My Day Today

Hey Everyone,

Mondays have become my day to take care of the office by myself. The recent resignation of our secretary means that once a week I get to be in the office by myself for a whole work day. Let me tell you about my day today.

I got to the office and I worked on creating a database for our congregational volunteer survey. While I was doing this a couple from our congregation stopped by and we visited for several minutes. After the couple left a lady looking for some help with her utility bill dropped by and after that I put in a service call regrading out Internet at work (or lack there of). I came home and spent some time with April and then fixed dinner for us. April and I then spent the rest of the evening together just watching TV.

You may read this and think a couple of things. You may think it is pretty boring sounding to work on a database all day. You might wonder how I was able to get anything done with interruptions. Here is what I think about my day.

I think I am blessed to work in a congregation where the eldership blesses me with opportunities to stretch myself in so many ways. I think it is great when a couple who has been married for a number of years and have raised Godly children come to visit me and share their knowledge. I think that cooking dinner for the woman I love and who is carrying our child is one of the greatest blessings I could have ever asked for.

Friends, I think we get caught up in our days and we forget that each day is a gift and a blessing from God. Sure, we have problems, we have things in our life that are difficult but if we didn't have those then we would not realize how blessed we are. I would just like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who bless me on a daily basis. You may not even realize that you are a blessing to me but you are. I don't have too much to say I just wanted to say thanks.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

God Never Asks Us To Give More Than We Have

Good Morning Everyone,

When was the last time you took a look at Acts Chapter 3:1-10? Acts 3:1-10 tells the story of Peter and John healing a crippled beggar. My favorite part of the story is the statement that Peter makes in Acts 3:6...

"The Peter said 'Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give to you.'" Acts 3:6a

The reason I enjoy this part of the story so much is because Peter gave all that he had to this man. Peter did not have worldly riches or fame but he did have the gift of healing from God. Peter used his gift from God and gave all he had to this man. Peter demonstrates to us an extremely Biblical point, the point is that God will never ask us to give more than we have.

All too often in my work I hear Christians say that they cannot help do something for one reason or another. Maybe their house isn't big enough to have people over, maybe they are not talented enough to teach a Bible class or maybe they feel they don't have enough money to give in the weekly collection. I believe that God never asks us give more than we have. Let me share two places where I believe this point is true.

The first one is teaching. I hear people say all of the time that they are not good teachers. God doesn't ask for us to be the most eloquent or inventive teacher, he simply calls on us to teach. You can teach in so many different ways. Find the way you are most comfortable with and give that back to God.

The second area is giving. I know economic times are difficult but that doesn't mean that God wants us to stop giving to his Church. The money that you put into the plate every week supports the work of the congregation you attend. More than that, think of the example you set for your children every week. What does it teach them when you begin to stop contributing? Once again, God doesn't ask you to give more than you have, what he does ask is that you give out of your income.

I hope that you will think about what God wants you to give and the best way you can give it. There is room for everyone in Christianity. There is a place for you in the Kingdom. God wants you to give but not more than you have. I hope you are blessed today because of these words.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Hospitality

Hey Everyone,

Remember when you were growing up and you were always over at your friend's house? For me it was my friend David. We were always in each other's homes. Whether it was playing video games, a game of catch or using the pool we were always together. We didn't know it at the time but we were practicing hospitality. Just this evening we were blessed to go to the home of our friend's Kevin and Laura Odom to help them celebrate a birthday for one of their children. The world would probably be a better place if more people practiced hospitality.

It seems, like so many things, that hospitality is one of those things you do when you are younger but as you get older you begin to do less and less. Maybe it is because we work too much, or because we are overly committed in some other aspect of our lives or maybe we just don't feel like inviting anyone over. For whatever reason it seems that we are in each other's homes less and less.

As I think about hospitality I think about the Biblical character of Lydia (if you would like to learn more about her click on her name). Lydia was a convert to Christianity who dealt in purple fabric. In the First Century if you were a dealer of purple fabric then that meant you were pretty well off. Lydia was very hospitable. She invited Paul, Timothy and Silas into her home only after knowing them a very short time. She shared what God had blessed her with for the glory of God, and that is the real lesson for us.

Think of the people you work and worship with. You see them quite often, but, when was the last time you invited them to your home for a meal? I am convicted that I need to be more hospitable in my own life and I hope that maybe you are thinking the same way. Let's share what God has blessed us with to bless others. I hope you are all as blessed for reading this blog as I am for knowing all of you!!

