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February 6

Thursday, 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.”

 

January 30

Thursday, January 30th, 2025

One of the more frequent comments I hear is “I don’t have any special gifts or talents.” People often feel like they don’t have much to offer if the gift or talent is not something big. I’m sure you know how that goes: “I can’t do what so-and-so does, so what do I have to offer?” The comparison game is an unwinnable game to play or at least it seems to go on forever like Monopoly or Risk or some other seemingly forever game. We will never measure up (in our eyes) to that other person.

The Bible tells us that God has given each of us a gift or gifts to use to build up the Body of Christ, the church. Some of those gifts stand out; some are behind the scenes. Just FYI: a gift and a talent are different. A talent is something the seemingly comes fairly natural or can be developed, whereas a gift is something given by God to be used for a specific reason. But whether we are talking gift or talent it is to be used not kept to oneself.

I was struck by this as I read Exodus 36-38.  Yes, it was sort of tedious because it involved the building of the Tabernacle and furniture for the Tabernacle according to God’s design. But what struck me were the opening words to chapter 36: “The Lord has gifted Bezalel, Oholiab, and the other skilled craftsmen with wisdom and ability to perform any task involved in building the sanctuary. Let them construct and furnish the Tabernacle, just as the Lord has commanded. So Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and all the others who were specially gifted by the Lord and were eager to get to work.” (Verses 1-2)

I’d like to echo Paul David Tripp (January 30 from Everyday Gospel Devotional) as he makes two important points:

  1. We are told that God put skill in these men’s minds. What an incredible statement of the power and presence of God.
  2. It tells us that God not only gives gifts, but stirs up our hearts to use the gifts He has given.

Those two thoughts tell us that we have been given our creative ability by God, and two, we need to be thankful for the One who gave them. They have been given to us for a reason. Use them. Don’t hoard them.

{Note Scripture used is from the New Living Translation}

Today is Jo’s birthday. It would be bad form to tell you what number. 🙂 I am taking her to Ohio to see our grandson (and our daughter). 🙂 Please feel free to post a comment. I will approve it when I have a chance to do so. And please pray for a safe trip. We are both driving there and giving Jo’s car as an early graduation present to our grandson. It is an 8 year old car with 42k miles on it. It should serve him well as he graduates and heads off to college (which I am not allowed to reveal yet).

January 29

Wednesday, January 29th, 2025

The year was 1969. The group was Blind Faith. One of the main members was a man whom you probably have heard of. At the time he was also one of the founding members of another well-known group from the era: Cream. His name was Eric Clapton. Cream was known for “In the white room with black curtains is a station.” By the way, did you know that was not a drug song or about a drug trip? It was a song about purity and innocence-no drugs, no Nam, and no trouble.  Okay…circle back. Blind Faith recorded a song that was so strange at the time called Presence of the Lord. The final chorus had the following lyrics: “Everybody knows the secret/Everybody knows the score/I have finally found a place to live/Oh, in the presence of the Lord.” I’m not sure what was on Clapton’s mind or heart at the time. Perhaps he was figuring out the futility of the 60s kind of love. (As many of you may know Clapton again wondered about heaven and would his son know him in “Tears in Heaven.”)

My reading this morning was from Exodus 33-35 and its main them was the Presence of the Lord. At one point God told Moses He wanted him to go back up the mountain in order to receive the 10 Commandments again (Moses had smashed the original ones out of anger). I was struck by Moses’ requests from God. Here they are in a nutshell:

“Lord, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully.”  (33:13)

“Lord, guarantee your presence.”  (33:16)

“Lord, show me Your glory.” (3318)

For each of these requests God has a favorable answer.  He desires we seek Him. He desires that we know His ways in order to follow. He desires that we know His presence will always be there. And He desires that we seek/crave His presence.

Blind Faith (and Moses) had it right. The best place to be is in the presence of the Lord. I’m not naive to think we won’t have distractions today. But I also know those distractions do not and will not impact our day as deeply if we are living with the promise of God’s presence. Why not begin today…right now…by praying these three requests Moses made? I can’t and won’t promise you a pain-free or trouble-free day. But I can promise you God’s presence throughout the day. Stop right now and pray those three thoughts and then live today with them in mind.

