Worthy to Endure
Deborah and I were having an all to familiar discussion a few nights ago regarding our paths and the direction the Lord has taken each of us, our families, and friends, when I had a new revelation regarding this walk of faith. There are many revelations and light bulb moments one has when they experience such tragedy as we have in our lives so this was truly nothing new. The depth of this revelation however was extremely unique, it was fresh, it was new, and it was intriguing. It was during our conversation that I realized the suffering, pain, tribulation, persecution, and above all loneliness of Dawn’s passing was an honor that God has given to me. Yes I did say honor. You see in the midst of grief, pain and sorrow we have every reason to feel as if we deserve some form of sympathy, or reward for our suffering. It is perfectly natural for one to feel the woe is me syndrome and many do, and far too many remain in such a place for the rest of their time on earth. However is this what God would have for His children? Would He desire that we who have endured would remain in a place of pain allowing our lights of testimony and faith to grow dim as if He were not enough to sustain us? If I look at the circumstances surrounding my life for the past thirty one years prior to Dawn’s passing from a worldly perspective it could and would be very destructive, not just to myself but in addition to all whom I influence. Think about it; I married my High School sweetheart, we fell deeply in love with each other as we fell deeply in love with the Lord. I served Him for over thirty years many of which were done while holding down sixty plus hour a week positions. I was never unfaithful to my wife and always by the grace of God was able to provide for our family. I haven’t drank in over thirty years, don’t cuss, don’t do drugs or smoke, and while I am far from perfect I try to always please and serve the Lord. Out of obedience I take a struggling Church in a community most people shun, and within two weeks realize my wife has less than a year to live. I care for her for every day for seven months, she goes to heaven and I am left alone with two teenage girls at home a twenty eight year old married daughter, two grandchildren a son, and a Church that cannot support my family. Do you feel sorry for me yet, please don’t! You see that is the way the world looks at my circumstances, but here is the reality; He found me worthy! Yes I am serious, He found me worthy to have spent so many years learning so much, blessed beyond measure, and now He has a new plan for my life.
Let the world say I am a fool, let them say I have reason to complain, let them say whatever they would but above all let them say I was worthy to have endured for His glory! Yes this is an honor, one that I am blessed to have been called to, one that I know I have failed at more than not, but nonetheless He has carried me through. I have been drawn closer to Him, I have learned to trust Him, to love Him, to allow Him to be my all in all, I have learned to appreciate what He allows in my life in order to make me who He desires me to be. I have learned to surrender and obey and I pray that I never forget the lessons learned. Oh what an honor it is to have endured the pain, the pain that causes His light in me to shine bright for His glory! Yes it is easy now to cry out with joy, I have been through the fire and the coolness of His breath of blessing has blown upon me, and it refreshes me every day! He has given me new hope, new love, new joy, a new partner in life and ministry, and new inspiration, and I am eternally grateful to have been called “Worthy to Endure”.
Gene Burroughs
Servant of God
Shasta Lake Church of New Beginnings
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
The spirit that seeks to destroy
As we look upon the various events taking place around the world one cannot help but be moved by increased level of attacks upon seemingly innocent people due to perceived social injustice. We witness in so many nations, the unrest of those who feel socially downcast or forgotten. Somehow our word has become a place of getting what we think we deserve as opposed to working hard against all odds to have the things we desire in life. Just last week I watched as many did in horror as a young man in London was brutally attacked by a group of young men. He was beaten and humiliated, then if that was not enough the gang ransacked his backpack either taking or destroying everything within it. Why I asked myself? What would drive people to attack innocent children so viciously for little or no reward? The answer came as I studied the text for this past Sunday’s sermon, covetousness. In 2 Peter chapter 2 Peter speaks of those who are deceivers, liars, destroyers of anyone who will fall prey to them simply because of covetousness. I went on to read very much the same message in the book of Jude, then in Ephesians, Exodus,
1 Timothy, 1 Corinthians and more, the warnings of covetousness. What is covetousness you ask? Here is one definition that sums up many: “The extreme desire to have something you do not have and are willing to gain at all cost”. Satan himself led the greatest revolt of all time resulting in his own eternal judgment due to his coveting of the Lord’s worship and power. This same covetousness falls in the same category as fornication, gossip, lying, heresies, idolatry, and more, hence it is in my opinion to be taken as seriously if not more so than all sin and temptation. Think about it, if you are coveting something that is not yours, it can drive you to make choices that you would never make otherwise. You will act without prayer, speak without thinking, and make accusation without understanding, and in extreme cases steal from those who have what you desire. We are not just speaking of earthly possessions mind you, you can covet someone else’s gifting, blessing, ability, talent and so on, all of which are not yours to own. If you choose to act upon your desire you can also be committing idolatry, yes idolatry! Think about it, if my desire to have something outweighs my faith to wait upon the Lord to provide or not, I have placed that which I desire above the Lord, better known as idolatry!
