At God’s Disposal

At God’s Disposal

“Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two small
fish; but what good are these among so many people?”
                                               John 6:9

As Jesus looked to feed the multitude of people who had followed Him to a remote location to hear his teachings, He wasn’t concerned with the size of the need; He only wanted to know what the disciples had available for Him to work with. They placed “at His disposal” a few loaves and some small fish and the rest is history as they say. Five thousand men, plus women and children, were fed that day providing us a lesson that still rings true: our little is more than enough in the hands of God.

That lesson was reinforced to me last night as I sent off $240 to Operation Smile to provide cleft palate surgery for a poor young child somewhere in the world. Little children in a small church brought their pennies, nickels, quarters and dimes and placed them in a change jar for most of the past year. The individual offerings were small by any comparison but, for the child who will receive surgery through their gift, it will be anything but little. Maybe we could all learn something from the little child who was still humble enough to put their $.32 offering to work to help another child in need. Maybe it’s time to realize that little can be a mindset that we have to overcome in making all we have and all we are available to God.

The woman whose husband had died went to Elisha deeply concerned about paying her creditors lest her sons be sold into slavery. Elisha responded to her with a question: “Tell me, what do you have in your house?” She may have only had one jar of oil but, in God’s hand, that little amount of oil met the widow’s every need. It’s interesting: in her hand, it was a jar of cooking oil, but in God’s hand it was her family’s provision for many years to come. So many people spend time worrying about what they don’t have while God is interested in taking what you do have and using it for His purposes and His glory. The old refrain still rings true: little is much when God is in it.

You may not have much, by your way of thinking, but if you will place what you do have at God’s disposal, you will see that God has proven time and again that He can take our little and make much out of it. Your talent and ability is not too little for the God who created you; make it available to Him today. A few loaves, some small fish, and a jar of oil – stop doubting who you are and what you have. In God’s hands and at God’s disposal, it’s more than enough to meet the need. And if you have a little change, I know a place ………..

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

A Call to Love

A Call to Love

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life
 for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”
                                                                     I John 3:16

Woven like a thread through every aspect of the gospel and of the Christian life is love; a word used interchangeably to represent such a wide range of feelings and emotions. Think of it; on any given day, you might use the word for a McDonald’s menu item like Diet Coke, in talking about your favorite music group or store at the mall, and in expressing your feelings and affection for your husband or wife. Maybe that’s why Paul had to spend an entire chapter of the Word telling us what the love we are called to live out looks like.

Living a life of love and answering the call to love one another is certainly one of the greatest challenges of the Christian life. The pattern has been clearly laid out – love as He loved, love others as Jesus loved us. But the outworking of that call to love in our daily lives, to love not just in words easy to be spoken but in actions that often cost us something, requires reminders much like we’re getting this morning.

The call to show genuine kindness, concern, and consideration to others includes the co-worker who annoys us, the neighbor whose faults are so bothersome, the fellow believer who God is still in the process of changing, and the family member who should know better. The list includes everyone from the driver going too slow on the road this morning to the friend who has hurt you deeply. The one who stepped on your toes is there along with the one who you couldn’t believe would have the nerve to say that to you, about you, or involving you. In fact, if there is someone you need to forgive, I can assure you they are on the list of those you are called to love unselfishly, selflessly and wholeheartedly.

If you look at the opening verse, you’ll see that the standard is pretty high: laying down our lives for each other, parents for children, friend for friend, believer for fellow believer, co-worker for co-worker, and neighbor for neighbor. Live as Jesus did and love as Jesus did, live a life of love that always forgives, that thinks of others before yourself, that seeks to make others’ lives better by the care, concern and affection you show toward them. Live a life of love, you’ll make a difference in other lives, and God will be well pleased with you!

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Reflecting

Reflecting

“Let your light so shine before others, so that they may see
your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
                                                     Matthew 5:16

The drive to school on Monday morning was highlighted by the beauty of a full moon shining brightly and clearly in the western sky, reflecting the light of a sun that had not yet made its appearance for the day. And I was doubly blessed that on the ride home later that day, the same full moon was rising in the eastern sky just as the daylight was fading from sight.

