Square Peg in a Round Hole-The Movie Noah

Last week I went to see the movie "Noah".  For weeks leading up to the release I had read dozens of reviews ranging from "the best movie ever" to "the biggest pile of crap ever put on the screen".  Needless to say my interest was piqued. So, I gathered my family into the van and we drove the sixty miles necessary to get to a theater where it was playing.  During the ride we discussed what we expected of the movie and how far it was going to go off the rails in its depiction of the Biblical account of Noah.  I was armed with the knowledge that the film's director is an atheist and had commented that the film he had made was "the least Biblical movie ever made about the Bible".  So, with background and reviews as my guide I sat down to watch this "epic" movie.

I have to say I enjoyed the cinema of the whole thing.  First of all, I am a huge movie lover so I appreciated the scale of the movie Noah.  I disagreed with its representation of "Noah" in some (OK, most) areas but it was watchable. My family and I then returned home and went about our lives.  The next day I log on to my computer and begin reading a fresh batch of Christian writer, pundits, and bloggers, once again blasting the movie.  It is there that I want to begin.

As our society moves further and further away from traditional Christian values we are seeing a shift in the attitudes towards Christians.  Just last week our President met with the Pope and was questioned on religious liberty being squashed in America.  There is no doubt that the attitude towards believers has soured in our country today.  Unbelievers, like Bill Maher,  like to mock our beliefs and call us idiots for believing a story like "Noah".  Do you ever wonder why some people hate us so much?  Do you ever wonder why they think we are idiots?  I believe one of the reasons is that sometimes we act like it.

I don't like the word "idiot".  I find it degrading and insulting. So when I say we act like idiots what I really mean is that we, as Christians, sometimes come across as these wide-eyed, gullible, uninformed, fanatics that are out of touch with the world.  We are sometimes perceived as goofs who can't seem to understand why the rest of the world is laughing at us and, sometimes, we deserve it.

Take for instance this whole blowup over the film "Noah".  Films are made everyday that ridicule, mock, or misinterpret the Holy scriptures we hold so dear.  Hollywood is no friend to the Christian faith and this shouldn't be news to us.  We should not be surprised when a movie that claims to be an interpretation of a classic Bible story comes out and is full of inaccuracies and theological errors.  What would we expect a Hollywood so-called Biblical movie made by an atheist to look like?  But, instead of saying, "Obviously, this is not the story of the Noah in Scriptures", we freak out and claim that Hollywood has hijacked our faith!

Listen, I get it. I know that Christians want the world to know that what is up on that big screen is not the true story.  I do too.  But it's when we act as if we believed that it was ever going to be accurate in the first place that we begin to lose credibility.  It's then that we begin to become all of the things that the world believes of us.

I believe this world needs more Jesus.  I also believe that the world needs more common sense.  And whether you agree with me or not  I believe that the world needs to see more followers of Jesus who display common sense.  We need to apply that common sense to the movie "Noah".

If Christians are planning to go and see "Noah" in hopes of watching a great movie depicting a great Biblical story then I would hope that they would go and watch something else because they will only be disappointed and that saddens me.  But, what saddens me even more is that we, as Christians, would be gullible enough to believe that we were going to watch a Biblical account of Noah in the first place.  Blockbuster Hollywood doesn't work that way.  Some independent films might, such as the makers of "God's Not Dead", but not big Hollywood.

In the end, "Noah" turned out to be exactly what I thought it would be and I am OK with that.  I came out of the theater with my faith intact and my belief strong and in some cases stronger and I think that was worth the six bucks I paid for admission!

I think the main lesson we all need to learn from this is that we shouldn't look for the message of the Bible on the big screen, we should look for it in scripture!

God Bless,

Derek

"The "What if...?" Project

Greetings,

I want to ask you a question.  How many times have you thought of past events in your life and uttered the words "If only I had done that different."?  Many times we call that regret.  And while we can certainly learn from the past regret has the ability to drag us down.  The past can be both a blessing and a curse.  It can be filled with wonderful memories or gut wrenching regret. Those two little words, "if only...",  can be a weight around our necks that drag us to the pit of despair.

But, what if we could replace those two words with two new words?  What if, instead of focusing on the regret of "if only", we set our minds to pondering the possibilities of the "what if"?  Possibility not past, hope instead of regret, “what if" instead of "if only", this is the basis of the "What if...?" project.

What is the "What if...?" Project?  To boil it down to one word it is about hope!  It is about Christians gathering with the sole purpose of rediscovering hope.  It is about, once again, discovering the hope we have in Jesus Christ and living out that hope each and every day of our lives.

The "What if...?" Project is a burden that God has placed on my heart for the people of the Arkansas Valley in southeastern Colorado.  On Sunday, July 20, 2014, Christians from all over the valley are invited to come and share a worship experience that will focus on the restoration of hope in the lives of our communities, in each other, and in us. 

Perhaps you are saying to yourself, "Derek, I haven't lost hope in anything."  Outstanding!  Then we want you to come alongside and encourage those who have lost hope.  Through great speakers, great music, and great prayer, you will experience God in a unique and exciting way.

We are so excited about this opportunity to challenge the body of Christ to respond to this call for action.  It is time for all Christians to stand and proclaim with one voice that our hope shall not be determined by the regret of "if only" but by the possibility of the "what if"!

God has great things planned for the Arkansas Valley and it is time for us to claim our part in those plans.  So plan to join us on Sunday, July 20, 2014 at 6 PM at the La Junta High School gymnasium as we proclaim God's promises and the possibilities of the "What if...?"

For more information about the "What if...? Project go to our Facebook page at http://goo.gl/wfbSd4.  or go to www.derekhutchisonministries.com to learn more.

Blessings,

Derek

Breathing life into dry bones...

