All of us, I would guess, have been to Chick-fil-A to eat a meal. And it doesn’t matter whether you are in Kalamazoo, Michigan or Raleigh, North Carolina you are going to receive the same phase once your service is complete. What’s that phrase? Let’s all say it at the same time, “My Pleasure.” One of our church members at HOPE told me that he tries his best to phrase his response to being served so that they would have to respond in a different manner. He has not been successful yet.
“My Pleasure,” is ingrained in every Chick-fil-A employee. My son worked there for a while and said, if you are heard by a supervisor responding to a customer in any other way, you are reprimanded for it. So let’s break down this word pleasure.
Webster’s Dictionary says:
1.the state or feeling of being pleased. 2.enjoyment or satisfaction derived from what is to one's liking; gratification. 3.worldly or frivolous enjoyment:
the pursuit of pleasure. 4.recreation or amusement. 5.sensual gratification. 6. a cause or source of enjoyment or delight. 7. pleasurable quality.
But there is one phrase Webster gives that I want to focus on. Under the synonyms section it reads: “Enjoyment that brings about well-being from satisfaction.” By now, many of you are saying, “Where in the world is this man going with this?”
Ok, I’ll tell you. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. I know that the first Thanksgiving is traditionally dated 1621 in Plymouth where the Pilgrims and Natives joined together to give thanks. Later, the President of the United States, George Washington, proclaimed the first nationwide thanksgiving celebration in America marking November 26, 1789, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God”. If you need to read that phrase from George again, please do so. Many of our politicians today state religion had nothing to do with the beginning foundations of our nation. But let me move on!
You remember I said I like the phrase “...enjoyment that brings about well-being...” Then you read President Washington’s phrase, “...acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God.” I believe there is a correlation between giving thanks to God and our well-being. As we give our continued thanks to the Almighty, as we worship, as we grow, as we serve Him, and when we pray and give thanks, our countenance is lifted up. Our well-being is given a shot of adrenaline. It makes us feel good. There is just something about giving someone thanks that they cannot (in most cases) respond negatively to.
So as you gather tomorrow to give thanks to the Almighty God for all He has done for you, how about also giving a few words of thanks to those around you, those that serve you, those that care for you, those that love you for just being you. I will tell you that not only will it bring pleasure to you, it will be good for both’s well-being.
So folks, it’s “My Pleasure” to serve you and serve God. I’m thankful to Him and for all of you!!!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Pastor Marty.
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Monday, November 23, 2015
Hope For Our Future
Over and over again, we lose sleep thinking about how we'll meet a certain deadline. Or, we are consumed by fear or dread of losing a loved one. We spend multiple agonizing moments worrying about how we would provide for our families or stress over making a critical decision. Insert your own scenario here. Anxiety, fear, and depression can cripple us from taking even the basic or simplest of steps. No one is immune. We all have things that consume us and rob us of our joy. The devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8). In order to do that, I would argue that one of his first steps would be to steal our hope. If we have no hope, we have no purpose. If we have no purpose, we have no direction. If we have no direction, why would we follow a Savior?
In this present world, it's entirely too easy to lose hope. Why? It's because our focus tends to be on our present situation. We forget that this is not our permanent home. This pain is temporary. Peter reminds us:
"There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while." 1 Peter 1:6 NLT.
I suspect that Peter begins his letter with this reminder because he understood our need for hope. Pain is not a new occurrence, especially to Peter. He knew that we needed hope in order for us to face what lies ahead. He urges us to persevere; this pain won't last but a short while. Our permanent residence awaits us.