I am convinced more than ever that today covetousness proposes one of the greatest dangers to a civil society, and the enemy will use it as long as he can. You see our world is experiencing a widening gap between the haves and the have not’s, those who have nothing view anyone with more than they have as someone wealthy. The wealthy are now a target, why because, those who have nothing, want something, anything, because the world has placed such great value upon possessions. The worldly value of a man has become the equivalent of what he owns, or possess as opposed to his character or contribution to society. Character, morals, values, they are all decreasing in importance on a daily basis and the result is utter chaos! My dear friends all you need do is look at the headlines in any nation and you will see the evidence of covetousness being acted out in the most heinous of methods. In the end the same spirit that caused the fall of satan and the angels, as well as the fall of man, will be the same spirit that usher’s mankind into the final judgment.
What do we do? We pray and avoid falling in to the trap of covetousness, the trap that has been laid for all mankind by the enemy of man and God, don’t take the bait!
Gene Burroughs Servant
New Beginnings Shasta Lake
1 Timothy, 1 Corinthians and more, the warnings of covetousness. What is covetousness you ask? Here is one definition that sums up many: “The extreme desire to have something you do not have and are willing to gain at all cost”. Satan himself led the greatest revolt of all time resulting in his own eternal judgment due to his coveting of the Lord’s worship and power. This same covetousness falls in the same category as fornication, gossip, lying, heresies, idolatry, and more, hence it is in my opinion to be taken as seriously if not more so than all sin and temptation. Think about it, if you are coveting something that is not yours, it can drive you to make choices that you would never make otherwise. You will act without prayer, speak without thinking, and make accusation without understanding, and in extreme cases steal from those who have what you desire. We are not just speaking of earthly possessions mind you, you can covet someone else’s gifting, blessing, ability, talent and so on, all of which are not yours to own. If you choose to act upon your desire you can also be committing idolatry, yes idolatry! Think about it, if my desire to have something outweighs my faith to wait upon the Lord to provide or not, I have placed that which I desire above the Lord, better known as idolatry!
I am convinced more than ever that today covetousness proposes one of the greatest dangers to a civil society, and the enemy will use it as long as he can. You see our world is experiencing a widening gap between the haves and the have not’s, those who have nothing view anyone with more than they have as someone wealthy. The wealthy are now a target, why because, those who have nothing, want something, anything, because the world has placed such great value upon possessions. The worldly value of a man has become the equivalent of what he owns, or possess as opposed to his character or contribution to society. Character, morals, values, they are all decreasing in importance on a daily basis and the result is utter chaos! My dear friends all you need do is look at the headlines in any nation and you will see the evidence of covetousness being acted out in the most heinous of methods. In the end the same spirit that caused the fall of satan and the angels, as well as the fall of man, will be the same spirit that usher’s mankind into the final judgment.
What do we do? We pray and avoid falling in to the trap of covetousness, the trap that has been laid for all mankind by the enemy of man and God, don’t take the bait!
Gene Burroughs Servant
New Beginnings Shasta Lake
Friday, August 12, 2011
Live like you mean it
Live like you mean it
Tonight the Lord spoke to me in a manner as clearly as any He has ever spoken before, and His words are ringing in my ears, they have caused my heart to pound, and joy to overflow within my spirit, He is releasing His power! These are His words to me this day; “gather no more in my name unless you gather to encounter Me for when you do no man shall remain the same.” He has convicted me in my spirit that I have become complacent, willing to accept the status quo, willing to do Church, willing to accept the woes and challenges of the day with no desire, will, or energy to do anything more or less. He has convicted me of my slothfulness, my willingness to follow men, their examples, their teachings, and their traditions. There are no traditions with God: when man encounters God man is changed and God is glorified. If man professes to meet God and is not changed has man truly had an encounter with God? I am speaking of the God who created the universe, the God who hung the moons and the stars, the God who set the earth on its axis, the God who made man in His image, if we have met Him how does anyone know? In John 3:3 -12 Jesus has a conversation with Nicodemus in which He makes it very clear that a man must be born again of the water and the spirit in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The very implication of this statement is that one must be become as new , as fresh, as innocent, and as unadulterated as a newborn baby. No guilt, no shame, no past, no plans, nothing that allows us to be dependent upon anything but the one who birthed us. It means that we must now become as dependent on the Lord as a baby is to his parent. When we truly encounter God we must be transformed to one who recognizes that our God is everything and without Him we will die!
