That's a hard way to develop character

This past Sunday evening, while preaching through the book of Genesis, I got to a point in Joseph's life that, though unusual, we could probably still identify with. He is in jail. Not a situation I can empathize with, but I do have an idea what he may be feeling in a situation that has him bound, suffering, maybe hurting, and to top it all off, a situation that he did did not deserve. While studying this passage, I stumbled upon a verse in Psalms 18:6,  "In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears."

Distress, that summed up where I felt Joseph was in his life, reminded me of some places in my life, and brought a challenge to mind. What do I do in distress? How do I react? Remember, distress isn't just a sickness, trouble, or temptation. We could be talking about sorrow or anxiety. How do you handle it?

Well before I sum up how Joseph handled it as an example for us all, I want to share with you a story. Many years ago my wife and I needed bedroom furniture. The California king waterbed we had finished its course. It was already filled with a cheap regular mattress after the Christmas Eve elbow through the waterbed mattress fiasco, and it was not comfortable nor practical in our home. We shopped for a set and found one in each of the three major brand names, and they all looked the same. As we shopped I noticed that all of the floor models had a common damage to them and after a while I finally asked why the wood looked so rough with all of the marks. Of course, these marks were all about the same and evenly spaced apart but I was clueless on furniture. I was actually embarrassed to find out that the marks belonged there. They were mechanically put there on purpose. It was called "distressing" and here was the good part. The salesman said, "It adds character." WOW! Distressing adds character. I bet you don't think of it that way in the middle of it, but that is how God views difficulty in our life. The hard time are on purpose with a purpose.

Now, what can we learn from Joseph? Real quick...First, keep your priorities straight. Remember, God first, others second, and self last. That's what Joseph did in Genesis 40. Next, practice your patience. Joseph spent years in his distressing situation and we never read of complaints when he got there by an injustice, gripes when he was forgotten by those he helped, or whining when it seemed that his dreams were never going to be realized. Lastly, we find out in chapter 41, verse 38 that the Spirit of God was in Joseph. When in these difficult times, we ought to continue to pursue God. Don't let up. Don't quit. Continue following hard after God.

Hey, in case you didn't know, distress is coming and/or it's already here. How will you handle it? If you do it like Joseph, it will develop character. Oh, by the way, I failed to mention that there was an ultimate promotion in Joseph's life because of his character, and all of his dreams came true. That's an outcome worth waiting for, at least from my Perspective.

Audience participation time

Whoo-hoo! I crossed over the 1000 page view line this weekend. Big deal right? Probably not, but it seemed like a good time to get you involved a little bit. Although I am sure that most of the page views are repeat visitors, I can't help but wonder who you all are. I have viewers in 6 different countries and from all sort of traffic sources, so I am curious. Blogging is fairly fun, but I also want it to be useful, not just an entertainment outlet.

So here's the idea. If you are comfortable with it, leave a comment telling me where you are located and how you found me. If you have a blog, please use this as an opportunity to promote yourself, so long as the content is not contrary to my own stated position as a born again follower of Jesus Christ. While you're at it, maybe include your favorite post title. I haven't asked for any personal information pinpointing who you are, but if you are still uncomfortable with any of that, send me an email at pastorrickfbc@gmail.com. I certainly understand that if you are emailing me than you do not want your comments made public and I will respect that. I sincerely look forward to hearing from you and even connecting with your blog. It seems, as much as I  have to say sometimes, I still need inspiration to keep this up. Thank you in advance.


p.s. I will happily accept constructive criticism in the comments or by email, but I obviously reserve the right to remove them once I have read them. I am sure I could improve my blog skills.

Winning the game 3-1...

First of all, I want to take a second to welcome and thank the first two followers of Perspectives, aside from my wife and me. I am humbled that folks would be interested that much. That being said, I would love to see more. Followers fill a couple roles for me; cheerleaders encouraging me to come back and write again and accountability partners challenging me to fulfill my role as blogger.

I enjoy waking up each day to a random scripture reference on my phone, thanks to the Daily Bible app. This morning's verse, which you know already if you follow me on Twitter @fbcpastorrick or Facebook, RickandJenWilson, is Psalm 32:8, "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." As I considered this verse during my morning three mile hike, my mind settled on the word teach. Here's a challenging self-examination. Are you teachable? I mean really teachable. I can promise you that successful people in every field or walk of life had to be and probably still are teachable. We can't know it all and so there is always someone who can help us by teaching. Of course, for the child of God that teacher is God, the Holy Spirit.

