Pastor Curt's Sermies

Down-time

2010-01-27T00:46:00.004-05:00

Last post June 29th, wow. Actually that date is very significant. Especially when it is seen as a contributor as to why it has been so long since my last post. You see, as I have mentioned in blogs past, I work for Verizon Communications as a Central Office Technician. I can say upfront that I am very thankful for my job, it's pay and benefits so I certainly won't use this space to complain about that. Now concerning that date ..... In the months leading up to that point in time Verizon announced that it would be spinning off 13 wireline states, of which West Virginia was one, in fact it would be the most wholistically spun off. These 13 states would be spun off by May 2010 and operate independently, in essence they would become a 'Baby Bell.' North Central would be their designation, I know... they could have come up with something better than that. Doesn't really make sense because some of the 'Spinco' is in California! This Spinco would operate autonomously for two months and then be absorbed by Frontier Communications. Anyway, tension and speculation would abound until all union personnel w/ over 30 years (retirement eligible) were worked into a frenzy about losing everything, pension, benefits, pay, etc. So they all retired ........ I mean every one of them! Which was roughly half of our work force!! May I say that we were at minimum staffing levels before June 29th! June 30th was their last day and that began a period of unreal workload and overtime, the likes of which I had never seen. I actually worked more overtime in 2009 than I had in the 4 maybe 5 years prior. It was daylight to dark, fastfood, etc., I actually worked so late on at least two occassions that driving home and driving back in the morning would have only left a two hour nap so I elected to sleep on the couch in my office.

At some point through it all my little girl actually asked my wife, "Has daddy forgotten where we live." I went as hard as I could go for 3 months and then on October 8th I went into the hospital to have my knee replaced! I went from wide slam open to shut completely down in one day! I had one of the country's best surgeons, Timothy Krimchek- Cincinnati Reds Orthopedic Surgeon, stayed at a brand new hospital at West Chester, began therapy the day after I got home from the hospital at the Bellefonte Vitality Center and pushed everything as hard as I could. So much so that the therapists told me that my motion and strength recovery was probably the best they had ever seen. Now I'll be honest, I pushed it very hard because I wanted the best possible outcome but I'm fairly certain that there were times when the therapist was trying to make me cry in front of all the other people in the Vitality Center! When you bend something as far as it will go!!! Then don't bend it any further!!!!!! Or when your knee won't straighten completely out then don't stand up and lean on it!!!!!! Well you'll be glad to know that I never shed a tear, I did think about it a time or three but the most they would get out of me was some squirming or an awkward grunting noise. I say that with only a little humor but all things considered the staff there was great.

What I really want to focus on is my time off. I was off work for three months and naturally the first month I really couldn't do much at all except sit in the chair, ok eat in the chair ....sleep in the chair, as a matter of fact I rarely left the recliner. For surgery number 11 it was the most difficult yet, couldn't sleep through the night for the first 6 weeks, etc. etc. but what was wonderful was getting up every day and sitting in my recliner dirnking a cup of coffee and watching my sleepy eyed little girl walk around the corner with a grin and have her climb up in my lap to watch some morning cartoons. When I got far enough along to be able to take care of both of us I told my mother and mother-in-law we wouldn't need them to babysit for awhile and Jaden and I spent almost every day together when my wife went to work. I watched Spongebob and Phineas and Ferb marathons till I couldn't tell you what sports season it was and we played every game she ever had I think and at night she usually fell asleep in my arms. We were counting down the days until I went back to work and savored every moment that God gave us together. When I did go back to work I fell into the same routine of 12 - 16 hours days and once again was hardly ever home and family time was lost once again. Then as fate would have it I had need of another surgery, I know if I was a horse they would shoot me, seems an umbilical hernia doc said could have been a pin-hole from birth and it was just time. Listen I can't take much more, anyway I'm now off again going back to work Monday and have been able to enjoy some of that downtime with family once again and it reminded me of all the time spent at home earlier and it made me thankful all over again. I just wish I could figure out a way to have it without going under the knife! I work out and exercise I just should have taken better care of myself when I was younger but I wouldn't have listened then if you would have told me anyway. Oh well!

