Considerations and Consternations

Over the next few posts I plan to give some thoughts on our trip to Guinea. It is a great privilege of mine to lead students on mission trips around the world. From these experiences I have been impacted in so many ways. I am most grateful to have seen the Lord at work in many contexts. I leave invigorated and challenged.

I love seeing how God does His unbelievable work in other contexts. It is sad that we forget about the Lord working in our "home base" until we are exposed to his fresh work around the world. We get so used to our life and settling for the status quo, that we need to be shaken out of the dull-drums in order to "see" his work through the eyes of faith. The Lord is present and at work all over this beautiful planet. God is bigger and his arms reach beyond our imagination.

So let me ask you? Have you gotten lost in the day to day of your life? Have you forgotten that God is always present and at work in your life and the community where you live? You need not travel thousands of miles to be reminded that the Lord is always at work. Sure it can help, but it is not necessary to see God's faithful hand at work.

What can you and I do? Ask the Lord to open your eyes. Ask the Lord to take you to a place where you see his work through faith. Today do something for the Lord that you have never done before. This will break up the routine you are in and get you off the comfort seat in your faith.

God is at work. The question is, do we see it and are we going to join him?

Africa - Missions - Etc.

Our team of 10 will be leaving tomorrow for our second trip to Guinea. We are most excited about the opportunity to go back and work with these wonderful people. The Lord has given us an opportunity to work with some of the most amazing missionaries. They have given their lives(19 years of work) to touch the lives of those far from God. Last year we had such a great experience and we expect to have another wonderful experience again this year. Please pray for us as we go serve in the name of Christ.

We must not treat missions as a trip, rather we must see it as way of life. If missions were just a trip, then we could easily compartmentalize it and go on with business as usual. But the truth is we have to live our lives in way that lives out the Gospel of Jesus Christ daily. We can't take the weekend off or go to work without having the eyes of Jesus Christ lead us. No we must be shaped by Christ in all we do.

"Press on..." The Apostle Paul to the Phillipian Christians

Value

Where does your value come from? What are you worth? Is their a price on your life? God thinks so. He seems to think that you have great value. Most of the time people allow other things give them their value.

What gives you a sense of worth? Is it your career? Is it your name? Is it your financial status? Most people allow these aspects of their life to define them. The problem is these items in our life can change randomly and often. We are not guaranteed another day let alone that our wealth will last a lifetime. But this does not stop us.

The truth is we must realize that all external value is variable and can't be trusted. We must find our value in the fact that we are loved by God and he displayed this for us in Christ.

So let me ask you again. Where does your value come from? Only when we find our value from the significance God places on us we will never be satisfied. The Lord is overall and in all and when he fills us we are then changed by him. Everything changes.

You have value because God says you have value and that is enough!!

The Great Invitation

It has been a while and I'm so glad to be back actually. I miss taking the time to write out some of my thoughts. It really does seem that it has been way too long. This morning in my sermon I used Matthew 22:1-14 as my text. The text explains that the Kingdom of God is like a king who invites people to a wedding feast and wants them to come and join him at the feast. But they turn him down. The people are caught up in trivial activities and won't slip away for the banquet.
When was the last time that you gave God the cold shoulder and turned aside toward your own desires. Have you ever turned God down? I have and I am sure you have. My prayer tonight as I go to bed is that I would be more mindful of the opportunities in front of me. I want to make the most of them. May God give us the courage to do all that he places on our hearts. May the Lord take us to new places as we walk with Him daily.

Easter

I love Easter. It is so much fun. Preaching is always fun, but during the Easter season it is so awesome. It seems that too often we only give it about one day a year and yet the affects of the Christ event are felt for a lifetime and beyond for the believer. Take some time this week and read the passages of scripture that relate to Easter. They will take your mind and heart to a new place.

I am praying for fresh movement of the Lord. I am praying that God would do something in and around me for His glory. Are you okay with the way things are in your life, marriage, or career? Take some time to evaluate what God is up to and what God might want to change or tweak. You never know what the Lord may do, so simply open your life up to him and he will lead!

Have a great day and take care!!

Divine Directives

There is a point in the life of Jesus when the scriptures say that he set out for Jerusalem. Jesus made a deliberate decision to go to Jerusalem. Jesus knew that he was stepping into the hornets nest, but there was no other way. Jesus knew he must face the ridicule and taunts of the religious leaders. He was well aware that he would soon face the pain of the cross and yet he did not back down.

Jesus only wanted to be obedient. Do you? Do I? Most of the time I run the other way when Jesus is just is leading me further. I must deal with this tendency and begin to walk in full obedience. If Jesus is leading we will be fine. Jesus he overcame, thus we can too!!

Problem of Success

How do you handle success in your life? Have you had much? Have you had a little here and there? Most people long for success, but mostly as the world defines it. We long to be known. We long to be famous, but but this should never be the focus of our attention. We should not allow something else to take the place God. We can put anything in this spot. For many it is the prize of fame. To be noticed. To be seen. To be heard. Timothy Keller says our hearts are idol factories. This is true.

But how do you handle the success in your life? So let's say your praying for a date? Do you thank God for the date or do you just go on the date? If you start a relationship with that person, is God involved in your relationship? Most of us get something from God and then forget God. We want are stocking stuffed but never give a thought about who gave it or pausing to give thanks for the prizes.

How about you?

As you know, I have been preaching through Nehemiah and it has been awesome. In chapter 6 he tells us that the wall has been completed, but he does not stop there. In chapters 8 and 9, Nehemiah leads the people worshiping the God who has delivered them. They have been in Exile and now 42000+ inhabitants read the Law and confess their sins. There is a sense that the people once again have the privilege of corporately worshiping the Lord their God.

Here is the deal. Nehemiah did not forget and neither should we! He honored the hand that led him to this point. He remembered the Lord and worshiped. I think we would do well to follow his example.