WHEN GOD IS SILENT

 

     If you've been a Christian for along time, I'm sure you can say there are times in your life when God is being silent with you. It's not a bad thing, in fact I think it's a good thing. We try to figure out during these times why he is silent but also what he is trying to say in that quietness.

 

    I remember being maybe 7 years old. My Godparents (yes, I was Catholic) sent me an amazing gift for either Christmas or my birthday (I can't remember). They were Walkie Talkies. They were green and tan. I remember bringing them to my Grandparents house. They lived by a lake. My brother and I would talk to each other. Anytime we were too far away we could not hear each other. I knew he had the other walkie talkie but we were not able to communicate. I also remember being about 12 years old and my Dad had in his car a CB radio. For Christmas he bought my brother and I a CB radio we had in our basement. I guess he was tired of us using the one in his car! He had to back up his 1969 Ford Falcon Station wagon and by using his CB we used a lot of power from his battery. Many times we would try to call my Dad on his CB by saying "Breaker one two this is the Blue Dolphin looking for the Big Whale, what's your 20?" (His handle was Big Whale because he was a Life Guard as a teen and was known to be able to hold his breath under water for a long time). Sometimes we would lose contact or someone would interfere with our conversation. I knew my Dad was in his car, but we were not able to communicate. There was total silence on both ends

 

     Lately I have been wrestling with God's silence in my life. There were times in my life that I heard God loud and clear but in the past few weeks He has been silent. It doesn't mean He is ignoring me or bored with me but I take it this way. He is inviting me to stay close to him so I can hear His still, small voice. Here are 3 things I have done so I can hear his voice

 

1. I read His word daily. God's word is truth and He speaks to me through His word.

 

2. I pray to Him and communicate with Him. I ask Him daily to speak to my heart in his still, small voice.

 

3. I do all I can to stay close to him. I have met many people who are new Christians who walk away from God because they think God is ignoring them. Apparently they feel He is not working quickly enough for them. That is certainly not true! It says in Psalm 46:10 - Be still and know that I am God. God may be silent at times but it is during those times we need to get real close to Him so we can truly hear from Him! He will never leave us or forsake us!!

I know His plan for my life and yours is amazing. We just need to be still!!

 

I'll be blogging again in two weeks so I'll see you all the week of September 8th!        

WE ARE NOT IN A SPRINT.......

     My blog this week is better late than never and for a good reason. I spent my Monday morning in the Emergency Room with dreaded kidney stones. My 3rd attack in two years. I praise God all is well and I am back to normalcy. Now onto this weeks blog!

 

     Maybe 12 years ago I attended a Men's breakfast at my church. I settled at a table with a few other men and two gentlemen approached our table and asked if they could join us. One was a very wealthy man and the other a very prominent and well known lawyer. I was honored that they were sitting with us and we had a great time of fellowship. After we all went up for delicious scrambled eggs, we were encouraged to pray for each other around our tables. I will never forget the words that came out of the lawyers mouth as he prayed for me. "Lord, please let Pastor Dave know that in his life and in his ministry, he is not in a sprint, he is in a marathon." I thought about that prayer for a long time not only how it pertained to me life 12 years ago but also now. How many times have we tried to rush through life or rush through a circumstance like we are sprinting when we really need to slow down our pace like a marathon runner. So what is a sprinter when it comes to track and field? What is a marathon runner when it comes to the New York City marathon.

 

     The fastest 40 yard dash ever in the National Football League since 2006 took place in the year 2008 at the NFL Combine. It was Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans who ran the "40" in 4.24 seconds. Now that's fast! Mr. Johnson ran as fast as he could when he ran his very fast "40". He didn't take his sweet time running. He ran very fast and it went very quick. 4.24 seconds is certainly faster than I have ever run in my lifetime. In life we want everything fast. Every single day I deal with guests at Chick Fil-A who expect a $50 order to be in their hands in a matter of seconds. Sometimes we expect God to work that way as well. We want him to work as fast as possible. We want to sprint through every situation when it is his truthfully His will to take things slow and not be in a hurry. He wants us to grow and have faith in him.

