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Unless you have been hiding in a cave these last few years, you are well aware of the heroin pandemic wrecking havoc within our County here in Cape May and running rampant all over this Country. When I was young, I heard lots about this opium based narcotic, but dismissed it because it was a drug more prominent within the big city urban settings and not so much in the suburbs. Shooting up on heroine was something that shady musicians and misguided addicts did to either enhance their creativity or escape their lot in life. It wasn’t something I ever gave much serious thought to.

And so when black tar heroin craze began to consume the lives of those we live and share space with in our everyday comings and goings, I was confused and quite perplexed. Suddenly we knew that as a church we needed to do something to become proactive and reactive to this rising drug crisis. Several women at The Lighthouse who experienced the havoc that drug addiction causes within a family and community got involved and formed the foundation of what has become the CURE Ministry. CURE stands for “Christians United For Recovery.” Every Thursday night, there are dedicated Christians committed to providing individual counseling, support groups, drug abuse education and positive and godly caring community. Lives have been saved both spiritually and physically while tragically, others have been lost to overdose. I am so proud of our Team of people who have literally set up life guard stations so that those drowning in a sea of substance abuse aren’t left to go under without a fierce fight for their lives.

So why has our Nation’s opium addiction escalated to such an out of control degree? What has triggered this hunger for heroin? Why has the heartland of America fared no better than the metropolitan centers when it comes to saying, “No” to drug dependence? Even New Jersey Governor Christie has challenged the medical profession to develop pain prescriptions that aren’t addictive and a wide open avenue to chase after deadlier poisons!

A man named Dave, who goes to the Lighthouse Church, recently handed me a copy of the Best Selling Book, “Dreamland,” by Sam Quinones. The story begins with a historical look of what was once the reason that those who called Portsmouth, Ohio their home was able to look out for one another in a day gone by. In 1929, in the blue-collar city of Portsmouth, a swimming pool the size of a football field was opened; named Dreamland, and it became the vital center of life in this Buckeye town. When time marched on, and the economy stalled, Dreamland closed down and the nightmare soon began. 

Author Sam Quinones weaves together two classic tales of capitalism heading for a train wreck whose unintentional collision would turn out to be beyond catastrophic. Portsmouth, once known for its Pool was now becoming the place for Pill Mills. When controlling a patient’s pain became a driving passion for the pharmaceuticals, the irresponsible prescribing of pain medications during the 1990s reached its peak in Purdue’s Pharmaceutical campaign to market OxyContin, its new, expensive and extremely addictive miracle drug. Simultaneously, a massive influx of black tar heroin into our Country, a cheap and potent solution to an addict’s slavery to opium all originated from one small village on Mexico’s west coast. Because they were independent of any drug cartel, they franchised heroin like McDonalds franchised French fries. Young Mexicans with their mouths stuffed with balloons of black tar heroin inhabited small town and mid-sized cities across our land. Law enforcement was baffled by this brilliant, almost unbeatable marketing and distribution system. Together these phenomena continued to lay waste men and women who lived in blue collar towns from Tennessee to Oregon, Indiana to New Mexico, and Cape May County to Cape Cod.

Via introducing a memorable cast of characters such as the Pharmaceutical pioneers, the young Mexican entrepreneurs, the narcotics investigators, the survivors, and the clueless parents who denied that their kids could be addicts, Sam Quinones reveals how and why we have the present drug issues that all of us are fighting all over. By reading “Dreamland,” it made me aware that the problem all began because of irresponsible medical professionals who are overworked and under informed and start prescribing pain pills with no plan, no guidance, and very little accountability. Do you really need to numb your pain to such the degree that you risk addiction?

I believe that everyone who wants to make a difference and is serious about being proactive rather than reactive in the midst of today’s drug infested culture needs to read this book. I don’t believe you will hear this story told better anywhere else. It gives you the big picture from the economic hollowing-out of the middle class to the greedy and reckless marketing of pharmaceutical opiates to the remarkable entrepreneurial industry of the residents of the obscure Mexican state of Nayarit. This is no time for Ministers, Teachers, Counselors, Social Workers, and Medical Professionals to hide their heads in the sand and play dumb about a field they need to do their homework and become responsibly educated over. CURE will continue to work with those who need to be set free from the prison of addiction but I also challenge us to study so that we may recognize the signs that somebody is being set up to become another statistic! “Dreamland” has awakened me to know better how to make a difference and not surrender to the war on drugs! I challenge you to read it too.

Back in 1979, the music group Supertramp had a huge hit with a record called “The Logical Song.”  The lyrics went something like this:

“When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
a miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well they’d be singing so happily,
joyfully, playfully watching me.
But then they sent me away to teach me how to be sensible,
logical, responsible, practical.
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
clinical, intellectual, cynical.

There are times when all the world’s asleep,
the questions run too deep
for such a simple man.
Won’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned
I know it sounds absurd

but please tell me who I am.”

