Life Long Friends

One of our awesome sixth graders had a cool article for the blog that I thought I'd pass along to all of you.  Thanks, Adam!

When I moved to Chapel Hill Christian School I expected the first day would be hard, not knowing any of my peers. What I didn’t expect was that after that day, I was accepted by others with a kind word here and there.  Friendships started to grow both in and out of the classroom.

Having moved to and from many different schools, I expected the normal difficulties in building friendships.  I was concerned about being an outsider and not being accepted.  However, I was surprised that the other kids befriended me right away.

As I entered my second year, I challenged myself to be kind to the new students just like others had been kind to me the year before.  I knew how the new kids felt, and I didn’t want to just forget about them just because my friends were already set up.   They hadn’t abandoned me; and of course, I was reminded of the Scripture text from Luke 6:31, which says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Following through on building relationships, whether or not I really wanted to, has changed my life.  I now have friends that I will carry with me into the future.  But I’ve also learned that when God calls me out of my comfort zone into service in the lives of others, it allows Him to work in my life in special ways. 

The memories that these friends have created together through the past two years will be remembered far into the future.  As we move on to graduation from sixth grade and prepare for middle school, the things we’ve learned together, the conversations we’ve had and the experiences we’ve shared, like Michigan Trip, Medieval Fair and our service projects, will give us life-long companions.  

Teachers Got Da Joy

One of our awesome fifth graders at Chapel Hill Christian School has been talkin' with me about teaching.  Aaron is his name.  He has very high goals already set for his education and career.

One of his goals is to study Electrical Engineering and teach and serve through business in that area.  Wow! What fantastic goals Aaron!

So we started talkin' about what makes a good teacher.  Here's what we've decided:

• A good teacher knows his stuff.  Teachers should know and love their topic.

• A good teacher is humble about how he shares what he knows.

• A good teacher instructs with an "uprising hope" which allows his students to enjoy the learning.

• A good teacher is always patient; he takes time to make sure his students "get it" and doesn't become annoyed with them when they struggle.

• A good teacher has joy - God's JOY - and shares it with his students.

So these ideas got us to thinkin' about Jesus talkin' with His disciples right before He went to be with His Father in Heaven.  You know the verses, right?  They are there in John chapter 15.  

Here's what it says: I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  Who's joy? Jesus'!  What kind of joy? Perfect or complete joy!  Wow!

But what had Jesus told them that would bring this kind of joy?  Living in Him like a branch keeps living in a tree and obeying what He says gives us perfect JOY!

Super job, Aaron!  I think you're gonna be a great teacher!

Let's have a good prayer...

Dear Father in Heaven, we pray for our teachers at the end of this school year; give them joy.  And teach us all to have this wonderful fruit of Your Holy Spirit - JOY - as we serve you in the lives of others.  In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Proud of you,

Pastor Wilson 

More Business

Woops, forgot to publish this one from back in September 2012!

Today after running with some of our teachers, parents and friends in the Akron Marathon, I decided I'd cut the grass.  Yep, I was already sweaty and a bit dirty, so I figured, "Pretty good timing."

You remember from last year that I introduced you to my awesome Red Toro push mower with the big back tires and to Hoss my super big black dog.   Hoss came up, you remember, because when I cut the grass, I learned to pick up Hoss's very large "business" before I mow; so I don't shoot it all over the place with the Toro.

Well, today I tried to get the yard ultra clean before I mowed, and I was feeling pretty good about it.

By the way, I usually don't pick up the "business" in the winter, so this spring it took me quite a while.  In fact. it took so long I thought I'd work a math problem.  If Hoss does his business twice a day, and I hadn't picked up in November through April; then the first week of May I picked up a record of about 360 "businesses!"  Now that's a lot of business!

But let's get back on track.  Today I began mowing after doing "business pick up", and I noticed something strange - MORE "BUSINESS."  YES, that's right, hiding in the tall grass was as much business as I had already picked up.  And yes, right again, I had to pick up again!  I kept having to stop my Red Toro, get my plastic bag and go back to work.

And of course, it got me to thinkin'.  Do you remember the saying:  "God is not finished with me yet?"  Well, it's true.  He will continue to clean up our lives until we see Him face to face in Heaven.  

He wants all the "business", the stuff that creates more messes, out of my life, so that when I see Him I can stand before Him without blame and guilt.  The super cool thing is that He is gracious about how he removes this messy business.  He does it as He knows you and I can receive His cleansing.

Could you pray with me today and give God permission to continue to make you clean?

Lord Jesus, thank you for the truth that when we confess our sins, that you are faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  And thank you for doing that "pick up" right on time.  We give you permissions to continue the job!  In Your name and nature we pray, Amen.

Proud of you,
Pastor Wilson 

Steppin' Down

The first graders were practicing for their upcoming musical and Robbie was ready and standing high on the risers.  Enter Robbie’s little sister, Mia, a pre-kindergartner.  She had come to chapel and was greeting her big brother from the floor of the gym.  Would Robbie look away; would he give her a little nod from high atop the first grade risers?  Would he grant as much as a wave?

Nope!  Robbie stepped down.  He stepped off the risers and ran to Mia to greet her with a big hug.  The impact of that hit me like a ton of bricks.  Would I have stepped down for someone that I considered smaller (in whatever way)?  Would you?

