Friday, May 30, 2008

Audio Blogs

One of the best things that has been going on at The Bridge is putting together these audio blogs that have been running on KFMO (AM 1240) radio each morning at 8:50 and on the church blog at http://www.thebridgechurch.blogspot.com/. I did some work on the Great Commandment and the first 4 commandments of the '10' this past week. Usually, we rotate speakers each week, but I will continue with the last 6 commandments next week.

Not sure why I want to do that. I am finding out that I break God's law too easily.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Monday Mind Dump

1. I heard that some people got up and walked out of our Celebration yesterday while Betty's video played. I have many thoughts about that. Betty was rejected by the church while she was lost and a slave to her sin. It was truly due to God's miraculous grace that she found Him in the midst of church people (small 'c'). I thought about that a lot as I worshiped with the believers at the Bonne Terre prison a couple of weeks ago. I was in the midst of murderers (according to Jesus I am one because I have been angry with my brothers), sex offenders (once again I am one since I have lusted), and many other violent criminals, and I never saw anything except fellow children of God. It did not matter to Jesus what they had done when He came to save them, and so it cannot matter to me either. Amazingly, it did not.
Great job Ben & Betty! That is what the church needs -- real, transparent, authentic. KUDOS!!!!!!!!
2. It is Memorial Day and my father was a war hero. I miss him!
3. My mentor, Yon, turned 60 yesterday. That is unbelievable! He does not look any different than when I met him 25 years ago in Bonne Terre. That means he either looked really old then, or very young now. He does not read my blog, so I will leave it at that. The food was fantastic at the party; it was a little preview of the Banquet.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

The Rain is Here

In my sermon today, I talked about how the storms, the rains (tough times), come to the just and the unjust. Well, the Lord did not need to send confirmation so quickly. As we were celebrating the magnificence of hope in Jesus Christ, the second member of my cell family was going home to be with God and we did not even know it. Bill Sharp has made his move to heaven -- the rain is intense.

My most important role at The Bridge is the one as a cell leader. The beauty of this family is that we get close, really close. It has been an unbelievable honor and pleasure to watch Bill go under a complete spiritual overhaul in the last year. He loved God and he made himself an open book and teachable by Scripture. This had been just absolutely fantastic. But, I am frustrated, and this hurts. Two dear men, full of love and wisdom, gone in a week. This is a storm. But our house will stand because it is built on the rock.

The Trampoline

I believe this morning was one of those visits from God that we can't afford to just slide into the recesses of our minds. Hopefully, you received the message from God with a great spirit. The basis of HOPE is peace with God, which is achieved from being made "right" with God through a submitted relationship with Jesus Christ involving a repentant heart. I really recommend that you spend time with your spouse, your mentor, and/or your cell family on what you heard and experienced today. There is a lot of victory in flushing this out more. Check out Angela Ong's comments below for further insight into idols of the heart and the trampoline. On a humorous note, Flavio (our Italian exchange student who lives a stone's throw from the Vatican) asked me last night what I was speaking on today. I told him "Hope," but he thought I said, "Pope." He proceeded to tell me in no uncertain terms that he had no interest in hearing about that. I said, "No, Hope." He thought that would be fine. HA!

Angela's thoughts:
Since the whole talk is about repentance and where that repentance should lead us, I think the most valuable question for someone to ask himself is whether they have correctly applied the Gospel to their life. If there is a lack of fruit in one's life, this question becomes foundational.

James MacDonald put it this way - "In every believer's life there are times when he glimpses just for a moment, how desperately lost he really is. During those seconds, the abundant mercy and amazing grace of our loving God dawns upon our forgetful minds. Right at that moment we understand deep within that God's grace cannot be abused or ignored. Such grace should fuel our passion to be like Him."

So if one doesn't first see their own depravity and have such a response that change is required, it sure is a sign that they have at the very least become dull to the Word, and at the worst have deceived themselves into believing they are securely saved. Without grace, and that kind of grace always produces change, they have no assurance of salvation. That's a frightening place to be.

Some questions to ask at that point would be:
Do you emphasize the love of God over the justice of God to lessen your own sense of responsibility?
Have you been cultivating a desire to hear truth about the love of God more than other biblical truths because it lessens your sense of responsibility to be holy?

For those busy about church work:
Do they stay active in church activities and ministry while they have unresolved issues they have not repented of?

From Darren Patrick's talk:
Has something or someone taken title to your heart besides Jesus Christ in your happiness, meaning and purpose?

When you are a Christian, you really want these things exposed. If you donʼt, you either are not a Christian or you have some serious sin going on.

People donʼt worship well corporately because they donʼt repent well privately. So they just come to be religious.

