Pause: with Pastor Aaron

Why did we quit being a people who came up against a problem and pushed it over? Why have we allowed the 'wall', standing in the way of progress, to define or hinder our momentum? Why have we become a people who quit instead of overcoming? The culture of today is to be defined by something. I saw this first hand in my previous youth ministry where so many talked about 'their' anxiety, depression, learning disability or disadvantage. What I loved about these teens is that, at least they were honest with themselves. Many adults either A. Ignore the issues in the lives, B. Play the victim card or C. Let busy-ness keep them occupied, ignoring the wall to forward progress. So we have raised generations who will sit as the base of the wall, and never progress further. They will accept mediocrity in their homes, jobs and lives. They will rationalize it saying that "This is what I deserve" or "This is the best I can get." We as believer in Jesus Christ...

When I was a boy I was introduced to a little chorus that went something like this, "Practice makes perfect, practice makes perfect. I guess if I practice the better I'll be." In this age of video, they communicate it a lot better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm-RztsGDEw This truth is not Christian per say, but a hard reality.  For anything that we do in life, which we want to do with excellence, we must practice. In practicing we are training. Thus to be excellent, we must commit to training. I hated that season as an athlete. I loved the game. I loved to run and move for the prize of winning the game, but I hated the practice because I could not see the goal. My coaches could. My body did. I could not and did not because I wanted quick satisfaction. I fear I never became the athlete I could have been for my lack of drive to practice. I fear that I developed bad habits that God, failures and life have had to break. The truth here is simple, if we want to ...

Pause: With Pastor  Aaron So the question is asked, "What is the greatest thing you can ever do for God?" There are a multitude of common replies. Feed the hungry. House the homeless. Watch out for the orphan. Support the widow. Give to the church of your time, talent and treasure.  All these replies are excellent, yet could all of these replies also be wrong? Could these responses be done and yet we still miss the greatest thing we can ever do for God. Today's text that gave me pause... Mark 12:28-31 ”28 One of the teachers of the law ... asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Note Jesus response to the...