This, of course, got me to thinkin'.  How far did Jesus step down when He took on human flesh?  Certainly, when He exhibited this degree of self-sacrifice the very glory of God shook heaven and earth.  

The Bible says, "And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. And we have seen His glory..."  Why did Robbie's step off the risers hit me hard?  I got a glimpse of the glory...the very presence of God.

Each time we selflessly reach out in Christ, we create a crack for God's glory to shine into whatever circumstance we find ourselves.  Ya know what? Without these cracks for God's glory things might look pretty dark and hopeless sometimes.

Hey Robbie, thanks for steppin' down!  You reminded me that God is real and that He's right here. Let's pray that we all might "step down" somehow today.

Lord Jesus, thank you for stepping out of the glory of Heaven to save me.  Help me, help each of us who know You today, to step into the lives of those You bring to us with kindness, love and forgiveness. We want to see Your glory, Lord, we really do!  In Your name we pray, Amen.

Proud of you,

Pastor Wilson

Stuck or Soaring

One of our awesome South Campus sixth graders took a couple of amazing risks I want to talk to you about.  Victoria (or Tori as we call her) went on a two day retreat with her classmates to Beulah Beach in Vermillion, Ohio at the beginning of this school year.

One of the first activities was to put on rubber boots and walk through the lagoon.  Our leader pointed out all the cool things that grow and live in a lagoon, as we pushed through high grass, cattails and all kinds of colorful undergrowth.

One problem: mud.  Just as we thought we were coming to the end of our journey on the nice dry path, we encountered calf-high mud for about 400 yards.  Tori put her foot down; and when she pulled it back up, her boot was nowhere to be found.  Yep, we were stuck in the mud.

Fortunately, Mr. Lamm and I located her boot by digging with our hands beneath the mirky water of the lagoon for a few minutes.   Tori steadied herself by leaning on us, while she was trying to keep her balance on one foot.  Boot back in place, we began moving step by step until we were finally back on dry land.  There was a while, however, when we didn't know if we'd make it or not! Whew!

Another of the cool activities on our retreat was called "zip line."  It was sort of the opposite of the lagoon walk.  It started by climbing a very tall ladder so that from that high perch, we were looking over the lagoon which was 100 feet below.  Strapped to a cable, we were supposed jump off the ladder, free fall for a couple seconds and then sail through the open air over the lagoon.  If everything works, we were supposed to land 100 yards away on the Lake Erie Beach.

Tori looked up at her friends free falling off the ladder and said, "I don't think so."  I found out that Mrs. Crocker is pretty good at talking people into things though; because the next thing I knew, Tori had a helmet on and was on top of the ladder getting ready to jump!  She thought about it a while and then suddenly leaped into mid air, soared over the lagoon and in seconds was caught by Mr. Barrett 100 yards away on the beach.  Awesome!

Tori's two big risks got me to thinkin'.  Sometimes in your friendship to Jesus you may feel like you are "stuck in the mud."  Yes, you may be going to church and Christian school.  You might even be memorizing your verses for class and your mid-week AWANA or Kid's Club program, but you don't seem to be getting anywhere fast.  It seems like the same old stuff over and over again.  When you feel this way, keep taking the next step, God will teach you amazing things when you keep moving ahead with Him by being faithful.

The next thing you know you'll be able to see the meaning of that time "in the mud."  God will let you understand it, as He gives you His thoughts about it.  Isaiah 55:9 says, "For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts are higher than your thoughts."  That's God talking!  He sees things from high on "His ladder"; He looks down on the "lagoons" of our life and can direct us through them and teach us what they mean.

Just like Tori took the risk to keep moving in the mud, you and I can ask God to teach us when we feel stuck.  Our school verse says, "But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.  They will soar high on wings like eagles... (Isaiah 40:31)."  And Isaiah finishes his great song in Isaiah 55 by saying, "You will live in joy and peace.  The mountains will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!  These events will bring great honor to the Lord's name; they will be an everlasting sign of His power and love."

Let's pray that back to Him, Okay?  Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the times of soaring high and the times of feeling stuck.  We know that You can use both these kinds of times to bring honor to Yourself through our lives.   Help us to understand Your thoughts, so we can look down on the "lagoons and eventually soar over them" with Your "joy and peace."  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Proud of you,
Pastor Wilson     

"In to Win"

Wow!  It's been a while since we've been here together.  I am returning with the goal of you and I visiting at least once a week about one of the remarkable things happening in the hallways, classrooms, chapels and athletic venues of Chapel Hill Christian School.

I am reminded this morning of a story I wanted to tell you way back in the spring of last year.  It's all about The Big Green Machine.  That's right - our South Campus Green Volleyball Team.  As I recall they "ran the table" last year.  That means they did not lose a game throughout the entire season.  No losses in the regular season - no losses in the tournament.

And yes, they were The Big Green Machine because their jerseys were green, their coaches wore green sweaters and bright green beads for bling, and the players painted their hair and faces green.  At the end of every game they victoriously slid on their knee pads like a wave of green under net to shake hands with their opponents.

