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2. October 2008 by Pastor Mike.
There is a disturbing development in our society today that has me greatly troubled. And I know that this will not set well with many folks. But hear me out. As a youth minister, one of the “mandate” scriptures that I return to again and again is in Deuteronomy 6:5-9.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Jesus, when asked by the scribes which was the greatest command, quoted these very verses. This tells me that we better be focusing real hard on these words. And this tells me that we better not miss it. But when I look at youth culture today, it doesn’t take me very long to recognize the fact that we are not diligently teaching this to our children.
There are a lot of things that we are diligently, and I mean diligently, teaching them. For example, we involve our kids in every activity available to them, from piano to soccer, drama to football, jobs to clubs, filling up every possible free moment of their lives. Even Sunday’s are no longer sacred. They are just as busy as any other day of the week. We make sure our kids know every play in the playbook. We are diligent to make sure they pass their English class. All of this leaves little room for church, youth ministry, discipleship, or family devotions, let alone any time for the necessity of cultivating a lasting, life-changing, and meaningful one on one relationship with Jesus. More times than not, kids barely drag themselves into church because they are so exhausted from everything else they’ve already done that week.
A lot of these activities are good things. But kids often need help in prioritizing what is truly important and in making wise decisions in how to use the precious commodity of time. And they’ve learned how to shove as many things into one 24-hour period as they can from the best – us!
We sit in the stands and cheer our kids on in their athletic pursuits. And that’s not particularly a bad thing. But are we cheering them on in their pursuit of things that will last into eternity as well? Or are we developing young people who will do anything to receive the praises of man…teenagers who, because of their success on an athletic field or a concert stage, develop a prideful heart that is no longer soft enough to receive instruction from God’s Word?
I truly am not trying to be harsh or insensitive, but I am seeing this become a real problem, even within the church! I have been sternly reminded in my times with the Lord that my first and foremost responsibility as a parent is to teach and train them in the things of the Lord – not just leave it to the Sunday school teacher or youth pastor. It’s MY job. I might crack the bat with my boys, but how often do I crack open the Word of God with them? I won’t miss a booster meeting and I won’t let my kid miss a practice, but if something else comes up on Sunday or Wednesday, well, no big deal. If we don’t make it a priority in our own lives and in the lives of our children, chances are neither will they now or when they are the adult. And that is a risk that we can’t afford to take.
We’ve only got a brief window of time with these precious children that the Lord has entrusted to our care. And once that time is gone, there are no re-do’s. Something for you to think about…
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27. August 2008 by Pastor Mike.
A few weeks ago, I gave a sermon at CLF called “Let It Go”. And to be completely truthful, there have been many days I wished I would have “let it go” before I gave it! I have been greatly challenged in my life about what I preached, particularly in the area of letting go of fear and anxiety. It has been a very interesting journey over the last few weeks. Today in my quiet time the Lord led me to Jeremiah 17:7-8. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.” (NKJV)
In youth last Sunday, I challenged the teens that when we are obedient to the Lord in our daily walk, in the small and the big things, the He is responsible for the outcomes in our lives. I don’t know about you, but I find myself way too often focused on what I want the outcomes to be and neglect the day to day yielding to His leading in my life. And I can become completely stressed out when I think of all of the “what if’s” that might happen. But when the Lord dropped these verses in my heart today, it was like a breath of fresh air – “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord…and will not fear when heat comes…and will not be anxious in the year of drought.” This is a very challenging time for many folks in our area. Hundreds of families have lost their jobs in just the last 10 days. Uncertainty fills the air. But we have hope – the hope of His promises. Even we pastors can be overcome with fear and anxiety. When the economy is faltering, it doesn’t just affect the pocketbooks of households, it affects church finances. Bills still have to be paid. But I’m continually reminded that no man is our source. My Source lacks for nothing. My Source isn’t worried. My Source isn’t caught off guard. I have no need to fear when the heat of uncertainty is breathing down my neck. I have no need to be anxious in the year of drought. My hope is in the Lord and I will be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river to obtain provision and life from the Living Water.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 says, “…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days…” (NKJV) If you return to Jeremiah 17, the verses before the ones mentioned earlier say, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength.” (Jer. 17:5, NKJV). I choose to trust in the Lord. Why would I trust in a man (myself or anyone else) when I can trust in the Creator of all men. Something for you to think about…
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11. June 2008 by Pastor Mike.
