“They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.”
--Isaiah 61:3 (NIV)
Psychologist and the “feel-good” preachers and teachers of positive thinking attribute the majority of our problems to the lack of self-esteem and low self-concept. To overcome the negative conditions in our lives they say we simply need to change our negative “self scripts” to positive ones. After all they say, even the Bible says, “As a man thinks so is he.” (taken out of context when applied in this fashion).
Perhaps the Apostle Paul was unaware of the power of negative self-scripts. He called himself a "Wretched man…least of the apostles…the foremost sinner.” And these are statement made after his conversion.
Ken, are you saying that I shouldn’t think positive thoughts? Not in the least. In Philippians 4, Paul tells us to “dwell on the good, pure, and noble things.” But Paul also tells us that everything that is lawful for us is not profitable (even though it may appear to be so).
As Christians the focus should never be on who I say I am. The focus should be Christ, period. It is who He says I am that matters. It is the changes wrought by the power of His Holy Spirit that will bring about lasting, powerful and positive change in your life.
Have you struggled to find joy, peace and freedom? Do you long to have a real reason to be thankful this season? Look to Christ and listen to who He says you are!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
It Will Happen
Joshua 6:14 "And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days. 15 But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner...16 And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: "Shout, for the Lord has given you the city!
Maybe your life seems like the same thing over and over again. You get up and do the same thing every day. But if you will continue to follow after God and seek him with all your heart the Bible tells us that everything you have need of will be given onto you. Maybe you find yourself in a perpetual state of sin. Never stop fighting against it. Never make peace with it. The demons of hell tremble at the thought of a man or woman who is passionate about God no matter what their circumstances.
When you get passionate about God your circumstances don’t consume you and sin doesn’t control you. Your circumstances become your calling and it is a call to those who are broken and contrite. It is a call to those who know that to praise the living God is to experience the very manifestation of His presence. It is a call to those who refuse to be cloaked in the death garb of sin any longer. It is a call to those who are tired of man centered means. It is a call to those who pant for God as the dear that pants for the water brook. It is a call to those who will fight the good fight to the very end. It is a call to those who are purified that they may present themselves as living sacrifices to the Lord. It is a call to those who are holy because the one who calls is holy. Yes, there is a call which causes the demons of hell to tremble because they know that it is a call to the chosen of God, the elect of God from every tribe and every tongue who know longer fear the curse of death bur fear God alone.
There is a call which causes demons to tremble because they have heard that call before. It is a call that transforms mortal men into immortal warriors. It is a call to those who will heed its warning, that transforms mere men into the terribly awesome image like that which those demons have seen before. Therefore, they tremble for the last time they saw the image their gates could not prevail against it.
Will you name your Jericho? Will you call it by name? Will you call it what it is? Will you nail it to the cross today. See God has put it in your hands. Don’t say you have no strength to overcome. When we say we have no strength to overcome that is an offense to God and an insult to the blood of his Son. You walk in obedience to what God tells you to do. He will give you the strength.
Name your Jericho! It may be a sin that you have tried to deal with all by yourself The Bible says, "confess your sins one to another". There is a reason for confessing one to another. It solidifies what you know you must do. Then all week you march around your house and wherever you go you continually remind your spirit that God has put it in your hands and now that it’s in your hands it’s up to you to lay it down. Take dominion!!!
All week you stand against your Jericho. It may be depression or fear or doubt about what God can do. But you stand against it. It has no power over you. YOU stand against it. And you continue to stand waiting for the answer whether it takes 7 days or 7000 days. Never give up, never give out, and never give in. Be always looking toward that day when the Lord tells you to shout because he has given you the answer. He has been glorified in your faithfulness and your Jericho has fallen and the promises of God have been fulfilled.
Maybe your life seems like the same thing over and over again. You get up and do the same thing every day. But if you will continue to follow after God and seek him with all your heart the Bible tells us that everything you have need of will be given onto you. Maybe you find yourself in a perpetual state of sin. Never stop fighting against it. Never make peace with it. The demons of hell tremble at the thought of a man or woman who is passionate about God no matter what their circumstances.
When you get passionate about God your circumstances don’t consume you and sin doesn’t control you. Your circumstances become your calling and it is a call to those who are broken and contrite. It is a call to those who know that to praise the living God is to experience the very manifestation of His presence. It is a call to those who refuse to be cloaked in the death garb of sin any longer. It is a call to those who are tired of man centered means. It is a call to those who pant for God as the dear that pants for the water brook. It is a call to those who will fight the good fight to the very end. It is a call to those who are purified that they may present themselves as living sacrifices to the Lord. It is a call to those who are holy because the one who calls is holy. Yes, there is a call which causes the demons of hell to tremble because they know that it is a call to the chosen of God, the elect of God from every tribe and every tongue who know longer fear the curse of death bur fear God alone.
There is a call which causes demons to tremble because they have heard that call before. It is a call that transforms mortal men into immortal warriors. It is a call to those who will heed its warning, that transforms mere men into the terribly awesome image like that which those demons have seen before. Therefore, they tremble for the last time they saw the image their gates could not prevail against it.
Will you name your Jericho? Will you call it by name? Will you call it what it is? Will you nail it to the cross today. See God has put it in your hands. Don’t say you have no strength to overcome. When we say we have no strength to overcome that is an offense to God and an insult to the blood of his Son. You walk in obedience to what God tells you to do. He will give you the strength.
Name your Jericho! It may be a sin that you have tried to deal with all by yourself The Bible says, "confess your sins one to another". There is a reason for confessing one to another. It solidifies what you know you must do. Then all week you march around your house and wherever you go you continually remind your spirit that God has put it in your hands and now that it’s in your hands it’s up to you to lay it down. Take dominion!!!
All week you stand against your Jericho. It may be depression or fear or doubt about what God can do. But you stand against it. It has no power over you. YOU stand against it. And you continue to stand waiting for the answer whether it takes 7 days or 7000 days. Never give up, never give out, and never give in. Be always looking toward that day when the Lord tells you to shout because he has given you the answer. He has been glorified in your faithfulness and your Jericho has fallen and the promises of God have been fulfilled.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Forgiveness: An Act of Personal Self Interest
In 1990 having graduated from SEBTS I remained at the school on staff as an admissions officer. A new professor had joined the faculty. He and I became friends and started working out together. Our wives became friends. They were there for us at the hospital when our first son was born. He held MaCrae in his arms. We have pictures in MaCrae’s photo album. We were good friends. Then they approached us on getting involved in a home-based business they had started. Nothing wrong with home based businesses. Sherry and I have done some of those over the years, but we weren’t particularly interested in what they were selling personally and coming from a sales background I know it helps to believe in what you are selling. So we kindly declined the offer.
From that time forward they no longer wanted to hang out with us. They stopped eating with us. He stopped working out with me or speaking to me on campus. For all intents and purposes they threw our friendship out the window. They had passionately bought into the cult like mentality of the organization with which they were involved. They were living the mantra of many such organizations “SAY YES SAY NO GOT A GO”. In other words, I Don’t have time for friendships anymore that don’t directly impact my financial position in a positive way. Unfortunately, much of the world is that way today.
At first I was hurt, then I was angry. I could not believe that a seminary professor would allow his personal desire for wealth to destroy a friendship. But I also knew that I could not just go to him and say, “I forgive you”. Not because I didn’t want to, for I already had. But even Jesus on the cross did not look down at the people and say I forgive you, but instead he took it to His Father and pleaded with his father to forgive them.
