A Prodigals Journey

Penn State: A lesson on doing the right thing

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 15:07:00 +0000

I listen to a lot of talk radio while I am commuting back and forth to work each day. Since I like sports, I especially like to listen to ESPN radio. The big topic this past week has been the Penn State investigation into the Jerry Sandusky situation. Now for those of you that don’t pay particular attention to the news you may not have heard about this, but Jerry Sandusky was recently tried and convicted for molesting young boys that were in his care.

Now who is Jerry Sandusky? Well he was a very well respected football coach for the powerhouse Penn State football program which was led by Joe Paterno. Who is Joe Paterno? He is the NCAA Division 1 leader in victories for college football. A coach that led Penn State football program for over 40 years and by all outside appearances was a man of integrity and character. For those that follow college football Joe Paterno was Penn State. He was larger than life; elevated to a spot by society that very few people reach.

Jerry Sandusky was a long time well respected assistant coach for Penn State. A linebacker coach that helped Penn State gain the moniker of “Linebacker U” for the linebackers that it turned out. Today, Jerry Sandusky is a felon after being convicted by a jury of his peers for molesting children, some on the campus of the university. I am not going to spend much time on Jerry Sandusky except to say that what he did was despicable and gut wrenching and that he will have to answer for his sins just like the rest of us will some day.

I do want to focus on another aspect of this story though that is starting to blow up in the media. Penn State requested, and paid for, an investigation into how this abuse could have been happening since 1998 and not been discovered. Penn State in an attempt to clear their name of any wrongdoing hired Louis Freeh, former director of the FBI, to lead this investigation.

This week that report was released and it has revealed that there was in fact quite a bit of knowledge of this abuse. Through emails, notes and other evidence it is clear that there was indeed a cover up, denial and a look the other way mentality. From the President, to the Athletic Director, and even to Head Coach Joe Paterno himself, these men were aware that there was a problem and were in a position to do the right thing and didn’t do it. Why? Why didn’t they help these innocent victims out?

That is what I want to focus on now because I believe there is a warning in all of this for everyone. See if we are honest with ourselves all of us our susceptible to making the same types of decisions that Joe Paterno and the other leaders at Penn State made if we aren’t careful. Please don’t misunderstand me! I am not specifically talking about child molesting. I am talking about everyday decisions that we all face at times. Now maybe you’re saying I would never do that! Well, I hope you’re right and God Bless you if you are always capable of doing the right thing. For most of us though we never set out to do the wrong thing. In fact, sometimes we don’t even realize at the time that the choices we make are the wrong ones. Keep in mind that this was a series of decisions over thirteen years that didn’t become public until last fall. Doing the wrong thing doesn’t always lead to immediate consequences for our choices.

For Joe Paterno his decisions and lack of action over the course of thirteen years severely tarnished and diminished everything he built over 40 plus years as a college football coach. The greatest football coach in history is now being remembered for allowing a child molester to go unchecked in his program. For those outside of the Penn State football program his earthly legacy will be known more for this than for his coaching achievements.

So why didn’t they do the right thing? One of the things that came out of this report that I think is telling is that there was concern about the negative impact this would have on the program. There were two chances early on to do the right thing and stop the problem, once in 1998 and again in 2001, and the leadership didn’t take action. Why? There were the factors of greed, the impact of money, of self preservation, of outright ignorance to seriousness of the situation. Feel free to add your own adjectives to this list, but there wasn’t one single factor.

From the outside we look with disgust that these people could have acted this way. But, let me ask you; if you had a coworker, a good friend whose kids came to your house that you had worked with for 20 years, and you found out they were embezzling money from your employer, would you turn them in? If your friend is cheating on every test that they take at school are you going to let the teacher know? If your brother or sister is shoplifting at the local department store what are you going to do? When you cash your check at the bank and the teller gives you an extra twenty are you going to give it back? Are we going to claim deductions on our taxes that we don’t really deserve?

See we know what the right thing to do is because we’ve all been taught right from wrong. The conflict comes when we begin to let the worldly things influence us. As is the case of Penn State, longtime friendships clouded the water. Instead of doing the right thing they looked the other way hoping it would go away. Money and greed affected their judgment. Penn State makes millions of dollars per year from their football program and negative publicity might affect that. All of these are poor reasons for not doing the right thing but that is what happened. They made a choice to do the wrong thing instead of the right thing!

As Christians it should always be our desire to do the right thing. The Bible speaks to us about doing the right thing. In James 4:17 he says, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” That’s pretty straight forward; it’s a sin to do the wrong thing and sometimes doing nothing at all is in fact doing the wrong thing. We tend to think of a sin as an act of commission, but in the case of Penn State we can see that it can be an act of omission too.

There are other scriptures that deal with doing the right thing too:

Galatians 6:7-10, “⁷Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. ⁸For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. ⁹And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. ¹⁰So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, ¹³The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. ¹⁴For God will bring every deed into judgment, withevery secret thing, whether good or evil.

H. Jackson Browne, once said that “Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.” As Christians our character should resemble that of Christ more and more as we mature and pursue his ways regardless of whether someone is watching or not. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

That is our key to doing the right thing. If we walk in the light, and we pursue Christ and his ways, doing the right thing becomes a conscious choice for us as we follow Jesus. Right and wrong is like black and white but the world and Satan wants us to operate in the gray area. For thirteen years Penn State made decisions in this gray area and many innocent children were hurt, legacies were changed and reputations tarnished. As Christians we need to stay out of the gray area and begin doing the right thing all the time. God’s word gives us plenty of instruction on doing the right thing. There may be an earthly price to pay at times for doing the right thing, but the reward in heaven will far exceed any difficulties we might experience here.

Paul's perspective on Conflict resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 20:14:00 +0000

Well it’s been a while since I have written anything. Life has been busy as the kids are getting older and I haven’t really felt lead to write too much. Over the last several months though, God has opened my eyes to some things and laid some things on my heart that I will be sharing over the next several months. Today I wanted to share some thoughts on some scripture from 2^nd Timothy.

14 Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. 15 You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.16 At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. 2 Timothy 4:14-17

As we all know life isn’t always smooth. Life is always changing and conflict is a part of our daily lives. We have conflict with our spouse, our kids, our families and our co workers. Christians experience conflict like this too but we also have conflict with people that oppose what we believe. Sometimes opposition comes from people inside the church and sometimes it’s comes from the outside. Conflict isn’t something that should come as a surprise to the Christian though; rather it should be expected because if we are going to be someone who professes and lives out our faith daily then we are going to also be a target for criticism.

The Apostle Paul knew this well. Almost everywhere Paul went conflict awaited him. But Paul endured and he never let conflict get in the way of his task of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy He gives Timothy some great advice that we should all take to heart. I know that it's easier said than done sometimes, but if it worked for Paul then it will work for us too.

Notice in V14 of the Scripture above that Paul says, “Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm”. Here Paul is nearing the end of his life and he is thinking about this man that he has obviously had a previous conflict with. Now the Bible doesn’t tell us much about Alexander, but we do know that in Paul’s mind Alexander has hurt him and his ministry deeply. But here is the critical thing for all of us in handling conflict. Look at what Paul goes on to say in V14, “The Lord will repay him for what he has done”.

Now our normal reaction when conflict arises is to react or to defend our position, or in some cases to get our payback. I know I have failed many times in this way. But Paul is saying, step back, calm down, and don’t worry about it. Let God take care of it! God will repay the person for what they have done. Paul stayed focused on his mission of advancing the gospel, and he knew Timothy would face similar opposition too, if not from Alexander then from others like him. See there is nothing Satan would rather us do then get bogged down in a war of words with those that oppose us.

