How's Your Vision?

When it comes to getting around in our world, adequate and if needed corrected vision is important. Without vision a person must hone their other senses and sometimes accept help from another who is sighted; a helping animal or a special friend.

In the Old Testament portion of the Bible in Proverbs 28:19 it says "Without a vision the people perish." If you want to stay alive and really live you must have good vision.

I offer to you this week a simple formula for living well with corrected vision. The sacred teachings do offer us some important correction for our sometimes skewed vision. I call this formula the P-T-L process.

Pray - talk often with God and seek wisdom and instruction.
Think - daily about what would Jesus do if he were in my shoes.
Learn - all you can about the rules of life as outlined in the sacred texts.

Check out this eye chart. Can you read it?

How are you doing at insightful vision this week?

Blessings

Rev. Bill McBride

Getting Yourself Out of the Way

How are you doing this week at getting yourself out of the way?

Bible Study on Humility (13 min)

Sometimes we hinder God's marvelous work in our lives and through our lives by getting in God's way. Yes we do! God needs a clear field of view and unhindered workspace to effectively do a good work. Just like we each in our everyday work do our best with unhindered space, such is true with God.
The issue this week is to understand that we get in God's way or push God off center and away from direct control when we think we do not need God's presence and influence or God's control over our lives.

It's called pride. Not the kind of proud feeling we deserve when we do a good job, finish a tough task or let our lights shine for others. It is the pride that puffs up the ego and says to the world, "Hey you all, I am number one around here and you all owe me a lot."

So, how do we get our of the way for God. Or put another way, how do we keep ourselves centered on God? Here are a few clues and helps for your actions this week.

1. Acknowledge that you are finite and limited in your power and ability.
2. Understand that God is neither limited or without power to handle everything.
3. Accept the fact and truth that you do get puffed up with self-righteous pride
4. Confess your tendency to push God off the throne of your life (sin) and ask God to take control again.
5. Find at least three things each day that you are grateful for, for which you had nothing to do.

Want a fulfilling week this week? Then get out of the way and give God controll all the way.

Blessings

Rev. Bill McBride

Faith and Hope Together

Faith and Hope are like sisters that need and depend on each other. A lot of times in studying the scriptures we go past faith and hope and move on to the importance of love. "Faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)

But for this week consider how significant your faith and hope is to your love.


"Faith is the assurance of things you hope for" (Hebrews 11)
FAITH is belief in your mind


HOPE is feeling that conviction in your heart Feel your hope. It gives energy to your faith. Hope gives your faith a fighting chance.


See how well they go together and need each other?

Have a faith-filled and hopeful week.

Rev. Bill McBride

Any New Things Lately?

Seen any new things happening in your life today? If your answer is no, you need to wake up and smell the roses. There are "new things" happening all the time all around you. and most of them are GOOD! Sure bad stuff does happen to good people, but most of the time good things are happening, we just fail to see them and learn and appreciate them. What a shame!

God is re-creating your world almost every moment. Our challenge is to look ahead with hope and promise. Sometimes though, we are afraid to look ahead with promise and possibility because we wonder if life today or tomorrow will be any better than life yesterday?

In Isaiah 43 God is about to bring His chosen people back to their land from captivity in Babylon. On the doorstep of freedom they think back to when God released them from captivity in Egypt. They wonder if things will ever be as good as they were in the past?

Isaiah 43:16-21 (The Message) This is what God says,  the God who builds a road right through the ocean, who carves a path through pounding waves, The God who summons horses and chariots and armies— they lie down and then can't get up; they're snuffed out like so many candles:"Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it? There it is! I'm making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands. Wild animals will say 'Thank you!' —the coyotes and the buzzards—Because I provided water in the desert, rivers through the sun-baked earth, Drinking water for the people I chose,  the people I made especially for myself, a people custom-made to praise me.

God has to remind them through the prophet Isaiah, that their Creator is always in the process of making things new for those who trust and believe.

This is our contemporary lesson form this peak into history.

• Do you believe that today can be a new day for you?
• Do you enter into the day with the expectation that there is something useful and helpful to learn, if you simply look around you and observe?

