Taste and See that God is Good.

My reflections of Sunday services.  I have said it probably over a 1000 times, I love being a pastor in the United Methodist Church.  It has been one of the greatest gifts God has blessed me with, along side my wife and kids.  This morning we talked about Tasting and Seeing the Goodness of God.  I shared my story of being a food addict.  Yes food is a drug and it is my drug of choice.  I have used it to numb pain, to battle loneliness, and to hide from fears in life.  My life has been a constant yoyo of weight gain and weight loss.  Food has had its grips on me my entire life.  This morning I spoke on Psalm 34 and how the goodness of God that King David speaks about allows us to know that God is Awesome, God is a rescuer and God is Good all the time.   I know that I constantly need rescuing from myself or I will fall back to sin.  Luckily God has met me more than half way and is willing to never give up on me.   If you are struggling with an addiction find help, find a group of people that can love on you like Jesus loves.  Like Holy Communion Jesus calls his disciples to surround the table together and to not be alone.  In my life I have people that surround me and are my cheerleaders, workout partners, encouragers, accountability coaches, and people who get frustrated by me and my actions but offer me grace.  I need all these people around my table, doing life together so that we can experience, taste and see the goodness of God together.  If you don't have that community, I invite you to come be a part of our community at North Cross UMC.  We don't have everything right and perfect, we are a bit odd and obscure sometimes, but we do believe in these two words that we are Better Together.  The world needs people to surround a table to laugh, cry, love, pray and eat together so we may see that God is Good all the time.

The Greatest Gift.

Ministry can be difficult, wait let me correct that, ministry is difficult, but it is also the most rewarding work I have ever completed in my life to date. I cannot think of any other thing that would be more satisfying than being a pastor in the United Methodist Church and lucky for me I am one and hope to be an Elder, one day in the future, God willing. With that said, as I reflect on the path that God has led me, I get excited to see God has been patiently working alongside my ministry all the time. I do have regrets in life, like I wish I would have went to seminary 20 years ago, I wish I would have not done course of study 7 years ago and just started seminary then, but I have to be faithful that this is the path God is leading me. I recognize that some of my decisions have been my own failures and yes, I am my own detour, but once again God is faithful and steering me into a life of mission and service and putting me back on track.

I can feel and experience how my relationship with God has changed my life in amazing ways. Every since I was 14, I felt called to be a United Methodist pastor. Twenty years later God kept nudging me on a path that was drawing me closer to God’s plan and purpose of my call. I first had to “repent” of my desires and allow God’s desires to draw me closer to God. I could not have fully understood how God was piecing all the puzzles of my life together to get me to where I am today, but I do know God patches together our tapestry’s of life to form a complete picture of our relationship with God.

I have felt God’s grace in my life, in the decisions I have made, in the conviction that I need God in my life and that I need to share this message so that others struggling can also find redemption in their relationship with God.

John Wesley talks about an “awakening” and for the last seven years of being a pastor I have felt an ever great presence of this “awakening” in my life. Daily I am humbled by God’s gracious acts in my life and in the lives of my family and people I get to serve. These acts of God’s grace continue to “Awaken” and bring to life in me a faith that is continuously growing.

My journey and growth in holiness and being more like Christ, has been the greatest adventure. I cannot think of any other adventure I would desire. Certainly, God never left me just as I am, God has been molding me into a servant and a disciple-maker. Sometimes the journey is difficult, and life is difficult, but God promises me I am free to be transformed and made new through my relationship with Jesus.

Being able to serve a big God is...The Greatest Gift.