Options

Options

“Your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way,
walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.”
                                                                       Isaiah 30:21

Going into my favorite restaurant, National Coney Island, I’m faced with more options than I would prefer: do I go with breakfast for example, or have the always safe, dependable Hani Special? And if the choice is breakfast, the menu provides another set of options from blueberry pancakes and French toast to the usual winner of eggs over easy, rye toast, hash browns, and bacon crispy. But that is just one example of the many, many options we face throughout our day, from deciding how to spend our time and money to choosing what stores to shop in, and just recently, what to buy our loved ones for Christmas.

Having been given a free will, we’ve been given options by the Lord also. We can choose to follow Him or choose to go our own way; we have the option of staying on the fringes of Christianity or diving in and serving Him wholeheartedly and unashamedly. In reality, we have the option of sinning or walking in holiness, but, either way, we get to face the consequences of our choices. Every day and in so many situations, we are confronted with options in our walk with the Lord that demand a choice.

But let’s assume, and hopefully it is true, that each one of us really wants to do what’s best in the eyes of the Lord, no matter how difficult the call and regardless of how much of a sacrifice is asked. The question quickly becomes what is an option and what is not. Let me give you an example: freely and totally forgiving someone who wrongs us is a conscious choice we each have to make but for the believer, is it really an option? The second commandment, “love your neighbor as yourself” is another non-option as we seek to please the Lord in all we do. Looking at this thought, you quickly see that sharing the gospel, giving to the poor out of our goods and resources, praying for those going through difficulty and needing God’s help, and a myriad of other areas, are all commands to God’s people, not options to be considered based on our time and preferences.

And so the danger we have to stop and address is whether we have mistakenly treated part of God’s Word as a series of options that we can accept or reject, and, in so doing, missed out on much that the Lord has called His people to. As we move to a new year, fresh with renewed hopes and waiting opportunities, let’s each do it with a new openness to what God is asking of His people, knowing that His desire is only and always the very best for each of our lives.

Wishing you a happy and a fruitful new year!
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Christmas Day 2010

Christmas Day 2010

“Thank God for His Son - a gift too wonderful for words!”
                                    II Corinthians 9:15 NLT

As we celebrate today the greatest gift ever given, the gift of God’s only Son, the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, we realize that it is truly “a gift too wonderful for words”.

o   Incredible – Yes, it’s incredible that God would do that for you and me, sending His Son to earth to redeem us from our sins and from the curse of death, but it’s so much more.

o   Unbelievable – Yes, it’s unbelievable that Jesus would give up His place in heaven to come to earth, to be born into our world, into our problems and struggles, all to pay the price for our sins.

o   Indescribable – And yes, it’s hard to describe what something means when it is totally undeserved, could never be earned, and is the ultimate sacrifice that one person could give for another, but it’s so much more.

o   Unspeakable – The Kings James Version word used here says much the same thing; there just aren’t words in the English language (sorry, make that in any language) to describe how great the gift of Jesus to the world really was.

o   Love – Yes, the birth of Jesus that we celebrate today is quite simply God’s love for us, for each and every one of us, for all the world, finding expression in Jesus being sent to bring forgiveness of sins, to give hope and to offer a better life than we could ever have imagined.

Truly Jesus being born into the world, and being born into each of our hearts, is a gift too wonderful for words. We can only stop and reflect, saying “thank you Lord for the gift of your Son, a gift that has changed my life more than words can describe”. And because of that, Christmas Day 2010 is truly a day to rejoice over the gift of Jesus!

Merry Christmas,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Tracks in the Snow

Tracks in the Snow

“The good man brings good things out
of the good stored up in his heart.”
                                               Luke 6:43

One of the beauties of a freshly fallen snow like we received last week is being able to see all the tracks that have been left in the snow. From the birds that have lighted on the ground to look for seeds to the deer that have made their way across our yard to the carrot pile, the tracks are well defined and leave a record of who has visited, the path they have taken, and what they have done. Our backyard right now is filled with the tracks of grandpa and Uncle Johnny taking turns pulling Hope on the sled, of the deer that have crisscrossed the backyard to dine on carrots for dinner, of squirrels playing in the snow, and of Diefenbaker our Siberian Husky whose love of the snow and cold is second to none.

But those tracks reminded me of another kind of tracks that we learned about many years ago. Traveling through southern Israel in 1984, our tour guide explained how every night the sandy ground on the Israeli side of the Jordan River, just north of Jericho, was screened to eliminate all tracks from the previous day’s activity. The next morning soldiers would search the area looking for the tracks of any enemies who had snuck across the border during the night. When footprints were found, as happened all too often, they would be alerted to the danger and take the necessary steps to apprehend the intruder. But what stood out is that their tracks gave them away, tracks in the sand that told the story of their journey.

Tracks in the snow in a backyard in southeastern Michigan and tracks in the sand in a contentious area of southern Israel, the truth remains the same that we all leave marks behind of how we have affected the world around us. Some like pulling a sled for a smiling little girl are tracks that bring a smile to our face and that blessed another life. And, hopefully, you can take that example and look backs to things you have done that have left good tracks behind in the sands of your life. Other tracks, like those in Israel, tell far different stories of mistakes, regrets, and failures that we have had to take to the Lord and ask him to cover, to screen over in His love and mercy.

