Building Bridges from the porch...

But… “they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they

shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary,

and they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31KJV

Waiting is difficult. Instant coffee? Waiting for fresh roasted, fresh

ground and fresh brewed, hand-picked bean, coffee? I suspect that

you coffee lovers would appreciate a cup of the latter. Instant coffee

might be a big cup of nope!

Waiting is difficult. Microwaves? Fast food? Driving in the fast lane? I

spoke to a friend recently about her trip to St. Andrews, Canada. She

extolled the virtues of small towns. I asked her how long it would take

to drive there. She said that if I took 95 it would take 4or 4 ½ hours

but that she preferred the 5 ½ hour route because she could

experience more of the small towns of Maine. Sometimes slowing

down has benefits as more and more people are discovering.

God’s call upon us to wait and then be renewed is the promise, based

on this “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the

everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow

tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives

strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

” Isaiah 40: 28-29 NIV

In other words, He is God. He’s worth waiting for!

• Pastor Brian

Building Bridges

Eventually the Beacon will become the Bridge, as was decided in a recent meeting of the

congregation. We will begin to describe ourselves as Ogunquit Baptist Church- Building

Bridges.

I think that this is a good idea. It expresses to folks in town and about that we want to have

a relationship with them. People can tell, you know, if we want to be around them or

not….and as you know folks can at times have strange ideas about you and me and whether

or not we like them. It usually has something to do with how they were raised and their

development of self-esteem. Whatever the case, Paul encourages us, as much as it is

possible, on our part, to be at peace with all. He reminds us in 2nd Corinthians 5 that as

new creations we are to be Ambassadors for Christ. To be an ambassador it helps to know

the people that we’re connecting with on behalf of the KING.

Jesus calls us to go the extra mile, even with our enemies, and to love our neighbors as we

love ourselves. It’s hard to love someone when we view them as the enemy. Arguing with

someone is not loving them especially if it’s about truth. One earns the right, through

relationship building, to talk about truth. Some would describe this as building relational

capital.

I’d like to tell you a story, from the porch. I served on a Christian camp’s board for 15

years. During that time, it was my privilege to serve with 4 different camp directors. Danny

and Teddy were very active in the community. Danny served as a volunteer fireman and

EMT. Teddy invited the surrounding community to use the camps & beaches etc. In other

words, when it came to the community the camps response was a big, fat, YES!

This was not the case with the 3rd director. We began the process of expanding the camps

capacity during the terms of the previous 2 directors. Things were going well until director

3 came around. In the camps newsletter he began to describe the neighbors as the enemy

and called for everyone to pray against the enemy. The result? Years of legal battles and

$300,000 dollars in legal fees.

Director 4 is still there. He started saying YES again. He rebuilt bridges. The camp is being

revitalized and the community is once again on the beach. Building bridges is always about

perspective. Let’s build together!

-Pastor Brian

The APROACHABLE God

Our view of God has changed over the centuries. I can still remember reading Puritan

Jonathan Edward’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and more recently being told by a husband, who was leaving his wife of 30 years, that he was convinced that God wanted him happy and not bitter and that God told him to “get rid of everything in his lifethat made him bitter”. When I pressed him on the consequences of his actions he replied, “God is good, He’ll forgive me.” Hopefully, you can see the extremes.

Sometimes our perceptions of God as Father are grounded in our experiences, or lack

thereof, with our earthly fathers. Good experiences? Good God. Abuse? Bad God.

It occurs to me that how we view God might better be shaped by what the Scriptures teach us about Him. As we teach and preach through Ephesians, it’s pretty clear, that God is a choosing God, an including God, a transforming God and as chapter 3 teaches, God is an approachable God. We are able in Christ Jesus to approach God with FREEDOM and CONFIDENCE. The door is open because of what Christ has done. The walls are torn down.

This is a mystery. It does not make sense. God is Holy. We are not. He is the King. We are

beggars standing at the gate with hat in hand. BUT JESUS is knocking at the door. He’s

standing at the GATE and sayin’ “Come on in, I want you to meet my Dad. Don’t worry the walls aren’t going to fall down!”

Could it also be possible that folks outside the sheep pen have developed a view of God

that is confined to their interactions with His children? Ghandi rejected Christianity

because of his interactions with Christians while working in South Africa. They rejected him due to the color of his skin. And so its necessary that I ask myself, “Is my life reflecting Jesus? Is it worth imitating? What kind of ambassador am I?”

When I’m challenged like this and become convinced that I need to make adjustments, I

also need to think about it. It’s hard to think. There are so many distractions. Even good

things can distract. In order to do absolute, clear, thinking I need solitude. I need to think away from the distractions, being able to focus. This is not easy. Where can I go? Especially if there are children around!

Sometimes the bathroom is the only place “surely no one will

bug me there!” Wrong...lol.

The APROACHABLE God is available to you today, right now.