Next

This past Friday I completed the last course necessary to finish up my studies at seminary. It only took me three years to finish what is officially a one year full time course of study. I found study at seminary to be hard and the fact that I did not like being a student didn't make it any easier. I cannot imagine doing it and trying to learn Hebrew and Greek as well. And they are such useful languages to have in everyday conversation. 

It all becomes official next weekend (it can't be official yet, they haven't given me access to the alumni portion of the seminary website yet). Now I have the opportunity to audit classes (listen to lectures, no papers, no reading requirements, no exams. Why didn't I think of that sooner? Oh yeah, they wouldn't let me) and observe the classes I would have had to take had I stayed in the original degree program I was in. 

I never would have thought in 2008 that I would be working full time in ministry but I am. I never thought I would be working through seminary at a pace that it would take me 6 to 7 years to do what I thought I could knock off in 2 or 3, but it did, and that only worked because I reduced it to a one year requirement.  My hat's off to the men and women who do it in the officially allotted time. You are better than me, but chances are I am older than you. The mid-50's is not the ideal time to be a student in my book.

So what is next? Full time ministry, yes. That will continue. But also doing what I find the hardest thing of all to do. Being more like Christ as I move through the world. His standard of perfection is a struggle for me daily, and it is the thing I really wish to do well and do full time (unlike being a student).

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.  For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.Romans 7:18-19 (New King James Version)

Trying to meet His example, the standard He lived up to perfectly. That's what's up next. Trying to live a life He would have me live, doing it daily and not getting hung up in the book smarts and the study, but in people. Doing His will as I move along, and not worrying about the things I would have chosen to make important.

Funny thing is that has been what has been up next all along.

What Am I Doing?

The current edition of Blog Carnival has me focusing on one word - Goals. (The first goal being to actually write something here and post it this morning).

It made me think think not about what goals I currently have, but what goals should I be setting.

Me Goals: 

I hope I have reached a point in my life that I am spending a minimum of time chasing things that are only for my benefit. I hope my material goals are more about sustenance than about success as I used to define it. (For I could define it in the past by three words: Me. Me. Me.) When I think about "me" now, I want to focus on things like keeping myself healthy and keep me walking with the Lord and walking in His Word. I am hoping my spiritual sustenance is much more important to me now than my physical sustenance. I realize that the spiritual will last longer (for eternity) and will feed me so much better. And this leads me to the second set of goals I hope to be pursuing more diligently.

Kingdom Goals:

By kingdom I mean big "K" (His Kingdom) and not little "k" (Me. Me. Me.) I am in His Word to study and share, not just reflect on internally but to deepen relationships with others by sharing His Word and what it means in my life; sharing His Word and what it can mean in the life of another if they accept Jesus as the only way to their salvation. Am I sharing the Gospel, fulfilling His commands that I do so in love, as He loved me? Have I made Christ the central focus of my life? Do I know that deep in my heart? More importantly, do others see and know that?

The Bottom Line:

If I am not doing things that are big K focused, I am wasting my time, and that is time He has given me to spend here, so I am wasting His time in a way.

I only have so much time here to work in His Kingdom to share it with others.

If I focus more on Him, I will focus more on others, and will focus much less on myself.

I think that is a pretty good goal to strive for.

I Can Do It

For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach.

Deuteronomy 30:11 (New American Standard Bible)

The Lord will not ask me to do what I cannot do; He may very well ask me to do what I think I cannot do. There is a huge difference between those two.

What I always have to remember is that He is sovereign and His will be done. When I struggle with His will, it is because of my sinful nature, my doubts and my desires which make me think I cannot do what he wants me to do.

Of course I can, and we both know it (and He knew it long before I did).

The will of God is not beyond my grasp, but He will stretch me more than I think I can to be obedient to His will.

I need always remember who is actually in control around here.

And  it isn't me.

Good Riddance

But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land in which you live. And as I plan to do to them, so I will do to you.

Numbers 33:55-56 (New American Standard Bible)

As the Lord readied the nation of Israel to possess the land He had promised them, He gave very specific instructions as to what to do with the current inhabitants. The Lord knew what these would do to the nation if allowed to stay, and indeed what happened to Israel after they played the harlot to the false gods.

The Lord knows what is good for us to have, what is right to be in our lives. If He wants something removed, I should move swiftly to do so. it will sting and prick me until I do.

