Keeping Dreams Alive

Keeping Dreams Alive

It was June of the year 2000, when I found a book entitled "Success, One Day At a Time" by John Maxwell. I liked it so much that over the years, I've given away more copies of that book, except for the Bible, than any other book. My favorite story in the book is about Robert Lopatin and I want to share his story with you in the hopes that it will encourage you and re-ignite the dreams and desires the Lord has placed in your heart. Psalm 37: 4 says:

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will
give you the desires of your heart."

Robert Lopatin was a successful businessman, working in the manufacturing of women's clothing. That, however, was not his first love. As a boy, he had dreamed of becoming a doctor. Circumstances had caused him to lay his dream aside and, after college, he had worked in the family business for 27 years. But then, at a friend's wedding, something happened that changed his life. He sat next to a new doctor and the converation at the table re-ignited his boyhood dream. At age 51, at an age when most people are thinking about retirement, Robert Lopatin entered medical school.

When I read the story, he was 55 and serving his residency at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. What inspired me the most was that, in pursuing his dream, he wasn't someone who was discontented and unhappy. On the contrary, he was successful and doing well. But he had an unfulfilled dream, something that the older he got, the more farfetched it seemed. His age and his circumstances told him "it's too late" but his heart told him to go for it.

We serve a God "who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine". The old song we used to sing said "He is able to do much more than I could ever dream". Is there anything you've given up on? Anything you've said in your heart "it's just too hard"? Or maybe like Robert Lopatin, you think you're too old to go after that dream. Today's lesson - "it's never too late".

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The First Goal

The First Goal

Talk about a bad way to start a soccer season: the other team got the opening ball, passed it once to a girl who dribbled through our entire team and scored without anyone even challenging her. It took a total of 5 seconds for us to be behind 1-0. If you're wondering what went wrong, it's very simple. Everyone thought someone else would do it, so nobody did.

The church has a similar problem, so many people think someone else will do it when it comes to sharing their faith, to ministry needs in the church and to other areas of Christian service. We all tend to look at our own talents and abilities and compare ourselves to others who we think are more talented. And because of that, we stay on the sidelines. Unfortunately, so does the more talented person and the job goes undone.

The issue is ability versus availability. We look at ability while God looks at availability. Isaiah 1:19 says "if you are available and obedient, you will eat the good of the land". Notice that there is no mention whatsoever of talents, gifts or abilities in that verse. It's not the most talented or gifted that the Lord will use but the person who says in their heart "Here am I Lord, use me".

When Isaiah said that, he was responding to the Lord asking the question "Who will go for us?". The Lord was asking "who is available for me to use?". In the story of the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus took what was available, the five loaves and two fish, and used them to do a miracle. The same will be true in our lives as we present ourselves to the Lord and say "Here I am Lord, I'm available for you to use in whatever way you would like". And then we're to follow that up by making ourselves available in a practical way in our own personal settings.

What set Gideon, Jeremiah, Moses, Peter, John and so many other believers of all ages apart from their peers? Was it their ability or their availablity? My vote is their availability. Their willingness to be used by the Lord, without regard to natural abilities, opened up a world of possiblities and opportunites. If you've been holding back, doubting your own abilities to get the job done, it time to step out in faith, say "Lord I may not be the best, but if you want to use me, I'm all yours." And then get ready for God to do far more than you could ever hope or imagine.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Arbor Day

Arbor Day

Every year, we get a letter in the mail from the Arbor Day Foundation, an organization committed to the importance of trees, offering 10 pine tree seedlings for $1. Most years those letters find their way into the garbage but about a year and a half ago, we took them up on their offer. A few weeks later we received 10 seedlings, about 4 inches tall each, which we planted in our garden. I checked them about an hour ago, knowing I was going to write this, to see how much they had grown. Well, 5 have survived and are now 8" tall, not all that encouraging, to say the least. We would probably give up on those little pine trees except for one very important thing: we did this once before.

It was 1980, in Penfield, New York, when we planted 10 very small 4" pine trees in our garden, just like the recent ones. By early 1984, they had grown to almost a foot and we transplanted them along the property line. After moving here to Michigan later in '84, we didn't see those trees for quite a few years but on a recent trip back home, we took a drive by our old home. If you haven't guessed already, those 4-inch seedlings are now beautiful 20-foot tall pine trees.

