Jim Words

HOPEFUL

2013-06-13T22:06:05Z

NewSong rocks!!! We reached our goal of building 250 HOPEFUL bags. In addition, we were able to build another 200 bags containing everything but toiletries. That’s a total of 450 bags!!!

Together we made this endeavor a HUGE success. Now it’s time to distribute HOPEFUL bags and make a difference in someone’s life. Here are some upcoming opportunities where we can participate:

•   “Church on the Streets in Theodore” – Sunday, June 23rd @ 12:30 p.m. with Ransom Café Ministries

•   “Visit Downtown Mobile Tent City” – Saturday, July 6th @ 11:00 a.m. with Baldwin County Interdenominational Ministries (due to limited number of participants allowed this will require signing up prior to the event)

•   “One Meal” – Sunday, July 21st @ 4:00 p.m. with Ransom Café Ministries

In the coming weeks keep your eyes and ears open for more specific details and contact information.

In the meantime, stop by the HOPEFUL fence the first and third Sunday of each month to pick up a HOPEFUL bag or two to have on hand in your car. You never know when you may encounter someone who could use a HOPEFUL bag and a friendly smile to brighten his or her day.

One bag at a time, together we can touch lives and make a difference.

“Then the King will say, I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40 (Message)

Old Testament God verses New Testament God

2013-06-03T20:14:29Z

Is the God of the Old Testament (the god of war and violence) the same as the God in the New Testament (the god of love and peace)?

That is a great question. Undoubtedly when you read the Old Testament, there are numerous wars begun by the Israelites. While in the New Testament, Jesus teaches that we are to turn the other cheek. So what is going on?

First, I think it is important to understand that the God in the Old Testament is the same as the God in the New Testament is the same God ruling today. Scripture teaches us that God does not change. His character is constant. (Psalm 102: 12; 25-28; Hebrews 13:8, James 1:17) If we stop and think about it, if God's character changed how could we ever trust Him? There would be no consistency where we could take a stand.

So while it is true that God did use warfare as an instrument of justice against corrupt nations, that same warfare would be visited on God's people Israel when they became corrupt. While warfare was designed to bring justice upon entire societies, sometimes that meant innocent people like children would get caught up in the destruction. That answer is not emotionally pleasing, but some societies were so morally corrupt that annihilation was the only course to take. When Israel did not follow God's commands in this area, and completely destroy a foreign nation, eventually that nation idolatry would pollute God's people.

I think it is important to remember that the events of the Old Testament took place in unique period of human history. God used the people of Israel in a distinctive way at that time. In that day, in Near Eastern culture triumph in warfare was commonly associated with the strength of a nation's god. Consequently when the Children of Israel took the Promise Land, it was sign of the power of their God.

It is also important to see the grace of God in the Old Testament. Think of the flood, God did not have to save Noah. Sodom would have been saved if 5 righteous people would have been found. Read the book of Jonah, grace extended to people who were not God's people. Grace is found in the curse of humanity after Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 3:15).

Looking at the New Testament we do see the love and grace of God found in His incredible gift of His Son and in the teachings of the Jesus. However, we also Jesus and the Apostle Paul teaching about Hell, eternal death, eternal separation from God. Anninas and Sapphira are other examples of God's judgment. How about God's words to the Pharisees and the churches in the book of Revelation.

Does there seem to be an emphasis of judgement in the Old Testament and grace in the New Testament? You would have to determine that for yourself. In the Old Testament it seems that God is speaking more to a nation a people, while in the New Testament, Jesus seems to be speaking to individuals who will be forming a new community, the church. Maybe that is part of the emphasis difference.

I found this youtube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhuAm13Ji8o to be helpful in my thought process.

Hearing God's Voice

2013-06-03T19:44:48Z

How does a person know when God is speaking to them?

I have been asked this question many times. Almost as many times as I have asked that same question myself. I have found when it comes to a big decision in my life there is God's will, my will, and what I think is God's will. Sometimes they are all three the same thing. And sometime they are not. Sometimes it is just hard to hear.

The question arose this week following a message about Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac. How did Abraham know it was God who was talking to him.

Abraham was called a friend of God (James 2:23). A friend knows the voice of his friend. Just as you can hear your friend or loved on when they call your name. You have been with them enough to know them.

