I think we all struggle from time-to-time with attachment to this world. There is so much that we see, taste, touch and feel that we sense to compulsion to fall in love with the temporal and forget about the eternal. After all, the world that God created is beautiful in so many different ways and He did create it for us to enjoy. The danger comes when we fall in love with the creation instead of the Creator.

Yes, the creation was given for us to enjoy, but ultimately it was for the glory God. The world was given to reveal God to us (cf. Romans 1:20) and once God was revealed then we are responsible to respond to that revelation and honor God. The problem comes when we become so enthralled with the created thing that the Creator becomes secondary to our appreciation, or, even more tragically, is completely forgotten. That is the perversion of creation.

Yes, we pervert the world when we turn it into something that God never intended it to be. Paul clearly expressed this in Romans 1:

²¹For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

It may also be surprising to discover that this is not what creation longs for. It doesn’t want the attention we have been giving it. It doesn’t want to be perverted to the point of worship. Notice how Scripture puts it:

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. (Romans 8:22)

The world is crying out in pain to be release from the curse of sin that Adam caused through his disobedience to God.

I hope it makes you think…God created the world with an order and that order clearly points to His majestic beauty. God is truly a Grand Canyon God! Let’s not get it mixed up.

Grace & Peace, Scott

If you are a believer you have found that living in this world is no picnic (at least it shouldn’t be). The world is no friend of grace. It is repulsed at our doctrine and recoils at our Christian response to events. They are okay with us as long as we “go with the flow.” It is when we are swimming against the current that they are bothered and put out by us. Some believers have accepted this and continue in their plodding toward the kingdom while others have given in to the pressure of the world and have turned around to get along with the world’s ways and their way of thinking. Why do we do this? (Because we all do to some extent or at one time or the other.)

I believe the answer lies in the fact that we have grown tired of the struggle. Our expectations have changed. The enthusiasm has worn off for going at it God’s way. We reason that God should let up and give us a vacation from the pressure the world is putting on our lives.

A writer of Scripture that reminds me of this is Jeremiah. Now if anybody had reason to throw in the proverbial towel on following God it would have been him. After all, we call him the “weeping prophet.” He struggled with what God was up to and even questioned the Almighty. One particular passage that comes to mind is Jeremiah 12:1-4. In this passage he is questioning the justice of God. His question (v. 1) is good, “Why does the way of the wicked prosper?” Good question, but God’s answer (v. 5) is better, “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses?” God was saying in essence, “If you think you got it tough now, what are you going to do when the pressure is really turned on?”

God’s answer is a statement about endurance…about the long haul. Friedrich Nietzsche got it when he wrote, “The essential thing in heaven and earth is…that there should be a long obedience in the same direction.” This “long obedience” will be difficult in a world that bombards us with fast food, thirty-second commercials, microwave popcorn, and GPS shortcuts. But endurance in the Christian is absolutely essential. Fortunately the Bible is full of instructions on how we can make it on this tough faith journey. All we have to do is crack open God’s Word and meditate on His roadmap for our lives.

Grace & Peace, Scott

Last Sunday I preached the final message from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. He eloquently and appropriately ended His teaching with an illustration about two builders. One builder He calls “wise” because he not only hears the words of Jesus but he also puts them into practice. The other builder is not so fortunate…Jesus labels him a “fool” because he hears his words but refuses to practice them. I want to stress three points about this illustration and then I’ll give the Sermon on the Mount a rest for a little while.

First, it all swings on obedience. When Jesus observes that one builder “Hears these words of mind and does them” while the other “hears these words of mind and does not do them” He is referring back to the entire teaching He presented in Matthew 5-7. He is saying that hearing is not enough; just hearing leaves us better informed, but not changed. The aim of God’s truth is to change us, not make us smarter. James echoes this in his letter to the scattered and embittered believing Jews of his time:

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22)

Second, storms will crash into our lives. Jesus is specific, He speaks as straightforward and honest as He can, “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house” (cf. Matthew 7:27). Calamities are an inevitable part of human existence…we cannot escape them. The storm that hits you may not necessarily be like anyone else’s. But you can bet the farm on the fact that storms will come. According to Jesus, only those who have built their lives in obedience to the norms of the kingdom (i.e., Matthew 5-7) will survive.

