Dumping our Debts

Our church is in the middle of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. Dave Ramsey is a Christian financial counselor who teaches common sense about money. Several of us recently cut up our credit cards making the commitment to get and stay out of financial debt. It took a lot of willpower and much faith. I was thrilled to see about a dozen families take this huge step in erasing their debt.
As sinners we have all incurred spiritual debt. That spiritual debt is known Biblically as sin. If we don’t somehow pay off that debt of sin, only death awaits us. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) However, God offers to pay that spiritual debt through the sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Jesus will take your debt of sin and zero out your account, if you only let Him!
To learn more about being debt-free in God’s kingdom, don’t hesitate to contact me at www.kalkaskachurchofchrist.com.

A Thousand Years

Time is crazy these days. I mean the rate at which it seems to be moving! Wise Solomon wrote, “There is a time for everything.” Boy, I know he didn’t live in 21st century America! I have difficulty finding time to put gas in my car or to even open my mail! With so little time, I feel like I’m living life in Fast Forward. My “to do” list runneth over! There seems to be no end to the emails, articles, events, and meetings that beg for my attention. My days fly by. The weekends are a blur. I get home just in time to put my kids to bed. Where is all the time going?

I have to point my finger at our culture. It continually soaks up our precious time. From family to community to church, there’s always something goin’ on. Expectations of our presence are high too. And we over commit ourselves to everything under the sun. Now don’t get me wrong, I am BIG on commitment. But when we spread ourselves so thin by saying, “yes” to everything, we don’t end up doing anything very well. In addition we find ourselves so fatigued that we can’t fully enjoy what we are doing at the time. Other times we attend the event, but our mind is thinking about what we ought to be doing instead. We’re physically present, but mentally somewhere else.

Funny, but Jesus never seemed rushed or in a hurry. Crowds huddled around him and many clamored for his time, but it never seemed to bother Him. We never see Jesus stopping anyone mid-sentence to say, “I’m sorry, but I have to get to my nephew’s soccer game by 5:00.” And when it comes to our Lord’s view of time, what do we find?
2 Peter 3:8 says, “...with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” Jesus didn’t seem confined by the dimension of time.

I’ve always thought that verse only applied to the Jesus in the sky, the one who will return someday. And since He lives in heaven now, time is just irrelevant to Him. But who is to say He didn’t have that mentality while here on earth? Jesus was always patient. He never hurried or pushed people. He wouldn’t be the driver in that car cutting you off in traffic nor the shopper staring and tapping His foot while waiting for the new cashier to figure out how to ring up a tax-exempt purchase. His perspective was that he had a thousand years to talk to the woman at the well or to a smelly fisherman. His perspective was one of eternity and not just the here and now.

We have been promised the same eternal life Jesus enjoys. I pray that we as Christians can somehow regain the perspective of Jesus. How can we do that? Here’s a short list to help.
Stop adding to your “to do” list. Finish open items first.
Do one thing at a time. Stop multi-tasking.
Be mentally present. Focus your mind and thoughts to where you are.
Think in terms of eternity. Today is only temporary.

“Everything’s got its time.” (Ecc. 3:1 The Word on the Street) It’s up to us to slow down, step back, and just figure out what comes first.

Podcasting Craze

For my birthday in December my parents gave me the new 5th generation video ipod. Now I'm a PC guy so I was a little hesitant to use anything Mac related, but I must say this little multimedia device has broadened my world! Everyone knows you can listen to music with an MP3 player like an ipod, but what is cutting edge technology are the podcasts and video podcasts now available via the Internet.

Don't stop reading yet! Because here is the coolest part. You don't need an ipod to download and listen or watch these podcasts! Simply download itunes (http://www.itunes.com), a free program, and play them right on your computer! There is a charge for music on itunes, but the podcasts are all free! I expect this to change in the near future. Simply because there is so much valuable content out there.

Here's a list of some of my favorites. Find the podcast link from these sites to get started.
Dave Ramsey - http://www.daveramsey.com
Wayne Cordeiro - http://www.enewhope.org
Simply Strategic Guys - http://simplystrategicshow.blogspot.com/
Rene Schlaepfer - http://www.tlc.org/sermons/index.php

January 2006

Associate’s Angle
by Tim Severance

Did you know that 70 percent of all consumers live paycheck to paycheck? And that 37 percent of marital problems stem from financial situations? You may be suffering from a financial hangover right now. The month of December tends to hit us hard in the pocketbook. How are your finances? Are you in debt? Do you have an emergency fund set up? Are you saving for retirement? Kid’s college? Do you live on a budget or just wing it? Are you giving all you would like to the church?

