Here is a good "Good Friday" post from Jared.
(( Sorry - I'm having trouble linking directly to it. Just go here:
http://gospeldrivenchurch.blogspot.com/2011/04/friday-that-is-good.html ))
Thanks.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Letter to my son
My son,
Inasmuch as I have given you life, I have also given you selfishness and pride.
Inasmuch as God has given you life, He has given you freedom from these deadly, poisonous, woeful chains.
I have given you a life that leads to death. It is the only life I am capable of giving you. I got it from my father, who got it from his.
Jesus will give you a death that leads to life. He gives it out of His own hand. His supply will never ever run out, and he gets giddy giving it out. He loves to dole it out!
I hope that when you look at me, you see a man alive to Christ & dead to sin!
Inasmuch as I have given you life, I have also given you selfishness and pride.
Inasmuch as God has given you life, He has given you freedom from these deadly, poisonous, woeful chains.
I have given you a life that leads to death. It is the only life I am capable of giving you. I got it from my father, who got it from his.
Jesus will give you a death that leads to life. He gives it out of His own hand. His supply will never ever run out, and he gets giddy giving it out. He loves to dole it out!
I hope that when you look at me, you see a man alive to Christ & dead to sin!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Read Matthew 14:22-33
I am going to try to post more regularly. I don't have any idea, at this point, the format changes that will take place here for me to be able to do it, but I am pretty sure there will be some.
So - - I was reading in Matthew today, and was struck by something in a story that is familiar to many, many people. It is the story of Jesus walking on the water, calling Peter out to do the same, Peter walking on water at first, then sinking, then crying out to be saved, then being pulled up out of the water by Jesus, then the two of them getting into the boat together. OK? Everyone remember that story?
Good.
I entitled this thing "Read ..." though - with the verses which are the beginning of the story for a reason. So if you already know the story, but haven't read it in a while; or if you don't remember what happens in verses 22-33 specifically, then please read it first.
See, the story starts out with the disciples getting in a boat and leaving Jesus alone. The boat makes it farther into the water than they were planning on, apparently, because of a storm. That's an important part of the setting. It says the boat was beaten by the waves. Not just that it was windy and the waves were a littler bigger than normal, but that it was a pretty good storm. Have you ever seen a pretty good storm on the open water? It's intense. Then, they see what the think must be a ghost coming to them - walking on waves. Not just walking on the surface of the water, but for all we know - he was walking on very wavy water. That's the other part of the setting which is important.
So when Peter gets out on the water and starts WALKING! he is no doubt amazed at what his feet are doing. Who wouldn't be. Peter is living through a very real, very amazing miracle. And he is walking towards his best friend Jesus. But the story changes when Peter (I'm imagining here - this is what would have happened if it were Josh Cranston, instead of Peter) takes stock of - not the fact that he is experiencing a miracle, not the fact that he's joining Jesus in said miracle, but the fact that the storm is still going on ALL AROUND HIM.
Scary as being on a boat in the middle of a storm must be - being on the water without a boat might be a little scarier.
So the situation - - - this is the part that sort of caught my attention here - - which must have been extremely intense and frightening got the best of Peter. But it did not do so until Peter was already in the midst of being delivered from it (ie walking on water in the middle of a storm!).
THAT is what got me. I have many times thought about "stepping out of the boat" or whatever other metaphor you want to use - and not done so because the conditions scared me too much. But that's not this story. Peter got out of the boat - he even asked Jesus to allow him - in the middle of a scary situation.
See, I am in a pretty weird (scary) time in my life right now - my family is - and we have been for what feels like forever now (a few months [[the waves have started to die down a lot, but there are still some waves and wind]]). But I KNOW that God's hand has been directing every single miraculous step all along the way. The conditions haven't 100% improved - I'm still walking on STORMY water - but I'm walking on water. See? So every single step I take MUST include a conscious awareness of the miracle that taking that step is. Jesus is with me. Jesus is with my wife and children. Jesus is ON the water - & he was walking on it first.
And what I want to do is continue to focus on the miracles that Jesus is working every single day and NOT on the crazy stormy weather which I am walking through. I can just hear Jesus asking me, after he's pulled me up, "Why did you doubt?" Like - "dude! you were walking on water! Did you not get that??!!"
Anyhow. That's it. Probably nothing new for anyone - but really special to me right now.
God's Word is so great!
