The Voices in my Head

Ok, this is the last time I’m telling the story. Everyone wants to know what happened to my eye. It looks like Trish slugged me. While innocent of that, I was trying to fix the garage door for her though. I noticed that one of the wheels was off track, but I needed to remove a part in order to correct the problem. Enter the voice in my head. It said, “Don’t do this alone…the part is attached to the spring…dangerous…get someone to help you keep the tension off the spring.” I did not listen to the voice; I thought I could do it myself. While I did remove most of the tension on the spring, once loose, the part flew out of my hands, smacked me right at the eyebrow, and left a gash. No stitches needed, but I did do some impressive bleeding. The swelling has gone down, but the blood has pooled into a nice bruise.

Last Sunday, we saw Jesus’ example in prayer. If the perfect human of all time needed to spend time in prayer, how much more do we? When we pray, we express our dependence on God. But like me and the garage door, we want to do it ourselves. By not praying, we show our arrogance. Asking, praying, and depending on God is a mark of maturity. And with garage doors, it’s less painful. We have this great gift of prayer available to us to help us in times of temptation, need, service, pain, and even in success. I encourage you to read the first part of Luke 11 for more insight directly from Jesus on prayer.

Repent

I’ve been thinking about light switch and outlet covers lately. Yea…I know…I’m a deep thinker. I think about them because we painted almost every room before moving in two years ago. That means we removed the electrical covers. Two years later, there are still outlets and light switches without covers. Isn’t that pathetic? Come on, Joe…grab the screwdriver and put all the covers back on. After dinner last night, that’s just what I did. I repented of my electrical cover negligence. I took specific and measurable steps. I grabbed the screw driver, found the covers, found the screws, and checked all around the house. The job is not done. A few of the covers were cracked. The next step is to stop off at Lowes, purchase the remaining covers, and install them as soon as I get them home. See? It only took me two years to complete a twenty minute job. But, I did repent.

Jesus’ first sermon started with the word REPENT! It means to change one mind. Do a one-eighty. It’s an appropriate message for the start of the year. As the message began to take hold in my mind, I remembered many things that have yet to be finished. These things go far beyond household chores but extend to heart issues. Lessons have not sunk in yet. I need to be in a repeated state of repentance. God is working, and he gets all the credit. Over the years, the same projects seem to come up. They are just not getting done. I can wait until next year or take the steps I need to take. What needs to be done on my end? Is there anything I need to remove? Anything I need to start? Any bridge to burn? Any phone calls to make, sin to confess, attitude to adopt?

How about you? The good news is that repentance is a good thing. We shed the crud and become more like Jesus. The other good news is that he gives the grace, self-control, and power that we need. We need not rely on our flesh to do a spiritual thing. Those electrical covers have been off long enough.

Update on ZPV news

As you know, the roads last Sunday morning were horrible. While we heard of a few spin outs, we have not heard that anyone was hurt. We discussed ways we could get the word out for mornings like last weekend. We could send out a phone tree message, email, website post, etc. What would work for you? Pastor Trent invites you to send him a note to trent@zionlife.com. For example, we could have postponed services until 4PM that day. The roads were safe by then. And so you know, we have snow plowing service for the white stuff, so our parking lot (at least) should be accessible.

• Speaking of last Sunday, an audio version of the message is available online (from the Clarion campus), http://www.zionlife.com/media/message.aspx?messageID=74 as are all Zion messages. It's a good one, and I encourage you to take the time and check it out.
• For the rest of December, the Olkowski, Gibson, and youth (FUEL) groups will not be meeting. No Garage December 20 or 27.
• We still have invitations for the Christmas Eve Family Celebration service. Plan to bring your kids as there will be a special part for them. If you need invitations before Sunday, let me know. The ZPV service starts at 7PM. Clarion will have the same service at 5PM and 7PM. We may need help with childcare for the wee-little ones. Any volunteers?
• Be sure to check the worship folder this Sunday about our next EQUIP course starting in January!

See you Sunday!

Pastor Joe
Zion of Petroleum Valley

In this case, one is two.

Paradoxes are fun. There’s a “permanent press” setting on the clothes iron. Apartments are stuck together. The Greek Parthenon is actually curved to make it look straight. Funny, huh? The Apostle Paul writes about another paradox where he implies that two things are actually one: “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14).

