Pastor Chuck's Blog

EVIDENCE

2009-10-06T05:53:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how many times over the years that someone has asked me, "How can you actually believe that Jesus is the Son of God - the ONLY way to heaven?" Well, the first and most logical answer is that Jesus said He was the only way. In John 14:6 Jesus said, I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me." But usually a true skeptic will say, "Well of course JESUS said that! But what makes that true?" Then I usually talk about the resurrection - If Jesus isn't the Son of God then where's the body? If there is no resurrection then we should have proof of a body somewhere. We can locate the burial places of all the other well known spiritual leaders and if we dig in those places we'll find the remains. There are no remains of Jesus to be found! Then, as they did in the time of Jesus, the skeptics will say, "That's easy - they took the body and hid it so no one could find it!" Well, that debate starts to fade when we understand that there were guards placed at the tomb of Jesus to prevent that very thing from happening. I also tell people of the differences in my life that I know are there because God has delivered me through the blood of Christ and on and on it goes. But some years ago I started to think about the disciples who were there with Jesus - the ones who (according to the skeptics) were following a phoney - the ones who would have been responsible for hiding the body and perpetuating a lie. What happened to those men? Well, according to the book of martyrs they were all killed in defense of the gospel of Christ! I find that amazing to know - that the men who not only met Jesus but were taught by Jesus, lived with Jesus and followed Him in their lives were all willing to go to their death in defense of Jesus! Think about that for a minute. If the entire ministry of Jesus was a lie and the disciples somehow miraculously were able to overcome two Roman soldiers to get the body of Christ and then bury it secrectly to give the appearance of a resurrection; why allow yourself to be killed for a lie? According to Fox's Book Of Martyrs; James was beheaded, "Doubting" Thomas was run through with a spear, Phillip was crucified, Matthew was killed by a Halberd (basically a large axe), James (the step-brother of Jesus) had his skull crushed with a fuller's club, Andrew was crucified, Mark was dragged to pieces by an angry mob, Peter was crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to die the same was that Jesus had died, Jude (a step-brother of Jesus) was crucified, Luke was hanged, Simon was crucified and Bartholomew was beaten then crucified. The only one of the original apostles to not be killed was the one described as "the disciple whom Jesus loved". John died inprisoned on the island of Patmos. Every one of those men gave their lives to the cause of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. I suppose it might be possible that one or two might live the lie to the extent of giving their life - but all of them!? Those men had been changed! Their lives were never the same after they met Jesus. I understand that our belief today is based largely on faith - even though we see the evidence in our lives, it is faith that gives the glory of those things to God. But it goes beyond those men who worked with Jesus. There were literally thousands of others in that same time who saw the example of those disciples and knew it meant something. So they too were willing to give their lives for the cause of Christ. I can tell you today that even with my imperfections I am a changed person because of Jesus Christ. And I cherish the testimony of those original apostles who gave their lives for the truth that they experienced first hand in Jesus Christ. Beond the obvious proof of the scriptures, their deaths for the cause of Christ is evidence enough for me.

