Thanks for letting me serve you.

We were two guys conversing while we waited. He noted the cross I always wear and asked about it. I told him I was a Christian and a pastor, that I had worn one for many years. He laughed, shook his head, and told me that his father was a pastor but “I was not ready to take on that life.” We agreed that serving as a pastor to God’s people is a good thing and requires a ‘calling,’ which he told me, “I never heard.” When I was 16, I did hear that Call. 

 

Being a Pastor is both what I do and who I am. The work is like any other occupation, with both up’s and down’s.  I am privileged to teach the Word, to counsel, to pray, to lock the church doors, and to make sure we have a balanced budget.  In the same week I often share in – birth and death, grief and celebration. I am called in times of crises:  marriage difficulty, tragedy, serious illness. The burden of speaking is to ‘rightly divide the Word of Truth.’  To be interesting and to be faithful to the Word is sometimes a challenge.

Yes, there is heartbreak. People angry at God sometimes aim their frustration at me, seeing me as His representative. One of the hardest things is when people I love just walk away – often without explanation, leaving me wondering how I could have better served them. I find myself elated when I see someone growing in Christ, when I walk a person to the point of accepting Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

You can bless this Pastor, and your pastor if you go to another church, with these wonderful gifts.

1. Pray for him, every day.

Ask the Lord to keep and protect him, to help him to be disciplined and courageous, and to be loving in times of trial, and to stay renewed and alive in the Spirit.  Remember, spiritual leaders are front-line targets. When a pastor fails, there is hurt and disappointment. Even where there is no moral compromise, like all people, pastors become discouraged or disillusioned. So, pray for your Pastor.

2. Accept him and the spiritual gifts God has given to him.

Appreciate the unique strengths of your Pastor and encourage him in those areas where he is not as proficient. He probably knows the gaps in his skills and gifts better than you do. Remember, too, that he does not possess every gift of the Spirit. He, like you, has been created by the Lord to serve in a unique way.

3. If you must criticize him, (and no pastor is above correction or criticism) do it honestly and directly.

If you have an issue with your pastor, make a time to sit with him and tell him about it. The church looks very different from his side of the pulpit and he may not share your perception. Give him the opportunity to explain that decision with which you disagree.  Take time to understand yourself before you criticize your pastor. If you are angry with God, do not take it out on the one in the pulpit.

4. Don't idolize or idealize him.

He must live what he teaches, but he cannot do it not perfectly. He, like you, is working out his salvation each day, a recipient of God’s grace. If you turn him into idol, you sin because only God is worthy of your worship and devotion. If you idealize him, pushing him onto a pedestal, you will be disappointed. From that place, his ability to serve you is nearly impossible. He teaches you best, not from some lofty place far removed, but as leads you with an authentic, observable, living faith in a loving Lord. Jesus cautioned his disciples about seeking titles, about hiding behind robes. (see Matthew 23)

We are the family of God. Don’t try to make your pastor more than he is – a Christian walking with Jesus – just like you.

I hope it does not sound self-serving, but remember that the Word teaches that pastors are a gift from God to His church. The Lord "gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13, NLT)  What a ministry position description!

Here is a word from the Word. "Appreciate your pastoral leaders who gave you the Word of God. Take a good look at the way they live, and let their faithfulness instruct you, as well as their truthfulness. There should be a consistency that runs through us all.... Be responsive to your pastoral leaders. Listen to their counsel. They are alert to the condition of your lives and work under the strict supervision of God. Contribute to the joy of their leadership, not its drudgery. Why would you want to make things harder for them?" (Hebrews 13:7, 17 The Message)

This Sunday marks the 19^th anniversary of my pastoral call to Faith Discovery Church. Thanks for letting me serve you!

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A note – I use the male pronoun in this blog, not exclusively. God’s gifts and callings are given equally to men and women.

