Good morning loved ones,
I haven't written for awhile for a couple of reasons:

#1 - When your taking classes for your Master's degree you don't have a lot of free time to write that isn't consumed by assigned papers.

#2 - I have been feeling a bit frustrated at the Fat Lazy Cat Syndrome of disciples of Jesus in general.

Let me define the FLCS - this is when as a disciple of Jesus I slowly but deliberately allow my life to become the standard by which I judge everything spiritual. It slowly but surely develops into I'm tired, I'm offended, I'm too busy, I'm not interested. I'm ...you fill in the blank. It proceeds to " I just need to take care of me, my family, my interests, My....again you fill in the blank. Then it slowly begins to find sympathetic ears and little groups form and slowly conversations of subtle criticism form, not overtly but in the form of " well if I were going to do it I would, or I've heard a lot of people say that.... or, "We really should do this or that but I'm not sure I can help". There is more subtle wall building and distancing in these disciples lives till the fire of a life saved by grace fueled by the throne of heaven itself, and encouraged by the Almighty King of Kings, Jesus, Himself slowly peters down to a flickering flame on a match head struggling not to go out by a gentle breeze and starving for more fuel that that found on the head of a match. This then reveals a disciple that in most forms looks like a Fat Lazy Cat that has found its contentment in lying in the window looking for its pleasure selfishly only when it pleases and enjoying the fact that its food + water dish is never empty and when they get good and ready they will meander over and paw around in the food and eat what they want but they are in no hurry because they know it will always be there. Hence, my Fat Lazy Cat Syndrome found in disciples of Jesus.

I could become very discouraged and disgruntled about this. To be honest, as a Pastor in New Hampshire one of the greatest mission fields of our modern world, I have, and even thought; "why bother keep trying nobody cares not even my leaders? Why work so hard why why why?"

Let me tell you why I can't stop and why every disciple of Jesus needs to stop today and reevaluate how they are following after Jesus.

14 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,
15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
16 As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.
17 And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."
18 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
19 Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.
20 Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him. (Mar 1:14-20 NAU)

The number 1 reason I can't stop is that Jesus has called me. When Jesus called me He transformed me. My life was worthless and and wasted time. I had a list of excuses about plans that were never fulfilled and dreams that disappeared in to the vastness of each night. Each morning I rose to what should have been, what I hadn't done, Where I could have gone. I was so frustrated with what I, I, I had done with my life that when Jesus transformed me I CANT EVER GO BACK! I have met the purpose, the power, the presence, the passion, and my perspective for the rest of my life for eternity and I want more of Jesus. He has given me such an insatiable thirst for Him and His service and greatness that for me to go back the FLCS I would die. I don't want to die, I have life now and more abundantly than I have ever had it before. If you are offended by my comments because you think I am speaking about you as a FLC then GOOD! Maybe just maybe this will be the wake up call you need to get off the couch, outside your door, out of your yard and LIVE. Remember I never mentioned anyone's names so maybe this is the Holy Spirit's conviction that what I said is true of you.

Reason number 2 I can't Stop - When Jesus transformed me He gave me love for people I never had. A FAT LAZY CAT has love only for them-self and their own pleasures. A love like Jesus is so great, so huge my heart and life can't contain it all it MUST be given away to those who need it. The more I give away the more I know God loves me and the more I know other people love me. What I find Ironic is that Fat Lazy Cats complain about feeling unloved, unwanted, ill treated, but their the ones that never leave their window seats, their homes, their lives to love anyone but themselves. What is more truth is that the more I love myself the more I find I feel unloved. Crazy how Jesus designed love the more we give it away and invest in other people the more we experience and feel and know we are loved.

Reason #3 I can't stop - Jesus gave a command in these verses. He said follow me and I will make you fishers of men. He didn't say hey if you would like to come to church once a month or when its convenient we can go fishing for already disinterested full sel-fish in a 5 gallon tank that never gets changed. NO - following Jesus is an adventure that demands perseverance, courage, stamina, strength, passion, and creativity. Every single day is like being on Safari in the Kilimanjaro or fishing the Amazon River for piranha. No two days are ever alike and not day ever goes by with out seeing the hand of Almighty God my savior Jesus Christ moving in and through me in such powerful ways to touch other peoples lives so they they too can experience what real life is truly like the way God the Father created it to be.

NO - you can have your FLCSyndrome. I would rather lay my head on my pillow each and every night completely exhausted because I served the Lord with my whole heart than to ever lay it down weary because of a wasted day again. Don't think that I get to do this just because I am a pastor and get paid to do this. No, I haven't always been a pastor, this adventure started for me when I was 18, I've been an EMT, a Mental Health Worker in the state hospital on emergency admissions units and child psychiatric units, I've worked at SEARS selling tools, I've worked at A+B lumber as a yard worker, sales associate in the showroom, and even as the Paint guy, I have not always been a pastor but since I met Jesus like these disciples did I've never had a boring day. I've had some tough days to be a disciple is a call that transforms us from Fat Lazy Cats to passionate fully devoted followers of Christ who never give up, never go back, and never stop loving this adventure of Grace we are on.

I hope I have encouraged some, offended others, and possibly pushed more to one of those two positions, because if you are not moving at all you are actually going backwards.

God Bless you folks I really do love you or I wouldn't have shared this.

Pastor G

Samuel Bagster's title: It pleased the Father, that in him should all fulness dwell

Hey, good morning folks,

A new week, A new beginning, A new opportunity to serve our great God.

Take a look at what Bagster put together for this mornings devotional thought.

