Right Leadership Restores Order

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  • Posted by Jennifer Baldwin
  • Friday, January 7, 2011
    • Leaving Titus to address the issues, Paul instructs him, “Set in order what remains.”

    Things left unattended will, by nature, move from order to chaos.

    A neglected lawn is soon overtaken by weeds.
    A seasonally closed cabin opens to dust and mildew in the spring.
    A pantry unattended soon houses decaying foods.
    A child ignored soon becomes a Super-Target embarrassment.
    A desk unmanaged is soon a pile of clutter.
    Things left unattended will, by nature, move from order to chaos.

    The kids call it “the attic”, but in reality, it is a 3-foot-tall crawl space under the sunroom accessed only on your belly and requires wiggling your way through what used to be a basement window opening. Crudely constructed and definitely not on the “must see” list of house tours, this “secret” place has become a favorite playroom for my grandkids. So just before Christmas, I wiggled through the former window, flopped over on my back, and installed three strands of Christmas lights under the floor joists. But that was only the beginning.

    Things left unattended will, by nature, move from order to chaos    . The “attic” is Exhibit A validating this truth. Over time, the number of items placed into our crawl space has steadily increased. “Let’s not throw it away or give it away just yet. We may find out later that we actually need that. Let’s just put it under the house.” So the storage bins accumulate. And then we did the mother-in-law addition, which meant electricians and plumbers with drills and bits and woodchips and shoving bins from this side over to that side and then back again. Disorder! Chaos!

    As we return this Sunday to our studies in Titus, we find that Paul and Titus have passed through the numerous communities of the Isle of Crete. Three decades earlier, residents from this Island heard the gospel proclaimed on the day of Pentecost. It appears that some, perhaps many, heard, believed and embraced the message of the saving grace of God through faith alone in His very own Son, Jesus the Christ. And they did not keep this incredible discovery to themselves, but spread the good news around when they returned home. In the power of the Spirit, others heard, believed and embraced the gospel. Thirty years later, those who had believed had formed into fellowship communities, local churches. However, true to the principle that “things left unattended will, by nature, move from order to chaos”, Paul found matters in serious need of attention. “Set in order what remains…”, Paul’s instructions to Titus.

    Not only did I flop on my back to install a “custom lighting” system for greater play-time enjoyment, I also opened, consolidated, rearranged, stacked and put back into order what had, because it had been unattended, become Exhibit A of chaos.

    Now before you are too hard on me for my lack of neatness, don’t you have to admit that when you went to the dresser to place that newly received gift sweater into the drawer, that what you discovered upon opening the drawer was a bit less than “orderly”? When you went to the garage to grab that tool for assembling that special toy, were you not a bit dismayed by the chaos you discovered? Things left unattended will, by nature, move from order to chaos.

    Leaving Titus to address the issues, Paul instructs him, “Set in order what remains.”

    See you Sunday, Church!
    Pastor Tom

    The Word of the Lord

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  • Posted by Jennifer Baldwin
  • Tuesday, January 4, 2011
    • Resolution (res•o•lu•tion) “a firm decision to do something… firmness of mind or purpose”

    So defines the dictionary of a word we often hear (and use ourselves) as we enter a new year… resolution. We often begin the year with great intentions and expectations, but by February we can’t even remember what our New Year’s Resolution was let alone still be doing it!

    So what is the motivation to really change one’s behavior for the good? Why do we so often set out with great intentions but fail miserably soon after?

    "For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate." Romans 7:15

    So relying on self is pretty ineffectual… Let’s instead rely upon God… Let’s spend time listening to God through His word…

    Michael Krause challenged the Faith Family to spend regular time in God’s word realizing that…

    · doing so will NOT fix your problems
    · doing so will NOT be easy
    · doing so WILL cost you something… your time

    In this time and place, God has chosen to speak to us primarily through His word. View spending time reading God’s word as spending time listening to God, as His Spirit brings to our mind things of which we need to be “re-minded”.

    Faith Bible Church’s website now provides a reading plan (adapted from a plan developed by Robert Murray M'Cheyne in 1842) with the desire and encouragement that the Faith Family be in the scriptures together.

    This plan is NOT a checklist, and no one will be checking up on you! This is NOT a ‘New Year’s Resolution. Rather, it is a 2011 call to what King Josiah declared in 2Kings 23:3. “And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.”

    So during January 2011, read the chapter of Matthew that corresponds to the date (Matthew 4 on Jan 4, Matthew 5 on Jan 5, and so forth). You can also see the reading plan with links to ESV scriptures at the Faith Bible website.

    No one knows what lies ahead for 2011… So listen to God, rely upon Him, and trust Him.

    I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year, 
    with thee, O Father, as my harbor, 
    thee, O Son, at my helm, 
    thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
    (from Valley of Vision) 

    Only God is Great

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  • Posted by Jennifer Baldwin
  • Thursday, December 30, 2010
    • In the days following Christmas, we can easily get caught up in all of the presents (both received and still hoped for, due to all of the sales!) and miss HIS presence! Take time to reflect on the gospel…the "good news"…that was proclaimed to the world…

    The proclamation from the pasture…

    And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10

    This is how God came to save His creation…

    Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, willingly leaves His Father’s majesty by not only taking on human form, but doing so as an infant. The Creator of the entire universe is "reduced" to a helpless baby, totally dependant upon His parents. The angels declared, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." (Luke 2:14) In an intentional inversion, angels (the grandest created beings) declare God’s message to shepherds (the lowest of the low, in that time and place). It is "human nature" for us to make much of our little…to brag and boast about the smallest of thing. It was the making little of His much that revealed most marvelously God’s incomparable glory!