My prayer as we approach another new year is that you will commit to leaving behind tracks of good deeds, of acceptance and of kindness toward others, tracks of going the extra mile and of persevering in the difficulties of life, tracks of loving like you want to be loved, and of passionately pursuing the God who came into the world to save you, in the snow and the sands of your life.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Police Escort

The Police Escort

“He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside still water.”
                                               Psalm 23:2

It was the early 60’s, and some difficult circumstances caused my mom and I to end up in Syracuse, New York one night, 80 miles from home and in serious need of some help. The memory is well etched in my mind of those who came to our aid, a Catholic priest from a nearby church, and my mom’s closest brother who also happened to be my godfather. But for a nervous pre-teen, the ride back to Rochester late that night was one that I can guarantee I will never forget.

My uncle, who was a high ranking police official, made the trip to Syracuse to bring us back home. And after some serious issues began to be addressed, we came down to the lobby of our hotel to find a New York State trooper, who had driven my uncle to the hotel, waiting to escort us back home. Our dark green Cadillac tucked in behind the deep blue Crown Victoria of the New York State Police, and with his lights flashing, he led us home in record time. There was no worrying about speed limits, no hoping people would get out of our way, no lane changes to signal; it was quite literally the trip of a lifetime.

Making the trip to New York this past Thursday night reminded me of that night and how, in some ways, it provides a glimpse of how following God is intended to be. A normal trip to New York involves watching out for radar, the occasional frustration with other drivers, complaints about customs, and stopping for road construction, accidents and to pay tolls. And our walk with the Lord includes a little bit of each of those: fears, frustrations, irritations and difficulties. But that night in the 6o’s contained none of those. Driving at that speed, on the New York State Thruway of all places, without a single worry or concern, take it from me, that just doesn’t happen!

But what if in our answering God’s call to follow Him, we tucked in closer behind the Lord than we ever have before? What if we truly allowed Him to lead and guide us by His Holy Spirit, responding to His promptings with a simple obedience that we’ve found so difficult at times? What if we followed “the lamp to our feet and the light to our path” with a profound trust that He will lead us beside still waters and into green pastures? We just might find ourselves on a spiritual journey that’s free from anxiety and fear, free from constant frustration and tension, what we might call the trip of a lifetime.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

An Investment Strategy

An Investment Strategy

“But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven…. for

  where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

                                         Matthew 6:20-21

As we begin again this year to raise money to provide bible school graduates in the Philippines with study bibles that they could not otherwise afford, I can’t help but think about the importance of making sound investments and about realizing what the best investments of all really are. And the matter is not just about money because we invest our time, our energy, and even our lives in causes, in pursuits, and, hopefully, in other people’s lives. Some of those investments are in this life only while others are eternal, a true storing up for ourselves “treasure in heaven”.

My parents did some investing in their lifetime, some incredibly profitable and some not so much. Not all that many years ago, for example, they bought stock in a very notable telecommunications company for $116 a share, investing a good portion of their retirement savings in the hopes of adding to that reserve. According to the New York Stock Exchange, those shares are now worth slightly less than $10 a share, a pretty significant loss for any investor. On the other hand, the investments my parents made in our children, supporting them in everything from help with school books to going on missions trips, are paying far greater dividends than they ever could have imagined as their grandchildren are being used by the Lord in so many ways. And the amazing thing is that those dividends are only going to increase and increase as those and others my mom and dad invested in continue to be used by God to build His kingdom.

The time we spend encouraging a struggling friend or family member is a wise investment in the life of another. And the return comes as they are strengthened and live fruitful lives for the Lord.  The money we donate to help the poor and less fortunate is an investment in a life that has a natural need but an eternal purpose. And the dividend comes as they testify of God’s faithfulness in providing for them in their time of greatest need. The Bibles we send to the Philippines that are used Sunday after Sunday to minister God’s Word bear incredible fruit, affecting an untold number of lives as they help these young men and women prepare anointed messages filled with faith and hope in God.

Wall Street might not agree with my investment strategy but the best investments have always been, and will always be, those made in the lives of people. Invest your time, your energy, and your finances in other people, in their hopes, dreams, and visions, to meet their needs and to heal their hurts, and you will certainly end up a very wealthy person!

God Bless,
Pastor Joe

Gateway Church

Pie Night

Pie Night

“For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and
 the measure you use will be the measure you receive.”
                                                          Matthew 7:2

Of all the family traditions, making pies on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving just might be our favorite. It’s a night when everyone has their role, from making crusts to peeling apples to mixing the myriad of ingredients needed for the apple, pumpkin and chocolate pies that will be consumed the next day. My contribution is usually doing the dishes that pile up from the night and I can tell you from experience that every measuring device in the kitchen, from the yellow one-eighth of a teaspoon plastic spoon to the 4 cup glass jar, along with every conceivable size and shape in between, is used on pie making night. From spices to pumpkin filling, those measuring devices help insure that just the right amount of each ingredient is used in preparing the pies without which Thanksgiving Day just wouldn’t be complete.

But did you know that God does some measuring of His own? Jesus told His disciples that “the measure you use will be the measure you receive”. So for example, if you show a quarter cup of mercy to others, you can expect to receive a quarter cup of mercy from the Lord. And that will work well unless you find yourself needing a full cup of mercy; then you might have a problem. The same principle is true of forgiving others, of being compassionate and of finding fault with others. In fact, I’d like to make a recommendation: when forgiving others, use the largest measuring cup you can possibly find. You’ll be thankful you did when you find yourself needing forgiveness, as we all do from time to time.  And as far as finding fault with others, I’d get the smallest cup around, the one-eighth teaspoon variety and use it as sparingly as possible. Just remember, God’s going to use the same size when dealing with the shortcomings in your life.

