Be Who You Want Them to Be

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Andy Stoddard

I am often jealous of what an amazing mother Holly is. She really is the perfect mother, she is compassionate, loving, nurturing, firm, fun, everything you could want in a parent.

I’m not just saying this because I’m married to her, but she is really an amazing mother to our children.

I, on the other hand, often just feel awkward with our children. I know that’s an odd thing to say, but I feel that way sometimes. I don’t feel that way when it comes to matters of faith, or education, or even pop culture (like Doctor Who). I think I’m pretty good at that type of stuff.

But you know where I feel awkward? When we are outside, just hanging out, doing nothing. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do.

Now, part of that is my overall driven “type A” ADD over-caffeinated personality. I get that totally. I never have done “downtime” well.

But, it hit me while we were outside as a family playing baseball yesterday why I’m so bad at these type of things. I’ve never done before. I didn’t grow up playing baseball or outside stuff with my parents. They were older, daddy drove a truck for a living and just didn’t do that type of thing with me.

Now, please don’t think I’m saying my parents were bad parents. They were great; I’m not complaining at all. I had a great childhood. But it just hit me, I never really did that lazy day hanging out playing when I was a kid.

And now, I struggle as a parent to do it with my kids.

And I don’t like it. I don’t like the way that it makes me feel like a I’m not the kind of dad I’d like to be. So you know what I do?

I do it anyway. I move beyond the awkwardness of it, and play ball. I try my best to goof around. I try my best to laugh and play and turn off the drivenness of my brain and just be present.

You know why? I want Sarah to be that type of mother that does that with her kids. And I want Thomas to be that type of dad that does that with his kids. I want them to do these naturally.

It says this in Numbers 14:18:

‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’

What does that mean? Our kids learn from us. They see us. They watch us. The behavior that we model for them will be the behavior they they do. That’s what this verse is talking about. God doesn’t hold kids responsibility for the parents sins, but more than likely, the sins of the parents will be passed down to the children.

I don’t want that to happen to my kids. I want them to the type of parents one day that I feel like I’m not always. I want them to be amazing. So, I’ve got to be that which I want them to be; as best as I can.

So, I’m learning. I know who I want to be, who I want to become. And so, I do the things that I should, and I be the man (as best that I can) that I want to be.

As parents, we have to move beyond our comfort zones. We have to take risks. We have to make sure that our lives aren’t just for us, but for our kids and our families. We have to try, as best we can, to be the type of parents that we want our kids to become.

We have to have the faith that we want our kids to have, we have to live the virtues we want our kids to have, and we have simply “be” that.

Even when we aren’t good at it. Or feel awkward.

Parenting is hard. But that’s ok. It’s the best thing we’ll ever do.

The Wrong Questions

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Andy Stoddard

I’ve had some very interesting conversations recently about summertime and the church. People are busy, busy, busy. When the summer is upon folks, our schedules just really get out of control. We are going, going, going.

And so what happens from a ministry perspective is this. It’s tough to get things done, it’s tough get schedules planned, it’s tough to get events taken care of. People are just busy. And it’s not just a summer thing, it’s an entire year thing.

In Petal, there’s school and sports and hobbies and family and the beach and everything. This true for both children, youth, families, everyone.

And here’s the biggest change. In years past, church dominated folks schedule, especially here in the south. People placed church plans and church events over personal, family, and school events. And that’s not the case anymore. I put it like this to other pastors – if we make parents choose between t-ball and church, most folks are picking t-ball every time.

It is what it is. It’s the reality of where the world is and is headed. Complaining about it as churches and pastors does no good. What are we going to do about it?

What the church would like, to be honest, would be for you to be less busy with your stuff, so that you can be more busy with our stuff. Church stuff. Church events. I think that we in the church don’t want you less busy, we want you less busy with stuff that keeps you from being busy with our stuff.

And I don’t think that’s right either. You know what I want? I just want folks to be less busy. To have the chance to just breathe. Not less busy with their stuff and more busy with my stuff. Just less busy.

We’ve seen a shift in culture, from “modernity” to “post-modernity.” People aren’t focused on institutions and structure like they used to be, they have shifted towards experiences and their own freedom. Authorities don’t matter. The Encyclopedia Britannica was edited by experts, Wikipedia is edited by you and me. Everyone is an expert, everyone is free!

You can see (if you can read it) some of my explaination off to the side. The things that used to matter, don’t matter any more. What matters? Relationships.

And the church is isn’t set up from that. We are programmed and structured and scheduled. And people aren’t like that anymore. And with what little free time they have, they are going to cram as much life as possible into it.

So, the church’s schedule and events are good, only in that they fit into free time available or mean something to the individual.

