Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Leading

Dear Worshippers,

Last night I mowed my lawn for the second time this summer. Before you spend too many brain cells trying to figure out why that is let me give praise to the Lord for all of the men who have come over and helped during my recovery so that I would not be burdened with that physical exertion. I praise God for each of them, and a church family so willing to help.

After the other time I mowed my oldest son Samuel asked if he could help. You must now that I see the four boys that I will have to feed over the next 17 years and then some as a tremendous workforce, in time of course. This is one of the most strenuous things Samuel had ever asked to help with, and I was more than happy to have the help.

Any of you that have worked with young people know the blessing and the challenges of doing so. The blessing is in their eagerness to help and the boundless enthusiasm they bring to learning and trying something new. The challenge is in sometimes keeping them focused after the newness has worn off and the enthusiasm has waned. Samuel was a trooper mowing for probably over an hour with no complaints. I was so proud of him.

It occurred to me as we worked that he needed leadership and training. I told him several things about mower safety and we began. Some things that I had totally forgotten about mowing came back as I saw him struggle with a few things. Starting the mower was hard for him until I told him to slowly pull the cord until it was tight then give it a strong, quick jerk. Mowing in a line was difficult until I trained him to keep one wheel just inside the already mowed section. Pushing the mower was difficult until we lowered the handle to make it more manageable.
I realized through this experience what I already knew on some: leading others can be demanding, but it is far more rewarding.

So I ask you the question: Who are you leading? Some of you are leading family members. Others of you are leading employees or maybe even peers. I would venture to say that every one of you at some point in your week is leading someone, whether you realize it or not. At the very least, you are leading yourself, and self-leadership may actually be the most demanding kind of leadership by far.

Whomever you happen to be leading, can you say to them like Paul said to the Corinthians, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ”? [I Corinthians 11.1] For as certainly as we are all leaders, we are followers as well. Who you follow determines how well you will lead, regardless of the parameters.

Jesus, help us to lead well, starting with ourselves, and going outward from there from the most formal to the most casual of encounters. Help us to do this by first following You well. Thanks for such a great example.

In Christ,

Pastor Timothy

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Weeding

Dear Worshippers,

I was reminded a couple of weeks ago that the best time to do weeding is shortly after a rainstorm. This is of course because the soil is loose and the weeds come up a little easier. It is a little messier process though due to the fact that the soil has been transformed into mud. Muddy or not, weeding is an essential activity if you want the plants to grow and thrive. Anyone who has ever tried to grow anything knows this reality.

I was thinking of this a few weeks ago and the Lord reminded me that weeding is an essential activity in our spiritual lives as well. The weeds of sin and slothfulness can quickly come in and choke of the growth of your spiritual life. The Parable of the Sower comes to mind. [Matthew 13:1-22] Instead of weeds, this parable says thorns, but the idea of the plants being choked out remains the same.

As I was weeding the first thought that came to mind was how hard it was. This is toilsome work. This is dirty work. You do not always get the entire root, knowing full well you will see that weed again. This is true with spiritual weeding as well. It is not easy. Sometimes you know you did not get the entire root. Sometimes you think you did only to learn later that some still remained.

I thought also of how necessary this work is, and that it would have been better tended to long before. If neglected, plants will suffer and can even be entirely choked out. A similar thought is true of your spiritual life. If you neglect the necessary weeding there your spirit will suffer and maybe even worse.

I finally thought that I wish I had done this right after the rain. With the ground soaked it would have been much easier to deal with the weeds. But that timing was not convenient for me so I had to do my weeding when the ground was pretty dry.

Our church has recently been “soaked”. I hope you got caught up in that. I do not think it is too late to take advantage of that recent shower. Ask the Holy Spirit if there is any weeding that needs to be done in you, and willingly submit even if it gets toilsome and dirty. The labor will not be in vain.

Be encouraged with these words.

Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the LORD,
until he comes
and showers righteousness on you. [Hosea 10:12]

Spirit, continue to soak Your church.

In Christ,

Pastor Timothy

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Synchronized

Dear Worshippers,

I have been working for a while today trying to synchronize a couple of electronic devices. This simply means to go through a process to make certain the same information is in both places and every time they connect both sources are updated with any changes since the last time they connected. It is a more complicated version of “Synchronize your watches”, but the same principle is in play. This is also the process used when you update an iPod or mp3 player.

It occurred to me that this is a great picture of our relationship with God, especially the music player side of it. When we connect with God we want to make sure we have the same information [TRUTH] that He has. This is why we read His Word, pray, and meditate. We want to always be in sync with Him.

The main difference is that He never changes. We change and must be brought back in line with Him. Nothing we do ever changes Him. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:9)

The music player analogy is closer to this picture because none of the information from the player ever changes the computer. Even though settings might change that are resident to the player the computer never changes. The player is dependent on the computer to give it any information it needs to function.

Ideally, all the information on the computer that should be on the PDA or player automatically goes to the other device every time they connect. Issues can develop which derail this process, but the computer will diligently notify of any problems and try to correct them. The player is mostly oblivious to these developments.

That leads me to the question, “Are you synchronized?” Is all the information the Father wants to get on you being received? Are you connecting with Him regularly? Are there issues that have developed that He is trying to point out to you?

One other part of this is that with most devices, when they are being synchronized they are simultaneously being recharged. Their on-board power source is resupplied. Are you feeling depleted, run down, empty? Maybe you simply need to reconnect to your Source to strengthen your power level. It’s a simple thing. Get connected today! You will not be able to function per the Designers’ specifications until you do. I am praying for you.

In Christ,

Pastor Timothy