PastorTim

FAMOUS LAST WORDS….

It’s a weird thing really, but I love to read epitaphs. You know, those carefully, well sometimes carefully chosen words that are found on tombstones. The world is filled with funny and thought provoking sayings littered throughout graveyards at home and abroad. "Below is a graveyard in Chambersburg Pa. from a recent trip" Some of my favorites include. “Here lies Butch, We planted him raw, He was quick on the trigger, But slow on the draw”. Here’s one of my favorites. “The Body of B. Franklin, Printer; like the Cover of an old Book, Its Contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Gilding, Lies here, Food for Worms. But the Work shall not be wholly lost; For it will, as he believ'd, appear once more, In a new & more perfect Edition, Corrected and amended By the Author.” How about this one… “Under the sod, under the trees, Lies the body of Solomon Pease, He is not here, there is only the pod, Pease shelled out and went home to God!” and lastly in a cemetery in England, “Remember me as you walk by, as you are now so once was I, remember this and follow me!” to the which someone replied by writing on the tombstone… “To follow you I’ll not consent, until I know which way you went!” Addicting isn’t it! Enough of tombstones for now, but with that last one in mind let me draw your attention to the resurrection chapter of the New Testament, First Corinthians chapter 15… listen with me to a few selected verses…. 19If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 20But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. 21For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Now to the end of the chapter…. Now here is an epitaph for you…. “55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Funny isn’t it how that some gravestones point to only the futility of this live and yet others point far beyond. I believe that Paul here is pointing us far ahead of what we see and experience today. To an eternal day of peace and joy in the presence of a Risen Savior. But to see him, you have to now him….Personally.
There once was a man named George Thomas, a pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning, he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Several eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak. "I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, " What you got there son?" "Just some old birds," came the reply. "What are you gonna do with them?" I asked. "Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered. "I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time." "But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?" "Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy. "They like birds. I'll take 'em to them." The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?" "Huh? Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing and they ain't even pretty!" "How much?" the pastor asked again. The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10." The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten-dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free. Well, that explained the empty birdcage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story. "One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. "Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!" "What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked. Satan replied, "Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!" "And what will you do when you get done with them?" Jesus asked. "Oh, I'll kill 'em," Satan glared proudly. "How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked. Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you!! You don't want those people!! "How much?" He asked again. Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your tears, and all your blood." Jesus said, "DONE!" Then He paid the price. The pastor picked up the cage, he opened the door, and he walked from the pulpit. Now allow me to ask you in closing, what would fit on your tombstone? How should your epitaph read? Jesus paid the price and rose from the dead so that our gravestone can confidently read as Annie Johnson Flint wrote “The way of the cross never stops at the cross 
and the way of the tomb leads on 
To victorious grace in the heavenly place 
where the risen Lord has gone.”

MAKING THE CONNECTION…

It’s a common mis conception about life but the truth is, you only get one shot at this thing! There is the popular notion held in high regard by certain belief systems that are widely embraced by many in the public eye that you have as many chances as you need to get it right. Certain religions aspire to the thinking that says if you don’t get it right the first time, just do better in the next life and eventually you’ll arrive…. where I’m not sure, but you’ll get there! According to Wikipedia, “Reincarnation, literally "to be made flesh again", is a doctrine or metaphysical belief that some essential part of a living being (in some variations only human beings) survives death to be reborn in a new body. This essential part is often referred to as the spirit or soul, the "higher" or "true" self, "divine spark", or "I". According to such beliefs, a new personality is developed during each life in the physical world, but some part of the self remains constant throughout the successive lives. Belief in reincarnation is an ancient phenomenon. This doctrine is a central tenet within the majority of Indian religious traditions, such as Hinduism (including Yoga, Vaishnavism, and Shaivism), Jainism, and Sikhism. Many modern Pagans also believe in reincarnation as do some New Age movements, along with followers of Spiritism, practitioners of certain African traditions, and students of esoteric philosophies such as Kabbalah, Sufism and Gnostic and Esoteric Christianity.” The problem is, according to the Bible it ain’t so! I don’t care what Shirley McLain says; she isn’t coming back as a princess, an insect, or a brick for that matter! Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”. So what brought this to your mind Tim?
Glad you asked. Back in 2001 construction began on the U.S, Grant Bridge connecting South Shore Kentucky with downtown Portsmouth Ohio. I would drive by day after day on my way to the church office. Watching the new span under construction was amazing. It took a few years to finish this project. Construction was expected to be complete in June of 2004, but work fell behind schedule due to inclement weather, unusual flooding of the Ohio River, and the partial sinking of a floating construction barge, which carried one of the cranes, used to work on the center span of the bridge. The date of completion was moved to October 16, 2006. What was most amazing to me was how that the spans would come together to meet perfectly in mid air to complete the bridge. “Check out picture's on my bog”. There was no room for error here. It had to come together perfectly. The price that would be paid, the time that it took to bring it to completion, the benefit it would produce. Listen to Paul’s words from the Galatian letter “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” God went to a lot of effort to make connection with us. So, how’s your life lining up? Are you connected to Him? Are you aiming in the right direction? A bridge not lining up would be a catastrophe for sure, but a life missing the connection with God would be an even greater tragedy!
Listen in with me to a conversation between Jesus and a religious leader in His day…. “And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.” Not far, did you hear that?
True story, in November 1975, 75 convicts started digging a secret tunnel designed to bring them up at the other side of the wall of Saltillo Prison in northern Mexico. On April 18, 1976, guided by pure genius, they tunneled up into the nearby courtroom in which many of them had been sentenced. The surprised judges returned all 75 to jail! Thomas a Kempis in his book Imitation of Christ wrote, “Thou oughtest so to order thyself in all thy thoughts and actions, as if today thou wert about to die. Labor now to live so, that at the hour of death thou mayest rather rejoice than fear. There are many lives that are not far from God’s Kingdom today. Almost connected, almost lined up. And the tragedy is, close isn’t enough! Are you connected to the Lord today?

