As the year draws to a close, everyone should take the time to reflect on the past year. We need to consider what we have done, where we have been, and how we can learn from those things. As 2011 quickly approaches everyone will be making their New Year's Resolutions. So many times when people make their resolutions they make them based on weight loss, stopping smoking, or making some changes in their life. Not that any of these things are not important, because they are but I think we need to look much deeper.
I know for myself I have battled depression in my life, I have a son with Autism, and I am a Leukemia survivor. I lost my job due to my illness and have not been able to find a job, so I have been unemployed for approximately a year and a half. Just in the last couple of days my brakes went out on my van, it was almost $800 to fix it. Was the last year tough of course it was, but on the other side. My Sunday school class has grown, I have been licensed into the ministry, I am attending seminary, and I have been able to be a better father and husband to my family.
I am now exploring a writing career to accompany my ministry. I am looking at business opportunities that will allow me to do my ministry and still take care of my family. Life can be tough of this there is no doubt, but I know that there is a hope for a brighter tomorrow. God has been blessing me, my youngest son is getting close to a decision for Christ, my relationship with my pastor is amazing (he is such an inspiration and a wonderful mentor), and my church is supportive. Today life has new meaning.
Jonathan Edwards wrote resolutions that a normal man could only hope to aspire to. So for this New Year's I resolve to be an even better father and husband, I resolve to be a good Sunday School teacher, I resolve to be a good Christian and to lead by example, but most importantly I resolve to never lose hope and to always look up. I resolve to stand for Christ and to know that all my yesterdays and todays are just stepping stones on my journey to tomorrow, so I will thank God for each day, I will praise him for every blessing, and I will honor him in song, in word, and in deed.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Sometimes!
Sometimes life isn't fair. Sometimes we don't win. Sometimes things get tough. Sometimes the darkness closes in around us and squeezes us so tight we feel like we can't breath. Sometimes our friends turn on us and lash out at us like a violent enemy ready to strike us down in anger. Sometimes our family feels like strangers, and sometimes the church feels like a house of oppression and judgement. Such is life and such is the way of a Christian. Let's be honest. Traveling for the Lord is not a life filled with ease and riches. Obeying God's word is not always pleasant. It goes against what our flesh and bone desires. Our body wants to please itself. We want to fulfill our lusts and our wicked cravings. Sin beckons and we long to go to it. It is a siren song calling us to crash our ship upon the rocks. Sometimes it takes the crack of the master's whip upon our fleshly back to wake us to reality so that we row against the current that is pushing us to sure devastation.
Sometimes we are tired and don't feel like getting up for Sunday School or church. Sometimes reading the Bible just isn't as fun or thrilling as the latest Stephen King thriller or the reality series I am watching on TV. Sometimes I am just too busy to pray. I forget surely God understands. Do your friends understand when you don't return their calls? Does your mother get upset when she doesn't hear from you in a while? So does God. Sometimes he wants his children to simply love him and want to spend time with him, but instead we are so involved in our crammed filled lives that we leave no room for fellowship and caring.
Sometimes sharing the gospel just doesn't feel right. I know my friends position and I have agreed not to preach at them. Sometime when your in Heaven and they are in Hell, try explaining that one to them. Sometime I am uncomfortable sharing because I don't feel I know enough. You know what the Lord has done for you right? You know what your church family means to you don't you? How has God changed your life? These are the greatest testimonies you can share.
Sometimes it's hard to trust people. This world is so full of crooks and thieves. How am I supposed to get by and give anyone a chance? Sometimes we have been hurt and just can't open up and thus we lock up our heart and our feelings. Sometimes we don't want to be a part of the team, we just want to be left alone. But alone we focus on our pity and our shame.
What if Jesus had lived by the Sometime Principal? Where would we be? Maybe he could have said I'll do it sometime, when I have time. Perhaps he could have said I know they are too busy and don't want me to interfere, so I am just going to let them be. Jesus might have looked down and said I'll die for you when you finally take SOME TIME for me. I am so thankful that Jesus loved me enough to overlook my sometimes, and to come to me at the right time, and now he lives within me all the time. You can overcome your sometimes, you can rise above the bad times, and you can find that your sometimes can be good times. You outlook can change, your spirit can look up, and your heart can sing. This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Sometimes we are tired and don't feel like getting up for Sunday School or church. Sometimes reading the Bible just isn't as fun or thrilling as the latest Stephen King thriller or the reality series I am watching on TV. Sometimes I am just too busy to pray. I forget surely God understands. Do your friends understand when you don't return their calls? Does your mother get upset when she doesn't hear from you in a while? So does God. Sometimes he wants his children to simply love him and want to spend time with him, but instead we are so involved in our crammed filled lives that we leave no room for fellowship and caring.