Here are some examples of men who have had an encounter with God: In Exodus 34:29-32 Moses encountered God on Mt Sinai we read that his face was glowing white, Moses had been purified by the power and holiness of God! In first Peter 1:16 we are told to ”Be holy for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44, Lev. 19:2, Lev. 20:7), transformed by the encounter with God, purified by the blood of the lamb, and empowered by the Spirit of He who now dwells in us. We are to separate ourselves from the unholy things of this world we are to be transformed, not conformed. We have accepted far too much the conformation of Christianity, we have allowed our faith to be acceptable to the world, when in fact our faith should confuse the world, it should make little or no sense to those who are captured by the prince of the earth and the snares he has crafted. When we become a people who have truly encountered God we will no longer be willing to walk in the path of the unrighteous, but will rather seek that righteousness with fervor and a desire to satisfy our hunger for more of our God! Noah had an encounter with God and did the unthinkable; he built an ark in a land where it had never rained. Abraham had an encounter with God and was willing to sacrifice his firstborn son, a child he loved, all out of simple obedience. Moses encounter with God caused him to take on the most powerful nation on the earth and lead God’s people out of captivity. David a thirteen-year-old boy had an encounter with God and slew a giant with a sling and a stone. Elijah had an encounter with God and took on 450 prophets of Baal and watched as God destroyed them all. Daniel encountered God and slept with lions while his enemies sought to destroy him. Peter had an encounter with God and started the greatest revival of all time. Saul had an encounter with God and went from persecuting Christians to leading and teaching them to spread the good news of Jesus. Stephen had an encounter with God and preached the gospel as he was being stoned to death. Ananias and Sapphires had an encounter with God and died along with their lies. The woman at the well had an encounter with God and led the entire community to Christ; Lazarus had an encounter with God and was removed from the hands of hell where he had been for three days. The disciples had an encounter with God and had power over the sickness, evil spirits, and so much more! What is the evidence of your encounter with God, and for that matter mine? We must not just be or speak as people who had had that encounter with God, no we must act and live like people who because of that encounter need not speak of it! Why you ask? Because it should be more than evident in our actions, by our appearance, by our very nature, we should be a reflection of the God we have encountered, the God whose spirit dwells within us!
How you ask, how do we become people transformed by the power? We surrender, we surrender our fears, our hopes, our dreams, our beliefs, our traditions, our ideals, our pride, our prejudice, and we walk in humility we walk in the Spirit! There is no pill one can eat, no drink one can drink, no book one can read (say the Bible), no teaching we can hear, there can only be a complete and utter surrender to the will of Him who gave us that very will. We cannot be embarrassed by it, we should not be ashamed of it, and we must not be in control, for if we are the only result will be that which a man of flesh can produce, not that which the spirit of God will create. Ask yourself these questions and see where you fall: Are you willing to be wrong? Are you willing to bypass the knowledge of learning and theology, or are you bound as the Pharisees were to the law? Are you willing to say God can do whatever He wants whenever He desires to, or are you still saying God would never do that? I am not saying knowledge is useless or unimportant, no I am simply saying “We must have an encounter with God and that encounter must have a transforming effect on who we are!” When we encounter God we will become invincible, we will be dangerous to the world, we will be driven by the joy, empowered by the Spirit, and impassioned by His love, we will be ridiculed, harassed, outcast, and maybe even persecuted, and we can count it all joy (James 1), for His names sake. I implore you today, stop looking to others for the answers, stop following the crowd, stop walking in false humility, and stop trying to make yourself into something other than what God wants, start living like those who have encountered God and lived to tell about it or died because of it! And by the way if you are in fellowship with people who hinder you from encountering God Get Out! You will be much happier and who knows what God may do through you?
Pastor Gene Burroughs
New Beginnings Shasta Lake
Formerly Calvary Chapel Shasta Lake
Tonight the Lord spoke to me in a manner as clearly as any He has ever spoken before, and His words are ringing in my ears, they have caused my heart to pound, and joy to overflow within my spirit, He is releasing His power! These are His words to me this day; “gather no more in my name unless you gather to encounter Me for when you do no man shall remain the same.” He has convicted me in my spirit that I have become complacent, willing to accept the status quo, willing to do Church, willing to accept the woes and challenges of the day with no desire, will, or energy to do anything more or less. He has convicted me of my slothfulness, my willingness to follow men, their examples, their teachings, and their traditions. There are no traditions with God: when man encounters God man is changed and God is glorified. If man professes to meet God and is not changed has man truly had an encounter with God? I am speaking of the God who created the universe, the God who hung the moons and the stars, the God who set the earth on its axis, the God who made man in His image, if we have met Him how does anyone know? In John 3:3 -12 Jesus has a conversation with Nicodemus in which He makes it very clear that a man must be born again of the water and the spirit in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The very implication of this statement is that one must be become as new , as fresh, as innocent, and as unadulterated as a newborn baby. No guilt, no shame, no past, no plans, nothing that allows us to be dependent upon anything but the one who birthed us. It means that we must now become as dependent on the Lord as a baby is to his parent. When we truly encounter God we must be transformed to one who recognizes that our God is everything and without Him we will die!