Obedience is a blessing. For I will never master what the Lord would rid me of.

The Passion of Life

Having spent a good chunk of last week in and around the annual convention of CareNet and having participated in the first National Care For Life Forum that we co-hosted with them on Friday, I was impressed most of all with one thing about the people I got a chance to meet and talk with.

Passion.

They all had a passion for the ministry they were doing, promoting and defending the sanctity of life. They had a passion for the Lord, knowing in their hearts that true progress in sanctity of life issues and initiatives would only come through faith and trust in Jesus Christ and His intervening grace to change minds and move the mountains that are in the way.

These are people on the front lines of the sanctity of life battle daily, who bear a large part of the brunt of criticism, ridicule and attack by those who say they are for choice, but are really for their choice, and no other. These are loving, caring people, who choose not to judge, but to love on and offer alternatives to the abortion juggernaut they face, one fueled by media support, government support and overwhelming financial support.

They have passion, but they have peace as well. The peace of mind that comes from knowing you are near to and working on something that is dear to the heart of God. If they have trouble sleeping at night, it is because they are anxious to get up the next day and do more, or they concerned they did not do enough on the day that just ended.But it is not the torment of knowing that they are doing something wrong, it is the drive of wanting to do more right.

They have passion, but they are not wild eyed religious fanatics. They are intelligent, thoughtful, concerned and deeply caring people.

If the ministry I work in is doing just some small amount in encouraging, exhorting or edifying them, I am so grateful for the opportunity we were given to do so; it was a privilege from the Lord. I can only pray the good discussion and ideas that circulated at the Care For Life Forum will turn into actionable plans and goals.

To all I met last week, and to those I didn't; thank you for what you are doing.

Technorati Tags: CareNet, EvanTell, sanctity of life, Jesus, God, Lord

The Devil Is In the Liverwurst

Not really, but I thought it was a title that might actually attract some attention. We just had a brown bag lunch discussion with our ministry staff and I had a liverwurst sandwich for lunch. Well, I actually ate it before the discussion because I was hungry and could not wait, plus I moderated discussion and wanted to be free for that. No, the devil did not make me do it.

The topic for discussion was how could Satan hinder our efforts and what could we do to combat that. I will not get into the specifics of what we discussed but there are certain themes that came across:

• You don’t need to do it – a loss of focus or a distraction to keep you from doing what is important to do
• You are not good enough – a sense that you efforts might not measure up ( to some unidentifiable standard perhaps), that others can do it better than you so why bother trying
• You are doing the wrong things – a feeling that what you are doing or would be doing just isn’t the right thing to do

My solution, and the main line defense against these types of spiritual attacks?

Take it to the Lord in prayer my friend, ask Him to help you sort it out and get back on The Narrow Road that He has set for your life.

What We Must Learn Cannot Be Taught

In my last post, I talked about the need to teach, not just model a faith in Christ. Today I want to follow up that although we need to evangelize and disciple people; there are some things that just cannot be taught, they have to be learned. And that learning usually comes through experience.

You cannot argue someone into heaven. I do not know who said that, I wish I did. It is so true. While we are called to share our faith, it is the drawing of the Holy Spirit that brings someone to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. We bring Christ to people, we do not bring people to Christ. God does the hard part, He just asks us to share His Son with others as Jesus has been shared with us.

Everyone needs to experience the saving power of faith in Christ alone for themselves. It must be learned by each person, but it cannot be taught by any of us.

Take the burden off yourself by presenting Christ to someone who does not have that saving faith. Know that they will learn it by experiencing it for themselves through the agency of the Holy Spirit.

And pray daily that people will learn from you what you cannot teach them.


Technorati Tags: Evangelizing, discipling, Jesus, Lord, Holy Spirit, salvation

I Have Been Slimed

"I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD."
Psalm 40:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

As I think of how I came to Christ in my late 40's, I think of what a slimy pit of miry clay He pulled me out of. As I think of the struggle with my sinful nature, I think of that same slimy mire. The beauty of it now is that I know He will pull me out. Before I came to Him, I did not even know what I was wallowing around in. As hard as I try to stay out, I am sure I will plop in from time to time, but have the assurance of knowing a rope will drag me out if I sing that new song He has put on my lips.

