Preserving Life

Since resigning my pastorate last year, I have taken on the task and job at the Pregnancy Care Center to advance it's ministry.  I am the Advancement Manager. Ha ha, the title sounds real important, but I am only one of four part-time staff, and there is no one there that I manage. I handle church relations, donor relations, volunteers, events, and expansion into areas that we don't have good exposure. Even as I write, the task seems daunting. However if you compare it to the plight of the unborn striving to live, or the persecuted believers in Nigeria, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, and China (just to name the ones in the news currently), my work is easy.

One thing that I didn't anticipate in going to work at the Pregnancy Care Center was the heart that I would gain for the unborn. It didn't take graphic photos of the horrors of abortion, all it took was the numbers on the praise board of the lives saved, the faces of women who have been helped, media, and the tirelessness of those here that would give their last breath to save a woman and a child. Together For Life is one of the best pro-life videos ever. It speaks about the historical perspective of Christianity, and its love for babies, women, and the unborn (and the guy has a cool accent, British I think). Below is another great one from another pregnancy care center. It's called Sanctity of Life 2014. Both of these are very encouraging, and bring about cause for rejoicing that believers are out there working to end  the atrocity of abortion.


Another thing that I gained was a realization of the apathy of most churches compared to the enormity and gravity, and urgency of the atrocity of abortion; especially in light of the history the Christian community has always had for children, born and unborn. I think part of the reason that we are that way is that we cannot fathom 55 million babies.  We can't fathom 55 million of anything. Once I heard a demonstration that helped me understand it, that crushed a lot of apathy for me. The Sound of Abortion is much more difficult and heart-wrenching to watch/hear. But take a minute and listen to it. Every believer should.

I enjoy working here at the PCC. It takes up precious time, but I believe that God will save many babies and mothers through this ministry. And of course, when God saves a baby and his/her mother, God is saving a generation, as that child would have produced children, who would have produced children, and so on. One abortion actually kills a life, maims another, and removes the potential for maybe hundreds more, if the Lord tarries His coming.

Find your closest PCC, and volunteer, give, and pray for it's success. Twenty-nine women who came here determined to abort so far in 2014 have chosen life! There will be women with fearful minds, facing one of the most difficult decisions in their lives, laying their heads down on pillows in your community, maybe in your neighborhood, awaiting decision day--tomorrow. How will you help them?

She looks up at me, and says, "Thanks for giving me a chance"

Another testimony of a life that almost was not...awesome!

Many Lives Narrowly Missing Death

As I came out of the Pregnancy Care Center today, a woman stopped me and showed me a picture.  Knowing what we do there, she began to tell me this story about the picture.

This woman's sister was at a point in her life that was bringing her to her knees.  Her husband was dying of cancer and the doctors were not hopeful. Her sister also had a 16 year-old daughter, who found herself pregnant out of wedlock. This was devastating to the young teen.

She confided in the woman (her aunt), and told her about the pregnancy.  The advice that was given was something along the lines of, "you cannot have this baby.  This will crush your parents.  They are going through enough right now, and I don't know if they can handle anymore." This woman cringed as she thought about giving that advice.

Thankfully the woman's advice was not heeded.  The teen chose life, and carried "David" to term.  He become the biggest blessing to her dying father, who got to hold him for about the last year of his fleeting life. God's grace was magnified even through sin.

The picture that she showed me on her phone was that of the 3-D ultrasound of "David's" baby soon to be born into this world. The woman is now so glad that her advice was not listened to, and millions of blessings would have been lost.  Had "David" been aborted, so would his children, and their children, and so on.  One abortion costs many lives, and often we don't think about it.

Dealing with Disappointment

I write this morning to do, as John Piper says, "preach to myself." And maybe it will help you too. These are just a few "off the cuff" thoughts that I wrote down one morning several weeks back, that I need reminding of regularly. If any of you see fit to remind me of these things in coming months, please do so, just in a soft, helpful way--sometimes being a Pharisee is a hard thing to swallow...

We all have times when we don't get what we want or need. Our expectations are high. We dream about, think about, pray about, work toward something, and then at the moment that it doesn't come to pass, our hearts are broken, and sometimes we react with anger against others, and sometimes against God. So, I tried to think of some biblical truths that would help me combat such feelings, so that my anger is quelled, and relationships are helped and not hurt by disappointment. Not a lot of deep thought here, just short, memorable, and I believe helpful truths that we can repeat to ourselves in our minds, so that we may make much of Jesus.

1. Receive all things with thankfulness - "...giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ," -Eph 5:20
2. Understand disappointment as God's wisest plan for you at this time - "I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me." -Psa 119:75
3. Own some of the responsibility, refuse to point fingers, we usually bear some fault - "then Nathan said to David, "You are the man!" -2 Sam 12:10, sometimes we "ask amiss."
4. Confess and forsake our sinful anger, most anger is due to self-centered desires not met - "But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice..." -Col 3:8
5. Remember God's promises, and His unfailing love -"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." -Phil 4:19, "as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness..." -2 Pet 1:3
6. Bring yourself into submission - "bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ," -2 Cor 10:5, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." -Phil 4:8, "for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content" -Phil 4:11

Maybe these will be helpful to you. Meditate through those you remember in your disappoint in circumstances and in others.

Blessings,

"I believe in God..."

Common occurrence among those who share their faith (once the conversation rolls around to God, church, etc.):

Believer: "Which church to you attend (group of believers that they gather with)?

Friend: relates a bad experience with some "church" or "church member," then goes on to explain that they "believe in God," and how they don't gather or need to gather with a local church (implicitly or explicitly to go to heaven).

Is this theologically true? Yes, one does not have to gather with the church to go to heaven or be right with God (ex. thief on the cross). So those are the two options: gather with a local church or be nailed to the cross until you are dead, and go to heaven directly (do not pass GO, do not collect $200, or attend church).

