Which Way Are You Swimming?

Acts 18:9-11 - Then the Lord said to Paul in a night vision, “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent. For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.” And he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

When my family lived in Connecticut, visits to the Mystic Aquarium were always an exciting adventure. It is a wonderful place where families can have a great time and learn a lot about marine life. As families enter the main building the first thing seen is a huge round glass tank filled with fish. 

Once time when my family was there, we noticed most of the fish were swimming the same way. But one lone fish was swimming the opposite direction. It was odd to see. As we kept watching, we noticed that lone fish was soon joined by another one. Now there were two fish swimming the opposite direction. Suddenly, there were three, and then four. All at once, the entire school pivoted and turned and began swimming the opposite direction, following the lead of one solitary fish that was willing to swim against the tide.

Witnessing the school of fish changing direction reminded me of the influence that one person can have on those around him or her. When a person first stands up for what is right, he or she is often alone. Then one or two other people come along to support the original individual. Then a few more come along to offer their support. Eventually enough critical mass is built up for significant change to happen in a whole group of people.

We are living in an age in which Christianity is mischaracterized, maligned, mocked and dismissed. But if we will stand strong for our faith, we can influence many people around us. We must not be afraid to be the lone fish swimming against the stream. God will bring others to help us. In time we can witness a significant difference in our sphere of influence as God works through a growing number of people willing to take a stand for what is right.

Lord, give us the courage to stand for what is right and holy, even if at first we stand alone. Amen.

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This devotional is from the book “Heavenly Mundane” by Dr. Terry W. Dorsett. Dr. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Dangerous Beauty

1 John 2:15- 16 - Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For everything that belongs to the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle—is not from the Father, but is from the world.

When my family lived in Connecticut we often enjoyed visiting the Mystic Aquarium. The aquarium has a number of interesting species of life on display. One wall of the aquarium is filled with small glass boxes that contain unusual frogs. They are brightly colored and look like the kind of creature that would be fun to have in a home aquarium. Except that these particular frogs are very dangerous. They are called dart frogs because indigenous people in Central and South America use the secretions from these frogs as poison on their blow darts. Some varieties will only make a person sick. Others will kill an adult. Just looking at the frogs, one would never know they were so dangerous.

What a powerful lesson to learn in life. Just because something is pretty does not make it safe. In fact, beauty can be deceptive, even dangerous. Far too often we are taken in by people with charming personalities, attractive bodies or eloquent sounding speech, only to be taken advantage of later. Perhaps we get caught up in the story line of a movie, enjoy the rhythm of a great song, or become an expert at a video game that has great graphics or cool special efforts, without realizing the poisonous message that is being put into our minds. Marketers want us to believe that buying their product, or joining particular clubs or groups, will make our lives better, but have we considered if those products or groups will take up so much of our time or money that it affects us in negative ways?

As Christians we must constantly be on our guard for the things that look pretty on the outside, but are poisonous on the inside. Recall the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. He was having the adventure of a lifetime, until all the money ran out. Then the young man longed to eat pig slop. Think of David's one night of indiscretion in 2 Samuel 11, which led to years of pain for his family. There is always pleasure in sin for a season, but then comes destruction. We must not be fooled by how pretty things are, but we must keep our eyes and focus on Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith.

Lord, help us keep our hearts and minds pure and not be deceived by the attractive things of this world. Amen.

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This devotional is from the book “Heavenly Mundane” by Dr. Terry W. Dorsett. Dr. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Jellyfish Declare God's Praise

Colossians 1:17 - He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.

When my family lived in Connecticut, we were members of the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut. We would visit several times a year and it was always exciting to see what new sea creatures they had on display. We especially loved the jellyfish room. It was a whole room containing jellyfish of all types and sizes. Signs on the walls point out that jellyfish have no brains, no lungs, and no hearts, but are very much living creatures.

One case is filled with jellyfish no bigger than finger tips. Beside that case is a picture of the largest jellyfish ever found. It was the size of a school bus! Imagine a living creature the size of a school bus that has no brain, no lungs and no heart. God was being extra creative when He made that!

