Ozarkparson's Blog

In 1898 in Cuba during the Spanish-American war, Theodore Roosevelt and his roughriders stormed San Juan Hill and won a decisive battle. Teddy as he was called, led his troops in the charge. He had hand picked his men. They represented a diverse group ranging fron society types to drifters looking for adventure..

It is interesting that Jesus, when he chose the twelve he chose a wide range of folks. The book of Matthew tells the story of his recruiting people. A good leader can mold his men and Jesus and Teddy were leaders.

No doubt, most of us would label ourselves as Christians. But how actively do we share the cross of Christ? Proclaiming God’s plan of salvation, one on one, may be our San Juan Hill.We can wimp our or man up. The enemies of the cross aren’t silent are they? Jesus said, “if you confess me before men I will confess you before my Father” You migh say, well I go to church most of the time, I attend Sunday School and go to some of the socual functions ,,,,is that confessing Jesus before men?

But just like the motley crew that stormed San Juan Hill, Jesus band of laborers and fishermen, took the gospel to all the world, What I am saying is that you don’t have to have a seminary degree or be a bible scholar to share the Good News. You just have to believe that Jesus died on the Cross for your sin, ask for his forgivness and accept Hin in your heart.

Lets not keep the Gospel a secret. Not all people will believe you or follow you but the bottom line is found in Matthew 28:19; “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” …..that is our charge. Amen.

We say we love Jesus but do our claims correspond to our actions? As scripture tells us that “they contradict the Gospel with their lives”.

Christians often say “Jesus is the answer” …”be;ieve in God”..”.Follow me to church” Professing to trust God and his people but they cling to the world and its values. James 2:14 says “what good is it brothers if a man claims to have faith but no deeds. The proof of the reality of our faith is the changed life.

James continues as he talks about trials we will face, Law of Love; wise speech; and wealth. He wrote to Jewish Christians throughout the world. To me this book is a guide to all Cjhristians. He says don’t resent troubles when they come. God will provide the wisdom to face adversity as iit comes. He will give you patience in time of trials.

When we keep the law of love we are showing our faithfulness. Showing love to others is a sign that we are overcoming our selfshness.

Your words will convey true humility and lead to peace. Think before you speak and allow God to give you self-control.

Alo of us are accoountable for what we have and how we use it. We need to remember that it all belongs to God., we are just keepers of it. We should not hoard out wealth but be generous toward others, He is saying that we should start with the tithe to our our local church and supporting local help organizations.

I focus on the book of James. As a pastor working with new christians , I would first have them read and study the book of John which tells the story of Jesus, then direct them to James so they know what being a christian is all about.

Bless the readiing of scripture today..Amen

For the past 2 months I have had health and other issues that have precluded a monthly blog. However I am returning with a burning issue in my mind and that is Domestic Violence and violence against women.

I will begin with a story. While in Missouri, I was asked to be on the board of the local Domestic Violence shelter. They all knew that I was not of that ilk, I guess because I was a pastor and had been on severaal boaards before, etc.

I staarted attending meetings, helping with planning and organizing our thrift shop. But at each meeting, the ladies that handled the shelter and worked with the women were informing us what progress they had made with the women that were in the shelter. I volunteered to be at a sessin wher the women and the clinicians would meet and visit with the women .. I was told that the last person they wanted to talk to was a man!!

that got me really curious and I asked some of the board members (who I know had suffered domestic abuse) to explain to me what they had suffered and the long term effects it had on them. Boy, were my eyes opened!

All this to say that dometic aabouse is a pattern of behavior used to hurt, terrorize, manipulate or gain control over a family member. The abuse can be perpetrated by any member of the household, relative or staff member.

I want to focus on Intimate parter domestic abuse. That is where an intimate partner abuses the other either verbally, physically , emotionally or sexually.This type of abuse is believed to be the most prevelant but least reported crime in the United States. I guess what I want to accomplish is have all of us be aware and sensitive to abuse happining to a relative friend or neighbor. Briefly here are some of the signs of a person in that situation; Being upset or withdrawn; Exhibiting signs of fear or nervousness around certain people; Sudden changes in behavior; Injuries; torn clothes; bruises, black eyes; being malnourished or unkempt; losing interest in daily activities; isolating from friends and family.