So after several weeks of this nonsense I finally made the decision to go to him. But please hear what I am about to say. I did not go to him to tell him I forgive you. Sometimes you can do that but you have to pray for discernment in these matters. AND you need to be very careful about doling out forgiveness to those who do not think they need it. That doesn’t mean that you haven’t forgiven. But you cannot go to someone in your own self-righteousness as if you are better than they are because you are the one making the first move. If you do you are operating in a spirit of pride and on top of that you are likely to find only resentment waiting for you. Even when you have the right spirit of humility you may not be received because they may not accept that they have done wrong. The Pharisees rejected Jesus because they did not understand their need for forgiveness. Again, even on the cross Jesus did not say to the people I forgive you, but the cross was rather the avenue through which forgiveness could be found for those who knew they had a need.
As I continued to pray over this situation I came to the realization that I was one who had a need. So I went to my friend and asked him to forgive me. Some may think that doesn’t even make sense. Your friend is the one who needed forgiving. You obviously just have a guilt complex. You have already told us that you were a vandal as a teenager. Obviously you just feel guilty about everything.
NO NO NO. It was not out of guilt. I knew that I was free in Christ and if Christ sets us free we are free indeed. But the Lord had laid on my heart that this was what I needed to do. At the time I did not fully understand why or what the outcome would be. I wrestled with my thoughts that I was not the one who had done anything wrong. It was my friend who was wrong. My human intellect could not make sense of what God was saying in my spirit to do.
Finally, I went to his office, knocked on the door and stood before him. He was studying for a class. He looked up from his book and I said, "I have come to ask for your forgiveness. I have held resentment in my heart and have been angry that our friendship is not what it use to be and I just want you to know I wish you well in your business". He looked back down at his book without saying a word and I turned to go. I put my hand on the doorknob and he called my name. I turned to face him again and He said, "NO". Then he pushed back his chair came around the desk and with tears in his eyes he said< "I am the one who needs your forgiveness".
Then and there I understood why God was leading me to do what seemed so contrary. Oh the power of the cross. Then and there under the shadow of the cross a friendship was restored. Love grew where the blood fell. I walked back home singing…
It’s not my brother, not my sister but it’s me oh Lord STANDING IN THE NEED OF PRAYER.
Contrary to what our emotions or the world may tell us. The Bible teaches that it is in our own best interest to forgive. It is evidence of the grace of God in our lives. I love what Mark Twain wrote, "Forgiveness is the fragrance the flower sheds on the heel that crushed it" There are even major university studies being conducted now on many campuses on the physical benefits of forgiveness. Lower blood pressure – longer life span – more content lives. As if we needed the classroom to validate what God’s Word has already taught us.
You want to be happier, you want to be healthier? LEARN HOW TO FORGIVE! Forgiveness really is a matter of your own personal best interest.
From that time forward they no longer wanted to hang out with us. They stopped eating with us. He stopped working out with me or speaking to me on campus. For all intents and purposes they threw our friendship out the window. They had passionately bought into the cult like mentality of the organization with which they were involved. They were living the mantra of many such organizations “SAY YES SAY NO GOT A GO”. In other words, I Don’t have time for friendships anymore that don’t directly impact my financial position in a positive way. Unfortunately, much of the world is that way today.
At first I was hurt, then I was angry. I could not believe that a seminary professor would allow his personal desire for wealth to destroy a friendship. But I also knew that I could not just go to him and say, “I forgive you”. Not because I didn’t want to, for I already had. But even Jesus on the cross did not look down at the people and say I forgive you, but instead he took it to His Father and pleaded with his father to forgive them.
So after several weeks of this nonsense I finally made the decision to go to him. But please hear what I am about to say. I did not go to him to tell him I forgive you. Sometimes you can do that but you have to pray for discernment in these matters. AND you need to be very careful about doling out forgiveness to those who do not think they need it. That doesn’t mean that you haven’t forgiven. But you cannot go to someone in your own self-righteousness as if you are better than they are because you are the one making the first move. If you do you are operating in a spirit of pride and on top of that you are likely to find only resentment waiting for you. Even when you have the right spirit of humility you may not be received because they may not accept that they have done wrong. The Pharisees rejected Jesus because they did not understand their need for forgiveness. Again, even on the cross Jesus did not say to the people I forgive you, but the cross was rather the avenue through which forgiveness could be found for those who knew they had a need.
As I continued to pray over this situation I came to the realization that I was one who had a need. So I went to my friend and asked him to forgive me. Some may think that doesn’t even make sense. Your friend is the one who needed forgiving. You obviously just have a guilt complex. You have already told us that you were a vandal as a teenager. Obviously you just feel guilty about everything.
NO NO NO. It was not out of guilt. I knew that I was free in Christ and if Christ sets us free we are free indeed. But the Lord had laid on my heart that this was what I needed to do. At the time I did not fully understand why or what the outcome would be. I wrestled with my thoughts that I was not the one who had done anything wrong. It was my friend who was wrong. My human intellect could not make sense of what God was saying in my spirit to do.
Finally, I went to his office, knocked on the door and stood before him. He was studying for a class. He looked up from his book and I said, "I have come to ask for your forgiveness. I have held resentment in my heart and have been angry that our friendship is not what it use to be and I just want you to know I wish you well in your business". He looked back down at his book without saying a word and I turned to go. I put my hand on the doorknob and he called my name. I turned to face him again and He said, "NO". Then he pushed back his chair came around the desk and with tears in his eyes he said< "I am the one who needs your forgiveness".
Then and there I understood why God was leading me to do what seemed so contrary. Oh the power of the cross. Then and there under the shadow of the cross a friendship was restored. Love grew where the blood fell. I walked back home singing…
It’s not my brother, not my sister but it’s me oh Lord STANDING IN THE NEED OF PRAYER.
Contrary to what our emotions or the world may tell us. The Bible teaches that it is in our own best interest to forgive. It is evidence of the grace of God in our lives. I love what Mark Twain wrote, "Forgiveness is the fragrance the flower sheds on the heel that crushed it" There are even major university studies being conducted now on many campuses on the physical benefits of forgiveness. Lower blood pressure – longer life span – more content lives. As if we needed the classroom to validate what God’s Word has already taught us.
You want to be happier, you want to be healthier? LEARN HOW TO FORGIVE! Forgiveness really is a matter of your own personal best interest.
Friday, March 21, 2008
What Difference Does It Make to Believe?
Luke 24:11 “And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.”
My mother shared an interesting devotional with me this week that she read in Open Windows of an event that was orchestrated last April by The Washington Post. "A man wearing old jeans, a T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap positioned himself against a wall beside a trash can just outside the METRO in the heart of Washington DC. He pulled out a violin and began to play." That part is not unusual. Many street performers can be found in major cities hoping someone will throw a few dollars their way.
What is interesting is that this violinist was not your typical street performer. It was Joshua Bell, one of the finest classical musicians in the world, whose recordings have sold in the millions. He was playing some of the most brilliant classical music ever written on a 300 year old, $3.5 million dollar Stradivarius. This is a man who has played for royalty. His concerts bring more than $100 per seat; and yet in the 40 minutes that he played more than 1000 people passed by not even giving him a glance, no crowds gathered, no one applauded. Said Bell, “it was a strange feeling that people were actually ignoring me.”
Perhaps we should cut the people who passed by some slack. After all they didn’t know who he was. They had seen this kind of thing before. Certainly he was just another street performer, an ordinary guy trying to make a living doing the best he can. Besides they were busy. They had things to do and places to go. Maybe he was good, but it was just hard to tell with iPods and cell phones plugged to their brains. Add to all this, it is just hard to believe that a master violinist would be found doing such a thing. Certainly the extraordinary would never stoop down to the ordinary. It sounds like a tall tale, another urban legend of which we have all become familiar. But the truth is it did happen; and certainly if the people had known they would have given the man and the moment the respect it deserved. Could it be that they just didn’t believe it was possible?
