Prayer of a Child

This past Wednesday evening we hosted a couple missionaries at our church for the evening. Prior to going to the church my wife and I invited them to come to our home for dinner. It was quite a blessing and encouragement to have them share with the church family and to spend time visiting with them. But, as much of a blessing as that was, it was not the most meaningful thing to me that evening.

On Wednesday evening storms raged in our community that caused many to take refuge in our basement and almost caused our evening to come to an early end due to tornado warnings. After the missionaries had left the church we sent them on their way from our home and then began to prepare our two oldest children for bed. As I knelt down with Addison, our five-year-old she began to pray;

"God is good, God is great, I thank you for the sleep we will get. Thank you God that we have a house, thank you God that we have a basement, thank you God that we have missionaries, thank you God that missionaries are our friends, thank you God that the big kids are our friends, thank you God for our beds, thank you God for storms, thank you God for keeping us safe through the storms, thank you God for letting us get sleep during the storms."

After our prayer time with the kids on Wednesday, I went back to the church to clean up. The storms came closer, the wind grew stronger, the thunder grew louder, and the lighting grew brighter. And as my wife sat in the living room she heard our daughter praying again, praying softly and then a bit louder, praying prayers of thanksgiving and prayers requesting safety. How wonderful it is when children pray. How pure it is when children pray. How we can all learn from children.

I make a lot of mistakes, but I thank God that my kids are learning to pray, that they are learning to thank Him for the little and big things in their lives, and that they are learning that they can trust Him. May God grant us the ability, the knowledge and wisdom to continue to teach and train our children in his ways so they grow in their admiration and trust of Him.

Change Your Life

It seems like almost every day we hear of a product that will change our lives forever. It seems in our culture today that technological advances have really changed our lives, in both the private and public sector (Internet, cell phones, computers, etc.). Years ago we were introduced to a product called the Snuggie and told that it would change our lives.

This morning the following video came on the TV about Tony Little and his success. Tony Little is the infomercial king, he continues to roll out exercise equipment that will "change your life". The odd thing is that, when you watch his infomercials, every product he comes up with will "change your life forever"

Let me say, we own a Snuggie and it did not change our lives. I know quite a number of people that have purchased some of this stuff that has been designed and marketed by Tony Little and, while it seems to change their life for a few weeks or months, the excitement soon passes and it becomes just another material possession in their house, and soon their garage.

Yet, there is one thing that can truly change your life forever. This is not a new thing which is proof that it is not a fad and that it has stood the test of time. It is not a "quick fix", nor is it an easy fix, in fact it has some rather demanding requirements for all those that accept it. Jesus Christ came from God the Father full of grace (to save) and truth (to teach) and stated that He did not come to abolish the law (of the past) but to fulfill it. As we follow Him our lives with be changed as we live our days on this earth (through increased love, hope, and joy) and also after we pass away from this earth (through eternal life and glory with Him).

Ten Commandments in Ten Weeks

Exodus 20 gives a list of ten commands given to Moses on the top of Mount Sinai. Throughout the Scriptures, followers of Christ are told to obey these commandments of God, here are just a few places:

• "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Ecclesiastes 12:13
• "Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:19
• "If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” Matthew 19:17

And although many followers of Jesus Christ know that we are to obey these commandments of God, that we are to live by them and follow them, many followers don't even know what they are. Do you know what the Ten Commandments are? Are you able to share them with others when asked?

If you would like to learn the commandments for yourself, this is one of the most effective videos I have found. It is a bit dated and cheesy, but it is effective and only takes a few minutes.

 Although I am able to recite them when asked, I have come to realize that I fail to think of them on a daily basis and to consistently evaluate my behavior based on these simple Ten Commands given from God Himself. In Matthew 19 Jesus was asked about which commands needed to be kept in order to inherit eternal life. Not only did He list each one of these commandments as mandatory, He called for further action and further commitment, the same can be seen in Jesus' sermon on the mount.

Given this basis of Scripture and the desire of Jesus' heart, I see it as imperative not only to know the commandments, but to obey them, to contemplate them, and to constantly evaluate my behavior based on them. It is my aim to simply focus on one commandment each week for the next ten weeks and to meditate on the reasoning of the command, the true meaning of the command, and what a life following the command will look like. If you are up for a challenge, I invite you to join me on this journey through the commandments of God.  

