In Tennessee Williams' play The Glass Menagerie, the main characters represent his family.
On opening night at the Chicago Civic Theatre in 1944, after the final curtain, Edwina Williams went backstage to congratulate her son and the actors. Laurette Taylor, who had played the mother, spotted her and quipped, "How did you like you'self, Miz Williams?" The playwright's mother registered shock; she had no idea that Amanda Wingfield was supposed to be her.
Worse yet was the alcoholic Mr. Williams. He snorted that he failed to see how the character of the father, who had abandoned the family years before the action of the play begins, was supposed to represent him. After all, he had not run off; he was still around. He, of course, missed the whole point: physically present but emotionally absent, he had sorely wounded the entire family.
Yet, let us not be too hard on Mr. and Mrs. Williams.
I sometimes wonder what God, the Master Playwright of the Universe, thinks when we read His "script", or, more accurately, "Scripture". He puts us in every line, exposing our faults, revealing our sin, all in His desire to make us recognize our sinful portrait (Ecc. 7:20; Rom. 3:10,23) and to serve as a catalyst to get us to turn to Him for forgiveness and redemption. And what do we do? We see our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers, or our enemies on every page; we see everyone but ourselves (2 Cor. 10:12).
Let me ask you, have you been doing some accusing lately? I have a suggestion; write down everything that you have against any one else, spare no feelings and pour on the adjectives. Then read it through, standing in front of the nearest mirror, and very carefully listen as the Holy Spirit asks, "How did you like you'self?" (John 16:8). Then plead the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse the record before the final curtain falls (I John 1:7,9).
Break A Leg,
Pastor David Blevins
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Carpe Diem
It is quite possible that down through the years the institutionalized church has become so much like its counterparts in the secular world that we have over-programmed and over-managed a very simple process. After carefully reading Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger's clarion call to get "back to the basics" in their book Simple Church one of the commitments that I have made for 2012 is to give leadership toward the involvement of our lay people here at CHBC. This church belongs to Jesus Christ; He is to be the head, not anyone else (Eph. 5:32). We are the Body of Christ which is made up of individual members; all of us are given spiritual gifts and opportunities to exercise those gifts within the Body (I Cor. 12).
I am committed to the reality that the Pastor does not solely exist for the purpose of organizing new programs and then attempting to breathe new life into them (Acts 6:4; Eph. 4:11,12; 2 Tim. 4: 2-5). But rather I am committed to the spiritual truths that all of us in this church are members of the body of Jesus Christ and that all of us need to be working together to reach people with the Gospel, to minister to people, and to impact the lives of people for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ! If some structure and organization can be a help and assistance in helping us to achieve those things, then we must organize and develop the necessary structures. However, the structure and organization should never come between ourselves and the ministry to which God has called us. Wasn't it Nike that had the advertising slogan a few years ago, "Just Do It"?
Success, victory, and conquest is, in this life, tentative at best. Future developments always have the potential to mangle our greatest triumphs. So I thank you now for being part of the victory in 2011 and for being part of the opportunity for victory in 2012, BUT STAY ON DUTY! I think that it was C.S. Lewis, or perhaps Yogi Berra, who said, "It ain't over till it's over."
In fact, learning to give genuine, heart-felt thanks to God during our entire Christian walk is so important. As the rest of this new year hunkers menacingly on the horizon, we do well to remember that the Apostle Paul, who wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells us to give thanks "for all things" (Eph.5:20; I Thess. 5:18). Why is that? Well, if we waited until the circumstances warrant a full confidence and thanks, it would seem (at least in this life) that we would always be waiting for things to work out and never get around to praising God! Worship is a little like housework: the laundry "is never finished" and our adoring hearts' praise to the Lord God Almighty should never finish either!
Carpe Diem,
Pastor David Blevins
I am committed to the reality that the Pastor does not solely exist for the purpose of organizing new programs and then attempting to breathe new life into them (Acts 6:4; Eph. 4:11,12; 2 Tim. 4: 2-5). But rather I am committed to the spiritual truths that all of us in this church are members of the body of Jesus Christ and that all of us need to be working together to reach people with the Gospel, to minister to people, and to impact the lives of people for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ! If some structure and organization can be a help and assistance in helping us to achieve those things, then we must organize and develop the necessary structures. However, the structure and organization should never come between ourselves and the ministry to which God has called us. Wasn't it Nike that had the advertising slogan a few years ago, "Just Do It"?