For every person that has committed themselves wholeheartedly to Jesus Christ there is going to be conflict. Get ready for it! Expect it! Embrace it even! Jesus said in Luke 6:26 a, “Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you”. If you have no conflict in your life because of your claim to be a Christian then are you really standing tall in your faith? If there is no hardship, no opposition, no struggle because of our faith in Christ then we need to take a look in the mirror and see if we are truly moving forward in our faith or if we are dead in it. Paul understood conflict well, and his commitment to overcome it and to march on proclaiming Christ meant that he had to leave the resolution of that conflict in God’s hands. Paul is telling Timothy, “Be ready for this because it’s going to happen, and this is how you should handle it”.

Notice in V16 that Paul tells Timothy that nobody stood up for him during his conflict either. Have you ever felt like you were by yourself on an island when a conflict came up? Paul knows this feeling too because when Paul was opposed, Paul's supporters deserted him. Jesus understands this too! When Jesus was arrested His disciples scattered! The reality is that humans will fail each other almost every time. We just do. We get scared. We aren’t there for each other when we should be. We say the right things, but do the wrong things. We are flawed, selfish and sinful creatures that will make a mess of life when we are left to our own devices.

In spite of all of this though, Paul goes on to tell Timothy what he wants done, “May it not be held against them”. It is as if he is telling Timothy, “I know your flesh might be telling you to teach them a lesson, but don’t. Let it go”. It was Paul’s’ prayer that God would not hold this against them, and his hope that because of how they chose to handle the conflict that these Christians would be strengthened so that they might be able to stand strong in the future. Many times we get so focused on the conflict in our life that we forget that there are people in our periphery that are observing us to see how we handle difficult situations. Are we going to blow up, or are we going to handle things the way Christ desires for us to? Paul gives us the key to handling conflict the right way, it is up to us whether we choose to follow his lead.

I will leave you with this. When the inevitable conflict comes your way remember what Jesus said in Luke 6:22-23, “Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. ²³“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.”

A tribute to Mothers!

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Tue, 03 May 2011 19:32:00 +0000

Mother’s day is quickly approaching and I thought I would share some memories, thoughts and a few quotes that I found for Mothers day. I hope that perhaps some of what is written below will cause you to pause and reflect on your own Mother and give thanks to God for her life.

Let me start by saying that anything I write on here will be an insufficient and futile effort to show the amount of love and respect I have for my Mother. It is hard to put into words all the things that my Mother has meant to me, but I will give it a try.

When we reflect on our childhood we all have memories we can think about and smile. In my case, I chuckle rather loudly at a several of them. I can remember several times growing up that I faked being sick so I didn’t have to get on the bus, only to have Mom put me in the car and chase down the bus when she realized I wasn’t really sick after all.

I remember in kindergarten, the one and only time I ever won anything, when I got to bring home the class hamster at the end of the school year. Mom was so happy for me too!! In fact, she was so happy that she referred to it as “the rat” after it got out of its cage during the first week.

There were the times being sprayed down with the garden hose to get the mud off before we could come in the house. Of course, there are the many times when she took care of us when we were sick or hurt too. Mom was always a great sport and she always knew just what to say at just the right time to make things feel better.

I know that I have made my Mom proud many times in my life because she has told me so. I also know that I have disappointed her many times as well, of which she has never told me. Although she never said so, I know that I hurt her with words that cut like a knife and with actions that went against everything she ever taught me, but my Mother never wavered in her love for me. A Mother’s love knows no boundaries and I am sure I am not the only one with this kind of story.

These motherly traits are God-given and the Bible gives us many instructions in regards to Mothers. This one in Proverbs 6:20-22 (ESV) sums it up for me. It reads; My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.

Thank you Mom for raising me in the way of our Lord. Although I strayed away from Christ for a season or two, your example and your teaching were where I found my bearings when Christ began drawing me back to Him. Thank you for being that godly example to not only your three children, but to your grandchildren and all of those that know you.

I would be remiss if I did not pay tribute to my wife Katie as well for her godly example to our children. The example you are setting, and the teaching you are giving our daughters, will serve them well long after you and I have reached our heavenly home. Thank you for being a great Mother!

To all the Mothers out there and I wish you all a very Happy Mother’s Day! What you do every single day for your families is priceless and often goes unnoticed but you make a difference! God bless each and every one of you!

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life. ~Abraham Lincoln

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. ~Washington Irving

A mom forgives us all our faults, not to mention one or two we don't even have. ~Robert Brault

Everyday should be an Easter Celebration

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Mon, 02 May 2011 00:34:00 +0000

I have thought about Easter this week more than I can remember. I know I should think about it all the time, but I would be lying if I said that in the past I always have. I woke up this past Monday and went to work like any other week. We had ball practices, and Life group and other things to attend as well. It was a busy week like it always is at our house. All I know, is that seems like it’s real easy for us to fall back into the routine of life and forget about what we celebrated last week on Easter Sunday. If we are not careful, Easter becomes just another "holiday" in our life.

This week was different for me though and I found myself asking; What now? What needs to change? What should I do different in my own life? I tried to put myself into the shoes of those that followed Christ when He was crucified. I am sure they were asking the same types of questions. What now? Do we return to fishing and tax collecting? Do we stay together or do we go back to our home towns and live like everyone else? Every thing these Christ followers knew was turned upside down in the course of just a few days. Now for us, we have the luxury of history so we understand that Christ died and was resurrected, but for those early Christians they didn’t have the comfort of knowing that. It was a time of chaos and soul searching.

On a week just like this past week, Jesus met two guys on the road to Emmaus who needed Him to bear His“resurrection power” on them so they could overcome one of the saddest weekends of their lives. They were traveling home from Jerusalem, trying to comprehend the events they had just witnessed. They had to be asking themselves....what now? Jesus knew their hearts were aching and He wanted to bring His resurrection power to bear upon them and in Luke chapter 24 we see this story starting in Verse 17.

Jesus asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” “What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

So the question for all Christ followers is; What now? Jesus has revealed Himself to us too and He has given us His resurrection power as well. We know and understand what He did for us on the cross. So what are we going to do with this ressurection power we have? The scripture says these two men “got up and returned to Jerusalem at once” to tell the others that Christ has risen!! They didn’t make any excuses as to why they couldn’t tell their friends. They didn't hesitate to return; they went at once to tell the others about Jesus.

You and I should be doing the same thing. We have resurrection power every day of the year, not just on Easter. We cannot treat the ressurection of Jesus as an event that we celebrate only once a year! It should be celebrated in the life of a Christian every single day in our speech and in our actions. See we know that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most powerful event in history. Everything that we believe, all that our life and worship is all about, is based upon the foundational truth that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. That is something to be thankful for everyday, that is something for Christ followers to claim, and that is something to share with the world every single day. Be bold and courageous for we serve a Risen Christ!

In Christ,

Greg

What does it mean to be Content?

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:22:00 +0000

What does it mean to be content? The dictionary defines it as, "being contented or satisfied or accepting one's situation or life with equanamity and satisfaction". Synonyms are "satisfied, happy and joyous". For me contentment used to be when I had all of my family together, or after a nice meal and a nap, or generally any time when my life wasn't particularly stressful. Contentment in my life centered around good health and good things.