God Is Good

This past Sunday I had the wonderful honor of baptizing nine individuals into the body of Christ. This was a high point for me for a number of reasons; (1) it was the first time I have gotten to baptize anyone, (2) it was the first time a baptism had been done within the walls of our church, (3) it was the most youth that have ever been baptised at any one time in our church, (4) it hit a record attendance of 120 this past Sunday morning.

Around Easter our youth directors began to speak to the students about the importance of establishing a relationship with Jesus and the importance of following Him with their lives. Over a ten day period, between April 15th and April 24th (Easter Sunday) we saw 24 people recommit or commit for the first time to serving Jesus Christ with their lives, eight of which were youth. Our youth directors and I began to talk about the importance of baptism and when the students were asked they responded in a big way.

I had the privilege of speaking with them the Wednesday prior to the service, explaining baptism and hearing their stories of dedication, commitment, and journey with Jesus and I was overwhelmed.

Sunday was a wonderful day for those that were baptised, for our church family, and for myself. Praise God, He is great and greatly to be praised.

Report on Growth Groups

In an effort to promote more options for Christian education and/or discipleship within our church, we introduced Growth Groups this past spring.

As this was a new idea within our church, we were aware that it would begin slow and that it would be a process of introducing people to the idea and to promoting with various individuals. Likewise, we wanted to fit the ultra-demanding schedules of our church family, and of their friends and families. It was for these reasons that we began with only three Growth Groups on three different nights of the week.

All three of these groups began with different leadership personalities as the facilitators, at different locations in and around our community and they all three began with the same discussion questions and discussion format. After only a few weeks it was apparent that the format needed to change and that several of the more mature individuals desired more of a Bible study format rather than a discussion. Likewise, it was apparent that many of the questions and discussion topics were unnecessary and that a beneficial discussion could blossom from four simple questions. These questions are an adaption of the four questions that John Wesley used to use when he first began his small groups prior to the Methodist movement. Likewise, these questions align with our church's ministry process.

1. How is your connection with Jesus this week?
2. What are you doing to foster your own spiritual growth?
3. What opportunities have you had to serve and witness this week and how did you act upon them?
4. What temptations have you faced and how did you overcome them?

Several weeks ago I was becoming a bit discouraged when the participation in the Growth Groups in our church of over 100 had stalled at 18. Of course, I tried not to take it personally but it was, all the same, discouraging. Then, in the midst of these feelings, we hosted our weekly group at our home and it was then that God revealed to me, exactly what we were accomplishing.

We only made it to one of the questions that evening but we had wonderful fellowship, excellent discussions, and several prayers together. My eyes were opened to see that it was not about the number of people that were participating every week, those things are minute and will turn around. No, rather, it was about the accountability, it was about the support, it was about the friendships, it was about living our lives, as Christians, together. You may struggle while I am soaring, I may struggle just as you are achieving a new level of spiritual high. And that is what it is about.

As I wrote about the conclusion of our spring Growth Groups in our church newsletter this month; "we met together to simply live life together. We grew in relationships as we met casually and we grew in our walk with Jesus as we talked about struggles, concerns, and joys. What a great Spring!"

We will be kicking off Growth Groups again this fall, if you are in the area, I invite you to join in.

Testimony in Terms of Sin

I recently finished reading D. Michael Henderson's "Making Disciples One Conversation at a Time" and very much appreciated the insight and knowledge that he brought to the subject of evangelism and discipleship. But it was one particular quote that caused me to stop and contemplate my walk with Christ;

“I groan when I hear Christians give their testimonies in terms of sin. It’s like a man speaking at his own 25^th wedding anniversary talking about all the girls he gave up to marry his wife. ‘Yes, I remember the day when I forsook all others and took only to her.’ Get over it, man. Tell me about the quality of your relationship, the family you’ve reared the things you’ve accomplished as a team.”  (pg. 178)

The point is, being a follower of Jesus Christ is no more a system to manage sin than marriage is a system to control adultery. But so many are living this way, rather than expecting a constant, daily victory over sin, rather than experiencing the relationship with Christ, the joy of walking with Him, and the triumphs of accomplishing His will, they muddle through as if this is what Christ intended when He said in John 10:10, “I have come that you may have life,  and have it to the fullest.”

We, as followers of Christ, have to move past this idea that following Christ is just about overcoming sin and we have got to start walking with Him and experiencing Him fully.

Having the Victory Over Myself

This morning I read a Tweet that John Piper made in which he wrote "No pastor lives up to what he preaches. If he does, he is preaching too low." I thought about this statement at various times throughout the day, I thought about how I pray prior to preparing and delivering the sermon and I thought about how I examine my life and actions before preparing and delivering the sermon. While I saw the truth in this statement from the very moment that I read it early this morning, I did not fully appreciate it until I did a final review of this Sunday morning's sermon.

Tomorrow (Sunday) morning's sermon topic is "Victory Over Self" based on the Scripture of Galatians 5:16-25. But the truth is this: for those of us who have committed our ways to Jesus Christ, our natural desires have been crucified, nailed to the cross, where it has no power to break loose, but is continually weaker and weaker (adapted from a phrase written by John Wesley).

If I am being totally transparent, which I believe is necessary for a successful pastor, I am desperately in need of recommitting my walk and my ways to Jesus Christ. I am desperately needing to commit to crucifying my sinful nature and natural desires and embrace the free life that Jesus promises and has designed for me once again.

My challenge then is to make this daily commitment, to daily crucify myself, my sinful nature, and my natural desires just as Jesus spoke of in Luke 9:23 or how Paul describes it in Galatians 2. If you are in the same boat as I am, I challenge you to do the same.

Benefits of the Routine

I just put our two-year-old son to bed for a forth time this evening. Lately he has had a lot of trouble going to bed and staying in bed. It seems that the last few nights have ended with me putting on my "scary voice" and laying out the consequences of not staying in bed to him. So far this has worked for us.

It seems that he finds every excuse possible to get up from his bed and to stay out of his bed; the blankets are not straight, he has to go to the bathroom, he wants to kiss us good night just one more time. Tonight was no different and, as I made the trek down the hall and reached deep down to pull out the scary voice, he began to cry, perhaps sensing the frustration in the sound of my footsteps. As I entered his room, he puts one finger up in the air and yells out, between cries, "we just forgot to read one story".

In my rush to get him to bed I had, in fact, forgot to read him a story. After reading him a bedtime story, tucking him in one more time, and kissing him good night. I began to think about our bedtime routine; bedtime drinks, reading stories, praying together, saying good night, singing songs, and more.
When my wife and I started this routine with our oldest daughter five years ago we didn't fully think through the ramifications of the routine; how long it takes every night, all the steps involved, etc. But, although it is sometimes inconvenient and tiring, we see the benefit of each aspect of the kid's bedtime routine and we wouldn't (purposefully) change any of it.

The same is true of our daily devotional time/Bible study/prayer time. First and foremost, it has to be started! Second, it has to be carried out for some time in order for it to become a regular routine. Third, it may, at times, be inconvenient but the benefits of it are immeasurable. The benefits may not be seen at the moment or even the day of this quality, focused time with God, but it will change life forever, this life and the next life.

It's Not Too Heavy.

Yesterday's morning teaching focused on our victory over this world and taught from 1 John 5:3-5.

"This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."

As we touched on God's commands for His followers there was one illustration that seemed to be especially helpful to our church family.

My five year-old daughter is commonly asked to assist around the house with chores, some she likes, others she does not. As we were unloading the car last week she asked if she could carry in some of the groceries with us. We agreed and I handed her a gallon of milk and asked her to carry it inside. As I followed behind her she seemed to be laboring with this eight-pound gallon of milk and, before making it half way up the walk, she set it down turning to me and announcing that it was "too heavy". I understood and did not force her to carry it any further.

Just two days later my wife and I were sitting in the kitchen while our three kids were sitting in the living room playing and watching television. We heard our five-month old son begin to fuss and stopped soon after. The next sight we had was of our five-year old daughter carrying her five-month old, nineteen-pound brother into the kitchen. When I asked her if he was too heavy for her she responded; "he's not too heavy, he's my brother".

You see, that eight-pound gallon of milk was far to heavy for her to carry, yet her brother, who was over two times the weight of the milk was not. Why was that? Because it was her brother. Because she wanted to carry him. Because she loved him.

When we consider the commands of God, there are times when we begin to think, these are too challenging, too hard to keep, too burdensome for us. Yet, 1 John 5 tells us the opposite. So what is the difference? Love! When we have a deep love for God, we want to keep His commands! No longer do His commands seem to be too burdensome. Why? Because we love Him.