So - - I was reading in Matthew today, and was struck by something in a story that is familiar to many, many people. It is the story of Jesus walking on the water, calling Peter out to do the same, Peter walking on water at first, then sinking, then crying out to be saved, then being pulled up out of the water by Jesus, then the two of them getting into the boat together. OK? Everyone remember that story?
Good.
I entitled this thing "Read ..." though - with the verses which are the beginning of the story for a reason. So if you already know the story, but haven't read it in a while; or if you don't remember what happens in verses 22-33 specifically, then please read it first.
See, the story starts out with the disciples getting in a boat and leaving Jesus alone. The boat makes it farther into the water than they were planning on, apparently, because of a storm. That's an important part of the setting. It says the boat was beaten by the waves. Not just that it was windy and the waves were a littler bigger than normal, but that it was a pretty good storm. Have you ever seen a pretty good storm on the open water? It's intense. Then, they see what the think must be a ghost coming to them - walking on waves. Not just walking on the surface of the water, but for all we know - he was walking on very wavy water. That's the other part of the setting which is important.
So when Peter gets out on the water and starts WALKING! he is no doubt amazed at what his feet are doing. Who wouldn't be. Peter is living through a very real, very amazing miracle. And he is walking towards his best friend Jesus. But the story changes when Peter (I'm imagining here - this is what would have happened if it were Josh Cranston, instead of Peter) takes stock of - not the fact that he is experiencing a miracle, not the fact that he's joining Jesus in said miracle, but the fact that the storm is still going on ALL AROUND HIM.
Scary as being on a boat in the middle of a storm must be - being on the water without a boat might be a little scarier.
So the situation - - - this is the part that sort of caught my attention here - - which must have been extremely intense and frightening got the best of Peter. But it did not do so until Peter was already in the midst of being delivered from it (ie walking on water in the middle of a storm!).
THAT is what got me. I have many times thought about "stepping out of the boat" or whatever other metaphor you want to use - and not done so because the conditions scared me too much. But that's not this story. Peter got out of the boat - he even asked Jesus to allow him - in the middle of a scary situation.
See, I am in a pretty weird (scary) time in my life right now - my family is - and we have been for what feels like forever now (a few months [[the waves have started to die down a lot, but there are still some waves and wind]]). But I KNOW that God's hand has been directing every single miraculous step all along the way. The conditions haven't 100% improved - I'm still walking on STORMY water - but I'm walking on water. See? So every single step I take MUST include a conscious awareness of the miracle that taking that step is. Jesus is with me. Jesus is with my wife and children. Jesus is ON the water - & he was walking on it first.
And what I want to do is continue to focus on the miracles that Jesus is working every single day and NOT on the crazy stormy weather which I am walking through. I can just hear Jesus asking me, after he's pulled me up, "Why did you doubt?" Like - "dude! you were walking on water! Did you not get that??!!"
Anyhow. That's it. Probably nothing new for anyone - but really special to me right now.
God's Word is so great!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
God - my creator - & the origin of evil
I want to say from the get-go that this is a very heavy topic to write a simple blog post about. I don't pretend to have any special insights or wisdom which have prompted me to share. I only want to respond to some serious questions asked of me, by a friend, about the origin of evil.
Epicurus asked some good questions about this(I am paraphrasing here):
Is God willing to stop evil, but unable? - then he is not omnipotent.
Is he unwilling and able? - then he is malevolent.
Is he willing and able? - then where does evil come from? (Or some might ask - why does evil still exist?)
Is he unwilling and unable? - then why call him God?
These are very good questions. They are smart questions. I believe that there are many Christians who do not know how to answer these.
So, how do I answer? How do I answer - when I believe that God IS willing and IS able to end evil? According to Epicurus (and many others), I must admit that God is malevolent. A God who is love would not allow evil, pain, suffering, destruction, etc. Period. End of discussion. My options seem to be - admit that God cannot truly be love, or that my faith makes no sense - it is not logical - and I must therefore be a fool. Perhaps I am only a blind, unquestioning follower of Sunday-school rhetoric passed down to me by people who are also unable to answer this.
If you believe this way, then everything I will say from this point on may be considered foolish.
BUT - I believe in something which this set of Epicurean questions does not account for. They do not account for this because of the very nature of the questions themselves. Epicurus seemed to believe that logic is the end-all, be-all. The problem I have with this line of thinking is that it assumes to impose my (or any human) limits on God.
