Finding Your Way

John 9
6When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,

7And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.



There is something to be said about finding one's way...

He was just a blind man...

He had no vision of the road ahead...

Never had...

Not once had he been able to look down the road and detect danger approaching...

Driving instructors tell us to look as far as we can down the road...

To anticipate change...

For it takes vision to look ahead and anticipate danger...

However, this young man had no way to forecast the upcoming dangers which lay ahead...

Yet Jesus spat upon the ground, made clay, rubbed it into the man's eyes, and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam...

So the only way he had to get to the miracle was to go HIS WAY...

His way was not the easiest...

His way was most likely not the shortest distance between two points...

It was a wandering way...

A stumbling way...

A way which hesitated at times...

A way of uncertainty...

A way of failure...

A way of mistakes...

A way of desperation...

A way of hunger...

Not the best way...

But it was his way...

The only way he could make it was his way...

There are some who will criticize you for your methods...

Criticize your decisions...

Criticize your choices...

See, your way might not be their way, and that makes them uncomfortable...

But they are not blind and they don't know your way...

Their feet do not fit your shoes...

And they cannot decipher your way...

Do not be discouraged or distracted...

For true vision awaits just beyond your way..

If you are following the instruction of the Master, follow it to the best of your ability...

Follow the only way you know...



Of course there are Biblical absolutes which we must follow...

The command was to "go wash in the pool of Siloam"...

But no further instruction was given...

Make sure your way leads you to and through the unchanging, absolute instructions of the Word of God...

But find your way to the promised vision...

I promise it is worth the trip...

Protecting the Stuff

I Samuel 30

Ziklag:

Destroyed…

Families captive…

David’s family and the families of his men are captives…

When you think all is burned, stolen, and destroyed…

You still have some stuff worth fighting for…

You might be sick…

But guard your stuff…

You might be battle weary…

But guard your stuff…

You might be wounded…

But guard your stuff…


While you are fighting for the stuff that you lost,

Make sure you protect the stuff you still have…


When you are reaching for new believers…

Hang on to what you have…


You are a hero if you successfully guard your stuff…

In reaching for your new successes…

Keep a firm grip on the stuff that got you there…



While you are enjoying the spoil of victories, remember the importance of those who guard the stuff…

Congratulations to those of you who have successfully protected the stuff…



Pastor, I can’t walk the streets and evangelize…

Then cover us with prayer…

That’s called protecting the stuff…


I can’t give like I want to…

Nobody is going to make a big deal out of my tithe or offering…

Guard your stuff…


No matter what your life looks like, you have some stuff worth protecting...

Your life is valuable...

You bring a talent/gift to the table...

Protect the most important things in your life...

Your stuff...

Take Me There

During the past few days, I have been considering some things that I have been reading and hearing concerning the future of our movement. I am weary of rhetoric... Rhetoric that changes nothing.... Not a single opinion regarding these issues has changed, regardless of how much posturing, pontificating, postulating, or other forms of posting has been done... I am convinced that, where issues of outward holiness are concerened, opinions will be similar to the brotherly relationship of Isaac and Ishmael... They are brothers, but they have differing core values, and entirely different methods of expressing and executing these values/agendas... Debate will be constant... Tempers will flare... This may come as a shock to you, but I might never come around to your way of thinking on a particular issue...as dismaying as this might be.... However, this morning, my heart aches in my chest... Something inside longs to be fulfilled and satisfied...my soul is a sponge...a vacuum...a repository which, to be brutally honest, is unfortunately devoid of the element necessary for its true satisfaction in this particular area... I am not referring to us being able to reach a consensus on the forum, a middle ground where all parties can come together and sing cumbyah, a place of blissful utopia where there is no difference of opinion... Rather, today, thy cry of my heart is, "Take me away..." Take me away to a place of meaningful purpose...not a place of trivial pursuit... I need a place of renewed passion for the real... I need a place where things are settled in me... I need a place where questions are answered... Recently, I have become aware that I can justify just about any change of 'standard' of 'issue' if I think long enough... My mind will break down data to a place where everything is relative if I so desire... Guys, this is the easy way... However what I am craving this morning is another place... Take me away... To a place... A place where... James 1 is revealed and expressed: 19Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 21Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 22But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 26If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. 27Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. God, take me to a place where relativism is not allowed to dilute pure religion... I will not continue this, if my religion is relegated to simple vanity, repetition, and rehearsal of tradition alone... God, help me to recognize the right of my brethren to apply that, "perfect law of liberty" without my criticism... Most importantly, help me to learn the crux of pure religion--to keep MYSELF unspotted from the world... I live in a world where sin cannot be relegated to a list of black and white rules... That would be great, but impractical... The world is changing at a rapid pace, one in which it is my responsibilty to keep myself unspotted from the world... This requires my following of the Spirit as I navigate through life and its pitfalls, and applying the principles of His word in every situation... Rules can be affected by relativism...principles remain unchanged... Take me there, God... A place where I can really find and exemplify pure religion... I am not there now... Jesus, take me there...

For guys like Victor and Mike

Why did He do it?

Why did He care?

Why did He endure?

Why did He notice?

Why did He not defend Himself?

Why did He accept the humiliation?

Why did He endure the Cross?

Why did He lay down His life?

Why did He return to this same group of people who had just crucified Him as the the Holy Spirit?

Why does He continue to be ever-vigilant?

Well...

For guys like Victor and Mike...

I met Victor last week...

