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Hope

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on September 16, 2010 by pastoralb

Hi all! I hope that life is treating you well as we head toward autumn.

I recently heard a sermon on Ezekiel 37:1-14. This is the passage on the valley of dry bones. It really struck me because there are times when we are down and out and feel like there is no way to get out of the rut we are in. We look up and may see a glimmer of light, but can’t seem to crawl up to where the light is coming in from. This can be the case in life, in business, or in both.

In this passage, Ezekiel sees all of this desolation in the wasteland before him. He is walking on bones and as they crunch under his feet, it had to have looked like all hope was lost. God, however, had other plans. He asked Ezekiel if he thought those dry bones could live again and Ezekiel replied that only God knew. Are there areas where you look and can only seem to see dry bones with no hope of success or revitalization?

God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones and he did. The bones came together and were covered in flesh. He then told Ezekiel to prophesy again and life entered them and they came to life – “a vast army”. God promises then that he will bring life back to His people and that they too will live again. It’s important that we remember this promise as we start to let life get the best of us and feel despair.

Another key factor, I think, is that rather than God bringing these bones to life of his own volition, he told Ezekiel to first prophesy to the bones. We can see examples of this throughout the Bible and throughout life. Rather than pulling the Hebrews out of Egypt, he told Moses to go get them. Rather than bringing down the walls of Jericho, he had Joshua march around them. Although God is certainly capable of miracles, they almost always start with us.

Whether we are praying for ourselves or for someone else, we have to remember this – God works through us. If we are his hands and feet as the body of believers, we have a responsibility to DO the Word so that what we hope for can come to fruition. So, if you think that things can’t improve, get on your knees and pray, then get up and through the grace of God, make it happen! Remember, the getting up part is the key and no matter what things look like around us He has the final say over the outcome!

Just a thought . . .

B

* The majority of First Step Ministries funding comes from wedding services. If you are getting married in the Chicagoland area and need a wedding minister, you can find us at www.ministerforrent.com .

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Prayer

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on August 23, 2010 by pastoralb

One of the unfortunate parts of being a pastor is that not only do you have the blessing or “marrying ’em”, but sometimes you also have to “bury ’em”. About one year ago I married a couple at their beautiful condominium in Chicago. Almost a year to the date, the groom fell to his death from his balcony this past Thursday.

Did he fall? Did he jump? We will never know. Perhaps his business was not doing well and the stresses of life got to him. Maybe it really was just a freak accident. Either way, let this be a reminder to us that beyond God’s Word, there is no rule book for life. There is no where that it is written that a man cannot die only a year after getting married and having a two year old son.

Let us all remember to live life one day at a time praising God for our blessings along the way. Love and laugh with your family and friends as if you will not get another day with them – because we never know when that may be the truth.

Please pray for his wife Marta, his son Maximillian, and his family.

B

First Step Ministries

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Time to Rise!

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , on July 6, 2010 by pastoralb

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” – Galatians 6:9-10

As Christians, we have a promise that God will provide and that we will have lives that are full and abundant. It is time to claim those blessings as business owners and professionals and to make our lives and businesses the best that they can be. It is time to have lives free of mediocrity and despair. It is time to succeed and to show the world that we have attained what we have because of the blessings of God!

As Paul said to the Galatians, we are to do good. We have a great opportunity to do good for our communities, our children, our neighbors, and the generations that will come after us through our businesses. This is especially true for fellow believers, and we should therefore help our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ by patronizing each other’s businesses and providing valuable information and support for one another. These are the missions of the Christian Business Society.

Many of us are in a slump. We have dreams that seem miles away because we have pushed them aside as a result of the economy or just fear of failure. Let me tell you now friends that it is time to get back up and lay claim to the blessing that He has promised us! DO NOT go through life wondering what might have been. Take the gifts that God has given you and do something amazing. You will be forever glad that you did. Remember, “At the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

As a pastor, as a fellow Christian, as a friend, it is my commitment to see that you get there . . .