But why were they so successful?  Why couldn't they be beaten? It was because they served the ball in bounds.  It seems so simple, but it's definitely the way to win volleyball games in our league.

Gabe served a bullet.  Chris served a knuckleball.  Aliah and Maddie served beautiful rainbows.  But then there was Robert.  Robert served a left-handed curveball that just when you thought it was coming to you, and you closed your eyes and braced yourself to dig it; it hit the player next to you right in the face.  They all "served it in."

It all got me to thinkin'!  When we stay within the lines of God's commands through His Word and by His Holy Spirit, there is God's protection, God's blessing and God's fruitfulness.  When we ignore Him we are setting the course of lives toward going out-of-bounds.

Psalm 1 talks about this: "his delight is in the Law of the Lord and on His Law he meditates day and night.  He will be like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither.  Whatever he does prospers."

That's what I want my life to look like - how about you?  A tree that is flowering and bearing fruit because I am planted by God and the instructions in His Word. 

When we live within these guidelines, it's just like "serving it in!"  And when we "serve it in", it's kinda like The Big Green Machine, we'll see victory after victory in our lives with the Lord!

Let's pray about that, OK?  Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your Word.  It gives us such good boundaries on how to live our lives.  Help everyone of us to live inside the safety and guidance of Your instructions.  We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.

Proud of you,
Pastor Wilson      

Blues Got The Joy

We've made it through another intramural volleyball season!

The Big Green Machine from our South Campus reigned victorious this year, and I will write to you about them shortly.

In the meanwhile, I'd like to tell you something I saw that has to do with the Blue Team.  The Blues had the JOY!

Now that's pretty interesting given that the Blues won a grand total of zero matches over the course of the season.  We're talkin' egg (Get it? An egg is sort of round and looks like a zero)!

How come they're happy, or even more, how'd they get the JOY?

It was the coaches.

Mr. Hank, Mr. Eric and Miss Mary knew that when the season started that they had very few players that could get a serve over the net.  They knew that only a couple of their team had much interest in the win-loss records of our intramural volleyball teams.  They knew that things more important than volleyball would have to become primary in order for their team to be successful.

They began to inject joy.  During one of their practices, I heard a loud commotion in the gym.  I got up to check it out.  What I found was coaches and kids laughing and playing hysterically together.  The coaches were shouting joy; they were assigning nicknames; and they were doing weird drills.  The kids were having a blast.  The players were bonding to these coaches, and the players were bonding to one another.

At their final match they came O SO CLOSE to winning!  But even in a close defeat in which they almost tasted numerical victory, they could look over at their coaches and receive "the joy." I call that a WIN!

Stuff like this always gets me to thinkin'.  I am reminded of John 15, you remember, the one about the Vine and the branches.  As long as the branches (that's us) remain in the Vine (that's Jesus), we will bear much fruit.  Apart from the Vine (that's Jesus) the branches (that's us) can do nothing.


As long as the Blues had the mindset and affirmation of those three coaches, they had the JOY.  


Jesus said, "If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father's commands and remain in His love.  I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."


I call that downright awesome!  Let's pray about it!  Dear Lord, thank You for providing Your complete joy and unconditional affirmation to us at all times.  And even when things are not going how we would like, we are so grateful that if we remain in You, we can show the fruit of Your Spirit to everyone who 's watching.  In Jesus' name, Amen


Proud of you,
Pastor Wilson 

In His Presence

There are times that I wish everyone could be there to see something that just a few of us get to see.

So it was a couple of Thursdays ago.  Some of you were there - about 40 singers from our South Campus, 3 young men from our North Campus, one teacher and a dozen chaperoning moms were on hand.

What happened?  Well, let me try to tell you, but let me warn you in advance - it might be one of those "I guess you had to be there" times.

Seventh and Eighth grade Chaplains from CVCA came to our South Campus to give a wonderful chapel.  Ian Yoder, a CHCS graduate, did much of the speaking.  Wow, we were sure proud of him!  Many of the students on the CVCA ministry team were CHCS graduates as well.  In the process we were invited to lead in a chapel for CVCA seventh and eighth graders.

The day arrived - Thursday, March 8th.  We loaded our Worship Team on the bus.  Now, our Worship Team doesn't consist of two singers, a guitar player, a guy on bass and a drummer.  No, we're sportin' a 40 voice choir with Mrs. Martin on the keyboard!

We arrived with about three minutes to spare, our kids mounted the risers in their matching uniforms and God, Himself, moved into the chapel.  "Blessed Be The Name" was first, and it was like they'd been doing this all their lives.  Then Ethan stepped to the mic and led us in "Open the Eyes of My Heart."   God was not only in the chapel, but now He was moving in the hearts of all of us.  A standing ovation erupted from the congregation.

Will and Hudson shared about Guatemala, by focusing on God's Word (which, by the way, "will not return void").  Then Sumara and Hailey sang in front of our group the great song, "I Know My Redeemer Lives."  Another standing ovation from the congregation.

Eric recited Psalm 15 from memory; and again, I was reminded that God's Word does not return void.  The message was simple: "Who Can Hang Out With God?" Eric had already said it, "Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts."

In a chapel that was focused on God's presence and God's Word, we experienced God's presence!

