Gilbert Thurston

Random Thoughts About Life, Ministry and Whatever Else Happens to be on my Mind

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Annual Things I’m Thankful For (2015 Edition)

November 26, 2015 by Gilbert Leave a Comment


Don’t do as much blogging as I used to but every year since 2007, I have done this list of things I’m thankful for so not stopping now!

1. Jesus– Surprise, Surprise…the now 9 time champion! What else can I say but that He is everything to me and I’m continually amazed that not only has He forgiven me but He uses me to accomplish His will here on the earth sometimes in the most unusual ways. I don’t deserve anything from Him yet He keeps blessing me. I know some of you reading this think that Christianity is restrictive, but it’s actually the opposite…the freedom to know you’re exactly where God wants you to be is such an awesome feeling and it’s something only Jesus can provide. I liken it to traffic laws…they aren’t there to restrict you but to keep you safe. Because of them you have more freedom not less because there is order to things. God and His Word are the same way. The more you get to know Him the more you realize He always has your best intentions at heart whenever He says to do something or not to do it.

2. Lisa– This year we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary and I know it sounds like a cliche but our marriage just keeps getting better and better! Words can’t even begin to describe how awesome she is and everyday I thank God that I won the wife lottery because I definitely don’t deserve her. Can’t wait to see what the next 20 years brings!

3. My Health– As many of you know I contracted some sort of bacteria/virus this summer while in Costa Rica which had me basically lying in bed extremely sick for a month. So I’m thankful I have my health back but I’m even more appreciative of those that have chronic illness, etc. I only had a month of illness and the mental side was as bad as the physical side. So for those of you who suffer all the time, I can somewhat empathize and want you to know I’m praying for you. Everyday now even with my minor aches and pains of getting older, I realize what a gift my somewhat normal health is.

4. New Building– Last year at Thanksgiving we thought it was just a matter of time until we closed on our new church building. Little did we know that it would take an entire year to finally close…which we did 17 days ago! The Church is people not a building but a building will definitely help. Can’t wait to see how God is going to use this new tool on our tool belt.

5. The People of ExponentialChurch.tv– Our church celebrated it’s 5th birthday this year and through those years literally hundreds of people have walked through the doors and been a part. Some were there just a week, some months, others for years. Each and everyone is loved and appreciated but I’m especially thankful for those we have right now. They have stuck through the good and the bad times and are currently a part of God being on the move in our midst. Their generosity of time and money is inspiring and I can’t wait to see what the next 5 years will bring as we continue to communicate through our words and actions that You Matter to God and You Matter to me.

6. My Mom and Dad– They are a part of #5 above…which is kind of funny. When I pastored a church 20 minutes from their home, they would show up 1-2 times per year. The when I pastored a church 30 minutes from their home, they started showing up 3-4 times per year. Now that I’m an hour plus away, they show up every week! What an honor to be able to be your parent’s pastor. But even more so, what dedication on their part to come up not just on Sunday’s but sometimes multiple times during the week to serve the people of Harrisburg in various ways. I’m so thankful that we get to work side by side in the most important task in the world…showing other people the love of Jesus.

7. Family on Both Sides– Lisa and I are fortunate to have relatives that we actually really like. I can’t think of a single relative that we ever dread having to be around. While we don’t get to see everyone as much as what we’d always like, things like Facebook help to keep tabs on everyone and stay invested in some way in their lives. I love the times we are able to get together and the fun we have!

8. DrewPeacoq8– In the real world better known as John Gonzalez. 3+ years ago John was the first of my 3 poker coaches that I hired. Immediately we hit it off and as the years have progressed he has gone from coach to friend to as of a few weeks ago a brother in Christ. Almost daily, whether it be phone, text, chat, email etc we are in communication with one another and increasingly it’s less and less about the game we both love and about life and living life to it’s fullest. He truly has become one of my best friends…in fact, Lisa and I are leaving tonight after family stuff to head to North Carolina to spend a few days with John and Brandy. Can’t wait to hang!