 Did you catch the significance of that last line?  “Please tell me who I am.”  I wonder if it is wise to even attempt to ask another person or an earthly group or tribe to describe or define the regal purpose of a human life!  Maybe the trouble is that we people all depend way too much upon one another for our labels and our instructions and our road maps to a destination where our lasting legacy may be discovered.  But one thing is for sure and that is deep down inside of each and every one of us we know that we were designed to live a story bigger than ourselves.  There is a nagging, almost gnawing feeling that disrupts the soul and calls and cries out for something so much more than what another daily lap around the mindless track of status quo can ever offer us!  And isn’t it so often in the quiet of the middle of a sleepless night when the noise of our utter despair can deafen our ears- although nobody else may hear a sound? 

 Why has the music stopped?  Why do we who were once so hopeful and full of wonder at youth become so hard and so full of woeful whining as adults?  Is comfort a legitimate goal to strive for?  Is the accumulation of wealth and stuff enough to satisfy the yearnings of a hungry heart?  Is settling into the same old ruts and routine actually more a prescription for spiritual rot rather than being respected as a responsible grown up?  Have we resigned ourselves to just being content to sit in the audience and watch television as others tackle the tales that perhaps we were actually authored to perform?  Is it time to wake up before the credits of our own short years begin to scroll down on the screen marking the reality of my days as “that’s all folks?” 

 I must admit to myself that I use my age as an excuse to not jump in and live as I know I still can!  I am not dead yet so why am I telling myself and believing the lies that my best days are behind me?  That is just not true!  There are still challenges that I believe God has put my name on to go after.  I need to be willing to pack up my laziness and put it back in the basement where it belongs and go up into the attic of my mind and break out my candor and my curiosity and my confidence and kick into high gear once more!  I have understood that what we call “The American Dream” isn’t worth waiting for and definitely not worth wasting my fragile days dying to get to!  I want to be part of an epic blockbuster adventure that is filled with many meaningful and loving relationships. The lives around me are the true treasure of this pilgrimage!  I want to dive into moving and miraculous opportunities that I know I can’t pull off without my constant companionship with the God who made me! I long for and desire a diet of daily digests of new truths and life lessons so that I may learn and know and experience fully which will keep active each and every precious one of my senses that God has equipped me with!  The only way I will know that my day has come and gone is when I stop breathing!  But even that for me will only be a change of venues and not a conclusion to life itself!

 There is much more I can say but for now I will leave you with this thought and that is the only logical thing we can all do is take a close and honest and reflective look into the depths of our souls and answer these questions:  “Do I like who I have become?”  “Would I continue reading my life story if I was the observer and not the main subject?”  “Do I still have time to rewrite and edit where this tale may be going?”  Answer well for your future and how you will be remembered depends upon it!  What’s your story???

An elderly couple was beginning to forget little things around the house. They were afraid that this could be dangerous, as one of them may forget to turn off the stove and thus cause a fire. So, they decided to go see their physician to get some help. Their physician told them that many people their age find it useful to write themselves little notes as reminders.

The couple thought this sounded wonderful, and left the doctor’s office very pleased with the advice. When they got home, the wife said, “Dear, will you please go to the kitchen and get me a dish of ice cream? And why don’t you write that down so you won’t forget? “Nonsense,” said the husband, “I can remember a dish of ice cream.” “Well,” said the wife, “I’d also like some strawberries on it. You better write that down, because I know you’ll forget.” “Don’t be silly,” replied the husband. “You want a dish of ice cream and some strawberries. I can remember that.” “OK, dear, but I’d like you to put some whipped cream on top. Now you’d really better write it down,” said the wife. “Come now, my memory’s not all that bad,” said the husband. “No problem—a dish of ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream.”

With that, the husband shut the kitchen door behind him. He emerged from the kitchen about fifteen minutes later with a plate of bacon and eggs. The wife took one look at the plate, glanced up at her husband and said, “I knew you wouldn’t get it right—where’s the toast?”

Perhaps the most familiar verse in the entire Bible is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.” For God so loved that it resulted in Him giving. For God so loved, He sacrificed His very Self; holding nothing of worth back from us. For God so loved, He made the first move, not waiting first to see how we would respond. For God so loved that He never worried about what that love would do to His reputation. God actually made us of more importance than Himself and only He could have pulled that off.

We Human Beings, on the other hand, are always worried that we are going to give too much, or be taken advantage of or not be given back at the very least an equal share of what we have invested. We always seem to have our self-interest guarded to the point that it can’t help but mess with any attention we may pay another. Could it be that even at our worst, we still believe that we are the best? And might this preoccupation with our own importance actually devalue the very others we claim to love?

Pride is the killer of love! It won’t allow ourselves to get out of our own way so that we may genuinely give of our very best to another. When we hold on to the notion that we are owed something by someone, we only sabotage the very relationships we claim matter so much. God’s love has no pride. He gave with no strings attached. He acted with no concern of His own reputation. Knowing who He was, He was able to freely do what He did. And nothing and no one could change the intensity and immensity of it being love undefiled by selfish motives.                         

