As I’ve been reading ahead in the book of ACTS for our Wednesday night study, I noticed an interesting fact regarding Paul’s service on the island of Malta after being shipwrecked.  The story occurs in Acts 28 and the thing we remember is that Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake with no ill effects.  That truly is a miraculous event, but have you ever considered what Paul was doing when he was bitten.

It says that “..it was raining and cold.  Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.” (Acts 28:3).  Think of it.  Here is the great apostle; preacher to thousands, planter of churches, miracle worker and healer.  Here’s a man who has spoken before kings and rulers.  Here’s a man who wrote a third of the New Testament.  Yet, on a cold rainy night he gathers brushwood for the fire.

Paul could have sat grumbling about how terrible life was treating him.  After all he’s a prisoner.  He’s  been falsely accused.  Now, he’s been shipwrecked.  He could have said, “Let someone else tend the fire.”  “Let some else gather sticks.”  “I’m too important.” Or, “I’m too tired.”  Or “it’s not my job.”  Or “tending fires is not my gift.”  He could have found a million excuses, but instead he serves.  In Galatians 5:13 Paul encourages the church to “serve one another in love.”  Here he models that love in a place where few would even notice.

I’ve been impressed by that same spirit of service after our first night of Vacation Bible School.  Not only do we have a dedicated staff of workers, but many showed up just to ask, what can we do?  It is great to see love in action.  Thanks to all of you who are pitching in to make this VBS week a success.

Hope you have a great week!

Pastor Barry

 

 
 
 
 I heard an expression the other day that I thought was unique.  Two guys were talking and one of them said …”You know how small a herd of cattle looks when you whiz by them on the interstate.   They are just dots on the hillside.”  He went on to say, “I feel about as important as a gnat on the head of one of those cows.”  It was his way of saying, “I feel pretty small.”

             Life has a way of making us feel pretty worthless and insignificant at times.  At times our self-esteem takes a beating, and we wander does my life even matter?  Would anyone even care if I were to suddenly disappear off the face of the earth?  I  believe the Devil loves to plant those damaging thoughts of self-doubt in our brains.

             But God’s Word tells us a different story.  Look at some of these amazing verses:

Jeremiah 1:5 "I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.  Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world."; Psalm 139:14-16 (Actually the whole Psalm reminds us how special we are to God.) “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous … and how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Matthew 10: 29-31 “Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.  And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.  so don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.”  Or finally, Ephesians 2: 10  “For we are God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

             These verses remind us that we are not an accident.  We are God’s gift to the world.  We are a masterpiece, a work of art, created and signed by the master painter.

             I have a friend who worked for NASCAR who has a hood from a car driven in the Daytona 500 that is signed by over 30 NASCAR drivers like Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt, Jr. and Mark Martin.  Now there is nothing special about the hood.  It is simply sheet metal and paint.  You could probably buy one at a junk yard for less than a hundred dollars.  The thing that makes it valuable are the signatures.

             The same is true with us.  In the grand scheme of nature, human beings are not all that special.  We’re not as fast as a cheetah, we’re not as strong as a horse, we’re not as tall as a giraffe, and some of us definitely do not have the memory of an elephant.  The thing that makes us unique is the signature of God.  We are “His work of art, created in His image to do good deeds.”  We are significant not because of what we do, but because of whose we are.  Remember that this week when the world starts to beat you down.  Have a great week!

 

                                                                 Pastor Barry

 

P.S.      I hope you are inviting children to our VBS starting next Monday night.  We are praying for a 
             great week.

 
 
IMPRESSIONS OF DISTRICT CONFERENCE              

Wow!  What a great weekend of spiritual renewal.  I feel like I’ve been to the mountain! (literally—the Parkway Church in Roanoke is on the highest peak on the East end of town)  But more importantly it was a mountain peak spiritually.   Next year you have got to plan on being a part of at least the Sunday night rally.  The music, preaching and atmosphere is electric.

I was extremely proud of our delegates and representatives this year.  Both Ethelyn and Kelli did a great job sharing some of their passion for missions in the rallies.  [I don’t think anyone told Kelli there would be nearly 1000 people there when they recruited her to share her missions testimony]  But she handled it with tremendous poise.  Pam did a great job reporting as District WKFM director.

I asked Pastor Dale and our delegates to share their thoughts.

