Burning Hearts – February 16

Written by Bill Grandi on February 14th, 2025

In the OT book of Micah there is a profound passage of Scripture that carries a big stick. That Scripture is Micah 6:8 which says, “No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you: to do what is right (do justice in some translations), love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.” (New Living Translation).

Every once in awhile you will hear some one say, “Never forget where you came from.” I love hearing testimonies of people who have come out of a hole-whether drugs or prison or poverty or cutting or thinking of taking their own life or some other challenging life situation-and make a stand for Christ in their new life. It reminds me of the saying in the NT: “I once was blind but now I see.”

The passage of Scripture for this week is Leviticus 24-Numbers 10 and trust me when I say it would be easy to gloss over it. But we would be cheating ourselves if we did. Yes, it is hard to read, but an ever bigger “yes” is the truth it presents. While filled with laws and dedications for priests, it presents to us an even greater truth: what we deserve versus what we receive. Simply put:while we deserve justice, instead we receive mercy.

For more on this topic, I would like to invite you to join us either in person or via live stream. Our services are 9:00 and 10:45 and if you can’t make it in person, we live stream both services. If you happen to miss them, you can catch them on YouTube or on our website during the week. You can send a request to our Facebook Group at Owen Valley Christian Fellowship or view our public page at Owen Valley Christian Fellowship-Spencer, IN. You may also watch via our YouTube channel at Owen Valley Christian Fellowship. If you happen to watch, would you mind letting us know? No pressure. I promise. I look forward to hearing from  you.

 

February 13

Written by Bill Grandi on February 13th, 2025

Everyone needs a pick-me-up from time to time. Whether it be a kind word or an arm around the shoulder or a heartfelt handshake or a hug, sometimes ya just need one. You know?

Church people are no different. Unless they are wired cockeyed, no one wants to come on Sunday to be screamed and yelled at and made to feel worse than when they arrived. Even when the topic of sin is preached on it can be done in such a way that people aren’t made to feel lower than a snake. I believe it was D.L. Moody who once said, 

“No preacher should preach on hell without tears in his eyes.” 

That is my philosophy. I am not a screamer and a yeller from the pulpit. I don’t even do that at ballgames, let alone from the pulpit. It accomplishes absolutely NOTHING, except making people feel really bad.

So I began the practice of leaving them with a Scripture. I got tired of finishing preaching, praying, then saying, “Have a good week!”  That is when I hit on the idea (with a little help from a book I was reading at the time) to close with the time-long-gone-by-tradition of a benediction. But not just from my lips. I pray, then have the congregation read it along with me from the screen in front of them. The most common one I use is from Numbers 6:24-26 (It was in our Scripture reading from Everyday Gospel Devotional for today). This is from the New Living Translation:

May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.

After we have all said that passage, I simply look at them and say, “Thanks for being with us today. Go with Him this week” or something to that effect. It gives people something to remember, something to identify with, and hopefully, something to carry with them during the week. The original passage was given to Moses to pass along to Aaron in order to bless the people.

May I encourage you to repeat that Scripture to yourself before you walk out your door or begin your work day? May you be blessed today with the awareness of His presence in all you do.

 

February 12

Written by Bill Grandi on February 12th, 2025

One of the essentials of any leadership team is the element of trust. If the CEO or pastor or whatever title is given does not have the trust of those under his watch and care, the business/church/entity will go nowhere. Stagnation is the result. Likewise the other way. If the main leader cannot trust those under his watch to do what they are supposed to do and work as a team, the entity will falter.

I have been devouring books by Jon Gordon, Patrick Lencioni and James Hunter since the first of the year. I want to be the best leader I can be as the pastor of the church, but know there are some serious blanks in my abilities. Along with that, at the age of 72 I need to work on a succession plan (and have been). None of us will live forever-including Bryan Johnson, the centimillionaire tech entrepreneur who has that as his goal-so I need to have a plan in place. Frankly, I need to “shore up” my leadership skills to be better prepared to lead and to hand off my role here.

