As a twelve year old I did not aspire to do much of anything in the little church where we worshipped. I was supremely content to listen to others play an instrument or sing a special. And I certainly was not yearning for the chance to lead a song service.

I recall as though it were yesterday the terror that swept over me when Mother volunteered me to lead in the absence of the older gentleman who usually waved his hands vaguely in the air while lustily singing some selection from the hymnal.

I was assured his duties consisted largely of announcing the number of the song and getting everyone started at the right time. As Mom was the pianist and music was such an integral part of our home life I decided to attempt what seemed an impossibility.

Sure enough; with a bit of private coaching on the proper pattern for waving one's arms while singing, plus a bit of head nodding and significant glances from the piano bench, I made it through my debut as a church song leader.

No doubt it was clumsy and rough. I'm certain an accomplished worship leader might have been justifiably critical of my style and technique. But as is so often the case in our youth, Mother served to push me into something I might never have tried left to my own devices.

Special appreciation to our Moms for the foundations they laid as we grew under their supervision!

Pastor Orrell

Lord-I’m So Thankful

1 Chronicles 16:34 NLT

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. “

This week, with the storms approaching I was grumbling to myself about my aching joints.

Then I was out-and-about and opened the door for a Vietnam Vet and his grandkids.   He had two artificial arms and one artificial leg.   He had a big smile on his face and was  enjoying time with the grandkids.   He had chosen to be happy and enjoy the moment with his grandkids, in spite of his physical condition.

When I got into my car—this scripture came to me.    We need to always count our blessings.  There are always those who have it much worse than we do.    I asked the Lord to forgive me for not counting my blessings - I have so much to be thankful for!

So I quit grumbling internally about my discomfort and thanked the Lord that I have two arms and legs.  God is so good to me!

Let's remember to thank Him for what we HAVE today!

Love ya,  Pastor Phil      

Pressing toward the goal

Philippians 3:13-15  (NLT)

^13 “Forgetting the past and looking     forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

Alright, we’ve just had a great revival, hope you availed yourself of the opportunity to  attend.  It is great to be rejuvenated  in spirit, but the lasting effect is what is important.

Did we actually allow the Lord to make a change in our lives?  

The proof is in the   pudding, we must align our lives with the new goals the Lord has placed before us, and  CHANGE to be what He wants us to be.

Begin today, Join me to worship Him with  complete abandon, not concerned about those around us.

Let’s just close ourselves in with God and Worship HIM, for He alone is worthy.

Love ya,  Pastor Phil      

Distracted; that's what his problem was.  He knew his Mom had some logical reason for insisting he start home at a certain time. From his lofty perch of eight years of living he could recite the usual reasons given a little boy in those days...the most compelling being, "because I said so". 

Hide and seek with the neighbor's children became easier as evening wore on and darkness crept through the pines.  In horror he recognized the daunting truth; there was not sufficient time for him to make it home before dark. 

After a hurried thank you to the lady of the house he gathered his courage and began the long trek to the security of home. It was only a quarter mile but seemed much longer to his child's mind.

Remembering the recent rattler photos taken along this very same stretch of country road, he picked up the pace and began running through the encroaching gloom. 

"Wait! What's that piled up in the road?"

His active imagination filled in all the blanks as he "saw" the huge head of the serpent atop the threatening coils of an Eastern Diamondback lurking in his path. It was too dark to return to the safety of the neighbor's home. Daddy would be coming this way soon on his way home from work but he didn't want to explain why he wasn't already home. 

In an early attempt to master fear he sidled as close to the edge of the road as he dared. In his mad sprint past the sullen beast coiled in the road he got a close-up glimpse of the monster's head. What had absolutely terrified him was just a pile of Spanish moss recently fallen from one of the towering pines sighing in the ample breeze overhead. The darkness had disguised the identity of the moss and his busy little brain had done the rest. 

There are some pretty good life lessons in this true story: 

1. Pay attention to the authority figures God puts in your life.

2. Don't allow yourself to be so entertained that you ignore looming deadlines.

3. Some of the things we fear the most turn out to be nothing.

4. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. You'll make it!

5. Don't forget where home is.

If you're looking for a place where you recognize the hymns and don't need ear plugs to protect you from the sound, you just might want to come home to Battlefield Assembly of God. 

See you Sunday!

Pastor Richard Orrell

Let’s live in Christ’s Freedom

2 Corinthians 3:17 (NLT)

^17 “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Last Sunday we celebrated Easter.  HE rose triumphant, and paid the price for our freedom.

His challenge to us is to accept that freedom in Christ and not let anyone bind us with legalism and guilt.   We are NOT defeated but we ARE overcomers through Christ Jesus.

HE paid the price for our sin, we could not pay it.  "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe" - - -

Accept your freedom in Jesus today my friend, don’t let the enemy or anyone’s  legalism take away your Joy and Freedom, GLORIUS FREEDOM.

Thank God Almighty, I’m free at last!

Love ya,   Pastor Phil      

Rich Reflections

Barely old enough to have graduated high school, she already bore marks of maturity far beyond her years. Long hours each day hammering out the ka-ching of the cash register at a major food store had etched a patina of bored professionalism into the smoothness of her young face. Had anyone paid attention on this particular day they would have noticed that her eyes, normally tightly focused on the next item to be rung up, darted with regularity to the clock on the far wall. She could hardly contain her excitement as lunchtime approached.

It was only a few blocks down the street through the springtime heat and humidity of central Florida to the department store where her treasures awaited. With a spring in her step born of joy and the need to be back at work in her allotted thirty minutes, she cast her apron aside and hurried past the garden tools and perfume counter to the clothing side of the store.

