F.L.E.E

I do a lot of reading on a daily basis and a portion of this reading contains selected blogs.  Each blog has a lot of helpful information that I internalize and later partially reproduce through a sermon, a teaching moment, or program/event.  With only the inerrant Word of God being infallible, when reading extra-biblical information we use the parts that pertain to our lives and ministries.  Enjoying most things I read, I rarely find an  article that is complete.  Well this morning I found one that I would like to share.  The below link leads you to a blog that I would encourage everyone to check out regularly.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/f-l-e-e-a-strategy-for-pursuing-sexual-purity

Adoration

In my last post I shared how God had guided me into preparing a vision and purpose for the ministry of Campbellsburg Baptist Church.  Early one morning in June God awakened me by flooding my soul with vision, and the result is captured in a sixteen page document entitled Mission and Ministry Handbook.

Also in the last post, I stated how I would provide updates that show the results from sharing this document.  On Sunday January 10th, we shared our heart of ministry with the church and made the Mission and Ministry Handbook available.  As a result, there have been several people to provide positive feedback, along with many questions.  The many questions were expected because of the content, but they are a huge blessing because it means that people are actually reading it.

But the first result that I would like to share from this experience is what God has accomplished in me.  Having prayed over this document and the presentation of it, this type of prayer has depend my adoration of God.  As I would like to use the word reminded instead of deepened, I feel that reminded would be boasting of my spirituality.

God has appeared more beautiful, glorious, and majestic to me.  When thinking of God; His character, His patience, His love, His Immanence, His Transcendence, and on we could go, I am reminded that He alone is worthy of worship.

If nothing else results from this effort of revitalizing ministry at Campbellsburg Baptist Church, then I feel that my deeper appreciation, gratitude and worship of God is sufficient.

A 2016 For 2017 and Beyond

It is 9:00 A.M. on January 1st 2016 and I sadly report that the only thing I have accomplished so far in 2016 is sleeping (borrowed this from Twitter).  Although staying up a lot later than normal, I have to admit that our family closed out 2015 and brought in 2016 with joy together.  Not that other years have not been special, but this New Years was a lot of fun and I hope that it is a glimpse of what year will entail...enjoying the time that we have together as we get things accomplished.

Our society seemingly gives up on the current year after Thanksgiving, as it eagerly anticipates the next year in hopes of all that it will have to offer.  As this seems to be the norm, I hope I do not sound like the rest of society; however, there is a real excitement surrounding 2016 and seeing the results of what God had started in 2015.

Although I attempt to live every day as God ordains, six months ago God blessed me by providing a vision and direction for 2016.  Because of God's leading and my trying to be obedient, preparations were made in 2015 for 2016.  With that being said, I am really excited to see what all God has planned.

In past - yet similar - experiences when God has pressed upon me as He has over the last six months, the results were certainly unexpected.  So without being able to anticipate God's finished product, I want to clearly say that I am more excited that God is pressing upon me.

I love it when God clearly conveys vision for me because it takes the guess work out of leading.  Always willing to, and daily seeking His direction from Scripture, it is really refreshing when God opens the mind with clarity, understanding, and excitement.  It could be one of those years in which I wonder aimlessly, but God has decided to bless me with a reminder that He is at work in my life, in Campbellsburg Baptist Church, and all of His creation.

So stay tuned for; what I can only imagine will be, a year of exciting and refreshing reports of God being praised and worshiped for His goodness and His guidance.  God bless each of you in 2016.

Forgiveness, For Every Mistake

Not being a pageant watcher at all, I did hear through social media of a mistake that was made by host Steve Harvey.  After the many interviews and catwalks (if that is what they call them), the ladies were judged by a panel over their appearance and performance.  Now these ladies have made it through local, state, and national competition and had been chosen to represent their country in this contest.  With having two daughters compete in the Henry County Miss Pre-Teen Pageant, I can only imagine the money, time, and stress involved at the level of Miss Universe.

Well during the climax of the 2015 competition, Steve Harvey incorrectly read the card and awarded the wrong contestant the title of Miss Universe.  Now imagine the implications of this mistake, they had to remove the crown from one beauty queen and place it upon the other as millions (minus me) were watching. Not to include the embarrassment of the countries and sponsors of the candidates involved.  The competition as a whole lost credibility for some who regularly watch.  And what about Mr. Harvey?  The prestige and eloquence of this competition carries much responsibility, and during the climax of the competition was not a moment for such a mistake.

