Victory at Christmas

I love that word! Victory sounds so sweet, doesn't it? I mean who in their right mind likes to lose? Everyone likes to win - at least most of the time. But if you think about it, victory affects one person positively and another person negatively.
As long as there are winners, there have to be loser! I know that this sounds like one of those earth shattering concepts but it's the truth, no matter how simplistic the statement is. Take for example, a football or basketball game...when one team wins, the other team needs to lose. The same is true when two people vie for a certain positioin at work - one will get it and the other will not. One person is victorious, while the other person is considered a loser.
Tonight I'm sitting in my office awaiting a phone call from a church that wants to interview me for a Senior Pastor position. The reality of victory and defeat seems all too real for me right now. Should this church decide to extend a call to me, I would be faced with the daunting decision to make one church victorious in their quest to have a pastor, while leaving another church defeated by a loss of a pastor.
This idea of victory and defeat is all around us. It is in sports, at work, at home, in our finances even in our Christmas celebrations. Sometimes we like to "one-up" others in our family by getting better presents for our family members than someone else can get. At church we are trying something new for Christmas...
We are trying to see everything as a GIFT. A G.I.F.T. is given not earned. It is individualized and generally for family or friends. Finally, a gift is to be turned around.
I pray that your focus this Christmas is to turn the GIFT of Christmas around and joyfully share the Christmas reality with those you know this HOLY-day Season.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

When in Rome...

The past several weeks we have been taking road trips to the various churches that Paul visited and/or wrote to on his several missionary journeys. This past Sunday we found ourselves traveling to Rome. Our theme on Sunday was all about things that separate and things that connect.
Think for a moment about all of the things in life that cause separation - whether it's something as serious as a divorce, as painful as the separation of muscle tissue resulting in a severe injury or a tool that is used in the separation of nails from wood - the concept of separation is all around us.
The bible talks pretty clearly about this idea of separation in Romans 8. Paul clearly states that there is NOTHING of this earth that can cause us to be separated from the love of God in Christ. This is the joy of the message of the gospel. As a pastor I am always trying to think of creative and unique ways to state this truth - but I think the message here is sufficient.
If you're looking for some silver-bullet type of religious experience, then biblical Christianity is probably not what you're looking for. If you want to be responsible for your own eternity, then this probably isn't for you either. But if you are able to rest securely in the fact that Jesus died and rose from the dead so that when God looks at you He sees His perfect child...if you are happy and content with the work of Jesus being all that you need for this life and the life to come - then I welcome you to journey with us through the bible as we uncover the CONNECTION we have in Christ.
Jesus is our connection to heaven, forgiveness, eternal life - to God Himself. Being connected is a great feeling.
Here are some thought starters: What things cause you to feel most connected? When you know that someone has your back - how do you feel? Who in your life can you connect to Christ? And how are you going to do it?

Livin' Up 2

This week's title may seem a little obscure but bear with me. Last night I had the opportunity to talk with a man named Steve. To make a long story short, Steve has opened a wellness center here in Marysville called - Livin' Up 2. I have been working out at this place for a little over a week now and didn't really know what the name meant until last night.
By about midnight the concept of Livin' Up 2 really sunk in. Steve asked the question, "Do you feel that you are living up to your potential?" For many of us, we really don't know how to answer that question. I believe that much of the population of the United States doesn't even know what their potential is - much less live up to it.
This caused me to think - how does this idea of Livin' Up 2 correlate to what we're doing at church? In a way, we are inviting and even challenging people to live up to their potential. And again much like the physical side of wellness - many don't know what their spiritual potential is.
Jesus is clear about our spiritual potential. All things are possible through Christ who strengthens us. This means that with the power of Christ in our lives, we are able to do anything. YES - ANYTHING!
But how do we access that potential? The long and short of it is that we must rely on God to overcome our weaknesses. This is easier said than done - but in order to live up to our potential - God has to take the wheel sometimes and we need to quit backseat driving.
So the question naturally follows - are you living up to your potential? If so, please share with me how you feel you are able to do this. If not, what is the first step that you are going to take to get yourself UP to your full potential?
Blessings to all of you as you move toward your full potential in all aspects of your life.
For those of you who want to learn more about Livin' Up 2 Wellness Center - click HERE!

