October 31st message

Just wanted to clear somethings that Calley says may not be so clear.




So here we go:



1. Saturday's fun begins at 5 till 8

2. The bible character dress up is for adults as well as children, and I think it would be wonderful to be as involved as possible as an encouragement to the children and showing a real involvement with them. Come even if you don't dress up, but it sure would be cool if you would.

3. Guys --- if you are willing I would love to see you at 1:30 to help with setting up for the activities for the night.

4. Girls --- contact Calley at 601-334-0724 or Cristi at 336-9539 for help in that department.

5. Everybody is wanted by 5:00pm on Saturday. :)

Also I would like to explain somethings about this fun Saturday night.
As a church, as pastor, and as just plain on Danny Reed, halloween is not a celebrated event. On the subject of Halloween, it is an evil root that it began with, and because of evil it still exist today. I can explain the traditions and origins of Halloween in pretty good detail, but I will save time and say you can google it or ask me and I will be glad to explain. To say that the evil origins and the evils of halloween till this day are not obvious is really just ignoring the obvious.

With that said, some may wonder why are we having anything on halloween then. Well this is an event that Calley and I have wrestled with for several years, and have strongly opposed. For years I have excused myself from halloween alternatives by saying "Christians shouldn't have an alternative to evil." Each year I have also thought to myself well plenty of other churches have activities going on for an alternative. And while they are both true and valid, the fact I can't ignore any longer is that some of the children that go to our church will not go anywhere else.

This year we decided to venture out and begin this annual event because number one I don't believe in alternatives, so why not take what the devil intended for evil and kick him in the face with a Godly atmosphere and a wholesome enviroment for people to be in. Jesus isn't an alternative, He is the defeator of the devil. This is a night of victory not just alternatives. The more time goes on, the more I realize that the less Christians do, the more people the devil ruins, and I don't want to miss an opportunity to rescue someone.

In light of all the above I have finally decided on a name for Saturday's event. It is Hallelujah Night, cause it is a night that Jesus will be lifted up, regardless of the reasons that October 31st began a couple 100 years ago, Jesus is the victor, He has defeated the devil and he won't stop. HALLELUJAH OUR GOD REIGNS.

Have an awesome day,

Danny and Calley



p.s. I take no responsibility for bad grammar, runons, fragments, rambling or the likes. lol.

The reaction matters

Matthew 5:39 But I say, do not resist an evil person!  If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.

Now this is what I am talking about.  A verse like this gets me all excited cause it completely slams the human's natural sinful reaction. 
   As a child and teenager, a youth pastor and now pastor, I have heard through the years all to often of the kids that say "my daddy/momma told me if someone hits me and I don't hit em back then I will be in trouble when I get home."  The other statements I hear are from parents, "well I don't want my kid getting pushed around, I want him/her to stand up for themself."  I realize the statements sound right, and people think they are right but the truth is they are wrong.

   I can say from my 31 years of life, there are 2 very real truths:
1. Look for trouble and you will find trouble. In other words if you are always running your mouth and feel the need to have the last word, then sooner or later somebody is going to punch you in the face.
2. If you don't start trouble, then 99% there will be no trouble.  In other words, if you would learn to not be cocky and shut your mouth every now and then, then you will find yourself with more and better friends.

Now with that in mind, lets examine something.  According to the scripture. the person who is doing the hitting is evil in the eyes of God.  And no matter from the nice guy who had a bad day to the serial killer who may kill my very own child, my job and God's expectation of me is to forgive the person and love them regardless.  Now yes the government is set up to protect us, and it is the government's job to put the people who do crimes in jail, but my job is to love them and forgive them.  This is hard to do, I know of only one man so far other than Jesus who has forgiven someone no matter what.  A man named Richard Coss had grandchildren in Oklahoma City when Timothy McVeigh blew up the building known as the Oklahoma City bombing.  Richard after some time went and talked to McVeigh face to face and told him that he was forgiven, and proceded to share the message of Jesus Christ to him.  What a freedom it is to not have bitterness.
    The other fact in the scripture is that if the person who throws the first punch is evil, then the person who responds with a punch is in the same category.  So for parents who encourage their child to not get pushed around and to hit back, you my friend are training your child to be evil.  I believe any parent has a sincere desire to not want to train their child to be evil.  For the person who encourages their friend to fight back and get mad, you are also in the evil category.
     I believe majority of adults do not want to be evil, but it is our human natures.  Simply because of our birth as sinners we are actually born evil.  At any moment in this life though, we can ask for God's forgiveness and be free of this guilt and evilness.  Ultimately our sins are the nails that were hammered in Jesus's hands and feet.  My and your sins are the ultimate slap of death to Jesus, and yet to all who are willing to receive the forgiveness, He will turn the other cheek and love you while doing so. 

