hope – Pastor Barry's Blog

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

200 Percent…

I wish I had a dollar for everytime I heard someone say, “I’m giving it 110 percent!” Really? What I remember from math class is 100 percent is 100 percent and you can’t have more than 100 percent of something. 100 percent is perfect. It is everything. It is complete.

At the expense of really not wanting to throw you a Jesus Juke – Let me tell you that I have discovered the one and only thing that can actually be (and is) 200 percent – Jesus.

Allow me to explain… Yesterday I was teaching from Hebrews to the Declaration! Youth. After explaining the authorship of that book, which modern scholars agree is not known for sure, and then settling on giving the name of “Phil” to this unknown author, we looked at the first few chapters. 1:1 – 4:13 to be exact.

Here is what we learned… Jesus is the Son, God is the Father, Jesus reflects God in everything, Jesus is far greater than the angels, and the angels are just a little greater than man (who was made in God’s image and is designed to reflect God.) Easy enough right? Wrong!

It was straight forward in 1:4 where we learned that Jesus is far greater than the angels, but in 2:9 we are told Jesus was a little lower than the angels….hmmmm….. Ok, follow me now. Who is greater than the angels? God. Who is lower than the angels? Man. Who are we told by “Phil” is both? Jesus.

Jesus is both God AND man – He is fully both. Therefore, if Jesus is fully both, by definition He is 100 percent God and 100 percent man, thus making Jesus the world’s first and only 200 percent being! Wow!

If God can actually make something that is greater than 100 percent just think of what else He can do. Really, that means He can do ANYTHING! The possibillities are limitless.

Now that’s a God I’m glad I know and trust. Do you? You can.

Until next time…

Pastor Barry

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

The Next Level…

Recently a good friend of mine (pastor Connie Wheeler) tweeted a very reflective thought – “Why would you invite someone to follow Christ if you have no intention of leading them to the next level?….”

A great question! Why would anyone invite someone to follow Christ if they then aren’t willing to follow through with what that looks like? What does it mean to share with someone the love of Jesus and then not show them? What does it mean to say Jesus will change your life and then not help them in their journey?

We have to ask ourselves, “Are we as the body of Christ really doing what Jesus has asked us to do, are we making a difference in someone’s life and in this world we live in? ” What came to mind was the song by Josh Wilson, “I Refuse.” A song that basically says we are to live out our faith, no matter what we are given, and no matter what our circumstance!

If all of us would do this – THAT would be taking it to the next level!

Until next time…

Pastor Barry

P.S. – Here are the words to that song.

I Refuse

Sometimes I, I just want to close my eyes

And act like everyone’s alright

When I know they’re not

This world needs God, but it’s easier to stand and watch

I could pray a prayer and just move on

Like nothing’s wrong

But I Refuse

I don’t want to live like I don’t care

I don’t want to say another empty prayer

Oh, I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself

I could choose not to move

But I Refuse

I can hear the least of these, crying out so desperately

And I know we are the hands and feet of You, oh God

So if You say move, it’s time for me to follow through

And do what I was made to do

And show them who You are

I don’t want to live like I don’t care

I don’t want to say another empty prayer

Oh, I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself

I could choose not to move

But I refuse

I refuse to stand and watch the weary and lost cry out for help

I refuse to turn my back and try and act like all is well

I refuse to stay unchanged, to wait another day to die to myself

I refuse to make one more excuse

I don’t want to live like I don’t care

I don’t want to say another empty prayer

Oh, I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself

I could choose not to move

But I refuse

All things orthopedic…

It will always be interesting to me to see how quickly plans and agendas can change. Take for example today, I had planned on writing about the “Great I Am.” It was an inspiring weekend and I wanted to share some insights that I discovered. However, this morning in the office has been anything but inspiring, and I would rather tell you about the mundane….

To keep a long story short – I have knee pain. More specifically, I have torn cartilage and some beginnings of arthritis. It has been hurting for sometime and so I started the process of having it looked at. This is where it gets interesting. Don’t get me wrong – I am extremely happy that I have health insurance – but the way managed health care is operating I shutter at the horror of a nationalized government regulated health care system.

In August I scheduled an appointment (for September) with my primary care physician so I could get a referral appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. I spent all of ten minutes in the doctors office and that included the blood pressure check from his nurse. Anyhow, he ordered a set of x-rays (for what I don’t know) and I was done. A day later, the referral came along with the quote “because the x-rays were inconclusive” which is what I told the doctor when he ordered them – (I’d done this before).

It then took took 2 full months to get an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon, another 3 weeks for an MRI, another 2 weeks to get back into the orthopedic surgeon, and then finally surgery was “tentatively” scheduled for February 28th. And I say “tentatively” because when I called today they told me I was “tentatively” scheduled for March 21st….Holy Cow was I frustrated. It’s not that I am looking forward to my 4th surgery on my left knee, but having gone through this previously, I know something has to be done.

But despite all my emotion (I really felt like crying…and on Valentine’s Day of all days) I had a real peace. I was reminded of what Jesus had done for me and that my hope is in Him and not man. Yes, the pain is real, which serves to remind me that if our hope is in man and his systems then we will (at some point) be disappointed. But if our hope is in Jesus we will never be disappointed!

After hanging up the phone I was reminded of the lyrics to the song Everlasting God.

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord

Our God, You reign forever
Our hope, our Strong Deliverer
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint
You won’t grow weary

You’re the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles

Just what I needed to be reminded of today…and FYI – the doctor called back and I am “un-tentatively” scheduled back on the 28th!

Until next time…

Pastor Barry