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Potential

Hey Everyone,

Do you ever think about potential? Potential is one of those words you dread hearing as a teenager, that's because it is usually being yelled at you while you are watching TV. Potential is one of those things that I think about a lot because of the nature of my work. I decided to try to educate myself a little bit about potential, so I did what I generally do when I want to learn more about a word, I went to the dictionary. The dictionary defines potential in this way.

po·ten·tial

/pəˈtɛnʃəl/ Show Spelled[puh-ten-shuhl]

–adjective

1.

possible, as opposed to actual: the potential uses of nuclear energy.

2.

capable of being or becoming: a potential danger to safety.

It is the second definition which I would like to talk about a little today, this idea of what we can be become. I am blessed with the opportunity to work with hundreds of teenagers every summer at youth camps and area youth gatherings. Something amazing happens every summer, and when I say every summer I mean every summer. The thing that happens is that you see young men and women going above and beyond their comfort zones every year. The young man who would not ever lead singing will step up and lead a song in a time or worship, the young lady who is scared to talk to anyone makes lifelong friendships with the girl in her cabin and the friend who has come with one of your youth group members sees that their life in conflict with God's will and yields their life to Christ through the water grave of baptism. I would never want to trivialize any of this, but, what it all comes down to is living up to potential.

Let me explain. Nothing supernatural occurred for that young man to lead that song, the little girl who was shy didn't drink a magic potion that made her outgoing and the young person that gives their life to Christ was not possessed by some force that made them yield their life to Christ. What happened to all of these teens is that they were simply put into an environment that encouraged qualities that were already present in their lives, and that environment was filled with people who encouraged the development of those qualities.

Thinking about all of this makes me wonder what our world would be like if we all lived up to our potential. What if, like these teenagers, we took advantage of the qualities that God has already placed in us and lived up to our potential? I believe our world would be a better place. More than that I believe we would look a whole lot more like Christ if we strived to live up to our potential. Consider for a moment what the Apostle Paul said.

2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (New International Version)
⁷But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. ¹²So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

What that translates into in my mind is living up to potential. Those of us that are Christians have this treasure within us, but it is our decision on if, how and when we decide to use it. More than that we have to get past the attitude that "someone else will do it". One of the greatest killers of potential is the idea that someone else is going to do whatever it is that you are challenged with. If we live our lives content with allowing someone else to always do what is needed then we are definitely not living up to our potential.

Teenagers often times get the bad rap of not living up to their potential. I don't deny that teenagers don't always live up to their potential but I would also say that teenagers learn that attitude from somewhere. I propose that teenagers have learned that from us as adults. They have learned it from the salesman who is really meant to be a teacher, the teacher who was meant to be a poet and the housewife who is sitting on the next great American novel.

As you read these words today I challenge you to not be content to not live up to your potential. I challenge you to look at your life and see what your potential could be, simply put, don't be afraid to dream. Take a lesson from that young man at camp who never lead a song before but took a chance. Take a page from the book of the little shy girl who came home with a new group of friends. Think like the friend that a youth group member came and decide to start living your life for Christ. Maybe you need put yourself in an environment that will foster this growth and your potential, maybe you need to leave an environment that is stifling you. To All of you who read my thoughts are such a blessing to me. I hope that I have been a blessing to you today.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Diffusing Hostile Situations

Hey Everyone,

 
 

Yesterday I left you right in the middle of 1 Samuel 25 where David was charging into a hostile situation. As I mentioned yesterday I don't often share sermons in this forum but my good friend Tracey reminded me that the sermon I shared with you yesterday was a two-parter. The conflict between David and Nabal makes a good story but if you leave out Nabal's wife Abigail you miss the rest of the story. Take a look at what Abigail did in this story

1 Samuel 25:18-35
 ¹⁸ Abigail lost no time. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. ¹⁹ Then she told her servants, "Go on ahead; I'll follow you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal. ²⁰ As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David and his men descending toward her, and she met them. ²¹ David had just said, "It's been useless—all my watching over this fellow's property in the desert so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good. ²² May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!" ²³ When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. ²⁴ She fell at his feet and said: "My lord, let the blame be on me alone. Please let your servant speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. ²⁵ May my lord pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name is Fool, and folly goes with him. But as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my master sent. ²⁶ "Now since the LORD has kept you, my master, from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, may your enemies and all who intend to harm my master be like Nabal. ²⁷ And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my master, be given to the men who follow you. ²⁸ Please forgive your servant's offense, for the LORD will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my master, because he fights the LORD's battles. Let no wrongdoing be found in you as long as you live. ²⁹ Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my master will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the LORD your God. But the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. ³⁰ When the LORD has done for my master every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him leader over Israel, ³¹ my master will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the LORD has brought my master success, remember your servant." ³² David said to Abigail, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. ³³ May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. ³⁴ Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak." ³⁵ Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said, "Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request."

