What’s going on in your life right now?  How is your walk with God?  I regularly find myself asking these questions to people I come in contact with throughout my week.  It’s interesting to listen to people respond to them.  More often than not, their answers are “Not much” and “Fine”, followed by the obligatory “What about with you?”  More often than not, these cliche answers couldn’t be further from the truth.  I’m coming up on 6 months of “Official” ministry (whatever that means!!), and I’ve already learned that people tend to skirt how they are truly feeling.  An answer of “I’m doin ok” can sometimes be better translated as “I’ve got a lot going on in my life, but for whatever reason, I don’t feel like sharing, and saying ‘I’m doin ok’ is an easier way to answer.”  Catch my drift?  We’ve all been on both sides of this scenario. (more…)

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I don’t know about you guys, but all this talk of swine flu, regular flu, and all other health pandemics is starting to drive me crazy!  I was a little under the weather after SonQuest (which was great by the way!) and started showing flu-like symptoms, but I’m doing a lot better.  I know that this flu stuff has affected a lot of people here in Ocala and around the state.  Sickness is going around. As you know by now, I’m a diehard Florida Gators fan, so you can understand my concern last week when all the talk of swine flu and respiratory sickness hit my team hard.  UF flew 3 different planes to Lexington, KY last week to play the Wildcats: one for those who were healthy, another for 5 players showing symptoms of respiratory sickness, and the third carrying those with the flu.  Sickness is going around. When I walk into my office and carry out tasks throughout the day here at Maricamp, I can’t help but notice that we’ve added 8 or so instant hand sanitizer stations all around the building.  We even had a full page insert in our bulletin this week that talked all about prevention tips and warning signs of H1N1 and flu.  Sickness is going around.

In John 5, we find Jesus traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate a feast.  On his way to the feast, he passed by a place called the Sheep Gate (or Bethesda if you’re versed in Aramaic!).  I know what you’re thinking, but no, he’s not going to the Sheep Gate to pick up dinner –  the Sheep Gate was a pool where all the disabled and needy people would gather.  If you have your Bible open, you’ll notice that many translations omit verse 4, but verse 4 says that the disabled would gather there because every now and then an angel of the Lord would come down and stir the waters.  The first person to get into the pool after the angel stirred it up would be cured of whatever disease he or she had….WOW!  Picture yourself at the Sheep Gate.  Can you see the angel coming down to stir the waters?  Can you visualize seeing somebody who you’ve known to be disabled for years getting into the pool, and leaving healed?  Can you imagine your heart breaking each time this happened when you weren’t able to get in the pool?

Interestingly enough, Jesus met a man who the text says “had been an invalid for 38 years.”  His family may have set him out at the Sheep Gate the moment they knew he was disabled.  Jesus learned of his condition, and that he’d been there for “a long time (v. 6)” and asked him a rather interesting question: “Do you want to get well?”  When I first read this, I thought “Well of course he wants to get well, he’s probably been laying on his mat in that spot for 38 years, Jesus-  you know he wants to get well!”  But I thought about it some more, and I studied this narrative a little closer.  Jesus knew he wanted to get well, after all, he is the Great Physician.  Lets backtrack a little.  This man has been disabled to the degree of not being able to make it into the pool (some form of paralysis?) for 38 years.  That’s a long time!  There’s a good chance that this man has no hope of being cured. He may be so used to being in this state that being healed would present a lifestyle full of new challenges (finding a job, learning how to adapt to this new condition, etc.).  I think Jesus asked him this question in order to get the man to explore his heart and see if he really wanted to be changed.  Which leads us to an interesting comparison….

God’s healing has been documented throughout time…..the Bible records many miracles, and I know many of you can think of things God has done in your own life to reaffirm His power and providence.  But I want to take it from the physical to the spiritual for a minute here.  Take some time right now to consider your own personal relationship with God.  Where are you at?  Are you and God tight?  Are you still searching for what’s true?  Are you at a point where you think that you’ve hurt God too much?  Really evaluate where you’re at right now.  Be honest.

