P. Mark's Blog http://sardisswansea.org/blog Comments About Life In Christ Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:56:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 en We Are Redeemed http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/04/23/we-are-redeemed/ http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/04/23/we-are-redeemed/#comments Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:53:27 +0000 Administrator http://sardisswansea.org/blog/?p=73 A couple of weeks ago we studied Ephesians 1:7-8. We talked about how getting our minds around the fact that we are redeemed (bought out of slavery to sin) by the blood of Jesus Christ would change the way we lived our everyday lives. I was challenged by our study because I often find myself just living life instead of living life in light of redemption. To help us understand how redemption really changes lives, I asked every Christian in church to list a couple of sins on a yellow sticky that God had redeemed them from and put the sticky in a box. There were 118 responses. I’ve listed many of those responses below.

Abortion - 2
Alcohol @ Drugs - 27
Sexual Sin - 14
Emotional Sin - 40
Sins of the tongue - 18
Laziness - 2

The list above ought to bring resounding praise to our lips because of our redemption from these sins. Praise God from whom all blessing flow!!!!!! Take a minute and respond to this blog with a praise for what God has redeemed you from. I want to be first…

- Praise God for redeeming me from pornography.

]]> http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/04/23/we-are-redeemed/feed/ Thinking About Easter http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/03/29/thinking-about-easter/ http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/03/29/thinking-about-easter/#comments Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:26:35 +0000 Administrator http://sardisswansea.org/blog/?p=69 As I have spent some time preparing for various Easter ministry opportunities I began to see very clearly how much Jesus Christ’s resurrection changed the lives of His followers. I’m not talking about a little change. I am talking about a drastic whole worldview change in just a matter of a few minutes. Think about it. You have spent considerable amount of time with a man like no one you have ever met before. You’ve watched him heal the sick, feed thousands of people, control the weather, confound world and religious leaders with authoritative teaching, and show you love like you’ve never known before. You actually begin to believe he is God’s Son and that He is going to become the King your people have been waiting for for hundreds of years. Then, he is murdered right before your eyes. You begin to doubt everything you thought about him. Was he really what you thought he was? How could he be if he just let himself be killed! He didn’t even try to defend himself!
But, three days later you see him. He is not dead! How? You saw him die! But, you see the wound’s and you hear his voice. You even touch him. He is alive! He is risen! He is God!

This scene played itself out over and over in the days that followed Jesus’ death and every person who experienced it was drastically changed. In fact, many of those who lived to see Jesus’ resurrection also died talking about their risen Savior. Throughout the years thousands of people’s lives have changed because they have met the risen Savior.

Let me ask you a question. How has your life been changed?

]]> http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/03/29/thinking-about-easter/feed/ Boy, Am I Mad http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/03/18/boy-am-i-mad/ http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/03/18/boy-am-i-mad/#comments Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:35:01 +0000 Administrator http://sardisswansea.org/blog/?p=67 Have you ever been so upset about something that you just can’t get it off of your mind? Have you ever felt your heart breaking and at the same time you are so upset you just can’t forget about the reason you are so upset? Well, If you have you know what I am feeling right now. I AM REALLY UPSET in case you hadn’t figured it out yet.

Kathy and I were watching television the other night when one of those documentary news programs came on. They were doing a show on the human sex trade that is raking in billions of dollars a year. The topic itself is enough to make a person get sick to their stomach. Kidnapping and selling people to be used for nothing more than sexual pleasure makes me mad and breaks my heart. However, it doesn’t stop with just the idea that this actually happens a lot more often than any of us would like to think. It is the age of the young girls and boys that are being sold by their parents or kidnapped for this despicable trade that is strangling my heart with grief. Children are trapped in the sex trade as young as SEVEN years old, SEVEN YEARS OLD! They haven’t even had time to be a child and look at the world with eyes of innocence. The news documentary had video of a nine year old girl telling the camera man that he would not be sorry if he spent time with her. Guess what, Kathy couldn’t take it any more. She said she couldn’t stand to watch it any longer. We turned the TV to a different channel.

I’ve been thinking about turning the channel since that night. Kathy and I did nothing wrong by turning the channel. Our hearts were broken. But, I began to wonder how many people who saw that show just turned the channel and a blind eye to this billion dollar industry that exploits innocent children. I don’t want to be one of those people. I am not sure what I can do, but I want to do something. I do know where to start and that is to consistently pray for God’s intervention. I also am refusing to become despondent over this evil. My God is in control, He has a plan, He loves these children, and He will avenge the innocent (Rom. 10:19). Praise God that each person who has sold a child, pimped a child, or abused a child in this industry will stand one day before my God. That is one meeting I do not want to miss.

