When things go wrong

Have you ever had one of those days that nothing went right? Yesterday was one of those days for me. I have sold my house. Well, at least in theory. The buyers and I have agreed on a price, we went through all of the steps in order to exchange possession. The one and seemingly insurrmountable hurdle is the mortgage company of the people who are buying the house of the people who are buying my house. If it's sounding a little weird, don't worry, it will get weirder. I was supposed to close the deal yesterday. I waited by my phone all morning. There was no call. I was at the house yesterday to cut the grass that, in my opinion, I didn't have to do. I didn't live in the house any more. There was no call. I called my agent. I told her we had to close today. If we didn't close, I would have to make another mortgage payment. She calls me back an hour and a half later, sayiing it won't happen until Monday or even Tuesday. Needless to say, I am fuming. This deal should have been completed two and a half weeks ago. The buyers of my house are frustrated. It's not their fault. I'm frustrated. It's not my fault. If only I could get my hands on that mortgage company person... And then, to add another level of frustration, it down poured again yesterday, which makes three days of rain in a row, no work is being done on my new house.

Now that I am calm once again, I heard something that God has always been telling me. I was too "hot under the collar" yesterday to listen. He said, "Take the peace of mind that I gave you through the agony of Jesus' final hours before the cross. Whenever I start complaining about things going wrong, I look at what Jesus endured for me. I look at my frustrations with the way "things ought to be," I look at the way things that occcurred in order to save me from sin, death, and the power of self and Satan. Whenever I get selfish about how things are inconviencing me, I look to what happened to Jesus.

What did happen to Jesus? He was betrayed by one of his Apostles. Men, who were leaders of the Jews and the church, hated him because he taught of the Father's true intention, not what they invented. He endured beatings, insults, whippings, nailings, and dying all for us. It was the Father's plan to cause all of this suffering, pain, anguish, and death in order to save us from it. Jesus could have complained. But he didn't. The Bible says, like a sheep before shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Jesus surprised everyone, including Pontius Pilate, by remaining silent. Through all the torture and agony, Jesus did not complain, nor cry out in pain. Jesus did not get angry with his accusers, but he offered forgiveness and peace to all.

And that is what Jesus, through everything he endured, offers to us when things get frustrating. He gives peace and forgiveness. when our times feel rough and rocky.

The Long day

Have you ever had one of those LONG days? Of course you have. I had one today. If you read my post from this morning, I was up at 6:00 am in order to be with a member who had out patient surgery. It all went well and she's feeling fine at home. It was a LONG day of driving. Then I finally got to the office. But not until I stopped at the new house sight my fiancee and I are building. The house is still in foundation stage. There were many delays, the lastest that it rained the last three days. If the rain holds off in the next couple of days, we should have a concrete floor. Yet it is supposed to rain tomorrow. It was a LONG day today. To top it off, I sold my old house two weeks ago, but it hasn't closed yet. The delay is from the mortgage company for the people who are buying the house of the people who bought my house. I hope to close tomorrow or Friday. It was a LONG day today. Tonight, since it is the season of Lent, we had our midweek soup supper and then our service. After that, there was choir practice. it was a LONG day. But it was a good day. It was a good day for sharing. One of the things that I do is bring the reality of Jesus Christ to all situations. At the office I read of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Tonight I preached about the saving grace of Jesus Christ in our journey, or exodus, home. One of these days, I'm going to have to discuss preaching sermons, playing the character in the Bible. I love doing that. It was a good day, even though it was LONG, to live in the grace of God.

Helping those in need

It is 6:16 in the morning. Under normal circumstances I am not up this early in the morning. My normal time to get up is 7:00. But today is different. A member of the congregation that I serve is going into the hospital for out patient surgery. And I'm going to take her there.

As I was getting ready to go, I was reminded of something Jesus said. "Whatever you do for the least of these my brothers, you do also for me." Part of being a pastor, but more, part of being a Christian, is to care for people. We show God's love to others by being there for them in good times and in struggling times. How do I demonstrate my care? By getting out of my comfort zone, getting up early, and taking her to the hospital. Speaking of which, I have to go. But I have to stop at Starbucks. I need my coffee. :-)

Welcome to Pastoral Prose

Welcome to the first post of "Pastoral Prose." I would like to introduce to you what I want to do here.

I want to share with you thoughts about God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I want to share with you some wonderful words from God on a lot of different topics. Some topics will include love, grace, forgiveness along with thoughts on topics that affect people today. I will also talk about topics that you ask about.

I'm a pastor in North Texas, just outside of Dallas. Businesses and home developments are growing quickly. The small city that I live in is growing as a result. And that scares some people who have lived here all there lives. It brings new people, new ideas, along with some old problems. Yet the church that I serve is here to bring the same love of God to the old and new people of our city and solutions in God through Jesus Christ to the old problems of life. I pray that through this, I can bring to you the love of God and solutions in God through Jesus Christ to the old problems of life.