The “church” is not set up for that. We operate, most of us, out of a programing mindset. We want you in worship. And education (small groups or Sunday school). We want you on Wednesdays. We want you on Sunday nights. We want you at meetings through the week. We want you at church events. We want you busy, busy, busy for church too.

And I honestly don’t think that’s what folks want. But that’s all that the church knows how to do. It’s how we are set up.

The culture is shifting under our feet. People don’t want businesses. They want community. They want support. They want relationships. And church is set up most time to make you busy.

Not to give you relationships.

We’ve got to shift. We’ve got to move from a program/event mindset to a relational mindset. We’ve got to be authentic Christians that understand that faith and discipleship are not bound to specific times and place. Yes, worship still matters, greatly. Yes, small groups still matter, greatly. But, the most “pastoral” thing I did today was run into an old friend today and drink coffee and chat about life for an hour.

Faith happens all over. This shift we have to make as the church is this. Relationships matter. Relationships are how we are changed, how creation is changed, how lives are change. We as the church have got to move beyond the 1950s method of locked in schedules.

We’ve got to live out the Gospel in coffee shops, and Walmart, and baseball games, and the beach, and everywhere.

We’ve got to be more simple. I ask people at Asbury to commit to 3 things. Weekly worship, weekly small group, and daily service. That’s it. You do those three, you are being very, very faithful.

I don’t want you at church every night. I want you living life, forming relationships, being Salt and Light.

I think we as the church have the answer, but we are asking the wrong question. Jesus is what matters, Jesus changes things. The question is not why aren’t you busy for church, but the question should be is this – how have you seen Him today and how have you shown Him to others.

We have the answer the world needs. We’ve just got to ask the right question.

The One Thing I Know

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Andy Stoddard

There’s a lot of things that I don’t know. There’s a lot of things that I don’t understand. There’s a lot of parts of the Bible that don’t make sense to me, a lot of mysteries of God that I can’t fathom. There’s a lot that I don’t know in life.

And, by the way, the older I get, the more that I’m ok with not knowing everything.

There’s a lot that I don’t know. But there is one that that I know for sure. I’ll let what it says in John 9: 24-25 explain that:

So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

In John 9, Jesus heals a blind man. This man was hauled before the authorities to be questioned about his healing, about Jesus, about everything. And they hurl question after question at him, to the point where he’s finally fed up with it. And this is how he responds. I don’t know everything. But I know this. I was was blind, but now I see.

The one thing I know is this. I once was blind, but now I see. There’s a lot of things that my mind will never understand. But I know this. Jesus changed my life. He made me different. He changed my purpose, He changed my plans, He changed everything about me.

I once was blind, but now I see. I once had no purpose, now I have purpose. I once had no peace, now I have peace. I once had no hope, now I have hope.

I once was blind, but now I see. I know that. I’ve experienced that. I’ve lived that.

There’s a lot I don’t know. But I do know this. Jesus changed my life. And there’s not a single life that He can’t change. That’s what I do know.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones, and you thought our app, you can now watch our worship services from Asbury too!

Teach the Faith

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Andy Stoddard

One of the the things I love most about the Old Testament is the command of God to teach the faith to the children. One of the responsibilities of the adults, of the parents, of the grandparents, the aunts, the uncles of children is to teach them the faith. Teach them the stories of their faith. Teach them what is true.

They were commanded to teach the children. Listen to what is says in Deuteronomy 6:4-7:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

This is a passage that’s known to the Jewish people as the Shema which is the center of the their faith, a they are reminded to know this truth, to teach this truth, to pass this truth to their children.

As Christians, that’s our story too; that’s our call too. As Paul explains to us in Galatians (and all over) that the Old Testament is our story as well; so many things in the Old Testament point to Jesus. We are called to love the Lord our God with all of our hear, our soul, and our might. We are called to love God with all that we are.

And we are called to teach that to others. To our children. To those that are new to the faith. To other believers. We are called to share what God has done for us. We are called to share our faith. Our hope. Our love. We are called to pass along what God has done for us. And what God is doing for us.

We are called to pass along that which is true. God is good. He loves us. He longs to know us. He died to save us. He was resurrected. And will come again. We believe this. We must pass it down to others.

And we must pass along to other what God has done for us. We must teach the faith.

Has God done something for you? Tell someone. Share with someone. Pass it along.

We learn, so we can share. May we do that today and each day.

The Secret to Life

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Andy Stoddard

One of the relentless commands Jesus gives to His disciples in Gospel of John is this – Follow Me.

Over, and over at the end of John He gives this command, they are leave behind all that have, all that they are, and they are to follow Him. He has a plan, He has a purpose, He has a goal, He knows what He is going to accomplish in them, and through them. Listen to what He says in John 21: 18-19:

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

He is talking to Peter in this passage, and He tells him that He is to follow. But, before, He tells Peter – it won’t always be easy. There’s going to be some tough times, you will be lead to places that you don’t want to go, and have to do things that you don’t want to do, and yes, Peter, you will even die a way that you don’t want to die.

