Perspective: From My Hammock

Dear Worshippers,

On Saturday a small band of servants descended on our house. Knowing that I am not well enough to care for all the life that spring unfolds, they had come to help with a number of things outside. May God bless you, our wonderful North Martian friends.

Their work inspired me to get my hammock out. It took my a while to secure the two straps around two trees, but eventually, somewhat exhausted, I was able to recline in the peaceful support of my Mayan hammock, last years Father’s Day present from my boys. It is a great place to pray and ponder, and that’s a big part of why I have longed to get it hung.

Looking up through the trees, I thought of all the Lord has brought me through in this last season. Last Friday was four weeks since what Pastor Myron has called “Black Friday”, the day of my second (emergency) procedure. I continue to learn how serious my condition was, teetering on the edge of life. I praise the Lord for carrying me through and preserving my life. I thank each of you for your prayers.

As I was reflecting on all the Lord is saying to me and how He is changing me I stared through the branches above me. On first glance, they looked dead. No obvious signs of life on the limbs high over my head. But as I began to look more closely, I saw signs of life. Little buds here and there. Some already starting to open. Where there was the appearance of death, life was bursting forth.

I think that is how I looked those first hours and maybe even days following that Friday. It gave me an incredible new perspective on death and life, and the power of our Lord. Perspective is very helpful thing.

Perspective has been defined as “The ability to perceive things in their actual interrelations or comparative importance”. In other words, perspective helps you to see things clearly, as they actually are. This is helpful because we all bring preconceived notions of how things interrelate, assigning importance based on our point of view. But only when we attain the perspective of our Lord do we begin to see things as they truly are.

And so I ask you to join me in this change of perspective. What perspective do you have if you look through your life, as I looked through the tree? Do things look mostly dead? I hope not. Are there signs of life? There should be!

Seek God’s perspective on your life. You may not have a hammock to recline in but there is somewhere you can go to quiet yourself before Him. Ask Him today to show you something that He wants to change.

He who began a good work in you wants to complete it. [Phil. 1:6] I am confident of this, just as Paul was. What change does that require in this season? Will you allow God to do a new thing in you in these days?

He is changing me and let me say it is wonderful and painful. He is also at work in our church changing lives and wants to work in each of us to birth the kind of new life that will help us better declare the grace and peace only available in Him. I know you want to be a part of that. Join me, won’t you?

In Christ,

Pastor Timothy

Name Change – Of Sorts

Dear Worshippers,

Last week I challenged us all to consider if we are going through the motions or if God’s all-consuming passion is living inside of us. This sickness has caused me to think about such things. Though I am still trying to process and discern what God is saying to me through all this, one thing for certain, God is changing me. And I do not want to go back to living as I did before this experience. I would like your help to remind me of this change.

In the hospital they kept calling me Timothy. For those of you who did not know, that is my first name, with my middle name being Scott. For some reason, as I grew up my parents decided to call me by my middle name rather that my first and I just went with that through the rest of my life. I think it is time for that to change.

There is tremendous Biblical precedent for this of course. You remember Jacob’s encounter with God by the Jabbok River where he wrestled with Him “until [He] blessed” Jacob. You will recall that God changed Jacob by first touching his hip and then changing His name to Israel “because you have struggled with God”. [Genesis 32:22-28] There was great purpose in this name change, Jacob meaning “he deceives”. It signaled a much more significant, deeper change. Jacob was never the same after that encounter.

Again, I want that to be true of me because of the way the Lord has met me in this life-altering episode. As I laid there in my hospital bed and the nurses kept calling me Timothy, it occurred to me that maybe it was time to start being known by that name. I have always understood Timothy to mean “servant of God” and have wanted on more than one occasion to be known by that name. I learned during some research last week that a more common meaning is “to honor God, to fear God”. When I read that, it confirmed the change to me, with the timing being now.

I then got to thinking of the meaning of my names together. Scott means “traveler” or “wanderer”. When I put this with Timothy, basically my name means that I honor God as I wander. That sounds like a lifestyle of worship to me, the very calling that God has placed on my life. Amazing!

All that to say, I would like you to begin to call me by my first given name, Timothy. I know it may seem strange at first, having to adjust from Pastor Scott to Pastor Timothy, but it will feel more natural over time to both you and me. I may not always answer at first since it will take some getting used to for me as well, but I feel strongly about this change. It will help me, and you, remember this significant trial that God has brought me through, and maybe even help to highlight the changes He is producing in me as I learn how to better honor and fear His matchless name. Thank you for your help in this.

In Christ,

Pastor Timothy

Going Through the Motions

Dear Worshippers,

I want to thank each of you for every prayer, every card, every meal, every call, every visit, every act of kindness that you have showered on me and my family through these difficult days. You have made them easier by showing us the love of Christ through His body. We are still getting to know you and yet you have loved us so well. To God be the glory!

I have had a lot of time to pray and reflect. I have thought about my personal life and relationship with Christ. I have thought about my family and how I cherish them. I have thought about the church and the ministry that has been entrusted to my care. I am so thankful to our Lord for sustaining me through this trial that I might enjoy each of these to a greater degree in the days ahead.

One thing for certain is that this time has disrupted any extent to which I may have been “going through the motions”. You know that feeling of just doing what you know has to be done and making it through the day. Every one of us has experienced some degree of doing something in a mechanical manner indicative of a lack of interest or involvement. Though I have to admit that I did not feel like I had gotten there since I had only at North-Mar for about seven weeks before this happened, this experience has given me time to reflect and try to make some decisions that will keep me from ever getting there.

I want to encourage you to think about this idea of “going through the motions”. This is not God’s desire for us. Jesus said that He came “that [we] may have life, and have it abundantly.” [John 10:10] The mechanical lack of interest or involvement of going through the motions does not lead to the abundant life. It requires a tremendous intentionality that is absent when we are simply going through the motions.

God wants us to give all that we are over to Him so that He can fill us with passion and purpose. If you know that, but are lacking it today, let me encourage you. It does not take a life-altering illness or something as extensive as this to help you break the cycle. You do not have to be at the end of your rope, if you will. You can make the choice to give Christ everything today and everyday no matter what you are facing. Though the following video is about an illness and the effects of it on another Christ-worshipper, I hope you can hear God’s message to you today through it. The words can be found at the second link.

Video: The Motions - Video Lyrics: The Motions

The question appears at the end of the video “What if we really gave everything?” Ask yourself that question, but even more importantly just do it. You can discover the answer as the Lord has His way in you and helps you break the cycle of “going through the motions”. Let go of the rope and experience the paradise of the abundant life Jesus has for you here and now.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott