Gratitude

Today was my last opportunity (at least for awhile) to have the luxury of going to this beautiful park for an extended quiet time for prayer and reflection because I am starting a job tomorrow. It’s only a temporary office job, but it will help us with finances while I’m searching for a ministry position. I am very grateful to have this job….but at the same time, I’m a little sad because it is the end of this gift of time to spend in the Word and prayer. It makes me grateful, rather than resentful, for the months I’ve been off work and able to spend hours reading, reflecting, writing, and praying.

Henri Nouwen said, “Gratitude is more than an occasional ‘thanks be to God.’ Gratitude is the attitude that enables us to let go of anger, receive the hidden gifts of those we want to serve, and make these gifts visible to the community as a source of celebration. Gratitude is at the heart of celebration and ministry.”[1]

Habakkuk wrote, “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” (Hab 3:17-18 NLT). 

I spent this morning in the beautiful Colorado scenery writing this list of just a few of the things I am thankful for.

1. Even though I am still eager to get back into full-time ministry, I am thankful for the time of rest and the time I have had for family and to pray, read, and write.
2. Even though there were some difficulties in my last ministry position, I am extremely grateful for that time because I was blessed with amazing, life-long friends while I was there, and for each Sunday I had the absolute privilege of leading others to worship and praise Jesus while I was there.
3. Even though I am still in the process of asking, seeking, and knocking on various doors (Matt 7:7), I am thankful for every shut door and every “no” because it is all contributes to guiding me along the path to where God will have a “yes.”
4. I am very thankful for the opportunity to serve and lead worship for a church plant in far north Denver on Sunday evenings and the new friends I have met there.
5. I am very grateful for the gift of music and of song. I am so glad that God gave us this incredible gift that we can use to express our worship, adoration, and praise of Him. It is such a blessing to sing to the Lord (Ps 30:4).
6. I am thankful that we took the leap to move from my home state of Texas to Colorado. It is such a beautiful place filled with awesome displays of God’s creation and handiwork (Ps 19:1-4).
7. I am thankful for all the friends and family God has blessed me with who offer up prayers and very kind words of encouragement to me. And being several states removed from many of them, I am thankful for technology that allows us to still communicate and stay in contact with each other.
8. I am thankful that I have a Bible that I can read so that I can hear from God. I am thankful that it is not just a book, but something living and active (Heb 4:12). God always has a word to speak into my circumstances, or words that reflect my heart and my prayers.
9. I am thankful for prayer and the ability we have to boldly go into the throne room of God, with the knowledge that He will give us grace and mercy (Heb 4:14-16). I am thankful that we have the Spirit to intercede for us and to interpret our jumbled thoughts and words when we don’t really know quite what to pray (Rom 8:26).
10. I am so very thankful that God sees worth in the seemingly worthless and He paid such a high price for us (1 Pet 1:18-19). I am thankful that the Creator was willing to sacrifice Himself to redeem His creation (Ps 8:4).  

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[1] Henri Nowen, Michael J. Christensen, and Rebecca J. Laird.  Spiritual Formation: Following the Movements of the Spirit. New York: HarperCollins, 2010.

Sharing a Great Treasure

We live in a very rich country. Many of us may struggle to pay our bills at times, but we are blessed to have a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and food on our plates every day. You may not think about it much, but we have another treasure here that is very rare in other parts of the world.

How many Bibles to do you have in your house? If you’re like me, you might have a study Bible that you use most of the time, a smaller one you can take with you, and maybe several others in different translations --we have NIV, NLT, ESV, HCSB, study Bibles, chronological bibles, archaeological Bibles, application Bibles, apologetics Bibles, children’s Bibles, etc. We can even go to websites like biblegateway.com and instantly read the Bible in 42 different translations –and that is just in English!

With so many to choose from, I tend to forget that having even one copy of the Scriptures in my hands so that I can read it any time I want to is a luxury. LifeWay Christians Stores are currently collecting Bibles to send to people in China who have never been able to own their own copy. Watch this video that talks about the desperate need for copies of the Word of God in China.

In the video, they speak about seeing the joy in the faces of the people when they hold their own copy of the Bible for the very first time. I am very thankful that I cannot remember the first time I held and read a Bible because I have always had one – or many of them. Please consider visiting a LifeWay store and purchasing one or more Bibles for only $5 each to be sent to someone in China who needs it. This is a great opportunity to bless people in China with their very own copy of God's Word.

