I have been in the ministry for about 12 years now in different capacities. I have gone to seminars, sat through seminary classes, and read countless books on the subject of church. I have read a lot of books on how to grow your church. Pretty much all of those books contain a chapter or blurb about a vision statement. Coming up with a vision statement has been ingrained in my mind and it got to the point that I felt inadequate as a pastor if I did not have a cool vision statement that no other church had. Do you know how hard it is to come up with a vision statement? I have spent hours praying and even fasting over a vision statement, thinking that a vision statement would instantly grow my church.
Just recently I have come to a realization: the only vision the church needs is Jesus! I am not saying that it is not necessary to be organized and know what direction God wants your church to go. But, do we really need fancy vision statements that essentially say we are a church that follows the teachings, practices, and the person of Jesus Christ? No wonder people are so confused as to which church is the right church.
The consumer driven society we live in has made its way into the church. People want more than the Gospel. They want more than Jesus. They want a thriving youth ministry. They want great worship music (I will confess that I am one of those people). They want a great children's ministry. But, what would happen if you simply offered people Jesus? Would he be enough?
An old hymn that I like is "Be Thou My Vision." This hymn is a prayer asking the Lord of our hearts to be our vision not some fancy statement. If we are going to be the Church that Christ died for, He needs to be the vision of our churches. We have to stop catering to consumers and start following the Savior. We should never grow tired of the Gospel. We should never grow tired of hearing what Christ has done for us. We should be hungry and thirsty for more of Jesus. We should never push away from the table and tell him, "I'm full." Jesus himself said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6). But, the thing about being filled is that it is not a sense of fulness that is permanent. Jesus fills that empty void in our souls, but he leaves us wanting and craving more of him. This is how growth in our churches is going to happen. If we become more consumed with Jesus and less consumed with consumerism, then people will respond to that. We will be compelled to be involved in our churches. We will be compelled to take the Gospel to our neighborhoods. We will be compelled to be more like Jesus.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
So, what's my excuse?
In my devotional time tonight I read when Jesus predicted the disciples betrayal in Matthew 26:30-35. We read this account and wonder what the disciples were thinking. We think to ourselves, "How could you abandon and deny Christ? You walked with him for 3 years! Wake up!" However, something hit me tonight. To their credit, I don't think they really knew what they were getting into. Jesus was about to die a horrible and painful death. They didn't think this was going to happen. They never thought about the Messiah dying on the cross. They thought of the Messiah as a great conqueror of their enemies. They would never have envisioned their King arrested, tried, sentenced, and crucified. Fear overtook them. But, one thing to keep in mind is that the Holy Spirit had not come upon them yet (see Acts 2). This does not mean that the Holy Spirit never worked in the disciples lives before this. He obviously did, but He had not come to dwell inside of them in order to transform them from men overcome by fear to men who overcame their fear.
This is where I was challenged. I asked myself, "So, what's my excuse?" There are times where I deny Christ, whether it's through my actions, my words, my lack of words, etc. There are times where I ignore opportunities to show the love of Christ or tell someone about His great love and grace. I know I should find comfort and encouragement in the fact that the disciples did the same thing, but they did not have the life-transforming power of the third person of the Trinity known as the Holy Spirit living inside of them. I am a new creation in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17). I am transformed and should no longer conform (Romans 12:2). I am going to fear, but I do not have a spirit of fear that lives inside of me. I have a spirit of power! Paul writes to Timothy in II Timothy 1:7, "...for God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power, love, and self control." I no longer what to excuse myself from doing the Lord's work on a daily basis. I no longer want to use fear as an excuse for not opening my mouth and proclaiming the Gospel with boldness and passion. I no longer want to make excuses period.
