Lena and I are thrilled to be part of this special day today and I want to thank the Pastors and the Church leaders for their kind invitation for us to be with you. On behalf of the District Leadership Team, and the District Ministers and Churches of Alberta and the NWT, congratulations on three decades of bringing the message of Jesus Christ to your community and your people.
30 years!! When I was a teenager, I thought being 30 was “ancient” and over the hill. Now that I’m in my 50’s, it doesn’t seem that old at all. I like to think I have lots of life left.
So, here you are at this 30th year of ministry. What does that mean?? What DOES this day declare for you??
In 1 Samuel 7, God provided a great victory to the people of Israel. God gave them a supernatural deliverance from their enemies, the Philistines. In their victory celebration, the Priest, Samuel, took a stone and set it up at the place of victory. Verse 12 records that he called this stone “Ebenezer” saying “To this point the Lord has helped us.” This was to be a reminder to them and to the generations to come.
I believe that this 30th Anniversary is an “Ebenezer marker” for you. This is a celebration of God’s faithfulness and provisions. It is a reminder of the men and women who established the foundation that you enjoy today. Today, this celebration is the declaration that “TO THIS POINT THE LORD HAS HELPED US.” And, with the same passion as when it began, we say – “AND HE WILL CONTINUE TO HELP US.”
The message that this church has declared in both word and action in these 30 years is the truths of Jesus, where He says –
· I have come to give life, full and abundant. AND
· I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
You have declared the Life of Jesus, not in your own ability and resources but you have done so in the power that Christ has given you. Jesus’ words in John 7:38 is the reality of your personal and your corporate testimony – “Whoever believes in me…streams of living water will flow from within him.” And this is what this day of celebration is all about!! The streams of Christ’s living water have been flowing from you as a people for 30 years, bringing life to others into your community. And in the power of Holy Spirit, it will continue to flow.
Isaiah 43: 18 & 19 says 18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
To “forget the former things” does not mean to disregard the past, or ignore the blessings that have brought you to where you are. We honor and bless the people and events that are foundations of our lives, and of this church. But is goes on to say, “Do not dwell on the past”. I think that has great meaning. It is saying to us not to live in the past, and not to allow “what we have done” OR maybe even “what was done to us” to stifle us from knowing God’s designed future.
God says “I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland”. That is God’s promise to make a way where there seems no way. He promises to provide where it may seem there is no provision. God’s way is to work in ways we can’t imagine or see. The prophet Joel records the word of the Lord and we need to walk in it in this celebration day, “It is not by might or power, but by my Spirit. Says the Lord.”
May God richly bless you and may His life giving power flow through you as a local church as you seek for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done here, as it is in heaven.
Archive for March, 2012
Happy 30th Anniversary, Korean Full Gospel Church Family
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012Things my Mother taught me – ‘unknown’
Friday, March 23rd, 2012My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION:
“Just wait until your father gets home.”
My Mother taught me about RECEIVING:
“You are going to get it when we get home!”
My Mother taught me to MEET A CHALLENGE:
“What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you…Don’t talk back to me!”
My Mother taught me LOGIC:
“Because I said so, that’s why.”
My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT:
“If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.”
My Mother taught me about GENETICS:
“You’re just like your father.”
My Mother taught me about my ROOTS:
“Do you think you were born in a barn?”
My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE:
“When you get to be my age, you will understand.”
My Mother taught me about JUSTICE:
“One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you.
Then you’ll see what it’s like.”
My mother taught me RELIGION:
“You better pray that will come out of the carpet.”
My mother taught me FORESIGHT:
“Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”
My mother taught me IRONY:
“Keep crying and I’ll *give* you something to cry about.”
My mother taught me about WEATHER:
“It looks as if a tornado swept through your room.”
My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY:
“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times: Don’t Exaggerate!!!”
My mother taught me about ENVY:
“There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do!”
Why Pray?