Jesus is asking each and every one of us, “Do you really want to be changed?”  Because when we’re changed by God, amazing things will start to happen.  Relationships with others will improve.  The peace that surpasses our human understanding will be present in your life.  You will be considered right with God.  The things from your past (and possibly present) that have kept you “laying on your mat” will be taken away by the Son.  The guilt that you’ve lived with for so long will be washed away.  Romans 12:2 says that we will be transformed.

Some of us have been living in the rut that we call sin for quite a while.  I’ve been there at one point in my relatively short (23 years) life.  It must have been 4 years ago, but I can vividly remember breaking down and laying it all before God one night at 3AM.  I was broken and disabled by the sin in my life.  I was living totally opposite of how God’s Word told me I should be living.  But when I turned it all over to Him and responded to that question, “Do you really want to be changed?”, my life transformed!  I mentioned those benefits of being changed because I’ve experienced them, and you will too!

I didn’t want to leave you hanging from John 5, so I need to tell you what happens next.  Jesus commanded the man to get up, pick up his mat, and walk –  and he did just that.  The choice is up to you.  You see, sickness may be going around, but all you have to do is respond to the call of the Savior.  You have the option to stay where you’re at in your relationship with God, or to rise up and walk with the Shepherd of the Sheep Gate.  Do you want to get well?

I’ll leave you with a passage from the book of Hebrews:  ”Therefore, since we’re surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God.”   (Heb. 12:1-2, NIV)

May God bless you today.  May He heal you of whatever it is in your life that is weighing you down.  May you walk with Him as He guides your life, and leads you in a new direction filled with love and joy.

If you want to find out more about this, please email me at:  pastorbeef@gmail.com

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What does the word “poor” mean to you?  You might define it as not having much or living below the poverty line.  As a country, Americans are taught to gain wealth and accumulate “stuff” – it’s become the standard by which we judge.  If we see someone get out of a Lexus in a suit and tie, we’re likely to give them some kind of subconscious respect.  Likewise, if we see a man with messy hair walking down the street holding a sign asking for a few bucks, we often look down on him.  And it’s nothing new.  It’s been going on for a long, long time.  And it’s not an American thing.  It happens everywhere.  It’s no wonder that James dedicates half of a chapter to this problem in his letter (James 2:1-13).
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When I felt God’s call to youth ministry, I knew that I would do whatever it took to get equipped.  Low and behold, I ended up in the “great state” of Oklahoma.  Nothing against Oklahoma or Oklahomans – it just wasn’t for me.  I’m a Florida boy.  I love the beach, the hot sun, the seabreeze, the afternoon thunderstorms, saltwater fishing, and my Florida Gators.  None of those things are found in Oklahoma (maybe the hot sun)!  But against my beach-bum logic, I packed up my truck and embarked on finishing a Bible degree at Oklahoma Christian University….better known as OC (one redeeming quality is that OC was in Oklahoma City, so it wasn’t all bad).
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Have you ever had a story that you just HAD to tell?  Didn’t matter who you told, you just had to call up everyone – your mom, your dad, your third grade teacher, whoever was online at the time???  ANYBODY and EVERYBODY.

I had just that sort of experience happen to me this past Thursday.  If you know me, you know that I’m a diehard Florida Gators fan.  If you don’t know me by now, we need to hang out on a Saturday this fall!  I drove up to Gainesville this week to visit a few friends and stock up on Gators gear.  It was great to walk around the stadium, check out the National Championship trophies, see all the orange and blue, and experience all the other cool stuff that goes along with college football.   (more…)

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I’m right here @ the Maricamp Road Church of Christ!  Today was my second official day on the job here, and I can’t thank God enough for the amazing opportunity that He blessed me with here in Ocala.  Since you might be scratching your head at this point, let me tell you a little about myself.

My name is John “Beef” Branard, and I am the new youth minister here at Maricamp Road.  I am originally from Merritt Island, FL, and I recently graduated from Oklahoma Christian University in May.  I am 22 years old, enjoy short walks on the beach (as long as I have my surf rod and some bait), any and all sports (GO GATORS), music, and spending time with all kinds of people.  My passion is communicating God’s love to kids.  I can’t begin to express how excited I am to be working at Maricamp Road.
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