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What a Disturbance

December 13, 2012 by jbrianhill

Yesterday, I referred to the story of the magi that came from the east to see the new born king.  Matthew chapter 2 tells the story and you can read it here.

In verse two, we are told why they traveled all the way to Israel.  They made their way to Jerusalem – which would make sense as they were looking for the king.  When they got there the began talking to people asking, “where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?”

As you can imagine, this began to stir up some talk.  It wasn’t long before Herod, the current ruler got wind of it.  In fact, that is what has had me thinking since reading this story again yesterday.  Verse three says that when King Herod heard what they were asking, he “was disturbed, and all of Jerusalem with him.”

Think about that for a second.  Three strangers show up asking to see a baby and all of the sudden the entire city, including the king, is concerned.  Jesus was born and even as an infant, he was already starting to impact the world.  As we know – that was just the beginning.

Jesus’ coming shook things up.  Jesus’ ministry was one of turning things upside down.  Most of everything he did and taught was counter-cultural – it went against the grain in the first century and it remains to be the case today.

In just over a week we will celebrate the in-breaking of Deity into the human existence – we will celebrate the birth of Jesus.  We will remember that Jesus came to love and live and die. He came to teach us how to love and live as well.

Today, we as followers of The Way are to be Jesus in our world.

So here is my question for you today:

“How disturbed is the world because of you?”

Posted in Community, Formation, Hope | Leave a Comment »

In Search of a King

December 12, 2012 by jbrianhill

Christmas star

This morning in my prayer and reading time, I was looking at a particular story around Jesus’ birth.  In Matthew 2, we find that there were three men looking for a king to be born in Israel.  You may have heard them called the wise men, or the three kings.  Matthew calls them Magi.

These were men from another country who had dedicated their lives to watch for the coming of a king.  And not just any king.  This king had his own star.  That was the sign that told them they were on the right track.

Think about this for a minute.  The assumption of most scholars is that these men were not dedicated followers of the God of Israel.  They did not worship at the temple.  They weren’t from Israel at all.  The only thing we are told is that they were from the east and they had traveled a distance, following a star in search of a new king – and not just any king – the king of the Jews.

As I think about this story, and all these men must have gone through to search out the king, I have to ask myself, “How diligently am I searching for the King today?”  Am I really searching at all?

How about you?  Are you looking for the King today?

As we move closer to Christmas day, don’t forget to look for Jesus.  Search for his tangible presence in your life.

Will you find Jesus today?

More from this story tomorrow.

Posted in Formation, Hope | Leave a Comment »

Watching for Jesus

December 5, 2012 by jbrianhill

Watch with anticipation – that is the topic for this week’s Advent service at our church.  Just as the people we read about in the Old Testament looked for a messiah, we too look for him. We desperately need guidance.  We need forgiveness and the peace that it brings.  We need  redemption – the redeeming of the shambles of our lives back into the lives God intends.  We need salvation – to be saved from our plight and even from ourselves.  We need, in a word, Jesus.

So we look – we watch.  And the key to watching is being alert and paying attention.

Have you seen Jesus today?  Have you been looking?

Jesus, God’s very sone, came as an infant over 2000 years ago.  He lived to teach us how to live.  He loved, showing us how to love and then he made the ultimate sacrifice and died for us.

Scripture teaches that he couldn’t be bound by death and he came back to life in order to offer us a life that can’t be taken away.  It also teaches that at some point, Jesus will return.  So we wait and we watch.

But we must not forget that Jesus is alive.  He is at work everyday all around us.  So not only do we need to be watching for his return, we need to be looking for him on a daily basis at work in and around us.

Jesus is trying to guide your life and give you the life you were intended to have – are you paying attention?

Posted in Formation, Grace, Hope | Leave a Comment »

Space Created by the Wait

December 4, 2012 by jbrianhill

This past Sunday, we began the Advent season in our church.  This month we will be celebrating the coming of Christmas with the following theme:

Wait with hope . . .

Watch with anticipation . . .

Wonder with amazement . . .

Welcome with excitement . . .

This past Sunday we talked about waiting.  I don’t know about you but I HATE waiting.  I can’t stand it.  It seems there is never enough time in the day to get everything done and so when I have to wait on someone else to do what the are supposed to do so that I can my things done . . . well, I just don’t like it!

