A lot of political debate today is how to get our country out of its huge financial mess.  The questions come easy, the answers not so much.

The 1^st part of the equation is to get the spending under control.   Our governments (local, state & national) will have to reign in their spending.  Much of what is spent is simply wasted or not used wisely.  The 2^nd part of the equation comes from the supply side, how should the people of our country be taxed?  Some believe that taxes should be on a sliding scale, if you make more you should pay a higher percentage of your income.  Others think that a flat tax is the right approach, and again, those who make more will pay more.               The 3^rd part of the solution is to eliminate the tax loopholes.      People who can afford it hire lawyers and accountants to find legitimate ways of not paying their fair share of the taxes.                   In God’s economy we have the same issues.

1.   We have cut and trimmed our spending as much as possible without doing great harm to the ministry we are doing.                       2.   The Bible’s plan for stewardship is the tithe.  Every believer is to give 10% of his/her income.  This is the “flat tax” approach.  But we are not the IRS.  Each member must determine for themselves how much they will give.                                                                                      3.     Some members of the Body of Christ look for “loopholes” in God’s Stewardship plan.  The average church attendee across America gives about 2% of their income to the Church.                                                  In the Old Testament, it was clear that everyone had to pay their tithe to the temple or local synagogue.  This tradition had been carried over into the time of Jesus, where tithing was accepted as the normal part of life in the synagogue and then the church.

Today there are those who look for loopholes in God’s giving plan. They would make the argument that Christ has set us free from the law and because of that we are not required to pay the tithe.  This “loophole” concept has carried over into the Christian thinking about church attendance and participation in the body of church life.  We no longer have to be legalistic about going to church, paying the tithe, getting involved in some kind of ministry, or even praying & reading the Bible regularly.  Following Jesus has never been easier.                No sacrifice is required.                                                                             Let me clarify something.  When Jesus set us free from the law, He was stating that we no longer had to keep the law legalistically as a means of salvation.  This was the pharisaical position.  You must keep the law in order to be saved.  As Paul and James point out, we are saved by faith & trust in Jesus, quite apart from keeping the law.  In fact Jesus trimmed the law back quite a bit and left us with 2 commands:  “Love God and love others.”                                          There are certain laws or moral codes that are rather obvious as far as Christian behavior is concerned.  We aren’t supposed to lie, cheat, steal, murder etc.  In fact we don’t do a lot of things because it is morally wrong.  On the positive side of God’s morality, there are a lot of things that we do because it is not only the right thing to do, it is what Jesus would do.  We forgive others before they ask.  We are polite and courteous to others.                                                                 We make church attendance a priority.  We seek to discover our gifts and use them in the Church Body. We read the Bible everyday and pray throughout the day.  We tithe our income to God.                      Can you even imagine Jesus doing anything less? He calls us to follow after Him and His example.  We are to live out our lives as Jesus would.  Why are these things so hard for us?  Let me focus in on just one of these moral issues, tithing.                                                           The reason that most church people do not tithe is rather obvious.   We live in a consumer driven materialistic society.  There are so many things that we want and think we need, that we find it rather easy to convince ourselves that tithing is no longer required or necessary.  And too many folks in church don’t like being reminded of their sin in this regard.                                                                                               Why is tithing so important?  In one word it is “obedience” to our Master. It demonstrates to God that we acknowledge that all we are and all we have belong to Him.  More than anything it is a step of faith.  Those who tithe learn what it means to trust God.  See what Jesus says in Matthew 6:25-34.  “Why are you so worried… don’t you think God will take care of you?”  Tithing is the discipline that answers that question.  Do you trust God to meet your needs.  Those who trust God tithe.  Those who have little or no faith do not tithe. Maybe we should call it “faithing” instead of “tithing” because that is what it really is.  When we give to God according to His desire for us, it is a huge step of faith.  But after trying it for a while, people begin to learn that God’s promises are for them.  He does keep His Word.  Give Him a try.   Veritas pro Christo et ecclesia, Pastor Mike

As we talked about our lease, Mr. Cemo made it very clear that he and his partner were not able to lower our lease payments. They are losing money on the center due to numerous vacancies, but we are not . . . paying our way either. He said if all the offices/spaces were full, then they could afford to be more understanding of our situation. The bottom line is that we will continue to pay $11,000 per month for our facilities.
Currently our financial picture is not a good one. Currently we have a $6,000 deficit and if the offerings due not increase, we will go deeper in the hole, to the place where we can no longer pay our bills. We are making as many cuts as we can, trimming back on everything.