Well, I have continued to get e mails about what a blessing the time there at CVCA was for all who were in attendance.  Thanks to all who served in those moments so faithfully, so we could all know God more deeply.

Yep, wish all of you had been there.

Let's thank Him: Dear Heavenly Father, we asked You to help us honor You with our lives and ministry when You gave us opportunity to serve You.  Thank You for being so faithful in allowing us to be used by You for Your glory.  I pray this in the name and nature of Jesus, Amen.


Proud of you,
Pastor Wilson

"MissrPassr"

Our very awesome Preschoolers at Chapel Hill Christian School couldn't get much cooler!

Mrs. Jennings and Mrs. Truthan do such a remarkable job teaching these three and four year olds about Jesus.

Something I found out about these little guys is that they interact with me like I was just another kid in their class.  I like that.  They do this minus one distinguishing feature: they have given me a title.

They call me MissrPassr Wilson.  How do they arrive at this foreign language?  Well, they know I'm Mister Wilson because there is a Mrs. Wilson, my wife, who teaches pre-kindergarten.  And they know that I am a pastor.  When they hook it all together and leave out those difficult "Ts", it comes out "missrpassr."

The amazing thing is that this title has been issued to me on both north and south campuses in preschool and the preschoolers never interact between campuses.  I guess it's a preschool thing!

One morning I was standing in the hall and heard, "MissrPassr Wilson, MissrPassr Wilson!" When I could find no person attached to the call, I thought maybe I was beginning to hear voices!  I was finally able, however, to locate the caller after the third "MissrPassr Wilson!"  There sticking her head out from underneath the stall in the bathroom was one of our precious preschoolers just tryin' to make a little conversation, cuz' she heard my voice in the hallway.

So you know that this kinda thing, gets me to thinkin'!  


These little people want to show their respect, so they say "Missr."  They also want to show love, affection and identity, so they say "Passr."


It's the kind of relationship into which God invites us through Christ.  First, there must be a holy awe of God as our creator.  Hebrews 12:28-29 comes to mind, "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire."


And, through Jesus, God invites us into friendship, as well.  Remember Jesus talking with His disciples about "Vines and Branches," when He said, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his mater's business.  Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you."


If we have a "MissrPassr" in heaven, we ought to call out to Him from wherever we are and whenever we can.  These preschoolers are challenging us, aren't they?  If we hear God's voice, we ought to call back with reverence, awe and love to the One who loved us and gave Himself for us!


Let's pray about it!  Most Awesome and Holy Father, we want You to talk to us.  And when You do, we promise to listen and talk back.  Thank You for being our God and our Friend! In Jesus' name, Amen.


Proud of you,
MissrPassr Wilson

By Grace Through Faith

I don't know if you were there or not; but I was, and I was fairly well blown away.  "Where?" you ask.  At the performance of our first grade choir at the Green Campus.  You'll have to ask Mrs. Seacrest about the history, but somehow it became a tradition for our sixth graders and our first graders to sing and to put on a musical at Christmas.

The gym was packed with students and parents; and I was thinking, "These first graders are gonna be scared by all these people.  I don't know if they'll be able sing so the crowd will even hear them.  I'm not sure this is gonna work out!"

Silly me.

Not only did they sing, but they sang with enthusiasm and joy; and they filled the gym with music!  As I watched them I remembered that this was the class that had invited me to their picnic just last year when they were in kindergarten.  Two of the children that befriended me immediately when I started my new job were Grace and Faith from this class.

I located them in the choir and sure enough they were singing with mouths wide open, totally caught up in the message of Christmas.  Faith was singing so hard that she had her head thrown back and her hands placed firmly on her hips; I guess just to brace herself, so she didn't go backwards off the risers.  Amazing!

Many of us older types were wiping our eyes; you'll know why when you're our age.

It got me to thinkin' of a song and a Scripture.  Amazing Grace and Ephesians 2:8-9.


Yes, our girls Grace and Faith are Amazing, but even more Amazing is God's Grace that I can receive through Faith. 


 Get ready for a big word kids: REDEMPTION.  It means that God's free gift (His Grace) is to buy us back from being stuck in and stained by sin.  We receive the gift by believing, yes, trusting our lives to the person of Jesus as the One who bought this gift by His death and resurrection.


So Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by Grace you have been saved, through Faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."


Hey, Grace!  Hey Faith!  Thanks for the reminder!  


Dear Lord, thank you for first graders that sing with all their might about Your coming to earth in the person of Jesus.  We are grateful again this morning that you came to rescue us, "rob our sin and make us holy."  Give us Your full Faith in Your Amazing Grace!   In Jesus' name, Amen.


Proud of you,
Pastor Wilson   

Fixing Wheels

Over the fall I was watching Alexandra's dad walk through the parking lot.  He had a slight limp.  I asked him about his "wheels (meaning his leg)."  He said something like, "Torn ACL (hurt knee); gonna need surgery." I like a man that gets to the point with as few words as possible.

As we moved from fall to winter I noticed that the limp had moved from slight to fairly major.  And as he walked, I could tell by the look on his face that every step was pretty painful.  It was a good-sized task to walk from the car to the entryway of the school.  I hoped, as I watched, that he wouldn't slip on a slick place.   Yep, you guessed it; he'd had the surgery.  And now the walking was what would help him get better quicker.  Boy, was he determined!