    So what does God’s glory have to do with us?

    First, God saves us for His glory…

    "…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…" Romans 3:23

    Second, God aligns us to His will for His glory…

    "And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one…" John 17:22

    And third, God calls out through us to the lost of the world for His glory…

    "…I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me." John 17:23

    Ascending the throne at the age four, Louis XIV rules as king of France for 72 years, the longest reign in modern European history. Consumed by his own power, he called himself the "Great Monarch" and declared, "I am the State!" But in 1715, King Louis XIV abdicated his throne to death.

    His funeral was nothing short of spectacular. The great cathedral was packed with mourners paying final tribute to their king, who lay in a solid gold coffin. To dramatize the deceased ruler’s greatness, a solitary candle burned above his coffin. Thousands waited in hushed silence as they peered at the exquisite casket that held the mortal remains of their monarch.I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me." John 17:23

    Ascending the throne at the age four, Louis XIV rules as king of France for 72 years, the longest reign in modern European history. Consumed by his own power, he called himself the "Great Monarch" and declared, "I am the State!" But in 1715, King Louis XIV abdicated his throne to death.

    His funeral was nothing short of spectacular. The great cathedral was packed with mourners paying final tribute to their king, who lay in a solid gold coffin. To dramatize the deceased ruler’s greatness, a solitary candle burned above his coffin. Thousands waited in hushed silence as they peered at the exquisite casket that held the mortal remains of their monarch.

    At the appointed time the funeral service began, and Bishop Massillon, who presided over this official act of state, stood to address the mourners, including the assembled clergy of France. When the bishop rose, he did something that stunned the nation. Bending down from the pulpit, he snuffed out the lone candle representing Louis XIV’s greatness. The people gasped. Then in the darkness, came just four words from behind the open Bible:

    "Only God is great!"

    Indescribable Says It All!

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  • Posted by Jennifer Baldwin
  • Thursday, December 23, 2010
  • Labels:
    • When you have personally seen and have experienced the awe of firsthand insight, it is a futile effort to try to explain in such clarity that others can grasp the wonder.

    “Nana, is Papa showing pictures of his trip again?” It was the closing program for VBS 2000. The kids had been their predictable “cute”. The songs had been sung with great enthusiasm. The workers had been honored. The missions offering, being typically over and above the goal, had been wildly applauded. There was just five minutes left to go, and then the crowd would have cookies!

    Having been asked to close the celebration with a simple gospel message, and wanting to make it visually clear, I had asked Travis Lockyer to create a few power-point images for me. As I stood to speak, Linda and Deborah rose to go get things moving in the kitchen. On the way from the back row to the Hospitality Center, five-year-old Deb, seeing my slides on the wall, asked, “Nana, is Papa showing pictures of his trip again?”

    When you have personally seen and have experienced the awe of firsthand insight, it is a futile effort to try to explain in such clarity that others can grasp the wonder. That year we had been to Haiti. You cannot show enough portraits of poverty so as to effectively communicate the stench and despair. Nor can you verbally describe, in adequate terms, the experience of worshipping the Lord with those who have nothing, yet having Jesus, have the joy of having everything they need. And we had been to Greece to follow the path of the Apostle Paul; then onto Israel to “walk where Jesus walked”. Journal notes and albums of photos simply could not do justice to what we saw and heard. When you have personally seen and have experienced the awe of firsthand insight, it is a futile effort to try to explain in such clarity that others can grasp the wonder.

    So the perfect description of the Baby of Bethlehem seems almost beyond reach. In fact, the Holy Spirit appears to wrestle with the language, trying to describe the indescribable. He chose at least 256 names for Jesus:
    • “Wonderful”
    • “Counselor”
    • “Mighty God”
    • “Everlasting Father”
    • “Prince of Peace”
    • “Lamb of God”
    • “Savior”
    • “King”
    • “Lord Most High”

    “And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.” Luke 2:20

    “And there was a prophetess, Anna (Grace)…and she was advanced in years…and at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” Luke 2:36-38

    Yet the Christ Child remains infinitely beyond description. No portrait does Him justice. No title says it all. If you have seen Him, can you explain Him? Indescribable, it seems, says it all. For, when you have personally seen and have experienced the awe of firsthand insight, it is a futile effort to try to explain in such clarity that others can grasp the wonder.

    See you Christmas Eve, Church!
    Pastor Tom

    "What Kind of Savior?"

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  • Posted by Jennifer Baldwin
  • Tuesday, December 21, 2010
  • Labels: ,
    • Joy to the earth! the Savior reigns;
    Let men their songs employ;
    While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
    Repeat the sounding joy,
    Repeat the sounding joy,
    Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

    So goes the 2nd verse of Joy to the World! For many it is a favorite Christmas carol, and perhaps for most of us, we sing along without any reflection or contemplation… The Savior reigns… Exactly what kind of a Savior are you looking for? From what do you want to be saved? Some want to be saved from illness, from debt, from difficult times… We look for someone to somehow fix our problems, solve our dilemmas, work a minor miracle on our behalf…

    But God desires that we have a much different view of our Savior… God’s present to us is God’s presence with us! Immanuel… God with us…

    “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” Matthew 1:23

    The Christmas story is about a Gift from God, a Gift of God, for the Gift IS God!

    “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

    Christmas is not just about the birth of Jesus… it is the beginning of a story of "good news" that God, the Creator of the Universe, desires to be in a personal relationship with His creation! The perfect God, having a personal relationship with a sinful human could only be accomplished through the cross and the empty tomb.

    “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

    Unto us a child is born! Unto us a son is given!

    (Christ Jesus) "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father". Philippians 2:6-11

    Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns!
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