After a recent mission trip to Belize I really had to evaluate and study this word content, because God's idea of content and mine were two different things. I had to start asking myself, "Am I really content with my life"? I live in a country that is not content with anything. We want the newest, biggest, fastest, shiniest, next best thing. When what we possess or wear is considered out of date by our society we get rid of it and get something "newer or better". Unfortunately, we take this approach with everything in our life and I am as guilty of that as anyone.

Americans are the opposite of content. As a society we are overwhelmingly discontent. We zealously pursue earthly things only to find that when we reach our goal it offers no long term satisfaction. So we pursue the next thing, and the next thing, and we chase after these mirages of happiness only to find that the cycle of discontent continues to repeat itself.

We chase after the next greatest exercise program, diet fad or health care product guaranteed to add years to our lives. It's the world of biggie size, super size, no interest, 90 days same as cash. We work long hours to chase the promotion that we believe will change our life.....and then it doesn't. See the point? We are discontent and we live in a world that throws a million things at us telling us that what we have isn't big enough, new enough or good enough to make us happy.

I have wanted to go on a mission trip for several years and was blessed recently with the opportunity to go to Belize. I thought I was going on this trip so I could help people. After all isn't that what God calls us to do; to serve and love our neighbors? This is true, but God also knows what we need as well and He knows exactly how to deliver the goods. The team I was with did some wonderful things to help others, but the people we came in contact with helped me more than they will ever know. To say this was a life changing trip for me is a huge understatement.

In Belize, there is an open love for Jesus Christ that is much less obvious in the States. There are two things we don't publicly talk much about in America; God and politics. If you choose to talk about them you can be sure a debate will follow. In Belize they talked openly about God, and we saw signs promoting Jesus Christ many times. This led me to ask myself why at times I can be so reluctant to profess my own faith. Matthew 10:32-33 reads, "Whoever acknowledges me before others , I will acknowledge you before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven". We are not called lead a quiet life with a quiet faith. We can't hide our light under a bushel! We are called to be bold and profess Jesus Christ before men!

Extreme poverty was apparent in Belize too, but even though a little more money would make their daily lives easier, the people were content with what they had. They found their joy in Christ and their family units. They didn't find it in the possessions that we accumulate. Their daily life was not consumed with running kids all over the place to do all the extracurricular activities that American kids are involved in today. Their priority list was God, family, education, and then all the other stuff. This is the order that all Christians need to have, yet we mess the order up so easily when we get focused on worldly things.

Being content with our lives depends on where we have God on our list. Accumulating more stuff will not lead to contentment. Serving Him with what He gives us is our call. Whether we have a little or a lot, we can serve Christ! The people of Belize opened my eyes to that. There are no more excuses for why I cannot serve Jesus Christ wholeheartedly. Being content with our life comes through a sincere relationship with Jesus. Matthew 6:20 reads, "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." I challenge you to take a look at your own life. If you are ahead of me on this journey of faith, God bless you! I will look to you for encouragement. If you are struggling with taking this next step of service and submission to our Savior please know that I am right there pushing upstream with you. We serve a risen Christ! Let's be content and serve Him together!

Blessings!

Greg

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:04:00 +0000

I'm Baaacckkk! Not sure if that is a good thing or not but I have missed writing. Writing my thoughts down is quite a release for me. Sometimes we have all these thoughts and feelings floating around in this space between our ears and writing it down helps to get it out. Writing it down helps me process things, and there is a lot to process right now. I will share some of these things in the next several days and weeks as I get back into blogging again. A mission trip to Belize as well as a youth event built around service will be part of that. I will also share some of the struggles that Katie and I are going through right now as we seek out what God is calling us to do with our lives and how we serve Him. It is a scary process when you say to God, "here is my life and I will follow you" but we are growing every day in our faith and we welcome God's continued molding of our life. Till next time.....Blessings!! In his Grip, Greg

God at work here!

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 19:32:00 +0000

There is a little saying that we say sometimes in our church where one person says, "God is good all the time". The response is "All the time God is good!" It's an easy thing to forget because we get so focused on our own needs, but God is good all the time and He is working even when we can't see the immediate results. This past week God has shown my family once again just how good He is. Sometimes it is really easy to see God working in our lives, and other times it seems like nothing is happening, but recently my family witnessed it from both perspectives.

My brother and his wife have been trying to have children for a decade now. First they tried with all the normal things that doctors try; shots, invitro and the likes. Then the last seven years have been the emotional roller coaster that is called adoption in this country. I have watched Mark and Stacy endure the ups and downs that only someone suffering the same heartaches and disappointments can understand. My heart ached for them and I never seemed to have the right words to say either.

Life isn't fair and I don't understand why God seemingly allows kids to be born into families that don't want them, when there are families in this country that would love to have them. What I do know is that God is painting a bigger picture than what I can fathom and He is in control and knows what is best for us.

See God was at work here in ways we never imagined. About 14 days ago Mark and Stacy received a phone call about a little baby that was ready to be adopted and three days ago they brought him home. This little baby was born on March 3rd and weighed 1 lb 11 oz. Survival rates are not high for a child born at 26 weeks, but this child came home weighing 7 lb 3 oz and is 20 1/2" long. God had a plan for this child before we ever heard of him, and God had a plan for Mark and Stacy too. He was working in a mighty way and even though we couldn't see it, God saw the future and said this is the child I want you to have! God IS good all the time!

I am so proud of my brother and sister in law because even though it was difficult season for them, and they both struggled at different times with the "whys' of the matter, they always trusted God and He delivered in His good time. All the time God is good!

Please keep them in your prayers as they start this new life as a family. Philippians 4:19 says, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus"

Blessings to all and remember our soldiers past and present during this 4th of July weekend!

Thoughts about Resurrection Sunday!

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 16:42:00 +0000

1 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

As I have been out and about this week enjoying this wonderful weather, I have been reflecting on the resurrection of Jesus. You know it wasn’t that long ago that it was bitter cold and everything around us appeared to be dead. But with the onset of warmer weather nature is experiencing a rebirth. It is growing, and full of life, and the promise of summertime is here.

After they crucified Jesus they thought he was dead too, but He is not. Because of His resurrection, those that believe in Jesus have experienced a rebirth as well. The promise of eternal life in Heaven awaits us, and we should be filled with excitement knowing that our Master is preparing a place for those that believe in Him.

Resurrection Sunday is a celebration, not a funeral, because we celebrate a risen Christ! This special day should also cause us to re-examine our faith and to look back at the cross and refocus on what it means to us as believers. When we look at the Cross we are confronted with a few things, because at the cross we see a mirror that reflects back the harsh reality of who we really are.

At the Cross, we have to face our failures. For when we see the cross, it becomes very obvious, that no matter how hard we try, we can never acquire what Christ offers on our own.
At the cross we are forced to admit that our life is an absolute mess without the grace that we were freely given when Jesus died for us. There is a reason why people choose to ignore or discount the cross; because by acknowledging the cross we are also acknowledging our own failures.

At the cross we’re also confronted with futility. We can go through life living and acting in a good and moral way, but if we don’t acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and accept the gift of forgiveness, then our efforts are nothing more than a futile attempt to replace what only the cross offers.

At the cross we’re also confronted with the finality of life. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Sin separates us from God. So God provided a way to overcome that separation by sending his son to die on the cross. Jesus Christ bridged the divide that our sin causes, and for those that accept the gift of Jesus we will have eternal life with Him. For those that refuse to accept him; they will spend eternal life in Hell. That is the finality that we see at the cross.

