A Vision From God

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Vision. If there ever were a year to talk about vision and to develop a better vision for life, it’s now. Every year for that matter is a good time to take an inventory of how we did and how we are doing and how we think we are going to do for the future. I’m not big on numerology, but I gathered several “20/20” verses from the Bible, to help me focus in on a few key areas of life that the Lord can help me see more clearly in. This idea came from a very dear pastor friend in Moldova named Pavel, who sent me a “20/20” verse on New Year’s Eve. I pray the Lord encourages you as it did me. Read and be encouraged in 2020 to have a better, God-sized, Spirit-filled, Word of God infused vision for your life! 

20 Moses responded to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear him and will not sin.” Exodus 20:20 

Just after God gave Moses the 10 Commandments, God’s purpose for Israel, and for all who are a part of the covenant through faith, is to experience the presence of Yahweh. Moses’ reassuring words, that God wanted to test the nation, was to see what was in their hearts, so that they may not sin against Him. The ultimate reality is that the law reveals the true nature of our hearts, that we do sin against God, and need a righteousness not our own to fix our hearts. God provided the fulfilment of the Law through Jesus Christ. We still obey the moral code of the 10 Commandments, as both Jesus and Paul emphasized in their teachings, but are not bound by the ceremonial or civil law given to the Israelites at that time. Don’t be afraid…fear him. Going from a human fear to a godly fear of the awesomeness of God and his judgement for sin. God loves us. We need to have a clear vision of what His presence brings to our lives: A holy fear to live before a holy God. FEAR GOD, DON’T SIN.

20 Yet Edom insisted, “You may not travel through.” And they came out to confront them with a large force of heavily-armed people.  Numbers 20:20 

The nation of Israel was sent to go along “The King’s Highway” which was not exactly a straight and flat highway. The path was filled with curves and hills, and was far from water and sustenance. God was showing Israel that they truly needed the Lord and he would provide all their needs, no matter what they faced along the journey. A journey, which would have taken 11 days, took 40 years because of Israel’s disobedience. Yet God was a presence to them even in the midst of their facing the music. We need to see clearly, after just coming through Christmas, that God is present with us. Immanuel means “God with us.”  I think of Psalm 46, He is our “ever present help in times of trouble.” May you see clearly that God is present with you, even in the middle of the struggle. KNOW GOD IS HERE

20 In the morning they got up early and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were about to go out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the Lordyour God, and you will be established; believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.” 2 Chronicles 20:20 

When problems come our way, big problems, uncertainty creates doubt and fear. We often say, I don’t know what to do!” That’s when we understand that dependence on our ability seems futile. What should we do? We should do as King Jehoshaphat did with the nation of Israel, and seek God for help. This verse is a result of doing just that. A word from the Lord motivated his people to have faith. You can read the rest of the story in chapter 20 of 2 Chronicles. How do we hear from God? By seeking truth from his Word, the Bible. It is God’s love letter to us. I encourage you to start out 2020 by doing just that, reading the Bible more than you did last year. Not only are we to read His truth, we are to believe in the truth. King Jehoshaphat exhorted Israel to believe in the Lord. The same holds true for us. We must believe. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) The Word is ultimately revealed through faith in Jesus Christ, the Living Word. There are many reading plans out there. Here is one you can read. YouVersion also has many plans you can read. Get into God’s Word, so that it might get in to you. We need to have a clear vision of what seeking God in faith means for our lives.  HAVE FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, AS REVEALED IN GOD’S WORD.

20 Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. John 20:20 

The resurrection of Christ is a game-changer. Scholars and skeptics all agree on the historicity of Jesus Christ, however some differ on their belief in the resurrection. The resurrection is a fact of Christianity. Without the resurrection, nothing in Christianity could stand. How could 12 regular guys (the disciples of Jesus)  give their lives (most were martyred) for a lie? How could the church with it’s humble start now have a global reach and be represented by millions and  millions of followers? I can say simply, the resurrection has changed my life. I’m not a perfect person, but I strive to live a holy life before God through the power of the Holy Spirit in me. Examine the Scriptures without bias. Start reading the book of John. Ask God to reveal his truth to you. And respond from what you find. Seek a trusted friend or pastor to talk to. If there is anything you “see” in 2020, I pray you have a clear vision to see the risen Jesus! Don’t take my word for it. See for yourself. BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

