One on One with Jesus

Have you ever asked someone for an autograph? I must admit I can never recall asking for one. Even though I have met a few celebrities over the years, I am really not that taken by “celebrity-ism.” I guess one of the realities is that even if you meet one of the famous few and you get a quick handshake, some small talk, or an 8X10 glossy, have your really “met” them?

One of the grand things about our relationship with Christ is that it is just that – a relationship. We can truly know Him and interact with and love Him. To help us understand and enjoy that reality more, we begin a new study this Sunday on the life of Christ as viewed from the point of view of those who met Him face to face in a genuine, person to person encounter. These are those who have gone One on One with Jesus.

It is my prayer that in these next few weeks you will encounter our Savior in a fresh and personal way. If you do, you will never be the same. So come eager and prepared to go One on One with Jesus.

Jesse Waggoner

Those Giant Balloons!

Will you see them floating by on Thursday? For the last 81 years, Thanksgiving has been marked by a parade in New York City sponsored by Macy's Department Store. Its origin was a marketing strategy to kick off the Christmas shopping season and draw attention to the "world's largest department store." For me, the biggest attraction is the giant balloons. But did you notice every balloon is restrained by handlers tightly holding on to a line to keep the thing from floating away? The simple physics is that helium is lighter than air and if left to themselves all giant balloons will float away.

The simple truth about humans is that left to themselves they will drift away into all manner of harmful things. Isaiah expressed it this way, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way;" (Isa 53:6). What we need is a number of lines to hold us firmly within the realm of safety, both spiritually and physically. This is exactly what we find in a local church: a family of believers encouraging each other, caring for each other and praying for each other. All serving to keep us anchored to our Lord.

Thank you for your part in helping the family remain strong, and let me encourage you to involve yourself fully in ministry here, in so doing you will find yourself held securely in a place of safety and blessing.

Jesse Waggoner

The Giant Penny

What if you could take a penny and grow it to giant size, how about a penny that is 8 feet tall? In case you are wondering where I am going with this, it all started earlier in the week when I was taking the picture (shown above, click on it for an even better view) that you will see as the background slide on the big screens to accompany my message Sunday morning. Using a macro lens, I was able to obtain a close up of a shiny new penny and thus make it look huge, first on my computer screen and today on the big screens which are 8 feet tall.

But what if we could really enlarge a coin? I mean more than just taking a tiny copper image of Lincoln and expanding it; I mean making it of more value than it is. This is not some get-rich-quick scheme; there is a way to inflate its value. How, you ask --by making it an offering to God. By so doing, we take that which has an earthly value and grant it eternal value. I think one of the reasons that God is so pleased when we give to Him is that He knows that we value our possessions, and when we take that which is of value to us and worshipfully ascribe value to Him, He is pleased, honored and glorified.

In this time when we are seeing many investment shrink, it would be good to remember the next time you are putting your offering in the basket, that you are making your money grow!

Jesse Waggoner

No Pain, No Gain

Some time ago I was in a doctor’s office for a "simple and minor procedure." The words "simple and minor" were the doctor's words, not mine. If it's my body, it is always major. I must give the doctor credit- he didn't lie to me with the "it won't hurt a bit" line. In fact, he informed me it would hurt. To quote him..."I know pain, I inflict it every day." Rather sadistic sounding words from a physician, but he was right! I am sorry to whine about my pain, for I know many of you are dealing with a lot worse pain than I am. Pain, however, is a necessary ingredient in life.

It is necessary for us. It warns us when something is wrong and needs attention. The memory of a burn makes us more careful around fire, etc. Pain can also be used of God in the process of maturing us (Rom. 5:3). This Sunday we will examine the major theme of the book of First Peter- the place of suffering in a believer’s life. For a head-start you may want to read 1 Peter 3:12-4:22. Together we will discover that even the bad experience of life can be that which God can use for His own perfect purposes. For a follower of Christ, pain can always result in gain. If you want to learn how, just dig in with me in today’s study. Your pain may not magically go away, but you will leave assured that God’s intentions are for our and His best.

Jesse Waggoner

How to help your marriage

The following statistics show that the best thing you can do to insure the success of your marriage is to concentrate on your shared spiritual life:

Divorce Rates:

for couples who live together before marriage 76%
for all couples 50%
for couples who attend church regularly 34%
for couples who read the Bible together daily - about 1%
for couples who pray together daily - less than 1%


Also in today's message I mentioned a couple of books that I and others I have counseled have found helpful for their marriage as they seek to carry out the mandate of 1 Peter 2:1-7. In case you can't remember the title here they are with links to Amazon.com in case you want to order a copy.

How long will you live?

Try this exercise: subtract your current age from 90, and then multiply by 12. If you were to live to age 90, that is how many months you would have left (I know some of you may be past 90 and some of us may live way past 90, but this is an illustration, so work with me, will you?). Take a look at that number; does it seem smaller that you would have thought? A speaker at a conference I attended had the audience do this exercise and I was struck with the fact that all in all we are here, but for a relatively short time. This week I officiated at the funeral of one of our members who went home to be with the Lord just shy of his 90th birthday. I reminded the folks at the service and I remind you, that in light of time, let alone eternity, life is very short.

So how do we respond to this reality? I would suggest that we make every day and every moment count. As the Apostle tells us… “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Eph. 5:15-16) We need to bring purpose to our days and live our lives for His glory; this is the purpose for which we were made.

It is my prayer that I may use my remaining 504 months (?) for Him; won’t you join me?

Jesse Waggoner