God's timing that is...
I have an agenda, a schedule, a calendar. I used to have a 5 year plan, even a 10 year plan...
God has an agenda too. I use to think that all I had to do was have Godly priorities and everything would work out fine, but the more I walk through life, and the better I get to know His heart, I am realizing that my desires aren't the problem, my agenda is.
I think I am trying to say that, "God and I have the same end in mind, we just have vastly different ideas about how to get there."
I've often wondered why I didn't get a "calling". Honestly I grew up expecting that if I just got to know Him well enough, "it" would happen. I'd mystically understand to the very core of my being what I was created to do.
But calling doesn't always come from a "God called Abram" moment, or from a "And the voice from heaven saying..." experience. I thought the goal was to quietly go about my business, and wait for someone to say "Follow me and I will make you a fisher of men."
The more I get to know God the more I understand calling in terms of Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, then you will be able to test and approve what the will of God is, that which is good perfect and pleasing to Him."
The more I get to know God the more I understand calling in terms of Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
I will find a job that meets my needs, so that I won't become a burden or a thief, but also one doesn't lead me to such abundance that forget my dependence on God.
I will learn what I need to know to further God's kingdom, not to fatten my wallet.
I will pursue work and education with excellence, but never so much so that I don't have time for the work of God's kingdom.
I won't borrow to get where I think God wants me to be now, because God said that the borrower is slave to the lender, and I don't want any master but Him. Instead I will find a way to accomplish God's goals according to God's methods, not according to my own.
That is the Re-Think moment. Pursue God's goals according to God's methods. His kingdom according to His righteousness.
Trust that God doesn't just plan the ends, He also plans the means.
Listen for the voice behind you that says "this is the way, walk in it".
Let His word be "a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path", even if there is only enough light to see one step at a time...
Because God's timing is perfect.
Showing posts with label Trust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trust. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Haven Part 2
You can read Haven Part 1 here.
Haven is the name Shandy and I have given to the ministry we believe God has called us to. As we have traveled the journey He has been leading us on, the specifics of Haven have changed, but a few things have stayed the same.
1. People, in need will live under the same roof as our family.
2. We will share our lives and our faith with them
3. We will mentor them, spiritually, emotionally, practically...
My wife and I are both the type to try to 'make' things happen. We like to make a list, and have a plan, but not matter what we put on paper, something came up, and this mission has been hold, even seemed impossible for a long time, but as I said in Haven Part 1... Then the phone rang...
It was a couple from our church, who had also attend the church I grew up in. I've known them for the better part of 15 years. I helped them move into the house where they are living, enjoyed annual Christmas parties at their home, envied the way they can finish each other's sentences, and seen them be generous with all that God has given them. The wife was there when we first saw our babies via ultra sound. She has been there when my wife needed someone to bridge the gap between physician and friend during the battle with Bi-polar. I've watch the husband devote himself as both husband and father, modeling the self sacrificing love that Christ calls us to as men. We've worked together in ministry, and they even trusted us with their kids on occasion.
They called to tell us they were moving. She is taking a job in another state, but they love the home they designed together, and don't want to sell it. They want someone to take care of the place until they are ready to retire, or until God says it is time to let it go.
We were speechless. The opportunity was too amazing to possibly be real. We had a hard time knowing what to say because we were overwhelmed by the size of the generosity and trust they were extending. It is humbling, and awesome, and exciting all at once. And that's when we thought they were asking us to do it for just a year. We littlerally couldn't talk when we found out that it might be as many as 10 years. (I will use James 4:13-16 as a disclaimer)
A week from today they will pull out of the driveway to start the next chapter of their adventure, and we will pull in to start the next chapter our ours.
I haven't told you the coolest part yet. The Haven part. The "Wow, God is Awesome" part.
They had one condition. Their condition was that we keep the house open to whomever needed a place to stay. Be it for a weekend, a week, a month, or a year. They know the house is a gift from God and they know that they should to use it to honor Him, and their one requirement of us is that we continue their ministry to those in need of a home. As the Apostle Paul once said, "The very thing we were eager to do".