20 You know that I did not avoid proclaiming to you anything that was profitable or from teaching you publicly and from house to house. Acts 20:20 

People need to hear the truth of the gospel. Gospel means “good news.” And Paul here was declaring that profitable message. We just finished Christmas, and the Christmas story in Luke gives an account of the Angel of the Lord proclaiming “good news to all people.” The Apostle Paul was proclaiming the good news of the Resurrected Jesus! My prayer is that 2020 will be filled with gospel conversations in my life and in the lives of those who are passionate about seeing people hear the good news. Jesus commanded us to “Go” and make disciples of all nations. I pray that we become better at following Jesus, and sharing the gospel. There are risks in sharing the gospel. But knowing the reward of a person escaping separation from God eternally through responding to, and believing the good news that their sins can be forgiven and they can enjoy a full life now makes such risk worth it at any cost. If you want to know the story of the good news of Jesus, you can see it here.  May we clearly see the need to proclaim the good news of Jesus! SHARE THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS

Making Sense of Tragedy & Suffering

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Suffering leads us to ask for a cause. If we know the cause, it somehow makes it more acceptable or easier to embrace the fact that the suffering took place.  I have high cholesterol because I eat too much fatty food. I’m overweight because I don’t exercise enough.

But what about tragedy or suffering inflicted on innocent people who were perfectly healthy that became suddenly sick, or people who were innocent bystanders who encountered extremely evil violence at the hands of individuals not so well understood or known or explained?  As a pastor I grapple with walking with people in my church through suffering of all kinds. The answers should never be easily handed down platitudes. Those words seem as hard as the floor they land on right in front of the person I may attempt to assuage.

Rather, pointing to the redemptive work of Christ on the cross is our best and greatest answer for suffering.  The cross provides a glimpse into the love of a Savior who wants to redeem us from sin and evil. With a constant 24 hour news cycle, and a nose in the phone world, we are living in different times. The world has changed.   Response to tragedy can now be live streamed and instantly accessible, even if inaccurate or short sighted. People can have sound-byte answers to any question they ask in an instant.

One news article points to the incredible number of mass shootings over the past 2 or 3 years. What gets lost in the reporting are all the lives wrecked, devastated and forever marred by the loss of a loved one. A father gone. No longer able to come home or provide for his family. A child gone. No longer able to go through the normal routines of life and growing up.  This is the face of suffering and tragedy.

My heart grieves for all the lives lost. Even now, “thoughts and prayers” are ridiculed as meaningless phrases that carry no action or provide real resolution to tragedy. But real thought put into the price paid by the suffering, prayers for relief of the grieving, prayers for the redemption of those who are far from God and commit heinous crimes, and prayers for God to redeem our society and bring it back to a nation who once feared Almighty God is perhaps the only greatest remedy available to us.

The recent tragedies in El Paso Texas and Dayton Ohio which spanned only half a day between the two prove that evil, racism, and hatred of mankind is still alive and kicking. As reasons for the tragedies continue to unfold we must look to our Creator more than ourselves for answers. What occurred was evil. But even out of evil God can still and does work—in spite of it.  The cross was evil man putting down a holy God. But the grave could not hold God’s Son. The power of the resurrection provides us all hope beyond any suffering this life can bring. As families grieve, as America grieves at yet another senseless shooting, I pray we look to God through Jesus Christ for comfort, for redemption, for forgiveness, and yes, for spiritual revival in our land.

Jesus said,  I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33). May we walk with those in deep pain whenever we have the chance. May we seek to be redemptive with our words as others experience unthinkable pain and loss. Pain in this life is real, but there is also a Savior who has overcome. We must trust God through the dark times of life, and we must pray to a Savior who is there with us, right in the middle of our pain. Why does tragedy and suffering happen? There are no easy answers this side of Heaven. Sin, a broken world…but that doesn’t present a package with a nice little bow on top as the complete answer to suffering. We must trust in a God who’s understanding is beyond ours, whose love is vastly greater than ours, and who’s ability to redeem us is far reaching. May we echo Job when he cried out even in the midst of great loss and suffering, “But I know that my Redeemer lives,,and at the end he will stand on the dust. Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet I will see God in my flesh.  I will see him myself; my eyes will look at him, and not as a stranger. My heart longs within me. (Job 19:25–27)