What if we trusted God to the point that we too could act in a manner of absolute self-sacrifice? What if love could be offered freely without knowing an end? No one forced God to do what He did. He did it whether we receive it or not. We can choose to joyfully open our lives to the Lord and trust Him, and walk together with Him or we can lock the front door of our soul and throw away the key. Our behavior doesn’t change the flavor of Divine Love.

What if I began to live like others mattered more than me? What if I loved in such the way that my ego played no part in the equation? What if I treated others not as I wanted to be treated, but only as God has dealt with me? What if love wasn’t such a contest? What if relationship wasn’t driven by, “What’s in it for me?” What did God really get for loving us? Think on that one for a while and see if it ever makes sense. Or maybe that’s just it. Love is not about making sense. It is about giving your absolute best even in your absolute worst. Maybe your best is serving me bacon and eggs instead of ice cream. Maybe the treat is that someone cares enough to serve me at all. Maybe this isn’t about keeping score. Maybe it is more about simply living to giving. God so loved and He gave. It doesn’t get better than that!

It was seventeen years ago today that my Dad graduated to Heaven. I was there with him for his final moments on Earth. I adored my Father. He was my hero and friend and while I know that cancer was doing a number on his body, I still hated to see him go. People say that, “time heals all wounds.” I respectfully disagree. Time doesn’t heal squat. Time only reveals how big a hole in our soul that our loved ones leave behind after they are gone. I still dream of my Pop every night. I hear his voice in my ears and I see his face in my reflection. I long for the ability just to talk with him and be able to bounce off of him my daily plans and problems. What I wouldn’t give for ten more minutes to be together. There are moments when I know that eternity can’t get here fast enough.

 Why do we human beings take each other for granted? Why do we have to wait until it is too late to realize the measure of the treasure of what we do have? When will we ever get it through our thick heads that life is about people and not possessions? Why do we whine about all that we don’t have when we should be humbly worshipping God over every simple blessing that we have been given? Why do we miss the chance to dance while the music is playing? Why does it take us to get to the point of regret over all the open doors we missed going through because we were too busy banging on the passage ways that were clearly locked? If today is the day to be fully alive then it is of utmost importance that we don’t get bogged down by yesterday’s failures or overwhelmed by tomorrow’s future worries.

 When I was a younger man, I was always on the move. I felt like if I wasn’t constantly on the go, I was wasting my time. I am pretty much content now just to live, move and be right here in Cape May County. I don’t have to be a world traveler anymore. I don’t need to get my “City Fix,” like I used to. I was just driving to Camden over the weekend to do a Wedding at the Aquarium and the traffic alone made me long to turn around and come on home. I kept going and I am sure that Jeff and Heather were grateful that I stayed the course.

 I think I have finally learned that experiencing genuine joy is not so much tied to where I go as much as it is attached to who I am. And if my joy is anchored in the Lord then I don’t have to worry about anyone or anything taking it away. The joy of the Lord has actually become my strength no matter what I do. The joy of the Lord can even be expressed through my mourning and my tears. I have found his joy in depression, anxiety and dismal times. When I discover that my life is energized and fueled only by my relationship with Jesus, then as long as he ignites my light, my shine should never be dimmed. Everything on this earth comes to an end. Maybe that is why we are always restless and yearning and reaching for more. What if God was the more that we have always been stretching for?

 I have been married for 35 years. I have been in full time ministry the same amount of time. But I can tell you that I am not the same man I was when either of these journeys began. I look in the eyes of my wife and I consider myself beyond blessed by having such a beautiful woman by my side. I know I married way over my head. And I don’t ever want to let a day go by without telling Terri how much she means to me. I am also a different kind of Pastor. Ministry is only as meaningful as I am listening to the Lord’s voice so I may follow his lead. I have been guilty, as many of us have been; of telling God what I was going to do rather than waiting on him to point me in the right direction. And there are moments that I know God is in the midst and even though nobody else may ever know, I know that I am following in the steps of my Master.

 As a matter of fact, the holiest experience of the wedding that I just officiated had nothing to do with me at all. It happened at the reception. Heather and Jeff had taken the time to study dancing before they came together as husband and wife for their first glide across the floor. The song was a classic from Randy Travis called, “Look Heart, No Hands.” And it was just as if Heather and Jeff were the only two in the room. We had all disappeared. And in perfect steps, with the admiration and pride beaming through the eyes of these newlyweds, love was alive and well right before our eyes. I had tears in my eyes and a satisfaction in my heart that these two are so good for each other. I had not just performed a wedding. I had witnessed the miracle of God making two into one. I will never forget this as long as I live!

 My Dad’s most famous words to me were, “Show them Jesus!” Whether I was hanging out at home, off to school, going to work or competing on the ball field, my Father expected me to be like Jesus. I know how to show others Jesus because Dad showed him so well to me. Jesus knew how to make somebody feel like they were the only one in the world who mattered. Jesus did that for me and I want to do that for others. So maybe success can simply be summed up in this phrase, “He is like Jesus.” “She is like her Lord.” I feel like if I don’t miss a beat, I may very well have a divinely assigned front row seat to not miss life while it is occurring. Now go and do it slow, so that you won’t miss God’s daily bread prepared just for you, while you were planning your own menu!      

