Looking for lost sheep

Luk 15:4 "Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it?
Luk 15:5 When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing,
Luk 15:6 and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, 'Celebrate with me! I've found my lost sheep!'
Luk 15:7 Count on it--there's more joy in heaven over one sinner's rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.

I have been asked by a friend of my son to come to hospital and talk to his mother. She is in the final stages of cancer and will die soon. She does not know where she will spend eternity. Her son is worried about her, and asked for my help. I am most humbled and challenged by his request. Looking for lost sheep has been one of my passions, and this is truly one of those lost sheep. I'm challenged that I must trust God to speak through me, that he will speak to her, that he touch her heart, that she hears, and that she responds.....this soul is so valuable to God that Christ died for her. I pray that today angels will rejoice over a sinner rescued.

Are there lost sheep around you looking for a shepherd? Pray for an opportunity to tell them about your shepherd.

Life lived well

I spent some time this week holding the hands of a dear saint with hands like these, well worn hands. Hands that had seen many years. Hands that had raised babies, cooked meals, washed clothes, loved her family. Hands that were tired. She used her hands well. She knew the Lord, and was ready to let those well worn hands rest. She was ready to go home, and did pass just a day ago. She has the joy of being with Christ even as I write this. I didn't know her as well as I would have liked, but I knew those hands. I have held many hands like them over the years. I have seen and cared for many dear ones whose hands were used well, who lived well and used their hands to heal and help instead of hurt. One of my great joys and griefs is to help people with their last journey of this life- death.

I have held the hands of many as they left this world for the next, many friends I think of now and still miss dearly. I love those hands! The hands given to the use of God, lives dedicated to serve the kingdom of God. Those hands are dear to God, and their work will be rewarded. Their efforts are not in vain.

There is a reward for what we do here. Often I don't feel that what I do is that important, but God does. He values each life given to him, each hand used for his kingdom, each smile shared for Christ. Death is not the end of our lives, there is a day when we will see the reward for the work our hands have done...those well worn hands used for God.


Heb 6:18 God can't break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. (The Message)


Ecc 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. (NASB)

Just one more...

Ok, I can't help it...just one more. This is the reason I stopped playing golf!

Ok, it's time for a smile...

I've been far too serious. It's time for something a little lighter. Enjoy.

A personal note

Like so many who blog and share our thoughts I'm human. Yes, I admit it...I'm human. It's a horrible admission, and one that I admit with an awareness of what that means....I'm not perfect. Yes, that's another admission. I'm not perfect. Ok, it's out there...you were thinking it, and I want you to know that I already know it. And while I'm at it let me add another to the list...I struggle with pride and idolatry. Wow, you say, that's big! Yes it is. But may I ease my own tension a little and tell you that you do too!

Our core sin issues as humans are pride and idolatry. It's the desire to put ourselves first, most important, most wise....it's PRIDE. And its twin sister is idolatry. It's my desire to decide what I will worship.

I have a friend, who is a Christian counselor, who says that all sins in the heart and life of the human being come down to these two- pride and idolatry.

We have discussed it for hours, looking at the bible, distilling all we know down to it's core issues, and he's right....it all comes down to pride and idolatry.

And, may I tell you, that after more than 55 years of life I'm really good at both of these! "Hi, my name is Mike. I'm proud and I'm an idol worshiper!" Yup, that's us...the proud, the idol worshippers.

The battle of the human heart is to worship God alone, thus eliminating idolatry. And to bow our knees to his lordship, thus eliminating pride. I'm working on this daily. It's the walk of each one of us...as Paul describes it, "walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the deeds of the flesh."

It's the challenge of our lives to live in light of the God who made us. The God who wants our undivided worship. It's my desire to be one who walks with God. It's my desire to bow my knee to his lordship. It's a moment by moment challenge. It's a walk of faith.

Beware of the book

Beware of the book! It will change your life. There is no other book in the world like the bible. It is God's word for the human race. It's God's truth revealed to us. It's living. It's active. It touches the heart.

Don't read the bible unless you want to please God.

Don't read the bible unless you care about eternity.

Don't read the bible unless you want to become more than you are.

Don't read the bible unless you care about others.

Don't read the bible unless you want to know more than you can see.

Don't read the bible unless you want to know the future.

Don't read the bible unless you want peace.

Be careful....if you read the bible it will change your eternity....it will change YOU!

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Heb 4:13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

A good book to put on your list

I don't do this often, because I know that not everyone wants to know all the books us pastors read, but I'm half way through one that I really like. I will have to read it again when I finish (strange, huh?)

It's not a new publication, but very good, it's titled "The divine conspiracy" by Dallas Willard.

I'm also part way through one called "When bad Christians happen to good people" by Dave Burchett. It's also very good.

What are you reading?

15 minutes well spent

http://www.juststopandthink.com/

Deep thoughts, part 2

Ok, now for some deep thoughts from a shallow mind. Realize that profound is just a word to me, and I live in the world of application (so what do I do with that?) So my thoughts will not stir you to great heights, but I do hope they will encourage you.

The older I get the simpler things become.

It's not that I have things figured out, but I have lived long enough to make some simple observations. My conclusions are rather simple. After years in business and in ministry I have seen a lot. My friendships have been with the rich and with the needy. I have spent time with the "pretty people" and with those who find themselves the outcasts of their culture. I have friends who have multiple educational degrees and others who didn't finish high school.

