Samples of things to come

Lately my office has been overrun with samples.  For the past three months our church has been undergoing major renovations to our 50+ year old sanctuary.   As committees have met and decisions have been made, a large hoard of samples has found its way into my work space.   The collection has included, at one time or another,  such items as:  carpet samples,  window trim samples,  window treatment samples,  floor tile samples,  wall tile samples,  stone samples,  brick samples,  upholstery samples,  chair samples,  lettering samples,  architectural diagrams,  seating charts,  cardboard templates for an oak cross and a new pulpit, acoustical fabric samples, countertop samples, lettering samples, computer-generated graphics of window designs, decor and wood trim, samples of stair rails, newel posts and spindles, paint samples, and lighting schematics.   Each one of these miniature versions of the real thing were presented to allow us to envision what our finished product would look like.   It helped move our imagination along toward a most robust picture of what would be.

Our congregation was eager for the transformation to take place; they had prayed, dreamed and generously given, saved  to pay for all that would come and approved the plan.    But intentions, samples and dreams can only take you so far; for the vision to turn into reality it took a talented team of architects, craftsmen, carpenters, salesmen, stonemasons, painters, carpet installers,  electricians,  consultants, designers, laborers, organ installers,  piano tuners, manufacturers, fabricators, sign-makers, tile layers, cabinetmakers, plumbers, CAD operators and audio and video technicians 

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Looking back and sorting through the now obsolete samples, I am reminded that God sprinkles some samples of things to come into our lives.   Since our faith rests on faith, much of what we anticipate in the future of our lives and in eternity is not seen- it awaits the final unveiling.  We need something to examine in advance to hold in our hands and imagine what lies beyond.   These samples don’t come in display binders or attached to display boards.  They come in the love and kindness shown to a loved one or a stranger.  They arrive as a needed dose of sunshine or a splash of color.  They pop up as an unexpected blessing or the reception of a kind word.   They are messages of God’s love and care for us that are sprinkled across the pages of the Bible.  They are the promises of redemption as seen in a cross or an empty tomb.   They are the words of hope spoken at a funeral and they are the words of commitment spoken by a bride and groom in a place of worship.

 

As I spend this day dealing with the clutter of samples from a project completed, I want to redouble my efforts to not miss the samples of God’s presence that He has hidden in the confines of this day-samples that should and do reassure me that what God is building in my life and for me in eternity are indeed real.   Why don’t you look for some samples in your life, too?

Five lessons to learn from the Petraeus mess

1.       You cannot hide your actions or character forever:

Someone will see, someone will notice someone will tell – live like everything is public and there will be no shock when the private is revealed. (Take a look at Number 32:23)

2.       Don’t be too close to someone other than your spouse:
“embedded”  “access” “confidant”  and “mentor” can be danger signs in a cross-gender relationship.

3.       Betrayal of trust will always hurts the innocent

Spouse, children, parents, co-workers, friends…

4.       There is no place to go to get your reputation back

What is done can be forgiven but what is done is done.

5.       Temptation always pays with counterfeit dollars

No matter how right it seems, the results of wrong are always greater.

Thanksgiving - bonus ideas

Five added blessings of practicing thanksgiving

1. Thanksgiving will keep you from becoming overly negative
2. Thanksgiving makes you aware of God’s presence
3. Thanksgiving creates a sense of adventure in life
4. Thanksgiving blocks a critical spirit
5. Thanksgiving makes you a lot easier to be around

Three Levels of Thanksgiving

1. Level #1 - Being thankful for the good
2. Level #2 – Being thankful that it wasn't worse
3. Level #3 – Being thankful for God’s use of the bad

Eight ways to act like Jesus reigns

Eight Ways to ACT like Jesus Reigns

1. Don’t view apparent set-backs as permanent

2. Avoid using the word “never”

3. Be patient with other believers – God is not finished changing them

4. Don’t fret over evil doers – God will set all things right

5. Don’t worry about your possessions – they won’t last

6. Give Him credit for everything

7. Freely confess your faults

8. Remember to say “Thank You”

I shared this as part of my teaching on Sunday Nov. 4, 2012, to access material in this series go here http://www.calvarywv.com/series/approved/

