A View From Within

"Oh, my God"

The day after terrorists attacked the United States on 9-11, The Fresno Bee, our local newspaper, had a bold headline on its front page. The words "Oh, my God" echoed what many were thinking. The all-encompassing tragedy had many wondering where to turn for comfort. I do not know how many newspapers ran similar statements, but I will never forget reading in my local paper, "Oh, my God.”

On Tuesday, March 10, I spoke at the Fresno/Clovis Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast. This is an event attended by business, educational, civic and religious leaders. Prayers were offered for each of these groups. My message was one of hope because of where we find ourselves as a nation related to morality, economics, ethics, etc.

As a Christian, I find my encouragement in the Word of God. I also find strength in listening to the music and words of songs and poetry. One of the most impacting songs was written by Mosie Lister "Till The Storm Passes By.”

The words of the song are: "In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face, While the storm howls above me, and there's no hiding place. Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry, Keep me safe till the storm passes by.

“Many times Satan whispered, There is no need to try, For there's no end of sorrow, there's no hope by and by But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I'll rise Where the storms never darken the skies.

When the long night has ended and the storms come no more, Let me stand in Thy presence on the bright peaceful shore; In that land where the tempest, never comes, Lord may I Dwell with Thee when the storm passes by.

“Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more, Till the clouds roll forever from the sky; Hold me fast let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand, Keep me safe till the storm passes by."

As leaders in our communities, we need to sound the voice of hope, and encouragement until the storm passes by. Those of us who are Christians know there will be another storm after this one has passed, but we have hope which is found only in Jesus Christ. He truly is the one who can calm any fear we have no matter the storm.

Choices

Marcy Blochowiak, CEO Marketing Director with World Financial Group, has said, "You are always only one choice away from changing your life."

How true because each of us make life changing decisions daily, some that will affect us forever.

Choices in relationships can affect us for a long time. Almost weekly I have the opportunity to visit a California Southern Baptist Convention congregation. I am always blessed, especially with the fellowship and interaction with the leadership of these churches. Two recent events-one in Los Angeles and another in Fresno-were especially encouraging.

On Sunday January 25th, I spoke at Mt Carmel Holy Assembly Baptist Church in Los Angeles. This was my 12th annual preaching event at this church in South Central Los Angeles where Rev. Darryl Beard is pastor. I was impressed when I heard the church had 17 young adults in colleges and universities throughout the United States. The church provides scholarships to help each student. This church has made a choice to lead people to Christ and to help their young people receive an education to become influencers in the church and community. What a great choice.

On a Monday evening in Fresno, I met with Korean leaders from Southern Baptist churches throughout California. They share the excitement of reaching their communities for Christ. During the dinner we had the opportunity to introduce Sherann Kim, our new USC2 missionary, assigned to work in student evangelism for the next 2 years. She is an outstanding communicator and served as youth leader at the Korean Baptist Church of San Jose. I was blessed by the energy and excitement this group has for evangelism. Each leader made a choice to serve God in California, one of the most exciting worldwide missions fields.

Just imagine. One choice. What would that choice be for you? Mac Anderson's new book Charging the Human Battery: 50 Ways to Motivate Yourself encourages readers to get energized and make choices that will change our lives. My prayer is that the next life-changing choice either I or you make will be one that points people to Jesus and glorifies Him.

Thirst for Knowledge

Reading has always been a passion in my soul. I love books, especially biographies and history. I can still remember some of the major events that impacted my life as I read about Simón Bolivar, born in Caracas, Venezuela. Bolivar liberated much of South America from Spain. He established the republic of Greater Colombia, which included present-day Venezuela, Panamá, Ecuador and Colombia. He also liberated Perú and present day Bolivia, which was name after him.

Another indigeneous leader was Urraca, an Indian chief from Panama, who fought against the Spanish army. His passion was the freedom of his tribe. One of my heroes today is Elmer Towns, author and leader at Liberty University. 

I enjoy the way he writes. As a young pastor I read about the greatest Sunday schools and churches he described. It seems like a long time ago, and in reality it is. This year I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Towns, a humble and gracious servant of the Lord. He spoke at our annual ministers conference. After the conference I secured the book he co-authored with Douglas Porter, The Ten Greatest Revivals Ever.

Reading about God’s movement across the world, in amazing ways, has been exciting. Many of the issues we face today can be resolved with a transforming movement from God. A verse keep coming to my mind “Not by might, or by power, but by my spirit said the Lord. Great awakenings happen when God moves in power among the nations. I suggest you secure a copy of the book The Ten Greatest Revivals Ever and pray for God's visitation on our nation and the world.

Words

Words have power. Listening to the news, I began to reflect on the power of words. Sharp, dubious, discouraging, and at times uplifting were all over the airwaves. The economy brought a sharp increase in the numbers of commentators battling for the space to be the most shocking reporter on the news.

I am not saying that these are not difficult times. We are most certainly in a worldwide crisis. Yet as I struggled to find something to bring solace, it has not come from the news, but from God's promises. Reading the Bible has brought peace to my soul. I recommend it to everyone. As you spend your time during this week, listening to the news, take time to call someone and share an encouraging word to uplift their spirit. One of my favorite passages is from Paul's letter to the Corinthians when he said, referring to some of the believers, "...they refreshed my soul..." (1 Cor. 16:18)

Pastor Appreciation Month

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. This is a special time for us to express appreciation for our spiritual leaders and their families. I attended El Encino Baptist Church where our membership is. Because of my weekly travel to encourage other congregations, it was a rare opportunity to worship at the church were I served as a Summer Missionary in the summer of 1964.