And as God stretches us through difficulties of every kind, let’s realize that like the different measuring cups, He is so often painfully stretching us to meet the needs of others, increasing our capacity to show compassion to those who are struggling, deepening the level of comfort we are able to give to those who are really hurting, and expanding our ability to minister life to each person around us. The truth that God measures to us as we measure to others has one more point; in measuring to us the Lord so often includes those closest to us so that not only are our actions going to come back to us but they will affect our sons, daughters, and spouses as well. So let’s be liberal in pouring out where God would be so pleased, and, at other times, frugal in our measure. You can be sure that you’ll never regret it!

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Gentleman Soldiers

Gentleman Soldiers

“Stand firm in one spirit, contending as
one man for the faith of the gospel.”
                                      Philippians 1:27

Being familiar with such terms as boot camp, enlistment, orders and deployment, terms associated with our current military forces, the men who fought in America’s war for independence might be hard to recognize as soldiers. Corn, cotton, wheat and tobacco farmers, bankers, builders and businessmen, traders, servants and statesmen, they came from all walks of life to fight for the freedoms  that had first drawn them across the ocean to this new land. And fight they did, defeating a far better trained and equipped British army.

Those loyal British troops were following orders; they were dedicated and loyal to the nation that had commissioned them to this battle, and they certainly did their best on the battlefield. But the poorly equipped and barely trained army they were facing had a distinct advantage. And lest we be fooled, it wasn’t their superior knowledge of the terrain they were fighting on, or their being more accustomed to the harsh weather conditions found in America. Their advantage was that they had a cause worth fighting for and worth dying for. They said goodbye to wives and children, family and friends to go off to fight for freedoms that had been obtained at great cost. They knew that the risk of not returning was all too real but they saw the risk of losing their freedoms, including the freedom to worship as they chose, as far greater.

In much the same way, God is looking for men and women, ordinary men and women from all walks of life, who will take up their swords and begin to fight for the cause of Christ, to contend as one for the faith of the gospel. When I think of the farmer who left his fields to take up arms against the British troops, I think of the factory worker, the housewife, the businessman, the teacher, the nurse and many more in similar positions who realize that we are in a battle and that the faith that has been delivered to us is desperate for those who will fight for its truth. Generations to come depend on our response to the challenge set before us. Complacency will not get the job done; leaving the job to the professionals is not enough. The Christian faith our nation was founded on faces a different enemy but with the same goal, to rob us of our passion and our freedom to worship as we choose. May we have the same willingness to fight, to lay our lives down, and to take up our crosses to see God glorified and honored in our nation.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Turning Point

The Turning Point

“… to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,

and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”
                                                                                Isaiah 61:3

A treatment center and a recovery program, a citizens group, conferences, academies, and even a donkey rescue organization – the name “turning point” has been adopted by many to try and describe the mission and work they are trying to accomplish in peoples’ lives. Because it’s so appropriate, history likes to use the phrase too, especially in relation to battles and wars. The Battle of Gettysburg had a turning point when Little Round Top was secured by the Union forces. World War II was big enough to have several turning points, with the Normandy Invasion on D-Day being among the most notable. A turning point is that point in time, often during a time of crisis, when a clear breakthrough in the direction of our lives occurs.

A blind man named Bartimaeus had a turning point in his life when, hearing that Jesus was passing by, he began to shout and cry out with all that was within him. Jesus heard his cry for mercy, called him forth, and healed his blindness. And he was never the same! For Jacob, his turning point came when he wrestled with God all night long in prayer, refusing to let go of God until he touched him, changed him, and blessed him. And that’s exactly what happened to Jacob at the end of a long night with the Lord. Moses turned aside to see a bush that was on fire, and the encounter with the Lord that followed changed the course and direction of his life forever. From Ruth and Rahab in the Old Testament to Peter and Paul in the New, God’s people have often experienced a turning point, a specific time in their lives when they broke through into a place of deeper relationship, greater blessing, and divine purpose previously unknown.

If one common piece to the puzzle of experiencing a turning point can be found, it’s in having a fresh encounter with God and receiving a personal revelation from Him for our lives. Isaiah saw the Lord and experienced His presence; Paul saw a light shining all around him and heard the voice of the Lord. You may be reading this feeling like Moses must have after 40 years in the wilderness, wondering if there would ever even be a turning point, wondering if there was anything more ahead. Can I encourage you today that just like General Motors is in the business of making cars, God is in the business of giving new beginnings, and of causing turning points to occur in the lives of His people. Live expectantly, seek Him passionately, and when your turning point occurs, give Him all the glory!!

God Bless,
Pastor Joe

Gateway Church

A Party Line

A Party Line

“Call to me and I will answer you and show you
 great and mighty things which you do not know.”

                                       Jeremiah 33:3

To really put the changes in communication that have taken place over the years into perspective, you only have to go back to the party line phone system. My earliest memory of having phones in the house was the party line that we shared with our neighbors, the DiPiazzas on one side and the Tetts on the other. Having a party line meant that you might pick up the phone to find no dial tone and the neighbor’s daughter Kathy talking to one of her friends. You would keep trying, to the point of being annoying when you were in a hurry, until the line was free and then it was your turn to make a call. And in case you were wondering, opportunities to listen in to neighbors’ conversations were never (well, almost never) taken advantage of.

Finally getting a private line years later was a big deal because it meant you could make a phone call whenever you wanted. That worked tremendously except for the holidays when everyone tried to make a call at once and you would dial the phone only to receive the standard “all circuits are busy, please try your call again later” message. And sometimes we would try for hours before being able to complete a call to one of our family members living in another city or state. Looking back over time, the jump in technology from those party lines of the 50’s to now being able to talk over the internet to people thousands of miles away in other nations has been incredible.