Praying Roots

Today I had a conversation with Mr. Bill and something came to me: prayer is like roots. Mr. Bill and I talked about forming a prayer group for the church. You know the type of group that gets together once a week and prays for various things in the lives of the people we know.

Mr. Bill mentioned that he dropped something off at another office in Marysville and the people were praying for matters pertaining to their church. Mr. Bill thought this was pretty cool and wanted to get something like this going at our church, Living Truth. That's when it hit me, prayer is like roots...

A tree is only as strong as the roots that support it. If a tree is supported by shallow roots and a strong wind comes - that tree doesn't stand much of a chance. But if a tree is deeply rooted it will be able to withstand pretty strong winds.

The same can be said for the prayer life of Christians and of Christian churches. If a person claims to be a Christian but doesn't have a deep prayer-life. The storms that constantly bombard us will uproot them and cause them to lose sight of God. But if a person is deeply rooted in prayer, even the strongest torrents will not uproot them. The storms will beat us up and possibly even harm us but they will never cause us to lose sight of the real reason that we are here.

Perhaps today you are going through a storm. Perhaps today you are facing some nasty winds...well, maybe the strongest and safest place for you to be in on your knees and in the hands of the only ONE who will love you UNCONDITIONALLY. That means that nothing you will ever do, will make God love you less. God is ready and waiting for you. Join Him today by praying that your roots may grab a hold of Him, and just hang on to Him as He hangs onto you.

Celebrate Christ

The name, hopefully, says it all. What can happen when Christians from around a community unite for one goal: to Celebrate Christ? Well, the answer is pretty easy - ANYTHING can happen. This past Sunday (October 7th) Living Truth was part of a group of churches that served the community of Marysville and surrounding areas for the sake of the Gospel. We took part because this is what Jesus told us to do. Jesus states that there are two great commandments - the first is to love the Lord with all of our being (heart, soul, mind and strength). The second is equal to it - that is to love our neighbors as ourselves.
But what does it mean to love like this? This truly is a foreign concept in our world. I firmly believe that this kind of love means stepping outside of ourselves and giving of who we are for the benefit and well-being of others. On Sunday, teams of people went to different homes around town to clean gutters, wash windows, rake leaves, and do other odds and ends work throughout town. Why? you may be asking...
The answer is simple - because of Jesus! That's right, Jesus is the reason that we live and we love. Jesus is the reason that we serve those around us. Jesus gave us His all, by dying on the cross to forgive us our sins. He held nothing back - and now He calls us to Him by loving and serving others. Doesn't seem like too much to ask.
But we must make sure we get the ordering correct here...we serve because HE FIRST SERVED US!!! NOT the other way around! Now we are given access to the power of the Holy Spirit through prayer and study of the Bible. The reason we serve is because we have been served first by God.
What an amazing day it was! The day started with a time to Celebrate all that Christ is and has done...we then lived lives of service and came back to be filled with some piping hot chili and more encouragement from the Word. God is Great!!! We are privileged to serve HIM!

God in the Ordinary?

Some would say that God can only be seen in the mighty and the wonderful. There are some in the world who would rather look for Jesus in the powerful and the mighty, but that might not always be the best place to look for him. As a matter of fact Elijah had a similar issue.
He found himself in a cave, in the side of a mountain during a huge storm. Elijah thought that God was in the storm and tempest and all of the wild and amazing things in life, but he was wrong. God was only found in a small, quiet breeze - not a wind a breeze - like the gentle spring breezes that wake the plants from their wintry slumber. That's where God was found.
So the natural question must follow - where do you go to look for God? Are you an Elijah, looking for God in the HUGE things of life? Are you looking for God in the biggest buildings and the highest priced "anythings" of life?
There's nothing inherently wrong with big and lavish things in life - the issue is that we often get so distracted by the "stuff" that we fail to see God in the midst of it all.
So where is God today? Have you had the ability to enjoy a small breeze blowing through you life recently? Don't wait for the violent winds and the earth shattering events to see him - Jesus is right beside you in the still, small voice of the gentle breezes that life has to offer. Where is God - right in the midst of the ordinary and sometimes mundane parts of life...He is where His love is!
Can you hear it? Can you feel it? He's there - the breeze is blowing...

Invaders VS. Insiders

Have you ever thought of yourself as an invader? Well, you should, because we all are "invaders" in someone's life. In our communities we often find ourselves invading the lives of others with our own personal agendas. We see it all the time...