As my family loved the jellyfish room because we found it amazing how these creatures could be alive without the vital organs that most other creatures have. After one visit, we discussed how jelly

fish could even live. Without hesitation, my daughter replied, "Jesus!" What a great answer. Though we may not understand the vastness of the universe, every intricate piece of it points to a Creator. That Creator knew how to make living creatures that do not follow the rules that our limited understanding of science uses to explain the world around us. Jellyfish are a reminder that we serve a holy God who created all things and continues to hold all things together.

Lord, help me to find Your hand in all of creation. Amen.

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This devotional is from the book “Heavenly Mundane” by Dr. Terry W. Dorsett. Dr. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:  

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Interview with Tim Albury

Recently I interviewed my high school friend Tim Albury, who is a business man who lives in the Bahamas.

Terry: Tim, tell us a little about yourself.

Tim: I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, happily married to my wife and college (Liberty University) sweetheart since 1988, and a father to three wonderful, adult children. I have served my local church as a Bible teacher and spiritual mentor to youth for almost my entire adult life. I am a CPA and an executive in the pharmaceutical industry.

Terry: For 16 years you have been teaching young adults in church. What have you learned about young adults that caused you to want to write Reason If You Will?

Tim: I have seen firsthand the statistics of churched youth dropping their faith upon leaving the home. Most of that falling away happens due to the influence of liberal arts colleges and universities. I have also observed that the church does very little to train young people on how to actually defend the faith. Yes, there are numerous books that are dedicated to the evidence and written on levels above the average reader. But, there is virtually no resource out that guide on “how” it should be done. I believe if more young people and even adults in the church were show how to do this on their level, they would not only have greater success in maintaining their faith, they would also influence others towards accepting it.

Terry: What is the key point of the book and how do you hope it will assist young adults?

Tim: The key point of the book is that scripture calls us to reason, not argue. We are called to reason with others just as God reasoned with mankind. There was no greater role model of the technique for how to reason with others than Jesus Christ. And, His method of answering questions regarding faith was to respond with questions. Respectfully responding with targeted questions is the proper form of defense when done gently and respectfully. Asking questions is reasonable and relational. And, done well, it can be winsome. Therefore, I designed the book to walk through all the significant attacks on the faith by topic, while offering sample questions in each topical area that any Christian can use to navigate a conversation with someone asking a genuine question about our faith.

Terry: Who type of person will benefit the most from reading this book and why?

Tim: While I believe all Christians can benefit from reading this book, it is best suited for those that young-to-middle-aged. It can help young adults in navigating the religious assaults that commonly accompany independent phases of life. It can also help parents who are raising young adults towards being better defenders of the Gospel. Thirdly, it can help any person who has doubts to reason with themselves.

Terry: What is the main thing you would like people to walk away with after reading your book?

Tim: I would like every reader to walk away after reading this book entirely capable of defending the faith with anyone from any walk of life, the way Jesus did.

Terry: If you could offer one piece of advice to parents of Christian young adults and the church leaders who serve them, what would it be?

Tim: Faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ has its foundation in God’s identity and our identity. God’s enemy uses many attacks and varied techniques. But, they are all directed at either challenging God’s identity, our identity, or both. Too many Christians invite the world to help them define who they are or who God is. God has already done both in the most spectacular fashion. My advice to all Christians is to be daily grounded in God’s identity as exclusively revealed in the Bible. And, that Bible exclusively reveals our God-given identity. That identity for every Christian is that of pure, royal immortality. That is who you are as a Christian. All other voices need to be daily made to bow before God inside of us and remain in that posture until they are dismissed. The true battle for defending the faith happens in our own minds where the spiritual war is commonly waged, not in arguments with others of flesh.

Terry: I understand that you plan to donate the proceeds from your book launch to a Christian camp. Tell about the camp and why you want to help?

Tim: I am a native of the Bahamas, where my first earthly kingdom love lies. Camp Bahamas is a Christian camp built and formed by my brother several years ago. It exists for the benefit of underprivileged youth of the Bahamas. It is located on an island named Eleuthera. More can be learned about the camp at   www.campbahamas.com. All of my profits from the launch of this book will be donated to Camp Bahamas. I am donating my profits to Camp Bahamas because I see God’s redemptive work active there in claiming lost souls of my homeland for God’s Kingdom.