 

 

Keep God’s Mission as Your Mission

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MoldovaHirvobatOne of the last words of Jesus to a fledgling, ragtag group of disciples, was a message of power and revolution. A power not of this world, but a power with authority from God the Father. Because of the authority bestowed to Jesus, flowing from God the Father, the disciples would be able to go forth and share with others the words of Jesus. They could have shared his words on their own to little effect. When coupled with the power of the Spirit of God through the supernatural Word of God, lives would change, God’s church would grow, and the world would change.

 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”        Matthew 28:18-20

The world is still changing. One life at a time. Through the power of the gospel and the obedience of those who keep God’s mission their own.

I just returned from an amazing journey partnering with four churches stateside and 2 churches in Moldova, all for the purpose of building God’s kingdom through making disciples. I love returning every year to Filadelfia Church. God always does a new work each time. Lives were changed, hearts were won to Christ, and people became more dedicated than ever to the mission of God. After the journey home, I was finding myself thinking fondly and missing my dear friends in Moldova and reflecting on all the wonderful things we shared together as a body of faith. It’s always a joy to lead and come alongside others to see that together we can be a part of God’s great mission he has given the church. It is my prayer that God provides a way to return soon with others who share that passion and mission. I’m happy to be home, among cherished family and friends, a great community, and a wonderful church, but there is a longing to return. I wanted to do more, wanted to give more time, to share more truth. The task remains the same at home or in Moldova.

I write this as an encouragement to anyone wondering if what they’re doing matters to God. We go through seasons of spiritual mountains and valleys. Jesus knew the disciples would face trouble. In fact he even said that some may mistakenly think that killing a follower of Jesus would be doing God a favor. (John 16:2) No matter what they faced, Jesus knew that the power of His gospel would change lives.  The task? To go and make followers of Jesus from all people groups, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus promised them and every follower, that he would be WITH us. We have the power of the Spirit, the purpose of the mission, and the presence of Jesus.  Be faithful where you are. Have faith also to know that God can use you to speak to the nations about him. Missions is local. Missions is global. Missions is personal. Let God’s mission be your mission.

“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,”  Hebrews 12:1

Celebrate and Reflect

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As 2015 loses the label of a “new year” after 365 days, we come to 2016 with much anticipation as to what is next. Will the Carolina Panthers win the Superbowl? Will Carolina beat State? (Ok I just had to take a jab at that) On a more serious note, Will there be war? Will there be peace? What about tragedy and triumph? Where will you or I be spiritually a year from now? Who will have changed for the better because of what you or I chose to do or not do?

One of the greatest things we can do at the beginning of a new year is to celebrate and reflect. We can celebrate all the good and wonderful things that were accomplished in the previous year. Reflect on the trials, struggles and hurt that could make us stronger or weaken our resolve, depending on our response.

More importantly, we can celebrate the fact that our purpose, rooted in eternity and affirmed by the fact that we are all a part of God’s creation, can move us to humbly thank God for his gift to the world, himself, in the flesh, in the person and divine nature of Jesus Christ. Despite our sinfulness, Christ paved the way for all who would repent of their sin and believe in his name to become a new creation. Jesus gives us the ultimate reboot, the ultimate restart in life.

So as we reflect, we thank God for a good year, no matter the struggle or the pain. God has seen us through it. That’s the point. He’ll continue to do so. That’s our hope, grounded in the unshakeable faith in a God who desires that we see our lives as becoming more obedient to get rid of the selfish desires that face us constantly, and die to self, take up our cross and follow Jesus. As John 3:30 states, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” Happy New Year!

Lots of Junk

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Cleanliness is next to Godliness. As much as you might think, this statement is not in the Bible. You may have already known this to be true but I write this to simply make sure all the messy people out there (including me!) are off the hook. Well, not exactly, but what does it matter? Quite a bit. We actually get the quote from John Wesley from a sermon of his. So there’s truth to the statement about being clean and honoring God through that. So being aware of the mess in our lives is important. It does matter.

