We are about to embark upon a most beautiful time of year, Spring. I for one am looking forward to the coming of the Spring season. Our calendars tell us Spring is already here. The problem is, someone forgot to tell Mother Nature. It may be a little slow in getting here but it is coming.
For most of us Spring is synonymous with "new life". I am very blessed to live where I do especially during the Spring season. I live well out in the country surrounded by great tracks of woodland. In just a few days the hills around me will be covered in a glorious array of beauty. First the red bud trees will make their appearance. Then in a few days following the onset of the red buds the dogwood trees will blossom. Usually for just a few days both trees are in full bloom. When that time occurs there are few places more beautiful on planet earth than the hills surrounding my house.
Every year at this time I am reminded of the glory of "new life". And it is all because of God. He designed it and created it so we could enjoy it. There is another form of "new Life" that God designed and created so that we might enjoy it and that is the "new life" He offers us in His Son, Jesus Christ.
This coming October 20 I will have enjoyed 34 years of this "new life". There are many remarkable things about this experience of "new life" not the least of which is the fact it has never grown old to me. As a matter of fact each and every day brings something new to my mind or heart that causes me to marvel all over again at how great this "new life" in Christ really is! I am 54 years old in the flesh and 33 plus years old in my christian life but in my heart and spirit I still feel like a kid. And just like a child I still marvel at the things of God. I can not get beyond the "WOW FACTOR" when it comes to the Lord and the things He is doing all around me.
I carry a heavy burden on my heart however because of this "new life". I have a great desire to see my loved ones and friends, who don't know the Lord, to find what I have found in this "new life". For obvious reasons I cannot supply the names of those individuals on this site but you can be rest assured the Lord knows their names very well. Many of them I pray for diligently every day. I just keep clinging to the hope that some day they too will discover this wonderful "new life" in Christ. I look forward to the day the red buds and dogwoods "bloom in their hearts and souls" and they can experience the beauty of "new life" from within.
How about you my friend? Are you enjoying this "new life" in Christ? You can you know. All you need to do is acknowledge your need for the Savior, ask Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sin and invite Him to come and live in your heart by faith and you can experience this "new life" for yourself. I hope you will do that right now!
Just something to think about.
Pastor Jordan
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
WHAT DID JESUS DO TODAY?
Holy Week or Passion Week. However you might refer to it this is in my opinion the greatest week of each year for the believer in Christ. I know from the general public's point of view Christmas gets far more attention than does Easter but for me there is no comparison. (See the article I penned for our March newsletter.)This is just a great time of year to be a christian!
As we live our lives this week do you ever wonder what Jesus was doing on that given day leading up to His crucifixion? The scriptures give us a lot of information and insight into His activities but they don't tell us everything. Do you ever wonder if He reflected on past events and cherished them once again in His mind and heart? Did He regret certain things? For instance did He regret the rich young ruler turning away from Him or the Pharisees failing to recognize Him as their Messiah? Do you ever wonder if He wished He could have had more time to spend with His mother or perhaps Peter and the other disciples? Perhaps He thought of the huge crowds of people he had ministerd to and wished He had another month or perhaps another year of ministry left in Him. There was so much more He could do!
Or do you ever wonder if instead of looking back in time He caught Himself over and over again loking into the future? Have you ever wondered if you yourself ever came to His mind? I mean is it possible that He may have said to Himself, " I must go to the Cross, Rob will need me."? It certainly is possible. As a matter of fact I think this latter scenario is probably more likely than the first scenario. He had to have felt He had finished all that the Father had given Him to do. His work was complete. All that was left to do was the things we read about during that final week. The greater work now existed in the Cross itself and all that lay on the other side of the Cross.
I have no way of knowing everything Jesus thought about on say Monday or Tuesday of that week but it is very possible He may have been thinking about you! As a matter of fact I believe there was little else on His mind at that point but all the countless millions of people who desperately needed Him to go to the Cross. I for one am so thankful He was obedient to the Father's master plan for your salvation and for mine. As a matter of fact He was the Father's ONLY PLAN!
Just something to think about.
Pastor Jordan
As we live our lives this week do you ever wonder what Jesus was doing on that given day leading up to His crucifixion? The scriptures give us a lot of information and insight into His activities but they don't tell us everything. Do you ever wonder if He reflected on past events and cherished them once again in His mind and heart? Did He regret certain things? For instance did He regret the rich young ruler turning away from Him or the Pharisees failing to recognize Him as their Messiah? Do you ever wonder if He wished He could have had more time to spend with His mother or perhaps Peter and the other disciples? Perhaps He thought of the huge crowds of people he had ministerd to and wished He had another month or perhaps another year of ministry left in Him. There was so much more He could do!
