Tag Archives: Psalms

Just one hour a week… [the challenge]

Posted on March 6, 2014 by | Comments Off on Just one hour a week… [the challenge]

hour glass

Earlier in January, I was working on our church’s newsletter and needed something to fill a page.  As I was considering what to do with the page, I felt led by the Holy Spirit to share something that has been on my heart for a while. During my days as a volunteer for the Boy Scouts, one of the standby jokes was that “it only took one hour a week” to make a difference in the life of a boy.  Without a doubt there is a lot of truth within that statement.  There is a lot of difference that one hour a week can make if we use it wisely.  For a moment, think of the impact in the community that the church would have if everyone would just spent one hour a week doing something to further the ministry of the local church.

As I was preparing to post this, a thought came to mind – what if for a four-month period, a challenge was made to myself and any others who wanted to see the difference that just one hour a week would add to the local church’s impact on the community.  Please do not take this challenge lightly as it is not something you can pledge to do and then not follow through with it.  If you do decide to take part in this challenge, remember what God has said about making vows: When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5).  If you decide to take part in this, remember your commitment is not to me or this discipleship blog; it is a commitment between you and God. Alternately, remember that if you do make the commitment to spend an hour a week for four months, you should make every effort to complete it.   It’s why David, the psalmist, wrote Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared (Psalms 76:11) and why Jesus taught the crowds during his earthly ministry: And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). Once the commitment to spend one hour a week is made it is something that we must keep doing for the entire four-month challenge.

The reason I believe that this must be a four-month challenge is because of human psychology.  According to numerous studies, it takes 120 days before anything becomes a habit, regardless of if it is a good or bad one.  It is my sincerest hope that this challenge will not be something that ends once those participating hit the four-month mark, but is something that continues beyond.  I believe that as we strive to make that difference in that one hour a week, God will bless our efforts and we will see fruit as a means to encourage us to continue. Based on my experiences, I know that if we diligently spend one hour a week sincerely trying to expand the reach of the local church’s ministry it will have an impact on our communities.  We will see souls saved, we will see the broken-hearted healed, we will see fellowship restored with members, and we will see families coming together.  I believe that one hour a week will make a difference if we use it wisely.

For many of you who are already facing busy days, you are probably wondering how you can squeeze one more hour into your already busy week.  To be completely honest with you, it would not need be given at one time, nor would it need to be spent doing just one thing. As I was preparing the article for our church newsletter, I thought about how taking the hour and dividing it into six parts, one for each day of the week except Sunday, could be used by even the busiest person to be able to make a difference over the next four months. Think of the difference that one hour could make each week even if divided among six days:

  • Just ten minutes on Monday to call those who missed Sunday morning service. It would let them know that you cared enough to notice they were not there and are concerned for them.
  • Just ten minutes on Tuesday to call the older members from our church who are shut ins. This would let them know that they are not forgotten by their church family.
  • Just ten minutes on Wednesday spent sending out cards to those going through trials and hardships in our church. This could encourage them to keep going, praying, depending, and remaining faithful to God and not giving up.
  • Just ten minutes on Thursday to take cookies to a next door neighbor or co-worker and to invite them to church. We all have neighbors and co-workers that need to have someone reach out to them with the love of God.

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Learning from a winter storm

Posted on March 4, 2014 by | Comments Off on Learning from a winter storm

Winter 004

In my hometown of Henderson, Kentucky, we’ve had another round of winter weather.  While the winter storm is long gone, the snow and ice still remain. While many people see the snow and ice as an inconvenience, for me, I welcome the lessons that God teaches me through something as simple as a winter storm.  Being a bit hard-headed in my early Christian walk, I had to learn the hard way that God does not use a loud and booming voice to communicate to us.  In fact, I feel in good company.  I Kings records the lesson that God had to teach the prophet Elijah: And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice (I Kings 19:11-12)

Oftentimes, we miss the methods that God uses to teach us because we are not waiting to hear the still small voice.  We claim that if God would just speak to us, give us some physical sign and with that we would listen and be obedient to Him. Jesus taught on this very thing that big wondrous signs will not make a difference.  In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead (Luke 16:27-31). Although Jesus is talking about the lost coming to God, there is still a similar theme to these two passages of scripture.  In both, God loudly proclaims that it is not through great and mighty miracles where He does His work of touching the hearts of people.  Even if He did allow Lazarus to go and witness to the rich man’s family, they would not believe that God had done such a miracle and would demand that God do another.  Look at the number of miracles the crowds saw Jesus doing; look at the numbers of followers that remained near him on Golgotha.

