Work and Worship

Today we are discussing Mary and Martha. Martha was busy preparing a meal for Jesus and His disciples whom Martha had invited for supper. Meanwhile, as the guest arrived, Martha was busy in the kitchen while Mary sat at Jesus' feet and listened to His teachings. The longer Mary sat and worshiped and Martha worked in the kitchen the more upset Martha became. Martha finally reached the "boiling point" along with all the pots on the stove, and came into the room with an explosive, bitter, pitiful attitude. Martha marched over to Jesus and tattled on Mary. "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
Can't you just see Martha standing there in the middle of the room with a tea towel thrown over her shoulder, sweat from the heat in the kitchen pouring down her face and a smudge of flour on her cheeks as she points her finger in Mary's face? Martha was expecting Jesus to take her side, she was expecting the Savior to reprimand Mary and tell her to get up and go and help. This, however is not what happened. Jesus says to Martha, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
What things are you worried about today? Are you consumed with worry and busyness, or are you prepared to sit at the feet of the Master today and worship?...Till then, Bro. Alan

Rest and relaxation

Well we made it to Ruidoso! We plan on staying for a few days here with the family and the in-laws. I plan on using this time for some study and sermon preparation and of course some R&R! Tonight Graham, Lilly and I went fishing at the lake and I was the only one that caught anything...ha, the old man has still got it...Graham and I plan on getting an early start on the fishing in the morning and then reading and relaxing in the afternoon while the ladies go and drain the bank account at the shops in town...
This Sunday we are talking about Mary and Martha, so this should be a good exercise on letting go of the daily drain and spending some time focusing on worship and praise to the Father...I hope I have a "Mary" week...till then...Bro. Alan

The Lord's Day

So often we hear, or at least used to hear, of Sunday referred to as "The Lord's Day." This was to be because this was the day that is dedicated to the worship, fellowship, and service to the Lord. As I was praying and thinking this morning about "the Lord's Day," the thought occurred to me that, "yes, this is the Lord's Day, the day set aside for the Body of Christ to gather together and corporately worship and fellowship together, but should not every day be the Lord's Day?" After all everyday we are to serve Him, everyday we are to commune with Him, everyday we are to strive for Him to live through us...So as we celebrate this "Lord's Day," let us be reminded that everyday is to be lived for the glory and honor of the Lord...
May GOD be glorified in our worship today...until next time...Bro. Alan

Here We Go Again

Well, it's been a while hasn't it? Busy is just the "tip of the Ice-Berg" to describe what has been going on lately. I just finished a Master's at Wayland and am about to begin another at the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute in August. It "should" only take until November of 2011 to finish this Master's and then I'll see if the Lord is still leading to pursue PhD. work.
This Summer has been eventful. Maegan has been home and we are getting ready to move her back to College Station at the end of July. Graham is involved in Summer workouts and Lilly is, well, Lilly. She has really been growing and maturing this Summer and I am so proud of her.
Gail has been quilting like a mad woman and enjoying every minute of it and I have still been in shock and awe at how good God is in bringing us to WD. We will have completed our 6th year here in October. The church and the people of this community bless us daily and it is such a privilege to be their pastor.
We are going to get some R&R next week as we take the family to Ruidoso and join Gail's parents there for a few days of relaxing, fishing, and some rest. We are so grateful to Anne and Findley for making their "mountain home" available for us to use and enjoy.
I'll try to make some more post in the days to come...God is Good!

A Tale of Two Sons

We are exploring the parables of Jesus right now on Sunday mornings. This Sunday 11/15/09, we will be looking at the 'parable of the prodigal son,' So many times we look at this from the view point of the younger son and in reality really miss the point of the parable.
Tim Keller has written a great book called, "The Prodigal God." In this book he talks about what the word 'prodigal' really means, look it up sometime...
We are going to use this book as the reference point for the next two Sundays, this week we are going to look at "act 1" and deal with the younger son and see how God's grace and mercy are truly that of a Prodigal God. Come and let's explore and see what God wants to speak to us through His Holy Spirit.