This is where I was challenged. I asked myself, "So, what's my excuse?" There are times where I deny Christ, whether it's through my actions, my words, my lack of words, etc. There are times where I ignore opportunities to show the love of Christ or tell someone about His great love and grace. I know I should find comfort and encouragement in the fact that the disciples did the same thing, but they did not have the life-transforming power of the third person of the Trinity known as the Holy Spirit living inside of them. I am a new creation in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17). I am transformed and should no longer conform (Romans 12:2). I am going to fear, but I do not have a spirit of fear that lives inside of me. I have a spirit of power! Paul writes to Timothy in II Timothy 1:7, "...for God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power, love, and self control." I no longer what to excuse myself from doing the Lord's work on a daily basis. I no longer want to use fear as an excuse for not opening my mouth and proclaiming the Gospel with boldness and passion. I no longer want to make excuses period.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Seasons of Change
Last night as the snow was falling, I started to think about shoveling it the next day. That is not something I like to think about, but that was not always the case. Growing up in Arkansas, I saw snow maybe once or twice in my life. When I moved to New England, my eyes were opened to a whole new world of white, fluffy, cold snow. I remember my first major snow storm in New England. It snowed 15 inches. I remember walking out in it and sinking up to my knee! I could not help, but laugh. I had never seen so much snow in my life. Now, almost seven years later, the allure has worn off. I hate going out and shoveling the snow.
So, last night as I was thinking about shoveling the dreaded white stuff, my mind shifted to thinking about the beauty that snow brings to God's creation. Winter is so cold and harsh, but when the snow falls, it brings with it a calming peace. It also brings beauty and perfection. Sometimes I don't want to move any of the new fallen snow because it is so beautiful and perfect. There are no seams or cracks. It lays on the ground in a perfect covering of white.
Then I began to think about the seasons and how they can teach us some spiritual truths. When fall comes, fall brings a beautiful array of colors. But, these colors do not come without a price. The leaves change colors because they are in the process of dying. This may seem morbid, but there is beauty in this death just like there is beauty in the death to our old sinful selves. We need to die to our selves so that we may be united with Christ in his beautiful death on the cross brings us the forgiveness of our sins through his blood. That forgiveness of sins through his shed blood led me to think of the snow that winter brings. Snow is so perfectly white (before all the cars start splashing mud and other things onto it) and that is how God sees us through the shed blood of Christ. Isaiah 1:18 says, "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." This is the beauty of the shed blood of Jesus. If we believe in him and embrace him as our Savior, God washes our sins away and sees us like snow, perfectly white. This led me to spring. Spring brings new life. It is time for new leaves to replace the old ones. It is time for new buds to spring up. It is time for a new creation to replace the old through Jesus Christ. II Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come." Notice how Paul says the old has "passed away." The old leaves and buds pass away during the fall. Our old selves died in the fall of man; our new selves are raised with Christ a new creation. Romans 5:17 says, "For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ." Finally, we get to summer. Summer is a time to take a break from all of our hard work throughout the rest of the year. Summer is all about relaxing and enjoying time with friends. This what the new earth will be like. We will be able to rest from the years of work that we put in on this earth. A new earth will replace the old one and we will have one big party with God and all our brothers and sisters in Christ. Revelation 21:4 says, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
So, last night as I was thinking about shoveling the dreaded white stuff, my mind shifted to thinking about the beauty that snow brings to God's creation. Winter is so cold and harsh, but when the snow falls, it brings with it a calming peace. It also brings beauty and perfection. Sometimes I don't want to move any of the new fallen snow because it is so beautiful and perfect. There are no seams or cracks. It lays on the ground in a perfect covering of white.
Then I began to think about the seasons and how they can teach us some spiritual truths. When fall comes, fall brings a beautiful array of colors. But, these colors do not come without a price. The leaves change colors because they are in the process of dying. This may seem morbid, but there is beauty in this death just like there is beauty in the death to our old sinful selves. We need to die to our selves so that we may be united with Christ in his beautiful death on the cross brings us the forgiveness of our sins through his blood. That forgiveness of sins through his shed blood led me to think of the snow that winter brings. Snow is so perfectly white (before all the cars start splashing mud and other things onto it) and that is how God sees us through the shed blood of Christ. Isaiah 1:18 says, "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." This is the beauty of the shed blood of Jesus. If we believe in him and embrace him as our Savior, God washes our sins away and sees us like snow, perfectly white. This led me to spring. Spring brings new life. It is time for new leaves to replace the old ones. It is time for new buds to spring up. It is time for a new creation to replace the old through Jesus Christ. II Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold the new has come." Notice how Paul says the old has "passed away." The old leaves and buds pass away during the fall. Our old selves died in the fall of man; our new selves are raised with Christ a new creation. Romans 5:17 says, "For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ." Finally, we get to summer. Summer is a time to take a break from all of our hard work throughout the rest of the year. Summer is all about relaxing and enjoying time with friends. This what the new earth will be like. We will be able to rest from the years of work that we put in on this earth. A new earth will replace the old one and we will have one big party with God and all our brothers and sisters in Christ. Revelation 21:4 says, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Who's our Interpreter?