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path…Your laws are my treasure; they are my heart’s delight…I rejoice in your word like one who discovers a great treasure (Ps 119:105, 111, 162 NLT).

Let's work together to share this great treasure.  

Mile Markers

What tangible things do you have that remind you of a meaningful event in your life? Maybe it's a photo album of your wedding. Maybe it's a very significant letter or email that someone sent you to encourage you. We all keep some sort of reminders to keep certain events real and fresh in our memory. 

God has always given certain mile markers to His people to help them remember. He had the Israelites write things down (Ex 17:14), learn songs (Deut 31:19), wear special tassels (Num 15:39), erect altars (Josh 4:4-7), and observe special feasts (Ex 12). He gave us the Lord’s Supper so that every time we share in it, we remember that Jesus died for us, rose again, and is coming again. He gave us baptism so that we can always go back to a physical event when we were buried with Christ and born again into His family.

I will confess that I have been struggling recently with a certain mile marker that I am very privileged to have. I even found myself almost wishing it never happened –that maybe it was a mistake. But none of this thinking can change the fact that this mile marker was set up, it happened, and it marks who I am. No one can change it, wish it didn’t happen, or make it disappear. I have audio and video recordings, photographs, and a signed certificate as physical reminders of it so I know it was real and I can always go back to revisit it.

I was ordained as a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ last June. Unfortunately, this important mile marker was quickly followed up by the ending of a ministry assignment when we moved to Colorado. That change has now been followed up by nearly six months of frustration, discouragement, and lots of "no" while trying to discern where God has planned for me to serve Him in ministry here. So I started thinking that maybe being ordained was a mistake. Maybe it should never have happened. It was supposed to be a mile marker, not a dead-end sign. Or maybe it was a gift to help solidify what I have been called to, to give me strength in the wilderness -- a gift given at just the right time. 

If I did not have this mile marker to look back on, it would be so much easier to just quit, to give up in the midst of my frustration and travel a different pathway –to just forget the past few years ever happened and go back to an office job and just attend church on Sundays. It would be so much easier. But the fact is, this mile marker did happen. I was ordained into ministry – I have been set apart for service to God. This stake was driven into the ground at just the right time so that in my time of frustration and discouragement, I would have it to look back on in order to help me remember who I am and what I am called and set apart to be.

Thank you so much to all who participated in or were present for the ordination service --to all who made this mile marker possible. Yesterday, I went back to that mile marker. I listened to the recording of the charge into ministry that was given to me, and I was reminded of a few things:

• “God’s timing is always perfect…You have been called by God”
• There will be seasons of fatigue, weariness, and discouragement, but keep your focus on the goal. Go back to the day you were officially set apart. Listen to the charge and to the words of encouragement.
• “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal 6:9 NIV).
• “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58 NIV).
• You are not here by accident – it is all part of God’s grand design. God orchestrates events we don’t understand.
• Remember today, June 8, 2014, the day you were officially set apart as a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because I hope that this can be a call for all of us to look back on our mile markers to remember who we are and whose we are, and to know that God has created each of us to do good things for Him, things He has planned long ago (Eph 2:10), whether or not we can see them right now. 

Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to pray, knock on doors, ask, and search for what God’s plan for me in Colorado is. Pray that I will stay strong and courageous and not give up, and please let me know if there is any way I can pray for you and for your faithfulness to the mission to which God has called you.

A Surprising Pearl

Have you ever been surprised by Scripture? I was recently surprised by a connection I saw between a passage in 1 Peter and a very short, very familiar parable Jesus told that is recorded in Matthew.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” (Matt 13:45-46 NIV)

Jesus does not directly explain or interpret this parable like He does with some of the others, so there is a bit of wiggle room for interpretation. I have always been taught that this parable teaches about our need to sacrifice everything for the great worth we find in Jesus and the Kingdom of God. The Faithlife Study Bible notes on this parable say that in this parable, “Jesus exhorts His hearers to do whatever it takes to enter [the Kingdom of God].” The Holman Concise Bible Commentary says that in this parable, Jesus describes “the inestimable value of the kingdom and the need to sacrifice whatever it takes to enter it.” While this is true, I now wonder if this is the best interpretation of this story.

I was studying a passage in 1 Peter recently when this parable and a completely different interpretation of it came to mind. Keep the parable in the back of your mind as you read the following verse:

“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Pet 1:18-19 NIV).