Hopefully you have some downtime with your family and can enjoy the blessings of God with them and hopefully it is without the necessity of a surgical procedure. :) I think God will intervene at times to create some space in life to enjoy our families and that we should foster and encourage this time truly well spent after all He is the one who established the 'family' and He knows full well the importance of it to ones well-being. I also believe there is a part of this that must be undertaken by us as individuals to stop hanging out with the guys or gals, climbing the corporate ladder or padding our bank accounts or resumes' and spend quality time with our husbands and wives, sons and daughters, moms and dads while we still have opportunity. Some of the most profound words in the Bible were spoken by James, "What is our life? It is but a vapor, there for but a little while then it is gone."

'Him-prints', Teaching Pastor Yearly Report

2009-06-29T17:57:00.001-04:00

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

Life-Cycles

2009-04-23T09:31:00.015-04:00

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!

Perspective

2009-03-15T00:26:00.004-04:00

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!

Giving Thanks

2008-11-20T08:27:00.014-05:00

Thanksgiving is fast approaching! As a matter of fact families and groups, Sunday School classes and such are having turkey dinners this week. I have a dinner tonight with my family as well and will probably have another turkey dinner next week. Immediately following 'turkey day' we throw ourselves full tilt into the Christmas shopping season on BLACK FRIDAY! What an appropriate name for this pinnacle of all shopping days. You can't give me a good enough discount to be standing in line at 5:00 am. Now I'll get up and be out in the woods during hunting season but that's different. You are there as all of God's creation awakes and you see, smell and listen to the beauty of creation, taking in all that is pure and good and undefiled by man. Compare that to the mall on BLACK FRIDAY with honking horns, people cutting line, the rudeness and the attitudes, commercialism of a Holi-day and well there is no comparison is there?

We don't take the time to give thanks as we should. Thanksgiving needs to have it's season, like Christmas and Easter, not just a day of gluttony. We prepare for the turkey dinners and football games knowing full well that before the leftovers are gone we'll be in Christmas mode and far too often not for the right reasons. As Christians we often find ourselves not only 'in' the world but 'of'' it as well. May I challenge you to take time this year to truly take an assesment of your lives and give thanks to the God who so graciously has given it to you. Take some time to look back upon this year and take inventory of the Godly gifts you have received and give thanks to Him.

While I do have a great many blessings from God in my life I would like to share one that has made this year one to remember. I am thankful that God provided a way and the time to travel on a Pastor's Work & Witness mission trip to Costa Rica to show the Jesus Film in October. Please don't visualize the resorts and sandy beaches of those Costa Rican Holiday vacations that we are used to seeing on TV for they are there exclusively for you and there is nothing like them inland where poverty is the law of the land and their income is pennies on the dollar compared to ours. I am thankful for those who were obedient to God's lead in using their gifts to make it possible for me to go and for the adjustments made at my place of secular employment in scheduling which allowed me to go as well.

I am thankful for the Nazarene mission, La Finca, in San Jose and for the outdoor toilets and the cold water showers. I am thankful for the sweltering heat that kept us perspiring from the time we opened our eyes in the morning until they were closed at night once we traveled to Liberia. I am thankful for the simple meals prepared graciously with love and for the complete exhaustion that came at the close of every day. I am thankful for the misquitos that I spent the first ten minutes killing in my room in which I slept. I am thankful for the spiders that were in the corners of the bedroom and the bathroom. I am thankful for the red ants who had an assembly line working from a window in the bathroom, across the shower door and into the wall. I am thankful for the bugs that roamed around in the living room and for the lizard that would occassionally scurry across the living room wall. I'm also thankful for whatever it was that woke me from my sleep trying to burrow between me and the mattress that last night.