Here are some examples of men who have had an encounter with God: In Exodus 34:29-32 Moses encountered God on Mt Sinai we read that his face was glowing white, Moses had been purified by the power and holiness of God! In first Peter 1:16 we are told to ”Be holy for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44, Lev. 19:2, Lev. 20:7), transformed by the encounter with God, purified by the blood of the lamb, and empowered by the Spirit of He who now dwells in us. We are to separate ourselves from the unholy things of this world we are to be transformed, not conformed. We have accepted far too much the conformation of Christianity, we have allowed our faith to be acceptable to the world, when in fact our faith should confuse the world, it should make little or no sense to those who are captured by the prince of the earth and the snares he has crafted. When we become a people who have truly encountered God we will no longer be willing to walk in the path of the unrighteous, but will rather seek that righteousness with fervor and a desire to satisfy our hunger for more of our God! Noah had an encounter with God and did the unthinkable; he built an ark in a land where it had never rained. Abraham had an encounter with God and was willing to sacrifice his firstborn son, a child he loved, all out of simple obedience. Moses encounter with God caused him to take on the most powerful nation on the earth and lead God’s people out of captivity. David a thirteen-year-old boy had an encounter with God and slew a giant with a sling and a stone. Elijah had an encounter with God and took on 450 prophets of Baal and watched as God destroyed them all. Daniel encountered God and slept with lions while his enemies sought to destroy him. Peter had an encounter with God and started the greatest revival of all time. Saul had an encounter with God and went from persecuting Christians to leading and teaching them to spread the good news of Jesus. Stephen had an encounter with God and preached the gospel as he was being stoned to death. Ananias and Sapphires had an encounter with God and died along with their lies. The woman at the well had an encounter with God and led the entire community to Christ; Lazarus had an encounter with God and was removed from the hands of hell where he had been for three days. The disciples had an encounter with God and had power over the sickness, evil spirits, and so much more! What is the evidence of your encounter with God, and for that matter mine? We must not just be or speak as people who had had that encounter with God, no we must act and live like people who because of that encounter need not speak of it! Why you ask? Because it should be more than evident in our actions, by our appearance, by our very nature, we should be a reflection of the God we have encountered, the God whose spirit dwells within us!
How you ask, how do we become people transformed by the power? We surrender, we surrender our fears, our hopes, our dreams, our beliefs, our traditions, our ideals, our pride, our prejudice, and we walk in humility we walk in the Spirit! There is no pill one can eat, no drink one can drink, no book one can read (say the Bible), no teaching we can hear, there can only be a complete and utter surrender to the will of Him who gave us that very will. We cannot be embarrassed by it, we should not be ashamed of it, and we must not be in control, for if we are the only result will be that which a man of flesh can produce, not that which the spirit of God will create. Ask yourself these questions and see where you fall: Are you willing to be wrong? Are you willing to bypass the knowledge of learning and theology, or are you bound as the Pharisees were to the law? Are you willing to say God can do whatever He wants whenever He desires to, or are you still saying God would never do that? I am not saying knowledge is useless or unimportant, no I am simply saying “We must have an encounter with God and that encounter must have a transforming effect on who we are!” When we encounter God we will become invincible, we will be dangerous to the world, we will be driven by the joy, empowered by the Spirit, and impassioned by His love, we will be ridiculed, harassed, outcast, and maybe even persecuted, and we can count it all joy (James 1), for His names sake. I implore you today, stop looking to others for the answers, stop following the crowd, stop walking in false humility, and stop trying to make yourself into something other than what God wants, start living like those who have encountered God and lived to tell about it or died because of it! And by the way if you are in fellowship with people who hinder you from encountering God Get Out! You will be much happier and who knows what God may do through you?
