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Archive for the ‘Formation’ Category

Go To Sleep!

Posted in Formation, Hope, Uncategorized on June 14, 2016| Leave a Comment »

I reminded myself last night why I should have waited until day 3 to join the students at camp. As I lay there in my bunk listening to 21 boys, ranging in age from 12 to 18, I remembered how excited they are on the first night of camp. No one wanted to go to sleep. At least by day 3 they are tired at night and the loud jumping and running, the trying to outdo one another with their antics is restricted to just a couple.

But as I lay there, I thought about the week ahead for them. And just before I yelled, “Go To Sleep!!!”  God intervened and I began to hear each voice as a soul who desperately needs God. I began to pray that God would use this week to begin, or continue, a work in each of them to transform their lives.

I think that should be the prayer for each of us, regardless of where we are in the world today. May God begin, or continue, a work in each of us to transform our lives.

I head back to the “real world” today, but I have to admit, there is a huge part of me that wants to stay and witness what God is going to do in the lives of these students. But I guess I’ll have to settle for paying attention to what God is doing in my own life.

Be blessed today!

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Pass It On

Posted in Church, Community, Formation, Hope, Uncategorized on June 13, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Our students leave for camp today.  I remember those days at camp – all the activities, the experience of being away, the study and fun.  I remember the songs sung around campfires.  One song in particular stands out, showing my age I suppose, but still true today – Pass It On.

Campfire Singing

I have heard it said that Christianity is always one generation away from extinction.  I think that is true.  I trust that God will not cease to interact with mankind due to our inadequacy, but I also know that God’s plan for the redemption of mankind includes our faithfulness.  We are commanded – not asked nicely but commanded – to make disciples in Matthew 28.  Deuteronomy 6 is clear that we are to pass on our faith to the next generation.  Here is what it says:

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

This passage begins with the Shema, one of the pivotal doctrinal statements of Judaism, as well as Christianity.  And then it directs us to share our beliefs with the next generation.

Psalm 145 clearly points us to the importance of sharing our faith as well.  In verses 4-7, the author describes this process.

4 One generation commends your works to another;
    they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
    and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—
    and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
    and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

He uses words like commend, speak, tell and celebrate.  The message is clear.  We are to pass on our understanding and faith to the next generation.  This process begins at home.  Share your faith with your children and their children.  Then take that same motivation for others to know Jesus into the world.

This is not a recommendation or a request.  This is a mandate.

Who will you tell about Jesus and the difference he has made in your life?

Start today.

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We Are Part of Something Bigger

Posted in Church, Community, Formation, Hope, Uncategorized on June 7, 2016| Leave a Comment »

I am back state-side after a weekend in Juarez, Mexico with local pastors and their wives.  It was the best conference we have done to date.  The 38 couples in attendance all had a great time.  The weekend gave them time to rest and refresh as well as challenged them to take a serious look at their individual spiritual walk and how that is lived out in their marriages and ministries.

I walked away with the renewed realization that pastors – regardless of where we serve – all need encouragement and time to decompress.  But another reminder was the overwhelming sense of being part of something bigger.

I often get so focused on what God is doing in my little part of the world that I tend to forget that God is at work all over the world through faithful servants.  God is making a difference.

So when we watch the news and hear about all the evil in the world and begin to get the impression that bad is winning over good, remember that God is still in control and very much alive and well.

Be blessed today!

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Ministering to Ministers in Juarez

Posted in Formation, Hope, Leadership, Uncategorized on June 3, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday, we greeted pastors and their wives from all over Juarez, Mexico and the Chihuahua valley to a hotel here in Juarez.  For over a decade my partner has been calling pastors together for a time of fellowship, instruction and leadership development and the event has grown.  Several years ago, I joined him in this effort as we began to refine the focus of the meeting.

Opening 2016

For the past several years the event has focused on spiritual formation and marriage enrichment.  Last year we grew it from a two day, one night event to three days with two nights in the hotel.  The experience is a gift (free of charge) to the pastors and wives who have stuck it out and continue to minister in one of the most difficult and dangerous cities in the world.

Pastors are wired with compassion and called to give themselves for others.  But rarely do pastors have an opportunity to receive.  This event is that opportunity.

This year, we have 36 couples in attendance.  Our theme is Knowing Jesus.  We will remind them of the difference between knowing about Jesus and actually knowing him and the importance that difference makes in our lives and in our marriages and in the midst of the storms that come.  What a blessing to be able to minister to them over these three days.

I ask you to please pray for them.  Pray that God would give them exactly what they need from this event – that those who need rest will receive it; those who need refreshment will experience it; those who need to rekindle their marriages would regain that spark; and those who need to re-focus their spiritual walk will find clarity.

Thank you for your prayers!

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Strong But Merciful

Posted in Formation, Grace, Motivational, Uncategorized on June 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

We live in a mixed up world.  One would think that as long as Christianity has been around, the world would be a different place by now.  The truth is – the world is a different place than it was 2000 years ago.  The good far outweighs the bad – its just that the bad gets the press.

But we also have to remember that we live in a fallen world.  As believers, this is not our home – we are just passing through.  And on this passage, we are called to make a difference for Jesus while we are here.  We are to strive to be set apart; to be different.  Jesus challenged us in Matthew 5:48 to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect.

We do this by hungering and thirsting after God’s will for us – for his righteousness.  We hold tightly to the truth given to us in scripture.  We stand unwaveringly on our convictions.  But we do so with mercy and humility.

Our culture would say the greatest evil threatening the human condition today is intolerance.  (I would say, the condemnation of and aggression toward Biblical truth by those waving the intolerance banner is the strongest intolerance I see today – a bit ironic don’t you think?)  But the greatest evil threatening the human condition today is the same evil that has been a threat since the beginning – sin.

The only answer for sin is God’s grace and forgiveness brought about by God’s truth.

So we must not flinch at the accusation of intolerance.  We must stand on the foundation of God’s truth.  But we must do so with humility, mercy and love.

Be strong yet merciful today!

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We Serve an Amazing God

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational, Uncategorized on May 31, 2016| 1 Comment »

Over the holiday weekend, we made time to spend the better part of an afternoon at the beach.  Despite the crowd that had gathered for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, we had a great Surftime taking in the grandeur of God’s creation.

 
There is a passage from the Psalms that speaks to the power of creation.  Psalm 19 verses 1-4 say this:

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.

Regardless of what life is throwing at you this morning – remember – we serve an amazing God who is bigger and greater than anything you are facing!

Be blessed today!

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Live With Lasting Purpose

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational, Uncategorized on May 26, 2016| Leave a Comment »

We have been working verse by verse and chapter by chapter through the book of Ecclesiastes on Wednesday nights in our Bible study.  Last night, we completed our look at the least studied book in the Bible.

This book is not filled with words that you would ever find in a greeting card.  It is a realistic but pessimistic commentary on life.  Solomon was at the end of his life – a full life crammed with accomplishments, wealth, wisdom and power.  But his conclusion, after pursuing all these endeavors and succeeding in just about everything he attempted, was it was all pointless.  He used words like futility, vanity and meaningless.

As I said, inspirational quotes for greeting cards do not appear within these 12 chapters.  But what does appear is an authentic and extremely raw look at life.  The frustration and depression we feel about the world from time to time but would never bring up in a small group at church is exactly what Solomon put into words.

And through his dissection and analysis of this life “under the sun” he learned a valuable principle.  The foundational principle of life he defined was not relevant for his era only.  This principle is foundational today as well.  The timeless truth Solomon uncovered in all his study, thought and experience was this:

Fear God and keep his commandments (12:13)

That’s it.  The answer to the age old question of the meaning of life is made up of 6 words.

This idea of fear is not terror but rather reverence and healthy respect.  It carries the idea of submission and love – of worship.  We only find purpose in life when we approach God in this manner.  What we see “under the sun” is all temporary – pointless.  But when our focus is on loving and pleasing God by following him and his plan for our lives, then even life in the here and now has meaning.

Live with lasting purpose today!

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Jesus Shining Through

Posted in Formation, Grace, Motivational, Uncategorized on May 23, 2016| Leave a Comment »

It has been overcast for several days here.  Part of the haze is smoke from agricultural burns in Mexico.  But nonetheless, we have not seen the sun much for the past few days.  But this morning, I got to the office early.  I was moving back and forth from prayer to scripture reading with my back to the windows.

As I sat, facing the wall reflecting on “pressing on” (Philippians 3:12-14), I saw the wall suddenly illuminate.  The sun had broken through the clouds and smoke.  The wall continued to brighten – except the area affected by my silhouette.  The wall shown with the sun’s light except for my outline.

As I watched and reflected, the brightness was gone as quickly as it had appeared.  But the experience caused me to think.  When Jesus shines, the last thing I want to do is to be a hinderance.  I would much rather be a clear display of Jesus at work and not someone who blocks Jesus’ light and keeps people from seeing him.  I believe the remedy begins with transparency between myself and the Father.  As there is less and less of me to get in the way, there will be more and more of Jesus shining through.

I am a work in progress – clay in the hands – being transformed daily.  But my prayer is that Jesus will be able to shine through me today.

How about you?  Will people see Jesus when they brush elbows with you today?

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Life May Never Be the Same, But There Can Still Be Joy

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational, Uncategorized on May 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Do you ever run into those folks who brighten your day just for being around them?  How about those who you know have experienced great loss and yet God’s joy just shines through them?

This morning I had the opportunity to have breakfast with a friend of mine who brightened my day with his strength of character and the joy that keeps him going.  He is coming up on the anniversary of a tremendous loss – a loss that would be crippling for most anyone.

As I sat across from him and listened to what is going on in his life this week, I could see the change in physical appearance – slight but real.  He endured the struggle of the flooded river a year ago but the storm that caused that initial struggle to survive left bigger struggles ahead.  The loss of his family in that storm quickly minimized his initial struggle.  He lives with that loss every single day.

But since that dreadful day, God has continued to use him as a testament to God’s faithfulness.  The joy he possesses today is a result of a faith in God and the peace that comes in knowing his family shared that same faith.

As I sat with him this morning, my day was lifted to look into the eyes of one who has endured so much but yet with strength and hope.  His joy, even in the midst loss, reminds me we serve a faithful God.  He reminds me that we may not ever get over tremendous loss in our lives but through the strength of God we get through it.  His life will never be the same but that does not mean it can’t be meaningful.

What an example of how its done!

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What Is God Saying?

Posted in Community, Formation, Hope, Motivational, Uncategorized on May 17, 2016| Leave a Comment »

I had the blessing of meeting with a group of local pastors yesterday.  We gather several times per year.  There is always something humbling about getting together with folks who are in the trenches with me and listening to what God is doing in other churches and ministries.  We often isolate ourselves and begin to think what we see is all there is.  But when we remember we are part of something so much bigger than what we see day to day, our load seems to get a little lighter.

I also had the privilege of leading the discussion at our gathering yesterday.  We talked about the importance of taking care of ourselves – particularly our own souls.  I belieListening With Hand to Earve that when I stand before God’s people each week, I will have nothing of value to say if I have not spent time with God the week before.  So we started with that idea.

One of the questions I asked the pastors to reflect on (and ask themselves regularly) was “What is the last thing God said to you?”  So I ask that question of you – and myself – today.

At first blush, we might shrug the question off with a pious, “God speaks to me everyday through his word.”  While that is true, I challenge you to be specific and concrete.  What specifically has God said to you lately?

Over the next couple of posts, I will be sharing some things God has been saying to me.  And I challenge you to share with me, one thing God has been saying to you lately.  You can leave a comment here or just email me with your thoughts.  I always love to hear how God is moving in the lives of his people.

Spend some time today searching your heart for the answer to the question.

Be blessed!

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