Good Question



This morning Teresa asked me a very good question. The question was, “What do babies think about while in the womb?” I was stunned and couldn’t think of an answer. Logic would dictate that babies do think; especially in week 22. But what would a baby think about?
I do know that God knows who we are in the womb. David talks about this in one of his Psalms. St Paul even states in Ephesians that God knew us even before He created the Earth. I may not know what babies think about in the womb but I do know they are known by God. That is awesome when I stop to think about it.
St Paul in Ephesians even says that God foreknew that I would come to know Him as Savior and Lord. He chose me before time was started and I trust that He has knows Ripley as He knows me. I pray that He draws Ripley to Himself at an early age. I also pray that He brings Ripley through the pregnancy healthy and whole. But if in His wisdom, He chooses to do otherwise I will trust in Him. She will be perfect regardless.
Going back to the original question Teresa asked about what Ripley is thinking about. Since she is my child, I’m thinking she is thinking about either food or working on her backstroke; she is in liquid after all and I love to swim. ; - )

Getting Deep



I love small groups. The small groups’ ministry gives a church of any size the opportunity for the members a place for in-depth learning. The group Teresa and I have been in for the last 10 months has been great. This group has given me the opportunity to just seat back and learn instead of lead/teach. In the past 8 years, I’ve started small groups and lead small groups but this is the first time in awhile I’ve been a member. It has been great. Last week, we completed the Focus on the Family “The Truth Project” where we studied world view; not a shallow topic. We all enjoyed the in-depth of this topic and all agreed to continue to meet studying new topics.
The subject we start studying this week is Hermeneutics (the science and art of biblical interpretation). It’s a neat story how we decided on this topic that most church attendees have never heard of. While before we started one of the “The Truth Project” sessions 6 weeks ago, we were talking about Hermeneutics and word studies. As we discussed this, one of the members expressed a desire to learn more about the subject. I volunteered lead a short how to course. This Monday is the beginning of a 4 to 5 week course of Hermeneutics and word studies. This week is just the definition of Hermeneutics and the reason why Christians should know how to interpret the Bible. I really have enjoyed rereading some of my Bible college text books and buying new ones on the subject; may God use this to glorify Himself. After all, that is my main purpose in life; to bring glory to my Heavenly Father.

Perspective



Perspective is defined as one's "point of view", the choice of a context for opinions, beliefs and experiences (Wikipedia.com)

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I read the Gospel of Mark at least once a year. I thought it was time again, to read through this handbook for Leadership. God showed something to me that I haven’t thought about. In the first chapter of Mark, John the Baptist is talking about the coming One (Jesus Christ). He mentions in verse 7, “And he was preaching, and saying, “’After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.”’

The phrase that made me stop was “. . . and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.” Wow; this is the great John the Baptist. John was spoken about in the Old Testament; hundreds of years before his birth. He had followers who hung on every word he said. He had Roman soldiers turning away from their pagan ways to embrace God as the only God. He knew where he stood compared to Jesus Christ. You see John the Baptist had perspective.

You see the job of a servant was to remove their master’s sandals; however, John was saying that he was lower than the sandal removing servant because he wasn’t even high enough in the servant’s hierarchy. You see there was a hierarchy when it came to the servants of a master. The lowest of the servants had the job of washing the feet of visitors and the highest level was the head servant; what we call today the butler. It seems to me that since John was foretold to be the forbearer of the Christ, he would be closest to the butler but in his own eyes he saw himself as the lowest level of servants.

I need to remember this as God opens the door for me to pastor a church. Later on in Mark, we are shown what it means to be a leader as we read how Jesus acted. I had forgotten that the first lesson on true leadership was shown by John the Baptist. We need the proper perspective on where we stand in relation to Jesus Christ. I need perspective on how I should lead God’s people. I’m so thankful God revealed this nugget of truth to me today.

We're Having A Baby!!!!

The biggest blessing a husband and wife can ever receive from our Heavenly Father
(2nd to salvation) is to be entrusted with a person to raise either through adoption or giving birth. Well, God has blessed us with a little person growing in Teresa.We just found out that this little one will be a GIRL. Teresa is in the middle of her 21st week.We've waited this long to share this praise because we wanted it all to ourselves.You parents should understand.We both are very excited and am praying for good health. The top of the list of names is Ripley Ann, but it could change but I like it too much.

As a good daddy, I must have photos so see below for some.

Our baby at 21 weeks.

Scan showing the baby's head.

Scan showing our baby's head and body.

Scan showing that our little one is a girl. Simply beautiful!

Remembering



I’ve been meaning to write my thoughts down on remembering. This morning I looked at my left hand and between my pointing figure and my thumb is a fine faint line; I really won’t call it a scar. It made me remember the last night of final exams of my first year in Bible College. We freshmen were being dumb and running around and I slipped and ran my hand into a doorframe. The memory makes me smile; weird as it is. We have many things that we have that can cause us to have total recall of a memory. There is a flat stone on the bottom of our bookshelf in the living room that makes me remember Teresa and my vacation to Ireland back in 2004. I picked up 4 stones from the Cliffs of Moher and brought them back. This is one I kept for myself. I smile every time I notice it.
God told the Children of Israel to pick up stones as they walked on the dried ground of the Jordan River and pile them together and make an altar so the generations to come will know what He did for their forefathers. Every time an Israelite walked by the pile of stones, they would remember the blessings God has done for them.
One day, we will see Jesus in heaven and see the scars of the nails in His hands and His feet. These scars will be a reminder of what He did for us on the cross. We will be reminded for all eternity of what a great and awesome God we have. He took our place on the cross and paid the sin duty He knew we could never pay. Instead of this memory bringing a smile to my face, I’m thinking it will bring tears of joy and thanksgiving.
Thank you Jesus for taking my place and making me an adopted son!

