View From The Back Pew

One of the advantages I have of sitting in the back of my church on Sunday mornings while recording the service for podcast, is viewing the congregation during worship.
Yesterday I witnessed:

African Americans
Whites
Hispanics
Asian Americans
Arabic

all worshiping God together in one accord. So when seeing this diverse group of people singing together "Jesus Messiah Lord of All" naturally it struck a cord with, what else?... all of us being in one accord.

"With one accord" means: being unanimous, having mutual consent, being in agreement, having group unity, and having one mind and purpose.

Throughout the New Testament we see the leadership carrying this dominant trait of "being of one accord". Whenever church leaders gathered in Jerusalem they were in unity and harmony with each other and with God.

It's obvious that these leaders were setting an example for the church today,
to put aside our theological differences and work together for the greater purpose: that of reaching others with the gospel through His Word and through His love.


When we sing "Jesus Messiah Lord of All" it really means that God is Lord of all.

Successful Seed

While running on the trails the other day I came across a detour, (yes even in the woods there's some kind of construction these days), the trail I usually don't go on had some interesting nature info signs such as the one in the above picture. Of course what came to mind for me when seeing this sign was the interesting parallel between this seed and the seed mentioned in The Parable of the Sower:

1. Seeds move in many ways to find sun, water, and soil they need to grow and succeed. Some seed gets eaten by birds, squirrels, and other animals.

2. Jesus explains in the Parable that the sower(us) sows the Word of God. Some seed is sown by the wayside and the enemy comes and takes away that Word that was sown.

Then there's seed sown on stony ground where some receive the Word with gladness, endure it only for a time, then stumble when a situation arises.

The seed spread among thorns are the one's who hear the Word but become distracted with the things of the world which chokes the Word and it becomes unfruitful.

Then finally we have the seed that is sown on good ground: those who hear the Word, accept it and bear fruit.

Something of importance in all of this is: that seed (the Word of God) needs to be tended to. It needs to be watered and nurtured in order to grow on good ground.

Oswald Chamber once said,

"God is not saving the world, it is done. Our business is
to get men and women to realize it."

Does God make you feel good? Has He ever turned you down in the time of need? If God is worth having in your life, isn't He worth sharing with others?

I like how one author describes himself,and this sums it up best:
"I'm just one beggar telling another beggar where I found bread."

A Tale of Two Trust's

1. Last week a Manhattan homeless man asked a New York exec for change. The woman didn't have any change but lent the man her American Express Platinum card.

"I asked her for change and told her I wasn't working. She said she only had a card. She said, 'Can I trust you?' I said, 'I'm honest, yes."

Many who witnessed this act of kindness outside a New York restaurant doubted the man would return. A short while later the man returned to the restaurant to return the credit card to the woman, as her friends looked on in amazement. The man only spent $25 worth of goods: deodorant, body wash, vitamin water, and cigarettes.

The woman exclaimed, "What he did was no surprise to me. People kept telling me,
'Why would you talk to him and trust him? But are we only supposed to trust people we know?


2. Over a year ago NFL player Donte Stallworth's car hit and killed a man who dashed across the highway to catch a bus right before dawn. Stallworth was legally drunk, and was arrested,convicted,sentenced, and suspended from football for one year.

What has been overshadowed in all of this, until now, was the fact that Donte ordered his lawyers to accept a plea deal that convicted him of a felon, even when evidence showed he had an excellent chance of being found innocent.

Donte said it was his fault, and didn't want to make the man's family sit through a court trial and relive the man's death.

"Any little decision you make will have a subsequent reaction. Be cognizant of your decisions", Donte now preaches when speaking at kids camps.


In the first story the New York exec's trust and the homeless man's honesty were, in a sense, both rewarded: her's for getting her card back with no real harm done to her pocketbook and the homeless man's honesty and the publicity that came from it may eventually open a door for someone to offer him a job. I think the woman's greater reward is that her act of kindness sent the message for us to approach the homeless with a better view of them as people.
(one sidebar to this story though: in the picture, the man, who had lost his job in real estate, did not look like a homeless man, he was actually dressed okay. In today's economy you do not necessarily need to look the profile of homeless to actually be homeless)


Second, Donte Stallworth was a pretty good guy of integrity and character before his accident: volunteering his off season time working with kids camps. He made one mistake, honed up to it, served a short time in jail, and this season returns to playing football.

"Everything has been challenged. My faith has been tested. My character has been tested. I try to think positive for everybody", Donte exclaims.

Donte was honest with his mistake and placed his trust in his own character as a person.


"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value." -Albert Einstein

What's in a Name?

"Now when I go into the Hall today, I'm not going in alone. You see, I'm carrying my grandfather, I'm carrying my father and I'm carrying my son along with me; because I bear all their names. Now, I have to say to my dad and to my son, our name will be forever enshrined into the history of football."

These words were spoken by Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys at his induction speech into the NFL Hall of Fame last weekend. He also told the story of a conversation he had with his father while sitting together at last year's Super Bowl and finding out about his being voted into the Hall of Fame. His father wanted to play professional football, but never got the chance to go to college. Emmitt said he was living his father's dream, fulfilling his own dream and fulfilling God's purpose in his life.

Whether you are a man or woman you can look back at your parents and grandparents and see traces of them within your own life's work and actions. Sometimes we tend to forget, not our last name, but what that last name may have been through and meant throughout history. I unfortunately cannot trace back too far in history my last name because my father lost his parents in an accident when he was about five or six years old. But I can carry on and bear that name and set an example for future generations in my family.

There are many out there who share the same story as Emmitt Smith, especially athletes. I admire those that do become successful and never forget where they came from, and share that wealth with their parents,family,and community.

Carrying on with pride that name you have been given is important. It is even found in the Book of Ecclesiastes to be so:

Ecclesiastes 7:1- A good name is better than precious ointment,
And the day of death than the day of one's birth;


People will remember you more at your death for that life that you led.

Winston Churchill once said,

"We make a living by what we get,
We make a life by what we give."

No matter your lot in life, live each day to the fullest. Carry on with pride the name that you've been given. It will make a difference for generations to come.

Miracle

I heard this great testimony in church a couple of weeks ago from a gentleman who was up here in Chicago from Florida visiting a family at our church and giving his testimony at a few churches:

The man was in dire need of a liver transplant and was in a coma for 3 months. That whole entire time his wife stood by his side in faith praying for a miracle, while the doctors gave him no hope to live. The gentleman came out of his coma, received a new liver and is in perfect health today with no ill side affects.The last page on his medical report simply states: miraculous recovery. This gentleman now preaches in a Hispanic community in Florida.

I love testimonies because they are just a greater witness to the power of God. Many people fall into the "seeing is believing" concept of thinking so miracles are one the more powerful tools we have.

In the Miracle of the Nobleman's Son, there was a man who traveled to Cana to solicit Jesus to come and heal his son who was on his death bed. The man had already heard about the miracles that Jesus was performing in other cities. Jesus told the man, "Go your way, your son is healed".
Now Jesus didn't even travel to the place where this boy laid, he just simply told the father to go, your son is healed. And sure enough the man traveled back home to find his son healed.

An interesting note to all of this is:

Jesus was in Cana in the past and performed His first miracle there, turning water into wine. So, if that first miracle in Cana never would have happened, might this Nobleman have argued with Jesus to come to his son to heal him instead of just taking Him at His word that his son was healed?

Miracles happen everyday, so what's stopping us from just plain old trusting in God for the miraculous?

Simple answer: Faith