He is faithful...

1 Samuel 12:20-22:

20 And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following theLord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.

21 And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty.

22 For theLord will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.

Samuel has just finished pointing out the people's sin of requesting an earthly king over God as king. The people had rejected God as king, desiring a "king like all the nations." They were confronted with this evil and filled with fear and grief. They ask Samuel to pray for them that God would not kill them. The above verses are Samuel's response to the people.

Be encouraged today Christian! For God is absolutely faithful, even when we are not!

For His Kingdom...

Spurgeon at his best...

Here is yet another wonderful reminder from the master devotional writer:

C.H. Spurgeon's Morning Devotional Thursday May 6, 2010 "We dwell in Him."-1 John 4:13 Do you want a house for your soul? Do you ask, "What is the purchase?" It is something less than proud human nature will like to give. It is without money and without price. Ah! you would like to pay a respectable rent! You would love to do something to win Christ? Then you cannot have the house, for it is "without price." Will you take my Master's house on a lease for all eternity, with nothing to pay for it, nothing but the ground-rent of loving and serving Him for ever? Will you take Jesus and "dwell in Him?" See, this house is furnished with all you want, it is filled with riches more than you will spend as long as you live. Here you can have intimate communion with Christ and feast on His love; here are tables well-stored with food for you to live on for ever; in it, when weary, you can find rest with Jesus; and from it you can look out and see heaven itself. Will you have the house? Ah! if you are houseless, you will say, "I should like to have the house; but may I have it?" Yes; there is the key-the key is, "Come to Jesus." "But," you say, "I am too shabby for such a house." Never mind; there are garments inside. If you feel guilty and condemned, come; and though the house is too good for you, Christ will make you good enough for the house by-and-by. He will wash you and cleanse you, and you will yet be able to sing, "We dwell in Him." Believer: thrice happy art thou to have such a dwelling-place! Greatly privileged thou art, for thou hast a "strong habitation" in which thou art ever safe. And "dwelling in Him," thou hast not only a perfect and secure house, but an everlasting one. When this world shall have melted like a dream, our house shall live, and stand more imperishable than marble, more solid than granite, self-existent as God, for it is God Himself-"We dwell in Him." For His Kingdom...

The Big Bear...

Today is my good friend Bear's birthday. So, in accordance with good birthday celebration, we took him to lunch @ La Bamba's. Now when I say we I mean a bunch of us. It was a great time! We conversed, laughed, ate and most of all, celebrated Bear.

This is not the first time I've been out with friends celebrating their birthdays. However, it was special and quite memorable for at least 2 reasons.

First, Bear is a superb friend! He is the kind of friend that I know I can count on no matter what. We've been through some interesting things together here in ministry. Yet, whatever the situation or circumstance, our friendship has maintained and even grown. Bear's gentle and kind heart coupled with his intense passion for God and His church are, for me, both refreshing and encouraging. He has become one of my most trusted and insightful confidants and companion. He quickly reminds me of the Proverb (27:9) that says "the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel."

This brings me to my second reason. Friends, good and close friends are extremely important in this life. One of the most intriguing and powerful things about my father is his keeping of close friends. My dad's best friends (the ones all us kids call "uncle" so and so) are friends that he has had since middle school! I have grown up with many of these friends and consider them family. As such, the older I get the more I consider my friendships. Especially now that Amy and I are going to be parents, I want my kid(s) to grow up with my friends kids. I hope to maintain some dear friendships that are really more like extended families. It is becoming more apparent to me that this life cannot be rightly lived in family isolation. We need community; we need close, endearing friendships that will rejoice when we rejoice and weep when we weep.

As I looked around the table this afternoon at all the friends that gathered to celebrate Bear and his birthday I couldn't help but feel excited about the community that God is growing and nurturing here. It was such a sweet time both b/c of the person we were celebrating and b/c of the friends we were celebrating with! I am certainly blessed by the people that God has brought into my life. I just hope that we will be friends, even family well into eternity.

So, Bear - Happy Birthday my friend!

For His Kingdom...

Spring Break(fast)

Imagine yourself in the following situation:

You're a middle school student who has just begun your Spring Break. You begin to day dream about the endless possibilities that await during this much needed break from the grind of school. You fantasize about many hours spent at the beach or at friends houses doing whatever your little heart desires. It is going to be a week filled with late nights and even later mornings. Thus, you lay your little head on your pillow at night, thinking to yourself, "tomorrow I'm gonna wake up around noon and grace the world with my very presence." It is with that thought that you drift off into a peaceful and quiet sleep, tucked all cozy in your own bed.

Next thing you know, it is 6:00 am and there are strangers in your room, shaking you, squirting you with water guns, sounding sirens and yelling at you through a megaphone. You are near the point of having a heart attack, or at least tears.

"What is going on?"

Well, this was somewhat the general reaction of 9 middle school students yesterday. Dylan, Ali and myself set out on an excursion to snatch some students right out of their own bed and in their pj's and take them to breakfast. It was a truly awesome time! We snagged these students - Andrew, 3 Rachel's, Zack, Alex, Zoey, Brock and Susanna - an took them all to Ihop, the beach and Starbucks. We had a great time laughing, playing, talking about Jesus and just goofing off.

I have to say, though it was wicked early, I really enjoyed spending that time with the students.

So, until next time...

For His Kingdom...

Reading a great book...

Right now I'm reading "The Trellis and The Vine" by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne.

It's a wonderful book so far on the nature of Christian ministry. The premise is that in ministry there are people and programs (please forgive my blanket and vague categories). In the analogy, people are represented by the vine and programs by the trellis. The authors set out to make the case that in Christian ministry there is a need for both the trellis and the vine. In other words, they go hand in hand. However, they note that too often in ministry it is the trellis that gets all the attention and begins to overshadow the vine. They propose that though this focus on programs creates a sense of accomplishment and growth in ministry, it is actually a less than adequate way of accomplishing ministry. It is their proposition that genuine Christian ministry needs to be more vine focused. It is people that matter most in the end.

