Good Morning,

I hope you are having a great week.  Several of you have inquired about my scratchy voice on Sunday.  Rosemary says I still sound like a frog, but I think I’m getting better.  I told her that if she kissed me I might turn into a handsome prince.  She just gave me one of those looks!

Hopefully you are now a couple of days into our Extreme Makeover Holiness Edition Devotional Guide (we still have copies available if you need one).  The goal of the current preaching series and this 40 day emphasis is to challenge all of us to live fully devoted Spirit-filled, holy lives.  I am convinced God must first do a work in our hearts before he can use us to influence the world around us.

Max Lucado in his book  Just Like Jesus, makes this amazing statement:
“God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way.  He wants you to be just like Jesus.”

When you invited Jesus into your heart and life … when you opened the door, Jesus moved in (Rev. 3:20).  Through the Holy Spirit He dwells within you and His desire is to change you “into His likeness from one degree of glory to another” (II Cor. 3:18 RSV).  Paul explains it this way:  “Strange as it seems, we Christians actually do have within us a portion of the very thoughts and mind of Christ” (I Cor. 2:16 TLB).

Yet, we still wonder.  If I have Jesus living within me why do I still hate traffic jams?  Why do I lose my patience with my children?  Why does that loud-mouthed guy in the corner office irritate me so?

Maybe part of the answer is illustrated in a story of a lady who had a small house on the seashore of Ireland at the turn of the century.  She was quite wealthy but also quite frugal.  The people were surprised, then, when she decided to be among the first to have electricity in her home.

Several weeks after the installation, a meter reader appeared at her door.  He asked if her electricity was working well, and she assured him it was.  “I’m wondering if you can explain something to me,” he said.  “Your meter shows scarcely any usage.  Are you using your power?”

“Certainly,” she answered.  “Each evening when the sun sets, I turn on my lights just long enough to light my candles; then I turn them off.”

She was tapped in to the power, but she didn’t use it.  Her house was connected but not altered.  Let’s not make the same mistake.  We’ve trusted Christ for salvation but we stop there.  We resist transformation.  We may occasionally flip the switch, but most of the time we settle for living in shadows.  What would happen if we left the light on?  Let’s allow the Lord to change our heart and make us more like Him.  

Growing in Christ,
 Pastor Barry

P.S. Remember the Chili cook-off this Sunday night!

A Remodeling Project for Lent
Beginning Sunday, February 21st

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature…put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”         -Col. 3:5, 10

Let’s face it, most of us could use a makeover.  When we look in the mirror most of don’t smile and say, “Wow!  Now that is perfection.”  Some of us might just shake our heads and say, “What’s the use…It’s hopeless,” but most of us at least try to make some improvement in our appearance.  Usually there are some wrinkles we’d like to remove, some blemishes we’d like to cover or a few pounds we’d like to lose.  We wish we could be taller, or more muscular or have a little more hair (on our head and not in all the other strange places it has a tendency to grow).  But even more important than how we look on the outside is what we are like on the inside.
For the next several weeks that is going to be our focus at Parkway Wesleyan.  We are going to be concentrating on “being renewed in the image of our Creator.”  Our goal is that by the end of this Extreme Makeover project when the bus is moved [that’s what they do in the TV program to reveal the finished work] people will see a church full of believers who have been transformed into the image of Christ.

For the next seven weeks I am going to be preaching a series of message that will focus on making some serious changes in our lives.  Hopefully, we will all be challenged to become more like Jesus.  The “Growing Closer to God” class we are doing on Wednesday nights and in Sunday School was a preliminary step in this Extreme Makeover project.  A third piece of the puzzle will be a 40 day Extreme Makeover Daily Devotional for you to use in your quiet time from now until Easter.  These will be available tomorrow night, Ash Wednesday, February 18th.  If you begin on Wednesday and read one devotional per day and skip Sundays you will finish on the Saturday before Easter.  If you are unable to pick up a copy before Sunday you can easily catch up by continuing to read on Sundays.  We hope you will allow these devotionals to challenge you to seek a deeper walk with Christ.

I am convinced that God is on the verge of making some radical changes in many of our lives.  I believe He is calling us as a church to a new level of commitment, sacrifice and obedience.  The question is are we going to resist or will we allow him to tear out some walls, clean out some junk and remodel our souls?  Will we allow the Lord to make us over in His image?  We need more than just cosmetic face lift, we need an extreme makeover.  God has the bulldozer warming up.  All He is waiting on is an OK from us and He will get to work.  Can you tell that I am excited about what the Holy Spirit is about to do in our lives?

Just a note of praise regarding the home going of Louise Massey.  Though we will miss her warm smile and gentle spirit, we rejoice that she is experiencing the joy of being in the presence of her Savior.  What an example of Christ-like holy living she has left us!  Visitation time for the family will be from 4-7 pm tonight at Henry’s Funeral Home.  The memorial service will be here at our church on Wednesday morning at 11:00 AM.

Have a great day!
Pastor Barry

Oh, my aching back!  I am sick of shoveling snow!  And I am really tired of missing church!  Over the weekend I was seriously thinking about scheduling a Tuesday Worship Service, but then I heard we are expecting another 3-8 inches of snow.  

             This morning I complained to the Lord a little in my devotion time and He reminded me of (I Thessalonians 5: 16-18) “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”  Then He asked me for a report on how I’d utilized my two days of forced solitude?  Did I read my Bible more, spend some extra time in prayer, or read a Christian book?  I argued that I was too busy shoveling out my driveway, but I don’t think the Lord bought it.  Next the Lord asked me if I looked for any opportunities to love my neighbors by helping them shovel.  Again, I complained my back was already hurting and it was so cold outside.  The Lord went on to remind me my phone line and internet still worked and I could have used those tools for ministry.  And I won’t even tell you what He said about the fact that I have a nice warm house, plenty to eat and that my power never went out.  I should know better than to complain.  We are sooo blessed! 

             So my message to you this morning is simply this. “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).  So be glad, even for the snow.  It is quite beautiful when you stop shoveling long enough to notice.

             Rosemary and I would also like to express our thanks for the flowers, cards and expressions of sympathy in the loss of Rosemary’s sister, Valerie.  We are grateful for God’s mercy in not allowing her to suffer any longer.  We had two great services of celebration last Monday and Tuesday  (one in Greensboro and one in Roanoke).  Valerie was a radiant believer with a servant’s heart.  We are confident she is wearing her “crown of righteousness” and she is seeing her Savior face to face.  We miss her, but we know this is just a temporary parting.  Someday soon we will see her again.

             Have a great week.  We look forward to seeing you (Lord willing) on Wednesday night!

                                                                 With love,


                                                                 Pastor Barry


 


 


P.S.   We are rescheduling the Chili cook-off for Sunday night, February 28th.