Just like the thousands who passed by a great violin virtuoso, so millions pass by Jesus. To the masses, in their busy pursuit of the good life, Jesus is just another man at a moment in time who happened to get some exposure in the Jerusalem Post ~ but there is nothing really more to it than that…or is there?
2000 years ago Jesus came to earth in the form of humble servant. He lived a perfect, sinless life and died on across a sinner’s death. Three days later he rose from the grave and even his closest friends did not believe. “It’s just another tale” they thought…or was it?
If Jesus did rise from the grave what does that have to do with you and me 2000 years later? If one does truly believe that such an event happened what difference does it make? Some may argue that it makes as much difference as believing a Master Violinist played in the subway. In other words, it makes NO DIFFERENCE.
Yet I can’t help but wonder is there a difference between ignoring an event orchestrated by a newspaper on a cold day in April, and one orchestrated by God before time began?
Read the story of Joshua Bell in the Post
My mother shared an interesting devotional with me this week that she read in Open Windows of an event that was orchestrated last April by The Washington Post. "A man wearing old jeans, a T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap positioned himself against a wall beside a trash can just outside the METRO in the heart of Washington DC. He pulled out a violin and began to play." That part is not unusual. Many street performers can be found in major cities hoping someone will throw a few dollars their way.
What is interesting is that this violinist was not your typical street performer. It was Joshua Bell, one of the finest classical musicians in the world, whose recordings have sold in the millions. He was playing some of the most brilliant classical music ever written on a 300 year old, $3.5 million dollar Stradivarius. This is a man who has played for royalty. His concerts bring more than $100 per seat; and yet in the 40 minutes that he played more than 1000 people passed by not even giving him a glance, no crowds gathered, no one applauded. Said Bell, “it was a strange feeling that people were actually ignoring me.”
Perhaps we should cut the people who passed by some slack. After all they didn’t know who he was. They had seen this kind of thing before. Certainly he was just another street performer, an ordinary guy trying to make a living doing the best he can. Besides they were busy. They had things to do and places to go. Maybe he was good, but it was just hard to tell with iPods and cell phones plugged to their brains. Add to all this, it is just hard to believe that a master violinist would be found doing such a thing. Certainly the extraordinary would never stoop down to the ordinary. It sounds like a tall tale, another urban legend of which we have all become familiar. But the truth is it did happen; and certainly if the people had known they would have given the man and the moment the respect it deserved. Could it be that they just didn’t believe it was possible?
Just like the thousands who passed by a great violin virtuoso, so millions pass by Jesus. To the masses, in their busy pursuit of the good life, Jesus is just another man at a moment in time who happened to get some exposure in the Jerusalem Post ~ but there is nothing really more to it than that…or is there?
2000 years ago Jesus came to earth in the form of humble servant. He lived a perfect, sinless life and died on across a sinner’s death. Three days later he rose from the grave and even his closest friends did not believe. “It’s just another tale” they thought…or was it?
If Jesus did rise from the grave what does that have to do with you and me 2000 years later? If one does truly believe that such an event happened what difference does it make? Some may argue that it makes as much difference as believing a Master Violinist played in the subway. In other words, it makes NO DIFFERENCE.
Yet I can’t help but wonder is there a difference between ignoring an event orchestrated by a newspaper on a cold day in April, and one orchestrated by God before time began?
Read the story of Joshua Bell in the Post
Monday, March 10, 2008
The Centrality of the Cross
In the Garden of Eden the first man and the first woman are found clinging to a beautiful tree they thought would bring life. They looked upon a beautiful creature they thought would make them like God. They wanted the fruit they thought would bring them much joy. It is not wrong to have such hopes. We must have hope or we will surely die. The great problem that Adam had and every other human has ever had is that we spend our lives looking to the wrong tree.
Certainly a beautiful tree with its beautiful fruit in a beautiful garden can offer us more than an ugly tree stained with blood in a barren place called skull hill. The first proposed to offer wisdom and knowledge and the answer to life and joy. The second appeared to offer nothing but sorrow and death. But it is just the opposite. The beautiful tree brought death and separation from God, the despised tree brought life and reconciliation.
And so it is that everything else to which we may cling in hope of finding that for which we long for will bring us only sorrow and misery if it is not grounded in the cross. The old tree may seem the most lifeless place on earth. Though others may mock you and laugh at your utter foolishness. Though death seems the only logical outcome. Will you cling to that tree, knowing that your Father will meet you there? The first Adam brought us death in a garden of life. The second Adam brought us life in a garden of death.
There are many ways in which we might consider the centrality of the cross for all the world, but I want to bring it down to this one point and it is a very personal matter ~ It is the centrality of the cross in forgiving those who have sinned against us.
When 5 Amish school children were killed and 5 others injured in October 2006 when a mad gunman entered the Amish schoolhouse where they were studying, the response of the Amish Community resounded loudly in the national media. WE FORGIVE! One of the Amish even said, “Perhaps it is better that this tragedy happened in our community, as opposed to the outside world, because our people are ready to meet God.”
What these gentle people have shown us in their sorrow is that there is a process for healing that is available to all. IT BEGINS WITH FORGIVENESS. Why do we drop out of church? Why do we hold grudges, why do find our lives spiraling down in bitterness and despair? Is it not because of an unforgiving heart.
But if the cross is truly the central reality of our lives we must forgive. AND YET it is not so much a demand ~ as it is the only logical response. THINK ABOUT IT FOR YOUR OWN LIFE. I KNOW IN MY LIFE. There is no one who has offended me more than I have personally offended Jesus. When you come to that reality you realize that unforgiveness in your own heart is the very rule by which you will be judged.
Some may say, "Oh but I have a right Brother Kenneth. You don’t know how others have hurt me. EVEN GOD HAS LET ME DOWN! IF God loved me he wouldn’t allow the things that have happened in my life." We may even feel justified in blaming God for our troubles. Remember man’s first impulse in the garden. Adam blamed the woman then God for giving her to him.
Jesus cried from the cross “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” You may argue, “oh but those who have hurt me knew exactly what they were doing. AND THEY DID IT JUST THE SAME. Therefore I am excused”. NO NO NO. For the flip side is this. IF we fail to forgive we do not know what we are doing. “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
If we continue to hold on to unforgiveness in our hearts then we must be forewarned. We have not yet fully understood our greatest need and that is to be forgiven ourselves. We have committed treason against the king of glory. There is none righteous no not one. We all stand guilty before the Supreme Court of Heaven.
At the age of 28 I had finished seminary. I was praying for God to give me greater wisdom. But every time I prayed I felt that my prayers were not going past the ceiling. Every time I prayed a name came to my mind. "David". I knew who David was. I knew what God wanted. I wrestled with God for several weeks. "Oh you must mean the David of scripture." But God’s voice to my spirit spoke louder "DAVID". "Oh but God he doesn’t even know it was me." "DAVID", "But God that was 10 years ago. I am not the same person I was back then." "DAVID". "But God I have a reputation to maintain." "DAVID". "I wouldn’t even know where to find him." "DAVID". "But God that was another town and another time." "DAVID". I looked in the phone book and to my surprise David now lived only 2 short miles from my home. I knew what I had to do. I called David. He recognized my name immediately. I said, "David I need to come see you." He said, "well Ken you will need to come today. My bags are packed I am moving to Florida in the morning."