It pleased the Father, that in him should all fulness dwell.1

The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.2 God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.3 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.4 By him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.5

Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.6 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.7 Of his fulness have all we received.8

______________

1Col 1:19; 2Joh 3:35; 3Phi 2:9-11; 4Eph 1:21; 5Col 1:16; 6Rom 14:9; 7Col 2:10; 8Joh 1:16;

This is a great resource among devotionals. It is a compilation of full verses not parts of a verse; He keeps on topic, and these are not any of his words just all of scripture. If you look at the numbers in the text they correspond to the references at the bottom so you can look up the reference and verify if they are taken out of context or used inappropriately.

Dwell on these passages and you will transform your view and understanding of God.

Here is the web address for those who might like to use it.

http://www.dailylightdevotional.org/

I'm praying for you God Bless and enjoy the beautiful sunshine.

Blessings -

Pastor G

Good Morning folks,
Thanks for joining me today. Grab your Tea or better yet go grab some gogo juice (coffee), your bible, and come sit awhile with me and Jesus.

I've prayed already but you might want to stop now and talk with HIM, just sharing your thoughts and dreams and thanking HIM for giving you one more sunrise, one more pain to know for sure your alive, for giving you one more breath to experience His awesome love and creation. I've asked Him to show me what He wants me to learn and do today; what do you need to ask of Him?

I've been reading through the gospel of Mark and so I am going to meditate on the next passage I am reading. You may have a different way or system that you do your so go ahead and read your passage.

I have a bunch of questions I begin to review the passage I read with, so that I can understand it better and begin to apply the principles to my life that I have learned from that passage. You may have a study you are already doing, but if you do not you may try this. Review the passage you have read all the 6 questions words: What, Why, How, When, Who, Where. Keep a note book and record what you learn from this. You will be amazed after a week how much you will have learned from your reading that week.

This morning I have read :
21 "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results.
22 "No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins." (Mar 2:21-22 NAU)

The greater context is Mark 2:13-22.

What was the reason for this statement? Jesus is spending time eating and enjoying himself with the friends of Matthew who were tax collectors and sinners.

Who is involved in this conversation? Jesus is the one who gives this answer to the question directing it at the Pharisees. The scribes of the pharisees who were scrutinizing and criticizing Jesus and his disciples for their completely unorthodox religious behavior.

Why did Jesus answer the question this way? Jesus answered the question this way because the Jewish spiritual leaders and law-setters had established rules and regulations that made it impossible for the average person, the sinner, and the extreme case of wickedness(the tax collector) to get forgiveness and have a relationship with God. Why did the scribes of the pharisees ask the disciples and Jesus this question? They asked this question because they had built a society of religious duty and pious behavior over the past 400 years since God had last spoken. Their religious traditions and status and life stile were being directly assaulted by Jesus behavior as a Rabbi. A Rabbi was a respected religious teacher of the law. A Rabbi was a member of the pharisees.

Not every time as your reading will you use each of the questions sometimes you will get very short specific answers such as:

When did this happen? The evening the Jesus called Matthew to be a disciple.

Where did this interaction take place? This all took place at Matthew's house. He threw a dinner party to have all of his friends meet this Jesus who changed his life.

Many times after going through the questions more questions are raised.

What difference did it make if one Rabbi didn't follow the traditions? It caused a great stir and much dissension because tradition and social order were all that held the pharisees world together. If someone bucked the system and you could get the teaching of the law and get to God another way then there really was no use for the pharisees at all and their life, livelihood, popularity, social order was crushed and destroyed. It scared them that they would lose everything.

How does this statement answer the pharisees question? Jesus explained that if you are going to fix a problem you don't make it worse by adding new laws. You create a whole new way of dealing with the problem.

What is the problem then? The problem was how do we get rid of sin and have a relationship with God? The pharisees would just make a new law or rule or regulation and the only thing that would do would be to cause people to just rip away from anything to do with God because they were already frustrated and alienated from HIM because of all the traditions the pharisees enforced. Jesus said this isn't working and I don't want to make it impossible and estroy any hope of people even trying to get forgiveness or having a relationship with Me and the Father. So Jesus made a complete new and different way that met these needs to accomplish what was supposed to be happening in the first place.

This brings me to where I begin to try to apply this to my life so that I can use it today and from now on. I ask the SO WHAT question. So what, what do I need to do with this information now that I know this?
#1 - Am I following any traditions that have nothing to do with what scripture tells me I need to do to get forgiveness and have a relationship with God?
#2 - Am I creating any traditions for other people to have to follow that are unscriptural?
#3 - Am I critical of other people, other churches because they are reaching people for Christ or seem to be growing and they don't do it MY WAY? But it is still scriptural.
#4 - Am I scared of obeying God and stepping out in faith because I'm afraid of what others might say to me or think of me?
#5 - Is God challenging me to begin to reevaluate how we DO church and asking me to make a new "wineskin" for a new generation so that others find forgiveness and a relationship with God without all the traditions my generation has built?

I usually spend some more time in prayer asking the Lord to help implement this information and these changes into my life because these are revolutionary and I do not have the ability or the power to do it.

I hope if you are reading this you do not just focus on the HOW TO of doing a quiet time. I pray that you actually are also wrestling with the text as I have this morning and are really asking that SO WHAT question. That you are reevaluating what the scriptures tells us is vitally important to forgiveness of sin and a relationship with God, and what is irrelevant. The praying to cut the waste and focus on the meat and heart of the matter. I am praying that you will join me and making a new "WINESKIN" to reach this generation for Christ and open the door for their healing, their forgiveness, their hope, and their relationship with God.

If you still have questions or thoughts you would like to share keep them positive and appropriate but ask and share away.

Praying for power and creativity through the Holy Spirit in you -

Pastor G