Success, victory, and conquest is, in this life, tentative at best. Future developments always have the potential to mangle our greatest triumphs. So I thank you now for being part of the victory in 2011 and for being part of the opportunity for victory in 2012, BUT STAY ON DUTY! I think that it was C.S. Lewis, or perhaps Yogi Berra, who said, "It ain't over till it's over."
In fact, learning to give genuine, heart-felt thanks to God during our entire Christian walk is so important. As the rest of this new year hunkers menacingly on the horizon, we do well to remember that the Apostle Paul, who wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells us to give thanks "for all things" (Eph.5:20; I Thess. 5:18). Why is that? Well, if we waited until the circumstances warrant a full confidence and thanks, it would seem (at least in this life) that we would always be waiting for things to work out and never get around to praising God! Worship is a little like housework: the laundry "is never finished" and our adoring hearts' praise to the Lord God Almighty should never finish either!
Carpe Diem,
Pastor David Blevins
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Check It Out
January is usually inventory month in the business world. Just as taking inventory in the business world is an absolute necessity, it is also needful and essential in the spiritual realm!
Let me share with you some questions that you and I need to ask ourselves frequently, and honestly answer them so that we can make a good spiritual inventory of our Christian lives.
1. Am I known as a Christian where I work and live?
2. Is Jesus Christ loved and respected or despised and rejected because of the way that I live in front of others?
3. Do those who know me best believe in me the most?
4. Do people know me as a person whose salvation experience made a change for the better in my life?
5. Is it possible that I claim to be a Christian but I harbor an unforgiving spirit toward others and I nurse a grudge toward someone else?
6. Do I try to find time every day for Bible study and unhurried prayer?
7. Am I able to work with other people? Can other people work with me? Am I hard to get along with?
8. Do I criticize the Pastor, the church and other Christians in front of my children, spouse, and my friends?
9. Do I have a secret longing to be the first to be recognized and praised? Or can I truly say that it does not matter who is second, third or fourth, so long as Jesus Christ is always first and gets all the glory, honor and praise?
10. What can I do now that I could not accomplish two or three years ago? Am I able to lead another person to Christ? Am I able to distinguish Holy Spirit guidence from my own desires? Am I consistently using opportunities to excerise my spiritual gifts for the glory of God?
11. Do I really enjoy an extended time of prayer and Bible study or do I resent the extra time it takes away from other things?
Dear friend, stop and prayerfully take time right now to do a Holy Spirit led, soul-searching spiritual inventory.
Now, as we look forward to 2012, I pray and trust the Lord that it will be a great year for us invidually and for us as a church body! We have many things that we want to accomplish in 2012 and we invite you to get involved and be a part of this work, for the glory of God!
We would like to win more souls to Christ than last year, we would like to baptize more people than last year, we want to increase our prayer and financial support to missions, we want to see all of our people enjoy a closer walk with the Lord and, among other things, we have several projects we need to do to improve our church facilities. Let's all do more for the Lord, grow more in the Lord and make this the greatest year in our lives so far for the Lord's Kingdom work!
Check It Out,
Pastor David Blevins
Let me share with you some questions that you and I need to ask ourselves frequently, and honestly answer them so that we can make a good spiritual inventory of our Christian lives.
1. Am I known as a Christian where I work and live?
2. Is Jesus Christ loved and respected or despised and rejected because of the way that I live in front of others?
3. Do those who know me best believe in me the most?
4. Do people know me as a person whose salvation experience made a change for the better in my life?
5. Is it possible that I claim to be a Christian but I harbor an unforgiving spirit toward others and I nurse a grudge toward someone else?
6. Do I try to find time every day for Bible study and unhurried prayer?
7. Am I able to work with other people? Can other people work with me? Am I hard to get along with?
8. Do I criticize the Pastor, the church and other Christians in front of my children, spouse, and my friends?
9. Do I have a secret longing to be the first to be recognized and praised? Or can I truly say that it does not matter who is second, third or fourth, so long as Jesus Christ is always first and gets all the glory, honor and praise?