Friday, March 23rd, 2012Mark 11:24 – “That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything.”
- Prayer is not learned in a classroom but in the closet
E M Bounds explains, “Praying is the best school in which to learn to pray, prayer is the best dictionary to define the art and nature of praying.”
Hope MacDonald in her book, discovering how to pray said, “We can read all the books that have ever been written about prayer, but until we actually choose by an act of our will, to pray, we will never learn.”
1. Prayer will help Christians everywhere fulfill the Great Commission
1500 new converts per day reaching 2 billion un-evangelized persons would take 4,000 years with zero population growth
2. Prayer will help unify Christians for this task of world Evangelization
While lots of things can and do divide the church, prayer is not one of them. Prayer brings us together from diverse backgrounds, if we can learn to pray together, we can learn to work together.
3. Prayer will take us to new personal levels of our spiritual journey
Charles H. Spurgeon preached Spirit anointed sermons backed by hours of prayer. He said, “In the ark of salvation we find a lower, second and third story; all are in the ark but all are not in the same story. Most Christians, as to the river of experience, are only up to the ankles; some other have waded until the stream is up to the knees; a few find chest (breast) –high; and but a few—oh! How few—find it a river to swim in, the bottom of which they cannot touch.”
4. Prayer reaches everywhere for every need
“There is no other item as universally available to mankind as prayer. Jonah prayed from the belly of a fish. We teach the importance of prayer because its power is far-reaching and may penetrate where people cannot go.
5. Prayer will help Christians zero in on the supreme task of the church
Supreme task of the CHURCH is the conversion of lost souls!
Dr. R. A. Torrey said, “We live in a day characterized by the multiplication of man’s machinery and the diminution of God’s power. The great cry of our day is work, work, work, organize, organize, give us some new society, tell us some new methods, devise some new machinery: but the great need of our day is prayer, more prayer and better prayer.”
6. The experiences of millions of praying Christians is proof that prayer works.
Prayer is effectual and makes a difference in the destinies of men and nations.
Miraculous – There’s Healing in the name of Jesus!
Monday, March 19th, 2012From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A miracle is a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature, such that can be attempted to be explained by divine intervention, and is sometimes associated with a miracle-worker. Many folktales, religious texts, and people claim various events they refer to as “miraculous”. People in different cultures have substantially different definitions of the word “miracle”. Even within a specific religion there is often more than one of the term. Sometimes the term “miracle” may refer to the action of a supernatural being that is not a god. Thus, the term “divine intervention”, by contrast, would refer specifically to the direct involvement of a deity.
On August 13th, 2009, Dairy Queen® and Blizzard® treat lovers across North America will make miracles happen for sick and injured kids in their communities. Purchase of a Blizzard treat at participating DQ stores will benefit local Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. Thank you for helping us make miracles happen.
In this commercial you see three different miracles take place, they are a:
- Boy with hair-lip
- Girl with face and neck burns
- Boy with braces
My first impression of this commercial was how excited I was for those in the dramatization getting well, the second thought I had was, ‘where are the miracles we need to see in the church, through the church’?
I believe there are three types of healings that can take place at anytime in anyone’s life. I have personally experienced all three.
1. Natural
2. Medical
3. Miraculous
Luke 3:15: The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.”
Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
Luke 4: 14-20 “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him,
In Luke 4 we see five different and decisive areas that Jesus was called to do on earth and to bring healing to those suffering. He was to:
- Preach the Gospel to the poor
- Proclaim release to the captives
- Recovery of sight to the blind
- To set free those who are bruised
- To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
“We are a product of our total life experience; our reactions to present situations are determined by past experiences. Our perceptions of the present time can be distorted by our past hurts. To the extent that we react violently to a simple problem, we must conclude that we are bound to the past and cannot respond normally to the present situation.” Karol Thompson
With everything that is legitimate, there will always be the false, the phony, and the liars. In Acts 8:9-24, Simon the sorcerer is one of these false deceivers, even though he went through many of the steps to freedom in Christ, however, something from his past, something deep in his heart, kept him from yielding fully to God and as a result, he was willing to attempt to take the pure and make it pitiful. Look at the text closely.
9Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; 10and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” 11And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts. 12But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike. 13Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. 14Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. 18Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21“You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22“Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. 23“For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” 24But Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
~ There can be no God-power when you don’t operate under God-authority ~
Vr. 23 “you are full of bitterness,
People love Jesus but have issues not dealt with, causing them to want control…thought you could buy. Verse 21
Hebrews talks about a root of bitterness
Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;
- Bitterness begins with unforgiveness,
- unforgiveness
- resentment
- retaliation
- anger
- hatred
- violence
- murder
Bruised (release the oppressed) in the Greek is Thrao and means to smite through, shatter, eg: broken by tragedy, great distress or misfortunate, an event causing great harm or loss and affliction.
The Bruises of Satan
Adam: “What you became, we are. What you originally were, we would like to be.”
At first Adam was dirt shaped form created by the finger of God, with head and body, with hand and feet, with heart and veins, with muscle and tissue, with digestive and nervous system, but no soul, no life…
Then God breathed into his nostrils the “Breath of Life” and Adam became a living soul.
Adam you were the first man, the first laborer, the first husband, the first Father, the first Sinner!
Cain:
No doubt his conscience shouted to him: “Don’t do it” – His envy argued, “Kill Him”
Cain Kills Abel – Both were sons of Adam and Eve. Both were taught the same. Whatever was within Cain’s heart, which led him to make a wrong offering, also led him to resent God’s rejecting of it.
What a disappointment to Adam and Eve, What a reminder of their own failure
Joseph:
Joseph’s brothers piled hate upon him; the son of Rachel was going to receive the birthright honor.
His brother’s hated him for this, he tells them of the dream of the 12 sheaves
After a long journey from Hebron to Shechem and d from there towards Dothan, he is tired and looking for a friendly face. He finds his brothers, only to find out that they had engaged in a conspiracy to murder the dreamer who had his father’s affection and wore a coat of distinction. Reuben intervened and suggested they put him in a pit
Now he’s sold into slavery
Moses:
It was a hard political age for the Egyptians. Fear so gripped their national leadership that a decree was published to destroy all male babies of the Hebrews lest they join the enemies of the nation in a time of war. Mass murder was underway.
Moses is hid for 3 months, placed in the water and discovered by Pharaohs daughter. The child’s life was divided into three equal periods of 40 years.
In Egypt learning
In Midian in discipline
In leading and training the nation
Jesus Christ:
Born in a manger, betrayed by a friend, Rejected –
Isa. 53:3 “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Falsely accused
Matt. 12:24 “But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebub,the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”
Gen. 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Imprisoned through the Bruises, Released by the Blood of Jesus
Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
- Sin produced Hurt
- Hurt produced pain
- Pain is a bruise
- Bruises produce bitterness
- Bitterness can bind us to our hurt and pain
Don’t give Satan the ground he wants in your life, don’t give him the right of way or the use of your mind.
We need to learn to forgive others and ourselves
When you hate yourself, your immune system turns on you and destroys you
If you give up on yourself so will your body
Perfect love casts out fear
Let God heal you today however He chooses, keep away from all demonic activity and trust the Bible and all it says about Jesus Christ’s desire to set you free, Spirit, Soul and Body!