Seeing the growth of those trees that we had planted over 20 years earlier has taught me an important lesson about growth and about patience. Early growth, both in people and in nature, is slow as God lays a strong foundation that he can build upon. Job 8:7 says "though your beginning was small, yet your latter end will greatly increase". And Zechariah 4:10 reminds us not to despise the day of small things.

If you've been frustrated with your personal growth and the pace of change in certain areas of your life, take heart. Growth in the beginning is always slow as God lays a foundation that will stand up to the storms of life, a foundation that will bear the weight of all He has planned for your future and of all that He has promised for your life.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Rest of the Story

The Rest of the Story

Growing up in Rochester, New York, our local newpaper, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, had a funny, somewhat sarcastic column written by a lady named Erma Bombeck that I will never forget. She could take everyday life situations, cause you to see the humor in it, and somehow put the seriousness of the subject matter in perspective. You know it had to be good for her weekly article to keep my interest through my teen years and beyond.

But something happened yesterday that has really changed my appreciation of Erma Bombeck, I read something about her life. And as Paul Harvey says, "Now, for the rest of the story".

Her story starts with her college guidance counselor telling her to "forget about writing, find something you might be good at". It seems Erma refused to give up. She tells about a book signing that only attracted two people, one who wanted directions to the restroom and one who wanted to buy the table. But once again, it seems Erma refused to give up. And her not giving up paid off as she eventually published 15 books and was named one of the 25 most influential women in America. She went from writing obituaries on her first job to writing a column that was carried by over 900 newspapers 18 years later. And she ended up writing that column for close to 30 years.

What an encouragement for you and I to not give up when it seems that our best efforts are not succeeding as we would like, to not give up when it seems that what the Lord has promised us will never come to pass. Erma's personal life had it's troubles and difficulties too. During the 30 years of publishing her newspaper column, she buried two babies, faced breast cancer and a mastectomy, and experienced kidney failure. Yet none of that caused her to give up. And none of that caused her to lose her sense of humor and her ability to keep life in perspective.

In the Bible, David didn't give up when everyone turned against him in I Samuel 30. And that was after many years of running from Saul and wondering if God's promises, spoken 13 years earlier, would ever come to pass. Abraham didn't give up when every natural circumstance told him that he and Sarah were too old to have children. He didn't give up because "he considered Him faithful who had made the promise". Hebrews 10:36 says that "you need to persevere (not give up) so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised."

Going back to the 60's when I started reading Erma Bombeck's columns, I had no idea that I was enjoying the fruits of determination, the fruits of a life that refused to give up on her dreams. And 40 years later, it makes a powerful impression that "though the vision tarries, wait for it, it will surely come" (Habakkuk 2:3)

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Blind Spots

Blind Spots

Driving up behind the 18-wheeler that was in the passing lane on Highway 401 in Canada, I got close enough to read the sign on the back of the trailer "Please Don't Drive In My Blind Spot". I think we all know those spots where a car or a truck can be hidden from our mirrors, the back left corner and the back right corner, the spots that we have to turn our heads to check before changing lanes. Blind spots are something I can relate to. Since being diagnosed with glaucoma and losing some of my peripherial vision, I've had to be more aware of my blind spots than ever before. But not only do we have natural blind spots but spiritual ones as well.

The story is told of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson going camping. After a good meal and a bottle of wine, they laid down for the night and fell asleep. During the night, Holmes woke up, nudged his friend awake and said, "Watson, what do you see?" "I see millions and millions of stars" replied Watson. "What does that tell you?" Holmes asked. Watson replied by talking about the galaxies, the planets and the constellations, and about how the heavens reveal how powerful our God must be. He then asked Holmes, "Why, what does it tell you?" to which Holmes answered, "Watson you idiot, someone has stolen out tent." Isn't is amazing how close someone, or something, can be and we still can't see it.

