Okay, I admit, this week is a tough one…
Here is this weeks Bible verse to memorize:
What if we all lived by that verse this week? What difference would it make in the world around us?
Are you naturally a complainer…or do you just tend to comply?
If you’ve been following my blog this week, I’m in Ecuador with a group of pastors on behalf of Compassion International.
We were blown away today as we entered a village in the mountains of Ecuador. It took an hour to drive the curvy dirt road, our bus got stuck, and we walked a short distance to the village. Upon rounding a corner, we saw a crowd waiting for us. Hundreds of children from the village had formed a receiving line where they gave us a rose (Ecuador is famous for their roses) and a homemade card welcoming us to their village. It was slightly overwhelming.
Have you ever received an overwhelming undeserved show of affection?
I can’t help but share this picture. This little boy warmed my heart (as did many others). I’m not sure he knew how cute he is!
It’s Friday discussion time!
Let’s discuss spiritual growth…specifically yours.
I’m always interested in spiritual growth, because…well…that’s kind of what I do!
Help me by telling me some of your spiritual growth process.
To help you think, consider answering some or all of these questions:
Are you closer to God today than you were a year ago?
If not, what changed?
Is yes, what did you do differently?
What helps you most to grow spiritually?
Was there a time in your life where you felt the closest to God?
Who is mostly responsible, in your opinion, for your spiritual growth?
Do you practice any spiritual disciplines, such as Bible reading, prayer, fasting, tithing, etc.? If so, what do you do?
What changes would you need to make to grow more spiritually?
Help me out…tell me about your spiritual growth…
Discuss…engage…Go!
Day 2 of visiting Compassion Projects in Ecuador was my favorite so far, and it happened because of one little boy. He’s one of the boys in this picture. When I went to take his picture he asked if his “best friends” could be in the picture too. I loved that!
Anyway, this little boy was asked what he liked best about Compassion International sponsorship program and he said, “God blessed me with the opportunity to meet my sponsors.” Wow! That’s the part about Compassion I like the best! It’s an open book. Today I saw the records…I saw the documents…I saw the paperworks side…but more than that…I saw the kids who many people sponsor. If you sponsor a child with Compassion International, you can make a visit to that child…and they feel “blessed by God” when you do.
By the way, if you do sponsor a child…
During the 1950’s, Evangelist Everett Swanson traveled to South Korea to preach the gospel to the troops in the Republic of Korea army. During his visit, he encountered children orphaned by the war hanging out in garbage dumps. They were searching for food, shelter, and hiding from the reality of their existence. Sometimes the garbage trucks would avoid them…sometimes they wouldn’t. Obviously, it burdened Swanson’s heart, but not knowing how to solve a mammoth problem, he headed home to the United States.
Soon after his return, Rev. Swanson was challenged by a missionary friend with a haunting question.
“What are you going to do about the orphans?â€
He couldn’t continue without doing something, and from that burden, Compassion International began.
Today, Compassion International is changing the lives of children around the world. I love that Compassion connects to a local church and does ministry through that church. Compassion focuses on four aspects of the child’s life; social, physical, emotional, and spiritual. It is estimated that every child helped impacts 30 other people around the child.
Amazing what a small monthly amount can do!
This week I’m in Ecuador with a group of pastors and ministry leaders, including our family pastor Michael Bayne, and my good friend Casey Graham.
We are here on behalf of Compassion International seeing the work they do to improve the world of children around the world.
We will see first hand where an individual’s monthly dollars to support Compassion children goes. I look forward to reporting to you what I see. I’ve never been to Ecuador, but so far it looks much like countries I have seen, such as Costa Rica, Brazil, and Mexico. I have learned, however, that there is a rich uniqueness about each people group and I’m excited to explore this one.
Please pray for our team and check out the ministry of Compassion International.
It’s Monday morning…
I have spoken with many pastors who share a common struggle with each other. If it was a good Sunday…one where God’s Spirit was at work…during the 24-hour period from Sunday noon and Monday noon…they face doubt and frustration.
Yesterday was one of those days for me. I know I was speaking truth. I know God was working, but I was teaching on marriage to many who are undergoing tough times in their marriage. It was hard and I felt as though I was adding insult to injury to many. I left feeling down and allowing the enemy to discourage me.
I am blessed to have several in our church sensitive to this issue…or sensitive to God’s Spirit in their own life. Yesterday afternoon I received this email from someone in our church:
A team…at least a healthy team…is not just a group of people who perform a common task. That may be a group, but it shouldn’t be called a team. I’ve written on healthy teams before:
10 Characteristics of a Healthy Team
Signs of an Emotionally Healthy Team
You can tell a healthy team by how it responds to each other and how it performs as a team.