Hope - it's the name of our church. Hope in what? Hope in salvation, renewal, growth? Yes to all of these. We also need hope to know our future eternal place. Heaven is our future if we place our trust in Him and repent of our sins. Recently, I read about Joni Eareckson Tada. Wikipedia being my trusty guide and a reliable source, I decided to learn more about this woman. I encourage you to also visit her own website and read her story. She is a Christian writer/artist who was paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident in 1967. As I prayed about this article within the context of her story, I found her to be an example of someone who affirmed my own hope and encouraged me when I felt overwhelmed recently. It strengthened me to read about her and how she reacted when she was in a valley. One might argue that this is not your typical person. One can say that she is more driven than the average person or that she has more ambition or is better gifted. In my opinion, I believe it starts with her focus. Her focus is on her eternal home - heaven. This is not escapism. Heaven should motivate us and encourages us that nothing in this world can prevent us from having this type of hope. What is heaven like? How would Joni describe it? She said, "I've never succeeded in painting a picture of heaven. People have asked me why, and I haven't come up with a good answer, except to say that heaven defies the blank canvas of the artist." She describes Earth's most glorious spot as "only a dim reflection, a preliminary rendering of the glory that will one day be revealed." Can you imagine such beauty? To the ordinary person, heaven can't even be put into words.
How is heaven described in Scripture? Here are a couple of verses quickly found in Revelation:
[1] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. [2] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, [4] and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." Revelation 21:1-4 NASB
Again, in Revelation:
[1] Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, [2] in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. [3] There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; [4] they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. [5] And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. Revelation 22:1-5 NASB
I urge you to seek your own verses. This is our motivation and destination. We all have pain and face discouragement on a daily basis. The question is – how do we deal with them, knowing that this is only temporary. Joni didn't rely on her own abilities because they were taken from her. She relied on His strength. Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. He richly blessed her. He'll do the same for us according to our own spiritual gifts and His grace. He doesn't need us to be superheroes for His kingdom. Trust and repent. Hope in Him. He'll take it from there.
In His name
Sherif Mikhael (Elder - HOPE Church, Raleigh)
In this present world, it's entirely too easy to lose hope. Why? It's because our focus tends to be on our present situation. We forget that this is not our permanent home. This pain is temporary. Peter reminds us:
"There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while." 1 Peter 1:6 NLT.
I suspect that Peter begins his letter with this reminder because he understood our need for hope. Pain is not a new occurrence, especially to Peter. He knew that we needed hope in order for us to face what lies ahead. He urges us to persevere; this pain won't last but a short while. Our permanent residence awaits us.
Hope - it's the name of our church. Hope in what? Hope in salvation, renewal, growth? Yes to all of these. We also need hope to know our future eternal place. Heaven is our future if we place our trust in Him and repent of our sins. Recently, I read about Joni Eareckson Tada. Wikipedia being my trusty guide and a reliable source, I decided to learn more about this woman. I encourage you to also visit her own website and read her story. She is a Christian writer/artist who was paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident in 1967. As I prayed about this article within the context of her story, I found her to be an example of someone who affirmed my own hope and encouraged me when I felt overwhelmed recently. It strengthened me to read about her and how she reacted when she was in a valley. One might argue that this is not your typical person. One can say that she is more driven than the average person or that she has more ambition or is better gifted. In my opinion, I believe it starts with her focus. Her focus is on her eternal home - heaven. This is not escapism. Heaven should motivate us and encourages us that nothing in this world can prevent us from having this type of hope. What is heaven like? How would Joni describe it? She said, "I've never succeeded in painting a picture of heaven. People have asked me why, and I haven't come up with a good answer, except to say that heaven defies the blank canvas of the artist." She describes Earth's most glorious spot as "only a dim reflection, a preliminary rendering of the glory that will one day be revealed." Can you imagine such beauty? To the ordinary person, heaven can't even be put into words.
How is heaven described in Scripture? Here are a couple of verses quickly found in Revelation:
[1] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. [2] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, [4] and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." Revelation 21:1-4 NASB
Again, in Revelation:
[1] Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, [2] in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. [3] There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; [4] they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. [5] And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. Revelation 22:1-5 NASB
I urge you to seek your own verses. This is our motivation and destination. We all have pain and face discouragement on a daily basis. The question is – how do we deal with them, knowing that this is only temporary. Joni didn't rely on her own abilities because they were taken from her. She relied on His strength. Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. He richly blessed her. He'll do the same for us according to our own spiritual gifts and His grace. He doesn't need us to be superheroes for His kingdom. Trust and repent. Hope in Him. He'll take it from there.
