“Be Alert In the Storm”

The rain started in the area on Sunday.  Heavy rains continued on Monday.  I don’t remember any time on Monday that the rains were not falling.  Rains continued on into Monday night and Tuesday.  In the Raleigh area on Tuesday there were those that had to be rescued by Water Rescue Teams.

On my way into Raleigh on Monday morning I saw four accidents.  Two cars which had hydroplaned and ended up in the ditch or in one case the woods.  The two other wrecks were with multiple vehicles.  It appeared that one had put on breaks and ALL the others ran into each other.  On my way home from the church late Monday afternoon I saw four more accidents all within a two mile stretch on I-440.  One that had hydroplaned into the concrete barrier and the other three were rear enders.  One of these wrecks involved six vehicles.

I know that with rain and wet roads the accident volume increases.  I was a law enforcement officer in the USAF and those stats hold true.  But, many of these accidents could be avoided by slower speeds, increased following distance, and being alert to your surroundings.  One guy on I-440 did not like the speed I was traveling on Monday afternoon so he decided, in the pouring rain, to get within a couple of feet of my bumper.  I had to bite my tongue and grip the steering wheel a little harder not to lash out at him in some way.  I thought, “Stay the course Marty, drive cautiously and you’ll arrive safely home.”

Ok, here goes my comparison again, my analogy using my experiences on Monday.  

I thought, “Isn’t that life?”  Doesn’t God call us to be aware of our surroundings and stay the course?  Doesn’t God call us to watch out for the enemy, the prince of this world, the deceiver?  Aren’t we suppose to guard ourselves so that we remain safe, on track, to arrive safely home (our eternal home)?

What did Jesus say as He was teaching on this?  In Mark 13, as Jesus is teaching on the end times and His return He states: “But be on your guard” verse 9; “take heed, keep on the alert” verse 33; “Therefore, be on the alert” verse 35; “What I say to you I say to all, be on alert.” verse 37.  Then in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus returns to the disciples after praying and says, “Could you not keep watch for one hour?  Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  Mark 14:37a-38.

God has given us the instructions for weathering the storms.  The rains/storms of life will come.  And there will be a temptation for us to take things into our own hands, speed through them only to wreck.  Or not be aware of those around us, thus alienating them.  It is really not if the storms come, but when.  We will all face them.  The question is, how will you deal with them?

I would encourage you to be watchful, be alert, be in prayer, that you will keep your focus during the storms and the heavy rains that will come your way.  By His plan we arrive safely home.  Not without some scars and even scares along the way, but safely home with Him.  Oh, what a God we serve!!!

Blessings my friends,

Pastor Marty - Pastor of HOPE EPC Raleigh

Worship, Grow, & Serve

“May the Pressure Begin to Build”

“A portion of Interstate 20 westbound has been shut down in DeKalb County after part of the road buckled Monday.  According to GDOT, crews were working  underneath the interstate filling an abandoned gas line with concrete when something went wrong and the road buckled.  They are working to figure out what caused the pressure to build.” (Quote Reported by: Fox 8 News Atlanta)

I saw this picture and the report of I-20 in Atlanta buckling on Monday.  The last line of the report caught my attention more than the buckling of the highway.  I’m not an engineer and that is probably a good thing, but I thought “Really?  The Georgia DOT is going to have to research and figure out what caused the pressure to build enough to buckle the road?”  Hey, GDOT, call Pastor Marty in Raleigh North Carolina and I can save you some time and money.  Are you ready GDOT?  Wait for it: There is a blockage in the gas pipe that caused the pressure to build and you cannot continue to force concrete into a pipe with a blockage without the concrete having to go somewhere.  Thus, in this case, up and buckling the road some 5 to 6 feet.  Now if they would have said the GDOT was trying to figure out what blocked the pipe to create the pressure, that would have been different.

Of course my mind begins to process this news from Atlanta’s I-20 mess from a biblical point of view.  I’m not sure why that happens.  Some would say I’m crazy.  Some in my family would probably agree with you.  But here goes my crazy comparison.

