God Is Our Shepherd - Today!

Today I find myself listening for God’s voice and heart. Several times I have attempted to write my weekly piece and have been interrupted by various responsibilities and those “pop ups” that happen to all of each day. As I write our youth band is practicing for tonight’s youth service and their music and heart is getting to me. They love God authentically and simply and it moves my heart. But then again, whenever I see people using what God has given them and serving Him, it moves my heart. A few minutes ago, the youth band was leading the chorus, “Your Grace Is Enough.” I hear my Shepherd say that to me, and I hope somehow you can grasp that for your life and situation no matter what you are facing today or this week.
You may have heard the old story of the Christian gathering in the old country church. A gathering in which various members would display their talents to the congregation. Mr. Jones who had a very good Shakespearean voice recited Psalm 23 for the audience in its entirety. It was so good that everyone applauded. Then Smitty, an old farmer, was asked to do something for the audience. He initially refused saying that he had no talent and that the only thing he knew how to do was to recite Psalm 23 also but declined to do so because Mr. Jones had done such a great job before him. But he was pressed into doing it by the pastor. He began Psalm 23 and also related how it had comforted him when his wife had died. As he continued with, “He leads me beside quiet waters” he told the story of how a drought almost ruined him but God saw him through those dark times. Smitty related how he had wanted to give up his farm in desperation but Psalm 23 brought him instead to a place where he would “lie down in green pastures.” “These pastures” he said, allowed him trust in God and rest in His grace even in trying times. He went on and unfolded his long life before the audience and interwove it with the comfort he received from the Psalm. At the end of his recitation not a sound could be heard. Everyone was awed into silence. Finally, Mr. Jones said, “I may know the 23rd Psalm, but Smitty here knows the Shepherd of the 23rd Psalm and that makes all the difference in the world.”
So, I simply encourage you to trust God today, even now as you read this and know that God is your Shepherd who wants to be known by you.
Now if God is a Shepherd then we are his sheep and you know where I am going with that. Sheep are not the smartest animals. They are prey animals – in other words predatory animals hunt them for food. Sheep need a shepherd because they tend to go astray – like humans do at times.

• We need the Shepherd to Guide us and we must Follow.
  

Dr. James Dobson told a story about how his father would take him into the woods and they would hide near a place where deer came to feed. When the deer came to feed they would be able to take pictures without the deer knowing. His father pointed out that because the deer is thinking it is safe eating that free food he is also vulnerable to hunters who could have brought guns instead of cameras. It is a lot like life – we could be moving into a trap set by the devil. So draw near the Shepherd instead.

• We need to trust the Shepherd, especially when we become weak.

As the Bible says, “The Lord … knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust” (Ps. 103:14). In other words, He already knows our weaknesses so “… let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

• We need to trust the Shepherd for our restoration.
  

“He restores my soul; and He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Ps. 23:3). Often we do not want God to bother us. But God we need to remember that God searches for us to restore us. If we remain unrestored we are then vulnerable to the Devil. So let Him find you, call out to Him and let Him restore you.

• We need to draw close to the Shepherd so that He can heal us.
  
  I love this line, “You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows’ (Ps. 23:5). Always remember, “Jesus said … ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep … If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved …’” (John 10:7,9). Jesus is the shepherd of Psalm 23.
  If you follow and let Jesus shepherd you, you will know goodness and loving kindness all your life and will live forever in Heaven. But the Lord asks us to trust Him especially when we are weak and even though we cannot see His purpose. He asks us to trust him in the “sweet and sour” times of life. We must remember that He searches for us in order to restore us not to hurt us. I sensed today, for me and possibly for you, that it would be good for you to remember you have a Shepherd who cares deeply about you. A Shepherd who lives with love and grace towards us. His love is extravagant and His grace is enough for you – right now.
  I really need Him today, how about you? Let’s go to Him and allow Him to Shepherd us.
  A fellow sheep,
  
