faith – Pastor Barry's Blog

Too Good To Be True…

Don’t we all long for the assurance that something we believe in is true? Don’t we wish we could look at something, read something, or hear something and believe it? Why are we such skeptics? Why do we question?

For instance, if we see a picture and it is too hard to believe, what do we say about it? We say it has been photo shopped. If we see a video and it is too hard to believe, what do we say about it? We say it has been digitally altered and edited.

We truly are at a point that we can’t believe our eyes. We are conditioned to believe something isn’t 100 percent real. It looks real. It feels real. It may even smell real. But we know it isn’t real. We are conditioned to doubt. We are conditioned to question.

Look at magic shows. We know someone really doesn’t saw a person in half. We know a magician doesn’t really make a tiger disappear. We know there is a trick; we know there is a gimmick. We just are seeing the whole picture. So we question, we wonder, we doubt.

Look at movies. We go to them to be entertained. To be drawn into a world that isn’t real. Take for instance the movie inception. That itself is a movie based on a premise that we don’t know the difference between what is real and what is just a dream being played out totally in our minds. The hero can tell….he just has to spin a top and if it falls….its real.

How about the movie Soul Surfer? The real Bethany Hamilton lost her arm in a shark attack. The actress in that movie (AnnaSophia Robb) had hers digitally removed in postproduction. Sure looks like she lost it. Sure looks like it has been removed. Even Lt. Dan lost both of his legs in Forest Gump but the last time I say a picture of Gary Sinise he had both of his.

Do you see what I am getting at? We are being conditioned to doubt, to question, to know that something isn’t real. We are training ourselves to know that there is some sort of gimmick. Don’t get me wrong…. it is good to question…. it is good to learn…. but it is sad when we doubt everything. It is sad when we truly believe in nothing. It is sad when we have no assurance.

So this brings me right back to my question. Don’t you really wish and long for something that seems to good to be true to actually be true?

The cross of Jesus Christ represents just that. It represents something that seems too good to be true, but isn’t! It represents grace – that free gift of something we don’t deserve. Grace that was given out of love, pure unconditional no strings attached love. Does that sound too good to be true? It isn’t because the cross is about love and we can believe it. It says, “Greater Love hath no man than the one who would lay is life down for another,” John 15:13.

Jesus says in John 8:30-32, “Then many who heard him say these things believed in him, ‘you are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teaching. And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.’“

If you believe the truth you will have two things….you will be free and you will be my disciples. To be free is to be released, liberated, or delivered from something. To be a disciple is to embrace and assist in spreading the teachings of another.

As we look at what the cross of Jesus Christ know that we can have assurance. We can have 100% trust that what we are hearing and reading from the Bible is NOT too good to be true.

The Cross says “Believe in ME!”

Until next time….

Pastor Barry

It Was One Of Those Mornings…

I sort of meandered to work this morning…

I’m sure you have had those days where you really aren’t in a hurry. You have plenty of time and you just take it slow. You look at things around you. You drive slower. You drive with a little more patience. You really listen to the words on the radio. You kind of become like one of those lazy rivers in no real hurry to get from point A to point B. Well, this morning was one of those mornings.

It started by driving slowly around my neighborhood. Instead of going straight I turned right…and then left…and then left again…and then another right…I think you get the point. I was looking at houses, at colors, at the scenery. All too often we seem to zoom past things and not even notice what is around us. We don’t take it in. Well, it was one of those mornings.

There is this intersection on the way to the church. Just before you enter the freeway. Three lanes merge into two as you enter and two lanes expand to four as you come off. It’s a big intersection and a very busy one, full of people having to get somewhere. Hurrying.

There are even pedestrians. I fear for those pedestrians. It is a wide intersection, a very wide intersection to try and cross. Six lanes to be exact, well eight if you count turn lanes. It seems people barely have enough time, those cars are in too much of a hurry. I myself am usually guilty of this. But today, well, it was one of those mornings.

I actually wish I could have sat at that light this morning. I wanted to watch. I wanted to take in the sites.

You see, there was this Canadian Goose at the edge of the cross walk…slowly…pensively…purposefully starting to put one step in front of the other as he entered traffic. Black, webbed feet were being picked up and laid down. He was slowly, and by slowly, I mean slowly crossing against traffic. I found myself rooting for him, hoping for him, and praying for him.

The rest of the way here I thought about that goose. Did he make it? Did he survive? Did he get where he wanted to go? Probably, but I guess I will never know.

