The God Who Is!

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Scott Ranck

I regularly hear people say, “My god isn’t like that!” They may be referring to a particular biblical teaching they disagree with when making that comment. The truth is we don’t get to decide what God is like. God is. We may decide to believe God isn’t. We may decide we don’t like the God who is but we don’t get to determine what He is like.

God is a person, alive, thinking and a communicator. He reveals to us what He wants us to know about Him. He does that through His creation, “The heavens declare the glory of God. . .” He does it through Jesus Christ, “If any man has seen me they have seen the Father;” He does it through His Word, “I exalt my Word above my name.”

It is the role of humanity to humble ourselves before Him and make our mission seeking to know the God who is and what He is like. It really doesn’t matter who agrees or disagrees with what you discover because each of us will one day give an account of ourselves before Him. I believe He will ask, did you do your best to discover who I am and what I’ve revealed about myself?

If your God has been passed down to you, or you have created your own version of god and you have not really sought to know the God who is, I hate to break it to you but your god exists only in your mind. You have created your own little idol god and he is not real, alive, or powerful. In fact the only place he resides is between your ears.

Jesus asks a question in Luke 18:8, “But when the Son of Man returns how many will he find on the earth that have faith?” Faith is believing what God has revealed about Himself enough to shape your life by it.

Why not decide this Christmas you will lay aside everything you have believed about God that you haven’t really discovered through your own seeking to know Him. Start over with fresh eyes, looking at Creation, study the life of Jesus, read the Bible with one question in mind. “Lord, I want to know you, show me what you are like, teach me your ways and correct my path.”

Blessings,

Scott

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Ferguson, The Real Problem

Posted on November 27, 2014 by Scott Ranck

There is an epidemic in our land. It is progressive and insidious. It is slowly eroding the way of life we have known in America. No, it isn’t racism. It impacts every race of people, though some people groups seem to have an advanced case. The problem is the lack of emotionally and spiritually healthy parenting.

Homes that are filled with a mother’s and father’s love and strength are nearly exempt from this plague. Children who are raised with values and then who have the consistent presence of both a mother and father, no matter what nationality they are, would not be in the streets of Ferguson destroying things. Their parents would not allow them out of the house.

Parenting that is devoid of values both taught and modeled, and that never allows a child to feel the consequences of poor decisions rather blames everyone and everything else is at the root of what we see happening around the country. Gangs are a replacement for a dysfunctional family.

What do we do? Every parent or parent want to be needs to start by grasping the concepts taught in the Book of Proverbs in the Bible and the concepts taught by the Love and Logic group found here: http://www.loveandlogic.com

America, the problem isn’t something out there; the problem is who looks back at you and me in the mirror!

Blessings,

Scott

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To Be Known and Celebrated

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Scott Ranck

WilliamsportSign

I just had several days in South Williamsport, PA. I am always analyzing things from an emotional/spiritual place. Reviewing my trip and trying to figure out what it is about this place that has such a hold on me a few things surfaced.

When I get to the point in the trip when I see the above pictured sign, my heart begins to get excited. When I finally drive into South Williamsport, I drive through neighborhoods past my brother’s home, past several others and my first stop has always been 215 E. Central. There were times mom was waiting at the door, other times I had to get her out of bed on our arrival but the response was always the same. Big hugs, squeals of excitement and a real sense someone was elated to see me. This trip was no different in that I stopped at 215 first. I knocked on the back door and some guy answered. I said, it just felt weird coming to town and not stopping here first. He said, who are you? I told him the story, mom’s house, I live in FL, etc. He said come back anytime!

One of the things I love about South Williamsport is I am known there, at least almost everyone has heard of our family. Either through mom’s six decade long tax business, or through my sister, or brother or extended families. Though I’ve not lived there since 1979, there are still people there who know me or our family.

When I boil it all down, it is the sense of the familiar, of having a life-long connection to people and places and having people be happy to see me when I arrive, celebrated! I believe our hearts long for those things, at least mine does.

It was a great trip. Fun to see family and friends. Fun to see we still all enjoy going out together even without mom, though she is never far from the conversation. I’m thankful for the ability to enjoy it all.

blessings,

Scott

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Leaving Home!

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Scott Ranck

For most of my Christian Life when the Lord opens my eyes to see something, it pretty much is done. My last blog was about not leaving my boyhood home emotionally. Just seeing the truth and yes, repenting changing my mind and thinking has already cut the apron strings and set me free.

Almost instantly, I became very thankful for the great memories of growing up with who and where I did. I’m very grateful for my Dad and Mom and the stability of living my entire childhood in one place, 215 E. Central. But that chapter is over. I have been able this week to internally close the door on it.