     As we begin a new year I take stock in the year that has passed and the new year that is before us.  As I read the news, follow friends on Facebook and Twitter, and evaluate where our country stands in the midst of the world stage, I am saddened.  I can't say that I am shocked because that would indicate that we, as a nation, somehow didn't see the mess that we are presently experiencing coming our way.  I use the word saddened because I believe we did see it coming we just didn't do anything to stop it from happening.
     As I look at America in the year 2014 I see a country that has lost its way.  I see a moral footing that is slipping in the mud of mediocrity, humanism, and appeasement.  I see a country that has done its very best to take God out of the equation that equals a successful nation.  And through all of this the one thing that has saddened me the most is that I have seen Christians losing hope.
     Whether it be Phil Robertson, an attack on traditional marriage, the fear that the speaking of one's belief will someday be declared hate speech, pot in Colorado and Washington, or the replacing of  baby Jesus with Trayvon Martin, I see Christians losing hope in America.  I can't blame them.  I must confess that, at times, I have dropped my head in despair and wondered if things could ever be right again.  Yet, in the midst of my despair I have been reminded of the awesome workings of God in this world.  I believe that we, as Christians, can once again find hope in our nation. And I believe that that hope can breathe new life into the dry bones of the body of Christ.
     Let's face it, we Christians are back on heels, we are reeling from the progressive changes coming into our society, and we, frankly, are just letting it happen.  We have taken a hit and while we take time to gather our senses our country's road to destruction continues to be paved.  It is time for us to get up off the mat and get back in the game.  Now, after mixing as many sports related metaphors as possible I will end this paragraph as succinctly as I can.  Hope in God sometimes calls us to action.
     For Christians, hope is not about wishing, it is about believing and it is about knowing.  We can't stand around wishing our nation would once again be blessed by God.  We have to believe that it will be and then do what is necessary to make that a reality.  We have to become involved in what is going on in our country and not just complaining about it on Facebook.  Christians need to be willing to stand up for what they believe, not just so Phil Robertson can be back on Duck Dynasty but because no one should be allowed to take the word of God from our mouths and expect us not to do something about it. We have conceded to the world that we are the dry bones lying on the floor of the valley and it is about time that God breathes life into those bones.
     It is time for us to be confident in our beliefs, courageous in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and hopeful in God's plan for this nation.  It is time for us to stand up and be counted speaking the truth in love.
This country was once a great nation not because of its power and might but because of God's.  I believe it can be that again.  I leave you with the words of the prophet Ezekiel chapter 37:

37 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 “Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’ 17 Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.
18 “When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you tell us what you mean by this?’ 19 say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim’s hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.’ 20 Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21 and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. 23 They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding,[b] and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
24 “‘My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. 27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.’”

The anatomy of Grace...

Greetings,

After months of preparation and planning my daughter's wedding is in the books!  It was a beautiful time with family and friends watching Stephanie and Zach begin their new life together as husband and wife.  But now it is time to get back to business!

Over the past few weeks Dawn Orr and I have been broadcasting a Bible study on Paul's book to the Romans.  Every Friday at 8 AM MST  we share our study on Becoming Christlike live on BlogTalk Radio.  You can listen to us at www.bemorechristlike.com if you are interested.

It has been during this recent study that God has been calling my attention to a very powerful and peaceful word...Grace.   Most commentaries define grace as "unmerited favor".  Simply put...we don't get what we really deserve.  What we deserve is death but because of God's grace, through Jesus Christ, we receive life.  Instead of death I get life.  That sounds like a great deal!  And it would be but for one simple problem.  God expects us to share that grace with others.  And that is where the trouble begins.

I have spent the last few months taking inventory of my life in Christ.  I don't think that it is fair for me to host a show encouraging others to become more and more Christlike if I am not going to make the effort to do the same.  It was during this time of self reflection that I asked God to show me areas of my life where I might share His grace more with others and to open my eyes to where we, the body of Christ, could do a better job of walking the walk and not just talking the talk.  I am happy to say that God has spoken to me in both areas of concern.

One of the hardest things about serving God is that we have a tendency to get down on ourselves when God's Spirit convicts us of our shortcomings.  It's natural to feel bad when we think we have let God down.  Perhaps it was words we said when shouldn't have spoken or maybe it was words we should have shared but remained silent.  In either case guilt has a tendency to grab hold of our spirit and refuse to let go.  My guilt comes from a situation in which I felt I should have spoken up but decided, rather, to remain silent.  My remarks in this blog are not an attempt to try and rectify my inaction but rather to serve as a cautionary tale to others who might find themselves in the same situation in the future.

I believe that God places within each of us a kind of spiritual barometer.  It tells us when there is a storm brewing in the midst of our life or the lives of others and we pay a price when we don't pay attention to that barometer.  Over the past few months I witnessed an event that I knew to be wrong, knew to be hurtful, and knew to be devastating to those whom I loved.  And, yet, I said and did  nothing to stop it.  What I did do was make excuses to why I shouldn't say anything, rationalized as to why I couldn't do anything, and, in the end, accomplished my goal of doing nothing!

I remained silent as people I love, respect, and care about were dragged through the mud and muck of denominational dogma and religious legalism that would make the Pharisees cringe.  I knew it was wrong and I did nothing.  People who care for me and know my situation tell me that " I have done nothing for which I should be ashamed."  But the truth is I did nothing and for that I am ashamed.

I think what bothers me most is that I saw an assault on grace and I talked myself into turning a blind eye and a silent tongue to the whole ordeal.  The feeling that I let loved ones down I can deal with but it is the fact that I feel like I let God down that burdens my soul.  In short, I feel guilty.

This is not the first time this has happened to me but I hope it will be the last.  And to make sure of that there is a question that needs to be addressed and that question is, "What am I going to do the next time something like this happens?".  And after considering that question in detail over the past few weeks, this is my answer.

I have spent way too much time discerning the motives of others instead of concentrating on my own motives.  I have allowed my anger towards others to rob me of my example of God's grace for others.  And I have let the actions of others dictate my actions.  In short, I blew it!

At this point you might be asking yourself, "What should you have done Derek?", and that would be a great question.  To change the sentiment from a position of regret to a position of action I will not tell you what I should have done but rather what what I will do next time.  The next time I feel God calling me to speak out against an injustice I will speak.  I will seek to do it in love, but I will speak.  The next time I am faced with the choice of doing nothing or doing something I will do something.  I will do it in love but I will do it.  And the next time I am faced with the choice of choosing between denominational "do's and dont's " and displaying the grace of God in my life I will choose GRACE!

Brothers and sister Christianity is not something we live by it is something we live out!  Grace is not a set of rules that we hold up to the world and proclaim our righteousness because we are "by the book" people.  We spend so much time trying to live "by the book" that we forget what it says "in the book".
Hebrews 12:15  says "See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled".

Now, I must set my heart right again and seek to do that which Christ has called me to do...forgive.  I must forgive myself for the guilt I have carried and I must forgive those whom I have harbored anger towards.  For it is in that forgiveness where the grace of God abounds.  And it is in that grace where I find peace.

May each of us seek the grace of God each day of our lives and may the power of God's Spirit enable His grace to flow through us!


Until next time,


Derek

I Believe...

Greetings,

Recently my son, Jacob, completed an assignment for school in which he wrote down the things in which he "believed".  For you Presbyterians out there think of it somewhat like a creed or confession.  I was so proud of what he had written that it urged me to take stock in those things in which I also believe.  So, with the zeal of a weekend spelunker, I tunneled deep into my soul to explore those things which God had written on the deep and dark places of my soul.  Narrowing them down I settled on these ten beliefs.  Enjoy!