A personal relationship with Jesus as Savior means to grasp what it is to be rescued from self. I know how miserable the future would be without Him now, and I can wait patiently (well, at least I can be patient when I remember to turn to Him in prayer and praise) for the deliverance He has promised.

I have the knowledge, acceptance and trust of a saving faith in Christ Jesus. I have been washed clean, and continued to get washed as I struggle though a fallen world coping with a sinful flesh.

I was slimed, about 47 years worth as a matter of fact. Only Christ could wash that off and keep me that way.

Technorati Tags: Jesus, Lord, God, flesh, sin, salvation

Presently Happy

"Let each of us examine his thoughts; he will find them wholly concerned with the past or the future. We almost never think of the present, and if we do think of it, it is only to see what light it throws on our plans for the future. The present is never our end. The past and the present are our means, the future alone is our end. Thus we never actually live, but hope to live, and since we are always planning how to be happy, it is inevitable that we should never be so."

Blaise Pascal, Pensées

Two years ago, my first theology professor suggested we read Pascal. I finally started a read. I am glad I did, but this guy can be harder to understand than C S Lewis, and that is saying something.

But this passage hit me with amazing clarity. Which was nice because after over a dozen pages of huh?, it was nice to have something click finally. This passage immediately brought a verse of Scripture into mind:

So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:34 (New American Standard Bible)

Our happiness requires to live within the present, content with the provision of the day as the Lord has given it to us. Our joy comes from the eternal security that is ours in Jesus. I wrote some time ago about the difference between the two on this blog. I do not know if my old buddy Blaise had this Scripture passage in mind, but as I read him I did.

We are often surrounded with unhappy people, we are often that person. When that person is me, it is because I have focused too much on the future, too much on myself and not enough on living in the Lord in the present. He is sufficient, in His sovereign grace, for me each and every day. I would do good to remember that more regularly.



Technorati Tags: Pensées, Blaise Pascal, C S Lewis, Jesus, Lord, God, happiness, joy, present, past, future

The Road Is Not Too Narrow, Your Feet Are Too Big

If you struggle with your walk of faith with the Lord, welcome to the body of Christ. Jesus was the perfect man, being wholly God and fully man, completely obedient to the will of the Father (Read the upper room discourse in John 13-17 to get the full flavor of that). With that in mind, with the fact that the model we are to follow is the Holy God incarnate, it is no wonder we struggle. Anyone who tells you they do not struggle is lying, and therefore by definition, struggling with their walk. They just do not want to admit it publicly.

So our sinful, prideful, lustful human nature are our too big feet to walk on the path Christ laid down for us to follow. So you need Lord's help each and everyday to follow hard after Him. Ask for it, He will grant it. You may still struggle, but you can win through.

Pray continuously. That is, live with a prayerful attitude. Turn to Him in tough times for help. Turn to Him in good times to thank. Turn to Him at all times in praise and worship. You are living the life He has decided for you to live, praise Him for it and ask for His guidance, His wisdom and help.

Be patient. With your circumstances. With others. And especially with yourself. The Lord is rarely early but never late. he shows up on time. You just need to accept it is His timing not yours.

Be thankful. For what you have. For what He has kept you from. But mainly, for what Christ died to give you for eternity.

Keep at it, do not despair. God knows what we are capable of, and He loves us anyway.

Have faith in Him.

How Are You Living Your Life

Dr. Ken Boa, in his Handbook To Spiritual Growth, compares our lives here on earth to eternity in the following way. A man is planning on moving from Dallas to Atlanta to live the remaining 50 years of his life. He plans every detail of the two day drive; where he will eat, sleep, stop for gas. But he has no clue as to what he will do for the remaining 50 years. Sounds ridiculous, but the point that life here on earth and eternal life are the same way. We plan the details of a short life here, trying to control it all (there is that control thing again) yet let the eternal consequences slide, pushed back in our minds because we do not want to think of death in this life, even if it means life eternal in the next. But at that point, the consequences of our choice are irrevocable, so make the right one now. Accept Jesus as the Savior of your life, the only way to your eternal salvation.

We are all going to live forever in eternity. That is not the question.

The question is where.