But the question which haunts me and should every leader (and maybe all of us to some extent) is Why? Why am I doing what I am doing? Patrick Lencioni has written a leadership fable called The Motive and I have yet to dive into Simon Sinek’s book Start with Why, but Lencioni writes, “At the fundamental level, there are only two motives that drive people to become a leader. First, they want to serve others. Two, they want to be rewarded.” (Edited for space-found on page 131) When you think about it those really are the two reasons why we do what we do. It comes down to this question: do I want to  benefit someone else or do I want to benefit myself? Do I want to make another person’s life richer or do I want to promote myself to enrich the only one who matters…me?

I don’t want to belabor this point but want to simply ask one question: as you go through your day today, who are you looking out for? Whose life will be made richer by your presence and an interaction with you? You or another person? I was deeply moved by a book I would like to recommend to you on this topic: The Hard Hat by Jon Gordon. It set me back on my heels as it talked about a lasting legacy.

 

February 11

Written by Bill Grandi on February 11th, 2025

“You matter to us because you matter to God.”

That was the mantra of what has become known as the “Attractional” church. Or perhaps you have heard it called “The Purpose-Driven Church.” On the surface that sounds really good. And it is. But as time moved on it morphed into a mantra that began to signal some really strange practices.  Churches began to replace hymns and truly good worship songs with contemporary “secular” songs with veiled meaning. Some lyrics were changed into really bad songs. I read of one church that did “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC as an opening song for their Easter service. Seriously? I have to admit that when I read that I about spit out my Diet Dr Pepper. While many have abandoned that “all things are a go” approach, they graduated to some really bad songs with horrible doctrinal errors.

Back to my original words and off the rabbit trail… 🙂

On the surface, that statement is true. People should matter to us because they do matter to God. We could point to the cross for proof. Or, strangely enough, we could point to Numbers 1-2. “Are you kidding me Bill? Have you ever read Numbers 1-2?”  As a matter of fact, I have and did again this morning. Only this time I approached it differently. Thanks to Paul David Tripp’s devotion for today in his Everyday Gospel Devotional, he brought several ideas to the forefront.  He began by writing, “On the surface these accounts seem like unneeded historical detail, not very interesting, and easily forgotten. But the apostle Paul says that they are in your Bible for your spiritual maturation and readiness.” (p.52)  I took those words to heart as I read this morning. I underlined what Moses wrote in chapter 2 about where each tribe was to be in the order of moving from place to place. (Check out verses 9, 16, 24 and 31. Verse 17 shows us the Tabernacle was put between the second and third group).

God was orderly and efficient. The inclusion of these two chapters was not just willy nilly filler space.  I borrow again from PDT when he writes, “It reminds us of the intimate and specific care God has for His people.” And there you have that opening statement statement in a different way. God chose His people and ordered the numbering of his people (especially the warriors) for a specific reason.

If He took that much detail in numbering and giving His people specific places to be, imagine how concerned He is about you and me. Kind of makes your day doesn’t it? 🙂

 

February 10

Written by Bill Grandi on February 10th, 2025

Finally it’s over! Now we can get onto the sports that really matters (at least to some): Spring Training and baseball!! 🙂 I have a daughter who would most certainly agree with me.

Actually, I really don’t care what sport it is as long as it is not the NBA. WNBA. NFL. Soccer. College football. NHL. UFC. Or the others with initials. I follow the Pittsburgh Pirates, but I’m not a rabid fan, so even that takes second place (or wherever the Pirates find themselves at the time). I used to follow professional cycling until blood doping became a major scandal. I am not a prophet but I can only see more danger ahead for players and non-players due to the “licensed” betting which is now being allowed. I see no good thing coming out of that, only heartache for players, people and families. I have never placed a bet in my life and have no desire to. Shoot, I’ve never even bought a lottery ticket. I certainly have no plans to start going down that road at the age of 72.