And it’s ok.

Because in all the places that Peter will go – it will glorify God.

You want to know the secret to life? You want to know how to live a life, truly worth living, a life that is full, and abundant, and full of joy? An amazing life?

The secret to life is to understand this. It’s not about you. It’s not about me. It’s not about any of us. It’s about God. It’s about living for Him, His glory, His purpose, His plan. That’s where life is found. That’s where purpose is found. That’s where it is all found. Not in our stuff, but in His stuff.

And so Jesus tells Peter, it’s not going to always be easy. Follow me anyway. Because when you follow me, you’ll actually find a life worth living.

That’s the secret to life. To understand that it’s not about us; it’s about Him. When we understand that, then we actually, actually get to live. And that’s when the fun really starts!

(One of) The Most Misunderstood Verses in the Bible

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Andy Stoddard

Our Wednesday Night bible study at Asbury is one of the highlights of my week. It’s always a fun time of conversation about scripture, life, and what God is teaching us. We laugh, ask questions, and try to dig deep into God’s Word.

And, as I am prone to do, I will usually chase a rabbit or two. We are finishing up Galatians, and last night, we took a sidebar conversation into what I said was one of the most misunderstood verses in the bible – Don’t judge lest ye be judged yourself. We had some good conversation about it, and today, I wanted to share a little bit about this verse. It can be found in Matthew 7:1-5:

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Now, notice what I did first. I didn’t just include that verse, but I included the verses after it, and I could have included the verses in front of it. One of the most important things we can do when we read the bible is to understand context. What is happening before the verse, what is happening after the verse. You don’t just want to look at one passage but look what’s happening around it, to get the full picture.

Jesus said, don’t judge, so you won’t be judged. How we judge others will be how we are judged ourselves. Then look at what happens. Your neighbor as a speck (a small thing), while you have a log (a large thing). Take the log out of your eye. Why? So you can help your neighbor take the speck out of their eye.

I think this passage teaches at least two things – humility. We are no better than anyone that we may want to “judge.” We are human. We have made mistakes. We have failed, we have major things that we have done. We need to always understand that as Christians, we are not better than anyone else. We are simply sinners saved by grace. We have to approach everything with humility. That’s the only way that we can make a difference, the only way that we can help others.

Understand your weakness and sin, own it, and when you do that, you will really be able to help others with their weakness and sin.

We have to understand and live out humility in everything.

The second thing is this – the point of “judgement” is heal others. To help others. We are never to judge. We are to help. If someone you love is doing something wrong, you job is not to beat them up, but to help them come to healing. To restore them. To love them. To help them to be complete. You never want to beat them up. But you do, through love, want to help others (just as you would want them to help you) come to a healthy and whole place in their life.

And sin, in the end is destructive. Destructive to our walk with God, and our walk with each other. That’s why our log, and their speck, must both be removed, so what we can walk in peace with God and each other. Sin destroys, and God desires healing and wholeness for all of us.

That’s point here. Not judgement. But healing. Forgiveness. Restoration. So, yes, help your neighbor with their speck. But first, humbly look for the log in your own eye. And then, let every action, every word, every thought you take for them by about what is best for them, and be about loving them, as Jesus loved them.

Fear and Faith

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Andy Stoddard

There are two things at war in our minds at most times. Fear and faith. As Christians, that’s a tough battle, and quite often a battle that we feel guilty about fighting. We believe! We should have faith. We shouldn’t be afraid.

But yet, we are. There are things and situations we are afraid of. Shouldn’t we be better than that! We shouldn’t be afraid. We should have faith.

But we do fear, and then we feel bad. We feel like failures.

Let’s look at Abraham this morning. In Genesis 12, God called him to leave behind his home, and go to the land that God would show him. And he responded and he followed. He believed, and he obeyed. He did what he was supposed to do. Now, a few chapter later through, this is what we find. Listen to Genesis 15: 1-6:

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

God comes to him and says this first off – fear not. Why?

Well, quite often in scripture that’s God’s first word to someone, don’t be afraid. Don’t fear. But, here for Abraham, there was something bigger going on. God had promised him so much. Land. Children. Family. And now, he had no child. He was afraid. He was afraid the promises weren’t going to happen, he was afraid that all that he wanted wasn’t going to take place.

So, God comes to him and says, fear not. I am your shield. Your reward will be very great.

Believe.

And Abraham believed, and it was counted as righteousness. He trusted. He had faith.

Fear and faith. That’s the battle of our lives sometimes isn’t. We want to have faith. We want to believe. But we are afraid. We are scared. We doubt.