It made me think. How many times have I not arrived someplace because I was too afraid, to afraid to take that first step and then another and then another. The answer? A lot…

In Mark Chapter 10 of the Bible. We are told the story about a rich man who wanted to know how to get to someplace. He wanted Heaven. He wanted eternal life. And so he came to Jesus for the answer. The funny part is, he already knew the answer. I think deep down he knew it before he asked the question. He knew there was something else He should be doing. He knew he needed to take one more step. He knew where he had to go. He was just afraid to do it. He didn’t want to cross that road.

The story is sad. The man turned away from Jesus and we are led to believe he never crossed that road. He was too afraid.

The good news is that he didn’t have to be. Later in that chapter, verse 27 to be specific. Jesus tells us that humanly speaking it is impossible for man to get to Heaven, to inherit eternal life, but not with God. With God, everything is possible! This man just needed to let God help him cross the road. This man just needed to let go and let God.

Did that goose ever cross the road safely? I bet he did. Was he afraid? Absolutely! You could tell by how slowly he was crossing. But he was crossing. He was consistent. He was deliberate. He was purposefully. He knew what he had to do and he was doing it.

It made me want to write, to think, and to ask, you the reader, and myself some questions. What is God asking me to do? What is God asking you to do? What “road” is He asking you to cross? What “road” is He asking me to cross? These roads…they are impossible to cross on our own. We might try but we will surely fail. In fact, I bet more often than not we don’t even try. With God, however, nothing is impossible! Everything is possible! Everything! Period. The end.

It was one of those mornings…

Until next time,

Pastor Barry

Childlike Faith…

I absolutely love being a dad! The feeling that I get when I walk in the door to my home and my kids come running is indescribable. I love the hugs and the kisses and the sheer joy I see on their faces! Call me a “glass is half-empty kind of guy” but I’m pretty sure this won’t always be the case. I can already see the difference in which my 21-month old daughter and my nine-year old daughter greet me.

But for now it makes me smile. In fact, as I sit here, I can almost hear each of their voices, and feel each of their arms grabbing around my neck. They love their dad. I know it. I can feel it. And I love it… But When will this enthusiasm stop? Does it have to stop?

I have to ask myself – when was the last time I went running when my dad entered a room? When was the last time I hugged my dad? What changes? Do we become too mature? Too good? Too cool? I suppose it happens in all of our relationships. We become too comfortable and take them for granted… We begin to unconciously think, “This person is always here for me, it’s who they are, they have to be.” Our childlike love and excitement goes away. We grow up. We know more. We become complacent.

Recently, I was reading in Matthew 18 about children. The disciples had asked Jesus about who was the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven and He used a child to answer their question. He brought a little girl (it doesn’t really say girl – but I have girls – so I see this child as a little girl) and I imagine He picked her up and sat her on His lap.

She probably came to Jesus willingly…freely…arms open wide. Perhaps she even gave Him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. If it was my youngest she would have grabbed His face, looked Him square in the eyes, and then dove in with lips puckered for the the sweetest – slobbery kiss a person could hope for.

That image embodies Jesus’ point to the disciples. This is an image of unconditional love, joy, and enthusiasm for a “dad” who loves us and loves that we love Him in return. Jesus uses this image and teaches about a child like faith that is necessary to be great in the Kingdom of Heaven – and necessary to even enter Heaven in the first place.

We have to let go and return to those days of when we ran into the arms of our parents when they entered the room. Those days long before we were embarrassed because we were too old. Long before we were too cool to be seen hugging our dad. Long before we began to take our relationships for granted.

I don’t know…maybe you are reading this today and you have never experienced any of this. Never a parent, never had a good relationship with your parents, or never ran to Jesus with child like faith…but you can. You can absolutely run to Jesus!

I need a hug! I think I’m going to go find my daughters and my wife. Let me encourage you to go and hug someone also. Embrace it, hold it, and use it to remember that our Heavenly Father wants you to run to Him and hug Him too!

Until next time…

Pastor Barry

I’m Scared…

Ever think about fear? Really think about it? (I’m pretty sure this is not the way to grab your attention and make you want to read today’s blog…but I promise it gets better…but then again claiming something gets better is a relative statement…so it may not get better at all. However, I can now sleep better having supplied this disclaimer!)

The other night my middle daughter was sitting and eating an ice cream cone and said, “Oh great! Tonight I am going to have a nightmare.” She was fearful. And unfortunately, she has come to associate something so wonderful (in this case a butterscotch dipped vanilla ice cream cone from Dairy Queen late in the evening) with something very distressing.”