We exchanged the normal pleasantries as he walked by with his precious pre-schooler on a few occasions.  Then one morning he stopped.  I could tell that all this walking on a stiff and painful "wheel" had got him to thinkin', but I wasn't quite ready for how deep that thinking had been.  He said something like, "It's amazing that when my knee was injured on the inside it looked normal on the outside.  But for it to be truly  healed, it needed to be cut open and repaired which caused a bunch of pain and a pretty good sized scar on the outside."


Wow!  Does that get you to thinkin', or what?! So, for example, sometimes our relationships look just fine on the outside, but there is something that's needs repaired between friends.  It takes the painful task of an apology and the granting of forgiveness for healing to take place.


Do you know who really understands this?  God.  God looked down at His creation and saw that they needed surgery so sin and its effects could be removed.  He did the most costly and painful thing possible!  John 3:16 says that He "so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son." God's gift of grace was very costly; it cost Jesus a very painful death, but Jesus purchased healing and eternal life for all who believe!


Our role is to receive His gift by faith in humility.  It may not be easy to admit we have the need for His forgiveness, but it is absolutely necessary in order for us to "fix the wheels" of our friendship with Him.


Let's thank God for His "unspeakable gift!"  Dear Lord, we are so deeply grateful that You paid such a high price for us.  Thank You for the healing and forgiveness that are ours through Your gift of love.  Help us, Lord, to constantly extend Your healing and forgiveness to others with a willing heart.  In Jesus' name, Amen.


Proud of you,
Pastor Wilson


  

Fully Charged

This is John; I am one of those sixth graders at Chapel Hill Christian School.  Pastor Wilson is letting me write in the blog today.

I really like music.  Country, rock, gospel - almost anything.  I have an I pod to hold this music, so I can listen to it.

The thing is this I pod is six years old, and it's almost as big as a computer (not quite, but you know what I mean).  This I pod can only play two songs before running out of power.  I have to constantly keep it in the charger, or it won't work.

Of course, my I pod got me to thinkin'.  Without a main source of power my I pod won't work.  That's like it is in our lives.  If we don't stay plugged into God, our lives will start to break down. 

John 15:4 says, "Remain in Me and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

We don't always stay close to God. We may think we can live without Him.  If we try life without Him, things will begin to fall apart.  Just like my I pod without a charger, we need God's power to keep our lives rockin' and to be a light for Christ!

Let's pray over it!  Dear Lord, please help us stay connected to You and learn to love You more deeply each day.  In Jesus' name, Amen. 

Tongue in Shoe Violation

I'll tell you where the action is.  Right outside my office at North Campus are the Preschool, Pre-K and Kindergarten bathrooms and drinking fountain.  The traffic is heavy, and it can get exciting; if you know what I'm talkin' about.

One time, recently, Olivia from Preschool was coming out of the girls bathroom, and I noticed she was limping down the hall.  She didn't look hurt, but foot, ankle or knee were not working right.  Woops - she saw me.  Without hesitation she said something like, "Hey Pastor Wilson, you better fix my shoe."  She stuck it out.

It wasn't any easy fix.  She had a "tongue in shoe" problem.  It wasn't just wiggle the heel around; it was goin' to require the surgery of a full shoe removal and a tongue relocation, followed by "puta-shoe-back-on-icus" and a full "velcro-on-again-icus."  Yep, I had to get on the floor.

In the process I memorized Olivia's name, and we became friends.

Of course, something like this happening always gets me to thinkin'.  Olivia had the courage to approach me boldly with her need.  Do most of us do that with people we love or with God.  Well, I have to admit...not usually.


The Bible says, "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.  There we will receive mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most (Hebrews 4:16)."  That's a pretty awesome verse; isn't it?!


Why don't we just ask for our needs like a preschooler?  Too proud or don't understand God - one or the other.  


Some of us think, "I know how to do this myself; I don't need God or anyone else!"  And guess what?  We miss getting to know God or someone else He has sent to help us.  


Others of us think, "God doesn't have time, nor does anyone else have time, to help me; I'll just suffer through this alone."  Now does that sound like God or His people?  No, No, No!  They always want to help.  In fact, they want to "get on the floor", so that in the process we'll get to know one another better.


Olivia asked for help.  How about you and me?


Let's pray over it!  Dear Lord, teach us to talk to You about everything.  Help us to learn to just come up and ask You about things we need.  We know that You present us with situations; so that when we talk to You about them, we will get to know You better and better.  Thank You that You are willing to involve Yourself, and Your people, in the things that are happening to us.  We love You, Lord!  In Jesus' name, Amen.


Proud of you,
Pastor Wilson


Ps Hey, another milestone!  We made it to 2,500!  Let's get back to bloggin'! 

My Running Buddy

One of my good friends got sick a few weeks ago.

His name is Don; some of you know him as Dr. Lichi.  Many know him as counselor, teacher, author, preacher and friend.  For me he's Running Buddy.

Running Buddy is the guy who gets up at 4:30 am, so he can meet me at the trail at 5:00 am.  Running Buddy doesn't care how I smell.  He doesn't brush his teeth before the run, and he doesn't care whether or not I brush mine.  It doesn't bother him if I puke on the trail, cuz' he knows he just might puke on the trail.