In His name
Sherif Mikhael (Elder - HOPE Church, Raleigh)
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Superficial vs Depth
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. -- 2 Corinthians 5:17
As many of you know that attend HOPE Church, we have recently re-sealed our parking lot. The parking lot is well over 2 decades old and had begun to deteriorate. Sand and pebbles covered the surface. Having the lot checked out, we were told that if we re-seal it we could get 3 to 5 years more use out of it before having to put down a new asphalt surface. For the Leadership Team, that sounded like a good solution for us at this time.
When the company that came to re-seal cleaned off the parking lot. Then they took melted tar and filled in the breaks and cracks in the existing asphalt. And then finally they sprayed on a tar based chemical sealant. It actually looks pretty good.
I was walking out to the mailbox on Monday which is near Green Road and as I walked I began to look at the parking lot surface. Yes, as I said, it looks very nice and new. But if you look a little closer, what you will see is the old cracks showing through. It is not a new parking lot, not a new surface, but only COVERED by a spray on tan. In this case, black in color. Everything under the spray on black is still the same. In a few years we are going to have to come back and either try the re-sealing again or actually put down NEW asphalt. It's actually just a make-over, nothing permanent.
Folks, many of those today that say they are Christians seem to have done a make-over. They appear to be new, they show up for worship, put a little something in the plate when it is passed, say some of the right words, do some good things. BUT is there evidence of a true change?
God's Word tells us that we are a new creature in Christ, the old things have passed away and new things have come. In many people today I see them trying to hold on to the old while claiming the new. If we try to do that in our walk with Christ, all we have done is sprayed on a new look, but nothing has changed inside that makes us NEW. And in time, because we are holding on to the old self, the pebbles will make their way to the surface again and we will be in the same place we were years before.
In our 1 Corinthians sermon series we are learning what it means to live a holy life. Learning what it means to be changed as a follower of Jesus Christ from the inside out. No superficial Christianity, but authentic Christianity! Paul says that we need to mature, grow up in our faith, not continue to live on babies milk.
How can we do that? How can our new life in Christ have the depth of newness He requires? It is very simple. Worship, Grow, & Serve! Worship the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Grow in Him by study of His Word, a daily devotional life, daily prayer life, exposing yourself to biblical preaching and teaching. And then finally loving your neighbor as yourself. Serving! Serving is not just doing a mission project, fixing something for a special dinner. Serving is much more than that. Serving is sharing Christ with others. Being Christ in a lost world. Serving is looking for opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others. Serving is selflessness, placing others before you.
When we become a people who Worship, Grow, & Serve, Oh my goodness folks, you will begin to see the depth of your love for God and your walk with God explode. No more spray on superficial covering that will wear off in time and produce again the old self. NO! This depth of your new self in Christ Jesus will last, never wear out and ultimately bring you to victory one day as you hear the words, "Well done my good and faithful servant!"
Here is the question: Is your walk Superficial or does it have Depth?
Blessing my friends,
Pastor Marty
As many of you know that attend HOPE Church, we have recently re-sealed our parking lot. The parking lot is well over 2 decades old and had begun to deteriorate. Sand and pebbles covered the surface. Having the lot checked out, we were told that if we re-seal it we could get 3 to 5 years more use out of it before having to put down a new asphalt surface. For the Leadership Team, that sounded like a good solution for us at this time.
When the company that came to re-seal cleaned off the parking lot. Then they took melted tar and filled in the breaks and cracks in the existing asphalt. And then finally they sprayed on a tar based chemical sealant. It actually looks pretty good.
I was walking out to the mailbox on Monday which is near Green Road and as I walked I began to look at the parking lot surface. Yes, as I said, it looks very nice and new. But if you look a little closer, what you will see is the old cracks showing through. It is not a new parking lot, not a new surface, but only COVERED by a spray on tan. In this case, black in color. Everything under the spray on black is still the same. In a few years we are going to have to come back and either try the re-sealing again or actually put down NEW asphalt. It's actually just a make-over, nothing permanent.
Folks, many of those today that say they are Christians seem to have done a make-over. They appear to be new, they show up for worship, put a little something in the plate when it is passed, say some of the right words, do some good things. BUT is there evidence of a true change?