And sure enough, call it a self-fulfilling prophecy, later that night around 2 in the morning this little person appeared in my bedroom and crawled in bed with her mother and I. She said, “I just had a nightmare.” Really? What can cause a six-year old to have a nightmare? Do they even know what a nightmare is? What in her little world is so scary? Maybe everything?

It’s been a long time since I was that age and I really only remember being afraid three times. All of which actually occurred…

The first was when I thought I would get the wrong answer on the English test. The teacher would show us a picture, say the word, and then we had to tell the vowel – something like recognizing the difference between pen and pin.

The second was Valentine’s day and I was afraid I wouldn’t get any valentines. Or worse yet – I would get the dreaded this is meant for a girl valentine, but I don’t have enough meant for a boy valentines and I have to give one to everyone so you get this one valentine.

And thirdly, (is thirdly even a word) I was afraid of missing the bus (which I did), not because I didn’t know where to go – I knew I could walk there – but because I would miss playtime (and did) with my friends. I wasn’t afraid of the fact that I would have to walk a couple of miles by myself, along a busy road, and totally unaware of how vulnerable I was to….well….everything. I also remember my mom’s fear…by the time she found me she was really worked up.

But back to the other night, there was Kara – having to snuggle up in the safety and security of her parent’s bed. Here it was safe and here it was peaceful…

Writing this has made me think about fear’s definition and struggling to know – for sure – if I can define it properly. Sure I know what it is, I know it when I have it, and I know how it makes me feel, but can I accurately define it for someone else? Since I’m not sure I will go look it up…

Fear can be both a verb and a noun. As a verb it is defined as, “Being afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful or threatening.” As a noun it is defined as, “An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.”

Basically…fear is distressing…

But honestly as Christ followers, we don’t have to fear. We really don’t! In 2 Timothy 1:7 we read, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” Yay, God! If God is for us then who can be against us? And what do we have to be afraid of?

Nothing, zero, zilch…

So the next time you are afraid of something, remember in whose hand you rest. In Him you can find peace and safety.

Until next time…

Pastor Barry

My Way…

I have a confession to make. I like to count and find the patterns in things. Don’t ask me why – because I don’t know. It’s wierd really – I naturally see the relationship of things to each other…I see their number and I see patterns. And when I see wholeness or completeness I just feel a lot better. I suppose it is a little “Monkish” of me – or in reality it’s a lot “Monkish.” (And if you don’t know, by “Monkish” I am referring to the television program – Monk.)

My wife still teases me about my oldest daughter’s Fisher Price Farm. You know the kind with the round little people with big cheeks and infectious smiles. The toy that curiously comes with animals that are out of proportion to each other…really they are…those bunnies are half as big as the horses…that’s a monster bunny.

Anyhow, I love that thing. In fact, I think it was secretly developed to provide hours of enjoyment not only to preschoolers, but also to their parents. (After all they should be interacting with their children but that’s a different post.)

Here’s the thing about that toy – after my daughter would get through playing with it – I would HAVE to arrange each of the pieces, make sure they were all there, and put them back in their place. If there was one missing then the world had to stop until I found where it was. Sort of like the parables of the Lost Things in the Gospel. No…just like those parables, because when I found a missing piece there was definite rejoicing!

The good news is I have graduated from the Fisher Price Farm. I now resist the urge to check and see if all the pieces are there – call it having a third child! That toy has run its course and has been replaced by the infamous Mr. Potato Head. Make that two Mr. Potato Heads.

The other night my 19 month old got them out and began to play with them. As I watched her, I could hear my name being called out incessantly. Barry….Barry…. So I joined the party. We were having fun until, silly me, I directed my daughter to put the ear where the ear should go. This did not go over well. You see, she had a plan and a design in mind and it did not match mine. After a long discussion that looked more like a game of keep away I let her put the ear where she wanted to put the ear. What I discovered is that she had a definite plan – and it wasn’t at all like mine.

At that moment God chose to remind me that, when left to my own will, this is my natural tendency for how I want to live my life. I want to do the things I want to do, when I want to do them, and how I want to do them. But, it’s not my life anymore. Sometime ago, I made the decision to not live for myself or for my way or for my desires. Sure, they are still there – they don’t magically go away – but I chose to yield them to God’s plan, His timing, and His way.

So that night, as I sat and looked at a Mr. Potato Head with two sets of eyes, a mouth under one ear, and a nose under the other, I was reminded that I have to yield my desires. We all have to yield our desires. Often, because what we desire, or what we are planning, do not match up with what someone else is planning. It happened that night….and if we are honest with ourselves it happens more often than we would care to think about. It truly is like the Bible tells us – there should be less of us and more of Him.