Running Buddy shares.  He brings an extra bottle of water just in case I forgot (I always forget).  He'll give me his other dry T-shirt after the run on rainy or very hot days.  When it's dark, running buddy shares his flashlight; so we don't go splash in the Cuyahoga River.  Sometimes Running Buddy buys breakfast at Hamburger Station.  Yes, he even shares his vaseline if necessary; that's true friendship! (you'll know why that's important once you are forty).


My Running Buddy gives sacrificially.  If I can't make it all the way, he runs to the car and comes back to pick me up.  He runs on days he doesn't really feel like it, because it'll make me and other friends run too.  Running Buddy never quits.  I told him it would be wise to do so a few times - not my Running Buddy - nope! 


The fact that my Running Buddy got sick got me to thinkin'.  My thoughts were not very helpful at first. I asked God just exactly what it was He thought He was doing to allow my Running Buddy to get sick.  


God responded by talking to my spirit; sometimes He does that.  He asked me if the Running Buddy was mine or His.  I had to admit that I didn't own my Running Buddy and that God did.  


Then He ask me who it was that could take better care of my Running Buddy, me or Him.  "Well...You can, God, " I had to admit.


Finally, He asked me, "Would you trust Me with your Running Buddy, since I love him more than anyone else can?"  "...OK," I said with some hesitation.


"After all," said God, "Wasn't I the One who gave you the Running Buddy as a gift in the first place?"  I had forgotten that.


So I trusted the Running Buddy God gave me back to Him.  That got me to thinkin' some better thoughts, like a Scripture verse we've talked about before.  Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take."


God has really been helping the Running Buddy in recent days.  And in the process, He is teaching me more about prayer, so we better have one!


Dear Lord, teach us all what it means to trust You.  Help us know that You love most and best.  Continue to be with my Running Buddy by "strengthening Him with power by Your Holy Spirit in his inner being."  So be it, Lord! Amen.


Proud of you,
Pastor Wilson


Ps Sorry I haven't been writing here as much over the last month.  I will get back at it!  

And A Prayer Meeting Broke Out

Another CHCS Hoops season is complete.  The Red guys and the Purple girls got the last "W" of the season - that means they won.

There was a lot of good playing by Teal and Purple in the first game.  I'm really glad Leah has not challenged me to a game of one-on-one; I'm not real sure how that game would come out.

The Red against Tan game was a "nail-biter!"  That means it was close.  Red came out on top by one point, and they had to come from just a little behind to win in the fourth period.  CJ was the man!  What a great game he played, and he kept his cool under pressure.  The neat thing was that CJ, Caleb and Andrew have been talkin' about winning a boys CHCS championship for three years, and they did it!  Good job Red guys!

Red against Tan, like I said was very close.  When a game is that close, it can also get very tense for the players, coaches and even us spectators, you know, us watching the game.  When the final buzzer sounded, our ref, Mr. Calhoun breathed a sigh of relief, a few of us wept, some of us laughed for joy, some hugged and some did all of the above and couldn't decide which one to stay with.

One guy had a job to do.  John P.  Yep, that's what his teammates called him this year.  He had decided on his own that a prayer after the game would be a good way to end the season.  He had Coach Sumner call all the boys together with the coaches, and he prayed a prayer of thanksgiving and blessing for both teams.  There were a lot of great feats performed in the gym that night, but that was the greatest and the hardest.  It made me very proud, in a godly way, to be related to Chapel Hill Christian School!

And of course it got me to thinkin' about how I am supposed to live my life.  One author has said, "With God, prayer is not everything, but everything is by prayer!"  Talking with God should be like breathing. Yes, our lives should be lived like a prayer.


Ephesians 6:18 may say it best.  John Stott, who just went home to see His Lord, called this passage the four alls of prayer.  Pray 1) all in the Spirit 2) at all times 3) with all kinds of prayers and requests 4) for all the saints.  


Thanks, John P., for letting a prayer meeting break out at the end of a basketball game.  Yep, it was in the Spirit at that specific time.  It was a kind of prayer and it was for us basketball saints.  You got all four!


Well, since we're talkin' about prayer, we better have a good one.  Dear Lord, thank You for making Yourself available to us 24/7!  And thank You that before, during and after even a game of hoops YOU ARE THERE!  In Jesus' name, Amen.


Proud of you,
Pastor Wilson 


PS Mrs. Calhoun wrote me today.  She is asking for prayer for Mr. Calhoun.  He is at the Cleveland Clinic and needs God's help in his body.  Let's do the "four alls" for our favorite referee, Mr. Calhoun.  

What's In A Name? - Again

What a blessing it is to have the Okoye Family from Nigeria as a part of our Chapel Hill Christian School Family!

In a past blog entry you may remember that I got pretty excited about the real meanings of the real names of Mr. Okoye and his sons Paul and Joseph (who attend our Green Campus).  I told you then that Mr. Okoye's name means the "power of God."  Joe's name means God is my strength, and Paul's name means God is my guide.

Yep, I get excited just thinkin' about the sermons that could be preached from those names!