I got in my car and made the agonizing drive to his home. We chatted briefly and then I went straight to the point. "David do you remember when we were seniors in high school and your car was vandalized one night." He said, "yea I never found out who did that." I said, "David I know who did it. It was me. I am the one who did it. I have come to make things right." Then I pulled out my checkbook preparing to write him a check for the damages. He said, "hold on Ken. You don’t need to do that. I forgive you."
My hands began to tremble and tears began to flow. "But I was wrong. It was me I must make things right." He said, "Ken you just did." I couldn’t speak anymore. I quickly left got in my car and for 20 minutes I just sat there and cried.
The greatest gift I have ever received is forgiveness. Dallas Holmes sang a song 30 years ago. "I’m the one who spat upon the Savior. I’m the one who cursed his Holy name. I’m the one who said with all the rest crucify him. I’m the one. I’m the one to blame."
The only way you and I can properly show our great appreciation for what Christ has done for us is by living a life of forgiveness. And the greatest thing you can ever do for yourself is cling to that old tree and receive the forgiveness that God freely gives to all who call upon his name.
Certainly a beautiful tree with its beautiful fruit in a beautiful garden can offer us more than an ugly tree stained with blood in a barren place called skull hill. The first proposed to offer wisdom and knowledge and the answer to life and joy. The second appeared to offer nothing but sorrow and death. But it is just the opposite. The beautiful tree brought death and separation from God, the despised tree brought life and reconciliation.
And so it is that everything else to which we may cling in hope of finding that for which we long for will bring us only sorrow and misery if it is not grounded in the cross. The old tree may seem the most lifeless place on earth. Though others may mock you and laugh at your utter foolishness. Though death seems the only logical outcome. Will you cling to that tree, knowing that your Father will meet you there? The first Adam brought us death in a garden of life. The second Adam brought us life in a garden of death.
There are many ways in which we might consider the centrality of the cross for all the world, but I want to bring it down to this one point and it is a very personal matter ~ It is the centrality of the cross in forgiving those who have sinned against us.
When 5 Amish school children were killed and 5 others injured in October 2006 when a mad gunman entered the Amish schoolhouse where they were studying, the response of the Amish Community resounded loudly in the national media. WE FORGIVE! One of the Amish even said, “Perhaps it is better that this tragedy happened in our community, as opposed to the outside world, because our people are ready to meet God.”
What these gentle people have shown us in their sorrow is that there is a process for healing that is available to all. IT BEGINS WITH FORGIVENESS. Why do we drop out of church? Why do we hold grudges, why do find our lives spiraling down in bitterness and despair? Is it not because of an unforgiving heart.
But if the cross is truly the central reality of our lives we must forgive. AND YET it is not so much a demand ~ as it is the only logical response. THINK ABOUT IT FOR YOUR OWN LIFE. I KNOW IN MY LIFE. There is no one who has offended me more than I have personally offended Jesus. When you come to that reality you realize that unforgiveness in your own heart is the very rule by which you will be judged.
Some may say, "Oh but I have a right Brother Kenneth. You don’t know how others have hurt me. EVEN GOD HAS LET ME DOWN! IF God loved me he wouldn’t allow the things that have happened in my life." We may even feel justified in blaming God for our troubles. Remember man’s first impulse in the garden. Adam blamed the woman then God for giving her to him.
Jesus cried from the cross “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” You may argue, “oh but those who have hurt me knew exactly what they were doing. AND THEY DID IT JUST THE SAME. Therefore I am excused”. NO NO NO. For the flip side is this. IF we fail to forgive we do not know what we are doing. “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
If we continue to hold on to unforgiveness in our hearts then we must be forewarned. We have not yet fully understood our greatest need and that is to be forgiven ourselves. We have committed treason against the king of glory. There is none righteous no not one. We all stand guilty before the Supreme Court of Heaven.
At the age of 28 I had finished seminary. I was praying for God to give me greater wisdom. But every time I prayed I felt that my prayers were not going past the ceiling. Every time I prayed a name came to my mind. "David". I knew who David was. I knew what God wanted. I wrestled with God for several weeks. "Oh you must mean the David of scripture." But God’s voice to my spirit spoke louder "DAVID". "Oh but God he doesn’t even know it was me." "DAVID", "But God that was 10 years ago. I am not the same person I was back then." "DAVID". "But God I have a reputation to maintain." "DAVID". "I wouldn’t even know where to find him." "DAVID". "But God that was another town and another time." "DAVID". I looked in the phone book and to my surprise David now lived only 2 short miles from my home. I knew what I had to do. I called David. He recognized my name immediately. I said, "David I need to come see you." He said, "well Ken you will need to come today. My bags are packed I am moving to Florida in the morning."
I got in my car and made the agonizing drive to his home. We chatted briefly and then I went straight to the point. "David do you remember when we were seniors in high school and your car was vandalized one night." He said, "yea I never found out who did that." I said, "David I know who did it. It was me. I am the one who did it. I have come to make things right." Then I pulled out my checkbook preparing to write him a check for the damages. He said, "hold on Ken. You don’t need to do that. I forgive you."
My hands began to tremble and tears began to flow. "But I was wrong. It was me I must make things right." He said, "Ken you just did." I couldn’t speak anymore. I quickly left got in my car and for 20 minutes I just sat there and cried.
The greatest gift I have ever received is forgiveness. Dallas Holmes sang a song 30 years ago. "I’m the one who spat upon the Savior. I’m the one who cursed his Holy name. I’m the one who said with all the rest crucify him. I’m the one. I’m the one to blame."
The only way you and I can properly show our great appreciation for what Christ has done for us is by living a life of forgiveness. And the greatest thing you can ever do for yourself is cling to that old tree and receive the forgiveness that God freely gives to all who call upon his name.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Evidence
When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. Acts 11:23
I was in a McDonald’s a few years ago and elderly black man was working the counter. He wasn’t able to move fast and he had gotten one order wrong. A woman returned to the counter chewing him out for his poor performance. He spoke softly and apologized for the mistake as fast as he could he filled the order and said to the lady, “GOD BLESS YOU Ma’am. Have a nice day.”
I am not sure what kind of impact his words had on the young woman, but I know that I was glad and encouraged. I saw in his response the evidence of the grace of God. He had remained true to the Lord with all his heart despite the actions of others.
I remember a preacher’s sermon I heard as a young teen, when he said, “if you were standing trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?” It reminds me that grace in our lives is one of the strongest evidences of Christian character, that God is at work in our hearts.
Grace is a powerful encouraging force that leaves a fingerprint on whatever it touches. Changed lives, restored marriages, reconciled friendships, breaking of harmful addictions are all incontrovertible evidences of the presence of grace. Grace is the DNA of God. It is unmistakable.
Are you carrying any evidence on you today that the grace of God is at work in your life?
I was in a McDonald’s a few years ago and elderly black man was working the counter. He wasn’t able to move fast and he had gotten one order wrong. A woman returned to the counter chewing him out for his poor performance. He spoke softly and apologized for the mistake as fast as he could he filled the order and said to the lady, “GOD BLESS YOU Ma’am. Have a nice day.”
I am not sure what kind of impact his words had on the young woman, but I know that I was glad and encouraged. I saw in his response the evidence of the grace of God. He had remained true to the Lord with all his heart despite the actions of others.
I remember a preacher’s sermon I heard as a young teen, when he said, “if you were standing trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?” It reminds me that grace in our lives is one of the strongest evidences of Christian character, that God is at work in our hearts.
Grace is a powerful encouraging force that leaves a fingerprint on whatever it touches. Changed lives, restored marriages, reconciled friendships, breaking of harmful addictions are all incontrovertible evidences of the presence of grace. Grace is the DNA of God. It is unmistakable.