1.  I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and for the sins of the world so that we might be reconciled to a loving and living God.

2.  I believe that the path God puts before us is always the road less traveled and that the people you meet on this road are looking for you just as much as you are looking for them.

3.  I believe that God wants me to pray hard with a soft heart, worship loud with a quiet soul, and believe that I can move a mountain with the faith of a mustard seed.

4.  I believe that pain is good because it lets you know that you're not dead yet!

5.  I believe the person who walks by sight is blind, but the person who walks by faith sees the world as it really is.

6.  I believe that the more our country seeks to remove God from it's belief structure, value system, and moral code, the more God will let  us do just that!  God chose to bless this country and He will allow us to choose to ignore that blessing.

7.  I believe that God has a specific purpose and plan for me and my life and that plan is wondrous not because of me but because of Him.

8.  I believe that nothing I have done in my life can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

9.  I believe that God's people have a tendency to get in the way of God's work...not because of  the way we live out our faith but because we claim we have faith but don't live it.

10.  And finally, I believe that my faith makes me stronger not weaker, blessed but not better, and a hater of sin but not of sinners.  The world may call me a hypocrite, intolerant, and narrow minded but the words of man will never change the Word of God because I know what I believe!  What about you?

Blessings,

Derek

What is so good about Friday?

Greetings,

     Today is Good Friday.  It is the day when Christians around the world recognize the crucifixion of Christ.  It is also referred to by other names such as Black Friday, Holy Friday, and Easter Friday. It is a day of solemnity and introspection.  It is a day when we try to, once again, come to grips with the fact that Jesus Christ endured the sufferings of the cross for our sins.  In fact, it was our sins that placed Him on that cross.
So, with all of the sadness, pain, and suffering that is marked by this day one has to ask oneself..."What is so "Good" about this Friday?
     As a pastor I would tell you that the "goodness" of the day is marked by the realization that in just two days time Christ will arise triumphant from the grave and claim victory over death and hell, and it's true!  But that is an explanation that you will hear over and over again at Good Friday services worldwide.  What I want to do in the next few lines is to tell you what I believe is a better reason that the "Good" is in Friday.
     The problem that we have, as Christians, in reconciling Good Friday is that we use the word "Good" in the wrong context.  Now, I will be the first one to tell you that my grammatical skills fall far below the standards of today's public education.  I have always had problems with grammar.  I never know when it is "lie" or "lay", "affect" or "effect", or "who" or "whom".  I dangle my participles and I use way to many commas! (and exclamation points)  So with permission from Mrs. Ross, my 9th grade grammar teacher, I would like to wreck the written word in order to make my point.
     Most people use the word "Good" in Good Friday as an adjective.  By doing this they are using good to describe the word Friday.  Therefore we struggle in our tiny little brains to comprehend the goodness of this particular Friday and we come up unsatisfied, or is dissatisfied?  Anyway, I want to change your thinking of Good Friday.  I want you to change the word good from an adjective to a noun.
     The dictionary defines "good" as "morally excellent, virtuous, and righteous".  Now, that is a little bit more than we think of when we use the word good but there it is, right there in the old on-line dictionary. Don't believe me? Google it and you will see that I am right. You see, to me, the word "Good" in Good Friday isn't an adjective describing Friday it's a noun describing Jesus.
     The purpose of the crucifixion was atonement for sin.  In simple terms that means Jesus paid  a debt for us that we couldn't pay, He got the check, He paid the tab!  But He couldn't pay that debt unless He was morally excellent, virtuous, and righteous.  I guess you could say unless He was good!
     In other words, Good Friday isn't just a day when we recognize the sacrificial act of our Savior it is also the day when we recognize the attributes that enabled Him to be that Savior.  Jesus was good!  Not only was He good He was great!  Recognizing the righteousness of Jesus gives us hope on Good Friday.  Knowing that, because He was good, He had the authority to go and kick Satan's rear end over the weekend gives us an assurance that we share in that victory over death.
     So today don't just celebrate a Friday that is good, celebrate a Friday that demonstrated a Savior that was  morally excellent, virtuous, and righteous.  Celebrate today with the hope that in the midst of darkness there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that light is the Light of the World....and that, my brothers and sisters is good!

Until next time,

Derek

Follow Your Gifts

Greetings,
      It has been 64 days since I stepped down as the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Las Animas, CO and applied for disability through the Presbyterian Board of Pensions. Since then I have been bombarded by all sorts of different emotions. Fear, uncertainty, and doubt have filled my mind and soul as I wonder what today's trip to the mailbox will bring. Would be an acceptance letter enabling me to keep my health insurance and be financially able to help support my family? Or would it be a denial letter stripping me of insurance and leaving me jobless? It is during these times when prayer and trust come into play and major questions come to the forefront of our minds. Do I really trust that God will take care of me no matter what the outcome? Am I listening for God's next calling on my life? What do I do next? I have struggled with all of these questions at one point in time during these 64 days and I have come to one conclusion: I must follow my gifts!
      God has gifted each one of us with miraculous gifts sent from the very throne of God. Each one of us have different gifts but all are given for the building up of the body of Christ. It only makes sense that if God has given me these gifts He must want me to use them! And if He wants me to use them then He will open doors in my life that enables that to happen. So, if I follow my gifts I find the door!
      I am reminded of Jesus in Luke 2:49 when He says, "Why is it that ye have sought me? Did you not know that I would be about my Father's business?" Living, looking, and following the gifts that God has given to us is what it means to be about our Father's business. Sure, I could spend the rest of my time waiting for my disability reply in a state of panic, uncertainty, and fear. Or, I could spend it following my gifts, searching the mind of God, and being about my Father's business. I am sure that you would agree that the latter is much more productive in the kingdom of God than the former.
      What about you? Are you following the gifts that God has given to you? Are you seeking that next calling He has for you? Are you praying and listening. seeking and knocking, following and finding, so that the will of God will be made manifest in your life. If not, why not?
      To apply for disability was my choice and I must live with the consequences of that choice be they good or bad. But what I do in the midst of those consequences is what determines my direction in life. The author Andy Stanley once wrote that, "Direction not intention determines destination". Simply put, it is what I do not what I want to do that determines where I am headed. Where do I want to be headed in the days, weeks, and months to come? What is it that I want to be doing? That's easy, I want to be about about my Father's business. So, I am going to follow my gifts because that is what will lead me to my open door!
     
     Until next time,

      Derek

Now You're Talking!

I want all of you to listen to this commencement speech given by David Mcullough Jr. the English teacher of Wellesley High School in Mass. It is priceless!  You will have to go to the site if you are not already there.  Derek's Blog The video is a little big but I don't care!  This is the best commencement speech to high schoolers I have ever heard!