Just kidding, but really the scripture says,

"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death" -1 John 3:14

I know, I know, you could love other believers without attending a church gathering. But like a pastor said this weekend, "you can give without loving, but you can't love without giving." And it seems like to me that if one was submitted to the Lordship of Christ in his life, and really loved the brethren, shouldn't they want to be gathering with a group of believers? If Christ thought the church was important enough to lay His life down for her, couldn't we lay down some time and people investment for her? If you love her/them, shouldn't you want to be around them, encouraging them, giving your life away to them, and laying down your life for them? You wouldn't love your family, country, or even chocolate like that. So would it be a stretch to say that you really don't love the brethren if you are not gathering regularly?

Now, don't hear me say something that I am not saying: I am not saying that everyone who is not gathering with the church is not a Christian. I really am simply saying that I worry about those kinds of people. People who claim to believe in Christ, yet casually blow off gathering with His bride (and many other explicit commands). I worry that they are not worried. I worry that their children will not follow a Christ whose value doesn't compel their parents to gather with the bride. I worry that they lull themselves into false security because our culture thinks its OK not to gather with the church. Some need to mend their walk with the Lord, and find a fellowship. Some need to examine whether or not they have passed from death to life at all...

His ways are not always our ways

My hope and intention was to go back to Peru this fall and spend some face time with my disciplers there. I wanted to encourage them, disciple them, train them, and strategize with them, and felt (and still feel) like this is a necessary and helpful thing.

But all the pastors and others that said they were going have all with one accord began to make excuse. I had one that told me he would go, but not to make plans just for him. Really bummed.

And somewhat confused. Doesn't God want me to continue carry the gospel to the ends of the earth? Didn't our team decide that we need to make about 3-4 trips a year there in order to equip the saints there and evangelize the area? So why prevent me from going on a trip that I had plans to go on?

Pro 16:9 A man's heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. As with many other occasions in my life where things don't go as I planned, I can add this to the list. With the baby here now, and knowing my need to stay here and help Erika and minister to the family, I can see some of the reasons God might direct my path not to go. And maybe I need to be reminded that I/we are not necessary for God to work in this areas, or maybe the Peruvians need to be reminded that God is enough, or maybe harm would come to us, or maybe financially it is not the best decision now. I don't know, but I trust Him, maybe that is all He wants: to teach me afresh to trust in Him. Knowing myself all too well, I am always in need of that reminder.

May the Lord build His church in Julcan and Molinos in the Yacus Valley of Central Peru!

Preaching To Myself

Sometimes you just got to preach to yourself, and say, "self, here's the way it really is!" I say that sometimes from the pulpit, and I really believe it, and I really practice it. But this morning in my triad meeting, we discussed the pruning process of the Lord in our lives; and I was reminded afresh at the awesomeness and absolute sufficiency and refuge and joy that Jesus is in our lives! Let me share, and preach to myself some more; maybe it will help you too!

God uses lots of things to prune us: friends, family, books, sermons, the Word, teaching, etc., but most of all He uses pain, suffering, loss, and deprivation to break us from things that we don't need and things that hinder the fruit that endures and the joy of Christ! And so with that pain in mind, I kinda began to share some life lessons that Christ has worked through the three most painful times in my life. And I got so excited about how God used the Word and His sufficiency not only to get my through, but to grow me and change me and bring glory to Himself. And I got to preaching a little bit...

And these are just a few places that we are reminded of God's power and sufficiency, but they are tied to the painful times of my life, but biblically speaking:

David experienced and extolled the sufficiency of God in the wilderness, a dry and thirsty land, on the run, persecuted, downcast, deprived, betrayed, hunted, and sought after when He said in Psalm 63:1-7, when He saw the power and glory of God "...Your love is better than life...thus I will praise you and lift up hands in your Name...my soul is satisfied...in the shadow of your wings I will rejoice..." GOD IS SUFFICIENT!

Job, after immense, unspeakable tragedy and loss, said, "though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him," knowing that God alone is enough! Then after 35 chapters of God's silence, some unhelpful friends, and Job's whining (not patience), God speaks. He says to "gird up your loins like a man," I've got something to say. And for four chapters He demands answers from Job about who created the seas and their boundries, and where was Job during all that; and on and on for four chapters. And at the end, God having given no reason for Job's suffering and His allowance of it, Job says that he has spoken of things that he does not understand, and he repents for doubting God. And the message of the book is that God alone is enough. GOD IS SUFFICIENT!

Habakkuk was floored by the news that God was sending the wicked Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem and take them captive into a far away land. He can't fathom why or how God would do this to His children! He finally, after much reflection, at the end of the book says that when he heard the news, his body quivered, bones shook and ached with pain and shock, BUT if the worst case scenario happens "though the fig tree has no blooms, the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food, the flock is cut off from the fold, their are no herds in the stalls; Yet, I will rejoice in in the Lord, and I will joy in the God of my salvation! He is my strength..." GOD IS SUFFICIENT!

Paul said that the pain of the "thorn in the flesh" was unbearable, and that he had asked God to remove it, and God had refused. God said, "...my grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness." So Paul concluded, "Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." How could he rejoice, take pleasure in pain????? Because He knew that Christ was a greater joy than all the pain in the world! GOD IS SUFFICIENT!

And much more could be said, but I will leave you with that. It is just so good to be reminded of His sufficiency and power; and that He is our Rock and worthy of our trust! May God's strength be manifested and put on display in a world by the suffering of believers who attest to the Refuge of our soul, and take pleasure in trials because He is our treasure!

Preach this message to yourself: GOD IS ALL-SUFFICIENT, SATISFYING LORD OF GLORY!