Burning Hearts – January 26

Friday, January 24th, 2025

The question of the existence of God has been one that has gone on for as long as time. C.S. Lewis once wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”  Lewis was an atheist until he could not longer deny the facts of His existence. Down through thousands of years people have desired to know God-through drug trips, idol worship, and religious rituals to name a few. But knowing God is more than a whim or a wish.

This week’s message is on whether a person can really know God. I’m using the call and story of Moses to illustrate that God calls all of us to do His work. Some, like Moses, have a dramatic “come to Jesus” moment. I mean, the call of Moses is legendary, just ask Charlton Heston. 🙂  For others, it is far less dramatic, almost like a quiet stream giving off relaxing sounds. Moses’ call was dramatic and it rocked his world. It was definitely out of his comfort zone!! But in all of it, God was making Himself and His power known.

I’d like to invite you to join us Sunday. I know many of you cannot be with us in person, but you can watch our live stream 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.

January 23

Thursday, January 23rd, 2025

God’s provision is seen in so many ways. I’d like to share two of them with you today.

The first is from a section of Scripture that gets a lot of traction simply because of its unrelenting grace and goodness of God. The people of Israel have been major complainers for quite a long time. They complained about the servitude in Egypt. God raised up Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. They complained and panicked when they saw Pharaoh’s army coming and they were trapped between the Red Sea and the army. They complained about a lack of water so God told Moses to strike a rock. They complained about a lack of food so God provided manna and quail.  It blows me away to see how God took care of His people. I read this morning about God’s abundance in Psalm 50:9-11: “But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens. For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine.” And yet, when you read passages like Exodus 16-17 one can’t help but be amazed at God’s willingness to provide for His people, even though they were ungrateful and wayward at times. Even though they were faithless and discontented way too often, He continued to provide out of His grace! They certainly didn’t deserve it but it was given nonetheless.

The second kind of provision is one you might never give a thought to. Last night at midnight I received a call from someone in the church that her mother had passed. This lady was an elegant 97 year old. Her “boyfriend” of almost 20 years passed away last October one month shy of being 101. I have boyfriend in quotes because she kept saying, “He is not my boyfriend” but at his deathbed she said, “Thank you for being my boyfriend.” 🙂  Ruth fell and broke her hip this past Sunday morning and a CAT scan showed she had suffered a stroke a few days before. I visited her Tuesday and knew it would not be long. She was a sweet lady and she got a chuckle whenever I saw her, hugged and said, “Good morning gorgeous!” Sometimes she would giggle. Sometimes she would roll her eyes. God’s provision for her is a home built just for her. John 14: 2-3 says, “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” Ruth is home in a home provided for her by the Father. The great part is that I will see her again.

God’s grace and provision is seen in so many ways. I just gave you two of them. Can you think of any more?

Note: All Scripture is from the New Living Translation

January 2

Thursday, January 2nd, 2025

One of my takeaways from the Everyday Gospel Devotion for today is the devastation that sin has. I know. I know. I already know that. I have seen it and lived it. I have experienced the devastation in my own life, enough to not be shocked by it. But that still does not stop me from sometimes doing what Adam and Eve did in Genesis 3. When confronted by God in the Garden as they hid from Him, Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent. Personal responsibility? What is that?

Yeah…been there done that. Worse is the denial of sin or trying to minimize it. It is so much easier to look at someone else and point a finger at their sin than for me to look inward and realize, “Oh man. I’m just as bad or worse.” The comparison game is so insidious. Their worst vs my not-so-worst.  Not a fair fight!!  But that is human nature at its “finest.” It is far easier to be more concerned about or irritated by the sin of others than my own. I was reading just yesterday about a preacher and an intern who were going to talk to a man who really messed up when the pastor asked the intern about whether he could commit that sin. The intern said, “Oh no way!” The pastor told him that he better stay away and he would go himself, because unless he realizes he could commit that same sin, he should not visit the man. I totally agree. The moment you and I think we are incapable of committing a sin is the moment we become the most vulnerable. I also remember reading about a pastor who publicly proclaimed that he would never cheat on his wife. There was a woman in the audience that day who took him up on that challenge. Needless to say, the end result was not a good one.