The absolute beauty of the sight made it hard to imagine that what I was looking at was only a reflection, that the light I was enjoying wasn’t really the light of the moon but merely a reflection of the light of an unseen sun. And it made me consider the fact that we too are a reflection to those around us. We reflect who we believe in, we reflect the core set of values that govern our lives, and we reflect the level of commitment and dedication we have to the varied interests that vie for our attention.

As simple as this might sound, the moon has no choice in the matter; it reflects the light of the sun that is exposed to its surface. And really, no matter how hard we try, we have no choice either; the place that Christ has in our lives, how important He is to us, and how much serving Him and honoring Him dictates the priorities we live by are all clearly reflected to others. Jesus encouraged us to let our lights shine before men in a way that glorifies the Father in Heaven because clearly there are ways that we can let our light shine that do not glorify the Lord, and that do not reflect positively on the One who gave His life for each of us.

God is looking for a people whose every action, whose every attitude, whose every priority in life will reflect to the world around us that our God is worth our all, and that our God “has earned our loyalty and complete devotion by His love and death on the cross.” I pray that the reflection of Christ and of Christianity that others see when they look at our lives is one that glorifies God and that inspires them to seek and follow after our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe

Get Back

Get Back

“And you are to say to them, These are the words of the Lord of hosts:
Come back to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will come back to you.”
                                                                          Zechariah 1:3

Later this morning, students all across Michigan will be returning to the classroom, getting back to the routines of waking up early, taking notes in classes, solving Math problems, laboring over English papers and tackling the homework assigned to them by teachers. But none of that is the reason why I’ve found myself thinking about the words to an old Beatles song with a chorus that simply says:

                                “Get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged.”

For one person, the getting back that the Lord is quickening might be to a life of prayer and to being disciplined in setting time aside each day for personal prayer. As someone who would know firsthand, Howard Taylor could say of his father, missionary Hudson Taylor, “these 40 years have not seen the sun rise in China without my father kneeling in prayer.” The relationship with the Lord that is nurtured during times of prayer will become the foundation of the strong, fruitful, fulfilling life you long for.

To another, there might need to be a getting back to the Word. I hope we are all mature enough to realize the truth of God’s Word when it says that “man does not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” God’s Word is our source of hope and strength, of guidance and direction, of knowledge, wisdom and understanding, of vision and of courage. No matter what distractions have filled our summer days, getting back to the Word is necessary, in fact, crucial to the man or woman who wants to live a life blessed by God.

The call is to getting back to doing what we know is right and pleasing to the Lord. I had started to list out some others areas where there is a definite need to “get back” in the body of Christ but I was reminded of what Jesus told the Ephesians, “do the things you did at first”. To the one who really wants their will to line up with the Lord’s, no list is necessary; only a call, as the prophets declared, to come back to God, to return to the Lord and to a life of walking in obedience to His will.

For me, getting back to sending out weekly devotions is only one of many disciplines that I hope to live out by God’s grace and mercy. My prayer is that God will place a strong desire in each of your hearts to get back to doing those things He has called you to, those things that we know are only for our good, those things that will lead to a deeper union and communion with a God who truly loves us.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe

Gateway Church

Impressed

Impressed

“Wherefore glorify the Lord in the fires….”
                                     Isaiah 24:15

It wasn’t the words that were spoken in chapel this week and it wasn’t the eloquence and delivery of his message that stood out. It wasn’t the film clip of his years playing quarterback in the National Football League and it wasn’t his success as a professional athlete that drew my attention to our guest speaker and what he had come to share with the teens in our high school. What impressed me was the life response of a man who had experienced the personal tragedy, many years ago, of his 15 year old son committing suicide.

Facing hurt and overcoming loss, experiencing difficulty and battling disappointment are realities that we will all face, to varying degrees, at some time in our lives. But how we respond, as we seek to glorify the Lord in the fires of life, is what matters most. Some end up caught in the trap of guilt and sorrow, never finding the grace to move on from their crisis moment in life. Others fall victim to bitterness, giving in to the blame game (a game we always lose), blaming God and others for the hardships they have endured. For these, the remedy of trusting in God’s love and providence is too difficult to accept as a foundation for finding healing. But there are those whose response inspires us to live out our faith with a holy determination to make a difference in the lives of others.