Food is Energy (or Learning to Feed Yourself)



Have you ever had your body just stop because you had nothing in your stomach it could use as fuel? I have, and it’s a weird feeling. Most of the time, I push through this feeling but man it can be tough. During my workout today, I swam 30 minutes at the YMCA and in the middle of it I heard my stomach yell, “feed me!” The food I had eaten before was all gone. I had enough energy stored to finish with no problem but last week was a different story. I had decided to forgo a small snack before heading out for a short 3 mile run. Right in the middle, my body told me that I was dumb and I could feel my energy slowly dissolving. It was as if I could see the needle on the gear of my body slowing moving to zero.

I’m slowly learning that the more I exercise, the more I need to eat. That’s hard for me because I do not want to regain the weight I’ve lost; it’s always in the back of my mind. Teresa has told me I need to treat food more like an athlete instead of a dieter. My body needs the fuel to burn as I weigh train, run, bike, and swim. Having a balanced diet with exercise will keep me healthy and moving.

If I know I can’t rely on the food I ate yesterday to fuel my activities today, why is it we think differently when thinking about Spiritual nourishment? We think that Sunday’s sermon is all we need to be a healthy Christian. We think that being spoon fed a spoon full of Bible will get us through our week. WRONG!

We need to view Bible studying the same way an athlete views eating enough protein and carbs. It’s about fueling the machine. The church as a whole has done the members a disservice in recent years by not teaching them to study the Bible on their own along with weekly insights shared by the pastor. We have way too many malnourished saints who live defeated lives because they have not a clue what the Bible says about how they should live their lives.

We have Christians who have been saved for decades who don’t know how to lead anyone to Christ because they don’t know the scriptures. They only know that they are heading to heaven and that’s good enough. Wrong! The church has traded being a place of learning to being a social club where all you’re “felt needs” are met. Instead of having 6 steps of how to be debt free, we need a series on what the Bible says about homosexuality, sex before marriage, unmarried couples living together, and so on. It’s a sad state when a church has to do a 6 week series on why the book and/or movie “The Da Vinci Code” is only a story and is not based on facts because your average Christian is clueless.

It’s time that the church trains its members to be the warriors of Christ instead of being “dumb and dumber.” It’s my passion as a man called to pastor to do what Ephesians 4:11-12 (“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ”) has told me to do. Like the athlete in me that loves sharing the value of exercise and eating right, the pastor in me wants to walk up beside my fellow Christian and make sure they know how to feed themselves the wisdom of God’s word.

Leadership



I often think about the idea of leadership. Working in the business world for the last 12 years while working in churches, I’ve seen a lot of different styles of leadership. I have a strong desire to make sure there is good clear leadership in the life of any church I’m working with because it’s one of my Spiritual gifts.

I read the gospel of Mark at least once year because this is the book that shows us how we should lead. In the first chapter of the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, the prophet Ezekiel sees four faces. He sees the face of a loin, an ox, a man, and an eagle. Each face is a picture of Jesus Christ; He is King (the lion), Jesus is a servant (the ox), Jesus is a man (the man), and Jesus is God (the eagle). Have you ever wondered why we have fours gospels instead just one? The reason is each gospel portrays Jesus differently; four different angles or traits of the same God Man. The book of Matthew was written to show Jesus as the promised King of the Jews, Mark was written to show Jesus as the servant, Luke shows Jesus as a man, and John shows Jesus to be God in flesh.

Jesus is the ultimate example on how we (His children) should live our lives. Mark is the handbook on how His people should lead. I feel it’s a most read for any man who wishes to pastor a church or lead a ministry.

A few weeks ago, I rented the movie “Outlander.” It was a pretty good fantasy film about an alien [that looks human; played by James Caviezel (actor who played Jesus Christ in “The Passion of the Christ”)] that crash lands on Earth in the 1400’s Norway. He comes across Vikings and battles an alien monster he had on his ship. The reason I bring this movie up while discussing leadership is there’s a scene in the deleted section of the DVD where the king of the Viking tribe the alien is helping is talking with his nephew about how to be king. He tells the young man that serving and protecting his people is a king’s true duty; not being a tyrant.

In the book of Mark, the true definition of being a leader is shown in Christ Jesus. He came serving others, and at the end He protected us from an eternity separated from Him by paying the sin debt we all owe. Any man who leaders a church as pastor should never “rule” the members like he is king over them. In the eyes of God, we are a family and all equal so the pastor of a church should lead like a loving brother leads younger siblings.

The church is a Christocracy where Christ is King of all and is the leader. A pastor is a steward or servant who God puts in place to help His children grow in their walks. Seeing the Biblical idea of leadership has helped me in my secular workplace and continues to help keep me in the right frame of mind while leading God’s people.