AUTHENTICITY
Saturday, March 17th, 2012AUTHENTICITY
There’s a story told of a woman who pulled up to a red light behind another car. The driver of the car in front of her was talking on his cell phone, and shuffling through some papers on the seat beside him. The light turned green, but the man didn’t notice. The woman began pounding on her steering wheel, honking her horn and yelling at the man to move. The man still didn’t move. The light turned yellow. The woman blew the car’s horn repeatedly, as she yelled and screamed at the man. The man finally noticed the commotion. He looked up, saw the yellow light, and accelerated through the intersection just as the light turned red. The woman was beside herself, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection. As she was still in mid-rant she heard a tap on her window and looked into the face of a very serious looking policeman. The policeman told her to shut off her engine and step out of the car. The red-faced woman obeyed, speechless at what was happening. The policeman took the woman to the police station where she was placed in a cell, after a couple of hours of sitting in the cell, the woman was brought out to the front of the station where the original officer was waiting with her personal effects. The policeman handed her the bag containing her things, and said, “I’m really sorry for this mistake, but you see I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn and screaming and cursing. Then I noticed the Choose Life license plate holder, the Follow Me to Sunday school bumper sticker, and the chrome plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, naturally I assumed that you had stolen the car, but I was wrong!
Authenticity…Refers to the truthfulness of origins, attributions, commitments, sincerity, devotion, and intentions.
Philip Yancey wrote: “Grace comes free of charge to people who do not deserve it and I am one of those people. I think back to whom I was — resentful, wound tight with anger, a single hardened link in a long chain of “un-grace” learned from family and church. Now, I am trying in my own small way to pipe…the tune of grace. I do so because I know, more surely than I know anything, that any pang of healing or forgiveness, or goodness, I have ever felt comes solely from the grace of God. I yearn for the church to become a nourishing culture of that grace”.
Grace also will remind us, it’s okay to let others see how much God still needs to work in our lives. Grace and authenticity walk hand in hand.
- Isn’t it tragic that people regularly enter churches and then leave again never finding grace?
- It’s common to believe in God’s grace but to be ungracious. It’s also common to preach grace, but not extend it. As people, we claim grace and forgiveness for ourselves, but we often demand performance from others. We need to understand Christ’s heart for His Church.
C.S. Lewis said, “Man is incurably religious.” Our human pride makes us legalists by nature. We need regular, repeated doses of the Truth of grace to flush that garbage out of our thinking. We also love to give others a good impression.
- What will characterize Christians who pursue grace-driven authenticity?
The passage below will help us discover, how to put a “face on grace“. It helps us celebrate grace — in turn to “grace” each other. This moves us down the road to being real.
Colossians 3:1-14 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is yourlife, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
1. Grace (driven) people know their roots – verse 12
2. Grace people reflect grace
Wear gentleness… This word is the same word as meekness — it‘s the opposite of rudeness and abrasiveness.
Put on Kindness…. that’s action that grows out of compassion.
Put on humility…. Humility flows out of remembering God’s grace to you. In Romans 12:3, Paul says, through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
Put on patience… Literally, that means putting up with people’s exasperating conduct without responding in kind.
It time we find our Purpose ~
Dictionary for Purpose: The object toward which one strives or for which something exists; an aim or a goal:
Paul Harvey – “Like what you do. If you don’t like it, do something else.”
John Ruskin – “Tell me what you like and I’ll tell you what you are.”
Kenneth Hildebrand – “Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes; lesser ones exist on wishes and inclinations.”
What is your purpose in life? - The object toward which one strives or for which something exists; an aim or a goal:
- Most times we are quick to say what is our secondary purpose, but everything in creation has a primary purpose, or a reason for existing. For anyone or anything to be successful, it must fulfill that purpose.
- AUTHENTICITY = REAL
Kingdom Coin
Friday, March 16th, 2012Prov. 3:5-10 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to your navel, and marrow to your bones. Honor the LORD with your substance, and with the first fruits of all your increase: So shall your barns be filled with plenty, and your presses shall burst out with new wine.”
Nine Reasons for practicing Stewardship
- It is a tried and proven pattern of giving by godly people throughout the ages
- It will help you revere God more in your life
- It will bring God’s wisdom and order to your finances and will help you harness the dragon of materialism.
