Pastor Don James

Cease fire and Hamas

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:58:32 -0500

Today I read the response of the Hamas leader to Israel’s decision to engage in at least a temporary cease-fire from the recent hostilities in Gaza. Of course in spite of the terrible humanitarian situation in Gaza and the obvious inability of the people to have any kind of a future under the leadership of Hamas - the religious dogma continues. Take it to the bank, Hamas will not cease their actions nor their terrorist ideals. With every fiber of their being they do not believe Israel has a right to exist - let alone control the land.

Therefore, the self-destructive actions of this group will remain in tact. What a shame for the innocent people of Gaza. Hamas has shown as never before their inability to wage any kind of an offensive against Israel, so what is their honest objective anyway? I am convinced that for most part Israel’s leadership is Ok with the idea of some aspect of peaceful co-existence, if the Palestinian leadership would just allow this to take place. But they won’t. Their ideals are greater than their care for their own people, or their safety - let alone their needs. That would make too much sense. What a shame.

The devil of mediocrity

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:41:43 -0500

This little outline by one of my favorite pastors and writers - Charles Swindoll was sent to me by one of our young adults in our congregation. it speaks right to one of the biggest enemies we all face and that’s the enemy of mediocrity. Enjoy, be challenged and thanks Viv.

EXCELLENCE
by Charles R. Swindoll

1 Peter 2:12

Mediocrity is fast becoming the byword of our times. Every imaginable excuse is now used to make it acceptable, hopefully preferred. Budget cuts, time deadlines, majority opinion, and hard-nosed practicality are outshouting and outrunning excellence. Those forces seem to be winning the race.

Incompetence and status quo averages are held up as all we can now expect, and the tragedy is that more and more people have virtually agreed. Why worry over the small stuff? Why bother with the genuine now that the artificial looks so real? If the public buys it, why sweat it?

To make it painfully plain, why think clearly since most folks want someone else to think for them? Why live differently in a society where it’s so much easier to look the same and swim downstream? Why fight fiercely when so few seem to care? Why stand courageously if it means risking ridicule, misunderstanding, or being considered a dreamer by some and a fool by others?

Why, indeed? To quote young David just before he took on that Philistine behemoth in the Valley of Elah, “Is there not a cause?” Must we wait for someone else to establish our standard or to set our pace? Not on your life!

It is my firm conviction that those who impact and reshape the world are the ones committed to living above the level of mediocrity. There are still too many opportunities for excellence, too much demand for distinctiveness, to be satisfied with just getting by.

Excellence is a difficult concept to communicate because it can easily be misread as neurotic perfectionism or snooty sophistication. But it is neither. On the contrary, it is the stuff of which greatness is made. It is the difference between just getting by and soaring—-that which sets apart the significant from the superficial, the lasting from the temporary. A commitment to excellence is neither popular nor easy. But it is essential.

Excellence in integrity and morality as well as ethics and scholarship. Excellence in physical fitness and spiritual fervor just as much as excellence in relationships and craftsmanship.

Since it is the living Lord in the final analysis who appraises our excellence, it is He whom we must please and serve, honor and adore.

1 Peter 2

As Newborn Babes

1Therefore, ^(A)putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all ^(B)slander, 2^(C)like newborn babies, long for the ^(D)pure milk of the word, so that by it you may ^(E)grow in respect to salvation, 3if you have ^(F)tasted ^(G)the kindness of the Lord.

As Living Stones

4And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been ^(H)rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5^(I)you also, as living stones, are being built up as a ^(J)spiritual house for a holy ^(K)priesthood, to ^(L)offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

6For this is contained in Scripture:
”^(M)BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A ^(N)PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”

7^(O)This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “^(P)THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS ^(Q)REJECTED,
         THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,” 8 and,
         ”^(R)A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”;
         ^(S)for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, ^(T)and to this doom they were also appointed.

9But you are ^(U)A CHOSEN RACE, A royal ^(V)PRIESTHOOD, A ^(W)HOLY NATION, ^(X)A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you ^(Y)out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10^(Z)for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.

11^(AA)Beloved, ^(AB)I urge you as ^(AC)aliens and strangers to abstain from ^(AD)fleshly lusts which wage ^(AE)war against the soul. 12^(AF)Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they ^(AG)slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, ^(AH)glorify God ^(AI)in the day of ^[a]visitation.

Dear Hillary - please hear me! This morning I listened to you on...

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:11:32 -0500

Dear Hillary - please hear me!

