This past weekend, we held my grandmother's funeral in Charlotte, NC. As I reflect on her life, I think about my own mortality. To be sure, we will all eventually die and stand before God someday (unless the Lord returns). That part doesn't concern me as much, because I know that "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." I cried out to the Lord for salvation many years ago, and am ready to meet the Lord.
My greater concern is this life. How will I spend it? Will I make any difference? Will I be a good father? Will I be a good husband? Son? Follower of Jesus?
One of my favorite past times is vegging out in front of the TV set. I've grown quiet accustomed to just sitting and letting my wheels stop turning as I watch whichever latest and greatest show hit primetime.
When it comes to my life, I am resolved not to veg out. I hope and pray that God will find me faithful to Him and to my family and friends throughout my life.
How does this happen? Less of me and more of Him. Me says "Sit down. Take it easy. You've had a long day of work. Rest." He says "Spend time with me. Be still before Me. Love your wife as I loved you. Teach your children and love them. Love your neighbor as yourself."
I hope when it's all said and done, I will have made a difference. I hope that I'll be a husband that loved my wife, a father who loved his children, and a servant who loved God more than anything. A legacy doesn't happen overnight. It will take small steps over time...am I willing to put one foot in front of the other?
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Mighty to Save...
This week, I reflect on a great Easter weekend. The Lord worked mightily at Ingleside this weekend. We made every effort to lift Him up, and He drew many men, women, boys and girls to Himself. It is a blessing to serve the Lord at Ingleside! I'd like to point you to a couple of items to help recap this weekend:
Check out this video that a local news station did of IBC.
Check out Lindsey's blog from last night.
Only God can change a heart and make it new. For some reason, we get to be a small part of what He does. What a great God!
Check out this video that a local news station did of IBC.
Check out Lindsey's blog from last night.
Only God can change a heart and make it new. For some reason, we get to be a small part of what He does. What a great God!
Monday, April 6, 2009
God's Way vs. Man's Way
I am reading through Nehemiah currently. The other day, as I read Nehemiah 9, I was blown away by the contrast between God's way and man's way. In context, the wall of Jerusalem has now been rebuilt, and Ezra, the priest, stands before the people of God to read the Word of the Lord. Upon hearing the Word, the people lift their hands and worship God. Then, they bow low to the ground in worship. The Levites read the history of Israel to the people. It is in this passage that God is exalted. Listen to some of the descriptions of God:
Blessed be your glorious name...
You made the heavens...
You give life to everything.
You are the Lord God, who chose Abram...
You found his heart faithful to you...
You made a covenant with him.
You have kept your promise because you are righteous.
You saw the suffering of your people.
You heard their cry.
You sent miraculous signs..
You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven.
You gave them bread from heaven.
Because of Your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert.
You gave your good spirit to instruct them.
You sustained them in the desert.
You gave them kingdoms...
You made their sons as numerous as the stars.
You brought them into the land.
Notice all the great things God did? Now listen to the response of the people of God:
They became arrogant and stiff-necked and did not obey your commands.
They refused to listen.
They failed to remember the miracles you performed among them.
They cast for themselves an image of a calf and worshiped it.
They rebelled against you.
They put your law behind their backs.
They killed your prophets.
They committed awful blasphemies.
Are you starting to see the same picture I am? Can you see that God is faithful even to those who do not deserve it? He always has been, and He still is today.
Listen to this verse:
"God demonstrates His own love toward us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8
To this day I do not understand how and why God is so merciful to us. How He could love the unlovable is baffling. Still, I celebrate and rejoice in His grace and mercy in my life. I hope that as we approach Easter Sunday, you'll be reminded that God loves you. He sent His Son to die on your behalf - not because you deserved it - but because He is good. Do you know the One who died for you?
Blessed be your glorious name...
You made the heavens...
You give life to everything.
You are the Lord God, who chose Abram...
You found his heart faithful to you...
You made a covenant with him.
You have kept your promise because you are righteous.
You saw the suffering of your people.
You heard their cry.
You sent miraculous signs..
You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven.
You gave them bread from heaven.
Because of Your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert.
You gave your good spirit to instruct them.
You sustained them in the desert.
You gave them kingdoms...
You made their sons as numerous as the stars.
You brought them into the land.
Notice all the great things God did? Now listen to the response of the people of God:
They became arrogant and stiff-necked and did not obey your commands.
They refused to listen.
They failed to remember the miracles you performed among them.
They cast for themselves an image of a calf and worshiped it.
They rebelled against you.
They put your law behind their backs.