Waiting Rooms

As I write this I am sitting in a waiting room. I am not fond of waiting rooms. It is a nice waiting room; a flat panel TV tuned to the Weather Channel just told me it is raining in Milwaukee. The magazine selection is ok, except the titles seem a little tilted towards women; I can't seem to find a Road and Track or Popular Mechanics in the stack. The medical personnel at this facility are friendly and efficient and the furniture is modern and comfortable. Free wifi would be nice but writing on my iPad lets me do something productive while I wait. But to be honest, I would rather be somewhere else. I guess the real reason I am not a fan of waiting rooms is I am trapped here. I am captive to a schedule other than my own. I have no control over when I can be set free from this antiseptic closet. I do like being in control. I like to control my schedule, my environment, my to-do list and a hundred other things.

As I sit here and reflect on waiting, I recall that God uses "waiting rooms" - Joseph spent years in slavery and jail before he became an official in Egypt. Moses waited 80 years before starting his mission of deliverance. David waited years from his anointing until he assumed the throne. Before He began His public ministry, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness; Paul spent 3 years in Arabia and considerable time in prison. There must be some virtue in waiting.

Maybe the "waiting room" experiences of life are meant to help us break the addiction of control. Our God wants us to know that we need to recognize and allow His control in our lives. Our waiting is to be more than marking time- it should be a time to renew our confidence in God's ability and involvement in our lives. If we do, our expectations, frustrations and evaluations of life will slide into a more comfortable place. We can spend more time praising and less time complaining. More joy, less stress. More peace, less conflict.

As I close, I am still in the waiting room and don't know how long I will be here, but the above thoughts give me a little more perspective and peace and I like that. Being a little less in control is genuinely good for me. But I am going to find something on TV besides the Weather Channel.

Blessings,
Jesse Waggoner
www.CalvaryWV.com

Voice of the Valley 4-22-2012

It was great fun to be back in the studio with Ric Cochran to appear on the Voice of the Valley Radio Show.  I used this opportunity to promote our upcoming Health and Saftey Fair and to discuss the ministry at Mt. Calvary.  Here is a clip so you can listen.

Reenacting the Resurrection

Not far from the banks of the Little Kanawha River is a white church with the customary steeple and bell to be rung every Sunday morning.  It was in this place that so much of my journey of faith began.  It was also the place where I first learned of the significance of the resurrection of our Lord.

One year, for some reason, the church fathers decided to allow the youth group to be in charge of the Easter Sunday Sunrise service.  The Sunrise service was a long standing tradition.  To start the day, we would meet for a service extra early on Easter Sunday, then gather in the church basement for a full breakfast (including the best sausage I can ever recall eating).  This was all followed by Sunday School and preaching like any normal Sunday, except the boys were extra scrubbed and combed and the girls wore a higher percentage of new spring dresses.  We decided that a drama was in order and went to work with staging and costumes and special effects.  Never mind that the staging was a few fake palms, and the costumes consisted of bed sheets standing in for angel robes and flip flops for first century sandals.  We did go all out for special effects: we borrowed a stereo system and hid the speakers behind the piano and organ and at the precise moment we needed thunder roaring from the sky, someone was to drop the needle onto an LP record that contained the appropriate boom.

When on that Easter Sunday the drama was presented, the record player thunder sounded on cue, bath- robed women came to the tomb, a tinsel-topped angel announced Jesus was alive in front of a chicken wire painted paper covered tomb, and then the highlight -- a fake-bearded, very non-Jewish looking Jesus made a glorious post-death appearance.  We did stop the story short of the ascension as we could not figure out how to get Jesus to zoom off into the sky.