Heroes

Greetings,

     I hope that your Memorial Day weekend was enjoyable and safe.  As we begin these 100 days of summer we take a moment to recognize the men and women of our armed forces, both past and present.  We are called to pay homage to those that Abraham Lincoln said had "given the last, full, measure of devotion".  It is it only right to do so especially as we find ourselves, in this point in our country's history, coming out of and still immersed in battles in foreign countries.

     In one of my recent blogs I wrote about freedom of speech and, while we all enjoy said freedom, why it is sometimes more important to hold our tongue.  That blog dealt with our current political climate and the entrenchment we find ourselves in as red battles blue for the soul of our nation.  That blog was about politics... this blog is not. This blog speaks to something more specific, more sacred, than just political ideology or partisan bickering. This blog is about gratitude and how we, very often, abuse the freedoms we are afforded in this great nation.

     Over the past few days the internet, from blogospheres to op ed pieces, have touched on a comment made by MSNBC host Chris Hayes and how he "felt uncomfortable calling soldiers heroes".  He later went on to apologize for his remarks but the damage had been done. I am not going to get into the full dialogue that he used regarding this topic.  If you would like to read what he said you can do so by going to http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/msnbc-host-issues-apology-saying-hes-uncomfortable-calling-fallen-soldiers-heroes_645956.html.  What I do want to write about, however, is the ever growing sentiment in this country that our soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen, are somehow representative of an unpopular war mentality.

     Searching the internet you'll find page after page dedicated to the cause of railing against the war by stripping our soldiers of the status of "hero".  My uncle recently led me to a cause trying to remove a Facebook page entitled "Soldiers Are Not Heroes" wherein the subtitle reads "They Are Hired Thugs".  This is just one of thousands of sites attempting to send a similar message.  To say this bothers me would be an incredible understatement and I would like to tell you why.

     I served in the United States Air Force from 1986 until 1991.  My brother, both uncles, and cousin, served in the United States Navy.  My father served his country in the United States Army.  Each one of them served bravely, my cousin still serving, and gave a portion of their life in defense of this country.  This story has played out in family after family throughout the history of our country.  From the Revolutionary War to the war in Afghanistan men and women have donned the colors and uniforms of this nation in defense of its freedom.  Some volunteered to serve as a career, or a way to learn a valuable and marketable skill, and others were volunteered by their government.  In either case these men and women served their country and served it well.

     Is that to say that all of our service men and women have been the bright, shining, beacon of moral behavior we would want our children to follow by example?  Of course not.  As in any group throughout history the military has had its share of wayward souls.  But, in my opinion, the misplaced social anger towards our military presupposes that the actions of the few define the whole.  Working off of this I would like to share with you some of my thoughts regarding this issue.

     First, and this is very important, Chris Hayes, as well as anyone else, has the freedom to say whatever he believes about soldiers, the war, the economy, etc.  As long as it is not libelous that freedom is given to us. At this point it would be very easy for me to make the connection between a people's right to say what they feel and the sacrifice of those who have served, fought, and died, to ensure they have that very freedom, but I won't!

     Secondly, my problem with the "anti-hero" movement is that it models a dangerous example...lack of respect.  We are taught that respect is not given it is earned and I believe that.  In the military we are called to respect the rank even if we don't, necessarily, respect the person wearing that rank.  Respect is something that is bestowed upon a person, or group of persons, in which we hold an admiration for their qualities or abilities and I believe that our service members deserve respect.  Why?  Simply put, because they grind away day after day, some in places we would never conceive of going to, so that our families can live a life of freedom. Period.  That's it.  If someone is willing to lay down their life for someone they don't know...in my book that's a hero...that's Biblical!

     Thirdly, I think people like Chris Hayes use the idea of soldiers as a tool to address the social ills of the day.  The idea that we shouldn't call our service members "heroes" because it might encourage more wars in the future is ludicrous!  To say that our service members are nothing more than hired thugs doesn't speak of our soldiers but the civilian authority that have ordered them into combat.  If people want to speak about the horror of war then speak of it but don't cheapen the sacrifice of the men and women called to carry out that war.

     Finally, I believe that this country and its citizenry have become so complacent with the freedoms that we are afforded that we are in grave danger of being hoisted on our own petard!  When a people begin to abuse the freedoms they enjoy that society is in grave danger of ruin.  If you don't believe me look at our country today.  Do I believe that people should shut up about the war?  No, I don't. If you hate war then say you hate war.  If you disagree with the administration's foreign policy then say it.  But to use the instrument of that war or foreign policy as a stepping stool towards a higher aim is irresponsible and disrespectful.

     I recently posted on my Facebook page a quote from Jack Nicholson in the role of Col. Nathan R Jessup.  A Few Good Men has always been one of my favorite movies and the court scene is beloved by millions.  In that scene Tom Cruise's character is trying to coax the truth out of Col Jessup and states that he thinks he is entitled to the truth. Nicholson then gives one of the best lines of dialogue in movie history.  I would like to leave you with a portion of his words because I believe they accurately depict the sentiments of many of us.

     "We live in a world that has walls and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns.  I have a greater responsibility than you can ever imagine.  You weep for Santiago and curse the Marines.  You have that luxury.  You have the luxury of not knowing what I know...and my existence, while grotesque to you, saves lives.  You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at dinner parties you want me on that.  You need me on that wall.  We use words like honor, code, loyalty.  We use these words as the backbone of a lifetime defending something.  You use them as a punch line.  I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom in which I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it.  I would just rather you say thank you and be on your way...either way I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to!"

     Don't get me wrong, we should always seek the truth.  Truth is good.  Truth is needed.  But refusing to recognize our soldiers as heroes is not seeking truth.  Many people believe that freedom is some sort of an entitlement.  It's not!  Freedom comes from sacrifice and then is bestowed as a right upon its people.  It appears to me that people like Chris Hayes and others miss that point and that they believe that they are entitled to something.  Well, then I would respectfully reply in the words of Col Jessup, Mr. Hayes...I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to!

Blessings,

Derek

     

Great Personal Offer from the Road Less Traveled

Hey everyone check out this great offer from The Road Less Traveled at http://pastorderek.podbean.com/

I'm Tired

                I am 44 years old and I am tired! I know I shouldn’t be but I am.  After fighting pain following three brain surgeries I am tired of doctor visits to neurologists and neurosurgeons.  I am tired of being told that “this pill” will finally do the trick only to find out that it doesn’t.  I am tired of getting up every morning and wondering if I will even be able to get out of bed or if this is the last morning I will even wake up.  I am tired of falling down stairs after having seizures.  I am tired of canceling events in my life because the pain is too much or that it just happens to be the day that my legs won’t work.  I am tired of going out in public and being embarrassed because my body refuses to listen to me and, instead, decides to jerk uncontrollably.  I am tired of not being able to drive a car or see the colors of a sunset. I am tired….but I am not finished!

