Monthly Archives: October 2015

One Word Photo Challenge: Autumn

Posted on by under C.cada: Arts and Stuff, For Family & Fun, Photography

Jennifer has challenged us to show our readers autumn with our photos.

You can see lots of fallish photos by clicking the link above.

Here in New England we just passed Columbus Day (which in Massachusets is a statewide day off). It is one of the last days for outdoor activity here in the North East from here on out we are preparing for and expecting winter.

That being said, Amanda (my oldest daughter) , Brenda (my sister) and I took a ride north to do the quintessential Yankee activity on Columbus Day. We went leaf-peeping.

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This is the river between Chesterfield and Brattleboro VT.
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The Westminster Baptist Church, Westminster MA
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We went as far as Bellows Falls Vt. and the world famous Vermont Country Store.
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Enjoy the autumn everyone. Snow will be flying soon enough!

Jealousy Demanding As the Grave Pt. 1

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

Cornerstone Church in Winchendon is doing a study through the book, Good or God by John Bevere. The comments of our Sunday morning sermons have been loosely based off this work for the last three weeks. Our lead Pastor has been away for a few weeks with family and that has given me the opportunity to share from the pulpit.

Here is the beginning of last Sunday’s sermon, “Jealousy Demanding As the Grave.”

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Death is a powerful force. If you do not believe that just ask anyone who has had truck with it this year. It is called in 1 Corinthians 15, “the final enemy”. Many families in our congregation have confronted this  enemy in the year 2015 and have fresh knowledge of just how devastating a meet up with this monster can be. It takes one life and crushes an entire group of people.

But today I have good news! Death may be a powerful force but the Lord Jesus Christ is even more powerful! Death may be mighty but the love of God is mightier still!

Listen to what the Bible has to say in this regard:

love is as strong as death,

its jealousyc as enduring as the grave.d

Love flashes like fire,

the brightest kind of flame.

7Many waters cannot quench love,

nor can rivers drown it.

Song 8:6,7

Do you know that God loves you?

I mean do you know that God really loves you?

I mean do you know that God is passionately crazy about you?

Last week I shared a hard word (Saulish Worship) this week I am sharing the balance to that word. I am sharing “the sweet words of faith.”

God loves you! In the Psalms He calls you the apple of His eye. You are like the pupil of God’s eye, the first one He will raise His hand instinctively to protect. That is why He sent Jesus to die in your place because He was trying to instinctively protect you. Jesus died so that you can have life. All you have to do us accept His death on the cross and follow God out of the danger sin creates.

How does a person follow God out of the danger sin creates?

More tomorrow…

Pastor Wrinkles Quips & Quotes

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

Hey there folks! Here is a new challenge for all my Sunday readers. Every Sunday I will post one quip or quote that struck me during the week. You can join along in the quipping and quoting. Here is what to do.

Publish a post of your own using one quip or quote that grabbed you during the week. You can add a picture to it if you like or even photograph the quote from it’s source.

Link back to my post

You can include the Pastor Wrinkle’s Q& Q photo in your post if you think my mug worthy of your blog.

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"The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest of men and women with smallest minds. Think big anyway." Rev. Barry Risto

“The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.” Rev. Barry Risto

Saulish Worship Pt. 6

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

We have been having a lively discussion about holiness over the last week.

If you missed any part of our convo you can join it…

HERE

HERE

HERE

HERE

OR HERE

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Yesterday I asked you to explain the differences between King Saul’s heart and King David’s heart…

Here are some of the differences I see…

Saul started from a standpoint of blessing and worshipped God after his own plan disobeying God and brought a curse.

David started from the standpoint of a curse and worshipped God the way God commanded in obedience and brought a blessing.

Both David and Saul worshipped. Both David and Saul sacrificed sheep and oxen as their style of worship. If  they had been worshipping today they would have sung the same songs; But Saul worshipped his own way. David worshipped God’s way. Saul worshipped in a way that benefitted himself and made him comfortable. David worshipped in a way that cost him personally. Saul gained personally in his style of worship. David sacrificed personally in God’s worship. David was one of the faithful. Saul was one of the unfaithful. David was one whom God approved. Saul was one whom God said, “I never knew you. Depart from me you evil doer.”

It all came down to obedience. Saul wasn’t supposed to offer a sacrifice on an altar he was supposed to offer a sacrifice on the battlefield. David wasn’t supposed top offer a sacrifice on the battlefield he was supposed to offer a sacrifice on the altar. In the end David ended up doing the will of the Lord and was approved. Saul ended up disobeying and even his sacrifices of worship were thrown out.

Christianity is not about us worshipping God in a way that is comfortable to us. It is about God period. When we focus on God in our worship and obey God in our Christianity then He takes care of us. But when we focus on ourselves and make our worship about our fullness and make our obedience to God conditional on our comfort then we block His care and we end up with lack.

We received a prophetic message last week in church  that reminded us everything we needed was supplied in the cross.