Pastor B

*First Step Ministries is funded in part by weddings. If you need a wedding minister in the Chicago or northern Illinois area, see our site at www.ministerforrent.com.

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Where are We?

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on June 16, 2010 by pastoralb

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24

I finally got some R&R this past week. I spent some time in Japan just relaxing with my kids. While I was there, we went to see the Vienna boys choir. It was very nice, but it got me thinking (as most things do). What happens to these boys once they hit puberty and their voices change? Do they go on to join other notable choirs or are they pretty much finished? What kind of lives do they go on to live?

Paul talks about races quite a bit throughout the New Testament. All of us have been given a race to run and a prize to win at the end of that race. How many of us know what that prize is? Do we know how far we have come and where the finish line is? Are we even running any more or have we just given up settling for a life of mediocrity?

Let’s all take a good assessment of ourselves so that we can answer the question: Where are we? After all, if we don’t even know where we are in the race, how do we know how far we have to go? If you aren’t sure what you should be running toward, take some time to get reset and reenergized. Then, be sure to get started at what ever it is. Sometimes the most important thing is starting. Let’s get back on the track and start running!

Just a thought . . .

Pastor B

*First Step Ministries is funded in part by weddings. If you need a wedding minister in the Chicago or northern Illinois area, see our site at www.ministerforrent.com.

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You Can’t Keep A Good Person Down

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , on May 7, 2010 by pastoralb

Occasionally, we have dreams that are so vivid and surreal that they stay in our minds all day and often disturb us. I had such a dream last night. To make a long story short, in the dream, my five year old son had died and I only discovered it when I found him in the casket. This weird dream haunted me all day and made me think of the parallel worlds that were witnessing the death of another son. Just as many planets in the universe revolve around different suns, so the entire universe is centered around this one Son. God must have looked down upon his son and felt a terrible pain in his heart as he bore the sins of the world on that day at Calvary. At the same time, his earthly mother was watching as the son whom she had given birth to about 30 years before was being mocked, beaten, and nailed to a wooden cross. I can only imagine how both “sets of parents” must have felt at the suffering their son was enduring.

Before you start to think (or maybe it’s too late) that I am writing a sad or macabre message, let me get to the point. The death and suffering, thank God, are not the end of the story. Imagine also the elation that Mary must have felt when she saw her son that she had watched die – walking and well three days later! Imagine the rejoicing there must have been in Heaven when the angels saw that Christ was alive.

I often wonder what happened in that tomb. Did Jesus just open his eyes, sit up, stretch, and walk out? Did angels appear in the tomb and gather around his body and pour life back into him? Did the Father himself come down into that tomb and cradle His son until he opened his eyes? We will not know until we see our Lord face to face, but what is important for now is the fact that he DID get up and walk out of that tomb.

So what does that mean for us? There are the obvious theological ramifications such as defeating death and sin and killing the “old Adam”, giving birth to the “new Adam” so that our eternal life is sealed. But, this also means that no matter how bad a situation seems, there is always hope for a happy ending. No matter what we are enduring now, whether it is a personal matter that is weighing us down or a business that is lagging or just not taking off, we know that there is STILL HOPE. If our body is ailing and we can’t seem to get better, there is STILL HOPE. Don’t think for a second that you are defeated, because as we have seen throughout history and our own individual lives, the story isn’t over until HE says it is. So, hang in there because the dividends of your faith are right around the corner! It’s the third day, the son (sun) is rising, and don’t look now, but that stone in front of the tomb is starting to move!

*First Step Ministries is funded in part by weddings. If you need a wedding minister in the Chicago or northern Illinois area, see our site at www.ministerforrent.com.

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Perception Through The Eyes of God

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on April 29, 2010 by pastoralb

Let’s imagine for a moment that we could see the world like God does. I often imagine him sitting from his place on high looking down on us and seeing the commotion and hearing the cacophony throughout the week. Then, on Sunday as we gather to worship, our voices join together in a swell of harmony. Different churches singing different hymns and praise songs all flowing together to create a beautiful chorus in which all of the voices seem to be in one accord.