Are you carrying any evidence on you today that the grace of God is at work in your life?
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Tokens of Divine Presence
"Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. " Exodus 3:12 NKJ
We look for tokens, for signs, for proof of divine guidance that decisions we make are in keeping with the will of God. The token of His presence with us is the desire we have to serve Him. If your heart's desire is to serve the Lord; there is strong evidence that you are moving in unison with the heart of God.
Moses was tending sheep, going through the ordinary routine of the day, when He had an encounter with God. Thus, it often is the case that God engages us with His purposes and His plans at a moment when we weren't looking. Moses wasn't looking for a radical life-transforming encounter. Such encounters are always instigated by the hand of God. It was God who struck the bush and lit it a flame with His presence. It is the certainty that God is with us that causes us to move in directions we had not considered before, doing things that only God could cause to happen.
Certainty in our selves and our own abilities will ultimately lead us to despair. But even if we should choose that path, at the end of our despair is the certainty of God.
Serve God wherever He calls you and all doubts will flee in the overwhelming reality of His presence with you.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Get Ready
"Moses came down the mountain and told the people to get ready for worship." Exodus 19:14 GNT
What are we waiting for? You've asked the question no doubt many times in your life. The little child waiting at the window for daddy to roll in; is the first to announce "Daddy's home!" The spouse waiting for her soldier to step off the plane runs to embrace him. The underdog driving down the field in the last two minutes of the game to win the Super Bowl with 45 seconds to spare.
We all wait for something. The waiting is the getting ready time. Waiting prepares us for that which is to come, be it the celebration, the reunion, the victory or even the dicipline. Many a time I have told my sons, "go to your room. I will be there shortly to deal with this matter."
Maybe you have been waiting a long time for something in your life. Begin now to see the waiting as the "getting ready time." Be bold even to believe that you are getting ready for something grand, for something glorious, for something more wonderful than you have ever known before.
Moses told the people to get ready for worship. To worship God in all of His glory is the grandest thing a human heart can do. A day of worship is coming in my life, a day that I have been waiting for a long time. I call on those who will be there that day to truly worship the living God.
Get ready to hear His voice. Get ready to experience His presence. Don't let a new preacher in the pulpit keep you from worshipping the living God. It is not sermon critique time. It is open our hearts and worship time. The living God wants to speak to you. He is calling you into that holy of holies where nothing else matters, but to be in His presence. D.L. Moody once said:
"The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him. I will try my utmost to be that man."
What would the world see if the people of God put aside all our pre-conceived notions and truly worshipped God with a whole heart, overwhelmed by the awesome priviledge of simply being in His presence. Who knows what might happen. Let's GET READY and See!Thursday, January 31, 2008
The Burden Lifted
"This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome," 1 John 5:3
The burden comes because we misunderstand the meaning of works. Doing Christian service to justify God's love for you is a burden to heavy to carry. What work could one ever do to justify the love of God. God loves you not because of what you do, but because of who He is, and the work of His Son on Calvary. You are justified by His actions, not your own. But true faith at work in a life will result in a life lived to the praise of the glory of God.
Works then are not for the purpose of earning the love of God, but because I have already experienced the love of God even while I was yet a sinner. Thus, the works that I do are not to free myself from sin, but in a very real sense, our good works are for the purpose of helping others be freed from sin, as the grace of God begins to work in their lives. Not that you free anyone from sin, but you are called to "let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father Who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16 RSV)
The burden is further lifted by the reality that it is not in my own strength that it is accomplished. Wherever God reveals His glory He provides His strength to reveal it. "I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power." Ephesians 3:7
In all that you have to do today allow the working of God's power in you, that the work He has called you to will be free from burden.
The burden comes because we misunderstand the meaning of works. Doing Christian service to justify God's love for you is a burden to heavy to carry. What work could one ever do to justify the love of God. God loves you not because of what you do, but because of who He is, and the work of His Son on Calvary. You are justified by His actions, not your own. But true faith at work in a life will result in a life lived to the praise of the glory of God.
"Faith alone justifies, but the faith which justifies is not alone"
John Calvin The Principles of Theology
Works then are not for the purpose of earning the love of God, but because I have already experienced the love of God even while I was yet a sinner. Thus, the works that I do are not to free myself from sin, but in a very real sense, our good works are for the purpose of helping others be freed from sin, as the grace of God begins to work in their lives. Not that you free anyone from sin, but you are called to "let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father Who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16 RSV)
The burden is further lifted by the reality that it is not in my own strength that it is accomplished. Wherever God reveals His glory He provides His strength to reveal it. "I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power." Ephesians 3:7
In all that you have to do today allow the working of God's power in you, that the work He has called you to will be free from burden.
Monday, January 28, 2008
The Power of Jesus Christ Crucified
"For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." 1 Corinthians 2:2
If we don’t believe it we are not going to see it. We’re not going to hear it. Greater understanding of God can not even enter our hearts if we don’t believe that Jesus was crucified because of GOD’s LOVE.
That’s the whole point of John 3:16 "for GOD SO LOVED…." It is because He first loved us that we love Him. It is because of the cross that we can love others. Those who have been forgiven can forgive. The cross was not something that happened to Jesus alone. It was something that happened to ME.
How can I possibly love my enemy? How can I possibly keep from despising those who have hurt me? How can I possibly forgive a spouse or a friend who has wronged me? It is very possible that you can’t, you won’t, it’s not in you, in and of yourself. But the great mystery is this, that through the power of the crucified Lord things begin to happen in my life that were never possible before.
Because of God’s love for me HE REVEALS MYSTERIES. I begin to see things with my spiritual eyes that I have never seen with my physical eyes before. I am able to hear things spoken to my heart that I have never heard with my ears. It is possible to love my enemy. It is possible to forgive those who have hurt me. I begin to understand that all things are possible with GOD. That’s the power of the overwhelming all consuming love of God.
Does Jesus want to speak to our daily lives? YES! Can the church address how to be successful in life? ABSOLUTELY! BUT we must get the foundation right or everything else is faulty. YES We are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. YES I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. But before victory and strength becomes a reality in my daily living I must come to the reality of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is the mystery the world can not accept and so it continues to spiral into oblivion.
I must also understand that his crucifixion is because of me, because of my sin, because of what I have done. Dallas Holmes sings a song. “ I’m the one who spat upon the Savior, I’m the one who cursed his Holy name, I’m the one who said with all the rest “CRUCIFY HIM” Yes I’m the one. I’m the one to blame.” The next time you sing the words of IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL may you be able to do so with all your heart because you have come to the reality of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
"My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!"
This is the crux of the matter. GOD LOVES ME. HE LOVE YOU. The crucified Lord is the the proof of His love. He who knew know sin, became sin for me and for you. My sin, your sin was nailed to the cross in Jesus Christ. He died for me. He died for you. Who else could love me like that?
It is God’s love revealed in a crucified Lord that gives the church it’s power. That is the message that transforms lives. This is why I want to walk with integrity in my business and personal life. This is why I can praise the Lord. This is why my family is more important to me than money. Not because Jesus helps me climb the corporate ladder, not because Jesus makes me a better pro athlete, not because my name can be plastered on the new wing of the Christian hospital, but because he died for me a sinner.