Sometimes sharing the gospel just doesn't feel right. I know my friends position and I have agreed not to preach at them. Sometime when your in Heaven and they are in Hell, try explaining that one to them. Sometime I am uncomfortable sharing because I don't feel I know enough. You know what the Lord has done for you right? You know what your church family means to you don't you? How has God changed your life? These are the greatest testimonies you can share.
Sometimes it's hard to trust people. This world is so full of crooks and thieves. How am I supposed to get by and give anyone a chance? Sometimes we have been hurt and just can't open up and thus we lock up our heart and our feelings. Sometimes we don't want to be a part of the team, we just want to be left alone. But alone we focus on our pity and our shame.
What if Jesus had lived by the Sometime Principal? Where would we be? Maybe he could have said I'll do it sometime, when I have time. Perhaps he could have said I know they are too busy and don't want me to interfere, so I am just going to let them be. Jesus might have looked down and said I'll die for you when you finally take SOME TIME for me. I am so thankful that Jesus loved me enough to overlook my sometimes, and to come to me at the right time, and now he lives within me all the time. You can overcome your sometimes, you can rise above the bad times, and you can find that your sometimes can be good times. You outlook can change, your spirit can look up, and your heart can sing. This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Dedication & Devotion
Recently I have been doing a lot of reading. I have read about some great leaders of the past such as Robert Murray McCheyne and C.H.Spurgeon. One of the things I have noticed is the level of commitment and the purpose with which they served their faith and their church. For them their faith was the center of their life and it was the main focus of everything they did. They gave of themselves sacrificially and generously. Their abundance of caring and fervor for the Lord is unparallelled today. Why is it that today we have relegated God to at best a couple of hours on Sunday and maybe, just maybe if we aren't too busy we might give him an hour on Wednesday night? These men would be appalled to see our lack of zeal and attendance. Our fellowship is weak and often almost non-existent today. We claim that the world operates faster and that we just don't have time like people did in the old days. That's just an excuse and as my wife always says the excuse only has to satisfy the person giving it.
Men like McCheyne and Spurgeon believed that God should be first and foremost in our lives. You got up early and spent time with God before you started into your day. They would preach for days. In my recent book about McCheyne it told of a time when there was revival in his hometown of Dundee, Scotland and he preached for like 14 days in a row, until relief preachers finally arrived to assist him. That my friend is dedication. Today we are lucky to have revival service for more than 3 or 4 nights without people being upset about the time it is taking from their lives. When was the last time you were willing to pray without ceasing maybe for a half an hour? or an hour? We feel it is a blessing if we pray a quick prayer over the meal and maybe before we fall asleep. These were men who would pray for hours and with purpose and intent. They prayed with power, purpose, patience, and persistence. We feel that if we close our eyes for more than 30 seconds we should be taking a nap.
These were men who served their congregations and visited. They cared about the people. Spurgeon started orphanages for boys and McCheyne was known for working with youth. They spent time concerning missions. They felt the gospel was for all people. This dedication led them to be great leaders and great men of God. They read the word of God everyday, they prayed constantly, they served others, and they shared the truth un-apologetically and without hesitation. Dedication was a hallmark of their lives and their ministries.
This leads us to their devotion. Many would say that dedication and devotion are the same thing, but if you truly study you will find that they are different. Dedication is their willingness to stick to their beliefs and be persistent in their faith and lives. Devotion on the other hand speaks more to their perseverance and steadfastness. I can be dedicated to my belief, but if I am not devoted to the work then my witness will reveal an empty faith that others will not trust.
McCheyne remained faithful and steadfast despite his frailty and illness in life. He struggled many times with different illnesses yet he continued in his work. He had to overcome a congregation that had dissention over his dedication to missions and his travel to affirm the mission work he so believed in. McCheyne also served in a day when the "state church" was breaking apart and he faced social upheaval. Spurgeon came into a church in a bad part of town, he overcame personal tragedy when people were killed when they came to hear him preach, and his wife and himself both had health issues. Through all of this they remained devout in their studies and their service. They persevered through the fiery trials to rise up and leave a legacy that we can draw on today.