The house was closed on yesterday and is no longer in our family. I am totally at peace with that. The Lord amazes me how He teaches me and helps me with these things.

My prayer this morning is, Lord, I humble myself before you and ask you to teach me, open my eyes so I can see whatever I need to adjust next.

Blessings,

Scott

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Home

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Scott Ranck

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Home. A word that can evoke plenty of emotion either good or bad. The Bible teaches when a person gets married they are to leave their father and mother and cleave or be glued to their spouse. I always taught leaving father and mother meant, financially, physically (move out) and emotionally.

Tuesday, 11/04/14 is the date set to close on, sell my childhood home. Pondering this as kind of the end of an era of my life. Dad died in 1989, Mom died in 2013 and now the home is going. In the light of all this and recently teaching on loss, I’ve come to see, I have never left home emotionally. The apron strings weren’t ever officially cut they just grew longer!

During holidays we either “went home,” or I went home in my mind. “I’ll be home for Christmas could always make me melancholy if we weren’t going to PA. I wonder now how much all this has kept me from being fully present and fully enjoying the homes we have made for our family. I am praying about and reading about what it looks like to leave home emotionally and how to do it. I’m ready and willing.

The pictures I’ve included are my granddaughter, Bella putting her hand in my hand print in the concrete sidewalk at 215 E. Central, my boyhood home. The one picture of me hugging my mom outside the home with Gayle at the side is symbolic of not leaving emotionally. The street sign represents the place I always thought of as home.

This situation may only resonate with those that had enjoyable childhoods with really strong emotional ties to parents and family. I will keep you posted on how to cut the ties when I figure it out.

Blessings,

Scott

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Loss: How it Shapes us & Perspective to Navigate Life

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Scott Ranck

I heard a radio broadcast this week that was speaking of loss and what it does to a person. It triggered something in me and I’ve been pondering life, loss and how it impacts me personally.

This morning I sat with notebook in hand and thought back. Any loss that I remembered with a sting, I wrote in my journal. I can say you don’t get to 60 years of life without having quite a list of significant losses in life. The list was actually quite depressing to ponder. I saw many losses that shaped me, changed me; losses that take a piece of you away that is never found again.

My mind shifted to some foundational truth to remember in the face of so much loss.

  • All creation groans waiting for redemption
  • Life is not static, it is a journey
  • Everyone ages and dies
  • God is eternal
  • Life is temporary
  • Heaven is waiting, real and permanent
  • Grow fonder of heaven through every loss
  • Loss brings humility, brokenness, empathy, surrender and growth
  • Live each day, treat each person like this is it!
  • Live fully present
  • Make today special
  • Savor the moments, they are fleeting
  • Populate heaven
  • Let loss shape me without defeating me
  • Get up everyday, bring your A game
  • Love large, serve well, be generous, live your legacy
  • Never lose an eternal view of life
  • Look forward to the forever city where God will dry every tear

blessings,

Scott

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Are You Willing?

Posted on October 19, 2014 by Scott Ranck

Many years ago, I learned one of the most significant lessons of my life. I had just finished an evening church service when an usher told me a young man was in my office waiting to see me. He was a heroin addict. His father was one of my best friends. I was not very versed on addiction at the time and began quoting him some Bible verses. I called for his mom and she didn’t know much more than I did. After seeing we were getting no where, I called his dad and he came to the office in minutes.

The dad was a pretty big guy and when he walked in my office the son rose to his feet. His dad hugged him and said, I love you son. Dad proceeded to say, let me ask you one thing. Are you willing to go into drug treatment tonight? The son said, I’m willing dad but not tonight. Maybe tomorrow. The dad said, I love you son, I’m going home to bed, call me when you are willing! The story has an amazing end. Today the son is an executive director of a recovery facility.

In Matthew 10, Jesus sent out seventy-two people to share His story. His direction to them was if you enter a town who welcomes you bless them and share the good news. But if you enter a town who isn’t willing, go into the streets and wipe the dust off your feet showing you have abandoned them to their fate. He said, whoever accepts you accepts me and whoever rejects you rejects me.

God doesn’t force anyone to follow him. He wants all his followers to follow him because they chose to love him. Because they have become willing. Christians, we would do well to know we are only messengers. We are not called to transform the world. I have learned my first question when someone comes to me for help is are you willing to do what it takes to heal your marriage, quit your habit, etc. If you aren’t willing there is nothing I can do for you.

I love you friends, I’m going home and kick back a while, call me when you are willing!

blessings,

Scott

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Why Bother Asking?