At the cross we also find hope that we can anchor to, and we find a love greater than any other love. When the world says, stop it’s not worth it, or just quit trying because life’s too hard, we need to anchor to the cross. When we are hanging on with our last bit of strength, remember the hope and the promise that we find through Jesus at the cross.

Finally, at the cross we find the love that God has for us. I would guess that all of us would say that we would die for our children, or our spouse, or somebody else important in our lives, but I would also say that none of us would freely send our innocent child to be tortured and suffer, to be sacrificed and die. And yet God’s love for us was so deep, and so true, that he freely sent his one and only son to die upon a cross for you and me.

As we celebrate Resurrection Sunday, go back to the cross and examine your life. Think about what was done for you, and thank Jesus for what He did. Then as you go about your business celebrate the fact that Jesus overcame death and that he will be returning to take home those that believe in Him. Share that news with everyone you see! Blessings to all of you and praise be to God for the Risen Christ!

Praise in the Storm

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:54:00 +0000

The events this week in Haiti have caused me to reflect on several things. As we see the images pouring in through the internet and televisions we are confronted with a multitude of emotions. It is a catastrophic event that has caught our attention and jolted us out of our everyday routines. It has made us see how little of our lives we actually have any control over.

This event hit close to home for my family, and many that live in my area, as we awaited word on the well being of missionary that grew up here. Three days went by before finally hearing that she was safe. I cannot even imagine the rollercoaster of emotions that her family went through as they eagerly awaited word from her. God delivered this young lady from her situation and we give Him all the Praise and Glory for that.

I have not been to Haiti yet, but my faith has been strengthened as I have seen the reports of how some of the people in Haiti are singing songs of praise to God in the evenings. That has really convicted me. In their pain and suffering they are choosing to praise God! How often in our own lives, when we go through trial, do we find ourselves complaining to God about our situation instead of praising Him in all situations? It reminded me of a song by Casting Crowns called “Praise you in this Storm”.

I'll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are

No matter where I am

Every tear I've cried

You hold in Your hand

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

The Haitian people are torn because of their situation. You and I are torn because we feel helpless and overwhelmed with the enormity of what they face. But we serve a God who bigger than all of this and He will draw His people together through this. It is in Him that we will find our comfort. It is in Him that we will find our rest. That doesn’t make it any easier to work through all that we face, but it does give us hope.

Another thing I thought about was what Jesus said in Matthew 25:34-36 (NIV)

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

There has been an outpouring of compassion from around the world for the Haitian people, but it can’t and shouldn’t stop here. There will be needs in Haiti for years to come and we will need to help. There will be opportunities in the months to come to help, so pray that God will reveal to you the ways that you can help if that is His plans for you. Be sure to check out any organizations that you choose to financially support. Unfortunately, in times like these, there are people who will take advantage of every situation.

My hope and prayer is that this situation will also help us to focus and be aware of the needs we have around us everyday. It shouldn’t take a crisis event like this to cause us to reach out and lend a helping hand to those in need. We have people around us everyday that need us to model what Jesus said in Matthew 25:35-36.

There will be some good that will come out of something like this if it causes us to change the way we live our lives and how we see the people around us. We need to put God first and be the hands and feet of Jesus every single day, not just when there is a major event.

Continue to pray for the Haitian people and all the orphans that are in Haiti. Pray that through this, the government of Haiti will truly begin to work to help the people of Haiti. Pray for the people that are there serving our Lord and Savior and remember to praise our God who is our hope in this storm.

Greg
John 16:33

Is your life worth imitating?

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:52:00 +0000

"I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me." 1 Corinthians 4:14-16

The Apostle Paul wrote this in his first letter to the Corinthians. Paul is writing to a church that he planted and laid the foundation for. Although there were others that watered and cultivated this church while Paul was away, he considered them his children and He was there Father in the Gospel.

As I read this text, I thought about my role as a Father. It certainly is littered with poor choices and harsh words. There have been times when I should have used the "count to 10" rule several time in a row. But what I see with Paul is how he chooses to admonish and warn instead of shame. Paul is admonishing and warning the Corinthians with love. To shame someone is to put them down, and to belittle them . To shame someone is to place yourself at the opposite end of love. We shame our kids and our loved ones when we say things like, "That was stupid, why did you do it that way" or "What were you thinking". I am sure you get my point and you could probably come up with many others that you have either used or been the target of.

The whole thing for me comes down to these words "be imitators of me". Back in Paul's day children were expected to learn a trade from their Fathers, but also appropriate behavior. Children learned by imitating their Fathers. Thousands of years haven't changed that because they still imitate us, but what they are imitating has changed tremendously. When we look at our kids we need to look at what we are modeling for them. Are we giving a pattern worth imitating? The state of our world says no! The do as I say, not as I do method of parenting doesn't work, and I know for me I have become fully aware of my need to change the pattern that I am leaving. We need to be living our lives in a manner that is worth imitating.

I challenge you to take a hard look at your life this week and ask yourself if your pattern is worth imitating? A word of warning: Don't do it unless you're prepared to accept the answer.

In Christ,

Greg

3 John 1:4

Change

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:41:00 +0000

I have to apologize for not keeping up with my weekly post, but the last several weeks have been a bundle of frustration, anticipation, joy and excitement. These last few weeks could best be described with one word….Change. We live in an ever-changing world and we go through this life trying to avoid change as much as we can. We like our lives planned out so we know exactly what we are doing and when. We have our daily routines, we travel the same routes, we do the same things with the same people, and we punch in and punch out at work. When something happens to mess up our routines though…look out!

Change starts the moment we are born, and our lives and bodies continue changing until we die. Change is a part of every life. Resisting it is as futile as it is frustrating. John Foreman once said, “Today is all that we will ever have in this life. If we spend our time obsessing about the future or regretting the past then we will never live. Tomorrow will always be tomorrow and yesterday cannot be changed. The wise man seeks God in the now and brings both his regrets and fears before Him. The freedom that we are offered is truly amazing: to live, today, free from even our own fallen desires. This is where I want to be.”

James 1:17 says “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” The one thing that doesn’t change in life is God and His love for us. His word doesn’t change, nor does His promise to us, even though many people try to change His word to justify their own bad choices. Whatever God is, He always is. There are no “sometimes” attributes of God. All of his attributes are “always” attributes. He always is what He is. Malachi 3:6 reads “I the Lord do not change”.

When we get to the point in our life where we begin to understand that God is in control of everything, then we begin to accept the fact that change is a part of life. If we believe that He is the Creator and the sovereign God, then we have to believe that we are going through a season of change for a reason, and that ultimately He will reveal that to us. Trusting and putting our faith in an all powerful and all knowing God is a difficult thing to do sometimes, but when we do it then the changes that life brings can be seen in a different light.

The last few weeks have been a time of growth for me. I am thankful every day for the blessing’s I have been given and for the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”. Isn’t it great to know that in a world that constantly changes we can find rest in the one that remains the same?

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

In Christ,

Greg

Psalm 102:25-27

Where are the Directions??

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:03:00 +0000

John 14:6, Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Have you ever tried to put something together without the directions? Perhaps you’ve tried to put a puzzle together without a picture on the box top? When I have ignored the directions and tried to complete a task my way, I can not think of one single time where things turned out well. When our pride gets the best of us and we fail to follow the directions or the model in front of us, we are usually left with a pile full of important parts and a large amount of frustration.

