their would be a definite reward. And if they failed, with the future they faced, they weren't really risking all that much because, to be honest, in some ways they were already dead.

Picture a famine so great that a head of lettuce is selling for $1200, a hamburger pattie for $800 (the bun is extra) and a potato (just one) for $750. The four men we are talking about were four lepers and they lived in the city facing this "great famine".

The story is told in II Kings 6 and 7 and describes a famine so severe that the people faced certain death if something didn't happen soon. The Syrian army was surrounding the city preventing all food from getting in and they planned on staying until the city died of starvation or surrendered.

Out of an entire city of people, the four lepers were the only ones willing to risk their lives by going out of the city and surrendering to the Syrians. Everyone else was worried about saving their lives while these men weren't really concerned with saving their lives. Leoprosy was so contagious that they lived in segregation and there was no cure for the disease they were afflicted with, leaving them without hope for the future.

In some ways, they were already dead and that was their advantage! Anytime we die in an area of life, we become truly free to live. Say for example that a person dies to needing the approval of others. That person becomes free to launch out in faith no matter what the risk of failure is and no matter what others may think. In dying, they become truly free to live. We can die to sin, to our past, to the hold "things" can have over us, to so many areas of life, even to our dreams and goals. And every time we die, we become a little more alive, free to live a life of faith and victory in the Lord. Like the four lepers who saved an entire city from starvation by their actions, we can experience purposeful living like never before.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Maple Trees

Maple Trees

If you live near any maple trees, you know that this has been a good year for whirleybirds, the seed pods that fly off maple trees in the spring. In fact, calling it a good year could be an understatement, they are everywhere in record breaking numbers, springing up in gardens, gutters, sidewalk cracks, and, in our case, all over the yard. Without exaggeration, we have several thousand (no, that is not a typo) maple trees growing in our yard, right in the middle of our lawn, all about 3 inches tall. It's one of those perfect storm scenarios with the right amount of rain, the right temperatures, the right soil conditions, and having lots of maple trees. If we stopped mowing, we have the makings of our own personal forest.

But it is a lesson in fruitfulness that is worth examining and that can be a source of hope to each of us. In Luke 8:8,15 Jesus was talking about our being fruitful in the parable of the sower:

"Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop a hundred times more than was sown. The seed on good soil stands for those with a good and noble heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop."

Being fruitful is God's desire for each of us and it is available to us if we will cultivate the right conditions in our hearts. In the parable of the sower, Jesus warned us about several things that will keep us from being fruitful. The first was a hard heart that God's Word couldn't penetrate. One evidence of a hard heart is when we have an area in our lives that is untouchable, our spouses or children can't mention it, our friends can't mention it and our pastor can't mention it. Hosea tell us to "break up your unplowed ground" if we are to experience growth and fruitfulness.

Another warning that Jesus gave was about allowing life's worries, riches and pleasures to so crowd our heart that there is not room for the good things of God to grow to maturity and bear fruit. As a person weeds their yard or garden, we want to weed out of our lives anything that limits our fruitfulness and our effectiveness as Christians. In each of us, there are some things that just have to go if we're going to accomplish our dreams and goals.

Wanting to make a difference and wanting to help others are noble ambitions but the conditions of our heart have to be right. Create in your own life, through your choices, decisions and attitudes, the "perfect storm" for being the fruitful Christian the Lord wants you to be.

God bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Bus Ride

The Bus Ride

Several years ago, a pastor accepted a call to minister at a church in Houston, Texas. A few weeks after arriving in the area, he took a bus from his home to the downtown area of Houston. It's on that ride that this story takes place and provides a sobering lesson for all of us.

When the pastor sat down in the bus, he discovered that when he had paid his fare, the driver had accidentally given him too much change. As he considered what to do, his first thought was "you'd better give the money back; it would be wrong to keep it". That was followed by another voice inside him saying "It's only a quarter, who would worry about such a small amount? And the bus company makes too much money, they'll never miss it. Accept it as a gift from God".

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then handed the driver the extra change saying "Here, you gave me too much change when I got on". The bus driver smiled and said "Aren't you the new preacher in town? I've been thinking a lot lately about going back to church and I wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday". The pastor stepped off the bus trembling at the thought that he had almost compromised when he thought no-one was watching and at the realization of the difference that compromise would have made.

In survey after survey, the number one comment made about Christians by non-Christians concerns hypocrisy, not living out what you believe. The Greek word that we translate hypocrite was originally used for an actor in a play, someone who was playing a part, pretending to be someone they weren't. It had come to describe someone who says one thing but does another.

In Matthew 23, Jesus describes the person who maintains one appearance on the outside while being a different person on the inside. Sometimes that can happen in Christians where they are one person at church and a very different person at home or at work.

Like it or not, we are the only Bible some people will ever read. Our lives are powerful declarations about what we really believe and about how important the Lord really is to us. Take the time to ask yourself the question "What message is my life speaking to others?" And if changes need to be made, start today to be man or woman God has called you to be.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church