Pastor Gene Burroughs
New Beginnings Shasta Lake
Formerly Calvary Chapel Shasta Lake
Monday, August 1, 2011
Taking the Bait
A few weeks ago my wife and I were at the lake seeking to deceive a few trout into believing the best thing for them to do that day was take our bait. On this particular day we were having considerable difficulty in doing so. All around us the fish were jumping, they were feeding on something, I just couldn't figure out what it was, for quite some time I was admittedly stumped! You see our family enjoys very much taking in the bounty of the waters and satisfying our desire to eat fish. Having been a fisherman as long as I can remember there are many tricks I have learned to get the fish to take my bait. You see fishing is not the part I enjoy the most it is rather the catching that fulfills my desires. Therefore as you can imagine on this particular day I was rather frustrated. I knew the fish were hungry, I knew they were feeding, and in many ways I felt that it was as if they were tormenting me. My frustration mounted as I tried everything in my tackle box, all to no avail. Finally I stopped trying to fix it on my own, took a break, and asked the Lord for wisdom, (yes He even cares about catching), when the answer came. I took what I heard, changed Debbie's bait and very soon after there was a 24" rainbow trout in the boat, followed by 9 more, our limit. Later as I pondered the mornings events I began to see so many similarities to our lives and opportunities to learn from this adventure. You see the fish were so busy feeding they became unable to tell the real food from the bait we were using, I capitalized on that and deceived them. I knew they were in a frenzy all I had to do was identify their desire, imitate the real prey and take advantage of their situation. When I apply this to my own life and the lives of others I know; I begin to see how often we get so caught up in what is going on around us that we overlook the details, we become so frenzied that we can be deceived into taking the bait, in that case "the bait of satan." 1Peter 5 describes how the "devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour" he is looking for every opportunity to lead us in to a trap, and hence those we influence as well. We like fish, get excited when there is high energy, when people are infused with joy, and other endorfin releasing emotions, all of which on their own may be quite beneficial. However when taken in great quantities they are apt to lead us astray. The answer: take the time to seek the real thing, don't be deceived into falling for bait by being impatient and frenzied, take the time to check out the truth and avoid the pitfalls that so many have and will continue to fall in to. Seek the Lord for wisdom when your own wisdom fails, take the time to ask for discernment, seek counsel, and pursue humility, trust God first not man, and maybe then we will stop taking the bait and being fed upon by the enemy of our souls.
Gene Burroughs
Servant of God
Gene Burroughs
Servant of God
Monday, June 13, 2011
The Time for Restoration is Now
The Time for Restoration is Now
One year after the floods and devastation caused by hurricane Katrina a team of youth and I joined others who had been serving there for various duration's since the disaster. We had all seen the devastation on TV and had spoken with a number of our fellow servants who had since returned. Their pictures brought tears to our eyes, we felt as if we had an understanding of their pain and their suffering, we had compassion on them. However nothing can prepare you for the utter pain and devastation you not only see, but hear, smell, and experience with all of your senses as you walk upon the ground and touch the ruins of such a devastated place. We were headed toward the ninth ward crossing the mighty mississippi, the van was bustling with the excitement of ten or so youth and leaders anticipating the day and enjoying serving together. Then without warning the joy came to a sudden end, all conversation stopped, the joy was instantly replaced with gasps of horror as we now viewed with our own eyes the reality of the devastation. No longer were we viewing the destruction from afar , hearing stories and seeing scenes on the television with compassion, we found ourselves in the midst of utter death and destruction. The silence was largely maintained as we walked among the ruins, ruins that were one day the birthing places of the dreams of those who had inhabited this now desolate land. As we walked our minds began to tell us stories of those who had lived here, we saw with our own eyes the reality of their loss, we smelled the smells of death, we heard the deafening sounds of desperation in the midst of silence, and as the soggy ground gave way to our footsteps we felt the emptiness of a land without hope. Cars were twisted masses of metal protruding from every orifice of what was once a home, or many homes suddenly thrust together into a mass of inseparable belongings. There was nothing here of value, all was lost in that one fateful day, every possession they held dear was destroyed in the blinking of an eye, their world had been in every literal sense turned upside down. What was one day dreams had now become desperation, what was once hope was now hopelessness, and joy and laughter were replaced by tears and suffering. As we walked I tried with all my might to place myself in their shoes, I asked the Lord for understanding and compassion in order that I might somehow understand their loss, yet try as I might I could not feel the depth of their pain no matter how hard I tried. I wanted so badly to understand their hurt in order to minister to them, yet it was as impossible for me as it was for those who lived just a few short blocks away whose homes were still standing. You see there were those who had lost it all, there were those who had their homes damaged, their were those who had family members die, those who lost pets, and those whose businesses were destroyed, and while they all shared a common event they did not share in the same pain, for each it was different. For some the pain only came as far as a news report, and for some it came to the very roof they were perched on for days as they watched the lifeless bodies of friends and relatives float by bloated by the searing southern heat. There was truly only one thing they shared completely in common, pain from a disaster that changed their lives, nothing more.
As I walked through the ninth ward I found it rather ironic that one of the few buildings left standing was a church. The one sign to all men of true hope, the gathering place of the believers, a place of worship, a place of prayer, a place of love and support. I am reminded today as I ponder the events of my own life over the past twenty months or so of my time in Louisiana following hurricane Katrina. I am reminded of the diversity of suffering, the reality of personal loss and pain and the feelings that pour over us when we experience great tragedy in our lives, whether directly or indirectly, and I have come to one very real conclusion. You see in the midst of grief and loss we all react differently, some run, some shut down, some ignore it, some move on, and some hold on, hoping, beyond hope the pain will reside, each one facing the struggles in their own way, none right or wrong. Things are said that maybe should not be said, actions taken that were maybe not the best, suddenly the rocks begin to crumble and the weak become strong, people get hurt and hurting people hurt people, stuff happens. In the end there are truly only a few things each of us effected by great tragedy can hope for: of which grace, compassion, understanding, forgiveness, and love are a few. All we can truly hope is that like that Church left standing in New Orleans is that there will be those who will stand beside us and offer the same love that Jesus offers us, and that we would do the same for them. You see we all react differently and that is perfectly normal and natural, but in the end we must come together in love, accepting each other and once again rebuilding what tragedy had once taken away, otherwise we truly have no hope do we?