9. Poker in General– It’s amazing all the ways a card game has impacted my life. First, I still find it extremely relaxing as a way to unwind after a day of church stuff. Second, it has allowed me to expand my ministry reach. Whether it’s helping local players through various personal issues or the opportunities I’m getting nationally and globally to share the good news of Jesus, it’s so cool to be able to make an impact for the Kingdom of God in an area that so desperately needs it but yet many Christians would steer clear of. Third is from a financial stand point. This year especially I have been crushing tournaments which has allowed us to not have to depend on Lisa for any income, which in turn is allowing her to pursue some of her own dreams and goals. Last, it is an avenue to keep my naturally competitive juices flowing. Not only from tourney to tourney, but also each week when the new global rankings come out it’s fun to see how I stack up. As of this week, I’m the #1 online player in PA, #16 in the United States and #1110 in the world.

10. You– If you’ve read all the way through this then chances are you’re someone close to me and I just want to say thank you for your love, encouragement, friendship and support. No matter what area of life I know you from, my life is better because you’re in it…here’s to many more years of doing life together! Happy Thanksgiving!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 2015, Barb Thurston, ExponentialChurch.tv, Gil Thurston, Jesus, John Gonzalez, Lisa Thurston, poker, Thanksgiving

What Do Jesus and a Russian Spy Have in Common?

January 9, 2014 by Gilbert Leave a Comment

My post last week on Why Are Christians So Intolerant turned out to be quite popular.  It was interesting to watch it statistically spread, first throughout the USA and then into, as of today, 23 other countries.  I’ve been following some of the comments and one gentleman said something to the effect of, “I’m glad he found Jesus if that’s working for him, but his claim that Christianity is an absolute truth is inaccurate because it can’t be mathematically proven like 2+2=4 can.”

Today, I want to show why that is not an accurate statement, but first a story.  During the 1940’s, a U.S. Army Sergeant by the name of David Greenglass was working on helping the U.S. to develop the atomic bomb.  What no one knew at the time though was that Greenglass was also working as a spy for the Russians.  For 2 years he passed along top secret information by working with couriers.   Finally though, under a cloud of suspicion, he needed to make his escape to Mexico where he would then be given means to get to Czechoslovakia.  For this to work though it would require working through other spies stationed in Mexico.  Here are the instructions Greenglass was given along with a form letter that would help pull all this off…

Upon David’s arrival in Mexico City, he was to send the letter to the Soviet Embassy and sign it “I. Jackson.” Three days later after he sent this letter, David, carrying in his hand a guide to the city with his middle finger between the pages of the guide, was to go to the Plaz De La Colon at 5 p.m. and look at the statue of Columbus there. He would wait until a man came up to him, when David would say, “That is a magnificent statue,” and tell the man that David was from Oklahoma. The man would then answer, “Oh, there are much more beautiful statues in Paris,” and would give Greenglass a passport and additional money. David was to go to Vera Cruz and then go to Sweden or Switzerland. If he went to Sweden, he was to send the same type of letter to the Soviet Ambassador or his secretary and sign the letter “I. Jackson.” Three days later, David was to go to the Statue of Linnaeus in Stockholm at 5 p.m. where a man would approach him. Greenglass would mention that the statue was beautiful and the man would answer, “There are much more beautiful ones in Paris.” The man would then give David the means of transportation to Czechoslovakia, where upon arrival he was to write to the Soviet Ambassador advising him of his presence.

Now I told  that story for a simple reason.  Notice the details that went into making sure the correct man was identified.  I count 7, some of which I’ve lumped together.

  1. A particular letter had to arrive at the Soviet Embassy.
  2. That letter had to be signed I. Jackson.
  3. The meet up had to be exactly 3 days later.
  4. He had to be carrying a particular guide.
  5. He had to have his middle finger tucked into it
  6. This all had to take place at a specific place , time and statue.
  7. The conversation had to be exactly as described.

