Hope Anne

Hope Anne

"For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me
my petition which I asked of Him." I Samuel 1:27

For those who already have heard, you are probably expecting me to go on and on about Hope Anne, my first grandchild, born yesterday afternoon, 18 1/2 inches long, 5 lbs, 2 oz of incredible cuteness. I'm going to do that later, but what has struck me the most so far is the overwhelming sense of how precious each life is and of what I can only describe as the "miracle of life".

That from the smallest of beginnings in the womb of a mother, a baby can grow and develop is nothing short of a miracle. David did a pretty good job describing it when he said in Psalm 139:13-14 "you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made". And that God can say to each baby "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you" - the knowledge that the Lord has a plan and a purpose for that life, for each life, is a gift and a wonder beyond description. David went on to say in Psalm 139:16:

"All the days ordained for me were written in
your book before one of them came to be."

Knowing that Hope Anne, as tiny and helpless as she is, is precious not only to her parents (and grandparents, aunts, uncles, great-grandparents.....okay, I'll stop now) but also to the Lord of whom David said "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God!" is both indescribable and incredible. Hope Anne is a reminder, with all the freshness of a new baby, that each life is to be valued and appreciated and treated as precious. The differences between us must take a backseat, the petty squabbles must be put aside and we must treat each life, each individual, each product of the same miracle of life as Hope Anne, with the dignity, love, value and respect intended by our Creator.

And as a warning, there might be a few more "Hope Anne" devotionals along the way, her first words, her first steps, her...........................

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Facial Recognition

Facial Recognition

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's
glory are being transformed into His likeness with
ever-increasing glory." II Corinthians 3:18

With each passing day, the pressure is mounting for me to get a breakthrough in the all-important area of facial recognition. Calls to Homeland Security for training in their software have gone unanswered, the local community college still doesn't offer any courses that would help, and support groups in my area have refused me as a hopeless case.

If you're wondering what the problem is, let me explain. On countless visits to see newborn babies, in the hospital or at home, there are always the "she looks just like her .........." (insert mother or father). Or how about the "he has his father's chin" or, even more common, "she has her mother's eyes". How do they do it? I have never, and I do mean never, been able to tell who a baby looks like. My record is worse than the Detroit Lions, sadder than the Chicago Cubs, and, to make matters worse, Hope Anne will be here soon. Out of town relatives will ask "Who does your granddaughter look like and I won't have an answer for them.

In fact, the only area of recognition that I can function in is this: seeing Christ reflected in someone's life. Whether someone has genuine love and understanding for others who might be struggling, that's easy to recognize. And if a person really cares when another member of the body of Christ is suffering or hurting, I can pick that up. Patience, forgiveness, compassion, mercy - if only "her mother's nose" was as easy to spot as those in the life of a Christian. And bitterness, jealousy, anger, selfishness - if only "his grandfather's chin" was as clearly reflected as those traits.

The oft repeated phrase "you might be the only Jesus they will ever see" is truer than we would like to admit. Whether we like it or not, we reflect Christ and His attributes to those around us. We can bring the Lord glory and honor, and advance His kingdom, when the character of Christ is seen in us. Unfortunately, we can also dishonor the Lord, and hinder other people's coming to Christ, when our attitudes and lifestyle do not reflect the Lord and His kingdom. And both are a lot more obvious than who a little baby looks like!!

Let's all remember, people are looking to see who we resemble. As for me, when I'm done with this letter, I'll keep searching for a course that will train me in facial recognition.
I can only hope that Hope doesn't come too early!

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

A Disposable Religion

A Disposable Religion

"When he found a pearl of great value, he went away
and sold everything he had and bought it."
Matthew 13:46

Most of the people receiving this weren't around to remember the days of glass milk containers, with the tin foil caps, delivered to the house by the milkman. Non-returnable, disposable milk containers made their way into everyday lives in the late 50's and they have been followed by a host of disposable products. When our oldest daughter was born, I still remember Nancy and I having to decide (to be honest, it was a pretty easy decision) between the diaper service and disposable diapers. If I remember, the extra cost of the disposable won out over the smell factor of a diaper pail filled with dirty cloth diapers.

In reality, disposable products have made life much more convenient and have invaded every sphere of life. We now shave with disposable razors, eat lunch on disposable paper plates using disposable silverware on a table covered with a disposable tablecloth.

