I’ve been out of town for the past several days – Pierre, South Dakota.  I went with my wife and our 15 month old.  Having 6 kids in the house and then just having one for a few days was good.  It was a retreat.  The speaker was so funny. 
I’m excited about tommorrow.  I’ll be swearing in as a CASA representative.  CASA is court appointed special advocate.  -A court investigator for neglected and abused children. 

I had to chuckle as I talked to Jeff from Bioloxi Mississippi.  I called him to see how he was doing with the clean up.  He gave me a good report.  I then asked him about Rita on her way.  He said she could come that his plastic on all his windows would hold.  Jeff is a Pastor in Bioloxi and has Jesus expressed in his humor.  We don’t understand what’s happening but then again if we’re Christians we know this is not our home – we’re only passing through.  The winds will come and go, so will we.

Power

He’s Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor from the sitcom, “Home Improvement”.    He was the grunting guy with an unquenchable passion for his arsenal of Binford power tools.  We always knew that when Tim “souped up” anything it would result in destruction or injury.  The buzz of a chain saw, the roar of a lawn mower or the sound of a jackhammer sent him into a canine-like bark and Al into hiding.

To Tim, tools were his power, his way of being a man’s man.  But in his seeking power, he would get carried away and would ultimately show a display of weakness.   We laughed at his weakness.

What is power?  Where is it found?  Another question could also be asked.   Is power in tools, money, sports or intelligence?   We plug our electronic devices into the wall in order to get power.  An engine is the source of power for our cars.  How about the power source for Human Beings?  What powers us or I should say what motivates us?

I read an article that made this statement:  Darwinism lead to Nazism. (Historian Richard Weikart explores that topic in a book called From Darwin to Hitler) How could the theory of evolution have lead to such an abusive of power?  I read on.  The author didn’t say that Charles Darwin and Nazi Germany were connected.  He simply stated that Darwin’s ideas about our origin helped create a culture that devalued human life.  And in that culture, Nazism was able to thrive.  

This is not an article about evolution; it is an article concerning power and where we conclude it originates from.  Our conclusion is conducive to what grows in our lives, in our families and thus in our society.    As written in the paragraph above one can see that a wrong conclusion of the source of power will change history. 

An average person may be fast to say, “I conclude that all power originates from God.”  Allow me to challenge you.  Let’s allow our belief system to be put to the test.

How do you react when you’re under pressure?  It’s in those moments that you will actually be able to determine where you’re drawing your power from or what motivates you in a certain direction.    Do you have a strong desire to be in control of every situation?  You may be a person that is deriving your power from yourself.  Are you a work-aholic? You may be a person that is deriving your power from your work.  Are you a parent that you have to be a friend to your child above being a firm loving parent?  You may be deriving your power from your need to be wanted. 

The Bible says, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.”  Acts 1:8   What is the test if you are walking in the power of God?  The next verse says that you shall be my witnesses.  Are people coming to know Jesus through your life style?  If that is not the case you should examine as to what you’re plugged into.  For if your power source is God, you’ll produce godly results. 

We had a great “Heir Force” last night.  (5th & 6th grade class)  I spoke on Jesus being the Bread of Life.  I asked the kids if the following situations would cause people to believe in Jesus:  Dead man rising, Miracles, Deliverance from a murderer.  The kids said yes; I said no.   The people around Jesus said show us a miracle and we’ll believe”.    Jesus did not show them a miracle because he knew that wouldn’t cause them to believe.  Faith only comes from hearing the word of God. 

We didn’t even get to our game because of all the questions the kids had.  It was great.  Nearly all the tweens raised their hands to accept Jesus into their hearts. 

It’s been difficult getting back into the swing of things since school has started – but I’m trying.  We’ve had an evangelist the last several nights.  It’s been tearing me up.  The conviction is strong.  God has taught me to not curse the “uncomfortable”.  I was thinking about that this morning.  One song that bothers me is “If we are the body”  It talks about if we are his body then why don’t we see Jesus.  The speaker had statistics last night.  If all the births and deaths stopped miraclusly today; it would take us 4000 years to win the world at the rate we’re going.  Sobering thoughts.  I have to continually question myself this:  Am I living for Jesus or am I using Jesus to create my life?  The answer is found in this question: Are people giving their hearts to Jesus by my life?   

I called my Pastor that I had when we lived in Mississippi – Pastor Jeff from Bioloxi.  He told me of his struggles.  Before Katrina he had a congregation of 200 and now he has 45.  He’s watching many of his people move away because of jobs.  He and a small group of people have to rip out carpet, tear out sheet rock, all because of 2 feet of water damage.  He told me that there has been an huge response of physical items and is OK in that area.  He continued to tell me, “Please get the word out we need people to help.”  After I asked him he told me that the giving to the church has dryed up.  His people that have stayed have no jobs.  Thereby he has no money to live on.  So the need is $ and people. It’s great to give to the Red Cross or any other organization but lets not forget ground zero – the individual people.  (Side note:  The insuranse companies will not pay for any water damage – only wind damage. – Much of the damage is water damage.) 

Labor Day

In the ancient world, the Greeks and Romans looked upon manual work as a curse, something for lower classes and slaves. But Christianity changed all of that. Christians viewed work as a high calling—a calling to be co-workers with God in unfolding the rich potential of His creation.

This high view of work can be traced throughout the history of the Church. In the Middle Ages, the guild movement grew out of the Church. It set standards for good workmanship and encouraged members to take satisfaction in the results of their labor. The guilds became the forerunner of the modern labor movement.

Later, during the Reformation, Martin Luther preached that all work should be done to the glory of God. Whether ministering the Gospel or scrubbing floors, any honest work is pleasing to the Lord. Out of this conviction grew the Protestant work ethic.

I truly believe that work should be a blessing.  Several years ago I worked at a Federal Prison.  When I started there I determined in my heart that I was never going to dread going to work. (As I had when I was in the Navy.)  There were days I wanted to curse the place and curse my work but I didn’t.  I meet too many people that thoroughly hate their work.  As a Christian we should never hate our work.  It’s where God wants us or it’s the route to get us where he wants us.  Be blessed this Labor Day.