A few weeks ago I told my congregation “You cannot bring out what you didn’t put in.”  Or in other words, If you do not read, memorize, and study God’s Word, (put it it) then when you need to call on it (bring it out) for witnessing or sharing comfort to someone, or having a foundation to make your stand, there’s nothing there.  With that in mind, the more you read, memorize, and study God’s Word, the more you worship and sing His praises, the more you put God into you the more the pressure builds up to the point you blow!  You cannot help but to talk about Him, share about Him, tell others what Christ has done for you.  The Christ in you HAS to come out.

We just celebrated this past Sunday the greatest event in all of the history of the world.  “If Christ has not been raised,” Paul states, “your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” (1st Corinthians 15:17)  In Romans 6 Paul reminds us Jesus has been raised from the dead through the glory of the Father so, “we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)  He goes on to say believers are “united” with Him.  He conquered death and we will too.  Read 1st Peter 1:3 - 9 again, today.

Believers, yes Believers, this is only for you, for if you are reading this and not a believer in Jesus Christ, it will be very hard to grasp what I’m saying.  But Believers, how in the world can you take in the fact that Jesus died for your sins, rose to life so you too could live, have eternal life and not share it?  How can we take all of what He has done for us and the pressure not build inside of us so that it has to come out.  How can we take His Word in, how can we have His very Spirit in us and not explode if it doesn’t come out?

I have the answer to my questions.  Unfortunately, far to few Believers are taking in enough of Him to build the pressure up to bring it out in witness.  If the pressure is not there, very little will be forced out.  That is the sad truth.

My challenge for you is to take more and more of HIM into your life this year, starting today.  Read more, study more, memorize more, pray more, WORSHIP Him more and watch the pressure build up to the point there is no way to keep His message of salvation inside of you.  There is no way to not tell what He has done for you.  Just remember; “You cannot bring out what you didn’t put in.”

May the Pressure Begin to Build!!!

Blessings my friends,

Pastor Marty - Pastor of HOPE EPC Raleigh

Worship, Grow, & Serve

“OVERCOMERS”

Yes, if you were to ask me, I stayed up and watched the NCAA National Basketball Championship game.  And YES, I’m a Tar Heel fan and was trilled with their win.  And YES I have a Masters Degree from Duke University on my office wall.  All of that is true.  So how can I pull for Carolina?  I’ve been a Tar Heel fan since I was a toddler.  I can remember my first sport T-shirt was a Carolina football shirt.  So, like my bent towards the Tar Heels or not, I’ve pulled for them for over 50 years and I really don’t think that will ever change.  Just as a side note.  When you are attending Duke University and walking through the Quads to class wearing your Carolina sweatshirt, be prepared to be called some names that would make your mommy hide her face.

Enough about my Tar Heel loyalty.  I watched the game on Monday night and was so pleased to see the fight on the floor of both teams.  The Zags had to overcome the fact that many said they were a Mid-Major team and really don’t belong on that stage.  REALLY?  The team was 37 - 1 and had beaten 5 power-five conference teams during their run to the Finals.  They were legit for sure.  Carolina had some injuries through the year, lost their starting guard for the year, ankle injuries plagued their star point guard, yet they battled.  This game featured a couple of heavy weights.  Some didn’t like the game for many reasons, but the battle came down to the wire and both teams, in my opinion, were OVERCOMERS!!!

Let me switch gears a little here, not theme, but to another conversation I was engaged in this week.  I was talking to someone who was questioning why they were facing the difficulties of life.  They asked, “But I believe in God.  I’m a Christian.  I try to be good to everyone, do the right things, why am I suffering in my old age?”  Just a few days earlier we had a conversation about salvation, so there was no doubt this person is a believer.  I assured this person that what they were facing in deteriorating health was a product of a lost/fallen world.  This is something we all will face with longevity of life.  Sickness/Death is a part of the curse of the Garden.  BUT, then I quoted a verse and talked about that some with this person.  What verse you ask?  