Terry: Thanks for sharing with us Tim, and those interested in the book can find it at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/Reason-You-Will-Tim-Albury/dp/0692306293/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417718270&sr=8-1&keywords=reason+if+you+will

Danger in the Midst of Beauty

Most mornings I take a long walk. I walk both for my physical health and for my spiritual health. I pray while I walk and think through sermons and mediate on scripture.

One of the places I walk is a trail around the town reservoir near my home. The trail has lovely water views, views of the Hartford skyline and of course lovely trees. This fall the trees have been particularly striking as they displayed their fall colors.

New England in the fall is breath taking. It is hard for me to understand how anyone can be in New England in the fall and not believe in an all powerful Creator who displays His handiwork in such glorious ways. And yet, the vast majority of people in New England do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is one of least religious regions of our nation. Millions live in the middle of all this beauty yet are in danger of losing their souls for eternity.

The other day I was taking my morning walk and was meditating on this truth when I looked up in a tree and saw a huge hornet's nest. The maple tree was ablaze in all it's fall glory, but hidden in all those glorious leaves was this hornet's nest. The nest was about 2 feet tall and hanging from a branch in a maple tree and filled with danger. I was struck by the thought that this was a vivid reminder of the contrast between danger and beauty that exists in our world. So many people are on edge of a spiritual cliff. The devil wants them to miss the Creator behind the creation so they fall off the cliff. The devil wants them to feel the pain of the hornets of life and become bitter at God, though the devil is the one actually causing the pain. The devil wants people to miss out on the most beautiful thing of all, which is faith in Jesus Christ, and he will do anything to distract people from finding that faith.

I have dedicated my life to helping people in New England see the hornet's nest and recognize what it is so they can turn to Christ before it is too late. Would you join me in prayer for spiritual revival in New England? Would you consider adding feet to your prayers through joining us in our efforts? The harvest is great, but the laborers are few.

Lord, help us share Your love with those who live in New England. Help us help them avoid the hornet's nest of sin and find Your love instead.


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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett is a church planter and author who has lived in New England since 1993. He is a happy father of three young adults, a blessed husband of one great wife, a joyful grandfather, a thankful cancer survivor and convinced that New England needs Jesus more than ever!

Pretty Poison

1 Samuel 16:7 - But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have rejected him. Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”

               

The Mystic Aquarium has a number of interesting species of marine life on display. One wall of the aquarium is filled with small glass boxes that contain unusual frogs. Brightly colored, they look like the kind of creature that would be fun to have in a home aquarium. Except that these particular frogs are very dangerous. They are called dart frogs because indigenous people in Central and South America use the secretions from these frogs as poison on their blow darts. Some varieties will only make a person sick. Others will kill an adult. Just looking at the frogs, one would never know they were so dangerous.

What a powerful lesson to learn in life. Just because something is pretty does not make it safe. In fact, beauty can be deceptive, even dangerous. Far too often we are taken in by people with charming personalities, attractive bodies, or eloquent sounding speech, only to be taken advantage of later. Perhaps we get caught up in the story line of a movie, enjoy the rhythm of a great song, or become an expert at a video game that has great graphics or cool special efforts, without realizing the poisonous message that is being put into our minds. Marketers want us to believe that buying their product, or joining particular clubs or groups, will make our lives better, but have we considered if those products or groups will take up so much of our time or money that it affects us in negative ways?

As Christians we must constantly be on our guard for the things that look pretty on the outside, but are poisonous on the inside. Recall the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. He was having the adventure of a lifetime, until all the money ran out. Then the young man longed to eat pig slop. Think of David's one night of indiscretion in 2 Samuel 11, which led to years of pain for his family. There is always pleasure in sin for a season, but then comes destruction. We must not be fooled by how pretty things are, but we must keep our eyes and focus on Jesus, Who overcame temptation through the power of God’s Word.

Lord, help us keep our hearts and minds pure and not be deceived by the attractive things of this world. Amen.

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This post is an excerpt from the book, The Heavenly Mundane: Daily Devotions from Ordinary Experiences. Filled with stories of how God spoke in big ways through small events, the book will encourage people to look for God in the mundane things of life. Great for both personal use and to give as a gift to friend, either the print version or the e-book version may be purchased at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJ2UE4E