10. What can I do now that I could not accomplish two or three years ago? Am I able to lead another person to Christ? Am I able to distinguish Holy Spirit guidence from my own desires? Am I consistently using opportunities to excerise my spiritual gifts for the glory of God?
11. Do I really enjoy an extended time of prayer and Bible study or do I resent the extra time it takes away from other things?
Dear friend, stop and prayerfully take time right now to do a Holy Spirit led, soul-searching spiritual inventory.
Now, as we look forward to 2012, I pray and trust the Lord that it will be a great year for us invidually and for us as a church body! We have many things that we want to accomplish in 2012 and we invite you to get involved and be a part of this work, for the glory of God!
We would like to win more souls to Christ than last year, we would like to baptize more people than last year, we want to increase our prayer and financial support to missions, we want to see all of our people enjoy a closer walk with the Lord and, among other things, we have several projects we need to do to improve our church facilities. Let's all do more for the Lord, grow more in the Lord and make this the greatest year in our lives so far for the Lord's Kingdom work!
Check It Out,
Pastor David Blevins
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Pressed By The Mark
Welcome to 2012! While the New Year is fresh, we need to hear the testimony of the psalmist who said,"One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after..." (Psalm 27:4). There are way too many Christians whom are like the cowboy that was described by his five-year-old son this way, "He jumped on his horse and rode off in all directions!"
We need to focus in one direction for the new year! Hugh Allen of the Knoxville News Sentinel once stated, "The man who doesn't know where he is going can look forward to a long, exhausting trip." Sound, godly advice from the Apostle Paul will help us to determine our direction for this new year, if we will heed what he said in Philippians 3:13,14, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind , and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." The J.B. Phillips New Testament translation of Philippians 3:12-14 states," Yet, my brothers, I do not consider myself to have "arrived", spiritually, nor do I consider myself already perfect. But I keep going on, grasping ever more firmly that purpose for which Christ grasped me. My brothers, I do not consider myself to have fully grasped it even now. But I do concentrate on this: I leave the past behind and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead I go straight for the goal-my reward the honour of being called by God in Christ."
The "one thing" that we all need for 2012 is for us to all grow to be more like Jesus Christ!
Praise God for the Apostle Paul's honesty and spiritual transparency! Paul is telling us, "I am not where I want to be in my spiritual life. I have not yet obtained the goal. But I refuse to let the past drag me down, and I am straining to reach my goal of knowing...really knowing Jesus Christ through His power, suffering, and His death" (Blevins paraphrase).
Will you join me in being a "one-thinger" in 2012 and dedicate the 527,040 minutes of 2012 (it is a leap year, so don't forget we will have 366 days instead of 365) to really knowing Jesus Christ and becoming more like Him?!
Pressed By The Mark,
Pastor David Blevins
We need to focus in one direction for the new year! Hugh Allen of the Knoxville News Sentinel once stated, "The man who doesn't know where he is going can look forward to a long, exhausting trip." Sound, godly advice from the Apostle Paul will help us to determine our direction for this new year, if we will heed what he said in Philippians 3:13,14, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind , and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." The J.B. Phillips New Testament translation of Philippians 3:12-14 states," Yet, my brothers, I do not consider myself to have "arrived", spiritually, nor do I consider myself already perfect. But I keep going on, grasping ever more firmly that purpose for which Christ grasped me. My brothers, I do not consider myself to have fully grasped it even now. But I do concentrate on this: I leave the past behind and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead I go straight for the goal-my reward the honour of being called by God in Christ."
The "one thing" that we all need for 2012 is for us to all grow to be more like Jesus Christ!
Praise God for the Apostle Paul's honesty and spiritual transparency! Paul is telling us, "I am not where I want to be in my spiritual life. I have not yet obtained the goal. But I refuse to let the past drag me down, and I am straining to reach my goal of knowing...really knowing Jesus Christ through His power, suffering, and His death" (Blevins paraphrase).
Will you join me in being a "one-thinger" in 2012 and dedicate the 527,040 minutes of 2012 (it is a leap year, so don't forget we will have 366 days instead of 365) to really knowing Jesus Christ and becoming more like Him?!
Pressed By The Mark,
Pastor David Blevins
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