We don't know who God will bring into our home, or how much time and energy this style of life will take, what the implications are for other jobs or ministries, but we do know that God has provided us with a home. God has taken away the biggest line item in our budget, provided years of the financial security that we thought was gone when we said no to the job with US Customs. He has shown us that nothing is to big for our God. He has shown us that He is the one who directs our path. The the same God who took care of Israel in the desert, who took care of Elijah in the wilderness, who feeds the birds of the air, and clothes the lillies, is our God, and is our provider.
Haven is the name Shandy and I have given to the ministry we believe God has called us to. As we have traveled the journey He has been leading us on, the specifics of Haven have changed, but a few things have stayed the same.
1. People, in need will live under the same roof as our family.
2. We will share our lives and our faith with them
3. We will mentor them, spiritually, emotionally, practically...
My wife and I are both the type to try to 'make' things happen. We like to make a list, and have a plan, but not matter what we put on paper, something came up, and this mission has been hold, even seemed impossible for a long time, but as I said in Haven Part 1... Then the phone rang...
It was a couple from our church, who had also attend the church I grew up in. I've known them for the better part of 15 years. I helped them move into the house where they are living, enjoyed annual Christmas parties at their home, envied the way they can finish each other's sentences, and seen them be generous with all that God has given them. The wife was there when we first saw our babies via ultra sound. She has been there when my wife needed someone to bridge the gap between physician and friend during the battle with Bi-polar. I've watch the husband devote himself as both husband and father, modeling the self sacrificing love that Christ calls us to as men. We've worked together in ministry, and they even trusted us with their kids on occasion.
They called to tell us they were moving. She is taking a job in another state, but they love the home they designed together, and don't want to sell it. They want someone to take care of the place until they are ready to retire, or until God says it is time to let it go.
We were speechless. The opportunity was too amazing to possibly be real. We had a hard time knowing what to say because we were overwhelmed by the size of the generosity and trust they were extending. It is humbling, and awesome, and exciting all at once. And that's when we thought they were asking us to do it for just a year. We littlerally couldn't talk when we found out that it might be as many as 10 years. (I will use James 4:13-16 as a disclaimer)
A week from today they will pull out of the driveway to start the next chapter of their adventure, and we will pull in to start the next chapter our ours.
I haven't told you the coolest part yet. The Haven part. The "Wow, God is Awesome" part.
They had one condition. Their condition was that we keep the house open to whomever needed a place to stay. Be it for a weekend, a week, a month, or a year. They know the house is a gift from God and they know that they should to use it to honor Him, and their one requirement of us is that we continue their ministry to those in need of a home. As the Apostle Paul once said, "The very thing we were eager to do".
We don't know who God will bring into our home, or how much time and energy this style of life will take, what the implications are for other jobs or ministries, but we do know that God has provided us with a home. God has taken away the biggest line item in our budget, provided years of the financial security that we thought was gone when we said no to the job with US Customs. He has shown us that nothing is to big for our God. He has shown us that He is the one who directs our path. The the same God who took care of Israel in the desert, who took care of Elijah in the wilderness, who feeds the birds of the air, and clothes the lillies, is our God, and is our provider.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Haven (Part 1 of Many)
Years before my wife and I met, God put a dream in my
heart. That dream was to own a place
where people who were weary from the world could come and find rest. In my mind it was a camp in the woods, were the
world-weary could come, serve, encounter God and live simply until they recovered
from the storm. I almost bought
140-acre plot of land to make it happen, but then I met a girl, bought a house
and started a family.
That girl had a dream; something God had put on her
heart. That dream was to own a place
where people who were weary from the world could come and find rest. In her mind it was a small hotel or bed and
breakfast, where world-weary people could come, serve, encounter God and live simply until they recovered from the storm. She
had her eye on a large house in the western mountains of Maine that she thought
would be perfect for this, but she was a missionary in Hungary, until she met a
boy, bought a house and started a family.
Five years passed.
In that time they had two beautiful boys, had several different people live
with them, learned how important family is to the mission they both felt called
to do, applied for a job that offered great fiancial security, learned a lot about trust, sold their house, turned down a job that offered great financial security, moved in with friends who seemed to have a similar vision only to have
that experiment end without really ever getting started, interned at their church, learned a the feet of a great mentor, made life long friends, battled bi-polar disorder, baptized new believers and waited for God’s timing.
Then the phone rang...
Tune in sometime in September or October to find out more...