Gene Burroughs
Pastor Shasta Lake Church
One year after the floods and devastation caused by hurricane Katrina a team of youth and I joined others who had been serving there for various duration's since the disaster. We had all seen the devastation on TV and had spoken with a number of our fellow servants who had since returned. Their pictures brought tears to our eyes, we felt as if we had an understanding of their pain and their suffering, we had compassion on them. However nothing can prepare you for the utter pain and devastation you not only see, but hear, smell, and experience with all of your senses as you walk upon the ground and touch the ruins of such a devastated place. We were headed toward the ninth ward crossing the mighty mississippi, the van was bustling with the excitement of ten or so youth and leaders anticipating the day and enjoying serving together. Then without warning the joy came to a sudden end, all conversation stopped, the joy was instantly replaced with gasps of horror as we now viewed with our own eyes the reality of the devastation. No longer were we viewing the destruction from afar , hearing stories and seeing scenes on the television with compassion, we found ourselves in the midst of utter death and destruction. The silence was largely maintained as we walked among the ruins, ruins that were one day the birthing places of the dreams of those who had inhabited this now desolate land. As we walked our minds began to tell us stories of those who had lived here, we saw with our own eyes the reality of their loss, we smelled the smells of death, we heard the deafening sounds of desperation in the midst of silence, and as the soggy ground gave way to our footsteps we felt the emptiness of a land without hope. Cars were twisted masses of metal protruding from every orifice of what was once a home, or many homes suddenly thrust together into a mass of inseparable belongings. There was nothing here of value, all was lost in that one fateful day, every possession they held dear was destroyed in the blinking of an eye, their world had been in every literal sense turned upside down. What was one day dreams had now become desperation, what was once hope was now hopelessness, and joy and laughter were replaced by tears and suffering. As we walked I tried with all my might to place myself in their shoes, I asked the Lord for understanding and compassion in order that I might somehow understand their loss, yet try as I might I could not feel the depth of their pain no matter how hard I tried. I wanted so badly to understand their hurt in order to minister to them, yet it was as impossible for me as it was for those who lived just a few short blocks away whose homes were still standing. You see there were those who had lost it all, there were those who had their homes damaged, their were those who had family members die, those who lost pets, and those whose businesses were destroyed, and while they all shared a common event they did not share in the same pain, for each it was different. For some the pain only came as far as a news report, and for some it came to the very roof they were perched on for days as they watched the lifeless bodies of friends and relatives float by bloated by the searing southern heat. There was truly only one thing they shared completely in common, pain from a disaster that changed their lives, nothing more.
As I walked through the ninth ward I found it rather ironic that one of the few buildings left standing was a church. The one sign to all men of true hope, the gathering place of the believers, a place of worship, a place of prayer, a place of love and support. I am reminded today as I ponder the events of my own life over the past twenty months or so of my time in Louisiana following hurricane Katrina. I am reminded of the diversity of suffering, the reality of personal loss and pain and the feelings that pour over us when we experience great tragedy in our lives, whether directly or indirectly, and I have come to one very real conclusion. You see in the midst of grief and loss we all react differently, some run, some shut down, some ignore it, some move on, and some hold on, hoping, beyond hope the pain will reside, each one facing the struggles in their own way, none right or wrong. Things are said that maybe should not be said, actions taken that were maybe not the best, suddenly the rocks begin to crumble and the weak become strong, people get hurt and hurting people hurt people, stuff happens. In the end there are truly only a few things each of us effected by great tragedy can hope for: of which grace, compassion, understanding, forgiveness, and love are a few. All we can truly hope is that like that Church left standing in New Orleans is that there will be those who will stand beside us and offer the same love that Jesus offers us, and that we would do the same for them. You see we all react differently and that is perfectly normal and natural, but in the end we must come together in love, accepting each other and once again rebuilding what tragedy had once taken away, otherwise we truly have no hope do we?