Our guest speaker, 25 years after his son’s tragic suicide, was addressing our students, many of whom were the same age his son was, on the subject of depression and the causes of teen suicide. His message was focused on warning signs that we each need to be aware of, on the need for each person to take an active interest in the lives of those around him, and on the fact that depression can be treated early on and overcome. This was not a man holding on to sorrow and loss; this was a man giving his life to help others teenagers not make the same mistake his son did.

And that’s what impressed me; he made a conscious decision to make the very best of his tragic situation. Standing in front of our teenagers, he was willing to share his heart, hoping to turn his loss into another’s gain. Paul Billheimer wrote a book entitled “Don’t Waste Your Sorrows.” Our speaker that day, Eric Hipple was living this out, not wasting the sorrow of his personal loss. And that is our challenge, to find the courage to do the same, to take our own personal life experiences and turn them into opportunities to share the amazing grace of God with others around us.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Having Done All

Having Done All

“Put on the full armor of God so that you may be able to
  stand your ground, and after you have done all, to stand.”
                                                   Ephesians 6:13

If ever a story was to inspire us to give our all to the things of God, to seasons of committed prayer and fasting, and to going after God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, David’s intercession for his ill child is certainly one. The Bible gives us this account, in II Samuel 12, of what David did when his son became sick:

“David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted…. he spent nights lying on the ground…refused to get up from the ground….and would not eat.”
 

That David was willing to do all that for his child is not the surprising part; we would expect that from a “man after God’s own heart”. But still it stands as an incredible example of how we are called as believers to respond to the deepest and most difficult trials we face. “Having done all” is a phrase taken from Ephesians 6:13 above; it is a place of peace that enables us to stand confidently knowing that we have done all we could on our side of the equation of divine sovereignty and human responsibility, that dividing line between our part and God’s part in dealing with life’s problems. In the face of difficult circumstances and discouraging odds, David prayed and interceded with all his heart for God to be gracious to his little child.

The child died on the seventh day of David’s intercession and David’s “having done all” opened the door for him to see the loss of his child in the light of eternity. His servants were worried about him, saying, “he may do something desperate” but he got up from the ground, changed out of his mourning clothes and worshipped before requesting food and eating. His simple explanation of his actions after the death of the child culminated with “I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” Having done all, having given his best, David was able to stand again, living in the light of eternity.

In every situation we face today, let’s set right priorities so that we too can say that we have done our all, and from that, find the strength that comes from a life of no regrets, a life that is focused on eternal things.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

Patient Continuance

Patient Continuance

“To those who by patient continuance in doing good seek
for glory, honor and immortality, He will give eternal life.”
                                                  Romans 2:7

Earlier today, in a very special memorial service, we paid tribute and said goodbye to my mom who passed away last week at the age of 95. The memories we shared will not soon be forgotten and the legacy she left our family will stand as an inspiration for many years to come. Without a doubt, if one phrase from the scriptures could summarize her life, it would have to be a quote from the above scripture in Romans 2:7 which talks about “patient continuance in doing good.” The consistency of her living out her values is an example that we can all learn from.

We see and hear of many acts of hospitality in the body of Christ and my mom was no exception. Her home was open, to family members and friends alike, every Sunday for brunch. But it wasn’t just for a year or two and it wasn’t in response to a message on the subject preached from a pulpit; it was for as long as I can remember, many decades to be sure, and it continued up until the week before her 95^th birthday this past September. There are acts of hospitality and there is a lifestyle of hospitality where such good works are core values that we practice on our own without reminders or encouragement as an outflow of what we believe is important. Such was my mom.

A pan of soup for someone under the weather, a meal for a family member recovering from surgery, or a birthday card for one of her 22 grandchildren and 44 great-children were the rule not the exception. No visitor was ever sent away without having been fed properly and no request to knit an afghan was ever turned down, a pattern continued until only a few weeks before her passing into eternity. Showing constant concern for everyone from close family members to a young boy in our church with special needs were part of that “patient continuance”, a lifestyle of doing good, of showing love, of caring concern and compassionate kindness.

We can be challenged in our own lives to think of others first, to show the love of Christ to others in practical, sacrificial ways, and to make those values so second nature that no one need remind us of their importance. A legacy of mom and grandma opening her home and her heart, of sharing all she had, and of loving those dearest to her with her whole heart is what our family is so grateful for this evening as we settle back in at home. My prayer is that each of us will find the grace to leave such a wonderful legacy to those who share in our lives.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church