- It will serve as a practical reminder that God is the Owner of everything you have
- It will allow you to experience God’s creative care and provisions in ways you would not otherwise experience
- It will encourage your spiritual growth and trust in God
- It will strengthen the ministry, outreach, and stability of your local church
- It will help provide the means to keep your pastor and missionaries in full-time Christian service
- It will help accomplish needed building projects and renovations
What some Millionaires thought about money and GIVING…Quotes by some folks you may have heard of…
L. Kraft, head of the Kraft Cheese Corp., who had given approximately 25% of his enormous income to Christian causes for many years, said, “The only investment I ever made which has paid consistently increasing dividends is the money I have given to the Lord.”
J. D. Rockefeller said, “I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week.”
Quotes on the subject by other well known people:
Martin Luther – “I have tried to keep things in my hands and lost them all, but what I have given into God’s hands I still possess.”
Jimmy Carter – “When it comes to giving, some people will stop at nothing.”
George Mueller – “God judges what we give by what we keep.”
Peter Marshall – “Give according to your income, lest God make your income according to your giving.”
Mother Teresa – “If you give what you do not need, it isn’t giving.”
- “The trouble is that too many people are spending money they haven’t yet earned, for things they don’t need, to impress people they don’t like.”
Three types of Giving
Little – You ought to (obligation)
Legal – You have to (law)
Liberal – You want to (grace])
Liberal giving says: You Have the Heart of Christ…You See Others Needs as Something You can Help With…You are Tied to Others…You Get to Give – Not vice-versa…You are an Inspiration to Others…You improve the Lives of Others Around You…You have a Right Attitude…You Will Get Back Liberally Also…Your aim in life is to Glorify God
In Matthew, Mark, and Luke – 1 of 6 verses deals with money
- Giving has nothing to do with ASSETS! It’s about Attitude…Trust…Choice…Ownership
Truth – Most Tip God & Call It Tithing
Leftovers are such humble things, we would not serve to a guest, & yet we serve them to our Lord who deserves the very best. We give to him leftover time, stray minutes here & there. Leftover cash we give to him, such few coins as we can spare.
Cheerful Givers
A mother wanted to teach her daughter a moral lesson. She gave the little girl a quarter and a dollar for church. “Put whichever one you want in the collection plate and keep the other for yourself,” she told the girl. When they were coming out of church, the mother asked her daughter which amount she had given. “Well,” said the little girl, “I was going to give the dollar, but just before the collection the man in the pulpit said that we should all be cheerful givers. I knew I’d be a lot more cheerful if I gave the quarter, so I did.”
Ten Facts Men Should Consider About Their Wife!
Friday, March 16th, 2012By Perry Noble, Christian Post Guest Columnist
1. Before she was your wife she was God’s daughter…and He is VERY concerned about how someone treats His girl!
2. Women are responders, so if there is friction/conflict in the relationship she is most likely responding to something that is off center…and it is going to take an actual conversation where you use words to figure out what it is.
3. If a man will not lead his family then Satan will! (See Genesis 3)
4. One of the biggest questions that a woman is always asking of her husband is, “can I trust you with my heart?” And the answer to this question is not simply declared but rather demonstrated over time.
5. Every word you speak has meaning to your wife…and HOW you say those words carry even more meaning.
6. No woman responds well to condemnation…and if we are supposed to love our wives like Christ loves the church, and there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1) then we MUST watch our words carefully.
7. It is a spiritual impossibility for an angry husband to love his wife like Jesus loves the church.
8. Your wife LOVES to know you are thinking about her during the day.
9. Surfing the Internet or playing games on your smart phone while she is sitting next to you on the couch is NOT romantic.