A Stunning Choice

...to Forgive

The tragic case of the ‘wrong apartment’ killing in Dallas, wrapped up with the female police officer who shot and killed a young man in his own apartment convicted of murder. Amber Guyger came home after a 13 hour shift and says she went to the wrong floor and entered the wrong apartment thinking it was her own. She killed Botham Jean, who lived in that apartment, claiming she thought he was an intruder. 

She was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Yesterday, videos went viral on the internet showing that young man’s brother telling Ms. Guyger to go to Jesus where she could find her guilt taken away. He asked the judge for permission to go and hug the woman who killed his brother! His father said he hoped to become her friend. Both expressed profound forgiveness.

Their choice comes from their devotion to Christ Jesus, from hearts willing to surrender hatred and bitterness,  replacing those corrosive feelings with Jesus’ love. It is such a counter-cultural choice the whole nation paused to consider it.  This brought to mind the choice to forgive made by grieving Amish families whose chose to forgive the Charlie Roberts who murdered 5 of their children in a school house shooting in 2006.  The choice of Christians who sincerely forgave the wrong offender stunned the nation then, too.

Forgiveness is a cornerstone of our Christian faith!  “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins." (Matthew 6:14-15, NLT)  We forgive because we are forgiven and we find forgiveness in forgiving!

The reason so many refuse to do it is because they do not really understand what it means to forgive. The common idea is that forgiveness somehow implies that ‘what you did no longer matters.’  How untrue. God forgives but He is also just. A person can seek justice, as the family in Dallas did, yet do so without malice or hatred. The most complete forgiveness, the kind we witnessed yesterday, comes from the conviction that God is the Ultimate Judge and that He will grant perfect justice. Genuine forgiveness that goes beyond just saying the right words is a release of our desire for vengeance, along with any sense that the one who wronged us owes us something, to God.  “Lord, you will give me justice, so I release this person to You.”

Genuine forgiveness is not easy, never simple, nor does it come to us naturally. We forgive because our obedience to Christ Jesus as Lord is greater than our natural desire for retribution.

Jesus teaches us to put our security in God’s hands. “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak (coat), do not stop him from taking your tunic.(shirt)  Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:27-31, NIV)

Are you hanging onto a wound, nursing a grudge, hoping the one who wronged you feels your anger?  If you’re God’s child, you are hurting yourself much more than you are hurting the offender. That anger, that hate, makes you a prisoner of the person who did you wrong, keeping you tied to a time and place of pain. Forgive! Give the person, the pain, the anger, the desire for revenge to the Lord, trusting His perfect justice. It is a radical choice, but there is great freedom to be found.  Pray for faith to make that hard decision. Then, obey the Spirit’s invitation to forgive.

Here is a word from the Word. "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, “I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,” says the Lord. Instead, do what the Scriptures say: “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you.” Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good." (Romans 12:17-21, NLT)

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Here As In Heaven

The atmosphere is changing now

For the Spirit of the Lord is here

The evidence is all around

That the Spirit of the Lord is here

Overflow in this place

Fill our hearts with your love

Your love surrounds us

You're the reason we came to encounter your love

Your love surrounds us

Spirit of God fall fresh on us

We need your presence

Your kingdom come your will be done

Here as in heaven

A miracle can happen now

For the Spirit of the Lord is here

The evidence is all around

That the Spirit of the Lord is here

Chris Brown | Mack Brock | Matthew Ntlele | Steven Furtick | Wade Joye

© 2015 Music by Elevation Worship Publishing (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)

CCLI License # 810055

Fantasy or Faith?

 

Sometimes I am able to solve the BIG problems, make everybody happy, and accomplish amazing things – in my dreams! My mind is able to create a world where everyone lives 'happily ever after’ when I slip the bounds of consciousness during sleep. Then, I wake up to real life, to the renewed knowledge that solutions are created with hard work and implemented, step by step. It is a world in which I make mistakes, endure outcomes that I did not see coming.  Here is what I also know - often my disappointments become the doorways to discovery of God's plans. At the end of my resources, if I walk with Him in faith, He acts in His own mysterious ways and almost never within my timetable.

