Pastor Chuck’s Blog

7-23-2025

We’ve talked about this before, but like so many other things, we sometimes need a reminder………

Many people, if not most, navigate the day with some kind of prepared agenda: a to-do list, to be more specific. I get it. A to-do list is quite helpful in getting things done, keeping us on target and on track throughout the day. And, of course, it feels pretty great when we get to mark things off the list as we make progress.

However, another very important list – I would say, an equally important list – is a not-to-do list, or as I recently heard it called, a to-don’t list.

We’re usually focused on the to-do list and don’t think much about the to-don’t list. But what if today your to-don’t list looked something like this:

Today I won’t scroll endlessly on social media.
Today I won’t raise my voice to the kids (or spouse, or anyone).
Today I won’t skip Bible reading and prayer.
Today I won’t give in to temptation.
Today I won’t engage in self-pity.
Today I won’t get sidetracked by someone else’s agenda for me.

Sometimes the list will consist of actions that might be OK on other days, but this day you’re taking a break, such as putting down your phone for the afternoon or taking a day off from your hobby.

Other times the list is made up of actions and attitudes we must always avoid…..things like: I will not think these thoughts, I will not say these words, I will not entertain this idea. Two verses, both from Israel’s King David, come to mind:

In Psalm 101 King David declared: I will set no worthless thing before my eyes. (Psalm 101:3 NASB)

In Psalm 119 it became his prayer: Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. (Psalm 119:37)

Here is where we discover the power of the list. Avoiding the don’ts gives us more time for the greatest to-do of all: seeking God’s greater presence through the life-sustaining gift of His Word.

6-2-2025

ACTION!

Imagine you’re on a movie set.

The director yells “action.” The actor delivers the line. The director yells “Cut.” The angle wasn’t quite right. Adjustments are made and they try again.

The director yells “action.” The actor delivers the line. This time he fumbles a phrase. The director yells “cut” and they try again.

The director yells “action.” The actor delivers the line. Again, the director yells “cut.” We’re getting a shadow. Let’s try again.

The director yells “action.” The actor delivers the line. “Cut, cut, cut.” The words were right, but there’s something missing. We need to feel it more. Let’s try again.

The director yells “action.” The actor delivers the line. The director yells “cut.” Not bad, this time. I think we can use this one, but let’s do a few more, just in case.

It can be exhausting, saying the same words again and again, expressing the same emotion again and again, striving for the same result again and again.

Making movies is tedious work. Is it worth it? Any actor would say, “Yes!”

Our lives are made up of one take after another, one attempt after another to do our job and meet our obligations and fulfill our purpose with excellence. How many takes does it take to get it right?

It takes as many takes as it takes.

Sometimes it all comes together on the first try. And sometimes you have do it again and again and again. Others see only the end result. But we know what was left on the cutting room floor. We know it’s not always as easy as it looks.

Is it worth it? Absolutely.

Every day is a new day. A new take. A new chance to get it right, to deliver the performance of our lives. This day deserves the best you have to give.

Are you ready?

“Action.”

And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good. (2 Thessalonians 3:13)

Clarke High School graduation is this coming Sunday (May 18, 2025). So if you will allow me, I’d like to address this post to the graduating class of 2025.

2025 graduates: One of the greatest hazards to success is fear. While not all fear is bad, everyone knows what its like to be afraid. Fear immobilizes us and keeps us from doing things we could or should do. With that in mind, let me give you some brief steps to success.

First, face your fears.

Did you know that the term, “Fear not” is found in the Bible 365 times? Coincidence? I think not. God has give us a, “fear not” for every day of the year because with God in your corner there is no reason to fear. So you can run from your fears, or you can face your fears with God and find success. Author Max Lucado says, “Fear doesn’t want you to make the journey to the mountain. If he can rattle you enough, fear will persuade you to take your eyes off the peaks and settle for a dull existence in the flatlands.”

Graduates, living far away from home can be fearful at times. Going in for a job interview can be traumatic. Not having any friends who care about you can be devastating. But with God, you can live courageously and to trust Him to help you on this journey called, “Life”. Second,

Forget your failures.

We all have them. No one is perfect, meaning that everyone fails from time to time. But failure doesn’t have to be final. Some people will experience some level of failure and let it define them for the rest of their lives. There’s an individual in the Bible who experienced multiple failures, but refused to let them define him. His name was Paul. His story is too long for this article, but look at something he wrote:

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)

Paul refuses to allow failures to dictate his life and keep him from achieving his goal. Again, there will be failures. The only ones who never do anything wrong are the ones who never do anything. But never allow failure to make us quit trying. In the words of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, “Never give up! Never give up! Never, never, never give up!” Here’s my third word of advice:

Follow your faith.

On day six of the ill-fated mission of Apollo 13, the astronauts needed to make a critical course correction. If they failed, they might never return to Earth. To conserve power, they shut down the onboard computer that steered the craft. Yet the astronauts needed to conduct a thirty-nine-second burn of the main engines. How to steer? Astronaut Jim Lovell determined that if they could keep a fixed point in space in view through their tiny window, they could steer the craft manually. That focal point turned out to be their destination–Earth. As shown in 1995’s hit movie, Apollo 13, for thirty-nine agonizing seconds, Lovell focused on keeping the earth in view. By not losing sight of that reference point, the three astronauts avoided disaster.

