by Tim | Oct 1, 2010 | God, My World |
You know, some days are good, others are bad. Yesterday was a good day. Yet, even in good days, we can think about all the things we want to get accomplished but don’t have time to do. Or we consider things outside our control that we wish we had control over. Or our minds can race to a million different things that can consume our thoughts for hours, the whole day, or several days. But I’m reminded of our worship service last Sunday at church. At any point, we can turn off the noise, get away with God, and remember that He’s our Father. We can remember that everything in this life is temporary. We can be assured that one day, this will all be over, and we will be with God forever, and none of this stuff will matter any longer. Is that a great comfort to anyone else? The cool thing is that we don’t have to wait until then to get a taste of how this will be. In our time of communion with God, we can experience this reality right now. Granted, we don’t experience it in all its fullness, but it is enough. God gives us enough to continue on, and to rest in our relationship with Him. Be reminded today that this the only truly important thing in this life–your relationship with God. Protect it. Nourish it. Appreciate it. Don’t let it go to waste. And don’t let this life steal it away from you. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his...
by Tim | Sep 30, 2010 | God, My World, The Gospel |
A few days ago, I was reflecting on the period of my life beginning when I knew I needed to step out in faith and resign at my former church and ending at the point where we moved to Colorado. And a thought came to me. Surprise, surprise… I felt like that was a very difficult, yet exciting period of my life. Yet, when I look at the circumstances, they weren’t really mind-blowingly difficult compared to what people face all the time in their lives. It was actually pretty mild, if you look at it objectively (although that’s hard for me to do, since I was the one who experienced it). That made me feel kind of bad. How would I have handled a much greater crisis? Something that could be genuinely labeled a crisis? But then I continued thinking about it. You know, it was like I had a taste of having to trust God during a relatively minor unsettling time. It was just a taste. Kinda like a vaccine. You know what I’m talking about. When they give you a vaccine, they give you a taste of the virus or whatever in order to trigger antibodies to build up in your body so that the full-blown virus won’t be able to overcome you if you come into contact with it later in life. And then it dawned on me…faith is the antibody. For some odd reason, my faith in God has intensified greatly over the past period of my life–disproportionately, I would add, to the circumstances. It’s like a little hardship came my way–and I reached down...
by Tim | Sep 28, 2010 | God, My World, The Church World, The Gospel |
The past month, the leadership team at our church has been going through a time of praying and seeking God as to how He wants us to move forward as a church. It’s been exciting to see God working in all our lives. I see with eyes of faith what our church is capable of in the power of the Holy Spirit. In earthly terms, many people would probably dismiss us. We are small in number, and we don’t have anything “exceptional” or “noteworthy” going on. To put it plainly, if our churches explode in numerical growth in the next couple of years, there is nothing to put your finger on to say why it happened. It would have to be a move of God’s Spirit–like the stuff you read about in the Bible. And I guess that’s what I feel I’m being tested to believe can happen. I’m tired of standing around while people try to play the church game. I’m frustrated that so many church leaders can be simply concerned with church growth, and then put a spiritual spin on it, to make it look like it’s a “God thing.” Or that leaders can feel confident they can achieve a successful church by following this method or that one. I don’t want that to happen here. Yet, I’m tempted like everyone else. That’s when I need to go deep, and test if I’m for real or not. I know myself and I know my church. We aren’t anything special. I’m not a gifted preacher; we don’t pride in ourselves in being talented at anything. Of course, we...
by Tim | Sep 6, 2010 | God, My World, The Church World |
So, Sarah is here and everyone is doing well! Naomi is very motherly, and loves to spend every waking moment with Sarah. Rachel, on the other hand, is content to play by herself when Naomi is “taking care” of Sarah. Rachel always said that when baby Sarah comes, she wanted to name her “Sweetheart.” Too funny. Anyway, when Audra was in labor, a thought came to me that I admit is a little weird, but I think it’s a good analogy. This Bible passage came to mind: Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” His disciples replied, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus answered, “With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” I was watching Audra in labor, and thinking in my head…”this baby won’t be able to come out…there’s just no way!” (Sarah obviously did come, and she was 9 lbs. 7 oz.!) As I was thinking about that verse, I adapted it for the moment: “I tell you the truth it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a baby to be born.” “Then who can be born?” “With man this is impossible, but with women, all things are possible.” OK, I told you this was weird. But when you look at both quotes, they really are the same. After all, Jesus said to enter the kingdom of heaven, you must be BORN again. I was reflecting on the mission...
by Tim | Aug 27, 2010 | My World |
It’s funny how the times in your life when you have the most going on, which means you have so much to write about–you have no time to blog about it. That’s how the past month has been. But here I am, back again, ready to continue my blog. The recurring thought that has been going on in my mind this past month is how grateful I am to so many friends who helped us move. There were so many good friends in Alabama who helped us pack, load the truck and send us on our way. I miss you all dearly. So many people sacrificed their time to help us, and we had no way to repay them, because we’re no longer there. And then when we arrived in Colorado, everyone here has been so helpful as well. We arrived to a newly renovated home, and many people helped us unload the truck (in less than 2 hours!). Basically, we feel like everyone has given so generously to us during this time, and we have had no way of paying it back. It’s a very humbling experience. I just wanted to say thank you to so many friends and family members who have gone totally out of their way to help us. It has not gone unappreciated. Those of you in Alabama, we miss you and really hope that you are already making plans to come visit. Seriously! Sarah Joy hasn’t arrived yet. We are expecting her any day now. When the big day happens, you’ll see pics here! Speaking of pics, I am uploading some more pics...
by Tim | Jul 19, 2010 | God, My World, The Gospel |
If you’ve asked that question, don’t worry, you’re not alone. I often ask myself that question, too. You see, I’ve always believed the Gospel, and I’ve always taught it, too. I’ve always felt it’s the most important issue in all of life. But something has changed recently. I can’t stop thinking about it, talking about it, appreciating it, longing for more of it. What has happened exactly? I think part of the reason is that I hadn’t heard it expounded on for such a long time. The things that I’ve written in my blog on the Gospel–those things haven’t been taught to me for quite some time. Perhaps some of you read my blog, and think–“Well, duh. You’re not saying anything new here, Tim. We all know this about the Gospel and have moved on from this a long time ago. This is milk, not meat” Well for me, it’s new all over again. New in a way that it’s never been like before. This is the closest I’ve ever been to what it must feel like for someone who has lived all their lives as a non-believer, and then 30 years later, they come to faith in Christ for the first time, and what a dramatic change it brings–eyes opened, joy floods, a new mind in Christ, etc. Those aren’t just words or phrases to me right now. Sure, I’ve heard songs that sing about it, and I’ve even expounded on it myself in lessons to the youth when I was the youth pastor–but I’ve recently realized in a new way that everyone needs to have the Gospel...
