It’s one of the loneliest of all encounters,
The most agonizing of all relationships,
Where it seems as though the very air you breathe
Pushes hard against you as you try to move forward.
Yet move you must.
The calling is too strong…
The need is too great…
Press on …
Press on against the wind. [click to continue…]
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The headlines are curious today, after weeks of holding us hostage over a disease that Americans steadfastly wish to remain somebody else’s problem. “COMPASSION URGED IN DALLAS AS EBOLA MONITORING ENDS” says the USA Today headline.
Who is this compassion aimed for?
People who don’t have the disease.
So why do they need compassion?
Because at one time we were afraid they may have it.
But after 21 days of having their lives quarantined while the politicians, media, talk radio and social media had everybody in a frenzy, now the science says, they don’t have it. Meanwhile, two nurses who were doing their jobs caring for the one person who has died from the disease in the U.S. now are fighting the virus, and we pray for their healing and recovery.
In the meantime, Dallas, please be kind to people you may otherwise want to avoid like the you-know-what. It’s the American thing to do. [click to continue…]
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I pray that wherever you are in relation to your dreams – whether putting them to bed or waking them up – crying out for new visions or mourning the death of old ones – I pray that you would endure…
Not just in terms of putting one foot in front of the other (that’s survival), but in terms of first love – the endurance of the heart. Specifically I pray that… [click to continue…]
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Somewhere near you there’s a frustrated pastor whose tried-and-true methods for leadership or church growth he has spent much of a lifetime developing aren’t working anymore. He’s too passionate to quit, but too tired to start over.
Somewhere down the road is an organization that once was the hallmark of success because of its ways of doing ministry or business. The strategy it perfected was brilliant and worked when others failed. Until it quit working as effectively.
Somewhere nearby a young man is giving up on everything he knew of the Faith as a boy. Why? Because his boyhood faith doesn’t give him answers to his adult realities and temptations. The problem is, he doesn’t yet have a man-sized faith to take its place.
In all three of these scenarios, as described in the previous post, somebody’s system was breaking down… And God has them right where He wants them. [click to continue…]
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One day you’re going to use the same technique for praying that you have seen God respond to time and time again. But your prayer won’t get what you consider a positive response.
One day you’re going to claim that healing, rebuke that sickness, or do whatever you’ve done repeatedly to see the Lord respond in situations like that. But he healing won’t be coming. At least not the way you believed it would come.
One day you’re going to repeat the same steps or process you have used dozens of times before and seen genuine fruit or progress in your personal life or ministry. But this time it’s going to come up a bust.
One day you’re going to turn to your pet theology (excuse me… I mean your belief system), where things have made sense and given you wisdom, insight, and clarity for years. But this time your pet theology will have no answers.
And let me go ahead and cut to the chase – all of this is deliberate, and it’s God’s idea. [click to continue…]
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Cesar Malan was a famous minister from Geneva. He showed genuine interest in the spiritual welfare of anyone he met. And get this! He would actually ask them about it!
Once Malan asked a woman he had just met about her relationship with God. Caught off guard, and somewhat annoyed by his question, she curtly said she didn’t care to discuss the matter.
Apparently this wasn’t the first time Cesar had faced such a response. The minister kindly assured her that he would be praying for her salvation.
It wasn’t long before circumstances brought the two together again. As they talked, it became apparent to Pastor Malan that the Lord was responding to his prayers. The once-antagonistic woman had recognized her spiritual need. Now she was asking him what was required to become a follower of Christ.
The preacher replied, “Come to Him just as you are.” [click to continue…]
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This is for the gifted speaker or preacher who just can’t seem to get his point across. It’s for the exceptional teacher whose students this time just aren’t getting it.
This is for the counselor who isn’t making any difference whatsoever, or the business innovator who’s just run out of ideas as his organization is falling into the abyss.
This is for the genius sailor who just met up with the perfect storm.
It’s for the career fisherman who’s fished all night and caught nothing.
You may need to brace for impact.
You may need to prepare to be disturbed… not by how hard things are to you at your point of genius, but by how senselessly easy they are for Jesus when He shows up. [click to continue…]
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Dani has her days and nights mixed up. She’s driven to finish her degree and excited about the possibilities of life after school, but her brain and body are also fatigued. She feels like sleeping when she’s awake, but can’t quite shut it all off mentally when she’s supposed to be sleeping. Dani has a weary soul. And her weary soul is receiving the call to Wait in the Stillness.
Allen is on the verge of something great. His ministry organization has experienced a funding breakthrough, which has made it possible to launch an entire new division overseas. He’s doing Kingdom work, and for months he has lived at the glorious intersection of waiting and working – where anticipating collides with diligence. So why does this mid-40s man, who is otherwise in such good health, find it so easy to well up with tears for no apparent reason? Allen has a weary soul. And his weary soul is receiving the call to Wait in the Stillness.
Teresa is grateful for the progress. Day in and day out, working with little Pauley, she has seen such growth in her little son with special needs. Compared to this time last year, both of their worlds have dramatically changed for the better. But driving home from the latest meeting with Pauley’s case worker, Teresa catches a heart-glimpse of how far – how very far – her boy and she have to go. And something inside her screams, “Give it up! You’ll never get there.” Teresa has a weary soul. And her weary soul is receiving the call to Wait in the Stillness.
To live in a broken world, teeming with peril and possibilities, is to shoulder a load that defies your own strength. You may look at somebody else’s yoke and feel sorry for them, or feel sorry for yourself. Either way, your own life challenges are enough. And at some point, assuming you care at all, you will find yourself pushing against your own weariness of soul. [click to continue…]
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In a world that’s fall-down-drunk on the idea of self-everything I have some good news that may not come across as good news.
You have a keeper.
Not like keep-you-in-a-cage, though I’m quite sure that’s how some people would interpret it.
More like faithful protector, watcher, provider, attender. And keeping for your Keeper is as natural as being human is for you.
The Lord keeps all who love Him…( Ps 145:20a).
I love Psalm 145 because it contains a long list of the practical attributes of God, as His followers experience Him. Things like gracious and merciful and righteous and sustaining, to name a few. But here’s one I’ve never paid much attention to before now. It is the Lord’s nature and faithful character to keep those who love Him. [click to continue…]
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Made an amazing discovery the other day.
Did you know that not everybody is filled with joy when you decide to step out in faith, or take your relationship with God seriously?
Did you notice that the whole world seems to push back when you decide to make a major change for the good in your life?
That spiritual excellence irritates religious people?
That our slip-ups, foul-ups, and whassups are nothing new – we’re even creatures of habit with the devil?
That your biggest enemy is often yourself?
Opposition (pause here to sigh). Come on, Lord! Why can’t something be easy?
Truth is, some things are. [click to continue…]
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