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When Christmas Isn’t Merry
When Christmas isn’t merry anymore…
I’ve always loved everything about Christmas. The emphasis on the birth of Jesus, giving carefully chosen and wrapped gifts, extra family time, sparkly lights, decorations everywhere, and festive foods. I love planning parties, decorating the house from top-to-bottom, and I normally start shopping in September.
However, this year…
I’m tired.
I’m weary.
I’m sad.
I’m physically unwell.
I’m grieving.
I’m weak.
I’m disinterested.
I’m not finished shopping for presents, my house is disorderly from me being sick, I’ve missed so many gatherings, I’m beyond exhausted, and I feel completely lacking as a wife and mother.
Yet, I’m hopeful. ❤️
I know that no matter what I go through, He’s here with me. I’m never alone – even when I feel alone.
When the lights go out, the people leave, and everyone is asleep, I sit in the stillness with only the lights of the tree shining on me. I take the time to thank Him for what He has done, but I implore Him for strength as I pour out what I don’t understand about this crazy life: my frustrations, questions, emptiness of loss…among many other emotions.
And…
He listens.
He understands.
He comforts.
He loves.
He stays.
He wipes my tears.
Only Jesus can fully bear the burdens of my life.
Only Jesus can heal my broken heart.
Only Jesus can know my true motives when I cry angry tears to Him.
Only Jesus can bind my wounds.
Only Jesus can give me any measure of joy.
Only Jesus can help me truly be “merry” in the midst of the mess. Or not be merry.
Only Jesus can help me be okay with not having it all together.
Because He can handle it all.
He gave me my joy, and He can carry my pain.
He sits with me in my mess and loves me anyway.
There is *no one* else who can or will do that for me. ❤️
That’s my Jesus.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.(Psalm 147:3-5)
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Are We There Yet?!
Our effervescent daughter let out an uncharacteristic sigh and said, “When are we eevveerrr going to arrive?”
“Hey, yeah dad, are we there yet? When are we gonna get to Aunt Sarah’s house?” our ten-year-old son chimed in.
We’d only been driving an easy 15 minutes of the 45 minute drive to my sister’s home for Thanksgiving dinner. So I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
“Okay you silly kids. Listen, we’ve only been driving for a short time. But we will arrive very soon. Just hold on and enjoy the ride,” I remarked, as my dear wife rolled her twinkling eyes.
In-Between
The term Advent could be succinctly translated “arrival” or “coming.” The season of Advent dials in on the beautiful yet also surprising biblical reflections of Jesus the Christ’s first arrival as a newborn baby – God-incarnate. The eternal Word took on human form (John 1:1-3, 14)!
But when celebrated fully and accurately, Advent also focuses our hope on the Savior’s second arrival. Christ’s first coming is proof for the second. For just as He came as the Suffering-Servant-Messiah, so He will return as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev. 19:16).
Yet here we are in-between.
Sometimes we wonder like children on a long holiday road trip, “Are we there yet?”
In the somewhere between, we are prone to grow weary, afraid, and oft-impatient. Yet across the ages, an ancient prophet reminds us: “Behold, your king is coming to you.” (Zech. 9:9b)
Immediately after proclaiming the royal announcement, Zechariah brought two mountain-peak promises together, even though the time-valley between them is not yet complete:
“He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zech. 9:9c)
Of course, we recognize this promise as already fulfilled in the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ (John 12:14-15). But let’s look closely at the very next verse:
“I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; and the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; and His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” (Zech. 9:10)
We’re not there yet. Already…but also not yet. There will be no need for chariots and horses (the war machines of the Ancient Near East). All battles and fights will cease. How? Because Jesus the True Messiah will come to reign from His throne. Every nation will bow to His righteous, just, and perfect scepter. And the border of His territory? The entire earth.
But today…
Wars run rampant. The latest newsflash incites fear. Our nation’s future seems more uncertain than ever before. Half of America is angry with our president while the other half is angry with those who are angry at our president. Accurate fact-checking appears to be a pipe-dream. Trust in civil leaders, elected officials, and pastors is at an all-time low. No one seems to believe anyone anymore. North Korea, Russia, and a field of Mid-East nations threaten at our doorstep.
So we sit in the back seat of the minivan and shout up, “Are we there yet, God? Are we almost there?!”
Like a patient father, God speaks: “Not quite yet, children. Hold on. Just be patient. We’re almost there.”
