Being the Gospel

I have been rereading the book "The Hole in our Gospel" by Richard Stearns. Stearns, the president of World Vision US, speaks of his journey to World Vision and then gives insightful words as to our call to participate with God being the gospel to the world around us. It is a very good book and I highly recommend that you read it. Read my earlier review http://gkclifejournal.blogspot.com/2010/08/hole-in-our-gospel.html

What has really been in my mind the past 12 hours is responsibility that I have as a Christian to be all that God has created me to be. It goes beyond just knowing the right things and even just 'saying' the right things...but becoming the person God intended and being God's hands and feet to the world. We can so easily go through the motions of being a Christian and acting in the right way and saying the right things at church, but then not carrying our Christian lives beyond the church and beyond our comfortable existence.

Isaiah confront the people of Israel with this problem. They are been offering God empty actions in worship and The prophet gives a message of what God wants from us:

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Isaiah 58:6-8(ESV)

God is calling me to be his hands and feet. It is to put the gospel into action through our lives as we love and give and serve those around us. Stearns says it best..."any authentic and genuine commitment to Christ will be accompanied by demonstrable evidence of a transformed life." He later adds, "There is no 'whole gospel' without compassion and justice shown to the poor".

My life is to be marked in some way by demonstrations of Christ's love and grace in me.

My heart is stirred as I think about what God is calling me to be and do for Him. I want to have a genuine concern for the 'least of these' that fins tangible expression in my life through my words, thoughts and actions. I want the expression of the gospel be part of the very fibers of my being.

Lord, take my life and use it for your glory. Give me eyes to see the needs of people around me. I yield my life to you and ask that I be shaped with your heart.

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God Revealed

Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me;

Psalms 86:11-13a (ESV)

God has always promised that He would reveal Himself to me. As you read the scriptures, we see how many times in in various ways God reveals Himself. In creation God shows us His splendor, in the law, God reveals his true character, in His Son Jesus Christ God chose to reveal his very nature. The writer of Hebrews says, "He (Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature," (1: 3a)...Paul stated, "For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell," (Colossians 1: 19). It is clear to me that God wanted me and you to know all about Himself, so He made sure to make it clear.

But I also believe that we must seek after God. He desires that we desire Him. In these verse above, the Psalmist is clearing opening his heart to God's presence and his great love. He asks for wisdom to walk in truth...he asks for an undivided heart that is fully and solely focused on the truth of God...and he rejoices in the fact that God's love and presence is found in him.

What a join to God wants for each of us to know Him. How great is the Father's love for us...and today I pray that I might be filled with rejoicing as God's love has filled me.

Loving God, you created me and love me, even when I don't give you first place in my life. Forgive me when I fail you...I receive you love and grace today and offer my life as a living sacrifice to you. Amen.

What I have Learned at PRBC! - Part 2

Here is an addition to my post from yesterday...

11. I can't count! Leigh Ann and I were sitting in the living room this morning and she said, "I read your post and we have been here 9 years." So like any smart person, I held up my hands and counted and sure enough...We have been at Pea Ridge for 9 years and are beginning our 10th year here!

This does not change anything I said yesterday...I am confident God has called me here and I am excited to continue in His work with the great people of Pea Ridge Baptist!

What I have Learned at PRBC!

March marks my anniversary at Pea Ridge Baptist. I just completed my eighth year as pastor of this wonderful congregation. What an incredible journey it has been for me and my family. I have enjoyed serving the people and love bing part of God’s work through you and this community. As I have reflected on my time here as pastor, I have learned many lessons. I am a different person today than when I began my ministry here. Let me share some of the things I have learned.

1. Reading God’s Word for my growth in essential. Many times it is easy to just read for study and preparation for sermons, etc. I must read God’s Word for my OWN spiritual growth. I have grown more in my personal relationship with God in the past 4 years and it is so refreshing.

2. Evangelism is a part of everything I do. There is never a time when I stop sharing the love of Christ with those around me. Every sermon I preach, every visit I make, every step that I take is an opportunity to tell about God’s love for me.

3. Growth as a disciple is hard to measure. While our mission and vision as a church is to “make disciples”, it can be a very difficult process to measure. It is not in numbers, but in the depth of commitment of the individual believer.

