We first moved into this church building in December of 1996. The parking lot had been base-coated, but not top-coated. So, for the winter months there were no parking stripes out there. People made up their own minds where they wanted to park, and which way they wanted to park. We developed some very inefficient patterns.
When the spring came and the asphalt people returned to finished up the paving and striping, there was mass confusion. The stripes had been placed according to the master plan, but people had already set their own parking patterns, and now they didn’t know what to do. I learned two valuable lessons from that:
1. If we don’t tell people how they should park (or do anything), they’ll each do their own thing and cause chaos.
2. Once people get a pattern set in their heads, they do not like to change it.
I suppose those lessons relate to repentance, as well. Its hard to change our life patterns, but not doing it according to the Master’s Plan can really be inefficient. Let’s relearn and repent.
Tags: habits, patterns, repentance
Today I am in Chicago at a meeting of pastors trying to formulate a plan for the future of CMI, our Fellowship of Churches. There has been much change in CMI recently, and nothing is for sure. We must be about strengthening the local church, but how to do that is not always clear.
It is certain we must provide an avenue for pastors who are struggling to find a safe place to seek help. In such times they cannot go to anyone in their churches with the power to fire them. So, where do they go? Where do they find help? Most ministers just keep it to themselves until the toxic problem leaks through and destroys them and those nearest them. That can’t be healthy for the churches or the pastors.
I would appreciate your prayers as we work to develop a ministry plan that would benefit both pastors and churches for ministry work in the difficult 21st century.
The story is told of a young boy who made a toy boat and then went to sail it on a pond. While he was playing with it along the water’s edge, the boat floated out beyond his reach. In his distress he asked an older boy to help him. Without saying a word, the older child picked up some stones and started to throw them toward the boat.
The little boy became upset, for he thought that the one he had turned to for help was being mean. Soon, though, he noticed that instead of hitting the boat, each stone was directed beyond it, making a small ripple that moved the vessel a little nearer to the shore. Every throw of the stone was planned, and at last the treasured toy was brought back to his waiting hands.
Have you ever considered the possibility that the trials going on in your life are God throwing rocks your direction to redirect you in another way? Is it possible the ripples you are experiencing are carefully directed by Him to push you in the way He wants you to go for your own well-being? Consider that today. Paul wrote: “Set your mind on things above, not on things on earth” (Colossians 3:2).
Tags: direction, trials, trouble
Its pleasantly relaxing to sit around a campfire and listen to the crackle of burning wood. I enjoy the smell of wood smoke, as long as its not in my eyes. I think most men find that calming and enjoyable.
I’ve noticed a strange thing happen in wood fires, though. On occasion, an eerie whistle may come from the depths of an inflamed timber. It can sound like a chirping bird, although no birds chirp in the dark. Where does that pleasant sound come from? Is it the echo of songbirds from long ago when that tree was a sapling?
No, we understand that the sound comes from escaping gases from deep within the wood itself. Yet, there may be a great spiritual lesson for each of us in that whistling sound. Perhaps it should remind us that in troubled times in our lives there should always be a song in our hearts. As a matter of fact, there has been no sweeter sound to God than my hurting heart’s cry to Him. It may sound sadistic, but God loves to hear our outcry to Him in times of trouble. And that broken cry for help moves His heart to respond.
Tags: fire, prayer, trials, trouble
Anita and I have many friends who are pastors of other churches through our Fellowship of churches, CMI. In some cases we are peers, in other cases we are like pastors to them. We have one particular couple that we have been fairly close to for several years. They are about ten years younger than us but have the same chemistry (opposites attract) as we do, so we have a lot in common.
We just recently found out that they have separated and are getting a divorce. Now that just makes me angry. The devil has deceived another godly couple into thinking the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. It never is!
God tests His people to our limit so that we can work through our differences, not so that we can run away like cowards and take the “easy” way. God’s way is never “easy”, but so difficult that it requires the death of our “old man”. Sometimes it takes going to a mutually respected counselor that can (and will) say the tough things to get us back on track.
Join us in praying for couples to “get it” and apply biblical principles to their marriage relationships. What does the Bible say? This is the only path to freedom in Christ.
There is a computer printer company in Colorado that puts each printer through a rigorous test. First, they freeze them, then heat them to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, and finally shake them violently for fifteen minutes. This testing is the final stage in a process called “ruggedization,” which prepares an ordinary printer for use by the military. With its circuit boards secured and all components enclosed in a metal case, the printer is thoroughly tested to make sure it will work on the battlefield where lives and success depend upon it.
Perhaps you’ve been experiencing a little ruggedization in your own life. God Himself arranges difficulties in our lives to develop character for the long haul. People who strive for comfort never develop this ruggedness.
James puts it like this: “Count it all joy…knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3).
Tags: overcomer, trials, trouble
You might remember Dave Dravecky, who pitched with amazing success for the Dan Diego Pirates and the San Francisco Giants baseball teams. His pitching arm developed an unusual soreness. Medical tests identified the problem – cancer. Surgery and months of rehabilitation followed.
Then, after pitching for a time in the minor leagues, Dave made a widely applauded comeback to the majors. But in Montreal, as he was delivering a pitch, his arm snapped.
The cancer had not gone away. To save his life, doctors removed his arm and much of his shoulder. A committed Christian, Dave didn’t wallow in self-pity. Dave’s comments for all of us were: “There is no struggle about feeling sorry for myself. The question is not, ‘Why me, God?’ The question is, ‘What is Your plan for me?’…I see this as God giving me the opportunity to share the gospel with a lot of people.”
Don’t wallow in self-pity. Ask the right question.
Tags: baseball, question, trials, trouble