Foreign Object Extraction

Foreign Object Extraction

July 28, 2008

About three weeks ago I had the unfortunate accident of stepping on a piece of broken glass while walking barefoot in my house. My daughter, Lindy, had knocked a glass off the table and little splinters of glass went everywhere. When the pain went up my heel it became apparent she did not get them all cleaned up. After trying in vain to get it out she said that after awhile it might work itself out.

For the last three weeks I have functioned quite normally, and it only really bothered me when I was barefoot or on the treadmill. Last Wednesday night after being on my feet all day it was hurting at night, so I decided to call Dr. Redwine and let him pop it out. After he numbed my foot and probed around for about ten minutes, he informed me it was like finding a needle in a haystack. X-Rays don’t even pick up glass unless it contains lead. He then informed me I would need surgery to remove it. What started out as a little nuisance was not becoming a royal pain in the neck.

So Friday, the surgeon numbed my foot and dug around for about 25 minutes. He found a half inch channel the glass formed in my foot, but no glass. Needless to say, a lot of pain and $2,000.00 later, I was thinking to myself, “Why did I go in?”

For the child of God, sin is a foreign object that is not a part of our new nature in Christ Jesus. Sin must be dealt with immediately, and the Word of God is our scalpel to reveal, convict and ultimately carve it out. Heb. 4:12 “For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword (scalpel) and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (NASB)

What happens is when that foreign object is left unchecked, your body begins to develop scar tissue around it and becomes much harder to deal with. In fact five verses earlier in Heb. 4:7, he warns “today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” The lesson is clear: Let the Holy Spirit and Word deal with your hearts today.

So on this Friday afternoon, July 25th, I sit with my throbbing foot propped up on my pillows thinking, “Why didn’t I deal with this splinter of glass immediatey?” May God bless you as you remove your splinters today.

In His Service

Pastor Larry Burgbacher

July 28, 2008 | Filed Under Pastor's Thoughts

8 Comments 

The Courage to Go Against the Tide

The Courage to Go Against the Tide

July 21, 2008

I had the privilege last Tuesday night to kayak on Durham Creek near my house. I got a late start because the rain didn’t clear until 8:00 p.m.. On the surface the river looked very smooth, but it was also apparent the tide was coming in. I was always told to go against the tide going out and with the tide returning.

It was a wonderful ride. The large white herons glided across the marsh. The bull frogs were croaking. when i came upon an alligator, he would slowly drop out of sight and I would glide slowly by. Every time I kayak I marvel at God’s beautiful creation and meditate on His Goodness.

In the process I made an interesting, though not very original discovery. It is a lot easier going with the tide than against it. It took me a half an hour of hard paddling to reach the boat landing, but returning with the tide took 15 minutes of very easy, relaxed paddling.

Romans 12:2 “and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (NKJV) It is always easier to flow downstream with the tide of cultural actions, beliefs, and morality, then use strength and courage to “not conform.” Let the Holy Spirit renew your mind every day through His Word as you journey with Him.

In Service Together,

Pastor Larry

July 21, 2008 | Filed Under Pastor's Thoughts

7 Comments 

The Grief Process

The Grief Process

July 14, 2008

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, in her book “On Death and Dying”, classifies five common stages of grief which are not always in any order, will vary in intensity, and may be reoccurring for some time:

1. Denial - “I can’t believe this is happening to me.
2. Anger - “Who is responsible for this?”
3. Bargaining - “What could I have done to prevent this?”
4. Depression - “I can’t go on.”
5. Acceptance - “It’s time to move forward.”

These are simply tools to understand grief as a process and the new emotions you are experiencing. While I knew these stages from my counseling courses in college, I was never prepared to personally walk through them.

As I look back to Tania’s (my wife) automobile accident and death on June 10th, I can begin to see how some of these stages have played out in my own experience. In the first five days leading up to the funeral I bounced around between denial, anger and bargaining. After the first week, with the funeral completed my children, grandchildren and I took a few days to get away to Fripp Island. For the next three weeks I functioned fairly normally and thought I may even be moving on toward acceptance.

This last week at the one month point, it hit me. She is never going to come back and there was this incredible hole left in my heart. The grief washed over me like waves of an ocean.

While spiritually I feel closer to the Lord than I have even been, the reality of grief, and even depression are very painful experiences that we encounter in the journey. But there is an incredible verse of hope that hang on to and trust will be a blessing to you.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 (New King James Version)

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.”

In Christ Jesus we always have HOPE!

Pastor Larry Burgbacher

July 14, 2008 | Filed Under Pastor's Thoughts

16 Comments 

Together in Grief and Honor

Together in Grief and Honor

July 8, 2008

Blogging is a new technological resource that is leaving me a little intimidated, but with the events in my life over this past month I wanted to open up my heart and let you in. Hopefully this will be a blessing and help others in their spiritual journey.

A scripture that has become more real to me recently is in 1 Corinthians 12. Paul describes the church like a human body that desperately needs one another to function properly. In verse 26 he says,

“And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”

I can definitely tell you that I like the rejoice part better.

On the softball field when Jarod Matthews or Adam Lovelace hit a home run, everyone lines up at home plate and the “high fives” are flying! Everybody feels great and our team wins the ball game! But sharing in the grief part is not so much fun. And while Paul does not note any difference in importance between sharing in grief or honor, I can tell you from experience that sharing in grief is the greater grace.

When I didn’t know what to do or where to turn after the loss of Tania, Christ’s body came through in a phenomenal way. Even though we all struggled to come up with answers, just being there to share my grief made all the difference.

This week I am now being called on to share in others suffering as will many in our church family. Tuesday (July 8th, 2008) morning we will share in the loss of a 14 day old baby girl to sudden infant death syndrome and Wednesday we will celebrate the home going of Nancy Skerritt who lost the battle to cancer…or should I say won!

I believe I will preach both of these funerals with a new empathy. And even though we search for answers and I cannot think of the right words to say, we can be there together and share the grief.

In service together,

Pastor Larry

July 8, 2008 | Filed Under Pastor's Thoughts

19 Comments