We have three sources of possible income:
1. Regular giving.
We really encourage you to increase your giving if at all possible.
You can see in the bulletin each week, how we are doing.

2. We can increase our attendance. This is a must. Currently our weekly average is just under 200. In order to be viable as a church at Fair Oaks Point we need to have about 300 in attendance. The number one reason new people come to church is because they are invited by a friend. 85% of those invited will come at least once.
Be proactive in handing our a brochure and inviting people you know to come to Pathway. When they come, greet them, stay with them and introduce them to other folks.

3. Life Group & Care Ministry: The only way we can keep people once they come is to get them involved with other folks in the church. This can happen through ministry efforts, church events, small group activity, and our care team ministry. Relationship is the key ingredient. Small groups are essential to our growth. Everyone needs to be involved in a life-group. If you are interested in getting involved with either of these ministries, contact Wes@hispathway.org.

4. Fundraising is the other component. I can’t stress to you enough how very important it is to support our fundraising efforts. The up coming “car wash” and “Fireworks Booth” are two critical efforts.
Solid fund raising, with high profitability, can make up for the monthly deficit.

5. Recently we discovered that our name & logo do not communicate that we are a church. People are always asking “What is Pathway?” We have been here for one year now, and it is not obvious to the people in our community that we are a church. We are working on correcting that problem. The plans are in the works to increase our visibility as a “Church”. This will surely increase our visitor number.

We believe that God has called us to this site for a reason and a purpose.
We have just survived a brutal 1st year, so very difficult in a number of ways. But we are still here, a strong vibrant church. It is a great fellowship. I encourage you to pray, pray, and then pray some more about our financial shortfall.

Let’s all work together to grow, overcome this deficit, and expand our ministry.
Blessings, Mike

Psalm 19 is a good passage to study as we make our decisions.
In verses 1-6 we see God speaking though nature, His creation.
In verses 7-11 we see God speaking through His Word.
In verses 12-13 we see how our sin can block our vision.
In verse 14 we see how every decision needs to be pleasing to God.

It makes for a neat outline in decision making.
1. Listen for God’s Voice in creation –
2. Look for Yahweh’s direction in the Bible
3. Ask for God’s conviction in our hearts
4. Choose the path that most honors God

To often, when the decisions are hard, when we are afraid of doing the wrong thing, we do nothing. Or we wait until it is too late. Most of the time, these decisions are going to be a step of faith. In other words, we will never know for sure until we step through the door.

Another helpful outline in making good decisions:
1. Use your intelligence – Is it the smart thing to do?
2. Use the Bible – Is it consistent with the Christian life?
3. Use Christian Counsel – How do your friends see it?
4. Use Prayer – Be careful here, don’t be fooled by feelings?
5. Use the Open Door – Is it possible or not?

When you take all of these helps, and put them together, do they line up? If so, I think you have a strong indication that it is the right thing to do. But it will always be a step of faith. The only guarantee we have in life, is that if we belong to Him, He will never leave us nor forsake us. With that confidence, you can move forward boldly.

Taking that courageous step can be one of the most frightening and exhilarating things that you will ever do in life. As President Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

Soli Deo Gloria! — Pastor Mike

The Cross

Every once in a while someone comes along who engages and changes the history of a nation.  Martin Luther King Jr. was one such man.   Forty seven years ago on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial he preached one of the greatest sermons every preached in America.  Today if you were to say  “I Have a Dream” everyone would know that it references Martin Luther King’s speech in August of 1963.

Dr. King envisioned a new and better day in America— a day when “the sons of slaves and the sons of slave-owners would sit down together at the table of brotherhood … when a state sweltering with the heat of injustice would be transformed into an oasis of freedom.”

That speech marked a turning point for civil rights in America.  With his non-violent approach to injustice, he set the standard for “the high road” in civil disobedience.  He was living out the “take up your cross & follow Me” mandate from Jesus.  He helped us believe that American could not only be a better place, but the very lives of people could be transformed by God’s love.  It was & still is the only hope for our country, to be transformed as a nation, one life at a time.