10. Pursuit must be intentional! You did not accidentally fall in love…and you will not accidently stay in love!
A Successful Marriage
Thursday, March 15th, 2012Lena and I have been married for 28 years. The time has flown by and the main reason for that is because I married my best friend we have continued to develop this friendship year after year. In our home, birthdays are a very big tradition (Swedish) and we love to celebrate them with special emphasis each year. When we’re back in Sweden, I like to tease my relatives (with sincerity) about how I place greater value on wedding anniversaries over birthdays. My rationale is that as long as you’re breathing, birthdays will happen, not the same for wedding anniversaries. They require special care and attention and each year that passes is an indicator that a husband and wife have hopefully worked very hard to make what was good, great! I am committed to the words I spoke to Lena, ‘Til death do us part’, I am not interested in seeing the most precious human relationship fall apart because of my own selfishness and or lack of self control. It’s time for men to be men and quite acting and living like thumb sucking, mamma’s boys. Grow up, lead and treasure the wife of your youth, it’s worth it. Here are some helpful tips you may want to consider.
1. Honesty – Two people who are not going to be honest with each other have planned to fail. It’s been well said, ‘we don’t plan to fail, we fail to plan’. Plan on being honest. No lying! Lena and I made the commitment before we got married that we would not have secrets from one another, no matter how painful. Early pain for long-term gain is the philosophy behind being a truth teller (all the time). The power of a secret is broken when the lie is exposed to the light, the fantasy and intrigue that the devil places in your thought life is now broken. Truth telling is especially crucial when it comes to finances. This is true right from the time you start dating til the very end. It’s not my money, it’s our money and having secrets about finances will be a relationship breaker.
2. Humility – is not thinking badly of yourself, it’s simply not thinking of yourself at all. If you care for the needs of others, our needs will always be taken into account. Jesus practiced humility in every possible way, right to the end when he washed the disciples feet. The resistance that he received from Peter was much like we see in today’s relationships. All one sided, Peter said, ‘you will never wash my feet’ and Jesus said if I don’t wash your feet, you won’t have fellowship with me. Humility opens up the gate to fellowship, being friends! This is not an overstated word, being a true friend should be seen in marriage as much if not more than any other place.
3. Patience – Because we live in a fast paced society with many built in expectations, we often take out our angry on the person closes to us. If you’re deadlines at work are not being met, who get’s it? You come home and in an atmosphere where there is and should be more acceptance, we blast away at the one we love, trying to relieve the pressures imposed upon us from other circumstances. Stop and take a breath before responding to a question from your spouse, take a walk, go on the treadmill, do something that doesn’t inflict pain on the soul of your lover.
4. Self-Awareness – Get to know yourself! The Bible says that you should love God with all your being and love your neighbor as yourself. Self-love is not narcissism, it is getting to know the author of love, Christ Himself, who laid down His life for us and letting Him teach us more about us. Find out through reading the word, listening to anointed, inspired and sound teaching, truths about life and love that will radiate from you to those within your love circle. While we are to love everyone, the amount of time, energy and emotional quotient that we can expend is set at the level designed by our creator. The more you spend time with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit will be evident in the direct benefits towards your best friend. Learn to discern, grow in self-awareness, go deeper within and let the Spirit search you thoroughly, allowing the real YOU to shine through!
Leaders…Love
Thursday, March 15th, 2012The church growing spiritually and numerically is a by-product of a right relationship with the Lord of the church. Spiritual depth and church health cannot be measured by methods, models, or programs, but by its relationship with the Lord Jesus. Likewise, a healthy church necessitates spiritually healthy leadership.
A spiritually healthy leader is one who thrives and advances in life and ministry. The word “thrive” means to grow vigorously, to progress toward a goal in spite of circumstance. The thriving leader has a newness of spirit that is constantly flourishing and pulsating with life.
These are the characteristics of leaders who thrive:
1. Leaders who thrive love Jesus deeply. If you feel drained, loving Jesus will give you a fresh perspective on ministry and kindle a fresh fire in your heart. Spiritually healthy leaders keep the hidden life of the soul and spirit pure, discerning any subtle changes of the soul’s health and the spirit’s passion.
Education, training, skills, personality, and gifts are great, but being with Jesus and being in the presence that transforms will empower you with fresh energy and remove the weariness of soul.