Minimizing sin by either not seeing its “power factor” or thinking “it would never be me” is a dangerous game to play. It immediately puts us in the crosshairs of the Hunter (our enemy, Satan) who will consider it a challenge causing us to fall.  And he will use every means possible to make that happen.  I think we can all agree that sin is real. In fact, before Cain killed Abel (Genesis 4) God warned Cain that his anger and jealousy would be his downfall. Not long after that Cain killed Abel.

The words found in Genesis 6 are frightening. It says, “God saw the wickedness in the heart of man and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” It also says that it “grieved God’s heart and He regretted that He made man on the earth.” Those are devastating words to read. The flood followed.

We can’t handle sin on our own. The best gift ever given was God’s redeeming grace. Sin loses its power when stacked against that.

January 1

Wednesday, January 1st, 2025

As I said in yesterday’s post, the chances of anyone reading this today are slim to very slim (maybe none).  In that post I commented how I had preached on Feels Like Home during the months of September and October. Earlier in the year I had read several books which gave me an idea to write something. Those books were Feels Like Home by Lee Eclov; Glad You’re Here by Walker Hayes and Craig Cooper; and Just Show Up by Drew Dyck. I was inspired reading those books and got a hair-brained idea to write something. OVCF, the church I pastor, recited it occasionally early in the year, but when I preached in September and October we did it almost weekly. It is part of our DNA. We have not recited it since the last Sunday in October but will start 2025 off by saying it together. I thought I would share it with you today:

WE’RE GLAD YOU ARE HERE!

If you are happy we want to celebrate with you.

If you are tired and need rest;

If you are hurting and need comfort;

If you have failed, feel guilt and shame and wonder if God still loves you;

If you feel you are at the end of your rope and need a lifeline;

If you think you are too great a sinner and feel hopeless;

If you are here but can’t raise your eyes, head, or hands in worship…

That’s okay. We want this to be a place where you find strength to go on. Let us pray for you, stand beside you and even carry you to God’s throne where you can find new hope.

Maybe you need to read or hear this today. You may never be able to attend OVCF or have a personal conversation with me, but I want you to know there is a God who is always available, always accessible, and will NEVER turn you away…no matter your state. May 2025 be the year of an encounter with Jesus for you. 

December 16

Monday, December 16th, 2024

For 2025 I have asked the church I pastor (Owen Valley Christian Fellowship in Spencer, IN) to accept a challenge. The challenge was to use Everyday Gospel, a daily devotional written by Paul David Tripp as their go-to this coming year. Thanks to the generosity of Crossway Publishing, who offered the opportunity to buy them in bulk for $10 each (order at least 10), our folks were able to get on board for the challenge. To date we have had to order…wait for it…120 copies of the book!! That means there will be at least 120 people who will be reading the devotional each day plus the Scripture corresponding to it. By the end of the year, we will have read through the whole Bible. But I did something even crazier, which really put a target on my forehead. I told them that instead of preaching a series or a book of the Bible or even topics in 2025, that I would base all my sermons on the Scriptures read the previous week (Sunday through Saturday). For example, on January 5th, the first Sunday of 2025, I will preach on Genesis 1-15, the Scripture passages we are to read for January 1-4.  In all of my 50+ years of ministry, I have never-read that NEVER- preached on the whole Bible from the first Sunday of the year to the last. I’m not kidding you when I say I come with a bit of fear after I opened my mouth and made that statement. I wonder now if it was what drove people to sign up for the book.