As we hear His patient voice through the words of prophets long-ago, we remember again the reality of Christ’s first coming and know it is proof of the soon-coming second. And we will say and sing and let it resound aloud in our hearts this Advent season, “Okay, Daddy. We will wait. We’ll trust you all the way home.”
In God’s Vineyard,
________________
For the Family
An enthusiastic team of volunteers bustled around our beautiful facilities yesterday here at Mayfair Bible Church, decorating for Christmas in every which way. They can’t wait to see your smiles this Sunday as you soak in the sights and sounds of the season. I encourage you to grab a nice seat up front this Sunday, pray for the Word to work into our hearts, and look toward those around you who may need a word of encouragement, note of thanks, or act of service to experience the love of Christ through you.
You’ll find the blessing of giving always outweighs the blessing of receiving. Just as Jesus said, “It is far more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35b)
Walk in hope.
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God Does It!
Our natural tendency is to look toward results, reports, and bottom-lines with an air of self-achievement. Upon finishing a big project at work, wrapping up a great Sunday, or a executing a large event, we feel the pull to lean back and wait for the kudos.
“Look what we did…” we quietly surmise.
We find it all-too-easy to receive accolades and relish in our accomplishments when things go well.
What about when plans or programs go sour? When the “buildings, bodies, and bucks” don’t add up? Aha! In those moments, we quickly drop to our knees and cry out to God for direction, blessing, or a sense of relief.
But with increase or decrease, in want or in fullness, we are to move forward on our knees in total reliance on God. We dare not forget the God who brought us through the storm when we reach the peaceful, sunny shore.
God alone brings the increase. God alone accomplishes His work as we remain reliant, dependent, and submitted to Him.
The apostle Paul exhorts us under the inspiration of the Spirit:
“What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.” (1 Cor. 3:5)
Apollos was known as a “golden-tongued” orator-preacher of the gospel. He could capture the ears of hundreds…even thousands. Paul was the foremost theologian of his era, an expert church-planter, and a bold preacher of the Word. These guys were heavy-hitters in the line-up, you might say. But what does Paul make clear? They are only servants of God who entirely operated through the opportunities that the Lord alone provided. The apostle continues the logic:
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.” (1 Cor. 3:7)
If the planter and the waterer are nothing, then that means God is the One who causes and cultivates EVERYTHING. God provides the opportunities, the calling, the equipment, and the power. The seed is God’s gospel. The water is God’s provision, the work of the Spirit. The servants are God’s redeemed children. The glory of the harvest belongs to God alone.
Listen carefully to the next line:
“Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Cor. 3:8-9)
We’re united together. Eternal rewards will be given to each according to our obedience to Christ. But we’re not divided on the basis of gifting, skill, results, or reward because all of those are purely the outcome of God’s work. Three visual metaphors are combined in the last phrase: We belong to God’s team together as servant-leaders; ultimately, we’re all in God’s field and one in God’s house (cf. Eph. 2:11-22).
God does it!
So as elders and deacons of Mayfair Bible Church, let’s remember this is God’s church (not ours). We serve God’s people (not ours). The results of ministry-labors, whether up or down or in-between, are of God’s power and grace (not ours).
Let us…
Walk faithfully. Serve humbly. Pray fervently.
Soli Deo Gloria
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All the Power
Dear Mayfair Family,
Jesus has power — all the authority and power to command both the natural world and the forces of the spiritual realm. Notice that I did not say Jesus had power. The power of our living Savior is not past tense but fully active in the present. Jesus displayed His rule over weather patterns, sickness, disease, satanic forces, and even death itself during His three years of public ministry. The power and presence of the one, true Messiah is evidentially experienced by all who receive His gift of new, eternal life. Jesus isn’t the bellhop to do the bidding of believers at their command. But the reality of His power has not been diminished. His rule operates according to His will through His Body, the Church.
As the writer to the Hebrews declares, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8).
He, today, is more than powerful enough to order the affairs of humankind (Job 12:23; Psa. 22:8; 66:7; Prov. 21:1), hold all the planets in place like a symphony conductor (Col. 1:16-17), and produce radical transformation in anyone’s life (John 9:25; 1 Tim. 1:12-17). Every single day, Jesus is bringing men and women out of darkness and into His glorious light through the Gospel (1 Pet. 2:9-10).
