Pastor Wrinkles: The Lenten Journey Pt. 19

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    In my meditation this morning God took me back to the first stirrings of my heart towards Him. I think I was always aware that there was something bigger than me in the universe. Even though everything around me pushed me to believe that we were just the results of billions of years of evolution I knew in my heart that there was a Divine Spark in the universe. I didn’t know what that spark was and I felt far removed from it but I knew it was there.

   Then in eighth grade Jesus began to call. I knew I was searching for God. I searched amongst the saints of the Catholic church. I wanted the closeness to God that they experienced. I thought that I could perhaps find Him if I was good enough. Then I turned to the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I studied with them for a bit and learned that only certain were chosen to be close to God and the rest should learn to settle for their lot in life and be glad of salvation.

   A teacher took me aside one day after hearing I was studying with the J.W.”s and explained to me salvation by faith alone through grace alone. I heard about a God who loved me and who actually wanted me to be close to Him and who had made the way. All I had to do was believe and receive and my life would change.

    Nothing has been the same since I entered into this sacred romance with God. I am changing. He has put me on a journey. Eternal life started the day I accepted Jesus.

As I fast this Lenten season the flames of  divine romance are being kindled into a mighty bonfire. The things that dampen my resolve and my love for Him are being removed. I am romanced by a God who is wild and orderly all at once and so far beyond my ken that I stand everyday amazed by this Lover who has come seeking me!

When was the first time you encountered the God who loved you? 

Pastor Wrinkles: Happy In the Heart Attack Pt. 1

Here is an excerpt from Pastor Wrinkles latest Sunday sermon, “Happy In the Heart Attack. Our topic for this study is learning to find peace and joy in the midst of life’s heart attacks.

Our text:

 Luke 22: 52-60 John 21: 1-22

Luke

52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs?53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”

Peter Disowns Jesus

54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”

57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.

58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”

“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.

59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”

60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.

John

21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas(also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.[c] 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them,“Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Jesus Reinstates Peter

15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter,“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him,“Follow me!”

20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”

22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return,what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”

 

More tomorrow!

Pastor Wrinkles: The Lenten Journey Pt. 18

As Joyce Meyers says, “The battlefield is the mind.”

If we can win the battle in the mind then we will win the battle.  So today’s question for meditation:

What way of thinking do you want God to change in you?  I have already addressed this in previous posts ( the” I can’t do it mindset”) so perhaps a good use of time tonight will be to address how God changes our hearts and minds. The word of God says:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer
your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true
and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his
good, pleasing and perfect will.” Rom. 12:1,2 NIV

We humans have a need to consistently re-present ourselves to God in a mind-set of sacrificial living. We must constantly ask ourselves, “What area of this life needs to be given for love of Jesus.”

Such sacrifices always seem costly at the moment but as Jesus said, ” everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in
return and will inherit eternal life.” MA 19:29 NLT

The sacrifice will drive us into prayer and study of the Word, It will bring us out of the pathway that conforms with the world’s understanding.  Our way will  no longer follow the patterns of our upbringing, our families or our friends where those patterns come into conflict with the rightly divided Word of truth.

Through this season of Lent I feel my heart being prepared by God to walk in His miracles. I feel like He has given me a story larger than myself to live in, a story many others may struggle to believe. He is changing me so that I can live in the larger story.

How is God enlarging your story this year?

Pastor Wrinkles: The Lenten Journey Pt. 17

The meditational question for this day is: What attitude are you wanting God to help you with?

One of the things I have come to during this fast is that if I am to succeed in maintaining or carrying out the vision that God has laid upon me for this year I must take responsibility for the dreams and I must not allow myself to feel overwhelmed by the dreams themselves or by the set backs that are a natural part of pursuing God’s goals.

In light of that I am seeking God for a never quit attitude and for a deeper place of patience as I remain constant in working out this part of my salvation.

“Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into
glory.
” WIlliam Barclay

 

“For  to be poised against fatality, to meet adverse conditions gracefully, is more  than simple endurance; it is an act of aggression, a positive  triumph.“
Thomas  Mann

We  really feel happier when things look bleak. Hope is endurance. Hope is holding  on and going on and trusting in the Lord.
Michael  Novak

Pastor Wrinkles: The Lenten Journey Pt. 16

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My meditation today is the same as yesterday:

 What do you want God to help you learn in life?

Again this question comes from :

http://cyndilumoon.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/survey-says/.

Yesterday I mentioned that one of the things I needed God to teach me was how to be celebratory in life and ministry.  This fast was birthed out of the Vision Quest/ Fast I took at the beginning of the year. The Lord showed me early on that If I was going to fulfill the visions He gave me during that 21 day period then I was going to require some healing change through this season of Lent.

Growing up we didn’t really celebrate much of anything. Birthdays ended when we reached the double digits (and I mean ended… age was barely acknowledged after 10). I didn’t even know what day my parents were married until I was almost twenty. I was unaware people anywhere celebrated things like anniversaries.  Christmas was an obligatory holiday observed with some malice. I can remember my sister and I would open our stockings alone and then watch television until Mom and Dad got up. As I grew I understood it was because Mom worked the holiday shift 11-7. It was logical that she would want to catch a few hours of shut-eye. It was also one of two days a year my dad took off from work.  Sleeping in made sense from an adult perspective.

I am realizing, though, that these events gave rise to a particular mindset that work is important and celebration is not only unimportant, it is frivolous. That is a stronghold  inside of me and over the last week I have felt God breaking down its doors. Celebration is not frivolous. It is a necessary part of the balanced Christian life. Richard Foster goes so far as to list it as one of the classic Christian disciplines.

I am beginning to see that my inability to celebrate will hold back the God vision for ministry and life. Reaching goals is about milestones and people need to celebrate milestones to stay motivated. I need to learn to celebrate the milestones so I can stay motivated. It is in celebration that we are affirmed. It is in celebration that we give thanks to the Lord for the miracles along the road.

This change must be intentional. God is showing me that I must schedule celebration just like I schedule work and rest and it must have a purpose.

Here’s a question for you: Do you think there is a difference  between celebration and entertainment? If so what is that difference?

Pastor Wrinkles: The Lenten Journey Pt. 15

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My meditational question for the day is: What do you want God to help you learn in life?

Again this question comes from :

http://cyndilumoon.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/survey-says/.

There are lots of things I would like to learn, but we are not talking about foreign languages and how to fix plane engines here. Flights of fancy are strictly off  the menu and the Lord didn’t point this question at me so I could figure out what major I want to be in college. Maybe the question is, “What do I need to learn in life that God alone can teach?”

God has been burdening me with two deep requests these last few days and they boil down to: being proactive and being celebratory.

 My lead pastor has a favorite saying that I have tried to embody over the decade I have worked with him. That is, “Respond. Don’t react.”

Over time I have become pretty good at this but I think God wants to take this to a new level for me. I believe He is saying “Learn to respond before you need to react.”

To be proactive is to anticipate what is coming and to be ready for it. I know we can’t see every detail of the road ahead but I feel like God is changing me to make me prepare for needs that have yet to be  stated. I think the church has to begin to plan for the needs of the future by faith and as a pastor in the universal body of Christ I have to begin modelling this behavior for the body. I believe this preparation needs to be realized in several areas:

1. In Spiritual health.

2.  In caring for the possessions God has given us

3. In setting aside a surplus so that we can give it away to others in need.

I will talk about the need to celebrate tomorrow but for now let me ask you a question… Has God been saying anything similar to any of you?

Pastor Wrinkles: And They Lived Happily Ever After

“And they lived happily ever after.” Think about this line for a few minutes. Are you living happily ever after? If not, what will it take for you to get there?

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I read this prompt from the Daily Post

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/daily-prompt-happy-ending/   and I just couldn’t pass it up as a meditation for the day:

Happily ever after is the born- again Christian’s  birth right.  It is not that troubles do not befall us. It is that our eyes are not on the troubles. Our eyes are fixed on the joy set before us…the happily ever after that Christ has promised us. The promise produces hope and hope produces joy in the midst of _____________. You fill in the blank with your current woe because hope tied to Christ is big enough to swallow any sorrow.