I could continue with the contrasts, there are many of them, but the truth is that life comes down to some very simple things- 1. There is a God I will report to, and 2. the only thing that will last in this world are people.

So, I have decided to focus on those two things- God and people. The rest is just "bling", as our culture describes it. The rest are just distractions from the most important things.

Jesus said it best, so let me close this short post with his words,

Mat 6:33 Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
Mat 6:34 "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Winter Bible Conference

Next Sunday we begin our Winter Bible Conference. It's going to be a great week. If you are in our area I invite you to attend. Here is the link for more information-

http://crossroadsbible.org/bible%20conference%20main%20page.htm

I am really looking forward to hearing the guys coming here from Biola. I hope to see you.

Fumbling in the light

I have been a Christian for a long time, and yet, I still feel like I'm just getting started, still trying to figure things out, still fumbling in the light.

It's frustrating to have read the bible through hundreds of times, and still have things I need to work on. I guess I am really frustrated with the reality of my ever active, ever present sin nature, how desperately wicked I am, and how fallen we all are. It's such a bother to have to deal with this sin nature. For me, the best part of heaven will be the absense of my sin nature. Oh sure, I will love the new body, and the new home and eternity, but to be rid of this sin nature....I cannot wait!

I read the word, pray and gradually grow, rowing toward the goal....and yet the me I started with is still active, still busy, still trying to get his own way. For all of us it's the weight we long to unload, the anchor that slows our progress.

I vividly remember the comments from one of our men in the church when we had to announce the fall of a friend. He came up to me with tears, and wept, "I hate sin, I hate sin...." He couldn't say anything else. Well, that describes it for me. That's the place I have come to- a deep hatred for sin and what it does, and in the shadow of that I am also working on another thing, quite the opposite...

I'm comsumed by Jesus' simple instructions to a religion leader who asked, "what's the most important thing?" Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

I am teaching on this tomorrow, but it has become more than a simple topic to teach through, it is weaving its golden threads through all that I am. I can't wait to see what these words do in my life, for they are becoming most important to me.

I am convinced of this one thing- If I work on nothing else in my entire Christian life other than these two things-to love God and love my neighbor, I will have a great walk with God!

Smiles for the day

Intentional confusion

Walking the dog

Bored penguins

A bad day at work

Sorry, just wanted to make you smile, hope I did. Have a great day.

Enjoying average

Life isn't always exciting. There are many days that are just downright boring. Nothing happens. We just live, work, eat and sleep. It's life. It's average sometimes, and that's great for me. I think we have an urgency to accomplish something in our lives, so it's hard for us to have a "nothing day." But the truth is that God isn't after accomplishments in our lives, he's after a relationship...with us! So, if I have a nothing day, and yet in that day spend some time with the God who made me, then it was an awesome day.

Psa 37:7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him;

The thrill of being alive!

Ecc 9:2 It's one fate for everybody--righteous and wicked, good people, bad people, the nice and the nasty, worshipers and non-worshipers, committed and uncommitted.
Ecc 9:3 I find this outrageous--the worst thing about living on this earth--that everyone's lumped together in one fate. Is it any wonder that so many people are obsessed with evil? Is it any wonder that people go crazy right and left? Life leads to death. That's it.
Ecc 9:4 Still, anyone selected out for life has hope, for, as they say, "A living dog is better than a dead lion."
Ecc 9:5 The living at least know something, even if it's only that they're going to die. But the dead know nothing and get nothing. They're a minus that no one remembers.
Ecc 9:6 Their loves, their hates, yes, even their dreams, are long gone. There's not a trace of them left in the affairs of this earth.
Ecc 9:7 Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, Drink wine with a robust heart. Oh yes--God takes pleasure in your pleasure!
Ecc 9:8 Dress festively every morning. Don't skimp on colors and scarves.
Ecc 9:9 Relish life with the spouse you love each and every day of your precarious life. Each day is God's gift. It's all you get in exchange For the hard work of staying alive. Make the most of each one!
Ecc 9:10 Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily! This is your last and only chance at it, For there's neither work to do nor thoughts to think In the company of the dead, where you're most certainly headed.

(Words from Solomon and Eugene Peterson in THE MESSAGE)

Dim lights, bright hopes

I have a Christian friend who fell into sin a while back. I saw him today. It wasn't a situation where we could talk, but I have been thinking for a long time about what I might say to him if I ever get the chance. I love this guy dearly, and it has really grieved me to see what he has done...what he has done to God, his wife and his family. My first thoughts were anger, tell him what you think, give him "what for." But God has a way of dealing with hearts, and he has softened mine. I love this guy, and grieve for what he has done. I don't think he even knows the full scope of his sin yet, but I know that will come. So how do I respond? How do I feel about all of this? It's been hard, I must admit. I have really been burdened over this. I can see how those around David felt when his sin came to light. What a time of sorrow. I am praying for my friend, in fact I prayed for him this morning, and I hope one day God can work in his life again. He was a vessel of honor, but now is simply a cracked pot on the side of the road. His light has dimmed, and for that I grieve. I hope that his dim wick will once again bring light to those around him, but for now I'm praying for my friend....

Rev 3:2 'Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.
Rev 3:3 'So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.