Origin of Evil
See, I believe in God the creator of everything. The reason I am here today is because God has granted me life. The "Origin of Evil" question must go immediately from this point to begin asking about a good God - creator of everything - and how this must mean He created evil, and is therefore not truly good.
Instead of going immediately from "I believe God created everything" to "the origin of evil" - I'd like to think a little longer about what else is true of "God creating everything."
If God created everything - which I believe He did - then my mind was created. My ability to think, reason, deduce, assume, whatever else are all a part of the creation of my mind. My abilities to use logic, to follow evidence, to come to a conclusion, were given to me by the creator of my mind. My mind, however, was created with limits. I understand THAT my mind has limits, but I cannot even truly understand exactly WHAT the limits are. Using math as an example: I understand that I cannot truly comprehend infinity. Conceptually, maybe, I get it. But I am unable to go beyond that, because infinity itself is a limit which my mind cannot comprehend. This is true because I have a beginning and an end.
Now - I know this to be true. So, when considering infinity I must underscore EVERYTHING I think about it with the fact that I cannot truly know it.
If this is true of mathematical infinity - then how much truer is it of the creator? If I understand that my mind has limits - I understand that there are concepts and ideas which are beyond the limits of my understanding - then I must understand that those limits were established by the creator of my mind. I must also understand then that the creator of MY limits is not bound by them.
Back to the mathematical example: I understand that Pi goes on forever - infinity - even though I don't understand infinity. Pi does not end simply because I don't have the capacity to understand infinity.
Another example a little closer to the issue is creation itself. Obviously this is not agreed upon by everyone. But I believe in a God who created everything from nothing. I don't understand it. That is beyond the limits of my mind. I cannot really comprehend "everything coming from nothing."
Logic - logical thought - is a part of my mind. I use logic to process information and understand the way things really are. I understand, however, that logic itself falls within the limits of my mind. The creator of my limits, though, cannot be bound by those limits. That's it! That is - as I see it - where Epicurean followers and I must part philosophical and theological ways.
Epicurus would have the creator bound by the limits of his own creation. Epicurus says that
IF God created everything and IF God is able and willing to end evil BUT He hasn't then the ONLY LOGICAL EXPLANATIONS are that He is either not truly a loving God, or He is not really God at all.
Choosing not to place God - the creator of my own mental limits - inside them, I believe that God IS Love, AND that He is willing and able - and will one day end all evil. It is not an "either/or" thing for me. God is not bound by His creations' processes of logic and their outcomes.
So where does that leave us?
As I've already said - it leaves me to be considered a fool.
The next issue might be that I also believe in the Bible. "Believe in the bile" is too simple a statement though. What I meant is that I believe the Bible to be God's Word. Every single part of it, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelations. This means that everything revealed about God in the Bible is true. And what is revealed in the Bible about God is A LOT! The bible does not shy away from the difficult things and the things that - again - I don't understand. The bible reveals plenty of paradox. The bible says that God IS Love (1 John 4:8). The bible says that God's will is that nobody should perish (2 Peter 3:9). The bible also makes it clear that there WILL be those who perish and suffer the wrath of God (Matthew 25:46). The bible doesn't attempt to explain HOW God wills that none perish AND that some will perish. (At this point LOGIC would say that God must not truly be omnipotent then - "God wills something that won't happen!")
The bible also says that God's thoughts and ways are not my thoughts and ways - but that they are, in fact higher than mine! (Isaiah 55:8-9), and they are right(Hosea 14:9). And, as it relates to the problem of evil and suffering, the bible - ALL OF IT - points to the great defeat of it all in Jesus Christ. Everything from beginning to end points to Jesus - the God of heaven - the Son and God and Son of Man - the Word who was with God and WAS GOD!
The "whys" and "how's" of the origin of evil, the origin of Satan and his power, are dealt with in the end. Not according to anything I understand, but according to God's purposes in Jesus.
The God of the Bible owes me nothing. He does not have to explain his ways to me - the created. I understand the truths found in the bible, but I don't pretend to KNOW EVERYTHING about God and his ways. I am content with the understanding that "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law" (Deuteronomy 29:29).
One other choice is to say that there are ELEMENTS of the Bible, or God, or whatever else - that are true, but not all of them. One would ask, "Is it wrong to choose the good things from the bible and reject the bad? Doesn't a responsible person use the intelligence given to them to choose wisely?"
The answer is yes, one may choose which elements of the bible and God they would like to believe in.