Although being teachable is a good quality in and of itself, I thought about about what it takes to be teachable or what it says about you as a teachable person, especially as it relates to relationship to the Lord.

1. To be teachable, you must trust the Teacher. Do believe God is who He says He is? Do you believe His word, the Holy Bible, is true from beginning to end? The description of God given to us in Psalm 139, reveals that He is omniscient (all-knowing in verses 1-6), omnipresent (everywhere present in verses 7-12), omnipotent (all powerful in verses 13-18), and fully righteous and just (verses 19-24). Do you believe that? Can you trust God with your problems? Can you trust Him with your life?
2. To be teachable, you must submit to the Teacher. This is tough. We already know it all, right? If not, we can easily Google it. Isaiah 55:9 reminds us "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." See, first you have to trust Him or you won't even believe this. If you joined a martial arts class, you would have no qualms referring to the teacher of that class as "sensei", or master. To be lead by God and truly succeed in this life and then eternity, we must recognize God as master. If you can't elevate Him to that place in your life then you really are not teachable.
3. To be teachable, you must humble yourself. Ouch. That's it. You've heard enough, right? We were doing okay until then. Unfortunately, in our culture of self-esteem, we are not very familiar with humility. Child of God, you are called to humility, but not without its blessing. James 4:10 assures us "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." Without humility we are a dried-up lump of play-doh left out overnight on the dining room table. We are unable to be formed or changed. On the other hand, a life of humility enables us to be that lump of clay in the Master Potter's hands. Remember it this way, "To be full of pride is to be fully dried." That's no good. Dried clay is a finished product. Do you really think that you are finished? Are you totally satisfied with who/what you are right now? I hope not, because if you check the score, you're losing. What score? Keep reading.

There is another side to that coin, unteachable. Simple enough. You are either teachable or unteachable. What does this "quality" say about you as a person?

1. To be unteachable, you only need one word...self. You must believe yourself to be self-sufficient, self-reliant, self-supporting, and completely self-absorbed. You are more concerned with self-esteem, self-image, self-worth, and anything else that promotes yourself above others. 

Don't go wacky on me here and think that these are not worthwhile attributes. Some of these certainly have their justifiable place in our character, but I think to sum it all up in good context I will quote a saying I first read at The Wilds. "Just two choices on the shelf, serving God or serving self." That's the wrap-up and the game. The winners take it 3-1. I want to be a winner. I desire to be teachable in the context of this scripture and there is no better Perspective than the one from the winning side.

Truly vast as the ocean

My Prayer Perch overlooking the Atlantic Ocean

Unfortunately, I am back from a grand vacation at one of my favorite places on this earth, Topsail Island, NC. In spite of the clear and present danger of Hurricane Isaac, we drove down a week ago this past Sunday, and we were rewarded for our faith with a beautiful week of sunshine, warm air, and warm, calm water. Wednesday morning I awoke with a song in my head, really out of nowhere. I hadn't heard it in quite a long time, but it seemed to start my day perfectly as I sat out on the deck off of our bedroom. The picture is the view from my "Prayer Perch" and as I watched the tide rolling and the dolphins following the shrimp troller, some thoughts came to me, birthed out of the hymn I awoke with.

From my "perch" I thought of the shear vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. I realize the Pacific is larger, but I was sitting in front of this ocean that was rolling up on the shores of the United States of America and, at the same time, rolling up on the shores of Wales, where this song originated nearly 4000 miles away, and I thought about how the relentless love of God rolls up on the shores of humanity, no matter where they are. It is a well-known fact that water covers about 3/4 of the globe. How overwhelming is that? And on the edge of every land mass in every part of the world, the ocean is rolling up on the shore. Then, while the sight of the ocean reminded me of the relentless, ever-present love of God, I thought about the waves. Through the week at Topsail I saw times of high tide and I saw times of low tide. Interestingly, some high tides were higher than others and some low tides were lower than others. Yet, in every tide, high or low, the waves seemed to keep pushing toward the shore. I could not help but admit that even in the lowest times of my life, though I would try to deny His presence, I still knew the love of God. That love still rolled, as the waves, toward the deep and troubled shores of my heart. You know, in a week at the beach, not one time did the waves ever stop. What an incredible comfort to know that in every season of my life, the waves of God's love will never stop.