I was recently part of a cleaning effort in our church. It’s amazing how much “stuff” (I’ll be nice and not call it Jesus Junk ‘cause Jesus don’t make no junk right?) I digress. Lots of items were tossed into a huge dumpster that would be hauled off to the place where they put the holy trash. Hold on. Church trash is just like everyone else’s. Ok so not so holy. Looking into every nook and cranny, we dispersed of old furniture, filing boxes, plants that had seen their better day, and lots and lots of “why are we hangin’ on to that” type of stuff.

It reminded me of the cleaning we all must do in our lives to remain clean. It’s not what on the outside that makes a person unclean. In fact, Jesus himself pointed out to the religious leaders of his day (think preachers, pastors, Bible study teachers, etc) that what makes a person unclean comes from the heart. (Full disclosure: I’m a pastor) It is decidedly a spiritual matter. (Matthew 23:25-26) Let me be clear, there is nothing that we can do on our own to make our heart “clean” spiritually before a holy God. Christ alone can do this. But I do think of Paul’s challenge to the church to “rid ourselves of such things as these” of which he included anger, rage, malice, and so on. (Colossians 3:8).

My point is simple. God has reminded me that Christ has purified my heart, but there are always areas that I need to clean up. But cleaning needs to be done on a regular basis. When we don’t clean, the junk just piles up. Don’t let the junk pile up. I’m reminded of the verse in James 5:16, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Like the sign on the truck, “Got Junk”? We need to say Yes! And then confess to God our need for Christ, and seek to be lovingly held accountable by close friends so that healing will begin!

Jet Skis and Leadership

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Jet skis can teach one a lot about leading well. I happened to learn very quickly a lesson on leadership with my first experience with a jet ski.

Let me begin by saying I don’ t own this jet ski. In case you were wondering, that small speck in the water is me, clutching tightly to the handles on my first solo run on a 750cc streak on the water. Since their speed is right up there with the word “dangerous” and “this is crazy”, I exchanged some perfectly stable land mass for the unpredictable nature of the Intracoastal Waterway. Here are the lessons I learned:

  1. Respect others who have gone before you. In leading well, having confidence in approaching something new versus not knowing your limits can easily land you in troubled water. That’s where relying on others to teach you is crucial. My friend knew the waterway and knew watercraft very well. He grew up on the water. He is a commercial fisherman. From his knowledge and experience, he taught me the basics of the operation of the craft, and the ins and outs of boating safety, and how to navigate the waterway safely. The verse in Proverbs 3:20 holds true, “Whoever walks with the wise grows wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Instead of jumping in on a matter, considering the wisdom of others advice and knowledge, especially the counsel of God’s Word and other seasoned authors, the ability to lead is based on a collective, foundational truth: There are no loners in leadership.
  1. Be mindful for warning signs of trouble ahead. Sometimes the best leaders can be blindsided by trouble or conflict because they don’t follow this principle. When making decisions involving people, being mindful of their strengths and weaknesses up front will help avoid trouble down the road. Setting up a person or team for success involves knowing what they are capable of and what they are not capable of. Setting unrealistic expectations for your team leads to mistrust and low moral in accomplishing the target goal. Sandbars are a boater’s nemesis. Discolored water, as well as breaking water around smooth water is an indicator there may be a sandbar ahead. Being able to see the trouble before you get to it allows for smoother sailing.
  1. Lead others to take risks with you. The waters never parted until the leaders took the first step and got their feet wet. (Joshua 3:15-16) Imagine stepping into a flowing river and not even knowing how to swim! That was the faith of the priests that led the nation of Israel to cross the Jordan river! Someone once said, “To live without risk, is to risk not living.” We have to take risks in life. In our walk with God, we have to take steps of faith towards Him. The day I rode the jet ski, my friend was on the back. Only when I opened up the throttle did the real exhilaration and thrill of riding on the water at 35 to 40mph sink in. When I was slowly moving, the watercraft was taking on water, but when I got on the gas, my friend and I both had fun! I was nervous at what it might mean to accelerate so fast. But I took a risk, and the risk paid off nicely. We were moving down the ICW in no time! My friend could have pressed the gas and awkwardly steered over me, but it’s not what I was meant for that day. I was meant to fly! Other people need risk takers to lead them. Other people need you and I to lead with the eyes of faith.