I believe that the root cause of the issues we see in society can be found in the fact that we don’t like to follow directions. It makes me wonder what it would be like if we just followed the directions that God has given us. The Bible provides the instructions for our life. It gives us the model that we can emulate. In it we find our origin, and our destination, and when we know those two things, we can find the route between the two. We can look at the picture that Jesus left us through His Word and know how we are to live and how we are to treat people. If we study the Bible, we see God’s design for our marriages and how we are to be as parents. The answers to the questions that we struggle with everyday are in the Bible, but we have to read the instructions. Psalm 25:8-9, reads “Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.”

The problems for you and I occur when we don’t like the directions in God's Word and we think we have a better way. Take a look at the world around us. Is our way really better? Proverbs 14:12 reads, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." God’s directions are pretty clear for us, but we have to read them and then follow them. This week I challenge you to take a hard look at your life. Are you following the directions that God has left for you in His Word, or are you staring at the unfinished puzzle of your life with no idea where the pieces belong? Pick up God’s Bible and study His ultimate direction manual, and it comes in over 400 languages too!

In Christ,

Greg

James 3:13

Get a hold of your rudder!

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:48:00 +0000

“Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” James 3:4-6

It amazes me how we humans seem to think it is of some great importance or need for us to discuss other people’s problems. I don’t know if we do it because of some need to feel important, or if it is just a careless lack of concern for the feelings of others, but we do like to talk about others. Perhaps in talking about someone else’s problem it takes the focus off of our own issues. I don’t’ know if there is one answer, and we could debate the reasons for hours, but I don’t think God cares about our justifying reasons.

The Bible gives us a great deal of warnings on the controlling of the tongue. Proverbs 20:19 says, “A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much.” Of course, when people are gossiping they take the liberty of interjecting their own opinions and insights into the equation, and before long the talked about circumstance bears no resemblance to the actual issue. In most cases, the person talking about it doesn’t even have first hand knowledge of the event either. Proverbs 16:28 says, “A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.”

I am not sure why this has struck a chord with me so much this week. It seems like Monday’s are always the worst day for the “water cooler” talk. Since this is Tuesday, following a three day Labor Day weekend, it is even worse because there is more to talk about. Proverbs 11:13 reads, “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.” I have been the subject of gossip before, and sadly at times I am sure I have done my part to repeat something I shouldn’t have. Sometimes what we say is true, but most of the time, because it’s been taken apart and added to, there is little truth left in our story. Either way I don’t believe it is anyone’s place to talk about the circumstances or the problems that someone is having in their life. It certainly isn’t what God expects from us or wants from us. Proverbs 26:20 reads, “Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.”

I think gossiping among Christians disappoints God. When we choose to talk about someone’s issues, rather than helping them through it, then we are sinning plain and simple. When we choose to breach the trust that we were given, and repeat something that we were told in confidence, we have gone against God’s word. Psalm 34:13 reads, “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.”

Psalm 35:28 gives us some direction, “My tongue will speak of your righteousness and of your praises all day long.” The next time that someone says “I heard”, and then begins to tell you something that you don’t need to know, just walk away. The next time you are told something in confidence….keep it there. If we are going to talk, then let us talk about the Grace that has been shown to us through the sacrifice of Jesus. Let us project Christ in our lives and give Him praises all day long.

In Christ,

Greg

1 John 3:18

Second Chances

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 19:55:00 +0000

This week I spent some time thinking about second chances. I think all of us would like to have a few “do-overs” and go back and correct a mistake or an error in judgment. Because I am a golfer, it reminds me of the golf term, “mulligans”. In the game of golf, a mulligan will give you an immediate opportunity to re-hit an errant shot in the hope of a better outcome. If you readjust and do things correctly, then the results are usually a better shot. However, if you repeat the same swing, you will often get a similar bad result.

As I reflect on what Christ has done for me in my life, I am thankful for the second chances he has given me. When we read the Bible we see the second chances He gave to some of the greatest leaders and teachers in the Bible. They were people that made a mess of their lives just like we all do at times. Some of them made some major mistakes, while others just simply disobeyed God. King David, Moses and the prophet Jonah were chosen by God to do some great things, but without the second chances that God extended to each of them they would not have become the great people we read about in the Bible.

Aren’t we thankful that God loves us and is patient? He could have wiped any one of these people of the face of the earth and found a replacement. But He didn’t, and after each one of them began to show remorse and repentance, God extended love and forgiveness. In time each one was restored to the plan that God had for their lives and they continued in God’s work. It’s difficult for us to imagine that God will forgive us for some of the things that we have done in our lives. But He forgave these great Bible leaders and He will forgive you and me when we come humbly to Him and seek forgiveness.

Jesus Christ gave each one of us a second chance when He died on the cross. That second chance will last until we die, and then there will be no more second chances. God is good and He is patient, but our time on earth will eventually run out. My prayer is that if you are at a point in your life that you think that you have made too many mistakes, or done something to bad for God to care, that you will remember these people from the Bible. God’s grace is big enough for all of us and all of our failures, and He wants to give you a second chance to live eternally with Him. Don’t wait to take advantage of the second chance that Christ died for, this is a limited time offer and we don’t know how much time each one of us has. Hebrews 9:27-28 reads, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

In Christ,

Greg

Romans 3:23-24

Random thoughts from a great weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:35:00 +0000

Well this week has been a blessing in so many ways. First, our congregation confirmed the Elders recommendation for a new lead minister on Sunday and we are excited about the direction that we will be taking as a body of believers. Then on Saturday we had a block party for the local food pantry which is supported by 6 local churches. It was truly an amazing event. As I reflected on both of these events I made a couple of observations that I wanted to share with you.

At the block party there were over 100 servants (volunteers) assisting and helping the various families in need. These volunteers ranged from Junior High in age to senior adults. They represented six different churches, and they all shared a common goal of reaching out, in the name of Jesus, to help those in need. It was truly a blessing to be a part of this. There were stations for face and fingernail painting, free haircuts for the kids, and free school clothes for those in need. They had various games and free lunch for everyone. It was a great way to be the hand of God in the local community to the people who needed to feel it.

The great thing about the event is that people were able to see Christ projected through the servants that were helping. Isn’t this what we are supposed to be doing everyday? Projecting Christ in our lives and showing how our life has been transformed by Him. As I thought about my own life, I know it is real easy to project Christ in my life when things are going well, but when the difficult times come along, it becomes harder. It will only be with the help of the Holy Spirit that I am able to do this, and it is a learning experience everyday for me. We are conditioned by the world to react and act out when things aren’t going our way, but because of Jesus we are transformed and that should show in our actions and words everyday.

As Christians we need to be projecting Christ in our life every day. When things are going lousy at work and the boss is on your case…project Christ. When the kids at school are being mean…project Christ. When you are having a disagreement with your spouse or your kids…project Christ. It is not easy, but we are called to do it. We are not to conform to the ways of the world but we are to be transformed by God. (Romans 12:2, 2 Cor. 3:18) So be aware this week of what you are projecting, because we live in a world that needs to feel, see and hear Christ-like words and actions.

The second thing I thought about concerned the confirmation of our new lead minister. There is always a certain level of excitement and apprehension when there is change involved in our lives. We humans don’t like change on any level because it moves us out of our comfort zones. Well, God has a way of challenging us and moving us into areas that we are not comfortable with. It is through change that He is challenging us to grow in Him. Remaining the same and doing the same things allows us to maintain, but maintaining is not what God desires for our lives. So as each of us encounters change in our lives, let us look for the ways that God is challenging each of us to grow. We serve a BIG God so let’s prayerfully anticipate the vision and directions that God will lead each of us as we encounter change in our daily lives.