Please give us some response. This is some really real stuff.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

My Two Dads

Some of you wanted to see my tribute to Dad in writing, so here you go.
My Two Dads

Since my conception (not my birth), I have had two Dads.
– One of them is physical and was named Junior Lester Gray;
– the other one is spiritual and goes by many names:
– Yahweh, Jesus, Jehovah, the great “I am”, Lord, (Grandma Bessie would call Him) the Holy Ghost – the list goes on.
– As of this week, the physical one has become spirit through what we call death.
– Because that Dad had a personal relationship with the Spirit one, they are talking right now --
– And they are forming a plan for both of them to come back in their physical bodies at the Final Resurrection.
– Because Lester, my magnificent Dad knew Yahweh (the magnificent Dad) well, he now has no pain in his heart, no arthritis in his hip, no pain or tears or sorrow – actually he has not really died, just experienced a tranformation.
– He lives on to build another Chevy another day.
– Today I do not ride in a Limo as a mourner; I drive a 57 Chevy in tribute to one of the finest men to ever live.

The spiritual Dad said in the Psalms that he wove me together in depths of the earth before the beginning of time and that he knit me together in Mom’s womb and I praise him for that;
I am proud to have the blood of the physical one flowing thru my veins.
My “Creator of the Universe” Dad said that it is appropriate to thank him and sing praises to His name today on this occasion;
my “creator of a household” Dad is happy with his “well done good and faithful servant” praise that has been bestowed on him in the last few days.

Yeah, My Two Dads --
One of them commanded “Do Not Lie” – the other one hit me in the neck with a belt if I did.
One of them said, “Love your neighbor as yourself” – the other one modeled that for me everyday.
The heavenly Father told me if I trust in His son and follow his law, things will go well with my soul.
My earthly Father told me if I do right and follow His law, things will go well with my behind.
With one of them, “if I was 10 minutes early, I was late; with the other, I had to move quickly toward Him so that I was not late -- Bad deal to miss the wedding feast.
One told us to remember His broken body and shed blood when we ate bread and drank wine; the other one sweat a lot from his brow to be able to afford the bread and wine.

I think when they both walked the earth, they looked a lot like Clark Gable – for you youngsters that’s Gone With The Wind – you might want to watch it sometime.
One died and came out the grave alive so I could live, the other one was smart enough to sit on his flack jacket in WWII and keep some shrapnel out of his important parts, so I could live.
Because of his heroism there are monuments to the physical one in Washington DC and in this room;
there is a monument to the spirit of both of them in my son, Justin – who was fortunate enough to know both the Dads well.
To one I cry out “ABBA, Father” -- the creator of my soul; today I just cry because I will miss the other.

The one on earth made sacrifices his whole life so that I could have a better one.
The “famous one” made the ultimate sacrifice so that I could live forever.

Dad! As bad as I hate to see you go – I will miss you.
I know our other Dad – the Dad – is in complete charge. He is taking care of you just as you did such a fabulous job of taking care of all of us.
Heavenly Father, I thank you for loving my Dad so much that you sent your son to die on His behalf and mine.
Dad, you were awesome and it will be awesome to see you again on the other side –
Thank you and Farewell!

Funeral Day

This weekend is all about glorifying Christ and honoring Dad. I have a feeling that today's presentation will do both. I miss that dude already and I know that I will cry some today (probably in the middle of my comments), but I am not overwhelmed with sadness. The Holy Spirit has taken up residence in the midst of all this. I bet 30 people out of the hundreds that came to love us last night commented about how they were uplifted by being there. That was the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit of the Living God!

I hope that people listen closely to what is said today. Our hope is built on nothing less that Jesus' blood and righteousness!!!!!!! I love all of you who have loved my mother really well. She is going to be a little lonely but will never be alone. OK, gotta go get a couple of classic cars ready to honor Lester. Let's worship.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

How Great Thou Art!

I think we have started a new tradition at The Bridge of singing people into heaven. Yesterday, Mineral Area hospital got a dose of what St. John's got last year when Jeff Steven's went home and we sang him in with "Amazing Grace / My Chains are Gone"; well, Dad got his favorite "How Great Thou Art" as he went to be with Jesus. It brought back memories of him recovering from heart surgery during a PK event and we held the phone up so he could hear 14,000 men sing it with true worship and fervor. Dad cried in his hospital bed then, but he did not cry as the worshiping hosts of heaven joined in with the worshipers on earth for this edition. He has no more pain in his legs, back, or chest -- no more tears or sorrow. He is walking around with his mother, Bessie, and catching her up on the new grandchildren like Keegan and Kyle. Hopefully, he will remember their names -- HA! If not, I am sure Jesus will fill him in. Do you think that the angels are allowed to let him know that the Cards beat Colorado last night in his honor? Hug your kids today. Tell everyone that you love that you love them. Dad was praising God for Halle Durbin's arrival and joking about Albert Pujol's mad dash home one minute yesterday and singing with the heavenly hosts the next. He died in my arms and I will miss him. This physical life is fragile. But we have hope because of How Great Thou Truly Art.

Monday, May 5, 2008

What a Night!

