Keep on Focus and Purpose

Most of us have probably heard of the lighthouse keeper, who was given his monthly delivery of oil to keep the light shining brightly. The lighthouse safely guided hundreds of ships around the jagged shoreline. The lighthouse keeper diligently worked to keep the glass clean, and repairing any damage. He never wanted to let the ships in need down.

The days of the month passed by, and one evening as a storm was reported to come their way, a man came to visit the keeper. The man requested a gallon of fuel to help him run the stove on his boat, it would be the only way he would be able to eat on his journey. The keeper was reluctant, but gave the request to the man. Several days later a woman came to the kind keeper in tears, and begged some fuel to heat her home. You see at home she had a very sick child and without heat in the home the child would likely die. Two more requests of life threatening need pulled at the light keepers heart, and he was driven to help with more fuel.

Late in the month a raging storm arose. The skies were dark and the waves crashed against the rocks below the light. In the darkest part of the storm the keeper ran out of fuel for the light. Soon a ship carrying two hundred people came near the shore. The Captain could not see the rocks near the shore. The light house keeper sat helpless and in tears as he watched the ship crash on the shore and most of the people perished in the rough waves.

The light keeper had one main job. Keep the light lit. However, many things pulled at the keeper. In the end he did not have the fuel to do the job, because he had forgotten the main purpose and focus of his work.

Many people in our world today do the same thing. We stretch ourselves between many things that may seem important and good at the time, yet we are spread thin and ineffective to carry out the purpose God may have given us to do. I see this in ministers and in church goers where ever I have been. Life is hard to balance, and someone will always want our time. Many of the things we could be doing may even be good things to do.

Recently I have preached on Gideon, who God told to reduce the number of men from over twenty thousand to three hundred. The first order God gave was to send anyone home who was afraid or worried about their families at home. God understands that we need focus, and knew men divided in their task would fall prey to failing in the mission. I also have started a series in Corinthians, in which Paul says, "For I resolved to no nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."

Family, friends, work, hobbies, sports, and more will pull at our lives. We may even have requests of other ministries across town, or across the world. We do need to help with missions needs, yet we must keep a strong balance. While helping with other good things may be a blessing for the moment, if it causes us to drop our focus, our help, our responsibility in the ministry God has called us to we still fail in meeting our purpose. It is the idea that we sacrifice the great by doing the good.

In my 16 years of working around churches I have watched ministers put their needed work aside for ministries that are good, and miss meeting the needs within their own mission field. I have watched church attenders go across town to be involved in studies, and yet question ministers at the church they call home as to why studies can't grow here. I have seen people focus so much on good works that they never find Jesus Christ as Lord, but fall prey to a "works" religion. I have watched people wanting to support family who have put church aside to be with their children in every way, and in the end they can not figure out why those kids are not growing in the church or in Christ.

We all are light house keepers of the Hope and Word of Jesus Christ. We all need to keep our focus on the mission for our lives. I am not advocating that we stop missions support, or stop seeking to do good. What I am saying is that we can do these special things from time to time, but that we must never forget the main purpose that God give each of us. You see what ever your gift is in your church, it is needed. I guarantee you are missed when you are not there. More important, an opportunity for reaching a lost soul may be missed, because you are stretched to thin or maybe missing in action.

- Keep on the Journey with Jesus today.

Sometimes we must be the gate keeper

I know a lot has been said in leadership circles about knowing who the gate keepers in the church are. The idea is that we must learn to work through those in the church who can support and make an idea come to fulfillment in the church. However, as ministers we must step up to the fact that we are gatekeepers of the theology and Biblical teaching of the church that we pastor.

I recall a few years ago, sitting in a Bible study and challenging everyone to say if they had grown up in the Wesleyan Church. I already knew the answer. There were thirteen people in the room, and my wife was the only one who had grown up in a Wesleyan church. I grew up in a Baptist church, but have found a solid foundation in the Wesleyan church. The church I am privileged to pastor was formed as a Congregational church in 1859, and became Wesleyan in 1975. Many of the elderly still struggle to understand their identity as Wesleyan's.

I was impressed at our District conference yesterday to hear Dr. Jerry Pence state that defining who we are is a priority of the church. It is not that I believe no other denomination is heaven bound, but to be tossed around in a world filled with human thought will not help us stand firm. We must take a firm stand on the foundation of beliefs that we choose to uphold. For myself this is the leading of men like John and Charles Wesley.

We as leaders have a responsibility to keep our people from falling prey to the plethora of thoughts that they get from our world through the variety of media that exists. Our minds are on information overload, and for many they are getting lost and missing true hope of knowing Jesus Christ.

- Keep on Your Journey with Jesus

Where Have All the Prophets Gone?

This past week a friend sent me one of those online personality tests. It was based on Bible characters. The test revealed that I have an Elijah personality. It was greatly encouraging (ha, ha). Elijah was a great prophet, willing to say what needed said, willing to confront the need, willing to preach what God said, and faithful to God's leading. However, Elijah was depressed, often ran away after fights to rest, and in many ways might be considered a manic depressive by today's standards.

