To the tired believer in Jesus Christ
You are worn out, ragged and weary. You feel tired and at times you think; “I am at the end of my rope.” You find yourself wondering… where is the hope?
Continue reading To the weary believer in Christ
Into His Arms! by Lea Lockhart
Have you ever watched those videos of soldiers coming home and surprising
their families? I love and hate those at the same time. The kids will open a very large wrapped box and out pops Dad. Or, Dad comes around the corner into his child’s classroom to surprise his little girl. She looks up in absolute shock and disbelief. Her hands cover her eyes to catch the tears as it sinks in. Then, without hesitation, like a bolt of lightning, she takes off 
running right into the arms of her father, who was waiting for her with outstretched arms. She buries her head in his neck pouring out a bucket of tears; tears of joy and love. It gets me over and over again. I’m always a bit envious of those children, having never had that with my earthly father.
“While the Gospel is something worth contending for, there are right ways and wrong ways to go about this business.” D.A. Carson
I like a good mystery! Not the predictable sort; I like the ones that challenge the mind and stretch the imagination. The kind you almost feel like you have to work for to understand.
There is a mystery found in God’s Word. It is the ultimate mystery – A mystery of mysteries. No earthly mystery compares to the mystery of the gospel! Sadly, we do not dwell on the contents or the characters of the mystery enough. But when people do, I find the response is either worship or rebellion. Some behold the mystery and worship, while others grow angry and defiant.
In considering both responses, let’s first unpack the mystery.
“As a pastor, I constantly pray and engage the people of the Village Church to keep what is “of first importance” at the center of their thinking, in both their justification and their sanctification. Over the years, I have become painfully aware that people tend to drift away from the gospel soon after their conversion and begin to try their hand at sanctification. In other words, they operate as if the gospel saves them but doesn’t play a role in sanctifying them. In the end, people become exhausted and miss out on the joy of knowing and walking with the Spirit of God. They miss out on intimacy with Jesus.”
Matt Chandler
I have never posted a prayer. I am not sure if I will ever do so again….I don’t do so to in any way impress anyone… I don’t think I am impressive nor are my prayers!! Prayer that seeks to show off and impress is not really prayer at all.
But, prayer IS…. revealing. It exposes you, shows your heart, and what makes you tick. With that in mind, the below is raw and unedited….I am not trying to be grammatically correct or polished. It is just…. me sharing with you my prayer as a pastor. And so, I make myself vulnerable and invite you to read my journal and prayer to God one morning last week.
Time, where does it go? Is it just me or does time seem to move increasingly faster the older you get?!? You know the saying…. time flies when you are having fun. But, doesn’t time fly even when you aren’t having fun? Recently, I have been considering some things related to time. Challenging myself about the use of time, and considering God who created time and is beyond time.
I “know” the gospel. I know it factually. And while that may be good (we need to know the gospel) I realize I often do not live in the good of the gospel. I regularly do not “own” it. Whenever, I find myself seeking to self-atone (seeking to earn God’s favor and salvation), I have lost my way from the truths of the gospel. Don’t misunderstand. I believe in “effort”! Paul said to the Ephesians that we were saved “for good works.”
Pictured above is the Paris – “Love Bridge”. While I have walked this bridge with my wife, we never “locked” in our love. The bridge is actually called the Pont des Arts. Pictures do not do it justice! The 
bridge is famous due to the endless padlocks placed there by lovers. Lock in your love and then throw the keys into the Seine river. Romantic right? And, in Paris no less!
The problem is that the guardrail of the bridge was not designed to hold all that extra weight. The government and local Parisians have been asking tourists to stop locking in their love. It is ruining their bridge! The “Love Bridge” is collapsing under the weight of…. “Love”.
“I didn’t mean to say that….!”
Have you ever said something and wished you could get those words back? Of course you have, we all have; words spoken out of anger or disgust, words of pride, jealousy, or bitterness. If we are honest, these words flow all too fluently from our lips.
It is that time again where we, here in America, are inundated with reasons to stay away from the mailbox, tv, and voicemail. Tis the season for empty promises, shallow arguments, and overused talking points. Do you remember the last time you took the time to read that shiny flyer in your mailbox? Neither do I, for it seems that the 30 seconds the flyer requires is far too big an investment of time. And so, we drown in political junk mail, campaign commercials, and voicemails to “remember to vote”.
Continue reading Gospel, Politics, And My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less
A quick post this Friday afternoon for you to consider.
I like my comfort! I like it when things go as planned and when I say “planned”, I am talking about MY plan….of course! I like things to run smoothly. Work, family, vacation, and all the rest, should run smoothly and as according to MY plan. And when it doesn’t, others, including God, may receive my displeasure.
The apostle Paul, nearing the end of his difficult life, seeks to encourage his friend and son in the faith, Timothy. Timothy is a pastor in Ephesus, where many of those that he and Paul considered to be friends are now opposing the message of the gospel. Paul warns of these men and the effect of their false teaching in the church.
