Hospitality

Hospitality

“Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some
have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.”
Hebrews 13:2

Have you ever stopped to ask someone to repeat a statement, not because you didn’t hear it but because what you thought you heard seemed so incredible and unbelievable? That’s exactly what happened to me during our tour this Tuesday of Mount Vernon, George and Martha Washington’s stately home on the Potomac. The exact statement was something like “these bedrooms were used by guests, many of whom the Washingtons didn’t even know.” The guide answered my request for her to repeat what she said with more detail and my head has been shaking ever since.

In a day when travel was by horseback and carriage and before the first Holiday Inn was constructed in America, showing hospitality to total strangers was a commonplace, everyday occurrence necessitated by the times, dictated by decency, not to mention commanded by scripture. And if the weather was bad, those strangers would be entertained and cared for until the weather cleared up and they could continue their journey. And if they were traveling with slaves, special quarters next to the main house were used to provide hospitality to these additional guests. To show the extent of this common practice of the times, in one year, George and Martha Washington housed over 600 overnight guests in their home at Mount Vernon. And the key point, many were total, complete, never seen before strangers.

Showing hospitality, as the writer of Hebrews enjoined us to do, has become a lost art and forgotten practice. We excuse it because of the busyness of our lives and justify it because of the comfort levels in relationships that we have come to insist on. But the pendulum may have swung too far; we may have drifted too far from a courtesy that often holds hidden blessings in more ways than one. What if in the reaching out to others who are outside our circle of friends, we grow in the social graces needed to fulfill God’s plan for our lives? What if in the extending of ourselves and in the opening of our homes, our paths cross with someone who can help us along the way?

It’s amazing to think that the range of guests at Mount Vernon ranged from statesmen and foreign dignitaries like French General Lafayette to the common traveler needing a place of comfort and shelter in their journey through the colonies. Let’s use this example to open our hearts to others outside our inner circle. And maybe along with that, open our homes to others to show the hospitality that Hebrews says we are not to neglect. Remember, “Some have entertained angels unaware!”

God Bless,

Pastor Joe

Gateway Church

Shotgun

Shotgun

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your
servant …….just as Jesus did not come to be served, but
to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:26, 28

Taking a group of students to McDonalds or Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch always includes one inevitable component – the call of “shotgun”, the laying claim to the front passenger seat to avoid having to cram into the back seat with three or four other students. But that is not the end of the matter as other students quickly follow the “shotgun” call with one of their own, “window seat”, settling for the next best spots in the old Buick and leaving one or two unfortunate students to endure the dreaded back seat bump.

While we can laugh at the antics of high school students, we need to realize that the path to greatness is one of service to others. Jesus taught that the person who wants to be first in God’s eyes needs to become a servant to those around them. He used the occasion of James and John’s mother coming and asking that her sons would sit “one at His right side and one at His left in His kingdom” to offer a teaching on true greatness, one that is so different from the message the world sends us that we have to look out for number one and protect our own interests. Seneca put it quite simply:

“No man can live happily

who regards himself alone,

who turns everything

to his own advantage.

You must live for others

if you wish to live for yourself”

Winston Churchill put it this way: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Now those are words to give some thought to! And Jesus modeled the attitude He is calling us to by leaving His place in Heaven with the Father, a place of glory and honor, to “take on the form of a servant.” Whether He was feeding the multitudes or healing the sick, it was with the heart of a servant, one committed to meeting the needs of others. And when, in the hours just before the cross, He took the basin of water and washed the feet of His disciples, he sent His followers, including each of us, a loud and clear message: be a servant to those around you and to those in need.

We want to ask the Lord to give us servant’s hearts. If we are involved in ministry, whether from the church pulpit or the Sunday school classroom, let’s minister with the heart of a servant. If our paths cross the path of someone who needs a helping hand, let’s remember our call to service. The world might try and tell us different, but Jesus made it clear that service to others is the path to greatness. And think, “Who is seated at the right hand of God?” the one who became a servant of all.

God Bless,

Pastor Joe

Gateway Church

Someday

Someday

“Teach us to number our days and recognize how few
they are; help us to spend them as we should.”
Psalm 90:12 TLB

Considering that she was only a young lady, her fear and reluctance at being asked to take such a daring risk was more than understandable. The comfort she enjoyed had come at a price; her time of preparation had required sacrifice and discipline and to chance losing it now seemed almost foolish. The problem for Esther was that she had not been called in to see the king for a whole month and appearing before him uninvited could result in death. Waiting until “someday”, when the king called for her, seemed to make much more sense to Esther.

