FALL in Love
About a month ago, Matt and Rachael Nylin moved to Colorado. We worked tirelessly trying to pack everything on the moving van but unfortunately we were unable to get it all. Two weeks ago, Rachael texted me and let me know that they had two Cracker Barrel rocking chairs in their garage that we could have if we wanted them. We have wanted some rocking chairs on our front porch for a while, and so we took them up on their offer. Last Friday, with the help of my oldest son, I painted them black and now they are on our porch just in time for Fall.
Monday morning after getting lunches made and two of the boys off to school, I got a cup of coffee and my Bible and spent a little time reading on the front porch. The weather was magnificent. The sun had not come up yet, and there was a slight cool breeze blowing through the trees. The hot coffee and the cool breeze were quite a combination. I love Fall. By this time of the year, I have grown very tired of the hot weather, and I am ready for a cool down. Fall in north Georgia is unlike anywhere I have ever been. Soon the leaves will begin to change soon and I will be in hog heaven. I have fallen back in love with the season.
The changing of seasons reminds me of how we too, often change our focus on loving Christ. As often as the weather changes, we tend to change our commitment to Christ. There are seasons of busyness, seasons of laziness, seasons of apathy, seasons of passion, seasons of mediocrity, and seasons of sold out love. Where are you right now? Where are we as a church right now? Where are we as a worship ministry right now?
To be a Christian is to first of all Love the Lord Jesus Christ. “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with Him (John 14:23).” The church of Ephesus in the book of Revelation is an example to us of what will happen if we lose our first love. The Ephesians’ passion and love for Christ had become cold and mechanical in the doing of good things. What they were doing was not wrong, but they were simply going through the motions without love. Christ wants us to love Him and for that to be the driving force behind our service to Him. Our service should be an outpouring of our Love for Christ. So what happens if we continue to serve God without a passionate love? The Bible is very clear when Jesus said He will “come and take your lampstand from its place-unless you repent (Rev. 2:5).” If we continue to just go through the motions without a passionate love for Christ, He will bring an end to us. He will not stop loving us, but He will stop using us. Therefore, let’s put away our apathetic attitudes and fall in love with Jesus Christ once again. I want Christ to see me serving Him out of love not out of obligation. I want my life, our church and our worship ministry to fall in love with Christ all over again. If we do, there is no telling what God will do through us!
Falling in Love with Christ Again,
Aaron Hodges
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
FALL CLEANING!
Fall Cleaning
Lead me to the cross where Your love poured out.
Bring me to my knees Lord I lay me down.
Rid me of myself I belong to You.
Lead me, lead me to the cross.
You can verify with my wife, I hate cleaning! But there are a few times a year that it just seems appropriate to get into certain areas in your home or office and do a deep cleaning. Last weekend at our home, Malia wanted me to clean out the basement. We needed to relocate a few things there for the kids and get it clean enough for them to play downstairs. Once you get into cleaning it seems like the mess just keeps growing, but in the end, the area is clean again and you can enjoy it. The kids are in the basement more and having a great time.
We seem to be in one of those cleaning moods here at the church as well. From classrooms, to closets, everything is being slowly cleaned. No church that I have ever been a part of has enough room for all the “stuff” that is accumulated over the many years of ministry. Just like it is at your home, it is even more true at church when you start cleaning, you start finding stuff and filth that has been hidden for years. You have a choice at that point; you can either relocate the junk or get rid of it. Too often in church, we tend to just relocate stuff and save the mess for someone else at a later time. The same thing happens in our own personal lives. We can either relocate the sin in our lives, deal with it another day or we can get rid of it by placing it at the feet of Jesus.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Thy presence;
And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of my salvation;
And uphold me with a willing spirit.
Psalm 51:10-12
Psalm 51 was written by David when the prophet Nathan went to him after he had entered into sin with Bathsheba. When David first sinned with Bathsheba, he did not clean himself of his sin against her and God; instead, he decided to clean out anyone who stood in his way. When Nathan, the prophet, confronted him concerning his sin, he was made to deal with his sin head on. He begged God for mercy and asked forgiveness for his sins. He was pleading with God for a clean heart so that he could once again have joy. It is easy to sit back and say “shame on David”, and put ourselves on a pedestal of never going to that level. But if we really look hard into our own lives, we will find areas of sin that need to be confessed and cleansed by God. It’s time to do a little fall cleaning, and clear out the cobwebs of sin in our lives. In doing so, the Lord will bring back to us the joy we once had in our salvation.
With a broken and contrite heart,
Aaron Hodges
Lead me to the cross where Your love poured out.
Bring me to my knees Lord I lay me down.
Rid me of myself I belong to You.
Lead me, lead me to the cross.
You can verify with my wife, I hate cleaning! But there are a few times a year that it just seems appropriate to get into certain areas in your home or office and do a deep cleaning. Last weekend at our home, Malia wanted me to clean out the basement. We needed to relocate a few things there for the kids and get it clean enough for them to play downstairs. Once you get into cleaning it seems like the mess just keeps growing, but in the end, the area is clean again and you can enjoy it. The kids are in the basement more and having a great time.