The salesman who comes knocking on our door offering us the next best thing, or the telemarketer calling us to get our support for the most worthy of causes, or even our friends or neighbors inviting us to participate in their favorite pastimes. These all really can be invasions into our already busy lives.


The church is not exempt from this problem with invasions. As a matter of fact we are pretty bad at it. How many times has the church (pastor or other person) told you to "share your faith" or "bring someone to church"? These are INVASIONS!!! We are assuming a great deal. We are assuming that we have something that they want to hear - which is not always the case. When you visit someone for the first time, how do you react? What is your agenda?


We have been trying to very intentionally build a new way into Living Truth Ministries. Over the past several months a couple of us from the church have been meeting up at a local bar/restaurant for a couple of drinks, appetizers, and some great conversation. We are not going in as invaders rather we are there as insiders. We could almost be considered "regulars."

So - what's the difference? The biggest difference is that an invader is there to push something on someone, while an insider is present simply to be a part of the culture. How can you move from an invader to an insider? Which of these two did we see Jesus model for us: was He an invader or an insider?

The most correct answer is that Jesus was both - sometimes both at the same time. It's possible to be an invader for someone, while being an insider in their life. Jesus invaded the lives of the Pharisees, when He showed them a new way - but the method He used with them was often that of an insider.

An insider's focus is on relationships, while an invader's focus is on his or her own personal agenda. God's call us for us to live in this world - not as invaders but as INSIDERS. With whom are you an insider?

God's Recipe for Lemonade

It may sound kind of corny to think of God making lemonade, but I believe that we can learn a great deal from the old addage, "if life hands you lemons, make lemonade." It's not easy but if it was easy - it wouldn't be life. Let me give you a little background to what I'm referring to:

The past three days have been pretty difficult around here. My life, most likely just like yours, has been very hectic and has dealt several unexpected blows. I can't go into all of the details but the high (or low) points are that critical relationships aren't always valued by all as lifelong, people hide things and keep secrets that really shouldn't be kept secret and those things that should be secret for some reason are the things that we end up sharing. Many people around me are hurting and others are just confused (myself included) by the vast amount of "bad-stuff" present in our lives.

Then to kind of top it all off, I woke up this morning - after only about 3 hours sleep, tops - and the sun was nowhere to be found. It was a typical central Ohio day with cloud cover, a little fog and plenty of cool humidity in the air. It's amazing how a lack of sun can affect your day - but it sure did mine. I was on my way to a meeting and was stuck behind every slow driver in the area. I ended up being late to the meeting by only five or six minutes, but I detest being late so that was not a good thing. Then the meeting I was at evidentally didn't make very high on the priority lists of the others asked to be present because there were only three of us there: the host, the presenter and myself. That's pretty sad, but that's a whole different topic.

So I hope you can see the lemons in my life the past few days. Granted my lemons might be nothing compared to yours, but they still make life flat stink sometimes. I was praying and praying that God would somehow make things a little better. I prayed for a little "sugar" for my lemons. Not sure exactly what that meant, I decided to go on with the rest of my day.

Finally it hit me - only two things in life are constant: God's love for us and His Son's death/resurrection for our sins. The Bible promises that God will not allow us to suffer through more than we can bear with HIS help. It sure seemed like God had taken a lunch break the past couple of days, but then it really struck me square between the eyes - John 3:16 is what it's all about. This is the "sugar" for our lemon-filled lives.

We have a couple of options when life deals us a "bad" day. We can complain about it and make everyone around us miserable, or we can sprinkle a little "Jesus" in our lives. The choice is really up to us as individuals. If God has promised to give me no more than I can bear, that means that He knows I am stronger than I often give myself credit for. So today, maybe God is inviting you to spice up that lemon-water life a little. He just might be shouting words similar to Emeril (you know the famous cook on the food network) - God just might be inviting us to "BAM" our lives with the sugar of Jesus and His love for us.

Today, if you are living in a vat of lemons remember something a good friend once told me...today you might not be strong enough to live what God has put before you and that's fine. This is simply your opportunity to invite God to "live this one for you today." Maybe Jesus can sweeten our lives with the "sugar" of His never-ending love.

So the long and short of God's Lemonade Recipe is a stinky point in your life and a whole lot of God's love. I pray that you will be able to enjoy the new life that God has given you - BAM!!!