This was all done to ensure that there was absolutely no mistake in identifying the proper man.  A random person may get lucky and have 1 or 2 or 3 of these characteristics thus temporarily confusing the spies,  but to get every detail correct would mean it was all a part of the plan and you had found the right person.

You’re going, “Ok Gilbert, but what does this have to do with absolute truth?”  I know you want to get there, but indulge me with one more thing.  What if today I was able to tell you in detail about your great-great-great-great-great-(and a few more greats)-grandchild who will live 400 years from now.  Let’s say I gave the location of their birth, when they will be born,  what their name will be, what they will do for a living, where they will live, the name of their spouse, when they will  die, and how they will die.  8 things in all.  If somehow today we were able to know that I accurately predicted all of those things, you’d go, “Gilbert that was amazing!  How did you do that?!  I mean what are the odds?”

Well actually someone has figured that out.  Dr. Peter Stoner and 600 of his students in the Math Department at Pasadena City College,in the 1950’s, put the odds at 1 chance in 10 to the 17th power (10^17).  In case you forget what they looks like, here it is 1 chance in 100,000,000,000,000,000.  That number is too big for our mind to conceive so they came up with a way to illustrate it.

If you mark one of ten tickets, and place all the tickets in a hat, and thoroughly stir them, and then ask a blindfolded man to draw one, his chance of getting the right ticket is one in ten. Suppose that we take 10^17 silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They’ll cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar.  The odds of him picking up the marked coin?  1 chance in 10^17!

Here is where things get really crazy.  If you up that number to 13 predictions instead of just 8, now we don’t just cover Texas with silver dollars, but the entire earth.  And not just 2 feet deep either…now it’s from the earth to the moon deep.  Moving on to 48 predictions, we find the chance is 1 in 10^157.  To put that in perspective, try quickly counting to 100 in the next minute.  Ready…set…go.  Did you do it? If you did great, but to count to 10^157 you’d have to repeat that every minute, of every day, for the next 47.5 million years!

OK, so here it is!!!!  How do you explain that?  You might be asking, “Explain what?”  Well I told you about David Greenglass and his 7 signs for being properly identified.  I told you the odds of 8, 13 and 46 predictions all coming true.  Did you know that there are 456 prophecies about Jesus found in the Old Testament of the bible?!!  Now to be fair, some of them are a little ambiguous, but even once you take those out you are left with 333 specific prophecies. Now you saw how the numbers grew from 8 to 13 to 46 predictions…our mind can’t even conceive of the chances of 1 man fulfilling all 333.  Again think of David Greenglass.   Getting all 7 of his signals correct was a pretty strong sign that you had the correct man.  In Jesus case there were 333 of those signs!

Now a bit of background.  The Old Testament was completed and being circulated into other countries 400 years before the birth of Jesus.  So there is no way that others later went back and changed it so He met all these predictions.  So then your left with two options…

  1. The 30 writers of the Old Testament just got lucky and defied astronomical odds.
  2. Each of these writers was inspired by God in what to write.

As I mentioned in last week’s post, it actually would take me more faith to believe option 1 than it does option 2.  So as follower’s of Jesus, we really do believe that the bible is God’s Word to us.  We really do believe that Jesus was the perfect fulfillment of prophecy that God would be born among us.  So with that said, we really take the life and teachings of Jesus seriously.  And it was Jesus who said that He is truth.  Not has truth, but IS truth.

So to the person who commented that mathematically Christianity can’t be absolute truth and to all of you reading this, I hope you’ve been challenged that actually it can be.

2+2=4.
David Greenglass + 7 signals= You’ve found the right man.
333 predictive prophecies + Jesus fulfillment= We’ve found the right man and He is the way, the truth and the life.

Next week I’ll explore some of the implications that this post has to do with our lives, beliefs and world.  Until then keep checking back each day as I write on a variety of topics.