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Scott Ranck

Those about to graduate from high school get tired of hearing, “What are you planning to do with your life?” From my vantage point at 60 years old looking back, I’m saying we are asking the wrong question! It is impossible at 18 to have much of a clue what a winding, unfolding adventure life will become.

I would ask the question, have you come to know the Lord in such a personal way you can hear His voice? John 10:10. If you can, prepare for what you think He wants you to do but don’t get too far ahead of yourself. Life will be full of twists and turns and when you reach my age, it will be far different than you ever imagined it would have been.

My plan was to live in South Williamsport my whole life. But my journey has taken me to Winston-Salem, NC; Hamptonville, NC; Chesapeake, VA and now Valrico, FL. I’m not sure how all that happened but it did and for the most part it has been a great adventure. I set out to be a carpenter and ended up being a pastor and now an energy man. About the only thing that went as planned is I asked Gayle to marry me in 9th grade and we have been married 41.5 years now!

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way.

blessings,

Scott

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Eye Opening

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Scott Ranck

A couple of weeks ago I read the charter of Hamas. One of their main purposes is to destroy anyone who disagrees with them. Kill Israel, Christians and even other Muslims who don’t see the world they do. A Scripture came to my mind found in John 10:10. The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy!

Satan is like Hamas or Hamas is like Satan. His purpose is to steal, kill and destroy all of us. He wants to steal your joy, your relationships, your money and to see you suffer. Ultimately, he wants all people dead before they can know Jesus Christ. In the flip of a Scripture, Satan is not slack concerning what he wants to do but rather he is patient not willing that any should live but that all would come to destruction. How does Satan and Hamas accomplish this?

They create a culture of death. Children are brain washed to believe stealing, killing and death is the way of life. Scripture calls this the world system. It is a culture that steals truth, blinds people to believe all kinds of lies about what life is. Once a culture is saturated, people just grow up in the culture and don’t realize it is all wrong. We drift with the current as if floating downstream. It feels normal to us. Satan blinds our minds by empty philosophy and corrupt world views that remove God or any thought of Him from us. It is a culture that steals life.

We all have “A little Hamas” inside of us. The Bible calls it a sinful nature or our flesh. We self-sabotage by chasing all the base things the world system offers us. It keeps us blind so we don’t see this life isn’t the best world, rather it is a sifting time, the best way to the best possible world.

God counters all this by offering himself. Surrender to Jesus Christ as Savior brings true life and blessing that counters all the above. The gospel light shines in and opens our minds to see the truth of what is going on. The Christian is a pilgrim in this world. The Spirit lives in us and gives us strength to defeat our sinful impulses.

It is pretty black and white. The enemy wants to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus wants to give life and that more fully. One leads to endless death, the other endless life. One floats downstream; the other swims against the current. This life is a sifting time for all to choose. Think on this!

Blessings,

Scott

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Human Sexuality = We Need A Savior

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Scott Ranck

A careful study of Scripture will reveal God’s Gold Standard for human sexuality is one man, one woman committed to God and each other for life. The great gift of sexuality as designed is meant to be an expression of God’s love given to your life’s partner as an act of worship, an act of bonding, an act of pleasure and the ability to procreate. That is the divine standard.

The entire planet and everything on it has been marred by the fall as recorded in Genesis 3. With sexuality being one of the strongest drives and instincts humans have, this aspect of life has been devastated by our disconnection from God. As a race, our sexuality has taken every turn imaginable away from God’s Gold Standard. Read Leviticus 18 to see how creative the race has been thousands of years before Christ.

What I am coming to see is our sexuality is the greatest evidence of our need for a Savior, for surrender and for divine strength. When I compare my sexuality and life’s experience next to God’s Gold Standard, I am humbled. Romans 3:19-20 says, The laws purpose (the gold standard) is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God! For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

Our human sexuality run amok, should cause the entire race to fall on our face before a Holy God and plead for mercy. There is no more powerful witness to show me how desperately I need to be connected to God, how much I need His forgiveness and grace and how much I need His strength to help me strive toward the ideal.

All sexual experiences that are less than the first paragraph, reveal how broken we are as a race of people. If each person reading this simply looked in the mirror and honestly reflected on their own sexual desires, thoughts and experiences in the light of God’s standard it would cause a great movement towards God.

As a believer in Jesus Christ my only response to my pondering that is acceptable is to humble myself before Him and ask Him for the strength to honor Him with this part of my life. I can not humble myself and then demand Him to change the ideal because my inclinations are different from His. I cannot look around and see what the culture says is acceptable. I stand or fall before God alone.

I close with Romans 3:22. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

blessings,

Scott

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