Don't throw it away

Have you ever accidentally thrown something away that was worth something to you? A few years ago as we were packing our house to move to Africa, my wife found this old purse she didn't use anymore. Not thinking she would need it, she threw it away. Months went by before we realized that the diamond earrings I bought her were missing. We searched high and low for them, but couldn't find them anywhere. Want to guess where they were? You got it...she had thrown them away with the purse!

The writer of Hebrews says in 10:35- "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded."

Many times in our anxiety of moving on to the place God has for us we "throw away" our confidence. This happens because we've grown confident in the place God has us. You know the routine, the in's and out's of the place and generally can just flow because you've been there for awhile. But now God is asking you to completely trust you again to step out into the unknown.

He could (as many times) ask you to do something that is way out of your comfort zone. Maybe He is leading you to do something that you've never done before. In these times don't be worried that you don't have what it takes to do what God is asking you to do. It is He who has called you and equipped you and it is He who supplies the confidence you need to accomplish the task.

If you keep your confidence in HIM and not in yourself you'll find that He will come through for you time and time again. It's only when we get confident in ourselves that we begin to feel that anxiety.

Today do something big for God. Place your confidence in Him and it will be richly rewarded.

2 Cor 3:4,5 4Such is the confidence that we have in God through Christ. 5By ourselves we are not qualified to claim that anything comes from us. Rather, our credentials come from God...

Patient in Affliction

affliction |əˈflik sh ən|
noun
something that causes pain or suffering

I don't know about you, but I do not much like "Pain" or "Suffering." Yet Paul told us in Romans 12:12 to be patient in them.

Romans 12:12- Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Patient in affliction is actually how he put it. That word, which is defined above, isn't a pretty word.

If Paul tells us to be "patient" in our afflictions, it must mean that there is a time that it will all be over. It seems like he is telling the Romans, "Hey, I know times are hard. Just hold out because this too shall pass."

Are you going through something right now that seems too heavy to carry? Consider the fact that Jesus is there with you helping you carry that load right now. Call out to Him for strength and wisdom. Remember, be patient...for this too shall pass.

Thunder basketball and Jesus

I'm sitting watching the Thunder finish up a 3 game streak over the Nuggets. I'm usually really tired by midnight, but it's the playoffs! I think I'm a little juiced up about tomorrow being Easter too. It's like the NBA Championship for churches. It's one of the 2 days when anyone who considers themselves a "church goer" attends church. (Christmas being the other).

Just being transparent here...I wonder why some people only come those days? It makes me wonder, if It's the church that isn't attractive enough for people to want to come more often or people just having busy lives. I want to believe it's the latter.

If it's not however, the church has some serious realities to face. How can we place ourselves in position to be relevant and attractive to those of our communities? Again, taking from basketball, I believe its just practice and the ability to make adjustments.

Great basketball teams take seriously those two things. In practice, the believer must live out their Christian witness everyday so others see the blessings God brings to them, thus making them want it. (Matthew 5:16). In adjustment, the believer and the church must be able and willing to change the presentation in order to get the ear of those only mildly interested.

I really hope the Thunder win the NBA Championship this year. I love these guys!

My complaining

So today I was feeling sorry for myself and thinking how difficult Pastoring is sometimes. Then tonight I received an email from a Rwandan Pastor friend. He emailed me to say how much he missed me and loved me.

He was a Pastor, who I remember delivering food too. He and his family didn't have enough to eat because he had moved to another town to plant a church and there wasn't enough money in the church to pay them. They lived in a small little house that wasn't big enough for them. He had no car, his shoes were wore out and he wore the same suit every Sunday. His congregation met in a rented house with a dirt floor. They sit on wood benches with not back. The day I delivered food to them, the whole family cried.

No more complaining for me.