                I am not finished fighting for a normal life.  I am not finished chasing after dreams that God has placed in my heart.  I am not finished believing that, even though I might not understand it fully, God has a plan for my life and it is a great one!  I am not finished with God nor do I believe that He is finished with me.  I am not finished believing that although my life is harder than some it is much easier than most.  I am tired but I am not finished.

                I am not finished believing that even though my health has taken things from me I have been given even more.  I know what it means to be cared for by an incredibly loving and understanding wife.  I have seen patience overflow from my children and I have been filled with love from my family and friends.  They refuse to give up on me and so I refuse to give up on myself.  I often think how easy it would be to give up and quit but then I realize that I am only tired, I am not finished.  Though persistent pain and symptomatic side effects eat away at my day they cannot have the day!  This day, today, has been given to me by God to do what God intends.  I am not finished with today!

                I grow tired with those who waste today.  Those people who have made it their mission in life to dictate their own terms and refuse to submit to God’s terms.  Our world grooms people to seek to “lord over” others instead of loving others, to seek their own way and not God’s way.  I am finished believing that I know better than God.

                Yes, I am tired but God gives me strength.  At times I despair but God gives me hope.  I hurt but God heals!  And so I make my stand.  The events of the world may seek to rob me of my life but…they cannot have it!  And the reason I will not hand over my life to my circumstances is because it is not my life to give.  Christ has bought me with a price and my life is His.  And as long as I have breath I will endure for “greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world”.   I am tired today but today is not tomorrow!  I am tired…but I am not finished.

Blessings,

Derek

                

Hey everyone it's Jake with another post. This has been on my mind for a while and I just thought I would write it down and share it with others. I hope it makes you think about your own experiences as well.

When does it happen?  Every single person has or will experience it at some point. When is the exact moment that a child transforms into an adult? Is it the first day of high school? Is it a first car or first kiss? When does the process begin to start and churn inside an adolescents mind?  It is a moment that will be remembered forever, but all too often it tries to be obtained too quickly. The society that I find myself growing up in is different than all others that have come before. It is a place that, if you are not careful, can swallow you in your own selfishness and desires. It’s a place that can turn worlds upside down and distorts the comforting image of life that we have all grown to accept. But above it all, this society takes in the innocence of a child and spits out a hard callused adult who has grown accustomed to the bitterness the world so willingly offers. It leaves us blind to the reality that life is so precious and beautiful. But the question is…where does it begin? And why does it start in the first place?

Think of the most scraggily, beat up, filth ridden person you have ever seen. The deception is that this person has been like this his or her entire life and deserves the life that they have earned. It’s not too often that we think about this person as a new born baby, or a toddler taking their first steps. It’s not too often that we think about the new life in their fresh expressions as we smell the alcohol on their breath. I mean think about it, no one is born addicted to drugs or alcohol. No one is born without any ambitions or hope. No one is born a victim.  We are all born innocent, and have not been tampered with in any way. As we grow older, life throws us the first tastes of what it has in store for us. The little boy without his front teeth could have his parents separate or the little girl with the pigtails could be abused. We don’t understand it as children, but we are so curious as to why these things happen for no reason. It makes us wonder if the world isn’t as wonderful as we thought it was. And if we let it, our loving and innocent hearts harden a little and we begin the race to grow up when we could have preserved that innocence in the first place.

More years pass and soon we find ourselves interacting with people our own age who act and behave in similar ways. In some ways this serves as restoring hope, but the inevitable fact is our peers only serve as competition in the race to maturity. We hold some in high regards and in doing so poke and prod at the ones who don’t meet our standards. It is the first time that we really doubt our own validity. We think that if our peers don’t accept us, than it’s impossible for others to. The world once again puts an obstacle is our paths. There seems to only be one path filled with emptiness and trying to conform to a mold made by others. Our hearts and innocence harden more. The pace of the marathon quickens and we do our best to keep up.

                The anaconda of society is persistent and continuously presses against us. Some of us enter high school with some of our innocence intact, while others sprint ahead and are eager to catch their first glance at what is perceived to be “real life.” Our peers become an even bigger part of our lives, and force their own convictions on us. The storm of maturity engulfs us and slowly draws the last bits of precious innocence form our bodies. The things that gave us happiness before like spending time with family, playing a game, or swinging on the swing set are replaced with what we are told will make us happy.  Drugs, alcohol, and sex seem like the perfect catalyst to spring us forward in the great race. By the time we are finally done and ready to begin our lives outside of our sleepy home towns, we are nothing but empty shells, desperately searching for an answer as to why life has been so cruel to us. The blame is passed from one thing to another, but the virus we have been injecting ourselves with makes us numb to the idea that it could be our responsibility. Our hearts are now scabs, closed to the idea of anything that won’t yield us satisfaction or pleasure. Society has claimed yet another person with her evil transformation. And we set out and embark on our own journeys, believing that we have completed the race and that we should deserve more for running it as fast as we could.

                Blame is tossed around endlessly about why my generation is going downhill so fast. A common misconception is that it is all our parents fault and that parents are responsible for why we all want to grow up so fast. But it is our blindness and selfishness that causes us to dump our mistakes onto the ones that raised us. After all it seems like the easiest thing to do. In actuality it is our own faults for not being able to identify our own destructiveness. Our parents should be a way to ensure that a child has the best start and tools to help them stay off the path of destruction.

                So what is the answer?  It could be as simple or complicated as you want to make it. We seek out a way to heal our damaged and broken lives. Society offers many cures and tonics that claim to do the trick, but in the end we end up being a blurred image of ourselves. We are fooled into believing our best cannot possibly meet the universal standard of what is good or exceptional. When we can learn to slow down and give ourselves permission to have a loving, accepting, and kind heart is when we take the first step in uncovering the vale that has encompassed our whole world. We can live with our innocence and embrace anything that life presents to us. And yet the whole world sits, and continues to pump garbage into our lives that we are now expected to embrace.

                Let’s act and come out of the fire new. Instead of life engulfing us, maybe we can change what it really means to live in the first place. And maybe someday we can brag to our kids about how we were able to barricade ourselves from the gloomy mist of society.  We can stand up and say that we are proud to have not been the first to cross the finish line.