REBOOTING

2009-08-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

I am a part of a generation that grew up without ever using a computer. I went through my entire school experience from kindergarten through seminary and never once used a computer. In fact, I never even took any classes on how to type! (That’s one of those things I look back on and wish I had done). After I had finished seminary and went to the first church I would serve I decided to get a computer. It had a 64-megabyte hard drive and 4 megabytes of RAM memory. The man I bought it from said that the computer I was buying would be all I ever needed in a computer. Now, anyone who has a computer will tell you that 64/4 set-up is barely enough to start most computers today. But at the time it was the “latest and greatest” in computer technology. Needless to say, the computer was s-l-o-w. But the truth is it got the job done at the time. One of the commands I learned first was using the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keys together when it got so slow I could not even shut it down. I realize that there are probably people reading this who have never even touched a computer so to explain, you can hold down the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keys and if you do that twice it shuts down your computer. It’s called “rebooting” and basically, it gives the computer a fresh start.
Sometimes we might wish we had a way to just push a button and start all over in some area of life. Life is hard. We face life as a series of joys and struggles, hardships and triumphs. We move through life learning, celebrating, struggling and growing closer to God as He directs our lives. But sometimes things lock up. Sometimes, life does not move forward. Sometimes all that we know comes crashing down around us and life forces us to shut down; to reboot. While it might be easy on a computer, starting over can be devastating on a person. A computer starts up again in a few seconds, for us it may take years. A computer will lose a document or a few hours of work, for us we might lose all we have and all we have known. Maybe even all that has taken us a lifetime to build. A computer clears the memory when it reboots. Our memories stay fresh and clear and painful. We carry the pain and hurt everyday of our lives from that day forward. It can seem impossible to do but I believe that through the power of God in the Holy Spirit we can get on with our lives.
In Philippians 3:13-14 Paul said, Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
It may seem that what Paul said there is impossible. How in the world do we forget the things that we have come through? The memories are too fresh, the struggle is too recent or maybe the hurt is still too real. Well, Paul gives us the second part of the equation; we forget what is behind by “straining toward what is ahead” or simply put we move forward. I thank God that there is a "forward." To be honest, I have been at points in my life where I didn’t even know that there was a forward much less what that "forward" night be; but the forward keeps us reaching in the right direction. Then, as we strain forward we “press on”. There is only one way to press on – we do that through the power of God. To often people will reject this passage because they will say, “I’ve tried pressing on and moving forward but I just can’t do it!” I tell those people, “You’re right, YOU can’t do it!!” It takes the power we get through the Holy Spirit of God. We press on in HIS power! And we move forward, pressing onward for “the prize”. Fellowship with God through Jesus Christ is the prize. The prize is the highest calling anyone could ever answer and the most secure place we can ever be.
My prayer for you today is that you are moving forward in the power of God toward the prize of fellowship with Him. Or maybe you have the prize; either way today you can “reboot” and start over again.

FREEDOM

2009-07-14T08:02:00.001-07:00

This past week I had the unfortunate duty of doing a funeral service for a young person who was killed in an accident. He was drinking and driving and of the four people in the car he and one other young person were killed. I don't care how strong you think you are those kinds of tragedies will cut to the very heart of every person. The accident took place on the Fourth of July weekend - a time when we remember the birth of our country and celebrate the freedoms that we have as Americans. Ironically the young man killed had a tattoo on his arm that read, "Legalize Freedom". I had never heard that phrase so I looked it up on the internet and discovered that "Legalize Freedom" is the title of a song that promotes the legalization of marijuana. I found a magazine interview with the man who wrote the song and he talked about how in this country government and religions prevents people from expressing the freedom that everyone should have (in his case the freedom to use marijuana). It struck me that this man and most if not all of the young people who follow him have missed an important point. This man did an interview in a nationally distributed magazine that promotes the use of an illegal drug. he openly admitted to his ongoing use of the drug and even told which kind of marijuana he preferred and which part of the country the marijuana was grown. That magazine was published completely uncensored and unrestricted, that article had the written confession of a man who was commiting a felony on a daily basis and no one ever got arrested for that article! That man didn't even get a slap on the wrist for his admission of guilt and for some reason he thinks he has no freedom!! The fact is that every one of us has the freedom to say and do literally anything we choose to do or say. It may not be legal but we still have the freedom to do those things. In 1 Corinthians 6:12 Paul said, everything is permissible for me - but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me but I will not be mastered by anything. Then in 1 Corinthians 10:23 Paul re-emphasized the point by saying, everything is permissible for me but not everything is constructive. I believe that just like Paul we have the freedom to do anything we may choose to do but why would we choose to do those things that are destructive or harmful for ourselves and others. I Galatians 5:13 the Bible says, you my brothers were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. I hope that on the Fourth of July weekend and every day of the year you celebrate the freedoms that you've been given by God. It's my prayer that we use those freedoms for the good of all people and to the glory of God through Jesus Christ!

THE GOSPEL OF PRESENCE

2009-06-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

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)...