  Pastor Bernie Federmann
  
  PS: I trust you will move forward in your journaling each day and to listen to what God might reveal to you through His word. Some on our team at LFC are posting their journal entries online and desire to share them with you. You can access them here http://lfchurch.wordpress.com/ you can also learn more about the journaling process here http://lfchurch.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/how-to-journal/
  

Summertime: Time for Building Relationships

The more we fall in love with God the more He fills our hearts and the more He fills our hearts the more we must move towards others. God made us to love us and created us with the capacity to give and receive love and to need love. There is a unique aspect to the church that can easily be missed. It is that fact that we are family, united by Christ, His body with many parts but one main goal. This summer is moving quickly and we have been intentional about our calendar and what we are offering our church family. I cannot urge you enough to make every effort to be with your church family, this Friday at Los Alamos Park and to simply avail yourself of opportunities there, this coming Sunday and the rest of the summer to build upon current relationships and to establish some new ones too. We have some great events too, in which you can serve with others and build relationships, the National Night Out (alongside our Police Department) and the Special Olympics Car Show. I can tell you that we will need additional hearts and hands for these events and I am hopeful people don’t assume we have all the help we need – truth is, we do not and we have had some key families and servants move away so we are hoping others will step up and fill in. The agenda, for sure, is to serve, but also to serve alongside and build up relationships. You have a place in the Body and without you we miss what God can bring through you. No one else can bring your contribution. You are unique and God made you that way. You are a part of the body of Christ – a part of LFC (if you attend here) and the part you play is vital to the health of our church (or the one you attend).
Every member has a function, a place in the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-21). It takes a while to find out what our place is in the local body but by testing the waters and stepping out and moving in a continuity of relationships allows for this to happen best. There are many who will encourage you, as you step out and as you find your place on a team, a Life Transformation Group, some community project or outreach we are working on, or even setting things up or cleaning up at the end.
On July 13th, we invite you to attend our Team LFC – it is open to all to come and check out the heartbeat of LFC and of Doing Church as a Team. Just thought I would plug it one more time! You see, the best thing to do is build relationships with others, to serve together, to open your heart to others who may need what you uniquely offer them.
Relationships aren’t built in the fifteen minutes shared over coffee or a brief greeting time in church or after Sunday morning service. A decision to get involved is your decision and we open our hearts and doors to you. Serving is an excellent way of getting to know people. It offers the chance of chatting, yet the focus is on a task, so that the burden of conversation doesn’t fall on one or the other person. Practice being a good listener; be interested in others, be open to making this summer a time for relationships. You will become stronger and so will all of us.
Let’s keep moving forward, becoming more united and ready to serve as a family,
Much Grace to you all,
Pastor Bernie

Transformed Lives

Sunday was an exceptional day for us at LFC. Our worship time was touched by the grace and presence of God. All the songs we sang dovetailed into the theme of Jesus, Our Savior. I really loved leading the congregation and having such great hearts on our worship team. People who really "get it" when it comes to worshipping God - serving and not performing and enjoying God's presence while helping people to connect with Him. Singing along with Becca during, “My God, My Savior” was a great moment for me and watching the hands go up in adoration and surrender to God as people recognized that our Savior loves us and is alive was moving to say the least. As we started the worship time, I shared briefly how it is the heart of God that we become a grateful people. As you read the life of Jesus the encounters He had with people, it truly was His heart to leave them with a desire to be grateful. Disciples are people who are generous and grateful for all God has done for them. They are givers and give more than they ever take. They can be trusted with blessing others and helping people live transformed lives. Transformed people are grateful people. It was that gratitude we heard about this past Sunday night as we baptized 22 people in water. They spoke with gratitude of the grace that God had provided for them. Those who were water baptized this morning have demonstrated that for us. They shared publicly of their faith and love for Jesus and clearly identified themselves with Him in His life, death and resurrection. (Romans 6 – which we shared with them prior to the baptism time) They have given themselves, body, soul and spirit to Jesus. This visible was moving and their statements of the value of our church family in bringing them to a place of transformation was simply heart-moving. One person shared how they were saved here just three months ago, others had shared about their return to the Lord or their transformation as they have moved into recovery. If you haven’t been baptized in water yet, you may be feeling
the tug of the Spirit in your hearts, urging you to follow their example and publicly declare that you have given your heart to Jesus. We’re going to have another Baptismal Service in September.