As I think back on that decades ago makeshift reenactment of the resurrection, I also note that there is a more mature aspect as well.  In a very real sense, the followers of Jesus continue to reenact the resurrection. The Apostle Paul put it this way: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life”  (Romans 6:4).  A new life is a major theme that is woven through the Christian faith.   We were once lost but now are found.  We describe salvation as being born again.  We describe the transaction of trusting Christ as conversion.  We take off the old and put on the new.  Just as radical change took place in Christ at the resurrection in passing from death to life, we too are all about radical change.   Just as He was changed, so are we.  We can follow in the shadow of the resurrection.

The Scriptures teach that our eternal destiny is determined by our faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection, and so is our current life. If we have been made new in Him we need to live a new life.   We are to be dead to the old life of sin and selfishness and live a new life of bringing glory to Him.

   

This Easter, and every other day, we have some reenacting to do.

Words from the Graveside

Today, I stood beside an open grave. The casket had been placed over it awaiting the words I would say before it was lowered and covered and we all slowly walk away. Multiple sets of eyes look at me from the faces of grieving family and friends. Not one of them planned to be here until just a day or so ago, and it is really not a comfortable place for any of us to be. In the brief moment before the committal service begins, a brief flash of clarity forces it way into my thoughts.

 I have nothing to say.

 In spite of the fact that in multiple decades of pastoral ministry I have made this trip more times than I can recount and I have done my duty. However, I am starkly aware that my mind cannot manufacture words for such an occasion. For you see my destiny is locked in the vice-grip certainty that one day it will not be me speaking over the grave; it will be my turn to occupy one. I am not in this alone. All of us gathered in this windy hillside cemetery will one day make a final return trip to a place like this. No words of my own will work.

Even without glancing down there is the comfortable reassuring feel of the leather cover of the book I hold in my hand. It is from this source that some measure of sense about the giving and losing of life can be gained. In its pages there is a recipe for the tonic of hope; there is the healing serum that can heal a broken heart. What I have to offer a tear-filled widow, dazed children, and confused grandchildren must not come from one who is simply a participant in life but from the giver of life.

With a nod from the ever-professional funeral director, I begin. I glance once more into the eyes of those who are hurting the most, then mention the name and vital facts of the person whom we have come to honor and mourn. I quickly open the compact Bible in my hands and run my fingers down the page to find the place where Jesus spoke as He approached the burial site of His friend Lazarus. I sense relief that what can be said and needs to be said has been granting comfort and hope for twenty centuries. I merely provide the vocal apparatus to give sound to the message from the One who conquered death. One who once occupied a grave and evacuated one as well. One who through His sacrifice opened the way to a permanent home on the other side. I read…

  "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26)

 A few more words are spoken, a prayer is offered and the service is done. I close my Bible, I greet the family a final time, push my reading glasses into my suit pocket, walk among the previously filled graves and the ones yet to be used. I whisper a prayer of thanksgiving that because of Him, some day when someone stands beside my grave, I will live.

A Christmas Invitation

Your Christmas invitation is just two clicks away. Your first click is here

If you click on the picture above - you just get a bigger picture - sorry, so use the text link instead. Jesse

Christmas Messengers

I have received birth announcements in various ways. There is the traditional baby-themed card in the mail. I have also been handed candy, lollipops and back in the day, cigars. In the modern era I have been informed of new arrivals by text message, twitter, facebook and instant message. No matter the method of delivery, at the time, it seemed normal. In the second chapter of Luke, we find the "birth announcement" of Jesus and the unusual method chosen has become an integral part of the Christmas story. A group of unnamed shepherds were the first outside the family to get the news. But why shepherds? Of all the means available to spread the news of this unique birth why would working-class wool chasers be the chosen ones? Why recruit these who were minding their own business until an angel dramatically interrupted an otherwise uneventful night to declare, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

I think the answer to the “why the shepherds” question can be found not in what they witnessed by finding the “Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” but by their response. Luke’s account tells us that, “Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child." Thus began a pattern that continues a couple of millennia later. The preferred method of spreading the message of God’s love for the world as expressed through Jesus is by ordinary people passing the news on to others in their lives. Here is where it gets personal. We do not need to be the spiritual elite to spread the message. It can be transmitted by casual contact. The reason that the birth of one first-century Jewish baby is noted around the world is because the message has gone viral.

