MY GAL VAL

It was a glorious evening in Aurora, Ontario at The Gathering Place. This unique church meets in a bowling alley that they have purchased and retrofitted to meet the needs of a growing church. On a cold and snowy night we arrived late because of poor road conditions but found the Place packed. A little bad weather won't keep Canadians away from the presence of the Lord!

Dr. Russ Moyer preached a powerful word and then we began to pray for people. A man came to me for prayer and then came back to ask me a favor. His request was for me to give a message to my wife Val. As he began to share the message I stopped him and said, "Wait!" Please write this down because Val will never believe me when I tell her this!

At the end of the service he hands me a folded piece of paper addressed, "Hand Deliver to the Lovely Val". Under a crudely drawn heart pierced with an arrow were the words, "From the Guys that love "My Gal Val!" It gets better! I've typed out his impromptu letter for you.

"Val, my name is Roger and I am a former Bad Boy, but have been a Christian since my mom died 15 years ago. Prior to her last breath she told me to give it up and turn the page. I am now a warrior for Christ and a radical. I watch you on TV with my Christian brothers. When one of the boys see you on TV they scream out "My Gal Val is on" and no matter what we're doing, even the enjoyment of polishing our Harleys, we come to learn from you. Many times when your hubby is firing off, one of the boys will talk to the TV and tell him nicely to "shut-up!" We want "My Gal Val" to speak.

You hit home darling! Don't just think for a moment that you're only reaching the ladies. You're not! Jesus is using your gift in ways you would never imagine. If I had your email I would get the Boys to speak for themselves. I was so happy to be blessed by Fast Freddy. You keep both feet on the gas pedal. We love you!"

Peace and Blessings,
Roger

Wow! You're married to someone for 44 years and think you know everything about them! Kidding aside, this is a great example of an expanding sphere of influence. You might think you only have influence with one group but come to find out that you're reaching an unknown audience. Val always knew that she had influence with women, but bikers? She tells me that she once went on a date with a guy at Teachers College in Fredericton, New Brunswick who rode a motorcycle but found it too scary to go again.

The disciples were surprised as to why Jesus was talking with a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. They wondered what could He possibly have in common with this woman? And yet because He extended grace to her, she went and told her whole town about Him.

Let's pray about going to those with whom we have little or nothing in common in order to offer them Living Water. God sent Peter to a Roman centurion's household and he and his whole household were saved!

My gal Val and I were invited to minister at two churches in Ontario. One was on the Six Nations Reserve and the other was a Portuguese congregation in Toronto. We have very little in common with either of these churches yet by the grace of God we received and gave favor. God's favor expands our sphere of influence.

Scriptures

Isaiah 6:8 "Here I am Lord! Send me!"

~ Pastor Fred

October 12, 2010

Friends on the Internet,

Nissan is introducing its first all-electric car with tax credits, rebate checks, personalized home visits, government giveaways and even customer service calls from top corporate executives. That's right, personalized home visits from company executives! One potential customer "testified" that when he had some basic questions about Nissan's new offering, the answers came in a 40 minute telephone call from a senior manager in Nissan's corporate planning department. He said, "You kind of feel like you are one of the chosen people."

It's working! 85% of the people who have reserved to purchase the new electric car do not currently own a Nissan, giving the brand exposure to a new audience. After putting down his $99 deposit, another customer said, "It's been really amazing to get this amount of personal attention from a huge car company."

In like manner, Jesus did not expect everyone to come to the "showroom" (church, TV, etc.) and buy into the kingdom. He also sent His disciples out to the people with the personal touch.

Scriptures

Matt 10:7-12 NIV 7 As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; 10 take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep. 11 "Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting.

Jesus sent His disciples to do what He had been doing. Great success stories in the Kingdom are about larger than life people who never lost the personal touch.

Pastor Fred

October 9, 2010

Friends on the Internet,

Matt 11:11 NIV I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Val decided that yesterday was the day to take up golf! I was so happy she wanted to learn and had previously encouraged her not to put it off too long. But I was suddenly filled with trepidation when I remembered many years ago trying to teach Val how to drive our 1957 MGA. It was not a good experience. After prayer we decided to step out in faith and believe that this would be a different experience since we were different people in Christ. So we went to the driving range and I began to show her a few elemental things about how to grip the club; address the ball and stance posture. As my friend Colin would testify, I am the last person who should be trying to teach anyone how to golf, but Val really enjoyed it and we had a great morning on the driving range.

My take away from this is no matter how little you may know and how inept you may feel, never be afraid to step out in faith and introduce someone to new things. Often times the zeal of a new convert can inspire others to try something new. This can be readily seen in making disciples. Consider the Samaritan woman at the well. The same day she meets and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, she goes and tells her entire village and brings them to Jesus. Think about it! In their minds could there have been anyone more unqualified to preach to them about righteousness? Probably not, but she leveraged her personal encounter with Jesus in order to make disciples.

Scriptures

John 4:39-42 NIV 39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers. 42 They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world."

For those of you who have seen me play golf and may be worried, I'm now encouraging Val to sign up with a real golf instructor. Thankfully, we now share in 3 of the 4 big interests of my life: God, Grandchildren, and Golf. We'll have to wait and see about the Gardening thing!

Pastor Fred

October 2, 2010

Friends on the Internet,

One of the first things we are told in golf is the importance of a strong grip. I've really been struggling to find a good grip that enables me to strike the ball consistently and improve my game. Since the grip is the only physical connection we have with the golf club it is quite important. There are so many teachers and friends who want to tell you how to do it. It's amazing that something so simple and fundamental can be so difficult to master! One instructor I listened to said, "God must be a golfer because He designed the hands to fit perfectly on a golf club." So I've decided to get a "grip" on the word of God.

Ezek 37:15-17 NIV 15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 "Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, 'Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, 'Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.' 17 Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand."

My good friend Colin Carson was in town recently and we went out to play a round of golf. We hit a bucket of balls from the practice tee to warm up and it was apparent that my "stick of wood" was not one with my hands. I had lost my grip, sadly in more ways than one, and it made for a very long and frustrating morning on the course. Colin meanwhile shot the lowest score of his life! For me, golf is another way to die to myself and I plan to go to the driving range today and work on my grip some more.

Scriptures

Phil 4:9 NIV "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

Lord, help us to practice righteousness in everything that we put our hands to and give you glory!

Pastor Fred