As I listened to the brief statements made the other night during baptism, it was apparent that grace gave birth to gratitude. Gratitude comes from the same root word as grace. Grace is ‘charis’, gratitude is eucharistia. Right in the middle of GRATITUDE is GRACE. And I believe they are inseparable. Grace changes our hearts and it must find expression in our lives. The way we talk and the way we act must reflect that grace that has changed our lives. Grace compels us to be grateful: gratitude compels us to be generous: to give back, to give of ourselves, our time and our substance. It’s grace that changes our hearts and makes us people who are the kind of cheerful givers who God loves.
2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (NIV)

God makes His grace abound to us so that we will be grateful and generous at all times and in every way possible.
Gratitude starts with the acknowledgement that we don’t actually deserve anything! Everything we have is a gift of God’s grace. As we invite God’s grace to move in our hearts, we are inviting His empowering presence to transform us, then gratitude rises up, and bubbles over. And the very best gifts come from a thankful heart. Keep allowing God to transform you and keep growing in your heart to be grateful. Several of you have asked about the words to the song we did this last Sunday, so I thought I would post them here for all to enjoy. The song is My God, My Savior and is written by Aaron Shust.
I am not skilled to understandWhat God has willed, what God has plannedI only know at His right handStands one who is my Savior
I take Him at His word and deedChrist died to save me; this I readAnd in my heart I find a needOf Him to be my savior
That He would leave His place on highAnd come for sinful man to dieYou count it strange, so once did IBefore I knew my Savior
My Savior loves, My Savior livesMy Savior's always there for meMy God: He was, my God; He isMy God is always gonna be
Yes, living, dying, let me bringMy strength, my solace from this spring;That He who lives to be my KingOnce died to be my Savior
That He would leave His place on highAnd come for sinful man to dieYou count it strange, so once did IBefore I knew my Savior
I trust you will move forward in your journaling each day and to listen to what God might reveal to you through His word. Some on our team at LFC are posting their journal entries online and desire to share them with you. You can access them here http://lfchurch.wordpress.com/ you can also learn more about the journaling process here http://lfchurch.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/how-to-journal/
I love being your pastor and growing right along with you,
Pastor Bernie

Graduation and Commencement

• This is graduation week for the local schools around here and this past Sunday we honored fifteen graduates, publically during our third service. But something struck me today as I began to write this piece. It is that graduation celebrations speak both of accomplishment and commencement. Graduation is the culmination of effort, yet it is also transition to a new beginning. We stop and celebrate the learning and preparation for life. We recognize the graduates efforts and accomplishments and we realize these students at 17, 18 or 19 have learned more about life than just what showed on a GPA score. During these years of education there has also been much in the character development department. We may stop and wonder where the time has gone from our own graduation day and we may have regret when we see how far we could have gone or how little we moved towards our dreams and goals. John Piper has written a book entitled, “Don’t Waste Your Life.” In it he states: God created us to live with a single passion: to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion. God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work, not to be made much of, but to make much of him in every part of our lives. God’s call is to more than graduate from anything – it is the call to commence. Commencement reminds us, no matter what our age, learning does not end with graduation, for life continues to lead us through opportunities for learning and growth. More difficult to grade and score, it is the character of our living that will determine our successes in life.
  
• Life is about much more than the amount of knowledge with which we fill our heads.
  
• Life requires the wisdom of appropriate response to opportunities in front of us.
  