Understanding this reality – this truth does not put me to shame. ON the contrary it releases me from shame, from guilt from hopelessness and despair. IT is not a negative on which I should not dwell, but it is the power of God in my life. I am redeemed!! I am set free. The chains have been broken and I am FREE. Even death cannot conquer me now, because of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
In a world that titters on the brink of spiritual and emotional bankruptcy do you have a living faith like that? Have you experienced the Love of God in such a way. Until you come to Jesus Christ and Him crucified you will continue to flounder through life on the outskirts of the peace of God. You will never know true joy and happiness until you settle this matter. Until you make this trade ~ His blood for my sin. His death for my life. Until we come to the point we can never fully know just how much God loves us.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Prayer at Big Dawg Gym
I headed off to the gym this morning to try out a new routine. It's supposedly a program that cuts your workout time in half while providing the same or better benefits. I'm all for that. Now days the less time I can spend in the gym the better.
One of the guys struck up a conversation with me. We had seen each other in the gym before, but never carried on a conversation beyond "watz up". As the conversation continued I discovered that he attended a church I had been to a few times. His name is Jerry. He rides a Harley and does prison ministry. As we concluded our conversation I asked him to pray for a missionary friend who has left his family and it would appear the Christian faith.
I did a couple of more sets and Jerry came back over and said let me pray for him now. So right there in the Big Dawg Gym we had prayer meeting. Now let me tell you what didn't happen. There was no criticizing the poor missionary for not knowing better. There was no theological debate on whether the man was saved or not saved. There was no name calling like some might do. There was simply a humble powerful prayer offered in Jesus name that our brother would come back home, that his eyes would be open and that the attack of the enemy would be made of no effect, because of a great and mighty God who knows exactly where our brother is.
It was what I call a GRACE FILLED PRAYER. If there is anything our wayward brother needs right now it is grace. What is going on right now in this missionary's life sheds a whole new light for me on Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God". Could it possibly that the "not of yourselves" part means more than what I thought? Is is possible that the "gift of God" part is actually the faith of others on behalf of one who has fallen away.
I think of the faith of a mom who prayed for her son that God would open his eyes to the grace of God. I think of a campus minister who prayed for a rebellious military cadet and God broke that rebellion. I know because I was that man. Their prayers for me and the faith that they had became to me the "gift of God".
At the throne room of grace there is no place reserved for judgemental spirits. I am so thankful that us Big Dawgs have a Big God who humbles our hearts in the most unlikely places and causes us to understand what it truly means to be mighty men.
Well the workout wasn't any shorter today, but the impact was out of this world...
"For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come" 1 Timothy 4:8
One of the guys struck up a conversation with me. We had seen each other in the gym before, but never carried on a conversation beyond "watz up". As the conversation continued I discovered that he attended a church I had been to a few times. His name is Jerry. He rides a Harley and does prison ministry. As we concluded our conversation I asked him to pray for a missionary friend who has left his family and it would appear the Christian faith.
I did a couple of more sets and Jerry came back over and said let me pray for him now. So right there in the Big Dawg Gym we had prayer meeting. Now let me tell you what didn't happen. There was no criticizing the poor missionary for not knowing better. There was no theological debate on whether the man was saved or not saved. There was no name calling like some might do. There was simply a humble powerful prayer offered in Jesus name that our brother would come back home, that his eyes would be open and that the attack of the enemy would be made of no effect, because of a great and mighty God who knows exactly where our brother is.
It was what I call a GRACE FILLED PRAYER. If there is anything our wayward brother needs right now it is grace. What is going on right now in this missionary's life sheds a whole new light for me on Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God". Could it possibly that the "not of yourselves" part means more than what I thought? Is is possible that the "gift of God" part is actually the faith of others on behalf of one who has fallen away.
I think of the faith of a mom who prayed for her son that God would open his eyes to the grace of God. I think of a campus minister who prayed for a rebellious military cadet and God broke that rebellion. I know because I was that man. Their prayers for me and the faith that they had became to me the "gift of God".
At the throne room of grace there is no place reserved for judgemental spirits. I am so thankful that us Big Dawgs have a Big God who humbles our hearts in the most unlikely places and causes us to understand what it truly means to be mighty men.
Well the workout wasn't any shorter today, but the impact was out of this world...
"For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come" 1 Timothy 4:8
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
THE ANSWERING MACHINE
My mom keeps everything. The other day she showed me a recipe book I had made in 1971. It was a second grade project. Each of the students had brought in their mom's favorite recipes and we had combined them to give our moms gifts for Mother's Day. I reminisced about Elementary School days as I looked over the names of former classmates.
I got online and did a Google search for one of the boys. I found that Randy was serving as a minister on staff with a large church on the north side of Atlanta. So I emailed him and we reconnected. Isn't Google amazing? It's been thirty years since I last saw Randy, but when I sought him I found him. (Haven't I heard that somewhere else?)
Now he has his mother's old Strawberry Delight recipe again and I have something to blog about. One of the things I remember about Randy is that his family was one of the first to get an answering machine for their home phone. I can remember calling his home just to hear the answering machine pick up. It was fascinating to me. I don't think I ever left a message. I just liked listening to the recording.
My how far technology has come in the past thirty years. I was ordering a Big Mac the other day and a young man standing behind me with a bluetooth in his ear was talking one second to his soon to be ex-wife and the next to his current girlfriend about who was allowed to come to the little boy's birthday who was standing there beside him. Talk about airing your laundry.
Funny think is, even with all the advances in technology and tools for better communication it doesn't really appear that mankind has advanced that much or is really any better at communication.
On the other hand, you don't need Google to find God; and when you seek Him it's not a recorded message on an answering machine.
I got online and did a Google search for one of the boys. I found that Randy was serving as a minister on staff with a large church on the north side of Atlanta. So I emailed him and we reconnected. Isn't Google amazing? It's been thirty years since I last saw Randy, but when I sought him I found him. (Haven't I heard that somewhere else?)
Now he has his mother's old Strawberry Delight recipe again and I have something to blog about. One of the things I remember about Randy is that his family was one of the first to get an answering machine for their home phone. I can remember calling his home just to hear the answering machine pick up. It was fascinating to me. I don't think I ever left a message. I just liked listening to the recording.
My how far technology has come in the past thirty years. I was ordering a Big Mac the other day and a young man standing behind me with a bluetooth in his ear was talking one second to his soon to be ex-wife and the next to his current girlfriend about who was allowed to come to the little boy's birthday who was standing there beside him. Talk about airing your laundry.
Funny think is, even with all the advances in technology and tools for better communication it doesn't really appear that mankind has advanced that much or is really any better at communication.
On the other hand, you don't need Google to find God; and when you seek Him it's not a recorded message on an answering machine.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
What Are My Options?
What are my options? The question means different things to different people. To the cancer patient it means chemo or radiation. To the stock broker it means buying or selling. To the high school senior it means getting a job or going to college. To the woman served with divorce papers it means fighting to keep the marriage or fighting to keep the house. To the climber of corporate ladders it means staying put or relocating the family to another state. At some point in our lives most of us have asked ourselves what are my options?
Ever so often the outcome that results from the decision we make when options are presented can be life transforming. In April of 1985 our family was trying to find a new church home having moved from East Point to Fayetteville. Dad wanted to visit one church and I wanted to visit another. Dad said, "come on son go with us, you may meet the girl of your dreams." So I went with mom and dad not all that happy to be going. As we sat there waiting for the service to start my eye caught sight of a girl several rows in front of us. But she was with another guy, obviously her boyfriend; so I didn't take the time to meet her, much less consider that she was a candidate for marriage. "Oh well dad", I said as we left, "so much for dreams coming true."
Two months later I came home from work and mom informed me that she had received a visit from that "pretty girl" and her friend. They had been assigned our names for church visitation. They had tried to stop by the week after we had visited their church, but we weren't home. So they came back for a second attempt two months later. "That's great mom, but that guy is her boyfriend." "No" mom said, "He was her boyfriend, but he is moving off to college and they have decided to just be friends and I think you need to ask her out."