And maybe that what makes God being “the same yesterday, today and forever” even more awesome than we often realize. Think of the fact that the peasant farmer in Medieval France would call on the Lord in prayer and expect an answer exactly the same way that you and I do today. God hasn’t changed a single prerequisite for receiving an answer to prayer; He hasn’t deviated one degree from the plans and purposes He laid out before the worlds were formed. And that is why God says so emphatically in Malachi 3:6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change!!!!”

Methods of communication may change but God remains a constant in our lives, a Rock that we can rely on. And that goes for His Word too! The Word of God is so dynamic and alive that it crosses every generational line without losing one spec of its power.  The Word that George Washington meditated on in the 1700’s has the same application, the same importance, and the same relevance, never goes out of date, and is undiminished in every way, to the web-cam, video chat, iPad generation of today. In an ever changing world, having God as the one constant that we can rely on is a treasure beyond compare.

God Bless
Pastor Joe

Gateway Church

Running on Empty

Running on Empty

“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
                                                                         Mark 2:27-28

In this age of cell phones, laptop computers and other electronic devices, we are constantly reminded that batteries go dead and have to be recharged or replaced. With my laptop, it can only go so long on a full charge before the warning light flashes telling me that, unless I take immediate action, it’s about to be unusable. On a trip to New York, the Buick can go about six hours, give or take, until it runs out of gas, and the lawn mower can make it through one full mowing before it does the same. Using up energy in the process of use, no matter what the situation, and the need to replenish it, is one of the easiest concepts to understand.

Maybe I should have said that it is one of the easier concepts to understand when it comes to everything but our physical bodies, emotional health, and spiritual strength. Plugging in and filling up are absolutes when the item being considered is made of nuts and bolts but for some reason we struggle with doing the same when it’s about us as individuals. We get too busy or tired to eat properly and replenish the nutrients our body needs to function properly (and yes family, I’m addressing this to myself too). We push ourselves to accomplish more and more, multi-tasking as if our life depended on it, without stopping to take a deep breath and recharge the internal, invisible batteries of our hearts.

Both spiritually and emotionally, we run our wells dry and try to function properly on a dead battery and an empty gas tank. That is why Jesus separating himself from his disciples to spend time in prayer and fellowship with the Father is such a great and necessary example for us today. No matter what needs He faced, and no matter how great the demands on Him were, He realized that more than anything He needed the strength and replenishing that came from His time spent with the Father. And despite the masses who needed the supernatural touch that only He could provide, Jesus was regularly found in the temple or synagogue spending time in God’s presence and in the Word.

His example reminds us that we have to move from where going to church is one more duty for us to perform to that place where we delight in the refreshing it provides. Our perspective has to include what Jesus said above that “the Sabbath was made for man”, a time set aside for man to refill – and that includes a healthy dose of God’s presence, a Texas sized portion of His Word, and several helpings of fellowship with those walking the same road that we are on.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Connect the Dots

Connect the Dots

“For God is working in you, giving you the desire to
obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him.”
                                                              Philippians 2:13

The picture represented by the dots scattered across the page is not always easily recognizable until you begin to connect the dots, as the name of the simple game indicates, drawing lines from one dot to another until the picture begins to take definition and become clear. And the games range in difficulty from those made for children to adult versions in easy, medium, and hard formats. The principle of connecting the dots, with all its variations, can also be applied to our walk with the Lord and can provide each of us with a valuable lesson.

When we face situations, for example, that really try our patience, we can look at them as isolated incidents to be reacted to, and totally miss the point of what God is trying to accomplish in our lives through them. So often those situations happen over and over again because we are failing to “connect the dots” between our current struggles and God’s desire to build character in our lives and to prepare us for our future. Our failure to connect the dots in our walk with the Lord can be fatal to our attitudes, to our spiritual priorities, and to the needed breakthroughs we are longing for.

The principle has to make us step back and look at the circumstances of our lives: the delays and the waiting, the conflicts and the struggles in relationships, the stretching and the call to walk in faith, the challenge to be faithful and to go the second mile, and the pain and sorrows we too often encounter. In a vacuum, we would certainly react to each of these life situations with a kind of disdain for the difficulties they present. But looking at the bigger picture, where we are cognizant of the need to connect the dots, should cause us to respond with acceptance and a cry for grace to help us through.

The lesson has hit home with me; the need to start to connect the dots before frustration sets in and mistakes are made is very clear. Just as connecting the dots results in a picture being revealed, connecting the dots in a game where God has a plan and a purpose for each of our lives is crucial to the endurance we need, to the determination required, and to the acceptance of where God has each of us at this time in our lives.

God Bless,

Pastor Joe

Gateway Church

Enough Already!

Enough Already!

“All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; 

He’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; 

He’ll always be there to help you come through it.

                                                    I Corinthians 10:13 MSG

This week’s list of stories is getting so long that I need to get this devotion typed and sent out before I read one more example of people who went beyond their difficult circumstances to accomplish much with their lives. Consider this week’s list:

• Today it was a boxer who broke both hands in World War I, was told he would never box again, but refused to give up and went on to win the heavyweight championship of the world.
  

• Wednesday lesson was from the life of Glen Cunningham, a young man who almost lost his life when he was so severely burned that he was told he would never walk again. Despite that, he went on to set record after record in the one-mile run, achieved world class status as a runner, and was elected to the Track and Field Hall of Fame.
  