Why am I so cynical when I’m not normally that way? I’m glad you asked! 🙂  I guess it is because there are so many more important things to do and to like and to allow to occupy my time. As I’ve just said, I see nothing but heartache in the future. Plus, and this is a big plus, I used to spend so much time eating and breathing sports, especially basketball, that I got “lost” along the way.  I have two adult daughters who are obviously on their own. I have a grandson who will be attending THE Ohio State University (according to the pundits) in the fall.

What flashes before my eyes is what am I leaving behind? What is my legacy? They aren’t going to stand at my grave and say, “Thanks Dad for being a sports fanatic.” “Thanks grandpa for being a Pirate fan (he is a Reds fan).” 🙂 My wife of almost 52 years this June will not say, “Thanks Bill for loving sports so much you watched all the games.” What I want them to remember is that I loved them, made time for them, laughed with them, cried with them, celebrated with them, and chose them over sports or money. You see…I was made to bless others.  You were made to bless others. God blessed me and He blessed you not for my or your own good but because He can then use me or you to bless others. I’m reminded of Micah 6:8-“This is what the Lord requires of you: to do what is right (to do justice), to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.”  What a much more meaningful legacy to leave! I applaud each athlete who competes according to the rules, but their greater legacy is not whether they were the GOAT, but whose life was changed for the good because of their influence.

That is a true legacy worth thinking and talking about.

 

Burning Hearts – February 9

Written by Bill Grandi on February 7th, 2025

We all have different battles we face. Some are mental-we struggle with depression, or suicide, or feelings of low self-worth. Some are physical-a long-standing physical battle like MS, or cancer, or chronic fatigue, or back issues. Some are social-we hate crowds so anxiety is a daily struggle, or we have this fear of rejection, of being seen as a misfit. Some are spiritual-we seem to struggle daily with distance from God, or of feeling guilty because we don’t keep a vow we made, or of a sin that keeps haunting us. But there is one battle we all face and we cannot get away from it, cannot rationalize it, nor can we “set the table right.” The struggle we all face is a 3-letter word:

S-I-N

“Sin leaves each of us guilty. The question is, ‘What will we do with our guilt?'” Paul David Tripp states in his little opening gambit from February 2nd.  The Scripture reading for this past in the Everyday Gospel Devotional and is the basis for this week’s message is Leviticus 5-23 and it is all about sin. As I have already stated, we all face it. It and the guilt that accompanies it is inescapable. In the OT Law system they had different kinds of offerings to make. We in the NT era of grace have Someone who had already made that offering for us. His name is Jesus.

We will be exploring that in depth Sunday morning. I’d like to invite you to join us in person if possible. If not, we live stream both services at 9:00 and 10:45. You can send a request to our Facebook Group at Owen Valley Christian Fellowship or view our public page at Owen Valley Christian Fellowship-Spencer, IN. You may also watch via our YouTube channel at Owen Valley Christian Fellowship. If you happen to watch, would you mind letting us know? No pressure. I promise. I look forward to hearing from  you.

 

February 6

Written by Bill Grandi on February 6th, 2025

“God gained another angel.”

What a horrible, horrible and cold-hearted way to respond to someone who has lost a loved one, especially a child! Those were our sentiments last night.

Let me explain: on Wednesday night I have what I call Wednesday Night Conversations. It’s just a gathering of whoever wants to come and sit around and discuss issues and try to find Biblical answers to those issues. I am using 9 Common Lies Christians Believe by Shane Pruitt as my basis for the conversations. The previous conversation was “God won’t give you more than you can handle.”  Last night’s was “God gained another angel.”

