May God’s Grace Be Near is a post from: Pastor Steve Wood

God Gives Grace And Strength to Rise Again

God and good always win over evil. No matter how destructive and despicable, the course of humanity is a testament to the goodness and grace of God. When I saw the image of the 78 year old man falling I was heartbroken. But this morning I learned he got up and finished the race. Just like we are exhorted to do in Hebrews 12:1-3, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (NIV)
Join me in praying for all of those who have been affected and their families and remember, God gives grace for us to be victors in Christ!

God and Good Always Win is a post from: Pastor Steve Wood

One of the great joys of my life is seeing Christ at work in our inspiring young adult group we call the Titans. They are among the most inspiring and dedicated disciples of Jesus Christ I know. As a group of special needs young adults they have brought passion and vision to our church and community in so many ways. They have an awesome and welcoming recreational ministry and are even envisioning building their first group home. May God be praised.

I mention this because I see God’s life on life discipling principle at work in them and their leaders. Mark Miller from Chic-fil-a aptly wrote this week that we are either doers, delegators, or developers. To witness the ministry model where these young people move from doing for Christ to delegating in Christ to developing others around them for exponential for Christ has been one of the greatest examples of Christian maturity I have ever witnessed. We would do well to emulate their life model as we live our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ!  A big shout out to our Titans who rank in my book as real Champions for Christ!

Champions for Christ is a post from: Pastor Steve Wood

Christ Is Risen! is a post from: Pastor Steve Wood

You Have An Admirer! is a post from: Pastor Steve Wood

Grace Abounds In St. Lucia

Glory to God in the highest! The last four days in Costa Rica have been far more inspiring than I could have ever imagined. As we have worshipped and prayed God has given me pause to think and reflect and thank God for the hundreds of people who have travelled from Mount Pisgah to share missionally the love of Christ with the Costa Ricans in both word and deed. Yesterday when I saw Pastor Carlos from Liberia, Pastor Henry who is now teaching in the seminary, and Karolay from Los Guidos I marvelled at how God is using them so greatly here. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! Way to go God! Way to go people of Mount Pisgah! Way to go Bishop Palomo and the on fire Methodists in Costa Rica! Gloria de Dios!

Gloria De Dios is a post from: Pastor Steve Wood

The good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that God is with us, period. The good news is that God loves us, and has promised to never leave us or forsake us even in times when it seems that humanity has gone wild, and there are no rules, and justice has left the building. Many are already aware of our involvement with the Newtown UMC in Sandy Hook and how our faith community at Mount Pisgah felt compelled to respond to help those in that community. To have a sister church there and a colleague like Pastor Mel Kawakami displays the connectional nature of the Body of Christ at its very best. I have never been More keenly aware of the benefit to being UMC.  Pastor Mel called last week to say thanks for the cards, prayers, and love offering our people sent. He talked a long while, I simply listened; the grace of God has never been more valuable to either of us I suspect as he shared the pain and the journey of the people in that community that he shepherds. He asked how we were prompted to respond, I told him I simply asked our people to do what God does in times like this; grieve and give. I didn’t have to ask twice, they responded with love, grace, and generosity. We will forever be partners in sharing the good news to hurting people.

Another connect came in a letter unsolicited that came to me via our website (www.mountpisgah.org) from someone unknown to me which birthed another blossom of good news. It read:

I was reading about your church and all its “outreach” ministries and prayer life.  I was very moved by the response of your church to the Newton UMC after the shooting that took place there in Sandy Hook, Conn.  I am encouraged by your quick and ready response to meet needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Thank you for being sensitive and responsive to the Holy Spirit’s leading.  My prayers are with you and your church and its ministry / servants of God.  Thank you for giving to the Lord!  EllaWayne Byrd, Frisco City UMC, Frisco City, Alabama.

A precious sister in Christ praying and partnering, grieving and giving, who simply was sharing a word of encouragement to us all. Why? Because she knows from experience that the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ always overcomes the darkness. Grief, pain, and dark days will surely come but the light of Christ always overcomes. Join me in continuing to pray for our brothers and sisters in Sandy Hook, and join me in sowing the good news into the hearts of those in need for God’s Love Endures Forever!

Good News in Trying Times is a post from: Pastor Steve Wood

I am reminded that this is not what God wants from me.  He wants me to love my neighbor as myself.  He wants me to give 100% of my allegiance and my entire alliance to His son Jesus Christ.  And that I am to trust in the Lord with all my heart and all my soul.  And that God is in control and that His Will is done in every situation.  And that all things will work together for those who love Christ.  When you read the Bible, it reminds us that we are all part of one body, the body of Christ and that none of us are more important than the other as each and every part is valuable and without each other, His body is not complete.  America is one Country Under God.  Many of you may not know this, but our official national motto, that is declared under our laws, is “In God We Trust”.  What an awesome country we live in.  As I have matured in my faith walk, I have really worked on developing a Biblical world view.  Meaning seeing the world through the lens of Christ and His teachings in the Bible.  It gives me peace to know that He is in control and that all of us who have accepted Christ as our Savior can rest assured that we do not have to face this world alone.  Or we do not need to put our trust in anything or anyone but Christ.