Ministry Monday’s
Topical Tuesday’s
Whatever Wednesday’s
Theological Thursday’s
Funny Friday’s

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Absolute truth, David Greenglass, Jesus, Peter Stoner, predictive prophecy, statistical odds, Theological Thursday

Why Are Christians So Intolerant?

January 2, 2014 by Gilbert 1 Comment

I recently had a conversation with a man who asked…

“Why are you Christians so intolerant?”

I said, “I’ll answer that but first tell me what you mean.”

He said, “Well I constantly hear about Christians who are judging others and  try to tell others what is right and wrong.  Why can’t you guys just accept other people’s viewpoints…it’s so intolerant!”

To which I said,  “So what you’re saying is that whenever someone tells someone else their viewpoint is wrong that is intolerant and it should stop?”

He said, “Yes”.

I then politely pointed out that he was doing the very thing right then that he was accusing me and other Christians of.  He was saying that another person’s viewpoint (mine/Christians) was wrong and that we should accept his viewpoint.

Now I’ve known this guy for awhile and I know he was asking the question sincerely but he felt the need to quickly apologize even though I told him that wasn’t necessary. We then went on to have a great conversation about how the definition of tolerance has become distorted in America.  First, I’ll start with the dictionary definition of tolerance and then share some of the things I shared with him.

Webster’s DictionaryTolerance:  sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own

Look at that again.  By it’s very definition, tolerance means there will be conflicting viewpoints and that’s OK.  For example, I’m a huge fan of the Redskins and Capitals which is a bit of a problem when you live in an area that is filled with Steelers and Penguins fans.  If I were a fan of the Steelers and Penguins then no one would have to tolerate my like of REAL teams (FYI tongue firmly in cheek when looking at this year’s standings).  What I’m saying is, tolerance is only needed when there are conflicting points of view.

What our society however has tried to make tolerance into is that not only  must we accept each others point of view but that we must also accept that each others point of view is equally valid or truthful.  This is then where we must look at the difference between relative truth and absolute truth.

Relative truth says that what may be true for you may not be true for me.  It is what many people want we they say the word tolerance.  “You live your life, I’ll live my life and we won’t judge each other”.

Absolute truth on the other hand says that there are certain things that are true for all people, at all times and in all places.  Examples would be gravity, that you need oxygen to breath, that you can’t have a stick with one end, that 2+2=4.  With absolute truth, you can sincerely believe that gravity won’t impact you or that 2+2=7 but that just makes you sincerely wrong.  Now I can tolerate you having the wrong answer but that doesn’t mean it’s still not wrong.

Think of it this way, if your 1st grader kept insisting that 2+2=7 wouldn’t the most loving thing for you to do is try to correct them?  Would anyone accuse you of being intolerant?  Of being judgmental?  No of course not…you want what’s best for someone that you love.

With that being said, Christians truly believe that Jesus was God in the flesh, was crucified for our sins and came back to life just as He said He would.  We also believe Him when He says that He is truth and that NO ONE can come into a relationship with God except through Him.  We also take serious His command that we are to teach others all that he taught us.

Now why we believe everything in the previous paragraph is the subject of an entire other post but hopefully you can see now why Christians feel obligated to speak out about moral issues.  It’s not because we don’t love you…it’s because we do love you.  We accept that you have a differing point of view (that’s tolerance) but at the same time want to lovingly point out that there is a better way because 2+2 does not equal 7.

Now I’ll be honest, how some Christians go about doing this can be wrong…we are instructed by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:15 to speak the truth but do it in love.  So, I apologize to some of you who have been hurt by Christians who violated this principle.  However, I hope you see that the intentions behind it are pure…not based on something that is our opinion but rather instead on something based on truth.

Again, I know some of you are saying that it may not be true so I’ll have to blog about the why’s in the future.  I’ll just say this for now.  I didn’t become a Christian until I was 20 years old…in investigating the claims of Jesus/the Bible I eventually got to the point that the evidence was so overwhelming that it was all true that it actually would have taken me more faith to believe it not to be true than to believe it is.