What happens at that point, however, is the person making the choices is picking and choosing a god of their own liking. A person who decides to take "good" things and reject "bad" things from the bible is making their own theology. There is no way around this.
A person who chooses to believe the entire bible - even the things which cannot be explained according to logic - is choosing a theology. It is the theology of the God of the bible.
A person who chooses to subscribe to certain pieces of the bible and reject others is choosing a theology of their own. This person is looking for a god who will ultimately answer to them. The burden to show that this is not the case rests on the one who does these things.
So - - to sum up: I believe in the God of the Bible, the God who created everything. This God is not bound by anything at all, which includes my logic. I believe it is possible for to things to make absolutely no sense - according to logical deductions - and still be the truth of a God who is not bound by logic. We'll call this faith.
God does not have to explain to me HOW He goes about choosing to glorify Himself. I believe that He IS and forever more WILL BE glorified and exalted (Psalm 46:10). I believe that somehow He has chosen a way - a way which will bring HIM the most glory - to end evil. And I believe it is all through Jesus Christ.
When Paul was asked to explain his faith to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers in Athens, he began by speaking of the creator (Acts 17:16-34). This is the beginning of everything, and it MUST be agreed upon that the creator cannot be bound by the limits of what his hands have made. "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else." (Acts 17:24-25)
Epicurus asked some good questions about this(I am paraphrasing here):
Is God willing to stop evil, but unable? - then he is not omnipotent.
Is he unwilling and able? - then he is malevolent.
Is he willing and able? - then where does evil come from? (Or some might ask - why does evil still exist?)
Is he unwilling and unable? - then why call him God?
These are very good questions. They are smart questions. I believe that there are many Christians who do not know how to answer these.
So, how do I answer? How do I answer - when I believe that God IS willing and IS able to end evil? According to Epicurus (and many others), I must admit that God is malevolent. A God who is love would not allow evil, pain, suffering, destruction, etc. Period. End of discussion. My options seem to be - admit that God cannot truly be love, or that my faith makes no sense - it is not logical - and I must therefore be a fool. Perhaps I am only a blind, unquestioning follower of Sunday-school rhetoric passed down to me by people who are also unable to answer this.
If you believe this way, then everything I will say from this point on may be considered foolish.
BUT - I believe in something which this set of Epicurean questions does not account for. They do not account for this because of the very nature of the questions themselves. Epicurus seemed to believe that logic is the end-all, be-all. The problem I have with this line of thinking is that it assumes to impose my (or any human) limits on God.
Origin of Evil
See, I believe in God the creator of everything. The reason I am here today is because God has granted me life. The "Origin of Evil" question must go immediately from this point to begin asking about a good God - creator of everything - and how this must mean He created evil, and is therefore not truly good.
Instead of going immediately from "I believe God created everything" to "the origin of evil" - I'd like to think a little longer about what else is true of "God creating everything."
If God created everything - which I believe He did - then my mind was created. My ability to think, reason, deduce, assume, whatever else are all a part of the creation of my mind. My abilities to use logic, to follow evidence, to come to a conclusion, were given to me by the creator of my mind. My mind, however, was created with limits. I understand THAT my mind has limits, but I cannot even truly understand exactly WHAT the limits are. Using math as an example: I understand that I cannot truly comprehend infinity. Conceptually, maybe, I get it. But I am unable to go beyond that, because infinity itself is a limit which my mind cannot comprehend. This is true because I have a beginning and an end.
Now - I know this to be true. So, when considering infinity I must underscore EVERYTHING I think about it with the fact that I cannot truly know it.
If this is true of mathematical infinity - then how much truer is it of the creator? If I understand that my mind has limits - I understand that there are concepts and ideas which are beyond the limits of my understanding - then I must understand that those limits were established by the creator of my mind. I must also understand then that the creator of MY limits is not bound by them.
Back to the mathematical example: I understand that Pi goes on forever - infinity - even though I don't understand infinity. Pi does not end simply because I don't have the capacity to understand infinity.
Another example a little closer to the issue is creation itself. Obviously this is not agreed upon by everyone. But I believe in a God who created everything from nothing. I don't understand it. That is beyond the limits of my mind. I cannot really comprehend "everything coming from nothing."
Logic - logical thought - is a part of my mind. I use logic to process information and understand the way things really are. I understand, however, that logic itself falls within the limits of my mind. The creator of my limits, though, cannot be bound by those limits. That's it! That is - as I see it - where Epicurean followers and I must part philosophical and theological ways.
