I had the huge privilege of speaking at the Friends Church in Gate today. I wouldn’t ever make it as a full-time pastor, but I tell ya, I enjoy filling in from time to time and talking about Jesus and his grace and mercy that saved us all.

I got to talk about perspective today and how easy it is for us to lose it. I got to talk about how we must stay in the Word to help not lose perspective. How we must stay connect with Jesus. How we must use the greatest book ever written, the Bible, as a how-to book to not lose perspective.

I also got to talk about how some of the greatest people I know are not followers of Jesus Christ because they don’t feel worthy enough. Because of past decisions and actions, they feel they have burnt a bridge that can never be rebuilt to connect themselves with Jesus. If you feel this way, can I just encourage you to go read the book of John and the book of Romans and find someone to talk about it with and answer any questions that you might have?

I got to talk about sin and how we overlook our own sins and condemn others. I got to talk about discernment and how close that is to judgment, and how we must keep a distinct line drawn between them because judgment without righteousness is just gossip.

I talked about how we as Christians have a duty to rectify and encourage the people who are feeling marginalized from attending church to come and worship the same Jesus that we do. I talked about church hurt and how real it can be sometimes and how contrived it can be sometimes.

I got to express my thoughts on not condoning sin. I got to talk about how our culture has went to a place where we think we have no place to call out sin, so in return we are loving people straight to hell.

I got to talk about prayer and how important it is to pray for everyone, the saved and the unsaved and how important it is to go out and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. I got to mention a Charles Spurgeon quote. It is always a good day when I get to do that.

I got to end my message by saying how great of a day it will be when we enter the gates of Heaven and hear those words in Matthew 25:23, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

When you factor in all those things, it was a great day. A day I will remember till God calls me home.

I’ll never be a preacher, a person who can dissect scripture and tell of its origin. What it seems I can do though is speak from the heart on what I see needs to be done to further the church. If I can do that whenever I am called on to do so, I will consider myself richly blessed.

Talk to you next week.