I'm thankful for the Costa Rican family that I stayed with and for the fact that they spoke no English and I no Spanish. I'm thankful that because of this we would sit on the couch and look at their family photo albums and practice our English/Spanish vocabulary. I'm also thankful that on the last night the wife, who was the spiritual lead in the family, and her two daughters and I sat up with our Bibles and communicated by sending each other to different passages of scripture, bridging the communication gaps with the Word of God. I am thankful for the tears shed as we parted ways and for the hurt in my heart for the brothers and sisters that I'll have to wait till we arrive in Heaven to see again.

I'm uncertain where you'll read this from but if you are in the United States of America you must guard against the fact that we are cursed with blessings. Many will spend more for Christmas than most families on this planet will make this year and we'll throw away more food this Thanksgiving than most families of four will eat in November. So give thanks for the life you have been given and for those you are blessed to share it with. Allow me to share with you a photo video of our trip and the precious souls we met along the way.

Sandcastles

2008-09-16T14:23:00.004-04:00

Tis September 16th and a beautiful, warm and sunny day. This was not the case just yesterday as the remains of hurricane Ike had converged with an eastward moving coldfront and a dip in the jetstream to bring much cooler temperatures to the Bluegrass. Even though my favorite season is Autumn with it's temps and foliage this unseasonably cool snap (upper 60's) caused my mind to wander back to our vacation at the beach! Our first with our beautiful baby girl and our first to the beach in quite some time. Taking with me the thought of winter's first chill and how suddenly the conditions changed and then returned to normal my thoughts rested on our last day at the beach.

My daughter had played in the sand, digging holes and filling them up again for days and never tired from the excitement. She liked to crawl into them and be buried up to her arms and then climb out and go rinse off to do it again. Occasionally daddy found himself or at least some part of himself covered in sand as well. We made little characters in the sand such as Spongebob and Patrick, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, and would bury toys to hide them from sight so the other could run their fingers through the sand to search them out. We had built a few small castles using the molds for walls and watchtowers purchased earlier at a nearby store.

Babygirl wanted another castle and daddy's know that what babygirl wants babygirl gets so we amassed our equipment at the crest of the beach between the dry and moist sand from the touch of mornings high tide where the sands consistency provided for a most noble building site. Babygirl shoveled while daddy built the walls and embankments, towers on every corner and at strategic locations throughout the kingdom. Building progressed on a scale which had not yet been seen, at least for us on our weeks vacation, areas of residence began to emerge seperated by vast courtyards and public squares. Central places for nobility began to materialize with temple sites for worship and suddenly I realized I was constructing the 'old city' from map # 7 in the back of my Bible! Nonetheless, with the construction of a large moat the kingdom was complete. The scope of this undertaking received compliments from beachgoers and the moat was of such size that my daughter had to step across it's span carefully into the main approach to the castle where once inside she could walk up and down it's walkways and into the courtyard's and living areas with a smile on her face and an occassional giggle from the overwhelming excitement. I suppose it was close to two hours in making and we loved every minute of it and it is a special 'first' memory I shall never forget.

The reason my mind went to this place in time is because of the similarities it had with which the weather had so abruptly changed and changed back again. I began to think of our sandcastle that we focused so much time and attention on only for it to be enjoyed for about half the time it took to build it and then we were off to another adventure. Our wives and children had went on to the townhouse as my friend and I stood on the beach watching the tide come in that final afternoon. At first the moat began to fill and even divert the water from the incoming tide. Obviously this was shortlived as the tide began to encroach upon the walls of the castle and into the courtyards until finally our sandcastle was gone.

Much of our lives are spent building sandcastles in which we invest so much of our time and effort into things that will not last. Parents sacrifice their families for their climb up the corporate ladder and men and women alike find investments for their time which will have no significant return. There are times in my youth which I regret not spending with family that have gone on and a host of youthful decisions that were based upon short term goals rather than long term visions. Perhaps you can see these things in your life as well. Focus on those things which you can take with you such as the relationships in your life, relationship first with your God and then with your family. Store up your treasures in Heaven where they cannot be corrupted nor stolen nor destroyed and remember to be a part of the things that really matter because the words of James are indeed true; "This life is like a vapor, it is here just for a little while, then it vanishes away!"