Recently, I was excited when Lance Smith asked me to come and speak to his chapel service at the Bonne Terre Correctional Institute. If I had not already spoken about Christ to death row at the Potosi prison, I would have been a little nervous. I really had been looking forward to ministering to these men. Last night was the night and man, was I in for a shock. I was the one that got ministered to. I expected about 15 or 20 men and I would go in and give the 4 chair talk and they would receive some important message from God. I never anticipated almost 100 men -- and a band -- and faces of anticipation and praise -- and immediate reation to the calling of the talk to a willing life of discipleship. They did not blink an eye when I told them that a relationship with God required complete repentance and a willingness to "go anywhere, do anything, at any cost for you, my King." These men receive a lot of pressure from other inmates for their faith, but they are ready to change that section of the world. Some of them will get out and have an incredible impact on the outside world. They will be welcome at The Bridge (especially the dancing a/v/worship director, Korleone).
Their level of worship was one to be admired. I was amazed by the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. I love The Bridge, but this was the best worship level I have experienced in a long time. OK, OK -- the Night of Praise was pretty awesome. What I am trying to tell you is that this was really special. There are men in our community not quite the same today -- I am one of them.

Question on Gambling

I had a question posed on the Biblical stance on gambling, so I thought that I would share my response with you. It is kind of a mind dump, so give me a break on the disorganization.

The Bible does not directly address the term gambling, so we look for Biblical principles and use our common sense that God gave us to come up with some answers.
Here was my discussion.

1. Some of the problems with recreation gambling are very similar to drinking alcohol; while not necessarily evil, it is bad stewardship of God's resources.
2. $5 on the lottery can easily become $10 and so on and so on. Easy to become addicted. Playing once a week is addiction. Addiction is idolatry and, therefore, sin.
3. Gambling in public can be a stumbling block to both believers and non-believers witnessing the act.
4. What every person really needs to analyse is why did he does it. If there is a hint of that he wanted to win and willing to put his trust in a game of chance over putting trust in Christ to take care of your needs, it is blantant sin. We all kinda work on this "I deserve for things to be easy. I deserve for things to be fun." That is false -- what we deserve is a cross and God will bless at His discretion and for His glory, not our comfort or recreation.
5. 1 Timothy 6:6-11 says, "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness."

There is a lot of evidence that the griefs from verse 10 right there are well documented. Losses mount up and damage is extreme.

6. God spoke through Isaiah about the nation of Israel putting trust in fortune rather than Him. I have never looked at these comments in a large context. Here is how God dealt with the Israelites on their gambling issues and looking to Fortune as their guide in Isaiah 65:11-12 --
"But as for you who forsake the LORD
and forget my holy mountain,
who spread a table for Fortune
and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,

I will destine you for the sword,
and you will all bend down for the slaughter;
for I called but you did not answer,
I spoke but you did not listen.
You did evil in my sight
and chose what displeases me."

I think in this case the placing of trust in Fortune is a mirror of a heart that is far from God. All hearts far from God are destined for the sword.

Proverbs 16:33 says this:
"The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the LORD."


7. Basically, gambling is covetness. There is a pool of money out there and we don't trust that God will give us a sufficient amount of it to be able to live in Biblical contentment (or it is greed because we think that we deserve to live better), so we attempt to increase our material ability without Him. God does not use gambling to issue His wealth. He will always choose solid distribution methods.
8. We need to take our resources and "love our neighbor" from the Great Commandment.
9. The church would have to refuse the money from a lottery win if we knew of the source. When churches have accepted gambling money knowingly, God has put them out of business. Would we enact church discipline on someone who wanted to give lottery winnings to the church? I don't know about church discipline, but it would be a little embarrassing having a member accepting a big lottery check.
Commentary from gotquestions.org:
"Many people claim to be playing the lottery or gambling so that they can give the money to the church, or to some other good cause. While this may be a good motive, reality is that few use gambling winnings for godly purposes. Studies show that the vast majority of lottery winners are in an even worse financial situation a few years after winning a jackpot than they were before. Few, if any, truly give the money to a good cause. Further, God does not need our money to fund His mission in the world. Proverbs 13:11 says, “Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.” God is sovereign and will provide for the needs of the church through honest means. Would God be honored by receiving donated drug money, or money stolen in a bank robbery? Neither does God need or want money that was "stolen" from the poor by the temptation for riches."

I guess we could take the approach that 'Satan has had that money long enough." HA!

This is a pretty solid commentary: --
Click Here.

gotquestions.org:
"Gambling is a difficult issue because if it is done in moderation and only on occasion, it is a waste of money, but it is not necessarily "evil." People waste money on all sorts of activities. Gambling is no more or less of a waste of money than seeing a movie (in many cases), eating an unnecessarily expensive meal, or purchasing a worthless item. At the same time, the fact that money is wasted on other things does not justify gambling. Money should not be wasted. Excess money should be saved for future needs or given to the Lord's work - not gambled away."