(This is a script from one of our earlier Take Ten with Pastor Don podcast. The date was February 15, 2023.)

Welcome to Take Ten with Pastor Don. I’m Don McGarvey pastor of the Troy Mills Christian Church in Troy Mills, Iowa.

This non-denominational podcast is designed to help you see God in a more personal way.

The Apostle Paul challenges us in 1 Corinthians 1:1-2 “From Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother, {2} to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.”

The idea of being a saint is to have been put into a relationship with God and designated by Him as having a sacred purpose or special significance to Him.

Please don’t misunderstand the word as meaning “perfect” or “without sin.” If that was the case, none of us would be holy or be considered to be saints. Instead, we would be “aints.”

I had a friend who pastored in Oklahoma. One of his adult Sunday school classes was called, “Saints and ‘Aints.” It was a huge class and lots of fun. I don’ t know if that would work today or not, especially since most churches don’t believe in Sunday school any more.

There’s another word used in this verse that caught my attention as well. It’s the word “called.” Christ Jesus is the one doing the calling and He has called us to be holy or to be “saints.”

The idea behind the word “called” is that what we have been “called” to becomes our new identity. And we have all been called to become “holy” or to become “saints, people who are set aside for God’s purposes.

I would like to propose to you three ways we can maintain our sainthood.

First, we need to stay close to God.

John 15:4-5 “Remain in me, and I will remain in you…….{5} I am the vine; you are the branches.”

Some translators use the word “abide” instead of “remain.” The idea is that of something that is constant. It’s where we live as opposed to where we visit from time to time.

As we remain in Him, we will see fruit come about; changes in our thinking come about; and changes in our desires.

As we fulfill the goal of staying close to God, the second goal will become much easier.

Second, obey God.

John 15:10 “If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”

Once again, we have the idea of remaining or abiding in Christ. It’s an on-going relationship. It’s more than Sunday morning, or a Small Group Bible study during the week. It’s a day-to-day relationship that we nurture and invest ourselves in through prayer, Bible reading/study, and ministry to others.

And if I understand correctly, obedience to God flows out of our relationship with God. The close we stay to Him, the more we become like Him. And the more we become like Him, the more we obey Him.

I also see another challenge embedded in this verse. In order to obey God’s commandments, we have to know what His commandments are. And the only ways we can know what He commands us, it to spend time in His Word.

The third component to maintaining our sainthood is loving others.

John 15:12 “My commandment is this—to love one another just as I have loved you.”

When you read these words, they beg the question, “How did Jesus love?”

Let’s consider three ways.

First, He came to serve.

Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Second, He gave Himself that we might have everlasting life.

John 3:16 “For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Third, He is interceding with the Father, on our behalf.

Romans 8:34 “Christ is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us.”

He came to serve. Who or where are you serving?

He came to die so that others will live. Who are you trying to influence for the sake of the kingdom?

He came to pray for us. Who are you praying for?

Just in case you are asking yourself, “why is he talking about these things?” Here’s why.

There are times when it’s easy to lose sight of what God has called us to be. Often we view our calling to be what we do for a living or what we do through our local church. But we are first and foremost called to be “saints” or called to be people who are in a 24 hour, seven day a week relationship with Christ.

That’s it for our Take Ten with Pastor Don podcast. We would love for you to follow us on your favorite podcast platform. So please hit the subscribe button. Thanks for doing so.

We’ll be back next Wednesday. Have a wonderful week.

Take Ten with Pastor Don

September 26, 2023

(The following is the script for Take Ten with Pastor Don released on Wednesday, September 27, 2023)

Welcome to Take Ten with Pastor Don. I’m Don McGarvey, pastor of the Troy Mills Christian Church in Troy Mills, Iowa.

Currently on Sunday mornings, I’m going through a series of sermons based on the Messianic Prophecy of Isaiah 9:6.

In this verse, Isaiah provides us five names for the coming Messiah. Listen:

Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

You can watch and listen to the series by going to the church’s You Tube channel, Troy Mills Christian Church.