This Sunday at 10:45 AM, we’re going to see in 3-D high-def color two “boat stories” from Mark 4:35-5:20 that prove yet again the shocking, life-altering power of Jesus the Christ. I can’t wait to dig into this text with you. Join with me in prayer that God’s Word works deeply into our lives by the Holy Spirit.
But there’s more…
As a living illustration of Jesus’ power to change hearts and lives, you’ll also have the opportunity to meet a very dear friend of mine, Pastor Devadas Mekala.
“Daddy” as he is affectionately called by hundreds, was born a Dalit – “the untouchable” caste of India’s poorest. He was an angry, abusive alcoholic until his mid-30s when He came to saving faith Christ through the witness of a colleague at the hospital where he worked as a pharmacist.
Daddy Mekala, his wife, and their sons now have cared for hundreds of orphans, helped plant over 50 churches, and initiated numerous other gospel ministries around Andhra Pradesh, India. He has been a mentor to me since I first met him in Flint in 2004 and subsequently traveled to India for my first ministry trip there in 2005-2006. You will not want to miss the opportunity to interact with this faithful man of God.
UPDATE: Here’s the video of Daddy Mekala’s story from Sunday
Our 9:15AM EQUIP Courses continue to grow. If you’ve not jumped into a course, feel free to check into one this weekend! Go to https://www.mayfairbible.
Ministry Leadership Update
Once again, we thank you for participating in our Annual Celebration luncheon and meeting last month. We appreciate the investment you make in the work of Christ as a local flock of believers. We praise God for your faithful prayers, enthusiastic service, and profound generosity. To follow-up on our business meeting recap (please let us know if you did not get that email and video), here are some additional points of information. We ask that you join us in prayer with each step we take together.
A. Why are we here? We exist to Belong. Thrive. Go.
Everything is about Jesus. We want to focus and hone everything we do around the simple mission Jesus gave His disciples.
3 Keys for Faithfully Moving Forward as Team Mayfair:
- PRAYERFUL. Complete Reliance on God. (read Matthew 9:38; Luke 10:2; Philippians 4:4-7; Ephesians 3:13-21)
- SIMPLE. Clarity on the Vision. (read Matthew 28:19-20; John 20:21; Acts 1:8)
- MISSIONAL. Collaborating together on the Mission. (read Philippians 1:27; Ephesians 4:1-6; Psalm 67)
Q: What’s the bottom-line calling of every Christ-follower? A: Make and multiply disciples.
This Sunday, you’ll be given 1-2 “Mayfair Gospel Vision” Prayer Cards. There are 15 assorted prayer requests; one per card. Please join with us in prayer to our loving, prayer-answering God.
B. Mortgage and ______________? In an effort to articulate the need to pay off the mortgage of the Worship Center addition, we may have overstated the case. Eliminating our mortgage will open up wide, exciting opportunities for us. We, as elders and deacons, have committed to fervently praying until the burden of debt is erased — Lord willing, by 2025! However, you also must know that we’re developing our plans to continue moving gospel ministry, outreach, and staffing forward while at the same time making serious headway on our mortgage. Paying down the mortgage will not, by God’s grace, hamstring the ministry.
C. Thrive Center: Who’s leading this and what are the plans? 
Matt Pearson is the leader of the Thrive Center remodeling team. He’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.
In addition to the details given in the printed Annual Report…
The Front Suite of Thrive Center is:
- An annex of Mayfair Bible Church
- A place for ministry events, gatherings, classes, and seminars of Mayfair
- A setting for community events, too. For example: job coaching, blood drives, birthdays, special-needs family events, teen events.
- A counter space (“coffee bar / sinks”) to be used 2 hours per week by FCOC for washing and packaging food products.
- A free laundromat (1-2 machine sets) guided by FCOC member churches and FCOC through coupons distributed to those deserving assistance.
All events and programs will be handled through a calendar curated by Mayfair and will follow our established guidelines for building use. Operations of the Thrive Center will be volunteer-staffed until God grows the ministry to the point of requiring paid staff. Our desire is that the hours of operation in the front suite mirror the typically open hours of FCOC.
The Middle Suite of the Thrive Center is:
- Home to the Flushing Christian Outreach Center
- Envisioned to be a Christian Counseling Center staffed with licensed professionals and certified lay-counselors. Other uses are in discussion.
