I remember Evander.

I remember Evander...even though it's been 20 years. Yeah, I'm talking about Evander Holyfield. I was coaching football at the time. Our team had been invited to the state capitol in recognition of the state championship we had won that fall. On the way home, we stopped off at a mall just south of Atlanta to let the boys eat supper. I joined the other coaches in a cafeteria there for dinner. After paying and exiting the restaurant, I remembered I had left my cap on the table inside. So, I turned and rushed back towards our table. As I turned the corner, I ran into a wall. Only, it wasn't a wall, it was a large black man with huge arms and a rock solid chest. I issued my apologies, grabbed my hat off the table and rushed back out to the other coaches. They had huge grins on their faces and one of them asked me, "Do you realize who you just ran into in there?"

Looking back inside the restaurant, I had to tell the truth. "No. I don't. Who was it?"

"Evander Holyfield--the boxer, " came their reply.

By the time I realized who I had collided with, he was gone--he and his entire entourage of bodyguards and friends. I had missed my chance for an autograph but it gave me a cool story to tell. I went one round with Evander Holyfield and lived to tell about it.

We all have those same kinds of stories. Maybe we've heard others talk about when they met some celebrity or athlete. I've been at parties where people jockeyed for position to tell their "celebrity" story. It's kind of fun to hear and be a part of.

But don't we have more to look forward to? The Bible says you and I live daily in the presence of a Holy God. And not just a God who is way out there beyond our reach. He is a God who lives daily within us--if we choose to follow Him--in the person of the Holy Spirit. He has promised His presence would be with us through every situation, through every difficult moment. However, it's something we take for granted or we don't see its importance. We underestimate what an honor this truly is

Don't believe me? Next time you're sitting around with a bunch of people who are trading their "celebrity" meetings, share how you have a "star" that lives inside of you and see what response you get? Yet, not one of us could make it without Him. I pray that today you and I would grasp the signficance of this gift, a God who refuses to leave us and longs to be that close to us every single day.

It's true...pastors don't fly nor do they bounce very well.

It's true...pastors don't fly nor do they bounce very well. I can attest to both. After missing a step and taking a spill off of a ten foot ladder this weekend, there is no doubt in my mind that it's probably a good idea for me to stay as close to the ground as possible. I even had offers to be wrapped in bubble-wrap yesterday.

I really do appreciate all the prayers over the weekend. You're kind words of encouragement, the phone calls, texts and emails were all very welcome.

I am up and about today. Not quite as much pain and the swelling is going down in the eye. So, the rumors of my demise are grossly exaggerated :) GRIN

Busy week ahead for our Ridgeview family and the Barron family. I would ask for your prayers as we are narrowing down our choice to serve as our Next Generation Pastor here at Ridgeview. We hope to be wrapping up this search in the next few weeks. Pastor Eddie will be bringing message number two in our "Discovering God's Will" series. I am excited to hear the words that God has put on his heart for the weekend. I will have to do that via podcast as Lisa and I will be leaving Friday and gone for the weekend. She and I will be leading a marriage retreat for a friend over in North Carolina (just outside of Charlotte) and I will be staying to lead this church in a time of revival meetings through next Wednesday.

As always, we will miss being with our Ridgeview family. Lisa and I will, of course, be praying for each of you as you join together in worship. Thank you, again, for your prayers for my physical health as we prepare for the weekend and next week at Albermarle, NC. Love you guys.

Can I tell you one of my pet peeves?

Can I tell you one of my pet peeves? Since I didn't hear anyone say "no", I'll continue. I hate it when you're watching previews at the movie theater and they run a preview for what looks like a hilarious movie. For thirty to sixty seconds, the trailer itself has you rolling on the floor. Then, you fork out the money to see the movie months later and you discover that EVERY funny line in the movie was used in the trailer. In fact, you didn't have to watch the movie. The rest of the thing wasn't worth the film it was recorded on. (Do they still use any film since everything is digital these days?) I digress. It frustrates me to know that the best is over and done.

