Two days ago I was out in my yard picking up
sticks that had dropped from our pecan trees. I was throwing all the sticks
into a pile that later I would burn. I had been out there for quite a while,
when I noticed that my wedding band was no longer on my finger. I never take it
off, so I knew it had fallen off as I was picking up the sticks. The
problem is I live on almost two acres, and I had picked up sticks over a good
portion of the back yard. The grass had not been cut lately and leaves had
fallen, since it is October. I knew that this was going to be very difficult
finding a very small object in a very large yard.

I immediately prayed for the
Lord to guide me in my search. I began looking and trying to trace back over
the steps as much as possible. After a while I gave up for the day and headed
back into the house. I was disappointed, but was determined to go back out
there the next day and search more. A friend had a metal detector and loaned it
to me for my continued search. I had determined in my heart that if I had to
stake the whole yard off with stakes, string, and identifying markers, I was
going to do what it took to find it. The whole place may have to look like an
archeological site, but to me it was worth it. This ring has not been off my
hand for almost 20 years. It was engraved on the inside and it was valuable to
me.

I prayed again and said,
“Lord, this ring is valuable to me, and that means it’s valuable to you. You
are my father and you want me to have the things that are good and valuable to
me. I thank you for helping me find my wedding band.”

I went out the next day to
search again. I took the metal detector and configured the settings. I took two
sweeps through one section of the yard, and then thought that most of my time
was spent near the pile I was building. Since all of my steps led to throwing
the sticks on the pile, there may be a greater chance of it being on or around
that area. I took a couple swoops back and forth around where the pile was and
heard a beep! After moving some leaves out of the way there was the ring. How
wonderful the feeling was when I saw the gold shining in the sunlight. I
probably wasn’t out there 15 minutes when I found it. It was amazing!

This encouraged me that God
does care about the little things. I mean it’s just a ring, and I could have
lived without it, but it was valuable to me, and God cares about me. How much
more will he take care of the real important issues in our lives. Be encouraged,
God will take care of you, even in the small things.

Sunday I
got the privilege of attending the 125^th anniversary of the Johnston
Presbyterian Church. This church I was sitting in was started in 1883. As I sat
there listening to the speakers and presenters my mind wandered to what life
would be like back in the 1800’s.

It was a
time where going to school was a privilege, working on the family farm was
necessary to survive, and the only light source was kerosene lamps and fire. A
dollar back then was equivalent to twenty today and there were no cars. Churches
were small, and were designed to meet the needs of the community. In fact most
of the community walked to church, thus the need for the church bell that only
rings today to remind us of what things used to be like.

As I sat
there I asked myself what success looked like for the church back then. The
testimonies that were being shared from this 125^th anniversary were
from people that sat in these pews over the years. One even referenced the
church being large with only around 30 in attendance and how blessed he was as
a youth in this church. He is now in his 50’s. 

It was very
humbling to see the fruit that came from a church that never saw their
congregation grow beyond a handful. Humbling, because in our fast paced world
today we look down on churches of 30 as being “unsuccessful”. So back to my
original question… What did success look like for the church in the 1880’s. It
certainly wasn’t to obtain a massive membership. It was clear that success was
about loving the people, meeting the needs of their community and the lives God
so graciously brought them to minister to.

For me I
came away with the feeling that success for us pastors today is the same as it
was for the first pastor of Johnston Presbyterian Church in 1883. Minister to
the community and love the people that God so graciously has brought you, no
matter how many that is.

The
Johnston Presbyterian Church still meets today and runs around twenty or so.
Our church, Faith Family Church,
meets there too on Saturday nights and Wednesday nights. We can learn a lesson
from this. That even after 125 years this church is still loving and meeting
the needs of the community. It’s amazing what you can do when the body of
Christ sticks together. No matter how small the unit.

Yesterday I
was driving home from in town and I saw on the back of truck the phrase “Just
Passing Through”.  It was painted very
professionally and quite artistic, with script fonts and a cross graphic. In
difficult times I want to “Amen” that statement, but yesterday was quite different,
I actually got a little roused up about it. I am not just passing through and
neither are you. Just passing through implies no responsibility. Not stopping,
not passing go, not collecting 200 dollars. Were just passing through.

You know
God has specifically created each one of us for this time. As Esther said, “For
such a time as this”. We have been created meticulously and special for this
hour of the world, and God has so chosen us and sent us here to complete a
task, or mission if you will.

Take NASA
for example. When they need to complete a task on the moon or in space they
choose special people… the right people for the job. They prepare the way for
them to get there, the suits for them to survive and the tools to get the job
done. The abilities for them to complete the mission were given them before
they even got into space.