• Life requires the ongoing pursuit of God’s will for our lives.Life requires the courage to respond correctly to the stresses of daily living.
  
• Life must be met with the desire to move forward and not stay stuck!
  

Moving, responding well, pursuing God’s wisdom and will – that is commencement.

In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy finds herself in need of direction. She is lost in a land she does not understand, amid creatures who do not behave as she expects. She desperately desires to return to the safety and comfort of home, but does not believe it is within her grasp. She places her energy into a journey to find the Wizard, who might send her on her way home. While the Wizard is unable to help, he does not tell her so. Only after facing various dangers is she to find that along with her friends, she has everything she needs in her own grasp. All they need has already been provided. The only thing they lack is the wisdom to recognize their gifting and accept their provision with confidence.
God has likewise gifted us with all that is necessary for full and meaningful living. God provides wisdom willingly and openly. God gives us the strength to move forward when we feel stuck or lost. God gives us His joy……go ahead and think of all the other things God provides for us so that we might commence in the direction He has called us to move into.
God in wisdom provides for all of our needs, even those things we believe we truly lack. Do we have the confidence to trust God’s wisdom to direct our lives? I pray that you will accept the wisdom God so provides, the courage He brings and the desire to glorify Him by moving forward. May we all graduate to the next thing God has for us and move towards becoming all He desires us to be.

Philippians 4:13
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God
has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

I trust you will move forward in your journaling each day and to listen to what God might reveal to you through His word. Some on our team at LFC are posting their journal entries online and desire to share them with you. You can access them here http://lfchurch.wordpress.com/ you can also learn more about the journaling process here http://lfchurch.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/how-to-journal/

I love being your pastor and growing right along with you,
Pastor Bernie

Opportunities Abound

This week I write with a caring and yet challenging heart. If you have been around the local church any length of time you have heard leaders present challenges to people as needs – like saying “we need you to sign up,” or “you are needed to serve on our team.” But the real issue is opportunity. What I mean is that we present as many opportunities for people in our church to use their gifts and talents, build relationships and connect to what we believe is a compelling vision. I can tell you that we have many great opportunities for each one of you and what you choose to do with them is entirely up to you. We pray, we invite, we bring and we include – that is our summons as a church. But we never force people to come, or to step up or to serve. Not long ago, I was in Starbucks and heard a woman inviting her friend to church with her. I was a bit excited by what I heard, after all, I love the local church and expanding the kingdom. But what I heard next was not someone seizing an opportunity but someone doing the work of a proselyte. You see, this person was already connected with a church, but was being pressured to leave her church to go to the church of the woman making the impassioned plea. While this person was spending so much time and energy attempting to pressure her friend to leave her church for this other place of worship, I began to think of all the people that had no church and may have welcomed a heart-felt invitation. These “opportunities” were being missed by this person because they came with one goal and agenda in mind. This story could easily fit many preconceived notions of what opportunity will look like for you. It may be that you set out to do one thing and in the process find another thing with a more compelling vision for you. Like a woman who stated; “I simply made myself available to this ministry team and then realized that two of the ladies on the team would become dear friends and sisters with whom I could open my life and encourage.” For this woman, it was in taking the opportunity to serve that she saw another opportunity to build relationships. One door opened another. We can all be honest and confess that we have missed opportunities. We have wasted relationships that could have been built, wasted years running from God and have missed opportunity after opportunity to grow closer to Jesus. Some have missed the opportunity to become the Christian man or woman that God wants them to be.The lesson for us is to treasure every moment; make the most of every moment and don’t miss your opportunities. I could list all the opportunities we have for you at our church and into our community and could remind you of all the opportunities you have with your family and friends. I could also list serving opportunities, sharing opportunities or educational opportunities, but what I will do instead is ask a couple of questions and share some scriptures:

• Today, have you missed opportunities with God? Did you spend some time with Him today? Did you take time to read His word and journal today?
  