The Bible tells us how to succeed when it says, “Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith”. (Hebrews 12:2)

You can be flexible on many things in life, and you should be. But when it comes to the succeeding in life, keeping your eyes on Jesus and following your faith will never fail you.

Face your fears. Forget your failures. Follow your faith. That’s not absolutely everything you’ll need, but these three provide a solid foundation to build upon as you move forward in life. Congratulations class of 2025! And God bless you as you pursue your dreams!

3-4-2025

A few years back, a man named Andy Law was reading his Tampa Bay, Florida newspaper when he came across a story that shocked him. The story detailed how Joseph Prudente, a sixty-six year old man in nearby Beacon Woods, had gone to jail … for the crime of having a brown lawn. No kidding. A brown lawn.

Joseph had received notices from the local homeowners association that his grass wasn’t green enough for community standards. Facing health problems and struggling financially, Joseph overlooked the notices. He could barely make his mortgage payment; lawn care was a luxury beyond his means. So the homeowner’s association did what was in their power: they filed a court order against him and had him arrested – without the option of posting bail.

Here’s where Andy comes in. He had troubles of his own. His business was failing, he was on the verge of losing his own house, and he was considering bankruptcy. But as he read Joseph Prudente’s story, Andy decided that something must be done. He began making phone calls and soon the Prudente’s yard was full of working volunteers. During the day, others dropped off gifts. Another man came to repair the sprinkler. Andy borrowed some lawn equipment and convinced a nursery to donate sod.

By sundown, their work was done: the yard was covered with new green grass, trimmed with red mulch, flowers, and the sprinkler was working again. As the work was completed, there was a sudden, thick downpour. Joseph’s wife, Jennifer, stood in the rain with her arms open wide. “Our luck is changing,” she said.

The next day Joseph was released from jail. Though he still faced fines and court costs, he is now a free man … as long his grass stays the right shade of green.

Great for Joseph, right? But really, this story is more about Andy than it is about Joseph. Yes, it’s outrageous, and definitely unfair (more on that, Sunday), that you can go to jail for having brown grass, and it’s great that he was released, but even more impressive is the fact that one young man, also down on his luck, put his own problems on the back burner long enough to make a difference in someone else’s life.

This is an example of Paul’s words in Philippians being put into practice. Paul wrote:

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4)

Let’s all keep our eyes open for the opportunities around us to make a difference in someone else’s life. We may not have the opportunity to get someone out of jail, but we may have an opportunity to encourage them and help them take their next step forward.

2-12-2025

Show Me Prayer

One of the things that you may have heard me say multiple times is this, “Nothing is random with God.” Everything God does has a purpose for us. Romans 8:28 tells us that God can take anything and everything and work it all together for good. We’re not told that everything is good because it isn’t. But God can take even the not-so-good stuff and, ultimately, turn it into something good. I don’t claim to understand how He does that, but He does.

Every one of us has prayed for something that didn’t happen, only to look back a few weeks/months/years later and say, “Wow! I’m glad God didn’t answer that prayer.” Other times, it’s not so much a prayer that wasn’t answered, but a prayer that changed. In other words, sometimes we simply need to change the way we pray. Case in point:

On February 3, 1966 Navy Captain Gerald Coffee was flying a reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam when he was shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire. He was soon captured and placed in a military prison in downtown Hanoi, where he would spend the next 7 years of his life. He endured frequent beatings, solitary confinement and excruciating torture using ropes. He was housed in a tiny filthy cell, so tiny that he could neither fully stand up or fully lie down.

How did endure such inhumane treatment for such an extended time?

In a 2014 interview with PBS, he said…

“Early on my prayers changed from ‘Why me’ to ‘Show me.’ I quit saying, ‘Why me, God?’ and I started saying: ‘Show me, God… How can I use this positively? Help me to use it to go home as a better, stronger, smarter man in every possible way that I can, to go home as a better naval officer, to go home as a better American, a better citizen, a better Christian. ‘God, help me to use this time productively so that it won’t be some kind of a void or a vacuum in my life.’”

Then he said this…

“And after that change in my prayers, every single day took on a new meaning.”

I’m sure it did! There’s no question that our trials pale in comparison to Captain Coffee’s. And yet, “Why Me?” remains a mantra for many. Why Me? tends to lead to a greater sense of despair. “Show Me”, on the other hand, moves us in a new direction, where we experience God’s presence and God’s power like never before. The Apostle Paul said this:

….we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:3-5, NIV)

Again, nothing is random with God. I have no idea what you may be facing today, how great or how challenging or how impossible it might be. What I do know is that God is aware, which means, you should talk to Him about it. You can pray the, “Why me?” prayer – but you will probably find the, “Show me” prayer to be a bit more helpful. And remember, He can use everything for our good if we will trust Him in the process.