God has
chosen special people… the right people for this job on earth. He sent us here,
gave us earth suits to live here and has provided us the tools to get the job
done. And what is so awesome is that he had already given us the abilities to
complete the mission. Jeremiah 1:5 says that before I formed you in the womb, I
knew you; before you were born I sanctified you.

You know
even NASA doesn’t leave their astronauts on their own while in space. If
something goes wrong or mistakes are made, NASA will do everything possible to
help fix the problem, even help them repair their suit. Otherwise they could
not complete their mission. It’s NASA’s mission not the astronauts.

We
are here on God’s earth for His mission to be accomplished not ours. If your
suit is damaged, he has made provision for it to be fixed. Psalms 103:1-5 and I
Peter 2:24. If not you can’t complete your mission, you will have to return
home. We get all caught up in things of this life, but if we view our life as a
mission like the astronauts view their time in space. We will have a much
better perspective on why we are here. 2 Timothy 4:5 says to be watchful in all
things and fulfill your ministry!

I want to
share with you something that will make you shout. I think everyone is familiar
with the Lord’s Prayer. We have all read and prayed it many times. If you have
been in church very long you can probably even quote it by heart.

I want to
draw our attention to Matthew 6 verse 10. It says, Your kingdom come. Your will
be done on earth as it is in heaven. If God’s will that is done in heaven could
not be done here on earth, Jesus would never have told His disciples to pray
for it. So obviously God’s will that is done in heaven can, and should be done
here on earth.

Let’s take
healing for example. Psalms 103:1-2 says don’t forget the Lord’s benefits, that
he forgives all of our sins and heals all of our diseases. And I Peter 2:24 tells us that Jesus himself bore
our sins in His body, and that by His stripes we were healed.

If God’s
will for you is to be healed in your body and His will is done in heaven and
Jesus tells us to pray that His will is done on earth “as” it is in heaven.
Then we should be in agreement with that. Here’s the shouting part I promised
you earlier. The root of all things is in the spirit, and the manifestation
shows up in the natural. Just like when you cut a rose off the rose bush. The
rose stays fresh and colorful… for a while but then it will die. The reason it
will die is that it has been cut from the root and it has no life supply
anymore. Though it looks in the natural to be vibrant and flourishing day after
day it has no life force to keep it alive.

Our health
is the same way. Day after day it may look like sickness or disease is vibrant
and flourishing but I know that according to God’s will that the disease has
been cut at the root. It has been cut in the spirit, in heaven first and we are
to believe that God’s will, that is done in heaven (our healing), will manifest
here on earth in our bodies.

Sometimes
we can’t see that the root has been cut, but we must. We normally look at the
bloom or at the natural. If we do that, we will be deceived and we will not be
walking in faith. We have to come to the knowledge that it is done. Our issues
whatever they be, whether health, finances, mentalities, addictions or you name
it. They are all under the heading of “it is finished” and that we can shout
about!

We often
hear people say, “that this person or that person offended them” or “that
statement was offensive.” The word offense is commonly used, and most of us
know what that word means. It’s a good thing that Jesus taught us about this
since we so commonly have to deal with it.

How do we
deal with offenses?  Matthew 18:7 tells
us, “Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to
that man by whom the offense comes! So apparently none of us will escape the
occasional offense. I was listening to a pastor bring out a point about the
word offense according to Matthew. The word offense in the Greek actually means
a trap, snare or any impediment placed in the way and causing one to stumble or
fall, any person or thing by which one is (entrapped) drawn into error or sin.

See, the
offense is just the bait in which the devil has placed on the trap. He wants
you to take the bait, so that you become trapped or ensnared. If the devil can
get you mad or closed off to people, then he knows that your heart will begin
to harden. If your heart hardens, then the seed of the Word of God cannot grow
as effectively.

We have to
remember that our heart is the soil in which the Word is sown. We just cannot
afford to have the soil hard. Seeds do not do well in hard soil. Jesus tells us
that offenses will come, or the “bait” will come. We never have to fall for it
and become ensnared. Jesus has set us free to walk in love. If we do this we
will recognize the evil devices of the enemy and side step them.

We will
have many opportunities to “get offended” or to take the bait. You will
probably have some today, and may come from your closest friends or even
family. Jesus rebuked Peter, one of his disciples, called him Satan, and told
him he was an offense to him. Jesus recognized the trap that was being laid,
and side stepped it. We have to do the same. When the opportunity comes to be “offended”
just recognize that it’s a trap and side step it. It won’t be easy, but it will
be worth it.