The Drum Shop business will vacating by November 30th. Please pray that our site plan will be approved by Mt. Morris Twp. and that we will also receive tax-exempt status on the property for 2020.
Thank you so much for all you do in service to Christ and His people.
It is a joy to serve as your pastor!
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Grace in the Contrasts
Fair-weather forecasters (probably not born and bred in Michigan) are saying this weekend is going to be chilly and drippy. But we know better, don’t we? As the northern winds and mist blow across our Mitten State a golden opportunity arises. A brief seasonal moment must be seized within a matter of days.
Of what do I speak? The autumn colors of bright red, orange, and yellow, of course! The chilly, drippy weather that unacclimated Eeyores despise comes with a grand payout: startling, jaw-dropping colors will splash across every horizon from Mackinaw to Detroit.
Come to think of it, that’s just like God.
Our Creator paints out His grace and glory in the contrasts.
Darkness then light. Evening then morning. Winter then spring.
Death then resurrection. Suffering then glory.
Feel the winds of His glorious grace in the contrasts…
We won’t understand God’s infiniteness until we understand the fractions of our finiteness.
We can’t comprehend the magnitude of God’s grace until we realize the magnitude of our sin.
We won’t know the intensity of fullest joy until we journey through valleys of pain.
We won’t taste the delights of the harvest until we spend time sweating and toiling in the field.
We can’t revel in the future weight of glory until we finish walking under the weight of the cross.
Our present sufferings will serve to intensify and amplify our future thanksgiving.
We see this path in the person of Christ through Mark’s gospel, especially highlighted at the epicenter of his account:
“And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again…” (Mark 8:31)
But this trail of contrasts into the weight of glory isn’t only for Christ, but for all who live as His followers:
“And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35; see also 2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
As I now look out the window of my study, I see the cold rain dripping and dropping. The blanche-gray clouds overhead indicate no-end-in-sight. Damp, dreary moisture drenches the weathered leaves on nearby trees.
Perhaps your life resembles today’s weather. I’ve been in that place, too. The waiting, dripping, suffering, chill-to-the-bones sort of circumstances are pulling your heart into shadowed valleys. The storm ceiling leaves no indication of any end in sight.
Ah, my friend, but there is. The sun will rise on the damp, frosted leaves. Bright blazes of light will sing across the horizon. You’ll want to stop your car and capture a thousand pictures of the beauty.
And with Christ, the moment will be forever.
____________________
This Sunday at 9:15AM and 10:45AM at Mayfair Bible Church, we will turn our hearts toward the Savior who came for sinners. We’ll behold His shocking, culture-erupting grace that invaded the hearts of the dirtiest, greediest, and darkest with Light and Love. I can’t wait to continue with another message in our new series through the Gospel of Mark – this week in Mark 2:13-22. See you then and, as always, feel free to bring a friend!
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Practice produces Progress
Our latest video-devotional:
__________________________
Recently, my little daughter, Everlynn, and I went up to Camp Barakel for their Father-Daughter Retreat, in which I was invited to preach. Among the beautiful forests and hills, we had the joy of engaging in all kinds of fun activities together: a zip-line, a giant 100’ slide, hiking, riflery, archery, and much more.
Everlynn and I have these target sheets from our one attempt at the rifles. I shot a .22 and she gave her best try at the BB gun.
As you can see, we weren’t too swift and savvy. The Marine Corps isn’t chomping at the bit to give us the marksman classification.
But of all the activities, Everlynn most enjoyed archery. Unlike riflery (which we gave just one attempt), Everlynn kept saying with a bright sparkle in her eyes, “Daddy, let’s go do archery again!” Three and four times we returned to let those arrows fly through the wind. With rapid progress, she became better and more at ease with each visit.
On our first try, should could barely get the arrows set on the string and they were flying all around the target and up into the trees. But after our third attempt at the range, she was landing those arrows into the target every time. Whap!
Progress!
Spiritual growth – progress forward as a Jesus-follower – doesn’t happen by a passive drip-process of reverse osmosis.
Justification and sanctification are by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. But this does not mean we lean back, do nothing, perhaps take one stab at following Jesus, and then rest back on our laurels. Not at all. Through the life of Christ living inside us, God gives us the Holy Spirit’s power to practice.
God-guided practice produces holy sweat by the Holy Spirit.
