My pastor, Perry Noble, has been having vision events around the state this week to tell us what God's plans are for the future of NewSpring Church in reaching the lost of SC with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I have not actually heard this vision yet because he is coming to my location tonight. But I have heard through social media that two new campuses have been announced with one pastor already in place. These two, along with three new campuses this year including the Spartanburg Campus that I attend, will bring our total campuses to 10.
All of this costs money - a lot of money - so I have been thinking about how God would have me support this work and whether I am I willing to sacrifice something if necessary to give what God would have me give. One of the expressions Perry uses is "if it's God's will, then it's God's bill" meaning God will supply from His great riches all that is needed to support what He asks us to do. But He funnels those riches to people and then asks us to give.
Ah, but I'm not rich! Based on America, maybe not. Based on the rest of the world, I am infinitely rich. The problem is, I'm just not used to having to sacrifice anything. Tithing and giving are in my budget so it's no sacrifice; the money is allocated and I give it each month. But if God asks me to sacrifice something, would I be willing to do it?
I don't have a smart phone with a data plan. I don't have cable or satellite TV. I don't have magazine subscriptions I can cancel. So those kinds of sacrifices are not possible. I really do live a pretty simple life on a pretty small budget. But if I had them, and God asked me to, would I give them up to advance His kingdom?
As I have been seeking God on this, a budget item came to mind that I could reallocate to "Take the Land". I have already said OK to God about that. This reallocation would cause a small lifestyle change for me so maybe that is sacrifice on my part. It just seems so simple and I take such joy in giving the money that I don't see it as sacrifice. What a privilege to be part of what God is doing here!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
What Is Good?
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
I've been thinking a lot lately about that verse in Roman 8:28 and how I think about "good". From my human perspective good is generally moving up the ladder of success by getting a promotion or a raise, getting a bigger house or a new car, having the "perfect" spouse and children, never getting sick.
Part of what brought this on is my daughter-in-law who is going through some tough times emotionally. Which means my son and the grandchildren are going through some tough times emotionally. My son was baptized recently because he realized that although he had been baptized as a 7 year old, he was not actually saved until he was a teenager. It was important to him to do things God's way and declare publicly that Jesus Christ is his Savior and Lord. Now his faith, and that of my 12 year old grandson, is being put to the test as his wife struggles. So I am looking for good in all this.
But this is not the first time I have been looking for good in a bad situation. On November 4, 2004, at the age of 87, my mama had a stroke. All her adult life she said she never wanted to be in a nursing home but when the stroke happened there was really no other choice. Although she hated the nursing home she got lots of rehab that enabled her to feed herself and walk and talk again. During the first month after her stroke I asked God over and over to show me the good in this. Then on December 28, two weeks shy of his 91st birthday, my daddy passed away peacefully at home in his sleep. Now I saw the "good" in my mama's stroke.
My mama and daddy started courting when she was 14 and daddy was 17 and married 5 years later. For 73 years daddy had been the love of her life. When he died I was able to thank God that mama was not with him to find him dead in the bed. I was able to thank God that decisions about where she would live were taken out of her hands. Mama was healthy enough by then to attend daddy's funeral and understood that daddy was gone but she was protected from overwhelming grief by the effects of the stroke. So I could finally see the "good" in her having a stroke.
God was not being cruel or heartless when He allowed her brain to be damaged by the stroke. Rather He knew my daddy would die on the day they should have been celebrating as their 68th wedding anniversary and loved my mama enough to shield her from the pain and loss.
Good in God's eyes does not necessarily look like good to my eyes. But if I take the time to seek God's face and to ask Him to let me see the situation as He does, then I can always be confident of His goodness.
I've been thinking a lot lately about that verse in Roman 8:28 and how I think about "good". From my human perspective good is generally moving up the ladder of success by getting a promotion or a raise, getting a bigger house or a new car, having the "perfect" spouse and children, never getting sick.