This morning I listened to you on TV concerning your confirmation for the new Secretary of State position. Some of the things you said about the poor and things like - micro loans and enterprise - something I also have heart for, really impressed me. However, dear Hillary may I ask you, “when will we ever learn”. Concerning this situation in Israel… It’s not our right to give away Israel’s land that God covenanted to give to Abraham, then to Isaac and of course to Jacob and his sons. Now did I not hear you once taught Sunday School in the Methodist church… don’t you remember Gen 17 or 22 or 26 or 28. Every one of these chapters say this land belongs to Israel and no other nation or politician has a right to give away God’s land. Again you may want to read Psalm 24. Besides have you not noticed the terrible weather in our nation and the fires and hurricanes and crime… not to mention Iraq; Afganistan? Have you noticed that every time a leader tries to give away God’s land - we face a judgment? Check it our dear Hillary - you will note it is scary true. You may want to mention this to our new president as well. Finally, how can there be a two state system in Israel when one government refuses to recognize the other’s right to exist and continually shoots rockets at it’s neighbor and sends terrorists to blow up buses with innocent civilians on board? Go figure.

Anyway Hillary I am sure you will be confirmed - but you may want get God’s opinion on all of this - because his opinion is the only one that really matters. Just a thought!

ISRAEL… GAZA SAD! I remember my first trip to Israel in...

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:07:00 -0500

ISRAEL… GAZA SAD!

I remember my first trip to Israel in 1979. In spite of the wars in 1948; 1967; and again in 72’/73’… things were very different in Israel than it is today. It’s very sad for me to see how people are suffering in Gaza. I made my first trip to Gaza in 1980 and it was very different than the bombed out place the picture shows. Now please understand it by no means says I am sympathizing with Hamas… as a matter of fact just the opposite. In 1979 there were no additonal boundaries or walls within Israel, as matter of fact a peace treaty with Egypt had just been signed (remember Begin/Sadat) and things were relatively peaceful. But here’s the deal. I am no expert on Israel - but I can tell you in those days the Palestinians were by no means suffering the way they are today. Israel gave them the freedom to come and go and make a living…etc. It was not until Arafat returned and incited the PLO movement that the real suffering for these people began. Not because Israel just decided to move against them… but because the PLO incited terrorists to target the innocent people and get this whole mess we see today started. I understand some of the Palestinian’s concerns - but to say they are better off under this regime (Hamas) than they were under the former Israel leadership is highly debatable. Just a thought.

How do you spell - upset?

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 16:34:00 -0500

OK, small tear on my face… the Giants just lost. Bummer, all of my teams are out. Missed field goals… interceptions… bad calls. It’s over. Anyway I am happy for our friend Kurt Warner and the Cardinals. Who would have ever thought Arizona would be hosting a championship game with and 8-8 record - just two weeks ago. So goes the NFL. I did find it challenging last night with Arizona playing Carolina because at one time Arizona’s quarterback Kurt Warner and his family were a part of church when he was playing for NYG. But also Carolina’s head coach John Fox and his family were also a part of Bethany when he was an assistant for the Giants. Needless to say both men are great guys and serve God - so I’ve always kept an eye on them. I did feel like Kurt got the short end of the stick while in New York (just my opinion) - but I do want to give a shout out to Kurt - “good job brother”. He is back in MVP form even though a few years older and has shown his critics how good he really is.

Anyway, I never imagined all the upsets would take place. Thus far with one more game to go - the entire playoffs - every game has hinged around turnovers… thus a number of upsets - who would have thunk it? There’s an old saying, “any team in the NFL can beat any other team on a given Sunday”. Sad sometimes; but true.

2009 "Extraordinary Verse"

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:33:52 -0500

This is the verse I have personally chosen for the year as I believe for the extraordinary. Grab on - it’s that good…

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20)

This week we launched our 2009 initiative for Spiritual Growth....

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:25:00 -0500

This week we launched our 2009 initiative for Spiritual Growth. I have also had several people ask if I could post the main points to follow in our pursuit, so those who need to remember them can refer to the blog - but also for those who were not at church or friends who live across the country and world.

Our (my) premise is simple… God is not ordinary… his Kingdom is not ordinary and every thing God is and stands for is extraordinary. When the religious leaders called the Apostles Peter and John “unschooled and ordinary men” - well they could not have been more wrong. After all hadn’t these men just been used of God in a miracle? When a man who has been crippled from birth stands up and walks - better yet dances through the temple isn’t it fair to say that was anything but ordinary but kind of “extraordinary”? Of course. So let’s just say, it’s obvious that God wants us to move into the extraordinary in our lives. So how do we start?

First, let’s begin with: (1) An Extraordinary Encounter. The key to the disciples miracle was the encounter with the Holy Spirit they had just experienced (Acts 2). To walk in the extraordinary it means we must encounter the “Extraordinary ONE” - The Holy Spirit.