A healthy team:
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, Luke 10:41 NIV
I’m confident that wasn’t the response Martha was looking for. Didn’t Jesus care that Mary refused to cut the pies or set the table? Couldn’t He see that Martha had so much to do if they were still going to eat by noon? Shouldn’t Jesus have told Mary to get up and get busy?
There was work to be done. If Jesus was going to get His fill of fried chicken, someone had to fry it! Martha was tasked with everything. The Lord was coming to dinner. Didn’t He deserve the best? Poor Martha! Left to do it all!
Do you ever feel like that?
Mary was just ‘hanging out’ with Jesus! Sitting at His feet, listening to His teaching, she had forgotten all about making the iced tea. She was busy, too!
Was Jesus saying that we shouldn’t prepare for our family and friends? Was He saying that we shouldn’t have a complete meal, because we need to invest all our time into meditating on His word? Is He asking Martha not to finish rolling out the biscuits?
Here is this week’s memory verse:
I wonder if we thought about this verse this week, instead about what we do or don’t do as believers, if we’d feel better about our walk with Christ and more willing to follow Him wherever He leads. I have a feeling it would free us from some legalism and help us live by grace.
What do you think?
An open rebuke is better than hidden love! Proverbs 27:5
I was talking to one friend recently who made a very pointed criticism of another mutual friend. It was obvious he has a sincere concern about our other friend, but instead of addressing it with him, he decided to mention it to me. Honestly I wondered how many other “friends” with whom he has had this same conversation. I simply told him I thought he should speak with our friend directly about his concerns.
This is such a difficult verse for some people…especially people pleasers…maybe even some pastors…because we are afraid to offend people, but the principle is that we must be willing to help those we love, even when it is uncomfortable.
Proverbs are principles. They aren’t promises from God as much as the are pieces of wisdom from God to help us live life better. The are commands as much as they are guidelines. You can live a very principled life and not be guaranteed success, but in the majority of circumstances, these principles work best. In this specific proverb, you are not guaranteed to be received well when you offer “an open rebuke”, but it is “better than hidden love”. We shouldn’t be constantly looking for flaws in other people and we should look at our own faults first, but when a friend is obviously making bad choices in life that will eventually cause them or others harm, the loving thing to do is to offer correction.
I believe the principle behind this proverb is simply that if you love someone…truly care for others…then you should be willing to confront the issues you see in their life. Sometimes others can see things in us that we can’t see in ourselves. If a friend or loved one is making bad decisions, it’s better to bring it to their attention than to ignore it in the name of love. I hear people say, “I don’t want to offend them” or “It’s none of my business”, but the idea here is that if you love someone enough, you’ll be willing to help them realize where they are making mistakes.
Is this tough for you? Do you agree or disagree with my assessment here?
If you are the one who needs rebuking, would you rather hear it from a friend, a stranger, or not at all?
Now the harder question, who in your life needs your “open rebuke” more than they need your “hidden love”?
Help me out with this post.
Is it common in your marriage for one spouse to be strong when the other is weak?
Or is that just in my marriage?
Cheryl and I have noticed that it goes in seasons for us, and sometimes even day-to-day.
When Cheryl is having a bad day…week…month…I seem to be having a better period of time.
Cheryl often appears to be stronger during my weaker moments.
We have found it to be true emotionally, physically, and sometimes even spiritually.
When she’s weak, I can strengthen her…
When I’m weak, she can strengthen me…
That “imbalance” in our marriage has proven to be quite strengthening for our marriage…
This imbalance actually helps to keep our marriage balanced and strong…
I wonder if God might even be the designer of this imbalance at times…
Have you noticed this healthy “imbalance” in your marriage?
Dear church planter (and others)…
In the growth phase, everything is changing, life moves at rocket pace…
Somedays you don’t know whether you are coming or going…
It’s a bit overwhelming, stressful, even a bit scary at times…
I hear this often from new church plants and fast growing churches…
I feel (and identify with) your pain…
I see part of my calling to help church leaders during this time…
I pray you protect your heart and your family…
But…
Like many of you, I use my Facebook account every day. There are some things I like and some things I don’t like about this means of social media.
Let me share first what I like:
There are some songs that stick with you forever. Music has a way of speaking to our hearts and minds in ways the purely spoken word can’t seem to penetrate. I’m so thankful God gave us the enjoyment of music.
Recently I was listening to Fernando Ortega sing “Jesus Paid it All”. Instantly, there was an equally powerful emotion. It was as if I’d never heard it before and as if I’d written the song. The truth, the comfort, the confirmation, and the joy of this song flooded my heart.
In case it’s been a while since you considered these words written by Elvina Hall (1822-1889) in 1865, spend a few minutes reading them now. Let the words sink deep into your heart and mind. It’s even okay if you sing them aloud…I don’t care.
