Psalm 27:13, "I am still confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living".
On this Thanksgiving Day 2008, I find this passage especially relevant. Given the economic uncertainty, it seems that what we must bring to this is faith. Faith that God IS good....that His goodness will find it's way into our lives.
Thanksgiving Day is a wonderful time to celebrate His goodness...and to give thanks.
Thanks for our families. Thanks for our friends, Thanks for His provision. Thanks for His goodness.
At the same time, as I write this, I watch the coverage of terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. And I pray that God will give the Indian government the power to overcome this tragic attack.
That IS the tension of faith isn't it? That in the face of violence, of evil, that we WILL see the goodness of God in the land of the living.
David believed it. You and I must trust it as well.
On this Thanksgiving Day 2008, let's thank God for His goodness...and watch for it today.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
A Week of Experiences
What an interesting week.
On a plane at 6:40 AM on Monday from Dulles to New York and on to Toronto. First plane was late, barely made the second. Driving north from Toronto the snow went from nothing to 6 inches, the trees completely coated.
Huntsville in the winter has a distinct Northern Exposure feel. Locals say they HAVE actually seen a moose walk down mainstreet. Amazing.
Equally amazing is how God is bringing Muskoka Community Church together...many of the key players are atheists and agnostics...but still, the Spirit of God is drawing them.
I arrived at Jeremy's house before he got there on Monday. I walked around giving thanks to God for taking such good care of Jeremy, April, Aidan, and Kara. What a lovely pastoral setting for MCC's pastoral family. We took a hike through the snow-laden forest behind their house. It felt so much like Narnia. Quiet. Cool.
Wednesday called for us to join other pastors in Barrie for Leadership Village, a best-practices gathering catalyzed by Willow Creek - Canada. Interesting conversation about the merits of church marketing versus NOT marketing.
That evening I met with the executive team and then the whole board of a wonderful Anglican church in Paris, Ontario, pastored by a fellow Jack-Russell-type personality. The church has offered to partner with Ashland Theological Seminary's Sandberg Leadership Center to host our first off-site Pastor's of Excellence cohort...and to even shape their new building design to better host the project.
They were wonderful people. Gracious. Welcoming. Sure blew away my concept of the Anglican church in Canada. These people love Jesus...and each other. AND their community.
Flew home Thursday morning...got up at 2:30 AM to make my 6:00 AM flight back through JFK to Dulles. Drove through snow from Paris back to Toronto Pearson Airport. THAT was a long day.
All that to say it's been a full week. and it's GREAT to be HOME and done traveling for a while.
Travel like this takes me days and weeks to fully process. What did God do in each place? What did He do in ME by taking me there? I guess we'll see.
On a plane at 6:40 AM on Monday from Dulles to New York and on to Toronto. First plane was late, barely made the second. Driving north from Toronto the snow went from nothing to 6 inches, the trees completely coated.
Huntsville in the winter has a distinct Northern Exposure feel. Locals say they HAVE actually seen a moose walk down mainstreet. Amazing.
Equally amazing is how God is bringing Muskoka Community Church together...many of the key players are atheists and agnostics...but still, the Spirit of God is drawing them.
I arrived at Jeremy's house before he got there on Monday. I walked around giving thanks to God for taking such good care of Jeremy, April, Aidan, and Kara. What a lovely pastoral setting for MCC's pastoral family. We took a hike through the snow-laden forest behind their house. It felt so much like Narnia. Quiet. Cool.
Wednesday called for us to join other pastors in Barrie for Leadership Village, a best-practices gathering catalyzed by Willow Creek - Canada. Interesting conversation about the merits of church marketing versus NOT marketing.
That evening I met with the executive team and then the whole board of a wonderful Anglican church in Paris, Ontario, pastored by a fellow Jack-Russell-type personality. The church has offered to partner with Ashland Theological Seminary's Sandberg Leadership Center to host our first off-site Pastor's of Excellence cohort...and to even shape their new building design to better host the project.
They were wonderful people. Gracious. Welcoming. Sure blew away my concept of the Anglican church in Canada. These people love Jesus...and each other. AND their community.
Flew home Thursday morning...got up at 2:30 AM to make my 6:00 AM flight back through JFK to Dulles. Drove through snow from Paris back to Toronto Pearson Airport. THAT was a long day.
All that to say it's been a full week. and it's GREAT to be HOME and done traveling for a while.
Travel like this takes me days and weeks to fully process. What did God do in each place? What did He do in ME by taking me there? I guess we'll see.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
The Dual Citizenship Thing
The talk on the reality of dual citizenship was an interesting experience. Clearly a mixed audience.
The truth is that there are more than a few who feel that Jesus HAS to be a Republican. Given President-elect Obama’s stand on abortion and gay rights, as well as many other things, it might be understandable.
The case could also be made that Jesus HAS to be a Democrat since the Dem’s have a reputation for their focus on social concerns. Republicans are known to be business-friendly, while the Democrats are portrayed as being more caring.
What’s the truth? Beats me. Here’s what I know…God is sovereign…Supreme. Omnipotent. HE wasn’t surprised by the outcome. And according to Romans 13, He uses EITHER party for His purposes.
When Israel demanded a king, God spoke through Samuel. He told them that the change from being led by priests to being led by a king would have its consequences. Taxes. Conflict. What this election will mean for us? We’ll have to wait and see.
This election brought an inspiring first…a black man as president. It should make all of us proud; knowing where we were in the 60’s we’ve come a long way.
This election also brought about something we I never thought I'd see…a decorated war veteran who lost. I’m still processing what that means…
What’s ahead for USA? Only God knows. A drift to the left? Higher taxes? Moral ambiguity? Restrictions on free speech?