Third, eternity is at stake. Some who read this may be thinking, “So what.” That is the prevalent attitude in the world today and I am afraid it is also the prevailing attitude in the church. Now, good, church-going, giving, people may not verbally say this, but it is expressed in their nonchalant, ho-hum attitude toward the life Jesus teaches about in the Sermon on the Mount. We must come to grips with the consequences Jesus is teaching about. On one hand, some people’s houses (i.e., their lives) will stand in spite of being hit by torrential problems. He is saying that those lives will make it into heaven in the end. On the other hand, other’s houses will fall (and it will be a great fall), meaning that they will face eternity without God (cf. Matthew 7:19, 23).

Grace & Peace, Scott

Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose. (Proverbs 18:21 NIV)

I just finished reading a book on communication titled War of Words by Paul Tripp. It is an excellent book that I recommend everyone take the time to read. I have never come across a more detailed biblical treatment of communication. In the first part of the book he deals with where the struggle with words comes from

Many of the problems we experience when talking with one another emerge from the fact that we have usurped the authority of God: We say what we want to say, when and how we want to say it. We speak as if we are in charge and as if we have the right to use words to advance our purpose, and to achieve what would make us happy (pp. 20-21).

Words are powerful. We have the ability and freedom to choose when it comes to words. We can choose to use our words as weapons to destroy our “enemy” or we can choose to use them as loving building blocks shoring up another person’s insecurities. And there are all kinds of avenues through which we can use our words…

1. Verbal: This is what we say to each other. It’s the stuff of everyday life. Verbal communication is something that is unavoidable. It is almost impossible to make it through any day without saying something to somebody (unless we are trapped alone on a deserted island).

2. Written: The unique thing about writing is that you can edit. This is so cool! I write about 4,500 words a week. I remember writing papers in college and seminary all the while dreaming of the day when I would be released from the “writing prison” and enter ministry. Boy was I fooled. I have come to love writing, but just wish someone would read my words.

3. Body Language: A very powerful way we communicate is often through what is not said but the way our body says what we say. Are our arms folded? What is the expression on our face? Do we maintain eye contact? Often we communicate detachment just by the way we present ourselves to somebody. An important key I have learned over the years is to be genuine when I ask about how someone is doing. I have to consciously tell myself to stop, look the person in the eye, sit down if they are sitting, and shut my mouth when they are telling me about how they are doing.

Use your words wisely, here’s talking with ya!

Grace & Peace, Scott

Have you ever lost it with your words? We all have. We’ve all had those moments when we wish we could take back what we said, and it usually happens with the people we love the most. I’m not absolutely sure why this is, but I suspect that it has something to do with the comfort we experience with those closest to us.

Something happened the other day that caused me great anguish and illustrates the point I want to make. We had just returned from a wonderful vacation and it was Friday. Now every Friday I do the yard work, wash a vehicle, and then run. Usually by the time I am finishing up washing the vehicle I am pretty exhausted. I was just about to dry the Expedition when Abby and Barb came out to go to the orthodontist. This is where it gets dicey…Abby was maneuvering her car out of the driveway and I was in the way. After about her 6^th attempt to back around me I blew up and finally moved the car I was washing, but I let both my daughter and wife know it was an inconvenience to me because it was an interruption to my work. I was telling myself as they backed out of the driveway: “Hey, it’s my driveway.” “I’ve been out in the hot sun all day working.” “Why couldn’t the appointment been five minutes later?” “I do all this for them.” They could tell I was angry by my words and actions. They left and I fumed. Immediately after they were gone I began to debate with myself. I justified my angry words and actions, but then I felt foolish and embarrassed. At the end of the self-debate I emerged victorious (I always win the debates I have with myself)!

After the cleaning of the vehicle ritual was done I got myself ready to run. As I walked outside Barb and Abby came home. All three of us were making apologies, but I was the one who needed forgiveness. I asked them to forgive me for my anger and selfishness. I was living in the flesh and my selfishness dictated my response to them. I hate to live with unresolved conflict.

This is what Paul was getting at when he wrote that we are to “speak kind words to one another” (Ephesians 4:29, 32). If that fails he said, “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger” (Ephesians 4:26). I think Keith got it right when he said that if we don’t take care of the sin by the end of the day then it will be the first thing we think of in the morning. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to wake up every morning with anger on my mind. I want to wake up with a fresh view of God’s grace!

Grace & Peace, Scott

Something grabbed my attention in Sunday school this week. It is something that Moses said in a begging manner that was fulfilled in the “cleft of the rock” experience. Moses cried out to God in Exodus 33:28,

Show me your glory!

That really just sort of says it all for us. The glory of the Lord was the sign that God was with the Israelites; without the glory they were on their own. Moses’ cry for the visible presence of the Lord was a cry to know the Lord was with them. He just could imagine going on without know God was going to be there as well.

Let me bring this to bear on today. Imagine us doing something, anything, without the Lord’s presence. This could include getting married, raising kids, choosing a job, buying a car, retiring, moving, or, yes, relocating a church. If we undertake anything without the Lord going with us then we forfeit more than His peace and assurance; we forfeit probably the greatest thing ever, His glory…His presence. And then we are on our own.

Shout out with me to the Lord, “Show us your glory!” One of my prayers is that we will experience the blessing of God in our lives through the glory of the Lord. John Piper was right when he said, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”

I look forward to sharing in the sacred meal with you this Sunday morning. Come prepared to drink and eat to your full satisfaction of what God has done through His Son Jesus.

Grace & Peace, Scott

I am the pastor of the most amazing church! Certainly things have changed over the last three years, but one thing has remained constant: Calvary Baptist Church is the most loving and grace-filled churches God ever created! I love the fact that this has not changed because it is what makes a difference in people’s lives. God’s grace is powerful and available. It is undeserved, yet free, but not cheap. God’s grace is what encourages us to get up on those days that seem to have more problems than answers. It is what will change the world in the future and what transforms us today. God’s grace is simply amazing.

But what has been the biggest change at Calvary in the last year?

We have purchased a piece of property on the corner of Parris Bridge Road and Flatwood Road. This location will enable us to glorify God through reaching new families with His incredible grace. It is our future. In 50 more years the family members of Calvary Church will talk about the decisions we’ve made today. It is nothing short of phenomenal to think about what God has in store for the future. What we are doing today has eternal consequences. We are choosing to spend the money God has provided for us today so that it will have an impact in people’s lives that will last for eternity. We are choosing today to send our riches on ahead and not keep them here with us today hoarding them for ourselves. This follows what Jesus said,

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21 ESV)

This is the most important activity we can be involved in with the money God has graciously given us. I believe we are on the edge of seeing God move in wonderful ways. God not only asks for obedience, He expects it! If we refuse obedience then we forfeit His blessing, and we don’t want to give up the blessing of God.

Grace & Peace, Scott

Stop what you’re doing! I want everyone who reads this to take some time to think about how God has blessed you lately. I’ll wait while you think…Now I want us all to write down seven blessings that came to your mind. I’ll wait while you do that…

Now that we’ve done this, let’s take one of these blessings each day this week and get caught up in praising the Lord for blessing us so richly.

The practice of praising God is a topic we talk about but seldom practice. Yes, we know that God enjoys listening to His family thank Him for all He has done and given, but do we get so enthusiastically involved in doing praise that others will look at us like we’ve lost control? Ponder on these verses:

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17 ESV)

…The LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100:5)

I don’t believe it is enough just to know that God is good we must express our thankfulness to Him for being good to us. We must not take God for granted; we should passionately shout His goodness so others will hear that God does make a difference in our lives.

If you are reading this then you are one of the blessings I am praising God for this week. I love being a part of your life and am so thankful to God for you!

Grace & Peace, Scott

I am no expert in the arena of parenting. The problem with my fatherhood is three-fold:

1. The jury is still out on me.

2. At times I have failed as a father.

3. I am still learning how to be a good father.

But I offer some reflections that have benefited me and hope they will help others.