If you know someone who has been abused, here are some ways you can support that peson: Listen to them and believe them; Honor where they are in the process and don’t push them; offer assistance and let them know that they are not alone. Remind them that they are not to blame for anything that has happened to them; Encourage them to seek professional help; Encourage them to speak up about the abuse and report their abuser to authorities; Respect what ever choice they make and let them know you will be there for them.

There are many resources available but here are a few: “National office of Violence Against Women, Dept of Justice; In Wichita, Harrbor House Shelter; Women’s network; Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center. A handy website is called Aspire. This site allows you to turn on you location services, add trusted contacts in case of emergency. A disaster signal will notify your trusted contact.

What I have said is a drop in the bucket of alll we can discuss about this issue. I hope I have at least made you more sensitive to this growing concern. I don’t usually do this but if you are abused or know someone who is being abused, amd want to talk about it, my regular address is ozark1937@gmail.com

There are things in our theology that we may have disagreements about , but all Christians have agreement that Jesus Christ is the atonement for our sins and that His resurrection paves the way for our eternal life in Heaven.

I want to address an area that has differing opinions and that is the Rapture. Some say that there is no rapture. Some say that the rapture comes after the Tribulation (will discuss that later_

I will give my thoughts first on the timing of the rapture. I would have to say I am a -technical term here- a Dispensational premillennaillism- in my perspective. What those word mean is that the timing of the last days begins with the rapture of the church. The Rapture is the time when the church is physically caught up to meet the Lord in the air. We will then be with Him in Heaven until the Second Coming. This not only means those who are alive at the time but believers who have already died in Christ. The word comes from the latin word Rapio which means to seize or snatch (Matt: 24: 21-22

The Rapture of course means that all of us who are in Christ will not face the coming Tribulation (1 Thess 4: 15-17) To put my position in context, there are those who say that the rapture will come after the Tribulation has begun but before the wrath of God comes to earth. There are those who say that the rapture will take place simultaneously with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, to meet Him in the air and be with him as he sets up his kingdom on the earth.

To briefly talk about the Tribulation (not the focus of this piece). it is a period of 7 years where Gods judgment is poured out on unbelievers and for the first 3 1/2 years a Jewish remnant will evangelize those peoples. The last 3 1/2 years is where God’s wrath is manifest in the upheaval of the world . It is after that 7 year period that Christ, all his angels and all of us believers will return to earth to be with Christ as he sets up his kingdom for 1000 years.

Didn’t mean to get so wordy and technical but we need to understand God’s plan for His creation. Also this may elicit some comments! Mat God be with all of you now and forever. Amen

We all have times when we aren’t very motivated or very creative. But for most of us these pass over time. A great way to overcome those times is to focus on other people. Doing for others has proven to be a great way to get the positive energy going again.

There are a lot of ways to reach out to others , but one way that can really benefit a person and give you the satisfaction of being someone who thinks about others rather than self.. I call it being

An ENCOURAGER- an encourager can help others by doing the following: 1-Call people. Show your interest by calling and talking to people , asking them about their life and how you can help them. 2-Text, email or facebook people-again showing you care about them and their life. 3-Write a letter. If you want to walk a person through a tough time, write a letter, not the internet, so they have a hard copy they can refer to at a later date. 4-Complement others. Notice looks, behavior, ideas that you appreciate and tell them, complement t them.

5 Pray for them. God hears our intercessary prayers . He cares about all of his creation. Letthem know you are praying for them. 6-Give them your time. There really is no better gift than being there for them. Face to face is best. But anyway you can connect with them and hear them is so important An example I heard the other day was a teacher that was very upset because one of the students was killed in an accident. She tried to remain stoic for the other students until one of them came up to her and said, “you look like you could use a hug” they both let their emoations out. The teacher said that the hug was the thing I needed most. 7-Point them to Scripture. I am not waving a bible at people as a solution to their problems. But you can show them scriptures that will help them understand God’s help for them. 8-Fill a need. Sometimes the best thing you can do is take care of something that the person really needs. Take time to find out what burden you can lift from them. 9-Be forgiving. Jesus tells us time and time again to forgive others. Holding a grudge blocks anything you truly want to help them with. 10-Finally be a good example. God says to shine our light in the world . How we act, hjow we love, how we handle life’s challenges is an example for others to follow.