This past Sunday, we concluded the teaching on the name “Counselor.” I thought it was a powerful message and if we apply it to our lives, it could be life changing.

While talking about Jesus as our Counselor, I noted two things He has done for us.

First, He established a purpose for our life.

Again, we turn to the prophet Isaiah. Listen: Isaiah 14:27 “For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?”

In Mark 12, Jesus is questioned by a scribe about which of the commandments was the greatest or the foremost. Jesus answered by saying, Mark 12:30 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’”

By Jesus making this the foremost or most important of the commandments, I’ve always assumed this was God’s purpose for us. To love God with everything in us.

This goes right along with the Westminster Catechism. The first question of both the shorter and larger Catechism is, “What is the chief and greatest end of man?” the answer is in both Catechisms is: “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

I remember hearing someone talk about achieving balance in our lives. He was talking about balancing work, family, church, recreation, and whatever else one thought was important.

I have a different take on things.

If we genuinely love God with everything in us, nothing held back, there should be no worry about balancing the demands on our life. By loving God with all our being, God will guide us in the way we should go.

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before hand that we should walk in them.”

Now we know two things about God.

First, He has a purpose for our life. To love Him with every part of our being. Our mind, our emotions, our thoughts, our intellect, our desires, and all our physical strength.

Second, God has plans for how we are to fulfill this purpose.

These “good works” include things such as being a good husband or good wife, a good parent, a good child, a good employer, a good employee. This also incudes being a good pastor, a good farmer, a good carpenter, a good schoolteacher, a good politician, or whatever it is that you are pursuing in life, God has a plan designed to help you succeed.

The challenge for us though is to make sure we keep His purpose, loving God with all our heart, in proper perspective.

There are times we get overwhelmed with responsibilities.

Work is demanding, things at home are demanding, things in school, relationships, making money, paying bills, and trying to be all that God intends for us to be.

We all react differently to being overwhelmed. Some of us shut down. Sometimes we make mistakes in judgment or we get sloppy with details with which we are normally adept.

Sometimes when we get overwhelmed, we turn to substitute gods. Sometimes we become control freaks, trying to micromanage everything and everyone around us.

Sometimes we turn back to our old ways. Things like alcohol, drugs, sexual habits that are not God-honoring.

God has given us notable examples in His Word about what to do in times like this.

First, in 2 Chronicles 20, we about the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, who didn’t know what to do when his kingdom was about to be attacked by the armies of enemy nations.

He prayed, admitted he didn’t know what to do. Confessed that God would know what to do. Then he asked God what he should do, followed by the promise that whatever God told him to do, he would do it. The first teaching or sermon Jesus gave when He began His public ministry is called the Sermon on the Mount.

You can read a synopsis of this teaching in Matthew 5, 6 & 7.

Embedded in this teaching is an encouragement not to worry.

Instead of worrying, we need to make every effort to put God first, love Him most, love Him with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and with all our strength.

The result of doing that would be that God would provide whatever it was that we need.

An old friend of mine, who is in heaven now, told me one time that success in life could be achieved through two words.

The first word was: Pray.

The second word was: Obey.

He told me to pray, then obey and do what God told me to do.

It works. God said so. And He will be faithful no matter the circumstances.

Well, that’s our time for today. Thank you for joining me. As always, if you haven’t subscribed, please ring the bell.

And if you feel comfortable with doing so, tell your friends about us.

Thanks again and God bless you!

(The following is the script for the Take Ten with Pastor Don Podcast from September 5, 2023. You can listen to the Podcast on Google Podcasts, Spotify, and other platforms. You can also subscribe by “ringing the bell” on the platform of your choice.)

Take Ten with Pastor Don

September 5, 2023

The Butterfly Effect, or It’s the Small things that make the Big Difference

Welcome to Take Ten with Pastor Don. I’m Don McGarvey, pastor of the Troy Mills Christian Church in Troy Mills, Iowa.

Several years ago, I was introduced to a theory called, “The Butterfly Effect.” Another way to put this might be, “It’s the small things that make the big difference.”

