Pastor Chuck’s Blog

5-6-2023

I have a problem when I walk with my wife. Mind you, it’s my problem, not hers. As you’re probably aware, Helen has some arthritis, and that slows down her walk a bit. I have found that I tend to walk a little faster than she does. Whenever we go somewhere together, I find myself walking ahead of her. I have to slow down so that she can catch up. I make a conscious effort to walk more slowly—at least for a while. But the next thing I know, I’m walking fast again.

Maybe you face a similar challenge – not with your spouse, but when it comes to walking with God.

Some people want to run ahead of Him. They grow impatient waiting for Him to answer a prayer or reveal His will, so they take matters into their own hands. Other people lag behind Him. They’re reluctant to act when He prompts them. They’re hesitant to step outside their comfort zone without two weeks’ advance notice.

Our goal should be to move in step, in harmony with the Lord. The best life is the life that walks WITH God…..not ahead and not behind, but alongside Him. We need to stay close to Him and adjust our steps so that they match His. Enoch is listed in the Faith Hall of Fame (see Hebrews 11:5). Yet we know little about him beyond this note in Genesis 5:22, which is repeated in verse 24: “Enoch walked with God”.

Never lose sight of what a privilege it is to walk with the Lord. Any sacrifice you have to make for the sake of that walk will be well worth it. Your walk with God will bring indescribable richness to your daily life………it will make your life better and it will make you better at life.

4-29-2026

One of the most influential leaders of the Christian church in the last century was a quiet and unassuming theologian named John Stott. He spent much of his life serving one church, All Souls Langham Place in London. But he also served the global church, preaching all over the world.

He challenged evangelicals everywhere not just to preach the gospel boldly, but to live boldly and Biblically. He challenged us not only to tell the world about Jesus, but also to demonstrate the love of Jesus in caring for the poor and the disenfranchised.

Throughout his 70 year ministry he wrote several books. One of them, Basic Christianity, is a book that I would encourage you to read.

John Stott was a man with a life well lived. He lived well and he finished strong. In the final days of his life, confined to bed, knowing the end was near, he asked for two things.

First, to hear Handel’s Messiah again and again.

Second, for a friend to read again and again from one book of the Bible: 2 Timothy. Like the Apostle Paul, John Stott was prepared to say…

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)

I am fairly certain that we all want to end this journey of life with a life well-lived, and we all want to echo these words from the Apostle Paul. The good new is that you can. All of us can go out on top. I’m not talking about going out rich or going out famous. I’m talking about going out content. Satisfied. Full of joy, hope, and expectation, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb with our eternal destination secure.

The best time to consider this, of course, is sooner, not later. If you haven’t taken the step of placing your life in Christ, it’s not too late. It’s not too late to start fighting the good fight, and it’s not too late to become all that God created you to be. Here’s to finishing well. And to making today count toward that end.

4-22-2026

If you’re a follower of Jesus, you’re an ambassador for Him. The Bible says it very clearly: “We are Christ’s ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20 NLT).

An ambassador is a representative sent out on a mission to build relationships. There are all kinds of ambassadors – political, economic, cultural, business, and goodwill ambassadors. And the Bible says there are spiritual ambassadors – that’s you and me! As an ambassador of Jesus, you have some roles to fill. Here are a couple:

First, you represent Jesus in the world. That should affect everything about how you live. Philippians 1:27 says, “Be sure that you live in a way that brings honor to the Good News of Christ” (NCV).

As you go about your day, a great reminder for all of us is this: Remember who you represent. When you’re at work, playing a sport, or stuck in traffic—remember who you represent.

Second, you’ve been given a mission. In the Message paraphrase, Jesus prays, “In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world” (John 17:18).

When you’re on a mission, that’s all that matters. You’re there to get the job done because you have a mission to accomplish. And of all the missions in the world, the most important mission of all is helping people get to know God and settle their eternal destiny.

The apostle Paul said this, “I don’t care about my own life. The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me— to tell people the Good News about God’s grace” (Acts 20:24 NCV).

I love the fact that so many of you made a Faith Promise for World Missions this past Sunday. Lives are going to be changed because of your faithful generosity! This Sunday (April 26, 2026) we are launching a new message series, but we will also receive an offering for our World Missions Project of building 2 churches in Kenya, Africa. Over the years we have built churches, missions centers, purchased an olive grove and even purchased chickens…….whatever it takes for more people to know Jesus.

Our goal is to raise $10,096 to build the 2 churches. I know you’ve been praying this week and asking God how He wants you to help. Remember: If you’re a follower of Jesus, you’re His ambassador. That means you represent Him, you have a mission from Him. Thank you for listening to God and being obedient. I’m eager to see all that God is going to do!!!

3-25-2026

I have no idea whether this story is true, or a parable. Either way, it’s worth reading because, in a way, it explains why LifePoint does the things we do. It’s a little long, but worth the read.

My teenage son asked me to drop him off three blocks from school every morning. When I finally followed him, I discovered why, and it destroyed me.

For six months, Ethan had been making the same request. “Mom, can you drop me off at the corner of Fifth and Main?” Not at the school entrance like every other parent, but three blocks away. At first, I thought it was normal teenage embarrassment. He was fifteen, in his sophomore year—the age where being seen with your parents is social suicide.

“Sure, honey,” I’d say. I’d pull over at the corner, he’d grab his backpack, wave goodbye, and I’d drive to work thinking nothing of it.

Until last Tuesday.

My dentist appointment that got cancelled at the last minute, so as I drove past Ethan’s school around 8:15 AM, I saw him walking up the front steps. But he wasn’t alone. He was carrying two backpacks: his own, and another one—a smaller, pink one with unicorn patches. Next to him was a little girl, maybe seven or eight years old, holding his hand.

I pulled into the parking lot and watched. Ethan walked her all the way to the elementary school entrance on the other side of the building. He knelt down, fixed her hair, and said something that made her smile. Then he handed her the pink backpack and watched her go inside. Only then did he walk to the high school entrance.

I sat in my car, completely confused. Who was that child? I called the school office, but they couldn’t help me. So I drove home, but couldn’t focus on anything. That night at dinner, I asked casually, “How was school?”

“Fine,” Ethan said. The same thing he always said.

“Anything interesting happen?”

“Not really.”

He wasn’t lying, exactly, but he wasn’t telling me something. The next morning, I did something I’m not proud of. I dropped him off at the corner like usual, then I parked down the street and followed him on foot.

I watched him walk two blocks. Then he stopped at a run-down apartment building and went inside. Five minutes later, he came out holding the hand of the same little girl. She was wearing a t-shirt that was too small and jeans with holes in the knees. Her hair was messy and unbrushed.

Ethan knelt down on the sidewalk and pulled a hairbrush out of his backpack and brushed her hair gently and carefully, like he’d done it a hundred times before. Then he pulled out a lunch box and handed it to her. She put it in her pink backpack, and they walked together to school, hand in hand.

I followed at a distance, crying behind my sunglasses. At school, Ethan did the same thing I’d seen yesterday. He walked her to the elementary entrance, made sure she went inside safely, and then went to his own classes.

I drove home and waited. When Ethan got home that afternoon, I was sitting at the kitchen table.

“Sit down,” I said. “We need to talk.”

He froze. “About what?”

“About the little girl you walk to school every morning.”

His face went white. “Mom—”

“Who is she, Ethan?”

He sat down slowly, looking terrified. “Her name is Sophie,” he said quietly.

“Why are you walking her to school?”

He stared at the table. “Because no one else will.”

“What does that mean?”

He took a deep breath. “She lives in the apartment building on Seventh Street. Her mom is… she’s not around much. She works nights. Sometimes she doesn’t come home.”

My heart broke a little.

“Sophie’s eight years old,” Ethan continued. “She was walking to school alone. In the dark. At 7:30 in the morning. I saw her one day, six months ago. She was walking by herself, crying. Her backpack was open and her stuff was falling out. Some older kids were laughing at her. I helped her pick up her stuff. I asked where her mom was. She said her mom was sleeping and she couldn’t wake her up.”
Tears started rolling down his cheeks.

“She’s eight, Mom. She’s a baby. And she was walking to school alone through a bad neighborhood. Anything could have happened to her.”

“So you started walking with her,” I said softly.

He nodded. “Every morning. I go to her apartment. I make sure she’s awake and dressed. I brush her hair because she doesn’t know how to do it herself yet.”
“The lunch box?”

“I make her lunch at night and bring it in the morning. She was going to school hungry. She told me sometimes she doesn’t eat dinner either because her mom forgets to buy food.”