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Oh, there is so much in this verse that I certainly cannot exegete it in this article.  With this particular person I was talking to, I lifted up the fact that as a believer Christ is in us, with us, and only through Him do we really have peace in this world.  Being a Christian does not afford us the perfect life, no pain, suffering or sorrow, but that that day will come!  We will have trials and tribulations in this life, but remember Jesus was an overcomer so that we WOULD be also.  Take courage!!! Christ says!  This is our hope in all we face in this life.

Jesus Christ was an overcomer!  Hebrews 4:15 states: “For we do not have a great high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”  He is an OVERCOMER!  He overcame temptation and denial, even from His own family.  He overcame persecution by the religious leaders, the Roman government, and the abandonment of all His followers.  He is an Overcomer!  Even an OVERCOMER of death!  For the grave could not hold Him, death could not hold Him.  Satan had no power over Him.  He overcame and conquered death and the grave.  He is ALIVE!

Folks, you have heard it over and over and over again about Christ and His story, but do you claim it for yourself?  Have you found peace in your life, though trials persist?  Though this world and Satan will throw everything including the kitchen sink at you, are you persevering through it?  Have you claimed: “I’m an OVERCOMER because of my Lord and Savior Jesus, the Christ?  Believer, if not, do!  Don’t live your life with worry and doubt.  Be a King David and say, “…though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil.”  Claim your salvation through Jesus, live into it and be OVERCOMERS!!!

Blessings my friends,

Pastor Marty                   

Worship, Grow & Serve 

                     

“Unexpected Surprises”

You had them before, you know, those unexpected surprises.  Someone does something for you out of the blue and you’re like, “WOW!  Didn’t expect that!”  You open a letter and it is from someone you haven’t talked to in years.  We all have had those unexpected moments. 

Some friends of ours gave us a gift certificate for “Dinner for Two” to a very nice local restaurant in Raleigh a few months ago.  I decided to wait and use it for Terry’s birthday.  Yes, I’m cheap!!!  But, think about it, it was my only way of taking her to a really nice restaurant so that has to count for something.  Anyway, I decided to take Emma with us and the three of us went this past Saturday night on Terry’s birthday.

I was very impressed with this restaurant.  Very classy, sheik, and a great atmosphere.  We had made reservations and were immediately seated upon arrival.  Si was our waiter and so I gave him the gift certificate upfront because I wanted him to know we had it, you know, NO surprises.  He put it in a black folder in his waist band and we began our experience.

I’ll have to say the food was great and service was fantastic.  I don’t think I could have asked any better.  For her birthday celebration, Terry and I ordered a couple of drinks and Emma Grace had a Shirley Temple (one of her favorites).  After the meal was over we decided to order coffee and dessert and I’ll just have to say, if you go to this place to eat, order the chocolate over chocolate cake with ice cream.  You will not be sorry.  Maybe a few pounds heavier, but not sorry!

We were ready to get our check, pay, and head home.  I knew what the two lowest priced entrees cost, so I knew about $50 would be taken off our bill and I would owe the rest.  Si brought the bill and I looked at it and said, “Si, wait a minute.  What about our gift certificate?”  “Oh,” he said, and picked back up the bill and walked away.  The bill he laid down was somewhat north of three digits.  I guess I didn’t realize French Press Coffee and dessert would have been quite that much, nor that a glass of wine would be $15.  But, hey, it’s my wife’s birthday.  Si, came back in just a couple of minutes with the new bill and said, “All, we are charging you for are the two drinks you and your wife had” and he walked away.  What?  Wait!  The certificate was only for two, 2 entrees, nothing else.  Man, what an unexpected surprise.  The bill had gone from north of $$$ to $20.  What a blessing!!!

As we walked to my truck Terry and I both said, “Well, that was unexpected.”  The word got stuck in my mind driving home and I began to think about the unexpected surprises during the last week of Jesus life.