Being a father is tough. Too often men enter into this sacred role flippantly and with little or no preparation and that is sad. Of the many demands on our lives guys, being a dad ranks as one of the most difficult and important. Why do we spend so much time on our vocations or planning for our retirement, when raising our kids is so important? I believe we can lose a job and recover, but if we lose our kids…then what?

One of my cherished possessions in my office is a piece of cross-stitch I’ve had since 1987. It reads, Any man can be a father but it takes someone special to be a daddy! I would only add that it takes a great deal of blood, sweat, and tears as well.

Kids grow up too quickly. This is not just a worn-out phrase…it is shockingly true. Some days I long to hold my kids just one more time on my lap; I want them to wrestle with me and jump all over me again. The sad truth is that this will never happen and I have to live with that. Kids grow up, period.

Two songs that I listen to over and over are Cats in the Cradle & Watching Scotty Grow. Cats is a sad song about a dad who is too busy to spend time with his growing son. The son wants to be just like him. In the end the dad wants to spend time with his son, but his son is now too busy for his dad—“He’d grown up just like me.” Watching (a song my Mom used to sing to me) is a song about a dad spending time with his son instead of spending time chasing dreams…he just wanted to watch his boy grow up. Two good songs…two lessons learned.

There are no guarantees in raising kids. I partially agree with this, but it is no excuse for us dads to be physically present but emotionally and spiritually checked out! The principle of scripture still holds true, Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6 ESV). Men, we must be doing the training and not using the “no guarantees” excuse to get us out of our responsibility. Don’t just show up; do something to train.

I am scared…I am scared out of my skin to have my kids walk away from God and His love for them. The most security kids can have is in an eternal relationship with God, and I want to do everything I can to make sure they have that security.

Solomon wrote, The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. (Proverbs 23:24 ESV)

Grace & Peace, Scott

There was a time when I dreaded special Sundays. These days had a tendency to get me off track in a series of messages, I had trouble coming up with new material (After all how much can you say about the shepherds during advent worship?), the worship had to be different, the welcome had to be changed, and I needed to take time to make sure I recognized every special person in the service. (These were “Don’t blow it Scott” moment for me.) However, in the last three years God has changed me tremendously. I have come to slow down and take time because I’m not going anywhere and I have all the time to do God’s will in preaching. I have realized that God’s truth is unimaginably inexhaustible on any subject, and besides it is not about what I am going to say, but what God wants to say through His Word. I understand that worship is a life-style, not just music we sing on Sunday mornings. I write all of this to say that I am both scared and excited about Father’s Day this Sunday!

I am scared because I know my own failures as a father. I am still learning how to be a good father. For most of us, it is not information we lack, but a lack of doing that is our problem. I have enjoyed the fellowship of many fathers over the years and one thing remains constant: There are no perfect fathers expect One!

I am excited because this is another opportunity for me as a pastor to open God’s Word and share God’s truth about how to pass truth on to our kids. The passage I have chosen for this Sunday is Proverbs 1:8,

Hear, my son, your Father’s instruction…

We honor God as fathers when we imitate His Fatherhood in passing truth on to our children. I believe this dictates three activities:

1. We need to be talking.

2. We need to be modeling.

3. We need to be writing.

This Sunday I will broaden our vision on these three activities.

Happy Father’s Day Guys, Scott

The decision has been made! The church voted Sunday morning (6-7-09) and 88% voted to buy the property on the corner of Parris Bridge Road and Flatwood Road. Two questions have been answered so far: “What does the Lord want us to do?” (That decision was made on June 1, 2008.) “Where does the Lord want us to go?” (We decided this on Sunday, June 7, 2009.) The last major question that needs to be answered is: “When does the Lord want us to move?” We have been sensitive to listening to the voice of God thus far and now is not the time to trust ourselves.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. ⁶In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)

Now is the time to ramp up our fasting-prayer and ask God to do what only He can do. He will accomplish His will through us. We must remain faithful to do what He has called us to do and what we know He wants us to be doing right now. So what is that? Good question…

I believe God wants us to continue to honor and glorify Him. This may sound simplistic, but it is the main reason we exist as a church. His glory is the target of our existence. Both in the Old and New Testaments we read that God’s glory is what it is all about.