Know that I pray for each of you and that I pray for this company, that it will provide financial blessings to all of us and our families.  And as I know you all do, I also pray for this great country The United States of America and for our leaders and that we would continue to be a beacon of light to the world.

By the way, unfortunately, there are still many countries in this world that would arrest me and put me in jail for writing this email.  Please join me in praying for our fellow brothers and sisters in those countries!

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for guiding our Forefathers when they established this Country “Under God”.  Please be with our President, Congress and all of the Civil Servants who dedicate their time and talents to running this Country.  Be with our service men and women who place their lives in danger each and every day in order to preserve our freedom and the freedoms of Your people across the globe.  Be with our brothers and sisters who are being oppressed by their government for worshipping You.  Help us all to commit our allegiance and our alliance to You and Your Son first and foremost.  Help us to love our neighbors as our self and to seek Your Will in everything we do.  And may the words “God Bless America” continue be true and not simply become a phrase…

Amen

A Biblical Worldview is a post from: Pastor Steve Wood

Matt 28:18-20  19 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” NIV

There are too many action words and specific directives for us to ignore the charge of Christ. Go = go and be active not passive in looking for and landing others to disciple. Make = form in God’s image using the very model Jesus gave us in His very life and ministry. Baptize = immerse and invest in by spending one on one time together in the pursuit of God and then the reinvestment of God’s investment in us to others. Interesting choice of the word teach. From the Hebrew concept the onus is on the teacher  that the learner learns. It’s not a codependent relationship but an emphasis on the premium of teaching the learner (disciple) how to learn in a way that sticks. What does that mean? It means that they begin to apply what they are learning and actually begin to make disciples themselves through one on one discipleship.

My friend Bill says a simple but sober self assessment reveals the reality of whether we have committed ourselves or omitted the C when it comes to living in our ultimate purpose for which we were created to glorify God. Some have found this pearl of great price and have learned to apply their Christian faith God’s way, but many have simply refused. Busyness moreso than blatant rebellion, but nevertheless still living for self rather than Christ. The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that today is a new day and a new opportunity for you. Carpe Diem, answer the call, be a disciple of Jesus who is living the life, making disicples of Jesus!

The Great Omission is a post from: Pastor Steve Wood

One nation under God…

It is an interesting dilemma and one wrought with the whole spectrum of human emotion. Much like a championship football game we have awakened today with polarized emotions. The scoreboard reads that the blue team won and the red team lost in a tight, back and forth battle. Both teams played hard and the margin of difference was minute. Except this isn’t a football game, this is our country.
So did your team win? In the course of just a few hours I have been approached by the devastated and by the elated, they live next door to each other, they work and worship together, and they are a part of America’s great future going forward. Some are very happy and some are very sad. Owning the label of a winner or a loser is probably not what God has in mind for us as we look forward together as that is much too personal especially for all of us who have proclaimed pre-election that God is in control.
So did we win or lose? Well, let’s consider this in terms of God’s call and our response to do all that was in our control to do our part for what best glorified God and blesses all those here in the good old USA and even throughout the world. God called us to pray. We prayed. Many prayed for 40 days for America: we prayed at work; we prayed in churches and small groups; and we prayed at home with family and friends. We win when we pray regardless because we put things in God’s hands, and we win when we pray regardless of whether God gives us the answer we desire or the grace sufficient for His answer.

We voted. Both the red and blue fans showed up in masses. We voted our conscience after praying. Isn’t that God’s way to proceed? We win when we vote because we exercise and apply the grace God has given us in the great freedom we enjoy here in America. We had a chance, a holy opportunity, to make our voice count and those who went to the polls, over 117,000,000 confirmed votes as I write this, did their best to vote in the way that they felt was best. When we vote we exercise our freedom to the glory of God and then put the outcome into God’s hands and our fellow Americans. We voted knowing the Christ is Lord of all and God is on the throne before, during, and after all elections, and HE IS ABLE.

Because of the promises of God there are days ahead laden with winning potential regardless of which color jersey we donned. In fact, today is the day for jerseys to be retired and to regroup knowing that all those who call on the name of Jesus as Lord are all on the same team. It is important that we pull together in these days ahead because the task before us is immense. But that is easier said than done because some are hurting and some are rejoicing and that just naturally elevates our emotions. So, how do we move forward… together? How do we move beyond our differences on issues and candidates?

We prayed, we voted, and now we must love. Love? Yep, love the verb. What good reason have I to love at this point you may ask? Because this is God’s way for God’s people who really are willing to embrace a God-led today and tomorrow. In speaking through Paul to a group of people at Corinth who needed some encouragement of living God’s way and reconciling the pseudo winners and pseudo losers we have this scriptural jewel from 1 Corinthians 13:

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails.

Have we loved? If yes, let’s continue; if no, let’s begin. People fail, systems fail, structures fail, etc. But, God’s love never fails. This is our way forward. Let’s take those 40 days of prayer and join together for daily prayer for our country for four more years and then, when those four years are done,  let’s covenant to pray together again for four more and then four more! When God looks at the field I wonder if he sees red or blue, or if God sees purple, all created to be on the same team, God’s team, for His glory. Lord, let it be so, Amen and Amen.

One Nation Under God… is a post from: Pastor Steve Wood