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