We have the added benefit of the Bible. Anything God speaks to us will be in agreement with His word.

I have to admit that I have never heard God's voice audibly. But there have been a few times when I just knew God was wanting me to do something, or to move somewhere, or say something. I can not explain it anymore than that. I just knew.

I think Abraham had heard the voice of God enough that he knew when it was God talking to him and when it wasn't. The reality is, the more time I spend with God, the more clear His voice will become.

The Whole Story

2013-03-08T13:18:06Z

I've had a couple great questions come up as we are reading the "Whole Story." (Jesus' story from the Last Supper to His Resurrection). After completing the reading for March 8 (Matthew 28). I was asked where was Mary, Jesus' mother? She is not mentioned in Matthew's Gospel? Exactly! That is why we are reading the whole story from four different authors.

The four different Gospel writers give us a fuller view of the entire story. It is like hearing the same story told from four different perspectives. The agreement of the four authors actually lends a lot of support to the truth of the story. While at the same time it gives us their individual perspectives of the story.

We will find Mary the Mother of Jesus was at the cross. John writes about that in the Gospel of John. He remembers that fact quite clearly because Jesus told John to take care of His mom.

Joy versus Happiness

2013-01-22T19:51:00Z

In preparation for Sunday’s talk, I have been wrestling with the concept of joy and happiness. Whenever you ask someone what they really want, the most common response is “I want to be happy.” When you ask a parent what is their dream for their child, the response is the same, “I want them to be happy.” Very few talk about finding true joy. Some do, but within that joy there is a sense of happiness.

I am not so sure that we can separate joy and happiness into two completely separate categories. Although I think there is a difference; however, I also think that happiness is part of joy. I don’t know that there is a knife so sharp that it can cleanly separate the two.

I would love to get some of your thoughts on the subject of joy versus happiness.

Forward Facing Faith

2012-12-10T15:55:12Z

In my life, trying to find, hear, and/or live in the 'will of God' has always been part of my continuing story. I found encouragement this past week from Mary, the mother of Jesus. When without any angelic instruction, she moved forward in faith, simply doing what she thought was the right thing to do. She went and visited her 'kinswoman' Elizabeth. She kept facing forward in her faith. Erwin McManus, in his book "An Unstoppable Force" puts it this way...

More times than we care to admit, we simply don't know what the next step is. But if our hearts are bound to the heart of God, we are never lost.

Forward facing faith; hearts bound to the heart of God; life is really all about who you are with rather than where you are going.

Spectacular

2012-12-04T13:51:55Z

This past Sunday afternoon I had the opportunity to join a friend at the pier in Fairhope for a run. The timing was perfect. As we rounded the corner, we stop running and actually sat down at a picnic table to watch the sun disappear over the horizon. It was an incredible scene of the majesty and beauty of the earth that God has created. I got to experience it. What made it even more incredible, I was able to experience it with a friend.

It reminded me how crazy this time of year can be. Coming and going, running here and there. So often we miss it, I miss it. I miss God, I miss who He is, waiting for Him to do something spectacular. When I forget that He already is spectacular. I just have to stop, stop and see, stop and listen. Just stop.

And to be able to share this experience with a friend, priceless!

Love Old Mustangs

2012-11-13T14:54:17Z

My son called me the other day to tell me about another old Ford Mustang that he is considering buying. Immediately, I went into parent protection mode: "How much rust is on it? How does the engine look? Any oil spills? Did you test drive it? Did the transmission slip?" I was trying to help my son not make a bad financial decision about this car.

Wouldn't it be great if he could test drive the car for about 6 months to make sure it was what he wanted? Just to be certain that the transmission was good to go, to know that the car would start every morning and to make sure there were no hidden problems.

Even if he could test drive it for 6 months, we all know what would happen at 6 months and 1 day. The engine would fall out! Then he’s stuck with it.

That is where many people are in their relationships: stuck. They entered into the relationship thinking that it was perfect. Many times they even "test drove” the relationship to make sure things were the way they wanted them to be. The problem is, like cars, people change. Sometimes there is hidden damage that no one is aware of. Five, ten or fifteen years go by and then the hidden damage becomes visible. Many times, the words "I am just not happy anymore," follow that exposed damage.