The theory, as I was introduced to it, said that a butterfly or several butterflies flapping their wings in the jungles of the Amazon could produce major weather events hundreds if not thousands of miles away.

Originally, the “Butterfly Effect” was only being used in regard to weather.

To the best of my knowledge there was never any proof, and by that, I mean there was never a way that these conditions could be reproduced in a controlled setting.

Also, the original theory did not involve butterflies. Instead, it was about a seagull or a flock of seagulls causing a storm by flapping of wings.

I’ve often wondered if marketing had anything to do with the change from a seagull to a butterfly.

Talking about the “Butterly Effect” has a romanticism about it that just isn’t present in talking about the “Seagull effect.”

I don’t know if butterflies or seagulls flapping their wings in the jungles of the Amazon bring about major weather changes, but I do know that many times minor changes often are the cause of major shifts in life.

Here’s my take on it.

Too often when we take inventory of our lives, we see glaring things that need to be different.

It could be weight loss, sleep habits, or work habits. It could be to stop smoking or it could be to change our prayer habits, Bible reading habits, or time spent with our spouse, our children or time spent with our parents.

We see the glaring need for difference and we determine in our minds that we are going to change.

But those changes are not all going to happen at once, or even in the first few weeks or months.

Let me give you some examples.

I encourage folks to read their Bible. Sometimes I challenge folks to set a goal of reading their Bible in a year.

For someone who doesn’t like to read, or for someone who has a reading disability, this is a daunting task. Even when they think of committing to this goal, they see themselves as failing.

One person told about all the times they started to read their Bible through in a year only to make it a few days, or even a few weeks, but then they got confused, didn’t understand what they were reading. Discouragement set in and they gave up.

I mentioned to this person how if they read only three chapters each day, they would accomplish the goal of reading their Bible in a year.

I also talked to them about finding a translation of the Bible that was easy to read. We found a reliable translation that was based on a three-thousand-word vocabulary. (This is a third-grade reading level.)

For someone with a reading disability or for someone who has never been a reader, this is important.

We celebrated every milestone along the way. They fulfilled the goal of reading the entire Bible through in a year. But they did it a day at a time.

There is nothing to be ashamed of if you have a reading disability or you just don’t enjoy reading.

We live in a time with so many options. You can find translations of the Bible with different reading levels. You can find audio Bibles that you can listen to on a regular basis. You can even find visual Bibles that you watch on-line or via DVD’s. We’ve run out of excuses for not reading God’s Word.

The same thing holds true of our prayer life.

I have a friend who prays for three to four hours a day. He gets up at 3 AM to pray. He’s done this for more than fifty years. It’s a lifestyle for him. But it wasn’t at first.

He also takes an hour long nap every day from noon to 1 PM. He’s a good man but he’s not superman.

Don’t worry about praying for an hour to start with. To go from zero to an hour is not realistic. Start with a minor change. Five, ten, or fifteen minutes a day three days a week is a great place to start.

For those whose days are jammed packed, you might have to consider getting up fifteen minutes earlier or staying up fifteen minutes later.

Perhaps you can set aside ten to fifteen minutes at lunch or on a break.

It’s not realistic to think you are going to spend hours in prayer each when you haven’t been doing so before.

I know of a person who gets up 30 minutes earlier than they used to get up so they can write. They felt as if God called them to write. And doing it this way was the only way it was going to work.

30 minutes each day adds up over the course of weeks or months.

Minor changes like this are often the cause of greater victories or accomplishments.

I’ve talked with folks about turning the television off for a half hour. Spend that time reading, spend that time talking with your spouse, spend that time listening to your children talk about their day at school.

You may also talk to your kids about your day. Most kids that I’ve been around have no idea what their parents do during the day. They need to know those things.

You may have to set a time for how long you are on the internet or how much time you spend on social media.

There’s nothing wrong with either of those things but you might need to make a minor change to help fulfill a major goal.

No one must start at the top of the mountain with anything. Just as every journey in life starts with the first step, so every major accomplishment starts with a minor change in your daily routine.

