Laughing at myself

I was thinking about how much effort I have been putting into my fitness over the last 3-4 weeks and was lamenting my lack of results. My laptop was a bit too close to me at Panera, so when I pushed it away from me I got a little message that someone scrawled onto the table. It said "Fatboy" with a little smiley face in the 'o'. Needless to say the timing and sequence of events made it extra funny.

I am working on Sunday's sermon. I want to be 95% done before I go to bed tonight. I will study tomorrow no matter what.

The blessed hope of our relationship with Christ should transform our perspective. Take a few minutes to reflect upon His redeeming grace.

Thankful

I have seasons of immense thanksgiving. It isn't usually tied to my circumstances. When things are going well I don't necessarily excel at giving thanks. Tonight, I am thankful for my wife, my children and my church. It is beautiful. I hope this spirit of thankfulness remains.

I am really captivated by the 12th chapter of Acts. I hope the Lord will provide great unction in my preaching this week.

I am going to be reading the abridged version of "Pilgrim's Progress" (Dangerous Journey) to my kids tonight. Elijah (age 3) said, "We like stories!" Thank you Lord for giving good gifts to us. May we always be THANKFUL.

Thursday to Sunday

The week has moved very quickly. Thursday is crunch time for me. The sermon needs to be prayed over, "outlined" and all grammatical & theological issues must be dealt with. I am not there yet.

I am extra blessed to have a wife who really wants me to be wholly devoted to preaching the gospel. The city has such need of Christ. As I sit at Panera this afternoon, I see the power and bondage of sin weighing heavy on people. They are desperately dead and don't even know it. May the Lord open their eyes and breathe life into them.

Oh, that we would have spiritual eyes to see all of the activity that swirls around us and that we would act by proclaiming Grace in Christ.

I am looking forward to seeing my grandmother who will be visiting in about 2 weeks.

Acts and Exodus

I have had a great day of study and am really looking forward to being at home with the family tonight. The 3 oldest children are going to be sharing what the Lord is teaching them in their private devotions during family worship. I love to hear what the Lord is doing in the lives of other believers.

I really enjoyed my time of fellowship with a like-minded pastor yesterday. I have vowed to pray for him and his ministry.

I am hoping to start a regular Sunday evening meeting for outreach/evangelism in my local area in Windermere. If it comes to mind please pray for that effort.

Contemplative Monday

Monday is supposed to be my day off. It is the day I try to think about my personal devotion to Christ independent of my pastoral responsibilities. I try not to study sermon or Bible study topics and concentrate on my own development as a Christian man. It is after lunch and I haven't accomplished that yet. The responsibilities of life have gotten in the way. I am going to be reading chapters from books on preaching...Wait, I may need to scrap that plan and just read more Bible. I don't feel my knowledge of the Prophets is as good as it should be. The great thing is, today my knowledge CAN improve in any of the spiritual disciplines if I devote time and energy to them.

I had a great talk with my beautiful wife last night. We both want to be more holy and are seeking to hold each other accountable in our pursuit of greater Christ-likeness. It was the kind of discussion non Christian couples will never have. Sadly, many Christian couples won't likely be doing it either. It is great to have a wife that preeminently wants to be faithful to Christ. I learn a great deal from her. I hope your Monday is blessed. Let your light so shine before men...

Cold and rainy

It is nice to have a weather change occassionally but, I want my Florida back.

I will be deep in sermon prep today becuase Sunday is coming. My greatest and most cherished responsibility is to Preach the Word! Please pray that I will be faithful to proclaim His Truth.

We are watching 3 kids for friends. 11 kids in a house is quite the spectacle. Their behavior has been excellent.

I have been much more consistent in my exercise. I have been consistently lifting and running 4-6 days per week. The days of instant results are gone. It has takem me a good while to add my weight so surely it will take some time to come off. I need to be a good steward of my body so my preaching will not be hindered. The last thing this world needs is a glutton preacher.

I so love the Lord's Day. Since I became a Christian, it has been my favorite day. We are looking for sinners redeemed by grace @ Covenant. We also hope the Lord will entrust some of his new "babes" in Christ to us.

The Regulative Principle

Worship isn't for lost people. Worship isn't to make us feel better. Worship occurs for an audience of One. The congregation isn't the audience, the congregation is the worth-"ascribers" who seek to think much of and glorify God. It is so easy to get sidetracked on this issue.

I read a position paper today on the regulative principle of worship. It was "preaching to the choir" but was helpful for me today. In short, this concept asserts that God has created and ordained worship. Therefore, real worship happens only when we do IT in the manner he has prescribed in His Word. The elements of true gospel worship are: reading the Scripture, preaching the Scripture, administering the sacraments of baptism and communion, singing worship psalms, hymns and spiritual songs and lawful prayers. That is all that God prescribes in His Word.

Worship Him in the beauty of holiness.

Exodus

We began our Bible study in Exodus this morning. There are many amazing redemptive threads that take shape in this book. It all points to Christ!

I will be laboring in sermon prep today. I also hope to finish a preaching book I have been reading.

The Gospel of Christ can inspire you today. Meditate on what He has done for you. Eternity with Him awaits.

The men of the church will be meeting Saturday morning to talk about the future. I look forward to times like these when we can dream together about ways God can use us for His Glory.

Great Fellowship With Friends

We had the pleasure of having our friends the Penningtons visit overnight. They are such fine people. Shane and I planted a church together in the Kansas City area. They also served as missionaries in a Muslim nation in Asia. Maybe the Lord will allow us to work together again.

A couple of our kids are getting sick, AGAIN.

Tomorrow, I will be starting a new Bible book study for Thursday mornings. I have 2 and can't decide which one to study next. This could make for a long night.

Please pray that the Lord will expand our influence.

7 Day Church

I am not speaking of Seventh-Day Advent ism. My thoughts here are related to the Church living like the Bride of Christ everyday. I am not suggesting other formal meetings of the congregation, or participating in programs. What I am thinking about is bringing the hope of Christ with us in our coming and going. I would want a wide dispersion of groups of saints who could engage the lost or the under-discipled. What looks like a negative for us is actually a positive. We are mostly scattered across 4 (a new family is coming Volusia as well)counties which makes fellowship during the week harder. However, we are able to bring Christ's Gospel hope to Orange, Seminole, Lake and Brevard counties.

What can you do, without adding new stress to your life, to share Christ with those around you?
Is there something that you are naturally passionate about? Could you take your love of "gardening" and sanctify it with Christ's love and mission?