Psych

I love the show "Psych" on USA Network. The basic premise of the show revolves around the main character Shawn. Shawn is the son of a retired policeman who was forced as a child to develop keen observatory skills. Shawn uses this skill to help solve mysteries through the power of deduction, albeit under the guise of being psychic. Before revealing his "psychic" power, the police would pay no attention to Shawn but after revealing his "gift" they began to employ his services on all major cases.

Why do suppose that people are more willing to believe something simply because a person of "authority" said it verses investigating for themselves? Are we too lazy to do the work ourselves? Does the prospect of digging deeper bore us? You may never be called upon to solve a murder or uncover a major theft ring but you do have something in your life that is worth getting right. It is called salvation.

Many people are dealing haphazardly with eternal life because they are willing to simply accept what they have been taught as truth. Salvation is free, but true faith requires effort. We should all take our cue from the citizens of Berea who "were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (Acts 17:11)

Listen to your preacher, teacher, or parents but do so with an open bible. Ensure that your faith is a biblical faith and not one "loaned" to you by someone else.

Fight for Faith

I'm not one to complain, but the past few months have taken a toll on me, physically and mentally. Since about February I have been loosing weight, about thirty pounds total, with no known cause. Three different doctors have made an effort to diagnose the problem but as of today not one of them has been able to pinpoint the cause. I have had more blood drawn than you see spilled in one of those old slasher films. I have had scans, x-rays, and too many probes to even mention (not that you would want me to). With the exception of a few minor deficiencies, everything the doctors have checked have been normal. So why am I not happy?

To some extent the doctors with their myriad of tests have brought me some great relief. The obvious culprits that cause the symptoms I've been suffering aren't the kind of things you want to find in your body, things like cancer, Crohn's disease, or ulcerative colitis. The very fact that I don't have any of these diseases is indeed an answered prayer. Yet, I still remain undiagnosed and suffering from the same symptoms.

Frustration is the key word, I am frustrated with the unknown, frustrated at the prospect of continued illness, and frustrated with the lack of answers. In the grand scheme of things and compared with the alternatives, I should be happy. But such is the state of man, we are an impatient and fickle group. One only needs to read the bible for a few pages to see an example of someone whose life is far worse than your own, yet whose faith remains unshaken.

Consider Job, his whole life was literally taken from him yet he refused to blame God. Paul speaks of all the trouble in his life as if they are badges of honor. Beaten with a rod? It only made me stronger. Stoned and left for dead? It only made me want to preach Christ with more urgency. A thorn in the flesh that God refuses to remove? His grace is sufficient. Thrown in prison? Great! It gives me more time to write.

It was from prison that Paul wrote the following:

"Yes and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." ( Philippians 1:18b-21)

Compared to Paul, the struggles I face are mere bumps in the road. Do I ignore my problems? No, we shouldn't ignore our problems based on the fact that there is always someone who is worse off than you. We face our problems and Soldier On!

The problems of this life are miniscule when viewed in light of eternity. So let's "fight the good fight of faith (and) take hold of the eternal life" to which we have been called. (1 Timothy 6:12)

End of an Era

The following article appears in this weeks Midway Messenger. This Sunday will be the final service that I worship with Midway as their minister.

January 5, 2003 marked the beginning of an era for both the Midway church of Christ as well as the Skelton family. On this day over four and a half years ago I preached my first sermon as your minister, my how things have changed! We have experienced many exciting things together during this time, from newborn babies to newborn babes in Christ, as well as a few marriages, anniversaries and birthdays. We have also shed many tears during this time as we mourned the losses of those we loved.

The family of God at Midway will always hold a special place in the Skelton family's heart. You watched as our children grew. To Sheryl and I, you were mentors, friends, and confidants.

I don't know what influence my service among you will mean for this congregation ten years from now but I do know that you have left a mark on me that will last a lifetime. You have helped me become a better Christian, a better preacher, a better friend, a better husband, and a better father.

I would like to offer these final words of advice,

To the congregation: Continue to love (this is what you are known for), Continue to spread the word (plant and water the seed and God will make it grow), Continue to respect the authority of your elders (Great men of God whose hearts desire is to shepherd you to heaven).

To the elders: Continue in prayer and in the study of the word (practice this and everything else will be easier), Continue to encourage and train the next generation of leaders (Midway is blessed with many young men who have the potential to be elders one day), Focus on the big picture which is salvation, everything else is minor and doesn't warrant your valuable time (don't sweat the small things).

We Love You and We will Miss You!

Mitchell, Sheryl, Reagan, John Austin, and Chloe

What A Run!

Well, it's over. Tonight we lost to Portland which put us out of the tournament. But what a run we made!