Father God, would you grant me the wisdom to know your plans for me, the courage to follow them, and the patience to wait on you… Lord – it’s not my way but your way! Thank you and amen.

Until next time…

Pastor Barry

Dangerous Church…

The other day I picked up a copy of Dangerous Church, a book written by a pastor in the same town where I minister. The author, John Bishop, is an unapologetic crusader for the Kingdom of God. I am glad to have been able to witness his life and ministry firsthand and to call him my friend. With that said, I want to tell you that I loved this book, and not just because a friend wrote it.

In Dangerous Church John Bishop is transparent, authentic, and inspiring. John gives you a heartfelt journey of his experience through his successes AND his failures. The challenges and insights, which he writes about, make you think twice about what it means to do ministry. If you are serious about doing Kingdom work, and Luke 9:23 tells us Kingdom work is serious, then this book is a must read.

After reading you will walk away with the truth that ONLY GOD can fuel a thriving ministry and that you have to be desperate for God!

“As we prepare to be released into our communities, we must intentionally cultivate a culture that is desperate to reach people for Jesus…To become a dangerous church, we as leaders must intentionally remind people of the truth about eternity and develop a culture that is desperate to reach the lost…Our churches will never have this sense of desperation to preach the gospel until we help them understand the reality of how short this life is and how our actions and decisions in this life affect eternity.” [excerpt from, Dangerous Church, pages 130 & 131]

I don’t know about you, but I’m desperate!

Until next time…

Pastor Barry

Real life or fairy tales….

My daughter and I (or is it my daughter and me….I never can get this right so forgive me if it’s wrong….) were having a conversation the other day about the end of the world. Now, this isn’t all that strange except that my daughter is 9 and has some really deep thoughts on the subject. Myself, on the other hand, gets up in the morning – checks for the sun – and then thanks God for another day. It might be a kind of an osterich type response to not worry about the end of the world, but it’s pretty easy to just make sure I am living the way I am supposed to be living.

So at the end of the conversation, Kamille says something like this. “Dad, the Bible tells us that we don’t know when the world will end.”

Me – “Correct.”

Kam – “So let’s say it’s going to end in 5 seconds. I don’t know it will end in 5 seconds, but let’s just say it will. Ok – I mean five more seconds, because I am pretty sure 5 seconds just passed and we are still here. I mean, things aren’t all black and we aren’t in nothingness or anything.”

Me – “Pretty sure you just wasted 10 more seconds….”

Kam – “Alright – 5, 4, 3, 2, Dad I love you, the end….. So dad, now that the world has ended am I in Heaven?”

Me – “If you loved Jesus with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.”

Kam – “But what if I didn’t? Would it be like all red or black or something. You know because God is light and everything would be like all lit up or something.”

Me – “We don’t know what it will be like – but I do know that you don’t want to take that chance of not loving Jesus with everything you are.”

Kam – “That would be bad…”

Me – “And thanks for thinking of your love for me in that last second of the world!”

Kam – “Your welcome.. It’s what daughters do.”

I walked away from that conversation really excited, because my daughter really understands what living for Jesus is about and because she was thinking of me in the last second of the world. It’s the small things that really make a dad proud!

But soon after I returned to my office, I read an article about Stephen Hawking which made me really sad. If you don’t know who Stephen Hawking is let me tell you. He is a renowned physicist and researcher at Cambridge University, who was diagnosed with the degenerative Lou Gehrig’s disease at the age of 21.

In this article he was quoted as saying, “I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first. I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”

Mr. Hawking if you are reading this…I am sad for you. Because there really is an afterlife, there really is a Heaven, there really is a Jesus who wants to be a part of your life. Can I prove it with the science that you so desperately cling to? No. Can you prove that there isn’t with that same science? No. Why? Because it’s real and it’s not a fairy tale.

How do I know? Two reasons – the Bible tells me and I haven’t been afraid of the dark since I was 9…

Until next time…

Pastor Barry

Broken bones and sacrifices…

Fortunately, I have never broken a bone in my body. Unfortunately, two of my girls did when they were just six-years old. Totally sad! The worst part about the last accident was that it happened about 36 hours prior to our Disneyland vacation.

My middle daughter was pumped for this trip. She had been taking swimming lessons and was going to finally conquet the “big” water slide. But those plans changed on the monkey bars last Wednesday evening when a tiny little hand slipped and my little girl fell awkwardly.

She is ok. The bone was set and a cast was placed on her arm. In fact, I think it weighs as much as she does!