Paul wrote to Christ-followers in Philippi:
“The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:9)
Hear the cadence in the command to practice: “learned…received…heard…seen.” God has given us a guide for practice, a method of Spirit-empowered growth. Glancing back at the context of this command, we discover that practicing our focus on whatever is “true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good reputation, and worthy of praise” leads us into this peace (see Phil. 4:8).
Practice leads into Peace.
To the young pastor Timothy, the apostle wrote:
“Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.” (1 Tim. 4:15 – ESV)
Another way to translate the word “practice” in this verse is accurately rendered in the NASB: “Take pains with these things…”
Sometimes practice is pain – the pain of repetition, rudimentary memorization, and mental or muscle strain. Take those pains as gifts of God to grow you in Christ-likeness.
Practice involves Pain.
Progress doesn’t occur by passivity but through practice. But don’t miss this: the practice is a grace-given, Spirit-empowered discipline of what “things?” Here is Paul’s practice guide from the preceding verses:
“For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Prescribe and teach these things. . . . in conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example to those who believe. . . give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.” (from 1 Tim. 4:10-13)
So you and I must “pay close attention” in these steps of our practice and persevere in the practice! (v. 16)
Practice produces Progress.
Q: So what Spirit-empowered, grace-given practices have you been, perhaps, ignoring or resisting?
Prayer? Studying the Bible? Serving others?
Guarding what you watch, read, or immerse yourself in?
Gathering with the local church for worship, preaching, reading, training, and celebrating of the Lord’s Supper (which we’ll be enjoying this Sunday at Mayfair Bible Church)?
Think about it.
Lean into the practice. Take pains in the practice. Practice leads to progress.
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One Dying Leaf
One recent morning, I rushed through the double doors outside my study with ten pressing tasks on my mind. Yet five steps in, I saw out of the corner of my eye a small object flutter in the breeze.
I paused, looked down, and noticed a reddened maple leaf with a mosaic of orange, brown, and green hues blended through its feathery center. The deciduous remnant, apparently, blew through the night before and drifted slowly to the floor.
Without hesitation, I leaned over and picked up the lonely leaf. My first gut-instinct was to mindlessly tossed it in the nearby trash can.
However, as I held the once lush green leaf in my hand, I grew misty-eyed. The change of seasons has a way of developing tears in me – not merely because the crisp northern wind makes my eyes water, but because the shift to yet another season reminds me that life is always pressing forward.
The clock is forever ticking. Life doesn’t come with a pause button.
A change of seasons reflects the fact that my children have grown another inch or two in height. They’ve moved up a grade in school. Our five kids are changing, maturing, and hopefully, developing as disciples of Jesus.
How rapidly these fleeting moments race passed our noses. Will I notice or just hurry on by?
Pondering the aged leaf of an acer saccharum prods my mind toward the reality of aging. Another season… a few less brown hairs and several more gray strands on my head.
And I wonder: “Am I just growing older, or am I growing better, sweeter with the aroma of Christ?
A shift in seasons brings my heart back to the first week Stephanie and I spent together with my family in 2007. Autumn arrived late that year in Texas. Maple leaves brightly adorned the ground. Stephanie’s effervescent smile sparkled with the November sun. Now we’re in our twelfth fall moment together.
I pray our loving union as husband and wife is tightening, not loosening, sweetening not souring.
A turn of seasons. The grass will soon turn pale green and brown with dormancy. Flower buds and petals will close up, droop down, and fade away from the sun.
Autumn forces us to peer into the piercing beauty of growing, aging, and dying – a pacing set by Providence.
It’s bewildering yet enlightening… even reviving to the soul.
Hear the ancient words of King David in these poignant lines of poetry:
“As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, and it’s place acknowledges it no longer.”
(Psalm 103:15-16)
With the deciduous flashes of crimson red, sun-flame orange, and deep golden yellows, God gathers my attention.
Watch. Wait. Listen. Life is short. The seasons never stop their forward march.
The grace of aging comes through knowing what is never changing. Follow the next lines in David’s song:
“But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to do them.”
(Psalm 103:17-18)
Our Creator of the seasons is the eternal Giver of love and Guardian of all that is right. Those who bow to Him in joyful, willing faith receive His un-aging, unstoppable love.
A song of grace blows through the wind-whipped trees:
King David tells: our days are numbered
The winds of time will ever blow
Our moments are built to be seasoned
The steps we take are seeds to sow
The grass withers
A flower fades
But the Word of the Gospel?
