Posted on March 1, 2010 at 5:36pm.
I failed at something, which is not really rare for me, but I failed at something I really wanted NOT to fail at. Even so, I tanked big. No one got hurt, no permanent damage - except within me. It is tough to really give yourself to something, put your whole heart into it, and then pull the trigger to find the result so far less than expected. For days following I lived in a personal place of defeat and and internal embarrassment, and even disappointment with God. This Christan life is complicated at times. I am a month out now, and the experience is still slightly, but certainly haunting me. There is something to be learned here, something that still needs to reckoned “dead” in me, and I am agonizing in hunting it down.
Posted on February 27, 2010 at 5:13pm.
This weekend, if you attend services, Jim will be preaching from the Sermon on the Mount. That’s all fine and well, and no doubt he will preach his heart out, but nothing compares with actually being there, or HERE. 40 of us will literally be on the Mount where Jesus preached that very sermon, this Sunday. For a visual learner, this experience is hard to beat. We will think of you all worshipping in Charlotte, as we worship on the Mount of Beatitudes. What a gift to - walk the Via Dolorosa, stand in the house of Caiaphas, float in the Dead Sea, visit the garden tomb, stand in the garden of Gethsemane and look over the Holy City. I am praying that God will use this journey in each of our lives to speak, move, and shape us more and more in the image of Jesus. Would you pray that too?
Posted on February 25, 2010 at 1:33pm.
Ever stand in front of an overwhelming need and wonder what you could possibly offer that would make a bit of difference>? I met a woman in Ethiopia, who believed God was calling her to care for prostitutes, and when she began moving in that direction was paralzed by the overwhelming need, issues, and obstlaces. God led Cheri to Ephesians 3:20 and she began trusting that God would do far more than she could hope or imagine - and He did. She fearfully pursued a friendship with two women which moved her far out of her comfort zone, and exposed her to the dark side of life that so many women face day in and day out. Now, years later, she and others like her, have rescued hundreds of women. Two things strike me. God does far more than we can hope or imagine, and He long for us to simply respond to His leading.
Posted on February 23, 2010 at 1:24pm.
It has been so long since I have touched this page, it’s tough to know where to start. Here’s the deal - it’s not that I have not been “struggling” and have nothing to write - but quite the opposite. Life is odd: On one hand I am doing pretty well, and on the other hand I am being raked over the coals inside. I am trying to determine if this is the Holy Spirit trying to move me to a deeper place, or just more self absorption and introspection that drives one crazy. You would think that after walking with God for decades that this would be a bit simpler to determine - not so much for me. Praying for clarity.
Posted on January 14, 2010 at 9:42am.
I am preaching this weekend, and am well into my preparation, but realize that the very message is not something that is true of me. The evil one is pounding with me with messages like “you are the last one on earth who should be preaching this stuff”, and you know what - he’s right. But, I need the truth of this message to penetrate my heart and life. So if you are here this weekend, know that I am not only “preaching to the choir”, but the preacher too!