Everything that we see in this world, we see with our own eyes – both spiritually and physically. Events and objects are what we deem them based upon that perception, although in reality, they are so much more and so different in God’s eyes.

One example that I think illustrates this well is the story of the young boy and his father. The boy was always asking his father to play catch with him and finally one day the father conceded after always complaining that he was too busy. At the end of the day, both the father and the son wrote in their own diaries. The father wrote: “I didn’t get anything accomplished today. I wasted the day playing catch and got no work done. Nothing special to report.” The boy’s diary, on the other hand, read like this: “Today daddy played catch with me for the first time! It was awesome! This had to have been the best day ever!”

Amazing isn’t it? The exact same event, yet it was viewed so differently by two different people. What about in our lives? Are there times when we can’t see the forest for the trees because we are putting our own slant on the situation? It is like the time in Luke 7:36-50 when Jesus was having dinner at Simon the Pharisee’s house and a prostitute came and poured expensive perfume on his feet and kissed them. Not only did Simon think that she was wasting the perfume, but he was shocked that Jesus would let such a sinner touch him. Jesus quickly set him straight and helped him see it from the true perspective that not only would her forgiveness be so much more profound, but that he hadn’t even offered water for Jesus feet.

In business and in life we are faced with many situations and events where we are forced to make judgments. In some cases, we make judgments when we are not even invited to. In either event, we must always remember that there are two sides to every coin. Let’s pray that we see things more clearly through the eyes of the One who gave us eyes to see.

I want to send you all off with these words from Paul hoping that they will bless you and help you have a fulfilling rest of the week:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

* First Step Ministries is funded in part by weddings. If you need a minister to do your wedding in the Chicago area, please see our site at www.ministerforrent.com

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The Responsibility of Grace

Posted in Uncategorized on April 17, 2010 by pastoralb

As I was reading through the Wall Street Journal, I came across a very disturbing picture. A young man who couldn’t have been more than 22 or so, was carrying his four year old son’s casket. The child had been beaten by his mother’s boyfriend and left for dead. My heart was torn when I saw that small casket and I thought to my self that NO parent should ever have to carry their child’s casket.

There is so much depravity and sin in this world that can only be cured through grace. In Romans, Paul said that although death through sin was brough in to the world through one man (Adam), so much moreso was grace brought in to overflow to the many through the one man (Jesus). As Christians, we are the ones left with a responsibility to share this grace. Imagine if the man who beat that poor child to death would have had his heart touched by someone in a positive way or would have been taught respect for others at a young age. What if his parents were Christians, but felt that they should let him learn about life on his own?

Imagine all of the terrible things that happen in this world and if the perpetrators would have known grace and love. How much evil and sin in this world could be avoided that way? Don’t ever underestimate the power of our words and actions on other people. Don’t ever underestimate the importance of teaching morals at a young age. As troubling a thought as it is, we never know when the child in the casket or the man in the prison may be our own. Let’s take our resonsibility to heart and do what we can to make this world a better place.

Just a thought,

B

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You Raise Me Up

Posted in Uncategorized on April 12, 2010 by pastoralb

On Friday I attended a Selah concert. If you have never seen or heard Selah, you really need to! Some of the songs they sing are “You Raise Me Up”, “You Are My Hiding Place”, and “Amazing Grace”, just to name a few. As they were singing, it occurred to me how much we try to fix ourselves before going to the Lord.

We often forget that before we could see, we were blind, before we were found, we were lost, and before we could stand, we were stuck in the depths of sin. None of these things were a result of our own doing, but rather because God picked us up.

God meets us where we are. If we try to make ourselves more righteous or more loveable before going to Him for help, we will never get there. Instead, we need to let Him help us as we are so that we can rise above our sin and our troubles, giving us a real chance at life and happiness. So, whether we are trying to get somewhere with our businesses, struggling with sin, or just trying to be better people, how about letting Him do what only He can do?