In Christ,

Greg

John 3:16

A great day for Dad a greater day for Audrey!

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 23:20:00 +0000

On July 26th 2009, I had the honor of baptizing my 8 yr old daughter Audrey. This was a decision that had been in the making for several months as Audrey had started asking us questions, as well as her Sunday School teachers and youth leaders. Over those several months it was amazing to see how Audrey's faith firmed up and her decision to act on that faith became very strong.

Proverbs 22:6 tells us to "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Katie and I will not take credit for this because that all goes to God. But there are several people in Audrey's life that had a part in her decision. Don't discount the impact that you have on the young people around you, because the littlest things can make the biggest difference.

On Sunday night the 26th, with family and friends watching our little Miss Audrey became our sister in Christ. As a Dad there are certain milestones that happen in your childrens lives that you will cherish forever. This was one of them for me. I told Audrey this is the beginning of a new life and a closer walk with Jesus. As parents and friends we need to support her, as well as all the other new Christians in our lives. Pray for them and mentor them. Thank you for letting me share this with you today and please keep Audrey in your prayers as she begins her walk with Christ.

In Christ,

Greg

Religion or Relationship?

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:52:00 +0000

Regardless of our age, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ presents some hurdles for us that often trip us up. Recently, I was engaging in a conversation about evangelism, with a young man from our youth group, whom I will call Jeff. He proceeded to tell me a story about a conversation he had with a friend about his faith. His friends response was that he didn’t have a religion yet, and was still looking for what religion he was going to be apart of. For young people like Jeff, I believe the hurdles present in sharing their faith are even more daunting than they are to us as adults and his friend’s response is becoming an all too common answer.

The answer Jeff’s friend gave him is a microcosm of what our country is facing. Recent statistics from 2008 indicate that 92% of Americans consider themselves religious and believe in God, while 76% call themselves Christian. The number of Christians has declined over 10% since 1990 while the number of people who claim no religion at all has climbed to 15%.

There are a couple of things that stand out to me. One is if 92% believe in God and 76% are calling themselves Christians, then why is our country in the shape it is in? Two, what God are we serving? My guess is that some of them aren’t serving the God that created all of this!

It leads me back to Jeff’s conversation with his friend. Jeff’s friend was searching for the same thing that we were seeking before we became believers, but he is getting derailed by a worldly point of view. As a Christian and a follower of Jesus, I don’t have a religion. I have a faith and relationship with Jesus Christ and there is a big difference. Jesus didn’t come to earth, suffer the things he suffered, and die on a cross so that you and I could have a religion! He came so that we could be in relationship with Him. He came to bridge the gap created by our sin, so that we could be in relationship with God! I believe God looks down at America and says “these people just don’t get it”. We are really not that much different than the Israelites when they made their golden calf. We take the parts of the Bible we like, the ones we can live with, and then we make our own little mini religion and mini god out of it. We go to church when it’s convenient and live pretty good moral lives, so we call ourselves “Religious” and “Christian”. That is not what Jesus died for.

There are people that are very religious about their sports teams and never miss a game or a score. There are people who religiously arrange their schedules around their favorite TV programs. The list of things we are religious about can go on and on. If we reduce our faith down to a religious exercise of going to church and living life a certain way then the label of Christian doesn’t mean much. We are to be servants, so everyday of our life, including Sunday, shouldn’t be about what God can give us. It should be about serving and giving back to God. It should be about a relationship with Jesus Christ. We were made to serve and Jesus served us by dying on a cross.

There are millions of people in this world that are searching for God. Unfortunately, Satan does his little game of trickery and takes the good things of the Bible and twists them around. He tells us, just like he told Eve, “Did God really say” and “you will not surely die”. He is telling us the same lies! Satan plants the seeds of doubt and discontent in our heads. We tell ourselves that surely God didn’t mean it the way it is written. I mean he loves me, and if he loves me then he would want me to be happy right? Justification…it is what we do so well and it is Satans master ruse. He is deceiving the world. The world has found religion and lost it’s faith in the process.

Jesus said in John 15:4-6, "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."

There is a world full of people seeking to find something that makes sense to them. They are people that you and I come into contact with on a daily basis in our jobs, our families and our social and leisure activities. We need to introduce them to Jesus and help them to have a relationship with the only person that can make sense of a chaotic world. We need to remain in Him and produce fruit in our lives.

In Christ,

Greg

John 14:6

Where's your Joy?

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:29:00 +0000

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” The Apostle Paul wrote this to the Philippians while he was a prisoner in Rome. It’s a remarkable statement when you think of what Paul was going through personally. Paul is literally living in chains, but his attitude is that of thanksgiving and encouragement…joy and humility. His joy is in Christ, and he knows that if he goes on living and preaching the gospel he will continue to win people to Christ. If he happens to die in prison, then he will gain a reward in Heaven that he cannot put into words. In Paul’s eyes, it is the greatest position to be in.

I wonder in our own life how often we see it this way. I think if we were to write that passage our self, it would read something like this . “For me, to live is to gain and to die is loss”. Our lives are geared around the present. We live our lives to gain the immediate pleasure we get from the temporary things of the world. I wonder how many of us would be worrying about sharing the gospel with a prison guard or a fellow prisoner if we were in prison. I think most of us would be focusing on our desperate situation. We don’t do a very good job witnessing to our friends and family when things in our life are good, how could we do it when things get tough? Paul didn’t care what his circumstances were because he was living for Christ.

Paul’s continual source of joy, despite his circumstances, was Christ and his ultimate concern and his most precious possession was his relationship with Christ. He shared that good news with everyone he came in contact with, no matter what his circumstances were. Paul chose to spend his time in prison working for the kingdom and he chose to look at his situation as an opportunity. He knew God had him there for a reason. He was in chains for Christ, and He was living every single moment for Him. He wasn’t afraid of dying; because he knew what awaited him in death was so much better than what he had on earth.

I wonder in our life what we are chained to? Are we chained to the things of this world or are we chained to Christ and living every moment for Him? We are all aliens living in a world of temporary things, and we need to remember that. Our home is in Heaven, so for however long we are here on planet earth, we should be living with joy for Christ, just as Paul did. We need to be a servant and a messenger for the gospel.

Jesus Christ entered this earth in the lowest possible way he could come. He came to serve and He came in a way that allowed Him to relate to all people. He suffered the persecution of those that hated Him from the very beginning, and ultimately He suffered the cruelest physical death imaginable on a Cross at Calvary. His death on a cross and His resurrection was for our eternal gain. It was out of His desire to save us that He died and our joy is found in Him! We’re free and we should live our lives that way! We were given a gift and we should be sharing that good news.

As you go about your daily lives this week, ask God to open your eyes to the opportunities to share your joy. They are in front of us everyday, but many times we let them pass by with out doing anything. We are projecting Christ in a positive or negative way every single day. Let us all strive to live our lives positively expressing the joy we find in Jesus Christ!

In Christ,

Greg

Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

What's your Ninevah?

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:31:00 +0000

I am leading a Sunday School class this quarter on the Book of Jonah and we are using a study guide by Dr. David Jeremiah called “The Runaway Prophet”. Now we all know the story of Jonah and the great fish, but for many Christians that’s really all they know about the book, and in some cases it’s viewed with some skepticism by both believers and non-believers. Today I thought I would share some thoughts with you on what we have discussed so far in class.

In Jonah 1:1-3 it reads, The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.