Don’t quit. Keep flapping your wings. There’s a major change coming in your life and God will help you be prepared.

That’s it for our time today. Thanks for joining me on our podcast. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please hit the subscribe button on the platform on which you are listening. And if you are comfortable with doing so, let your friends know about us.

Thanks again and God bless!

Take Ten with Pastor Don

September 19, 2023

Community

Recently one of our sons became part of a song writers’ group. They are known as a “collective.”

I love the word “collective.” It denotes teamwork, collaboration, and creativity on several different levels.

It also is a picture of community. Community, in my mind, is a way of saying that no one person must know it all or do it all. A collective draws from the unique talents of many different people. And they work together to bring about a quality product.

A collective says to all those who are part of the group that they are needed and they have something to contribute.

A collective eliminates “super-stars” or “Lone Rangers.”

I know singers usually get the credit for great songs. But for every great singer, there must be a great song and for every great song, there must be a writer, and there must be someone who can put the words of that great song to a great melody.

I suppose there are a few folks out there that can do it all, but I think it takes more than just one person to consistently produce a great product more than once.

A collective provides an outlet for those who can sing and those who can write, along with those who can play, to put together a God-honoring product that will be a blessing to many.

I’m a strong advocate for collectives. I know of pastoral teams that work together to create sermon series for their churches. Each one contributes out of their uniqueness. I also know of a few brave pastors who have randomly selected a group of people from their congregation to talk to them about their sermons. They discuss delivery, topics, and other pertinent information.

I know of collectives for aspiring writers. People who want to write novels, science fiction, and other genres. Their intent is not to compete but to “spur one another one” to good works.

In many ways, I see churches as collectives. No one person can or should do everything needed in a church setting. God intends for us to work together, each one doing what God has empowered them to do.

In one of my times in the Scriptures, I was reminded of this by reading from Hebrews 10. Two verses really stand out to me, verses 24 & 25. Listen to them:

Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how we may spur [prod] one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

We need each other.

I’ve used the illustration of the water buffalo that decides to leave the herd.

Maybe they got offended by another water buffalo. Maybe they got left out of the “water buffalo games.” Who knows why, but for whatever reason, they removed themselves from the herd.

If you’ve ever watched a documentary about life in the jungles of Africa, you know when this happens, they have set the dinner table for the local pride of lions, or hyaenas. Or whatever group of predators lurking in the bushes.

 Just as the water buffalo’s need the herd, you and I need each other, the church, or the collective. We just can’t make it alone.

If you go back into the book of Genesis, you will note that God created Adam first, but it soon became apparent that Adam was unable to fulfill the command to “multiply and fill the earth.”

God wasn’t caught off guard by this, He knew what He was doing. He knew Adam needed Eve and Eve needed Adam.

Neither of them could complete the task alone. It took both. Adam and Eve may have been the first collective in the history of the world. Together, they completed what God purposed for them. To multiply and fill the earth.

One of the great Pauline passages is found in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, Paul talks about both “unity” and “diversity” within the body of Christ. (That’s the church, by the way.)

The church is one body. A collective. There aren’t different “bodies” there aren’t ethnic bodies, rich bodies, poor bodies, intellectual bodies, talented bodies, or bodies lacking talent, there is one body, with one Head.

Perhaps the most effective description of the church, functioning as a collective, is found in Acts 2.

Verse 44 says, “All the believers were together and had everything in common.”

No superstars. No one was trying to live outside the herd. They were together. They worked as a collective. Each one doing their part, so that all things needed came together in a way that honored God.

If you keep reading in this section of Scripture, it concludes with these words, “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

I’m not advocating communal living but I am advocating community in our living. I’m advocating the concept of living as a “collective” and pooling our God given talents so that the purpose of God moves forward in a way that God receives honor and glory and as it happened in Acts 2, the Lord would add to “our number daily those who are being saved.”

We need each other. There is no getting around it. Writers need singers, singers need writers, and writers and singers need musicians to complete the task.

That’s our time for this time on Take Ten with Pastor Don. Thanks for joining us.