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My Dad would've been 100 years old Monday, August 19. Of course, I've only been around for nearly 70 of those hundred years. God had him "promoted" after 97+ years, and if he were here now, we'd be having a party with enough candles to warrant a fire extinguisher! And trust me, there would be homemade ice cream! But I don't think he'd consider coming back, even if it were an option. I have a feeling he's making all sorts of new friends, renewing some old acquaintance, and volunteering for any help the Lord might request as "He prepares a place for those who love Him", even as we speak! My Dad made commandment #5 (Exodus 20:12) much easier for me than I deserve. He was a godly man with spiritual convictions. He had my best interest and "holiness at heart". However meeting his expectation in the attention to detail in farming would be a whole other issue...but that's on me! I know I'm preaching to the choir, but let me gently remind you how precious every day is with our parents if they're still with us, as well as our GROWN kids, and GRANDkids. Everyone of us in this "finishing well" age & stage of life become more aware everyday how precious time is and how it certainly flies by. So today, I'll thank God for my Dad once again...for his faith, for his love of our Mom, my sister, Kathy and me. He never missed church, even though other farmers were out in the field at times when the Sunday weather was good. One year we didn't get the corn picked in the fall because it was too wet & before it dried out enough, winter hit and the ground froze up. Now somewhere we have a picture of dad picking corn in MAY and turning around to "plow and plant" in a hurry just to catch up with the other guys! He and mom didn't necessarily SET any big production or harvesting RECORDS or receive any agricultural awards. But they did SET OUR HEARTS toward eternity and the Kingdom of God! And I will always be grateful and try to pass on their "LEGACY OF FAITH" to "future generations" while we can! Take a moment, if you have a chance today, and remind your family & friends, that the Lord matters DEEPLY to you…and they do too! That’s what we do when we take to heart the prayer in Psalm 90:12 that says, "teach us to NUMBER OUR DAYS that we might gain a heart of wisdom". May we appropriately COUNT our days....and make our days COUNT! I'm anticipating Tuesday to be a special day this week. Doing MINISTRY WITH A FRIEND is always a special honor. And getting to do ministry with your FAMILY takes it over the top! Our friend Phil Lamaster, who was the preacher in Scottsburg a number of years, began a special ministry for pastors and churches several years ago which he calls, "LIVING HOPE". Nate and I join Phil and his wife, Rhonda, in encouraging groups of anywhere from 50 to 100 pastors & Christian leaders several times a year. It's great to hear the hearts of pastors, and yet, in many ways, pastors still continue to struggle with chronic "church stuff" thru the years. I appreciate you joining me in prayer for these men & women, if you are led to. The meeting is in the Frankfort, KY area. And please include the dozen area lead pastors as a another group that Neal Windham, Phil Miller and I work monthly with as well in your prayers. To give our prayers a little more focus, here's what I think I've learned thru the years about the "CALLING" that pastors have. First of all, we're NEVER DONE! Several years ago, a fellow staff person was contemplating their primary passion, choosing between evangelism or pastoral care. I remember telling them that in evangelism, YOU make the phone calls, while in pastoral care, the phone NEVER QUITS RINGING! Ministry is constant and rightfully demands our response, compassion, proper delegation, and yes, boundaries, as hard as that is at times. Join me in praying for the hearts of our area pastors & their churches as they care and serve with "God's strength that works in them"(Colossians 1:29). Second of all, it's NEVER EASY! Paul found himself frustrated at times as he expressed his concerns to the Galatians. In chapter 4:19 he says, "Oh my dear children! I feel as if I'm going through LABOR PAINS for you again, and they will continue until Christ is FULLY DEVELOPED in your lives." That is quite an image! Anytime I've read that passage, I've always envisioned Paul doing "Lamaze breathing techniques" as he would DISCIPLE those believers! What they were up against in Galatia, was the aggravation & manipulation of Jewish people who had become Christians, but wanted to force Gentiles to become Jewish. This was a return to "salvation BY WORKS, rather than FAITH ALONE". In ministry, there are challenges in leadership, relationships, alignment & respect in values, vision & verbiage. Believe me, the list goes on and on. It's not enough to just be in the same room & think you're on the same page! You've got to be pulling in the same DIRECTION, with the same PASSION, & with the same INTENSITY. Be praying for our pastors & their fellow leaders & churches that they can serve the Lord with HONESTY, CLARITY, and UNITY! Thirdly, the DEVIL NEVER LET'S UP! Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." The spiritual battle in our world today is only going to INTENSIFY. We are far more surrounded by "demonic fervor and strategy" than we've seen in our lifetime. I hope to speak to that a little more in future devotional teachings. But look at our nation and the CORRODING OF RESPECT of God's clear definition of marriage, gender, and the sacredness of human life. Pray that our pastors WILL STAND amidst a very "worldly & Godless" world view. And finally, be comforted and assured that GOD NEVER LEAVES US ALONE! One of my favorite moments in the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua is in a personal reference of how God will relate to Joshua. We hear him give the encouragement to be "STRONG AND COURAGEOUS" several times. That can sound like a coach at a timeout, reminding his team to respond to the challenge, deal with the pressure, and win the game! But in Joshua 1:5, God says, "As I was with Moses, so will I be with you.". That was huge! For Joshua to realize God promised to be with him IN THE SAME WAY that he was with Moses made all the difference in the world! He also says in that context of encouragement that, "I will never leave you or forsake you. Now it's one thing to say I'll never leave you. But when God said, "I'll be with you the same way you have seen me be with Moses", the greatest leader you've ever known, God was giving the assurance to Joshua that he needed in order to step up! May we lift up our pastors to feel the confidence of God's "moment by moment presence" as they embrace their calling to "shepherd" God's People! This past Sunday, I had one of the most unique experiences ever. I preached for a friend's church up in Colfax, Indiana. The preacher there, Paul Del Valley, is a great young pastor. Paul and I have been friends since he asked me to come speak to their area men's event seven or eight years ago. It's been great to see him grow and the church grow. Colfax is a town of 800 people & is a little north west of Lebanon. With Paul's leadership, the church was running nearly 200. So when he called me a few months ago, I was honored to fill-in a weekend for him. Paul's story is a little different because a year ago at the age of 38, it was discovered he had stomach cancer. The chemo and radiation all seemed to be effective, and we were thanking the Lord. So when he told us four months ago, they discovered he'd developed brain cancer, we all were pretty taken back. I thought my preaching there this last weekend would've been while he had another round of chemo, but Paul had less time on this earth than we anticipated. His funeral was a month ago. So I was honored to be one of several who would fill-in as the church grieves and attempts to replace someone who I think will be irreplaceable for a while. There was a special offering for his wife, Kayla and four children that he leaves behind, who are very precious as you can only imagine. You may be wondering why I'm sharing this. I kind of am wondering as well. I believe it's because that's what God calls us to do. Share where we are with those close to us. First John 1:7 says we are to "WALK IN THE LIGHT as He is in the light, and then we'll have fellowship with one another and the blood of Christ will cleanse us from all sin." Sometimes we can rush through life with "MINISTRY in the MOMENT", which can turn into unprocessed "moments unattended to". Maybe today, you need to share with someone what weighs heavy on your heart. Take time to "share and bear" one another's burdens" as we're encouraged to in Galatians 6. Today, would you join me in lifting up that church & young preacher's family (the Del Valley's) as they embrace a challenging future, which sometimes God call us to face, even with Him by our side? And think who you know that's recently gone through a similar devastating loss. Someone you know and care about. Romans 12:15 says we are to "REJOICE with those who rejoice and WEEP with those who weep". That is our posture....to simply "come alongside" those God puts "on our heart, or in our path". Thanks for coming alongside me this week in a "lump sum" of prayer and reflections rather than individual weekday thoughts. We're about to come towards the end of the fifth month of our devotional teachings. We've covered a lot of ground together! • a month of "Following Well" in Nehemiah 8... • another month of "Finishing Well" in Hebrews 11:1-3... • 4 weeks of "Flourishing Well" from Acts 2:42-47... • A tribute to Tom Franklin, our dear brother... • An encouraging teaching from our friend, Neal Windham... • 3 weeks of a deeper look at the "named and nameless heroes" of Hebrews 11... • And finally, a couple of "prayerful/reflective weeks".... So if it's alright with you, I'd like to take a week off from devotional writing for this next week. It'll be appropriately followed by a devotional teaching on Labor Day weekend by Nate. He is always quick to encourage me to set & guard the "boundaries" in my life and develop some holy rhythms of rest, focus and recovery. That'll be good wisdom for all of us to hear! And I hope to have some more news on a December Christmas Event coming up for us as soon as possible! Hoping it’s the 10th but we'll know soon! And I'd love to hear from you on what God is doing in your life as we "finish well together"! May the Lord greatly bless you each & every day of these next couple of weeks! Love you guys, george
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