This foundation forever remains
God’s message chants in the breeze:
Many seasons wax and wane
Mankind will rise and fall
But this is ever-true:
I Am
Compassionate in your weakness
Gracious toward your failures
Slow to anger in your rebellion
Faithful in my love toward you
Through every shadow and season
I Am with you to the end
So I gaze, again, at the fading streak of green in the center of a quickly dying maple leaf. I remember: The Lord’s lovingkindness is from everlasting to everlasting. No end is in sight to the measure of His mercy.
God has continually proven Himself faithful. So why should I doubt Him now?
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Dear Younger Me
Dear Younger Me,
Life is hard but one day things are going to be okay…
You will realize that grace wins and legalism loses; that nothing you can do will make Jesus love you more or less than He did when you came to Him for salvation at 7-years-old. You will wish you had known this much sooner in life, but grateful it happened at all!
You will forgive. You will thank Jesus for those who hurt you. Even though not every relationship is restored, you have peace and joy.
You will finally accept yourself the way God made you; that all those years of frustration, hurt, and angst because you had so many hidden insecurities and fears, are over and you’ve moved into a healthier mentality.
You will have many people tell you that you are “too loud”, “too opinionated”, “too independent”, “too much everything”. Don’t listen to them. You will be exactly who He created you to be someday and you will love your life. God will surround you with people who love and accept you in spite of, or perhaps because of all those things. 😉
You will meet a man who changes your whole world. He will accept you for who you are; all the quirks, the silliness, the opposite way of doing things, and your extreme love of beauty and life. He will show you what grace really means.
You will have a strong and smart son who struggles, but who will also see the world in an incredible and unique way. You will teach him what you can, but more than anything else, you will learn so much from him.
You will have a daughter, who is a spitfire with root beer brown eyes and feet that run like the wind. You will teach her that she is strong, can do anything, and that it’s okay to be effervescent and bold as long as we are kind, loving, and truthful.
You will have a little blonde-haired blue-eyed boy whose winsome smile lights up your world. He will be a continual light and gift to your family.
You will have six babies in heaven. Even though you’d rather have them in your home, you’ve changed so much through the losses (and you will never understand why they happened). But you will accept and grow.
You will have fought against false accusations, character assassinations, the end of friendships, and relational struggles. But the people who care will stay, and the people who don’t will go. You will mourn, but you will move onward.
You will come to strongly fight against the injustices of those around you and far away, pray to be a messenger, light, and world-changer in any way you can.
You will have gone through many physical fires, but you will have cried out to God for strength so many times. You will not be fully healed. But lovely girl, you will be a fighter!
You will be a pastor’s wife just like you always wanted! It won’t always be easy, but it will be worth every single moment. You will grow to love so many people who will become like family.
You will love people fiercely and not always receive love in return. You will love anyway.
Keep smiling because God is going to blow you away and He will be with you through every part of your journey. ❤️
Darling girl, you are going to be more than just okay.
“The LORD your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
~ Zephaniah 3:17
Blessings in Christ,
Stephanie Anna
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I’m Blessed With Iron
A timeless truth to put-into-play jumps off the page:
“Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17)
I’m blessed with iron. Howard Hendricks often commented to us in seminary: “Everyone needs a Paul, a Barnabas, and a Timothy.” Each time I heard him reinforce this idea I’d inwardly respond, “Thank you, God, for bringing so many mentors and encouragers into my life.” I’ve never had to search for a Paul or a Barnabas because good, faithful men had already identified me as their Timothy.
Today, I’m reminded of two men much wiser and further down the trail of life, who’ve taken time to invest in me. One up close. The other far away. They’ve asked me heart-level questions and remarkably remembered specific details about my life and ministry. The one nearby knows me much better than the other. But they both have deeply impacted my heart and mindset about the calling and work of a pastor.
As I was filing away some old notes and scribbled quotes this week, I uncovered a short series of heart-searching questions from Ken Pierpont, the up-close mentor, under whom I once served as an inner-city missionary in Flint and later as a pastor of youth and education in metro-Detroit. Let these words soak of your soul:
Heart-Searching Questions
“You’re growing older, but are you growing better?”
“Are you becoming more like Jesus?
“Is your loyalty and love for God increasing or decreasing?”
“Are you growing sweeter with the aroma of Christ or sour with concentration on yourself?”