We enter this world as strangers in a strange land. From the moment the umbilical cord is cut and our lungs are cleared to breathe, we cry out instinctively because we already live in a vacuum. To be tended to by loving parents will surely help keep the innate pain to a bare minimum. Being held close to a Mother’s breast and receiving the utmost of care by a strong Father will meet many of the deepest needs of that child; but there will still always be that one canyon size hole in the soul that no amount of tender loving attention will be able to cure. God created within us an unconquerable restlessness that will only be fully satisfied by discovering our home in Him. If one examines the address of origin written in an indelible ink upon our hearts, he or she will soon discover that if we are ever found in the dead letter office of humanity, the instructions are clear to please return us to Sender. Only the One who made us can properly place us in the position where we were destined to shine. Eventually all of us need to go home again.

 How do we get there? First, we have to make sure that our parcel is not purposely sabotaged and buried in a pile of forgotten presents. Second, we need people who are passionate about seeing lost packages properly delivered to the right party. Third, we have to be perfectly positioned with our eyes wide open so that we don’t miss the magic. Finally, there is a plethora of memories to be made for those who are willing to come together and put a priority on the lives of the people we need to be partnering with rather than wasting away our precious moments on projects that just don’t amount to much.

 We can’t be signed, sealed and delivered without a committed effort. There are way too many naysayers who are content to let the living letters of life be left unread. When there is not the proper value placed upon the masterpiece that every individual is, the population buys into the lie that people are nothing more than junk mail rather than special delivery. It takes a need for a hero to be called. It takes faith for someone to rise and accept the risk. It takes humility to work together as a united team. It takes a little divine chemistry for all the diverse character traits to operate in true unity and harmony. But when it happens, history is altered for the better.

 If we surrender our tendency to always have to be in a hurry, and if we learn how to pray in such the way that we will trust the timing, and if we are willing to be patient enough to listen before we leap, miracles may be there for us right on the horizon. But we have to stop treating this race as one where only those who come in first win the prize. It’s not about position that determines a winner, but about partnering together so that all will cross the finished line in a victorious fashion. We need the deep thinkers and the technologically savvy. We need those who are wise as serpents and yet as innocent as doves. We need those who aren’t afraid to exhibit the wonder of children while still being mature in their total behavior. We need to come together and break bread while sharing a kombucha smoothie and a bottle of Yoo Hoo. Some days we need to resist the temptation to email or text and break out the pen and paper and sit right down and write ourselves a note that contains our blood, sweat, smiles and tears. We won’t write the memoirs that realize the fullness of our hope and our future without being willing to let the ink of our souls sink in deep. If you want it easy, apply elsewhere. If you want to witness the view from what the world looks like from higher ground, then roll the dice and see if it doesn’t bring you to the threshold of that one in a million adventure.

 I am not settling for a tomorrow that only plays it safe. How do we genuinely ever know if we would be lost without another, if we aren’t willing to let them go so we can give them a legitimate chance to allow their love to lead them back where they belong? We all have enough excuses to never get out of bed again. We have all been burned, bruised, broken and busted. Nobody would blame us if we settled for the cushy position of status quo. Yet when the noise of this world’s volume is finally on mute, we can still hear the music of our native tongue. God has put eternity in our beings. Life is like an obstacle course, but when we are willing to suit up rather than space out, we discover that everything we have been looking for is right before our very eyes. And so it goes for those who are willing to dance. And if I can prevent you from putting down roots in a ground that bears no fruit, then I am game if it stops you from pulling up lame. I have seen the joy of a beloved homecoming. I have cried the tears that have fallen because of tasting the complete satisfaction of reunion. I am greedy for more. What some have deemed not fit for the system still need to know the sweet grace of salvation. So stop, oh yes, wait a minute Mr. Postman, and check and see one more time for me, if there’s a letter in your bag not only for me, but from me. The next letter may be the right letter that leads us all home where we belong.       

Every year since 1997, on the last Sunday of August, the Lighthouse Church heads to the Beach for a Worship Service that culminates in the celebration of the Baptism of Believers right smack dab in the ocean. This past week, 26 men and women of different ages made an external declaration of the internal work of salvation that happened when they opened up their hearts to Jesus. While everyone comes to receive the gift of everlasting life by grace through faith in what our Lord did for us on the cross of Calvary, it is awesome to hear the stories of the unique avenues that God used to bring his people into a relationship with himself.     

The Baptism of Jesus was an event that made it into all four Gospels. Every author of every gospel found this event so inspiring and so important that it was commanded as a must read by the Holy Spirit. Baptism for Jesus signaled the official beginning of his earthly ministry that would eventually culminate in the death and resurrection of the Son of God. In so many ways, it was the inauguration, or his grand opening, so to speak. But it’s also a bit unusual because there doesn’t seem to be any reason for Jesus to be baptized. I mean, Jesus was perfect and had nothing to be forgiven of.                  