Read how it is translated in The Voice:

“You know that a price was paid to redeem you from following the empty ways handed on to you by your ancestors; it was not paid with things that perish (like silver or gold), but with the precious blood of the Anointed, who was like a perfect and unblemished sacrificial lamb” (1 Pet 1:18-19 VOI).

Is it possible that we have been looking at this parable backwards? Did we seek Jesus out or did He seek us out? Paul says that  “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8 NIV). He sought us out like the merchant sought out the pearl. And we did not purchase anything. He purchased us with the highest possible price – His life and His blood. I believe a better interpretation of this parable is that Jesus is the merchant who gave everything to purchase you and to purchase me –the church, His bride, His costly pearl purchased with His precious blood.

Warren Wiersbe is one commentator who shares this interpretation of this short parable. He says: “The pearl represents the church…Unlike most other gems, the pearl is a unity –it cannot be carved like a diamond or emerald. The church is a unity (Eph 4:4-6), even though the professing church on earth is divided…[Christ] sold all that He had to purchase His church, and nothing Satan can do will cause Him to fail. There is but one church, a pearl of great price, though there are many local churches…all true believers ought to identify with a local assembly where they can worship and serve.”

This Sunday, when you are gathered with your church family where you have an opportunity to encourage each other, and to celebrate together who God is and what He has done for you, think about the price Jesus paid for you as well as for the brother or sister next to you or across the aisle --- the price He paid for your church family. Be thankful that you are a part of such a costly and precious pearl.

In Season

What is your favorite season of the year? Maybe it's winter, when everything is blanketed with pure white, glistening snow and all the trees are bare. Maybe it's spring, when the air begins to warm after an icy cold winter and new green leaves are budding and beautiful flowers are beginning to bloom. Maybe it’s summer, when the kids are out of school, the days tend to grow lazy, and perhaps you get to head to the beach for a family vacation. I think maybe my favorite is fall, when there’s a crisp, refreshing chill in the air after a long hot summer and the leaves of the trees turn beautiful shades of yellow, orange, and red. Texas never has much fall color, so this is something I am looking forward to seeing in Colorado. Even though I arrived here too late last fall to see the fall color, I don't have to worry because I know that fall will come again.

We all know that it doesn't stay one season forever. In the midst of freezing, arctic cold days, we have hope that spring will come and the air will grow warm again. And in the midst of blistering hot summers, we have hope that fall will come and the air will grow cool and pleasant again. All of nature was created to flow in a continuous cycle of warmth and cold, of growth and rest --and not just the weather and the trees.The psalmist talks about seasons for us as well. 

Psalm 1 describes a person who strives to avoid evil and who meditates on God’s Word day and night. That person “is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither”  (Ps 1:3 HCSB). He doesn't bear fruit constantly? Jesus says something like this in John 15. He says that we are to remain in Him (avoid evil influences and meditate on God’s Word day and night like in Psalm 1) so that we will bear fruit. Do you think He expects us to constantly bear fruit, or to remain in Him regardless of life circumstances, and experience the cyclical nature of life and growth, including seasons of rest and barrenness, seasons of growth, and seasons of bearing fruit? All must be done in season. "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens" (Ecc 3:1 NIV). 

We can feel so completely useless during a pruning or resting season when we are not actively bearing fruit, but when we look at a bare tree in the winter, do we think it is useless because it is not currently loaded with fruit? Of course not! We know that the tree is currently resting and dormant, and that it must be in the proper point in the cycle of seasons in order to bear fruit as it is created to do.

When we think of “seasons of life,” we generally tend to think about spring as childhood, winter as old age, and summer and fall as the years in between. However, if we saw a tree that survived only one cycle of the seasons, we would not think that it had lived a full, productive life, nor would it have the opportunity to bear all the fruit it could have. When a tree receives a supply of water, the required nutrition and sunlight, it goes through repeated cycles of growing, bearing fruit, and resting. We do the same throughout our spiritual lives. As long as we remain in Jesus, remain planted by the Living Water (John 4:10-13), nourished by Scripture, prayer, and by doing God’s will (John 4:32-34), and if we allow Him to prune us (John 15:2), then like the tree, we will also go through seasons of life and growth –of resting and bearing fruit.

The good news is that if you are in a season you do not like, the weather will change soon. No season lasts forever. It may be winter, but spring is coming.