In the midst of the hoopla of the holiday season people of faith should be reminded that our simple touches of care, our ordinary acts of kindness, and our normal conversations can be opportunities for others to be infected by the old, old story of Jesus and His love. Someone in your world is waiting to hear Jesus birth announcement.

Jesse Waggoner

Keep Shooting

Some of you have seen the picture above - it is of our daughter Jessica and our granddaughter Kaelyn. They, along with our Son in law Eric, came to spend the weekend with us. A few days before their arrival, Jessica called and asked if I would mind taking some pictures. As many of you know, I love photography and it took only a fraction of a second to say yes. The picture above (you can click on it and see an even larger version) was the one that is now on the wall in my office. It is right beside me as I type this. I love it for many reasons, the contrast between one set of eyes open and one being closed is great, the fact that one face is looking at the camera while the other is in profile works, so does the contrast in skin tones, the way the hair falls -- I could go on and on... and of course the most important thing that makes it special are the two people who are in it.

But there is something else you should know. This image is one of 165 I took that day. Most will never be seen by anyone other than me and only 3 or 4 will make it to prints or will be posted online. Most of what I took that day are, in a word ..bad. The lighting is off in some, the focus is not crisp in others. I also have a new found appreciation for baby photographers. With an infant you just can’t say: "look at me and smile"and get the result you want. You have to time it just right and hope you hit the shutter release at the correct moment.

This fact that only through perseverance can the correct outcome be gained in photography serves a fitting metaphor for life. Most of our efforts don't succeed on the first try, many don't after the 100th. But there is reward in sticking to it, to keep giving effort , to perfecting one's skills. Most of the time victory comes to the one who refused to give up. So whatever it is we do, let's keep giving our best. The perfect moment may be close at hand.

Your Invitation

Mt. Calvary is having a welcome reception for us Sunday evening at 6:30 - special music will be by Master Peace and I am so pleased that my dear friend Dr. Paul Reiter will be speaking. There will be light Hors D’Oeurves, cake & punch following, consider this your invitation.

Traveling?

Where are you traveling? Maybe you have trip or two planned, or perhaps you are committed to just staying home. No matter your plans you are going to do some travelling, a lot of traveling. In fact you are on the move as you read this. Not so sure? Consider this; right now the earth is spinning on its axis, with you on it, at a speed of about 800 miles per hour. It doesn't feel like you are moving because everything around you, above you and under you is moving at the same speed and direction as you. If that is not enough movement consider this the earth travels around the sun at a speed of about 67,000 miles per hour! You are going somewhere, you have no choice.

Spiritually it is the same, you are always moving. You are either making progress in your walk with God or you are digressing. Even Jesus is described as making progress; “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."(Luke 2:52) If he needed to make progress, we certainly do.

I hope you will join me in being committed to going in the right direction. You can insure this by being in the Word of God regularly – you also should be part of a church that teaches the Word in a way that touches life. These will help keep you between the lines as you navigate the road ahead.

Blessings,
Jesse

CalvaryWV.com

Number Four

I have had the privilege of previously serving as a pastor of three churches: New Hope Bible Church in Bridgeport, West Virginia, Calvary Baptist Church in Portsmouth, Ohio and Associate Pastor at Bible Center Church in Charleston. As many of you know, I completed my ministry at Bible Center last September. In the mean time, I have completed my Doctorate Degree (I am contemplating starting work on a second Doctorate Degree before the year is out - not sure if I am brave or crazy) and then unexpectedly was requested to serve as interim pastor of Mount Calvary Baptist Church. It has been a joy to serve at Mt. Calvary with a fine staff and congregation. We have seen the Word of God do amazing things in the lives of many over these last months.

