The Journey

The Spirit's Fire - Part One

Next Sunday, God willing, I will be preaching on a message about the Spirit's Fire--more specifically, the admonishment from the Apostle Paul that we are not to put out the Spirit's Fire in our lives.  My initial thought about what Paul wrote centers on passion for the cause of Christ.  It is easy to allow the stressing and stuff of life to dampen our enthusiasm for Jesus.  Prayer and Bible study seems to be crowded out of our busy lives.  What should happen--what should we do?

What do you think?

What do you do when you Fail?

I am thrilled when a plan comes together--when everything works.  But, reality tells me that I have had my fair share of crash-and-burn failures.  Failing in life happens.  Although we can be quick to point the finger at others that fall short, an honest evaluation of our life shows that we are just as susceptible to failing ourselves, others, and most of all, God.

Oftentimes pride, impatience, frustration, or people problems encourage us to take a detour, and depart the path that God has laid out for us to follow.  Frequently we find ourselves thinking we know more than God--or at least God needs are help.  The result is failure. 

As a follower of Christ I know full well that there will be times in my life that I will fall short of God's glory.  What do I do what that happens?  First, I stop and try to listen to what God wants me to do.  Second, I repent of my sins and attempting to do life without His leading.  And third, I worship Him--acknowledging that God is in control and that I will submit to His plans for my life.

This Sunday Morning, I will share a message about failure--what happens when we fail, and what do we need to do to overcome failure. 

Morning Thoughts

On Monday mornings, my energies usually center on the previous days events (the Sunday services).  I typically review and critique my sermons and evaluate the general "feel" of the worship experience.  Well, this morning, I decided to center my thoughts on my personal relationship with God.  I am cognizant of the fact that as a pastor, personal spiritual issues can easily be neglected or ignored.

In my personal devotions this morning, I read Acts 8 and 9.  It centered on two conversions--the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch and Saul of Tarsus.  I thought about my own conversion and how God has sustained me over the years.  There have been many opportunities for me to get distracted, but God seemed to always pull me back into the center of His purpose and will.  My thoughts this morning drifted to the mercy and grace of God on my life.  I know full well that I do not deserve His great pleasure.  But, God has demonstrated His love for me, and I am compelled to love Him to the fullest.

As I do the church "things" this week, my hope and effort will be to continue to center my thoughts on God's great love for me.  If I am going to be a good pastor I need to be a good follower of Jesus Christ.

What do you think?

Glory to God in the Highest

No matter what we face in life, God is to be praised.  No matter what circumstances we find ourselves, God is incredible.  Sometimes I don't understand what God is doing--what He is doing in my life.  But, whether I find myself on the mountaintop or the valley, I desire more than anything to honor and glorify God.  I am thankful for His grace and mercy.  I will remember this Christmas season as a time that, no matter what I face in life, I will worship and live for Him.

Thankfulness

On this eve of Thanksgiving, I am truly thankful.  God has blessed me and my family beyond our imaginations.  Not only has 2007 seen the expansion of my family to include Matthew, who was born in April, but even in the last several weeks, we have experienced God's goodness and grace.  I will look back at this year as a time when God led me into a deep experience of faith and trust.  So I am thankful...

...I am thankful that God saved me by His grace through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.

...I am thankful that God called me into full-time ministry - being able to forsake all for the sake of the call.

...I am thankful for a wonderful wife who loves God with all her heart and who is a dedicated and gifted mother.

...I am thankful for my four beautiful children, who are imaginative, creative, and bold.

...I am thankful for the men and women of faith that surround me with their prayers and words of encouragement.

...I am thankful for God's church - the church that is committed to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ and salvation.

So tomorrow is more that "Turkey Day" for me - it is a day in which I can reflect on God greatness and how He entered my life and changed me - giving me hope, blessings, and a purpose.  What do you think?

A Journey in Faith

It is Saturday evening.  My wife and I have put the children to bed, and now I have time to reflect.  This has been a momentous and sobering week for me.  I will always look back and consider this week as one of the most important mile-stones of my life.  It was a week on which I learned a valuable lesson on trusting in God with my "whole" heart. 

I am reminded of another mile-stone in my life.  It was in 1983, when I was preparing to start my enlistment in the US Air Force.  My grandparents invited me to visit them at their house.  After reminiscing for a while my grandpa invited me over to the couch.  He told me that there were several Scripture passages in God's Word that I must learn and learn to live.  He opened the "big" family Bible and as he pointed to the verse, he looked at me intently and quoted it from memory: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understands, in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

Although it has been several years since I preached my grandpa's funeral, his words reverberate in my mind to this day--especially this week.  I had to face an important decision in my life a couple days ago.  Actually this has been a faith journey that began over a year ago (Wednesday, September 27, 2006 to be exact).  God spoke to me that day - He gave me a clear word.  This week He confirmed that word.  Now it was up to me to receive that word by faith - to trust God completely.  In the end, God's grace enveloped me, and I trusted Him.  This was a humbling experience. 

The Challenge of Asking

My desire in life is to be led of the Spirit.  The Apostle Paul said: "let us keep in step with the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25).  Although I have this desire, I must admit that as God directs my path, I frequently become uncomfortable.  I am traditional, conservative, and predictable.  But God is dangerous.  He chooses the path less used.  He goes where no one wants to go.  And, He invites me to join Him along life's journey. 

So I ask God for wisdom and courage to make the decisions that please Him.  However, in my experiences lately, He has allowed me to struggle with the choices that are laid before me.  Struggle!  It is not something that I look forward to.  I want the decisions to be easy, simple.  But God has led me through the struggle of prayer and asking. 

My prayer focus has been centered on several important principles:

1. Live the surrendered life in Christ (I no longer live, it is Christ who lives in me - Apostle Paul).
2. Live to please God, not man.
3. Live to listen to God and lay aside all my hopes, plans, and dreams.
4. Live to be light and salt in a godless world.
5. Live by faith and not by sight.
6. Live to trust God in everything (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Therefore, when I ask God, I ask Him to help me ask according to His Will and pleasure.  I have preferences - but my preferences are nothing in comparison to the plan and purpose God has laid out for me.

What do you think?

The Struggle of Believing

Does God exist?  Is the Bible God’s written revelation to humankind?  Is faith in Jesus Christ necessary for life?  These questions have become a battlefield—and in many respects the majority of people engaging in this spiritual war are not surviving.  There is a prevailing belief that if you are intellectual and intelligent then the answers to my questions must be a resounding “NO”!  How can God exist in the post-modern mind?  How can a sensible person believe that the Bible is more than simply a collection of antiquated, unreliable writings?  And Jesus—if the Bible is not reliable, then why should I trust in someone that believes the Bible as God’s word?

I may seem a bit alarmist—and you’re right—the alarm must be sounded.  Many people—good and smart—are struggling to believe in a God that is being rejected by our society and its’ institutions, especially its’ academic organizations.  People that once worship God are now running from His presence—rejecting Him completely.  It is painful to watch.  As a follower of Jesus and a believer in the authoritative Word of God, I am stunned and saddened by the prevailing winds of unbelief. 

What do you think?