                 

A Time to Speak

     This is my first blog entry in quite some time.  Although there are many reasons for this I believe the best one is due to the fact that I believe that God encourages us to hold our tongues until we have something important to say.  Well, at least I think He tells me to to hold my tongue.  The lack of blogging on my part is also due to the fact that I really didn't have anything that I thought was useful to say.  Sure, I could have written about how my health was coming along or the Presidential primaries but I thought it was important for me to wait until I felt a true sense of purpose to, once again, invade this space with my thoughts.  As it so happens, I do have something to say and I do feel it is the right time for me to speak...so here it goes!
     I am an history buff.  I studied history in college and enjoy learning about to this day.  I am not an historical scholar but I am also no slouch when it comes to the facts of history.  I write this only to say that I do have some knowledge of the past and am able to see where that past intersects the present and makes its impact felt.
     For quite some time I have been interested in watching how our society is dealing with itself.  What I mean by that is how our society is changing at such a rapid rate.  Through technology our world has become connected in ways that could have never been imagined by the people of the 19th century.  News is 24 hours,  social sites enable us to share our thoughts with the world on any issue we choose, and blogs, such as this, make the ordinary man or woman into pundits about everything.  Indeed, we have at our disposal tools that can make our world a greater place but, sadly, we choose not to.
     In September of 1787 the Constitution of the United States was adopted and on June 21, 1788 New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it thereby fulfilling the ratification requirements set forth.  It was at this time that an incredible thing happened...people were given rights and one of those rights was the freedom of speech.  We had come from a people who had experienced the quick justice at the hands of our oppressors for anyone who might speak ill of the crown to people who now were able to say whatever they wanted, within reason, about anything they chose.  What a right!  And for 234 years people have used that right to express their opinions and others have used that same right to refute the opinions of others.  Our country was dedicated and founded on the rights of others to speak their minds and I would have it no other way.  But something happened on the road from 1788 up to today that has saddened me.
     It used to be that men and women could express their opinions in civil ways.  Yes, free speech has always raised the blood pressure of some leading to a vitriolic blowup from some crazy blowhole, that's democracy.  It is true that the writings in "The Age of Reason" by Thomas Paine caused excitement and, no doubt, the spouting's of Hitler caused a world to stand up and fight against evil.  But nowhere can I find a time in our country's history when disagreement in ideas have caused so much hate.
     We no longer see honest debate in the halls of our government we see dissent and disgust.  The aim no longer seems to be seeking what is best for our country but what is best for the politician.  CNN bad mouths FOX and MSNBC bad mouths everybody.  FOX calls itself "fair and balanced" but it obviously isn't.  Topics discussed on TV no longer contain thoughtful ideas from either side they are just stepping stones for each side to call the other side names.  Comment sections on blogs or internet news sites aren't being used for true comment or honest disagreement they are open space for vile name calling.  If you don't believe me go to any news story on the web and scroll down and read the comments section.  Fair warning...don't let your nine year old do this!
     I guess this is my point...Just because everyone of has the RIGHT to speak doesn't mean we should.  I'm not suggesting some Pollyanna idea of, "If you don't have something nice to say about someone or something don't say anything at all!".  That's ridiculous.  We have the right to disagree with with each other but my problem is the WAY we disagree.  My faith teaches me that homosexuality is wrong and that's what I believe.  Go ahead disagree with me, that's fine.  If you believe different say so but don't belittle me because of my belief.  If you think that gay marriage or abortion is wrong then say so but don't abuse your right to speech by calling those who believe it is okay by certain names.  For the love of everything that is holy I don't hate you..I just disagree with you!
     Much has been said and written lately about the demise of our nation and the reasons for it.  Some, like me, believe it is because we have strayed from the moral guidelines that God gives us.  Others believe it is because people like me are so narrow minded and socially ignorant that I am trying to drag the world back into the time of the Inquisition!  However, I am beginning to believe that our country is going to hell in a hand basket for one very simple reason...we're so stinking mean to each other!  Disagreement has turned into dislike and dislike has given birth to hate.
     We spend so much time arguing about who and what this country was founded on that we forget a very important point..the founding fathers didn't agree on everything all the time either.  Huge disagreements presented themselves in the forming of our country but someway, somehow, they got the job done.  Seeing prayer taken out of our schools or the Ten Commandments stripped from our government buildings doesn't upset me as much as watching the people of this country using one of our greatest rights as a tool for hate.  I don't know, maybe I am naive to believe that we can disagree in a civil way but I don't think I am.  Watch television, read the newspaper, listen to conversations on the streets.  We are divided like we have never been before and we use that division as a reason to hate.  I don't blame the founders for wanting us to have free speech  I blame them for having the faith that we would use it appropriately.
     If this country has even a slim chance of not going the way of the dodo we have to change.  Notice I didn't say we had to start agreeing with each other.  No, disagreement is good.  Real discussion and debate helps us clarify what we believe.  I will never stop believing that God should be the focus of our nation but I also know that there are others who will never believe that.  How do we have that discussion with calling each other names and resorting to violence?
    Some will say, "Well, that's what happens when people believe something so deeply".  You know what, that's just an easy cliche to avoid acting like a civil human being.  We need to change!  So, I encourage you today to take a good look at yourself and see what you can do to make this country better.  I need to take a look at myself and see where I can better display Christ's love instead of partisan hatred.  James 3:6 says,"The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."  
     Be people of conviction, yes! But let us not allow our convictions to become opportunities to  tear down others.  Remember, FREE speech shouldn't mean ANY speech!  America, we are better than this!

Just something to think about!

Derek
     

Mr. Christ

        Hey everyone it's Derek's son Jacob with another piece of writing. I hope you enjoy it and think about the gift that Jesus has given to us. Thank you!
       

        I met a guy named Jesus
        He said call Him Mr.Christ
        He told me of a way to fix my broken life.
        I leaned in closer
        Listenin' to to everything he said.
        He told me of some nails and a crown upon his head.
        He told me that he died
        And was thinkin' just of me.
        I reached into my pocket
        But He said there was no fee.
        I pondered at his words
        And took this special gift.
        He told me when I died
        To Heaven I would lift.
        I asked Him why He did it
        Why this special fix?
        He told me take a glance
        At John three one six.
        Now I stand before you
        Saying Christ fixed this mess.
        All He wishes in return
        Is for you to say "Yes."
     

The Truth

Greetings,

I read a book recently that sparked some serious thinking in my brain!  The book is entitled "How Do You Kill 11 Million People?" and is authored by one of my favorite authors Andy Andrews.  In it Andy writes about our country today and the level at which we hold our public leaders accountable.  In its purest form it is a book about truth and how truth can either set us free or enslave us.  I encourage all of you to find a copy and read it as soon as possible.

Besides the obvious message that this book brought to my mind about truth I also found myself thinking about truth on a deeper and more personal level.  Truth to self is a concept that we rarely consider.  We are taught about truth to others and society throughout our whole lives.  "Tell the truth", is something we here from the moment we begin speaking.  But what about telling the truth to ourselves?