Matthew 6:33 is a verse familiar to most. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Jesus spoke these verses in the midst of addressing the issue of worrying about things - what to eat, what to wear, etc. Jesus reminded us that our “heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” (vs. 32). But over the past few weeks I’ve had several conversations with the Lord about those two words - “seek first”. Jesus told us to seek first two things - the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. But our society, as usual, has duped us into believing just the opposite. If you stop to think about it, we are seeking all sorts of things. Material things such as bigger and better homes, newer cars, the latest fashions, a fatter paycheck. Social things such as fame, awards, trophies, status. Emotional things such as the acceptance of our peers, the love of our family, the approval of anyone and everyone. And we could fill up another three and a half pages of things that we seek after and still not scratch the surface. Lest you think that this doesn’t describe you, take an inventory of what you’ve spent your time on for the last 72 hours. And the question that is begging to be asked is, “Where does seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness fall in this list…first or somewhere down the page?”.
We have become a busy society. We have filled our time with all sorts of things. And we’ve trained our children to do the same. Our schedules are filled to the brim with school, work, piano lessons, sports practices and games, clubs, recreation, and a myriad of other things that we’ve made it virtually impossible to truly seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Nothing is off limits anymore. Sundays are just as busy as any other day of the week, and unfortunately, sometimes even busier than other days of the week. I had lunch with a dear friend today and we were discussing this very issue. Father’s Day is this Sunday. And we were lamenting over the fact that kids are spending the day on the ballfield instead of with Dad. And the same thing happened on Mother’s Day. If we can’t take time for family on these two important days, how can we hope to find the time in our schedules to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
The Bible instructs us to know God’s Word, to study it, and to live by it. Yet how often I’ve come to the end of my day and realized that I was so busy I had taken no time to pay attention to this basic exercise of the faith. The Bible also tells us not to give up meeting together - to make it a priority. Contrary to what some may think, you cannot live an obedient life to Christ and avoid His church. But in too many cases, going to church is what we do when we don’t have something else planned. Who or what are we seeking first?
As a parent, I understand the pressure to make sure my kids succeed. But the first thing that I want my sons succeeding in is in their walk with Christ. Too often we press and push our kids to be the best they can be in their music lessons or on their sports teams, but are we challenging them even more and showing them by example the importance of seeking FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness?
I shared with our youth last Sunday night the following story. Three years ago at our annual Youth Camp, the speaker told us of a town in Illinois. In that small town, a group of teens began to press in and seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Before long, they were leading their classmates to the Lord. As a result, an amazing thing happened. So many kids were being saved, that the school encountered a difficult situation. Teens were so committed to seeking first the Kingdom of God that the school had to literally shut down on Wednesday nights and Sundays because all the teens were in church! The school had to cancel basketball games, tennis matches, choir concerts, drama plays, and marching band practice because kids were choosing to go to church instead of extra-curricular events. The following year, the school made it a policy not to schedule ANYTHING on Wednesday evenings or on Sundays, because they knew that no one would show up!
Some may say that this idea is a bit rigid. But do we really believe that Jesus meant what He said when He spoke the words “seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness”? Something for you to think about…
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3. March 2008 by Pastor Mike.
Never in a million years would I have thought that someday I’d have a blog. But after a lot of thinking and pondering, I thought I’d give it a shot. I’ve never been one that is computer savvy, so with some help from my friend Jon, here we go!
I enjoy reading. Whenever I get any free time, I love to pick up a book and read. But I’ve been challenged lately with what I have been reading. Not that I’m reading anything inappropriate, mind you. In fact, the only books that I read are books that challenge me in my walk with Christ or Christian fiction (Ted Dekker is my favorite Christian fiction author). But after a quick personal inventory, I realized that I’d fallen into an unacceptable pattern. I was spending less time in the Bible and more time in other books.
There is no other book that has the power to change a life than God’s Word. There is no other book that is “living, powerful…” I think way too often we do not consider God’s Word for what it is. It is God’s very words to me, to you. No amount of time spent in God’s word is wasted time. And I came to the realization that I needed to be submersing myself in His Word more. All of the other things that I read are good, as long as they are not detracting from my study of His Word.
So last night, I issued a challenge to the youth ministry - Holy Force Youth Ministry of Christian Life Fellowship. I gave each of them a “Chapter A Day” bookmark. On it I listed the days in March and assigned a chapter for each day. My challenge to them was that we, together as a youth ministry, read a chapter a day from the Bible. We’ll all be reading the same chapter every day. And I challenged them to hold each other accountable about reading it. One chapter a day is not too much to ask or expect. In fact, if we aren’t willing to spend time in His Word, what does that say about our commitment to our relationship with Him?
Yesterday we read John 1. Today, we’ll read John 2. And I am looking forward to hearing good things as a result of teenagers reading the Word of God. Hebrews tells us that “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”.
I’ll continue to read, a lot. But I’ve made the commitment to be more balanced in what I read and to be more committed to the Bible. How about you - what are you reading?
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