Technorati Tags: Ken Boa, Handbook To Spiritual Growth, Jesus, Lord, God, salvation, eternity

Someone's Gotta Be In Control

A few days ago I was reading from Dr. Ken Boa's book, Handbook To Spiritual Growth (he has a really great series of these handbooks, which are fantastic to use in your walk with Christ, I highly recommend them, I have them all and keep getting the new ones as they come out) when I came across this sentence, which I posted as my thought for the day on Facebook:

Because of our security and significance in Christ, we do not need to be controlled by the opinions and responses of others

It really got me to thinking about control in my life, what are the options and who really has it. It made me think who I am wanted to be in control of my life.

As a child, it is our parents because we are not in a position nor do we have the ability to do so (yeah, like anything really changes as we get older). There are various authority figures in our life as we approach adulthood, and we chafe to get to out from under that control. We finish our schooling and the thought might enter our heads that we are free. Then we get jobs (if you had really known what a job was, you would have stayed in school). Soon, it is family obligations; spouse, kids, home mortgages and car loans. Through it all there is control over your life, control points that rub up against you and are, quite frankly more or less painful to us. Because they are all man made, even the ones we put there ourselves. And the human race has shown it has a miserable track record at properly controlling things, starting with Genesis 3.

I was that way for 40+ years until I came to Christ. And even then, there was a struggle for control of my life as I fought with my own nature to give up control to the One who gave me my life, who has given me eternal life. It is still a struggle, but at least I focus on it daily and try to turn it over to Him. (OK, I keep trying to grab it back, but hopefully less often and with a less vehement lunge at self control).

So I try each day to be secure and significant in Christ alone, and all others stand aside. It is work, but it is so worth it when I do. I would much rather have real significance and security in my life. The only way to be truly in control is in the Lord.



Technorati Tags: Ken Boa, Handbook To Spiritual Growth, Jesus, God, Lord, control, security, significance.

Tossed

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
Micah 7:18-19 (NIV)

I love this imagery. The Lord drowning our old sinful nature. Treading it underfoot, tossing it under the waves. Getting thrown into the depths of the sea. As I think about how I cannot get rid of all that is in my nature that is abhorrent to the Lord, how glad I am that He will make it so.

Just a short note today, as I get ready to go worship the Lord.

And to thank Him that He threw my old self overboard.

When We Will Know

I have been thinking about the post I put up Saturday for a bit of time. The thread of that story, and how the Lord let me piece it together. And it made me wonder how many other stories like that there may be in my life, in the lives of people around me, in the lives of everyone. I did not know Dean, who discipled Gordon; I am not sure whether he has gone to the Lord. He would be in his late 90's at the very least by now. Dean probably didn't know the thread of his life was connected to mine through several men. At least I do not think he did.

But I am sure he will know that in heaven. In my limited mind, that is one of the really cool things about heaven (the very presence of the Living God for eternity definitely the coolest thing about heaven) is that these connections become clear, like crystal rods of light connecting us to people in His divine will.

And we will have all the time in the world (or is it all the time out of this world?) to explore these connections, laugh about them and love on all the people who are connected to us. Every once on a while I think the Lord gives us a glimpse of the infinitely eternal. A small crumb, precious and profound, is all our finite minds can grasp. That is all our minds can handle.

Until.

Then it will be glorious.

Technorati Tags: Jesus, Lord, God, heaven, faith

Past Easter Poem

An Easter poem, a little late is better than never (maybe not):

Job 19:25

My Redeemer lives
He has strode forth,
He rose in grace and glory.
Some thought the end
Had come and gone,
But beginning is the story.
And will one day
Be His to make,
Stand upon a weary earth.
So amazed I am
That on His way,
He stopped for my rebirth.

It's So Easy

The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason salvation is so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God.
Oswald Chambers - My Utmost For His Highest: April 6 Devotional

The ease to which our salvation can come to us is often the hardest thing to grasp. We borne nothing at the Cross and gained everything. It may be hard in our pride to accept the fact that we are insignificant in our own salvation, the hard work was done without us even being a part of it. How much more a salve to pride to think we accomplished it through great struggle and significant accomplishment on our part. Our salvation is not accomplished through our great struggle but despite our great sin.

That we grasp what is so freely offered, and so painfully won to hand over to us in an incredible ease. Grace pours out of the heart of God,, the heart that absorbed the pain of our sin and freed us from it.

The collision occurred, but we get to walk away from that crash, unscathed and saved. We get to come off of His mountain because He climbed it for us.