Epicurus would have the creator bound by the limits of his own creation. Epicurus says that
IF God created everything and IF God is able and willing to end evil BUT He hasn't then the ONLY LOGICAL EXPLANATIONS are that He is either not truly a loving God, or He is not really God at all.
Choosing not to place God - the creator of my own mental limits - inside them, I believe that God IS Love, AND that He is willing and able - and will one day end all evil. It is not an "either/or" thing for me. God is not bound by His creations' processes of logic and their outcomes.
So where does that leave us?
As I've already said - it leaves me to be considered a fool.
The next issue might be that I also believe in the Bible. "Believe in the bile" is too simple a statement though. What I meant is that I believe the Bible to be God's Word. Every single part of it, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelations. This means that everything revealed about God in the Bible is true. And what is revealed in the Bible about God is A LOT! The bible does not shy away from the difficult things and the things that - again - I don't understand. The bible reveals plenty of paradox. The bible says that God IS Love (1 John 4:8). The bible says that God's will is that nobody should perish (2 Peter 3:9). The bible also makes it clear that there WILL be those who perish and suffer the wrath of God (Matthew 25:46). The bible doesn't attempt to explain HOW God wills that none perish AND that some will perish. (At this point LOGIC would say that God must not truly be omnipotent then - "God wills something that won't happen!")
The bible also says that God's thoughts and ways are not my thoughts and ways - but that they are, in fact higher than mine! (Isaiah 55:8-9), and they are right(Hosea 14:9). And, as it relates to the problem of evil and suffering, the bible - ALL OF IT - points to the great defeat of it all in Jesus Christ. Everything from beginning to end points to Jesus - the God of heaven - the Son and God and Son of Man - the Word who was with God and WAS GOD!
The "whys" and "how's" of the origin of evil, the origin of Satan and his power, are dealt with in the end. Not according to anything I understand, but according to God's purposes in Jesus.
The God of the Bible owes me nothing. He does not have to explain his ways to me - the created. I understand the truths found in the bible, but I don't pretend to KNOW EVERYTHING about God and his ways. I am content with the understanding that "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law" (Deuteronomy 29:29).
One other choice is to say that there are ELEMENTS of the Bible, or God, or whatever else - that are true, but not all of them. One would ask, "Is it wrong to choose the good things from the bible and reject the bad? Doesn't a responsible person use the intelligence given to them to choose wisely?"
The answer is yes, one may choose which elements of the bible and God they would like to believe in.
What happens at that point, however, is the person making the choices is picking and choosing a god of their own liking. A person who decides to take "good" things and reject "bad" things from the bible is making their own theology. There is no way around this.
A person who chooses to believe the entire bible - even the things which cannot be explained according to logic - is choosing a theology. It is the theology of the God of the bible.
A person who chooses to subscribe to certain pieces of the bible and reject others is choosing a theology of their own. This person is looking for a god who will ultimately answer to them. The burden to show that this is not the case rests on the one who does these things.
So - - to sum up: I believe in the God of the Bible, the God who created everything. This God is not bound by anything at all, which includes my logic. I believe it is possible for to things to make absolutely no sense - according to logical deductions - and still be the truth of a God who is not bound by logic. We'll call this faith.
God does not have to explain to me HOW He goes about choosing to glorify Himself. I believe that He IS and forever more WILL BE glorified and exalted (Psalm 46:10). I believe that somehow He has chosen a way - a way which will bring HIM the most glory - to end evil. And I believe it is all through Jesus Christ.
When Paul was asked to explain his faith to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers in Athens, he began by speaking of the creator (Acts 17:16-34). This is the beginning of everything, and it MUST be agreed upon that the creator cannot be bound by the limits of what his hands have made. "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else." (Acts 17:24-25)
Friday, May 14, 2010
New Chapter
A few weeks ago I posted a status on facebook that indicated I was excited to begin a new chapter in my life. A few of you have asked for clarification and I have, until now, been very slow to reply. I am sorry for that. (One thing I didn’t realize was that my “new chapter” affords me MUCH less facebook and blog-writing time!)