But one can only live in "interim" land for so long. There comes a time to move on and we have been preparing for the move for some months. During this time, we have interacted with a number of congregations around the country and have been blessed to learn of God's work in ways and places that were new to us. It has been a joy to meet with pastoral search committees that are composed of godly servants who are doing God's work in God's way. We are still praying for some of them to find the man God is calling to that particular work. That said, where are we going to land?

I told some folks recently that I feel like the guy who was searching around the world for a wife and ends up marrying the girl next door. So now we know - Sunday, September 18th, I will begin my fourth pastoral ministry as Senior Pastor of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, in Charleston, West Virginia. In the last eight months, Julie and I have grown to love this congregation. We have also learned to love this area even more. This call has been confirmed in many ways, not the least of which is seeing two growing services on Sunday mornings, as well as people being saved and baptized. God is at work and He is to be praised! There is much work that remains to be done but I am thankful that I get to work alongside other staff pastors, church board, and a congregation that are walking with Christ and have a passion to do God's will.

So I continue to do what I have done my entire adult life: preach God's Word and pastor God's people. I am a blessed man to get to do both

Are we in the Last Days?

For those of us who live in on the East Coast last week's earthquake was the first one we have experienced in our lives - do you think it will be the last one? This and so many other world-events (storms, unrest in the Middle East, terrorism, financial instability etc.) lead many to ask questions such as: What does the future hold? Are we approaching or living in the last days? Is there hope? Is there an escape? Fortunately there are answers from the lips of Jesus and they are found in Matthew chapter 24. I will be leading a study through this portion of God's Word on Wednesday nights 6:30 p.m. at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church. These messages will not be available online so if you want to be a part make plans to join us for this journey through the Last Days.

New Arrival

Kaelyn Michelle McVey arrived on July 23, weighing in at 8lbs 3oz. Dad Eric and Mom Jessica are all doing well. Julie and yours truly are are still a bit in shock over being grandparents - but it is a shock that we greatly enjoy!

Proverbs 17:6 says, "Children's children are the crown of old men, And the glory of children is their father." I must admit that I like the "crown and glory" parts more than the "old men" part of that verse. But however it is said to reach this point in life is blessing of God. A testimony to His faithfulness and His grace to our entire family.

I would like to offer some profound insights to you in perfectly formed sentences that you would enjoy reading and feel compelled to send on to someone else but I guess this one of the few times that I am at a loss for words --but I know this God has surely been good to me.

Jesse

God wrote you a letter

I heard a fellow preacher describe hearing an elderly African American preacher deliver something similar to the following so with a few imaginary flourishes I submit the following.

Over in the little book of First John chapter 2 and down in verse 13 the beloved Apostle says – “I write to you fathers” -- so a I say to all of you fathers, God wrote you a letter. It also says “I write to you young men” – so again I say to you young men – God wrote you a letter. It goes on to say “I write to you little children” – so little children, God wrote you a letter. So I can say to you church – God wrote you a letter.

God sat down at His desk of sovereignty, picked up His pen of omniscience and He wrote you a letter of divine revelation. His ideas are infallible its content is inerrant and its message is immutable. God wrote you a letter. He wrote your letter on paper watermarked with the tears of prophets, He wrote you letter with the indelible ink of His faithfulness, it is written in the script of His holiness it is punctuated with His graciousness and it signed by the blood of Jesus. God wrote you a letter. He placed your letter in an envelope of love, sealed by the kiss of His spirit postmarked by the apostles and delivered by the breath of Almighty God. Church – God wrote you a letter. My friend God wrote you a letter.

So I say to you beloved – you ought to read your mail.

25 things I learned from a walk in the forest

I recently spent an afternoon hiking about 5 miles through one of our state parks. Here are some things you can learn from a walk in the forest.

