THE GOSPEL OF PRESENCE

Whenever we hear the wrod "gospel" we think of "good news". That's exactly what the gospel is - the good news that God has made a way for us to be right with Him. In fact, from the very beginning God has wanted us to have that redemption. In the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned they covered themselves with leaves but God replaced the leaves with skins. That was the beginning of the sacrificial system - the system that reminded people that there were consequences for their actions. As the individual killed the animal that was taking their place they had to watch that animal die with the understanding that had they not sinned that animal could have lived. When Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice for us all the Bible says that His sacrifice covered all sin. In Romans 5:6-8 Paul wrote, you see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That is the crux of the gospel - we have a way out of the lives that we're living now. There is still hope through Jesus Christ. But, once that decision has been made we have a continual presence of God in us that gives us the guidance we need everyday to be the people that God called us to be. In Philippians 2:13 Paul says, it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. That presence is a part of the good news that we need to remember every day of our lives. You may feel as if you are alone in your situation today but God is with you - Dueteronomy 31: 8 says, The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. That's my message to you today. Don't forget the presence of God in you - He will not leave you or forsake you!

REPENTANCE

Im working on a study today on the topic of repentance and there was something that I came across that really helped me understand repentance in a much larger way. In Mark 1, just after Jesus had been baptized and had returned from His time in the wilderness He brought His first message to the people. In Mark 1:15 Jesus said, The time has come... The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news. The first image that we have when we talk about repentance is someone feeling really sorry for something. All of us have "hit the wall" spiritually at one point or another. We get to that moment where we know that we've done wrong and we naturally feel remorse for our actions. But Jesus is calling for more than just remorse. Or perhaps once we get to that point of remorse we start to try and overcome what we've done wrong by trying to do more things right to sort of stack the deck in the other direction - we call that penance. The Pharisees were probably the kings of penance but in Jesus' eyes they still fell far short of that point He wanted for them and for all of us. When Jesus called for repentance He was calling everyone to start reversing the way they had been thinking about everything! Jesus has called us to change our attitudes and also our outlook. If a person has truely repented of something their behavior and actions show that change. As Christians we're being called to accept a way of looking at life that ultimately draws us into a way of thinking that reflects the thoughts and ideas of God. True repentance changes our attitude about God, sin, self and others. Unfortunately there are many people who see repentance as a one time action that leads to salvation, (and certainly we need to repent to become the children of God). But our repentance is an ongoing process that reflects a life that shows others that we really are the disciples that Jesus called us to be. I am so thankful that we have the call to repent and the ability to truely repent through Jesus Christ.

NABA Communications Trailer

Today is a day that most people would rather not have to mark on their calendars. Today is the first day of the 2009 Hurricane Season. It was four years ago that Louisiana faced one of the worst storms in their history - Hurricane Katrina. many of us had seen other storms on television and even in person but Katrina just seemed to raise the bar to show how bad a storm could really become. I was like others who watched the horrors that the people of New Orleans had to endure. I had the opportunity to witness first hand the devastation of Hurricane Andrew as a part of a response team working to help the people in the affected area. Then in 2003 many of us in the Tidewater area lived through the affects of Hurricane Isabel. I was without power for almost 2 weeks and I know others who went longer than that without electricity. I was fortunate enough to have family and friends to fall back on for some of the needs that I had during that time. But too often when something of the caliber of Katrina strikes many of our "Plan B" people are just as devastated as we have been. Circumstances like those have made it a pleasure for me to serve on the Disaster Relief Committee for the Norfolk Area Baptist Association. Over the years we have had the opportunity to respond to the needs of folks locally as well as those in other parts of the country. As an amateur radio operator (NS4CM) I have been interested in the communications aspect of disaster relief work. When a hurricane pushes its' way through an area many times a persons' contact with the "outside world" is completely cut off. With the help of my brother Barry Moseley and the gracious financial contributions of individuals, clubs, churches and the NABA we have developed a communications unit that is very much a Godsend to those who have just lost contact with others as a by-product of a storm. Imagine not being able to use a cell phone, landline phone or even being able to send an e-mail to let someone know how you're doing. The NABA communications trailer is equipped to accomplish all of those things in the event of an emergency. Most recently the trailer was used in a public service event in cooperation with the Virginia Beach Amateur Radio Club. The trailer was used as special event station W4S during the 26th annual Pungo Strawberry Festival. It was our privilege to have a part in that event but we do those types of events as a way to prepare ourselves for that day when the next big storm will strike.

Here is a video and pictures of the NABA trailer in action at the Strawberry Festival. (Click pictures to enlarge)...