• Are you making the most of the opportunities in front of you?
  


• Are you making the most of the relationships God has given you?
  


• What opportunities to be the heart, hands, feet and mouth of Jesus are right in front of me?
  


• Who can I be of help to in mentoring?


• Who needs me to be the answer to their prayer and the opportunity they are looking for?

God is calling on you and me to seize this moment and seize every opportunity we have to grow closer to God. If you have missed opportunities it is not too late to grab one now – change your heart and mindset and focus on what you believe God could be saying in regards to a relationship, open door, serving and giving opportunity and more. As you pray ask God to help you. Tell Him, now Lord, this very moment I want to seize my opportunities with you and for you and with others for you. I want to see what has prevented me from serving you like I should and I want to commit before you that I will not let anything stand in my way of seizing the moment and the opportunity for you. God and this church family that I am not going to let those things stand in the way again.

• Galatians 6:10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
  


• Ephesians 5:16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
  


• Colossians 4:5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.(all verses taken from NIV)

A legend on an old sundial reads:
Look on the day-star moving Life and time are worth improving;
Seize the moments while they stray,
Seize and use them Lest ye lose them
And lament the wasted day.
Leading by following,

Pastor Bernie

Living God's Will

Last night I spent some time riding along with one of our Lompoc Police Officers who attends our church. It was great riding with him and dealing with issues that we were called to handle. It is a busy city even on a Monday night. While we road, he mentioned Sunday’s service and two things that stood out to him. First, we dedicated his son, Ryan to the Lord, as it was baby/ child dedication day. We dedicated 15 little ones that day. Second, he spoke about the guardrails that God has given us in regard to our lives and knowing God’s will. He really understood the value and the picture language of God giving us guidance by providing the guardrails of His will. I had many positive comments about the theme: God's Will. People stated, I really need to discover God's Will. One man said: "Pastor Bernie, are you reading my mind? I have been asking God to teach me about learning and discerning His will." Well, I am not a mind reader but I do pray and listen to God's heart and listen to the hearts of the people at LFC. As we started on our brand new series: Discovering God’s Will, we shared about the Providential and Moral will of God. What we do is live within the guardrails of God’s known will. We know there are some things He does because He is God and with or without us, He will do them. Life works best when we move forward embracing His Providential will for our own lives. For example: We know that God wants us to love Him and love others. We don’t need to pray about it but rather just live it. Just love God and loves others every chance we get and deny ourselves. We don’t need to pray about sharing our faith and being salt and light in this world. God has already providentially established that as a part of His will for those who become a part of His family. God longs for us to be at a place where we say: ‘Lord, I don’t care what you reveal to me, the answer from my perspective is Yes Lord.’
Remember this: Amazing things happen on the other side of ‘Yes.’
When you and I get to a place where we are willing and obedient and God, He desires to share His will with us. It is essential to remember:
God does not give us direction for consideration but for participation.
So when we live inside the guardrail of Providential will and the Moral will of God we begin to perceive the Personal will of God. The Moral will is one we can begin to live out without much thought or prayer. Just do it Right! Just live Right! We don’t need to hold an all night prayer vigil to discern if God wants us to love others, that is Providential or to discern if we should lie or not, that is Moral.
As we live with a heart to trust God fully He has made an incredible promise to us of leading us in His way.
Proverbs 3: 5 & 6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (NKJ)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart (intellect, emotion and will) and do not trust in yourself – don’t lean on what you know or understand, but lean on God. The problem here is that some of you are very capable, intelligent, strategist, and process thinkers. What you have is a problem. The reason, your capability may tell you that you can do it – accomplish it and make it. Well, there are some things you can do but you and I can do nothing without the heart of God and His empowering.
As we trust and acknowledge Him, He will direct our paths. What a promise!
This direction comes out of us doing what God has already told us to do. It flows out of us living our lives based on His Providential and Moral will. As I do all I know to do in all God has taught me so far, then He will direct my path.
Phillip Yancey has said it best:
I do not get to know God, then do His will; I get to know Him by doing His will. (Reaching for the Invisible God.)
May we all trust in Him more and more and do that which we know is His heart.
Leading by following,
Pastor Bernie