In this chapter, Paul explains his impressive spiritual pedigree. In the end, he calls it garbage, and he admits that he still has so far to go to “gain Christ.” He is in process. But here is his one thing (but is it two?): forget what’s behind and strain towards what’s ahead. While he lists two things, they are so intertwined that they must be considered together. It’s futile to forget but not press forward, and insane to press forward without forgetting. They are like ham & eggs. They just go together.

If Paul had not reached the finish line, then I must be way back in the pack. But, I must do this one, two-part thing too. If I have any past victories or failures, forget them. Tis not the day to wallow or celebrate the past. But right on it’s heals, I press on. This is not a flesh thing I do on my own. I forget/press by what Christ has already given me. If the forget/press thing does not happen, that is truly a paradox, for I am missing what I most strongly desire: Jesus Christ.

Images: from head to heart

Our past sermon series at Zion will go down as one of my favorites. We have covered God’s images of the church: Bride, Temple, Body, Priesthood, Flock, and Family. These are not inventions of the church itself. They are how God himself view us. To say they are profound truths smacks of gross understatement.

Like much truth, it’s not enough to know it. Our world thinks that if we just educate people, they will be better people. But, we post warning labels on cigarettes and fatty food and extension cords, but the information does not make people better. As the metaphor states, there is a huge difference between head and heart knowledge. These images of the church must be more than just facts. Their implications are galactic.

Besides what we have said on Sunday, each image conveys power and responsibility. Every church and every church member needs to see the significance of this power. We can always use a wake up call.
o We know that as the bride, Jesus is working in us to present us holy to himself.
o As a family, we should have trust and intimacy. Let them not be abused.
o We know that we are a body, so why treat others or act like cancerous cells?
o We know we are a Temple, so we cannot build outside of the foundation of Jesus. We can topple if we build structures, systems, and plans outside the footprint.
o We know we are a flock, so we should listen to the Good Shepherd instead of the thieves.
o And, we know we are priests, so why not open our mouths and be ambassadors for our God?

Too many churches and Christ followers can identify these images on a doctrine test. But, do they recognize the impact they have on a church or other Christ followers?

Pastor Joe

Faithful with the little things...

Over the past few weeks, I have been plagued with things breaking…mainly computer issues but even my calculator broke. My frustration level has been rising, but God still speaks without a keyboard.

Matthew 25:21, “His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'”

I often hear this passage applied to financing and tithing. Those are accurate applications. But, in recent weeks, it keeps coming to mind with my attitude. If a computer glitch is going to ruin my day, I’m not very faithful when the little things are the problem. Yes, it’s frustrating to see the “blue screen of death,” but there are other things that should get my attention and fill my mind: daily concern for the church, the lost, hurting/struggling families and individuals. So, if my faith breaks under so-called glitches in my day, can I then be entrusted with the major stuff of life? The key is not just letting the little things get you down but recognizing what is a little thing and what’s not.

Pastor Joe

ZPV September Prayer Letter

September 16, 2009

Dear Friends,

Thanks so much for praying for the Olkowski’s over Labor Day weekend. Jessyca moved in to Northeastern University with little trouble. She is settling in and becoming active on campus. Some of her classes are hard and others are review (so far!). I remain convinced that this is a good fit for her, and I look forward to seeing what God will be doing in her life.

Fall is a busy season for churches! Things are slow during the summer, but once school starts, look out! Zion of Petroleum Valley is no exception. Here are some things to pray for:

• Workers! We can always use workers for our kids and youth. If our teams for Sunday morning were larger, we could have more rotate upstairs. Also, it would be good for us to turn over the teen duties. I like it, but there are those who connect better with students.
• One day, we should not go to church so we can serve our community. Well, that day is Sunday, September 20 at both Zion campuses. It’s called One Day. We will spread out to various places in our community just for service in Jesus’ name. On one hand, we don’t want attention or fanfare, but on the other hand we would like people to see that our motivation is serving Jesus and them.
• Our new EQUIP classes started on September 15.
• Fifth Quarter begins on September 18 after the Karns City Varsity Football home game. We hope to fill ZPV with students after the game so they have some place to go and we can get to know them.
• Keep praying for the men of the Petroleum Valley. For those who already know Christ, we need to be serious and active with our faith. For those who do not know him, they need to. These men are tough to reach.
• ­ And speaking of prayer, we need to see the value and participation of prayer raised in our community and churches.
  
  Drop me a line or an email sometime, joe@zionlife.com. And, you can find me on Facebook too.
  
  Pastor Joe
  Zion of Petroleum Valley