Long story short, for once in my life I listened to mom asked that "pretty girl" out and two months later we were engaged. Nine months after that we were married. Twenty two years later she is still a "pretty girl" and I am a believer in dreams coming true.
What's the moral of the story? When you think going to church is an option ~ choose to go. When you think visiting others is an option ~ choose to visit! And when mama says you need to ask that pretty girl out ~ BY ALL MEANS ASK! You never know! Your dreams just may come true.
Ever so often the outcome that results from the decision we make when options are presented can be life transforming. In April of 1985 our family was trying to find a new church home having moved from East Point to Fayetteville. Dad wanted to visit one church and I wanted to visit another. Dad said, "come on son go with us, you may meet the girl of your dreams." So I went with mom and dad not all that happy to be going. As we sat there waiting for the service to start my eye caught sight of a girl several rows in front of us. But she was with another guy, obviously her boyfriend; so I didn't take the time to meet her, much less consider that she was a candidate for marriage. "Oh well dad", I said as we left, "so much for dreams coming true."
Two months later I came home from work and mom informed me that she had received a visit from that "pretty girl" and her friend. They had been assigned our names for church visitation. They had tried to stop by the week after we had visited their church, but we weren't home. So they came back for a second attempt two months later. "That's great mom, but that guy is her boyfriend." "No" mom said, "He was her boyfriend, but he is moving off to college and they have decided to just be friends and I think you need to ask her out."
Long story short, for once in my life I listened to mom asked that "pretty girl" out and two months later we were engaged. Nine months after that we were married. Twenty two years later she is still a "pretty girl" and I am a believer in dreams coming true.
What's the moral of the story? When you think going to church is an option ~ choose to go. When you think visiting others is an option ~ choose to visit! And when mama says you need to ask that pretty girl out ~ BY ALL MEANS ASK! You never know! Your dreams just may come true.
Monday, January 21, 2008
If the Call Should Come
As the day approaches for a rural Georgia church to vote on my becoming pastor, I and my family, and many people throughout the east coast have been praying. I have boldly called on a lifetime of friends to pray with us that we might know and do the will of the Heavenly Father. I know too, that much thought and prayer have gone into each meeting on the part of the search committe and the members; and with each meeting our “hearts have been strangely warmed” as we have experienced the grace and love of kindred spirits.
We have fully embraced, with great confidence in Divine guidance, that God is now ready for us, and me specifically; to assume a role He has been preparing me for all my life. In all sincerity, the last time I felt “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding” in such a way as I sense it now was in 1985 when I asked Sherry to marry me. I am reminded of the words of Mordecai to Esther and believe with all my heart that he has raised me up "for such a time as this".
Over the last twenty years of my Christian life I have sought to be a Romans 8:28 Christian, believing that “all things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” In all that time God has been faithful to His Word. I look back and see His loving hands molding and shaping me for the role I believe He is now calling me to as full time pastor.
It is a call to full time vocational ministry and I approach this call with much holy fear and trembling, but also with great excitement that what God has ordained ~ God will sustain. I have been a business owner for the past fourteen years. I have experienced the joys and trials of being “in the world, but not of it” just like the member in the pew, and it has given me a great compassion for people that I would not have known otherwise.
Just as I knew my life would drastically change the day I said, “I do” to my bride; so I know that my life as I know it is about to change. Not that my mission in life is changing; for it is immutable ~ to be a faithful follower of the Lord Jesus Christ; but the things that I do on a daily basis will change in fulfillment of that mission.
Sherry's life is changing too. Her desire and mine too is that she be available to assist me in ministry as the pastor’s wife, exercising the gifts God has given her. She will be stepping up to the plate and taking a more active role as the real estate person in the family as well; and if she can sell a half dozen homes or so per year this will greatly help as we look toward college days with four boys in the near future.
The active agents in our company know what is going on and they are excited for us. I have asked them to assist me in this transition with what listings I currently have, and in the future I will not be putting my name on any listings for Sherry can handle it with the team. At present we have more than 300 pages of real estate related internet material which we will cull through over the next few weeks to make sure that Sherry or other team members are the point of contact instead of me. It is my full intention that my presence on the internet be specifically related to ministry topics and the promotion of the church I go to serve. Even now this blog has been established as the first step in that direction.
We all know things never go exactly as planned, but with all the steps we have taken behind the scenes to transition the company I believe that I will be well positioned to jump right in to full time service as pastor.
My first desire is to begin a systematic plan of visitation to the church body beginning with the Seniors of the congregation. Oldest member raise your hand!
We will also work closely with the youth minister to reach the heart of youth. We believe strongly in this regard. After all we have four of our own. We also believe that there is a great need to minister to couples with children as never before. Moms and dads must learn how to engage their children in spiritual matters for the sake of the next generation.
I will make myself available on a regular basis for personal spiritual counseling and will be immediately available 24/7 for emergency situations. Hospital visitation is a given. I believe strongly in the ministry of presence and enjoyed my days as a chaplain at Georgia Baptist Hospital. I pray we won’t need too many hospital visits, but when we do I am prepared to go.
Sherry and I are both in agreement that our home is open anytime to anyone who just wants to stop in and visit. In fact, we thrive on having a house full of people. We both feel strongly that fellowship of the family of God outside the four walls of the church building is an essential ingredient to a strong church family.
I want to see men actively engaging in the life of the church, as I fully believe that when we reach the men we will reach the family. Thus, I will seek to establish “Just for Men” activities.
I greatly desire to see God raise up individuals to be Pastor’s Prayer Partners and believe extracurricular prayer times to be vital to the spiritual growth of the body.
Finally, I consider personal prayer, study and sermon preparation time to be of utmost importance in my role as pastor of the church and will set aside one day a week specifically for those purposes.
I know this doesn't begin to touch the surface of all that I will be doing as pastor, but it is a starting point and hopefully gives the church body some insight into my thoughts on the matter. We are preparing to go the distance whatever it takes.
I close by saying that I am extremely humbled at even the idea that God would allow me the honor and privilege of serving as pastor of any church and especially the one that is voting on our coming in the next two weeks. May all that we do in the days, weeks and years ahead be to the glory of God.
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1
In His Grip and for His Glory,
Kenneth
We have fully embraced, with great confidence in Divine guidance, that God is now ready for us, and me specifically; to assume a role He has been preparing me for all my life. In all sincerity, the last time I felt “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding” in such a way as I sense it now was in 1985 when I asked Sherry to marry me. I am reminded of the words of Mordecai to Esther and believe with all my heart that he has raised me up "for such a time as this".
Over the last twenty years of my Christian life I have sought to be a Romans 8:28 Christian, believing that “all things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” In all that time God has been faithful to His Word. I look back and see His loving hands molding and shaping me for the role I believe He is now calling me to as full time pastor.
It is a call to full time vocational ministry and I approach this call with much holy fear and trembling, but also with great excitement that what God has ordained ~ God will sustain. I have been a business owner for the past fourteen years. I have experienced the joys and trials of being “in the world, but not of it” just like the member in the pew, and it has given me a great compassion for people that I would not have known otherwise.
Just as I knew my life would drastically change the day I said, “I do” to my bride; so I know that my life as I know it is about to change. Not that my mission in life is changing; for it is immutable ~ to be a faithful follower of the Lord Jesus Christ; but the things that I do on a daily basis will change in fulfillment of that mission.