God Was Glorified



The service at Pine Chapel Baptist Church went very well. The main idea of the sermon was that we (the church) need to stay focused on the goal Paul talks about in Philippians 3:12-16. I talked about if the church or we Christians are distracted from fulfilling our goal or purpose we fail. The main goal or purpose of the church and as Christians is to bring glory to God period. I spoke on one thing that can and will distract us from fulfill this goal; it is self-centeredness.
The people were receptive to the sermon. There were a lot of positive comments as people left. My only goal today was to make sure the church body was encouraged, and to make sure they left fed; of course, this we secondary to the main goal which was to make sure to glorify God the Father.
I guess the topic could have been ill received if the approached was different. I approach of the sermon was as a talk among family. I look forward to seeing how God uses this to spark talks of the families during Sunday dinner and with the church body talking among themselves. All in all, I feel God was glorified.

Me, Myself, and I



It has always amazed me how self-centered we (humanity) truly are. I’m thinking about the topic of this week’s sermon (titled “Staying Focus”) and the idea is to not be self-centered but Christ-centered. The main idea is that Christians and the church can start to just think about themselves and get off focused on the true purpose of our lives and the church. It’s about bringing glory to God. To take ourselves out of the equation so God can be glorified.

Self-centeredness is nothing new in this world or even to the church. Jesus told his disciples several times in the gospels to put others before themselves, to consider others higher than themselves, and that the first will be last and the last first.

On our way home in May 2008 from a conference in Washington, DC, Teresa and I were going slow on I95 south on a Saturday (go figure). I kept seeing people just change lanes with no signal (my pet peeve) and generally acting like they were the only people on the road. That day, I coined a phrase, “It’s your world, and we just live in it.” The people of this world have an excuse (not a good one, but they do have it) because they are in darkness where what feels good do it is the general principle.

The church and Christians have no excuse. Jesus’ teachings should be our foundation of living. Yes we are human and by nature putting oneself first is easier than “dying to oneself.” Jesus told us that we need to pick up our cross daily as we walk with Him. This means that we should die to our own interests and follow the interests He has put in us. He said “daily” or for me multiple times daily. It is difficult but not impossible because after all we have the Holy Spirit in us which will help us.

God makes things that are impossible possible for His children because after all He is the One who does and we are called to follow His lead. Where are you in this issue? I wrestle with it myself but I trust God is working on me. The more we read the Bible, pray, and do God’s work, the stronger the spirit is and the weaker the flesh is. The stronger the spirit is, the easier it is to follow God’s direction; in this case, putting others before you.

Preaching Opportunities



It seems that I'm needed to preach the Bible at other churches this summer. I'm excited to do so because I love to proclaim God's word and I enjoy meeting new people. I'm gearing up to start sermon prep for this Sunday's sermon. Pray that God uses me to encourage the below churches.

July 12: Pine Chapel Baptist Church in Hampton, VA
August 9: Bayview Baptist Church in Norfolk, VA
August 16 and 23: Salem Baptist Church

Again Jesus



On Monday night, our “The Truth Project” group talked about the State. After watching the video clip, we discussed the health of the U.S. and the concerns we have on how the country is changing. I’ve been thinking about this and I must admit, I have not been praying for our country or the leadership. I have confessed this sin to God (He calls us to pray for our leadership). I’m praying that God leads our leadership (Proverbs 21:1 “The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.”) the way He wants them to go. If you allow yourself to think about what’s on the news everyday, it can make you depressed.

Evil in the U.S. is increasing on a daily basis. Murder, rape and child abuse are flooding America. Children are destroying schools and killing their fellow students. Terrorism has finally entered The United States of America. We watch the news; the anchors will gladly interview the Democrats and Republicans to find out the answer on how to solve these issues. The Liberals and Conservatives, and the racial and gender activists talk as though they know how to fix these problems. According to them, we need more sex education or less sex education, more sex or less sex, bigger government or smaller government, more restrictive laws or more lenient laws, and on and on. They tell us that if we just raise or lower the taxes, and build more prisons or release more prisoners, that America will just fine. We need more freedom, or we need to sacrifice some of our liberties. They all think that they know the answer, but they obviously can't all be right. The fact is that none of them are correct.

Unless, the Christ-followers do what we are told to do and pray for our country, we have nothing to complain about. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 (“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”), we are called to humble ourselves and lay aside politics (I heard it said best by Billy Graham that God isn’t for the left wing or the right wing; He’s for the whole bird.) and ask God to heal our country. We haven’t had a revival in our country in a very long time. After September 11, 2001, people went to church in large numbers but with in a few months everything was back to the norm. We need a revival in our country.

I heard it best said that the word “Revival” means “Again Jesus.” Our churches need Jesus again. We don’t need programs or campaigns to get people to come to our church. Church attendance means nothing if the people coming aren’t saved. We need our hearts broken for the lost around us; until we (as Christ-followers) have revival in our own hearts, how can we expect revival to happen in America. We need to get on our faces before God, and confess our sins and ask for God to break our hearts for our lost family members, neighbors, co-workers, and our communities.

Until we Christ-followers have broken and changed hearts, our country is doomed to go the way of the Greek Empire, Roman Empire, Great Britain, and other countries that God has put to the side by either destroying them completely or removing their power. Until we have Jesus Again in our churches, we can not do anything of good for our country. Pray that God breaks your heart.

Not My Eyes



I had a strange encounter on Friday in the gym’s locker room. A co-worker who goes to the gym at lunch like me made a comment about the lady who was working out in the free weight area with us on Thursday. He said that he was hoping she was back. I made a comment that I was doing stationary bike and would not be in the free weight area. He told me that I should change it up if she’s in there. I told him that the woman actually got on my nerves because before every set her trainer had her do, she would complain. Yes, she was easy on the eyes but I tried to not look (or stare) at her like this co-worker. My co-worker looked kind of perplexed because of my attitude. I told him that when I got married, I made a vow to respect my wife so I try not to look at other women even though I am not prefect I try not to stare at the women who work out with us. I could tell that this was an alien idea to him.