There’s a little confusion about baptism. Some people wrongly think that baptism is the event that makes one a Christian; but nowhere does Scripture teach that baptism saves you. Baptism doesn’t get you to find Jesus. Baptism happens because Jesus has already found you!

There is an old story of an inebriated man who stumbled upon a baptismal service one Sunday afternoon that was being celebrated down by the river. It was down south, back in the day, and this guy walked right down into the water and stood next to the Preacher. The Minister turned and noticed the old drunk and asked him point blank, “Sir, Are you ready to find Jesus?” The drunk looked back and said, “Yes, Preacher. I sure am.” The Minister then dunked the fellow under the water and pulled him right back up. “Have you found Jesus?” the Preacher asked. “No, I haven’t!” said the drunk. The Preacher then dunked him under for a bit longer, brought him up and said, “Now, brother, have you found Jesus?” “No, I haven’t Preacher.” This time quite frustrated, the Preacher held the man under for at least 30 seconds this time, pronouncing the Names of all of the Trinity and the 12 Disciples and finally brought him out of the water and said in a serious tone, “Friend, are you sure you haven’t found Jesus yet?” The old drunk wiped his eyes gasping for breath and said to the Preacher, “No Preacher, I still can’t find Jesus. Are you sure this is where he fell in?”

Baptism isn’t where you find Jesus. Baptism is what a Believer does after you’ve found him. Baptism is a Christian’s way of publicly pronouncing what the Spirit has already privately accomplished in the heart. It is not to be done as one would jump on a Bandwagon. It is to be a personal and individual decision made by someone who is ready to follow the Lord in all kinds of weather and seasons and changing times.

It’s like when a sports team does really well, it’s amazing how many people start wearing their gear. You see Yankees hats in Kentucky even though there’s nobody from Kentucky that has ever been to New York. But the Yankees win and people buy their stuff. That’s why I truly appreciate the real Philadelphia Eagles fans. When I see someone wearing something of the Eagles, I know they are dedicated. It’s not as if they’ve given us anything to be proud of lately, but here is to all the diehards who are never grounded even when the Eagles don’t fly. What do you call a Philadelphia Eagle with a Super Bowl ring? The answer is: A thief. But I am forever hoping that this will be the year our Championship Dreams come true.

Jesus is not looking for fair weather fans. He is calling all people to come out of the crowds and follow him. Those who are being baptized are those Believers locked in to not abandoning Team Jesus no matter how difficult the journey may be.

But that doesn’t answer the question, “Why would Jesus seek to be baptized by John?” This baptism was a moment of humility, commitment and identification. Jesus’ Baptism was a baptism of commitment. He was all in. Jesus took this step of obedience to show us the way. Humility, commitment, and identification: that’s really what baptism is all about.

Christianity has everything to do with the character traits of humility, commitment, and identification.  The baptisms we performed last Sunday were all about humility, commitment and identification. It’s humbling to get into the water in front of everybody. It’s an act of humble obedience to Jesus. It’s also an act of commitment and identification. When you’re baptized and people see you, the expectation level goes way up. People will expect you, and rightly so, to walk the talk. Baptism calls the Believer to fully identify with Christ, and just like he was baptized to identify with us, we’re baptized to identify with Him. He was buried and rose again, and the water symbolizes that we get buried under the water and we rise again to brand new life.

We have all sorts of ceremonies today. Graduation is kind of a stepping into adulthood event in the lives of young people. A wedding ceremony is a public declaration that some-thing in your life has changed. Baptism too should be a stake in the ground that from here on the lives being lived are now done so for the honor and glory of God.

Do you remember what happened when Jesus came out of the water? After Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And there came a voice from heaven that everyone heard saying, “This is my beloved Son. I take eternal delight in Him!” Humble obedience and commitment to Jesus and identification with God always lead to Heaven’s affirmation for those who wear God’s name on earth. For 26 people, a brand new ministry began in their lives in the ocean waters last Sunday. I am here today to pray them on as a launch for their lights to shine bright no matter what!

As I write this, the breaking news is that Jerry Lewis has just passed. And while I have heard the news that he wasn’t the most genial of men to get along with, nobody can argue with how many laughs he brought many of us. Growing up, it was always a big Family Movie Night when a Jerry Lewis Picture was on television. The Nutty Professor, The Disorderly Orderly, Cinderfella, Who’s Minding The Store, The Ladies Man and Rock-A-Bye Baby were some of the treasured nuggets that we didn’t mind seeing over and over again.  Even my thrifty Dad would allow his kids to have their own pints of ice cream to enjoy when it was NBC Saturday Night at the Movies with Jerry. And then there were those celebrated classic comedies from when Jerry Lewis was partnered with Dean Martin. The Stooge, The Caddy and That’s My Boy will forever be counted among my all time favorites. And somehow the Jerry Lewis Telethon on Channel 5 out of New York City would always mark the conclusion of another summer and the reality of another school year about to begin. Some times those memories seem to be from another lifetime years and years ago and at other times, it seems like it all just occurred yesterday.