This book has been marvelous at reminding me what my focus and vision should be for the Student Ministries. Though we utilize programs in ministry, they should be for nothing more than supporting real Christian discipleship and evangelism. We must never let the trellis replace the vine, lest we end up with an inanimate ornament that will only fade in the end.

For His Kingdom...

Scripture and the coffee filter...

I had the enormous and humbling privilege of speaking to the high school students this Sunday. This is a venue usually held down by my cohort and partner in crime, Dylan. But, this Sunday I entered this incredible arena.

It was a marvelous time! We had some great discussion, a tad of silliness and the intentionally intrusive appearance of a man with a video camera. All this made for a quite interesting gathering. In reality, though, every time I speak to students, high school or middle school, it is interesting.

I talked with the students about 1 Thessalonians 5:21. We tried to discover together what exactly Paul was trying to communicate when he tells us to "test everything; hold fast to what is good." We discussed the idea of testing, or questioning or looking closely at everything that comes at us in life. From this we sought to understand what how we test everything; what is our standard, our filter? Thus, I illustrated this by describing a coffee filter. The coffee filter allows for all of the savory and rich coffee to come through but none of the tacky grounds. In the same manner, what is our filter for life?

As you may guess, the bible was the first answer. Though the right answer, I pressed them beyond the right answer and into the playing field of personal answers. "Sure the bible is to be our filter for life, but is that how you are actually living?" In other words, I questioned them past rote memory. This was a wonderful time of self examination (I hope).

As we contemplated this reality a bit more, we started to discover what we really think about how we filter and test all the things that bombard our lives on a daily basis.

So, I pray that it was a profitable time for the students, as it was for me. Please continue to pray for our students and for the ministry that God has given us charge over here.

For His Kingdom....

Refreshing...

Here is another of Spurgeon's great insights into the scripture. He is a master of words and a magnificent voice of the truth and beauty of God!

C.H. Spurgeon's Evening Devotional

Tuesday March 9, 2010

"Abide in Me."-John 15:4 Communion with Christ is a certain cure for every ill. Whether it be the wormwood of woe, or the cloying surfeit of earthly delight, close fellowship with the Lord Jesus will take bitterness from the one, and satiety from the other. Live near to Jesus, Christian, and it is matter of secondary importance whether thou livest on the mountain of honour or in the valley of humiliation. Living near to Jesus, thou art covered with the wings of God, and underneath thee are the everlasting arms. Let nothing keep thee from that hallowed intercourse, which is the choice privilege of a soul wedded to THE WELL-BELOVED. Be not content with an interview now and then, but seek always to retain His company, for only in His presence hast thou either comfort or safety. Jesus should not be unto us a friend who calls upon us now and then, but one with whom we walk evermore. Thou hast a difficult road before thee: see, O traveller to heaven, that thou go not without thy guide. Thou hast to pass through the fiery furnace; enter it not unless, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, thou hast the Son of God to be thy companion. Thou hast to storm the Jericho of thine own corruptions: attempt not the warfare until, like Joshua, thou hast seen the Captain of the Lord's host, with His sword drawn in His hand. Thou art to meet the Esau of thy many temptations: meet him not until at Jabbok's brook thou hast laid hold upon the angel, and prevailed. In every case, in every condition, thou wilt need Jesus; but most of all, when the iron gates of death shall open to thee. Keep thou close to thy soul's Husband, lean thy head upon His bosom, ask to be refreshed with the spiced wine of His pomegranate, and thou shalt be found of Him at the last, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. Seeing thou hast lived with Him, and lived in Him here, thou shalt abide with Him for ever For His Kingdom...

Wise words from the past...

This was just too good to leave before my eyes only.

C.H. Spurgeon's Morning Devotional

Friday February 26, 2010

"Salvation is of the Lord."-Jonah 2:9 Salvation is the work of God. It is He alone who quickens the soul "dead in trespasses and sins," and it is He also who maintains the soul in its spiritual life. He is both "Alpha and Omega." "Salvation is of the Lord." If I am prayerful, God makes me prayerful; if I have graces, they are God's gifts to me; if I hold on in a consistent life, it is because He upholds me with His hand. I do nothing whatever towards my own preservation, except what God Himself first does in me. Whatever I have, all my goodness is of the Lord alone. Wherein I sin, that is my own; but wherein I act rightly, that is of God, wholly and completely. If I have repulsed a spiritual enemy, the Lord's strength nerved my arm. Do I live before men a consecrated life? It is not I, but Christ who liveth in me. Am I sanctified? I did not cleanse myself: God's Holy Spirit sanctifies me. Am I weaned from the world? I am weaned by God's chastisements sanctified to my good. Do I grow in knowledge? The great Instructor teaches me. All my jewels were fashioned by heavenly art. I find in God all that I want; but I find in myself nothing but sin and misery. "He only is my rock and my salvation." Do I feed on the Word? That Word would be no food for me unless the Lord made it food for my soul, and helped me to feed upon it. Do I live on the manna which comes down from heaven? What is that manna but Jesus Christ himself incarnate, whose body and whose blood I eat and drink? Am I continually receiving fresh increase of strength? Where do I gather my might? My help cometh from heaven's hills: without Jesus I can do nothing. As a branch cannot bring forth fruit except it abide in the vine, no more can I, except I abide in Him. What Jonah learned in the great deep, let me learn this morning in my closet: "Salvation is of the Lord." For His Kingdom...