Oscar Wilde once wrote, "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person.  Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."  We do that don't we?  Whether it be from pain, disappointment, or tragedy we wear masks to hide some of our truth.  But, for me, the real tragedy is not that we wear masks to hide our truth from others it is that we hide our truth from ourselves.  We dishonor ourselves when we are not true to ourselves.  Unfortunately that concept can be used as an excuse in our lives.  "I am only being true to myself", is a phrase that we sometimes use as code for "I really just want to do what I want to do".

I believe being true to one self  means that I take time to look at my life and identify my strengths and my weaknesses, my good and bad qualities, as well as my sinful nature, and then seek to better myself.  The step in that process that trips us up is being honest about the bad stuff in our lives!  It takes no courage at all to confess the good things to ourselves.  Where true courage lies is when we can be honest about those things that we would rather keep hidden, even to ourselves.

Jesus says in John 8:32 "You shall know the truth and truth shall set you free."  I know that he was referring to the gospel truth but I also believe he was giving to us another great truth.  Just as the gospel truth can set us free from the wages of sin, so personal truth can set us free to live a life of personal freedom.

Taking a good, hard look at ourselves in the mirror is a risky proposition and shedding light on the dark places of our soul's can be a painful process.  But seeking the truth, in all things, is what makes us better people for our families, our friends, and our world.  The power of the truth will always conquer the power of a lie.  Let us seek to be people of truth.  Just as we must demand it from others we must demand it, even more, of ourselves.  Until next time!

Blessings,

Derek

That's a Bad Plan B

Greetings,

     The Washington Post reported today that the Food and Drug Administration has before it a proposal to make Plan B available to anyone who might want to purchase it off the shelf.  Plan B, also called the "morning after pill", is a controversial drug that is used to prevent an egg from becoming fertilized but some opponents of the drug are concerned that it might prevent a fertilized egg from implanting itself in the womb.  Some believe this akin to abortion.
     First of all, let me state that I am pro-life.  However, my opposition to making this drug available off the drugstore shelf and not requiring a prescription has nothing to do with my stance on abortion.  I am also not naive enough to believe that those who hail this potential step as a win for women and contraception don't have a valid point, they do.  There is no doubt that making it easier to obtain Plan B will change perceptions of sex for many woman and men as well. I don't dispute that either. I'll tell you what my problem is with making access to Plan B easier, it's about responsibility.
     Now, before some of you start e-mailing your hate mail to me, let me explain my position.  Yes, I believe that contraception is a responsible decision.  Many couples utilize birth control in a responsible and well thought out manner.  I applaud them.  But, I am not talking about contraception that is available to people who have taken the time to consider such choices.  My fear is that making Plan B readily available will give young teens another opportunity to rationalize unprotected sex opening themselves up to both emotional and physical scars.
     I think our country sends the wrong message when we talk about sex especially when it comes to our youth.  Instead of parents/teachers/youth leaders teaching our young people that sex is an act of love and great responsibility that comes with consequences we continue to pass that responsibility on to the drug and condom companies.  Our societies mentality has become, "Well, their going to do it anyway and we can't stop them so they might as well have protection".  It's not the "they might as well have protection" part that drives me crazy.  Yes, if two young people are going to engage in sex  I would want them to have some type of protection.  I am not an idiot!  As I said before that's not what bothers me.  What bothers me is the apathy that we, as adults, exhibit by believing the lie that "kids are going to have sex and there is nothing we can do to stop it".  That, my friends, is pure crap!
     When was it that the youth of our country had their ability to choose taken away from them?  When was it that our society decided that our kids were too stupid to make good choices?  Some where along the line we decided that any effort to instill in our kids knowledge about sex got trumped by hormonal urges.  The fact is we gave up on our kids, plain and simple!  So, we do what we always do.  We refuse to equip them with the tools to make good choices and we make it easier for them to obtain a drug that bails out their bad ones.
     Do I think Plan B serves a purpose?  Of course I do.  The effect of this drug on women of abuse is unimpeachable.  But, in this particular prose, I am not talking about women.  I am talking about kids!  I don't want to get rid of the drug I just don't think it sends the right message when we make it so readily available to any and everyone.  We justify it by claiming to be a responsible society but it's just another way of saying we don't trust our kids.
     I'm not sticking my head in the sand and claiming that teenage pregnancy and STD's could be eradicated by taking contraceptives off the shelf at Wal-Mart.  Again, if two young people have decided to have sex I would be the first one to tell them to use protection but I would also hope that I would take just as much time to encourage a responsible decision making process.
     Keep the drug, change the message!  If you need it get a prescription and get it.  Keeping Plan B off the shelf is not going to make it harder for adults to make sound contraceptive decisions. However, it might make it necessary for our young people to step up and make a responsible decision that they are very capable of making!  Let's not let them off the hook in the decision making process.  Yes, some of the decisions are going to be bad and some will be good but when we continue to make products available that negate the need for thought we do more damage than help.  It's ironic, we claim to be protecting them but I wonder if we're not aiding in their possible destruction.

Until next time,

Pastor Derek

The Big Bailout

Greetings,
     It seems as if the watchword of the day is "bailout".  Everyone and everything is receiving a bailout these days.  From Chrysler and Fannie Mae to JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo,  businesses and banks are deemed "too big to fail".  In all honesty I am not really sure what that exactly means.  I imagine it probably has something to do with the fact that if these companies came crashing down around their economic heels that national economic disaster is soon to follow.  Again, all that might be true, I am not an economist and I don't even play one on TV!  What I do know is that our country has spent over 700 billion dollars on over 926 recipients from what we called the TARP bill (Troubled Asset Relief Program) and our country still has a troubled asset relief program.
     All of that is disturbing enough but that is not what gets my mind turning inside my skull.  The question that rattles around inside my head is.."With all of the turmoil  brewing inside of our country, does the United States of America need a bailout?"  I am not talking about the companies of the United States. I am talking about the United States itself.  Just as we looked at the banks and car companies some three years ago and realized that their success directly impacted the success of the American people, can't we look at he United States today and make the same correlation?  If the men and women of this great nation are going to strive in their daily lives they are going to have to do it in a nation that is striving. We are standing on a precipice that is fixing our gazing into an abyss of nothing short of pure disaster.  Financial ruin, crime, drugs, and despair fill the streets of our cities and it is only getting worse. The stakes for us are too high!  We are too big to fail!  We need a bailout!
     On the surface this statement could seem hypocritical.  Sure, Derek, Fannie Mae doesn't deserve it but you do?! In a word, yes!  I think we, as a people, don't deserve a bailout but we get one.  When God created the earth He stepped back for a moment and declared it good.  He then watched as His creation took His gift of free choice and turned their lives into a bastion of idol worship to man made gods.  God soon became so disappointed with us that He decided we needed a, wait for it,.....BAILOUT!
     That's right!  In simple terms, the flood of Noah was nothing more than a bailout, a do-over, a start over and let's get it right this time.  God had seen the wickedness and sin of the world and He knew that He needed to wipe the slate clean.  The world got a bailout.  Now, unfortunately for the people of the times, they didn't get a chance to be a part of the bailout because they perished in the flood.  But even in those days I believe that God knew something...His world was too big of an idea to fail!
     Today, the same idea is true.  The bailout principle exists except I wouldn't really call it a bailout.  Today each one of us has the opportunity to begin our lives anew, to start over, to begin again. Do we get to erase all of our debts?  Financially, no, sinfully, yes.  Can forgiveness be found?  Perhaps not in the eyes of man but, more importantly, in the eyes of a Savior.  You see, God's bailout is not a quick fix for a temporary problem.  God's bailout is an eternal forgiveness for a life of sin.  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" John 3:16.
     God is telling us..."my child, you are too big to fail!" "My plan is too big to fail!"  "I have a plan that cannot fail!"  If you are looking for a better way, that way is Jesus Christ.  You are too big to FAIL!