“I look forward to District Conference each year.  One because we get to see our Shenandoah Wesleyan Family.  Two, because of the dynamic worship times we share together.  The Holy Spirit ministered to us and fell upon us.  Dr. Anthony Graham BROUGHT the Word of God.  Wow!  Can he preach.  It was an amazing time of fellowship , worship and taking care of the business of the district! —Pastor Dale

“The presence of the Holy Spirit and fellowship and worship with believers from all over our district is a wonderful part of conference.  Hearing about what God is doing in our Shenandoah district, General Wesleyan Church and around the world is a blessing beyond measure.”  - Ethelyn Kilmer              

“Conference was a wonderful experience for me. It was my first chance to attend and I really learned a lot about what's going on in our district and how our church compares to the others. Worship time at the Power Rallies was amazing and I especially loved getting to know some of the delegates and pastors from the other churches. Thanks for the opportunity!” - Kelli

Hope you have a great week.

Pastor Barry
 
 
How Patriotic should a Christian be?

             There was a time when the prevailing thought of most Americans was “My country, Right or Wrong”.  Then after Vietnam, Watergate, and several other political disasters, patriotism became a dirty word. The events of 9-11 brought about a renewed surge of national pride, but for the most part it has long since evaporated.  The question that arises for believers is how much of a flag waver do I want to be?  I recently received an e-mail from an individual who sincerely believed we should not have an American flag in our sanctuary.  Some believe the only option is to totally divorce church and state.  After all how can we be a citizen of two kingdoms?  Augustine reconciled this dual citizenship by saying that “we should be godly citizens of whatever kingdom we are in.  If children, parents, kings, judges, taxpayers, and tax-collectors were all “that Christian religion has taught men should be,” the result, Augustine argued, would be “the salvation of the commonwealth.”  This responsibility of Christian citizenship was well expressed by a Nepali pastor imprisoned for preaching the gospel, which is against the law in his Hindu nation.  “Of course I must obey my Lord and spread His Word,” he said during a recent visit to the U.S. “But even though we are persecuted, we who are Christians in Nepal pride ourselves on being the best citizens our king has.  We try to be faithful to the fullest extent we can.  We love our country—but we love our God more.”  C. S. Lewis offers the analogy of the family to illustrate how the Christian loves his country.  One doesn’t love family members only when they are good; rather, we seek lovingly to correct their faults.  So, too, the Christian can remain faithful to country while weeping over and seeking to correct its faults.

             I like Chuck Colson’s comment that a “Christian patriot spends more time washing feet than waving flags”.  The flag reminds us that God has placed us in this amazing country for a reason:  that we might make it a better place.

             In my opinion the only hope for America is revival and spiritual renewal.  That means more than just getting a few laws passed.  If we as believers would live godly lives and demonstrate the love of Jesus our nation would be changed.

              I hope you had a great Fourth of July and enjoyed being together with your family.  Have a great week!

Pastor Barry

P.S.  Attached are two additional pieces of inspiration. 

(1) The first is an article given to me by Lisa Merritt, written by Billy Graham that reminds us of some of the things that make America great. Question:  My friend keeps sending me e-mails about what’s happening in the world, and some of them are really scary.  We seem to be headed downhill faster and faster—economically, socially, morally, you  name it, I don’t see much of anything good happening in our country, do you?  Answer:  Yes, we live in unsettled and uncertain times, and only God knows what the future holds for us (for our future is in His hands).  If all we had to go on were the daily headlines (or your friend’s e-mails), we’d be right to be alarmed.  But this weekend I hope you’ll also take time to look on the other side, and pause to thank God for all the good things we still enjoy as a nation.  Tomorrow we will be celebrating July 4th, commemorating our birth as a nation.  Think of the freedoms we still enjoy, and the opportunities and resources God has given us.  Why not let this holiday be a time of thanksgiving for this nation, and for God’s blessings to us?  After all, in spite of our problems (and they are many), our nation is still the greatest nation on earth and God has not completely withdrawn His blessings from us.  The Bible’s words concerning ancient Israel could be applied to us as well:  “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12).  But I hope you’ll also make this holiday a time of intercession, asking God to intervene and bring us back to Himself.  Many of the dangers we face are self-inflicted, because we’ve left God and His will out of our lives.  This is why our greatest need as a nation is repentance and spiritual renewal.  May God bring us back to Himself– beginning today.

(2) The second is a video and country song I heard this week that reminds me of the price of freedom. We've included in the blog for you today.