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The Love Badge

December 9, 2010 by jbrianhill

Yesterday, I received a card in the mail from one of our area hospitals reminding me that my “visiting clergy I.D. badge expires soon.”  So the request was for me to visit the hospital and update my information in their system so that I can get a shiny, new badge.  The badge serves a security purpose so that hospital personnel can identify me as someone who can be in certain places in the hospital.  It is a sad commentary on our society that a badge is even needed, but I do understand the need for such identification.

As I thought about making arrangements in my schedule to get by the hospital, I thought about how the badge will help people identify me and my role.  Then my mind wandered – like a stray animal on the open range, walking through fields . . . oops, sorry, did it again.  Where was I?  Oh, yes, my mind wandered and I began to think about how people identify me in other settings.  How do people know me?

My hope and prayer is that I am known as a Christ follower.  I desire that my actions, attitudes and words leave little room for ambiguity when it comes to what my life stands for and who I serve.

Jesus said we should wear a “Love” badge.  Well, not exactly.  What he said was this: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).  Everyone will know who we follow by how we love.

So here is my challenge for us today:  Do people have difficulty determining what you stand for and who you follow based on your actions?  Or does the way you show love to people daily identify you as a follower of Jesus?

Make sure your Love badge is completely visible  today and let people know who you really are.

Now I’m off to the hospital to get a new badge – that’s OK because I hate my picture on my current badge – the only problem is, I still look like I did when I took the last picture!

Posted in Community, Formation | 2 Comments »

Available For Impact

December 8, 2010 by jbrianhill

Yesterday, I had the joy of retracing the steps of our construction mission efforts over the past 3 years in the El Paso area.  We visited with the three families we have worked with the last 3 summers.  All are doing well and are just as appreciative today as they were the day we walked away from their homes.

We then went on to look at potential projects and as we did, something began to happen to me that has happened many, many times before.  The overwhelming need fell like a thick blanket over my soul.  Thoughts of inadequacy began to flow.  Questions like:  “Where is the end?”  “What can we possibly do to help?” and “What is a long term fix for this situation?”

While it is a real dilemma in seeking to find answers for these questions, there is also great motivation to try and make an impact when given the opportunity to visit with those few we have impacted over the past 3 years.  As I walked away from one of the first homes we built in this area, the thought crossed my mind, “We made a difference here.”

Now don’t hear me say that we should ever get smug in our accomplishments.  God has brought the impact, we have just been available.  But it should be impossible for anyone to see the glaring need in this area and in the face of that need feel like they have “arrived.”

God is impacting lives in this area through men and women of faith from all over the state and even the country.  How could God use you today to make an impact in someone else’s life?  All you have to do is make yourself available!

Posted in Missions, Motivational | Leave a Comment »

Leaders Must Challenge The Process

December 6, 2010 by jbrianhill

I keep several books going at a time from different genres.  Last week I started a new book entitled The Leadership Challenge.  I haven’t gotten very far into it yet but far enough to be reminded that a large part of leadership is always being aware of the environment.  It is so easy to become comfortable and complacent.  When things are going well we tend to catch our breath and relax a bit.

When we have an idea and we put our efforts behind it – developing it, casting a vision for it and then implementing it – we have a lot invested in it.  Then when it works wonderfully, we have a tendency to repeat it.  Before long, what was once a ground-breaking revolution, is now simply part of the landscape – we keep doing it over and over.  We get comfortable in our success and a rut is formed.

In understanding the environment, a leader must be willing to challenge the norm.  In the book mentioned above, Jim Kouzes calls this, “challenging the process.”  A good leader must be able to look at the process with an eye for evaluation and then be able to envision something better.  That is why leaders are not always popular, but if an organization is to grow and stay relevant, someone must be willing to challenge the process.

What are you doing today that needs to be challenged?  As a leader, what are you going to do today to challenge the process?

Posted in Leadership | Leave a Comment »

Scars At Christmas

December 2, 2010 by jbrianhill

I have the exciting opportunity to speak to the South Plains College BSM (Baptist Student Ministries) luncheon today at the Reese campus.  I have been thinking about this opportunity for a few days and what I should talk about.  Obviously, the thoughts of Christmas are on all of our minds.  However, I don’t really know why but I have been thinking about scars.  I have talked about scars in the past.  You can take a look at that post here.