Jesus made it clear that if a man looks at a woman and lusts after her, he has sinned. In the eyes of God, if you daydream about having sex with a hot young thing you see in the gym; in the eyes of God you committed sexual sin. If I had stared at this woman yesterday and daydreamed about doing things with her, in the eyes of God I would be guilty of adultery. As a child of God (because of the blood of Christ) my eyes are not my own. My eyes belong to Him who owns me lock, stock, and barrel. Jesus paid for my sin debt and now I belong to Him. Just as I told my co-worker, I’m not prefect but I try to avoid staring and when temptation is there I ask God for help. Paul told Timothy to run away from youthful lusts and so I do. As in the movie “Monty Python Holy Grail” I yell in my mind, “Run Away! Run Away!”

I learned a song as a child that seems it up: “Oh be careful little eyes what you see. Oh be careful little eyes what you see. For the Father up above is looking down in love, oh be careful little eyes what you see.” God is everywhere and all knowing. He knows what can trap us and He always makes a way to escape temptation. If I couldn’t control myself yesterday and not look at the woman working out, I would have left the gym without lifting a single weight. I would rather go a day with out exercise than sin in the eyes of my Father.

Married dudes; you made a commitment to your wives. Be careful where you allow your eyes to wonder and where your figures to click on the internet. You lust after other women and fantasize enough and you may just fall to sexual sin. A thought can turn into action. Don’t even give Satan a toe hold or he will push his whole foot in. Just close your eyes.

The Wisdom Book



I make it a practice to read through the book of Proverbs once a year (sometimes twice). When I was 14 years old, I was encouraged to read the Bible by my pastor. When I got to Kings and read about Solomon and his God given wisdom, I asked God for wisdom. You see, I grew up with a reading disability. I was placed in a special school from grades 3 through 6. When I was put back into “regular school,” I was placed in the special needs (used to be called Special Ed) classes. Through God’s working, I was removed and place into the regular classes and made good grades. I even was given an award for a 4.0 average in Earth Science. Since I went through all that, I know whatever ability I have to learn is God given. I hold fast to this fact, and give God the glory for all my successes.

Proverbs has taught me a lot from my first readings of it. Reading Proverbs 16:32 (He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty) has shown me how to relate to people. If a person is upset, they lash out at the nearest person. If you do not reply back, they are stopped in their place. Answering kindness for rudeness or cruelty will be much more a punishment for the attacker because they feel foolish.

I’ve shared this with people when I can. One of our members shared with me that God brought this to his mind when a former high school classmate put a stupid comment about church on his FaceBook wall. He wanted to reply back quickly but remembered what I shared about the lessons learned from Proverbs in my last sermon. He waited and replied after asking God how he should respond.

James 1:5 is my life verse; “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” I am a witness of this verse being true. God is so faithful to His children. He will give us what we ask for. If you need wisdom and/or help with getting knowledge, ask and He will give it to you.

Memories



The last few days, the past have come to my mind. Through Facebook, I've reconnected with people I've thought of but not talked with in 10 years. Today, a young couple who were in our youth group in the late 1990's got married. Today was the first time in 6 months I've been back to the old church. I saw people I haven't seen in awhile. I talked with several old friends. It was a good time.

I have a lot of memories at the church where the wedding was held. I took a few minutes to myself and walked around. There were some changes but the memories are still there. I pray that God will give me more years to create more memories I can give back to Him. For His glory.

Calloused People



For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Matthew 13:15 (NIV)

Johanna Spyri grew up in Christian home and was tutored by the village pastor. Sadly, as she approached adulthood, she pulled away from the faith of her family. She moved to Zurich and gradually grew more calloused about the faith she learned as a child. In the grip of depression, she returned to the Lord and recovered her mental and spiritual health. Johanna soon began to write about her native Alps, stories that express Christian truth. Her most famous book, Heidi, describes a calloused old man who hadn’t been to church in decades. Eventually the tender witness of his granddaughter, Heidi, softened his heart, and he returned to the Lord with childlike wonder.

It’s easy to become calloused toward God and His church and to pull away from the faith. This is sometimes because of painful events, sometimes because of neglect, sometimes because of a willful choice. This type of spiritual callousness keeps out Gods love. If you’ve grown calloused, ask God to soften your heart so you can feel His love and rediscover the wonder of His grace. Maybe you are burdened for someone who has become calloused toward God. Hang in there and continue, as Heidi did, to love this person and pray for them to return to God.

You Never Know



You never really know how impactful a sermon will be in people’s lives. If you look at the stats most of what is said people forget. Today I was reminded what an impact I can have for Christ when the Holy Spirit is at work. A gentleman, who attends the men’s small group I lead, told me that he was glad I’m married. I looked at him and said so am I. He missed last week’s sermon because he stayed home with a sick child so his wife could come to church. All week she was quoting what I said in my sermon. If I wasn’t married he would have been jealous that his wife talked so much about another man (he was joking). I do remember she told me last week that she is looking forward to doing “The Truth Project” when our church does it during the summer. My sermon of Truth last week really made an impact in her life. I was blown away; not at what God did but that He chose me to use to do it. It is awesome.
Another gentleman over heard us talking and told me that his daughters really enjoyed the sermon as well. I was taken back. Sam has 5 daughters (yes, 5) and I only met 2 of them and his wife once. They really liked how I used the “Last Battle (last book of the chronicles of Narnia series)” to explain Isaiah 40:22. According to Sam, his daughters took that the other points and they had a good discuss over lunch. That’s what Sunday morning sermons should do; cause the people of God to think.
It was so humbling to hear these testimonies on how God used me last week. You never know how God will use you. It’s not that He needs us; it’s that He wants to use us. I pray that God will have more opportunities to use me to bring Him glory.