We are in the Lenten season and are now close to Holy Week.  Think about it from His disciples perspective.  He just asked for a donkey colt to ride into Jerusalem.  Surprise, the prophecy on display.  Jesus clears out everyone in the temple.  Surprise, there is such a thing as righteous anger.  He tells them that one of them, one of the twelve, will betray Him and he tells them this at the Passover Meal.  Surprise!!!  “What?” ”Surely not I,” was their response.  They are even surprised when walking to the garden that night to hear, “All of you will flee from me.”  They were surprised He was arrested.  I think they were surprised He allowed them to arrest Him.  Every time before He slipped away untouched.  They were surprised that on Calvary’s Hill, their Lord would be crucified, but He was!

But folks, their biggest, grandest, most beautiful surprise came when the women came to the tomb and heard, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.  He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said…”  “Go and tell His disciples…” Matthew 28:5-7  Though they had been told, they did not expect that one.  “He Has Risen.”  The greatest “Unexpected Surprise.”

This Easter, what if you allowed yourself to experience the Resurrection of your Lord anew?  What if your experience on Easter morning was, “OH LORD!!! Thank you for the empty tomb!”  The unexpected surprise for me is that the resurrected Jesus has called me to be His, one of His chosen.   He took on my sin so I wouldn’t have to.  He conquered death so I could!  Greatest gift, greatest surprise ever!!!

Have you experienced the unexpected surprise of the resurrected Lord in your life?  If not, please do, for it will be the greatest surprise, the greatest gift you have ever received.  There is no doubt about it.  And if so, celebrate anew this Easter the resurrected Savior, your Lord, and give thanks!  

Let us come and Worship the LORD!!!

Blessings my friends,

Pastor Marty                   

Worship, Grow & Serve 

                     

“The Same Truth Is a Must”

“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all you soul.  You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.”          Deuteronomy 13:1-4

My family drove up to Boone last week to visit our son who is going to school there.  Of course one of the things you have to do for a college student when you visit is FEED THEM!!!  I mean, it’s like you feed them the entire time you visit.  You would think they never eat.  And many do not know this about my family, but we eat Mexican food at least once a week (sometime twice.)  So when we asked the 4 kids we had with us on this trip the first place they wanted to eat, well, we ended up at the local Mexican restaurant in Boone.  

Because of my family’s habits, I have eaten in just about every Mexican restaurant in every town I’ve visited or lived.  Here is the deal!  I’ve noticed that in all of these different restaurants, they all have something in common.  It is #5.  Yes, #5 on the menu.  #5 on every menu is 2 beef enchiladas, rice and beans.  Always!  

This has to be passed along to new restaurants that open.  We had a new Mexican restaurant open in Moore County and the first thing I went to when I opened the menu was to see if the #5 was 2 beef enchiladas, rice and beans.  Yep!  There is was.  The exact SAME meal.

While I was eating in Boone on that Monday with the family, eating my #5, I thought about one of my Bible readings from Deuteronomy in recent weeks (the passage above).  And my crazy mind went to, “wait a minute, there is something about every Christian living, preaching, teaching the same truth.”

If the truth is distorted, twisted, or false, that’s a problem.  Unfortunately, this happens all the time.  It happens in churches, with preachers, with congregational members.  False teaching, false doctrine is lift up as “truth” when all they are giving you is words with no real truth.  Some of you are saying, “Marty, please!”  But wait minute!  Truth is important.

If you are listening to the dreamers, the false prophets (preachers), it may be a test to see if you truly know God.  Do you truly love Him with all your heart.  Just because they say it does not make it true.  You have to test scripture with scripture.  And here is the thing, God says, fear Him, listen to Him, serve Him, and keep His commandments.  If you are listening to His Word being distorted, then there is a problem.

Moses goes on to say, that those dreamers and prophets that are spreading false teachings will be put to death.  Or in other words, they will face eternal separation from God.  

The “Same Truth is a Must.”  We have to teach, preach, and share the same truth from God’s Word.  You cannot take His Word out of context to make your desires or your agenda seem to be His.  His “truth” is the only truth.  Oh, the dreamer can make it sound so real and even, as this passage tells us, do signs and wonders, but that does not make it “truth.”