When I was on a mission trip to Nicaragua in 1998, there was only one person in our group who spoke Spanish. Anytime any of us would be having a conversation with someone, we would constantly be calling for him to interpret for us and the person we were talking to. After a while, I felt bad for him because he looked so tired of running back and forth between conversations. But, he was a very valued member of our group because we never had to question who our interpreter was. He was the man and he did an excellent job of it.
The reason I tell that story is because in the Church today, it seems like there is uncertainty about who our interpreter of Scripture is. Jesus said in John 16:13-14, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come." Jesus teaches the disciples that the work of the Holy Spirit is to guide us into all truth. Our world claims to have many truths. All the religions claim to be true. The Holy Spirit is here to guide us in all truth found the Scriptures because those contain the true words of God. However, something I have noticed lately is that so-called Christians are not allowing the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth. Christians are turning to another interpreter to "illuminate" the Scriptures for them, the philosophies of this world. In our goal to become more relevant, the Church in some parts of our country are becoming too relevant by allowing worldly philosophies that come and go to interpret the timeless and unchangeable Word of God. Rather than calling on the Holy Spirit to guide them to the truth of a difficult passage of Scripture, we are running to all the worldly philosophies that are out there to give us "wisdom." It makes me question whether some in the Church have had their minds renewed by the Holy Spirit of God. Paul says in Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you will be test and approve what God's will is; his good, pleasing, and perfect will." Paul warns against conforming to the pattern of this world and I don't think some Christians are heeding that warning.
I have talked with those who profess Christ through Facebook and through other conversations about their views of Scripture and the Bible. It breaks my heart to see those who are supposedly transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit interpret Scripture to conform with the world's ideas of what is right and wrong. The Bible is our standard for what is right and wrong and when the Bible is black and white over an issue, then as followers of Christ, we need believe that and adhere to it. Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." This echoes what God told the Israelites through Moses before they entered the Promised Land. And, if Jesus is the same God who spoke to the Israelites about keeping the commandments then we need to do the same if we are to confess our love for Christ. Christ did not set us free so that we could have the freedom to follow what we wanted to. He set us free so that we would be unhindered in our devotion and service to Him.
So, who is your interpreter of the Scriptures? Do you let the philosophies of this world interpret the Scriptures for you and if so, what do you think of Jesus' statement in John 14:15? This world needs those who are devoted to Christ wholeheartedly. The more we look like the world, the more Jesus will look less and less necessary for people's lives. People need a Savior not another worldly philosopher. Christians, we need to be courageous enough to stand for the truth and we need the Holy Spirit, not the world, to guide us into all truth.
The reason I tell that story is because in the Church today, it seems like there is uncertainty about who our interpreter of Scripture is. Jesus said in John 16:13-14, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come." Jesus teaches the disciples that the work of the Holy Spirit is to guide us into all truth. Our world claims to have many truths. All the religions claim to be true. The Holy Spirit is here to guide us in all truth found the Scriptures because those contain the true words of God. However, something I have noticed lately is that so-called Christians are not allowing the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth. Christians are turning to another interpreter to "illuminate" the Scriptures for them, the philosophies of this world. In our goal to become more relevant, the Church in some parts of our country are becoming too relevant by allowing worldly philosophies that come and go to interpret the timeless and unchangeable Word of God. Rather than calling on the Holy Spirit to guide them to the truth of a difficult passage of Scripture, we are running to all the worldly philosophies that are out there to give us "wisdom." It makes me question whether some in the Church have had their minds renewed by the Holy Spirit of God. Paul says in Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you will be test and approve what God's will is; his good, pleasing, and perfect will." Paul warns against conforming to the pattern of this world and I don't think some Christians are heeding that warning.