God's Word tells us that we are a new creature in Christ, the old things have passed away and new things have come. In many people today I see them trying to hold on to the old while claiming the new. If we try to do that in our walk with Christ, all we have done is sprayed on a new look, but nothing has changed inside that makes us NEW. And in time, because we are holding on to the old self, the pebbles will make their way to the surface again and we will be in the same place we were years before.
In our 1 Corinthians sermon series we are learning what it means to live a holy life. Learning what it means to be changed as a follower of Jesus Christ from the inside out. No superficial Christianity, but authentic Christianity! Paul says that we need to mature, grow up in our faith, not continue to live on babies milk.
How can we do that? How can our new life in Christ have the depth of newness He requires? It is very simple. Worship, Grow, & Serve! Worship the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Grow in Him by study of His Word, a daily devotional life, daily prayer life, exposing yourself to biblical preaching and teaching. And then finally loving your neighbor as yourself. Serving! Serving is not just doing a mission project, fixing something for a special dinner. Serving is much more than that. Serving is sharing Christ with others. Being Christ in a lost world. Serving is looking for opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others. Serving is selflessness, placing others before you.
When we become a people who Worship, Grow, & Serve, Oh my goodness folks, you will begin to see the depth of your love for God and your walk with God explode. No more spray on superficial covering that will wear off in time and produce again the old self. NO! This depth of your new self in Christ Jesus will last, never wear out and ultimately bring you to victory one day as you hear the words, "Well done my good and faithful servant!"
Here is the question: Is your walk Superficial or does it have Depth?
Blessing my friends,
Pastor Marty
Any Hidden Secrets
"The Lord knows the thoughts of man,..." Psalm 94:11a
Any hidden secrets? Last year the engine light came on in my truck. As you might know, your vehicle has an on board computer and that computer monitors everything your vehicle does. This allows the mechanic to plug a device into our on board computer and get readings to see why the light is on and what needs to be done to fix it. But one key is this, the light needs to be on to get a true reading from the computer.
I took my truck to my mechanic to get it checked out and to my surprise he said your computer has failed and you need to have it replaced. Great!!! And how much is that going to be? He rattled off some numbers north of 4 digits and I'm sure my eyes glazed over. He said, "Hello! Do you want it replaced?" "Do I have to replace it?" I said. "Can't I just drive it with the light on?" "Sure" he said, "but I cannot inspect it for the State of NC thus you cannot renew your license tag. You might find someone who would over look the check engine light and inspect your truck, but I can't." "Well, this is dishonest,
cheating, lying, just plain wrong" I said, "Go ahead and replace it"
Fast forward to today. Over the past two months my check engine light has been coming on. Here's the thing, it will stay
on for a week or so then go off for a day, then back on. I called my mechanic and he said bring it to me when the light is on and I can see what is going on. But without the light on, it will be hard to diagnose the problem. On Monday I had to take the truck to him for new brakes, rotors and a new Master Cylinder which is failing, YEAH, more money into my 2005 truck, but my light was on and I told him so and he said "Great, we can check that too." My appointment was at 1:30 pm and so I decided to eat lunch in Knightdale on the way to his shop. I was less than two miles from his shop and after eating got into my truck and cranked it up and guess what, the light was off!!! Yes off!!!
What? It had been on for 3 weeks straight. 3 weeks and less than two miles from a place that could have found the issues, it goes off.
I was thinking about that on the way home Monday and for some reason in my brain I have to run my experiences
through some biblical matrix. So these were my thoughts!
This on board computer is like us in the world. The world looks at us and often sees us living our lives with no "check engine" light on. Every now and then issues will arise and the light comes on and a few of our family or closest friends see the light is on, knowing something is
wrong, but we really don't want everyone to know its on (our problems). That's certainly natural. Here's the problem, that intermittent light, going on and going off just masks the problem. The problem is still there, though the light has gone off and those around us can no longer see it. It's what I call hidden secrets.
Our on board computer is saying "FIX IT! FIX IT NOW!" We say, "Oh, the 'check Human engine' light is not on any longer, I'll just go on with my life as is. It will be OK. The world will overlook the problem with me and I can get away with it."