Part of what brought this on is my daughter-in-law who is going through some tough times emotionally. Which means my son and the grandchildren are going through some tough times emotionally. My son was baptized recently because he realized that although he had been baptized as a 7 year old, he was not actually saved until he was a teenager. It was important to him to do things God's way and declare publicly that Jesus Christ is his Savior and Lord. Now his faith, and that of my 12 year old grandson, is being put to the test as his wife struggles. So I am looking for good in all this.
But this is not the first time I have been looking for good in a bad situation. On November 4, 2004, at the age of 87, my mama had a stroke. All her adult life she said she never wanted to be in a nursing home but when the stroke happened there was really no other choice. Although she hated the nursing home she got lots of rehab that enabled her to feed herself and walk and talk again. During the first month after her stroke I asked God over and over to show me the good in this. Then on December 28, two weeks shy of his 91st birthday, my daddy passed away peacefully at home in his sleep. Now I saw the "good" in my mama's stroke.
My mama and daddy started courting when she was 14 and daddy was 17 and married 5 years later. For 73 years daddy had been the love of her life. When he died I was able to thank God that mama was not with him to find him dead in the bed. I was able to thank God that decisions about where she would live were taken out of her hands. Mama was healthy enough by then to attend daddy's funeral and understood that daddy was gone but she was protected from overwhelming grief by the effects of the stroke. So I could finally see the "good" in her having a stroke.
God was not being cruel or heartless when He allowed her brain to be damaged by the stroke. Rather He knew my daddy would die on the day they should have been celebrating as their 68th wedding anniversary and loved my mama enough to shield her from the pain and loss.
Good in God's eyes does not necessarily look like good to my eyes. But if I take the time to seek God's face and to ask Him to let me see the situation as He does, then I can always be confident of His goodness.
Friday, October 28, 2011
What Used to Be
When the Israelites, who had been exiled to Babylon, were allowed by Cyrus, king of Persia, to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple of God, there was much joy. This was, after all, the fulfillment of the prophecy Jeremiah spoke during the years just prior to the exile and that Isaiah spoke 150-200 years earlier when God even called Cyrus by name.
What strikes me about all this is what happens after the foundation for the temple is laid. Most of the people shout for joy. But some of the old men, who remembered the previous temple, wept. They could not rejoice in God's faithfulness, their freedom, their return home, the new temple because it didn't measure up to what used to be.
How like that are we today? We revel in the past and don't rejoice in the new things God is doing. Maybe what God is doing does not fit well with our traditions. Maybe it's not our idea of what God should be doing - or how He should be doing it.
How many churches fail because the neighborhood, the demographics, of their location change but the church does not embrace it's neighbors with the gospel of Jesus Christ? We'll just shut the doors rather than do a new thing with new people, telling them, in essence, to "go to hell".
How many times does someone in a church say we've never done that before? Rather than reason to quit, it should be reason to celebrate. God is at work. He even says through Isaiah, "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:19)
The rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple was a new beginning for the people of Israel. Maybe it wasn't as grand as before but God was working in their midst. We should always shout for joy when we see God at work around us. We should embrace it and not grieve the new thing He's doing because God's perception, God's purposes just might be a lot different than ours. Ya think?!
What strikes me about all this is what happens after the foundation for the temple is laid. Most of the people shout for joy. But some of the old men, who remembered the previous temple, wept. They could not rejoice in God's faithfulness, their freedom, their return home, the new temple because it didn't measure up to what used to be.
How like that are we today? We revel in the past and don't rejoice in the new things God is doing. Maybe what God is doing does not fit well with our traditions. Maybe it's not our idea of what God should be doing - or how He should be doing it.
How many churches fail because the neighborhood, the demographics, of their location change but the church does not embrace it's neighbors with the gospel of Jesus Christ? We'll just shut the doors rather than do a new thing with new people, telling them, in essence, to "go to hell".