But I also have to admit to a ton of excitement and cautious optimism for the task in front of me. As I stated earlier, I have NEVER taken on this task before. It will require some serious study and preparation as I weed through some great parts of the Bible but also some tough parts (how does one preach through parts of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers and make it exciting?). It has also required me reading the Devotional ahead of time, then I will go back and read it again on its planned day, along with the Scripture passage. Last night I read the devotions for January 26 & 27 in preparation for the sermon on February 2nd. My thoughts today are taken from the January 26th devotion.

We hear a lot during this time of the year about love, joy, and hope. My daughter Tami’s favorite Christmas song has the lyrics “The thrill of hope the weary world rejoices.” (O Holy Night).  I know how this whole scenario ends (Jesus wins) but even with that belief/truth, it is hard not to feel like many others do: where is the hope? We sure don’t live in a hopeful society do we? I’m not even talking politics here. I’m talking about life. Before I went to my ManCave last night to focus my thoughts and heart and to sit with an ice pack on my new knee and a hot pad on sore places from the needles of that surgery, I heard about Syria, the death of the United HealthCare CEO, the pardons, the rhetoric which seemed to say murder was wrong “but,” the immigration crisis, etc. You get the picture. So, tell me, where is the hope? I have an 18 year old, soon-to-be a high school graduate grandson, who will be attending THE Ohio State University this fall. What kind of world will he grow up in? One without truth? One without boundaries? One without knowing right from wrong? One without HOPE!  I pray not. I pray that Braden’s generation says, “Enough is enough!” and claws its way back to truth and the hope that comes with it. In his January 26th devotion, Paul David Tripp writes, “True and lasting hope is found in these words: “I will dwell in the midst of my people.”

May Tripp’s words be a signpost for my grandson’s generation. Really, for every generation still living and will soon be living. “May you dwell in the midst of your people, Lord.”

December 9

Monday, December 9th, 2024

I’m going to brag a little bit. Not about me but about the church I pastor. Even as I write that it sounds bad. But please hear me out before you write me off. 🙂

Yesterday was a big day in the life of Owen Valley Christian Fellowship. Perhaps I can give you a better perspective by giving you a shortened timeline of the history of OVCF.

  • Started in October of 2004
  • They met at several different places until they settled on the Owen Valley Sports Complex.
  • The pastor who came with them left after just a few months, but they plugged away with guest speakers, some from the community.
  • Jo & I came in November of 2005. Diana, the church secretary, and I started the same time.
  • The complex was dirty and small but we made due.
  • The flood of 2008 displaced us for 4 months (we met at the Owen Valley Middle School).
  • In 2010 we purchased a previously abandoned Mormon church building and began immediately getting it ready for occupancy. September of 2010 was our first worship in the new building. It was small (we knew it ahead of time), but it was to become our home.
  • In 2011 we found out we had been embezzled out of $200+k. We chose to forgive and move on.
  • In 2012 we renovated and remodeled our inside space.
  • In 2014 we hired Ryan East as our youth pastor.
  • In 2018 we expanded by building a children’s wing.  That was a very, very wise choice.  We paid cash (another very wise choice).
  • In 2020-2022 we lived through the COVID era but through the faithfulness of God on multiple fronts and the generosity of our people, we never had to cut anything. It was during this time that our live stream became a reality.
  • Beginning with the dedication of the children’s wing in 2018, we started planning and preparing and saving for an addition to our building. We were determined to pay cash for it. Our people have been patient meeting in two services and faithful in their giving.

Yesterday, December 8th, we broke ground for that addition.  The weather, which had been frigid all week, turned beautiful. The sun was shining and it was in the 40s. I used Psalm 84:1-2,10-12 as we prayed and dedicated our new effort to God and several turned dirt.  The excavators are possibly starting this week. Our plan is to get the earth moved and let it sit through the winter and then in the spring pour concrete and put up the building. We will proceed as we have the money. God has been faithful. Why would He stop now? He won’t.

Thanks for listening to my “brag” this morning. But I never want it to sound as though “we did this.” We are extremely thankful to God for His abundant grace and faithfulness to us as a church family. My prayer is that we will never forget what God has done. My further prayer is that we will never lose sight of Who is in charge; that we will never get too big for our britches (and that God will make us bring our belts in a few notches if we do); and that OVCF will always feel like home.