Compass - Due Rest?

2008-07-14T14:15:00.015-04:00

It is Monday and I am far away from work, both mentally and physically. For a couple of days I actually haven't considered the rising gas prices nor much of the other economic turmoil our country and it's citizens are enduring. For the past few weeks all my fellow coworkers have been discussing is the seemingly impending strike that will occur when our contract expires August 5th and I haven't given it a passing thought. It would seem that the old saying, 'distance makes the heart grow fonder' can also be translated 'distance makes the heart grow stronger.' Daily life demands our constant attention and this continual focus, necessary as it is, often translates into stress and anxiety that seems to drain our energy and our strength. Many are not fortunate to take some time away from the daily grind and I am certainly thankful that we are occasionally able to do so.

As I type, this is my view, perched a few meters above a grass covered sand dune dotted with old wooden picket and wire fences. The steady ocean breeze with the crash of the waves plays a symphony upon the seashore. Saturday we loaded our car with a weeks worth of clothing and household items and set out with our baby girl for a summer beach vacation. While all of life's priorities will still demand our attention, for just a little while my internal mariner's compass is pointing 'due rest' and relaxation.

While there are many whose lives require a much greater sacrifice than others, no matter who you are there is a point where you will need to rest. Our mortal bodies must find their rest daily and they let us know when that time comes as our eyes become heavy with sleep. If you go days on end without heeding your bodies signals for sleep there will come a time when it will exercise it's authority over your will and begin to shut itself down to rejuvenate. God gave us a pattern Himself, six days for work and then a day of rest. Please don't overlook the fact that the Sabbath as a day of rest is also a holy day of worship. As sleep rejuvenates the mortal man worship rejuvenates the spiritual man. Those who ignore God's call to worship find themselves getting weaker and weaker, spiritually.

Focus with me for a moment on our periods of rest or vacations. My friend, his son and myself spent a few hours yesterday in the surf off Carolina Beach, NC. I'm not sure exactly what it is that makes people wade out to be pummeled by the waves but whatever it is it seems to be universal because everyone does it. We were no exception either, jumping or diving into the waves with some strange sense of accomplishment only to be blindsided by the next one, which is always bigger, and being driven like a ragdoll into the sand below!

The picture I've shared with you shows the beauty and also conveys a sense of fun, peace, serenity, rest and relaxation but there is also a great spiritual representation in this picture. Wherever we go for our rest, whether daily, weekly or yearly, we must always be aware that our enemy never sleeps for he needs no rest or rejuvenation. The enemy of our souls was created an eternal being and he is constantly watching us for moments of weakness or complacency when our guard will be down. This is cause for concern for those Christians who have been away for some time. Away from worship, away from fellowship with the Church and away from fellowship with God their maker.

If you look closely in the center of the picture you will see a lifeguard tower and on that tower you will see a red flag. What this flag represents is something that you can in no way determine by what your eyes tell you. Miles out to sea there is a hurricane named Bertha who is not presenting any danger to the North Carolina coast but even though there is no chance of landfall she is still making her presence known. That red flag is there to warn swimmers that there is a very dangerous and potentially deadly undertow and rip-current just off-shore. If you venture out too far you will be fighting against a force that you cannot see that is trying to drag you out much further than you want to go. This my friend, his son and I know first hand. We all got caught in the speed and power of it's pull and could not resist the force drawing us out into deeper waters. He got behind his son and would push him on breaking waves as I worked ahead to pull him to shore. Needless to say it was a little frightening and exhausting but the key is to not panic and angle with the current to shore. If you should find yourself unable to break free signal to shore and call out to the lifeguard.

In life we often find ourselves searching for some time away with family or friends or perhaps just some time alone. Sometimes for a little while, sometimes for a long while. Whether we drive for a day or vacation in place always pay attention to the warning signs that God places in prominent places for us to see. They are there for a reason whether we perceive any potential danger or not. God sees what we do not and knows something that He wants us to watch out for so He places 'red flags' in our lives for our own good. So enjoy your rest and time away but be vigilant and heed His warnings lest the current takes you out much further than you want to go!

