Trust Is Important.

 Trust is the bedrock of human relations. It is the glue that holds people together in social connections. It seems to be a quality that is in short supply today.

Trust is relying on someone to do what they said that they would do. Trust is a character issue. If you can be trusted you are trustworthy. If you cannot be trusted you are soon cast off as useless.

Trust is one of those things that if lost is very hard to regain. Failure to keep your word is not exactly lying. But it is close.

Trust is critical in marriage. When you say I do, you need to keep your word. It's not just about right or wrong. It is about being trustworthy as a husband or wife.

Trust is the basis of faith. We obey God because he is trustworthy. He will do what He said He will do.

Conference is based on trust. People come to our conference because they trust us to take good care of them. They trust us to have good preaching. They trust us to have a seat for them to sit in.

How many people backslide because they feel that God has not been trustworthy? How many people leave our church and go to another church because they judged us to be untrustworthy. 

Those who have stayed with us and stayed by the stuff do so because they trust us.

It's important to have right doctrine and solid teaching. But trust is just as important as good preaching.

Worship That Works

 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24

I saw a video today asking if it is important how we worship. I did not watch the video, but it did make me think about the question posed by it. It is important that we worship God. We must worship as saints. God expects it and even looks for it. So it is important how we worship.

The Bible, especially the New Testament, has zero information on how a Christian worship service is supposed to be run. The Old Testament temple was filled with music and musical instruments played skillfully. But the book of Acts tells us nothing about worship in the early church.

Fortunately we do not have to reinvent the wheel to come up with a liturgy that works. We have church history to guide us. We have the Prescott church to guide us. We have our mother church to guide us. What has worked for hundreds of years will no doubt work for us today.

Worship must involve the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. Worship songs ought to be Bible based and God focused. Worship includes lifting our hands to God. We clap to clappable songs just because it's fun to clap along.

So as long as you involve the Spirit and the truth you will have the kind of worship that the Father is seeking.

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord..." Psalm 100:1

This Is That? Really?

 The local weatherman keeps warning us of heavy rain and flooding. It's going to be bad they said. But so far no rain where I live. The experts haven't given up hope of lots of rain yet. But they keep pushing back the time when it is supposed to be here. At this point it might not rain in my neighborhood.

Preachers can fall into the same trap if they are not careful. It's bad and getting worse they warn us. Jesus is coming, look that the condition of the world. Surely the end is near. But life goes on like normal. My life it peaceful and quiet. I don't listen to conservative talk radio so I don't ingest a diet of gloom and doom.

The Bible covers a long time and a lot of circumstances. When the prophets spoke they were addressing the situation as it was back then. That doesn't mean it never applies again and that it isn't useful to us for instruction in how God works. But you had better be right when you stand up behind the pulpit and declare, this is that!

Don't become the boy who cried wolf.

God Still Speaks

 "A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart." Prov. 18:2

I had someone call me recently to see how I was doing. That lasted about 30 seconds. Then he dove right in to tell me how he was doing and what he was doing. And when I read this Proverb it reminded me of him. Some people only concern themselves with what's good for me or with what benefits me. It's good that they think about others. But they have a short attention span.

"He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him." Prov. 18:13

It is obvious to some when you are listening or not. Not everyone is a good listener. They like to hear themselves talk. My friend is this kind of person. That's why I get tired of being around him. Shame on him for not listening to me.

You think that the Bible isn't relevant to today? Read it and you will be amazed how the Bible speaks to us. God has not lost His voice. He still speaks.

No Call Tuesday

 Life is like the turning of a page.

I have several good friends in Prescott who I keep in touch with. But today I noticed that I am usually the one who calls them. It is rare that one of my old friends calls me. My old friends from time to time travel, even flying to Texas. But they never make the effort to stop in SA to see me. If I were to visit Prescott they would all act like they were glad to see me. But only because I am there.

So today I decided to put my calls to Arizona on pause for a while. Tomorrow especially will be a no call day for me. I want to see how many of my "friends" think about me and call me to see how I am doing.

I think that I am a friendly guy and I enjoy talking to friends new and old. But from time to time I get tired of being the one to initiate the calls and this is one of those times. So tomorrow will be a no call day. It will be hard, especially if no one calls me. But I am determined not to cave in and call anyone tomorrow.

The loneliness of being a widow is the worst kind of loneliness. But, relationships are a two way street.

The Lord is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Thank God for that.

Thoughts For A Sunday Night

 When they introduce classical music they always tell who the composer was first, and then they tell who performed the piece. When they announce a pop song of any genre they first tell who performed or sang the song, and rarely if ever do they tell who wrote the song.

Some sermons go to great lengths to tell us about the Bible story. Who wrote it, when it was written. What they were thinking. Only then do they tell how to apply the Bible to everyday life. Some sermons get to the point of how to apply it and they might not ever dissect the verse to explain the details of the historic writer.

In music there is no right or wrong way to describe a song. In preaching there is no right or wrong way to preach a sermon. As long as the song is performed. As long as the sermon is preached.

I think about things like this.

My Thought

 I had a thought today. I wondered how hard it must be for a pastor, who has served his church for a long time, to say something new or fresh that he hasn't already said hundreds of times already. The preachable parts of the Bible have probably all been preached on. Nothing new has been added to the biblical cannon for a long time. And yet there we are, three times a week, listening for the voice of God from an ancient book and though a veteran pastor.

The only thing that makes the Bible relevant and fresh is the Holy Spirit who is the spirit of truth. A relationship with Christ who is the word made flesh and being filled with the Spirit of God causes old words to come alive again.

I go to church every time listening for God's voice and seeing if God will speak to me again. Often He does. Other times I eat the fish and spit out the bones.

Pray for your pastor that the word will be made flesh through his life and his ministry and that he will be encouraged to bring us sermons that are apples of gold in pitchers of silver. Amen.

PS: Not everything in the Bible is preachable. It is all God's word. It is all true. But some things and some passages just don't work as a three point sermon. Just saying.