Sherry's life is changing too. Her desire and mine too is that she be available to assist me in ministry as the pastor’s wife, exercising the gifts God has given her. She will be stepping up to the plate and taking a more active role as the real estate person in the family as well; and if she can sell a half dozen homes or so per year this will greatly help as we look toward college days with four boys in the near future.
The active agents in our company know what is going on and they are excited for us. I have asked them to assist me in this transition with what listings I currently have, and in the future I will not be putting my name on any listings for Sherry can handle it with the team. At present we have more than 300 pages of real estate related internet material which we will cull through over the next few weeks to make sure that Sherry or other team members are the point of contact instead of me. It is my full intention that my presence on the internet be specifically related to ministry topics and the promotion of the church I go to serve. Even now this blog has been established as the first step in that direction.
We all know things never go exactly as planned, but with all the steps we have taken behind the scenes to transition the company I believe that I will be well positioned to jump right in to full time service as pastor.
My first desire is to begin a systematic plan of visitation to the church body beginning with the Seniors of the congregation. Oldest member raise your hand!
We will also work closely with the youth minister to reach the heart of youth. We believe strongly in this regard. After all we have four of our own. We also believe that there is a great need to minister to couples with children as never before. Moms and dads must learn how to engage their children in spiritual matters for the sake of the next generation.
I will make myself available on a regular basis for personal spiritual counseling and will be immediately available 24/7 for emergency situations. Hospital visitation is a given. I believe strongly in the ministry of presence and enjoyed my days as a chaplain at Georgia Baptist Hospital. I pray we won’t need too many hospital visits, but when we do I am prepared to go.
Sherry and I are both in agreement that our home is open anytime to anyone who just wants to stop in and visit. In fact, we thrive on having a house full of people. We both feel strongly that fellowship of the family of God outside the four walls of the church building is an essential ingredient to a strong church family.
I want to see men actively engaging in the life of the church, as I fully believe that when we reach the men we will reach the family. Thus, I will seek to establish “Just for Men” activities.
I greatly desire to see God raise up individuals to be Pastor’s Prayer Partners and believe extracurricular prayer times to be vital to the spiritual growth of the body.
Finally, I consider personal prayer, study and sermon preparation time to be of utmost importance in my role as pastor of the church and will set aside one day a week specifically for those purposes.
I know this doesn't begin to touch the surface of all that I will be doing as pastor, but it is a starting point and hopefully gives the church body some insight into my thoughts on the matter. We are preparing to go the distance whatever it takes.
I close by saying that I am extremely humbled at even the idea that God would allow me the honor and privilege of serving as pastor of any church and especially the one that is voting on our coming in the next two weeks. May all that we do in the days, weeks and years ahead be to the glory of God.
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1
In His Grip and for His Glory,
Kenneth
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The Power of Encouraging Words
It was my third season of baseball in the Spring of 72. By the start of my second season I had finally learned the difference between right and left field, and that mainly from the bench. So needless to say, my expectations going into my third season were not all that high. But I was on a new team with a new coach who had different expectations. At the very first practice Coach Mark looked at me and said, “I need a catcher and you’re the one for the job.” All my excuses were to no avail. “But Coach…I’ve never played that position…I’m an outfielder (a benchwarmer even).” Certainly this can’t be happening.
In great trepidation I awkwardly donned the gear of a catcher and Coach Mark tossed me the ball with encouraging words, “you can do this!” I tossed it back and he took two steps back and threw it harder. Then again and again, taking two steps back until he was the distance of a little league pitcher. To my amazement I was actually catching the ball. We had several weeks of practice before the season started and with each practice Coach Mark would always give me encouraging words. As the day approached for our first game I was beginning to realize that I really was the catcher for the team. I would get to play like I never had before.
I was still last in the batting order simply because I would not swing. But one day my dad invited a friend to the game. His name was Dennis Havig, a Falcon football player. I got up to the plate and I heard Dennis yell the now familiar words, “you can do it!” So I did, and to my amazement I hit the ball off the center field fence for a double that pushed two runs in. The next game I was moved from ninth bat to clean-up.
We went on the next two years to win the Little League City Championship. Not because I was great, but because our team was great; and we had a great coach that encouraged us throughout the season, even on the days when we didn’t do so well.
I have been reminded recently of those days long ago because another day is approaching with another team that I may be joining soon in a position that I come to again in trepidation and trembling. Once again it is time to step up to the plate and swing. Once again it is time to don the gear. And just as it was in 1972, so there are men around me who have been a great source of encouragement to me as I prepare for opening day of preaching in view of a call to join a team as pastor of a church. All the calls, emails and conversations with the members of this new team have been an incredible encouragement.
I am reminded of the words of Hebrews 10:25 “…let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
The encouraging words of others have tremendous ability to lift us higher and take us further than we have ever gone before. The bench warming days are over. It’s time for another championship!
In great trepidation I awkwardly donned the gear of a catcher and Coach Mark tossed me the ball with encouraging words, “you can do this!” I tossed it back and he took two steps back and threw it harder. Then again and again, taking two steps back until he was the distance of a little league pitcher. To my amazement I was actually catching the ball. We had several weeks of practice before the season started and with each practice Coach Mark would always give me encouraging words. As the day approached for our first game I was beginning to realize that I really was the catcher for the team. I would get to play like I never had before.
I was still last in the batting order simply because I would not swing. But one day my dad invited a friend to the game. His name was Dennis Havig, a Falcon football player. I got up to the plate and I heard Dennis yell the now familiar words, “you can do it!” So I did, and to my amazement I hit the ball off the center field fence for a double that pushed two runs in. The next game I was moved from ninth bat to clean-up.
We went on the next two years to win the Little League City Championship. Not because I was great, but because our team was great; and we had a great coach that encouraged us throughout the season, even on the days when we didn’t do so well.
I have been reminded recently of those days long ago because another day is approaching with another team that I may be joining soon in a position that I come to again in trepidation and trembling. Once again it is time to step up to the plate and swing. Once again it is time to don the gear. And just as it was in 1972, so there are men around me who have been a great source of encouragement to me as I prepare for opening day of preaching in view of a call to join a team as pastor of a church. All the calls, emails and conversations with the members of this new team have been an incredible encouragement.
I am reminded of the words of Hebrews 10:25 “…let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
The encouraging words of others have tremendous ability to lift us higher and take us further than we have ever gone before. The bench warming days are over. It’s time for another championship!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
What Else Matters?
It's not your everyday Saturday. We've been watching the snow fall since about 10:00 this morning. It just does something inside your heart to see the ground all lit up pretty and white. The boys have been playing in the white stuff for the past several hours. I even took a few shots to the back of my bald head from a snowball fight. It's not often we see snow around here so even the little bit we have today mixed with the mud is worth it just to have a reason to get out there with the boys and have fun.
It's kind of funny what snow does, at least here in the south. The only thing that is important today is SNOW. Many stores are closing down this afternoon. Sherry's mom just called to tell us her church was canceled for tomorrow. The TV has been off all day and the boys haven't even concerned themselves with watching WWE (thank goodness). What else matters today, but snow?
Or could it be that snow really reminds of what truly matters? Being with family, enjoying one another's company, being thankful for the things we have absolutely no control over. What else matters?
It's kind of funny what snow does, at least here in the south. The only thing that is important today is SNOW. Many stores are closing down this afternoon. Sherry's mom just called to tell us her church was canceled for tomorrow. The TV has been off all day and the boys haven't even concerned themselves with watching WWE (thank goodness). What else matters today, but snow?
Or could it be that snow really reminds of what truly matters? Being with family, enjoying one another's company, being thankful for the things we have absolutely no control over. What else matters?
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