Or do you ever wonder if instead of looking back in time He caught Himself over and over again loking into the future? Have you ever wondered if you yourself ever came to His mind? I mean is it possible that He may have said to Himself, " I must go to the Cross, Rob will need me."? It certainly is possible. As a matter of fact I think this latter scenario is probably more likely than the first scenario. He had to have felt He had finished all that the Father had given Him to do. His work was complete. All that was left to do was the things we read about during that final week. The greater work now existed in the Cross itself and all that lay on the other side of the Cross.
I have no way of knowing everything Jesus thought about on say Monday or Tuesday of that week but it is very possible He may have been thinking about you! As a matter of fact I believe there was little else on His mind at that point but all the countless millions of people who desperately needed Him to go to the Cross. I for one am so thankful He was obedient to the Father's master plan for your salvation and for mine. As a matter of fact He was the Father's ONLY PLAN!
Just something to think about.
Pastor Jordan
Monday, March 10, 2008
WHAT'S MISSING?
For many years I have been hearing older christians say we need a moving of God's Spirit among God's people like we used to see in days gone by. If it is true (and I have no doubt it is) that the saints of old experienced something or enjoyed something of the Lord that we are not seeing in the church today then it is obvious that something is missing.
One thing we know for sure: God is the same today as He has always been. He has not changed nor is He going to change. So if something is missing it is missing on our end, not His end.
In my last posting I made a reference to the church I pastored in North Carolina from 1984 through 1993. The church was the Branchview First Church of God. This congregation came into existance in 1930 primarily through the efforts and prayers of four men and their families. They had attended a tent revival in Charlotte for several nights and was taken with the messages the evangelist was preaching on the church. They persuaded the evangelist to come to their city, Concord, North Carolina, some 25 miles from Charlotte, and hold a meeting there. A three week meeting was held and these men and their families left the Wesleyan Methodist church and "took their stand" with the Church of God. Upon their decision a brand new congregation was born.
Those first few years were very difficult. None of these men were men of substance in the worldly sence. The Great Depression had the entire country in its grip. Times were tough. But this new congregation flourished. How was this possible? They learned from necessity to totally rely on God! Out of their necessity and burning desire to fulfill God's will for their lives they developed a way of life that revolved around prayer and fasting.
I mentioned in my last posting this congregation regularly held all night prayer meetings. Now I do not want you to think this is something they did every week but it was something they did everytime the congregation was faced with a major problem, challenge or opportunity. Almost everyone in the church worked in the cotton mills that were scattered throughout the city. Most were owned by Mr. Charles Cannon and in those days Cannon Mills was the largest household textile manufacturer in the world. The mills ran around the clock. The members would come to the sanctuary and pray based upon their schedule. Those who worked day shift would come to the church and spend an hour or two in prayer before they went to work or they would stop by the church before they went home after work and pray. Those on evening shift would do the same as did those who worked the midnight shift. They firmly believed they would both find God's will for the life of their church and see God meet their needs if they sought after Him with all their heart.
In addition to the time they spent in prayer they would also fast. Fasting for them accomplished two things. One it had a spiritual sigifigance as fasting always does by bringing a person closer to God. Secondly they would take the money they did not use on food for that day and add it to their regular tithes and offerings to help support the ministry of the church. As a result of their faith and sacrifice God blessed the church in ways that they have never been blessed since that time in their history.
Somewhere along the way they grew to a place and level where they began to feel more comfortable in their faith and where the matters that confronted them did seem so urgent. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not being critical of this group of people. I love them dearly. I owe much to them for my christian and spiritual development. This change occured more than forty years prior to my arrival there. But on more than one occasion when we would be confronted with a challenge one of the older saints would tell me one of those great stories from their past how God had undertaken for them in times gone by once they had committed themselves to pray and fast. As a matter of fact it was while I pastored this congregation that I learned personally the value of fasting coupled with prayer.
Could it be this is what is really missing in our church and many of the other churches across this land and around our world? Could it be that the solution to our "power shortage" in the church is in our unwillingness to fast and pray?