Oscar Sanchez, Missionary to the migrant communities, delivered an outstanding message. (http://www.csbc.com/article139311.htm) He reminded us to love our pastors and support them in every way possible. Often the ministry is a lonely place to be. I am reminded of my personal journey as the pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista del Sur in Pico Rivera, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. This was a small community, but with a loving and active congregation. They held me up in prayers often and I will continue to be grateful for the believers who took this young pastor "under their wings", loving, caring and encouraging him to stay on target as we reach our community for Christ.

Today we honor our pastors and I am pleased to honor my earthly shepard, Dr. James Page, who along with his wife Mercedes, carries on with passion and integrity. Let me encourage you to do something special for your pastor during the month of October.

The Culdesac

I am often amazed at the discoveries made during special events. This past week-end I officiated at the wedding of two very special friends, Josh and Beth. The ceremony was held in San Diego, overlooking the beautiful pacific ocean. Friends and family members came from as far away as England to celebrate this very special occasion.

Some of the friends had been raised on a culdesac. The memories of childhood experiences were evident as many shared testimonies. What impressed me most were the memories shared. There were laughter, tears, smiles, hugs and one of the happiest weddings I have ever officiated at. As I watched the group, I began to see the results of neighbors living and caring for each other. Caring, a word which has lost much of its meaning in today's culture, yet is a vital part of our lives.

We lived on a culdesac for many years. It was a safe place for the kids to play, but also for families to get to know each other. I continue to remember those days with great joy. We had moved from California to Georgia and our furniture made a detour and would not arrive for a few more weeks. We were in a new neighborhood, with people we had never really met. Yet, the culdesac families responded with speed. Within a few hours we had everything needed to wait for our furniture. It was there that I discovered the power of culdesac relationships.

Do you know your neighbors? Maybe it is time we turn off the "noise", and get to know each other. You do not need a cultudesac for this to happen, just have an open spirit and share your journey with friends.

Presidential Elections

On November 4th, 2008 we will vote for a new president. Watching the news, reading the papers, and listening to the voices around me, I began to reflect on some important facts:
1.-We have the freedom to vote.
2.-There will be no military presence at the polling places.
3.-We will not be afraid to vote our conscience.
4.-We will have a new president.
5.-We will not have a coup.
6.-We will pray for and support the new president.

In many countries of the world, the loosing party would seek to assassinate the new president. I pray for God's protection of our new president. I thank God for the privilege of living in a country where bullets do not fly at night after an election. We will continue to pray for all our leaders.

Veteran. Hungry. Will Work for Food

I saw him on the sidewalk as I stopped at the traffic signal. He held up a sign which read, "Veteran. Hungry. Will work for food." Our eyes connected, and I fumbled for a dollar to give him. Graciously he said, "Thank you sir, and may God bless you." No names were exchanged. No introductions were made. The thing I remember was the blank gaze in his eyes. You have seen it before.

I proceeded on my way and the busyness of the day erased my brief encounter with a homeless man. He is a person -- someone's child, possibly a spouse, a brother, an uncle, etc. I had many questions about his military service. In which branch of the armed services did he serve? Did he ever encounter battle during a war? If so, which one? Or, was his life a personal war filled with disappointments, substance abuse, or "emotional leprosy?" As the day faded, so did his face.

All around us are these men and women. I cringe at how we treat them at times. Many believe it is a waste of time and money to try to help the homeless. If I were to listen to the crowd I might agree. But Jesus stopped for the blind, the deaf, the leper, and those with broken lives.

Are we so clean and sophisticated we have lost sight of the lonely hearts and broken lives around us? I do not know about you, but I pray for the Father to fill my heart with compassion for these people. You see, my uncle was a homeless person on the streets in Panama and lived a life of hopelessness. I was a young boy when he died on the streets of my hometown in Colon, but I remember it vividly.

Let me encourage you to respond to the words of Christ, and care with compassion for those least fortunate, praying for God to be real in their lives. Let us be counted as one of the righteous who hears the voice of Jesus say, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Persist

Two years ago I joined millions in discovering a new communication process called "The Blog". Like everything in life, sometimes a new way of doing things bring out opportunists who are malicious. One of the first reactions I had was from friends who said that nothing good can come of this process, because people were using it to destroy others. It is true that there are malicious people, but I have also found new insights into the human character of good people.

I read Seth Godin, a respected blogger often. He writes short blogs. Recently he wrote on "the forces of mediocrity"...I quote part of it "There's a myth that all you need to do is outline your vision and prove it's right—then, quite suddenly, people will line up and support you.

In fact, the opposite is true. Remarkable visions and genuine insight are always met with resistance. And when you start to make progress, your efforts are met with even more resistance. Products, services, career paths... whatever it is, the forces for mediocrity will align to stop you, forgiving no errors and never backing down until it's over.

If it were any other way, it would be easy. And if it were any other way, everyone would do it and your work would ultimately be devalued. The yin and yang are clear: without people pushing against your quest to do something worth talking about, it's unlikely it would be worth the journey. Persist."

The last word in his blog caught my eyes "Persist." It reminded me of Paul's words "...but I press on..." Philippians 3:12 As Christians we are encouraged to press on and continue to insist that the only answer to our problems is a personal relationship with Christ. Pressing on is not easy, but at the end of the day, when changes are brought about in the lives of people, it is quite rewarding to know that we did not quit close to the finish line. The word for today is "persist".

Exciting News

Do you ever get tired of the news? I do. It seems to me that often the news is quite negative and every source is trying to out do the competitor. I have been thinking...how about a place where we can share the great news of what is taking place in our churches (baptisms, life changing experiences, ministry opportunities, and unusual ways of reaching the lost). Is there a place for such news? Can we create a positive force among believers where the power of the Gospel will overcome all the "stuff" on the road? I believe we have the ability to do it.

Share with me your ideas? I am waiting!