OF BEAUTY AND BREVITY…

Not often do I have this much time to sit and think, and to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. It is Sunday morning and instead of being in church I am sitting at home enjoying the most amazing beauty. New fallen snow blankets our property with a breathtaking display that is almost heavenly. The dainty yet exquisite icicles that drape the house, garage and portico that connects the two. The white blanket of beauty that wraps everything in its embrace leaving only the outlines of what it has enveloped. And to top it all off, the company of my children to reminisce of snowstorms past. “Remember the time”, I’ll never forget”, and so ons fill the evening’s conversation. The only problem with all the reminiscing is that the icicles will fall, the snow will melt and the memories will fade. What I suppose is most important is what you are doing with the beauty of now.
The beauty of a snowy setting reminds me of the past. Memories of my childhood, Terri’s winter memories with her family, and of course those precious moments with Joe & Steph when they were little. I know of one particular sledding video that could win me a cool $1000.00 on AFV! These snowy days are what real memories are made of. Snow has the ability to call my attention to the amazing forgiveness of God. How as Isaiah puts it, can wash away the sinful past of a man and make it as pure as the driven snow…come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Icicles remind me of the brevity of life those things appear out of nowhere, you admire them for a while and poof they’re gone. Life’s like that isn’t it? I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who said,
“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for it is the stuff life is made of.”
Many moments in scripture remind us of the passing of time. King David said, “As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.” David’s son Solomon would write, “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:” Jesus himself points out the need for all of us to take advantage of the moments we have “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” So, what are you doing with the beauty of now? The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom is wise counsel from the book of Psalms. Carl Sandburg wrote, “Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.” I am sure that many of you have read this before but let it’s truth remind you again of the necessity of taking advantage of the moments before you. “ If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,000 that carried over no balance from day to day...Allowed you to keep no cash in your account, and every evening cancelled whatever part of the amount you failed to use during the day, what would you do? Draw out every cent every day, of course, and use it to your advantage! Well, you have such a bank, and its name is TIME! Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off as lost whatever of this you failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balances, it allows no overdrafts. Each day it opens a new account with you. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against tomorrow. The snow will melt the icicles will fall, and eventually the grass will begin to turn green again. What will you have done with the time in between?

WHO DID YOU VOTE FOR?

It has been quite interesting following the polls as so many candidates feel they should be elected as our next President. "Old picture of Terri and I in D.C. below" In 21st Century America, we have a number of opinions about every issue. So, who have you voted for? None of you’re business you nosey preacher you! Now before you slip and say something you’ll need to pray about let me assure you that in the midst of this over the top, I’m sick & tired of the ads myself political season, that I’m not asking about who you voted for in the primaries! The decision I’m inquiring about is in regard to the greatest and most important vote you will ever cast. Now many of you have made a lot of important decisions in your life. Decisions about who you will marry, whether or not to have children, the career path you will take. But no choice that will more affect you’re health happiness and future than this one. Before we go any farther let me ask you, what important questions have you answered well? What important question do you have in you’re life right now? This question I’m talking about today is about a person, but not just any person.
Over two thousand years ago a young itinerant preacher was growing in popularity in Israel. He was polling really well though some couldn’t agree with or support his platform. The crowds have subsided a bit as Jesus moves to a more remote part of the region, a place called Caesarea Philippi. A truly interesting choice of venues to ask those closest to Him how they thought things were going. The area He chose was scattered with no less than 14 temples of the ancient Syrian Baal worship. Historians tell us that it was believed that it was through a cave in this mountain that Baal entered Hades. The entrance then would be known as the gates of Hades. There was also located in that area a deep cavern that was said to be the birthplace of the god PAN…. A Greek god. That same cave was said to be the place where the sources of the Jordan River sprang to life. The very idea that this was the birthplace of the great Jordan River would have made it also a meaningful place for the Jews as well. Lastly, there was a great temple of marble built to the godhead of Caesar built by Herod the Great. So just picture the scene, a homeless, penniless Galilean carpenter, with 12 ordinary men, at the same time the religious leaders were plotting his death, stands in the midst of a countryside littered with worship sites dedicated to every known deity asks an eternal question. Perhaps he purposefully chose the backdrop to provide a comparison and demand a verdict in the hearts of his disciples. Let’s listen in on the conversation courtesy of Matthew’s gospel, “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Today with widespread skepticism, enormous spiritual confusion and a deep spiritual hunger the setting is not much different than it was then. “Who do men say that I the Son of Man am?” Their response then is almost as varied as the worlds today. There were quite a few opinions…still are! Some were honorable… John the Baptist, the preacher of repentance. Elias, or Elijah The prophet of miracles, Jeremiah… The weeping Prophet or One of the other prophets. “But whom say ye that I am?” But Peter got it! Listen, Jesus is still thrilled when someone gets it….
C.S. Lewis. Writes, “When the author walks onto the stage, the play is over. God is going to invade, all right; but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else comes crashing in? This time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. That will not be the time for choosing; It will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realized it before or not. Now, today, this moment is our chance to choose the right side.” So who do you support? Who do you support with you’re life, with you’re actions, with you’re lifestyle? Whether it’s primary day or the general election, you will cast a vote on this issue!
One of my favorite poems is by John Oxenham, which I think will fit very well in the end of this thought. “To every man there openeth 
A way, and ways, and a way. 
And some men climb the high way, 
And some men grope below, 
And in between on the misty flats 
The rest drift to and fro. 
And to every man there openeth 
A high way and a low; 
And every man decideth 
Which way his soul shall go.” Again, who did you vote for?