 

     The New York City Marathon takes place every November and is 26.2 miles long. I attended that marathon in 2013 and helped a church in Brooklyn evangelize in front of their church. I saw thousands of people run. Some looked like they were in amazing shape. Others looked like they struggled and ran very slow. The main goal for probably 85% of the runners in that race was to finish. The odds of winning were very slim. They wanted to finish. In the history of marathon's, no one has ever sprinted an entire marathon. That is impossible! Each runner takes in slow. They run a steady pace. When they cross that finish line they are exhausted, but happy that they finished. They ran a race. They took it slow. A marathon is what we need to run in life sometimes. We need to slow down and not rush through life. We need to take it slow and realize that one day when we get to heaven we will cross that glorious finish line.

 

    So as our summer comes to a close, let's remember that life is not a sprint, it really is a marathon. Put on those running shoes!!    

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

     If you know me well, you know that I am not a big fan of practicing. Not necessarily when I directed puppet ministries or Kids in Missions at Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle. I mean personally I hate it. If you ask my Mom, she could probably tell you I rarely practiced my saxophone. I started playing it in 4th grade and played up until about 32 years ago when I started getting more involved in children's ministry. Maybe if I did practice, I could have become a famous Christian Jazz musician. Probably not! One of my magician friends Magic Vinny and I were invited to share at the Smithtown Christian School Chapel about ten years ago. Vinny wanted us to practice the magic tricks. Practice? I said to him "Why, we can do this without practicing?" Vinny proved me wrong and sure enough I realize we needed to work on the timing of each magic trick.

     Recently I have been thinking about 2 very famous people who discovered how practice makes perfect. The first is the greatest basketball player who ever lived, Michael Jordan. He is also responsible for breaking my heart and always beating the New York Knicks! Anyway, when Michael Jordan was a freshman in High School, he was cut from the basketball team . He decided instead of pouting he would instead start practicing and getting better. His practice made perfect after he was cut. It didn't weigh him down! He worked very hard to improve himself and he would later win a National Championship in College and 6 NBA Championships with the Chicago Bulls.

     The second famous person is none other than Walt Disney. in 1919, Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper staff and was told he was not "creative enough"...seriously? Walt Disney decided he wanted to get better and he worked on so many ideas through the years. In 1955 he opened Disneyland in California and in 1971 he opened Walt Disneyworld. The Disney name is famous all over the world. His practice also made for perfection!

     As I begin developing my new ideas for my new ministry as well as my hopes to go into libraries using ventriloquism and magic, I realize that the only way I will get better is if I practice. I have set time aside to do just that to see where I can improve. Many athletes, performers, dancers, magicians, singers and musicians will always tell you that they want to work on their weaknesses so that they can improve and get better. The only way we can get better is if we......PRACTICE!

 

SEE YOU ALL NEXT WEEK!    

WHAT WILL LIFE BE LIKE 50 YEARS FROM NOW??

     I recently had a discussion with a friend and we started thinking a lot about how life would be 50 years from now. I know, I do think of bizarre things! In 50 years from now it will be the year 2069. Unless Jesus returns or God allows me to live till I am 105, I doubt very much I will be here. It's scary to think that my oldest son will be 76 and my youngest daughter will be 63. I really do wonder what life will be like?

 

     You begin to think about what transportation will be like. Will we be in flying saucers like the Jetson's? Will the good ole Belt Parkway be in the sky and maybe just maybe there will be no traffic? Will we have robots working at fast food restaurants taking orders? Will we be taking trips to Mars like in the movie "Total Recall"? What about housing? Will we live in caves or luxurious homes that are high in the sky? What about IPhones? Will they be real small? How about hair styles and clothing? Will men have long hair, crew cuts or maybe the mullet will be back! I certainly hope not!

 

     In 2069 the New York Mets will be celebrating their 100 year anniversary of their first World Championship. Hopefully in my lifetime I'll get to see more championships from the Mets, Giants and Rangers! I just hope sports will not be decided by robots playing but real human beings!

 

     All I know is one thing will never change and that is Jesus! The bible tells us in  Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever." He was the same when I was born, when I was in high school, when I was a Bible College student and today while I was working. Although hair styles, clothing and culture may change, He never changes, Praise God!