Faith

Mountains and valleys…some days life and ministry are hard

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Some days ministry I hard. Some days you have ups and downs. You have that event you have been planning for months fall flat, you have that relationship you work so hard at fall apart, you think you are doing it right and it falls apart. It can be a place of awful valleys.

Some days you have the right words, some days you feel like you changed a life for the better. In ministry I find my ups and downs can even happen in the sane day. I don’t want to live a life that doesn’t have these ups and downs. I can’t live in the middle I have to journey in the peaks and valleys. But how do we survive the journey in ministry and life?

I remind myself of the highs. I pull up the stories of joy, hope and changed lives. I have to be reminded of these because by nature Satan wants me to focus on the mistakes, the pain and the failures. He doesn’t want me to see and remember the changed lives or mountain top moments or remember the right words at the right time. He wants me to focus on the valleys.

Today as we sit down to pray let’s think about the mountain tops and not the valleys. Lets hold up the times God has chosen to show us lives changed. Lets hold on to them so we don’t fall but cling to Jesus who gave us these moments so we could follow him and trust in him as we walk alongside so many people He has placed in our lives.

Psalm 23 ESV
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust: The connection to the cross, and baptism!

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Created with Microsoft Fresh PaintTomorrow I get to lead chapel at my Church School. Tomorrow is ash Wednesday and that has me thinking deeply today.  Many of the children who will be here will experience imposition of ashes.  My prayer tomorrow is that many of our students will take the time in worship to remember their sin and more importantly be reminded of the eternal life won for us on the cross, and given to us in our baptism as we are connected to the cross.

I know many people don’t like the imposition of ashes because of Jesus’ words in Matthew  6 about keeping our prayers and fasting to ourselves and not to show it off.  Jesus is obviously right, and if the goal of ashes is to show the world we are repentant or how good of a Christian we are we have failed.

The purpose of the ashes placed on us is to remind us of our sin, remind us that without Jesus we are dust and without him we will continue to be dust forever.  I love that in that moment. When we are brought to the realization of our brokenness.  The part I think is more important and often overlooked is we are given the sign of the cross.  The same sign we were given at our baptism.  That this is not our end. We are not just dust but we are God’s child.  We are the ones who are connected by baptism into Jesus’ death and resurrection. You have eternal life today in Jesus and forever more.  As we spend the next 40 days in a time of reflection on our sin we must not forget these two truths.

Tomorrow as you are reminded of your sin, and the death it brings, remember the life that comes in life with Jesus.

  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.  2 Corinthians 5:21-6:2

The daily battle; the daily victory!

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Recently in our high school ministry I asked the question “What battles are you fighting today? What thing in your life is your greatest battle?” Most of my students as said school but I have a feeling it is because most didn’t want to be honest. At least not in the small group setting. When we are thrust into a situation with people we may not know well, we certainly don’t like to talk with them about our battles. We are afraid people will judge us or worse share our battles with others. Battles are something however we all face on a daily basis.
We all have battles, some are very personal like, body issues, family issues, death, some are less so, a job task that is difficult, a future test or project. We all have battles and no matter how little or big it is we have a tendency to feel overwhelmed by them.
In my daily reading I came across a text of scripture I truly love. It comes from 2 Chronicles 20:15-17. The whole story come from 2 Chronicles 20. The story is about a king and the people of Judah who are being surrounded by a great army. They are afraid and they know they can’t win. So they pray. They pray and God answers. God defeats the enemies of Judah and tells them they will not have to fight the battle because He would be fighting it for them. God has the victory and the people of Judah carry off the spoils of the war for three days. I love the story not because it is a great battle narrative but because of 15-17 where God tells them it is his battle. He will have the victory for them.

2 Chronicles 20:15b-17 Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them… You will not need to fight this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”

This brings us to Jesus. It brings us to the victory we have in Jesus. We have all gone through many battles in this world. We are all probably in one way or another going through one right now. We can’t win on our own. When we look at our life and all that seems wrong we know we can’t win. But we know we have victory in Jesus.
No mater what you are battling today I pray you see Jesus. He has won the battle. He will fight it for you. Savory today’s victory. Today may seem like a lost battle but tomorrow is a new day with Jesus, a new day of victory. Tomorrow will be another battle but Jesus can win that one too.

Breathe, pray, breathe

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untitled (2)Often as we read through twitter, or look on facebook we see a lot of anger, hate, sin, and frustration. We see people with stress, letting it out. We see broken relationships being hashed out online.  Have you ever read the comments under most articles published on the web.  People are angry, broken, and afraid.  I am angry, broken and afraid many times. So my question for today is how can we respond to all the anger, the hurt and pain?

To start I am reminded what my pastor said to me recently.  He said  “I am never surprised when people act like the sinners they are, I am shocked when they act like Christians.”  Too often I think we believe that everyone should be nice and happy all the time.  The reality is we are all sinners. We are all broken, angry and stressed, however we are also loved, redeemed, and saved by the one who came down from heaven.  So what do we do?  How do we make it through the day with so much stress, anger and hurt filling our world?  I have a suggestion, remember to breath, pray, and breath again.

I have seen lots of ways to help us but none has been more effective for me than just breathing, and praying.  Breathing is essential for life and so is prayer. Pray can help us see God at work, Prayer can help us focus on Jesus.  Lots of people take a walk, or look at something pretty. Recently I have see people post pictures of flowers to remember God’s great creation. These can all be good things. I would add breathe, pray and breathe again.  To breathe is to have life and to pray is have life.  Jesus is there with you, you can pray his words, “Neither do I condemn you; go and from now on sin no more”John 8:11b

I know we will continue to sin, we will continue to see others sin. I often try to remind myself Jesus has forgiven me, now go back out and follow him again. Be reminded of His kingdom of forgiveness and grace.  So as you are hurting, broken or angry today remember to breath, and pray, and breath again.

How are we helping families pass on faith?

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WP_20140924_19_17_29_ProRecently I have had a few parents come to me after our confirmation classes at St. peters and thank me for making them talk with their children about faith.  Parents have the most influence in shaping kids spiritual life. They have 7 times the amount of time with them each week.  I know I have missed opportunities to help families do the thing God has called them to do which is pass on faith.  We are part of the family team.  We should be a part of helping students grow in faith. The more important thing to do is spend far more time with people who can have the most influence on the young people who we are serving.

This week I received one of the best and slightly shocking compliments I have gotten in ministry.  A mom came to me this week and said thanks for making her talk with her son about faith. I was a little shocked but almost did the imaginary fist bump in the air.  She said they are using the model I taught them in confirmation at home during the week. Not every night but that pattern has been great for them.  She said I never really talked with my kids about God in a direct way and she really appreciated the helpful nudge through confirmation.

I was blown away. This year we made a tweak to confirmation, I thought it would be better for all involved I just didn’t know it would have such a profound impact on families.  For our confirmation classes we have added and extra 30 minutes for parents to sit with their child and share three things; Highs and lows for  the week, questions based on the topic for the week, and most importantly how can we use this information during our daily lives. It is a requirement I thought would be good for families. I just didn’t know how much of an impact.

Parents and kids have been blown away by this simple questions.  It has helped parents share about how they see Jesus. It has helped students share with parents all the things they have questions about, and how they are living out their faith.  It has truly been profound.

So my question for all of us is how are you helping families pass on faith.  How can we share simple things for parents to disciple their children in Christ.  This simple thing is having profound effect in my ministry. How about you?