On our school trips to Washington every year, students purchase disposable cameras, at outrageous prices, to record their memories of our nation's capitol. Add to those the disposable cell phones now available, disposable tupperware containers for lunches and storage, the list would be pretty long.

Now for the problem and it's not the environmental impact of disposable products adding to our landfills at alarming rates; it's the danger of a disposable mentality getting into our faith and producing a disposable religion. In a world governed in so many areas by our desire for convenience, that kind of an attitude could creep into our faith. And the result would be our looking for a religion of convenience. If it interferes with our plans and desires, get rid of it. If it interrupts a person's leisure or recreation, throw it away, just one more "disposable" in life. And if becomes confining, too limiting on what we can and can't do, too demanding of our time, we move on to something else.

And what about relationships. Sometimes, it seems that people undervalue relationships and only see them in the light of what they can get out of them. When a relationship starts to place demands on us that we aren't willing to pay, we too often treat them as disposable and move on. It is a lesson better learned earlier than later in life, treasure the relationships and friendships you have been blessed with.

When Jesus talked about the pearl of great price, and a person selling everything they had to purchase it, He was revealing the value and importance we should place on the Kingdom of God and on our relationship with the Lord. What a contrast - the little value we place on disposable products compared to the pricelessness of having God in our lives. Let's make sure we haven't fallen prey to a disposable mentality!

God bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The Safest Place

The Safest Place

"He who dwells in the secret place of the most High will
abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1

During the Chinese-Japanese War, an American missionary doctor was performing an operation on a wounded soldier. In the midst of the operation, there was an air raid and bombs began exploding in the nearby courtyard. A Christian nurse, who was assisting with the surgery, insisted that the doctor seek shelter so he wouldn't be killed by a bomb. To this plea, the missionary doctor replied, "Young lady, the safest place on earth is in the center of the will of God."

We live in a time with great economic uncertainties, with increasing threats of terrorism all over the world, and with pressures on the family structure never seen before. And yet, despite all this, for those who know the Lord and are seeking His will for their lives, it should (key word - should!) be a time of peace and of security.

The Bible uses a variety of words to describe this safest place. Psalm 91 talks about "the shelter of the most High". Who hasn't run for one of those park shelters during a summer thunderstorm; and if you make it before the rain, you can feel perfectly safe no matter how bad the storm. What a great analogy for the Lord because He is the ultimate shelter in the storms of life. No matter how difficult and constant the attacks against you may be, the Lord will be there to protect you.

David also describes the Lord as "my fortress" giving us the picture of a castle that no enemy could conquer and as "my refuge". When you look the word refuge up in the dictionary, you find this: "a place of shelter or protection from danger, trouble, storms, etc; anywhere to which one has recourse for aid, relief, or escape". For this, however, to become a reality in our lives, and not just another teaching, we have a part to play; we have to be walking in the will of God, listening to His voice directing our lives, and staying in right relationship to the Lord.

The missionary doctor was right, "the safest place on earth is in the center of the will of God". If you know you're not there, if you've been troubled by worry and fear, the door is wide open for you to run to the Shelter, not a place but a person, our God and our Lord.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Cut Rate Tickets

Cut Rate Tickets

"He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He enables
me to stand on the heights." Psalm 18:33

The permit that has to be purchased from the government of Nepal to climb Mt. Everest, the world's highest peak, can range in cost from $10,000 to $25,000, depending on the number of climbers in a group. But in the 1970's (talk about inflation), the sign posted by the government read as follows:

Climbing Permits
$630 to climb Mt. Everest
(Cut rate tickets are offered for lower peaks)

The principle can be found everywhere, the best always costs more. It applies to clothing and food products, to cars and bicycles, to computers and cell phones, and yes, even to climbing mountains. The axiom is true, tried and tested, you get what you pay for. If you want the distinction and honor that goes with climbing the highest mountain in the world, you will have to pay more. If you want the sense of personal satisfaction and accomplishment that is a part with going for the best, you will have to pay more. If you're willing to settle for less, you can go the "cut rate ticket" route.

When I was reading about the cut rate tickets offered by the government of Nepal, my thoughts turned to our walk with the Lord and to the reality that anyone can choose to settle for less than God's best for their life. As people progress in their Christian journey, often the costs associated with serving the Lord become more than they are willing to pay. Sometimes that cost if reflected in sacrifices and changes that have to be made; at other times, it is seen in trials that have to be endured, in relationships that have to be severed, and in priorities that must be reordered. And when those costs are too high, we settle for the cut rate tickets, for a Christian experience that is less than the Lord desires for our life.