Bi-vocational Ministry



Yesterday, I met up with a pastor friend of mine for coffee. He introduced me to a gentleman who is an interim pastor of a church in Hampton. I really enjoy meeting new people, and talking with Randy was a treat; the 90 minutes went by quick. Randy is looking to get back to the mission field in Asia by end of the year and the church will need a man who can pastor and love them going forward. I asked questions about the church and Randy asked questions to see where I stand on important areas. The one question that I knew would come is if I wanted to be a bi-vocational pastor or a full time pastor. If you are reading this and don’t know, I’ve been a bi-vocational minister for most of my ministry life. In fact, in my opinion every Christian is called to the ministry and are to tell others about Christ. It’s only a select group of men who God calls to equip the church to be able to grow in their walks. These men are called pastor, elder, or bishop (all the same office of the church).

The answer to Randy’s question is yes; I’m willing to be bi-vocational and/or full time. In my mind, I’ll be full time even if I have to work a secular job to pay the bills. I’ve thought about this for a while now. I would pastor a church for no pay if it would help get a group of Christians growing in their walks with Christ and reach their community with the gospel of Christ. God would ensure I’m taken care of; I’m His child after all.

God has supplied me with a great job at Dollar Tree, where I get paid very well with benefits. I also am able to do church work at my desk if my duties are complete. While church planting and leading a Bible Study in Carrollton last year, most of the studies were prepared at my desk at Dollar Tree. I’m not robbing my employer; my boss told me as long as my work is done I can do whatever at my desk. I’m able to manager my days off to do church duties where I need to. Most churches can’t afford to supply medical insurance so having it through my job will be one less thing a church would need to try to provide; that money can be put back onto the church’s bank account and used to reach the lost for Christ.

Being bi-vocational has been interesting because I have to manage my time so I can earn a wage but also make sure the people God has entrusted me with are cared for. There are many challenges being bi-vocational but I love it because I see it as being on the front lines of the Spiritual war. I would go crazy if I was stuck in an office; I’ve been there and done that before. If I was full time as a pastor, I would spend more time at the coffeehouses, restaurants, parks, and other places meeting new people and showing them Jesus. Pastors are to lead by example and being in the secular world and serving Christ at the same time shows Joe Christian how to manage their secular job and their calling as a Minster in God’s army.

Who Am I?




I still am left in awe when God uses me for His glory. It amazes me He can and will use me to further His kingdom. I just finished putting together this Sunday’s sermon and it came together so quick and easy. God was putting things at my figure tips that I would need for the sermon; Bible verse, illustrations, and even graphics for the power point slides. It’s amazing; have I said that all ready?
God can easily use creation to proclaim His glory, but He chooses to use us humans. I can be so lazy and willful but He still wants to use me. He doesn’t need me; I need Him. I need Him for everything and He is always there to supply for my needs. That is awesome.
Thank you for your mercy; thank you for your grace, and most of all thank you for your forgiveness.

World View



I’m getting so sick and tired of the media parading same sex relationships. Another female star has announced that her long time girlfriend and her are “engaged.” It’s starting to make me sick. I’m totally for loving sinners where they are and loving them into the Kingdom. People do not care what you know until they know how much you care for them. The only people Jesus ever condemned in the N.T. were the Pharisees because of their attitude. As a child of God, I’m called to show people Jesus and the Holy Spirit is the One who shows people their need for a Savior. I think I’m more sick of the world view of our society.

The world view you hold determines how you react to situations. If your world view is secular, then same sex relationships do not bother you because it’s up to the individual to determine what they believe. After all, truth is subjective (not really but the world thinks so). Your world view depends on your starting point. If your starting point does not consist of God, then you will have a secular world view where anything goes. If your starting point does consist of God, then you will have a Biblical world view; where you pass everything through the filter of the Bible.

Our society’s standards have changed a lot since the early 1950’s. America is a religious country but a Christian country anymore. Our society preaches tolerance until someone points out something is wrong according the “The Standard” which is the Bible and that’s when the tolerance preachers become intolerant to what is right in the eyes of God. The Liberal media isn’t right nor is the left wing nuts who are trying to force feed their agenda to the American people. As a conservative preacher, I would not even say that the “Religious Right” is correct all the time either. As a Christian, I’m called to love people where they are. These people (if the Holy Spirit) is working on them will see their need for a Savior.

My starting point is based on the Truth. The truth is found in the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Since my starting point is based on Jesus, my world view is that of the Bible. I will proclaim the good news of Christ, love people as Christ showed me in the gospels, and point people to Him. When He forgives them of their sins and they become a new creature, I will be there to equip them to grow in Him. And as they grow in Him, they will repeat the process. I call it Spiritual Reproduction.

Muddy Buddy 2009

Last weekend Chuck Love and I ran in a race together. It was all about the fun and two friedns getting to hang out. Below are some photos from the race.

The water was cold but refreshing.