On Tuesday, we did have some rainy, stormy weather and if you have ever been to the shore and seen a storm come in, you know what happens to the ocean waves. They swell. I got excited as I thought about how at the most difficult times of life, the times of great storms, the waves of God's love grow greater, seeming to push harder to make their way to the shore of our soul to assure us of His presence, to comfort us and even bring peace. Even as the wind would blow against the tide, the waves still roll shoreward.

The Bible says in I John 3:1, " Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God". God has bestowed upon us a love that is measureless and relentless, not to mention deep, but it has a purpose. See the imperative in that verse. We should be called the sons of God. All of us aren't, but we should be. That's not just my Perspective. It's God's too.

Here is love, vast as the ocean,                            
Loving kindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,
Shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten,
Throughout Heav’n’s eternal days.

On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God’s mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And Heav’n’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.

William Rees

The God of salvation is so much more

I am a preacher of the great gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a privilege to share the good news of the birth, sinless life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a message of hope for every soul lost in sin, despair, and even death. The Bible says that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. This message is the very purpose of my life. There is nothing sweeter to see than to witness the life-transforming power of this timeless, ageless, and endless story of redemption. Every man born is doomed to an eternity of death and separation from God. Heaven and Hell are realities that I desire to help mankind believe. We have all been born in sin. We have all made choices that violate the nature and law of God and we are in desperate need of a Savior.  The gospel is the story of that Savior and His sacrifice to change the destiny of all who would call upon His name. Salvation is of the Lord. It is His purpose in reconciliation. It is the theme and focus of the Bible and the preaching of every God-called man of God. But this is not the end of the story.

I am afraid that fundamental preachers and pastors of our day have sold God short. In an effort to avoid preaching a feel-good, socially acceptable "false" gospel, the trend has been to swing the pendulum so far away from a message outside of salvation that there is little belief that God has other abilities and desires. We have given the impression that God is only interested in keeping you from going to Hell and that He is not interested in the stuff of life that we deal with every day. In Luke 4:18, Jesus quotes an Old Testament scripture prophesying of himself. He describes His ministry as one that preaches the gospel, but that is not all. Jesus also mentions that part of His ministry is to preach deliverance, recovery, and liberty. Every one of us has something that we need deliverance from, recovery from, and/or liberty with. This should make it perfectly clear that God cares about the individual struggling with the bondage of addiction, bitterness, or hatred, a person trying to come back from depression, an emotional or mental breakdown, or even loneliness, or that one wishing to live in the freedom of God's grace, without the shackles of legalism or organised religion. You see, there is a whole lot more that God wants to do for you and in you. It is surely of the utmost importance for you to ask the Lord to forgive you of your sin and invite Him to live in and direct your life, but it is also incredibly needful for us to realize the continuing work of God. He hasn't brought us into the "Promised Land" and left us to fight the giants on our own.

What's that mean to us? We need to let God into the dark or difficult places of our life and allow His light to penetrate and change us, but please don't stop there. We need to take that light to those who are still sitting in the depths of confusion, hurt, and bondage and bring to them this great message of hope. Many around us do not know that God is for them beyond conversion. You'll not ever be more saved than you are upon your acceptance of Christ but the Bible says that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. There is still more work to do in your life, in my life, and in their life. Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life (that's salvation), and that they might have it more abundantly (that deliverance, recovery, and liberty)." What a refreshing Perspective!   