1. God loves the color green
2. Trees are tall
3. People are not
4. You never see a tree grow
5. Walking face-first into a spider web is always startling
6. Forests have a different cast of birds than my backyard
7. Squirrels are better than any circus acrobat
8. I don’t like snakes
9. Poison Ivy is hard to see
10. Always take your camera
11. A camera cannot capture what the eye can see
12 Chipmunks are noisy
13. Forests soak up both water and sound
14. If a tree falls in the forest…it will always be across the hiking trail
15. I do not understand why people carve their initials into tree trunks
16. Sticks and stones may break my bones…so I try to avoid them
17. I need better hiking shoes
18. Air tastes different in the woods
19. Only God can make a tree it takes an idiot to produce litter
20. Trees are always heading upward…so should I
21. I don’t spend enough time in the forest
22. Forests are wonderful places
23. God makes amazing forests
24. Everything God makes is amazing
25. God is amazing

Blessings,
Jesse Waggoner

Wedding Bells

Saturday June 18, 2011 our youngest son was married to Katie in Englewood, Florida. If you want to see more pictures just use the links below.

Julie and I and my parents flew down, which meant we did not get to visit with several friends on the return trip as we planned. But flying was easier on all of us. We were also pleased that a number of family and friends made the trip. Our whole gang stayed in Buchan's Landing Resort which is on Lemon Bay - a wonderful place for us to gather and celebrate. We watched dolphins swim by each morning, and I enjoyed taking pictures of the beauty and wildlife in the area. Julie was a wonderful host for those gathered - one morning she prepared breakfast for 27!

The wedding took place in the Green Street Church which was the first church in Englewood and is now operated by the historical society. It was lovely setting for a ceremony that honored the Lord as they made their commitment to each other.

I shared with those gathered at the rehearsal dinner that families are very stretchable - as proven by the fact that both of our families are enlarged by this marriage; Katie's family have warmly welcomed Brian and we are delighted that Katie has become part of the growing Waggoner clan. They will be living in Richmond Virginia where Brian will pursue his chosen career in law enforcement.

We also got in a little relaxation after the wedding, Julie and I enjoyed the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and colleting a few seashells along the way, not to mention taking some pictures of some outstanding sunsets! We are glad to be back in WV and looking forward to be worshipping with the folks at Mt. Calvary Baptist on Sunday.

Jesse

Wedding Photo Album

Florida Photo Album

Prison Stories

Have you ever noticed how so many Bible stories take place in a prison? Think about Joseph in Egypt, Sampson, Jeremiah, Peter, Paul, Silas, the Apostle John, and John the Baptist come quickly to mind. This band of jail-house brothers are each part of the story God is trying to tell in the Bible and maybe He needed to get our attention in a particular way.

But why prison bars as a backdrop for the message God is trying to communicate? The metaphor of prison is one that jars our senses. It invades our minds with images of being helpless, hopeless and with little or no control. It touches the soul where the soul feels stuck and bound, where the only hope is on the outside as there are no useable resources for escape on the inside. It connects with the season in life where every day runs into the next and every day seems the same. Where there is little point but existing to do it all over and over again. One does not have to be literally in lock down to be acquainted with the prison syndrome. The addict knows about prison. So does the person who has been rejected and passed over. So does everyone who has ever hoped for more from life and not being able to see a way to get there. It is known by everyone who waits for word from an erring child or a wandering spouse. The feelings of confinement by a disability, injury or disease can also feel prison-like.

I have come to believe that it is for these that the prison stories are sprinkled throughout the pages of Scripture are special messages for you in those moments when you are the one in one kind of a prison or another, they are mini-dramas to help you know that life in prison is not the kind of life God intends but sometime it is only through the experience of being out of control that we really come to terms with what it means for Him to be in control.

For the next several weeks I am doing a study of a dozen or so of these prison stories and I want to invite you to either follow along or at least pick up your Bible and find your way to a prison story and in so doing you can find the kind of freedom that God desires for you to experience each day.

Blessing,
Jesse