An early fall weekend….

The first weekend of October. The calendar says fall began two weeks ago.  Solely a technicality of the calendar.  Yes, the days are of approximately equal length and the daylight hours are noticeably shortening. But the trees are still green–hardly a hint of even thinking about wearing any color but green.  The grass is still growing, the lawn services still thriving, the sound of lawnmowers and blowers still audible in the neighborhood. Government time continues with the return to God’s time still a month away.

This weekend provides more convincing evidence of autumn’s arrival as the temperatures suggest a change in the seasons. The overnight temperatures are descending into the 30s and 40s and the daytime high temperatures cannot escape the 50s. The brisk north wind accentuates the 30 degree difference in comparison to late September days. Sure, slightly warmer days and nights will return, but the tipping point is near.

Two days ago I watched and listened as a gaggle of geese overhead made its way south. Yesterday was our first jacket day–only a few hardy folks hurrying about without jackets, and a few unprepared others still in shorts and short sleeves. Last night I tested the fireplace, enjoying the flames playing above the logs. Not much fire needed–but a small fire removed the chill and warmed not only the body but the spirit and mind.

God’s power and presence is seen in the changing seasons. God’s wisdom balances the world. The northern part of the globe gets ready to rest and rejuvenate while the southern hemisphere prepares for God’s summer bounty and harvest. In my part of the world, the thanksgiving of harvest gives way to the inanimate world of winter–even though we humans have not quite learned the beauty of winter’s respite.

I contemplate these and many other things this morning in the stillness of the early morning, and I am grateful for God’s presence in this world. I am grateful for God’s presence in my life, and for opportunities for service. I am grateful for family and friends.

I will not stop reminding you of these things….

The Second Letter of Peter must be read holistically. To strengthen the faith and hope of the believers, especially in view of the presence of false teachers and false claims concerning the return of the Lord, Peter develops a carefully structured logic.
1:1-4. In a brief introduction, the author reminds that the plan of God for salvation has been accepted by the readers so that their faith is every bit as precious and valid as that of the apostles. God has powerfully acted in their lives to provide everything needed, everything associated with life and godliness. God has made possible knowledge, God has called to glory and viirtue, God has given incredibly grand and precious promises. In this way, God has made it possible for believers to participate in the divine nature, escaping and separated from the corrupt life of the world. This is the foundation summary of the possibilities of the Christian life.
1:5-21. Remembering these truths is the key to Christian virtue and Christian living, and these truths are remembered only through the message of God, a message not of human origin but of God, a faithful declaration of his power and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Christian life is possible only in knowing and standing firm in the declared truth. This prophetic word is certain.
2:1-22. Remember the truth–God’s work in the life of the Christian for salvation–is the only antidote to false teachers. Further, it is essential to combat false ideas because they lead to corruption, even while promising liberty. Such false teachings lead nowhere–in fact, they send people backward so that the end state is even worse than the former.
3:1-10. This is a second attempt to deal with this danger. A clear understanding, remembering the words of the (Old Testament) prophets and the commandments of Jesus himself passed on through the apostles, will recognize that there have always been scoffers, doubters, and those who question. God’s patience is in evidence, but the end of all things is nonetheless certain.
3:11-17. In a brief conclusion, the point is reemphasized. In view of the certain message, Christians live holy pure lives, anticipating the coming of the Lord. The certainty of this truth does not depend on knowing and understanding every detail of God’s wisdom. Some making efforts to understand every detail of God’s wisdom are actually twisting the message. Stand firm, growing in grace and knowledge.

The Struggle with Sin–Won?

Today I remind the reader that daily devotional thoughts are available on the website. These daily doses of Scripture which treat a chapter each day cover the entire New Testament in a year (5 days each week, 52 weeks per year, 260 chapters in the New Testament). Today’s devotional focuses on Romans 7: [a href=”../devotionals/06-rom7_life-in-the-spirit.htm”>Life in the Spirit. I share and comment on a portion of that page today.

The text has challenged students of the Bible through the centuries. Even when there is a desire to do good and a delight in God’s will (v. 21), there is at work another principle which Paul refers to as a principle or law of sin. The human experience, whether under the law or in Christ, is a wretched battle when seen from this perspective–the mind and the body are enslaved, the only question being one of “to which master.”
That such a mindset and battle should continue in Christ is difficult to argue theologically, but easy to argue experientially. The key is in understanding that chapter 7 bridges between chapter 6 and chapter 8. Chapter 7 continues Paul’s master-slave illustrations from chapter 6, but Paul’s conclusion is developed in the early verses of chapter 8. “There is ‘now’ no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”
A helpful hint is this: in reading chapter 7, note the occurrences of the words “then” and “now” (both written and understood). The question is not whether a Christian struggles with sin (see 6:11-14). The question is how. For Christians, the old man has been put to death in baptism. How is it possible for sin to dwell in a Christian who has died to sin (7:17)?