Ninevah was a huge city, very populated and very well fortified. It had caused great harm to the people and nations around it, and they built their wealth by destroying and plundering others. God called His prophet Jonah to do a specific thing; go to Ninevah and preach against it. It was a direct and simple word from God and it should have been a relatively short trip for him, but Jonah didn’t like God’s idea and disobeyed.

Jonah’s actions are a warning for all of us. It doesn’t make any difference what our circumstances are, if we have a clear word from God about a subject we need to follow it. Jonah thought differently. He decided to go the exact opposite direction that God called him to go. He ran toward Tarshish as fast and as far as he could from God. Jonah thought he could outrun God. Maybe he was thinking God would go away if he hid and didn't acknowledge Him. Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t like what God was telling you, so you ignored him hoping that you wouldn’t have to do it?

Jonah didn’t want to go to Ninevah because he didn’t like them. He didn’t want to show any compassion to the Ninevites. He thought they should be destroyed. He didn’t see any good in them and he didn’t understand why God would want to save them.

That leads me to some thoughts for all of us. Who or what is our Ninevah? Who do we have in our life that has caused us some pain or distress and we don’t care what happens to them now? Maybe it is someone that we don’t like the way they live their life. See God loved the Ninevites so much, that He was willing to give them an opportunity to change their ways in spite of their evil and sinful nature. Are we willing to show that same compassion to those people in our lives who have harmed us or are living in way that we disagree with?

What about Jonah’s act of disobedience. Have you ever pulled a Jonah 1:3? Have you ever questioned why God would want you to do a certain thing? Maybe it’s helping out in some capacity at your church? Perhaps it is reaching out to an enemy, or a less fortunate person, or sharing your faith with your family or friends. Whatever it is, God has you right where you are for a reason and although it may not be clear to you, it will do you no good to run to your Tarshish! We need to seek God’s wisdom and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. We need to start looking for the blessing that God wants to richly bless us with. When we disobey God, He will pursue us just as He did with Jonah. He will correct us to get us back on the right path.

This week I challenge all of us to acknowledge what our own personal Ninevah is and run to it instead of away from it. We need to reach out to those that have hurt us and show them the same compassion that God has shown us. If your being called to do something for the Kingdom don't get on a boat, get on with serving our King. It won’t be easy, but when God calls us to do something for His Kingdom, we need to do it with the understanding that He loves us and we were made to serve Him.

In Christ,

Greg

Galatians 5:13

A Call to Action

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 23:22:00 +0000

In Matthew 28:16-20 Jesus gave us what is known as The Great Commission. It reads as follows, "Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

In these four verses, Jesus has left us a great command. Not all of us were put in positions to “make disciples of all nations” but we were all told to “go”! Each one of us has our own sphere of influence, but what are we doing to make disciples of those that are in it? Do we even know what their beliefs are? Do we know if our family, our friends or our neighbors are saved? Are we reaching out to people regardless of their social, economic or political backgrounds? I was dining in a local restaurant the other night with my wife, and God was really convicting me. As I looked around at the 50 plus people in there, I realized that there were only a handful of them that I knew for sure believed in Christ. God started to open my eyes to the fact that I am failing to live up to the command to "Go"! I started to think about how many people have passed through my eyesight on any given day that I didn't even give a thought to their salvation. It is sad but true; I haven't always been sowing the seed.

We all have reasons that we use to justify why we don't share our faith. Fear of rejection, our own pride, fear of not knowing the answers to their questions and even the sin in our own lives. In 1st Peter 3 :14 it tells us, "But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." Listen, we are going to suffer for our faith. We are going to experience some discomfort and some outright hatred from those outside of Christ. We may even suffer some separation from family or friends because of our belief in Jesus Christ. But whatever that discomfort, rejection and persecution we suffer, it is only minor compared to what Jesus suffered for us on the Cross.

The following article is based on a sermon by missionary Del Tarr who served fourteen years in West Africa with another mission agency. His story points out the price some people pay to sow the seed of the gospel in hard soil.

(I was always perplexed by Psalm 126 until I went to the Sahel, that vast stretch of savanna more than four thousand miles wide just under the Sahara Desert. In the Sahel, all the moisture comes in a four month period: May, June, July, and August. After that, not a drop of rain falls for eight months. The ground cracks from dryness, and so do your hands and feet. The winds of the Sahara pick up the dust and throw it thousands of feet into the air. It then comes slowly drifting across West Africa as a fine grit. It gets inside your mouth. It gets inside your watch and stops it. The year's food, of course, must all be grown in those four months. People grow sorghum or milo in small fields.
October and November...these are beautiful months. The granaries are full -- the harvest has come. People sing and dance. They eat two meals a day. The sorghum is ground between two stones to make flour and then a mush with the consistency of yesterday's Cream of Wheat. The sticky mush is eaten hot; they roll it into little balls between their fingers, drop it into a bit of sauce and then pop it into their mouths. The meal lies heavy on their stomachs so they can sleep.
December comes, and the granaries start to recede. Many families omit the morning meal. Certainly by January not one family in fifty is still eating two meals a day. By February, the evening meal diminishes. The meal shrinks even more during March and children succumb to sickness. You don't stay well on half a meal a day. April is the month that haunts my memory. In it you hear the babies crying in the twilight. Most of the days are passed with only an evening cup of gruel.
Then, inevitably, it happens. A six-or seven-year-old boy comes running to his father one day with sudden excitement. "Daddy! Daddy! We've got grain!" he shouts. "Son, you know we haven't had grain for weeks." "Yes, we have!" the boy insists. "Out in the hut where we keep the goats -- there's a leather sack hanging up on the wall -- I reached up and put my hand down in there -- Daddy, there's grain in there! Give it to Mommy so she can make flour, and tonight our tummies can sleep!"
The father stands motionless. "Son, we can't do that," he softly explains. "That's next year's seed grain. It's the only thing between us and starvation. We're waiting for the rains, and then we must use it." The rains finally arrive in May, and when they do the young boy watches as his father takes the sack from the wall and does the most unreasonable thing imaginable. Instead of feeding his desperately weakened family, he goes to the field and with tears streaming down his face, he takes the precious seed and throws it away. He scatters it in the dirt! Why? Because he believes in the harvest.
The seed is his; he owns it. He can do anything with it he wants. The act of sowing it hurts so much that he cries. But as the African pastors say when they preach on Psalm 126, "Brother and sisters, this is God's law of the harvest. Don't expect to rejoice later on unless you have been willing to sow in tears." And I want to ask you: How much would it cost you to sow in tears? I don't mean just giving God something from your abundance, but finding a way to say, "I believe in the harvest, and therefore I will give what makes no sense. The world would call me unreasonable to do this -- but I must sow regardless, in order that I may someday celebrate with songs of joy." )

If sowing the seed of the gospel was easy then everyone would be doing it. But Jesus never said it would be easy. The path is narrow and the workers are few. So how do we reach out to those people in our lives that need Jesus? Well, if we learn anything from how Jesus dealt with people it should be that he reached out to all people. He was not a respector of persons. He didn't care what social, economic, ethnic or racial background they were from. He didn't avoid them because they were living their life the wrong way or in the wrong place. He didn't hold up religious signs, berate people for the way they were living or ambush them with religious material.

Look at how He talked to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. He was gentle, he didn’t preach at her or belittle her for the way she was living her life. He reached out to her, built a bridge of love and compassion and shared the good news. He was a Jew, she was a Samaritan. Her life was a wreck and full of bad decisions. She had five previous husbands and now had a boyfriend. They were not supposed to associate with each other for many reasons. Yet Jesus left us the example and broke those barriers down. He reached out!