In the context of Advent (the coming of Christmas), I am reminded that God decided to come personally to a hurting and scarred world.  All of us have scars.  Some of them are physical, visible scars and some are possibly a little less noticeable – emotional or even spiritual scars.

In the midst of our scars, today we need to remember that God loves us in spite of our scars.  In fact, it is not unusual that our scars give us an understanding of the depth of God’s love.  You see, God loves us regardless of our past mistakes.

Remember that God loves us with all our problems and rebellion, with all our bad decisions and self-centeredness.  So much so that Jesus actually came to live among us and teach us about God’s forgiveness and grace.  This is the story of Christmas.  This is what I will think on today as I look upon my own scars.

How about you?

 

Posted in Grace, Hope | 1 Comment »

Pray For Mexico

December 1, 2010 by jbrianhill

I made my way to Laredo yesterday on my way to deliver the gift boxes in Roma, Texas.  My prayer is that the boxes make it to the children at the shelter in Miguel Alemán today.  Please pray that the gifts get to the intended recipients.

As I made the 10 hour drive yesterday, there was plenty of time to think about all that is going on along the border.  I wish I could report that God gave me the answer of how the violence can be stopped.  Unfortunately, that is not the case.  But I did arrive in Laredo with a resolve that this trip is not the end of concern for people imprisoned in their own country and enslaved by violence.  At the very least, we can continue to pray!

I am not sure what this idea will lead us to but I can say that at this point, what I am thinking is that it may be an awareness campaign.  I have launched www.prayformexico.org.  There is really nothing there yet except for a url and some dreams.  I covet your prayers for this effort.

I asked a question of our congregation in a sermon a couple of weeks ago that I have been asking myself since that time.  The question was, “What are you going to attempt this week that will surely fail if God does not show up?”

This effort of Pray For Mexico is one of those things – an effort that will surely fail if God is not involved.  So please pray for God to guide and shape it to be something useful for the Way.

As always, thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings – you are a blessing!

Posted in Community, Missions | 1 Comment »

Headed to the Valley

November 30, 2010 by jbrianhill

In a few hours, I will be headed to the valley in a van full of gift boxes for the children in the shelter at Cuidad Miguel Alemán.  There are many children living in this shelter so our church staff, along with some donations from others,  have put together a gift box for each child.  Yesterday, a group of college students came to the church and assembled the boxes and loaded them on our old church van, and now I have the privilege of driving these gifts to the valley to be given to the children.  It is great to be involved with such a wonderful group of people working together for such an important mission.

Here is my request of you today.  Please pray for the children who will receive these boxes.  Pray for their safety.  Pray that God will use these simple gifts to work in each of their lives.  Most importantly, pray that each child will experience God’s love and presence through this effort in ways they have never known before.

Thanks for your support!

Continue Reading »

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

Do You Think God Is Thankful?

November 29, 2010 by jbrianhill

Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving.  I trust you had a time of fellowship with family and friends and that you ate your fair share of turkey, ham, dressing and all the other things that follow this tradition.  I also hope you had time to think on those things for which you are thankful.

Each day, I receive an email from The Writer’s Almanac which contains a daily poem.  The poems aren’t normally religious in nature but I just like poetry.  Last Thursday the email was a copy of Psalm 100.  I was impressed that The Writer’s Almanac would send out something from the Bible as the poem of the day.  As I read on through the email, they also included several Thanksgiving Day stories.  This one really caused me to think.

On November 30, 1905, Thanksgiving Day, Mark Twain turned 70. He wrote: “Every year every person in America concentrates all his thought upon one thing, the cataloguing of his reasons for being thankful to the Deity for the blessings conferred upon him and upon the human race during the expiring twelve months. This is well and as it should be; but it is too one-sided. No one ever seems to think of the Deity’s side of it; apparently no one concerns himself to inquire how much or how little He has had to be thankful for during the same period; apparently no one has had good feeling enough to wish He might have a Thanksgiving day too. There is nothing right about this. Do you suppose everything has gone to His satisfaction during the year? Do you believe He is as sweepingly thankful as our nation is going to be, as indicated by the enthusiasms which will appear in the papers on the 30th of this month from the pens of the distinguished persons appointed to phrase its thankfulness on that day?”