Blessings! Pastor Curt

Password Please

2008-05-25T22:07:00.010-04:00

Over the past 6-8 months I've been going through a new phase in my life. Acknowledging that we all must endure these times in our lives in which we make new discoveries about ourselves. For instance, sometimes we'll try a new sport or pick up a new hobby and really be surprised at just how much we enjoy the activity. So much so that we are even disappointed that we didn't try it earlier in life.

There are, however, times when we make these discoveries and well, quite honestly, we could have done without them. We would have been perfectly fine if they would have remained undiscovered. Alas, this would be the category where my recent discovery would be found.

I've been having the re-occurring problem of forgetting certain passwords that I have 'to do life' with shall we say. Actually it was probably not certain passwords but rather completely random with no discernable or predictable pattern and any and all passwords were subject to cognitive deletion. Immediately I attributed this to my recent glance into the rear view mirror at the number 40 and it wasn't on an interstate or highway sign. Then I began considering that perhaps it wasn't my memory that was at fault but the sheer volume I was being asked to instantly process. Perhaps my RAM simply wasn't large enough!

Now consider this with me. I know that we all have pin numbers and passwords and for the most part we all use certain names, numbers, dates, pets or places of significance with a variety of combinations to have any hope of remembering over a few that are frequently employed. When our 'life systems' increase in number and in security level we are often asked by the hosts of those systems to periodically change our password for added security, thank you for caring! Now this in turn increases the storage space needed in our precious gray/grey matter to store these multiple codes and any ingenious pettern we have devised for quicker recall.

What was happening with me was repeated calls to have passwords reset. Which was, needless to say, a little embarrasing. Especially when I thought one lady answered the phone and said ,"Is this you again Mr Skeens?" She denied it but I'm still suspicious. You run the list of security questions; your mother's maiden name, childrens birthday's, dogs favorite chew toy, who knows. I was getting so flustered that I was starting to get those wrong! Until I finally had enough and found a very secure way and place to record and secure ALL of my passwords and logins. I began compiling my list. Now imagine a typical amount someone might have say an even dozen, I don't know. Now factor in ministry associated security items and that I work for a major telecommunications company and consider the reality that they possess and I interact with a large amount of systems and technologies and their respective softwares. Here is where my list stands at today. It is nearly finished with perhaps a few other systems to add in the near future that I simply haven't worked with since I began the list. MY PASSWORD AND LOGIN LIST HAS 50 ENTRIES!!!!! OR YOU CAN MAKE IT WORSE AND SEPERATE THE PASSWORDS FROM THE LOGINS AND MAKE IT AN EVEN C-NOTE!!!!!!!

Now that is simply ludicrous. No wonder I couldn't remember the stupid passwords when I'd be asked on a phone call once a year or just prior to being locked out of a rarely visited website! I asked one security lady with our company if we could just go to a retinal eye scan and be done with it! She just laughed, I was serious! Well, you'll be glad to know that my list seems to be working for now with only one recent password reset that I'll consider an anomally for now.

Aren't you glad that God doesn't require us to memorize some exhaustive list of do's and dont's!? You know in ages past men and women in Israel considered the Torah or the Pentateuch or the 5 books of Moses to contain 613 Mitzvot or Biblical commandments within the text of the Mosaic Law! Now the religious rulers of the day said that these needed to be kept to the letter so we could say they expected you to have them memorized! Talk about a list!!!!! There were said to be 365 negative commandments, ,one for each day of the solar year and 248 positive commandments said to ascribe to the number of bones and significant organs in the body. My knee is hurting! The way this list is broken down and understood goes on and on and on.