Mud should not hurt, but this mud pit left marks on the knees.

I'm finishing up the last rope.

Chuck happy to not be dead.

I'm checking to see how muddy I got.

Chuck is happy to be done.

I'm happy to be done with another race.

Chuck and I wanted to be cheesie.

For Men



Ephesians 6:10-13 teaches us that if you are a Christian man, then you are called into the battle of life. This is not an invitation. This is a command. For far too long, men have been on the sidelines, in the bleachers, or on the couch while the "spiritual forces of evil" have corrupted our culture, attacked our families, and infiltrated the Church. If you are a Christian man, then you are a leader. As faithful followers of Jesus Christ, we must become the sacrificial servant leaders that He modeled for us. We are to be His true ambassadors 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.

It’s time for Christian men to get off our rears and “Cowboy the @#*% Up (Bruce Willis in “Tears of the Sun”).” It’s not up to the wives/mothers to instruct and lead the families; it’s the calling of us men to lead our families. Mark Discol in the early years of Mars Hill Church had young men not stepping up and being husbands and fathers so he had a special service for only the men of the church. In this meeting, he laid out what being a man truly means using the Bible and at the end handed all who attended a bag with two marbles saying, “Here’s your balls back.”

Boys learn to be men by watching the men in their lives. I encourage the men who attend our weekly men’s group to lead their families. We have a young man who asked me if it is alright for him to start bringing his one month old son to class. I know this is to give his wife a little rest before church, but I told him it’s never too early to teach a boy to be a man. Who knows, maybe these group sessions will stick with him. It’s time for the church to focus on getting men either back or get the men who are there involved. It takes a real man to love Jesus.

Little Eyes Are Watching



This morning, I received an e-mail from my sister, Wendi, about her 8 year old son Justin. The note reads, “Justin's school is having a run/walk today. They get prizes for the number of laps they can do in 30 minutes. This morning Justin was doing his stretch exercises like you taught him. He plans to run the whole time like his Uncle Tom. We'll see what he actually does.”

This note just reminds me of how important it is for us adults to be mindful of our words and actions around the little ones. Justin and I only ran together twice while they visited at Christmas. It amazes me what he took away from it. Justin is only 8 years old but because I took the time to show him something that interested him, he has applied to his life.

I tell the men of the Bible Study I lead on Sunday mornings, that men learn to be men by watching either their fathers or the men in our lives at a young age. In general, children are watching us; how we react to issues, discussions, and/or conflict. We should be mindful of our actions and words everywhere we go but especially around children. They are little sponges that absorb every little word. When little and learning, children want to be just like daddy and/or mammy. They will mimic everything we do. It’s amazing.

Last month, a friend of Teresa and mine’s father died from cancer. In his memorial, the son said that his father was the same in church as he was in the house. Since he practiced what he preached and walked the walk, the four siblings all doing something in ministry. We never know what lessons we are teaching though our actions. Remember, actions do speak a whole lot louder than words ever will.

Swamp Stomp Half Marathon Photos

Below are some photos Teresa and some friends took of last weekend's half marathon. I wrote down some thoughts in the post under all the photos. You can't see it but I sweat so much that I had salt above my eyebrows and the side of my forehead. It was awesome.

Looking fresh before the race starts. That blue cloth holds alot of water; it kept the sweat from my eyes.

People lining up for the race.

Entering the last 50 yards.

Making my way through the final few yards to the finish line.

Finishing another race.

Looking at the Frost's little dog.

On my way to give Teresa a kiss.

Checking my watch for my final time as Elain congratulations me.

Ed Frost and me enjoy the music and the fellowship.

My bid number and medal.

Finishing Strong




On Saturday, I ran in my second half marathon. My goal was to finish better than my first one. A few weeks ago, I set my mind on finishing no later than 2 hours 30 minutes; I race my first half marathon in 2 hours 41 minutes back in August 2008. The morning of the race, that time changed in my mind to 2 hours 25 minutes. I started off well with averaging 10 minutes a mile. As I was running, I hit the wall that all runners hit. I hit it after 9 miles. I had to dig into myself and push through. When I made it to the finished line, I saw that I finished the race at 2 hours 23 minutes. This is 18 minutes faster than my first half marathon. I was stoked.

Every race I run, I want to finish strong. I don’t want to walk the last part of it or walk over the finish line. I want to run through the finish line. As most races, on Saturday the passage of scripture came to mind that Paul wrote in Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” I also thought of Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Just as my desire to finish strong in the road race, I want to finish strong in the Christian race. I want to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant” out of my Lord’s mouth. When my race is over and I breathe my last breath, I want to be running the Christian race as strong and fast as I have since the day God drew me to Himself.

Networking



I enjoy FaceBook because I’ve been able to get reconnected with college friends and see what some former teens (now 20 somethings) have been up to since they finished high school and left our youth group. A lot of people my age (late 30’s) have been getting on the community. The main reason I first got on the bandwagon was for networking. Most of the ministry people I know here locally first joined FaceBook for the same reason as me; networking.

Over the weekend, I had a note from a friend of mind who started a church a few years back in Franklin, VA with a need. The church is looking for a Worship Leader. A name popped in my head of a young man who was in our youth dept back in the 90’s who has earned a degree in music from the same college I attended so I sent him a note asking if he was looking for a church. He replied with a yes and sent me his resume. I sent my pastor friend a reply with the name of this talented young man and then forwarded his resume to him. I haven’t heard anything else regarding this but it would be cool if God opens this door for both men. If so, then FaceBook had a part of this union.