They killed your prophets.
They committed awful blasphemies.
Are you starting to see the same picture I am? Can you see that God is faithful even to those who do not deserve it? He always has been, and He still is today.
Listen to this verse:
"God demonstrates His own love toward us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8
To this day I do not understand how and why God is so merciful to us. How He could love the unlovable is baffling. Still, I celebrate and rejoice in His grace and mercy in my life. I hope that as we approach Easter Sunday, you'll be reminded that God loves you. He sent His Son to die on your behalf - not because you deserved it - but because He is good. Do you know the One who died for you?
Monday, March 30, 2009
You're How Old?
What a day this has been! Thanks to the modern technologies of texting, facebook, and blogging, I have received many birthday wishes. Thanks so much to all of you for wishing me a happy birthday. I sure do feel loved by you all.
This week, I'd like to take a minute to tell you some of the life lessons I've learned in the first tri-mester of my life (Lord willing).
1. There is no relationship more important than the relationship with the Lord. Without Him, all others fail.
2. Be willing to wait on the right woman. Wait on the Lord, and trust that He will take care of you.
3. Children ARE a blessing from the Lord.
4. Keep walking...don't ever stop walking with the Lord. You'll have bad days, hard times, and times when you don't think He'd want to walk with you. Just keep walking.
5. Family is important.
6. Don't sweat the small stuff. And it is almost always small stuff.
How about a few others?
- don't look up while a flock of geese are going overhead.
- always take an extra set of clothes when going fishing on a boat (just in case you fall in).
- when the gas light comes on, just go ahead and stop for gas.
- stop while you're ahead (provided you're ever ahead).
- when you're extremely tired - just be quiet (you'll probably say something dumb that you wish you could take back) - trust me.
Well, that's all folks. I would like to say that these 30 years have been full of joy, excitement, sorrow, loss, gain, hurt, blessing, and transition. Still, they have been great. The last 5 have been the best, though. My wife, Lindsey, has been the most amazing blessing God could have given me as a wife. Thank you, babe, for being faithful to me, sinful as I am.
Monday, March 23, 2009
God is with you!!!
Recently, I was spending time with Joshua just before "dark nap time," or bed time - as most people know it as. I sat in his room and watched him run around and try to find any excuse of why he shouldn't go to sleep.
Then, he turned the light off and left the room. I asked him to come back and turn on the light because it was so dark. He returned, turned the light on, and pointed his finger in the air and said, "GOD IS WITH YOU!!!" And then he turned the light off again.
Now, I'm sure we've said this to him before. But really, when you consider what my 3 year old was saying, he is exactly right. Even in the darkest times, when it seems that there is no hope, God is with you. Thanks, Joshua, for the reminder!
Monday, March 16, 2009
I've waited so long...(sing that again)
Hello everyone -
You've probably been wondering if I died recently (or perhaps if I'd gotten the dreaded #4 at the nearest Taco Bell and have been down for the count for a while). It has been a while since my last entry. I hope this one is helpful to you. This entry primarily is geared for parents of teenagers...enjoy!
We have just finished a parent training at Ingleside called "Becoming a Web-Savvy Parent." The following took place on Sunday night between 6:30 and 7:30 pm(read that last line with your best Jack Bauer voice).
We discussed internet filters and recommended covenant eyes. Covenant eyes offers web filtering as well as internet accountability. It will send you, the parent, a printable report of every page that has been viewed on your computer. You can check out more at www.covenanteyes.com . You may want to see what Josh Via says about the tool on www.joshvia.com.
We also mentioned that parents must be savvy in regard to entertainment (ie - movies, CDs, video games). One of the best sites to use is www.pluggedinonline.com . This site gives reviews of all the latest entertainment. If you want to see the content of a movie before you watch it, you must check out this site. Lindsey and I use it as well. The conversation in the Broome house usually goes something like this..."What do you want to rent?" "I'm up for whatever." "Hey, what about that movie called _______? I heard it was really awesome!" "Yeah, me too." "Hmmm, it's rated PG-13." "I wonder why." "Let's check out plugged in before we rent it." "Good plan." Sometimes Lindsey even gets in on the conversation I'm having with myself! You've gotta check this site out...especially before you buy your child the next CD, DVD, etc.
We mentioned Facebook, the mega-social network. Our advice is simple: If your child has a Facebook account, you also should have one. You need to be checking in on them to see what's happening in their social network.
Overall, what the high school pastor and I suggested to our parents is to be actively involved in your child's internet life. Don't allow them to have "secret places" on the world-wide web. The primary issue is their own protection and purity.