It’s not because we are good that he loves us. It’s not because we are strong that we succeed. It’s not because we are perfect that we rise above what we have to overcome in life. Instad, he takes us just as we are and carries us when we need it – warts and all. That, my friends, is what makes grace so amazing.

Just a thought . . .

Brandyn

* First Step Ministries, NFP is funded in part by weddings performed by Pastor B. 100% of wedding fees go to the ministry to help people in our communities. If you are getting married and need a wedding minister or wedding officiant, check us out at www.ministerforrent.com .

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Failure

Posted in Uncategorized on March 25, 2010 by pastoralb

All of us have tried something at one point or another where we felt like we had fallen short. We were unable to get to that point that we had imagined in our minds. It may have been something tangible or some number or figure. Maybe it was something that we were trying to quit and just couldn’t quite get there.

Regardless of what goals we have set that we have not brough to fruition – we always feel that we have failed when not getting to the point where we want to be. This is not necessarily accurate, though. Consider Thomas Edison. He supposedly “failed” 10,000 times when trying to make a light bulb. However, we do have light bulbs today – don’t we? So did he really fail? I believe it is as he said himself: “I haven’t failed – I’ve found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” This shows that if we still keep trying and eventually succeed, then we have never failed.

So, this begs the question: When do we fail? If trying and eventually succeeding, falling and getting back up, means that we haven’t failed, then failure apparently can only come when we give up – don’t you think? If you have been trying to do something and you are convinced that it is in tandem with God’s will, then don’t give up! You WILL succeed and all of the little hiccups along the way were not failures. They were merely learning experiences on a long and fruitful journey to success.

See you at the finish line!

Pastor B

* First Step Ministries, NFP is funded in part by weddings performed by Pastor B. 100% of wedding fees go to the ministry to help people in our communities. If you are getting married and need a wedding minister or wedding officiant, check us out at www.ministerforrent.com .

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Stepping Out of the Boat

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , on March 5, 2010 by pastoralb

Do you ever feel like you are running around and chasing shadows? Like you are so busy you can’t stand it, but you never seem to really achieve anything? Do you have something that you know you need to do or a long time goal that you really want to achieve, but somehow are afraid to try? When we feel this way, (we ALL do at one point or another) we need to stop and restructure.

Making such a change and getting organized in all aspects of life takes faith and courage. It is at these times when we need to turn our eyes to Jesus and find what I spoke of in a previous post – the point of origin. It will help to bring us back to reality, so to speak, and help us regain structure and courage in our lives to do what we want and need to.

Think of Peter in Matthew 14. He sees Jesus walking toward him on the water in the midst of a storm and he is frightened. This is us in the chaos of our lives as we try to be all things to all people and still leave a little for ourselves and achieve our goals. Then Peter asks Jesus to invite him out on the water if it is Him. Jesus does so and with a huge leap of courage, he steps out on to the water. When, however, he takes his eyes off of Jesus and starts to have doubt, he begins to sink. He looks around at the mess and fury around him and begins to panic. If we stay focused on the bad, then we will only feel negativity and despair about our circumstances.

Do you have something that you want or need to do, but can’t seem to find the courage or the structure? It may be something in business, or maybe just a relationship that needs mending in your personal life. Think about that stormy night with Peter. When Jesus got into the boat with the disciples, the storm ceased. If we have Jesus in our boat with us, our storms will cease also. Turn your eyes to the only One who can give you the peace and courage to do what you need to and take that step out of the boat. I promise you won’t sink and you’ll be glad you did.

Just a thought . . .

B

* First Step Ministries, NFP is funded in part by weddings performed by Pastor B. 100% of wedding fees go to the ministry to help people in our communities. If you are getting married and need a wedding minister or wedding officiant, check us out at www.ministerforrent.com .

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