We will often hear that statement used during a funeral, especially by people who are trying to find something to say to parents who lost a child. I know those who say those words are only trying to be helpful and sympathetic, but it simply is not true. And to be brutally honest, the ones who lost that child or that loved one DO NOT want to hear that God wanted their child more than they did. I have stood beside parents whose child passed away or was stillborn or miscarried after month’s inside the mother’s womb and those are not words they want to hear. At those times the only words I found to say was “I’m sorry and if I could take away your pain I would.” More often than not all I could offer was an arm around the shoulder or a shoulder to cry on or a chest to beat on if they wanted to.

Many people have this misguided idea that we become angels when we die. Or a butterfly (or some other tangible expression) to show they are with us. Without getting into too much detail, angels are a whole ‘nother discussion when it comes to who is who and what is what. Hebrews 1:14 tells us angels are servants whose role is to care for people who will inherit salvation. Angels are God’s messengers. They are God’s protectors of His people (Dan. 6:22). They are created to worship God (Is. 6:3). They are God’s warriors (2 Kings 19:35).  As great as angels are, God did not send His Son to die for them. God so loved humans he came as a human to die for humans. (And we don’t get wings)

So…what do you say to someone while standing at a casket or graveside? Sometimes absolutely nothing. Don’t even say, “Call me if you need something.” Most won’t, but one of the ladies made a great suggestion. She lost her husband suddenly and she now visits to show her love and sympathy but then a short while later will call that person and say, “I have been thinking of you. Let’s grab lunch today or tomorrow (set a specific time).” Sometimes the best thing to do is to cry with them or let them cry. Don’t judge. Don’t tell them they will get over it or need to get over it. And please, don’t tell them “God gained another angel.”

 

 

February 5

Written by Bill Grandi on February 5th, 2025

Boundaries. Most of us have a love/hate relationship with them.

Take the adolescent. He wants to test the boundaries. The teenager is not fond of them at all. College students think, “Hey! I’m out of the home. I can do what I want!” They want to discard or disregard boundaries. Many young adults and even older adults want nothing to do with them. F-R-E-E-D-O-M!! is their cry (tapping the inner William Wallace there). 🙂

But while boundaries are seen as confining and stifling and downright unnecessary, they actually are or can be a good thing. It used to be stove doors were not insulated against getting burnt.  When they got hot they got HOT. Ask my youngest brother. He was learning to walk when he got too close to the stove. He touched the stove (after being told constantly not to) and felt the burn on his hand. His reaction was to use the other hand to catch himself. Result= trip to the ER to have severely burnt hands wrapped like mittens. Fortunately, God answered prayers and his hands healed with no sign of burns or inability to use his hands. The boundary of “Don’t Touch!” was for a good reason.

But, our natural inclination is to kick against the boundary. Teens don’t like the rules mom and dad have established so their natural desire is to kick against it, or to see how much they can stretch it. Adults do the same thing. We eat what we know we shouldn’t, even though we know it is leading us down a bad road health-wise. That friendship/relationship needs to be checked. It is getting too intimate or too familiar. That financial arrangement is shady. Someone has said, “When you play with fire you either get burnt or smell like smoke.”

Reading Leviticus 14-15 this morning was almost mind-numbing. It was all about skin diseases and bodily discharges and contaminated/mildewed houses. Seriously? Two whole chapters on that? Yes indeed! And a quick look ahead tells me there is more of the same-prohibitions against eating blood and forbidden sexual practices and multiple other prohibitions. Or shall I say boundaries?  I don’t know all the whys and wherefores of these boundaries. I just know that they matter to God because I matter to Him. God is not setting these boundaries to be a killjoy but because He knows what is best and wants me to avoid heartache and sickness and even injury. These boundaries seem like minutia to me/us, but let’s not see them as that. Let’s see them as an act of a loving God who only want the best for his child.

Sort of like a parent with a child.