So, anyhow, my “new chapter” is a new job. After 3 years of working at the Chamber of Commerce I have entered full time ministry – sort of. It’s pretty weird, but that is what I’m telling people. I have entered the full time ministry, by way of taking a position as office manager for a roofing company. I will now explain:
Sara’s (my wife) parents (Tony & Rebecca Archer) are full time missionaries. They spend more time in other countries than they do in America. I consider them Lawton Vineyard Missions Pastors when they ARE home. Most of the work they’ve done (thus far) has been in Peru and Mexico. They do a number of things and work with a lot of different people. One “main” thing they do is children’s ministry stuff. A big focus of their work is on children’s ministry. They create material, teach teachers, lead workshops, publish books – all kinds of stuff. Another function they serve is – get this – to be a blessing to people. Sounds simple, right? It’s really incredible though. They constantly ask God to show them ways they can serve other people, or be a blessing in WHATEVER way God would have them to. And I can tell you without a doubt God is honoring that. The gospel of Jesus Christ is being heard by people because of their (& others) efforts.
You can find out more – and I encourage you to do so – at arrowinternationalministry.com or their facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Arrow-International-Ministry-Inc/86495186122
The organization they work under is called Arrow International Ministry (AIM, or just Arrow).
OK. Back to it.
Rebecca’s father, Sara’s grandfather, Arnold, is the CEO of Arrow. In addition to that role, Arnold is also the owner of a roofing company, Craftsman Home Improvements.
As Tony & Rebecca’s pastor, I was invited to go with them to Peru at the beginning of April. I got to meet some of the folks they work with, and see some of the things God is doing in, with, and through them. I was there for 3 days; they were there for the whole month plus a little. After coming home, Sara and I met with Arnold to give him an update, report, share, whatever you call it. I expressed how amazing it was to be there. God is really doing some incredible stuff in Peru. King Jesus is on the move! I probably indicated that I would love to go again.
Then it happened! My world changed. Arnold asked me to work for him.
He explained what I sort of had an inkling of already. What he said, more or less, is that the roofing company exists to ensure that Arrow is funded. There’s more to it than that but, break it down as far as you can and the bottom line will look that way. The top two priorities, as Arnold sees them are: 1- to ensure that Arrow has what it needs to continue serving and blessing people, and 2- to ensure that his roofing guys get their paychecks. If those two objectives are met, he’s happy.
Arnold asked what it would take to get me to work for him. So I told him what I made at the Chamber and said that Sara and I also have health coverage through that. Then, without so much as batting his eye, he said that would be no problem. He said more than that actually but, suffice it to say that I understood that my pay would not decrease if I were to come work for him.
Soooo…. After prayer and fasting, I accepted his offer, turned in my notice at the Chamber and, on April 26th, I began my “new chapter.”
I am now serving in a full-time ministry position via a roofing company. It is SO fun. I am really loving this new job. The job itself is wonderful. And I am really happy to be able to take a part in what happens with Arrow, and through that, participate in new ways in the Kingdom of God! I may be going to Mexico and Peru on more trips, and possibly even bringing my family with me sometimes, which is REALLY exciting for me. I am (very slowly) learning Spanish. And I can honestly say that I’ve seen with my own eyes, and experienced first-hand how incredible God is. Our God is an awesome God! It is so exciting to be in the service of the King of Kings!
There is probably more I could say, but I’ll end it here. I hope this is a good explanation for my cryptic “new chapter” message a few weeks ago!
No I won’t. One more thing:
I don’t know why, but I just want to encourage anyone who reads this. “Christian” or not. “Follower of Jesus” or not. The encouragement is this. God loves you. There is absolutely nothing you can do about that fact. You are so very precious to him. From the moment you drew your first breath until the moment you stop, God loves you. When there is pain, sorrow, hate, darkness, coldness, joy, happiness, peace, whatever – God loves you. Even if you don’t love him. Even if you hate him. Even if – to you – he doesn’t exist. Today – right now – God loves you.
It’s been on my heart and in my mind lately, that there have been plenty of times when my life, the living out of my Christian life, has probably turned people off from ever wanting to know Jesus. There could be no greater regret for me. None. So I want to live the rest of my life in such a way that I express the love of Jesus to everyone in a way that actually makes people want to know Him. Jesus is worth getting to know. He IS the ONLY source of fulfillment in an otherwise empty existence.
(((Ok – so, a little proof-reading before putting this up has me convinced that this was a very strange ending. Oh well. )))
That is all.
