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I appreciate so much Nate sharing "the rhythm and the rest" & how we can honor God with that Sabbath-type seclusion, especially on Labor Day devotional teaching last weekend! Sue Linn and I have learned a lot thru the years about pouring yourself into your kids in hopes that they will one day patiently teach and reverse-mentor you with the things you need to understand about the next generation! And Rachel and Nathan have both done that and continue to so well for us! But I still have a lot to learn about boundaries, rhythms of rest, & holy habits! I'm sure you're wondering by the title, what in the world does "facing the future" look like for us. For me, I want to turn my face towards the remainder of the year. I love the phrase as Jesus prepared for the passion week, that He "turned his face towards Jerusalem". In other words, He was headed to the cross to save the world and nothing was going to get in His way. Not the devil. Not the Pharisees. Not even His good friend and disciple (soon to be apostle) named Peter, who said he was going to interrupt Jesus, do an intervention if necessary, and NEVER let Him die. Jesus said, "get thee behind me Satan"! Those are not words that any of us want Jesus to speak to us publicly! So we set our face towards summer turning to fall, an election this November like never before, and before we know it, a ball will drop from Times Square as we enter 2025, unless the Lord returns or we depart earlier than we anticipate. So what I'd like to do AFTER this week of having a little vision casting and encouragement, is to use the next 6 weeks to do what I'd like to refer to as, THE BIBLE RECALL". While some folks at our age are learning a few "NEW" things, most of us are trying to RECALL what we once knew! So in the next 6 weeks, I want to look at some "LISTS" in the Bible that we know, but I hope we can devotionally FOCUS on them to where they're more MEMORABLE & more easily ACCESSIBLE for us, so that we might be able to do what Hebrews 3 says, "encourage one another daily as we see the day approaching". So here we go, here we go, here we go! MONDAY In Scripture... Proverbs 29:18 "When people don't accept divine guidance they run wild! But whoever obeys the law has a joyful life." In a word....VISION Last week we received our tax exempt status for the ministry of "Finishing Well". Even though we've been doing it informally, it now becomes more of a commitment to the future when it comes to weekly devotional teachings, monthly podcasts beginning in January, lead pastors meetings & our gathering events scheduled so we can invite friends to an event that will simply REMIND them of how much they matter to God and hopefully help God matter to them a little bit more! Financially, you now can give in a tax deductible way to our ministry if you'd like to. Most all of what we're doing now is free. Events will cost some and I want to honor people for their work on our writing & podcast in time, but our whole vision is to come alongside and build the Kingdom up as best we can! That's our vision…to simply encourage folks to finish well through devotional writing, seasonal gatherings, interviewing spiritual heroes on Podcasts monthly, and encourage Lead Pastors in our group to be faithful shepherds, preachers, and leaders in the Kingdom of God. The verse from Proverbs in the King James Version says, "without VISION, the people perish", but here the New Living Translation calls it, "not accepting divine guidance". Let me ask, what VISION do you have right now for your life? I know we all have so many variables from our health to our wealth, & to families to friends. But how is your faith? How's your fellowship in your local church wherever you might attending? Do you have a friend or two you can share your spiritual life with? Even if you're not in a group, it's so important to have a "man to man or woman to woman friend that sticks closer than a brother or a sister". Trust me, I know groups are hard to find and stick with over the years. But who is that friend for you? And who do you get to be that same type of spiritual friend to? You might want to give them a call today to thank them for being your spiritual encourager… TUESDAY The Verse...Isaiah 56:7-8 "I will bring them to my holy Mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer. I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices, because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations." (NLT) In a Word...PRAYER Leonard Ravenhill, a long ago evangelist once said, "never have so many left so much, for so long, for so few to do as in the matter of prayer". We all stand guilty on some level of falling asleep, like the disciples when Jesus is right next to us, inviting us to pray. I love this passage from Isaiah that Jesus, quotes in Matthew 21 as He expresses His disappointment in the abuse of the sacrificial system. It was estimated that Jesus' "turning over the tables" in the Temple was a fundraiser done by the High Priest Caiaphas that caused them to lose over $1 million that day. Jesus redirected them in that the house of God was to be a "house of prayer". God's name was to be honored and His blessing was to be appreciated. So what prayers are on your heart right now? For the country? For your family? For your future? We all have prayer lists that seem to