We come to the end of another church year, actually to the end of our first year together. We have shared in a precious gift, the gift of life. I sincerely believe that there are no chance encounters where God is concerned. Nor do I consider it happenstance that my family has joined yours at Ashland First. I consider that each face I look upon in life has been an intentional meeting, one arranged by God or at least influenced by the choices we have made and hopefully those choices have been in line with His will. We get to know each other’s personalities and become accustomed to a familiar smile. We exchange a hearty handshake or feel the presence of a strong hand upon our shoulders. We know where we and others prefer to sit or where we usually meet them during our times of service and we miss them when they are not there because their presence is not only seen but also felt in our lives.
In the Church we have something so very special that the world cannot perceive. In the world many people make their presence known in our lives but that presence is not always a pleasant one, now be honest. In the Church this should not be so, for the imprint we make upon the lives of others, the lives of those to whom God has joined us in life, for a time and a season, should not be simply an imprint from the presence of another human being but a ‘Him-print’ from the soul of one redeemed by God’s grace, filled by His Holy Spirit and in the process of being transformed into the image of His dear Son. In each encounter of our lives we make an impression upon the lives around us. Sometimes they go unnoticed and sometimes they are casual but they are always there, positive, negative or neutral.
This past year has left us with profound absences in our lives as a church family from those whose presence we are no longer privileged to share. The strength of this void is a testimony to the ‘Him-print’ that they have left upon our lives. When we engaged them in conversation their words spoke of thanksgiving and blessing and when we looked into their eyes we knew we were looking through the windows of their souls. Genuine and sincere, they engaged us with grace and love and their smiles brought us peace and reassurance that their God, our God, was indeed working in each one of us to fashion us after the image of His Son. As I prepare this for you I can see their smiles and hear the gentleness and love in their voices can’t you? Our lives together with the ones we love could never be long enough and no matter how long we are graced by their presence we always long for more. God knows and understands this and has therefore made eternity in Heaven attainable through and by Calvary’s cross and the sacrifice of His Christ, our Savior. I look forward to seeing their smiling faces once again in that land where we shall never again be separated from the ones we love. I pray that as we glorify God for the gift of their lives touching ours that we would also use their lives as an example of His grace. That we appreciate the impression that they have made upon each one of us and that we likewise endeavor to leave our ‘Him-print’ upon those we encounter day by day.
I also believe that it is not only a person that leaves a ‘Him-print’ but a people as well. Positive, negative and neutral we can all identify peoples out of the past who have contributed to the kingdom as well as those who have taken away or perhaps done nothing at all. Take for example the churches in the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelation. The book is a revelation of Jesus Christ, which is also what the Church should be as they ‘reveal’ Christ to others in their communities through their witness, through worship, the preached Word and the ministries that meet real human needs with spiritual goals in mind. We see in the seven letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor that there was one which Christ could not really say anything good about. Yet as He did with the other six He extends a promise to them as well that if they would repent He would grant them in particular that they share His throne. Of the seven churches we could say that four of them found themselves ‘middle of the road’ if you will. We could say that they were average, receiving both commendation and criticism from the Lord. Of those seven churches only two would rise above the rest to receive only commendation from the risen Christ. Only two of seven were completely faithful in representing Jesus Christ to the world, to their world.
What Christ was speaking of regarding these churches was their ‘Him-print.’ How were they representing Him to their families, their communities and ultimately to the rest of the world? As we can all read by Christ’s testimony towards each of them, some were representing Him in a carnal way. In other words the impression those Christians were leaving on the world around them was no different than the witness portrayed by those who were not saved and were living under the influences and vices of this temporal, finite world rather than the influences and direction of God’s Holy Spirit Which clearly is not the way the Lord of Heaven and earth should be represented, wouldn’t you agree? Only 2 of 7 churches were representing Christ in a divine spiritual way as He rightly should have been represented. Consider that for a moment, only 2 out of 7, that’s roughly 29% of those churches in the New Testament period who were truly leaving an accurate ‘Him-print’ of Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior, on the people and communities around them. I wonder how those figures would apply to the churches of our day. Would you imagine the percentages of churches who accurately and faithfully represent Christ is better or worse than it was then. Could we take that figure even further and apply it to Christians in general, I wonder. Could only 1 in 3 persons who call themselves Christians receive only commendation from our Lord?