                                                                   Timothy McVeigh

I would have let this kid hang out around my house, I would probably have went fishing and hunting with this guy.  He looked harmless, but looks don't matter when a person does not know the love and forgivness of Jesus.  Live life like Jesus is walking beside you, share Him with others, you never know how many people's lives will be affected because you do.

I bet alot of people thought he was harmless, the right friends could have been the right example to him and possibly saved alot of people from a very sad day.  The truth is any of your friends have the potential to be the next rapest, murderer, molestor, will you tell them about the love of Jesus?  Will you live it out, so they can see the love of Jesus?  Will you turn the other cheek, and teach your children and friends to do the same thing?   From what I see everybody just wants to be really loved.  People want a love so great that gives them purpose and give them significance.  The only problem is apart from accepting the love of Jesus there is no other perfect love that last and fulfills in this entire world.

The Laugh Is A Lie

LAUGHTER IS A CONCEALER

Proverbs 14:13

Laughter can conceal a heavy heart; when the laughter ends the grief remains.

Conceal--to keep from being seen, found, observed, or discovered; hide

Grief--Deep mental anguish, source of deep mental anguish, annoyance or frustration, trouble or difficulty

   As I read this verse a couple of days ago, my heart began to break.  It breaks for the fact of what I have seen throughout my life and what I have seen in teenage boys and girls throughout my years as a youth minister.  I now see this in adults.  It seems that the ones who laugh the most are the ones who so often hurt the most on the inside.  The ones who laugh at anything and seem so happy go lucky are also so often the ones who cry themselves to sleep at night. 

   This is a hard thing to deal with because so often the same people will make sure and not let anyone get too close.  There is the other group of  people who seem to always have a chip on their shoulder all the time, these are the ones that get picked on, and hated for the way they act.

    What I have discovered is that when people laugh, lots of times they laugh to hide the hurt.  I have also learned that when people are mean, they are mean because they have been hurt so badly that for all they know every nice talking person is a con and nobody can be trusted.

     The world we live in shows us according to TV shows that beautiful equals happy, yet their beauty is fake.  We see famous people that have amazing weddings, the only problem is they never stay married more than an average 2 to 3 years max.  A once famous rapper Snoop Dogg didn't even allow his children to listen to his music yet he didn't mind ruining the minds of others teaching that women, money and booze equals happiness.

     Jesus desires to bring healing, He has paid the price for healing.  The problem with humans today is that we have been trained that everybody is really a fake and a dissapointment, so Jesus can only be more of the same.  After all, it is difficult for some to believe in a loving God they can't see when they have been hurt by so many they can see.

     The message hasn't changed, Jesus still displayed his love by His death on the cross.  Jesus Christ was involved in creation and He chose to come to earth not to bail people out of hell. In Revelation 13:8 it states "the Lamb (Jesus) that was slain from the creation of the world."
     Jesus Christ plan was to come to earth to suffer, be rejected and die a perfect sinless life in order to cover the sins of people.  The sins He would cover on that cross were the sins of the people that He was about to create.  Jesus knows we are flawed people, He knows the hurting hearts, and He truly loves you.
     Laughter can hide the pain, but the pain will remain.  Your friends don't care enough to be able to see past the smile or past the stange anger you seem to have towards people for no reason.  Jesus does care.  Jesus can and will heal.  Only you know what inside of you, others don't.  Don't pretend for them any longer, if the laughter is not getting you free of the issues of your heart, then quit trying a failed plan.  Turn to the one who knows and cares more than any other.

John 8:11b And Jesus said, "neither do I condemn you, now go and sin no more."

     I wonder what she is really like on the inside, wonder what the guys are really like on the inside.  I wonder what they are really thinking right now.

I know the emptiness on the inside of these guys cause I used to be one of them.  I smiled but felt so unaccepted.  I got tired of being a fake, I learned that faking never ends the issues, and never heals.  Jesus healed my heart 8/25/97.  When did or will He heal yours?