Dear God, you know the power than sin holds over human beings, and the struggle we endure even as we live in Christ. You know the nature of temptation, and we ask your presence and deliverance, that sin might not live in us and that sin might not be our habitual practice, through Jesus’ name. Amen.

Depending on God

We depend on God to right wrongs and establish justice in the world. We confidently affirm that he is our God and that he will work good in the lives of his people. God is by nature righteous, and his overwhelming righteousness he desires to share with those who follow him. Disciples who learn the ways of God are transformed into his image.
God, this day, help me learn dependence and wait on you to accomplish your great will and purpose.

It’s Sunday Again: Anticipation

I have been thinking about and anticipating today since last Wednesday evening’s Bible class. The conversation during the class and afterward, and the sweet fellowship we enjoyed as we lingered together to laugh and love, whetted my appetite for sharing time with the spiritual family.
Today is the day we meet. Together we will come before God’s throne again, we will listen and love and share. We will eat together because eating together is a sign of fellowship–both of our vertical fellowship with Christ and God as he eats the spiritual feast with us as he promised, and also of our horizontal fellowship as we accept one another in our weaknesses, inadequacies, and failures. We will remember Jesus’ sacrifice–not morbidly but robustly–as we seek power for the week ahead.
Tonight we will sing our hearts out. God will listen, and we will be changed.
Because all of this will be a part of this day, I have been looking forward to another Lord’s Day, Sunday, first day of the week. My prayer is that my heart is ready to receive what God will do. Getting ready is a part of worship–heart preparation, hearts open, pliable, anticipating.

Saturday “Newness”

My word for today: New!

Life is new today! Each day is a new gift from God, a day never before seen or experienced, with new opportunities, new challenges, new abundance, and new evidences of God’s presence and power.
Today life is new because Jan and I are in our new house in Tulsa. Our few personal possessions have also made the move, but many of those things are still in boxes. The unpacking process is part of the newness.

Life is renewed today! God renews us day by day internally, even as our outward physical body wears and weakens. Life is fresh and vibrant. The calendar says it is fall, and the lower temperatures suggest summer may be near its last hurrah for this year. Fall gives opportunities to celebrate the abundance of life and the bounty of the harvest.

The possibility of life renewal is always present. The newness that matters most of all is the newness that is possible in Christ Jesus. This newness comes through Christ as we are raised to walk in newness of life following our baptism. This newness continues in the daily walk of a Christian with God.

2012 Reflections–9 months and counting!

This past Sunday evening, I had the privilege of presenting a mission report, a summary my 2012 mission and ministry activity, at the Main and Oklahoma church. It was a special blessing to return to this church that has been so much a part of our lives and our work in ministry and missions over the past 10 years. The reception was warm and the words of encouragement were especially meaningful. It was also good to have the opportunity to share, in part because it gave me the opportunity to put some numbers and summaries to the work God has placed before us thus far this year.

Thus far in 2012 through nine months, I have spent 128 days teaching and preaching, including a few travel days for seminars and mission work in distant locations. (Although September is not quite over, there are no more events scheduled for this month.) The average is just over 14 teaching and preaching days each month.
There have been 15 baptisms on the mission trips, although that is not the primary focus on the seminars. Nonetheless, when a church asks for a gospel focus in the seminar, we gladly assist, and have opportunities along the way to teach evangelistic Bible studies and participate in small group studies.
Stateside, I worked with five different congregations in leadership and training seminars. I made four extended foreign tours of about three weeks each–to Guatemala, Honduras, Chile-Uruguay, and Ecuador-Colombia. A couple of other overseas trips and additional stateside work kept the schedule filled to almost overflowing. I have found that this level of travel for teaching and preaching is very near the limit, both in terms of personal energy and strength, and in terms of balancing preparations for seminars and the other mission and ministry work I am involved with.
Many of the locations where I present seminars or teach and preach ask for special lessons or topics. Preparing these materials requires additional study and time. Not only is there the seminar and training work that is done through EVO and through my own personal contacts, I am also actively involved in the work at Baxter Institute and in my work as board chairman. The work of updating evangelism materials in Spanish for the use of ordinary members is progressing. Teaching an adult Bible class at Park Plaza is a joy. The opportunity to be involved with Iglesia de Cristo–Park Plaza is a work in progress and will accelerate in coming weeks, especially with the upcoming leadership development seminar November 1-4.
These activities and more, along with various writing projects, keeps the plate filled and overflowing! I consider that the opportunity to be busy and blessed by God so that I can pass forward the blessing is a gift from God. Thank you, Lord, for blessing our lives with fruitful, productive busyness.