• In getting ready for a Washington, D.C. trip meeting, I noted our annual stop at the FDR Memorial and was reminded that the former president, who led our nation through The Great Depression and World War II, battled the paralysis that resulted from polio for much of his life and his entire presidency. It is more than a play on words to say that he refused to let his disability cripple his dreams and aspirations.
  
• The book I’m reading contained another similar story. “I beg of you to keep the matter of my deafness a profound secret to be confided to nobody, no matter whom …..” was written by none other than the famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven who, when speaking of his increasing deafness, wrote to a friend on the subject, “I am resolved to rise above every obstacle.”

Enough already! The message that our problems are not our real problems rings loud and clear. The message that our adversities, our unique circumstances, the problems and challenges we face in life are not excuses that give us the right to give up and languish in self pity has been received and acknowledged. The examples above are the smallest of samplings of life testimonies that we are more than capable, and equipped by God, to rise above every challenge we face and accomplish God’s wonderful purposes for our lives.

God Bless,

Pastor Joe

Gateway Church

Over the Wall

Over the Wall

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
                                               Joshua 24:15

Saying something like “if you do it, I’ll do it” can either get us in a lot of trouble or cause us to launch out and try something that takes a lot of stretching. When the 14 year old girl asked us, many years ago,  if we wanted her to show us how to get down to the pool at Texas Falls in Vermont, we said sure, but without realizing the commitment we were making. She calmly walked to the edge of the rocks, stepped off, and dropped the 40 or so feet into the water. My stomach did a perfect somersault as I realized that no self-respecting 25 year old could not follow through and take the same plunge that young girl had so graciously demonstrated. With heart pounding, I will never forget that jump, a jump that my words committed me to taking into the most refreshing, exhilarating pool of fresh water I’ve ever experienced.

President Kennedy used to tell a story about his grandfather with a very similar point. His grandfather grew up in Ireland and talked about climbing some of the 10 – 12 foot high, jagged cobblestone fences that his group of friends passed on their way home from school. Some were difficult and dangerous to go over for these boys who wanted to climb but didn’t want to get hurt doing it. One day Fitzgerald, President Kennedy’s grandfather, took off his cap and threw it over one of the most difficult walls to climb knowing full well that he now had to climb the wall or face certain discipline from his parents for going home without his cap.

Asking that young girl to show us how to get down to the water at the base of Texas Falls committed me to a jump that I seriously doubt I would have taken if my words hadn’t required it. But now 35 years later, I can laughingly look back on the best jump of my life. Fitzgerald might not have climbed that difficult wall but throwing his cap over the wall ended the discussion; he was going over no matter how difficult it was. And we know he survived to tell a grandson who took on some incredible challenges in his short lifetime also.

Telling others we’re going to do something, or announcing something that once we say it, we can’t easily back out of it, even if we wanted to, can be like our throwing our cap over the wall. It forces us to stretch and to move beyond what is comfortable and certain in our lives. Is there something you have felt challenged to do for a long time but fear has kept you standing at the top of the cliff, or looking up from the base of the wall? Maybe today is a good day to throw your hat over that wall by publicly declaring a goal you have or a desire that God has placed in your heart. It just might be the step that puts you over the top!

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Partnerships

Partnerships

“For we have become partner with Christ if in fact
we hold our initial confidence firm until the end.”
                                                 Hebrews 3:14

Partnerships are formed for a wide variety of reasons: one person may bring the finances to a business while the other has an idea or invention that sounds promising. In another situation, one person might have manufacturing expertise while another has the marketing skills needed to convince people to buy their product. Partners compliment each other and form an enterprise that neither one could succeed at without the other. And to think that we have been called “partners with Christ” is quite an amazing thing.

The story is told of a mouse who was riding on an elephant’s back as they took a journey together. After traveling for some time, they came to an old, wooden bridge and began to cross it ever so carefully. Despite its creaking and wobbling under the weight of the travelers, the bridge held up and they made it to the other side. It was at that point that the mouse declared, ever so boldly, “We really shook that bridge, didn’t we?” And of course we know the answer, which is yes; they really did shake that bridge together! The mouse’s eight ounces and the elephant’s two thousand pounds, taken together, were almost too much for that rickety old bridge to handle.

The story is a cute reminder of some of the dynamics of our relationship with the Lord. Without a single doubt, it’s clear that the person who enters into a true, sincere, and wholehearted partnership with our God can and will shake the world. They will, as was said of the early church, turn the world around them, families, friends, neighbors, and even their local church, upside down. Sometimes accepting that we are like the mouse in the story is hard to swallow, but that reality can free us to partner with God in the works He is calling us to do.

What is amazing is not so much the choice that people make to give all to God and follow in His work, but that God, the all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-seeing God, would choose to partner with us. In spreading the good news of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ, God has all the wisdom, strength, and power that He contributes to the partnership. On our part, we make our bodies available as living sacrifices to do God’s good and perfect will. And together, you and God, me and God, we can shake the world.

God Bless,

Pastor Joe

Gateway Church

By Products

By Products

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may
be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”
                                                 John 15:11

By products are products made during the manufacture, processing, or refinement of something else; they are an often unexpected and secondary benefit of some action. Maybe some examples will help us to see where this is going. For example, look at some of the by products of crude oil:

                      Ammonia                      Hair Coloring                 Bandages
                      Caulking                       Artificial Turf                 Ballpoint Pens
                      Antifreeze                    Contact Lenses                Footballs
 

After the gasoline and oil has been produced, each of these rather significant items is produced as a by product of the refinement of crude oil.