DON'T LEAVE IT ON THE DESK

I came across this story. It's an older one but has a great truth to it.

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States. Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course his freshman year, regardless of his or her major.

Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going on to seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor's class.

One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. 'How many push-ups can you do?'

Steve said, 'I do about 200 every night.' '200?'

That's pretty good, Steve, ' Dr. Christianson said.

'Do you think you could do 300?'

Steve replied, 'I don't know.... I've never done 300 at a time.'

'Do you think you could?' again asked Dr. Christianson.

'Well, I can try,' said Steve.

'Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,' said the professor.

Steve said, 'Well... I think I can...yeah, I can do it..'

Dr. Christianson said, 'Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind.'

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.

Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked,
'Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?'

Cynthia said, 'Yes.'

Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, 'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?'

'Sure!' Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, 'Joe, do you want a donut?'

Joe said, 'Yes.'

Dr. Christianson asked, 'Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?'

Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut.. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut. Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When the professor asked, 'Scott do you want a donut?'

Scott's reply was, 'Well, can I do my own push-ups?'

Dr. Christianson said, 'No, Steve has to do them.'

Then Scott said, 'Well, I don't want one then.'

Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, 'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?'

With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups.

Scott said, 'HEY! I said I didn't want one!'

Dr. Christianson said, 'Look! This is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it.' And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow..

Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.

Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, 'Jenny, do you want a donut?'

Sternly, Jenny said, 'No.'

Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, 'Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?'

Steve did ten....Jenny got a donut.

By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say, 'No!' and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks.

Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Dr. Christianson, 'Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?'

Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, 'Well, they're your pushups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want.' And Dr. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, 'NO! Don't come in! Stay out!' Jason didn't know what was going on.

Steve picked up his head and said, 'No, let him come.'

Professor Christianson said, 'You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?'

Steve said, 'Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut.'

Dr. Christianson said, 'Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?' Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. 'Yes,' he said, 'give me a donut.' 'Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?'

Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, 'Linda, do you want a donut?'

Linda said, very sadly, 'No, thank you.'

Professor Christianson quietly asked, 'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?'

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda. Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. 'Susan, do you want a donut?'

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. 'Dr.
Christianson, why can't I help him?'

Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, 'No, Steve has to do it alone; I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book.

Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes.'

'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?'

As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, 'And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, 'Into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten.'

Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.

'Well done, good and faithful servant,' said the professor, adding, 'Not all sermons are preached in words.'

Turning to his class, the professor said, 'My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not His only Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid.'

'Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?'

An E-mail Story



Below is a story I received from a friend. This is a true story. it just shows what God can do through a child.

A little girl stood near a small church from which she had been turned away because it was 'too crowded.'

'I can't go to Sunday School,' she sobbed to the pastor as he walked by.

Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance, the pastor guessed the reason and, taking her by the hand, took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday school class. The child was so happy that they found room for her, and she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place to worship Jesus.

Some two years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor tenement buildings. Her parents called for the kindhearted pastor who had befriended their daughter to handle the final arrangements.

As her poor little body was being moved, a worn and crumpled red purse was found which seemed to have been rummaged from some trash dump.

Inside was found 57 cents and a note, scribbled in childish handwriting, which read: 'This is to help build the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday School.'

For two years she had saved for this offering of love.

When the pastor tearfully read that note, he knew instantly what he would do. Carrying this note and the cracked, red pocketbook to the pulpit, he told the story of her unselfish love and devotion.

He challenged his deacons to get busy and raise enough money for the larger building.

But the story does not end there...

A newspaper learned of the story and published It. It was read by a wealthy realtor who offered them a parcel of land worth many thousands.

When told that the church could not pay so much, he offered to sell it to the little church for 57 cents.

Church members made large donations. Checks came from far and wide. Within five years the little girl's gift had increased to $250,000.00--a huge sum for that time (near the turn of the century).. Her unselfish love had paid large dividends.

When you are in the city of Philadelphia , look up Temple Baptist Church , with a seating capacity of 3,300. And be sure to visit Temple University , where thousands of students are educated.

Have a look, too, at the Good Samaritan Hospital and at a Sunday School building which houses hundreds of beautiful children, built so that no child in the area will ever need to be left outside during Sunday school time.

In one of the rooms of this building may be seen the picture of the sweet face of the little girl whose 57 cents, so sacrificially saved, made such remarkable history. Alongside of it is a portrait of her kind pastor, Dr. Russell H. Conwell, author of the book, 'Acres of Diamonds'.

This is a true story, which goes to show WHAT GOD CAN DO WITH 57 CENTS.

The Best Moment



Saturday, I ran in the Shamrock 8K race in VA Beach, VA. There was a record crowd of runners; 8, 000 of us. The weather started at 35 degrees so I had a sweatshirt, sock cap, and gloves along with shorts (hate running in long pants); the sock cap came off at mile no. 2 and the gloves came off at mile no. 4. I saw a few people that work at Dollar Tree but no one from my department (10 of us registered). As usual, I zoned out about 20 minutes before the start of the race and started focusing on the race which means I turned on my I-pod and relaxed my mind and didn’t pay attention to the people around me. The 8K was easy because I run longer on my normal Saturday morning runs so I was focusing on my pace; wanted to run 9 minute miles and I did. I finished in 45 minutes and 8 seconds. That was third place for the Logistics Department. Not too bad since most of the runners in my department are 10 to 12 years younger.