We seem to be in one of those cleaning moods here at the church as well. From classrooms, to closets, everything is being slowly cleaned. No church that I have ever been a part of has enough room for all the “stuff” that is accumulated over the many years of ministry. Just like it is at your home, it is even more true at church when you start cleaning, you start finding stuff and filth that has been hidden for years. You have a choice at that point; you can either relocate the junk or get rid of it. Too often in church, we tend to just relocate stuff and save the mess for someone else at a later time. The same thing happens in our own personal lives. We can either relocate the sin in our lives, deal with it another day or we can get rid of it by placing it at the feet of Jesus.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Thy presence;
And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of my salvation;
And uphold me with a willing spirit.
Psalm 51:10-12
Psalm 51 was written by David when the prophet Nathan went to him after he had entered into sin with Bathsheba. When David first sinned with Bathsheba, he did not clean himself of his sin against her and God; instead, he decided to clean out anyone who stood in his way. When Nathan, the prophet, confronted him concerning his sin, he was made to deal with his sin head on. He begged God for mercy and asked forgiveness for his sins. He was pleading with God for a clean heart so that he could once again have joy. It is easy to sit back and say “shame on David”, and put ourselves on a pedestal of never going to that level. But if we really look hard into our own lives, we will find areas of sin that need to be confessed and cleansed by God. It’s time to do a little fall cleaning, and clear out the cobwebs of sin in our lives. In doing so, the Lord will bring back to us the joy we once had in our salvation.
With a broken and contrite heart,
Aaron Hodges
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!
Every morning, afternoon and evening, I hear a very common phrase from my two year old daughter’s mouth -“I want milk.” She doesn’t say it just once, but she continues to say it until that desire is satisfied. Nutritionists tell us that we are what we eat. Now I don’t know how literally you want to take that, or interpret it, but literally it could mean that if you eat a fish sandwich, well, then you are a fish sandwich. And if you eat a steak, then walking down the street, you’re a steak. We know that this is not what is meant by this statement. But what we eat and inwardly digest does become a part of us. One of the best illustrations of this is drinking water. We drink water for many reasons. Our bodies are made up of water, and our blood is comprised of it. Therefore, we need to drink water so that the composition of our bodies remains as it should. Thus, the water becomes a part of our bodies, and we are what we eat.
Many people have seen this within the physical realm, but have failed to see it within the spiritual realm. They have failed to see- whether they’re saved or unsaved- that in our world, continually feeding upon violence, excitement, materialism and money, will eventually allow these things to personify them; they will become those things. They will become what they eat. The things you inwardly digest, you begin to look like.
So for what should we hunger and thirst? Jesus made this very clear in the Sermon on the Mount. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6).” The verse does not stop with “blessed are those who hunger and thirst,” because we all hunger and thirst. In fact, right now I hunger and thirst for lunch! No, that’s not what Jesus is talking about. Instead, Jesus tells us to hunger and thirst for righteousness. What is this righteousness? “It is the desire for righteousness to prevail, goodness to prevail in my life and in my heart and in the world. It is a thirst, an increasing, amplified thirst after the sense and the need of God in my life. It is seeking, it is following hard after God’s will in your life, for God to be the centre of your life, the centre of your motives, your activities, your purposes, your family, and your work-everything-for God to have everything and be in everything (Copyright 1999 by Pastor David Legge, Preachtheword.com).”
In the final part of verse 6, Christ promises that if we hunger and thirst after righteousness, we will be filled. What does that mean? Well, to be satisfied is to be filled. I believe this filling Jesus talks about is an insatiable filling. This filling with righteousness from the Lord Jesus Christ is something that once you have experienced it, the more you hunger after it. Unless we have this filling from Christ, we are never truly satisfied. The righteousness of Christ is so wonderful that we continue to want more and more of it. The more we get of Christ, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, the more we want! It’s like Pringles- ‘once you pop, you can’t stop’!
Are you Hungry?
Aaron Hodges
Every morning, afternoon and evening, I hear a very common phrase from my two year old daughter’s mouth -“I want milk.” She doesn’t say it just once, but she continues to say it until that desire is satisfied. Nutritionists tell us that we are what we eat. Now I don’t know how literally you want to take that, or interpret it, but literally it could mean that if you eat a fish sandwich, well, then you are a fish sandwich. And if you eat a steak, then walking down the street, you’re a steak. We know that this is not what is meant by this statement. But what we eat and inwardly digest does become a part of us. One of the best illustrations of this is drinking water. We drink water for many reasons. Our bodies are made up of water, and our blood is comprised of it. Therefore, we need to drink water so that the composition of our bodies remains as it should. Thus, the water becomes a part of our bodies, and we are what we eat.