Next we need (2) Extraordinary Guidance. These men had tapped into hearing the voice of God and being sensitive to his supernatural guidance. Our God is a God of divine appointments - so we need to believe the Spirit wants to “guide us” into amazing exploits for him. Further we to be on the watch for (3) Extraordinary Circumstances. The story is Acts 3 is about a man who had been crippled since birth and yet the followers of Jesus had more than likely walked past this man at the Temple many times. It made me wonder how many people we ‘walk by” every day and are not sensitive the circumstances of life they are in and how God might want to use us - just like he did the apostles to make a difference. Lastly, if any of this is going to happen it will require on our behalf an (4) Extraordinary Pursuit of God. We have to get serious with our time, priorities and everything else about not letting anything keeping us from the delight of pursuing God. So this is where we start this week. No matter where we live we can pursuit God will all our hearts starting this week. Let’s go for it!

If you are interested in hearing the whole message you can pick it up at www.bethanywyckoff.org

I wanted to share the latest picture of our fourth grandchild -...

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:55:24 -0500

I wanted to share the latest picture of our fourth grandchild - courtesy of John and Susie. Please pray for a healthy pregnancy.

And you New York… go figure. Mangini… next time try...

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:51:07 -0500

And you New York… go figure. Mangini… next time try at least a smile, huh!

Wild week for a Bronco’s and Jet’s fan….both...

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:49:23 -0500

Wild week for a Bronco’s and Jet’s fan….both coaches fired… wow!

So my commentary… Shanahan… how do you spell defense? No sacks… now no job!

If you are looking for a fun Bible to read in 09 - you might...

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 10:03:00 -0500

If you are looking for a fun Bible to read in 09 - you might check out the ERV. I started it a month ago and so far - I like it. It’s a paraphrase but not overboard like the Living Bible. Still sticks to the original languages, but is easy to read and uses modern phrases. It’s not a great study Bible - but a nice addition to your Biblical library.

Photo - help

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 09:57:34 -0500

Photo - help:

This is great little article to help all of us who take more bad pictures than we do good ones!

Happy New Year

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 09:53:14 -0500

Let me wish all you fellow blogites a happy new year. I am sure you’re like me and can’t believe 09 is here. Last year went fast - but it was a good year. Most of my life is wrapped up in my family and church and I guess that’s a good thing. I did get to travel to some new places and minister to some great people. I saw a couple of new amazing sights like Mount Ararat when I was in Armenia and of course just last month Donna and I went to the Galapagos Islands off of Ecuador and came home even stronger believers in creation. I mean what was Charles Darwin smoking anyway? It would take amazing faith to see that place and actually think it some how all evolved. I mean to look into the face of the marine iguana … scary ugly …and then into the face of my gorgeous wife and try to believe they are somehow related… get real. Anyway I enjoyed the experience.

I got up this morning and prayed and it was a challenge because I laid before the Lord all the things in my life I need him work on and the list just kept growing. Of course like the majority of the American population I prayed about dieting and losing some weight and I prayed about him helping me to be more godly and productive.

Most of all I prayed that what I wrote in my sermon yesterday (I will preach Sunday) - is I want to experience the extraordinary life the Bible talks about. So my blog-wish and prayer for you and me is that we may go into 09 and experience anything but an ordinary life. May the fullness of God rest on each and ever person every day.

Thank you Hank Steinbrenner...

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 10:26:58 -0500

I wanted to finish my Christmas morning blog by personally thanking Hank Steinbrenner of the Yankees for the wonderful gifts of CC Sabathia; AJ Burnett; and now Mark the Tex man! You are so generous… thank you.

Christmas Eve - Don and Donna… and yes that is a tie...

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 10:19:08 -0500

Christmas Eve - Don and Donna… and yes that is a tie Don’s wearing.

Christmas Eve At Bethany… Chad and the bands rendition of...

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 10:16:31 -0500

Christmas Eve At Bethany… Chad and the bands rendition of Trans-Siberian Railroad’s God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen… was hot!

Don't miss the gift.

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 09:56:18 -0500

Last night (Christmas Eve) at church I shared a quick devotional thought during the service - I just wanted to pass those thoughts your way as reminder to those who were there and for those who weren’t something to think about.

In a nutshell by the end of this Christmas day more than likely every present under the tree will be unwrapped and move from the idea of being simply purchases by someone else to a “gift” for you. Remember it’s not really a gift until we receive it… and better yet until we open it and make it our own.

That’s what God wants each of us to do with the “gift” he has given us. Jesus Christ came as God’s personal gift to us. Jesus is not only the gift - but he was the one who paid the price to purchase the gift of for you. This gift brings forgiveness of sin, the abiding presence of God in our life, and hope for the future.

So why in the world would anyone want to leave a gift like this unopened or worse yet - unwanted! If you are one my friends checking out this blog that has never opened God’s Christmas gift to you… don’t wait do it right now… it will change your life forever.