And do you want to know what else?  The other day Mr. Okoye sent me an e mail that told me the other names in his family and what they mean.  You want to know, right?  Well, okay then, here we go!

Mrs. Okoye's name, Ifedinma, means "No one is like God's Son for He is good."  Mr. and Mrs. Okoye's first child's name is Ebelechukwu Nkiruku (not even gonna try to pronounce that one for ya); it means "God is my mercy, so my future is greater." Very cool, right?

Soooo, this has got to get us to thinkin'!  Let's put them all together, shall we?

If God is powerful and almighty, it is very important that He is also good.  If He is almighty, but not good, you and I are in trouble.  "Why?" you ask.  Because the Bible says that the penalty for disobeying God is death.  And guess what? You and I have sinned.

But GOOD NEWS!  God is good!  When His goodness and power come together, we get His mercy through His Son, Jesus.  But wait, there's more!  His mercy allows us to be in a friendship with our good and powerful God.  And in this friendship He gives us His strength and His guidance.  It's amazing; isn't it?  


It is so awesome; we better just stop and pray now!  Dear Lord, thank You for being powerful and good.  And thank You for giving us Your mercy, instead of wrath - and Your guidance and strength.  We praise You this morning!  In Jesus' name, Amen.


Proud of you,
Pastor Wilson




   

Got Soft Hands?

Felt pretty cool the other day.  Cool does not happen very often once you are over fifty years of age. Wanna know why I felt cool?  OK, I'll tell you.

The sixth grade boys let me in the pickup basketball game at recess.  Now the problem with cool here is that I might have become very uncool.  "Why?" you ask.  Well, first of all, I am slow.   Second, I cannot shoot anymore, and never could dunk.  Third, as I have mentioned before, there is no jump left in these legs.

Good news through - I can still pass.  I can make the "no-look-behind-the-back" pass.  Yes I can, if I can get the ball entirely around my waist.  Or a cute way to say it would be, "Get the ball around the entire 'tire'."  Still one problem though - someone has to be able to catch the "no-look-behind-the-back" in order for it to be cool.

So here's the way it played out.  I was dribbling with the right hand left of the key.  Martice was three feet from the hole and had shaken free of the man guarding him.  The ball went "around the tire" and into the air.  Martice made eye contact and shot his hands out and over his head.  The ball came to rest in Martice's soft hands, and he made the catch!  He proceeded to soar high from the ground and make a thunderous, 360-degree, tomahawk slam-dunk (OK, I made up that part)!  No, he actually scored from the left side on a two-foot layup.

The key to it all?  Soft hands.  Martice had to be able to catch that pass.  As always, Martice's catch got me to thinkin'.  

I remembered Judges 6.  "Really, what's in that chapter?" you ask.  Well, it's a good one to read; it's all about Gideon.  It seems God was trying to get the nation of Israel's attention, but no one was listening.  They were not "catching the nice lob pass" God was throwing to them.  He wanted them to tear down their idols and worship Him alone.

No one was listening, that is, until God talked to Gideon.  God was using the Midianites to call Israel back into a close friendship with Him.  When Gideon listened, and listened closely, and then obeyed,  God used him to miraculously defeat Midian's army and bring Israel back to Him.

So here's the question for us today.  Are you and I "catching" the things God is saying to us?  He is always talking to us through His Word, by His Holy Spirit, through His people (like teachers, pastors, parents and grandparents) and through things that happen in our lives.  Hard hands or a lack of attention cause a very special pass to bounce out of bounds.  God is speaking; are we listening?

Let's ask Him to help us!  Lord, make our hearts soft and open to all You want to say to us today.  We're listening!  In Jesus' name, Amen.


Proud of you,
Pastor Wilson





  

Did You Hear About First Grade?

Something exciting happened in one of the awesome first grade classes!  "You wanna know?" you ask. OK then, I'll let you in on it!

Fortunately, it was the "get your eyes checked" day at North Campus, so for the morning I got to walk around with all of you.  I walked some of you upstairs and some of you back downstairs for some of the morning.

While I was walking up or down, I don't remember which, I looked in on one of the first grade classes.  Our teacher, Mrs. Seery, was waving at me to come on in.  I did.

I heard a wonderful story that goes like this.  It seems the kids were working on words that rhyme with "bell."  Mrs. Seery was writing the "rhymers" on the white board.  One word in particular got quite a bit of attention.  It starts with "h" and, of course, rhymes with bell.

Mrs. Seery told us later that she sensed God's Spirit speaking to her about talking to the first grade about Heaven and Hell and how God has made a way through Jesus for us to go to Heaven.  Well, first grade had some very good questions.  At the end of all the questions and answers was when I poked my shiny head into the door.

By then about ten of the students were quite sure that they would like to ask Jesus into their hearts.  I was so thrilled to get to pray with them right then about Jesus becoming their personal Savior!  I reminded them about Jesus saying that the angels in Heaven rejoice when just one boy or girl prays like they had just prayed.

And this gets me to thinkin' about where that verse is in God's Word, the Bible.  Do you know where to find it?  I had to look it up again.  It comes in when Jesus is telling stories about things that are lost.  Jesus had three great "lost stories" in the book of Luke chapter 15.  The stories were about a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son.  After the stories about the sheep and the coin, Jesus says this very important sentence, "I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents (15:10)."