This past Sunday morning I challenged our congregation to consider those things they would most like to see God do in their lives. Perhaps they have a child, spouse or some other loved one they would like to see saved. Maybe there is a problem in a relationship or a need for direction and guidance. Or perhaps there is a need to walk closer to the Lord. Whatever their need is I have asked them to pray and fast between now and our Spring Revival in April and see what God might do in our midst. Hopefully all of us are familiar with prayer but fasting may be new to some. Some may want to fast one whole day each week, abstaining fom all food and only drinking water or juice. Others may want to fast two to three days a week following the same routine as I just mentioned. Some find it easier to fast one meal a day for a certain amount of days per week. To me the key is this: coupling prayer with our fasting. This is what I have asked the congregation to do: however you decide to fast spend the time it normally takes you to eat that meal in prayer for the SPECIFIC ITEM you are concerned about. In other words this time of prayer must be in addition to your normal prayer time. If enough of our congregation will commit themselves to this endeavor I firmly believe we will see God do something of great signifigance in our individual lives and in our church family.
Will you take the challenge? Will you join us in prayer and fasting from the time you read this until April 13? What might we expect God to do? I can not say all that God might do but I can tell you this: IT WILL BE GOOD!!!
Just something to think about.
One thing we know for sure: God is the same today as He has always been. He has not changed nor is He going to change. So if something is missing it is missing on our end, not His end.
In my last posting I made a reference to the church I pastored in North Carolina from 1984 through 1993. The church was the Branchview First Church of God. This congregation came into existance in 1930 primarily through the efforts and prayers of four men and their families. They had attended a tent revival in Charlotte for several nights and was taken with the messages the evangelist was preaching on the church. They persuaded the evangelist to come to their city, Concord, North Carolina, some 25 miles from Charlotte, and hold a meeting there. A three week meeting was held and these men and their families left the Wesleyan Methodist church and "took their stand" with the Church of God. Upon their decision a brand new congregation was born.
Those first few years were very difficult. None of these men were men of substance in the worldly sence. The Great Depression had the entire country in its grip. Times were tough. But this new congregation flourished. How was this possible? They learned from necessity to totally rely on God! Out of their necessity and burning desire to fulfill God's will for their lives they developed a way of life that revolved around prayer and fasting.
I mentioned in my last posting this congregation regularly held all night prayer meetings. Now I do not want you to think this is something they did every week but it was something they did everytime the congregation was faced with a major problem, challenge or opportunity. Almost everyone in the church worked in the cotton mills that were scattered throughout the city. Most were owned by Mr. Charles Cannon and in those days Cannon Mills was the largest household textile manufacturer in the world. The mills ran around the clock. The members would come to the sanctuary and pray based upon their schedule. Those who worked day shift would come to the church and spend an hour or two in prayer before they went to work or they would stop by the church before they went home after work and pray. Those on evening shift would do the same as did those who worked the midnight shift. They firmly believed they would both find God's will for the life of their church and see God meet their needs if they sought after Him with all their heart.
In addition to the time they spent in prayer they would also fast. Fasting for them accomplished two things. One it had a spiritual sigifigance as fasting always does by bringing a person closer to God. Secondly they would take the money they did not use on food for that day and add it to their regular tithes and offerings to help support the ministry of the church. As a result of their faith and sacrifice God blessed the church in ways that they have never been blessed since that time in their history.
Somewhere along the way they grew to a place and level where they began to feel more comfortable in their faith and where the matters that confronted them did seem so urgent. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not being critical of this group of people. I love them dearly. I owe much to them for my christian and spiritual development. This change occured more than forty years prior to my arrival there. But on more than one occasion when we would be confronted with a challenge one of the older saints would tell me one of those great stories from their past how God had undertaken for them in times gone by once they had committed themselves to pray and fast. As a matter of fact it was while I pastored this congregation that I learned personally the value of fasting coupled with prayer.
Could it be this is what is really missing in our church and many of the other churches across this land and around our world? Could it be that the solution to our "power shortage" in the church is in our unwillingness to fast and pray?
This past Sunday morning I challenged our congregation to consider those things they would most like to see God do in their lives. Perhaps they have a child, spouse or some other loved one they would like to see saved. Maybe there is a problem in a relationship or a need for direction and guidance. Or perhaps there is a need to walk closer to the Lord. Whatever their need is I have asked them to pray and fast between now and our Spring Revival in April and see what God might do in our midst. Hopefully all of us are familiar with prayer but fasting may be new to some. Some may want to fast one whole day each week, abstaining fom all food and only drinking water or juice. Others may want to fast two to three days a week following the same routine as I just mentioned. Some find it easier to fast one meal a day for a certain amount of days per week. To me the key is this: coupling prayer with our fasting. This is what I have asked the congregation to do: however you decide to fast spend the time it normally takes you to eat that meal in prayer for the SPECIFIC ITEM you are concerned about. In other words this time of prayer must be in addition to your normal prayer time. If enough of our congregation will commit themselves to this endeavor I firmly believe we will see God do something of great signifigance in our individual lives and in our church family.