2. Leaders who thrive love people deeply. A.W. Tozer wrote, “Deep-felt compassion is one of the primary controlling emotions of pastoral ministry. It is the human emotion of the heart of God.” Because the Lord established the church as His society of love on earth, pastors have the wonderful privilege to give love, to be loved, and to lead others to express Christ’s love in the world.
Pray for people continually, love people unconditionally, and prize people honorably.
3. Leaders who thrive love the house of God deeply. Loving God and loving God’s house are vitally connected and are foundational to fulfilling God’s plan and enjoying our personal destiny.
You can get anything and everything you want without belonging to or serving a local church: conferences, websites, seminars, counseling, and so on. But the house of the Lord is God’s idea, and we must be committed to loving it and building it.
NOTE: I am not sure where i got this material, sounds like something i would say and write but will leave the credit to whoever it belongs to ~
Fresh Direction
Thursday, March 15th, 2012Isaiah 43:19 “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland”.
Do you ever wish God would just tell you exactly what He wanted you to do? It seems that few people have that kind of crystal-clear insight, especially on a daily basis. At times, with some individuals, their testimonies can make you think, “What’s wrong with me, I don’t have that kind of direct hot-line to heaven”.
Supernatural leadership can pose severe trials for our faith. We might be liable to think of ourselves as more spiritual than others who haven’t had our experience. Supernatural guidance also could make the decision process too easy for us, robbing us of the incentive to take the sort of responsibility for our choices that truly develops faith.
That said…God does speak to us every day through His word and through a variety of spiritual gifts that He has imparted to His church. Over the past several years, as we have been listening to God’s voice speak, our desire has been to understand His plans for our District. We have been leading the Alberta & NWT into new territory with Fresh Direction.
At our recent Banff gathering, we passed resolutions that will allow us clear and direct passage into our new reality. Here are some of the highlights:
Minister’s Gathering
Our Minister’s Gathering/District Conference in February was called Fresh Direction and the entire year is being themed with these words in mind. Our conference greatly enjoyed the ministry of Pastor Denny Duron who began the first session with the captivating phrase, “God is always doing more than what you think He is.” How applicable these words were to the delegates as we shared the following vision.
- To better fulfill our District’s mission statement, our framework for care & governance needed to change to reflect two vital goals:
- A stronger network of pastoral care for credential holders
- A governance structure that has greater focus on vision and strategy
- By fulfilling these goals, we will:
- Cultivate healthy leaders, churches and ministries
- Maximize gifts in leaders through involvement in areas of passion and proficiency
- Build a broader base for credential holders to engage in expanded district leadership.
- What will this look like?
- Executive Lead Team(ELT) – the 4 elected officers will continue to function as currently determined in District Constitution & Bylaws and part of the DLT
- District Leadership Team (DLT) – composed of elected & appointed individuals
- District Area Pastors (DAP) – composed of individuals appointed by the DLT from a suggested roster of names submitted by the Pastoral Care Committee, after consultation with the credential holder within a specified geographic region.
Building Healthy Pastoral Teams
In December 2010 a Task Force of four was established for the purpose of discovering way to increase health on ministry teams with the following mandate:
- To establish Core Values for Pastoral Team Dynamics
- To create best practices for Pastoral Team relationships.
- To bring recommendations as to how the Alberta & NWT could provide on-going education regarding team relationships/dynamics.
This report was presented and with vast enthusiasm received for implementation. This is such a step forward in our Fresh Direction vision.
CP2020 (Church Planting 2020)
The District’s vision of 100 by 2020 (one 100 church plants by 2020) has been received with great anticipation and some honest questions. Questions like, “Where we will get the leaders and financial resources?” The answer is…“The Lord will supply”. If the vision is attainable without a miracle, it isn’t a vision at all. Praise the Lord; already we are witnessing a number of ‘new beginning’ plants and numerous inquiries from interested individuals and churches.