 

February 4

Written by Bill Grandi on February 4th, 2025

As I read this morning from Leviticus 11-13 during my reading through the Bible, I kept wanting to either skip past some things or to simply say, “I read this” and close my Bible. After all, no one is checking up on me. Right? I mean, who would know? Well…you know the answer to that question. 🙂

Now…in case you are not in the “read-the-Bible” mode, I’ll just tell you that Leviticus is part of a mind-numbing section of Scripture where rules, laws, and stipulations are laid down for the people to follow. I recently had someone ask me, “How in the world could they remember all of those laws and ‘eat this and don’t eat this’ or ‘don’t touch this'”? That’s a great point! The answer is: I don’t know. Leviticus 11-13 is about what they can and cannot eat, touch or get near. It is about skin diseases and what is clean and unclean and how long to be in quarantine and when to get out. See why I was looking for a way out?

Then I went back and read a couple of sentences I highlighted in Paul David Tripp’s Everyday Gospel Devotional.

“By the loving miracle of God’s grace, unclean hearts are made new and pure.” (p.42)

“Although the laws surrounding leprosy had to do with God’s lovingly and wisely protecting his people from a deadly infection, they also point to something profoundly deeper. Sin is the ultimate infection. No one escapes this disease.  {My note: Romans 3:23 shows us that}. It separates us all from our Maker. It cries out for the ultimate cure, one only the Messiah can provide.” (p.43)

Psalm 69:5-6 is rather poignant: “O God, you know how foolish I am; my sins cannot be hidden from you. Don’t let those who trust in you be ashamed because of me. O Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies, Don’t let me cause them to be humiliated, O God of Israel.” (NLT)  What a difference our lives would make if that verse was a daily prayer. The stain of sin won’t just go away.  We can’t wish it away, hope it away, dream it away, fantasize it away, speak it away, sleep it away, or pretend it away. It is humanly unremovable and can only be taken away by an act of grace. 2000+ years ago that act of grace was done on a hill outside Jerusalem.

 

February 3

Written by Bill Grandi on February 3rd, 2025

One of the topics that is often taboo to talk about these days is S-I-N.  It puts us on edge and make us feel uncomfortable. The “why” is up in the air. Sometimes it is conviction. Sometimes it is guilt. Sometimes it is “I’m not as bad as so-and-so because they have done such-and-such.”  Close to that last one, but not quite landing on top of it, is “I just don’t care.” I’m wondering if this might be the most common these days, but also the most dangerous.

Someone has said, “Sin will take you farther than you ever wanted to go, cost you more than you ever wanted to pay, and keep you longer than you ever wanted to stay.” You don’t have to think about that statement too long before you realize it is true.  Take, for example, the people of Israel. They clamored for a representation of God so Aaron molds a golden calf. In Exodus 32 not long after their promise to follow God, Exodus 32:6 tells us “The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.” That is a $10 word for “immorality.” Yep, they just slid down that slippery slope they found themselves on. I hate to think of how much that describes me.

Here’s the thing though. God takes sin seriously. While we may pooh-pooh it. While we may turn a blind eye. While we may even justify ours or someone else’s sin, God takes it seriously. Very seriously. Case in point: God goes to great lengths to prepare Aaron and his sons for their responsibilities as High Priest (Aaron) and priests (his sons). Moses makes sure that all God told him to do is fulfilled. He relates it all to Aaron and his sons. All seems right. Until Leviticus 10. Verses 1-2 tells us that Nadab & Abihu, two sons of Aaron, offered strange fire-fire different from what had been commanded-and “fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord.” What exactly that means is up for debate. Some suggest they offered the wrong kind of incense. Some suggest they were drunk (God stipulates no wine or alcoholic drink in verses 8-9).  Whatever it stands for, they disobeyed God. And as I have said before, God takes sin seriously. To quote Paul David Tripp: “To God, no disease that has befallen humanity is more significant and destructive that sin.” (February 3-p.42 from Everyday Gospel Devotional). Expulsion from the Garden was the consequence of the first sin. Who knows what the consequences of our sin will be?

Let’s take sin seriously. Adam and Eve. Nadab and Abihu serve as just 4 examples of the consequences of taking sin lightly. Let’s not be one of those statistics.