How many times does someone in a church say we've never done that before? Rather than reason to quit, it should be reason to celebrate. God is at work. He even says through Isaiah, "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:19)
The rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple was a new beginning for the people of Israel. Maybe it wasn't as grand as before but God was working in their midst. We should always shout for joy when we see God at work around us. We should embrace it and not grieve the new thing He's doing because God's perception, God's purposes just might be a lot different than ours. Ya think?!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Life Can Be Hard
My Pastor, Perry Noble, started a new series last Sunday on The Life of Job - A Story of Hope. There is a lot of anticipation that God is going to do some amazing things in the lives of hurting people.
Life can be hard. Just because I am a follower of Jesus Christ doesn't mean I get a free pass on the trouble, the anxieties, the worries of this world. But because of Jesus Christ and his death, burial and resurrection, I have victory over all that comes my way. And - as an aside - Jesus was in the very center of God's will for His life when He was nailed to the cross. He didn't get a pass on trouble and pain!
A lot of times we forget that, as believers, this world is not our home. Our lives are just a vapor, a mist, that is only here for a snap of the fingers. Our lives seem so long but on the scale of eternity, the time is nothing really.
However, the pain we feel over broken relationships and broken dreams and disasters and sickness and death and hardships and all the other stuff of life is very real. Often that pain is so intense because we are focusing on ourselves. In the moment of great hurt, we tend to focus on our loss, our pain. Sometimes we focus on anger and assigning blame to the one who hurt us or maybe even to God.
But God wants so much more for us. God comforts us in our pain and our sorrow so that we can then comfort others. If we allow Him to, He will use our circumstances as a testimony of His faithfulness. If we look beyond human wisdom to the wisdom of God, we will know, as Job did, "...that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God." (Job 19:25-26)
Learning to focus on Jesus during times of great hurt will enable us to not only endure but to thrive.
Life can be hard. Just because I am a follower of Jesus Christ doesn't mean I get a free pass on the trouble, the anxieties, the worries of this world. But because of Jesus Christ and his death, burial and resurrection, I have victory over all that comes my way. And - as an aside - Jesus was in the very center of God's will for His life when He was nailed to the cross. He didn't get a pass on trouble and pain!
A lot of times we forget that, as believers, this world is not our home. Our lives are just a vapor, a mist, that is only here for a snap of the fingers. Our lives seem so long but on the scale of eternity, the time is nothing really.
However, the pain we feel over broken relationships and broken dreams and disasters and sickness and death and hardships and all the other stuff of life is very real. Often that pain is so intense because we are focusing on ourselves. In the moment of great hurt, we tend to focus on our loss, our pain. Sometimes we focus on anger and assigning blame to the one who hurt us or maybe even to God.
But God wants so much more for us. God comforts us in our pain and our sorrow so that we can then comfort others. If we allow Him to, He will use our circumstances as a testimony of His faithfulness. If we look beyond human wisdom to the wisdom of God, we will know, as Job did, "...that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God." (Job 19:25-26)
Learning to focus on Jesus during times of great hurt will enable us to not only endure but to thrive.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Way of Love
I've been thinking lately about something my pastor said a few months ago - you can't say you love someone if you are not willing to talk to them about their relationship with Jesus, even if it is awkward or uncomfortable. So how much DO I love those around me - family, friends, neighbors? Often not very well.
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13
Is the church of Jesus Christ characterized by love? Do we love the congregation down the street? "By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another." (John 13:35) Do we love the downtrodden, the broken, the addicted in our communities? And what about those on the fast track to job and financial success? "Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:23) Are we motivated to pray for and help, rather than criticize, someone who falls into sin? "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." (1Corinthians 10:12) "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness." (Galatians 6:1)
Jesus, help me to love the way You love. Break my heart for what breaks Yours. Open my eyes, my ears, my heart to family and friends and acquaintances who desperately need You and then share Your love with them. Amen.
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13
Is the church of Jesus Christ characterized by love? Do we love the congregation down the street? "By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another." (John 13:35) Do we love the downtrodden, the broken, the addicted in our communities? And what about those on the fast track to job and financial success? "Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:23) Are we motivated to pray for and help, rather than criticize, someone who falls into sin? "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." (1Corinthians 10:12) "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness." (Galatians 6:1)
Jesus, help me to love the way You love. Break my heart for what breaks Yours. Open my eyes, my ears, my heart to family and friends and acquaintances who desperately need You and then share Your love with them. Amen.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Wasted Years
I have often thought of my wasted years as those years when I was living in rebellion and wandering as a prodigal, living life the way I wanted to. That is not an incorrect assessment because those were years that I wasted. Not only was my relationship with Christ wasted during those years but the relationship with my family as well. My parents and brother loved me through it all but I didn't allow that love to flow toward me or back toward them because of my sin.
I am so grateful that Jesus Christ never abandoned me. During those years in the wasteland He protected me in so many ways. But what I have begun to think about now is the waste found in the years since I returned home to my Father and Jesus. What am I doing today that will be burned up in the fire as wasted?
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, "Now if anyone builds on the foundation [of Jesus Christ] with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw - each one's work will become manifest, for the Day [of Judgement] will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire."
Gold, silver and precious stone will survive the fire; wood, hay, and straw will be burned up. So what types of things will survive? Love, for sure. Love God, love others. Jesus said these are the greatest commandments. (Mark 12:30-31)
Right attitudes. "...whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31) Doing the right things for the wrong reasons can cause them to be lost. (Matthew 23:1-3)
Proper use of resources given to me by God. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21) Am I generous with time, money and other resources? Do I allow them to multiply and build the kingdom of God by wise use? Or do I horde them out of fear? (Matthew 25:14-30)
I need to search my heart - and ask God to as well - to show me any areas I need to work on as I live this life in preparation for eternity. "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" (Psalm 139:23-24)
I am so grateful that Jesus Christ never abandoned me. During those years in the wasteland He protected me in so many ways. But what I have begun to think about now is the waste found in the years since I returned home to my Father and Jesus. What am I doing today that will be burned up in the fire as wasted?
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, "Now if anyone builds on the foundation [of Jesus Christ] with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw - each one's work will become manifest, for the Day [of Judgement] will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire."
Gold, silver and precious stone will survive the fire; wood, hay, and straw will be burned up. So what types of things will survive? Love, for sure. Love God, love others. Jesus said these are the greatest commandments. (Mark 12:30-31)
Right attitudes. "...whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31) Doing the right things for the wrong reasons can cause them to be lost. (Matthew 23:1-3)
Proper use of resources given to me by God. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21) Am I generous with time, money and other resources? Do I allow them to multiply and build the kingdom of God by wise use? Or do I horde them out of fear? (Matthew 25:14-30)
I need to search my heart - and ask God to as well - to show me any areas I need to work on as I live this life in preparation for eternity. "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" (Psalm 139:23-24)
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Thankfulness
One of the things I'm really working toward with God is being more thankful. Rather than always asking Him for something just taking time to say "Thank You!"
Not being thankful is taking God's grace and provision for granted. I have so much and too often I fail to acknowledge that all I have comes from God. So what DO I have that I need to be thankful for?
My family - my son, daughter-in-law, grandson and granddaughter. We have a great relationship and are able to share life together.
My health - I don't take any medications for any conditions and at age 63 that is a gift straight from God.
My car - 14 years old but still chugging along - and it was free when I got in back in 2005.
My home - small townhouse that I bought in 2007. The bank stills owns more of it than I do but it is the only debt I have. Good neighborhood, good location, cheaper than rent.
My friends - I have friends that I get to go places with, laugh with, cry with. They enrich my life in so many ways.
America - I don't ever want to take for granted that I live in a free country. Of course it's not perfect but to have been born in this country, to me, is a huge blessing.
My church - God led me to the greatest church ever. Through my church He has allowed me to participate in life change with countless numbers of people.
My salvation - This is the greatest gift of all. To think that God loves me, ME! so much that He sacrificed His Son to pay the penalty for my sins. It overwhelms me every time I think about it!