I have talked with those who profess Christ through Facebook and through other conversations about their views of Scripture and the Bible. It breaks my heart to see those who are supposedly transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit interpret Scripture to conform with the world's ideas of what is right and wrong. The Bible is our standard for what is right and wrong and when the Bible is black and white over an issue, then as followers of Christ, we need believe that and adhere to it. Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." This echoes what God told the Israelites through Moses before they entered the Promised Land. And, if Jesus is the same God who spoke to the Israelites about keeping the commandments then we need to do the same if we are to confess our love for Christ. Christ did not set us free so that we could have the freedom to follow what we wanted to. He set us free so that we would be unhindered in our devotion and service to Him.
So, who is your interpreter of the Scriptures? Do you let the philosophies of this world interpret the Scriptures for you and if so, what do you think of Jesus' statement in John 14:15? This world needs those who are devoted to Christ wholeheartedly. The more we look like the world, the more Jesus will look less and less necessary for people's lives. People need a Savior not another worldly philosopher. Christians, we need to be courageous enough to stand for the truth and we need the Holy Spirit, not the world, to guide us into all truth.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Desire versus obligation
Today is Valentine's Day. This is the day where millions of men all over this country are frantically scrambling to find flowers at the last minute for their wives, girlfriends, or fiancees so they won't be upset with them. I can be right there with them some years, so I know the feeling of sheer panic that I almost forgot to send my lovely wife flowers or planned a romantic evening for just the two of us. Observing this trend in our country, it makes me wonder if we are doing this for our wives out of a desire to show them how much we love them or do we feel obligated to check this day off the yearly husband check list. I think Valentine's Day should be a wake up call for the men of our society, especially those who follow Christ. We are commanded to love our wives as Christ loved the Church, which means sacrificially. If we are showing love to our wives on Valentine's Day only then we are not fulfilling the God-given command as husbands and men. What our society is missing is real men who are not afraid to show that they desire their wives above all other people in their lives. Our society says the mark of a man is one who does not show emotion. Men are supposed to be stone-cold and tough. However, the greatest man who ever lived, Jesus Christ, was not emotionless or stone-cold towards women. His society treated women as less than human. They were supposed to keep quiet and stay in the house while the men went out to work and socialize. Jesus ignored this cultural stigma towards women. He spoke with a Samaritan woman in public (John 4) which a Jewish man just did not do in his time. Women followed him around (Mary Magdalene) and women were the ones who found his tomb empty while the rough and tough men who were the closest to him were hiding out behind locked doors. As men, if we are afraid to show emotion and let those around us know how much we love our wives, then we need to ask ourselves how much we really love them. I would not be the man I am today if it were not for my wife. She is everything to me. Besides Jesus (who is number 1 by far) she is the next most important person in my life. She helps me in so many ways. She is loving and considerate. She is thoughtful and her attitude towards life is challenging and infectious. I am not afraid to let the world know how much she means to me everyday because I see her as a gift from God that is to be treasured and cherished above all other treasures this world has to offer.
The standard of a real man is found in Jesus. He was not afraid to show his emotions. He was not afraid to exalt women to a higher standing in society. He was not afraid to show love to his closest male friends. Sometimes men are uncomfortable to show love towards some of their closest guy friends, but this is what Jesus did. Men need love too. Love is not a weakness; it is the greatest strength we could have. Paul says that faith, hope, and love remain, but the greatest of these is love (I Corinthians 13). God was not afraid to show people everywhere how much He loved all of us by sending Jesus to die in our place. Therefore, real men should not be afraid to let their guard down, get emotional, and show love because our wives/fiancees/girlfriends need it, our kids need it, our friends need it, and our society needs it. Rise up men of God and love!
The standard of a real man is found in Jesus. He was not afraid to show his emotions. He was not afraid to exalt women to a higher standing in society. He was not afraid to show love to his closest male friends. Sometimes men are uncomfortable to show love towards some of their closest guy friends, but this is what Jesus did. Men need love too. Love is not a weakness; it is the greatest strength we could have. Paul says that faith, hope, and love remain, but the greatest of these is love (I Corinthians 13). God was not afraid to show people everywhere how much He loved all of us by sending Jesus to die in our place. Therefore, real men should not be afraid to let their guard down, get emotional, and show love because our wives/fiancees/girlfriends need it, our kids need it, our friends need it, and our society needs it. Rise up men of God and love!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Fearless Living
Fearless has been a word on my mind lately. I used to be very afraid to speak in public. Oral presentations in high school were the bane of my existence. I hated talking in front of people because I was so afraid of what people thought of me. Now, I get in front of people and talk almost everyday of the week. It's amazing what God can do in a person's life.