If you do and if you can, you are well on your way to attracting all the good you deserve. Go for it! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Blessings

Rev. Bill McBride

The Unexpected Arrives

We thought together last Sunday about "Getting Ready for the Unexpected." (You can listen to my message by clicking the link on the right side of this page)

Right after church the unexpected happened to me. On the walk home from church, right on the walkway by the front porch, I came upon an unexpected little fallen nest and two baby birds. Recall the rain and big wind on Sunday morning? The storm must have dislodged this little nest from our big Maple tree. Mom and Dad bird, whom appeared to be finches or wrens, were flitting back and forth among the branches and calling as loud as they could in their tiny bird voices.

I did what any self-respecting man who is totally in charge of his world would do; I quickly went inside, found Loretta and asked, "What should we do Loretta, there is a nest on the ground and two tiny baby birds next to it?" Well, Loretta knew exactly what to do. She went into "mom mode" and hurried outside and scooped them up, nest and all and then said we have to get them back into the tree so hopefully their parents would rescue them.

Well to make this story short, we improvised a nest spot and waited and watched. Unfortunately the parents never came back or were unable to find their kids. They did fly around the yard, from tree to tree for a while, but eventually the day fell silent with no more bird calling for lost young. We then went outside and prepared the best we could, to adopt and raise these two little guys, or gals?

Loretta fashioned a home including the original nest and I did what I know best, told her how to find all the information and training she needed online. "Why don't you 'Google' how to care for baby birds?" She did and now today, it's Wednesday, only three days after our quick adoption and countless feeding later, did you know baby birds need to eat every 20 minutes?, and our two sibling birds, which I named "Peep & RePeep" have nearly tripled in size and are now trying to jump out of their box in the garage? By the way, if you need to know anything about raising baby birds call Loretta. (photo on right is a hungry bird eager for food).

And here is the really weird thing. According to the research, guess what is the best food for baby birds? Cat Food. Yup, our Mittens the cat is sharing her food with some little birds. Ironic isn't it?

As I preached on last Sunday, you never know when and what the unexpected will be and when it will happen. You just have to be ready for it; and as Micah 6:8 says "Do what is just and right, Do what is kind and merciful and Do a daily humble walk with God." Good idea for bird raising and people relating too.

Now I do not believe for a second that God caused these baby birds to tumble out of their tree to give me a test of faith or to help me practice what I preached. More likely, their descent to my walkway was caused by wind and some poor "bird-nest engineering." But I am humbled still, by how dependent these two birds are on others for their very life. As it said online, their chance of survival is low, even if they learn to fly out of our garage to the nearest tree; but as Loretta reminded me, "We will do everything in our power to give them a chance." We keep telling Mittens the cat, about how nice it is for her to share her food, but she does not get to visit them up close and personal.

I might now add to our life lessons that unexpected Lessons can come from some unexpected places. What will you do this week to give the folks around you and yourself the chance you and they need to live, thrive and become an abundant success?

To give us a quick review from Micah 6:8

• Do Justice - life is not always fair but that does not mean we just walk on by and ignore a need even if it comes from tiny peeping birds.


• Do Kindness and Mercy - All God's children need some love this week, big or small.


• Do Humility With Your God - Be prepared to lend a hand and stoop to help someone or some creature that just might benefit by you. You never know; so be prepared.

Thanks Loretta for your motherly love for Peep and RePeep this week.

(photo on left, Loretta is getting lunch ready and I get to hold a bird in the hand. In just 3 days they are already flapping their wings and trying to fly.)

Thank God for our Creator's wonderful love for each of us.

And, this definitely means you.

Blessings

Rev. Bill

How To Handle Distractions

We live in what has been called the "Information Age." For the purpose of our topic today, I’d call this age by another name. We have more information at our disposal than any generation before us. We are flooded with bits of information, or as a shrewd person once said- "bytes"?

A much better description of our time would be the "Age of Distraction." Everybody and everything are out to get our attention. Once “they” have your attention, they have a chance at getting your money when you buy their stuff, or your time when you tune in to them. And one way to do that is to distract us from whatever we may have been doing or are trying to do.

So, how do we handle the information overload, as it has been called and how do we handle distractions?

