Perseverance

Perseverance! When you hear that word what comes to mind? Hang in there. Keep going. Don’t quit. My question is, however, why don’t we see it much in our society today? Could it be that we have the wrong idea of what perseverance is and the way to achieve it? For the ancient Greeks perseverance was an admirable virtue. For the Hebrews in the Old Testament, they exercised perseverance as they waited for God to deliver them from distress. Likewise Christians in the New Testament persevered as they waited for the Second Coming of Jesus. Yet for all these people, perseverance was never passive but active. And it was always persevering in the right thing not the wrong value or way to accomplish it. 2 Peter gives us some assistance in understanding perseverance. In chapter 1 verse 6 it says to add to self-control perseverance. Perseverance and self-control are seven virtues listed in this passage that we are to add to faith. Peter encouraged the believers he was addressing to have an active, outward faith; not an inward, hidden belief system. For us when people see real perseverance through active faith in our society, they will take notice. You might be wondering how to persevere? You can’t do it by effort alone. You need faith. I love to climb mountains and something strange happens about 13,000 feet for me. With my heart pounding, my lungs gasping for air and my legs burning as I wipe the sweat from my forehead, I usually get a second wind that carries me to the top. Faith is your second wind. As you persevere, God will make sure you have what you need to accomplish the purpose he has for you. But you have to persevere by faith. In fact faith is the key to the Christian life. Without faith it is impossible to please God, the writer of Hebrews tells us. Our desire then is to act on what we know to show real faith and perseverance. What do you need to persevere in today? Take it to the Lord in prayer and then just do it but by faith!

Risky Business

I believe God want us to take risks in sharing our faith. If we can do something on our own, then, why call on God at all. The past few years I have been praying for endeavors only God can do. For example on October 6 our church is planning a Rocky Mountain Rendezvous from 1:00-6:00 pm. It will be an afternoon of fun and games surrounding mountain man and Native American themes. We will have log tossing, a two-man cross cut saw competition, hatchet throwing, knife throwing and their activities for children like gunny sack races. This was the dream of one of our deacons Ken Kiehlbauch. We have invited Native American Pastor James Skeets to open the afternoon and then close it with an evangelistic appeal. Music will be playing and food, including Indian fry bread, will be available throughout the event. We are currently inviting all of Montrose to attend the event. This event is so much larger than our church. It will take everyone in our church and then some to pull it off. I think that’s the way God wants it. 2 Peter 1:5 says, “Make every effort to add to your faith goodness.” I’m convinced our efforts at goodness will reveal our faith in fresh ways to our community. 2 Peter 1:3 tells us we already have everything we need. So why add goodness to faith? We have the privilege of revealing God’s goodness through expressions of faith. His goodness in us become our expressions of goodness to others. So let be like Gideon in the Bible who had his army pared down from thousands to 300 so God would get the credit in the defeat of the formidable Midianites. Where does God what you to practice risky faith?

Uniqueness

Douglas (DJ) Alden Stuart II was a unique individual. He was truly one of a kind. He died last Tuesday, May 29, 2012, at the age of 27-years-old. He was one of my son’s, Nathan’s, best friends. As Nate put on is Facebook page, “Today I lost a lifetime friend.” So did I. The pencil drawing is by one of DJ’s best friends Thomas Rockwell. That’s the DJ I knew! DJ was born in 1984 after the tragic death of his father, Doug, in a mountain climbing accident. DJ had multiple health issues all of his life but he did not let it stop him. Emblazed on his hands were the tattooed words “hold fast.”

I think of lyrics of the chorus in the Mercy Me’s song, Hold Fast. They are as follows: Hold fast Help is on the way Hold fast He's come to save the day What I've learned in my life One thing greater than my strife Is His grasp So hold fast. DJ held fast all of his life. In recent years he started a non-profit called New Empire Apparel (www.newempireapparel.com) They sell t-shirts to raise funds for needy children and youth who are experiencing severe and life-threatening health issues. Faithfully DJ held fast to the comfort God gave him by offering that same comfort to so many. He had a wonderful sense of humor. When I graduated from seminary in 1991, DJ and his mother Mary came out to Colorado to help us celebrate. As we were driving through southern Colorado, DJ (7-years-old at the time) asked Nate (8-years-old), “Hey Nate. What about those Baywatch babes.” DJ always loved girls and had many who were his friends that stayed by his bedside the week before he passed away into his real home in heaven. We met DJ as a baby when my wife, Mary, started to take care of DJ for his mother, Mary, so she could work. Every morning he would persistently ask, “Where’s Nate?” He knew where he was and would promptly go into Nate’s room and wake him up. DJ honored my son by traveling to Colorado in June of 2008 to serve as Nate’s best man as Nate married the love of his life, Megan. The day before the wedding DJ was in our ICU struggling to breath. He told everyone I’m the best man and I’m in the wedding tomorrow and that he was. I thank DJ and his mother Mary for being at every significant event of our lives through the years and across the miles. This eulogy is appropriate for my Creations Musings blog for DJ was a unique individual who gave his life and experiences, painful and pleasurable, wholly to the Lord. I’m going to miss him and I intend to remain unique as God created me. What about you?

Radical or Respectable?

Those two terms seems to be mutually exclusive. Radical means someone who favors making economic, political or social changes of an extreme or sweeping nature (Encarta def.). Respectable, on the other hand, means in accordance with accepted standards of correctness or decency (Encarta def.). So it poses a conundrum at first blush that is hard to resolve.