Following these examples prompts me to think of God’s greeting to those who love Him and are called to be his Disciples, when we get to Heaven “well done good and faithful servant” Amen

Easter week is very meaningful to me and to so many. Starting with Palm Sunday.We recognize Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem with the people celebrating as he rode into town on a donkey. In actuality the people were celebrating that Jesus would take control of the city and end Roman oppression. Of course they got it wrong. Some understood why he came but not even all the disciples were fully aware of his mission.

The next day Jesus went to the temple and saw the people changing money and selling doves for the sacrifice. He drove them all out. The next day Tuesday he went to the temple again and was confronted by the chief priests and the elders. They challenged Him as to what authority He was doing those things. They left confused as to where He was coming from..Wednesday He and his disciples were preparing for the Passover. He tells many parables at this time.

Thursday was the Passover Feast. Jesus gathered his disciples in the uppper room and gave them the new covenant. Then He passed the bread and the cup and said “this is my body and this is my blood which will be sacraficed for you and for many” He then led them to the Garden of Gethsemane where He prayed for God to take the burden from Him. But in a statement that all should live by He said “Father take this cup from me, yet but not my will but what you will”

Jesus was tried and convicted. The Romans didn’t want anything to do with what happened to Him, so they turned him over to the crowd. On Friday they nailed Him to a tree to die. Again He stated a lession for all of us “Father forgive them for the know not what they do”. The nineth hour Jesus cried out, “Father, why have you forsaken me?” Then He said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” Then He died. He was buried in a borrowed grave.

As Paul Harvey says, now the rest of the story.. To Ilustrate I relate this story…..It was on February 27th 1991 at the height of Desert Storm that Ruth Dillow receved a very said message from the Pentegon. It stated that her son Clayton Carpenter, Private First Class has stepped on a mine in Kuwait and was dead. Ruth Dillow wrote, ” I can’t begin to describe my grief and shock, it was almost more than I could stand. For three days I wept. For three days I expressed anger and loss. For three days people tried to comfort me., to no avail because the loss was too great.”

3 days after receiving that call, the telephone rang . Thevoice on the other end said “Mom its me, I am alive!” Ruth Dillow said “I couldn’t believe it at first, and then I recognized his voice, and he really was alive. The message three days earlier was a mistake” She said ” I laughed, I cried, I felt like turning cart wheels, because my son who I thought was dead was really alive. I am sure none of you can really understand how I felt”

Prhaps we can’t feel what Ruth felt but if we walked the pages of the New Testament we have some idea because they (we) experienced some of the same things. We have heard the biblical account many times before. But we who are here today need to have the same emotions that Ruth Dillow and the women at the well had. Christ was dead and now he is alive! We should be laughing, crying and shouting Hallalujah! Happy Easter! Amen.

I know I have dealt with this before, but we need to keep reminding each other that saying we are a Christian does not lead to the conclusion that we have givin our life to Christ. Some examples: Saying you are a doctor does not denote that you are a surgeon or a general practioner or a scientist. I have had the title of Pastor. That does not mean that I lead a church congregation or that I am on staff at a church or that I teach at a seminary.

