Josiah - king of Courage

You might not have heard of Josiah.  He is a little known king of Israel.  You can read of his story in 2 Chronicles 34.  What's remarkable about his story is that he choice to "swim upstream" and serve the Lord.  His grandfather was a failure.  His father was a mess spiritually.  But somehow,  Josiah chose to follow the Lord.

Josiah's story reminds us that we don't need good role models or perfect circumstances to do what's right.  We just need the heart of a lion-the heart of courage.  Josiah became king at the ripe old age of eight.  When he was sixteen, the Bible says he began to seek the Lord.  That's a great start for such a young king.

Whatever your age, I want to encourage you this week to choose to be courageous.  Swim upstream as you serve the Lord.

See you Sunday!

Samson - Strength and Sadness

Warning!  Sometimes the Bible gives us some pretty sad stories and this is the case with Samson.  But . . . It's a good thing the Bible doesn't skip over the real life situations that even heroes of faith found themselves in (and yes, Samson is listed in the faith chapter as a hero of faith, Hebrews 11:32).

When I first heard Samson's story as a boy, he seemed like a giant of a man with no weaknesses.  But like superman he had his kryptonite.  Turns out, Samson was a "he-man with a she-weakness".  Samson has a problem with carnality.  We have a similar problem today.

I want to say a word about just one element of Samson's story -- the deception of sin.  I know we are not altogether comfortable with that word - sin.  The Bible calls any attitude or action, which does not line up with God's nature, his principles of truth, or his will for our lives, sin.  The Greek word for sin, hamartia, helps us understand what the Bible is getting at.  Sin is missing the mark; falling short of God's best!  So . . . let's admit it - we do this everyday, in small ways and sometimes big ways.  We sin.

My question is this - What impact does that sin (call it a bad decision) have upon us if it is unforgiven and never "corrected"?  The Bible seems to suggest that sin left unchecked in our lives not only produces a barrier between us and God (Romans 6:23), it blinds us spiritually, so that bad seems good and wrong seems right.

This was the case with Samson.  Even as he lay with Delilah he knew she was trying to trick him, but he told her the secret of his strength anyways.  How blind could he be???  His carnal descent from God's blessings and presence in his life had left him spiritually blind.  In the end, spiritual blindness produced physical blindness as well.

There is a good side to this story and I hope you will join us Sunday as we work our way through Samson's strength and sadness.  But for now let us receive and important warning.  There is great sadness, grief, complication, and brokenness with sin.  Sin doesn't confront us; it sneaks up on us and like "the frog in the kettle" we are cooked before we know it.

Be careful out there.  Pastor Tom

Joshua - Choosing Courage

Just wrapped up the Joshua story.  Most of us are familiar with the Joshua 24:15 verse - "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."  Joshua is remembered as a courageous soul who followed Moses as leader of Israel and led the people in the conquest of the promised land.

What you may not know is how Joshua became a person of courage.  There is an obscure story about Moses and Joshua back in Exodus 33.  In those days Moses was in the custom of setting up a "tent of meeting" as a place for people to inquire of the Lord.  Moses would also enter the tent to talk with God.  Exodus 33 records how Joshua remained inside the tent even after Moses left.  Joshua wanted to seek the Lord.  That's where Joshua's courage began - with a desire to seek the Lord.

Later in Joshua's story we see him giving a "good report" as he looks on God's promise with eyes of faith.  (Numbers 13-14).   As a new leader, the Lord encouraged him three times with the words, "Be strong and courageous."  (Joshua 1:1-9)  But where could Joshua find such courage?

For Joshua, courage began with a decision - a decision to seek the Lord.  What's your source of strength?  where do you turn when you are weak?  I hope you will turn to the Lord.

The Story of Joseph and Choices

"Do, or do not. There is no 'try.'" Jedi Master Yoda 

Choices are very important; call it intuition, wisdom, or character.  But successful people make decisions quickly and then are slow to change them.  I call that consistency or longevity.  Think about the story of Joseph.  God had a plan and Joseph had a dream.  But the path to the destination was through the pains of hatred, slavery, and prison.  And don't kid yourself, Joseph didn't find any of this easy.  In the final chapters of his story we learn of his grief and great emotion at the re-appearance of his brothers.  Joseph's journey through troubled waters was difficulty, but he weathered the storm with his trust in God and his attitude of faithfulness.  

So what about you?  Are you willing to trust God regardless of your circumstances?  Join us Sunday as we consider Joseph's story and how it applies to our lives today.