The scrap of paper with all the proper measurements scribbled the night before was in her hand as she confidently requested the help of the attendant in finding the right outfit. After all, it was Easter and everybody would be wearing their very best in Sunday’s services at the little church near the center of town.

That is, everybody except her. You see, the Easter clothes for which she was spending her hard earned cash were not for her. They were for her little brother. She had noticed that with the hard times the family was going through, he would have only his usual jeans and tee shirt in which to celebrate the resurrection. Oh, they were clean. No one would say anything. It was just that others would look so nice and fresh while someone she loved was just another little boy.

It was many years before he grasped the significance of the little brown suit he wore that day. The sharply creased pants and nicely shined shoes were appreciated but were quickly eclipsed by the excitement of the Easter egg hunt and dinner on the grounds.

I wish I could remember what my sister wore that Easter. I’m sure it was clean and looked nice. But I’m also quite certain it was last year’s outfit…at least.

As an adult, I have come to appreciate deeply the kindness of that one act at Easter time so long ago. I have also come to be more and more thankful for God’s ultimate act of love when He gave His only begotten Son to die on an old rugged cross so that we can be saved.

Hopefully we will each be motivated to accept His love and to mirror it in our daily lives.

Happy Easter!

He is RISEN!

Christian love,

Pastor Richard Orrell

The book of Psalms in the Bible closes with this suggestion: 

"Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord!" NLT 

I have become convinced of the necessity of praise. Encapsulated within praise are several facets of healthy thinking.

To praise God is to acknowledge there is Someone larger than life's current crisis. Simple praise also stems from a truly thankful heart. It requires that one focus on the good that's all around rather than on the pervasive evil of a godless society. Provision occupies center stage, not the perceived lack likely stemming from clever sales pitches sandwiched among progressively smaller bites of actual programming.

This person who has learned the secret of praise is deeply aware of the personal Presence of the Lord in each of life's convoluted challenges. HE becomes central in their thinking. The first thought in this person's morning is praise. Throughout their day the mantra of their mind and their mouth is praise. And the final thing uttered as blessed sleep overtakes is praise. 

What can you do with someone who does not allow anything or anyone to crush their ebullient inner person? They cannot be killed because they already died to sin and self at an altar of prayer. They refuse to be discouraged because they are convinced that no matter how daunting the circumstances God has a plan. Aloneness just gives them more time with the Lord and His Word. In their isolation they might just write a new song or poem! 

Reading the Bible through brings the conclusion that the great people of God have always been those who praise Him...no matter what. 

Lovingly,

Pastor Richard Orrell

Jeremiah 29:11  NLV

 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Sometimes our enemy launches an attack on our character, our health or our reputations!

He attacks us where he thinks we may be vulnerable.    Take this promise from Jeremiah to heart today.  YOU are God’s child, HE has great plans for you.

Recognize today the attack of the enemy for exactly what it is, a desperate attempt from the defeated foe to destroy us.   God wins in every single battle and is victorious in our lives.  

HE will provide HIS best for you and give you a good future, just trust in HIM:   God is our source!

Love ya,  Pastor Phil      

Ever notice someone going through a difficult time of life with their head held high and something positive flowing from their lips? Yeah, me too. And oddly, it's not the trouble they face that makes them stick out in the crowd. It's the peace with which they cruise through the very stuff that's sinking other ships all around them. Everybody has problems. It's not the presence of problems that set us apart, its how we handle the hammer blows of ordinary life. 

So, what secret weapon might enable an unremarkable person to respond to life's disasters in such a remarkable way? 

Glad you asked!

As a pastor I am sometimes privileged to walk with someone through the minefield dujour. What I often hear the successful crisis solver articulate is that it was in a time of worship or prayer that a palpable sense of well being settled into their inner person. They often say they do not know where the peace came from; just that it is there and has brought them through a time when they could have folded.  

Maybe the words of Jesus in John 14:27 will shed some light on the "peace that makes no sense". It is actually His peace that invades the heart of the believer faced with impossible circumstances. It really doesn't depend on what's going on around us. It is predicated solely on His faithfulness and the fact that He lives in perfect harmony with The Father and His will. His unexplainable peace drops into our hearts and fits like an old glove. We rise above the storm and glow with His presence and His peace. 

Guess maybe we should just receive it and quit trying to figure it out? 

Face it...God's crazy about you!

Lovingly,

Pastor Richard Orrell

From time to time I see negative comments about Valentine's Day on social media.  I think I grasp why someone might feel that way having suffered myself through a Valentine's Day or two when popularity (worth) was measured by the number of valentines received from classmates. 

But that was a long time ago when we were all children and hadn't yet learned to go out of our way to be inclusive.  As maturity has set in we have learned to appreciate the concept of love and celebrate it with enthusiasm whether or not we are currently participant in the exchange of flowers and chocolate.

With fondness we remember the times it was our doorbell ringing to announce the arrival of the latest expression of adoration. Our hearts still thrill to the memory of the card in the mail and the sweet nothings written inside.

A pair of middle schoolers feeling the first sweet brush of puppy love on their heartstrings, or a wrinkled and bowed couple standing in matching walkers at the altar reaffirming sacred marriage vows taken seventy years earlier...both illustrate this marvelous gift of love God has given us.

Accept the pure love God has for each of us. And celebrate the love for each other He has allowed us to experience.

May your life be filled with genuine love this Valentine's Day!

Pastor Richard Orrell