You may say, “Pastor J I cannot be faithful. It is too hard.”

Brother, Sister your faithfulness was provided for in the cross. It is not a condition of your salvation. It is a provision of your salvation, but it is a provision you must make use of.

The saved are obedient because they can be and because they must be.

Here is the good news obedience is possible for you. If you have accepted Christ he has provided not just forgiveness for you but the power to be obedient. I am here today to tell you that if you have not used the power to obey up until today you can begin using it today. And you must use it today. Receiving grace is only done when we receive forgiveness and the power to change. Jesus is still supplying the power and He wants you to call on the power to be holy even more than you want to call on it yourself.

He desperately wants to say to you, “Child I know you enter into my joy and be blessed for the righteousness I poured into you.”

Today maybe you have said yes to Jesus and you have asked and received His forgiveness for your sins. But perhaps there is still some sin in your life that you are struggling with that you are afraid might cause you to be called, by God, a worker of iniquity. Today the power for victory lies before you and just like you received forgiveness you can receive holiness and power to overcome your sin. If you need that power in any area of your life would you pray this pray with me?

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus I thank you for the forgiveness for my sins. I receive it right now and admit I need it; But I know grace is about more than just forgiveness it is about power to change. So Jesus come to me. I receive all of your grace today. I receive forgiveness and I receive the power to change. Thank you that from this moment on I am going to begin to change. A-men!

 

My Happy Place

Posted on by under Photography

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Happy Place.”

You can check out lots of happy places by clicking the underlined link above. I have a few happy places myself.

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For restoring peace and calm there is nothing like the salt breeze and the gentle rocking of the ocean waves.

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But if the ocean’s out of reach sunset in the mountains will do just fine to calm my agitated soul.

Endless Sky

Even a walk through an open meadow will do the trick.

I guess the key is peace and quiet and really that can be found anywhere as long as you can find your Center and get down into It…

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You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You Isaiah 26:3

Saulish Worship Pt. 5

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

We have been discussing the heart that is acceptable to God over the last several days.

If you have missed any of the conversation you can find it…

HERE

HERE

HERE

AND HERE

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Yesterday we discussed the heart that was unacceptable to God and worship that was unacceptable to God by using an illustration from I Samuel 15

This is an example of Saulish worship. God gave a command. That command was, “Destroy everything.”

Saul reinterpreted that to mean “Destroy everything but those things you find useful.”

Then he compromised and said, “Well I won’t do what the Lord said to do but I will worship just after my own fashion. That will be good enough. God’s way costs too much. God’s way is too hard. So I have a better way. I am still going to worship God but I am going to do it in a way that makes me comfortable, a way that benefits me as well as God. God gets some of His way and I get some of mine.”

I believe this is the mindset that those on the day of judgment in Matthew 7 will hold (see Saulish Worship Pt. 1). They will worship God according to their way. Jesus says they do not do the will of the father even though they worship and serve. They are like Saul worshipping God but only in the way that makes them comfortable.

In contrast there is another story from 2 Samuel 24 of How David, the King after Saul, worshipped.

 “David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”

11 Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer: 12 “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”

13 So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come on you three[b] years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”

14 David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

15 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16 When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

17 When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd,[c] have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.”

18 On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. 20 When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground.

21 Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”

“To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.”

22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. 23 Your Majesty, Araunah[d] gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.”

24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels[e] of silver for them. 25 David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.”. 2 Samuel 24:10-25

What differences do you see between David and Saul?

A Photo A Week Challenge: Crowd Control

Posted on by under Photography

This week Nancy has asked us to show her CROWDS OF PEOPLE UNDER CONTROL

Check out the underlined link to see crowds from around the globe.

The church majors in crowds…

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whether its eyes forward hands raised in worship.

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Or the organized chaos of VBS. For us crowd control is about bringing a message that grabs the attention and holds people not for twenty minutes or an hour but for all eternity.

Saulish Worship Pt. 4

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

Once again we are launching into a conversation on holiness and the type of worship God accepts.

If you have missed the previous postings of our conversation they can be found…

HERE

HERE

AND HERE

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In our previous discussions we have established that Grace isn’t just about forgiveness. It is about change. I am afraid while many are on board with the forgiveness part they are not on board with the change part.

There are two illustrations from the Old Testament that help us understand this mindset which is unacceptable to God and the mindset He desires us to have. Today I will share the first illustration. This  is the story of two kings…

I Samuel 15

1Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. 2This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroya all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’ ”

4So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. 5Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. 6Then he said to the Kenites, “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.

7Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt. 8He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calvesb and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

10Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11“I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

12Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”

13When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”

14But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”

15Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”

16“Enough!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

“Tell me,” Saul replied.

17Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ 19Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”

20“But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

22But Samuel replied:

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as in obeying the Lord?

To obey is better than sacrifice,

and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

23For rebellion is like the sin of divination,

and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

he has rejected you as king.”

What are your thoughts as you read this passage? What do you see in Saul?