Those Great Moments!
Filed under: Encouragement, Random Thoughts, Wonderment, accountability, healing, ministry, personal growth, praise, thanks, worship
Sometimes in ministry, it seems as if all is going great! GOD is working beside you and accomplishing great things through you! Those are the Great Moments! Those moments are when hundreds of people pack the altars asking God to forgive them and take over their lives! Those are the moments when you lay hands on a cripple or even a dead person and they get up and walk! Those moments when you are seated next to someone on the plane and before you touch down there is a new name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life! So what about the other times? Those moments when our spiritual walk with GOD seems stagnant? What about when we don’t even feel like reading God’s Word and even praying over meals seems like a forced exercise instead of time spent with our best friend? As is clear from my taking some months off from writing on this blog, I just went through a time where my passion for ministry if not even my passion for the Lord was in a very low place. The great thing I learned is that GOD is the same in both places! HE still walked beside me each day even when I didn’t pick up the Bible to start my morning. HE still wanted to spend time with me. That was incredible! So, enjoy those GREAT MOMENTS, but realize that GOD is the same even in the not so great moments.
How big is the box you put God in?
Filed under: Direction, Encouragement, Random Thoughts, Wonderment, church growth, creativity, healing, personal growth, worship
Odd title? The idea of us doing anything to God seems ludicrous? For some reason, it is human nature to try to put God in a box. So how big is the box you put him in? Does your God simply watch while the world spins, but not get involved? Does he subtly guide you, but doesn’t do anything too big? Or is your God such an overwhelming part of your life that your whole being is consumed with pleasing HIM? Is HE able to bust your box open? Does HE heal the sick? Does HE raise the dead? Does HE send fire from heaven to consume your enemies? Does HE guide your every move? Does HE speak to you? Does HE save people from lives of sin? Or even that neighbor next door? Can you let God have a bigger box? Can you open the box you keep HIM in and let HIM out completely? If HE calls you to be a missionary, will you go? What about talking to the waitress about HIM? Will you give all you own away and trust HIM to take care of you? Our God is an awesome GOD! HE is the God above ALL gods, HE is the KING above ALL kings! HE can do absolutely anything! Yet, Jesus told us that HE was unable to do more than heal a few sick people because of the people’s lack of faith. When we keep God in a box, that is our lack of faith. So how big is the box you put God in?
Confessions of a Blogger/Pastor
Filed under: Body of Christ, Book Review, Direction, Encouragement, Fear, Pornography, Random Thoughts, Repentance, accountability, healing, leadership, personal growth, reading
I just finished reading Craig Groeschel’s book, Confessions of a Pastor. It surprised me in a good way! I expected it to be a decent book. I enjoy Craig’s teaching and the articles he has written that I have read. I must admit, it was the first book by him that I had picked up. I read it almost all the way through last night…finally about 3:30 in the morning, I decided that the book would still be there in the morning and I needed to get some sleep. It got me thinking, which is part of Craig’s motive for writing the book, that I am as guilty as he is about not taking off my mask and trying to let people see the new and improved me instead of letting them see the “real” me. As he “confessed to me” through the book, I found myself wanting to talk out loud to him saying, “I am right there with you!” I have been in church since the week after my parents conceived me, yet it wasn’t until November 28, 2003 that I finally broke down and gave myself 100% to God! Why did I wait so long? I had said a sinner’s prayer when I was three years old. Was it real? I thought it was, but was my life bearing fruit of someone sold out to God and crazy about reaching the world for Jesus Christ? I can answer that for those who didn’t know me…it wasn’t! I was a “convenient Christian”. What about now? Each day is a new struggle. I have previously blogged about having had a pornography addiction and leading the pornography addiction recovery group at church. So how do I admit that there are days when I just want to give up on almost 6 years being porn free? There, I admitted it. (Yes, I know that giving in would destroy my witness, it would cause problems in my marriage, it would end my ability to be an effective pastor and leader in the church, it would take away the credibility I have built with the guys who talk to me about their own addictions…) Yes, I know that stuff…and yet there are days when I don’t feel as close to God and don’t feel his love. I know HE is still there watching out for me. Yes, there are days when I wake up tired on Sunday morning and don’t want to go to church. (And the senior pastor is an incredible leader and speaker! I love the worship band! I just want to stay in bed.) Do you ever have those feelings? Comment away!
And if you are struggling with a pornography and/or sexual addiction, feel free to contact me privately. If you are a pastor, I really encourage you to do so! If you don’t want to talk to me, get an accountability partner! Very, very few men/or women can kick the habit alone without the help of a friend.
Are you ready to follow up a miracle?
Filed under: Body of Christ, Encouragement, Random Thoughts, Theology, evangelism, healing, ministry, personal growth
In Acts chapter 3, we all love the story of Peter and John going to the temple and upon seeing the crippled man begging, they say, “silver or gold, I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazereth. walk.” then Peter gives him a hand to his feet and the man takes off running and jumping completely healed. What I never connected before was how that part of the story so directly relates to the rest of chapter 3! Peter then goes on to speak to all the onlookers. The miracle was not just for the man on whom it was bestowed but also for all those present. Peter took that oportunity to preach the gospel to everyone standing around when the crippled man was healed. In the church today, are we ready to follow up a miracle? Like Peter, we must speak out boldly when God does something incredible! Jesus won’t let himself become just a genie in a bottle that performs miracles at our whim. It must bring HIM glory!
Praise in Sorrow
If you read my last post about the accident, it turned out that the fatality was a student from our school. A young lady named Tiffany lost her life which causes many of her friends and her family to be in mourning. There is a silver lining. I looked up her facebook picture just to see if she was who I thought she was. (Not someone I knew well, she was a name and face I recognized on campus.) Her “Status” was that she was praising God that her father had finally accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into his heart as his Savior. For those unfamiliar with facebook, “Status” is a one line post about you that comes up on your profile page. It is updated often by users. This particular status post was from the night before her accident. The great news here is that she will see her father again in eternity now!
Thanking God!
Filed under: church growth, fellowship, healing, salvation, thanks
I talked to my brother this morning to wish him Happy Thanksgiving, after family stuff, we began talking about all the great things God is doing in our churches! It was wonderful to hear how God is working not only here in Easley, SC but halfway across the country in Neosho, MO. He shared how the church has been growing to the point where the pews are all full and they have chairs out in the isles. He has lost track of how many men have gotten saved in the last month! God has healed the sick and even a sick dog. I had to laugh at the dog story, but it just goes to show how God cares about our needs even when they might not seem all that important to the rest of the world. There were many stories of healings, but the cool one for me was a lady who hasn’t been able to tie her own shoes due to a hip problem. Her teenage daughter has helped her get dressed every morning tying her shoes, putting on her socks etc. because she couldn’t bend down. After God’s healing, she is able to dress herself completely! I am sure that for a mom, that must be a great thing! Hearing about kids who have come to the Lord through the children’s ministry and now their Dads are getting saved! It was a wonderful uplifting conversation! Thank you Lord for all that you are and all that you do in our lives! Today is truly an awesome day of Thanksgiving!
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