With corn, some of the by products include spark plugs for our cars, latex paint for our houses, wallpaper for decorating, and licorice for long car rides and summer vacations. And after we harvest the wool and enjoy the lamb chops, the by products produced from sheep include makeup, cosmetics, and tanning lotion, not to mention items for plastic surgery, piano keys and adhesive tape. These are all products that are the result of a primary process. We don’t pump crude oil from the depths of the earth because of our need for caulking or contact lenses; it would never be worth it. But as by products, we are greatly blessed to enjoy their benefits.

Reading a statement last night that ended with “….and the by product of doing that is joy” caused a light bulb to go on in my head. Are we asking to God to give us things that are really the by product of something else? We long for understanding and ask God to help us understand. But David wrote the following in Psalm 73:16-17

“When is tried to understand all this, it was troubling to me

  until I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood….”

It’s interesting that he didn’t find understanding until he went into the sanctuary and into God’s presence, and as a by product of his action, as a by product of spending time in the presence of the Lord, he received understanding. The same is seen when Jesus talks about wanting our joy to be full. He didn’t encourage His disciples to ask for joy; He encouraged them to have an abiding relationship with Him and to walk in obedience to His commands. He was saying that if you do those things, major on your relationship with the Lord and walk in obedience to His Word, you will be filled with joy. But it wouldn’t be joy as an answer to prayer; it would be joy unspeakable as the by product of an abiding relationship with Jesus, the true vine. And that is a by product available to each of us today!

God Bless
Pastor Joe

Gateway Church

Pick n Choose

Pick n Choose

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what
 is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.
                                                                          II Timothy 3:16

A typical trip to Vince & Joe’s Fruit Market gives you the opportunity to pick and choose what you want as you walk through the store. The fruits are the first thing you pass and you get to sort through the nectarines and peaches, the melons and berries, picking out the  ones that look the ripest and that appeal to you the most. Next are the veggies and you get to select the head of lettuce you want, the tomatoes and broccoli that look best, with each person having their unique set of qualifications for what and how to choose.

Across the street is Kroger for the basics and, like everything else, we get to pick and choose. The breads are checked for dates so that you get the freshest, as are the milk and the meats. The number of cereal choices seems endless, from Sugar Smacks and Frosted Flakes to Wheaties and Cheerios, depending on the degree of health consciousness on any particular day. (And, of course, you need the slightly green bananas to add to the cereal, another important decision to make.)

But the problem we so often face is that picking and choosing is quite appropriate in the grocery store and at the mall, but doesn’t apply when it comes to the Word of God. The increasingly modern trend is to carry a consumer mentality into our relationship with the Lord, deciding for ourselves how we will serve the Lord, which aspects of Christianity we will follow and adhere to, and what works best for our family and lifestyle. We have made God’s commands into personal decisions as if the choice was ours when the call of God remains, as always, a call to a life of complete, unwavering obedience to the Word of God.

Faithfulness in tithes and offerings and church attendance, sharing the good news about Jesus with others and having a consistent daily devotional life, not to mention how we treat people, our attitudes and the words we speak, have all fallen from areas of obedience to the Word of God into the quagmire of “what works best for me”. And the results in the lives of believers have been sadly and silently devastating. My encouragement to you is to leave any “pick n choose” mentality that has entered into your walk with the Lord at the cash register. The truly blessed life is one of complete obedience to the whole Word of God.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Out of Death

Out of Death

“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,

it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

                                               John 12:24

Seeing the praying mantis that I had observed in the church planter all summer long lying on the pavement Tuesday, lifeless with its stomach many times the size it had been, was a sad ending to what had been a good day. With a “just in case” thought, I picked it up and place it on a branch, watched for a few seconds hoping to see movement, and then moved on to other things. Wednesday saw the lifeless praying mantis right where I had placed it but last night was quite another story; it was nowhere to be found. As I watered the plant and looked to see if I could find it, a young, lively, newborn praying mantis came climbing up the branch, ready to take on whoever was disturbing its home. And as I shook my head in wonder, I could only think: out of death comes life!

We know the principle from our faith: Christ died that we might live. Because He gave His life on the cross, we can experience abundant life now and eternal life forever. The scripture above brings out the point so perfectly; the seed that dies and the life that dies produce much fruit. Out of death comes life. As I have meditated on the young, only a day old praying mantis, I thought of the many ways that life springs forth from death, a realization that can truly be life changing.

Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians “I die daily”. We too experience dying on a daily basis, sometimes to attitudes that have to be crucified, at other times to personal desires and habits that don’t line up with God’s will for our lives, and still others to simple things we want to do that we die to for the sake of meeting the needs of others. If only it were a one time “death”, it might be easier but, as Paul said, it is a daily experience of dying to self with the incredible result that out of death comes life. We die and yet find ourselves refreshed; we die but feel satisfied at the good fruit that results in another’s life; we die to something yet we end up freer than we have ever felt.

We can see it in nature, the seeds sown in our garden died and decomposed before producing a harvest of peas, tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplants. And we see it in the simple example of an insect like the praying mantis. My sadness Tuesday at the lifeless praying mantis lying helpless on the cement was quickly replaced by total awe at the new life that had sprung forth. Life, in all its facets, is an amazing thing to behold. Jesus thought that our experiencing new life was worth dying for. And let me encourage you that all God is calling you to die to will be worth it, in your own life and in the lives of others. A simple truth – out of death comes life!