This is so not like today. Men today rarely read at all. Women are having to carry the burdens of running the church, because men are too lazy and incompetent to step up and fulfill the roles that God has ordained for them. Prayer is becoming a lost art that people talk about or say they will do whimsically but they never follow through. Who has time for visitation? There just isn't enough time for all of the God things. We have developed a mentality that if we come on Sunday morning and attended both Sunday School and Worship Service then we have done God a favor. Most come to church as a ritual and they come expecting nothing and expecting to do nothing. That is completely and totally non-biblical. We are called to stand up and testify. Each of us will give an account for our actions to God.
As my pastor and I studied today we discussed this very topic. We should stand in awe and fear that one day we will stand in judgement before Christ and have to give an account for our use of our time and our lives on Earth. The question you have to ask yourself is have you been dedicated to God? Have you been devoted to your calling? Did you honor God with your stewardship of time, talent, and possessions? OH how I wish that we might see men with the character and honor of men like Spurgeon and McCheyne. I pray that God will give me the strength to be half the men that they were. The aspired to be like Jesus and that should be the goal of every Christian, but for some reason we have grown content with half-hearted worship and half-hearted service.
Men like McCheyne and Spurgeon believed that God should be first and foremost in our lives. You got up early and spent time with God before you started into your day. They would preach for days. In my recent book about McCheyne it told of a time when there was revival in his hometown of Dundee, Scotland and he preached for like 14 days in a row, until relief preachers finally arrived to assist him. That my friend is dedication. Today we are lucky to have revival service for more than 3 or 4 nights without people being upset about the time it is taking from their lives. When was the last time you were willing to pray without ceasing maybe for a half an hour? or an hour? We feel it is a blessing if we pray a quick prayer over the meal and maybe before we fall asleep. These were men who would pray for hours and with purpose and intent. They prayed with power, purpose, patience, and persistence. We feel that if we close our eyes for more than 30 seconds we should be taking a nap.
These were men who served their congregations and visited. They cared about the people. Spurgeon started orphanages for boys and McCheyne was known for working with youth. They spent time concerning missions. They felt the gospel was for all people. This dedication led them to be great leaders and great men of God. They read the word of God everyday, they prayed constantly, they served others, and they shared the truth un-apologetically and without hesitation. Dedication was a hallmark of their lives and their ministries.
This leads us to their devotion. Many would say that dedication and devotion are the same thing, but if you truly study you will find that they are different. Dedication is their willingness to stick to their beliefs and be persistent in their faith and lives. Devotion on the other hand speaks more to their perseverance and steadfastness. I can be dedicated to my belief, but if I am not devoted to the work then my witness will reveal an empty faith that others will not trust.
McCheyne remained faithful and steadfast despite his frailty and illness in life. He struggled many times with different illnesses yet he continued in his work. He had to overcome a congregation that had dissention over his dedication to missions and his travel to affirm the mission work he so believed in. McCheyne also served in a day when the "state church" was breaking apart and he faced social upheaval. Spurgeon came into a church in a bad part of town, he overcame personal tragedy when people were killed when they came to hear him preach, and his wife and himself both had health issues. Through all of this they remained devout in their studies and their service. They persevered through the fiery trials to rise up and leave a legacy that we can draw on today.
This is so not like today. Men today rarely read at all. Women are having to carry the burdens of running the church, because men are too lazy and incompetent to step up and fulfill the roles that God has ordained for them. Prayer is becoming a lost art that people talk about or say they will do whimsically but they never follow through. Who has time for visitation? There just isn't enough time for all of the God things. We have developed a mentality that if we come on Sunday morning and attended both Sunday School and Worship Service then we have done God a favor. Most come to church as a ritual and they come expecting nothing and expecting to do nothing. That is completely and totally non-biblical. We are called to stand up and testify. Each of us will give an account for our actions to God.
As my pastor and I studied today we discussed this very topic. We should stand in awe and fear that one day we will stand in judgement before Christ and have to give an account for our use of our time and our lives on Earth. The question you have to ask yourself is have you been dedicated to God? Have you been devoted to your calling? Did you honor God with your stewardship of time, talent, and possessions? OH how I wish that we might see men with the character and honor of men like Spurgeon and McCheyne. I pray that God will give me the strength to be half the men that they were. The aspired to be like Jesus and that should be the goal of every Christian, but for some reason we have grown content with half-hearted worship and half-hearted service.
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