My life - Waking up each morning, taking another breath, is a precious gift. One day I will leave this earth to be with Jesus for eternity but until that time, I will be thankful for each new day.
Food and water - I live where food prices are reasonable and the water is good and plentiful. There have been droughts and we have been told not to water lawns or wash cars but always have water for drinking, cooking, bathing.
Indoor plumbing and electricity - I love being able to flip a switch to have lights or air conditioning or heat. And if you've ever used an outhouse or port-a-potty, being able to flush a toilet is great.
Sunshine and rain - we need both and God controls them so I will be thankful for each.
Seasons - I love season change. Leaves are beginning to change now as the days get shorter and cooler. Each season has it's own reasons to be enjoyed. Spring of course is the time of renewal and Easter; flowers bloom, grass is green, trees get new leaves, the air begins to warm. Summer is hot but that makes for great times at the pool or the lake. Trees provide needed shade. It's also the main vacation time so life often moves at a slower pace with picnics and cookouts and long days. Autumn is cool relief from the heat of summer. Leaves begin to change colors and fall from the trees. Halloween and Thanksgiving are celebrated. Winter is Christmas and New Year's and maybe even snow. The bright green of evergreens can be seen in contrast to the stark brown trunks and limbs of those trees bare of leaves. And as we've had just enough of the cold, short days here comes Spring again.
There is so very much to be thankful for and I don't ever want to miss the opportunity to thank God for blessing me with so much.
Not being thankful is taking God's grace and provision for granted. I have so much and too often I fail to acknowledge that all I have comes from God. So what DO I have that I need to be thankful for?
My family - my son, daughter-in-law, grandson and granddaughter. We have a great relationship and are able to share life together.
My health - I don't take any medications for any conditions and at age 63 that is a gift straight from God.
My car - 14 years old but still chugging along - and it was free when I got in back in 2005.
My home - small townhouse that I bought in 2007. The bank stills owns more of it than I do but it is the only debt I have. Good neighborhood, good location, cheaper than rent.
My friends - I have friends that I get to go places with, laugh with, cry with. They enrich my life in so many ways.
America - I don't ever want to take for granted that I live in a free country. Of course it's not perfect but to have been born in this country, to me, is a huge blessing.
My church - God led me to the greatest church ever. Through my church He has allowed me to participate in life change with countless numbers of people.
My salvation - This is the greatest gift of all. To think that God loves me, ME! so much that He sacrificed His Son to pay the penalty for my sins. It overwhelms me every time I think about it!
My life - Waking up each morning, taking another breath, is a precious gift. One day I will leave this earth to be with Jesus for eternity but until that time, I will be thankful for each new day.
Food and water - I live where food prices are reasonable and the water is good and plentiful. There have been droughts and we have been told not to water lawns or wash cars but always have water for drinking, cooking, bathing.
Indoor plumbing and electricity - I love being able to flip a switch to have lights or air conditioning or heat. And if you've ever used an outhouse or port-a-potty, being able to flush a toilet is great.
Sunshine and rain - we need both and God controls them so I will be thankful for each.
Seasons - I love season change. Leaves are beginning to change now as the days get shorter and cooler. Each season has it's own reasons to be enjoyed. Spring of course is the time of renewal and Easter; flowers bloom, grass is green, trees get new leaves, the air begins to warm. Summer is hot but that makes for great times at the pool or the lake. Trees provide needed shade. It's also the main vacation time so life often moves at a slower pace with picnics and cookouts and long days. Autumn is cool relief from the heat of summer. Leaves begin to change colors and fall from the trees. Halloween and Thanksgiving are celebrated. Winter is Christmas and New Year's and maybe even snow. The bright green of evergreens can be seen in contrast to the stark brown trunks and limbs of those trees bare of leaves. And as we've had just enough of the cold, short days here comes Spring again.
There is so very much to be thankful for and I don't ever want to miss the opportunity to thank God for blessing me with so much.
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