This all made me think. Elijah preached hard and confronted the sin of his day. He was not a people-pleaser, and never compromised. He had to live outside the normal way of life, and was considered an enemy of the state and many of the average people. Other prophets did similar things. When Samuel came to anoint David people were afraid. They wondered why the "Prophet of God" was coming to town. Isaiah had to confront the situations in some very strange ways. Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern to think about his confrontation of the ways of Israel.

I wonder sometimes if in our world of positive thinking, self image building, and leadership development; is there room for the Elijah's and other prophets? Those men and women who are simply willing to carry God's Word to a world living and lost in sin. Have we, in our effort to be loving, lost our zeal to confront the worlds sinful ways? Have we compromised to the waves of public opinion?

I know it was easier for the prophets who had to come to town only when God said to come. They could preach hard and walk away from town to leave the people to decide to do the right thing, or live with the consequences. Yet, I would rather burn out in a blaze of fire like Elijah, than face my Father in Heaven one day to account for not saying what He has told me to say.

May we as ministers preach with conviction, worship with sincerity, and live with passion that is filled with Christ our Lord.

- Keep on your journey with Jesus today

Who's Responsible For Our Culture

Recently I used on our church sign, which apparently attracted the young people's attention. While using signs to attract attention is a good thing. I apparently was unaware that this term which is intended to get attention was changing it's meaning. My son told me that it didn't have the same meaning to his friends, as he put it, 'like gay used to mean happy.' You know the funny thing is that in the technical sense gay still means happy in the dictionary.

I then told my son,"It isn't my fault that people want to destroy the meaning of words. It is up to those people of your generation to try to stop the destruction of good English words, by using them correctly. It is up to you to take captive the wrong, and seek to make it right."

This really makes you think, because the reality is that it is up to each generation to grow in their understanding of right and wrong. It is up to them to defend the right, by doing, saying, living, and walking in what is right. If we allow culture to capture us in it's grasp, then we will never change the culture for good and Godliness. We as parents, pastors, teachers, and mentors must teach the next generation to take stands on principles of right, holiness, and goodness. We must teach them to speak up and make a difference in the culture of our world.

While culture will continue to change, we must take the challenge to reach the culture at their level. However, it doesn't mean that we ever put aside our values or beliefs. In fact the more culture changes toward sinfulness, the more we must stand in holiness. The world will not follow us if we are not the counter cultural expression of Jesus love and holiness in our world. We must take captive the sinful ways of the world in prayer, and work with the Holy Spirit to change our world for God.

-- Keep on your journey with Jesus today.

Monday Again

Monday Again. The busy weekend is behind us, and the Monday Blaahs have been worked through. God moves. God is good.
- Keep on Your Journey with Jesus.

Praise God For Busy Days, As well as Days of Rest

I want to say thank you to our gracious Lord for the past few weeks of very busy times. I know we all have busy schedules, but sometimes we are so busy we forget to say thanks to God for allowing the energy and drive to stay busy. In the recent weeks of prepartations for the Easter holiday season I was busy, but I praise God for the two souls who accepted Christ yesterday. The efforts of hard work and busyness seem light, when you weigh the two souls who came to know Jesus.

Jesus drove himself in the last weeks leading up to the Cross. We should expect no less than to work with Him in the carrying on this work of the cross (salvation) today.

Today I am working at a far more leisurely pace and I praise God for this easy start to the week too. He knows what we need, and will give us the energy to face ever trial, storm, and peaceful day in Him.

-- Keep on the journey with Jesus today

Look Further and see More

I have been taking our church through a study on the book of John. I didn't allow myself the usual time I would to cover a study on Christ's life. I went through and broke the book of John up on a less detailed pattern. Don't get me wrong, I personally still have to go through and study far longer texts.

You see often when I preach I focus on part of a chapter, possibly ten or twenty verses at the most. However, I am seeing John unfold in a new way, since we are following entire sections as they unfold. From Christ's beginnings to a night before going to the cross. The sections of the book tell a far different story than one may get by looking only at few verses.

For instance, this week we are looking at the week Jesus goes to the Feast of Tabernacles. In this week at various points Jesus shows that He is clearly the Messiah. The crowds and Jewish leaders show clearly that they are unwilling to accept the truth which stood before them. The question of the fulfillment of Jesus birth, his home town, his ability to do miralces and more come out in John 7 through 9. This clear message of who Jesus was could be missed if you only take sections, such as the Woman Caught in Adultry, one by one.

I do believe indepth study is very necessary, but we must always keep the big picture in mind. After all if we loose ourselves looking at small points and miss the biggest points of Salvation, Hope, Joy, Peace, and God's Love. We will miss an awful lot.

- Keep on your journey with Jesus