 
 

Abigail reminds me a lot of my sister Melissa. Most of you know I am the youngest of three children. I have a brother David who is seven years older than I am and a sister Melissa who is fourteen years older than I am. Growing up my family always had a suburban that was my Dad's vehicle. My assigned seat in the car was on the driver's side in the back seat, my brother was on the opposite side and my sister had the singular honor of sitting between us. Her job was diffuse hostile situations between my brother and I. Abigail didn't want to see bloodshed so she decided to diffuse the hostile situation between Nabal and David.

As I see it Abigail did three things correctly. I believe these three things are easily duplicated and applicable to us today. For the remainder of this blog I wish to share those three things with you.

This first things she did was to assess the situation. She took a hard look at what her husband had done and what David was planning to do and quickly decided on a course of action. Jesus said it this way to his disciples.

Matthew 10:16-17

¹⁶I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.  ¹⁷"Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues.

The Apostle Paul said it this way…

1 Corinthians 16:13 
 ¹³Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.

Both of these statements add up to being able to sum up a situation and deal with it.

The second thing that Abigail did correctly was that she chose her words carefully. A misspoken or poorly phrased word can mean the difference between a peaceful resolution and a fight. When I was a child my mouth got me into a lot of trouble and most of the time it was a combination of what I was saying and they way I was saying it. Listen to what King Solomon said.

Proverbs 15:1

 ¹ A gentle answer turns away wrath,
       but a harsh word stirs up anger

Think about this the next time you find yourself in a hostile situation. When it would be easy to make a smart remark or a sarcastic comment, think about the words you are saying and the way you are saying them. If they are words that would anger you if someone said them to you then don't say them. If you can do this you are well on your way to diffusing a hostile situation.

 

The third thing that Abigail did right was to realize that actions speak louder than words. In our modern day and times things have not changed. Actions still speak louder than words. Even carefully chosen words mean much more when backed up with actions. Jesus understood this and wanted his followers to understand it as well.

Matthew 5:38-41 

 ³⁸"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'³⁹But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

 

    Jesus definitely knew that there was a need for words to backed up by actions and he demonstrates this to us in his words and in his actions by giving his life on the cross.

 

All of these things can be summed up by the words of Christ from the Sermon on the Mount.

 

Matthew 5:9 

 ⁹Blessed are the peacemakers,
      for they will be called sons of God.

 

    I challenge all of you to be peacemakers. When a situation arises in your life that could be hostile don't run from it but look for ways to help diffuse it and meet it head on to bring glory to God. I hope you are all as blessed from reading these thoughts as I am blessed by all of you.

 

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul

 

 

 
 

 
 

Put On Your Sword

Hey Everyone,

I don't usually share sermons that I have preached in this forum for a couple of reasons. First, I think there are much more seasoned ministers out there that you could listen to. Secondly, I feel that I come across much better live than I do in print. I am making an exception to that rule today because there were some things in a recent sermon I preached that I feel might be beneficial to the world at large. Please keep in mind this is not the entire sermon but merely a summary of a sermon.

July gave me the opportunity to do quite a bit of preaching. In my career as a minister I have never preached three out of four Sundays in a month. One Sunday I preached a lesson out of

1 Samuel 25. In this passage King David sends his compliments to Nabal hoping that Nabal will respond in kind. Nabal's response to David's compliments was to make fun of him and question his motives. David's response when he heard of this was to tell his men to put on their swords. If you haven't read 1 Samuel 25 in awhile go back and give it a look.

What caught my eye when reading through this passage was that David was a man of action. When it got back to him that Nabal had disrespected him he didn't take a poll about what to do, he went out and did what needed to be done. In our society we have become very leery of doing the right thing because we are afraid that public opinion might be offended. There are three areas where, I believe, as Christians we need to do a better job of being action oriented and put on our swords. In the remainder of this blog I want to share those thoughts with you. As always I welcome comments and look forward to hearing from you.