Moving Day!

Those who check by this blog regularly have probably noted that there have been fewer postings over the past few weeks. Sometimes changes in the number of postings is due to my travels for ministry and missions obligations. In the most recent few weeks, the explanation is that today is moving day.
August 15 to September 3 I spent in Ecuador and Colombia, and much of the last three weeks since my return to the U.S. has been spent in arranging details for the move, packing, transferring some household belongings to temporary storage, and other seemingly countless details. Today the long process of moving from McAlester to Tulsa reaches reality–the moving van is coming to pick up our household belongings, closing is scheduled for our house sale in McAlester, and we will be houseless for about 24 hours. On Wednesday, we will close on the new home in Tulsa–just a couple of hours before I teach my Wednesday night adult Bible class at Park Plaza.
I plan to “blog ahead’ with some 2012 reflections, and hopefully by the end of the week I will have internet connections set up at the new house and my blog schedule will become more regular–at least until I head for Peru for a couple of weeks next month.

Church Infrastructure

Many churches fail to reach their full potential because of a lack of sufficient or workable infrastructure. Infrastructure is not a word used frequently to describe churches. Think we me about the applications. Infrastructure refers to the basic structures and facilities (generally physical or organizational) needed for operation of an enterprise or society. How does the concept apply to organizations such as a church? What does church infrastructure include?
An obvious first thought concerns buildings and facilities. Less frequently in view is the need for organizational structures that enable the church to function effectively. Organizational infrastructure includes such things as clarity of purpose, leadership, organizational relationships (both external and internal), and planning. The results of effective church infrastructure include leadership development, effective teaching programs, member involvement, evangelism, and spiritual growth.

My current work in Latin America is designed to help existing churches build effective infrastructure. The primary focus is on helping churches understand God’s plan for the church and the place and importance of each member. This focus leads to leadership and teacher development with the goal of establishing self-governing congregations. Self-governing congregations have a much greater probability of becoming self-sustaining or self-supporting. Self-governing congregations are also more likely to become self-propagating.

Church infrastructure can refer to buildings and facilities, but churches with effective organization infrastructure can grow and mature without the physical elements of infrastructure. More important in the development of healthy churches is an infrastructure that can assimilate new members and help new converts development faithful spiritual lives. Without this kind of infrastructure, many are baptized but few are taught discipleship and faithful living. Peter’s admonition must come to mind: the latter end of those who begin and then turn back is worse than if they had never begun.

Renewing Fellowship in Christ

Yesterday was a special day because I spent much of the day of the campus of Oklahoma Christian University. The specific occasion was the resumption of the monthly ministry luncheons on campus, but I had also scheduled several appointments for the day. The opportunity to chat with colleagues, greet dear friends in ministry and in Christ, and catch up on the comings and goings of our lives was refreshing. I have always found great encouragement in such times. Bob Rowley is a special friend and I was honored to be asked to lead the opening prayer.
It was good to spend time with John deSteiguer, new president at Oklahoma Christian, and I enjoyed sitting with Mike O’Neal, now president emeritus at Oklahoma Christian, during the luncheon. Mike is also a board member-elect at Baxter Institute, and so our conversation naturally turned to mission work. Also seated at our table were Howard and Ted Norton. The opportunity to be with Howard Norton is always special, and he did a masterful job in his presentation of “Challenges and Solutions Before the 21st Century Church.” Howard and I also spent some time together afterward–heart to heart–which is for me enriching. Campus time also provided an opportunity to be with Dudley Chancey, to share ideas, to shoot a spontaneous video, and dream about the future.
More appointments on behalf of Baxter concluded a busy but fulfilling day, and it was nearing 8 PM when I pulled in the driveway at the house. The drive home also gave me opportunity to reflect on how special is the fellowship shared in Christ. Thank you, Lord, for yesterday. Thank you for today. May I use this day also to our glory!