LFC - His Church - Living Heart-First

Our building expansion is coming to the final stretches of finish, fix-its, adjustments and soon our final permits will be in hand. This has been a longer than anticipated journey, but well worth it. I marvel at seeing our congregation have some elbow room and that our future has some "room for growth too. Sunday was an amazing day and we honored our Moms and thanked them for giving us birth and we celebrated in worship, thanking God that He gave the church its birth - as it was Pentecost Sunday - the birth of the Lord's church during a worship service.
Last night was buzzing around LFC with our elevate youth ministries going on while our church council was meeting. It was great to see our fine youth leadership team move into action and then to have opportunity to sit with some incredible people (our church council) that help me lead and guide this church all the while making great financial decisions. This group of supporting people and the awesome team that serve Sunday after Sunday and week after week, made me think of a recent scripture reading and journal entry I made. But before I share that, let me simply say, how grateful I am that LFC is the church it is and the church it is becoming. We are moving forward with God's heart in us and we are more and more becoming His church. To that end let me encourage you to make sure you attend your LFC Connections when it comes around. These have been highly successful times of low-pressure fellowship and the building of relationships. Also, we continue to promote our Life Transformation Groups - our small group ministries here at LFC. These have proven to be vital aspects of health building to our church. It is up to you to decide if growing in relationships with others at our church is important or not. We do all we can to provide a variety of connecting points with you in mind and your heart and health too.
May you realize the value you have in my heart and that of the church and may you join me in applauding our servants!
Scripture
"All these were fighting men who volunteered to serve in the ranks. They came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of the Israelites were also of one mind to make David king." (1 Chronicles 12:38)
Observation
These warriors were from various tribes of Israel, and had different backgrounds and cultures, but they gave themselves to a common cause and hope. They came to serve their king and leader – David, but ultimately knew they were serving the purposes of God. The support David received was amazing as thousands upon thousands came and voted for David as king. Their votes were cast with the willingness to do more than applaud but to serve with their time, talent and treasures. They gave their skills and lived heart-first. How true this is of our servants who in a sense war to move our church forward. Team LFC is a group of warriors with a heart to give themselves not only to the community and fellowship but to the cause. The characteristics and heart of our servants is incredible! From our staff, to our church council, to our youth team and our children’s team and on and on. Simple amazing. Hundreds of valuable servants give of themselves to serve Jesus our King, and provide support for me to pastor and lead the church under God’s mighty hand of leadership.

Application
I am overwhelmed with a great sense of gratitude for God's work in my heart and a great sense of gratitude for the willingness of gracious servants. May I never take for granted, the work of God in the hearts of others to serve Him – may I always recognize those who live with a brave sense of loyalty, courage, and giving as volunteer warriors.Although I'm on staff, being paid as a pastor, I never want to lose the heart of willingly volunteering unto the Lord both inside and outside the church. It's not the pay that motivates me - it's the understanding of my call to serve Jesus with others. I continue to cast my vote, to make Jesus King of my life and serve side by side with others at Lompoc Foursquare Church and into our community at large. As I volunteer to serve in the ranks of God's army! I commit to advancing your Kingdom's purposes with my fellow soldiers!

Prayer
Dear King and Leader, Jesus! Thank you for allowing me to serve you and receiving my service. Thanks for the wonderful people who serve along side me to make an eternal difference. May you add more to our ranks and build us up with hearts to encourage those who war well, those who are weary from war and those just beginning to join the troops. May we continue to be faithful to You and our fellow warriors in Your Kingdom.Amen

I love being your pastor,
Pastor Bernie