However, I would not say that I'm fearless. I still have fears about what people think of me. When I first came to the church I'm a pastor of now, I was afraid of upsetting anyone or doing anything wrong. So, lately fearless has been at the forefront of my mind. I have been praying for boldness and courage lately because I have looked at my everyday routine and wondered to myself, "Is this what living for the kingdom looks like?"
Biographies have captured my attention lately. I have read one on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and am currently reading one on William Wilberforce, the man who took a stand against slavery in Britain in the late 1700s. It is amazing the courage these men had in the face of dire circumstances. Also, I have been thinking about the life of Paul as well. This was a man who faced the most extreme circumstances, but kept going till the end of his life, spreading the message of the kingdom of God wherever God took him. These are the kind of men I aspire to be. I aspire to be a man who is fearless in spreading the Gospel. I also want to fearlessly live the great adventure of following Jesus. I don't want to be satisfied with a normal existence. I don't want to be satisfied with a life that is lived good enough. I want to live a life that is full of days ( a phrase used to describe Job at the end of the book of Job). I want to live a life that is fearless not in the sense of doing daring deeds, but in the sense of boldly, passionately, and fearlessly spreading the story of the King I love and live for. I want to live the words of Paul when he said "I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew then for the Gentile" (Romans 1:16). In the words of Casting Crowns, "We were made to be courageous." The world needs courageous people who are not afraid to share the message of hope. Families need courageous men who are not afraid to be the husbands and fathers their wives and children need them to be. Families need courageous women who will not be afraid to stand against the women's liberation movement and be the wives and mothers their husbands and children so desperately need. Churches need courageous leaders who are not afraid to speak the truth in love, never compromising for the sake of worldly acceptance. Teenagers need courageous peers who will not be afraid to stand out from the crowd and be different for the sake of holiness. Lord, make us courageous!
However, I would not say that I'm fearless. I still have fears about what people think of me. When I first came to the church I'm a pastor of now, I was afraid of upsetting anyone or doing anything wrong. So, lately fearless has been at the forefront of my mind. I have been praying for boldness and courage lately because I have looked at my everyday routine and wondered to myself, "Is this what living for the kingdom looks like?"
Biographies have captured my attention lately. I have read one on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and am currently reading one on William Wilberforce, the man who took a stand against slavery in Britain in the late 1700s. It is amazing the courage these men had in the face of dire circumstances. Also, I have been thinking about the life of Paul as well. This was a man who faced the most extreme circumstances, but kept going till the end of his life, spreading the message of the kingdom of God wherever God took him. These are the kind of men I aspire to be. I aspire to be a man who is fearless in spreading the Gospel. I also want to fearlessly live the great adventure of following Jesus. I don't want to be satisfied with a normal existence. I don't want to be satisfied with a life that is lived good enough. I want to live a life that is full of days ( a phrase used to describe Job at the end of the book of Job). I want to live a life that is fearless not in the sense of doing daring deeds, but in the sense of boldly, passionately, and fearlessly spreading the story of the King I love and live for. I want to live the words of Paul when he said "I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew then for the Gentile" (Romans 1:16). In the words of Casting Crowns, "We were made to be courageous." The world needs courageous people who are not afraid to share the message of hope. Families need courageous men who are not afraid to be the husbands and fathers their wives and children need them to be. Families need courageous women who will not be afraid to stand against the women's liberation movement and be the wives and mothers their husbands and children so desperately need. Churches need courageous leaders who are not afraid to speak the truth in love, never compromising for the sake of worldly acceptance. Teenagers need courageous peers who will not be afraid to stand out from the crowd and be different for the sake of holiness. Lord, make us courageous!
Monday, January 16, 2012
The provision of God
Today was a day full of provision. We celebrated my wife's 29th birthday. The verse of Scripture that is our verse for each other is Philippians 1:3, "I thank my God every time I remember you." I truly thank my God every day for my wife. I prayed for so long that God would send me the right one. There were wrong ones along the way. One day God spoke to me and said she was coming and that I just had to wait. A month (that is a rough estimate because my memory is terrible) later I met Allie and we have been together ever since. She is such a joy to my life. She does so much for me and I would truly be lost without her. Whenever we celebrate her birthday, I feel like I'm celebrating mine because she is the greatest gift I have ever received. She challenges me and encourages me. She puts me in my place and holds me when life is beating on me. I love her and I look forward to the next 29 years with her by the grace of God.