Paul tells Timothy, his preacher brother in Christ, to beware of false teachers that can lead you astray.  This message still holds true.

I know I can go into just about any Mexican restaurant and order a #5 and have the same thing.  We should be able to go in any Church and get the same truth, GOD’S WORD!  As long as I’m the pastor at HOPE EPC of Raleigh, you can be sure the truth will be proclaimed.  His Word Preached!  The same truth is a must!

Blessings my friends,

Pastor Marty                   

Worship, Grow & Serve 

                     

"Live Into the Light"

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announced to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.”  1 John 1:5

After Terry and I were married we began to look for a place out in the country to purchase and make our home.  Living in the country has its plus and minuses, but we do love where we live.  One of the minuses of country life (or at least where we live) is that there is no cable or internet service.  So in 2004 we decided to go the satellite TV route and see how that would work for us.  Well, it is 2017 and we still have the same satellite company providing our TV service.  

One of the pluses to satellite TV is all the Pay Per View channels that are available.  We don’t watch them, but they are available.  What we do is this though, about once a month we allow the kids to choose a movie on PPV that is appropriate to watch and we purchase it for a 48 hour period for them to watch.  We did that this past Sunday evening.  The movie we rented on PPV was “Trolls.”

I’m sure if some of you have younger children or grandchildren you have seen this movie.  Let me say as an older adult, I thought the movie was silly and was so glad I did not pay $13.50 per ticket for each member of my family to see this movie in the theater.  $5.99 was pushing it once I saw it.  Ok, enough criticism.

Trolls is a movie about, of course Trolls, that live in a Troll tree in a town where the Bergens live.  The Bergens are characters in the movie that live in despair, have no happiness in life, and are dark with no color.  On the other hand the Trolls are colorful and happy and have a positive outlook on life.  So the Bergens believe that once a year, if they eat a troll, they will become happy.  Of course this is not very enticing to the Trolls, so they run away from Bergen Town to save their life.  Unfortunately one of the Bergens find them and take a number of the Trolls captive.  The Troll Princess, Poppy, sets out on a mission to find and save her friends from the Bergens.  But she needs help and solicits Branch one of the strong male Trolls.  Branch has no color though.  Why?  He has no happiness.  I won’t go into why he has no color here, but he is as dark as the Bergens.

During the rescue mission, Poppy and Branch get caught and all the captured Trolls are put in a pot to be served as a meal to the Bergens.  Here is where I said to my wife Terry, “Well, that would preach!”

Poppy had all her color and all her wonderful positive outlook on life, in that moment, leave her.  She found herself in despair and sadness.  As you saw the sadness come over her, you saw her color turn to darkness, just like Branch and the Bergens.  As her color left her, so did all of the other Trolls who flourished with color.  Now all the Trolls lived in darkness until Branch stepped up and began to sing (the movie is filled with some great songs).  As Branch began to sing, the color in him and in the other Trolls began to return and their happiness, their resolve to move forward and not remain in this darkness and despair came back to life.

I could not help but think about this verse from 1 John, “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.”  In the darkness we can hide.  No one will see us.  In the darkness most of the crime happens and sin runs rampant.  In the darkness of our souls, anxiety, depression, and despair can take over and we can loose all meaning of life.  But when God is our focus and we don’t loose sight of His presence in us as believers, His Light shines.  Branch started with a song that brought hope in a dyer situation.  For us, we see the Light of God in Worship, in His Word, in a friend or family member.  We see God’s Light in the Christians music we sing, the fellowship we enjoy, the hugs and kisses of loved ones and fellow believers.  We see the Light of God in His creation around us.  None more so than this time of the year, Spring Time, as creation comes to life with flowers and leaves.  Just begin to look around you and you will see the Light of God, that is if His Light is in you.  With out Him, we tend to have the attributes of a lost world, those of darkness.