4. Change is inevitable. One of the things that I have been reflecting on is the change that comes naturally in the church or in any organization. New people come in, others leave, systems change, demands are different, the economy fluctuates, knowledge of scripture and God’s will are deepened in the individual and congregation…things don’t stay the same. This has actually been very freeing. When we realize that things change, it demand that we need our eyes fixed on the purpose rather than the process. Sure process is important, but being open to God’s plan for our lives and our church must never take a back sit to the “way to do things”. Traditions are no longer kept for sake of keeping, but we are challenged every day to live and serve in a way that is pleasing to God.

5. One church can have an impact in the world! This has been lived out through our partnership with Hope Church in Ryazan, Russia. I have been so blessed in this partnership and I have seen how we can join hands with a church in another part of the world and have a tremendous impact for Jesus Christ. My involvement with the Russia Mission Partnership since 2001 has changed the way I look at the global church. God is doing amazing work in the world and we are so privileged to be part of His work. This year, we will be sending mission teams to Costa Rica (July 2011) and Russia (Dec. 2011…details soon). With the ease of global travel, easy translation on the internet and services like Skype, we are able to keep in contact with our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. These relationship that form are wonderful and will encourage our lives on a day to day basis. In addition to our personal work in places like Russia, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic (July 2009), we are been supporting the work of through missionaries in Bolivia, Japan, India and more. What a joy to be part of God’s work in the world!

6. God meets our financial needs. I have been blow away to see the generosity from my church family. We have taken HUGE steps of faith through our annual budget and even through over an above giving and God has always provide. It is good to see the people of God respond to help accomplish His work through the ministry of PRBC.

7. Leadership is more caught than taught. I know that we have leaders in this congregation and I many of you stepping up. And the I see you stepping up, the more people I see getting involved. BEING the leader that God wants me to be and you to be will ultimately mean that others will follow you. We are called to be God’s worker for His kingdom…carrying out the ministry He has called us to do. Ephesians 2: 10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” What I high calling we have as leaders!

8. Relationship are key to a healthy church. Our relationship with God is the most important. Our spiritual life begins with God, but I believe it is hard to be a Christian lone. We need other people, so the relationships with have with are vital to our Christian lives. When we live in relationship with others, we have systems of accountability that begin to emerge. And when I am held accountable to how I live my Christian life, I am more apt to grow and be stronger as a result. Relationships with new people in our church are also very important. I believe that people are really desperate for quality, purposeful, meaningful relationships. If a person visits a church, they are probably looking for someone to connect with. That is way it is SO important that we relate on a personal level to anyone who is a guest in our church. We need each other and can do so much more together than we can do alone!

9. Reading is fun! I have read more in the past 2 years than I ever have. I have learned to enjoy a good book and love to read a variety of things. My favorite things to read are history, John Grisham novels and what I call “church books”. I have developed a great love for books and have grown in so many ways as a result of increasing my reading.

10. We must live intentionally! As an individual, I must have a commitment to live my life with intention toward God. I have responsible for my own relationship with Christ, I am responsible how I lead this church and my family. And that kind of responsibility demands that I live intentionally. I set aside time for my spiritual growth and prayer live. I spend time with my family. I have an exercise plan to keep me healthy,etc. The same is also true in the church. It is much easier to go on autopilot and just keep things running in the church for all the members, but God has called us to be salt and light…to keep a focus on evangelism and bring new people into the kingdom of God. We keep to intentionally move beyond the walls of the church and reach out in the name of Jesus Christ. We have to care about people who might be dying without Jesus and take intentional action in bring the good new to them. I love the quote from Rick Warren from his book, The Purpose Driven Life…”The church does not focus on evangelism is saying to the world you can go to hell.” We must be intentional about our relationships and ministries outside this church wall.

This list is not at all complete. It has been good to reflect on the past eight years. God is good. But let me say one more thing.

I can’t imagine being any place else! I am so confident that God has called me to be your pastor at Pea Ridge Baptist. I can’t imagine being any other place right now in my life. I am committed to helping us continue to grow as disciples and committed to reaching beyond the walls of this church a world who needs Jesus. I look forward to many more rewarding years and ministry and I can’t wait to see what lessons God will send my way in the years to come. Thanks for being committed to our Lord. Let’s keep our eyes focused on Him, let’s keep our hearts totally surrender, let’s keep our hearts tuned to the ways of God! I love you all!

