New Life

Ever had a day that you feel like you did everything wrong and nothing went right? Of course you have! Everyone has at some point in our lives. This is true before we encounter Jesus Christ and come to know him and it even happens after we come to know him as Savior.

Something to remember, if you’re a believer remember this and if you’re not a believer in Jesus Christ, listen up, you are a new creation in Christ. (see 2 Corinthians 5:17)

You may feel like you make mistakes and keep sinning in your life. We ALL make mistakes, but we should also remember that our sin has been bought and paid for by the same Creator who made us! If you have never personally met Jesus Christ in your heart, let me introduce him. Jesus was a man who live about 2,000 years ago. We can find much about his adult life in the Bible and about his life in other reliable historical sources. He was a man who did not sin and was tempted in every way possible that we are tempted today. Don’t believe me? Right after Jesus was baptized, he went into the wilderness (really a desert) and fasted from food for 40 days. Jesus knows what it is like to be deprived of physical nourishment. The Tempter came and said, “if you’re hungry turn these stones into bread to satisfy your hunger.” Jesus responded, “Man does not live by bread alone but by every Word from the mouth of God.” Jesus was tempted to make things happen himself rather than trust in God. We are tempted to rely on our own strength more so than trusting in God for provisions.

Then Jesus was placed on top of this tall mountain and the Tempter tempted him to jump saying, “He has commanded the angels concerning you and they will take you in their hands and you won’t hit your foot against a stone.” Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Do not test the Lord, your God.” Jesus was tempted with his very life, if he jumped his misery would have been over, but he would have missed out on the fulfilling life God had planned for him.

The Tempter placed Jesus on top of the world and said, “All these kingdoms could be yours if you just bow down and worship me.” Jesus said, “worship only the Lord your God.” Jesus had every opportunity to take the life of luxury and not have to live the life he did, but Jesus still chose to go to the cross for you and for me. The luxuries in this world stay here and do not go with us, and they only provide short term satisfaction. Jesus knew true joy and true life is living the life God intended.

Sinning means veering off the path. When we sin, we get further away from God. Our sin, my sin, needs to be paid for to bring us into the right relationship with God. Jesus died on the cross so that we have the opportunity, you have the opportunity to realize you have value and can be made right with God. Because of this, you have the chance to seek God with your whole heart and experience life as God intended. Life is not always easy, but being made right with God allows us, allows you to know forgiveness which gives peace and joy beyond understanding.

You have the choice to accept this love God has for you. Whether or not you believe in God, God believes in you and desires you to get to know him and spend time with him in the Word (Bible), with his people (church worship and community), and personal prayer time (speaking with God daily).

No matter what you have done wrong, or feel you have done wrong, God is always there waiting on you. Forgiveness and new life is yours! Jesus rose from the dead for YOU to have new life.

God created the heavens and the earth; but YOU are his most valuable creation!

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Mission Trip Begins

I have the great opportunity to lead a team of 18 people, most of whom, have not been on an short term mission trip out of the state.

We are not thinking we’re going there to do stuff for the people, we have something different in mind. We desire to learn, love, listen to and show people the light and love of Jesus Christ.

Our goal is to learn about a new culture and experience and witness how other people live when we escape from the suburbs. This will be important to meet people where they are.

We get to love. The work we do with the community will be done out of love so that we can help those who need help. When we go, I pray, others will see the reason we’re there is not to do the work for them; but yo serve and love them so they remember they are not alone.

We never know who we’re going to encounter or what the other person might be going through. I pray we all have listening ears to hear what’s said and respond out of love. This is for when we travel, when we’re there and this “task” maybe within our team itself.

All of the above is great but the most important thing we will do is to show others the light of a Jesus Christ. Our mission is to serve out of love and to speak about Christ. There may be members of this team who do not yet know Christ, but I pray they begin to know Him on this trip so all people can see the joy life can have and the peace He brings.

What a task this next week! With God working through us and in us, it will be incredible what happens.

Many Blessings

So often in this life, we tend to focus solely on our own circumstances and situations. When we think others are getting things we want, or we feel we deserve, we can place ourselves into a dangerous mindset.

There is a reason the last commandment is “Do not desire your neighbor’s house. Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17).

Always looking at what other people have and what we don’t have makes us lose focus of the many ways we are blessed. We have many more blessings than we realize, all we need to do is open our eyes and our hearts.

The first commandment is “You must have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:2). Keeping this commandment means that we are trusting in the guidance of God and the ways God works through us. We can have so many “gods” in our life (TV, video games, computer, phone, friends, food, etc…), but none of these “gods” can ever be as personal and as life giving as Jesus Christ.