And if you are one my friends who has already opened the gift… then please today of all days - behold it with wonder, and marvel at this thing God has done for you.

Just a thought.

Insight into the original name of Jesus

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 09:36:00 -0500

Since it’s Christmas _ I thought you might enjoy or gain some insight into how the original name of Jesus came about. This is a little long, sorry - but it’s worth the read I think.

Today, as Christians we will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Was the Christian Messiah the first to have that name, or were there a lot of Jesuses running around back then?

Many people shared the name. Christ’s given name, commonly Romanized as Yeshua, was quite common in first-century Galilee. (Jesus comes from the transliteration ofYeshua into Greek and then English.) Archaeologists have unearthed the tombs of 71 Yeshuas from the period of Jesus time. The name also appears 30 times in the Old Testament in reference to four separate characters—including a descendent of Aaron who helped to distribute offerings of grain (2 Chronicles 31:15) and a man who accompanied former captives of Nebuchadnezzar back to Jerusalem (Ezra 2:2).

The long version of the name, Yehoshua, appears another few hundred times, referring most notably to the legendary conqueror of Jerisho (and the second most famous bearer of the name). So why do we call the Hebrew hero of Jericho Joshua and the Christian Messiah Jesus? Because the New Testament was originally written in Greek, not Hebrew or Aramaic. Greeks did not use the soundsh, so the evangelists substituted an S sound. Then, to make it a masculine name, they added another S sound at the end. The earliest written version of the name Jesus is Romanized today asIesous. (Thus the crucifix inscription INRI: “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum,” or “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”) The initial J didn’t come until much later. That sound was foreign to Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Not even English distinguished J from I until the mid-17^th century. Thus, the 1611 King James Bible refers to Jesus as “Iesus” and his father as “Ioseph.” The current spelling likely came from Switzerland, where J sounds more like the English Y. When English Protestants fled to Switzerland during the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary I, they drafted the Geneva Bible and used the Swiss spelling. Translators in England adopted the Geneva spelling by 1769.

n contrast, the Old Testament was translated directly from the original Hebrew into English, rather than via Greek. So anyone named Yehoshua orYeshua in the Old Testament became Joshua in English. Meanwhile, the holy book of the Syrian Orthodox church, known as the Syriac Bible, is written in Aramaic. While its Gospels were translated from the original Greek, the early scribes recognized that Iesous was a corruption of the original Aramaic. Thus, the Syriac text refers to Yeshua.

What was Jesus’ last name? It wasn’t Christ. Contemporaries would have called him Yeshua Bar Yehosef or Yeshua Nasraya. (That’s “Jesus, son of Joseph” or “Jesus of Nazareth.”) Galileans distinguished themselves from others with the same first name by adding either “son of” and their father’s name, or their birthplace. People who knew Jesus would not have called him Christ, which is the translation of a Greek word meaning “anointed one.” Thanks to Brian Palmer for the research and help.

"Sin Scum"

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:36:41 -0500

"Sin Scum":

It’s this time of the year when we think more than ever about the name of Jesus and of course the very mission of the Messiah. Joseph was told in a dream, “give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from the sin”. We should all consider the power of the verse for our lives on a daily basis. First his name means God (Jehovah) saves. This reminds me God has a better plan for my life than I do for myself. Second, Jesus (Jeshua) came to save me from sins. Now that’s important to think about because we all know the negative effect of sin. Undoubtedly, this is why 1 John 1:9 tells us “if we confess our sin, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. Awesome verse. We need to be cleansed and it needs to happen daily. Sin can build up in our lives until it has tremendous damaging affects. It can weigh us down. It makes me think about the excess build up of pigeon poop on a gas station awning in California. The poop build up became so bad the weight of it caused the awning to collapse and fall on top of two luxury cars! (see link). That’s what “excess sin” will do in our life. If we don’t confess our sins daily - it will cause a great collapse and ruin things that are precious in our lives. Just a thought.

We take them with us to the dinner table, the bedroom, even the...

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 09:36:00 -0500

We take them with us to the dinner table, the bedroom, even the bathroom stall. But in recent years, some of us have started taking our beloved cell phones someplace really startling: the grave.

“It seems that everyone under 40 who dies takes their cell phone with them,” says Noelle Potvin, family service counselor for Hollywood Forever, a funeral home and cemetery in Hollywood, Calif. “It’s a trend with BlackBerrys, too. (from MSN)

Well this is a new thought huh? I will have to think about the validity of being buried with my beloved Blackberry Pearl friends, however, it did make me think of the one thing you never want to be buried without and that’s JESUS! Knowing God and his mercy maybe he has a place in Heaven for your cell phone… who knows. However, I can tell you that in my opinion if you die without Jesus - I doubt if your cell phone can stand the heat of the other place!

Just a thought…