We’ve all been there. Fear and faith. Fear and faith.

Today, have faith. The only thing that conquers fear is faith. The only thing that gets rid of fear is faith. We have to believe, we have to hold fast, we have to hope, even when it’s tough.

Because God is good. And true. And faithful. Fear and faith. That’s the choice we have to make, each day. Have faith, today, even when it’s hard. God is good. He won’t leave you. Trust. Have faith. And He will drive away your fear.

Blessed

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Andy Stoddard

You will be blessed today! You will. But, what does that mean? What does it mean to say that we will be blessed? You are probably like me, when something good happens, we say, wow, we are blessed. That is true, because the Bible teaches that all good gifts from above. So, those are blessings.

But, that’s not the only way that the bible looks at blessings. That’s not the only way that the bible talks about blessings. Listen to a passage that you’ve heard from many times from before, The Beatitudes. Listen to what it says in Matthew 5:2-12:

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Each one of these things that makes us “blessed” this morning – poor in spirit, mourn, meek, hunger and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, persecuted, revived, lied about, each of these things, we don’t see them as blessed. We see these as being opposed to, or being attacked, or being hurt, or maybe even being punished.

Nothing on this list is fun. Nothing on this list is easy. Nothing here is something that we even want.

But yet, Jesus, in his teaching, says that when these things happen to us, we are blessed. We should be thankful.

Why?

Because when this happens, when we feel this pain, when we feel this loss, when we feel alone, hurt, and forgotten, you know what? We find that Jesus is all that we really need. When He’s all that we got, He’s all that we need.

When all the stuff of life is stripped away. When all the busyness, all the distractions, all the things that draw us away from Him are gone, and we find that all that we really have in life is Him; we have everything that we could ever need.

We have life, we have peace, we have joy, we have hope, we have everything.

We are blessed. Now, it may not look like the blessings of the world, it may look different. But it truly blessings that can’t be taken away, by anything.

Today, even if life isn’t easy, and in fact, especially if it isn’t, you are blessed. Today. In Him, you are blessed.

For Fear

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Andy Stoddard

After the resurrection happens, something very unexpected, and sort of shocking, when you think about it, happened. At Easter, the stone was rolled away, life triumphed over death, evil was defeated, good has won.

All is great. That’s what happened on Easter morning.

Yet, look at what happens later that same day. It says in John 20: 19-21:

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

The disciples had just witnessed the miracle of resurrection. All of them had heard that He was alive. They knew the tomb was empty. They heard that truth and good had won. They knew it. But, they were still afraid.

They were afraid of the ones that had crucified Jesus.

They were afraid that they were coming for them now.

They were afraid of what could happen.

There were just scared.

So, they went up to the room. And they locked the door. For fear. They locked the door, they shut themselves off, they locked away the world. Out of fear. And what does Jesus do? He shows up, through the locked door and says – peace.

Today, you may have things that you are really afraid of. Things that are killing you spiritually/emotionally/physically. You may be really afraid. It’s ok. We’ve all felt that way; we’ve all been there. And what we want to do when we are afraid is lock the doors. Shut people off, shut people out. For fear.

We want to lock the doors of our heart.

Don’t do it. Hear the words of Jesus – peace. He has this. It’s ok. He’s alive. He has overcome. You don’t have to be afraid. You don’t. Trust. Love. Laugh. Live. You don’t have to be afraid anymore. You don’t have to lock the doors of your heart anymore. You don’t.

Life overcomes fear. You can trust. You can. Today, and each day.

Don’t lock the door of your heart. Don’t give into fear.

Step Up

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Andy Stoddard

Yesterday I challenged people at Asbury to do something big for God. Take a risk. Try something that just looks stupid. Do something that only God can accomplish through you. And then when you do it, you can give God all the glory for what happens.

I was preaching about Matthias, the apostle that too Judas’ place after the resurrection. He had to step up into a calling that was seemingly bigger than him. And that’s the thing we see over and over again in scripture. People that God calls to do something, and their first impulse is, on there’s no way. There’s no way that I can do that. That’s impossible. Matthias stepped up and God used him.

This week I want to look at some other folks that stepped up.

Listen to what happens today in Judges 6: 15-16 when God calls Gideon:

And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.

Gideon would be one of the Judges that would free the people from their oppression, that would restore the proper worship of God. He was a great man, a great leader. And his first impulse was, nope. I can’t do this. I can’t do this task that God has called me to. It’s too big. It’s too mighty, and I’m too small. I can’t do it.

But he could.

And he did. God, through him, freed the people. God restored them. God brought life to them. He was able to free them.

Because Gideon overcame his fear and his doubt. And stepped up.

You can too, today. You can do it. You can do great things. You can.

Step up. Through God today, you will do great things. Believe it. You will.

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Monthly Archives: May 2014