Will you pray with me for these children? If you want to know how you can help the link below may give you some ideas.

http://dianascimone.typepad.com/diana_scimone/2009/01/43-things-you-can-do-to-stop-child-trafficking.html

]]> http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/03/18/boy-am-i-mad/feed/ Wilderness Praying: Part 2 http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/03/10/wilderness-praying-part-2/ http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/03/10/wilderness-praying-part-2/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:44:42 +0000 Administrator http://sardisswansea.org/blog/?p=59 I just published this weeks blog less than a minute ago when I realized I didn’t continue the Wilderness Praying blog from last week. I figured I’d better not leave you all hanging. I finished last week’s blog like this…”By the way, if you are thinking you don’t have time to pray in the wilderness hold that thought until next week’s blog.” I closed the blog in that way because the number one reason people give me for not having wilderness praying as part of their lives is because they don’t have time. However, as you probably have guessed, that is usually not the case. Yes, we are very busy. Yes, we already have to many irons in the fire, but what I have come to realize is that we are not any more busy than Jesus Christ was. Let me encourage you to grab a Bible and look at chapters 4 and 5 of Luke. Take a piece of paper and write down all the things our Savior was involved in. List all the things that He accomplished in those two chapters. Then ask yourself, am I really any busier than Jesus? Most of us would have to answer, “no.” Let me draw your attention back to Luke 5:16 again. In the midst of Jesus’ very busy life what did He make time to do?

We all need to learn to pray in the wilderness. We don’t have to do do this once a week or even once a month, but we do need to make it part of our lives. Let me encourage you to make a wilderness prayer date sometime in the next month. Then commit to doing it once a quarter in 2010. Yes, we are busy, but that is when being with our Father in focused prayer the most.

Have a great day,
P. Mark

]]> http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/03/10/wilderness-praying-part-2/feed/ Puppy Wisdom http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/03/10/puppy-wisdom/ http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/03/10/puppy-wisdom/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:38:38 +0000 Administrator http://sardisswansea.org/blog/?p=53 Most of you know that Kathy and I have a puppy in our home. She was a Christmas gift from my daughter Kelly. Her antics have caused us much laughter and frustrations over the last few months. One thing that has really stood out to me as I have watched her become part of our family is her natural tendency to copy whatever our other dog Emma does. She is like Emma’s shadow. If we call Emma, Anny comes also. If Emma runs, Anny runs, even if she doesn’t have a clue why she is running. If Emma lays down, so does Anny. It has been real easy to train Anny because she learns by copying Emma. Why does Anny do this? Because dogs are pack animals.

Its surprising how much we are just like Anny. God designed us to be part of a group, a pack. And like Anny, we will begin become like the pack we most associate with. Let me say that again, the people we will end up copying are the people who are our pack: the people we hang out with most. God understood this and warned us about the importance of picking the right pack to be a part of. Look at the following passages:

1Cor. 15:33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Prov. 22:24-25 ¶ Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared.

The warning is very clear. We become like the people we hang out with. Now its time to be honest with yourself. Who is your pack? Who influences your life the most? Just because you go to church or are a member of a church doesn’t mean the other members of the church are your pack. If your pack doesn’t consist of people who help you become more like Christ, then you need to get a new pack. This may be difficult, but it is worth the effort. It easier to live the Christian life when your pack is living for Christ.

P. Mark

]]> http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/03/10/puppy-wisdom/feed/ Wilderness Praying http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/03/04/wilderness-praying/ http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/03/04/wilderness-praying/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:37:44 +0000 Administrator http://sardisswansea.org/blog/?p=38 I’ve recently been studying Jesus’ prayer life for our Wed. night prayer service. Luke 5:16 really captured my attention. Luke records, “But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.” When I read this verse, a Wilderness Leadership Training trip I took a number of years ago came to mind. For five days eight of us went into the Alaskan wilderness to learn how to become better leaders. It was quite a trip. We carried just enough food to get us through the five days. We hiked and canoed for 75 miles during that five days. It was a challenge physically, mentally, and spiritually. The most difficult day for me was the solo day. We were required, after a very hard day before, to spend 8 hours by ourselves with God. We were not allowed to have any contact with anyone. It was just me, the bugs, and God. It drove me nuts! I wanted to be extra spiritual and have this great time with the Lord, but I found it difficult to focus. I became bored and restless. What did I learn during my solitude in the wilderness? I needed to cultivate my ability to spend long periods of time with God by myself without other outside stimulation. Why, because my Savior thought it was important to have these extended periods of time with His Father, our Father. Many times in the Gospels we find Jesus spend long periods of time with His Father all by Himself in places we could classify as “the wilderness.” Luke 5:16 is just one of them. Guess what, I still haven’t learned how to do this well. In fact I have not spent any time in the wilderness with God since my Alaskan trip. I am planning on changing that in 2010.

How about you? How is your wilderness praying? Do you think you would struggle like I did? Why? By the way, if you are thinking you don’t have time to pray in the wilderness hold that thought until next week’s blog.