But my heart is breaking for her. I am sad when I think of how she can’t swim this trip, or ride the roller coasters that she had been looking forward to riding. Yes, we have done special things and she is having a wonderful time, but it is still sad. However, she is resilient and is making the best of toting around a 10 pound weight in a sling around her neck.

I wish so much that I could take her place. I wish that it was my arm that was broken so she could run and play and ride the rides she wanted to ride. I wish that I could make it all better immediately. And most of all I wish that my little girl didn’t have to go through the pain that she went through last week.

Ever wish that in your life? For anything or anyone?

As a pastor, I can find a preachable sermon in almost anything. This is definitely no exception…

Jesus took the place for us. He paid the price and made the sacrifice so we didn’t have to. He endured the pain, the torture, and death so we could be made whole! Thank you Jesus for that ultimate sacrifice and brokenness!

Until next time…

Pastor Barry

Easter Sunday (a.k.a. Picture Day)…

Yesterday was Easter – a busy day around our house! As a pastor, Sundays and the weekend are always busy, but when it’s Easter weekend the level of activity ramps up just that much more. You have to plan for Easter…

For example – just try and eat out after church on Easter without any reservations. You’ll find you are quickly relegated to the local Mexican Restaurant or your neighborhood McDonald’s. (Those are great places but definitely not what your wife would hope you would choose for Easter dinner.)

Easter morning arrives and we (the pastoral staff) have an awesome service planned. Today is the day that the “CEO’s” will be in church. And by “CEO” I mean the Christmas and Easter Only crowd – you know the ones you see in church only twice a year.

We know the crowds will be bigger and everyone wants the service and the day to be excellent – not just the pastors. All you have to do is watch the parade of people dressed to the nines with their new Sunday threads. This seams to be the day that new suits, hats, shoes, dresses, sweaters, and shirts make their debut. So much so that I have secretly taken to calling Easter by it’s other little known name – “Picture Day.”

It’s no different in my house. I know that it’s a special day because my daughters have new dresses, new shoes, and new accessories. Even the hot rollers have appeared on the bathroom counter just waiting for their role in this special occasion. In fact, I have to confess, I picked out (and wore) a tie for the day…

Everyone is dressed – the car is loaded – the camera is grabbed – and off we go!

This is where the picture day part comes in. Easter is a special day in the church. In fact it is THE day in the church. So it is natural that we do things extra special on this Sunday. The kids have a small program, the choir sings, baptisms are scheduled, eggs are hunted, brunch is served, and everyone is dressed to impress!

But as I sit here this Monday morning after Easter I am actually kind of disappointed. Not in my Easter experience – it was incredible and the service was amazing! But I sit disappointed because next week isn’t Easter. The cameras won’t be there….the “CEO’s” won’t be there….the fanfare won’t be there….

“Picture Day” has come and gone for another year. As a pastor this severely disappoints me! Why does it have to be that way? Why can’t we as a church strive to have every Sunday be “Picture Day?”

Let me challenge you….let’s take it a week at a time….let’s make this next year a year of 52 Sunday’s all being treated as “Picture Day’s.” The day that you roll out the very best to worship a risen Savior! The day that everything is excellent….

Now that would be cool!

Until next time…

Pastor Barry

“Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com”

Helpless but not hopeless…

One of the privileges I have as a pastor is being able to teach in small group settings. Yesterday, during one of these groups, we were discussing some of the insights found in the 8th Chapter of Luke. Specifically, we looked at a couple of stories where Jesus healed in response to faith – the woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding and the synagogue leader Jairus whose daughter lay dying.

Two different people. One man. One woman. One rich. One poor. One respected. One shunned. One powerful. One powerless. One approached Jesus from the front. One snuck up from behind. I think you get the picture. So there I am as a reader, imagining Jairus having his people clearing the crowd as he strides up to Jesus, while the woman is dodging and weaving and perhaps even crawling just so she could touch Jesus’ garment….

But, no matter their differences, one thing made them equal…. Their FAITH! Both had an unmistakeable hope that Jesus could help them if they could only get to Him and fall at His feet!

What an amazing posture….falling at the feet of Jesus. Here are two utterly helpless individuals doing absolutely the only thing (albeit best thing) remaining for them to do. Fall at the feet of Jesus. They were helpless but they were definitely not hopeless!

Where are you today? Do you feel helpless? The good news is that no matter who we are, no matter what hand life has dealt us, and no matter what we have done. Jesus is there to give us hope. The only thing we have to do is make our way to Him and fall at His feet…

Until next time…

Pastor Barry