Take a Powder

A century ago, it was predicted that advances in technology would radically affect the time of the workforce. It was predicted that a 20-30 hour work week would be the norm, instead of the standard forty! (Oh for those kinder, gentler days of a 40 hour work week, huh!) Well, the predictions were partially right - the technology came. It just wasn't followed by increase in personal and recreational hours. We are, as a race of beings, more universally harried, harassed, hurried, and hassled than at any point in history. One wonders where it all went wrong....

Have you ever asked yourself where the division of seven days we call a week comes from? Think about it. 365 days (solar year) don't divide evenly by seven. A lunar month (30 days) doesn't divide out evenly either. There seems to be no logical or mathematical reason why - nearly universally - mankind's calendars invoke some usage of the 7-day period. It transcends times and cultures and races and religions.

Oh how well our Creator God knows us! Turns out that little seven day idiosyncracy is a great ratio of effort to rest...and from the very beginning of the existence of the universe, God wrote it into mankind's mind and heart. Be a part of celebration this Sunday as we go back to the beginning to get a grip on the day God rested.

Just This Week...

Origin and Destiny...it couldn't be more current. Just this week in the news, we've seen our planet celebrate Earth Day. The discovery of a new, earth-like planet in another solar system has been announced, and we've all seen the promo for the intact baby wooly mammoth fossil documentary that premieres on Sunday evening.

Where do we find meaning and application for all these things? Our relationship with our Creator, of course. I hope you'll be a part of the next installment of our Origin and Destiny series this Sunday morning as we explore the creation of man, take a stroll through the fossil record, and take home truth that can change our lives.

See you there - 9:01 and 10:46

Mike

Happy Anniversary

It came and went quietly, overshadowed by a truly remarkable Easter Celebration. This past Sunday marked the 2 year anniversary of THF in its current location. It doesn't seem that long at all...I think several of us are still tired from all those late nights.

I remain breathless as I see and hear the amazing grace of our God in action in the lives of all the attendership at THF. I revel in the new ministries that He is beginning and of the health and growth of existing ministries. Men and woment and students are awakening to a new awareness of our Creator Savior. But more than that, they are joining Him in the work that He's doing in His world. I so grateful to be a part.

Hope we get to celebrate together this weekend at THF. See you there.

Mike

iHope

It's not that Easter gets a bad rap...it really gets no rap! It's very overlooked, except by the candy makers and floral industry and maybe a few clothing manufacturers. It's sort of viewed as the "other" Christian holiday. I would argue that as great as Christmas is, it pales in comparison to Easter. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to diminish Christmas - and the celebration of the incarnation - in any way. Neither do I want to let Easter be overlooked.

Easter is about fulfillment. It is all about overcoming. Sin was defeated on Friday...death on Sunday. And so it signals to us the possibility, the "what-if" stuff of life. It's all about HOPE.

We have heard much in the news, of late, about businesses and economic down turns and recession. Internationally, there are threats all around us. It's really enough to make you want to quit...unless there is something else there. There is that inkling of HOPE - the stuff of "what-if." And it's rooted and grounded in Easter. We call it iHope.

Because God overcame...I - HOPE.

Let us celebrate together the UP RISING, the OVERCOMING, the VICTORY of God - iHope Weekend - this Easter Sunday. THF will amp it up with additional worship times: Thursday Night 7 pm - and Sunday Morning three times - 8:01, 9:31, and 11:01 am. iHope to see you there too.

Jazz

In case you didn't know, I PASSIONATELY love jazz music. From traditional jazz standards to new age, I love it. As a sax player, I enjoy that you don't have to do a song the same way every time. You can follow a basic pattern and then build an improvisation on that basic theme that is all yours. It's new every time, even though the basic pattern is the same.

I was reading this morning, and a friend reminded me that "Love God, Love your neighbor" is one of the themes, or basic patterns, of the "songs" of Scripture. His question to me is mine to you: how will you improvise on that theme today and make it your own.

Jase

God Stories and Men's Fellowship

We talk a lot around these parts about The Heights being "Deliberately Different." We've made no secret about the fact that THF was begun to reach the "unchurched, dechurched, and poorly churched" of our community. That point was illustrated to me once again on Thursday morning as I met with our THF Men's Fellowship (6:30 am Thursday mornings in the THF Mall, gentlemen!).

One of our elders was leading a discussion of our morning text - Acts 22, and he asked the group to share their God stories with one another. Of the six men who shared, none of them had the same story...only two of them even had the same origin for their spiritual journey. And nearly everyone came from an "unchurched, dechurched, or poorly churched" background too.

As I looked around that room of fellow pilgrims, I was left to ponder the wonder of my God, and His continued work in the lives of those like myself, who are so undeserving. And I remembered that scripture an old fisherman, turned pastor wrote:

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not
received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:10 niv

And I was grateful all over again for the message of mercy!

So I Ran Into This Ten Year Old Boy Today...

Today marks a milestone. [No, not Texas Independence Day...that is a great cause for revelry all its own.] On March 2, 1973, I knelt in prayer in my parent's living room and prayed to receive Jesus into my heart. I was ten years old - a fifth grader at Gene Howe Elementary in Amarillo. To be honest, I don't know that I fully realized what I was getting myself into, but I do remember that I was utterly convinced it was right and true, and I chased my conviction into a relationship with the risen Savior.

Today, it's thirty-six years later. A lot has changed...I'm older, heavier, starting to gray on top (although I remain grateful that I have anything on top to gray). Like anyone, I bear the marks of being bumped around some by life. This morning, as I pondered the fact that over three quarters of my life has been spent following the Savior, I ran into that wide-eyed, altruistic, idealistic, ten year old boy again. Spiritually, there is much in three dozen years that is forgettable - jr. high, high school, and a couple of years in college come to mind - I rather often reflect on them as germination time...my time in the ground. But when I ran into him this morning, I ran into HIM again. And I was reminded why my heart has always preferred to celebrate this day over another one where I'll blow out 47 candles, come June.

Seems like with birthdays we celebrate the passing of time. We reach milestones and go "over the hill." Over years we move from expectation as we anticipate the big day to exasperation as we see another year gone. We become 30-something, then 40-something, then AARP members... Age begins to claim us. As we count up, we realize we're ultimately counting down.

Not so in the faith. We just count up. You can never be too old or too young in eternity. On March 2, 1973 I really began to live. I'm sure I didn't understand it all then...and I'm certain that I don't get it all even now. But this one thing I know: I am more certain, more convinced, more convicted, and more compelled to live that life now than at any other time in my existence. I am absolutely sure of my Savior and His truth and His way. And you know what, even though I've much to regret and repent for in my life, I've not had a moment's regret about my Jesus.

So light a candle with me. We're just getting started...