 I passed my love for Jerry Lewis on to my children and now my grandchildren. My son Rudy and I were privileged enough to have seen Jerry Lewis on Broadway in the musical Damn Yankees. It inspired Rudy to actually be in the play when Middle Township performed it during his high school years. And I still see lots of Jerry Lewis in me, even in my preaching. I am a slapstick kind of guy who loves to use different “voices” when I talk and still find lots of humor in a healthy pratfall. I know the times are always changing and in a constant state of flux, but there are days I miss the simpler years of childhood.

 Maybe it is the reality of my Mom turning 80 years old this weekend. Dad graduated to Heaven back in 2000 and there is still not a night that I don’t dream about him even 17 years later. And my Mom has always told me that when she turns 80, she’ll have the body of a 40 year old. I believe she’s right but I’m almost 60 and I sometimes I feel like I have the body of a 90 year old. My spirit still has the vibrancy of a teenager, but these bones will put up a good fight to sit out what my soul has put on the daily agenda. Maybe as the world continues to turn and another page of the calendar becomes a part of history, I am becoming wise to what matters most.

 There was once a Broadway Musical called The Fantastiks.  Its signature song was “Try To Remember.” The lyrics go something like this, “Try to remember the kind of September, When life was slow and oh, so mellow. Try to remember the kind of September, When grass was green and grain was yellow. Try to remember the kind of September, When you were a tender and callow fellow. Try to remember and if you remember then follow.”

 Life can’t be scripted, boxed in or tightly tamed. Love calls us to go where the heart must choose to be adventurous or else it will run and hide away. Faith is essential for us to follow our Creator into the hope and future he designed for us. You can’t put God into your own convenient carrying case to arrange and unleash when you feel like it. The tragedy of man-made religion is that it always reduces God to someone to be controlled, rather than seeing God as the One who is in control and is worthy of real, whole-life worship. And reducing God leaves us worshiping a god who cannot help or save or bless. In the end, the junk food of self-made religion will disappoint.

Whatever we make into our god—money, power, relationships or even a reduced, man-made version of the biblical God—will not deliver. The person who makes career their god will eventually find their route to blessing blocked by someone who is “too strong”—too able, too well-connected, too “lucky”—for them. The person who makes their image their god will find time an enemy too strong for them to hang onto their youth and good looks. Ultimately, death removes all the false gods we look to for blessing.  Everyone is a worshiper. I don’t believe in Atheists. The only question is, who or what is the thing we look to for ultimate meaning and purpose and blessing?

This is a different world than the one that many of us were raised in. Americans are more known for their love of ease and their pursuit of possessions than their championing of faith, hope and love.  It is so tempting to carve out a make believe bunker for ourselves—a quiet little island of peace where we can live in affluence and forget all about the crazy and chaotic world outside. But that is not how our Parents raised us. Our Grandparents modeled for us a courage and fight and
no-nonsense work ethic that withstood The Depression, World Wars and anything else that this old world threw at them. This isn’t a season to settle. This is no time to retreat and escape. No consistent New Testament Christian can live a life of ease. No lover of the cross can retire from God’s mission in the world.                               

  If you want to settle down into life as a comfortable Christian, casually unconcerned about the needs of men and women and the call of God, you are going to have to settle to serve an idol because Jesus is going to call you not to settle in a lazy boy but to lay down your lives, pick up your cross and follow the Lord. When I remember where I came from, it gives me the inspiration to keep on going and with the faith of my Mom and the sense of humor of Jerry Lewis and the everlasting love of Jesus, I know I’m going to make it.

I recall hearing Pastor Warren Wiersbe of Moody Church once say, “We shouldn’t worry because our government won’t allow children to have Bibles in school. They’ll make sure that they get free Bibles when they go to prison.” While he said this tongue in cheek, there is still very eye opening sober truth attached to it. Currently, our prisons are so crowded that the government doesn’t know what to do. But if every family that claimed faith would start living what they say they believe at home and if the men and women of our communities would stop worrying about being so politically correct that they act so wrong they are hardly ever right, perhaps we could stop some of the nation’s crime by nipping it in the bud before it ever got a chance to blossom. To build a strong foundation for a just and socially healthy society, we must be aggressively intentional about investing quality time in our sons and daughters way before the cement has begun to harden and dry.  

There is too much saying one thing and doing another going on all around us. We are into making big spiritual speeches that lack any specific steps to put substance to those sentences. God doesn’t want your words. He wants his will to become your way! I am not a big fan of people making speeches before the game ever begins. Prove it on the field. Show up for the daily battle. Be victorious first and then be vocal about it after! Save your declarations after your sincere dedication has already made a significant statement.

 It is about time that Believers begin believing and Leaders get responsible about their mentoring and modeling. Are we are going to invest what time we have left on this earth by repenting of our sin and admitting how far we have fallen from what God had called us to be and to do? Or will we choose to just sink back and settle for staying busy by keeping up the facades and doing cosmetic adequate touch up jobs of outer image repairing? If we are not hopelessly devoted to the Lord we will end up haplessly deceived by our self centered hearts. Someone who does not have the Holy Spirit living inside of them can not follow their heart with any hope of a positive result. For without Jesus running the show, a person’s ego will always choose to be “Me First,” over allowing God to be “He First!”