Many people have seen this within the physical realm, but have failed to see it within the spiritual realm. They have failed to see- whether they’re saved or unsaved- that in our world, continually feeding upon violence, excitement, materialism and money, will eventually allow these things to personify them; they will become those things. They will become what they eat. The things you inwardly digest, you begin to look like.
So for what should we hunger and thirst? Jesus made this very clear in the Sermon on the Mount. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6).” The verse does not stop with “blessed are those who hunger and thirst,” because we all hunger and thirst. In fact, right now I hunger and thirst for lunch! No, that’s not what Jesus is talking about. Instead, Jesus tells us to hunger and thirst for righteousness. What is this righteousness? “It is the desire for righteousness to prevail, goodness to prevail in my life and in my heart and in the world. It is a thirst, an increasing, amplified thirst after the sense and the need of God in my life. It is seeking, it is following hard after God’s will in your life, for God to be the centre of your life, the centre of your motives, your activities, your purposes, your family, and your work-everything-for God to have everything and be in everything (Copyright 1999 by Pastor David Legge, Preachtheword.com).”
In the final part of verse 6, Christ promises that if we hunger and thirst after righteousness, we will be filled. What does that mean? Well, to be satisfied is to be filled. I believe this filling Jesus talks about is an insatiable filling. This filling with righteousness from the Lord Jesus Christ is something that once you have experienced it, the more you hunger after it. Unless we have this filling from Christ, we are never truly satisfied. The righteousness of Christ is so wonderful that we continue to want more and more of it. The more we get of Christ, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, the more we want! It’s like Pringles- ‘once you pop, you can’t stop’!
Are you Hungry?
Aaron Hodges
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
A SHOWER IS COMING!
A Shower Is Coming!
Then He also said to the multitudes,
“Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west,
immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is.
And when you see the south wind blow, you say,
‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. Hypocrites!
You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth,
but how is it you do not discern the time?
Luke 12:54-56
You may think it strange, but one of my favorite channels on the television is the Weather Channel. I have access to the Weather Channel on my phone and my iPod. I am always looking to that channel to determine what the day will hold. Is it going to rain? Is it going to be hot again? Is it going to cool down? What will the humidity for the day be? Do I wear short sleeves or long sleeves? I love looking into the sky and trying to figure out what is going to happen. In fact, I can sometimes figure it out better than the weather man! I have become good at it because I have spent some time studying and watching the signs. Last night, as the President was speaking, I started thinking about the signs all around us that point to the end times. It would have been easy to just listen and not think about the implications of a speech like that, but it really got me thinking not about what he was saying, but about what it will be like to never have wars or conflicts. The signs are all around us.
In the passage in Luke 12, Christ rebuked the multitude for being so concerned with heavenly signs that they could not even interpret the signs of the times around them. As primitive as their method of predicting weather was, their ability to discern spiritual matters was even worse. They had the long-promised and long-awaited Messiah in their midst and still refused to acknowledge Him. Are we similar? Yes, I think so. We are so good at figuring out the complex things of life, but sometimes we simply miss what God is trying to show us in the simple things. God doesn’t want to make His will for us a complex problem. He is standing right in front of us to offer so many blessings. Following Jesus may cost us something, but it should not be difficult. Showers of blessings are awaiting you, if you will only pay attention and grasp them.
Looking out for my shower of blessing,
Aaron Hodges
Then He also said to the multitudes,
“Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west,
immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is.
And when you see the south wind blow, you say,
‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. Hypocrites!
You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth,
but how is it you do not discern the time?
Luke 12:54-56
You may think it strange, but one of my favorite channels on the television is the Weather Channel. I have access to the Weather Channel on my phone and my iPod. I am always looking to that channel to determine what the day will hold. Is it going to rain? Is it going to be hot again? Is it going to cool down? What will the humidity for the day be? Do I wear short sleeves or long sleeves? I love looking into the sky and trying to figure out what is going to happen. In fact, I can sometimes figure it out better than the weather man! I have become good at it because I have spent some time studying and watching the signs. Last night, as the President was speaking, I started thinking about the signs all around us that point to the end times. It would have been easy to just listen and not think about the implications of a speech like that, but it really got me thinking not about what he was saying, but about what it will be like to never have wars or conflicts. The signs are all around us.
In the passage in Luke 12, Christ rebuked the multitude for being so concerned with heavenly signs that they could not even interpret the signs of the times around them. As primitive as their method of predicting weather was, their ability to discern spiritual matters was even worse. They had the long-promised and long-awaited Messiah in their midst and still refused to acknowledge Him. Are we similar? Yes, I think so. We are so good at figuring out the complex things of life, but sometimes we simply miss what God is trying to show us in the simple things. God doesn’t want to make His will for us a complex problem. He is standing right in front of us to offer so many blessings. Following Jesus may cost us something, but it should not be difficult. Showers of blessings are awaiting you, if you will only pay attention and grasp them.
Looking out for my shower of blessing,
Aaron Hodges
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