Undefeated in the district, facing elimination after the first night of the state tournament, and yet these girls summoned the courage to continue their quest. As they all lined up along first base line to receive their parting gifts and just before having to go remove their banner from the fence, I walked the line, looked each of them in the eye and said, "I'm proud of you. You are a champion!"

In my book they are champions and I wouldn't trade a single one of them.

We are. . . Wayne County!

All is well in the softball universe, at least the Wayne County Softball universe that is. We bounced back admirably tonight following last nights trip to the wood shed.

Tonight we beat Decatur County 4-1 in a game that never was in question. It would have been easy for the girls to lay down, say they'd had a good time, and relish in the honor that comes from just making it to the state tournament. Not our girls, they came here to win and they showed it tonight. Our victory puts us among the top five teams in the state and gave us the reputation that we are not a team that gives up when up against the wall.

Every game we play now is an elimination game. We lose, we go home. The girls seem to relish the position we are in. Our battle cry has become, "We are. . . Wayne County!" An homage to the Thundering Herd of Marshall University who refused to give up in the face of adversity. While the heights we must climb are nothing when compared to that of those who carried the torch for a devastated Marshall team, we do have mountains to climb.

We are the smallest community represented here, we are the first team from Wayne County to ever earn a bid to the Dixie Youth State tournament in softball, and not many people have given us a chance. We refuse to listen to the reasons why we cannot win but instead we choose to focus on why not. Why not Wayne County?

These girls are special. They all have contributed something positive to each win we have notched in our belt this far, that is what a team does. We may be from a small town, but our desire to win is by no means small. We may be the first, but someone always must blaze the way.

So again I ask, Why not Wayne County? I can't think of a single reason why.

Tough Loss

We had a tough game tonight, however the score doesn't reflect our effort. Getting beat 14-0 is hard to swallow. But we hit the ball hard, it just so happened that Pleasant View had someone standing everywhere we hit. Our defense could have been better, we made several errors both mental and physical.

Tomorrow is a new day and we are in this to win! We play Decatur Co. At 6:00.

State Tournament: Opening Ceremony

The girls had a great time at the Opening Ceremony to the state tournament! We all enjoyed a meal with barbecue and all the fixings. Following the meal, the seven teams in the tournament were introduced to the cheers of all their supporters in attendance. All the girls received a poster with their team picture that commemorates the accomplishment of earning a state tournament berth.

This was a night that these girls will never forget. Tomorrow we begin our journey. Our first game is against Pleasant View, last years state champions, first pitch is at 6:00 PM.

Freezing Tired

Well, the holiday is allmost over, but for me and my family there remains a little more work. The fireworks tent we operate as a family project was a huge success this year, .(See Faith, Family, and Fireworks) however the cleanup still looms on the horizon. Needless to say, we are all tired. The constant days in the heat coupled with loss of sleep has took its toll from all of us. Tired or not the job must be completed. The product left unsold must be boxed up and stored along with all the tables, the tent, etc. If we didn't follow through on this aspect just because we are tired then next year we would start in an insurmountable hole.

While wonderfully wallowing in self pity over the extreme fatige, I thought of two bible characters who really know the definition of tired. The first is Eleazar, one of David's "mighty men," who stood his ground against the Philistines even when all his men had retreated. The bible says "he stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day." (2 Samuel 23:10) Wow, I've never known hand freezing tired!

The second tired man was Moses. Moses sent Joshua out to fight the Amalekites while he would stay behind with his arms raised toward Heaven. Whenever Moses' arms were up, the Israelites would be successful, but when he let his arms down the tide would turn against them. Instead of giving up, when he became too tired to continue, Moses sat on a rock while Aaron and Hur each held up an arm. (See Exodus 17) We all need a little help from time to time.

Life in general will present us with many trying times and the Christian life is no exception. We often will be tempted to just throw up our hands and give up at those times when we are tired and frustrated. But, it is precisely these times when we must either summon the will of Eleazar or call upon our Christian brethren to help us stand. We must never let a temporary rest stand between us and our eternal rest.

"You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." (Hebrews 10:36)

Let's all get a good nights sleep, we just might need it

Faith, Family, and Fireworks

For the past few years my family has worked together selling fireworks in order to fund our passion for Disney World. My family, my brother's family, and mom & dad, all basically give up two weeks of our lives to the heat of a tent so that we can spend one week with "the mouse."

It might sound crazy to most people but to us it makes perfect sense. We are a close family but its only when we work together that we truly get to see each other "shine." Each one of us uses our own special gifts to help make our little fireworks tent successful.

The bible tells us that this is the way the church works when we follow God's plan.

But God has combined the members of the body. . . So that there should be no division in the body; but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:24-25, 27

We are all different. We have different talents and abilities. The lesson for us as God's Family is to let him direct our efforts. If we do this then we will be successful.

Happy Independence Day!