 What is truly going on in your home? If your house is a good deal like many other homes today then according to statistics, money is the god the family worships, children are good at stealing from their parents and lying about what they do, and family honor is a lost art and the true God is unwelcomed and unwanted. Pursuing pleasure will always be a temptation for all of us and if it becomes number one, it will eventually preempt us from seeking the prize of knowing Jesus and putting him above everything else!

 When “It is Written” becomes “It is Wasted,” life results in “It’s Not Worth it” and it just gets worse from that point forwards. What is important when we get serious about reaching for goals and accomplishments is that we allow God to lead us and we don’t try to manipulate God by us supposedly leading Him! One of the enemy’s most subtle devices is to cause Christians to become dissatisfied and disgusted with life’s circumstances and the area of service that God has given them. “I should be better known.” “I should be in public more.” “I should be paid more.” “I should receive more praise.” It is very subtle, but far too often Christians will not do a job because they think it is beneath them; or they will leave a church because no one pays enough attention to them; or they will pout because someone else is more important than they are. If who we are and what we do is not about pleasing God, than it is being done for all the wrong reasons for all the wrong results.  

 It must grieve the Lord today to see people worshiping the idols of ministerial “success”: statistics, buildings, and reputation. In today’s “consumer society,” self-appointed preachers and “prophets” have no problem getting a following and peddling their religious wares to a church that acts more like a Hollywood fan club than a holy people of God. The purpose of man’s empty religious efforts is to get access to God so that humans can get God to do what they want. The goal of true faith is to give God access to your heart so that he can get you to do what he wants. Religion’s true purpose is to get God to serve you. The gospel faith’s purpose is to get your heart to serve him.

 Money can’t buy you God! Sin may be fun for a season, but the party is eventually over and bills must be paid for and if Jesus has not paid it all, then we die bankrupt. There are many things that can occupy our time and that you can be sure that there always will be. There are good things we can devote our lives to, but the most important things are the God things.  When you do decide to step out from under your own passing fancy to commit to getting your agenda in line with Heaven’s to do list, your schedule won’t automatically clear. It never does. Instead, expect and look for God to show up. He will give you extra wisdom, energy, resources and strength. While all those are cherished additions, the greatest treasure of all is that God will give you unlimited access to himself. Anyone ready to follow Jesus?

I officiated the Funeral last weekend of a dear childhood friend of mine named Aprile. She had asked me when the time came if I would be there to facilitate her Memorial Service. I promised that I would. We grew up in the same neighborhood up in the northern part of our beloved New Jersey in a town called Cedar Knolls which is part of Morris County. It was a simpler time in a very close knit community where we could stay out all day and never have to worry about being in any danger. Everybody knew each other and there was a camaraderie we all shared that doesn’t exist in the same manner in our world today.

 Aprile is a tough cookie. She battled cancer harder than anyone I have ever known. I would say she kicked it in the can. What should have wiped her out over a year ago couldn’t take her down. She was an inspiration to her family, her friends and any other fellow human being that was blessed enough to have had Aprile shower them with her selfless personality all the months of the year. And while ultimately her body faltered, Aprile’s spirit crossed the finish line in total victory. She’s a warrior and a winner and we are proud card carrying members of her forever Fan Club.

 I hate when people say that “God never gives us more than we can handle.” That phrase is utter nonsense and a bold face lie. So much of life falls into the “It’s way too big for me” category. It’s because this journey through the years is so overwhelming that we are forced to cry out to God for strength, help and hope because we know we are toast when left up to our own devices. Faith in heaven and healthy fellowship with friends on earth are the key ingredients to any one’s survival kit. Aprile excelled in all the areas that mattered most which is why not having her around anymore is such a tragic loss to us left behind. Death can be a real drag, can’t it? Not for the Graduate to Glory but for those of us still stuck in a creation that is caught in a circle of constant chaos.      

 Nobody had to make up nice words to say about how Aprile’s touched their lives. There were no uncomfortable periods of silence or the meaningless sharing of lifeless clichés. Aprile approached everyone and everything with her unsinkable optimism. And she was the type of person who would have you sharing about your own issues before you might catch her complaining about her own. One of her Oncology Nurses in attendance raved on and on about how Aprile’s character, countenance and courage touched her in a way that no other Patient ever had. Why does God take the strong and leave the weak behind? Or maybe it just seems that way. Maybe those like Aprile stand head and shoulders above the rest that when they leave us, the hole is the size of the Grand Canyon.

 I think cancer sucks and death is a dirty rotten deal. As a Minister, I hate funerals. They can be so shallow and in many ways barbaric. The fact that we attempt to pull it all off in a matter of hours is crazy. Life is more precious than any personal possession that this world may offer. How can you sum it all up in one session? The answer is that you can’t and you won’t. Time doesn’t heal anything. It only reveals how fragile everything is this side of eternity. When are we going to wake up and strengthen the treasure that remains forever?   