We see it in scripture in the 2 1/2 tribes who settled for an inheritance outside of the promised land. God had promised to bring them into a land that was blessed in every way, a land flowing with milk and honey, but they chose instead a land that met their present need. They settled for second best in a situation where the best God had for them required more faith, more effort, more endurance and more determination.

In Switzerland, the story is told of a mountain guide who slipped on a high incline and fell to his death. He was so loved that a sculpture of his likeness was made, with the inscription at the base of the statue "He died climbing". For each of you, my prayer is that you will be found still climbing, still pressing in for more of God, and still seeking God for all that He has purposed for your life. Don't settle for those lower peaks, go for the Everests in your life, they're worth the cost!

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Overflow

Overflow

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with
hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Roman 15:13

Visiting Atlantic City again after 39 years was interesting because so many changes had taken place. In 1969, when I was last there, the biggest building was two stories tall and the fanciest restaurant.....well, if they had any, we never found them. But now, many of the small shops that lined the boardwalk have been replace with gleaming, towering casinos with five-star restaurants, slots machines and gaming tables. But this devotion isn't about the problems associated with gambling but something that stood out to Nancy and I during our time there.

The verse quoted above talks about us "overflowing with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit". As the Lord touches and fills our lives, we are to overflow with hope, excitement, thanksgiving and joy so that others around us are enouraged and strengthened by what the Lord has done in our lives. The song "Dancing Generation" words it this way:

"It's the overflow of a forgiven soul
And now we've seen you God
And our hearts cannot stay silent"

Looking out the window of our 8th floor room in the Hilton Resort, we could not only see the beautiful beach and the ocean below but also the old, rundown buildings next door to the casino. And everywhere we walked, right next to the fanciest casinos you could imagine, there were old, dilapadated, abandoned buildings. With all the wealth and opulence of the casino resorts, there just wasn't any overflow to the surrounding community.

The kingdom of God has blessings and benefits beyond anything we could ever hope for. And most of us reading this devotion have experienced them to some degree. But do they overflow our lives and, by so doing, bless the lives of those around us as we share the good things the Lord has done in each of us and as our lives declare the goodness of God? Unlike the casinos of Atlantic City, let's make sure that our lives are in overflow status and that as we are blessed, we allow that blessing to flow out to others and reveal just how good our God really is.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
King's Gate Church

Hand Picked

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you
to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last." John 15:16

Driving along Route 18 in upstate New York this past summer, I passed a small sign "U Pick Cherries". Not being in a hurry this trip, I thought about it for a minute, decided it would be fun, and did a quick u-turn. When I finally got to the orchard, I had two choices, to go out and pick my own cherries, or buy some already picked, delicious looking dark red cherries. I chose the former, picking them myself. It meant more work, getting my shoes a little muddy but it would be worth it to get to pick the best looking cherries that I could find. It seems when you buy fruit already picked, you always get some that are less than perfect, maybe a soft spot on an apple, a squished blueberry, or the moldy berries at the bottom of the container. No, not this time, not for me, I was going after the best fruit in the orchard.

90 minutes and 6 1/2 pounds of cherries later, I was on my way home to Michigan, full from all the sampling I did while picking and feeling great about my harvest of cherries. (That lasted for 45 minutes until I arrived at the border and found out that transporting fruit between the US and Canada is illegal and frowned upon - I'll save that story for another time.)

In the midst of all this, the Lord began to speak to me about our being hand picked by the Father. Just as I was very careful which cherries I picked, God has chosen you and I, on purpose, with purpose and for a purpose. You were individually chosen by God the Father, with Him already knowing your strengths and weaknesses, your talents and abilities, your special needs and personal vulnerabilities (we all have them). His Word declares it, "you did not choose me but I chose you", telling us that God saw value in each of us, He saw us as worth saving, as worth investing in, as worth sending His Son to die on the cross for.

And knowing everything about us, He chose us for the purpose of bearing fruit, in many different ways, but all fruit bearers just the same. It strengthens me knowing that God wanted me to be a part of His kingdom, that despite my shortcomings, He wants to have a relationship with me and use me for His plans and purposes. Knowing that, we can each face today with a renewed confidence and a broader smile - God chose you!

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church