It is through our quiet time that God truly speaks to our hearts.  We cannot expect to hear the still small voice that God chooses to use if we are doing so amid the distractions of the television, traffic, and the other experiences of day-to-day chaos?  Solomon wrote, Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee (Proverbs 7:15). In other words, it’s never going to be during the “normal routine” of the day where we actually can hear the voice of God.  It is only when, in the case of Ezekiel, where we diligently seek to hear his voice that we will find Him. The apostle Paul understood this very thing too, writing to the Jewish Christian converts of his lifetime, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6). Again, this idea of only through our diligent efforts will we hear God speak and reward us.  In my own experiences, the times where I diligently sought after the Lord, I had to come to an end of my own understanding of the situation and had to truly seek out God’s counsel.

As the winter storm began to hit Sunday morning around 6:30, I began to think how the storm would cause people to slow down; perhaps that was what I and others within the tri-state area affected by the storm needed.  Often times we allow life to run ahead of us and we forget what it is like to simply slow down and wait upon God. David understood this as the Holy Spirit led him to write, Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass (Psalms 37:7). Again, this idea of waiting, of diligently seeking Him and waiting patiently for Him is something that does not come natural to us in this microwaved, smart-phoned, and multi-tasking generation.  We want instant results and when, as in the case of a winter storm, life requires us to slow down and to be patient, many of us have a hard time doing that.  Let the electricity and cable television go out, and our problems are even worse. The lesson from this winter storm:  slow down and enjoy the time with friends, family, and the Lord.

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No shortage of worldly advice

Posted on February 18, 2014 by | Comments Off on No shortage of worldly advice

dear-abbyIt never fails. If you ask advice from your family and friends on how to handle a problem, a crisis, or just a difficult situation, most of the advice you will get is based on a worldly understanding of the problem and not focused on giving thoughtful, spirit led and soul-stirring advice. In fact, there are several places in the Bible where the extent and commonality of worldly advice is truly demonstrated.

Within the story of Job, his wife offers him the worldly advice of Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die (Job 2:9b). Even Job, in his day, acknowledged the worldview of seeking godly counsel when he told his friends, What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him? Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me (Job 15:21). While he was in the middle of a trial by the hands of Satan, he had enough wisdom to realize that neither his wife or his friends were providing Godly advise, but were offering what he correctly called “the counsel of the wicked.”

Now do not misunderstand, not everyone that provides us advice is wicked; however, their advice must be weighed against what the Bible tells us. I would not count Job’s wife as a wicked woman, however, her advice was wicked—it called for Job to curse God and wait for judgment. To curse God would be a sin, and the wages of sin is death; after this, the judgment of God (reference Job 2:9, Romans 6:23, and Hebrews 9:27). What terrible advice to tell someone to willfully sin and await the judgment of God!

Just as Job’s wife probably loved him deeply and wanted to see him out of pain and suffering, many of our family and friends, some saved, some not, also take no pleasure in seeing us endure pain, hardships, trials, and confusion. Often they are quick to offer up solutions to our problems. I think of the story of Sarah, the wife of Abraham, and her understanding of God’s promise and the customs of ancient Mesopotamian society. She knew she was past the age of bearing children, but rather than to wait upon God and to see what He had planned, she told Abraham, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai (Genesis 16:2). There can be no doubt that Sarah loved Abraham and she wanted to bear him an heir, the son of promise, but based on her own understanding of their situation, she offered advice that can be considered as the “counsel of the wicked.” God warns us to Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). Even the prophet Jeremiah added that The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9). If those who are truly walking in the faith can offer us bad advice, what makes us think that the world’s advice will be any better?

In truthfulness, we cannot expect the lost world—whether it be family or close friends—to be able to offer godly and spirit led advice either. David, the psalmist and King of Israel, penned the words, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful (Psalms 1:1) as both a warning and promise to us as we seek to find meaning in the trials and obstacles we face. When we take advice that is founded on the common worldview and not centered on a God-ward worldview, we are inviting even more difficulty into our lives.

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