I can think of two good moments of the race. One was seeing a man running with a large American flag flying in the wind. It brought a tear to my eye and I thanked God for our country. But the best moment was when the Casting Crowns song “Praise You With the Dance” came on my I-Pod and I was running on the wood walk. The wind was blowing and to my right the waves were rolling on the beach. It was an awesome moment. I couldn’t help but worship my God as I ran this part of the 5 mile course. Just thinking about it puts a smile on my face. That was an awesome moment.

Another Race



Tomorrow is the first race of the season for me. It’s a shorter one; 8K (less than 5 miles). I learned back on Thanksgiving’s Day that running to 35 to 45 degree weather isn’t that bad if you have the right clothes so I’ve been running throughout the weather. This race is a little different for me. A few of the managers in the department I work in have registered and it will be neat to see if I can beat them. They are all 10 to 11 years younger but I am in better shape. My goals are to keep my pace at 8 to 9 minute mile and beat the younger managers. It will be fun; the temp should be upper 40’s and sunny.

Tomorrow’s race will be a warm up for the Swamp Stamp next month. The Swamp Stamp is a half marathon through the Dismal Swamp State Park. I’ve heard it’s a little easier than the Rock-in-Roll Half Marathon because the route is all flat and is the old Rt. 17 so it’s all on ash fault which is better for the joints.

It’s amazing what only one year can change. This time last year, I just started back at running again after 12 years of no running. The 5K (3.14 miles) race in May was my first race. Since then, I’ve run in 2 5K races, an 8K Mud Run, and a half marathon. My goal for this year is to do one triathlon. We will see.

Worldview



Yesterday, I received an e-ail from Barna Group with an article on worldviews. The article dealt with how Christians view the “Biblical Worldview.” Below is a small portion:

For the purposes of the survey, a “biblical worldview” was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview.

Varying numbers of Americans embrace the different aspects of biblical worldview thinking. The survey found that:

• One-third of all adults (34%) believe that moral truth is absolute and unaffected by the circumstances. Slightly less than half of the born again adults (46%) believe in absolute moral truth.
• Half of all adults firmly believe that the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches. That proportion includes the four-fifths of born again adults (79%) who concur.
• Just one-quarter of adults (27%) are convinced that Satan is a real force. Even a minority of born again adults (40%) adopt that perspective.
• Similarly, only one-quarter of adults (28%) believe that it is impossible for someone to earn their way into Heaven through good behavior. Not quite half of all born again Christians (47%) strongly reject the notion of earning salvation through their deeds.
• A minority of American adults (40%) are persuaded that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life while He was on earth. Slightly less than two-thirds of the born again segment (62%) strongly believes that He was sinless.
• Seven out of ten adults (70%) say that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe who still rules it today. That includes the 93% of born again adults who hold that conviction.

Rest



Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him--Psalm 37:7a. Newton’s first law of motion was the law of inertia: All objects in the universe tend to remain at rest or continue in motion until acted upon by an outside force. In other words, nothing stops or starts randomly or by accident. If we bring Newton’s law to spiritual life we might say that rest and activity occur as a result of choice. The biblical rest that the psalmist spoke about in Psalm 37 is not the same as laziness or is it the absence of spiritual activity. This kind of rest means to stop striving in our own strength and depend on the Lord. When we think of rest we think of ceasing physical actions. When we rest in the Lord we cease things too, like: worry, anxiety, tension, and fear. When we rest in the Lord we also increase some things like: trust, faith, and submission to the will of God. And what about increasing these too—prayer, Bible study, and consulting with a trusted mentor. Don’t forget while we rest, God is awake!

The Next Great . . .



Over last few years I have come to terms with who I am in Christ. I’m not the smartest, best looking, or edgy person; I’m just me. I remember attending Baptist Bible College and hearing the stories of Jerry Falwell and what he did while at BBC. I heard men who wanted to be the next Jerry Falwell. Don’t get me wrong, I feel God used Jerry in his life but there is (or was) only one Jerry Falwell. Now that Billy Graham is not doing as much as he has done in the past, people are looking to brand the new Billy Graham. Rick Warren’s name has been thrown out as a possibility. There is only one Billy Graham and there is only one Rick Warren. God put things together to develop these men into who they are (or were) so that He (God) could/can use them in the way God has determined.

In the gospels, Jesus didn’t heal blind people in the same way every time. There are seven times that Jesus healed a blind person and each time, He used a different method. As you read the Bible, you can see the different types of people God used to bring Him glory. God didn’t use the same type of person but used a great assortment of personalities, temperaments, and backgrounds. I believe God likes to use variety and not just the same old same old.

In my years of following God, I’ve learned that the ones to who seem to have it together truly don’t. They either fall to sin or just don’t accomplish much for God. The ones who seem to achieve much (in my opinion) for the kingdom just don’t seem like much in the eyes of man. But when you see how they rely on God and see what God does through them, it’s just amazing.

Instead of trying to be the next Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham, Rick Warren, or whomever just be the best you God has made you to be. For every Jerry Falwell or Billy Graham there are hundreds or thousands of unknown men and women teaching and preach Christ that we do not know about. As David wrote in the Psalms, God knew us before we were even born and has established our steps. God has put us through the things we lived through (good, bad, or indifferent) to mold us into who we need to be to bring Him glory. Our sole purpose is to bring God glory and to give Him honor. Instead of trying to be the next great pastor or have the next great church, we should just be the best us God has made us to be.

Think about.