The call of God on Martin Luther King is the same call that God gives each one of us. God wants to transform us and our families to become like Him.  Discipleship is this life-long process of becoming more like Christ.

Pathway is a life-changing community, where people are transformed by their encounters with God and His Word.  The transformation occurs through a process that we call Discipleship.A Disciple is one who walks in the footsteps of another, seeking to model his life after that person.  A Disciple is a follower of Jesus, a person who seeks to become more and more like Him.  As we do this, our lives are transformed by God and His Holy Spirit. Our lives become more and more marked with Love and forgiveness.

Where are you on the journey of discipleship?  Many of you have been following Jesus for years now and others of you have just begun the journey.  There are some who have not even started yet.

People are asking: “Just who is this God/Man Jesus Christ & can I trust the Bible to tell me the truth about Him?  How can I know for sure?”  How is your journey going? Are you making progress and growing in your faith? Are you feeling stuck, like you haven’t made much progress lately? Are you losing ground, wandering off, or going back to some old ways?

Let me challenge you to be proactive in being discipled.

What does a disciple of Jesus look like?

1.  The life of a good Disciple Christ-centered.  Jesus becomes the focal point of my life, the One whom my life is all about.  It is not longer about me, but now my life is dedicated to God & His will for me.  The disciple is called to be like Jesus and not like this world.

2.  The life of a good Disciple is grounded in the Word of God, the Bible.  The Bible is God’s Word to us, revealing Himself to us, so that we might understand who He is and who we are in relation to Him.

3.  The life of a good Disciple is relevant to the world in which we live.  God wants us to live out our lives in this fallen world as a light to others who are looking for the Way, the Truth and the Life.

4. The life of a good Disciple interacts with the Living God.  The 3^rd person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, dwells in our lives.  This is God’s Spirit within us that equips us to communicate with Him and to understand His specific will for our lives.

5.   The life of a good Disciple is transformed.   Discipleship is the process of God’s power changing our lives in order that we might be like Jesus.  This is the ultimate goal of Discipleship.

It is not about knowing facts about Jesus or the Bible.  It is all about living our lives like He lived His life.   I believe that God has a dream, a Divine Dream, for you and for me.  That we might become His Children, to look like Him, talk like Him and live out our lives that way He lived His life, with Love and Humility.

Veritas pro Christo et Ecclesia  - Pastor Mike

Muslim Women

Missionaries to Muslim countries have always faired rather poorly.  Some folks would spend their whole lives or careers deep inside places like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, or Iran and have only 1 or 2 converts to show for a lifetime of prayer and hard work.

The main reason for this low percentage of conversions has to do with the dark history between Christians and Muslims and the extreme cultural differences.  What took place in the name of Christ during the period of the crusades from Europe is a shame and embarrassment to our faith in Christ. The Western culture of America could not be further apart from the Middle Eastern culture of the Muslim world.

The traditional way of reaching Muslims involved them telling their family and community that they had become “Christians”.  They would leave the Mosque and join a Christian church that was fairly “Western” in its style.  They would be forcibly removed from their homes by their family and relatives.  This would often involve brutal physical punishment & sometimes death.  They would be shamed in their work place and community, forcing them to leave and relocate in another part of the country, essentially starting their lives over.  This was all considered part of the “price to pay”   in becoming a Christian.  Needless to say, this method had the net result of very few converts to faith in Christ.

Beginning in the mid 70’s God began a new work amongst the Muslims that has become very effective.  It has led to a large wave of conversions to Christ across the Muslim world.  In some regions entire villages have begun to follow Christ.  100s of 1000s are finding new life in Christ while remaining in their homes and communities.  Two of the founders of this movement will be with us Sunday night August 8, 2010 at 6:30 PM. One is f

rom Bangladesh and the other from Pakistan.  I want to encourage you to join us Sunday evening.  Baby sitting will be provided.  Refreshments will be served at 7:30.  This is a great opportunity for you to hear about some of the positive results taking place in the Muslim world.  We hear a lot about the terror of fundamentalist Muslims around the world.  Come and hear about some of the great things that God is doing amongst His people in regions of the world that we would never expect.  This movement has been at the core of our Faith Promise World Outreach program.  Please join us and meet these two men.  We are blessed and honored to have them come and share with us.

Your presence here will be a great encouragement to them,  and a tremendous learning experience for you.