The Bible has a lot to say about the subject of money. In fact it is mentioned over 800 times! We must remember that “the earth is the Lords and everything in it,” and that we have been entrusted as faithful stewards to manage His resources and His money. If you are looking for assistance in this area, we would like to help.

In February the church will be offering Financial Peace University, a Biblically based 13-week program on personal finance taught by Dave Ramsey. It is designed to empower people to manage their money better, eliminate debt and build wealth. Previews of this class will be given on Sunday, January 29th & Sunday, February 5th immediately following worship service. Learn more about this exciting, life-changing class from http://www.daveramsey.com. It’s time to stop floundering financially and make your money work for you instead of the other way around!

Watering Down the Word of God

My wife teaches a preschool class on Wednesday nights at our church. And this year we're progressing through the Old Testament chronologically. Recently the lesson was on Abraham and God's call for him to sacrifice his long awaited only son, Isaac, on an altar. She discussed with me that she considered skipping the part about God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac and rather focus on the substitutionary ram that God provided in the thicket. She didn't believe children that young would understand a Father being asked to kill his own son. The lesson for the night could be that God provides.

Eliminating a portion of a Bible story bothers me. It seems we frequently do that when scripture makes us feel uncomfortable. Or when we don't understand something. Let's just skip it. Focus on what we know and like. Hmmmm. For preschoolers it might make sense to eliminate the sacrifice part of Abraham's story. I think the real problem arises when we as adults forget to put it back in! Of course, we still believe God provides. In fact if you look around you, it is evident God provides bountifully for us. But where is the sacrifice part? Doesn't God ever test our obedience today? Doesn't he still ask us to give up something or even everything for Him? I think He does. I believe Romans 12:1 is still true today. We are still called to be "living sacrifices." Sacrifice is as much a part of the Christian life as blessing.

This Christmas season we might do well to keep in mind the beautiful story of Christ's birth ended with a Father sacrificing His only Son.

Associates Angle

Last month marks Caraway Street's 2-year anniversary at the Kalkaska Church of Christ. This successful children's ministry has taught and entertained over 250 different children involving over 100 different volunteers serving as actors, stage managers, directors, cue card makers, seamstresses, woodworkers, painters, block parents, song leaders, prop makers, sound board operators, and advertisers. Caraway has been seen everywhere from the Trout Festival parade to Wilderness camp to the Christmas Eve church service. It's been an incredible outreach for our church.

Special thanks are in order for three talented ladies who have directed Caraway to the summit it enjoys today. They are Sabra Dessauer, Carol Badgero, and Jan Aten. These committed women have sacrificed family, work, and leisure time in order to give at least 10 hours every other week consistently for the past 2 years in this ministry! Thanks also goes out to their husbands who have allowed them to serve their church and their God in this manner. They aren't paid for this; it's a labor of love. And I'm sure one day each will hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into your rest."

If you want to know more about Caraway Street, check out our new website: http://www.carawaystreet.org.

April 2005

The 3rd Annual Ministry Fair will be held in May this year; I am both excited and pessimistic. I am excited because I see the fantastic potential of new volunteers working together for Christ’s church. Those who would commit to serving in ministry over the next 12 months. I am convinced that by exercising your faith in service to others your faith will grow like no other time. No steroids necessary! You will be stretched, challenged and strengthened. You will learn that in losing yourself in service to others, you experience joy and contentment and that you are the one who is ultimately blessed. “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” (Matthew 10:42)

I am also pessimistic. Last year the Ministry Fair was just a blip on the radar. And I believe we have some weak ministries that attest to the fact. Ministry Fair may not sound too appealing to some. Perhaps they don’t like the name. Maybe the thought of “Ministry” sounds dull or toilsome or clergy-like. It could be that people are already burned out from church work and hate the thought of committing to do even more. So I feel somewhat apprehensive as our fair approaches.

Here’s what I would like to see. I would like you to discover your passion, harness it, and use it for God in Christ’s church right in Kalkaska. Do what excites you! Allow God to use you. We’re not looking to just fill holes here; Peter says that we’re building “a spiritual house” using “living stones.” Come be a “bricklayer” with us. Find what interests you. See where your spiritual gifts lie. (There’s a test on the church website) Do what you love to do – just do it for God!