Think about it. Don’t hurry past these questions. Respond with the answers they demand.
Just a couple weeks ago, I heard that the mentor at-a-distance, Ray Ortlund Jr., had fully retired from his lead pastoral role. We’ve spoken in-person only a few times. But I make certain to read everything he writes. His words are saturated with scripture, marinated in God’s overflowing grace, and seasoned with pastoral wisdom.
The last time I spoke with him was at The Gospel Coalition conference this past April. After gleaning as much as I could from his breakout session, I hurried out to find the rest of our team and make it into the next main gathering. But later on, amid the torrent of activity in the booksale area, he stopped me in my tracks to specifically ask how I was doing with my family and ministry. He’d greeted me prior to his breakout session. But he wanted to probe into details based on a conversation we had years before. His piercing blue eyes didn’t rush over my heart concerns. He intensely listened to my answers to his questions and offered to continue our conversation.
Another young pastor who had the joy of working much closer with Ray, wrote a poignant article this week about three reflections on being pastored by Ortlund. Here’s short a excerpt with a link to continue reading the entire piece:
3 Memories of Ray Ortlund as My Pastor
“Ray Ortlund Jr. is an honorable man of God. I’ve been hanging out with him for the last decade, and in all that time, I’ve seen no breach in his integrity. I have heard him confess many sins and watched him wrestle through many difficulties. But I’ve never seen him shy away from following God into the fray. The reason, I think, is simple. Ray fears and loves God.
My memories are filled with the evidence. . . .”
Continue reading here: https://www.
_____________________
Just as I’ve seen modeled through my mentors…
May Christ continually expose my sin, immaturity, and self-interest.
And with His patient grace form within me…
purity,
wisdom, and
selfless love.
In Christ Alone,
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Living “The Good Life”
“I’m living ‘the good life’!” someone remarked to me several months ago.
With a big smile, they proceeded to share with me how they were reveling in a windfall of financial freedom, extra time, good health, and frequent vacations. I was genuinely happy for them. Enjoying life isn’t bad. I’m not ready to hit people on the head with a Puritanical mallet, nor is God a cosmic kill-joy. As James reminds us, “every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above” (Jm. 1:17a). By God’s grace, all humanity enjoys gifts from His created order on earth. Life-giving rain showers and warmth-giving sun-rays fall upon everyone (see Matt. 5:45).
However, in the back of my mind, I knew there was a missing vital-component. God wasn’t a part of their “good life”. It’s not just that they hadn’t brought up God, the Creator-Savior-Sustainer, in our conversation. I knew they had not entered into the experience of personally knowing God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Their life looked remarkably good, but God wasn’t in the picture.
Think about it: Do you want to live “the good life”? I think we’d all nod in agreement. Nobody would voluntarily vote for unending poverty, famine, and sorrow. But what is God’s definition of the good life? As the singer-songwriter, Asaph, surveyed the people around him, he nearly fell into believing the good life could be void of God. Take a look at his rather honest, transparent lines of Hebrew poetry:
“But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, my steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant, as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, and their body is fat. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like mankind. . . . their eye bulges from fatness; the imaginations of their heart run riot. They mock and wickedly speak of oppression” (Psalm 73:2-5, 7-8a)
Reading the descriptors above may cause some of you to envision the proverbial Fat Cat. I was immediately reminded of that smarmy, slimy Star Wars character, Jobba the Hutt – sitting on his pile of wealth, violence, and lust.
Yikes…
But we wonder: What if following God’s way isn’t worth it? Would we be happier in this life without God’s instructions? These are very much the same questions that arose in Asaph’s mind:
“Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence; for I have been stricken all day long and chastened every morning. If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’ behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.” (Psalm 73:13-15)
As if to quickly cover his mouth, he thinks about what would’ve happened if he shouted his feelings out loud. Have you ever felt this way, too?
But then he leads the ancient readers and us – today – toward the true definition of “the good life.” Allow these words soak over heart:
“My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.
But as for me, the nearness of God is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.” (Psalm 73:26-28)
The Good Life, as defined by God’s Word, is being close to God. Period.
When you begin another week of rather exhausting work…
When the decision to obey God causes you to lose a relationship…
When temptation toward greed, lust, or pride fights against your soul…
…remember: the nearness of God is your good.
“Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.” (Psalm 73:25)
In God’s Vineyard,