Repent.  That word got me to thinkin' again, because our character trait for next month is "being repentant."  "What does that mean?" you ask.  OK, I'll tell you.  


It means changing our minds about sin and God.  Instead of loving the ways I disobey God, I change my mind and hate them.  And instead of ignoring God and acting like He doesn't exist, I love Him and want to obey Him and spend time with Him.  It all happens when I accept the forgiveness of God through what He has done through His Son, Jesus.


Isn't it amazing?  By His Holy Spirit, Jesus found some "repenters" in first grade that morning!  I wonder if the angels are still rejoicing in Heaven about what happened in first grade...?


It makes me want to pray.  Dear God, thank You for inviting us into a friendship with You.  Thank You for looking for us while we are lost.  And thank You for giving us a peek into Heaven by what Your Word says about the joy there when just one of us turns to You through repentance.  In Jesus' name, Amen.  


Proud of you,
Pastor John    

What's Integrity?

Some of our sixth grade boys let me hang out with them a couple weeks ago.  We got to talkin' about what it means to be a man and about things we could do to help our school.

A couple of things we decided that make a good man are 1) to see what needs to be done, make a plan and do it, and 2) to always do my part without making excuses.  It's called integrity!  

Several of the guys thought that starting a boys Bible study would really help the school.  They started to make some beginning plans for starting the Bible study.

I'm thinkin' like, "OK... nice talk."

I guess the sixth grade boys were thinkin' like, "Let's do this thing!"

The next thing I knew, I heard that not only had they organized the Bible study; but they'd already held it twice.  Yep, they were spending Friday lunch times to study God's Word together.  It's called integrity!

All this talk about integrity, as well as, the acting out of integrity by the guys, got me to thinkin' about Jesus.  Three times in both the book of Matthew and Mark, Jesus told His students that He was going to Jerusalem to be crucified on a cross (See Mark 8-10 or Matthew 16-20).  It would have been a bit easier for Jesus to say, "OK, guys,... nice talk."  And then He could have avoided going to the cross.  On the very night of His arrest He said, "Father, let this cup pass from me, but not My will, but Thine be done!"


God provided eternal life to all who would believe, because Jesus did what He said He was going to do with making excuses or blaming anyone else.


It's called integrity!  Kinda like those sixth grade boys - the ones we look up to.

Let's pray for God to help us.  Dear Father, in Heaven, we know that we don't always follow through on our word.  Give us Your strength, Your courage and Your integrity so that we follow Your call on our lives!  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Proud of you,
Pastor Wilson

Leaving It All On The Floor

I was watching an exciting game a couple nights ago, Chapel Hill Black against Chapel Hill Maroon.  The game came down to the last quarter, and there was only a four point difference with about four minutes to go.  There was a lot of excellent playing.  Eric hit some one-hand jump-hooks, Jonathan had several excellent drives to the hole, Skyler got a bunch of rebounds and the Nathans (three of them (2 black team and 1 maroon team) and Kyler were hustling all over the place.

David was unbelievable.  He was scrapping on the floor for loose balls.  He was taking on guys way taller than him and winning the rebound battle.  He was driving down "among the trees" and "kissing the rock off the glass."  He had a bunch of takeaways on defense and he was shooting from inside and outside on "O."

What a game!  Back in my day we would have called it "unconscious."

I sat near David's dad and mom during part of the game, and I'm not sure they even knew David had this kind of game in him.  At one point I simply had to take my hat and whack David's dad over the head with it.

After the game I walked over to congratulate David, and his mom said something like, "This is David's last season to get to play at Chapel Hill (David's a sixth grader)."  In other words, David doesn't want to have look back at his last season of B-ball at CHCS and think, "I didn't give it my best."  He wants to leave all his hustle and effort on the floor and walk away knowing he gave everything.

A famous basketball coach named John Wooden would never let his players compare themselves to other players.  He always asked them to give their own "personal best" night after night.  David would have made Coach Wooden smile on Monday night.


All this "personal best" stuff got me to thinkin' about Jesus.  In II Corinthians 5:21 the Apostle Paul was talking about how Jesus gave His "personal best:"  "God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God."  Jesus died for our sin; He took on our sin; and He took all the wrath of God against sin.  He did that after living a perfect life - a "personal best."


Now how should we respond to that?  Sort of like - how should we "congratulate Jesus after His game?"    Paul wrote about it just above the verse I was just talking about: "God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us."  


What's all that mean?  Just this.  We are to respond to Jesus by entering into a friendship with Him.  We do this by accepting what He has done by His death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.  Then we live our lives to tell others the good news of this!  We are His agents on His mission!


Better pray!  Dear Jesus, thank You for giving Yourself for us.  And thank You for giving Your "personal best."  Live inside of us and live Your life through us, so we can look back knowing we too, gave our "personal best" as a way to show You our love.  Then send us out onto "Your floor to play in Your big game of life as Your player."  Help us leave it "all on the floor!"  In Jesus' name, Amen.


Proud of You,
Pastor John
PS At the end of His life Jesus prayed, "Father, I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do."  Wouldn't it be great to be able to pray that?