Go Deeper - Running on Empty

theScore is changing! – see what lies ahead online @ www.thefarpoint.blogspot.com!

 

 

Go Deeper – Running on Empty

 

Have you ever run out of gas? I think for women running out of gas is just an inconvenience, but for men…it’s something much deeper. When a man runs out of gas it’s as though he’s betrayed all that’s in him that makes him manly. After all, he is ‘Man’, Master of Machines; Lord of the Motor; King of all things Mechanical, Electrical and Technical. If the engine is broken he can fix it simply by raising the hood and looking underneath. If the dish washer refuses to wash he will identify the problem, crescent wrench in one hand, Coke in another and while lying on his back coerce the incorrigible device to do get those dishes done. But when a man runs out of gas…

I ran out of gas once. I was but a teenager. My mom believed me when I said I trusted the mileage rather than the gas gauge. She understood when I told her I should have been able to go another 10 miles before needing to fill up. But my dad…my dad quietly filled the gas can, drove me to my car and helped me get it to a filling station. The silence between us was deafening. The expression on his face said it all, “You betrayed the brotherhood. Don’t let it happen again.”

Jesus said things like that to the Disciples except when He said it, it sounded like, “O ye of little faith.” Just like the Disciples it happens to us every week. We face some person or problem, some situation or circumstance and rather than tanking up spiritually and letting our life run on the high octane power that comes from knowing and trusting Jesus we attempt to face the challenge under our own strength.

So how do we tank up spiritually? When I was a teenager running on empty there was really only one reason. I didn’t want to fill my tank because it would take TIME. I was too busy going and doing. I was too distracted by friends and getting to the next party or the next place. So how do you tank up spiritually? There’s no way around it. It takes TIME.

Time in God’s Word; Time in Prayer; Time with God’s people; Time for family; Time alone; Time to rest; Time to listen; Time to relax; Time to serve; Time to play; It takes TIME.

I’m coming off vacation. Thank you for allowing me and Londa the time away. It’s a wonderful privilege to serve with such a great group of committed Believers. Thanks to Jim and Brenda, the band, the Praise Team, the tech folks, Paul Kemp and the drama team, all for leading well. As I come off a week away I’m reminded – sometimes, I need to fill my tank, and that takes time.

I encourage you to do the same. Take time this summer to fill your tank. Take time to do all those things I’ve listed above. Take time to refresh, refocus, and renew in the grace and love of God. Don’t betray the brotherhood. Don’t get caught running on empty. Take time to rediscover the joy of knowing and serving God.

Thanks, God Bless,
Chad

Notes to Notice

NORMAL REHEARSAL!!!

For the next two weeks our rehearsals will be NORMAL! Woohoo! Instrumental Ensemble will meet @ 6:30 in the Worship Center while the Celebration Choir meets @ 6:30 in Room 800. We’ll all join together with the Praise Band in the Worship Center @ 7:30 then at 8:00 the Praise Band and Praise Team will stick around to finish prep for Sunday. The Drama Team will meet @ 7:30 in room 800 to get ready for the next drama.

It’s been way too long! I look forward to seeing you all tonight!

freedomCONCERT w/ WAYNE WATSON

It’s coming! Sunday night, July 2nd - WAYNE WATSON in concert! We’ll celebrate our Independence with great food, great music and fellowship and possibly a fireworks display that’s out-o-site! (if there’s no burn ban of course) Details and cost to be announced...

SCHEDULE ODDITIES

Wednesday

June 14^th – VBS Family night – NO REHEARSALS – Praise Band, Instrumental Ensemble and Praise Team we’ll meet at 8:00am on Sunday, June 18^th to prepare for the services! Choir we’ll meet @ 8:30!

freedomCONCERT AM

Sunday AM, July 2nd be a part of something special - join us as the Celebration Choir, Praise Band, Instrumental Ensemble, Praise Team present a Celebration of Freedom! More details to come!

 

Post Your Favorites!

Hey All,

New to blogging? One of the great things about a blog is that you can not only see what’s been written in the past, but you can also post your own comments about what’s being written. I would LOVE to hear from you.

You can post comments by clicking on the button at the bottom of any post marked “comments”.

To get the ball rolling I would love to hear from you! Tell me about your favorites. What song, hymns, and choruses is God using in your life? What are you favorites?

I would also love to hear what you think about this coming change to theScore – is theScore useful? What part do you always read? What part do you always ignore? I want theScore to be beneficial to you, let me know what you want to know so I can make theScore even better than ever!