THE KEY TO HANDLE DISTRACTIONS IS TO FOCUS ON WHAT REALLY IS IMPORTANT

A good place to fix our attention upon is the Bible in the story found in Luke 10:38-42. It is the story of Jesus paying a visit to the home of Mary and Martha. In that visit we uncover a woman with focus and attention and a woman who got distracted and frustrated.

Martha – became distracted with many tasks and things to do

Mary – was attentive to Jesus and stuck close to him and his teaching moment.

Here is what Jesus says to busy and distracted Martha: “Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken from her" (Luke 10:42). Just what is this better part? Mary has decided not to miss out on what she can learn from Jesus while he's in their home. She sits at his feet and listens to what he had to tell her. She's bent on gleaning all she can from the time she has with Jesus. Rather than being distracted by all these other things, she sits in raptured attention, hanging on his every word.

The better part Mary chose was to be able to focus on what really mattered at the moment. To sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from him. That's something that will last long after the meal is over and the dishes have been done and put away. It's something we need to learn today as never before. Our well being depends on it; maybe even our sanity. I venture that's why Jesus is so insistent on it.

God bless you this week!

Reverend Bill McBride

It's A Good Thing You Doubt

You may never hear a preacher or pastor tell you that it is a good thing, a VERY good thing to doubt. Well, I just did. Hang on, because having doubts can ultimately lead to some pretty high level certainty, if you have what I call "Positive & Healthy Doubts."

A known French philosopher said it this way about doubt: "Doubt is the rational part of a person's thought involved in weighing evidence, without which the faith would have no real substance." You might say that positive and healthy doubt can hep you grow and become spiritually stronger than without your doubt.

This preacher's idea may help you affirm your doubt: "Doubts, questions, uncertainties, skepticism face every honest enquirer after truth. The capacity to doubt is one of God's greatest gifts to us. Without doubt there would be no discovery, no progress; we would all simply accept what we're told, and live comfortably with the status quo.

If Thomas (read John 20:19-31) had not openly doubted, we may never have the proof of Jesus showing himself to this honest doubter and ultimately to us. Notice in these verses that while God really does bless strong faith, God never punishes or looks poorly upon the doubter. Thomas doubted and God blessed him. Now that's really Good News for Thomas and for us.

Pray this prayer this week: Lord Jesus Christ, if I doubt, at least help me to be an honest doubter, seeking truth rather than merely trying to be clever. Amen.

Have a blessed week in your doubts.

Rev. Bill

The Pain of Purity

This weeks beatitude; Matthew 5:8 is a real pain. "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God."

We live in an age that seems to applaud the naughty side of behavior. I remember when I lived in LaCrosse there was even a store named "Naughty But Nice." Yes, you might agree, naughty is the new nice and purity and cleanliness are the new pain.

Talk about a challenge; purity of thoughts and deeds and a morally clean existence. We might want to skip this verse and move on to easier claims on our lives. BUT God does not work that way. In fact, if we want to "see" God we know what we need to do..."Blessed are the pure in heart....."

"You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world." (The Message)

"God blesses those people whose hearts are pure.They will see him!" (Contemporary English Version)

"They are blessed whose thoughts are pure, for they will see God." (New Century Version)

Our beatitude this week calls us clearly to live as cleanly and with as much purity as humanly possible. Having a pure heart first of all means living by the rules of God that bring moral purity. The initial use of the word “pure” in the Bible was in the sense of “clean” as opposed to “unclean” – clean or unclean animals, clean or unclean foods, the clean or unclean condition of a person.

What do you think the basis was for determining what (or who) was “clean” or “unclean”? It was God’s decision. Since God is the Creator and the Source of everything good and loving, God gets to decide. The Good News is, right standards for behavior are not kept a secret by God. Thus the writings of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5.

Check Out This 5 Minute Audio Bible Study on Matthew 5:8

There are ways we can maintain the purity of our heart, and one of the most primary is our time in the Word of God. As the psalmist said, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word” (Psalm 119:9), and, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).

A second way to maintain the purity of our heart is through fellowship with the people of God. It helps to be accountable to one another. Solomon said:

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up! (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).

We have two ways to fulfill our beatitude this week:

1. Fellowship with God


2. Fellowship with each other

Matthew 5:1-10 Stunning slides of the Beatitudes 2':27"

May you get as close to God as you can this week. Look for God and you will see God.

Blessings,

Rev. Bill McBride