P. Mark

]]> http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2010/03/04/wilderness-praying/feed/ Making A Difference http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2009/12/18/making-a-difference/ http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2009/12/18/making-a-difference/#comments Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:28:43 +0000 Administrator http://sardisswansea.org/blog/?p=35 I was watching “Nightly News with Brian Williams the other night. He has been running a series of stories titled “Making A Difference” for a number of weeks now. These stories are great! They tell of ordinary people who have done extraordinary things for others in their community. There are children who raise money to provide blankets for the homeless. There is a mother who kept buying mittens only to give them away to those who had none. There are restaurant owners who give away hundreds of meals for those who have lost their jobs. There are….etc. etc. etc. If you go to the Nightly News website you can spend hours watching people help other people in need. As I thought about this I realized that even though these acts of kindness are wonderful and help many people, most every act on that website is temporary. They bring relief and comfort for a little while and then life moves on. I realized that the only way for me to truly “Make A Difference” in people’s lives is to introduce them to Jesus Christ. He is the only permanent answer to life’s difficulties.

Let me ask you a question, what are we going to do in 2010 to make an eternal difference in the lives of people who are facing difficult times in Swansea and the surrounding communities? I believe that we need to help with earthly needs that come our way, but I also believe that we need to be more concerned about the spiritual needs of every person we come in contact with. What can Sardis do to really “Make A Difference” in our community? Will you help me find ways to “Make A Difference” in Swansea? If we work, pray, and dream together, I believe that there will be people at the end of 2010 who will be able to say, “Thank you for helping me find Jesus Christ as my Savior. My life is eternally different than it was before.” I want to “Make A Difference,” how about you?

]]> http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2009/12/18/making-a-difference/feed/ The Race http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2009/12/08/the-race/ http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2009/12/08/the-race/#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:07:28 +0000 Administrator http://sardisswansea.org/blog/?p=31 Lexi was nervous as she lined up on the starting line for her second State Cross-Country meet. She was so scared that she was shaking. I pulled her of the line and told her that she had a job to do. She had a race to run that required all her focus and attention. Her fear about the outcome would hinder the outcome. Just do the job you trained all season to do and let the future take care of itself. She understood and began to focus on the task at hand. Anyone looking at her could tell she had shifted her focus. Just a few minutes later she was going up the last hill of the race. It was the second time up this large hill and she looked at me with panic in her eyes. She said, “Coach, I’m not sure I can make it.” I said, “Do your job.” Lexi did her job. She finished third in the race and was selected to the All-State Team. She had finished tenth the year before.

Our walk with Christ is very similar. We have a job to do as children of the Most High God. The job isn’t always pleasant and often very difficult. We get tired and are not even sure we can finish the “race set before us.” Have you ever felt like that? I know I have. We often go to passages like Philippians 4:13 that teach us we can do all things through Christ. However, it still feels as if we are alone. I think this happens because we forget that God uses other brothers and sisters in Christ to help us through those difficult times in life’s race to the finish. God allows Christ to work through us through others in Christ. Remember Lexi’s race? She had help running that race. Who was that help, me. As her coach I was able to help her focus on the race set before her when she was fearful. I was able to help her finish it during the difficult part of the race when she didn’t think she could do it.

Let me ask you a question. Who do you have in your life that can help you focus on the important things of your daily walk with Christ? Who do you have who will be honest enough to clearly tell you that you have a job to do? We all need these kind of mature godly people in our lives. I know I do. If you already have someone like this in your life, make sure you thank God for them. You might even want to take them out to lunch to say, “thank you”. If you don’t have anyone in your life like that, then pray that God would help you find one and begin to look around. God will provide someone to help you run the race that He has set before you.

Its time for me to run (yes, I thought that was clever),
P. Mark

]]> http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2009/12/08/the-race/feed/ Walking Together http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2009/11/05/walking-together/ http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2009/11/05/walking-together/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:52:53 +0000 Administrator http://sardisswansea.org/blog/?p=29 Most every evening Kathy and I take a long walk together. Its become such a family tradition that our dog Emma goes nuts when she hears the dishes being put away because she knows she gets to go also. I’ve been doing some study in Ephesians and Paul brings up the theme of walking quite often. As I was thinking about what Paul was teaching I realized that the walks Kathy and I take are not all the same. Sometimes we talk about the future. Sometimes we share struggles. Sometimes we argue. And sometimes its just quiet as we each reflect on life. However, even though the walks are different, I realized that we are always walking together. Did you get my point? We are together. We seem to always choose to walk together. Our walk with God is similar. No matter what went on in your life walk with God today, did you choose to walk with Him? Here are some walking passages to reflect on: Gen. 3:8; 22:6ff; 14:29; Deut. 6:7; 8:6; Ps. 1:2; 23:4; John 8:12; Rom. 6:4; 2 Cor. 5:7; Eph. 2:10; 5:8; Phil. 3:17-18; 1 John 1:6-7, and many others. I hope you have a great day. I can’t wait to walk with my wife tonight.

]]> http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2009/11/05/walking-together/feed/ What Should I Do?????? http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2009/11/02/what-should-i-do/ http://sardisswansea.org/blog/2009/11/02/what-should-i-do/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:36:46 +0000 Administrator http://sardisswansea.org/blog/?p=27 This week is going to be a very busy week. We are getting ready to move to Swansea, SC and begin a new chapter of our lives. I just received some info that is going to add a lot of stress to this week. : ) I just found out that SCS is playing the Razorbacks. I’m not sure who to root for! I still live in AR, but I am moving to SC. Hmmmmmmmm, what should I do?

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