I have two questions for us today.  The first is this:  What have you done this past year that would give God a reason to be thankful?

The second question is this:  What will you do this next year to make God thankful?

Be a blessing today!

Posted in Formation, Motivational | 1 Comment »

Thanksgiving Can Be Difficult

November 24, 2010 by jbrianhill

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day here in America.  A day when family comes together to eat too much and spend a wonderful time reliving memories and making new ones.

My prayer for each of you this Thanksgiving season is that God grants you clarity in seeing all the ways you are blessed.  Give thanks this week.

I have one favor to ask of you.  Holidays are a wonderful time but they can also be very difficult, particularly for those who have recently lost someone close to them.  For some, tomorrow will be a big reminder of who is no longer at the gathering.  If you know someone who has experienced a loss this past year, reach out to them and let them know you care.  That will go a long way to making their holiday a bit brighter and I have a sneaking suspicion it will brighten yours as well.

Count your blessings!

Posted in Family, Hope | Leave a Comment »

Thankful In The Midst

November 23, 2010 by jbrianhill

Yesterday, I talked about the instructions in James chapter 1 that tells us we should be joyful when we encounter trials (you can link to that post here).  We talked about the difference between joy and happiness.

This morning as I sat down to have my prayer time, I read a blog post from Jim Dennison.  I ran across his blog, God Issues, a couple of weeks ago and have been reading it pretty regularly since.  Today, his post goes right along with this idea of joyfulness in the midst of struggle (you can link to his full post here).

Jim makes a very interesting and helpful point in his discussion of 1 Thessalonians 5:18.  He points out that Paul did not say, “Give thanks for all circumstances.”  What Paul said was, “Give thanks in all circumstances.”  Isn’t it amazing what a difference one little preposition can make!  We don’t have to be thankful for the trials and struggles that will come our way.  But we do need to remain thankful for God’s provision even in the midst of them.

Regardless of what life throws our way, God is still in control.  Psalm 11:4 says, “The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD is on his heavenly throne.”

So today, no matter where you are or what you find yourself dealing with, give thanks for there is a bigger picture being created and God is the one holding the brush!

 

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

Trials Will Come

November 22, 2010 by jbrianhill

Several weeks ago, I began a small group for young adults, 25 and younger.  It has been a true blessing to get to know each of the folks more deeply.  Yesterday, we started a new study – on the book of James.  We made it all the way through verse 3 (this may take a while).

The reason for the amount of time spent in those first three verses comes in verse 2.  It says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”

Let that verse sink in for a minute – the writer says we should think about it as joy when we have to endure difficult things.  Our first reaction is to think, “What was the writer of this book on when he wrote this?”  I mean, how am I supposed to be pleased when my water heater goes out and I have to spend half of a day replacing it – or when the heater goes out on my car and it spends two days in the shop and is still not fixed (yes, that was a picture of last week in my life).  How are we to be happy when things like this occur?

One of the first things to understand is that there is a difference between happiness and joy.  The author of James does not say we should be happy and bubbly when things go wrong, he says we should have joy.  Happiness is an emotion that comes when things are going our way.  While joy incorporates an element of happiness, it is much deeper.  Joy involves an inner peace that comes when we have a glimpse of the bigger picture.  Joy, for a Jesus follower, is the result of knowing to whom you belong.  It is the liberation that we have in knowing that we don’t have to worry about tomorrow because God is in control.

This verse is evidence in scripture that we must realize that trials will come.  When we commit our lives to Christ, we are not suddenly and mysteriously protected from bad things.  Bad things happen to good people – that is life.  But what the verse does say is that we should have joy when they do come because come they will.

The reason for the joy can be found in the next two verses.  We are told that these trials will produce perseverance (patience and endurance – true experience) and this perseverance will result in maturity.

So here is the question for you today?  Are you experiencing a trial that seems overwhelming?  If not, stop and thank God and then realize a trial will come.  But if you are, remember that God is in control.  God has a plan.  And if you focus on the big picture – maturity and experience – you can have joy even in the midst of it.

Be blessed today!

Posted in Formation, Hope | Leave a Comment »

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