We clearly have a choice, as individuals and as a church, on how well or how poorly we represent our Savior. I believe that Ashland First Church of the Nazarene and her people have been presented with a glorious opportunity to build upon the blessings of her past an everlasting legacy, one that truly represents the very purpose for why God has established her in this time and this city. I believe that we now press towards that mark and the high calling of God which He Himself has placed before us. I believe that we have set our trajectory, as did those two faithful churches, to rise above the average and take our place among those who excel, not in the eyes of the world but in the eyes of God Himself! I believe that we have devoted and shall continue to dedicate ourselves to leave an everlasting ‘Him-print’, evidenced by our love and passion towards all things Heavenly, upon our friends, our families and our city. To be His witnesses both here in our city and state, throughout our region and to the ends of the earth should we find ourselves there and may our continuing prayer be that we endeavor to fulfill this greatest of commissions with the diligence it deserves.
In His Love
Rev. Curt Skeens, Teaching Pastor
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Life-Cycles
We all go through them, sometimes they are quite long and indeed sometimes they are abbreviated. They could be very positive and of course rather negative. Nonetheless they are one of lifes 'requirements.' Let's call them 'Life-Cycles.'
We have all had times in our lives when everything was going right, it was smooth sailing, life was good! Savor and celebrate these good times in life, share them with one another and give thanks accordingly to those responsible and especially thank God for His hand in them. When you find yourself on top of the mountain don't grumble about how long it took you to get there, nor how it would have been quicker if this hadn't happened or so and so hadn't tagged along. Don't complain about the long walk down, just ENJOY THE VIEW!
Now granted there are some who pass through life with a pessimistic view of the future. Those who are always expecting something bad to happen, especially when everything is going well. You know the type that I am talking about, right? Maybe something bad has happened or they receive some bad news, then you hear them say "it always comes in threes'. How many times have you heard that? It could come in tens if we wanted to track it that way or it could come one at a time. If we say it comes in threes then we are dreadfully awaiting the 'other two.' What a miserable way to go through life, always expecting something bad to happen.
While we can't always choose what comes our way I believe that we can choose how we meet what comes our way. Life is a blessing but often being blessed is a choice. I think of all the people who walked in the crowds with God's Son, maybe they listened to one of His sermons one Saturday, they may have even sat at a table and eaten with the Messiah! Sadly not all received a blessing while they were with Him. Was this some selection process orchestrated by God? Of course not! Some people just refused to be blessed! Have you ever met someone who needed help but refused it. They pack around bitterness, anger and despair for tomorrow from days gone by as if it's some treasure they'll never see again. Get over it and drop it because when your hands are full of that garbage you can't take hold of the blessing God has for you!
On the other hand there are times when life just gets you down. There are simply some cycles that we all go through in life that, well, we just have to go through! Nothing horrible has happened but you just feel tired or weighted down from the cares of life, especially with the pace things run at today! Some positive things are happening but they are not grand enough to lift you from where you find yourself, just trudging along, day by day by day. It is times like these that we need some additional assistance. In the church we call these times; Revival. Some are scheduled and some happen spontaneously, attendance is not mandatory (see paragraph above) but corporate attendance is encouraged. Why? Because some personalities are so strong and persuasive that when they are leaning to the negative they have the power to influence many other 'cyclist.' There are times of revival that are personal between an individual and God Himself. The Bible records times of national revival with Israel and I believe America has had her share as well, though admittedly it has been some time. In either case the goal is the same and that being to recharge our batteries, replace our filters, encourage our hearts, strengthen our resolve, refocus our course, (insert your own analogy here).
We just completed a scheduled revival at AFCN and for me it came at the right time. A time when I just felt tired, nothing terribly wrong, good things were happening but I felt as if I were in a kayak that had been moving downstream that had gotten caught in an 'eddy.' In a stream it is a place where the water, because of stream structure and flow, just pauses or circles and someone caught in that eddy stays afloat, but floats in place as the stream continues to rush by. That was where I had been for a little while and I just wanted to share that these cycles are very real and they are to be expected. In a stream a burst of energy or a change in direction can free your kayak from the eddy. In life a change of direction could be in order or perhaps direction is right and clear but your last burst of energy bursted a long time ago. In these times we must go to God and allow Him and His Holy Spirit to provide the source of strength and power we need to revive and quicken our spirits and provide that burst of energy necessary to break free!