 

October 25

Friday, October 25th, 2024

“CELEBRATE!” (cue up Rare Earth from the 60s or if you prefer Kool and the Gang)

I normally don’t post on Friday, or the weekend for that matter. But this is big! Huge in fact! I know you are waiting with baited breath to hear what is so important that Bill would break protocol to post on a Friday.

OVCF, the church I have had the honor and pleasure of pastoring for 19 years (I start #20 next month) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this Sunday. 20 YEARS!!! No matter how you look at it that is quite an accomplishment. From starting out with a meeting in a hardware-type building with just a few folks and meeting at several different places in its beginning, the church found a “home” at the Owen Valley Sports Complex, where it was meeting when Jo and I moved here in November of 2005. We temporarily moved to the middle school for a few months until someone got a wild hair to get us out so we went back to the complex. We went back to the middle school when the flood of 2008 displaced us from the complex for about 4 months. In 2010 we bought an unused Mormon church building. We had our first worship in the new facility in September and were excited about the future. In January of 2011 it came to light that over $200k had been embezzled from us. But God was good. I missed one paycheck during that time and it was made up at the next pay period. In 2012 we remodeled our building to accommodate our growth. We knew when we bought the building it was too small and would require an expansion.  In 2014 we hired Ryan East to be our youth pastor. He had been working at IU Credit Union and teaching our youth group. It was a perfect fit! In 2018 we sacrificed expanding the adult worship area for a youth wing. It was a very wise decision. Along with that we became debt free thanks to someone’s inheritance. When COVID hit the generosity of the people never quit. We didn’t miss a beat. In fact, we expanded to offer live stream during that time! We also increased our mission giving.  After finishing the youth addition, we began saving for an expansion on our adult worship area. We have been in two services since 2013 and there is a strong desire for a unified body in one service. Holidays like Christmas and Resurrection Sunday will often find us at the Abram Event Venue to hold all of us at once. But that comes with a ton of inconvenience and limited ministry to the kids (like none).  We have continued saving to be able to build debt free. Along the way we have taken our Easter offering and given it away to missions, giving all of  away unless designated otherwise. We have taken our anniversary offering and put it in the building fund or given away all or part of it to missions as well. God has been more than faithful to us.

So we celebrate Him this Sunday. We celebrate His faithfulness and goodness to us this Sunday. And yes, we celebrate the people of OVCF. They are, after all, the church. Not the building. People have come and gone-some through death, some through moving, and yes, some through discontent. But along the way, God has also brought some exciting people that I’m proud to call friends and ministry colleagues. One of them reads and comments on this blog almost daily-Ryan and his wife, Amanda. Jo and I still see them and go out to eat with them (Chili’s here we come!). People like Ryan have impacted my life in ways they do not know and words fail when I try to express them. Over my 19 years I have seen a lot happen at OVCF and in Spencer. My prayer is that the influence and legacy has been a positive one.

I’ll close this post for now and give an update on our celebration on Monday (Lord willing, of course). Until then, may I ask you to pray for us for Sunday? My deepest prayer, my most fervent prayer, is that in our celebration we will never lose sight of Who is behind it all and to Whom we give all the praise. One of the songs we will be singing, along with Good  Good Father and No Longer Slaves is  Firm Foundation (I prefer the Disciple/Honor and Glory version): “Christ is my firm foundation/The Rock on which I stand/when everything around me is shaken/I’ve never been more glad/I put my faith in Jesus/Cause He’s never let down.”

Amen!

{Note : if you so desire, we are unable to live stream from AEV due to a lack of good internet connection. My message has been prerecorded and downloaded and will be shown at 10:00 Sunday morning on our YouTube channel. It is a shortened version of the live experience but will give you a little bit of a taste of being there}.

One more thing: I did this from home on my iPhone so if you find typing mistakes, blame the phone. 😂