God Bless
Pastor Joe

Gateway Church

Undivided Attention

Undivided Attention

“You have asked a difficult thing …….yet if you see
me when I am taken from you, it shall be yours.”
                                                 II Kings 2:10

Our ability to stay focused on what lies before us, to maintain our concentration on the tasks and goals we’re attempting to accomplish has never been more challenged. Under the guise of multi-tasking, we text and drive, talk on the cell phone and drive, read the paper and drive, not to mention the ladies who put on their make-up and drive. We watch television during dinner, use our smart-phones in the checkout line, and take walks and talk on the phone at the same time, making people who can’t see the earpiece wonder about the level of our sanity. Our ability to give someone and something our undivided attention for a sustained period of time is disappearing faster than the arctic snowcap.

After years of serving Elijah, Elisha’s receiving the prophetic mantle was dependent on one thing and one thing alone: his ability to keep his eyes on Elijah. Faithfulness in answering the call aside, a right attitude in serving another over time aside, Elisha’s ability to keep his eyes focused on Elijah and to not let anything distract him was the key to his receiving a double portion of the anointing that was on Elijah’s life. The Jordan River had just miraculously parted, others were telling him that his master was going to be taken from him that day, and, to top it all off, a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared. But none of that changed the fact that if Elisha could maintain focus, no matter what, the double portion of the anointing would be his.

With the continued assault on our attention span, the importance of our having times when we give God our undivided attention has never been clearer and more critical. Reaching the goals we have set, and living lives that accomplish our priorities will require a purposeful living that runs counter to the multi-tasking, attention sharing direction of our society. We will have to plan out how we use our time carefully and discipline ourselves to give our undivided attention to what God is calling us to do. If that means turning off the cell phone during devotions and leaving the smart phone in the car during church, the reward set before us of receiving our own personal “double portion” will make it more than worth it.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Great Divide

The Great Divide

“He caused streams to flow from the rock,
and made the water flow like rivers.”
                                            Psalm 78:16

Whether you call it the Continental Divide or the Great Divide, the range of mountains that runs from northern Alaska, through Canada, the US and Mexico, and into Central America is a sure dividing line when it comes to the waters that flow down the mountains and out to the oceans. Everything from the snow melt in spring to the rain from summer thunderstorms that falls on the western slopes of the Great Divide, the Rocky Mountains as they’re most often called, ends up in the Pacific Ocean. And, conversely, that which falls on the eastern side of the Divide eventually makes it way to either the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico.

The fact about the Great Divide that has always amazed me is that two raindrops can fall only feet apart but one ends up in the Pacific Ocean and the other in the Atlantic.  What begins only a few feet apart ends up literally thousands of miles apart by the end of a long journey to the sea. In the natural, we can find ourselves in very similar situations to those around us. But we have to realize that the choices we make in life, and the attitudes we carry about, will determine where our journey ends. And that end can be vastly different depending on the direction we choose to go, God’s or our own, the Kingdom or the worlds.

Just as there are the windward and leeward sides of a mountain, with the windward side being more green and lush and the leeward side more dry and barren, so too which side we choose in the decisions of life will have greatly varying results. Those who consistently choose what pleases the Lord will find, at the end of their life, peace, blessing and an enduring satisfaction at having done the things that please the Lord. At the same time, those who live to please themselves will find the end of their journey filled with an emptiness and a void at having invested in treasures and pleasures that quickly fade away.

The raindrop that falls on the western side of the Great Divide will never find its way to the Atlantic Ocean; it just doesn’t work that way. The person who chooses the ways of the world over God’s ways never ends up happy and secure; it just doesn’t work that way. The person who lives for themselves, to please themselves and not God, never finds spiritual prosperity and favor awaiting them at journey’s end; it just doesn’t work that way. But live your life on God’s side, choosing what pleases the Lord, regardless of the consequences, and “goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life”; it most certainly works that way!

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Just Over the Horizon

Just Over the Horizon

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on
the past. Behold, I am doing a new thing.”
Isaiah 43:18-19

Sitting at a restaurant with friends last night, talking and waiting for our meals to arrive, we had no idea that an incredible storm, strong enough to knock over trees everywhere and to leave us without power for the last twelve hours and counting, was about to strike. In a matter of minutes, debris was flying through the air, visibility was gone because of the rain and wind, and a plate glass window in the restaurant’s door was blown out. We finished our dinner by battery powered lights and headed home to find streets flooded, fences knocked down, and the streets littered with leaves and branches. Candles and flashlights became our source of light as the twilight of evening transitioned into the darkness of night.

The suddenness of the storm is a sure reminder that we never know what lies just over the horizon in our lives. I can’t count how many times I’ve gone over the crest of a hill on the highway to find a massive traffic jam awaiting me “just over the horizon”. But I also remember the many times when the afternoon mail brought an unexpected, much needed blessing that changed our countenance faster than last night’s storm. This scripture really describes those experiences the best:

“Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done suddenly.” (II Chronicles 29:36)

And the word of God contains other “suddenlies” to encourage us. In Acts 2:2 we’re told that “suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” In Acts 9:3, it says that in Paul’s Damascus Road experience, “suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.” So often the work God is doing in our lives occurs over a long period of time, but just as often God moves suddenly to turn our mourning into dancing and to fill our circumstances with hope.