So, anyhow, my “new chapter” is a new job. After 3 years of working at the Chamber of Commerce I have entered full time ministry – sort of. It’s pretty weird, but that is what I’m telling people. I have entered the full time ministry, by way of taking a position as office manager for a roofing company. I will now explain:
Sara’s (my wife) parents (Tony & Rebecca Archer) are full time missionaries. They spend more time in other countries than they do in America. I consider them Lawton Vineyard Missions Pastors when they ARE home. Most of the work they’ve done (thus far) has been in Peru and Mexico. They do a number of things and work with a lot of different people. One “main” thing they do is children’s ministry stuff. A big focus of their work is on children’s ministry. They create material, teach teachers, lead workshops, publish books – all kinds of stuff. Another function they serve is – get this – to be a blessing to people. Sounds simple, right? It’s really incredible though. They constantly ask God to show them ways they can serve other people, or be a blessing in WHATEVER way God would have them to. And I can tell you without a doubt God is honoring that. The gospel of Jesus Christ is being heard by people because of their (& others) efforts.
You can find out more – and I encourage you to do so – at arrowinternationalministry.com or their facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Arrow-International-Ministry-Inc/86495186122
The organization they work under is called Arrow International Ministry (AIM, or just Arrow).
OK. Back to it.
Rebecca’s father, Sara’s grandfather, Arnold, is the CEO of Arrow. In addition to that role, Arnold is also the owner of a roofing company, Craftsman Home Improvements.
As Tony & Rebecca’s pastor, I was invited to go with them to Peru at the beginning of April. I got to meet some of the folks they work with, and see some of the things God is doing in, with, and through them. I was there for 3 days; they were there for the whole month plus a little. After coming home, Sara and I met with Arnold to give him an update, report, share, whatever you call it. I expressed how amazing it was to be there. God is really doing some incredible stuff in Peru. King Jesus is on the move! I probably indicated that I would love to go again.
Then it happened! My world changed. Arnold asked me to work for him.
He explained what I sort of had an inkling of already. What he said, more or less, is that the roofing company exists to ensure that Arrow is funded. There’s more to it than that but, break it down as far as you can and the bottom line will look that way. The top two priorities, as Arnold sees them are: 1- to ensure that Arrow has what it needs to continue serving and blessing people, and 2- to ensure that his roofing guys get their paychecks. If those two objectives are met, he’s happy.
Arnold asked what it would take to get me to work for him. So I told him what I made at the Chamber and said that Sara and I also have health coverage through that. Then, without so much as batting his eye, he said that would be no problem. He said more than that actually but, suffice it to say that I understood that my pay would not decrease if I were to come work for him.
Soooo…. After prayer and fasting, I accepted his offer, turned in my notice at the Chamber and, on April 26th, I began my “new chapter.”
I am now serving in a full-time ministry position via a roofing company. It is SO fun. I am really loving this new job. The job itself is wonderful. And I am really happy to be able to take a part in what happens with Arrow, and through that, participate in new ways in the Kingdom of God! I may be going to Mexico and Peru on more trips, and possibly even bringing my family with me sometimes, which is REALLY exciting for me. I am (very slowly) learning Spanish. And I can honestly say that I’ve seen with my own eyes, and experienced first-hand how incredible God is. Our God is an awesome God! It is so exciting to be in the service of the King of Kings!
There is probably more I could say, but I’ll end it here. I hope this is a good explanation for my cryptic “new chapter” message a few weeks ago!
No I won’t. One more thing:
I don’t know why, but I just want to encourage anyone who reads this. “Christian” or not. “Follower of Jesus” or not. The encouragement is this. God loves you. There is absolutely nothing you can do about that fact. You are so very precious to him. From the moment you drew your first breath until the moment you stop, God loves you. When there is pain, sorrow, hate, darkness, coldness, joy, happiness, peace, whatever – God loves you. Even if you don’t love him. Even if you hate him. Even if – to you – he doesn’t exist. Today – right now – God loves you.
It’s been on my heart and in my mind lately, that there have been plenty of times when my life, the living out of my Christian life, has probably turned people off from ever wanting to know Jesus. There could be no greater regret for me. None. So I want to live the rest of my life in such a way that I express the love of Jesus to everyone in a way that actually makes people want to know Him. Jesus is worth getting to know. He IS the ONLY source of fulfillment in an otherwise empty existence.
(((Ok – so, a little proof-reading before putting this up has me convinced that this was a very strange ending. Oh well. )))
That is all.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
He'll take care of the rest!
I really wish I could have gone to some of these concerts!
"Do your best, pray that it's blessed, and He'll take care of the rest!" - Keith Green
"Do your best, pray that it's blessed, and He'll take care of the rest!" - Keith Green
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