Gene Burroughs
Pastor Shasta Lake Church
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
The Grace of God
It is His Grace That Brings us Through
It was a year ago today that Dawn went home to be with the Lord, it seems as if it were just yesterday. So many changes, so many lessons learned, so much heartache, so much pain, yet in the midst of this trial there has been resounding joy as well. When Dawn left us I knew life would never again be the same, I had many questions, made many assumptions and ran a million scenarios about what lie ahead and most of them were wrong. I spent countless nights and days alone, made many decisions some right some wrong, made promises I didn’t keep, and changes that will last forever, but the only truths that remained was that life would never again be the same and that God is faithful and sovereign. You see until we walk this path we truly have no idea what lie ahead, or how we will react when faced with life’s many challenges, we only know that each day presents itself with new ones. We keep our eye on the Lord after all He has now truly become our all in all, He is the only one that truly understands and He is our only hope. Much of what we do makes no sense to those around us, nor should it, you see we cannot understand no matter how hard we try, what people are going through. Therefore the key to coming alongside and understanding people in pain truly is the extension of grace, the same grace that the Lord extends toward us. I have a far greater understanding of grace these days, a desire to extend it more than I ever have, a passion to be an avenue through which grace flows. I now have a greater understanding of what true grace is, it is so much more than not getting what we deserve as many have spoken. True grace is giving the gift of love in return for anger, the gift of forgiveness in the face of judgment, the gift of peace in the face of war, the gift of service in the face of want. Oh how wonderful it would be if all who believe could learn these lessons without the pain that comes from such great loss, or at least have the grace to love without condition.
My prayer for this year is all of those who have been effected by Dawn’s passing and the resulting events is the same: may the grace of God befall you, and may you extend that same grace to all. To continue to live in the bondage of judgment, anger, bitterness, or fear serves no purpose for anyone, the fruit they bare is simply more of the same, and yes so it is with grace. Grace will bare grace and the fruit of grace is sweet, it is love, joy, peace, it is tasteful to all and a gift worth giving and receiving. If anyone in this world knows Dawn Burroughs it is me, her husband of thirty one years and friend for far more and the one thing she knew best how to extend was grace. She made people feel wanted, needed, and valuable, how? By extending grace! If you truly desire to honor her then you too can do the same, find someone you have judged, someone you have hurt, someone who has wronged you, and extend to them the grace of God. The pain has had control for long enough, take control away and give it back to the one who purchased it all, our only hope, our Lord our King, Jesus our Savior. And if you are one who chooses not to believe then to you I will extend the grace that He extends to me, for but by His grace there go I.
Pastor Gene Burroughs
It was a year ago today that Dawn went home to be with the Lord, it seems as if it were just yesterday. So many changes, so many lessons learned, so much heartache, so much pain, yet in the midst of this trial there has been resounding joy as well. When Dawn left us I knew life would never again be the same, I had many questions, made many assumptions and ran a million scenarios about what lie ahead and most of them were wrong. I spent countless nights and days alone, made many decisions some right some wrong, made promises I didn’t keep, and changes that will last forever, but the only truths that remained was that life would never again be the same and that God is faithful and sovereign. You see until we walk this path we truly have no idea what lie ahead, or how we will react when faced with life’s many challenges, we only know that each day presents itself with new ones. We keep our eye on the Lord after all He has now truly become our all in all, He is the only one that truly understands and He is our only hope. Much of what we do makes no sense to those around us, nor should it, you see we cannot understand no matter how hard we try, what people are going through. Therefore the key to coming alongside and understanding people in pain truly is the extension of grace, the same grace that the Lord extends toward us. I have a far greater understanding of grace these days, a desire to extend it more than I ever have, a passion to be an avenue through which grace flows. I now have a greater understanding of what true grace is, it is so much more than not getting what we deserve as many have spoken. True grace is giving the gift of love in return for anger, the gift of forgiveness in the face of judgment, the gift of peace in the face of war, the gift of service in the face of want. Oh how wonderful it would be if all who believe could learn these lessons without the pain that comes from such great loss, or at least have the grace to love without condition.
My prayer for this year is all of those who have been effected by Dawn’s passing and the resulting events is the same: may the grace of God befall you, and may you extend that same grace to all. To continue to live in the bondage of judgment, anger, bitterness, or fear serves no purpose for anyone, the fruit they bare is simply more of the same, and yes so it is with grace. Grace will bare grace and the fruit of grace is sweet, it is love, joy, peace, it is tasteful to all and a gift worth giving and receiving. If anyone in this world knows Dawn Burroughs it is me, her husband of thirty one years and friend for far more and the one thing she knew best how to extend was grace. She made people feel wanted, needed, and valuable, how? By extending grace! If you truly desire to honor her then you too can do the same, find someone you have judged, someone you have hurt, someone who has wronged you, and extend to them the grace of God. The pain has had control for long enough, take control away and give it back to the one who purchased it all, our only hope, our Lord our King, Jesus our Savior. And if you are one who chooses not to believe then to you I will extend the grace that He extends to me, for but by His grace there go I.