I could not get into the apartment complex that I originally wanted to do outreach in, so I drove down the street to the neighborhood where, according to law enforcement, 70% of the narcotics traffic in Galveston County are either sold or pass through the run-down houses that line the streets.

I got out and started placing postcards on the doors of the homes...

I was not alone...

My Father-in-law, Greg, and my six year old son Gavin were with me...

The two of them took one side of the street and I took the other side...

I had no explanation for this, but I looked across the street and told Greg to go ahead and go down another street, and I would finish the one we were on by myself...

After I finished and was headed back, I saw a man walking toward me...

I slowed my pce inorder to intersect him before I turned down the other street...

As I introduced myself, Victor's eyes began to water...

He began to share his story with me...

Two degrees in Engineering and Mechanics...

Wife divorced him...

Took the kids...

and the house...

and the cars....

and Victor is now living on the streets...

I began to tell Him about the love of God...

and tears began to flow...

from both of our eyes...

and as I asked more questions, I discovered that Victor is a backslidden Pentecostal...

Needless to say, Greg and Gavin finished the other street while I talked with Victor...

When they walked up, my little six year old Gavin witnessed his daddy with an arm around a homeless man's shoulders, tears dropping to the pavement, praying in the middle of the street...

Why did Jesus do it?

For guys like Victor...

Meet Mike...

I met him today...

As I was finishing mowing the grass (for the first time since we moved in this house a couple of weeks ago)...

My neighbor came outside to empty her trash...

I looked at her and said, "Would you like me to cut your grass?"

What?!  Of course!  Huh??

So she goes back inside, and I mow her grass...

While I am finishing the trimming, a car pulls up and a young man gets out with his backpack over his shoulder...

--Enter Mike--

He looks at me with a befuddled look on his face...

Two questions are running through his head...

1.  Who is the potbellied guy in my front yard?

2.  Why is he mowing our grass?

I nodded and said hello, and he walks inside...

After a few minutes Mike comes out and asks if I would like a glass of water...

and we start talking...

Mike is a high school junior...

Wants to go to TSU when he graduates...

for a degree in music...

says he wants to produce recordings...

rap...

"Like them rappers be doin'"

I smiled and talked music for a few minutes...

And set Mike, Desmond, and their mom's infilling with the Holy Spirit as a personal goal over the next few weeks...

See, in all of our feverish attempts to build churches and community relations, we are in danger of forgetting why we have the Holy Spirit...

Why do we have it?

For guys like Victor and Mike...

Ever wonder if anyone cared??

Wonder if God exists?

Or if He was aware of your desperate circumstance?

Ok, so if God really does exist, and He is actually aware of your circumstance, the next question is obviously, "Does He care?

And if He cares, how will I even know or recognize it when it happens?"

Glad you asked!

This is where the family of The Crossing comes into the picture!

The only way Jesus Christ can show His love, compassion, and concern for you is through His body of earthly believers.

That's us!

Your new family awaits with arms outstretched at The Crossing.

We are aware that you are like the rest of us:  

You have family issues...

You deal with guilt from your past mistakes...

You seem to be surrounded by 'drama'...

Your relationships do not seem to be living up to their potential...

Your finances are in turmoil...

You feel unfulfilled even when things seem to be going well...

We know.  We have all been there.

But, guess what!!??  WE CARE!

We are commissioned by Jesus Christ to be His avenue of approach to your life...

The Crossing is not about 'church folks' sitting around celebrating the fact that we have it all together and criticizing those who do not.

We are creating a church with an atmosphere where hurting lives can be healed and mended by the power of the Holy Spirit.

An atmosphere of hope...

An atmosphere of change...

An atmosphere of deliverance...

An atmosphere of worship...

An atmosphere where families meet Jesus... and are never the same...

 

Who cares?

The Crossing cares.

Three Years Later

Three years ago today I stood in a cold little building and preached my first message to the two members of The Crossing (f.k.a. Soul's Harbor Pentecostal Church)...

My first message to them was "Keep Standing Until the King Arrives."

I told them that the King was on His way...

and He was going to anoint, empower and strengthen them to do so...

The following Sunday, I preached "A Message For The City."

I told them that God was about to revolutionize their church...

They were going to see what they had not been able to see previously...

And we hit the ground running...

Clueless...

Thought we were ready to pastor...

hahahaha

Green as a gourd...

And we kept on pressing...

Trials came...

Opposition arose...

Fear gripped us...

Faith propelled us...

Favor led us...

Discouragement came knocking...

people came...

people left...

I just kinda figured that, since I was such a fantastic preacher, the community would hear about the church...

and the media would want to come and do a feature on the new guy in town...

people would flock to the place...

money would start rolling in...

Talent would begin seeking me out...

yeah...

not so much...

Other opportunities that were much more stable, secure, and prestigious were offered...

but God spoke to me and said, "Do not choose blossoms, son...choose buds"

and the great opportunity was turned down...

friends and family asked me, "Are you crazy?"

no...

just hungry....

The Sunday following this decision...

I sat in my little office and wondered two things...

1.  What can I possibly say to this church today that would encourage them?

2.  Will I ever catch that stupid rat that ate all of my books in this office??

so I gathered myself up and plastered on a smile....

opened the office door and walked out to begin service....

and there sat six new families on our chairs...

God is faithful....

If I could say anything to myself, my family, and my precious church three years later...

it would be...

"Keep Standing 'Till The King Arrives"

He is still coming...

still going to anoint...

still going to revolutionize our church...

still going to show us things we have yet to imagine....

The King is on His way....

Three years later...