UNSHAKEABLE

A mighty fortress is our God; a sacred refuge is Your name

Your kingdom is unshakable; With You forever we will reign

 

You may have heard Pastor Brian allude to a family whose house was broken into this last week. Well, we were the family. After a full day of work, dinner together as family and a couple of hours of CPR instruction, we came home to open drawers, tossed clothing, and a TV parked close to the exit window the burglars used. We were in shock and we were shaken.

While we still feel the effects of last Thursday’s break-in, we have been able to put some of this crime in perspective. Much of what we lost was jewelry and money. While some of the pieces were family gifts, it all amounts to stuff. No one was hurt. No one was a hostage. The things – read, people – we value most are intact.

Yes, we lost “valuables,” and we could have lost other things as well. Yet these “treasures” are not what our life is about. We have this opportunity now to understand what it really means to not treasure the material things of this world more than the kingdom of our Lord and King. Jesus himself reminded us,

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

Matthew 6:19-21

I certainly do not want robberies to be a regular occurrence for us in order to hold this perspective. If anything, I hope we continue to have a lasting gratitude for what we have been given as a trust for the purposes of God’s glory. I also do not want this event to rob us of the certain truth that God is our fortress and refuge, our very present help in time of trouble.

Our confidence in locks and gates is certainly shaken. Our sense of personal security is rattled. The good news is that God’s kingdom among us is NOT shaken. Our confidence in the Lord is intact. He certainly knows what happened and will certainly take care of the justice we desire. We stand confident that our God is still watching us and giving us refuge even now. May this witness to God’s faithfulness encourage and remind you that the Lord will be a refuge for you even as He is for our family.

-Mike Spinelli-Choir Drector

Pastor’s Prayer

As a pastor, I’m always praying with or for people. It’s part of the job. However, when I came to Bethany Church I was encouraged by our prayer coordinator to put together a team of people who would regularly pray for me. I was new to the church, so I asked individuals I’d connected with from the search committee and the Leadership Council to be part of this group.

For the past 3 ½ years I’ve sent out weekly emails sharing my prayer requests for the upcoming week to this group. It’s great to know they are praying. Occasionally this group has gathered to share a meal and hang out together.

Recently, on a Saturday night, the prayer team gathered for dessert and to pray for my wife and me. It was a very encouraging time. There is something special that happens when someone talks to Almighty God about you. My wife commented as we were leaving, “Everyone in the church should have a night like this.”

We prayed for a variety of issues and topics, one of them inviting God to bless the Sunday worship service and the messages. I really want to see God move in people’s hearts from being an idea or commitment to a living, vibrant relationship.

As I was preaching the day after the prayer time I recall feeling like the message was going badly. It felt to me like it was disjointed, I kept losing my place in my notes and in my mind the message lacked focus.

Following the service however, I had 5 different people (who weren’t part of the prayer group the night before) come up and tell me they saw a power and fire in me that they hadn’t seen for quite some time. One person told me the message “touched my heart.” The comments all reflected the point, “God was real today.”

The effects of the prayer also “spilled over” to the music and worship. A few minutes after the service, one of our members posted on Facebook, “Great worship music today! Loved the songs! You Rock!”

I’m embarrassed to admit I was surprised at the response. Knowing that God is good and is continually seeking closer relationships with his people, I shouldn’t be. The fact is, prayer on Saturday night made a significant impact on the preaching and worship for Sunday morning.

Theologically, I believe that God can and does answer our prayers no matter what time of day (or night) we pray them. I know he can answer a prayer that was prayed on Monday for the following Sunday; and yet in this case I think in order to encourage the prayer team there was a direct connection between that Saturday night and Sunday morning.

I’m going to be looking for ways to encourage more people to pray on Saturday nights.

Pastor Rick Bartlett

Mr. Smiley Face

Given the state of our world right now, it can be easy to become discouraged. A bad economy, strange weather, political turmoil, and other difficulties can make finding encouragement difficult.

If you’re looking for encouragement, look no farther. I’ve found what you’re looking for. It’s called “Mr Smiley Face,” and it is guaranteed to bring a blessing to your day. 🙂

Mr. Smiley Face is a round plastic ball with a window at the bottom. When you need cheering up, just flip Mr. Smiley Face upside down and read the encouraging message that floats up to the window. Feeling low? Mr. Smiley Face gives you encouraging words such as, “You can do it,” “I believe in you,” “Who said you’re stupid?” and more.

The problem is, when you or I are discouraged, we really need human touch and connections rather than the “encouragement” from a plastic toy.

When I started as youth pastor at Vinewood Church in 1985, Bruce Porter, the associate pastor, recommended that I get a file folder and put any encouraging items inside. I’ve kept that file and now it’s full of cards, pictures, and clippings. When I feel a bit discouraged, I get the file and take a few minutes to flip through it.

Thinking about encouragement reminded me of a couple passages of Scripture.

Isaiah 50:4 says, “The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.”

When I read this my thoughts quickly shift from “How can I be encouraged” to “How can I be an encourager?” Do I take the time to listen to the Lord so that I can have a word to sustain the weary? This isn’t rocket science; it’s saying to someone, “hang in there, you can do it” or “I’m praying for you” (and you really are).

This passage also got me thinking about Joseph in Acts 4. You may not know Joseph, at least not by this name. Joseph was a Christian, a convert from Judiasm. He was from the family of Levi, the priestly line, and came from the island of Cyprus. Still haven’t heard of him? We know Joseph a lot better by the nickname that the Apostles gave him: Barnabus, which means Son of Encouragement or “the encourager.”

I want to be that kind of guy. One who is known as a man of encouragement. How do I get there? By thinking about each conversation and each interaction as an opportunity to bless others with a word that lifts their spirit. By listening to God’s voice for a word that sustains the weary.

Ephesians 4:29 says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” If I’m trying to be an encourager, then I want to watch my speech and look for ways that benefit those to whom I speak. .

A personal word of encouragement is so much better than Mr. Smiley Face. But just to confirm, I check the plastic ball one more time and it says, “Your breath is so minty.”

Pastor Rick Bartlett