Will you take the challenge? Will you join us in prayer and fasting from the time you read this until April 13? What might we expect God to do? I can not say all that God might do but I can tell you this: IT WILL BE GOOD!!!
Just something to think about.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Being in the "right place".
We are doing a study of the life of Moses as contained in the Book of Exodus on Wednesday nights. This week we studied chapter 3, the chapter where God called Moses to Himself through the burning bush. This is such a powerful passage of scripture. As I shared with the congregation there are a number of great sermons contained in that one chapter. I will not take the time to post all the various thoughts I touched on in the service but there is one I think is worth some deeper attention.
You know the story. Moses was on the back side of the desert tending his father-in-law's sheep when he saw a most unusual sight. A bush was ablaze with fire yet the bush was not being consumed by the fire. Now Moses was a man of the outdoors. After all he was a shepherd and I am sure he had a campfire everynight for warmth and companionship. I have done a lot of camping myself and I have spent a number of nights alone in the woods or by a lake shore and there are few things as comforting as a campfire. Moses knew something about campfires. Yet this fire was unlike anything he had ever seen.
As he approached the fire God called his name twice. There is a beautiful message in that fact alone but that thought will have to wait for another time. God allowed Moses to come so far and then he was ordered to stop and to remove his sandals. The reason being, he was on holy ground. Now Moses was in a place where God could talk to him and tell him what He wanted Moses to do. He was in just the right place to hear from God. If Moses would have been any other place he would never have heard what God had to say to him. The right place was a place of God's choosing and Moses had to turn aside from the path he had been on and stand in the place of God's choosing to be able to hear from the Lord.
Could it be we don't hear from the Lord sometimes like we could because we are not in the right place? I am afraid we are guilty of wanting to meet God on our terms and on our turf. But God doesn't work that way. God wants to meet with us but we must always meet Him on His terms. If we want to hear from Heaven we must come to God in humility and submission where He is. Once we are in the right place, in the right Spirit we too will hear from God.
I believe God has much He wants to say to us. Once we are in the right place we will be able to talk to Him and we will be able to truly hear from heaven as the "old saints" used to talk about. When I pastored in North Carolina years ago the older saints used to talk about having all night prayer meetings and how God in turn did mighty things in their midst. I believe this happened because they were in the right place to hear from Him.
Where are you right now? Are you in the right place in your life to hear from God? You can be if you will look for Him and look for Him with all your heart!
Just something to think about.
Pastor Jordan
You know the story. Moses was on the back side of the desert tending his father-in-law's sheep when he saw a most unusual sight. A bush was ablaze with fire yet the bush was not being consumed by the fire. Now Moses was a man of the outdoors. After all he was a shepherd and I am sure he had a campfire everynight for warmth and companionship. I have done a lot of camping myself and I have spent a number of nights alone in the woods or by a lake shore and there are few things as comforting as a campfire. Moses knew something about campfires. Yet this fire was unlike anything he had ever seen.
As he approached the fire God called his name twice. There is a beautiful message in that fact alone but that thought will have to wait for another time. God allowed Moses to come so far and then he was ordered to stop and to remove his sandals. The reason being, he was on holy ground. Now Moses was in a place where God could talk to him and tell him what He wanted Moses to do. He was in just the right place to hear from God. If Moses would have been any other place he would never have heard what God had to say to him. The right place was a place of God's choosing and Moses had to turn aside from the path he had been on and stand in the place of God's choosing to be able to hear from the Lord.
Could it be we don't hear from the Lord sometimes like we could because we are not in the right place? I am afraid we are guilty of wanting to meet God on our terms and on our turf. But God doesn't work that way. God wants to meet with us but we must always meet Him on His terms. If we want to hear from Heaven we must come to God in humility and submission where He is. Once we are in the right place, in the right Spirit we too will hear from God.
I believe God has much He wants to say to us. Once we are in the right place we will be able to talk to Him and we will be able to truly hear from heaven as the "old saints" used to talk about. When I pastored in North Carolina years ago the older saints used to talk about having all night prayer meetings and how God in turn did mighty things in their midst. I believe this happened because they were in the right place to hear from Him.
Where are you right now? Are you in the right place in your life to hear from God? You can be if you will look for Him and look for Him with all your heart!
Just something to think about.
Pastor Jordan
Monday, March 3, 2008
Brand New Blog
Hello all and welcome to the new Meade Station Blog. I'm hoping to have this blog from Pastor Rob weekly or daily as the mood strikes him. This is a great tool to keep us all informed in matters of our church. Check back daily to see what's up!
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