Tune in sometime in September or October to find out more...
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Quiet Time Reflections
In John 6 Jesus
feeds the 5,000, then walks across the lake, calms a storm, and lands on the
far shore, just in time to be greeted by the same crowd of people. They are all wondering how he got there, and
He gave them this beautifully blunt and un-politically correct response, "You
aren't looking for me" He said, "because
you want to believe, you are looking for me because you want a free meal." ~ CPV (Charlie Paraphrased Version)
You have to love Jesus way with words. He never pulled any punches or told a crowd what they wanted to hear, instead He went straight to the heart of the matter.
I am tempted to dwell on His blunt and rather offensive manner of speaking (we are so quick to take offense that I think we would write Jesus off as unloving if he were walking the earth today), but is what followed that really caught my attention. He said "Do not work for the food that perishes, but work for the food which endures to eternal life."
It is a simple reminder that goes along with what Jesus said in Matthew 6. - "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things (speaking of basic necessities like food and clothing) will be given to you."
How often do we kill ourselves working to make the mortgage payment, or to pay the electricity bill, or to make the car payment, or to pay the mechanic just keep the poor old thing running for a few more months. How much time have I spent stressing out over our looming loss of insurance coverage, even contemplating giving up ministry to keep insurance!? How many of my peers have I watched work harder for the things that aren't necessities, Internet access, apple products, smart phone plans, ballet lessons & travel basketball fees for junior, and that vacation they've always wanted…
Jesus effectively said, "don't work for temporary things, work for eternal things." & "Seek Me first and I'll take care of the rest".
Do I trust Him enough to actually live that way?
Give me your feed back. Have you put these words of Jesus into practice? Why/How or Why not?
You have to love Jesus way with words. He never pulled any punches or told a crowd what they wanted to hear, instead He went straight to the heart of the matter.
I am tempted to dwell on His blunt and rather offensive manner of speaking (we are so quick to take offense that I think we would write Jesus off as unloving if he were walking the earth today), but is what followed that really caught my attention. He said "Do not work for the food that perishes, but work for the food which endures to eternal life."
It is a simple reminder that goes along with what Jesus said in Matthew 6. - "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things (speaking of basic necessities like food and clothing) will be given to you."
How often do we kill ourselves working to make the mortgage payment, or to pay the electricity bill, or to make the car payment, or to pay the mechanic just keep the poor old thing running for a few more months. How much time have I spent stressing out over our looming loss of insurance coverage, even contemplating giving up ministry to keep insurance!? How many of my peers have I watched work harder for the things that aren't necessities, Internet access, apple products, smart phone plans, ballet lessons & travel basketball fees for junior, and that vacation they've always wanted…
Jesus effectively said, "don't work for temporary things, work for eternal things." & "Seek Me first and I'll take care of the rest".
Do I trust Him enough to actually live that way?
Give me your feed back. Have you put these words of Jesus into practice? Why/How or Why not?
Friday, June 15, 2012
Update...
I haven't blogged in a long time. But I have a desire to start over, so I am. We shall see if this foray into blogging lasts any longer than any of my previous attempts. I hope you may be blessed by what you read.
In case you are wondering what I've been up to for the last year. I am happy to say that it has been a great year of Moving and Re-Thinking.
We took a chance on our long term dream by moving in with some friends who had a similar long term dream. Our goal was to experiment with living in community, so that we could get a taste of what it would be like to bring the weary and heavy laden into our home. It was certainly a great trial run. As it turned out, we were the ones who were weary and heavy laden. My wife's Bi-polar disorder was at a crescendo during our experiment. I hadn't figured out how to trust God with that part of life yet, the 40 commute each way cut into our family time, and we were adapting to living in a rural environment as opposed to the Maine version of urban... As I am writing about this experiment in the past-tense, you may have guessed that it didn't quite work out like we had planned. On the upside, we learned a lot. As a result of that dark time in my wife's depression, I finally know what it is like to go to God and tell him that something is too big for me to handle, to just give it to Him and have Him completely change my heart. Not because of anything I did, but because I stopped trying to do it myself, and fell into the arms of a gracious God, who changed my very way of thinking, my impulses... It was a much needed lesson in trust. The first of many. Hopefully I am a better husband, father, and servant for it.
