8 Years Ago Today…

It was 8 long years ago today that our son, Eric was involved in a terrible automobile accident and it was discovered that he had cancer…Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. 8 long years…2,920 days that he has fought this battle. It has been a real battle through all of the treatments. Today, Eric is cancer free…he is in remission. Praise God!

No one can explain the emotional roller coaster that Eric and our family has been on since his diagnosis. It is real…good reports… bad reports…promising signs…not so promising signs…new treatments…old treatments when new ones do not work…emotional ups…emotional downs…tears of sadness…tears of joy.

We are thankful for so much…the doctors and nurses that never gave up…the loving church family and friends and their never ending prayers for Eric…our faithful and loving God! He has shown us tremendous love through the circumstance of our lives during the past 8 years…the people that He has put in our paths…the research that has been done…the arrangement of an unknown donor…the care and concern by friends and family. Not to forget a loving and caring wife that God placed in Eric’s life to walk this journey with him.

I am reminded of Philippians 4:6&7...”Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

We do not know what the next 8 years years will hold for Eric and the rest our family…but, we do know that He is faithful, loving and deserves all the glory!

Lord… your will, not mine…

This thought has been on my mind since I woke up early this morning…can’t seem to shake it. Lord…your will, not mine. As I continue to grow as a Christian, I am becoming more aware of God’s perfect will rather than my imperfect one. So many times, I do not see the whole picture…I just see situations from my tiny and narrow perspective. I am thankful that I serve a God that has a plan and purpose for my life…not that I completely understand it all the time, but I must understand that his plan is perfect. So today, I know that with this thought, the Lord is preparing and teaching me.  What it is…I do not know, but I know He will reveal it to me when He is ready. It may be as simple as putting one foot in front of the other today, tomorrow, the following day, etc.  I do not know, but I am reminded of Jesus’ time of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.

And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” Mark 14:35-36 (NASB)

Jesus knew the things that were before him…he asked his Father to remove them from him…yet he accepted his Father’s will and his Father’s plan. He did what he was called upon to do.

My prayer today is that I be more sensitive to the Lord’s leading in my life and that I can honestly pray…Lord…your will, not mine.

Poppy Time…for those of you with grandchildren, you will understand this message…for those of you without grandchildren, you will have to bear with a proud grandfather.

There are many precious times in my life…but, this one is right up there at the top. It was this past Friday afternoon…Savannah and I had spent the better part of the afternoon cleaning out the garage. The last 15 minutes was watching Savannah ride her tricycle in circles. Then came the time to go in and rest a while. We sat down to watch an episode of Sponge Bob Square Pants and guess what…

Yup, you guessed it…we both crashed in my recliner. From a grandfather’s perspective, there is nothing sweeter than your grandchild asleep in your arms…total security..total peace…complete rest. Yes, she slept for two hours in my arms (don’t tell her Mom) and I did catch a few winks myself.

Complete rest…total peace…for both of us!

A great question… and answer posed by the apostle Paul:

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. Gal 1:10 (NASB)

This is a daily struggle of mine. I have come to find out that ministry is hard…ministry is messy…it is confirmed to me every day…so many expectations…so many unmet expectations…so many disappointments.  What makes it all the more difficult, I am a peacemaker…a people pleaser… In spite of this, the joys of God’s ministry far out weigh the disappointments.

At the end of the day… I must ask this one question…Jesus, were you pleased today? I must remember that I, too am a bond-servant of Christ not of man.

Standing Firm in the Faith…be self-controlled and alert… Peter warns us to stand firm in the faith…in spite of our circumstances… in spite of our wilderness experiences.

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” 1 Peter 5:8,9

It is during these “wilderness” times that we stand alert together encouraging each other. It is during these times that we need relationships with other believers to encourage us to stand firm. The encouragement comes not only in the temporal comfort, but also in spiritual encouragement…coming along side…praying with and for each other. That is why, I love our C group…last night, we gathered together…encouraging one another in the faith to stand firm…incredible.

Iron sharpens iron,
So one man sharpens another.

This passage comes from Proverbs 27:17…I couldn’t help but be reminded of this passage this morning as about 75 men gathered at 6:00am at North Side Baptist Church for the Men’s Fraternity study. I observed these men sitting under Jeff’s biblical teaching of authentic manhood. Being part of this group is pretty humbling as we learned about real, authentic manhood…not what is being taught to us in the movies, on TV, on the internet and in this world. Over time, we have bought into a lot of junk and false perception of real manhood.

Our model is Jesus…He lived a life of authentic manhood while on this earth. This morning, I could see a room full of men soaking up biblical teaching…we were sharpening each other…we were  living out Proverbs 27:17.

Followship…no, I did not misspell fellowship…I meant to say followship. To me, it more about a concept rather than a word.

In order to effectively lead, whether at home, work, church..we must first learn how to follow…Following begins with obedience to the one that we are following. Obedience is directly related to priorities. When we are obedient, our priorities are not our priorities. Our priorities change to those to whom we are obedient….the one that we are following.  Read this interaction from the Gospel of Luke:

As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.”  And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.”  But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62 (NASB)

Jesus said, if you are going to follow me, you must change your priorities. It is the first step of obedience. It is the sign of true followship. It is easy to say that we are following Jesus. However, is He truly the Lord of your life? Are His priorities your priorities? Are you being obedient?

Quite honestly, I have lived most of my life following my priorities rather than His priorities…whether it be lifestyle, career, family, business, sports, hobbies, or whatever. If I am going to be a true Christ follower…I must make Him the Lord of my life…and I must demonstrate that in everything that I do and say. I must have His priorities. I need to live a lifestyle of worship, growing with other believers, and impacting this lost world. I must be obedient and I must follow Him. That is followship.