Technorati Tags: Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, God, Jesus, Lord, salvation, sin, grace

All Come Back

This past Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the most glorious of days on the Christian calendar. It was a day to reflect on our Savior, to thank Him for what He did for us upon the cross, what He assured for us with He rising in glory on the third day. But that is not the end of the story, not by a long ways. There is still eternity to face, and the choices one can face in eternity. Because there is someone else who is going to be resurrected: you. And me. And for that matter, everyone else as well:

Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
John 5:28-29 (NASB)

There will come a day when everyone will face a resurrection and come face to face with the risen Lord (except those believers who are alive at His return, who will not face physical death and resurrection but that is another story for another day). Jesus rose from the dead and we will rise one day and come to face Him. If we are His followers, it will be a joyous day:

Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:6 (NASB)

Those who do not follow Him face quite a different future:

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:12-15 (NASB)

The choice is simple yet profound and eternal. You either are born twice and die once, or you are born once and die twice.

Trust Him today.



Technorati Tags: Jesus, Lord, God, resurrection, born again, second death

Reconciliation

The word "reconciliation" in the Scriptures means "to cause to conform to a standard, to be adjusted to a specified standard." According to the Word of God, the world is out of balance. The world does not conform to the standard which God has set...It is very important that we should realize that God Himself is the standard by which He tests men...If we have a flexible standard, then all need for reconciliation disappears, for every man becomes a standard within himself...God brings us to Himself and causes us to be adjusted to His standards...God, in Christ Jesus, was changing the relationship of the world to Himself so that men in the world are now savable...It was Christ's death that reconciled the world to God, and made it possible for individual sinners to be reconciled to God.
Dwight Pentecost - Things Which Become Sound Doctrine

We need to conform to God's standard, which is God Himself. We cannot do it ourselves, we can only be reconciled to God through Jesus. He reconciled the world to God; He reconciles each and everyone who comes in faith and trust to Him as the only way to salvation to God.

You reconcile your checkbook every month, to keep it conformed to the standard of the bank's records. You only need once be reconciled to God, through faith in Jesus. From then on, none can pry you from His grasp.

Aren't we blessed?

Limit Yourself

"Joy comes from seeing the complete fulfillment of the specific purpose for which I was created and born again, not from successfully doing something of my own choosing...He is not offering us a choice of how we can serve Him; He is asking for absolute loyalty to His commission, a faithfulness to what we discern when we are in the closest possible fellowship with God...The call is to be faithful to the ministry you received when you were in true fellowship with Him. This does not imply that there is a whole series of differing ministries marked out for you. It does mean that you must be sensitive to what God has called you to do, and this may sometimes require ignoring demands for service in other areas."

Oswald Chambers - My Utmost For His Highest: March 5 Devotional

Limit yourself to the work, the ministry God has called you to do, and know that all of us are called to a ministry, it is just that not all are to do it in a setting we traditionally consider to be a ministry. Yes, your workplace, your school, your community, your family can be the setting of your ministry. You can share Jesus in any of these settings, you can be faithful to the Lord anywhere.

Limit yourself to the work, the ministry God has called you to do, and you will find you have just the strength and time to do it. Limit yourself to the work, the ministry God has called you to do, and you will find that it is more than you could ever have thought up to do on your own. And you will know it is He who placed the task before you.


Technorati Tags: God, Lord, Jesus, Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, ministry, calling

Opening Up Your Heart

Just had the third weekend in a row where we had some overnight guests staying at our home. What a tremendous blessing each and every stay, each and every guest has been.

The growth one can experience by putting oneself in the path of others is amazing. A small gesture of hospitality to show a little glimpse of your humanity, and the Lord opens up the doors to your eyes, ears and heart. Because opening up your heart is reflecting God's heart within you. Too often in the past my heart has been like the one above, a little prickly, a little thorny, a little hard to get close to as a result.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10 (NASB)

I have found that taking up the task of helping others always results in huge benefits to you, as an individual, as a member of the community, as a heartbeat within the body of Christ. I have found it is infinitely more joyful to have a helping heart than to have any other type.

As in water face reflects face, So the heart of man reflects man.
Proverbs 27:19 (NASB)

Now all I need do is to remember to be this way...always.








Technorati Tags: God, Lord, Jesus, heart, hospitality, service