Buyer’s remorse sets in… If they only knew then what they know now...

But not my son! If the engine fell out, that would be ok. He would have purchased the car not because it was perfect, but because he loves old Mustangs.

Granted, relationships are a lot more complicated than buying an old car. It takes two people, actually three counting God, to make a relationship work. When the sole basis for the relationship is a temporary feeling of happiness, or that we've tried this out and it seems to work, something important is missing.

Love.

Not just the feeling of love, but the commitment to love whether or not the engine falls out.

When I see couples who have been married 50, 60+ years, I know they are not the same people they were 40 years ago. Life has brought change into each of their lives. There had to be days the car didn't start, or the tire was flat. How did stay together? How did they stand the test of time?

It was a committed decision on both parts to love each other. One that we need to make in our own relationships.

I wonder how many relationships have been formed based solely upon what you do for me today; based solely upon the test drive. But when the rust starts showing, the engine starts knocking, when things start to change, it becomes all too easy to trade that old car in.

Unless you love old Mustangs.

Letting Go to Receive

2012-10-30T21:01:45Z

I was talking to a friend of mine today who had lunch with his boss. My friend has been quite successful in his line of work, so when his boss said he wanted to have lunch with him, he wasn't too concerned. But that was before the boss began to talk about new opportunities in the company for my friend. There were other areas in the company that could use his expertise. Quite frankly, he really doesn't want to have to relocate. He likes his life the way it is, he can't really imagine it getting any better.

It made me think about living with closed or open hands. He was holding on so tightly to his current situation that even if God wanted to bless him with a new position He couldn't.

Made me wonder how many things am I holding on too because I don't want to lose them, but God might have something more wonderful in mind for me.

Unless I open my hand and trust God I will never know.

Normally when I think of opening my hands and trusting God with my life, I hear this command from God, "Drop it! Stop it! Run from it!" And of course He is right. He is God. But old habits are comfortable and hard to break.

Sometimes God might say, "This needs some work." That is always a painful process because I have to face the reality of me. I have to face my insecurities, my failures, my mistakes. Each time the dentist aims his needle into my gums I want to jump even though I know it is best for me. Even though I know the pain will be temporary, I still push back from it.

Rarely do I think that God might just say, "Are you ready for an upgrade?" I've got something so much better for you in mind. You simply have to trust me. Let's get rid of what's in your hand and trust me with what is going to come. This is the hardest one for me. Because what is in my hand isn't bad. It is not wrong, it is not even broke. It is rather good. It is comfortable! But as Jim Collins writes, "The Good is always the enemy of the Great." Do I trust that God has my best interest in mind?

Or maybe He might just say, "Wow, that is pretty. I hope you are fully enjoying it." Would God really say that? I think He would. I think He does! I just wish I could hold my hand open longer.

Passion or Poison

2012-10-14T13:34:04Z

When my boys were younger, I enjoyed taking them exploring in the woods. Sometimes we would get off the trails and climb as high up into the hills as we could go. There at the top the view was incredible. But I always got nervous when my boys would get too close to the edge. The problem was the view is best from the edge. But boys will be boys. The edge is no place for horsing around or unbridled enthusiasm. But as they have gotten older, they are enjoying the scenes closer to the edge.

I think about that scenario as it relates to our growth as a follower of Christ. I believe God has uniquely wired each person with different passions. It is what makes us unique. It is those same passions skewed a mere 10 degrees off focus that leads us into trouble.

So for instance if a person is wired up as a leader, it is that very passion skewed 10 degrees that leads to danger, great danger. That person can quickly become domineering and just steam roll over people, leading to haughtiness, self-righteousness, and a whole lot of other ugly stuff.

Some would say, stay away from the edge. But then you are denying who you are. This is we're maturity comes in. Just as you would not send a 4 year old out to look out over a ledge by himself, nor would you send a 13 year old out there without a warning, if we are going to fully exercise our God given passions in a healthy godly way, we must do so with a sense of spiritual maturity and growth.

That is one reason why the spiritual disciplines of prayer, study, and accountability are so important. These disciplines help us to focus our passions. If we allow our passion to run amuck in our lives they can lead to disaster; however, when we yield our passions to Holy Spirit, inviting Him to guide our passions, we come alive. Others are blessed. God is glorified.