THANKS, God Bless,

Chad

Made for Change

Last night was the end of an 8 year run for a TV show I really enjoy. It’s been interesting to watch how this show and its characters have changed over time. But what’s more interesting is the way the show ended. They made it very clear that the story was not yet finished – on the contrary, the lives of the characters involved would continue. They left plotlines undone, stories untold, and conflicts without resolution. They made it appear that life would continue, but the cameras would be turned off. This wasn’t some TV cliff hanger trying to fish you back for next season. This show is genuinely over; the actor’s contracts expired, the writers going on well deserved vacations and the directors moving on to other projects. It’s something that makes this show unique. The writers seem to have worked diligently to give the viewer an experience that seemed realistic rather than contrived and in doing so have painted a picture of our government that is entertaining to watch and interesting to study.

I’m talking about The West Wing. I don’t agree with a lot of the politics of the show but the way it presents our nation and the people who serve our government is extraordinary. They successfully painted liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats as thoughtful, patriotic men and women with a passion to serve this nation and the ideals of freedom. They didn’t avoid the dark sides of any issue or political party and were fair, though sometimes misguided, in their presentation of political, social, and even religious topics. I guess you can tell I really liked this show.

The last episode concludes an 8 year term by one President and begins a new term for another President. It’s an incredible reality when you think about it. On the 20^th of January every 4 years all the authority of the most powerful nation on the planet – the most powerful nation in the history of the world, really, shifts from one person to another at 12:00 noon. It’s a shift that is not just symbolic, but real and it involves more than just one person. Changing a President is about more than who sits in the Oval Office – it involves the President’s secretary and staff, the Cabinet and their staff, the support personnel, from those who maintain copiers and computers to those who write speeches and everyone in between. Every four years at 12:00 noon on January 20^th a revolution takes place and the balance of power shifts from one group to another and most of us barely notice. They are so detailed in the timing that during the inauguration one family is moved into the White House while another is moved out. One staff is moved out of the West Wing while another is moved in. The outgoing staff even has to have their parking spaces vacated by 2:00pm on the day of the inauguration. It happens every four years and even when the shift is between those who are diametrically opposed in politics and ideology it happens seamlessly. Ours is a government made for change.

I wonder if the same is true about our church – more specifically – I wonder if we as a people are ready willing and able to follow closely the leadership of the Holy Spirit as He guides us into all truth and leads us to draw others to Himself. Are we made for change? Are we ready for the things God has prepared for us?

Being ready means we have a heart tuned into the leadership of God through prayer, the study of Scripture and following those people God has placed in spiritual authority over us.

Being willing means we have managed our lifestyle so that regardless of the job God gives us we are able to go or do whatever God is leading us to do.

Being able means we are fully trusting that God will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory – this is about more than money, it’s about ability, resources, and people. If God’s called you to do it, He’s given you what it takes to git ’r’ done!

We were made for change. The question is whether or not we will follow God and fulfill the ministry He’s given us in this season.

Get ready – the best is yet to come!

THANKS, God Bless,

Chad

Notes to Notice

STING & PIZZA

For members of the BOTH Praise Bands - it’s finally here! STING & PIZZA. Let’s get together Saturday, May 20th from 6:30 - 8:30pm in the Terminal for an evening of fellowship and fun. You families are invited. RSVP to Brenda, brenda@fbcowasso.org, by May 18th.

PRAISE TEAM AUDITIONS AND APPLICATIONS

In May we’ll begin taking new Praise Team applications and scheduling auditions. Current members need not apply but will need to let me know of their desire to continue - be watching theScore for more details regarding this exciting ministry!

freedomCONCERT w/ WAYNE WATSON

It’s coming! Sunday night, July 2nd - WAYNE WATSON in concert! We’ll celebrate our Independence with great food, great music and fellowship and possibly a fireworks display that’s out-o-site! (if there’s no burn ban of course) Details and cost to be announced...

SCHEDULE ODDITIES

The end of the school year always brings with it special events and activities that effect our Wednesday night schedule - be sure to watch theScore for any changes!

Wednesday

May 17 - AWANA in Worship Center NO CHOIR - Praise Band/Team ONLY @ 8pm

May 24 - NO CHOIR Praise Band Team Prep ONLY @ 8pm

May 31 & June 7 - Childcare by RSVP - sign up with Brenda Henderson.