Blessings!
We have all had times in our lives when everything was going right, it was smooth sailing, life was good! Savor and celebrate these good times in life, share them with one another and give thanks accordingly to those responsible and especially thank God for His hand in them. When you find yourself on top of the mountain don't grumble about how long it took you to get there, nor how it would have been quicker if this hadn't happened or so and so hadn't tagged along. Don't complain about the long walk down, just ENJOY THE VIEW!
Now granted there are some who pass through life with a pessimistic view of the future. Those who are always expecting something bad to happen, especially when everything is going well. You know the type that I am talking about, right? Maybe something bad has happened or they receive some bad news, then you hear them say "it always comes in threes'. How many times have you heard that? It could come in tens if we wanted to track it that way or it could come one at a time. If we say it comes in threes then we are dreadfully awaiting the 'other two.' What a miserable way to go through life, always expecting something bad to happen.
While we can't always choose what comes our way I believe that we can choose how we meet what comes our way. Life is a blessing but often being blessed is a choice. I think of all the people who walked in the crowds with God's Son, maybe they listened to one of His sermons one Saturday, they may have even sat at a table and eaten with the Messiah! Sadly not all received a blessing while they were with Him. Was this some selection process orchestrated by God? Of course not! Some people just refused to be blessed! Have you ever met someone who needed help but refused it. They pack around bitterness, anger and despair for tomorrow from days gone by as if it's some treasure they'll never see again. Get over it and drop it because when your hands are full of that garbage you can't take hold of the blessing God has for you!
On the other hand there are times when life just gets you down. There are simply some cycles that we all go through in life that, well, we just have to go through! Nothing horrible has happened but you just feel tired or weighted down from the cares of life, especially with the pace things run at today! Some positive things are happening but they are not grand enough to lift you from where you find yourself, just trudging along, day by day by day. It is times like these that we need some additional assistance. In the church we call these times; Revival. Some are scheduled and some happen spontaneously, attendance is not mandatory (see paragraph above) but corporate attendance is encouraged. Why? Because some personalities are so strong and persuasive that when they are leaning to the negative they have the power to influence many other 'cyclist.' There are times of revival that are personal between an individual and God Himself. The Bible records times of national revival with Israel and I believe America has had her share as well, though admittedly it has been some time. In either case the goal is the same and that being to recharge our batteries, replace our filters, encourage our hearts, strengthen our resolve, refocus our course, (insert your own analogy here).
We just completed a scheduled revival at AFCN and for me it came at the right time. A time when I just felt tired, nothing terribly wrong, good things were happening but I felt as if I were in a kayak that had been moving downstream that had gotten caught in an 'eddy.' In a stream it is a place where the water, because of stream structure and flow, just pauses or circles and someone caught in that eddy stays afloat, but floats in place as the stream continues to rush by. That was where I had been for a little while and I just wanted to share that these cycles are very real and they are to be expected. In a stream a burst of energy or a change in direction can free your kayak from the eddy. In life a change of direction could be in order or perhaps direction is right and clear but your last burst of energy bursted a long time ago. In these times we must go to God and allow Him and His Holy Spirit to provide the source of strength and power we need to revive and quicken our spirits and provide that burst of energy necessary to break free!
Blessings!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Perspective
Last post on November 20th! Where have I been all this time. Well I haven't been out of the country nor have I been on vacation to a warm sandy beach. No I've been right here in the Bluegrass freezing through one of the worst and wettest winters we've had for years. So why haven't I made a post, hmmm, I'm not sure. As a matter of fact even now I am not sure of a clear direction for this post. Normally I do have a sense of direction as if I know what I should type. Perhaps it is not that I don't have a sense of direction but rather too many directions in which I feel I could go.