The truth is that Jesus Christ (God in human flesh) came to earth to live a life we couldn’t live and he died a gruesome death. Jesus knows how we are tempted, how other “gods” try to take control of our lives, but he still died for you and for me. 3 days later, he proved death and the world could not keep him down, so he rose from the dead (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 23, John 20). He rose to show the power he gives us through the Holy Spirit is enough to strengthen us and to show us we truly have everything we need in Christ and do not need to worry we do not have enough. You have been gifted with so much more than you may know. Seek to live a live of gratitude and you will find abundant peace and joy from the Creator of the Universe who perfectly created you.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:
1) What are some things I am thankful for?
2) What will I do to not allow the other “gods” to control me?
3) Who can I help to remind them they are loved and adored by God?

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Live Differently in God’s Presence

This message is over Exodus 34 and how Moses shined after meeting with God. Have you felt like people don’t, or you don’t, feel differently after going to worship? This message is hopeful because God gives us chance after chance after chance. I pray you’ll see how God is calling each of us to be the lights that shine as a city on a hill to bring people into the Living God’s presence with us.

Streamed live on May 31, 2014
Youth Director, Ryan Stratton, leads this message on “Living Differently in God’s Presence”
Scripture: Exodus 34

Grace and Peace to YOU!
Buda United Methodist Church (www.budaumc.org)

You are invited to join us for worship anytime. Our mission is to empower people with the love of God and make disciples for Jesus Christ.

Worship…Take Time to Worship this Weekend

Psalm 122:1 says “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let’s go to the Lord’s house.'”

How is it to you to go to a place of worship? The only thing that matters is that when we go to worship, we pause what we’re doing and allow the Holy Spirit of God to fill us once again. We all have busy schedules and an almost never ending to-do list, but we can also be excited to be around with other imperfect people so together we can worship the One who created each of us.

The joy of worshipping as a community comes from support and realizing we all have struggles in life but we can still be there for each other. Sharing the love of Jesus Christ with those around us in a worship service helps us to visibly see God moving in and through us to work with God and fill other hearts with peace and joy.

Where ever you might be this weekend, I hope and pray you find a place to worship and praise God (whatever that looks like for you), so that we can be filled together and go out together to bring the Kingdom of God closer to those who need it most (the outside world….and us!).

If you do not have a place of worship, you are invited to get a group of friends together and worship with us online Saturday night from 6:00pm-6:30pm central standard time. The message is “Seeking & Knowing God’s Presence” and we’ll look at and explore Exodus chapter 33.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZnpdwYGbVY (may have to copy and paste link)

We do not worship for ourselves, but to give honor and glory to God, our Creator.
Psalm 115:1 “Not to us, Lord, not to us–no, but to your own name give glory because of your loyal love and faithfulness!”

May the peace and love of God fill your heart and strengthen you today and forever more. Amen.

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Gradutation Time

It blew me away last night to hear many of the graduates from our church are going to study such degrees as biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, etc. We have some talented teenagers graduating high school. Yet through this they will only be successful if they keep and maintain the community of family and friends that will support them. Even when their stressed from studying or any other situation a college student may face, they are loved and cared for by an entire village.

We reminded the graduates how gifted they are and through their gifts and talents, they can lead people to experience God’s Kingdom. Part of their giftedness comes from gaining support from their community to show others they are not alone either. Here is a segment of the talk given to recognize and honor the graduates last night. See what you need to hear.

“I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope.”

These words from Jeremiah 29:11 are a favorite for graduations because of the bright future filled with love and hope for those crossing this threshold to enter a new phase in life. You have been charged with gifts from God that will allow you to prosper and bring hope, not only to your future but to others around you.

This is a special occasion for you and for your family that we hope you will not take lightly. To ensure success in this life, follow this simple blueprint:

~Know yourself – well.

~Prepare a plan of action – but always have a backup.

~Acknowledge that there is more than one way to achieve your dream – maybe even two or three.

~Own your mistakes – and learn from them.

~Recognize distractions – before they sink your ship.

~Embrace change – it makes a much better friend than enemy.

~Always move forward – nothing was ever accomplished standing still.

~Accept the reality of calculated risk – nothing ventured, nothing gained.

~Prepare for a rainy day – sooner or later one will come.

~Help and encourage others along the way – you’ll be a better person for it.

This blueprint is by Andrea Garney.

I will add one more item to this list and this trumps all others: (Proverbs 3:5-6)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; don’t rely on your own intelligence. Know him in all your paths, and he will keep your ways straight.”

So, no matter what you are facing right now, remember that you too are graduating some part of life to move into a new chapter that is going to be unbelievable, tough, exciting, lonely (sometimes); but the presence of God is in you and trying to remind you of the gifts you have been given to share with the world!

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Days Off

What do you like to do on a day off? My guess is that we are all alike in that we use days off to “catch up” on what we didn’t get done during the week. So, if we were to take a day off would we feel like we have to accomplish something or be able to enjoy time off for true rest and reflection.