The first area is dealing with interpersonal disagreements. If you have lived on the planet Earth very long you have had a disagreement with someone. The problem is that we do not deal with those disagreements very well. Scripture talks about how we should handle such things.

Ephesians 4:25-27
²⁵Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ²⁶"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷and do not give the devil a foothold.

Matthew 18:15-17
¹⁵"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. ¹⁶But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

I’m not sure how anyone can look at these two passages and allow hatred for an individual to grow in their heart.

The second area I wish to look at is stepping up to challenges. It seems that more and more people are becoming scared to step up to challenges. Whether it is at work, at home or at Church it seems that we are always looking for someone else to step up to the challenge. God didn’t want his people to act this way.

Colossians 3:22-24
²²Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. ²³Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, ²⁴since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

If we approached life like this scripture tells us to I believe our attitudes would be better and in doing this we will glorify God.

Another area in which we as Christians could improve is sharing out faith. How many times have you been with a friend who is not a believer and the opportunity to share your faith has come up? How many times have you actually done it? Please let me say that ministers are not immune to this fear. There have been many times when I have had a chance to share my faith and allowed it to pass me by. This was not God’s intention for his People.

2 Timothy 1:7-8
⁷For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. ⁸So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,

2 Timothy 4:2
²Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

All of the scriptures I used are as true today as they were when they were written thousands of years ago. Where we need to be like David and put on our swords is to put these scriptures into action. If you have a problem with someone then go talk to them, if there is a challenge put in front of you then step up and do it and by all means if you have a chance to share your faith then do it.

I hope all of you are as blessed by these words as much as all of you bless me.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul

Late night thoughts

Hey Everyone,

It's almost midnight and I am up watching "Aliens" on Spike TV while I wait for a pot of beans to cool so I can put them in the refrigerator. I guess as fatherhood approaches I should get used to these late night hours. As I am sitting here I begin to ponder a thought that waxes on the spiritual side of things.

Last week the teenagers I work with were challenged from God's word in 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. For those of you not familiar with that passage I encourage you to go look it up because there are some great lessons there. The long and short of it is Paul challenging the Corinthian congregations of the Lord's Church to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ. I challenged my students to think of one person who who needs to give their life to Jesus in baptism or someone who needs to recommit their lives to Christ. More than that I challenged them to write the name of that person down and begin praying for that person daily. It is my hope that myself and the teens will hold one another accountable in this.

In keeping with this idea I started to think about people in scripture who were ambassadors. The first one who came to my mind was Ananias in Acts Chapter 9. For those of you who don't know who Ananias is, he is the ambassador that God sent to Saul to help convert him. As I put my thoughts for class together these are some of the questions I came up with.

Was Saul doing something wrong?
Is it difficult to stop doing something wrong that you have thought was right?
What does it usually take to make us stop doing something wrong?
Who is the Ananias in your life?
Will you be Ananias for someone?

As I come to a close I would ask you to think on these things. Too much of the time we talk about Christianity but we never put that talk into action. I challenge you to begin challenging your thinking. If you want to get some dialogue going on these questions feel free to drop me a line at pmcartwright82@gmail.com and I would be happy to talk with you. I hope you are as blessed by these thoughts as I am by all of you.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

p.s. Any of the scriptures I have mentioned can be found by clicking on the reference. I made them links to an online Bible

Times Are Changing

Hey Everybody,

It's been a long time since I have written. Life has been busy and it looks as if it won't be slowing down anytime soon. Today I did something I have never done before. I went with April and took maternity pictures. It was a great experience!!! Our good friend Laura Odom is an amazing photographer and made the experience a lot of fun.

People keep on asking me if I am ready to become a father, and for a long time I really struggled with an answer. I have read books, listened to advice, observed fathers I love and respect and my answer is this. I am as ready as I possibly can be, but I am not going into this new chapter in my life with any preconceived notions. I know life is going to be different and I am going to remain flexible. I look forward to becoming a Daddy and I want to share with all of you our first Cartwright family portrait.

On another note of change my good friend Ryan Parsons recently graduated from the Center For Advanced Ministry Training at Harding University. Congratulations to Ryan on this milestone accomplishment. Ryan has begun a 365 day video blog that is , to say the least, entertaining. To access this vlog click on Ryan's name above.

I'm going to try to blog more about life and the experiences of a new Daddy. Stay tuned for further updates. I hope you are all as blessed by this blog as much as I am blessed by all of you.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul