MIDWEEK MESSAGE #148
Hello and welcome to Midweek Message #148. I know this is somewhat of a crazy week for some of you so I thank you for taking the time to read this issue.
I said this week is crazy. It is Spring Break week around here and that means “Travel!” I told Jo Saturday evening there would be a lot of folks gone Sunday. I wasn’t wrong. There are a lot of people who get “out of Dodge” whenever the opportunity hits. I expected it but am so grateful for the folks who stay home and make OVCF their destination on Sunday morning. I also had some folks tell me they would be watching the live stream. Several weeks ago I said and will repeat it again: I am so glad we have the live stream. That is just one example of something good coming out of something that was not so good (COVID). Thanks again to everyone involved in making the live stream happen each week.
I have been so appreciative of the men who have taken on the somewhat uncomfortable task (for them) of giving our Communion thought over the past month or so. So far the men who have stepped up and shared their thoughts and hearts have been Bobby Anderson, Robert Herrington, Bruce Davis, Steve Pendleton, Charlie Shipley, Brad Brinson and Joe Pavich. After this past Sunday we are half way through the list of men who have volunteered to give the Communion thought. I will share the rest of them when the current list ends on April 30th. Each one of them have approached it differently and with great feeling. They have shared their thoughts and hearts with us. It is good to see the men step forward. I hope you have taken the time to let them know of your appreciation.
Please be praying for all our students, educators, administrators and staff as they celebrate Spring Break! Every teacher and administrator I have spoken with has been looking forward to having the week off. To all of you who are part of OVCF: have a safe, relaxing and enjoyable week.
I’ve always said that God has a sense of humor. I might think He is leading me down a certain path and then…oops…change happens. Sometimes my “hearing” is not always the best and sometimes I “hear” Him loud and clear. For several months I have been telling you that I will be taking a break from the series on Revelation for the months of March and April and focus on To and From the Cross. Then beginning in May I would return to Revelation. That was true…until Thursday of this past week. It began as a little blip on my radar and has become a full-blown storm. I simply could not shake this idea, this feeling that I am supposed to go in a different direction in May. As I prayed and thought about it some more, it became a more definite “do this” from God. So I am delaying getting back to the series on Revelation to do a series on fear and anxiety. They seem to be “kissing cousins” and both are running rampant through our society and through some of the lives I come in contact with. At this juncture, my series title will be Faith Over Fear. My main scripture will be Philippians 4. At this point, after this series is done, I will dive back into Revelation. To make it even more challenging is that I have already started planning and working on the Revelation series and have the first four sermons started (Rev. 6-8:13). But when God says, “This is the direction I want you to go in” the last thing I, or anyone wants to do is to go against that directive. We will eventually get back to Revelation…I promise. ☺
In last week’s MM, I mentioned I had another quote to share with you but would save it. It comes from an Alisa Childers podcast I was listening to where she was interviewing Amy Davison who was one day away from becoming a witch in the Wiccan movement. (You have to be actively involved in Wiccan for one year before you can become a witch). One day away and she knew something was not right. She and Alisa were talking about feelings being the driving motivation for so many today. Then she gave this quote which came from a book called Mama Bear Apologetics: “Feelings are a great check engine light but a terrible GPS.”
I’ve preached often about feelings and how they play an important part of our Christian walk…both good and bad. It is good, and it is necessary, to have emotions. After all, happy, sad, laughter, tears, anger, and others are part of our DNA. To deny them is not honesty. An emotionless person is a…well…a sad person. That’s not an emotional sad, but a person devoid of emotion is more like a robot.
On the other hand, some people are way too emotional. Emotions run their life and often decisions are made that are not always the best.
Neither one is good. Nor is it good to have your emotions run your Christian walk. Do you remember the lyrics to the song “You Light Up My Life” from the 70s (1977 to be exact) sung by Debby Boone? Part of the lyrics were “It can’t be wrong; it feels so right.” Put that in scenarios. “It can’t be wrong to have this illicit relationship because it feels so right.” “It can’t be wrong to take this drug because it makes me feel so good.”
Feelings can be, and mostly are, deceptive. Subjectivism is dangerous. People who rely on the “reality” of subjectivism forget the objectivism of faith. The truth of the Bible takes a back seat to our feelings. “Hell can’t be real because God is love and wouldn’t condemn anyone,” for example. “Surely this relationship can’t be wrong since it makes me feel good and God would not want anything less for me.” Truth takes a back seat.
Don’t allow subjective feelings to override the truth of God’s Word. Feelings are good, a must to have. But to be directed and led by them is dangerous. Feelings will lead us down the wrong path; only truth will set us free.
Pastor Bill