Are you facing multiple challenges, kind of wishing you could find a quick and painless way to solve those problems? Are you tired? Even weariness, however, has its own kind of blessing. When we’re just too tired to stand, we can kneel in prayer and listen to the Spirit more intently.

Peter was inspired to leave us this wonderful wisdom about trusting God through it all. Read it carefully! "God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. ... Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!"  (1 Peter 4:10-16, NLT)

First, God says that HE prepares us to be part of His work and gives us divine abilities to fulfill His purposes.
You can serve Him.  I can, too. Because, He has resourced us!

 
Second, He assured us that the hard stuff is part of being human and that all of these painful things serve the purpose of burning away the fog that obscures the brightness of Christ Jesus shining through me!
Raising godly kids, dealing with our own temptation, doing what God asks us to do, pressing toward excellence in life – these require the presence of the Spirit in us – if we want Jesus to shine through.

Third, He says that the pain makes us partners with Christ, joined in His suffering, and open to the Spirit's strength.
That’s not a very popular idea even in the Christian world where so many trumpet perpetual triumph, breakthroughs, and prosperity for all. Yet, it is a consistent theme in the Word that without suffering there is no real growth.

Fourth, God invites us to praise Him for the privilege of being named ‘child of God!’

If we could find some magical method to create a world of eternal sunshine, without any suffering, full of perpetual happiness Peter tells us we would not seek God as He desires. Without stress that forces growth we will remain immature, undeveloped.

I loved visiting with my 5 year old grandson on Monday. He was blissfully unaware of the turmoil in our government, untroubled by the decay of our culture.  He is amazingly happy, as little children ought to be. Have you mistakenly believed that disciples of Christ should continue to live as little children- unaware of the world in which they live?   We do need a child-like faith that trusts the provision of our Father, but we cannot lose ourselves in playing at life while the world burns, can we? 

I am a mature man, called to the work of building the Kingdom of God in a world full of sin that makes that task sometimes hard. God will not give me all the answers I want, magically waving away every trouble, but He will give me (and you) all we need for ‘life and godliness,’ to live with steady endurance and in full faith in His strength to keep us.

Take Paul’s testimony about God’s sufficient promises to heart today. Here is a word from the Word. "I think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead. And he did deliver us from mortal danger. And we are confident that he will continue to deliver us. He will rescue us because you are helping by praying for us. As a result, many will give thanks to God because so many people’s prayers for our safety have been answered." (2 Corinthians 1:8-11, NLT)

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God Only Knows

(For King and Country sings a beautiful song! Enjoy)

Wide awake while the world is sound asleep and

Too afraid of what might show up

While you're dreamin'

Nobody nobody nobody sees you

Nobody nobody will believe you

Every day you try to pick up all the pieces

All the memories they somehow never leave ya

Nobody nobody nobody sees you

Nobody nobody will believe you

God only knows what you been through

God only knows what they say about you

God only knows how it's killing you

But there's a kind of a love that God only knows

God only knows what you been through

God only knows what they say about you

God only knows the real you

There's a kind of a love that God only knows

There's a kind of love that

There's a kind of love

You keep a cover over every single secret

So afraid if someone saw them they would leave

But somebody somebody somebody sees you

Somebody somebody will never leave you

For the lonely for the ashamed

The misunderstood and the ones to blame

What if we can start over

We could start over we could start over

'Cause there's a kinda love that God only knows

God only knows where to find you

God only knows how to break through

God only knows the real you

There's a kind of love that God only knows

Joel Smallbone | Jordan Reynolds | Josh Kerr | Luke Smallbone | Tedd Tjornhom

© 2018 Curb Wordspring Music (Admin. by W.B.M. Music Corp.)

Shaun Shankel Pub Designee (Admin. by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.)

