Pastor’s Desk August 6th

Scripture Passage:  “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?  I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”  Isaiah 43:19

Dear Friends,

     I like new things.  A new shirt or a new pair of shoes change a day of mundane activity into one of excitement.  I even like old things that are new to me.  Most of my vehicles have age and miles on them.  I take great pride in cleaning them up- and having someone say, “That looks brand new.”  Even doing maintenance on my house like cleaning the siding or staining the deck makes it feel like a new home.  The appearance makes it feel like a fresh start on another year.  Sometimes even traveling to a common destination a new way, brings adventure and new scenery to an old journey.  There is a fine line between replacing the old time tested products and ways and new ways to enhance and improve them. 

     We are told in Jeremiah 6:16 to search out the old paths and when we find them to walk therein.  Some things do not need improvement because the product or way is as good as it gets.  The Bible is a good example.  The law is an example of something good that was enhanced when grace was added.  Once grace was added it could not be improved upon.  As a matter of fact, the grace is so good it over shadows the law.  The abundant grace that is available is what gives us the hope and excitement that today is a new day and God will do a new thing.  My experience is that God needs no improvement, but I sure do.

     As we embark on a new church year, I am excited about all the possibilities and opportunities the new year will bring.  The temptation I deal with is finding “the new thing” that will ignite the excitement back into the church once again.  New programs, activities, music, buildings, and mission opportunities are the venues most people expect to find the “new thing” in.  I honestly have even contemplated whether a “new pastor” is what the church needs.  Someone with fresh ideas and a new vision.  Someone who could excite the people and lead them to become more in Christ than they have ever been before.  The new wore off me a long time ago.  The Scripture text says that God will do a new thing.  My heart longs for and desires the new thing from God that only He can do.  When that occurs, the church will not settle for cheap imitations.  The excitement will not be controlled by the fickleness of human emotions, but the joy of walking with Christ.  That alone would cause our church to multiply and burst at the seams.  Faithful would become an action verb rather than an adjective and excitement would become a way of life rather than an event.  Father, please do a new thing in us and our church.

In Christ,

Pastor Johnny


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