I covered my mouth with my hand. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I thought you’d make me stop,” Ethan said. “I thought you’d say it’s not our problem, or that it’s dangerous, or that I should focus on my own life. But she needs me, Mom. She doesn’t have anyone else. Her mom is barely there. She doesn’t have a dad. She doesn’t have grandparents. She has me. If I stop showing up, she’ll go back to walking alone. She’ll go back to being hungry. She’ll go back to being scared.”

I got up and hugged him. “You’re not stopping,” I said. “You’re not stopping anything. But we’re going to do this right.”

That evening, I went to Sophie’s apartment. A woman answered the door—late twenties, exhausted, wearing a waitress uniform.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“Hi, I’m Amanda Chen. My son Ethan has been walking your daughter Sophie to school.”

Her face changed to a mix of embarrassment and defense. “I didn’t ask him to do that.”

“I know,” I said gently. “But he’s been doing it for six months.”

She looked down. “I work nights. Double shifts. I’m trying to keep the lights on. Sometimes I don’t get home until 7 AM and I’m too tired to wake up when Sophie needs to leave.”

“I’m not here to judge you,” I said. “I’m here to help. I want to set up a routine. My son wants to keep walking Sophie to school. I’d like to make sure she has lunches packed. And on days when you’re working late, she can come to our house for dinner.”

The woman’s eyes filled with tears. “Why would you do that?”

“Because my son taught me something,” I said. “He taught me that we don’t look away when people need help. We show up.”

Her name was Jessica. She broke down crying in her doorway. “I’m trying so hard. I’m doing everything I can, but it’s not enough. I know it’s not enough.”

“Then let us help,” I said. “Please.”

That was four months ago. Sophie comes to our house three nights a week now. She has dinner with us, does her homework at our kitchen table, and plays with our dog. Jessica works her shifts and doesn’t have to worry. Ethan still walks Sophie to school every morning, but now I drive them both. And every morning, I watch my son brush a little girl’s hair and make sure she has everything she needs. I’m so proud I can barely breathe.

Sophie’s teachers described her as a different child. They described her as happy, focused, and her grades were improving. Apparently Sophie told the teacher that she had a big brother now.

Yesterday, Jessica got a promotion: day shift, better pay, and health insurance. She cried when she told me. “I can be home when Sophie gets out of school now. I can actually be her mom again.”

“You’ve always been her mom,” I said. “You were just doing it alone. Now you’re not.”

She hugged me. “Thank you for not judging me. For helping us.”

“Thank Ethan,” I said. “He’s the one who saw her first.”

This morning, Sophie ran up to our car with a drawing. It was a picture of four people holding hands. “That’s me, my mom, Ethan, and Miss Amanda,” she said proudly. “We’re a family.”

She’s right. We are. Not by blood or by law, but by choice. My son chose to see a child in need and help her. He taught me that family isn’t just the people you’re born with; it’s the people you show up for every single day.

THIS!!! This is why LifePoint invests in our community, why we come alongside single moms and hurting families, why we support Embrace Grace give food away, why we do an Easter Egg hunt and so many other things. Take a look at something Matthew recorded for us in chapter 25, verse 40:

Then the King will say, “I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.” ~Jesus

THANK YOU, LifePoint for loving like Jesus……..let’s keep it up!

3-18-2026

I once heard a story about a man who was driving down the road behind a large truck. He wasn’t in a big hurry, so he just stayed behind the truck, and in the process he noticed something strange. At every stoplight the truck driver jumped out of the cab and pounded the side of the truck with a baseball bat, then jumped back in the truck and took off.

After seeing this happen at 5 or 6 lights, the man’s curiosity got the best of him. At the next light, he jumped out of his car and ran up to the driver who was furiously pounding his truck.

He said, “Hey fella, what’s up with the ball bat on the side of the truck?”

The driver said, “It’s like this. I have a one ton truck and two tons of canaries in the cargo container. That means I have to keep a ton of birds in the air at all times or this truck won’t move.”

Sometimes life feels a lot like that truck – we have more than we can carry, so we have to keep several things “up in the air” just to move forward. I know that I’ve had days like that, and I imagine you have as well. Just remember, you don’t have the carry the burdens of life alone because God has promised to walk with us on this journey.

And when you’ve had a very long, challenging, upside-down day, remember what Matthew recorded for us in chapter 11, verse 28:

Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest. ~Jesus

Blessings, LifePoint! I love you all, and pray for you daily!