It’s called by experts “The Someday Syndrome”, and it point to that future time in a person’s life when their schedule isn’t as hectic, when the kids are grown, when they have the right job and more money, or when their circumstances are different. It’s the declaration that someday a person will do the things they’ve always wanted to do, that someday, they’ll enjoy life a little more. I saw it firsthand in my dad’s life. My dad was a hard working man who put in long hours managing Terrace Garden Lanes, a bowling and billiards hall in Rochester New York. And he always talked about what he would do when he finally retired. Like most of us, he had a list of what was to be expected when his “someday” finally arrived. Seeing my dad lose his mobility shortly after retirement, however, taught me a sobering lesson that we all need to consider – “someday” doesn’t always come.

Esther was lucky to have a cousin, Mordecai, who was faithful to speak the truth to her. Mordecai’s response to Esther upon hearing her concerns was “yet who knows whether you’ve come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” In reality, Mordecai was saying “Esther, you’re someday is today”; “Esther, waiting for the circumstances of your life to line up before acting would be a huge mistake.” Mordecai made it clear to Esther that if she remained silent and delayed acting, “someday” would almost certainly never come for her and for her family.

One other problem with “someday” is that it rarely works out as we envision. The key to our success and happiness lies far more in the attitudes of our hearts than in the circumstances of our lives. The person whose favorite day of the week is “someday” (a quote from Kerry Shook) always finds some reason to put off taking the risks and acting upon the goals and dreams of their life. Like Esther, in your life and in mine, the best possible “someday” is today, right here and right now!

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Fences

Fences

“Do not move an ancient boundary stone
which was put in place by your ancestors.”
Proverbs 22:28

From the common chain link found in backyards everywhere to the rows of rolled razor wire that surround our prisons, fences come in all shapes and sizes to meet a wide variety of needs. Some are placed around buildings to keep trespassers and would be robbers out, while others are built around backyards to keep a barking dog from chasing cars and neighbors down the street. Our nightly walks and bike rides with Dief this time of year bring that out so clearly as dog after dog runs and barks along the fence line letting our beloved Siberian Husky know that their property is protected by the fiercest 20 lb. canine found anywhere.

The key is to realize that fences are always put there for a reason. Chesterton wrote that “before you remove any fence, always first ask why it was put there in the first place.” The commands of God, areas that He has called us to walk in, or actions that He has warned us to turn away from, are a lot like fences. They have been given as boundaries, not arbitrarily dictated on a whim but established and set up by God for our protection and for our good. Let me give you a simple example: Honor the Sabbath and keep it holy. Jesus made it clear in Mark 2:27 that “the Sabbath was made for man”. If you look at the Sabbath as a fence, you’ll quickly see something established by God as He foresaw man’s need for rest and a time to reconnect with his Creator. That’s one fence to be repaired if need be (if we’ve slacked off in any way) but never torn down!

As we begin to see God’s commands and teachings in this light, as fences and boundaries built in love, our whole attitude toward obedience will be transformed. Ravi Zacharias said that “every boundary set by God points to something worth protecting” in each of our lives. The fences around our moral behavior – put there for very good reasons, whether we are married or single. Boundaries established for our finances, from principles about borrowing to faithfulness in tithes and offerings, all carry hidden blessings so necessary in each of our lives. The truth applies in so many areas but the real question is: Have we torn down any fences we shouldn’t have and in so doing left an important part of our life unprotected? If we have, some fences may have to be rebuilt; some areas of obedience reinstituted in our lives. God’s fences – blessings beyond compare – to be so very thankful for!

God Bless & Happy Easter
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Routine

Routine



“Keep your distance so you can see which way you
should go, for you have not traveled this way before.”
-Joshua 3:4

On the surface, it seems like a paradox. We serve a God who doesn’t change. He has told us in Malachi 3:6 “I am the Lord, I change not”. In Hebrews, He is “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever”. And in James, He is “the Father of heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows”. The seeming paradox is that while God doesn’t change, He always does things differently, from one person to another, and even in each of our lives.

In the early church, Peter, James and John were the three disciples who were closest to the Lord, accompanying Him when Jairus’s daughter was healed, going up the Mount of Transfiguration with the Lord and praying with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. But their lives turned out drastically different, the Lord having a different plan for each of them. James was martyred by Herod in the infancy of the early church, Peter went on to pastor the church in Jerusalem before being martyred later in life, while John died a natural death after being exiled to the island of Patmos and writing the Book of Revelation.

We so like the comfort and dependability of routine that serving a God who doesn’t treat everyone the same (but He is perfect in fairness!) and who doesn’t do the same thing today that He did yesterday can be difficult and challenging. When the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, Moses held his staff out over the water and the waters parted. Years later though, when it came time to cross the Jordan, it was not going to be same-old, same-old for God’s people. No, this time would be different; this time He told them to step into the water, and that when they did, their miracle would occur. This time, after years of seeing God provide miraculously and defeat their every enemy, a step of faith would be required for the waters to part.