In Psalm 19:12, David acknowledged his own blind spots when he prayed, "Lord, cleanse me from my secret faults". Like David, we can be blind to weaknesses in our lives, we can be blind to areas where our resistance is low, and we can be blind to areas where insecurities and fears have robbed us of our ability to see things clearly. At times, we can also be blind to how our behavior is hurting the people around us. But, thankfully, the Lord promised that he would "cause the blind eyes to see". Let's ask the Lord to do that in each of our lives, to open our eyes to see in the areas that have been hidden from us, our "blind spots".

And one last area, we can be blind to what God is doing in our lives. Just think, right now God might be doing something wonderul in your life, preparing you for great things ahead. Maybe you just have to turn your head a little, adjust where you're focusing, and you'll see the hand of the Lord making you into a vessel of honor, fit for the Master's use.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Knock On Wood

Knock On Wood

The almost nightly occurence would start with my dad recounting a story of someone having a problem or getting into trouble. My mom would then make a comment somewhat to the effect of "that'll never happen in our family". And then, almost simultaneously, they would both say "knock on wood" and knock on the kitchen table. My dad was a little more careful; he would knock under the table, on the real wood, no varnished finish for him when he was tempting fate.

If you're thinking it was only something our family did, consider this. In Finland, it's called "koputtaa puuta", in France "toucher du bois" and in Turkey "tahtaya vur". In Poland, it's very specific, "odpukac w niemalowane", which means knocking on unpainted wood. It seems that the Poles take no chances when it comes to saying something that is just a little prideful and might get you in trouble.

What really intrigues me though is how even the most unlikely person seems to realize that making a prideful statement can be dangerous. It's like acknowledging God even when you don't follow him or make him a part of your life. The Bible says that "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble". We want to be alert to when our words reveal an area of pride that has arisen in our hearts. We want to say like Paul 'there go I but for the grace of God".

As far as knocking on wood, I've adopted a new policy. When what I'm about to say might require a "knock on wood", I don't say it, plain and simple, it gets deleted before it ever comes out. But there's a lesson here that goes beyond knocking on wood. Our words have incredible power. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that "life and death are in the power of the tongue". Our words have the power to heal and the power to wound, the power to encourage and lift someone up, and the power to discourage and drag someone down.

What we say can and does make a big difference both in our lives and in the lives of others. Mark Twain said "I can live two months on a good compliment". No doubt we can all relate to that. Isaiah 50:4 speaks of "the word that sustains the weary". I want to challenge each one of us to use the power of our words to bring life and hope, strength and encouragement to those around us.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Two Days

Two Days

The morning devotion at school started just like any other, teachers and staff making their way into the room one by one, clutching their morning coffee. When Linda announced the title of her devotion "Two Days Not To Worry About", my mind instantly started to race. My first thought was Christmas Day. I always worry about whether my family and friends will like the presents I got them, will the size be right,or the color, will they be disappointed because they were really counting on something else. Yup, one the two days had to be Christmas Day.

Well, if it was Jeopardy, I just lost $400 because the answer was "What are yesterday and tomorrow?" The unfortunate thing is I didn't hear anything else Linda said that morning; I was too busy thinking about the title . The first verse that came to mind was Philippians 3:13 where Paul writes about "forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead". He was really encouraging us to forget all our yesterdays, the mistakes and failures on our part, the hurts and wounds from other people, and the disappointments of life when things haven't worked out as we hoped. And not just the far off ones, even the ones that happened yesterday at work or last night.

Paul himself had a past to put behind him, his persecution of believers in the days before His conversion. And even though he talked about it and learned from it, he refused to let his past absorb his attention or hinder his progress in the Lord. Are some of the hurts, disappointments and failures real and serious? Absolutely! But why let them rob us of the wonderful future God has planned for our lives. Many of us need a "manasseh experience", a once and for all putting of the past behind us. In Genesis Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh, which means to forget, and declared "God has caused me to forget all my trouble". Joseph had suffered much at the hands of his brothers but he made a conscious effort to forget the past and the result was that he was fruitful in everything he did. We need to make that same consious effort to let go of the past.

Remember the Beatles song Yesterday? One part of the song says this:

"There's a shadow hanging over me, O I believe in yesterday"

I believe today is your day to step out of the shadow of yesterday, of all your yesterdays, and begin to live a life filled with hope, with purpose and with expectation.

Pastor Joe
Gateway Church