After that, it was like God opened a floodgate of Blessings on our ministry. Our teens got the chance to really tangibly help a family in need. We bought Christmas presents for a family in our community who had lost their job. Our teens raised 100% of the money, and bought the gifts on the simple list the dad had prepared. Christmas Sunday that family was in church for the first time. By Easter the parents had been baptized, and a few weeks later I had the privilege of leading their two teenage daughters and their niece to Jesus. Just a few weeks ago, their teenage son and his friend accepted Christ, and last week one of the girl's boyfriends, came to my office in tears, asking that I help him find Jesus. And they aren't the only ones, 4 other young men have decided to follow Jesus, since Thanksgiving of 2011. I was recently reading a friend's prayer letter and wondering how they got new believers to write such beautiful testimonies, so that they could post them in their letter. This Sunday I got a text message that made it clear. The most recent teen to accept Christ sent me these words, "I went from very broken to very happy today. Thank you so much. See you at Bible Study." My friends get people to write such beautiful testimonies for their prayer letters, because "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Words do not begin to describe how blessed I feel to be able to be used by God. I have realized what Paul said is true. There is nothing worth boasting about except what God has done. Nothing else matters.
Recently those lessons in trust have been put to the test. Working 2 part time jobs puts you in a rough spot when neither one provides health insurance, and you don't quite make enough to buy it for your family of 4. So may family has been on Mainecare. In May our legislature voted to change the law so that we will no longer qualify. From a political perspective, I totally agree with the decision. From a "how on earth do I provide for my family" position, I was freaked out! Should I quit a job and stay on assistance? Should I quit both and find a full time job that would provide insurance? Do I beg my church to take me on full time? Do I go back to school so that I can move toward my long term goal of full time ministry? Honestly my first instinct was to take matters into my own hands, to find a way to meet the need. After all just one of my wife's prescriptions alone could cost $60.00 a day!
But God is good, and reminds us at just the right time of the things we need to know. I brought a book home from a conference, that said that trust in God was the most important thing we could teach our kids. I read about the amazing faith of the servants who participated in Jesus first miracle by filling bathtub sized jars with water. (read John 2 from the perspective of the servants. It will blow your mind) I preached a sermon on it and on Proverbs 3:5&6, how we should trust without leaning on our own understanding. And wouldn't you know, the virtue we are teaching the kids at church this month is... TRUST! all month I am reading these lessons and preparing to teach the topic. It is like God is hitting me up the side of the head with a 2x4 saying, "Hey! do what I want you to do, seek first My kingdom and My righteousness and I will take care of everything else!"
So what did I do? I read a book called Quitter by Jon Acuff. It is basically about "how to go from your day job to your dream job without committing marital or financial suicide" . I read it thinking I'd figure out how to quit my jobs, and get the job I really want, or at least one that would help me take matters into my own hands an provide for my family... Apparently I needed one or two more hits with the 2x4... The first chapter of this book was entitled "don't quit your day job". I almost put it down. But I kept reading, and like a younger hipper Gordon Macdonald was speaking to me, I was reminded of the difference between being driven to do something and being called to do it. I was reminded to rediscover the passions God had placed in my life, and to pursue them, and I realized that this is exactly what I am doing. I am in the environment that God wants me to be in, doing the things he wants me to do, and practicing the things I will need to be excellent at before I can do them "full time". There are some changes I need to make to really focus in on my calling, to keep my eyes on the goal instead of the emergencies that pop up, but I am doing what God wants me to do. He is blessing richly, and I know that as long as I keep my eyes on Him, I can trust Him.
So that's a quick over view of what's been going on in my year away from blogging. I look forward to keeping you more informed on what God is doing as I keep Moving and Re-thinking.
In case you are wondering what I've been up to for the last year. I am happy to say that it has been a great year of Moving and Re-Thinking.