When you look up the word “routine” in the dictionary, you see included in the definition words like predictable, commonplace, ordinary, and unimaginative. When we get into routines, we no longer have to think or listen; we just go through the motions. But that’s not how God operates. He wants us to have a living, present tense relationship with Him. He wants our lives to be directed by what He is speaking to us today, in this moment of time, according to His unique plans and purposes for each of our lives. Let’s each have ears that are open and attentive to the Lord speaking a fresh word to our hearts today!



God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Gray Sweater

The Gray Sweater

“Is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God?”
-I Corinthians 4:7 MSG

It may seem like a silly, trivial thing to some, but seeing my mom wearing the sweater Nancy and I gave her for Christmas when I arrived here in New York last night made me feel good. Even after a 6 hour plus drive, and a small ordeal at the border, my 94 year old mom wearing that gray sweater produced a special feeling. We all know that feeling of satisfaction, the thought that something we have done, or a gift we have given, is both appreciated and liked.
Sitting up after my mom went to bed, I started to wonder if God feels the same way about the gifts He has given us. James 1:17 tells us this:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father

of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

The gifts the Lord has given to His people are incredibly diverse from the ability to make others laugh to the anointing to heal the sick. Some people have been blessed in areas that we would not usually associate with gifts, like the person with the unique ability to show compassion and understanding to the man or woman going through pain and loss. Others have been given wisdom to the degree that they are able to counsel others facing difficult life-changing decisions. The apostle Paul said that our gifts differ according to the grace given us, which means that for each gift given to us by the Lord, there is also the divine ability given to operate in the gift and use it for the Lord’s glory.


Our gifts and talents are not to be like trophies to put on display for others to see, and they’re not to be hidden and kept for safe keeping, or for another day. Like the gray sweater, they have been given to be used; they have been given for “the common good”; they have been given to bless and make a difference in other lives. But so many miss their gifting because they look for the more public abilities, the more outward, visible ministry gifts and callings when God has blessed them with talents that are so needed in the world: the door greeter who makes everyone feel welcome in church, the one person who comes to the funeral and you feel really understands what you’re going through, or the person who you know loves you for who you are, not for what you do for them. We have each been given unique gifts and talents; let’s make sure they’re not sitting on a shelf somewhere; gifts are given to be worn and to be used!

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill

“He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;

He enables me to stand on the heights.”

Psalm 18:33

Putting a subdivision on the side of a long hill leading down to the Genesee River became the source of many an adventure for our group of young boys in the early 60’s. The main street, Chapel Hill, a steep half mile road leading down to the river flats, instantly became our favorite place to race homemade soapbox derby cars and bicycles throughout the summer. The only problem, other than Jimmy Gallagher breaking both wrists when his wooden car ran into the back of a real car, was the walk back up Chapel Hill; it was brutal, exhausting and unforgiving, not to mention the only way home.

The reality is that going uphill, building something, making progress in any area of life is always more difficult and requires more of an effort than the downward path. Here are just a few examples:

• The old oak tree in the woods behind our house was over a hundred years old, having grown from a seedling, but it was felled by the strong winds of a summer storm in a moment of time.
• A house takes months to build, the product of much material and many skilled workers, but a fire can destroy it in the matter of an hour.
• A man or a woman’s reputation is built over many years of walking in integrity and honesty, but one lapse in judgment, one indiscretion, can ruin it forever.
• Relationships are forged over time and trust takes time to develop but the best of relationships can be lost so quickly by a secret repeated or a confidence betrayed.

Cautions to think long about the ramifications of our choices, decisions, and actions have to be looked at in the light of the examples above. Solomon, who wrote Ecclesiastes after learning many hard lessons and seeing much loss and destruction in his personal life, wrote “one sinner destroys much good.” So often one thing, a word or an action, the product of frustration, anger, a misguided motive, or a selfish desire, can do such harm, harm that the Lord wants to keep each one of us from.

But the examples also come with a much needed encouragement to not be weary in the walk God has called you to, knowing that the best things in life take the longest to develop and require the uphill climb that Chapel Hill represents. Pine trees shoot up many times faster than the majestic oak but their roots are shallow and their uses limited. Casual relationships come easily but they can rarely be leaned on in a time of crisis the way that relationships forged over time can be. With that in mind then, let’s ask the Lord to give us “hind’s feet for high places”, that divine enabling that strengthens us for the journey that, at times, can be awful steep.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church