Buckeye26 (Admin. by WB Music Corp.)

CCLI License # 810055

Adding to His family?

 

One of the great joys of my life are those holy moments when I am privileged to lead people to know the love of God, to receive the gift of His grace. For some it is a dramatic moment of high emotion, with tears, and then a flood of happiness. For others it is a dawning realization, a settling of the truth about the love of their Father shown them through Jesus, that takes root in their lives.  The Spirit moves, the heart surrenders, and there is new birth into the family of God.  This moment is so significant that Jesus said that there is “rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)

We know that He told us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, but do we do this work?  

Or do we think that leading others to know Jesus is the specialized work of missionaries and evangelists? 

I see evangelizing poorly done and it makes me cringe. While I admire the courage of that person who asks a perfect stranger if they know Jesus, I also wonder if the question only produces embarrassment about 99% of the time. I have seen clumsy attempts made to press leaflets into the hands of reluctant persons and know how irritating that is to me. I would not buy an appliance from someone who knocked on my front door, so why would I discuss how I feel about my relationship with God with a stranger? You can introduce people to Christ without embarrassing them, without resorting to threats of eternal damnation.

How?

Be prayerfully aware of spiritual need!  

Jesus took His disciples through Samaria, among people almost all Jews of the time thought were beyond God’s reach, and He told them “Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”  (John 4:35)  Among our friends and in our extended families there are those who are struggling with guilt, looking for meaning, wondering about God. If we are sensitive we will see their need, which is the first step.

Pray before you speak!  

Conversion is more than convincing someone to agree with you about some things you read in the Bible. No one can be saved apart from God’s work in the heart. We pray, consistently, expectantly, faithful for the Spirit to shed light and bring revelation of the Truth.

Let your life speak more loudly than your words!

Prior to most every decision about buying something or engaging a contractor, we read reviews and/or get recommendations from friends. We don’t live in small communities anymore where everyone knows the kind of work that someone does or if she is reliable, so we look for a ‘witness’ who tells us about their experience.  Most people who come to Christ through your efforts will do so because they see an undeniable quality of life and love in you. “I want what you have,” is the underlying fact.

Know how to use the Scripture well!  

You can take a person to the story of a lost son who came home to a loving Father (Luke 15) and let it speak to your friend.  You can point to the promise of new birth that Jesus shared with a Nicodemus in John 3. You can lead them through key points that Romans makes about the separation sin creates and the forgive God offers -  (“All have sinned … Wages of sin is death, Gift of God is eternal life.”)  3:23; 6:23    

Sharing Jesus does not come in a formula or with a “one-size fits all” speech.  We converse, weaving our witness with God’s truth, and the Spirit brings new life.

The most joyful Christians I know are those who are sharing their love of Jesus with others – teaching, loving, inviting, integrating faith into everyday life.  It’s not easy work. It’s a little like having children. Ask a parent. Children are costly, steal sleep when they are babies and teenagers, make impossible demands of us, sometimes disappoint, can be ungrateful – and – they love us, enrich us, fill us with warmth – all at the same time.  Praying with someone to accept Jesus and seeing them born again is just the beginning. After that comes the investment of making disciples.

The word from the Word is an invitation for us to join the ongoing work of making Christ and His rule known in all the world.

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, NLT) "But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NLT)

The world is waiting, starting at your front door. Let’s go!

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No Longer Slaves

You unravel me with a melody

You surround me with a song

Of deliverance from my enemies

Till all my fears are gone

I'm no longer a slave to fear

I am a child of God

I'm no longer a slave to fear

I am a child of God

From my Mother's womb

You have chosen me

Love has called my name

I've been born again into Your family

Your blood flows through my veins

You split the sea so I could walk right through it

My fears were drowned in perfect love

You rescued me so I could stand and sing

I am a child of God

Brian Johnson | Joel Case | Jonathan David Helser

© 2014 Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055