Not so with Christ. In fact, all the way through Scripture, we see the story of a God who keeps saying to us, "The best is yet to come. Just watch, just wait." I see that with Him. The deeper God is taking me in my personal relationship with Him, the more I realize that I haven't even come close to unraveling it all. There is more and more love, more and more grace, more and more power. The "trailer" is good, but the best is truly yet to come.

I feel that way with Ridgeview these days as well. We kind of coasted through the first weeks of summer with a few key events and great moments but the last several weeks have been amazing. And I see even greater weeks ahead. This new series on discovering God's will for your life coupled with our return back to our "home" school makes for a killer tandem. I'm expecting a packed house this week and, most important of all, I have great expectations for what God is going to do as we worship together.

I also have great expectations about my future with an amazing wife. Lisa's birthday is this weekend. I'm thankful for the special gift God gave me 2+ years ago. I'm thankful for the way God has redeemed the broken parts of both of our lives for His glory. I'm thankful that, in Christ Jesus, in every area of our lives, the best is yet to come.

Shouldn't we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever! 2 Corinthians 3:8-11 NLT

The future.

Yesterday, as part of our message on the Christian discipline of meditation, I asked our people to write down their top three worries and bring them forward as part of our response/offering time. I was trying to share that the only way we can really hear from God is if we empty our minds of the worries that consume us and really lean into Him.

I've looked through those pieces of paper this morning. Here is the interesting thing. They all deal with the future. Not one sheet turned was absent of some mention of the future. About 70% of them had financial concerns as their #1 problem. Others mentioned things such as future plans, finding a spouse, looking for a job or knowing what God's plan is for me. The concerns came from different perspectives and out of different backgrounds but they held that one thing in common--the future.

But the interesting thing about this is that God has always warned us NOT to be concerned about tomorrow. You may remember the story of the Israelites (Exodus 16) in the desert who were hungry and complaining about what they were going to eat (the future). God told Moses that He would provide for them and that very evening quail covered the campground. The next day, manna, the mysterious bread from heaven, covered the desert floor and fed God's people. But here was the catch to this mysterious provision from God...day after day He would provide them all they needed to eat, they just couldn't keep any for the next day (the exception was the Sabbath). In other words, God didn't want them worrying about tomorrow. He wanted them to count on him, minute-by-minute, day-by-day, God wanted His people to know exactly where there help came from. It was He who supplied their needs and He would do that as long as they trusted Him.

Jesus emphasized the same when he said in Matthew 6:25, 34:

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?...So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today."

You and I will never know what the future holds but we can rest in the assurance that God holds our future and He will not allow us to go without what we need when we trust in Him.

The laws of nature.

The laws of nature. Webster's Dictionary defines it this way: "A body of law or specific principle held to be derived from nature and binding upon human society in the absence of or in addition to positive law." You know what I'm talking about--basic principles that apply to mankind universally unless something else intervenes. For instance, gravity. As one song of the 70's put it, "What goes up has got to come down." Gravity works every where on this planet, regardless of where you go, unless something else acts to keep it from working (a rocket is fired or you fly in a plane).

Some other examples of natural law include the fact that light in a vacuum will always travel at 186,000 miles a second (just slightly faster than gossip in a Baptist church) or the law that says that every bird within five miles of your house will find your newly washed truck just shortly after completing a meal. (okay, maybe the last one doesn't count but it sure seems that way).

Here's another example: sin means death. That's right. It's straight from Scripture. Sin, no matter how big or how small, causes something to die. You lie to your parents, trust dies. You abuse your kids, a relationship dies. You cheat on your spouse, a marriage dies. You steal from work, your integrity dies. But the apostle Paul put it even more harshly.

Sin pays off with death...

But you remember what I said about laws above? They are true as long as there is no outside influence. Light travels fast in a vacuum but that speed can be affected by outside forces. Gravity works as long as nothing works to hold you up. There has to be something interposed.

In the case of sin, it was God. Or, more specifically, it was His son who intervened and lifted us from our desperate state of affairs. I'm so thankful that verse 23 does not end like I quoted it above. Check out the second part.

But God's gift is eternal life given by Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23 CEV

For many of us, this is old news. But it's grand news! Incredible news! The news that gives us ALL a second chance. Feel free to share it with someone today...it's worth talking about.