Well you get the point. I bring this up again because I read statistics by organizations like Barna Research and Baylor Univeristy-I will mention them in a minute. A while ago I read an article called “God Athesim, SO WHAT?” It was written by Cathy Lynn Grossman in USA Today. I want to quote what she said in the article “the dirty little secret of religiosity in America is that there are so many people for whom spiritual interest, thinking about the ultimate question is minimal”

This drove home to me that we who are called Christians may not be Christian in the sense that to be Christian is to understand that if you know someone who is not a believer , it is our mission to make them aware of the loving grace and redemption of a relationship with the Lord

These research organizations have some startling results. The Baylor study said that 44% spent no time seeking “eternal wisdom” and another 19% said it is usleless to search for meaning. Another of their studies revealed that 49% never wonder whether they will go to Heaven. A Barna study said that 40% of young adults didn’t know if God exists, don’t care if God exists or don’t believe He exists. Three out of 4 millinnials believe that all faiths are of equal value. most rejected the existance of absolute truth.

Are we to sit by and let almost half of the people in the United States (of those surveyed) not feel a need be conneceted to a higher power (God). What does the scripture say “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few” (Matt 9:37). if I walk the Christian walk and as a Christian, not in name only, then I must believe and act on Jesus’ commission to us to ” make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19)

I pray that during this Lenten season you examine your relationship with Jesus and if you haven’t given your life to Him , now is the time to ask Him to come into your heart, forgive you of your sins and agreee to follow Him the rest of your life. Amen!

This month is a momentous time in the life of the Church

It starts out with Ash Wednesday. in 2023 it is February 22nd. This is the day that begins the Lenten season. In Ash Wednesday the worshipers receive ashes on their foreheads in the sign of the Cross. The celebrant then wll say something like “remember you are dust and to dust you shall return”. Traditionally the ashes are the burnt palm brances that accompanied Palm Sunday.

Lent is a 40 day period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Saturday. (excepting Sundays which are considered feast days) The word Lent comes from an old English word “Lectin” which means spring. Although Lent can occur in winter (as it is this year), it portends the coming of spring and especially the celebration of the Risen Christ. The 40 days also represent the 40 days that Christ spent in the desert.

The goal of the Lenten season is to come closer to God, to reflect on our Christian life. We sometimes fast or give up something during this period. Many have decided this is a time to give up pleasires such as sweets, alcolol or tv. Giving up something is just one way to observe Lent. Maybe you want to add something to your life such as intentional daily bible study, volunteer at a shelter or intentionally contact friends and neighbors with a note or a phone call. Or you can begin a giving program of your funds your time and your talent..All of these things should be a act of worship and sacrafice not just a good thing to do.

I urge all of you to come to a stronger faith, a more solid relationship with Jesus Christ this season…Maybe a good time to understand the whole of the Christian Calendar and all the Holy days that we observe. I pray that your spiritual life will be enhanced during the next 40 days. Amen.

We all have struggles in life. We don’t always express those struggles to others. People who know you,people in your small group, —

your family, all may have known some of your struggles and mabe they have shared their struggles with you, but most of all they are people that have worked with you , studied with you and prayed with you and will reach to help you through the valley.

Your grief may be for something that happened many years ago and you didn’t deal with it at the time. Now you have an outlet, a sounding board from those people who know you best. I can’t express strongly enough the need to come to grips with your unresolved grief. Because what happend to you may be frozen in a life that is less fulfilling because of it.

Examine your past life. Did you have a traumatic event that you haven’t brought out in the open and now in today’s light realize that you can move forward knowing that it doesn’t have the grip on you that it once did?

God wants you to have life and have it abundantly. Take advantage of the opportunities that God puts in front of you to escape what is burdening you. Like I said, it could be a close friend that you have not confided into this point. It could be your small group that you now feel confortable with sharing your burden (that is the case with me). But especially it can be God and the Holy Spirt.

Call on God to bring you out of the “abyss” and bring you to a life that is positive and that reflects the love of Christ to others. Now lets turn our focus on what you as a loving person can do for others and therefore help you to as you turn from your own struggles to look beyond yourself.

Consider these positive actions: 1) call people you love and are concerned with; 2) Write a letter; 3) complement others; 4) pray for them; 5) give them your time; 6) point them to scripture; 7) fill a need; 8 8)be forgiving; 9) be a good example.

Resolve now to move beyond your past troubles and to be the positive loving person you can be. You will be the beneficiary of the care of others and your care for others… Amen