My little girl is growing up fast, too fast actually. This feeling comes as no surprise because when she was 10 1/2 months old and her 'striking beauty' became apparent, (a friend of ours used that language not daddy) I told my wife I was already dreading her beginning to date! My wife just rolled her eyes and mentioned something about all the years between then and now. But now two of them have already passed and we are screaming at break-neck pace towards 'sweet 16!!!!!!!!' She's talking about princes and getting married and wanting to date at AGE 3! Have I mentioned way too fast? Well, daddy is a member of the NRA and has a CCP, I love to hunt and have a few firearms and I'm certain that when every new boy visits daddy will be cleaning a weapon. Now take it easy I am certainly not advocating violence here but what I will be making known in an oh so subtle way is that any boy who dates my baby must realize that daddy is a force to be reckoned with!
I wonder how many other daddy's or even mommy's are like me? They worry about their children's future and who they'll spend their life with and while we are at it we worry about them going off to college. Heck driving to high school will be traumatic enough. As a matter of fact I'm even jumpy when she's running around on the playground equipment! What has happened to the reckless abandon of my youth? I was a boy once, maybe that's the problem! Driving cars fast, four wheeling my Jeep CJ5, being on two wheels or going off jumps in it, flying on streetbikes and racing dirtbikes, I even once rode two miles up into the air and jumped out of a perfectly good airplane and now I'm afraid when she jumps off the couch she'll hit her head on the coffee table! I know, I know, I'm a mess.
Being a daddy (or mommy) certainly changes your perspective doesn't it. If you can't see that now you likely will one day and when your perspective changes so too should your priorities. So what can we do about those days ahead over which we will have little if any control. Speak to the two who will have control over those days. Teach our children right from wrong and good from evil. Instill in them the knowledge of God and His Son Jesus and what has been done on our behalf because we won't be there when they have those difficult decisions to make and their decisions will be based upon what they have been taught so train them up in the way that they should go and when they are older they will not depart from it. Speak to God on their behalf and pray for their future, pray for their salvation even now and for the righteousness of their future spouse and the salvation of their children and their children's children. When you pray do so in such a way that you 'project' your prayers into the future where God is already standing by to guide them and care for them and trust in the fact that when you cannot be there, He already is!
My little girl is growing up fast, too fast actually. This feeling comes as no surprise because when she was 10 1/2 months old and her 'striking beauty' became apparent, (a friend of ours used that language not daddy) I told my wife I was already dreading her beginning to date! My wife just rolled her eyes and mentioned something about all the years between then and now. But now two of them have already passed and we are screaming at break-neck pace towards 'sweet 16!!!!!!!!' She's talking about princes and getting married and wanting to date at AGE 3! Have I mentioned way too fast? Well, daddy is a member of the NRA and has a CCP, I love to hunt and have a few firearms and I'm certain that when every new boy visits daddy will be cleaning a weapon. Now take it easy I am certainly not advocating violence here but what I will be making known in an oh so subtle way is that any boy who dates my baby must realize that daddy is a force to be reckoned with!
I wonder how many other daddy's or even mommy's are like me? They worry about their children's future and who they'll spend their life with and while we are at it we worry about them going off to college. Heck driving to high school will be traumatic enough. As a matter of fact I'm even jumpy when she's running around on the playground equipment! What has happened to the reckless abandon of my youth? I was a boy once, maybe that's the problem! Driving cars fast, four wheeling my Jeep CJ5, being on two wheels or going off jumps in it, flying on streetbikes and racing dirtbikes, I even once rode two miles up into the air and jumped out of a perfectly good airplane and now I'm afraid when she jumps off the couch she'll hit her head on the coffee table! I know, I know, I'm a mess.
Being a daddy (or mommy) certainly changes your perspective doesn't it. If you can't see that now you likely will one day and when your perspective changes so too should your priorities. So what can we do about those days ahead over which we will have little if any control. Speak to the two who will have control over those days. Teach our children right from wrong and good from evil. Instill in them the knowledge of God and His Son Jesus and what has been done on our behalf because we won't be there when they have those difficult decisions to make and their decisions will be based upon what they have been taught so train them up in the way that they should go and when they are older they will not depart from it. Speak to God on their behalf and pray for their future, pray for their salvation even now and for the righteousness of their future spouse and the salvation of their children and their children's children. When you pray do so in such a way that you 'project' your prayers into the future where God is already standing by to guide them and care for them and trust in the fact that when you cannot be there, He already is!
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