Faith

He’s Just Famous

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For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. (II Timothy 1:12 NKJV) Have you ever met someone famous? In 1994 I met John “Hot Rod” … Read more

Spirit Prayers

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Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the … Read more

Riverland Church

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This weekend my family and I traveled to Summerville, South Carolina to celebrate the launch of Riverland Church www.riverlandchurch.com . We’ve been a part of this church plant since meeting our good friends Jeff and Lexi Centers two years ago. Throughout the weekend we were blessed to spend time with the Centers, and Rick and Trudy Bonnette as well as meet the incredible launch team they’ve assembled for the church. 

The launch team is talented and diverse. They are also committed to the vision. This team is a loving, inviting group who welcomed us in and made us feel like family. They play well to their strengths and have found ways to lean and depend on each other. 

The launch team’s desire to serve with excellence is off the charts. For example, in the debriefing meeting several team members reported they noticed a small curtain was out of place during the service. They didn’t want anything, especially an out of place curtain, to distract anyone from the message. This team is one of the things that makes Riverland a great church. 

The highlight of the weekend for me was hearing these words at the conclusion of the service. “Thank you. Wow! Thank you!” These were the words Jeff spoke in awe of the move of God when people began to raise their hands and respond to his sermon. Later, we were informed that more than 20 people in the audience raised their hands to indicate they were either re-dedicating their lives to Christ or accepting Christ for the first time. 

This is only the beginning. If you know anyone in Summerville, Mt. Pleasant, or Charleston, South Carolina who needs to know Jesus, send them to Riverland Church. It’s a place of Hope, Acceptance, and Generosity where people can find their purpose in God. They meet on Sundays at 10:00am in the Regal Cinemas in Summerville, South Carolina. Check out their website for details. www.riverlandchurch.com

Start Now

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“Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. (Acts 7:23 NKJV)

“And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. (Acts 7:30 NKJV)

I’m blessed to turn 40 today and it’s got me thinking: what can I start now? Moses was 40 when his life took a dramatic turn. After living in Pharaoh’s house as a prince of Egypt, God put it in his heart to visit the people of his heritage and start down the path toward their deliverance. Then at age 80, after another 40 years of tending sheep in the desert, God spoke to him from a burning bush, commissioning him to free the children of Israel from slavery. After that he wandered the desert for 40 years leading a nation of more than a million people to the brink of the promised land. 

This encourages me because it shows God can use us to do great things at any age. We just need to keep our hearts and minds opened to God’s leading like Moses. If Moses could endure a career change at 40 and begin leading a nation at 80, what can we do if we start now? 

It’s not too late for us to go back to school or start our own businesses. It’s not too late to lend our strength, talents, and expertise to help community organizations. It’s not too late to make a meaningful impact in the life of a child. It’s never too late to make our contribution to the world. It’s never too late to decide to make our lives count.  

No matter what age we may be, or how large the task may seem, with God’s help, we can start now. 

Seasons

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“While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22 NKJV)

It’s 6 degrees with a wind chill that makes it feel like -8 degrees in Georgia this morning. For those of you who live in the north, you will say that’s no big deal. But those of us in Georgia and Alabama know that we are totally and completely unprepared to handle any weather below 32 degrees. If there is any chance of ice, frost, snow, even a flurry, we basically ransack the grocery stores for commodities in case we’re “snowed in” and we shut everything down. 

Even now my daughter, Faith is enjoying her second day home from school because there is the possibility of black ice on the roads and it’s too cold for kids to stand at the bus stop. But you know what, if she had to, Faith could stand on the bus stop for hours and not feel the cold. That’s because every year, whether we have a cold winter or not, my mother buys coats, hats, gloves, and scarves for my kids as if we live in Canada. We have a collection of 4 to 5 pairs of “only worn once” gloves with matching hats and scarves in Faith’s room. 

Why am I talking about the weather? I’m glad you asked. The seasons of life will always change around us. We need to expect it and we need to be prepared. Throughout the New Year we will experience seasons of joy, grief, progress, and struggle. There are seasons of work, rest, worship, growth, great storms and unexplainable peace. We will have seasons of great spiritual awakening as well as tests of faith. 

We will need to prepare ourselves with things like prayer, fasting, worship, and personal bible study. These spiritual disciplines can strengthen our spiritual resolve throughout the year and help us handle any season that comes our way. 

Happy New Year!

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This morning my wife Melissa and I talked about the New Year. I explained to her that the New Year isn’t as significant to me as my birthday that comes later in the month because of the experiences I had growing up in Birmingham in the 80’s and 90’s when I was in high school. 

The crimes in Birmingham’s urban area at that time didn’t make national news like many of the recent tragedies that occur in suburban areas today. But if you lived in the city at that time there were fights, stabbings, and shootings every week at parties, high school football games, basketball games, the skating ring, the teen clubs, the mall parking lots, the movie theaters, and just about any other place you could imagine. 

Some of the violence was gang related but there were also cases where teenagers were being killed and robbed for their sneakers and jackets. Even though I was raised in a loving family and was an honors student at a magnet high school, I had a gun pulled on me at band practice after school one day because a drug dealer wanted my sunglasses. As a result of all this violence I had friends that didn’t live to see our high school graduation more than 20 years ago. So, for me, I’m more thankful for being alive to see another year of my personal life than I am the new calendar year. 

