Every morning I get out of bed and take a breath…I realize I am sooooo Blessed!!!

Every day that I know God exists and live for Him…I realize I am soooo Blessed!!!

Every day I have the love of my wife in this life….I realize I am soooo Blessed!!!!

Every day I see my three red heads….I realize I am soooo Blessed!!!!!

Every day….I realize I am soooo Blessed!!!!!!

Thank you God for the blessings I can count and even those I may not realize!!!!

I am soooooo Blessed!!!!

Our God is a great God and He does things that sometimes that blow us away.  Recently Broadman has been annointed with “OIL” from God.  He has done so in several ways.  First I do believe His annointing is over our church…He has place His calling upon us and we truly are blessed.  However, the annointed “OIL” I speak of is not an ointment or a covering of the Holy Spirit…although God’s Spirit is clearing a part of this.  What I am speaking of is the bubbly brew of black gold…real OIL.

Who would have thought when this property was bought in the early 60’s that there would be oil?  Only God.  Now we are not going to be rich…the oil company will make the profits.  But we will be blessed with some royalities and other things that will help us advance the Kingdom of God more that we could have without it.  I believe God has annointed us with oil for His purposes.  He is going to call us to do something with this resource for Him.

I am feeling the annointing already…thank you Lord for this annointing…thank you for whatever it is you want us to do with this blessing…to Your glory alone!

Sometimes God brings unexpected blessings your way…he did for me today.

I received a benevolence phone call today from a lady (I won’t list her name) but she was baptized at Broadman as a little girl in 1960.  She remembered meeting at Newberry School and moving to our current location on Bath Road.  She remembered the excitement of building and recalled many people…some which I knew.  She said Agnes Hull especially touched her life as a Sunday School teacher.  This conversation made me realize the power of legacy.  Broadman’s faithfulness and survival are essential to the community.  We touch people in ways we don’t ever realize it.  This lady is now handicapped but lives in Tallmadge now.  When she had a need she immediately thought of Broadman.  We prayed on the phone together…I prayed for her and then she prayed for me.  Her prayer was very moving to me and I could feel the power of God in her life.  I truly believe it was a God moment.

Then a few moments later I got a phone call from Jack and Julie Brille…I have not heard from them or seen then since VBS 2007.  The good news they moved and all is well.  They are going to get married and life is good.  It was an awesome conversation.

So God blesses us sometimes unexpectedly…so be ready!

I hope the title got your attention….it’s nice to not be needed.

January 20th sicknesses kept this preacher from being able to preach…but it was a good thing.  I had to depend on God and His people.  As I sat at home during the worship hour I thought about our church and events that were currently taking place without me.  I believe one of the successes of a pastoral leadership is to have people equipped around you who can carry on in your absence.  Everyone did just that…we worshipped God in truth and spirit…everyone did their part and we functioned as a body.  Thanks to everyone, especially Rick for preaching on such short notice, the deacons helping Rick with Lord’s Supper and everyone else for being supportive and doing your ministry.

It was nice to not be needed…I better watch out or I may lead myself out of a job

PC

Life…it is something we all call sacred.  You ask any American if Human life is important and precious, the answer is going to be yes.  SO life is something we are all in agreement on.  However, it is also one of the most dividing issues in our nation and culture as well.

January 20, 2008 was Sanctity of Life Sunday.  It is a time for churches not only to focus on Abortion issues but all areas of life.  We need to respect the human life of all human beings, deal with issues of war, mercy killings, environment issues and so forth.  We say we value life…but do we?  Why does the issue of life so divide us?

I believe the reason life divides us comes from our perspective and believe in a Creator God.  It seems there are two main veins of philosophy…either God is the Creator who governs all areas of life or we are.  If God created us He sets the rules of life, if we don’t have a respect for a Creator then we set the rules.  Let this be clear, God is the Creator and Life belongs to Him.  Our ideologies, philosophies, political associations, and so forth should honor the sacredness of life to the best of our abilities and understandings. (Yes, I know that is a powerful statement…but there is not other biblical position on can take but to honor life if we serve the God of the Scriptures).

As I write this let me say that sometimes preserving life may call for the ending of life.  I know many call that contradictory.  But it isn’t.  I believe the God of the Bible is a God life, but He is also a God of Justice, Mercy and so forth.  For instance, God does not call for us to let evil prevail through pacifism.  It would be morally wrong to do nothing about a murder if we had the ability to stop it even if it took lethal force on our behalf.  It would be wrong to not allow our police officers to take lethal force if needed to protect our citizens.  It would be wrong to allow genocide or terrorism to exist without combating these evils and so forth.  I share these examples simply to state the obvious, sometimes there are some ethical issues in which decisions are not always black and white, but in most cases it is pretty straight forward on the sacredness of life.  Especially pertaining to abortion when nearly 96% of all abortions are for a matter of choice.

I want to encourage you to take some time to reflect on life.  How precious it is and how dividing is it.  What position do you have and why?  Take the time to think your views through with God’s leading and with guidance of the Word of God.

In the end you will discover that Life is not a choice, but a gift from God…defending life is a matter of life and death.  We as Christians are to hold life sacred and our choices, words, and behaviors should reflect this sacredness in all we do and say.

Hope is such a big word…Hope is something we all want…but hope is at its greatest when we have moments of despair and desperately turn to God.  This past week I have relived somethings that I would rather forget.  I cannot reveal the content but I can speak in generalities.  People and situations came my way this week that resurfaced some deep pain.  Although I did not want to deal with them, I did.  I turned to God and stood by my the truth.  Throughtout the week God has given me strength and even hope about what is a dismal experience of betrayal and deception that seems to linger to this day.  God has given me Hope that He can help me rise above the hurt, slander, falsehood, and persecution.  God has shown that blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake…once again God has taught me that hope in trying times must come through trust in Him.  He has also given me the Hope that know matter what He will protect my character and someday all things will be clearly seen for what they are…the truth has and will always set us free.

Thank you God for a Hope that is a true Hope that only you can give.