Take these words from the Bible with you as encouragement today.

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry,whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Phil 4: 11-13 NIV

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3

Pastor Wrinkles: The Lenten Journey Pt. 14

I am coming back to a list of five questions I started meditating on while I was in Maine. The questions were posted by Cyndi Lu at  http://cyndilumoon.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/survey-says/.

Today’s meditational question: What are you not letting God control?

I have grown by leaps and bounds in letting God have the reigns of my life over the last several years but there are still some areas where I need to surrender control to God. I guess if it comes right down to it we are not talking about a tug- of- war between my control and God’s control. The areas of my life where I am holding out on God are not under my control either. They are just out of control.

For instance, God told me a while ago that I needed to schedule my rest and my Sabbath; It needed to become intentional. I needed to value my rest time as important as my ministry time for my own health. I obeyed Him. I now schedule my days off. I even schedule naps. I don’t take them. But at least they are scheduled 😦

I guess I struggle because I fear negative reactions from men. I think it goes deeper than that though. Admitting I need rest is to proclaim I am weak. There is a lie in there somewhere that I am believing.

As I pondered this question 2 other areas also popped up that I need to spend some time praying about. This is good stuff…life-changing stuff. I thank Jesus that He is transforming my heart.

Do you struggle with guilt over taking a break? How do you deal with it?

Pastor Wrinkles: The Lenten Journey Pt. 13

Why do we do the things we do? Why do we go to church? Do daily devotions? Fast? Serve in the church?

Do we do them for the praise of men? Do we do them to enlarge our congregations? Do we do them to sway our countrymen to our way of thinking? Do we do them in order to grow closer to God?

For me I think that all of these answers are true depending on the day. Sometimes I also do all of these things only to please myself and to make me proud of me. I guess that last one sounds kind of terrible but it is what the Spirit has been showing me during this journey. We have been going deep into the motivations of my life and HE has been bringing me inner healing with the understanding.

Last night we had an evening of praise, worship and prayer planned at the church. The worship band was larger than the congregation. For just a moment as I began the service I was despairing of the size of our congregation…err…small group.

Then God said to me, “I have released you from the need to perform for others. You and this band are here for Me…for My pleasure alone. Will you worship with as much abandon as when the whole congregation is here?”

I realized then that if I could not worship with as much excitement, if we could not worship God with the same abandon as when we were in a crowd of hundreds then our worship was not for God but for men; So we worshipped and God showed up as though there were a thousand people there. He is getting to my roots. It is uncomfortable but oh so worth it!

Pastor Wrinkles: The Lenten Journey Pt. 12

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Every year our lead pastor takes a winter vacation to Canada to visit with his family. Usually  he leaves the day after Christmas and is gone through the New Year. I am usually left to fill the pulpit and make important decisions like if church needs to be cancelled due to inclement weather.  It always and I mean every year snows on the first Sunday of January. I have seldom cancelled preferring to meet with a few of the brothers and sisters for edification rather than miss out all together.

This year Pastor Risto did not leave after Christmas. He waited until this week the last in February to get outa Dodge.

Guess what?

No snow on the first Sunday of January.

Guess what else? …You got it right!

We had a weird snow storm this morning that decimated almost two-thirds of our church population today!  So even though the winter vacation was off by about a month and a half I felt right at home with a number of seats empty and a frosty white blanket covering the out-of-doors.

I find God a humorous teacher. He used this event to remind me in a sort of tongue-in-cheek manner that He is not reliant on large crowds or kicking programs to get His plan accomplished. We had church. The kids joined us since our Kids Church teacher couldn’t make it in. A baby cried in the back. I think the nursery staff was snowed in as well.

But God met us as He always does. People wept at the altar at the end of service and His presence was sweet with healing. He is the point and I am learning He is not only the point…He is the only point! We are but vessels for Him to ride upon the wind, ships in which he sails upon the flood and oh what a privilege that is.

What points of your life are being swallowed up by Jesus today?