God also provided in another big way today. As many people know we are expecting our third child in the midst of owning a small SUV and a four door sedan. Needless to say the car space we have is not going to be enough to hold three car seats at a time. So, we started our search for a mini van and since I am the stay at home parent, I will be driving the aforementioned van. I have come to grips with this reality and I refuse to let it take away my cool points (if I even had any to begin with). The boys were being a little wild today and we both felt like we needed a little break and had time to kill, so we got a last minute babysitter to watch them for a couple of hours so we could go look for a van. After getting some frozen yogurt (which was awesome!), we headed to the dealership with the intent of inquiring and not buying. Maybe it was the yogurt, but 2 hours later, we had just traded in our sedan for a minivan. I was nervous about the purchase, but my amazing wife was convinced that this was God providing for our family. We got what we wanted on the trade-in and our monthly payments will actually be less for the van than they were for the car. God is so amazing how He knows exactly what we need and leads us to the right places to provide it for us.
The last way God provided was in the form of opportunity. The salesman was very helpful and nice. Through our conversation, I learned that he was a musician who plays many instruments (27 to be exact). So, I invited him to our church coffeehouse. He said he hadn't been to church in a while and hinted that it was not a big priority. I will be praying for more opportunities with him and praying that God will lead him to our coffeehouse so that he may hear the beautiful story of Jesus.
The last way God provided was a teaching moment. I felt like I could have taken more advantage of the opportunity He provided with the salesman, but I still get nervous at times when talking about things of faith. It does not happen all the time, but there are times when it does. I used to be very shy and that shyness still lingers. As I rocked my youngest son to sleep tonight, I prayed that God would give me boldness. I want to stop caring about what people are thinking of me and serve my Lord with all my heart and soul. I want my passion for Him to pour out of me and my conversations and words to be seasoned with salt and full of grace.
So, what I will take away from today is that there is no better place to be than living under God's provision whether it comes materially or in a time of teaching. I love how He provides and know that it is only by His grace that I have what I have.
God also provided in another big way today. As many people know we are expecting our third child in the midst of owning a small SUV and a four door sedan. Needless to say the car space we have is not going to be enough to hold three car seats at a time. So, we started our search for a mini van and since I am the stay at home parent, I will be driving the aforementioned van. I have come to grips with this reality and I refuse to let it take away my cool points (if I even had any to begin with). The boys were being a little wild today and we both felt like we needed a little break and had time to kill, so we got a last minute babysitter to watch them for a couple of hours so we could go look for a van. After getting some frozen yogurt (which was awesome!), we headed to the dealership with the intent of inquiring and not buying. Maybe it was the yogurt, but 2 hours later, we had just traded in our sedan for a minivan. I was nervous about the purchase, but my amazing wife was convinced that this was God providing for our family. We got what we wanted on the trade-in and our monthly payments will actually be less for the van than they were for the car. God is so amazing how He knows exactly what we need and leads us to the right places to provide it for us.
The last way God provided was in the form of opportunity. The salesman was very helpful and nice. Through our conversation, I learned that he was a musician who plays many instruments (27 to be exact). So, I invited him to our church coffeehouse. He said he hadn't been to church in a while and hinted that it was not a big priority. I will be praying for more opportunities with him and praying that God will lead him to our coffeehouse so that he may hear the beautiful story of Jesus.
The last way God provided was a teaching moment. I felt like I could have taken more advantage of the opportunity He provided with the salesman, but I still get nervous at times when talking about things of faith. It does not happen all the time, but there are times when it does. I used to be very shy and that shyness still lingers. As I rocked my youngest son to sleep tonight, I prayed that God would give me boldness. I want to stop caring about what people are thinking of me and serve my Lord with all my heart and soul. I want my passion for Him to pour out of me and my conversations and words to be seasoned with salt and full of grace.
So, what I will take away from today is that there is no better place to be than living under God's provision whether it comes materially or in a time of teaching. I love how He provides and know that it is only by His grace that I have what I have.
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