September 2008

Pastor’s

Ponderings

Sometimes life does not go as we desire or deserve.  Scripture bears witness over and over that bad things often happen to good people.  Most of us can accept this until it happens to us and then we typically want to know what we did wrong to deserve such hardship.  In Jesus’ time many believed that God judged people during their lives on earth, therefore those who suffered were presumed to be bad and those who were blessed assumed to be good.  Often, the exact opposite was true with those who had wealth preying on those who were poor and helpless.  The Book of Job provides insight that sometimes there is more going on than we can see.  Job was a very good man who honored God in every way and was richly blessed.  Satan challenged God saying that Job was only faithful because he was blessed, and if he lost his blessings, he would reject God.  Job’s friends all assumed that Job deserved the terrible things that befell him, but no matter what happened, and even when condemned by all, Job refused to turn away from God. 

      As a congregation we have seen much hardship this past year.  While striving to do good and make more room for ministry, we have seen our efforts frustrated by the evil greed of a contractor who preys on God’s people.  We soon learned that we were not alone and that this contractor had been devastating church after church.  Believing we were called to stop this evil, at great risk and sacrifice we have undertaken the task of holding him accountable and ending his destructive rampage.  The Lord works in mysterious ways that our efforts to expand our church would lead to our fighting to stop a tyrant.  Our effort to grow our church bigger has become a struggle to protect other churches from harm.  Are these not both the same?  Do not both serve the kingdom of God?

      It is impossible not to become discouraged when things don’t go as expected, when efforts to do good are frustrated by evil set on destruction.  But is this not what our Lord Jesus Christ told us would happen?  Jesus warned us, saying, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20a).  He also said, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). 

      Before we decided to answer God’s call to expand our ministries and enlarge His house for the new families moving into our community, our church was dying and we struggled to pay our basic bills.  Since we said “yes” to God we have not only expanded our ministries so much that our operating budget has doubled, we have raised three-quarter of a million dollars to build a facility that will more than double our capacity to serve God’s children. 

      It is easy to become discouraged by setbacks, but do not lose sight of all that God has already accomplished through your faith.  Keep the faith!  Ultimately, Satan was shown to be a liar and what Job had lost was restored and his blessings doubled.  Since we said “yes” to God and began to walk by faith we have seen two things happen: God’s blessings have overflowed in our midst; and God has led us to ministries beyond ourselves that we never thought possible before.  Yes, we have seen Satan attack our every effort to serve and glorify God.  I remind you that Satan always fights against those who are making a difference for God.  I also remind you that our victory has already been won through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Your fellow servant in Christ,

Pastor Harold

Fun & Games Night
On the second Wednesdays we will share an evening of fun and games.  Come and enjoy a great meal and stick around for the fun.  Some games will be available but please bring a favorite board game, dominos, etc.