Pastor Gene Burroughs
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Greater is He
Greater is He
Recently I while watching an old Mel Gibson movie I was very intrigued by a particular character in the film. The movie “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” was based upon a character that actually launched Mel Gibsons career, yes you guessed it, “Mad Max”, The character I am referring to however was not that played by the well known Gibson, but rather that of an actor whose name is Paul Larson, and the character simply known as “Blaster”. You see Blaster was a rather big and impending fellow who carried on his shoulders a small man who name was “Master”. Blaster’s face was kept hidden behind an impending metal helmet, something resembling a diving helmet, however there was no indication as to what lie behind the mask or under the heavy armor. On the outside was this man who looked and acted as one who was full of hate and filled with anger, his only goal to protect his master at any cost. This character struck fear in the hearts of all men, so much so that the “little man” (master) who rode on his back completely controlled the town. This master of blaster spouted threats of high penalties if anyone came against him, he even forced the queen of the town to proclaim to all that Master Blaster ran the town. He abused his power at every opportunity and rarely ws he challenged, we can only assume that all comers failed, for he remained , at least until “Mad Max” came along. You see Max was not intimidated by the size of Blaster, he knew that somewhere there was a weakness. Max was able to look beyond the obvious, overcome his fears, overlook the reality, and have the faith to believe his cause was greater, that in the end he would overcome “Mater Blaster”.
Soon we find the two men engaged in a heated battle and sparing the rather corny details let me just say that Max won the fight. Just before Max was about to take the life of Blaster he removed the helmet and exposed the truth that Blaster had hidden so well. You see, under the mask was a simple man, an innocent face, the face of one who had Down’s syndrome. Rather than being greeted with the ghastly disfigured monster that all were convinced lived behind the mask, Max finds a childlike man looking back with an amazing grin. You see Blaster had struck fear in the hearts of men because men allowed him to. Men had assumed that behind the mask there was a giant man, one of great power and anguish, one who would show no mercy. Yet in reality there was a child, one whose innocence had been taken advantage of for the gain of man.
I wonder how many decisions we have made, actions we have taken or not taken because of our fears of men, or even our fear of the enemy. How often have we chosen to accept the status quo, or allow things to go a particular way only because our perception of our foe was misguided. Yes I wonder. I wonder why we give the enemy of our souls far more credit than he deserves, after all it is his reputation that brings the greatest fear, is it not? Oh let us not forget, “greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world” hmm now there is some food for thought!
Pastor Gene Burroughs
Recently I while watching an old Mel Gibson movie I was very intrigued by a particular character in the film. The movie “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” was based upon a character that actually launched Mel Gibsons career, yes you guessed it, “Mad Max”, The character I am referring to however was not that played by the well known Gibson, but rather that of an actor whose name is Paul Larson, and the character simply known as “Blaster”. You see Blaster was a rather big and impending fellow who carried on his shoulders a small man who name was “Master”. Blaster’s face was kept hidden behind an impending metal helmet, something resembling a diving helmet, however there was no indication as to what lie behind the mask or under the heavy armor. On the outside was this man who looked and acted as one who was full of hate and filled with anger, his only goal to protect his master at any cost. This character struck fear in the hearts of all men, so much so that the “little man” (master) who rode on his back completely controlled the town. This master of blaster spouted threats of high penalties if anyone came against him, he even forced the queen of the town to proclaim to all that Master Blaster ran the town. He abused his power at every opportunity and rarely ws he challenged, we can only assume that all comers failed, for he remained , at least until “Mad Max” came along. You see Max was not intimidated by the size of Blaster, he knew that somewhere there was a weakness. Max was able to look beyond the obvious, overcome his fears, overlook the reality, and have the faith to believe his cause was greater, that in the end he would overcome “Mater Blaster”.
Soon we find the two men engaged in a heated battle and sparing the rather corny details let me just say that Max won the fight. Just before Max was about to take the life of Blaster he removed the helmet and exposed the truth that Blaster had hidden so well. You see, under the mask was a simple man, an innocent face, the face of one who had Down’s syndrome. Rather than being greeted with the ghastly disfigured monster that all were convinced lived behind the mask, Max finds a childlike man looking back with an amazing grin. You see Blaster had struck fear in the hearts of men because men allowed him to. Men had assumed that behind the mask there was a giant man, one of great power and anguish, one who would show no mercy. Yet in reality there was a child, one whose innocence had been taken advantage of for the gain of man.
I wonder how many decisions we have made, actions we have taken or not taken because of our fears of men, or even our fear of the enemy. How often have we chosen to accept the status quo, or allow things to go a particular way only because our perception of our foe was misguided. Yes I wonder. I wonder why we give the enemy of our souls far more credit than he deserves, after all it is his reputation that brings the greatest fear, is it not? Oh let us not forget, “greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world” hmm now there is some food for thought!
Pastor Gene Burroughs
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)