 God meets us where we are and not where we pretend to be. We need to abandon our tendency to perform and put on a good show. Let’s stop getting so upset about our expectations not being met that we keep our eyes wide open to the daily opportunities that God gives us to meet us right where we are! If we are hesitant about mourning, we prevent Jesus from transforming it into dancing. If we never learn how to lament, our laughter won’t mean as much as it should. I beg Christians to be more honest about communicating their true and honest emotions to God when life is not going as planned. Whether we’re hurt, frustrated, confused, betrayed, overwhelmed, sad, or disappointed, there is no wrong in keeping it real. It gets messy and we are flustered by the mustard. It’s a moment to get real with God when you’re hurting so bad your insides bleed and all you can do is cry out for His help. It’s a prayer that says, God, I’m hurting—will you meet me here? This is not a language limited for the super spiritual. This is the invitation to us all.

God detests graven images. They mislead people. They give false views of God, and nothing is more destructive than that. But our greater problem is not carved idols, but mental idols. We form mental pictures of God. People constantly say, “I like to think of God as the great Father in the skies. I do not like to think of him as a judge.”

But our desires have nothing to do with God’s true character.

 I shudder when I hear the way some people speak of God. Quite frankly, it does not make the slightest bit of difference what I prefer to think of God. God is who He is and what He is, and that is why any false image of God of any sort is forbidden. Human concepts of God are irrelevant. God has revealed Himself, and He demands that our understanding of Him conform to what He has revealed about Himself in His Word.

 Our society does not worship before a molten idol, but it does worship an artificial god. Our generation knows almost nothing of the living God who has spoken in Scripture. The great danger is that we, as Christians, begin to bow down and worship false gods as well. So it is essential that every Christian engage in a study of the attributes of God.

 Anything in our lives to which we attach the worth and importance that belongs only to God becomes an idol in our lives. Idolatry is not a relic of the past; it is a constant problem for every believer. That is the first danger point in the portrayal of spiritual anarchy. It is religion without revelation, religious practice without God’s truth. How committed are you to the truth of Scripture? How biblical is your view of God? Is your God molded by the philosophies of the age? A Believer must let God “be Himself” in our lives.

 We filter out either consciously or unconsciously the things about God that our hearts can’t accept. In some ways, this is the main sin of our time. We look to the latest chatter at Starbucks for our doctrine rather than go to the source of the Savior Himself. How often have you heard someone say: “I don’t believe in a God like that,” or “I like to think of God as this?” The most serious way we do this is by consciously and intellectually rejecting part of the scriptural revelation of God. We do this whenever we say: “We can no longer accept a God who does this, or who forbids that.” When we use the term “no longer,” we wrap ourselves in the mantle of so-called progress. In fact, what we are really saying is:

“Our culture’s distaste for this idea means we must drop it!” If God has given us truth, it doesn’t really matter what we think! If we change His words to accommodate our ways, we will eventually forfeit His will!

Have you ever been to a Restaurant? What do you receive when you sit at the table? You get a menu with many choices. The Waitress can’t tell you what you are going to be eating. The Chef doesn’t limit you to his or her favorite dishes. You can decide to dine on whatever you want whether it is healthy or not. You can order five desserts if you want to. You have the final say about what will be served to you.

This is not true at the Family Dinner Table. My Mom was very strict. If she made something for dinner, she didn’t give us many options. We didn’t dare say, “I don’t like this, is there anything else?” Mom made it clear that her kitchen was not a restaurant. If you didn’t like what was on your plate, your only decision was that you were not going to eat at all.

There would be other times that I would really like the main course but felt like it was ruined by something like cooked carrots sitting besides it. I was never given the luxury to choose to eat just the meat and pass on the veggies. If it was served, you were sitting there until it was all polished off. I remember praying not to gag as I was forced to swallow one mouthful of carrots after another. But if I wanted the Chicken, I accepted the carrots as part of the package.

The Bible is not a menu. Believers do not have the luxury to pick and choose what they will dine on and what they will deny any entrance into their bodies. God’s word is a banquet for the soul and if you want to become all that the Lord intends you to be, you must partake of everything that God serves up. God doesn’t care if you like it or if it makes you happy any more than my Mother gave much thought to my suggestions of what she might do with those mushy carrots. I ate it because I had to and I must admit that it did help me grow healthy even if it made my stomach rebel.

God feeds us with divine dishes that provide a balanced supply of all the proper spiritual vitamins and nutrients we need. If we choose to replace the heaven cooked meals with earthly versions of junk food, we will never be strong enough to walk the journey of the life of faith that God has called us to. Church is not a restaurant, it is a family table and the Father knows what you need and what you don’t. Will we submit our appetites to Him?

It Is Written must be the way of life! Even when you don’t like it, the Lord loves you enough to lead you to spiritual maturity. But you have to trust Him and let Him feed you with what is on His stove because Church is not a restaurant- It’s a Family Dinner!!!