Reflection on Persecution

Yesterday, my sermon was from Matthew 5: 10-12. Jesus is concluding the section of the Sermon on the Mount known as the beatitudes. This particular passage deals with persecution. I don’t know if I fully understand the ways that I am persecuted in my Christian life. In fact, I don’t think that I have even spent much time thinking about being persecuted. For the most part, my life has been relatively calm and easy going. Raised in a Christian home, I always was involved in church ministry and was very active in all the church had to offer. I was involved in a music ministry called the Continental Singers and had the privilege of leading groups of young people around the world to sing praise the Lord and invite people into a life changing relationship with Jesus Christ. This was a tremendous experience and I would trade any of it….but in these areas of life and ministry I don’t remember feeling persecuted.

I married Leigh Ann in 1989…our family has grown in the years since to include our wonderful boys. We have been in ministry at Pea Ridge Baptist for the past 8 years and I don’t think that I have thought about ways that persecution has come. Sure there have been some difficult situations and times in our family and ministry, but I have not seen them as persecution. When Paul wrote to the young pastor Timothy is said, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted“ (2 Timothy 3:12, ESV). Jesus told the disciples just before he was crucified, “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15: 20, ESV). So as I look back over my life, I am wondering if I have experienced persecution and just did not recognized it as persecution or perhaps I have not faced any at all. Either way, I am becoming keenly of whether or not there is persecution in my life.

Perhaps the greatest lesson that has come in this study and reflection on suffering and persecution is simply the truth that how I live my life really does matter. Jesus said it best: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8: 34-35, ESV). God is calling me to abandon my life to follow Him. When I do this…I will walk in the ways of God, not man…I will pursue the goals God places before me and not my own…I will seek to please God with my life and not worry about what people around me are saying. I have to rise above the temptation to “do the right things” so that people will like me and instead “do the right things in God’s eyes.” When that becomes my focus, then there will be resistance and hardship and conflict (persecution). People might wonder way I am doing certain things and acting in certain ways, but it will not matter. My focus and desire must be to please God…to be totally and complete sold out to him in every way! What a difference this will make in my life!

The Bible says, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:10-11, ESV). Since suffering and persecution are going to be part our lives, it is comforting to know that we will receive God’s strength and protection as we go. Christ himself will “restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you” in all ways for His glory and His honor. What hope and comfort these words bring to one who are will endure all kinds of suffering for the sake of the gospel!

So my objective in the days to come, live for God…completely, totally and without reserve. Give myself fully to the work of the Lord, knowing that I will receive my strength and comfort from Him and knowing I will be rewarded someday for being faithful! Praise be to God!

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Daily Provisions

I am just amazed at the provision of God for my life and my family. Too many times I don't trust in God's provision for my life. I begin to do what so many people do and trust only in themselves and what they are do to provide. I think about what I can do, how I can work and what I can create in the way of provision and they I weary myself in trying to accomplish the tasks of provision. Yes, I do have a responsibility to work and provides, but I also need to have an element of faith in as I look at my life and needs.

God will not place me in a situation without making full provision! Take the Israelites for example. God led them out of Egypt...out of the bondage of slavery and placed them in the wilderness for many years. They learned many lessons in the wilderness for those 40 years...and one was about provision. Exodus 16: 12 says:

"I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread.
Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.'"

God heard their voice and then provided for them. Notice how the provision provided at God's timing and not theirs. It was exactly what they needed for the day and evening. Nothing more and nothing less. In fact, the scripture tells us that if they did take too many, it would spoil and be of no use to them.

What great lessons on provision...God provides exactly what we NEED, not too much and not too little. He provides WHEN we need it, and if we think we need more, there will be consequences...trouble might come if we gather with a sense of hoarding.

I am learning to DAILY rely on God's provision. This is not easy for a type a personality, but I am learning to loosen my grip and trust more in the all powerful, all knowing, all loving God.
And as provision comes, I am going to honor the one who provides. There needs to always be acknowledgment of God's gifts to us. To see these on a daily basis will only increase our ability to trust and know God WILL provide. How much freer life will be as I place my complete trust in the provision of God!