Two things, one Mr. Harvey owned up to his mistake and took full responsibility for it.  This was very credible on his part, but one mistake his professional career will struggle from because of.  Being a comedian, Harvey will probably cover this mistake with humor; however, it will not be forgotten by Miss Colombia.

ooo...you almost had it, ya gotta be quicker than that.

Second, despite our mistakes - the magnitude and repetitiveness of them - the blood of Jesus Christ can cover them all.  If we admit our mistakes and trust in the perfectness of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.  This forgiveness requires that we turn from those things in which we have been forgiven and place blockers to keep us from repeating those sins.

Although Harvey's mistake will receive much media (as I am sure it already has) and be discussed, analyzed, and changes placed in the competition in order that such a mistake will never be repeated, let me remind you that God feels the same way about our sins, and He sent Jesus.

Evangelism

During a meeting between friends and colleagues, the style and approach to doing evangelism was breached during their conversation.  The pastor that started the conversation laid a very awkward process for doing evangelism.  The other pastor had nothing to offer but a critique of his colleagues’ way of doing evangelism.  The initiating pastor was a bit saddened by his friends’ quick critique, but then after a few moments he turned to his friend and said, "I may not have the best way of doing evangelism, but I would have an obscure way of doing evangelism rather a non-existent way."

I am not sure where I heard this story the first time, but for a Christian/Pastor, this is one of those stories that is not easily forgotten.  In fact, for me it is very motivational and a clear reminder of our purpose as Christians.  As I have said numerous times that God created us to worship Him - and I still believe that statement - but as redeemed and forgiven children of God, our worship is resulted through our evangelism.

Hear me out, in our worship of God; either personal or corporately, our hearts are reminded of God's goodness, love, patience, and sacrifice.  As a result, sharing this message seems to be the only logical response.  God's goodness is that good, God's love is that loving, and God’s sacrifice is that sacrificial, that we want others to share in it.  His goodness and love is transforming through the realization of the sacrifice that was paid for our sins.

I can't imagine not getting to tell someone about God's love and His sacrifice for us.  This was realized one Sunday morning during a sermon when I said, “They would have to cut out my tongue to keep me from sharing Jesus Christ.”  At the moment of sharing this, I got emotional from the weight of not getting to share the glorious news of Jesus Christ.

We are called to be the witness of God’s love through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, by the leading of the Holy Spirit.  To be a witness, we trust and follow the Scripture’s mandate of being conformed to the image of Christ by surrendering ourselves to God’s will.  Through self-sacrifice, we are making ourselves available to the leading God by the Holy Spirit.

Just remember, we will have an eternity to worship God, but only a lifetime to share Jesus with others.

The Reflections Of A Servant

It has been a little bit since my last post; and with a lot happening over the last few weeks, I would like to share some of the thoughts that have been collecting.  The recent unexpected passing of Mrs. Donna has enlisted some thoughts that I feel strongly about sharing.

Having met Mrs. Donna on many occasions within the environment of the school, I was always impressed with the way she controlled the room with patience, compassion, and great joy.  She loved her job as well as everyone she interacted with on a daily basis.  But this love and respect wasn't a one way street, everyone felt the same way about her.

After spending a little time talking with her husband, it is clear that her outlook on life was transposed to her position at the school.  Having often said, "Every child deserves a hug"; this motto was not only frequently heard and acted upon, but became contagious.

So, what are some of the thoughts that have been collecting.  Everyone can make a difference in someone's life, if only we are able to see everyone else as a deserving recipient.  This can be quite simple actually, if we allowed Scripture to penetrate our lives.  Luke 6:31 tells us to treat others as we would like to be treated.  This is profound wisdom that is not dependant on anything or anyone else.  We can wake up every day making the decision to treat each other as human beings.

There is always a place to serve others.  Mrs. Donna took her position at the school eleven years ago for the income, but as a result of her compassionate heart, she noticed a simple hug made a difference in someone's life each day.  We can all find a place to serve others if the above is being applied to our lives.  And as Christians, a servant's heart should be the result of what Christ has accomplished on your behalf.

Christian In The World...Even Public Schools

I have often been asked the question regarding the limits that Christians have when it comes to their faith in the public schools.  Having typically answered with, "As long as you don't force anyone to pray with you or converse with you about your faith, then there is nothing that can be said."  This answer is a display of my ignorance of legal jargon, but I was very encouraged when I run across this post by The Gospel Coalition regarding this issue.  But before I let you go, let me remind you that too often we have let the threat of offending someone silence our proclamation (Joshua 1:7, 1 Cor 16:13-14).  So...how far can we take our example for Christ in the public school?  Read this article for the answers.