Thoughts for Today

Forgiveness was the word of the day at United Wesleyan on Sunday morning. I really believe that God did His work as several released their "Judas" to the Lord and walked away without the burden of bitterness and un-forgiveness. It was awesome to see and to hear even later in the day how releasing their "Judas" to God has given victory and peace. We explored the fact that Judas betrayed Jesus in such as way that it eventually put Him on the cross. Even on the cross, it was Jesus that said: "Father, forgive them, because they don't know what they are doing." Now, I will admit that many of our Judas' know exactly what they are doing at the moment, but perhaps they are deceived and even ignorant to what they are doing to themselves spiritually. I really love what Buddy Hackett said about forgiveness: "I never hold grudges, because while I am stressing about what they did to me, they are out there somewhere dancing!" I also love the s

Yesterday was a beautiful day and a great day for Easter worship. God continues to show us here at United Wesleyan that He is leading and blessing our congregation. A full parking lot is a good problem to have in the life of the church and that is what we were dealing with on Sunday.  However, the highlight of the morning for me was when I asked the congregation a question: "What was the signature dance of your generation?" Wow, you should have heard the answers! Carolina shag, Funky chicken, Duggie, Wobble, Macarena just to name a few! I threw in the only dance that I knew, The Hokey Pokey!  We realized that all these dances have something in common: The participant must constantly change directions! Do you realize this is what Peter said during the first sermon after the Day of Pentecost? When asked what they must do, Peter said: "Repent (change directions) in the Name of Jesus Christ!" I am praying that many people at worship services all around the world chan

John  19:23–24: When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, “They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” So this is what the soldiers did. My question this morning is what in the world made these soldiers do what they did at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ? At the time when Jesus was giving up his life so that normal people like you and I can have a way for the forgiveness of our sins and eventually spend eternity in heaven, these men were gambling to see who would walk away with a prize: The seamless garment that Jesus was wearing. BEING TO FAMILIAR? Perhaps these soldiers were so familiar with crucifixions that it no longer moved