But during this season, I am reminded that waiting is not always a bad thing.  In fact, what I find is that waiting creates space.  I have been reminded that waiting is the tension between my time and God’s time.  Waiting – this tension – stretches me and reminds me that this life really isn’t about me at all.

So this Christmas Advent season, embrace the wait.  Allow the space that is created by the wait to shape you.  Use this space to consider who you are in relation to God.

Trust me – it will change the way you look at Christmas!

Be blessed!

Posted in Formation, Hope | Leave a Comment »

A Long Time Coming

December 3, 2012 by jbrianhill

Last night I had the opportunity to not only watch but also participate in something that has been a dream of a couple of people for six years.

It was refreshing to hear their story again and see all the people that gathered to celebrate with them.  Refreshing because two people are following through on a dream – a calling.

Six years ago, Mike and Arlene committed to one another and to God that they would be available to go to Costa Rica as missionaries.  They began to pray and recruit others to pray.

They did all the right things to get organized and ready for their journey.  Then the difficult task began of raising their support.  And for the last several years, that has been their day to day endeavor.

Last night, as their home church, we commissioned them to go and now tomorrow, they will board a plane for Costa Rica to begin a two year mission there.

God is faithful!  At times I am sure it didn’t seem like it would ever happen – but God’s timing is not always our timing.

Mike and Arlene – go with God and take God’s message to those who need to hear it!

Posted in Hope, Missions | Leave a Comment »

What Do You Want To Be?

November 29, 2012 by jbrianhill

Remember that question you would be asked as a child – “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

I remember being asked that question on numerous occasions.  It is just one of those things adults ask kids.  I honestly don’t remember having a set answer.  I am sure I would respond with “a fireman” or “a policeman.”  (I am fairly positive I never said, “a pastor.”)

But now as I am a bit older, I have had the blessing of hearing my sons respond to that question.   Every once in a while, when they were young, they would respond by saying that they wanted to be like their dad.  Talk about a proud moment in the life of a father!

Throughout our lives, there are people we come to respect.  In fact, it is not uncommon to have folks in our lives who impact us so dramatically that we want to be more like them.

Paul says, in Ephesians 5, that as children of God, we should seek to imitators of our Father. We should have such a respect and gratitude for God that our desire should be imitation.  So what do you want to be when you grow up?  Who do you want to resemble?

As imitators we may be the closest thing to God that people around us see today.

How closely does your imitation resemble the real thing?

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Simply Faithful

November 28, 2012 by jbrianhill

Monday and Tuesday of this week, I had the pleasure and privilege of giving a tour.  There were 8 ministers from our area that loaded up in a van and drove 6 hours to El Paso on Monday morning.  We went so that churches in our area could get to know a minister in Clint, just east of El Paso, and hear his vision for their church and the surrounding area.

That was the focus of the trip.

But yesterday morning, on our way out of town, we decided to stop by another ministry just a little further east in Fabens, Texas.  A church has a dormitory there where mission groups can stay at ridiculously affordable rates when they go to the are to do mission work.  We wanted these leaders to see where they might stay if their churches were to decide to take a group back to the area to work.

But another thing this church in Fabens sponsors is a ministry called Crossing Borders.  This is a ministry that provides food staples to pastors who live their lives ministering just across the border in Mexico.

For 11 years, this ministry has been dedicated to serving those pastors.  But over time it has expanded to not only providing food for the pastors and their families, but also giving enough food to them that they can go back and give food to people in their congregations as well.

Every Tuesday morning, a team of volunteers gather in the church fellowship area and begin bagging rice and beans as well as other groceries.  Then, throughout the morning, pastors make the trek across the border to pick up their allotment.  At 10:00 am, one of the pastors will lead a Bible study for the workers and any one else from the community who would like to attend.

This goes on every week.  As we watched this process happening and listened to the two saintly ladies who serve as domestic missionaries in this ministry, it became clear to me.

So often, we in our churches, talk about doing ministry.  We pray about it.  We organize it.  And occasionally we may actually do something – an event or an emphasis.  But as I watched the work going on right in front of me and realized the number of lives this ministry would touch, what kept running through my mind was “they are actually doing it.”  One of the gentlemen on the trip, as we climbed back in the van to come home said it best, “They are getting it done.”

It wasn’t flashy.  There weren’t any media personnel there taking pictures or doing interviews.  This is just a simple ministry that gathers every Tuesday morning – and has for 11 years – to meet the needs of people.

God has called us all to do our part – regardless of how simple or menial it may seem.

Stay faithful to that calling today!

(If you want to learn more about Crossing Borders Ministries, you can check them out here.)

Posted in Church, Community, Missions | Leave a Comment »

Thanks for Reading

November 26, 2012 by jbrianhill

Last night i had the opportunity to share what I am thankful for during our evening service.  I expressed to folks gathered in our chapel how blessed I feel to minister along side of them – how thankful I am to be their pastor.

Today, I thought I would take a quick second to do the same here.

Clay In The Hands has been around for over three years.  During this time, I have done a lot of rambling with words.  I have shared insights, experiences and hopefully a bit of encouragement.  But the blessing has been mine.  I won’t say that each morning I have ideas pouring out of me.  There are days when words have a hard time making onto the screen.

But the effort has been worth it!  For whatever reason, God has used these posts to reach folks.  It is in the encouragement I receive from you, the readers, that keeps me going on those days when words are illusive.  It is knowing that somewhere around the world, there might be a person who needs to hear from God on that day that gives me the incentive to work at it.

So thank you for reading!  You are a blessing!

Continue to stop by and I’ll keep sharing my journey.

Posted in Community, Hope | Leave a Comment »

Family At Thanksgiving

November 21, 2012 by jbrianhill

Here we are the day before Thanksgiving.  Many of us are planning time with family and that time will most likely include plenty of food, a lot of fellowship and quite possibly some football.

I remember Thanksgivings as a kid.  I grew up learning to value family and time together.  I had over 20 first cousins on one side of the family and it was never dull when we all got together.  The plan was the same each year.  Everyone would converge on my grandparents home – a little farm house on the edge of town.  It had been added on to in order to have a second bathroom and another place to sleep.  It’s normal occupants didn’t need much space, but at holiday time, it became a bit cramped.

At meal time, the kids were typically allowed to fix our plates first and then head off into another room to eat on “TV trays.”  We ate and joked and had a great time together.  But it was all just precursory to what would come next.

It became a tradition by the time I was 13 or so, that we would all load up in as few cars as possible and head over to the elementary school.  The school had a covered, outdoor basketball court.  It would begin with simple games of “PIG” or “HORSE.”  But what we were really hoping for was some unsuspecting locals who might wander up and be pulled into a friendly game.

It happened just about every year that enough would show up and we could have an actual game.  These locals had no idea what to expect from Team Hill.

We really didn’t call ourselves that, but it was no question that it was our family against whoever else showed up.  To be honest, I don’t ever remember losing.

As I think back to those days, I am reminded that no matter how far apart family members may be physically, there is a bond that cannot be broken.  It is at times like holidays that we should think about family.  If you can’t be with your family this holiday, give thanks for them and then let them know you are thinking about them.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

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Clear Vision

November 20, 2012 by jbrianhill

This morning, as I pulled out of the driveway, something caught my eye.  It was a star.  I thought to myself, “that star sure seems bright.”

As with most mornings, I was listening to my daily podcast devotional as I made my short little commute.  The sun was just beginning to cast an orange glow on the horizon.  It was a crisp 30 degrees outside.  

By the time the scripture from Luke was read, I was out in the country driving along as normal.  The passage was the story of Zaccheus.  If you are familiar with the story, this man was a tax collector in Jericho.  He was not a popular Jew.  In fact, he was hated by most.  But he wanted to see Jesus as he passed by along the crowded road.  There was one little problem – Zaccheus was too short to see over the mob.  So he ran ahead of Jesus, laid his pride and dignity aside and climbed a tree like a kid.

As I listened to the story, the idea that kept coming to mind was that this man wanted to see Jesus clearly.  As that idea rolled around in my mind, I began to notice, the star I had seen earlier was not the only thing that seemed bright.  I realized that I could see city lights,  over 30 miles away, more clearly than I have ever seen them before.  For whatever reason, the conditions were perfect to see for miles.

I began to pray that I could see Jesus more clearly.  Just like this experience of being able to see a great distance with clarity, I began to pray that God would create the conditions that would allow me to see.

That is my prayer for all of us today.  That God would allow us to see Jesus with new eyes today – more clearly than ever before.

Be blessed today!

Posted in Formation, Hope | Leave a Comment »

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