Blessings,

Derek

You've Got To Get Right Back Up!

Greetings,

     I want to take just a moment and share with you a wonderful working of God! It began early this morning as my alarm clock blared out its familiar "chimes" at 4 AM.  It wouldn't have been that bad if I had not just closed my eyes a mere two hours ago but there I was dragging myself up off the floor (that's where I was after falling out of the bed) in the wee hours of the morning.
     After taking a shower my blood began coursing once more through my veins. My excitement for the business of the day grew as I felt God calling me to "go" and "do".  Unfortunately, the taxing effort of pulling my pants up and my shirt on exhausted any of the energy reserves that I had placed in storage for my great day of ministry and I found myself, once again, struggling to pick myself up off the floor.  I truly believe it was only by the grace of God that I even had the strength to squeeze the tube of toothpaste hard enough to somehow eject enough toothpaste to make the whole process of brushing my teeth worth my while.  But after grabbing my computer bag and touching four of the seven steps of the staircase ( I missed the other three) I found myself, once again, picking myself up from another floor in my house (this one was at the base of my stairs!)
     By this time I was seriously questioning whether I had misread God's call to "go" and "do"!  Perhaps the real message was "stop" and "don't"!!!  Nevertheless, my ride was here, my first counseling session was due in my office in one hour and the world was waiting!  As I walked out the door I couldn't help thinking what would be the next thing I would be picking myself up off of.  I wouldn't have long to wait!
     I made it to Las Animas just fine but that's because I wasn't driving.  I did find out that two hours of sleep isn't enough time needed to be able to accurately line up your mouth with that hole on your Styrofoam coffee cup!  Thank God the brain surgery killed the pain receptors! But I got to the church and you would have thought that just the mere fact of crossing over the threshold of the church door would have afforded me some sort of sanctuary like the hunchback guy from Notre Dame...well, you would have thought that!
     By the way, have you ever tried to put a key in a lock, in the dark, with a bag in one hand, and a cup of coffee in the other?  The crazy part was that wasn't the problem.  The problem was that I was so out of it I wasn't smart enough to set the bag and the coffee down and turn on the light!  So, five minutes and a lot of ego later I finally gave in and did it the easy way!  Now safely inside my office I was sure that I was safe from the big, bad, world that God had sent me out into but little did I know that my office was just the next place I would have to pick myself up off the floor!  Yep!!!!  That's right!!!  My feet, my trash can, my chair, my floor, my butt!!!!!  I swear by the time the whole ordeal was over I had half a mind just to stay down there and sleep the rest of the day away!  But I knew I couldn't.  I knew I had a job.  I had people to counsel, Bible studies to teach, meetings to attend, and oh yeah......coffee to make!
     Let me tell you how the story ends.  Scripture tells us that God never gives us anything that we can't handle.  Well, I believe that's right to a certain extent.  You see just before my first counseling session was to start at 6:30 AM I unlocked the church door, went into my office, started the coffee, grabbed my coffee cup, stood in front of the coffee pot, and promptly fell asleep standing up!  At least that's how I started out!  You see God must have known that I needed just a few more minutes of the old shut eye because when the church door opened and my first counselee came walking in the church my eyes popped wide open.  But they weren't staring at the coffee pot... they were staring at the ceiling!  So for one last time I picked myself up off the floor for God.
     But you see I been doing that for the last eight years!  I hope you got a kick out of my long day in the kingdom of God!

Blessings,

Derek

The Hate Must Stop

Greetings,

Today on  the My Journey Home podcast I discuss the Westboro Baptist Church and their insistence on picketing the military funeral services of our nation's fallen heroes.  Through their twisting of scripture this cult has preached hate across our country.  Brothers and sisters there has got to be a better way of sharing the gospel story. There has to be a better way of sharing the love of God and what He has done in our lives with others.  We cannot be a body of haters!  Does God hate?  Absolutely!  But He does not hate people He hates SIN!  Join me on the My Journey Home Podcast entitled "Taps".  You can access it  by simply clicking the tab to the left.  Share it with a friend and let's join together on this journey of struggles and triumphs!  May God bless our fallen heroes and their families!

His servant,

Derek

Let's Go Journey Nation

Friends,

     I am ready to start a new adventure and I want you to join me! I had to think of the best people to talk to first and my bloggers came to mind.  All of you have followed me through my years of trials and so you know where I am coming from.  I need your help!  I am feeling God calling me to step out and speak about my journey over the last eight years and I need your help to get the word out. For far too long I believe Christians have been afraid to step out in their faith and share their struggles with each other.      

     For far too long we have been convinced that we must present the perfect model of the “happy Christian” lest we somehow portray hypocrisy in our daily lives.  I think that’s wrong! And I believe God is calling us to a better way!  I believe God is calling us to join together and share our struggles with each other, learn from each other’s adversities, and overcome life’s tragedies together.  I believe this so much that I am stepping out on a journey of faith and obedience and I am asking you to step out on the journey with me.

     So, right now, I need you to stop what you are doing (wait…that’s not right…I need you to keep reading then I need you to stop whatever it was that you were going to do and go to www.derekhutchison.com and click the sermon/podcast tab at the top and scroll down to the "Listen to the Journey Nation Podcast" and click it. It will take you to My Journey Home podcast page. I need you to listen to my first podcast and let me know what you think. We need to join together and help each other on our individual journeys. The glory is God's! Let's GO Journey Nation!

May God bless our endeavor,

Derek