More details to follow!

freedomCONCERT AM

Sunday AM, July 2nd be a part of something special - join us as the Celebration Choir, Praise Band, Instrumental Ensemble, Praise Team present a Celebration of Freedom! More details to come!

Untouchable

Have you seen the movie The Untouchables? It's old school. Kevin Costner & Sean Connery. It's about the guys who brought down Al Capone. Great flick.

Al says something interesting during the movie. "You can always get further with a kind word and a gun than with just a kind word." I guess what he's saying is that 'please' is a lot more effective when you hold a gun to someones head.

I don't know about you - but sometimes I feel like that's how Christians approach sharing the gospel. I remember learning CWT (Christian Witness Training) and the two diagnostic questions:

1. If you were to die RIGHT NOW do you know for sure you would go to heaven?
2. If you were standing before God and He said why should I let you into my heaven - what would you say?

Both are important questions and the answers really are helpful in discovering whether or not someone is alive spiritually - but really, how often in a normal conversation do you have the opportunity to look someone in the eye and say - "If you were to die RIGHT NOW..." Sounds rather menacing to me.

Don't get me wrong. FAITH, CWT, the Roman Road, the Bridge to Life, 4 Spiritual Laws, One Verse Evangelism - these are all great methods for learning what the Bible says about salvation and for teaching someone the truth that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their life. But I'm struck by the fact that in Scripture our evangelistic examples from Paul to Peter to Jesus Himself all revolve around knowing, living, and discussing the gospel they preached.

It wasn't so much about 'confronting' someone with the reality of their impending and ultimate demise as much as it was about making the most of teachable moments and pointing people clearly to the truth that God wants a relationship with you and this relationship begins when you trust Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

I'm not talking about lifestyle evangelism either. You know what that is - expecting that living your good Christian life in front of someone is enough to cause them to one day suddenly blurt out - "OKAY! I see how wonderful your life is - tell me how to be a Christian now!"

Evangelism - like salvation - is about more than an outline to be memorized and regurgitated. It's about more than a good lifestyle to be lived. Evangelism is what happens when we walk daily with Jesus right in the middle of the crowd. Evangelism is what happens when we talk daily about Jesus as though our relationship with Him was as real, significant and a part of our every day lives as our relationship with our friends, our kids or our spouse. Evangelism is what happens when a lost person finds themselves in a teachable moment and the lesson they learn from you is all about the truth that God can be trusted, our sins can be forgiven, and our life can be different than it is now because Jesus paid the price for us.

Heaven is the end of the story, the icing on the cake, the dessert at the end of a meal prepared for us by the Master Chef. Too often when sharing the gospel we spend all our time trying to sell the dessert rather than focusing the starving man's attention on the Chef who is prepared to provide for us for all eternity.

This is what it means when Colossians 1:28 says we preach Jesus in all wisdom...not that we carelessly cast the gospel at any unsuspecting stranger God brings into our path. But with careful deliberation and with respect for the message we carry we live our lives in a manner worthy of the salvation we've been given as we boldly speak the truth of the gospel in love to the world around us.

True evangelism is not hit and run - it's any Believer saying and doing the right thing, the right way, at the right time, for the right reason. It's beginning and end are not heaven, but a glorious relationship between a Heavenly Father and newborn son (or daughter).

This week share the good news.

God Bless,
Chad

Colossians 1:28

"Him [Jesus] we preach, warning every man and teaching every man, in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus."

Colossians 1:28

About the Name

On The edge of your abilities, at the end of your talents, when you’ve reached the end of yourself and faith is all you have left then you are on the FarPoint.

As Believers in Christ Jesus we are saved to the FarPoint.
Romans 11:29 says, "...the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." This gift of salvation we have been given is complete. God started it. He will finish it. And when He is done every area of your life will have been affected. What are your struggles? Where are your troubles? Be patient and wait on the Lord. He is not done with you yet.

As Believers in Christ Jesus we must walk on the FarPoint.
II Corinthians 5:7 says, "For we walk by faith, and not by sight." Faith is not blind trust in something that makes no sense. Faith has substance. It is the evidence, the living proof, of Christ in you. By faith God has saved you and by faith God will accomplish things through you that you never imagined were possible.

As Believers in Christ Jesus we must reach to the FarPoint.
Acts 1:8 says, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me...to the ends of the earth." Our purpose is clear; spread the gospel. Our method is defined. We must surrender every resource, talent, and ability to the Father. II Corinthians 9:22 says, "...I have become all things to all people so that by all means I may save some."

Reach your world. Reach to the FarPoint.