Pastor Chuck’s Blog

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.

1-14-2025

Judging my Future

Patrick Henry was born on the family farm in the Colony of Virginia, on May 29, 1736. His father was an immigrant from Scotland who had attended King’s College, University of Aberdeen, before emigrating to Virginia in the 1720s. Patrick Henry shared his name with his uncle, an Anglican minister, and until the elder Patrick’s death in 1777 often went as Patrick Henry Jr. Henry attended a local school until about the age of 10, and afterward was tutored by his father.

Eventually Henry became a lawyer through self-study, after which he began his practice of law. He eventually served in multiple offices of the government and was an enthusiastic promoter of the fight for independence.

The thing that Henry is best known for is a statement that he made to the Second Virginia Convention in 1775. It was here that his contribution to the history books was recorded and made public: “Give me liberty or give me death!” However, that’s not the only quote from Matthew Henry that has been preserved for us. He made another statement that appears in a number of quotation collections.

He said, “I know of no way of judging the future but by the past.”

If you or I were to repeat this before an audience, we would see heads nod in agreement. It has the ring of good common sense. When we think of how to judge the future, it seems only logical to review the past to get an indication of what things might look like moving forward.

We must be careful, though. This axiom might be true when applied to politics or history or investing, but it provides a lousy foundation in other areas of life. And it certainly doesn’t reflect the way God relates to us.

God gives you and me…..and all of us…….a chance to let go of the past and start over every single day. The Old Testament Prophet, Jeremiah, wrote this:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
(Lamentations 3:22-23)

While human beings constantly do this, God doesn’t judge our future by our past. He didn’t do it with David or with Moses or with Peter or with Paul. We never read in Scripture where God judged anyone’s future by their past. And here’s the great news: God doesn’t judge you by your past either. In fact, Psalm 103 tells us:

We sinned against him, but he didn’t give us the punishment we deserved.
(Psalm 103:10)

God’s grace and His love are such that He extends His mercy toward us every single morning. Every day meets us brand new. A good way to start the day with God is to remember that you’ve just been given new mercies – the opportunity to begin this day with a clean slate.

Think of it this way: When you are in your vehicle, which is larger – the windshield ahead of you, or the rear-view-mirror that looks behind you? Obviously the windshield. The reason is because it is much more important to be able to see where you’re going that it is to see where you’ve been.

With God, He is much more focused on your future than your past. You can’t go back and change a single thing in your past, but you can start every single day brand new and move forward with God’s help. So don’t allow the past to stand in the way of your future. Like Patrick Henry, I prize liberty, but unlike Henry’s other statement, God judges our future by our potential, not our past. And I, for one, am quite happy about that!!!

10-8-2024

God of Another Chance

I grew up in the church from about 5 years old on, so I’ve been familiar with most of the Bible stories for a long time. As such, I was aware of some of the details of Peter’s life – specifically, his denials of Jesus. Because I knew of his denials, I automatically assumed that, after such a disgrace, he lived out the rest of his life in guilt and shame.

When I got a little older and began reading the New Testament, I found it hard to comprehend that the Peter of Acts was the same Peter in the gospels. They seemed to be two different people. When I read the letters Peter had written, I was surprised that he didn’t mention – not even once – the time he denied Christ.

He didn’t seem to be a man overcome with guilt. Instead he spoke with authority and confidence. He told his readers to practice self-control, to be holy, to avoid hypocrisy, and to live for God. I wondered: How can he write with such boldness when he failed so publicly?

There’s only one reason. Peter experienced the restoring grace of God in his life. He found out what it truly, truly means to have your slate wiped clean and to be given another chance.

The critics of Peter could have said, “This man has no place in the ministry. Look at his history. He’s impulsive. He has a knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Jesus even called him ‘Satan’ once. He made a fool of himself when he tried to walk on water. He violently attacked a soldier in the Garden of Gethsamane. Worst of all, he denied Jesus before he abandoned him. This guy has been trouble since day one. He doesn’t deserve to be called a Christian, let alone be a leader in the church.”

Though everything these hypothetical critics said is true, one fact that negates it all: the restoring power of the grace of God. No matter how far you have fallen, you are never too far down to be picked up and cleaned up and given a new start.

One of my favorite verses in the entire Bible is something the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. It’s found in 2 Corinthians 5:17……here’s the verse from The Message paraphrase:

Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!
(2 Corinthians 5:17, MSG)

You may feel like your past excludes you from any hope of having a good life … but the restoring power of God’s grace changes that. Feeling like you need another chance today? Most of us do…….and the good news is that God is the God of another chance.

9-18-2024

Lifting Others Up

We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us — and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. (1 John 3:16)

Dawson Trotman served as a Christian leader during the 1930s, 40s and 50s. His ministry was focused primarily on reaching young people — high school students and college students, as well as those serving in the military, specifically the Navy. His ministry was called the Navigators.

In the summer of 1956 Dawson was speaking at a Bible camp in upstate New York when he and a few students went for a boat ride around the lake. Dawson asked one of the students, Allene Beck, if she could swim. She said she couldn’t. He suggested they trade places, since his seat would be more secure in the event of an accident.

A short time later, the boat made a turn into some choppy waves, almost capsizing. Dawson and Allene were both thrown into the water. Dawson, remembering she couldn’t swim, helped keep her head above water while the boat turned around and circled back.

Those on deck were able to lift Allene to safety, but as they reached for Dawson, he was pulled away by the current. He slipped beneath the surface and drowned.

In his death, we see how Dawson Trotman put the Apostle John’s words into action. In the most literal sense, he laid died his life for a fellow believer. It was both a heart-breaking tragedy and a Christ-honoring sacrifice.

A few days later, when Billy Graham preached Dawson’s funeral, he said, “Daws died the same way he lived: holding others up.”

This Saturday, at 10:30 am, we will celebrate the life of Marilyn Harger. Marilyn, like Dawson Trotter, lived her life “holding others up”. Whether you know it or not, she prayed for you, she served you and she loved you.

So now, I’m inviting you to help “fill the gap” left by Marilyn’s passing. You may not be called to lay down your life, but would you be willing to lay down some of your time for the sake of another? Or to let go of a few dollars for the sake of another? Or to give a ride? Or make a call? Or prepare a meal? Or clean up someone’s mess? Or any number of things?

There’s an old hymn that goes:

Lord, help me live from day to day
In such a self-forgetful way
That even when I kneel to pray
My prayer shall be for others.