I Don't Belong

Today I attended the funeral service of a friend and colleague in ministry, Fifty nine year old Pastor Rick Shoemaker. He would have turned sixty this Sunday.  Rick pastored the First Baptist Church of New Carlisle, Ohio for thirty four years. While we were not in weekly communication, we did touch base periodically.  At one time Rick was even considering becoming the Associational Missionary for our Association. He was always kind, and gracious.  As you see from his picture, he usually had a smile.

His  memorial service was absolutely packed with family, his church, and many friends and fellow pastors. Those that spoke , spoke passionately about the impact he had made on their lives.  He invested in people! His life, and even in his death, he has reminded this pastor that you really never know the impact or the reach of the ministry that God has place us in, or me in.  A Missionary from Thailand I believe preached the sermon and it was powerful!  Love his thought when he opened to Rick's wife and family and shared that this is not a precious day, but it is a precious thing to the Lord. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Psalm 116:15.

Buddy Greene in his ballad the Sojourner's Song sings it this way on the chorus:

I don’t belong and I’m going someday, home to my own native land.
I don’t belong and it seems like I hear the sound of a welcome home band.
I don’t belong; I’m a foreigner here just singing a sojourner’s song.
I’ve always known this place ain’t home and I don’t belong.

I don’t belong and I’m going someday, home to my own native land.
I don’t belong and it seems like I hear the sound of a welcome home band.
I don’t belong; I’m a foreigner here just singing a sojourner’s song.
I’ve always known this place ain’t home and I don’t belong
Read more at http://www.lyrics.com/i-dont-belong-sojourners-song-lyrics-buddy-greene.html#UISV4UoMWdqRFaZX.99

I don’t belong and I’m going someday, home to my own native land.
I don’t belong and it seems like I hear the sound of a welcome home band.
I don’t belong; I’m a foreigner here just singing a sojourner’s song.
I’ve always known this place ain’t home and I don’t belong
Read more at http://www.lyrics.com/i-dont-belong-sojourners-song-lyrics-buddy-greene.html#UISV4UoMWdqRFaZX.99

Fifty nine has made me once again consider my own mortality.  I will not live on earth forever.  May the Lord somehow use this weak vessel of clay for His Glory through the preaching of His Word. Lord may I be found faithful.

Home

Lost! Do you ever spend part of your time dealing with the word lost?  I don't know about you, but I spend many minutes a day looking for misplaced things or lost things.  The urgency of the search depends on what value I place on what is actually missing. Luke 19:10 (NKJV)  for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." If Jesus came to save us from being lost, there must be some place we are supposed to be. That place is in a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. What value God places on you.  He loves you and me and died so that we could be found, be saved!

Today marks another loss in our personal lives.  Twenty nine years ago today, Renee's dad, Floyd Smith said goodbye to a great family and a cancer stricken body and went home to be with the Lord.  Today as we remember him, I thank God for the great daughter he handed to me thirty years ago to take care of as my wife. He would be so proud of her. 

Today I am now a father in law.  With a wonderful daughter in law, Ashley, who loves Drew and is raising two great boys, and a fine son in law, Kyle who loves Stacy and faithfully preaches the gospel.  We are blessed! God help us slow down and enjoy today.  May we linger in the moment of being a family.

When we lose a loved one who knows Christ as their Savior we often say we have lost them.  When we know where they are, they are not lost, are they?  They are simply home.

In memory of Father in Law Floyd Smith - Oct. 16, 1984.

TenTwo

Flag Poles and Prayer

  On this See You at the Pole Wednesday, students across the nation gather around a flag pole to pray and ask God for his blessing in their lives, this nation, and our school campuses. O. Hallesby writes," Listen my friend! Your helplessness is your best prayer.  It calls from your heart to the heart of God with greater effect than all your uttered pleas.  He hears it from the very moment that you are seized with helplessness, and He becomes actively engaged at once in hearing and answering the prayer of your helplessness.  He hears today as He heard the helpless and the wordless prayer of the man sick with palsy."
   As a nation we turn to God when tragedy hits.  When we have a national crisis we are all about prayer from the White House down. It is during these times that we get it.  There is no other place to turn to find comfort for the hour, and hope for the future.  Jesus Christ is the answer friends, do you know Him as your Savior? Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."John 14:27
Let's make sure we pray everyday.  

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Happy 30th to my girl!

Today Renee and I celebrate our 30th Anniversary. What a blessing to be able to travel this journey with such a great wife, mom, and memaw! God knew what I would need when He was shaping me to be a pastor.  We have been blessed with a great family and I am honored and humbled to pastor a great church.  It is exciting to think of the days ahead.  Let us be faithful to the call!

        

Proverbs 31:10

Who can find a virtuous wife?

For her worth is far above rubies.

Vv. 28-30

Her children rise up and call her blessed;

Her husband also, and he praises her:

29"Many daughters have done well,

But you excel them all."

30Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,

But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. 

Thank you Lord!

Back to Something!

Where the Bible Meets Life

   I love this time of the year.  College Football and the Ohio State Buckeyes are certainly two reasons, but they are only two of many things that I appreciate. Leaves, pumpkins, marching bands, Pork Festival, Black Walnut Festival!  It is a time for kids to go back to school, a time for farmers to harvest crops, and a time for many after being away during the summer to get back to church. 
   We have designated September 8th as Back to Church Sunday.  That seems to be a little odd just saying it, but we live in a day where we must make choices and my prayer for our church family and for my family is that we choose to worship and to make that choice a priority. I am excited about our new Bible Studies for Life Sunday School that we relaunch on September 1.  All of our age groups  looking at the same lesson together weekly.  The beginning study of James will set the tone for a great quarter of ministry and discipleship together.  I hope you will join us for Sunday School or perhaps it is time to get back to Church.  I pray you will come and I look forward to seeing you!

Joy in the Journey

As we prepare for a family vacation.  This time it is a little different. Since our last trip to the beach as a family, we have added a grandson, Drew and Ashley's second,  and Stacy's husband Kyle.  The anticipation for a trip all boils down to arriving at your destination.  While that is true, I want to slow down and take in the joy in the journey to get there.  The laughs, memories, and sometimes best sermon illustrations actually come from the journey itself. I am going to be looking for those kind of things on this trip, this adventure!

As a Christian, I pray you are finding joy in the journey of serving the Lord.  God gives us something to celebrate, and that is a peace that the world cannot produce.

This summer slow down a step or two and take a look around.