After sharing this with my wife, she said I should have more joy and that I have a reason to celebrate. She said life’s too short to be so serious all the time. She suggested I shouldn’t allow the New Year or my birthday to pass by without truly letting loose and celebrating the life God has given me.  I agree. Life is too short to focus on the stresses of life, to get too wrapped up in the struggle to be successful, or to risk our happiness by living recklessly. 

“For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” James 4:14b NKJV

We should not allow our hearts to be brought low by the losses of our past. We shouldn’t put all of our hope in the future we do not know. Life can reach it’s end as quickly as a vapor vanishes away. Instead, we should rejoice today in the life we have in God and place our hope in Him alone. Every breath we breathe and day we live is a blessing from God. We should celebrate the New Year with thankful hearts filled with gladness. Happy New Year!

A Thanksgiving Blessing

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I’ll never forget the holiday our family grew. Early in our marriage, Melissa the kids and I would either visit her family or mine for Thanksgiving. Well one particular year, we were hosting everyone at our house. It made us feel like grown ups!

I was really excited and talked about it at work with a few co-workers. To my surprise, a few of them revealed they wouldn’t be able to go home for the holiday. It didn’t take long for me to offer them the opportunity to come to our home for Thanksgiving dinner. 

“I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:2 NKJV)

Two of the younger guys from work took us up on the offer. These guys fit in like family. They shared stories about holidays with their families. They played video games with our kids. They helped out as much as they wanted and marveled over my wife’s cooking. One of them said the cake was so good it could be served in a war zone and cause world peace!

On that day, we were blessed with good fellowship, fresh perspectives on the holiday, the opportunity to share our faith, and the joy of giving. Ultimately, we received more than what we gave. That’s my challenge to you. We all know someone who could use some holiday cheer. Let God use you to be a blessing to others. 

Put People First

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The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” (Nehemiah 1:1-3 NKJV)

Before setting out to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah’s chief concern was for the people in Jerusalem at that time. His passion was for the “great distress and reproach” and the wall just happened to be “also broken down”. This may come as a surprise but the book of Nehemiah isn’t about rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. It’s actually more about making reforms in the lives of the Israelites. 

More than half the book is dedicated to chronicling Nehemiah’s efforts to restore a God centered culture among the people. The rebuilding of the walls was necessary to create a controlled environment where deep change and transformation could take place. As a leader, Nehemiah put people and their greatest needs first. Leaders today must do the same in order to be successful. 
 
The people we lead may be team members, family, employees and staff, or customers and clients. Regardless of where we lead them or the personal goals we have for leading them, we must remind ourselves to put them first. We may have a goal to grow a ministry through our leadership but the people we lead also have a goal to fulfill their spiritual purpose in our ministries. We may want to increase sales for products and services at our businesses, but we can’t forget the customers and clients make purchases to fulfill their own needs. The focus must always remain on the people, not profits. 

We have a responsibility to lead those on our teams to opportunities for success and fulfillment. We can lead customers and clients to helpful products, services, and solutions. Our programs and strategies are only vehicles designed to carry people to the place where their needs can be met. Once they reach their goals through our leadership, they will help us fulfill our goals. 

Staying Connected

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Tell me, O you whom I love, Where you feed your flock, Where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself By the flocks of your companions? (Song of Solomon 1:7 NKJV)

Song of Solomon is a love poem that speaks about the intimate relationship between a Shulamite woman and her Belived, King Solimon. The poem has stanzas where they each express their love. In Song of Solomom 1:7, the Shulamite woman asks her Beloved where he feeds his flock and where he rests at noon. In modern term she’s asking where he’s working today and his plans for his lunch break. 

She isn’t being nosy or trying to meddle in his business. She’s not being needy and she’s not a stalker. She’s simply trying to make a connection with him. She’s seeking to maintain their intimacy in their daily routine. Strong, long lasting marriages are fueled and protected by emotional, physical, and social intimacy. When we’re physically apart from our spouses we’re still married. To maintain the relationship we need to know when, where, and how to connect even when we’re apart. 

“What time are you having lunch” is a question that opens the door for connection. The Shulamite woman could take a break from her day to meet and share a meal. She could send him something special to eat by a messenger. Today, we have many more opportunities for connection than the couple in Song of Solomon. We can share a phone call or video call at lunch time. We could connect quickly when we arrive at work to let our spouses know we’ve made it there safely or just as we’re leaving the office so they can anticipate our return. We can share a text or picture message on our breaks just to say “I love you”. 

These little connections help us maintain intimacy throughout the day. It’s important because without these connections, we or our spouses may inadvertently make ourselves available to connect intimately with others. The Shulamite woman asks “why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions?” She’s basically saying without the connection to her Beloved she’s like a single woman who’s open to the advances of other guys. Let me be blunt about this. If we disconnect from our spouses we leave the door open for others to fulfill their need for intimacy. We’re leaving the door open for us to connect with others as well. 

The remedy for this situation is the same for every area of our marriages. Stay connected. Marriages that are disconnected are insecure and vulnerable to outside influences. But marriages that are intimate with full disclosure are closer, deeper, and last a lifetime.