That all may Know & Worship Him,

Pastor Mike

After “the fall”, God made covenants with His fallen children.  These were agreements between humanity and Himself.  The most notable of these covenants were the covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David.  The covenants (agreements, contracts) were all very simple.  God was the owner, creator, and true ruler of the world.  Man was under Him.  There was a list of rules for man to follow, and a list of the things that God would provide.  If man broke the rules, he was subject to the punishment of God.  The punishment was designed to turn people around, so that they would come back to God & be obedient to Him.

In the Old Covenant, (Testament), we see a pattern develop.     Man submitted to God, entered into relationship with Him, and God then would bless His people.  Then His people would go astray, rebel against God and His laws, substituting their own laws and worship of strange gods.  They followed their own fallen desires and passions.  They would decide who God was and what He was like.  This always brought God’s judgment on His people, usually in the form of another nation attacking them to conquer and humble them.  God’s children would repent, turn back to God and seek his forgiveness and healing.  The land would be healed and once again the One True God was worshipped and glorified by His people.  Years would go by and then the people would rebel again.  This cycle would continue through the history of Israel.  This pattern is seen clearly throughout the Old Testament, and you can read about it in the Prophet Hosea (a book dedicated to explaining this process).  In 2 Kings 16-20, evil King Ahaz, is compared to his God-fearing son Hezekiah.

We see this same pattern in our own country.  Founded on the Word of God, throughout our history, we have experienced a falling away from God and then revivals take place, as we returned to God.

My question to you:  “Does God work today as He did in the Old Testament, blessing those who bless Him, and cursing those who ignore and blaspheme Him?”     I sense that we are living in dangerous times.  Certainly American society has become amoral.    As it was said in Judges 21:25 “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.”   Right and wrong have no universal meaning in our society.  Our children are brought up through our liberal education system believing that there are no absolutes in life.  As a result when it comes to morality, people can just follow their “natural feelings”.  As followers of Christ, we know that our feelings, along with the rest of us, have fallen from grace and cannot be trusted to lead and guide us.  But according to American culture, you can have your truth and I can have my truth & both are accurate (an argument which makes no rational sense). There are no moral absolutes.  As it was said back in the hippy culture of the 60’s,  “if it feels good, do it!”  That is the guideline for American morality today.

Do you think that God should punish America?  Why or why not?     If so, how will God bring His judgment upon a rebellious nation?    Could 9/11 have been a wake up call from God? Why or Why not?  What will it take to bring America back to God’s Truth?

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

In 1818, a boy named Louis was sitting in his father’s workshop in France. His father was a harness maker and Louis loved to sit and watch his father work.  One day, he said, “Father, I want to be a harness maker like you one day.”   To which the father replied, “Why not start now?” He took a piece of leather, drew a design on it, and instructed his son to use the hole puncher and hammer to follow the pattern. The man set him off to work with a warning to be careful.

Young Louis was excited to begin his new job, but when he hit the hole puncher, it flew out of his hand and pierced his eye. He immediately lost his sight in it as a result. Later, sight in his other eye failed, and Louis became totally blind.

Several years later, Louis was sitting in a garden when a friend handed him a pine cone. Louis ran his fingers over the cone, and suddenly an idea came to him.   This idea eventually led to the creation of an alphabet of raised dots on paper so that others who were blind could feel and interpret what was written. As a result of his accident, Louis Braille opened up a new world for the blind!

To some, this type of tragedy would have been the thing that would have sent them into depression and isolation. But as believers, we know that all things happen for a reason—God’s divine purpose and plan.

As I write this, (Feb.18^th) we are flying blind.  We don’t know where God is going to take us, & we are not exactly sure how He is going to use this situation.  The re-location team is working with all due diligence.  God is testing our faith.  He is waiting to see if we will rise to the challenge before us.  He wants to know just how much do we love Him and trust Him.

Not seeing the future is one of the toughest things about the journey of faith.  Someday soon God will open our eyes, like he did for Louis Braille, and we will see very clearly what God had in mind all along.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord.  “They are plans for good & not for disaster, to give you a future & a hope.

Veritas vos Liberabit!  Pastor Mike

You can see it On the Web: www.focusonthefamily.com.  It is worth the time, I encourage you to watch and hear their full story.