Your presence is requested before the King

I am having my oil changed right now so I figured I would practice my multi-tasking. I share a thought from my devotion by way of my phone. I read the book of Esther yesterday. You know, the book in the Old Testament that never mentions God, but it did not take long for me to stumble upon God in the book. In the first chapter, you read about a king who "enjoys a good time." He is hosting a grand feast with all the who's who of his kingdom and ultimately wants to show off his pretty wife. Quick lesson right there. Sir, your wife doesn't need the admiration of everyone else nearly as much as she needs yours, and parading her in public, showing all of her "attributes" is not complimenting her. It is making her an object for show and tell. Treat her the way she ought to be treated in private and she won't need to receive that attention from the public...and she probably doesn't want to, especially if it has to be in exchange for your attention. Anyway, the queen did not appreciate the opportunity to be made a public spectacle and so she refused. In so doing, she caused the king disappointment, as well as a bit of embarrassment in front of his buddies.  For her disobedience, Queen Vashti was given a punishment, "a royal commandment...that Vashti come no more before king Ahasueras." Now this is a powerful king, no doubt, ruling a kingdom from India to Ethiopia, and he has certainly flexed his muscle here. But I could not help looking at this from a different Perspective.

I serve a powerful King who reigns from Heaven to Hell. Of course, He does not require such things of me as this worldly king did. In fact, those things He desires from/for me are not just for His good pleasure, but for my benefit as well. Even so, I am sure I disobey my King. I fail Him in His desires for me. I fall incredibly short in my opportunities to bring attention and glory to Him in my life. But this is the good part. My King does not refuse entrance before Him. In fact, I have been invited to come into His presence to settle my failures. We read in Isaiah 1:18, "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." How's that for flexing your muscle? Be encouraged today that the God of the universe is the God of salvation. He wants you to turn to Him, not in order to present Him with your assets, but to bring your liabilities. No matter where you are or what you find yourself in, God is for you. We have been encouraged by the word of God, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." That does not sound like a royal decree barring me from His presence unless I am fit or prepared. Actually, it is clear that I am to feel at ease, welcomed to go to God with my faults and imperfections to receive mercy and grace, and even forgiveness, I John 1:9. I have a royal invitation to appear before the King and in my place before His throne, I have a great Perspective.

A great investment tip, for real

  I have to say that maintaining a blog is a little harder than you may think. Try it and when you do, let me know so I can follow you. Anyway, the last two weeks have been crazy. I am an only child and my parents have moved yet again, so my family and I needed to provide packing and unpacking services. That was the week before this one. This week has been a totally different story. For the seventh consecutive year, I am at the Wilds, a Christian camp and conference center in North Carolina. No one does camp like they do and I have been blessed as a sponsor every year.

As I have sat in the services and seen the great responses to the preaching, I could not help but think of a conversation I had this week with another sponsor. Interestingly enough, I am nearly 600 miles from home and I was able to make a connection. Our conversation turned to a mutual "acquaintance", a church that we each had an attachment to. This church does not promote any type of youth ministry. That is odd in and of itself, but what astounded me is the fact that they run a Christian school from kindergarten all the way through twelfth grade. That would have to be labeled the extreme end of the discussion of youth ministry...none. Well, as many of you know, most of my years in ministry have been as a youth pastor, and even now I tell my folks, "I will always be a youth pastor to some extent." I love young people. I love being around them and working with them. I love their energy. I love their enthusiasm (if you can find it). I love their perspective. Why would you not want to have a ministry to and for young people? I am sure that the vast majority of parents have provided education, food, and clothing for their children at the child's learning/age level. I am also sure of the provision of specialized medical care for that age group in pediatricians and pediatric dentists. I surely hope that entertainment has been provided in an age-appropriate manner, as well. So why not ministry? There are so many options: Sunday school, children's church, youth group, Bible clubs, retreats, camps, fellowship meetings, seminars, and youth revivals. We have several families at Franklin that have joined our congregation by much prayer, but brought in by our emphasis on youth. Can I tell you that you can not go wrong investing your time, energy and resources, or your church's time, energy, and resources into the life of a young person. I am talking about the best of every world here. There is instant gratification as you look into the face of, not just a child, but a teenager too, and say, "I love you and I am so proud of you." There is a hope that you can not explain and a future that you'll never be able to predict, just from ministering to a young person. There is a dividend that only eternity will reveal as your effort is multiplied by its repetition in countless more lives.

If you attend a church without a vision for young people, you need to ask the Lord how you can change that. Churches are already drying and dying from lack of vision and attendance. If you are not infusing new life, young life, into your church, eventually it will go that way. I love being the Pastor of Franklin Baptist Church, but from my Perspective, I will always be part youth pastor, investing in their lives.