So my question to you today is “Have you tapped into the Light of the living God?”  I can tell you that the more you allow HIS Light to shine in you and through you, the less the darkness of this world will taint you.  The more you live into His Light, the less darkness people see in you.  The more you let your LIGHT shine, the more people around you will be effected by it.  The more you live into the LIGHT, you can begin to kiss the darkness good by.

Branch and Poppy were able to save the Trolls and even more, show the Bergens that they could have Light in them without eating a Troll.  Light comes from the soul and its source is from God, for “God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all.”  AT ALL folks.  Live into this Light!

Blessings my friends,

Pastor Marty                   

Worship, Grow & Serve 

                     

"Covered"

As the HOPE family knows, we have been working on the Courtyard and Playground areas of the church.  We are just about finished, well, once this next workday is complete.  But things are shaping up nicely.  I believe when it is done, the entire area will be something we use and enjoy as a congregation.  

Since we are having a workday this coming Saturday, we have ordered several different materials to be delivered this week.  The first delivery came on Monday which was 5 tons of pea gravel that we will be using as ground cover.  The last loads of top soil and gravel we received were dumped at the front part of our property near the road and we had to load it in wheel barrels and truck it back to the work area on the side of the church.  Lots of loads, as you can imagine, were made.  So I asked the driver on Monday if he could back his truck over the grass area and dump the pea gravel closer to the work area, which he was glad to do.  But he made a suggestion to me that made a lot of sense.  He asked if I had a tarp I could put on the ground to cover it so that the gravel could be dumped on the tarp instead of the bare ground.  We had a tarp in the back storage shed and I went and got it and we spread it out over the ground covering the area where the pea gravel would fall.

Now of course some spilled over the border of the tarp.  The driver apologized to me for that, but I said, “No Problem!  It’s covered!  We’ll clean it up.”

I got to thinking later that day about the cover on the ground.  This cover (tarp) protected the ground from the gravel.  It kept the ground immediately underneath the covering from having to be cleaned.  And the fact that the covering was there, actually made it much easier to clean up the “spill overs” on the ground where the tarp did not cover.

We begin Lent today.  Lent is a 40 day period prior to Easter Sunday (excluding Sundays) where, as we journey again toward the cross of Christ, Calvary, we examine ourselves.  Yes, of course, we should examine and confess year around, but certainly the emphasis of Lent does give us food for thought in this journey.  So as I thought about the events of Monday with the “Covering” (our tarp), my mind flashed to the “Covering” provided by Jesus Christ and His blood.  He has covered us as believers.  Glory to God!  Psalm 32:1 and 85:2 reminds us of that covering.  Psalm 32:1:  “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered!”  Psalm 85:2: “You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah.”

But what about the spill over?  What happens to that?  In Matthew 8:24 we read: “And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep.”  You all know this story.  Jesus and His disciples were on the Sea of Galilee and a violent storm arose and the waves were covering the boat or in other words, spilling over from the sea into the boat and they were afraid.  Jesus was asleep and woke up to their fears and mostly screaming.  Save us Lord!!!!  Wouldn’t we be doing the same?  But this spill over, or the high waves covering the boat was no problem for Jesus to take care of.  Two words spoken, “Be still” and the waves were calm.  No more spill over!  No longer were the waves outside their borders.  Jesus had it covered, even the spill over.

He has us covered, even the spill over.  There are times we fail.  We shouldn’t, but we do.  But even in those times, He has us covered.  His blood from Calvary covers us completely and even takes care of the spill overs.  This Lenten Season, why not use these next few weeks to take a look at your life and see where you can limit those spill overs.  Yes, they are covered, but it is His desire that we sin no more.  It is His desire that we realize what is spilled over is covered, taken care of, so there is no need for Him to address that again.

We all can use some examination every now and then.  We all can see what needs to be cleaned up and then confess to Him knowing, we are “Covered!” Thanks be to God!

Blessings my friends,

Pastor Marty                   

Worship, Grow & Serve