But believer, you know that light is coming on to warn you that something is wrong, you can not overlook the warning. Furthermore, whether anyone else can see it, God sees it. "The LORD knows the thoughts of man/woman."(Ps.94.11a)
Here is the great thing, God can fix the intermittent light, or the light that stays on. It makes no difference to Him. What He wants is for us to take those hidden secrets and expose them to Him and He will deal with them. You know what this is called... "surrender." While the world tells you, "It's OK, live as you want, do as you want, we will overlook your 'check HUMAN light' being on," God is saying, "Look, I know every thought, every hidden secret, I will NOT overlook it, but I will help you clean it up and fix it so that you are running on all cylinders for Me."
Any hidden secrets? Is your check HUMAN light on? No one else may see it, but God does and He is the only one that can truly fix it.
Blessings my friends,
Pastor Marty.
Any hidden secrets? Last year the engine light came on in my truck. As you might know, your vehicle has an on board computer and that computer monitors everything your vehicle does. This allows the mechanic to plug a device into our on board computer and get readings to see why the light is on and what needs to be done to fix it. But one key is this, the light needs to be on to get a true reading from the computer.
I took my truck to my mechanic to get it checked out and to my surprise he said your computer has failed and you need to have it replaced. Great!!! And how much is that going to be? He rattled off some numbers north of 4 digits and I'm sure my eyes glazed over. He said, "Hello! Do you want it replaced?" "Do I have to replace it?" I said. "Can't I just drive it with the light on?" "Sure" he said, "but I cannot inspect it for the State of NC thus you cannot renew your license tag. You might find someone who would over look the check engine light and inspect your truck, but I can't." "Well, this is dishonest,
cheating, lying, just plain wrong" I said, "Go ahead and replace it"
Fast forward to today. Over the past two months my check engine light has been coming on. Here's the thing, it will stay
on for a week or so then go off for a day, then back on. I called my mechanic and he said bring it to me when the light is on and I can see what is going on. But without the light on, it will be hard to diagnose the problem. On Monday I had to take the truck to him for new brakes, rotors and a new Master Cylinder which is failing, YEAH, more money into my 2005 truck, but my light was on and I told him so and he said "Great, we can check that too." My appointment was at 1:30 pm and so I decided to eat lunch in Knightdale on the way to his shop. I was less than two miles from his shop and after eating got into my truck and cranked it up and guess what, the light was off!!! Yes off!!!
What? It had been on for 3 weeks straight. 3 weeks and less than two miles from a place that could have found the issues, it goes off.
I was thinking about that on the way home Monday and for some reason in my brain I have to run my experiences
through some biblical matrix. So these were my thoughts!
This on board computer is like us in the world. The world looks at us and often sees us living our lives with no "check engine" light on. Every now and then issues will arise and the light comes on and a few of our family or closest friends see the light is on, knowing something is
wrong, but we really don't want everyone to know its on (our problems). That's certainly natural. Here's the problem, that intermittent light, going on and going off just masks the problem. The problem is still there, though the light has gone off and those around us can no longer see it. It's what I call hidden secrets.
Our on board computer is saying "FIX IT! FIX IT NOW!" We say, "Oh, the 'check Human engine' light is not on any longer, I'll just go on with my life as is. It will be OK. The world will overlook the problem with me and I can get away with it."
But believer, you know that light is coming on to warn you that something is wrong, you can not overlook the warning. Furthermore, whether anyone else can see it, God sees it. "The LORD knows the thoughts of man/woman."(Ps.94.11a)
Here is the great thing, God can fix the intermittent light, or the light that stays on. It makes no difference to Him. What He wants is for us to take those hidden secrets and expose them to Him and He will deal with them. You know what this is called... "surrender." While the world tells you, "It's OK, live as you want, do as you want, we will overlook your 'check HUMAN light' being on," God is saying, "Look, I know every thought, every hidden secret, I will NOT overlook it, but I will help you clean it up and fix it so that you are running on all cylinders for Me."
Any hidden secrets? Is your check HUMAN light on? No one else may see it, but God does and He is the only one that can truly fix it.
Blessings my friends,
Pastor Marty.
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