The exact content of the ad was not revealed until it was aired, but some pro-choice groups & left wing zealots claimed it would attack abortion and tried to convince CBS to pull the ad. After Sunday’s airing, the Tebow ad has been perceived as lighthearted and not controversial at all.  If anything, it was heartwarming, inspiring and fun.

Their quick instinctive nature to attack the ad shows the insecurity of their beliefs.   They are deathly afraid of anything or anyone who might go against their message of death.  In this blatant over reaction to what they supposed would be on the ad, they did themselves much more harm than good.  And they really showed the nation that they are not a pro-choice movement at all.  They are a pro-abortion movement.  Tim’s mom chose to keep her baby & that is not acceptable to them.

Sally Jenkins, a feminist newspaper columnist, believes the government has no right to tell a woman whether she can have an abortion or not. But this pro-choice sports columnist also thinks that the group NOW was not right in trying to pull the pro-life Tim Tebow ad from airing during the Super Bowl.

Her remarks found in the Washington Post are incredible.
“I’ll spit this out quick, before the armies of feminism try to gag me and strap electrodes to my forehead: Tim Tebow is one of the better things to happen to young women in some time, Tebow’s Super Bowl ad isn’t intolerant; its critics are.”

Here is someone on the left who gets it! Jenkins pointed out that the public is always calling on athletes to be more responsible and to care about social issues, but when star college quarterback Tebow and his mother Pam try to tell their “genuine pro-choice story,” the group National Organization for Women goes on the attack.

“Apparently NOW feels this commercial (featuring Tebow) is an inappropriate message for America to see for 30 seconds, but women in bikinis selling beer is the right one,” Jenkins writes.  It’s mind boggling when you think about it.

“Here’s what we do need a lot more of: Tebows,” the sports columnist states.  Jenkins went on to say there is a need for collegians who are “selfless enough” to spend their summers helping needy children in impoverished countries, athletes who “believe in something other than themselves” and live out their beliefs, and celebrities who send a message other than materialism.

“You know what we really need more of? Famous guys who aren’t embarrassed to practice sexual restraint, and to say it out loud,” Jenkins writes, referring to how Tebow said he is saving himself for marriage.
“If we had more of those, women might have fewer abortions.”

There are not many times when I can agree with a pro-choice advocate,   but on this issue, Sally Jenkins nailed it.

These three truths,
(1) the sanctity of human life,
the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife,
the rights of conscience and religious liberty.
are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society.
For those of us who are seeking to follow Christ and truly live out the Gospel in our society, they are sacred and non-negotiable. Yet we struggle to stand for these truths.

Unfortunately a small group of Americans have launched a full scale assault on these values.  Aided by the government, educational institutions, pop culture, the media and Hollywood they are slowly but surely transforming our culture into a completely libertine society where almost anything becomes acceptable and everyone can have their own truth, regardless of reality.

True followers of Christ find themselves under attack by powerful forces in our culture.  Duped into thinking that “tolerance” means that you have to agree with every radical notion, or at least not to speak out against it, we remain silent for fear of being labeled a bigot or intolerant.  Political correctness rules the day and ironically they are completely intolerant of any other view.

It is time that we studied the truth & strengthened our backbones.
You need to know that you are not alone and that there are many Americans republicans and democrats, believers and non-believers, who secretly agree with us, that our culture is abandoning the truths that made us great. We just need the courage to defend these sacred truths intellectually, publicly, and with Christ’s love.

At the end of last year (2009) the Manhattan Declaration was made public.
It is a very clear document that asserts the Christian truth about these three cultural issues, and our right to defend them.  The original list of signers includes many well-known evangelical leaders, such as James Dobson, J. I. Packer, Randy Alcorn, Mark Bailey, Wayne Grudem, Harry Jackson, Duane Litfin, Al Mohler, Tom Oden, Marvin Olasky, Joe Stowell, Joni Erickson Tada, and Ravi Zacharias. You can also find the names of many prominent Orthodox and Catholic leaders.  I encourage you to go to the declaration on line and sign the document at http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/.

Let me conclude with a few quotes from the declaration itself.
“Going back to the earliest days of the church, Christians have refused to compromise their proclamation of the gospel. In Acts 4, Peter and John were ordered to stop preaching. Their answer was, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” …
We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s.
But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.”

Veritas vos Liberabit!  Pastor Mike