Is it easy to take a day off? Not for most of us. A day off means we take time off of work. A Sabbath rest is what we need in order to be more refreshed and rejuvenated when we go back to work.

Having a Sabbath rest means we refrain from “work.” If we only define work as the place we go to make money, then we will do things to keep us busy and not pay attention how constant busyness is not relaxing.

So on a Sabbath day, we should really do things that are not work and honor God. For example, if mowing the lawn is not fun and showing a creative side to care for creation, why do it on a day off? There are several other examples each of us have that we don’t like to do but still do when we are “off.”

The goal for each of us is to day one whole day each week to rest and be refreshed so we can be more productive at work as well as strengthen our ability to handle people with more care and compassion.

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Life Is Beautiful

All around me the birds were singing, the trees were dancing, people were having fun and worshipping; but me, I was feeling low for some reason.

I’m not sure why I felt like I was in a funk for almost 24 hours, but I was. We all have felt like nothing around us is good or we can’t really see the beauty around us. Now, if we stay in this state for a long period of time (ie weeks), then something may be unbalanced.

I began noticing that I couldn’t see the beauty and joy around me, so I called out to God. No answer. Even in worship, I did not feel like
worshipping. But I kept praying.

The Apostle Paul said to “pray always,” and not to worry or be anxious about anything. Jesus even taught about not worrying and relying on God.

Something happened later in the day. When I look back on it now, I can see that God placed the right people in my path and I in theirs. The gray on the world faded and colors appeared. Laughter and smiles were noticed and joy came back in my heart.

I have seen God continually show up and remind He is always here. If we’re not careful, we’ll miss Him in the people and nature around us. He loves it when His children pray and talk with Him and will surprise us in the way prayers are answered.

Now, the trees dancing bring a smile to my face again, listening to people is more heartfelt, and the joy of life is incredible. Praise be to God!

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Judging & Dividing

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When we look at our world today, it is easy to see divisions on many grounds. We have divisive politics, economic standards, acceptable social practices, how people need to view other people’s way of life, etc. These are challenging times we live in and it is sometimes difficult to take a stand on one side or the other without being ostracized and downgraded by opposing sides.

One of the biggest issues we face today is how we can do the loving thing to our neighbor so the love of God through Jesus Christ can be shown. The phrase “WWJD” is thrown around a lot and people use this to ask “What Would Jesus Do?” This has become a very divisive phrase since people have a particular viewpoint based on “their interpretation” of the Bible.

Matthew 7:1-5 says, “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. 2 You’ll receive the same judgment you give. Whatever you deal out will be dealt out to you. 3 Why do you see the splinter that’s in your brother’s or sister’s eye, but don’t notice the log in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother or sister, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ when there’s a log in your eye? 5 You deceive yourself! First take the log out of your eye, and then you’ll see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s or sister’s eye.”

These verses have been used to point out the “other person’s” errors and that “they” need to be more loving and compassionate. These verses come straight out of the Sermon on the Mount which deals mainly with how to live with our fellow neighbors. If you or I believe we are the ones in the right, we will typically explain to the opposing person why they are wrong and try to belittle them into feeling bad for having a “wrong” viewpoint which is really different from ours.

What could these verses from Matthew be telling us today? Let’s look at them again. Notice it does not explicitly give which side is right. It is really saying that before we go around telling another person why their wrong, maybe there is a reason they believe themselves to be right. What if we simply took time to listen instead of writing the other person off? Also, we should be careful that we are not being hypocrites and try to think we are better than the other person, because the truth is that we all have a “log” in our own eye and should work to remove that first.

Have you ever noticed how we have been given opportunities to “love” a sports team, political party, school, religious teaching and automatically demonize the other side? Think of it like this, “if you like (or love) UT, OU is the evil enemy and visa versa.” This can really be applied to anything we “love.”

So basically, before we (no matter what side on ANY issue) try to demonize or belittle the opposition, maybe we can realize they have value as well. Maybe, instead of thinking we are the ones in the “right,” we could take some time and understand where the other person is coming from.

If we acted this way, we can easily change “WWJD” to “WHJD.” Instead of asking “What Would Jesus Do?” we could remember “What Has Jesus Done?” The answer to this is simple: he ate with the sinners, welcomed and ate with the outcasts, prayed (and prays) for people (you and me), discipled people society thought unworthy, lived a life we don’t live, died for our sins and for us. Remembering what Jesus has done can change our way of thinking and could help us move the Kingdom of God closer to those who need to experience it instead of arguing over who’s right and who’s wrong.

The mission Jesus entrusted to his disciples, and to us, is still to be witnesses and bring people to Christ not showing a division and pushing people away from Christ.

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