Rahab & Redemption

Well, this morning we discussed Rahab and Redemption. In the book of Joshua we have the accounts of Israel crossing the Jordan River and taking the land that God promised them through Abraham. It is a book of conquest and battles, a real manly man's book if you will, But it is interesting to note that the first story that is told in Joshua is the one of Rahab the harlot.
This is the story of salvation, redemption, restoration, forgiveness and overcoming. Why would God chose to save someone like Rahab? She was a harlot and not a very desirable person, she was not known as "Suzy Church-goer," as a matter of fact she was most likely known by a lot of other names that I can't talk about here. But the fact is that God did save her and her family, God saw in her someone worthy and lovely and a person of great value in the Kingdom.
So many times we think that we are not worthy of God's grace nor His mercy, and you know what? We are NOT worthy, but the amazing thing is that He saw fit to save us through the sacrifice of His Son. Just like Rahab, we fall short of God's glory, just like the harlot of Jericho, we find ourselves living lives of sin, just like this prostitute, we often find ourselves selling out to the world around us and being used by the enemy. But there is good news!!! We don't have to stay that way. Rahab acknowledged that the God of the Israelites was, "The Lord of Heaven above and of the earth below." She recognized that He is the ruler of all that there is, and when we do the same, God does the same thing for us that He did for Rahab, He saves us...He saves us from the life that we once knew, He forgives our past, He gives us a bright future.
No, Rahab was not your average "Church-goer" and I hope that you are not as well, I hope that you are who God called you to be, forgiven, restored, redeemed and resting in His salvation.
There is an old song by Ray Boltz that talks about Rahab's Great-great grandson called, "Shepherd Boy." In that song the chorus says, "When others see a shepherd boy God may see a King, even though your life is filled with ordinary things, in just a moment He can touch you and everything will change, when others see a shepherd boy, God may see a King." Others saw in Rahab a prostitute, but God saw one worthy of being in the linage of Jesus, What does He see in you today? He has a plan for you and it's out of this world...
Till, "Whenever"...Bro. Alan

It's Been A While

Well, it's been a while...Like many of you, summer is not a time of leisure and rest, it is a time of meeting commitments, keeping appointments, planning family time, and for me, working on finishing a master's degree.
This summer has been busy to say the least. Our oldest daughter is preparing to leave for college at Texas A&M in College Station, TX., we had a funeral in Dallas last week, I have written 67 pages in research papers in the last three weeks, not to mention preparing and studying for sermons and Bible studies, and oh yeah, we moved my wife's "Quilting Studio" home this week, which involved much heavy lifting and sore muscles. Our son started two-a-days last week, so we have to get up and get him to practice by 7:00am every morning, our youngest daughter is keeping us on our toes as well. We have totally rearranged the house to compensate for our oldest moving out and the quilting machine coming home. So, things have been moving at a furious pace in the Wilson household. And you know what? I wouldn't want it any other way...I love life at a fast pace...

Well, I know it's been a while since I've blogged, as if anyone really reads these anyway, as a matter of fact it's been so long that I had to reset my password and wait for the blogging site to reconfirm my information. Anyway, we have finished our study of Exodus and are now diving into the book of Joshua. Joshua is an amazing study of the life of a faithful man of God. He serves as a worthy example for us to follow today, a man that remained faithful till the end, a man that was not concerned about popular opinion or what the latest poll had to say, a man that was steadfast and committed to his mission that the Lord had given him.
As we travel with Joshua and enter into the Promised Land I will try to write about where we are and where we are going in our study together, as of right now, we are getting ready to cross the Jordan, we are standing on the banks of the river, looking over into Canaan Land, there is going to have to be faith, trust and dependence on God to get us across that river...but it can and it will be done. What rivers are you at today? Does it seem impossible to try to get through the problems that you are facing today? Let's try to look tomorrow at how we can cross the rivers in our lives and begin to live atthe place that God has chosen for us...Till then, Bro. Alan