This morning, typing these thoughts by the fading battery power of my laptop, I am overflowing with the thought that God is about to do a new thing in your life, that you about to experience a “suddenly” from heaven that will fill you with joy and hope, that will cause you to overflow with expectation over all that lies “just over the horizon” in your life. God has promised to do a new thing in your life and now is the time for it to spring forth suddenly.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Pull-It

Pull-It

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”
Luke 9:24

The name is much simpler but pull-it is nothing more than a game of tug of war played between a 20 month old granddaughter and her adoring grandfather. And pull it is a game that always ends with grandpa letting go and getting to reap the incredible blessing of seeing his granddaughter smile and hearing her laugh over her hard fought victory. It was after one of these little games that the Lord reminded me that letting go is the surest way to the joy and peace that each of us is seeking after.

His book on the same subject is nothing more than a collection of letters, written in the seventeenth century, appropriately entitled “Let Go”, in which Archbishop Fenelon shared the secrets he had learned in his years of seeking God, from having faced trials, difficulties, and longings not much different really than you and I face in our struggles. The lessons learned were invaluable and timeless, still applicable almost four hundred years later. And they could be summed up so simply: Let go and let God!

The message of “let go and let God” is for those times when we battling in our own strength to hold onto something, maybe a relationship, a dream or a reputation, instead of trusting in the Lord and letting Him do the work. In one letter, Fenelon writes:

“Don’t allow yourself to be upset by what people are saying about you. Let the world talk. All you need to be concerned about is doing the will of God. One quiet moment in the presence of God will more than repay you for every slander that will ever be leveled against you.”

In another letter to a friend struggling with changes taking place in their life, he writes:

“So do not be surprised at again finding yourself becoming sensitive, impatient, haughty, and self-willed. You have to understand that that is your natural disposition, and without God’s grace, you will never be anything different. We must give up hope in ourselves, and have no hope but in God.”

The theme of letting go is a call to stop worrying and to stop struggling, and to let God do the work in our lives. Much like in my game of “pull-it” with little Hopey, when I let go, I always win.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Not My Concern!

Not My Concern!

“And he told him to urge her to go into the king’s presence
to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.”
Esther 4:8

Recent headlines out of California have only served to reinforce the depths of the moral crisis that our once God fearing nation has descended into. An attempt by the people of California to use the ballot box to return to godly standards in the area of marriage has been soundly rebuffed by an appeals court. And to make matter worse, their decision was not only celebrated by those whose behavior the court sanctioned but was enthusiastically endorsed and applauded by our president, his administration and many in our Congress. And my question for today is: Should we be concerned?

The book of Esther tells the story of a plot, hatched by Haman, to destroy God’s people throughout the kingdom of Xerxes. When Mordecai learned of what was going to happen to his people, he responded with wailing and cries of desperation, calling out to the Lord for deliverance for his people the Jews. And he enlisted the aid of Esther, his cousin and also a Jew, who as queen had possible access to the king, the only one who had it in his power to change the plight of the Jews. Despite her royal robes and the comfort of the palace, Mordecai urged Esther to use her place of privilege and to go in to the king’s presence and beg for mercy for her people. Mordecai’s message was very simple, “Esther, forget your current comfort in the palace; if something isn’t done, you’ll end up being destroyed along with the rest of us.”

Mordecai’s call for Esther to get involved mirrors the trumpet call of the Spirit for the church and believers in America to begin to beg God for mercy and to plead with Him for our nation. No nation has ever turned against the laws of God, as our nation has and is doing, without eventual severe consequences. We can look the other way, say it’s not our concern, or we can purposefully begin to pray and seek the Lord for another great awakening in America. Our natural eyes know when it looks like rain, and forecasters can predict the weather with good accuracy, but are we, His people, able to see the spiritual signs all around us. We have heard the scripture quoted so often: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land.” America’s hope, and our hope, rests in the faithfulness of God’s people to cry out and pray for their nation. And the time is now!

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Praying Mantis

The Praying Mantis

“One day Jesus told His disciples a story to illustrate their need for
constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up.”
Luke 18:1

Having a praying mantis in the church planter has been a rare treat these past three summers, another of the wonders of nature that leaves us in awe of God’s creation. Consider these facts about the praying mantis:

• The praying mantis is the only insect capable of rotating its head a full 180 degrees.
• Despite being only inches long, the mantis’s vision extends an incredible 60 feet!
• The “praying” mantis is so named because its front legs appear to be permanently bent in the kneeling position making it look like this insect is constantly in prayer.
• Its legs are so strong that the mantis’s prey rarely escapes from this voracious eater who consumes everything from other insects and bugs to small frogs and mice.

As you look at one fact after another, you begin to realize that the Lord has hidden special truths in all aspects of His creation, from plants and trees to insects and animals, all for our enjoyment and benefit. Seeing the praying mantis when I come to church every day, (and yes, I look for it every day!), has become a daily reminder of my need to constantly be in prayer, to find the time to be on my knees in prayer to the God who is my all in all. Jesus taught on prayer’s importance and on never giving up as we seek the Lord for our future, for our families and fellow believers, and for the many needs that we face on a daily basis.

But there’s more for us to consider from the praying mantis. You have to wonder if the mantis’s being able to turn its head full circle isn’t a hint of the clarity and spiritual awareness we can walk in when we give ourselves fully to prayer. And what about the praying mantis being able to see far distances? Could it be that the person committed to constant prayer has greater insight into their future than others less determined and dedicated, and, because of that, is less prone to give up when trials and delays arise? And is it possible that, like the praying mantis, the prayer warrior lives a far more victorious, conquering life because of the strength and wisdom gained in that position of prayer after which this amazing insect is named? Maybe, just maybe, there’s more available to each of us through the power of persistent prayer!

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church