We took a chance on our long term dream by moving in with some friends who had a similar long term dream. Our goal was to experiment with living in community, so that we could get a taste of what it would be like to bring the weary and heavy laden into our home. It was certainly a great trial run. As it turned out, we were the ones who were weary and heavy laden. My wife's Bi-polar disorder was at a crescendo during our experiment. I hadn't figured out how to trust God with that part of life yet, the 40 commute each way cut into our family time, and we were adapting to living in a rural environment as opposed to the Maine version of urban... As I am writing about this experiment in the past-tense, you may have guessed that it didn't quite work out like we had planned. On the upside, we learned a lot. As a result of that dark time in my wife's depression, I finally know what it is like to go to God and tell him that something is too big for me to handle, to just give it to Him and have Him completely change my heart. Not because of anything I did, but because I stopped trying to do it myself, and fell into the arms of a gracious God, who changed my very way of thinking, my impulses... It was a much needed lesson in trust. The first of many. Hopefully I am a better husband, father, and servant for it.
After that, it was like God opened a floodgate of Blessings on our ministry. Our teens got the chance to really tangibly help a family in need. We bought Christmas presents for a family in our community who had lost their job. Our teens raised 100% of the money, and bought the gifts on the simple list the dad had prepared. Christmas Sunday that family was in church for the first time. By Easter the parents had been baptized, and a few weeks later I had the privilege of leading their two teenage daughters and their niece to Jesus. Just a few weeks ago, their teenage son and his friend accepted Christ, and last week one of the girl's boyfriends, came to my office in tears, asking that I help him find Jesus. And they aren't the only ones, 4 other young men have decided to follow Jesus, since Thanksgiving of 2011. I was recently reading a friend's prayer letter and wondering how they got new believers to write such beautiful testimonies, so that they could post them in their letter. This Sunday I got a text message that made it clear. The most recent teen to accept Christ sent me these words, "I went from very broken to very happy today. Thank you so much. See you at Bible Study." My friends get people to write such beautiful testimonies for their prayer letters, because "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Words do not begin to describe how blessed I feel to be able to be used by God. I have realized what Paul said is true. There is nothing worth boasting about except what God has done. Nothing else matters.
Recently those lessons in trust have been put to the test. Working 2 part time jobs puts you in a rough spot when neither one provides health insurance, and you don't quite make enough to buy it for your family of 4. So may family has been on Mainecare. In May our legislature voted to change the law so that we will no longer qualify. From a political perspective, I totally agree with the decision. From a "how on earth do I provide for my family" position, I was freaked out! Should I quit a job and stay on assistance? Should I quit both and find a full time job that would provide insurance? Do I beg my church to take me on full time? Do I go back to school so that I can move toward my long term goal of full time ministry? Honestly my first instinct was to take matters into my own hands, to find a way to meet the need. After all just one of my wife's prescriptions alone could cost $60.00 a day!
But God is good, and reminds us at just the right time of the things we need to know. I brought a book home from a conference, that said that trust in God was the most important thing we could teach our kids. I read about the amazing faith of the servants who participated in Jesus first miracle by filling bathtub sized jars with water. (read John 2 from the perspective of the servants. It will blow your mind) I preached a sermon on it and on Proverbs 3:5&6, how we should trust without leaning on our own understanding. And wouldn't you know, the virtue we are teaching the kids at church this month is... TRUST! all month I am reading these lessons and preparing to teach the topic. It is like God is hitting me up the side of the head with a 2x4 saying, "Hey! do what I want you to do, seek first My kingdom and My righteousness and I will take care of everything else!"
So what did I do? I read a book called Quitter by Jon Acuff. It is basically about "how to go from your day job to your dream job without committing marital or financial suicide" . I read it thinking I'd figure out how to quit my jobs, and get the job I really want, or at least one that would help me take matters into my own hands an provide for my family... Apparently I needed one or two more hits with the 2x4... The first chapter of this book was entitled "don't quit your day job". I almost put it down. But I kept reading, and like a younger hipper Gordon Macdonald was speaking to me, I was reminded of the difference between being driven to do something and being called to do it. I was reminded to rediscover the passions God had placed in my life, and to pursue them, and I realized that this is exactly what I am doing. I am in the environment that God wants me to be in, doing the things he wants me to do, and practicing the things I will need to be excellent at before I can do them "full time". There are some changes I need to make to really focus in on my calling, to keep my eyes on the goal instead of the emergencies that pop up, but I am doing what God wants me to do. He is blessing richly, and I know that as long as I keep my eyes on Him, I can trust Him.
So that's a quick over view of what's been going on in my year away from blogging. I look forward to keeping you more informed on what God is doing as I keep Moving and Re-thinking.
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