As a person with dual citizenship (USA and Heaven) I am confident that God intends to use the incoming administration for His purposes…perhaps to prosper us…perhaps to humble us. Time will tell. In the mean time…we pray, we trust, we watch. And KNOW that God is ultimately in charge.
The truth is that there are more than a few who feel that Jesus HAS to be a Republican. Given President-elect Obama’s stand on abortion and gay rights, as well as many other things, it might be understandable.
The case could also be made that Jesus HAS to be a Democrat since the Dem’s have a reputation for their focus on social concerns. Republicans are known to be business-friendly, while the Democrats are portrayed as being more caring.
What’s the truth? Beats me. Here’s what I know…God is sovereign…Supreme. Omnipotent. HE wasn’t surprised by the outcome. And according to Romans 13, He uses EITHER party for His purposes.
When Israel demanded a king, God spoke through Samuel. He told them that the change from being led by priests to being led by a king would have its consequences. Taxes. Conflict. What this election will mean for us? We’ll have to wait and see.
This election brought an inspiring first…a black man as president. It should make all of us proud; knowing where we were in the 60’s we’ve come a long way.
This election also brought about something we I never thought I'd see…a decorated war veteran who lost. I’m still processing what that means…
What’s ahead for USA? Only God knows. A drift to the left? Higher taxes? Moral ambiguity? Restrictions on free speech?
As a person with dual citizenship (USA and Heaven) I am confident that God intends to use the incoming administration for His purposes…perhaps to prosper us…perhaps to humble us. Time will tell. In the mean time…we pray, we trust, we watch. And KNOW that God is ultimately in charge.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
The Power of Vision
It was summer and I was sitting with Barbara under a hot tent in Frederick , Maryland, the home of AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association). The session that had us sweltering under the tent was on mid-air collisions...something every pilot gives more than a little thought to.
The presenter was a physician. He was talking about why we as pilots have so much trouble SEEING our fellow pilots and their birds.
He threw out a term that caught my full attention…empty field myopia: when there is nothing on which to focus the human eye tends to focus about 20 yards directly ahead.
You can imagine how that would affect a pilot approaching an airport. If he or she doesn’t work to identify traffic in the pattern, it’s not hard to fly right into them and not see them until its too late.
I immediately thought of the local church and the value of vision. Show me a church with no vision and I’ll show you one in a slow predictable descent toward death. The same is true of us as people. Without a clear vision for our lives, we’ll just drift ever slowly into nothingness. And just like the optical condition, without a clear, identifiable, ownable vision, churches (AND people) tend to focus on things at hand…survival and personal comfort.
No wonder Proverbs 29:18 speaks to this. “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint but blessed is he who keeps the law.” The King James used the word vision for revelation, but you get the point.
Without vision, we tend to pursue our own interests rather than the interests of God. The result is that the church loses the power of unity and single focus. We just do whatever WE choose. And we don’t necessarily serve the interests of the Kingdom.
Its true of church, its true of our own lives…if we haven’t thought of what God’s vision is for OUR lives, once again, we’ll settle for whatever WE come up with.
How do we discover God’s vision for us? Micah 6:8 “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” His vision for us begins in our character…to act justly, to love mercy, and to approach our relationship with God in humility.
Beyond that, identify your passions. What is it in life you get so jazzed by that you’d practically work for free if you could just do THAT? That’s a clue. Something within your wiring placed there by God. Something that points to His vision for you.
If you’ve never given personal vision much thought…let me encourage you to engage two great books…Wide Awake by Erwin McManus, and Life On Loan by Rick Rusaw. Both will keep you awake at night dreaming of what life could be.
This I know…life is too precious and too short to fail to live it to the fullest.
So get out there…discover God’s vision for YOUR life.
The presenter was a physician. He was talking about why we as pilots have so much trouble SEEING our fellow pilots and their birds.
He threw out a term that caught my full attention…empty field myopia: when there is nothing on which to focus the human eye tends to focus about 20 yards directly ahead.
You can imagine how that would affect a pilot approaching an airport. If he or she doesn’t work to identify traffic in the pattern, it’s not hard to fly right into them and not see them until its too late.
I immediately thought of the local church and the value of vision. Show me a church with no vision and I’ll show you one in a slow predictable descent toward death. The same is true of us as people. Without a clear vision for our lives, we’ll just drift ever slowly into nothingness. And just like the optical condition, without a clear, identifiable, ownable vision, churches (AND people) tend to focus on things at hand…survival and personal comfort.
No wonder Proverbs 29:18 speaks to this. “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint but blessed is he who keeps the law.” The King James used the word vision for revelation, but you get the point.
Without vision, we tend to pursue our own interests rather than the interests of God. The result is that the church loses the power of unity and single focus. We just do whatever WE choose. And we don’t necessarily serve the interests of the Kingdom.
Its true of church, its true of our own lives…if we haven’t thought of what God’s vision is for OUR lives, once again, we’ll settle for whatever WE come up with.
How do we discover God’s vision for us? Micah 6:8 “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” His vision for us begins in our character…to act justly, to love mercy, and to approach our relationship with God in humility.
Beyond that, identify your passions. What is it in life you get so jazzed by that you’d practically work for free if you could just do THAT? That’s a clue. Something within your wiring placed there by God. Something that points to His vision for you.
If you’ve never given personal vision much thought…let me encourage you to engage two great books…Wide Awake by Erwin McManus, and Life On Loan by Rick Rusaw. Both will keep you awake at night dreaming of what life could be.
This I know…life is too precious and too short to fail to live it to the fullest.
So get out there…discover God’s vision for YOUR life.
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