I hope you can use some of these tools in your family!
You've probably been wondering if I died recently (or perhaps if I'd gotten the dreaded #4 at the nearest Taco Bell and have been down for the count for a while). It has been a while since my last entry. I hope this one is helpful to you. This entry primarily is geared for parents of teenagers...enjoy!
We have just finished a parent training at Ingleside called "Becoming a Web-Savvy Parent." The following took place on Sunday night between 6:30 and 7:30 pm(read that last line with your best Jack Bauer voice).
We discussed internet filters and recommended covenant eyes. Covenant eyes offers web filtering as well as internet accountability. It will send you, the parent, a printable report of every page that has been viewed on your computer. You can check out more at www.covenanteyes.com . You may want to see what Josh Via says about the tool on www.joshvia.com.
We also mentioned that parents must be savvy in regard to entertainment (ie - movies, CDs, video games). One of the best sites to use is www.pluggedinonline.com . This site gives reviews of all the latest entertainment. If you want to see the content of a movie before you watch it, you must check out this site. Lindsey and I use it as well. The conversation in the Broome house usually goes something like this..."What do you want to rent?" "I'm up for whatever." "Hey, what about that movie called _______? I heard it was really awesome!" "Yeah, me too." "Hmmm, it's rated PG-13." "I wonder why." "Let's check out plugged in before we rent it." "Good plan." Sometimes Lindsey even gets in on the conversation I'm having with myself! You've gotta check this site out...especially before you buy your child the next CD, DVD, etc.
We mentioned Facebook, the mega-social network. Our advice is simple: If your child has a Facebook account, you also should have one. You need to be checking in on them to see what's happening in their social network.
Overall, what the high school pastor and I suggested to our parents is to be actively involved in your child's internet life. Don't allow them to have "secret places" on the world-wide web. The primary issue is their own protection and purity.
I hope you can use some of these tools in your family!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Is there a "u" in Zerubbabel?
One of my many weaknesses in life, and there are many, is being a great starter but a horrible finisher. You know what I mean? I will start a project with vigor and will sputter toward the end. I am constantly reminded of my failure to be a finisher. With the Lord's help, I have resolved to be more of a finisher than I have been in the past.
As I read through Ezra, I see evidence of a fellow sputterer - Zerubbabel. What a name! I'll take Fred over that one any day of the week. Zerubbabel appears in Ezra 3 and is one of the primary leaders in rebuilding the temple of God in Jerusalem. After the destruction of the temple in 586 B.C. and the exile in Babylon, King Cyrus of Persia allowed the people of God to return to Jerusalem. By the way, Isaiah had propesied this to happen over 100 years before this occurred. Back to Z - He helped lead the team to rebuild the temple of God. At first, all seems well. They even have a worship team leading them in songs of praise - not really a new concept, huh? But alas, Z suffered the fate as I have in the past. Opposition arose to the rebuilding of the temple, and these words are recorded -
"Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia." (4:24)
Can you relate to Z? Is there a little "u" in Zerubbabel?
I hope and pray that we can be faithful in the most vital parts of our lives. I pray that God will help us to be faithful to Him for life. May we not sputter in our spiritual walk with the Lord.
If you've never read through the Old Testament, I strongly suggest sitting down and reading this great history of our faith. You'll see so many people that remind you of yourself in some ways. This is our story, our history, our heritage.
As I read through Ezra, I see evidence of a fellow sputterer - Zerubbabel. What a name! I'll take Fred over that one any day of the week. Zerubbabel appears in Ezra 3 and is one of the primary leaders in rebuilding the temple of God in Jerusalem. After the destruction of the temple in 586 B.C. and the exile in Babylon, King Cyrus of Persia allowed the people of God to return to Jerusalem. By the way, Isaiah had propesied this to happen over 100 years before this occurred. Back to Z - He helped lead the team to rebuild the temple of God. At first, all seems well. They even have a worship team leading them in songs of praise - not really a new concept, huh? But alas, Z suffered the fate as I have in the past. Opposition arose to the rebuilding of the temple, and these words are recorded -
"Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia." (4:24)
Can you relate to Z? Is there a little "u" in Zerubbabel?
I hope and pray that we can be faithful in the most vital parts of our lives. I pray that God will help us to be faithful to Him for life. May we not sputter in our spiritual walk with the Lord.
If you've never read through the Old Testament, I strongly suggest sitting down and reading this great history of our faith. You'll see so many people that remind you of yourself in some ways. This is our story, our history, our heritage.
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