We have a tendency to believe that evangelism is a process with a certain number of steps to take to get to the goal. We need to scrap that way of thinking because Jesus didn’t follow a 10 step process. His instructions to us were very simple; they were to “GO”. We have no problem sharing the good news about the birth of a child, an accomplishment we have achieved or even our political opinions. We need to follow His example and start reaching out to those around us, build that bridge of love and compassion and share the good news of Jesus Christ. If we want to experience revival in our lives, our churches and our communities then we need to start sowing the seed. Revival will only happen when you and I put ourselves in position to let God use us. We can pray all we want, but if we’re not willing to “sow in tears” there will be no joy later.

In Christ,

Greg

Phillipians 2:1-5

My thoughts from 3 days at Spirit Song

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:12:00 +0000

This past week my wife Katie and I attended the Spirit Song music festival at Kings Island amusement park in Mason, OH. It was a great three days! We spent each day at the parks enjoying the attractions and the time spent with our friends. Our evenings were filled with music from some of the most well known Christian artists and bands in the country. It was an opportunity for us to hear some great Christian music from several artists all in one place. There was a wide range of musical genre and while some of these bands were newer, up and coming artists, others were well established. If you get a chance, go next year because you won’t be disappointed.

Now, for the sake of full disclosure, my idea of fun at an amusement park consists of sitting on a park bench watching people and eating “Dippin Dots”! Although I have always been a little bit of a daredevil during my life, my daring feats were usually on a level not more than 15 ft off the ground, so riding a rollercoaster that has two hills over 200 ft tall is not my thing. If it’s your thing…Great…but God made this guy to stay on the ground! As a side note, I will have you know that I didn’t succumb to the peer pressure either…even though it was all in good fun...I think.

Moving on… there were two things that I observed and thought about over these 3 days of fun that I wanted to share my thoughts on. The first one is how fickle we are as humans. We live in a society where we will run over people to get to where we are going, and then we’ll willingly stand in a line at an amusement park without complaint for 2 hours! Some of these people standing patiently in line, will also be the first one’s to run you over in the parking lot when their leaving! Our society doesn’t like to conform to anything, so watching people being herded around through a maze of bars and ropes was interesting and thought provoking to say the least.

After watching this play out several times each day, I started thinking about my life as a Christian. Is my Christian faith conforming to the worlds view? The bible tells us in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will”. These park goers were willing to conform for a period of time so they could have the chance for a brief moment of exhilaration. The questions for each of us revolve around our willingness to be transformed to God’s plan for our lives. Are we willing to walk between the boundaries of God’s narrow path for the promise of eternal life with God? Am I allowing my life to be transformed to what God’s word tells me my faith is supposed to be or is it being conformed by the world?

Over the years, I believe that Christians have allowed our faith to be conformed to what the world and our leaders have told us it should be. Rather than seeking God’s divine plan for us, we have chosen to conform. If we did make a stand, we chose to use the world’s tools to address our countries problems and issues. We tried to use our alleged political clout to legislate morality and our Christian beliefs. I think history is showing us that this approach has not worked real well and I don’t believe that approach is biblical or was ever modeled by Jesus either.

We need to be what we are supposed to be as Christians…different!! We need to be different is such away that it causes those outside of Christ to want to know why we are different. Our lives need to project Christ daily during the good and the bad times. Instead, we conform to the what the world tell us we should be and we further alienate the very people Jesus cared most about…the lost. We need to be praying and building relationships with those that are lost. We need to turn our face back to God and put him back in the forefront of our country. Real change in this country will not happen until the individuals within this country start to change themselves first. That means that for those of us that profess to be born again Christians we need to get out of the line the world has us in and stop conforming to its ways. We need to put God back at the front of our lines.

The second thing that stood out for me came from a point that Jeremy Camp made during his concert. He told a story about how his young daughter would tell him “I love you this much” while she stretched out her hands as far as she could. It’s easy to relate to this because we have all done this when we were younger or heard our own kids say this. One day Jeremy’s daughter had an ice cream cone in one hand and he asked her how much do you love me? She paused this time, looked at her ice cream, and then repeated the same line, “I love you this much”, but this time only one hand was held outstretched while the other was held close to her, firmly clutching her ice cream cone. He went on to talk about how Christ held His arms out wide on the cross and as the nails pierced his hands He said to each of us, “I love you this much”!

What are we holding onto in our life? What do we have in our life that we love more than God? Maybe it’s our hobbies or our possessions? Could it be our spouses, kids or family? I think all of us have something that we are clutching onto. It’s easy to surrender the things in our life that are not going so well and say “Uh, God, I need your help down here!” It’s not an easy thing to let go of everything, but Jesus says we must. In Luke 14:26 Jesus tells us, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. Jesus isn’t meaning “hate” as you and I understand it, but instead He wants you and me to love Him more than anything else in our lives.

One of the great gifts that a Mother has is the gift of sacrifice. A mother will sacrifice everything for her kids. She is often the last one to eat at dinner and no matter how hungry she is, she will surrender every bit of the food on her plate to take care of her children if they are still hungry. If we’re going to serve God the way he wants us to, then we have to be willing to surrender every single thing on our plate of life for Him. We have to stretch out both arms and let go of everything we’re hanging onto, no matter what it is. When we let God have every area of our lives, then He can truly use us to do some great things for His kingdom.

I have always been willing to let God have what I think He should have. It was usually never anything good though, because it has mostly been the areas in my life that I have made a mess of. While I am learning everyday how to let God have all of my life, it has not been without some struggles. It’s hard to let go of all the areas of our lives, but when we keep Him in front of us then the big picture becomes much clearer. That’s what faith is all about. We serve an awesome and a gracious God. He is not some abstract entity, but a loving and living being that knew us before he formed us. We were created for a relationship with Him and when we decide to engage in a true relationship with Him then we find a peace in our lives that we never knew existed.

I come away from this weekend knowing even more how much God loves me. I will be doing some soul searching this week and asking myself, “What’s my ice cream cone? What’s keeping me from stretching both arms outward and saying, “I love you this much, Jesus”!

Choose to have a good week!

In Christ,

Greg

Phil 4:13

Let's get Started

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Elliott) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:51:00 +0000

Well, hello for starters! This is a new endeavor for me and we will see what God does with it. You can read some information about me in my profile and I am sure over time more will come out about me through my posts. I will, however, give you a little background on me as it relates to the title of my blog. I was raised in a Christian church and was baptized when I was 9 yrs old. I have read the Bible, and studied it growing up, but it never really became the guiding factor in my life until about 2 yrs ago.

I went to church every Sunday, and I played the part of Christian, but that was the extent of my Christianity. The rest of the week was mine, and for along time I was able to keep those two areas of my life separated. However there came a point in my life where I really started asking the questions that we all ask. What am I doing? Is this all there is to my life?

There was no peace in anything! I was successful, I had plenty of stuff, but nothing ever gave me any peace. No matter how hard I worked I was miserable. Finally after several months of battling with this, and feeling God calling me back home, I got down on my knees while I was on a business trip and asked God to forgive me and use me however He saw fit.

The release of all of the built up stuff in my life was overwhelming. The peace that I started to experience over the next few days and weeks was refreshing and it continues to grow. As I have continued to study and pray and seek out God's will for my life, He has been faithful and has continued to provide me with a peace and understanding of His will for my life. God is good!!! All the time! I am so thankful for His grace and mercy and I look forward to growing in my relationship with Him daily!

In Christ,

Greg

Phil 4:13