You know there are people today with good intentions who would read you a list of things you should and shouldn't do before you come to God and then another list of things you should and shouldn't do after coming to God. Paul told the church in Rome that if they "confess with their mouths the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in their hearts that God had raised Him from the dead that they would be saved. (period) So just come to God and let Him worry about the rest. Granted there is some simplification there but your sincere obedience to Him and His Holy Spirit will enable you to know those things which would hinder and help you subsequent to salvation. Continue in His Holy Word as it is His love letter to you and in the fellowship of a local body of believers as they are fellow travelers with you on your way to New Jerusalem. How does the old song go? "Little is much when God is in it, labor not for wealth or fame, there's a crown and you can win it if you go in Jesus name." Don't make the most wonderful relationship you have ever known difficult to attain or sustain by seeing it through legalistic eyes. You've already had too many spiritual resets. It's time for fellowship, It's time for fruit.

Blessings, Pastor Curt

Groundhog Season!

2008-03-31T00:33:00.000-04:00

I found myself recently motivated to do a little research which in turn led me to groundhog.org which is apparently one of the few 'official' sites for Punxsutawney Phil. It would seem that the groundhog day tradition stems from beliefs associated with Candlemas Day in which clergy would bless candles and distribute them to people marking a milestone in the Winter season.
An old English song goes;

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go Winter, and come not again.

Presumably, Roman legions brought this tradition to the Germans who concluded that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day (Feb 2nd) and the European hedgehog would cast a shadow, you guessed it, six more weeks of winter! Some of Pennsylvania's earliest settlers were Germans and indeed found a striking resemblance between the North American groundhog and their beloved hedgehog. There you have it!.

Fast forward to Feb 2nd, 2008 at sunrise when from atop Gobbler's Knob Punxsutawney Phil uttered these fateful words, "As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me. Six more weeks of Winter it will be!"

Okay, here's my question. Who in the world gave this groundhog the authority to declare 6 more weeks of Winter!!! He's living high and mighty like no other groundhog, or hedgehog for that matter, ever has before. Warm and cozy with the best groundhog food money can buy. Not a care in the world I'm telling you lest there would be a groundhog season in good old Pennsylvania. Then old Phil wouldn't be so quick to come out of his box to look for his shadow would he and we would have a reprieve from the blustery cold of Winter's chill.

Does this forecast ever occur in you spiritual life and cause you to wish for a 'groundhog season?' Just when you think you're finally over something or you're about to experience a breakthrough out comes your 'Phil' and declares more Winter is yet to come. We often get discouraged in our Winters with the isolation and dreary gray days but I believe that if our Winters were as short as we wanted them to be then our Springs, Summers and Autumns wouldn't be quite as special.

Solomon said, "To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under Heaven!"
I imagine that if you read Ecclesiastes 3 v1-8 you'll likely find your season listed as well but take heart for in whatever state you find yourself, give thanks and remember that this too shall pass!

Blessings! Pastor Curt

Your Mailbox is Getting Full!

2008-03-17T11:54:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you but I need to take a moment away from a typical Monday morning from Verizon. (I'm bi-vocational) Perhaps you have these days when you'll begin your week with the best of intentions and it seems to be one thing after another accumulating in your stress and frustration inbox! We all have become aware that when our mailbox gets too full we need to 'delete' some items in order to make room for the new, else certain messages that we would really want to receive will 'bounce' because there is no room in the inn, oops inbox.
Many times we simply have to react to what is coming at us in life. Obviously it is only to a very small degree that we can choose what we receive. It is however to a great extent that we can choose what we save! It is imperitive for Christians to keep a close eye managing their mailbox. Their lives will be influenced by what they CHOOSE to save and DELETE. Even with blocks and filters messages will hit your inbox that you could have done without and often would have preferred not to have known at all. Far too often we create new folders to keep things that we think we'll need to access in the future, often for the wrong reasons and clearly with the wrong intent.
So sit back and take a deep breath and lets do a little mailbox management. Go ahead, don't be afraid to delete some of the junkmail that is taking up valuable space in your mailbox! Make some room for God to send His blessings to your innbox! Don't worry about pressing delete, you'll be receiving more in the future and don't even get me started on SPAM!

Blessings! Pastor Curt