One of my favorite Old Testament prophets was Elijah. He was radical especially when he challenged the 450 prophets of Baal. Thus he challenged the religious consensus of the community and defeated them as God came through in a huge way by fully consuming his sacrifice. Just prior to this the prophets of Baal failed to do the same when they called on their god. Then I think of John the Baptist who was radical as well as he served as the forerunner to Jesus proclaiming that all people needed to repent as he wore clothing made of camel’s hair and ate locusts and wild honey; hardly a socially acceptable man. Then there was Jesus who chose to dine with prostitutes, tax collectors and other sinners. He had no place to call his home and often slept outside. That does not sound respectable to me either. Yet there was the apostle Paul who engaged the philosophers of Athens in debate about their “unknown god.” He then proclaimed who this God was using some of their own poetry to attract them. Most rejected what Paul had to say but some accepted the message while others needed to think about it and return to the discussion later. Paul, it appears, was more respectable than radical. All these men, however, had a radical message. That message was the same: Repent of your sins and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior who paid the penalty for your sin on the cross. When you do that you will receive a relationship with God who loves you and has been waiting for you to return to him on his terms, not yours. So I believe God wants us to be both radical and respectable. Peter told his readers to give the reason for the hope they have with gentleness and respect. It is interesting that we find that in a context of persecution. How much more, then, are we challenged to be respectable when we give the radical good news about Jesus to people who need him? I challenge you to be both today.

Synergize

There seems to be an unpleasant dichotomy in Christianity today. In a sense our greatest strength pushed to an extreme has become our greatest weakness. Our greatest strength is emphasizing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through faith. Yet when fueled by the fires of hyper individualism, it has resulted in believers thinking my faith is just between me and God, not me and every other believer. This has resulted in many believers choosing to “go it alone.” Unfortunately they are missing out on the refreshing opportunities of synergy.

It is a wonderful blessing, therefore, when God’s people work together to accomplish his purposes. The Greek term for this is synergy. The Bible tells us God worked together in his triune nature to create us and to save us. It’s no wonder, then, that when believers work together they can accomplish great things.

During the week of April 9, 2012 thirty-one people from Valley Baptist Church synergized to renovate our children’s ministry area. The nursery, children’s and youth rooms all received a fresh coat of paint. Several talented artists painted pine and aspen tress on the walls. We tore out some old barn wood and replaced it with drywall. Everyone worked in his or her own giftedness to beautify the children’s level. It was a labor of love for God and for the children.

I saw this as an illustration of Ephesians 4:16 - From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. When believers creatively beautify creation, yes synergize, God is honored and we all grow together. Where does God want you to synergize?

Two Revelations

Psalm 19 is beautiful in its celebration of two revelations: the majesty of creation – general revelation and the wonder of special revelation – the word of God. Here in western Colorado it is so inspiring to appreciate God’s creation as we gaze on his magnificent San Juan mountain range. Its rugged beauty lures the heart with a desire to explore its vast and formidable vistas. As I stand on top of one of our mountains or gaze at them from afar, I am always aware of God’s constant presence and provision of life here on this earth. Verses 1-6 celebrate this general revelation as we see it in the intensity and of the stars and sky. The heavens have a speech, therefore, that only the open heart can understand giving praise to God.

Likewise verses 7-14 have an inspiring message as well. That message is the absolute perfection and purpose of God’s word as it revives our soul, makes us wise, gives us joy, enlightens us and endures forever because all of God’s decrees, his words, are righteous. Our response then is to see our lives in light of God’s word and confess our sin and shortcomings so that we can be blameless before God. The ultimate expression of that forgiveness and special revelation is found in the word made flesh – Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for us.

Thus the two revelations are designed to help us have pleasing words and meditations as we reflect on them. Remember it is the two revelations that draw us near to God and give our life meaning and significance. Have you opened yourself to both?

Men and boys learning and laughing together

Last March while traveling with Dr. Dan Iles in India where we were teaching together at a pastor’s conference, he mentioned that he would be willing to do a men’s retreat for us. At the time I had been thinking about issues (and frustrations) concerning men’s ministry. My dream was to have a men and boys retreat where we could learn and play together. I see this as sadly lacking in most men’s ministries. While they discuss and address serious issues men face, they don’t do a very good job at bringing the younger men and boys into their groups. I believe that needs to change so I mentioned my idea to Dan and he said he would be willing to lead the retreat. I am deeply grateful to Dan for he is the Education Director for Indigenous Ministries International and is a professor at Shasta Bible College in northern California.

So on January 6-7, 2012 Valley Baptist had our first men and boys retreat at our local camp, Mountaintop Retreat. Twenty five men and boys learned together ranging in ages from 8 to 70 years old. Dan taught on the measure of a man being godly, knowing his purpose and living out love from 1 Corinthians 13. One of our young men, Cory, who plans to attend Liberty University online this Fall said, “The speaker Dan Iles brought a refreshing look at the measure of a man and what it tells us in 1 Corinthians 13. Dan encouraged everyone to memorize that chapter of 1 Corinthians and keep those words at the forefront of all we do. Dan also talked about how having Christ in the forefront of our lives sheds a whole new light on how we not only look at things in our daily walk but how we nurture and grow in our relationships.”

I believe lives were transformed through Dan’s teaching, the fellowship and the fun we shared together. You might want to think about transforming your men’s ministry this way.