I believe God wants us to continue relating to each other as family. We are sisters and brothers, and how we treat each other says a great deal about how we relate to one another. God is in the process of building a sense of community in His church…we are that community of redeemed people.

I believe God wants us to live redemptively in His world. God’s grace is still amazing and is able to reach and change anyone’s life. We are His conduits of His amazing grace.

These are the things I know we should be doing. Let’s not get caught up in things that are not essential. We will be aggressively tackling the project of getting a sign up on the new property. We will be putting together a ministry team that will lay out a master plan for the new Calvary Church location. We will be involved in some planning and promoting the sale of our current home. However, in all of this let’s not lose sight of the main thing!

Grace & Peace,

Scott

As I think of this week my mind wanders (yea, races) 25 years back. On Wednesday (6-3-09) Barb and I will “somewhat” celebrate our Silver Anniversary. It staggers my mind that this much time has gone by, and I am daily amazed at one person’s consistent love for me for so long. God is not only great, but also infinitely good. Barb has been nothing but supportive over the long haul. She has willingly followed everywhere we believed God would have us go. We bought a house that probably should have been condemned and lived in 750 sq. ft. for 5 years. She has put up with me bringing home both a puppy and a boat without really talking it through. She stayed at home while the kids were growing up. She goes without needs just so the kids (including me) can have what we want. She is the epitome of what it means to be a pastor’s wife (I sincerely believe you can’t find a better one). She is kind to others, loves to read, and prefers bad conversation to good TV. Best of all, she loves Jesus with all of her heart. She truly models what it means to be God’s daughter!

I write this to let you know what I bring to the table as a pastor. There are times when people look at me and think, “He’s not much smarter than monkey hair.” But, I’ve made at least three good decisions in my life: (1) I accepted Christ when I was 15, (2) I married Barb when I was 21, and (3) I came to Calvary when I was 43. Let the good times roll!

I offer this prayer: Abba, I stand amazed at all the good things you have given me. I am especially thankful for the wife You provided. You are so wise because you gave me the woman I needed to get me through this tough world. I thank you for redeeming my life and giving me a reason to wake up each day. Father, I thank you for calling me and placing me in your church—Calvary. Help my life to be a reflection of our goodness. AMEN!

Grace & Peace,

Sunday night the deacons made a decision to move forward with recommending that Calvary purchase a piece of property for our future. This was not an easy decision to reach, but a necessary one. The Land Search Ministry Team has done a wonderful job of praying and seeking a new home for us. They have worked extremely hard and have spent many hours looking at properties. They have gone out with God’s glory and our values in mind. It has been our desire to be a neighborhood church and I believe they have found a spot that meets these criteria.

As a church, we should not desire to build a “little kingdom.” I simply want us to be a place where grace will always be found to be amazing. I want our location and buildings to be a center for radical rescue of those who are lost. It is my desire that our campus be a place where wriggling five-year-olds will be trained in righteousness and love. I want us to be a commissioning and sending church for those seeking to spread God’s fame to unreached lands.

I realize that this is hard decision and, as one deacon reminded us in a meeting recently, “It shouldn’t be easy for any of us.” I want to remind all of us that we do serve a Mighty God who has wonderful plans for us. What seems improbable and impossible is possible with Him.

This will be presented to the church body as an official recommendation this Sunday (5-24-09). We will have a family discussion about this on Sunday night, May 31, 2009 at 5:30 p.m., and we will vote on Sunday morning, June 7, 2009. I want to call the church to Fasting-Prayer over the next two weeks. The only way we are going to have the wisdom to know if this is God’s will is if we ask for it…

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:5)

I have been praying regularly that God will show us the way and that He will cause His peace to overshadow all the decisions we make in His name for His glory. I love being your pastor. Every week God’s gives me the honor of being the pastor at Calvary I count my blessings. I love you so much!

Grace & Peace,