One last thought.  If you think that Jesus was tolerant based on our society’s definition, then please read the Gospel’s.  Constantly Jesus was pointing out the sin and error of people’s ways and telling them to change.  However, He does this not so that people would feel condemned but rather so they would turn to Him for the forgiveness of sin.  He then instructs us His followers to do likewise.  My point being this…while some Christians want to categorize sins into “the big ones” and the “small ones “, to God all sin is sin and the purpose of sin being pointed out isn’t to make you feel bad but so you turn to Jesus for forgiveness.

“If we confess our sins to God He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all of our unrighteousness”.  -1 John 1:9

“Now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”.- Romans 8:1

“If you love me then you will obey what I command” (Jesus) –John 14:15

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 1 John 1:9, Absolute truth, Christianity, Ephesians 4:15, intolerant, Jesus, John 14:15, Relative truth, Romans 8:1, Theological Thursday, tolerance

My 20th Spiritual Birthday

July 27, 2013 by Gilbert 1 Comment

Image

The picture above was taken a few weeks ago in front of Coral Ridge Church, in Ft. Lauderdale. FL.  I had Lisa snap it to commemorate my 20th spiritual birthday, which is today.

In 1962 the pastor of this church began a program that helped his congregation share their faith with others.  It quickly caught on an spread to other churches throughout the world.  On July 27, 1993, two men (Keith Skidmore and Marvin Bower) who were involved in this program at their local church in Maryland showed up on my doorstep on a hot summer night.

For the first time in my life, someone explained to me what Jesus, Christianity and the Bible were really all about in a way that made sense.  Up until then I thought it was about following a bunch of rules but they explained how I could never be good enough to keep all those rules and that what Jesus really wanted was a relationship with me.  So right there on the front porch I asked for His forgiveness and leadership and prayed that we could have the kind of friendship that these two men said we could have.

Here we are 20 years later and Jesus has never let me down.  He not only became my friend, but my best friend.  He’s helped me to become more than I could ever possibly hope or imagine.  He’s constantly challenging me to grow in my  relationship with Him and others.  Most importantly He continues to forgive even when I do stupid sinful stuff that isn’t in my or His best interests.

Having just physically turned 40 last month, I’m now basically at the point where I’ve lived half my life following the devil’s plan for happiness and success and half my life following God’s plans and purposes.  Let me say unequivocally that this half has been far better.  Yes sin has pleasure for a short time, if it didn’t we wouldn’t do it  😉   But if we can take a long term approach and be disciplined to following God’s plan, the joy and the peace of mind that comes with it far surpasses and pleasures that Satan or the world may offer us.

So what about you?  If God could take a sinner like me and give me a new life, He can do it for you as well!  Want to talk about it?  Let me know and I can share what was shared with me 20 years ago today…trust me…you want to here it…it’s both life and eternity changing!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Birthday, Coral Ridge, Evangelism Explosion, gilbert thurston, Jesus, Keith Skidmore, Marvin Bower, salvation

Happy 19th Birthday to Me!

July 27, 2012 by Gilbert Leave a Comment

Sorry I haven’t blogged in awhile…sort of got burnt out on it but I couldn’t resist today.  Why?  Because today I turn 19!  “Ummm Gilbert good try but you are a lot older than 19”.  Yes physically I am but today marks 19 years since I became a follower of Jesus!  This also means that I’ve now spent 19 years serving the devil and 19 years serving Jesus.  Now don’t get me wrong…I had some good times during those first 19 years (many times too good of times) but I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that these last 19 have been far better.

If you’re interested in hearing more of how and why it happened and some of the results since then, I’ve written about them before on spiritual birthdays:

How it Happened

Why It Happened (if you don’t read any of the others at least read this one)

How It’s Changed Me

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Birthday, gilbert thurston, Jesus, salvation

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