grow and grow and grow the older we get and the more challenges we and our families face. Please allow me to share with you a couple that are on my heart. Phil Miller has been a dear friend for a long time. He and Marcia have been encouragers in every church and every other pastor and volunteer that I know of through the years. Phil is a part of our lead pastor encouragement group that has met with me the last five years. And he is certainly a great part of our Finishing Well Band & we love to hear him sing this song, "When All is Said & Done". Phil has gone through a lot of treatment and it's still going through for stage 4 cancer. He is a trooper and a servant like no other. I just want to ask you to lift him and Marcia up & that the Lord continues to help them to serve God at the Fairdale Christian Church, where he's a full-time pastor now or in the many other capacities helping churches that he has built friendships with. Another prayer I would ask for this for Grant Oldham. His parents are Brian and Anita. Grant and his wife, Olora, are such a sweet couple of faith married only a few years in his mid-20s now. He has struggled with cancer in many areas and on many levels, the primary one being the loss of his right arm. Brian still serves as an elder at Northside and their family was there long before we got there in '99. Please be praying that God would lift up these two men and their families with mercy, grace, and healing. Even though the house you and I are gathering in right now is online…may that house be a house of prayer today! WEDNESDAY The Verse... 1 Peter 2:9-12 "but you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. Once you had no identity as a people, now you are God's people. Once you received no mercy, now you have received God's mercy. Dear friends, I warn you as temporary residents and foreigners to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very soul. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then, even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when He judges the world." (NLT) In a Word....OPPORTUNITY Growing up as a kid 6 decades ago, the message came through to me that we're supposed to "stay to ourselves" and avoid wrongdoing. Unfortunately, I received the message of staying away from wrongdoing-type of people as well. It removes you from the vicinity of temptation a lot, but it also keeps you from having impact relationally. This passage doesn't indicate we should ISOLATE, but rather PENETRATE the world with godly behavior, and the love of Jesus Christ! I love the NIV translation on this one, which says, "live such good lives among the pagans". That was definitely not the message I got as a kid in a small town with loving, godly, overprotective parents. But it is something I've had to learn through the years. 18 years ago in a sermon series on "Reaching those far away from God", I tried to emphasize authenticity in the message and dressed as I would've in high school, which was jeans and a farmer work shirt with an Pioneer seed corn hat. I mentioned late in the sermon that growing up I was a "recovering Pharisee". You know the type. We say we care about the lost coming to faith, but we make no effort to build a relationship with people that are very different from us. At that point, I unbuttoned my farmers shirt to reveal a T-shirt that I never had on before, which was a Jack Daniels T-shirt. Yes, that made a few eyes bug out. But my point was, it was the "rebellious/far away from God" group that my shirt represented to me as a kid that I never really reached out to. Call me "spiritually intimidated", but it really wasn't until serving in a church in Las Vegas, that I think I finally got over that. I began to realize that people are people, we all got our stuff, and EVERYBODY is worth getting to know and needs the Lord in their heart! So let me suggest that a great opportunity to invite a friend who may not be going to church is coming soon! This DECEMBER 10th on TUESDAY at 6 PM at "the GRAND" in New Albany will be our next Finishing Well event. Like last year, it'll be a great time to bring a friend and kick off the Christmas season in a God-honoring way. Tickets are $15 and will be available online soon, and like last year, will cover dessert and beverages. It could be a great way to renew a friendship with someone that might need some encouragement! THURSDAY The Verses... Hebrews 13:7 "Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.” Hebrews 13:17 "Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit." (NLT) In a Word...SHEPHERDS When we have all the pastors at our monthly gathering, there are 16 of us. This past Tuesday we will have met at Stony Point Christian Church in Charlestown with our friend Tim Anderson, who pastors there and also is full-time with Crossroads Missions. And if I know Tim's heart, I'm sure he's full-time at both places! That's typically the nature of a pastor. This season and era of time is more challenging for Lead Pastors than any other time previously in my opinion. There are more controversial and opinionated issues than ever before. It's difficult enough, preaching God's truth in a culture where sin is at least "agreed upon" as being wrong, but today, even believers disagree about "what is and isn't sinful" in the eyes of the Lord. Our culture has had a huge effect on our worldview, unfortunately. For our shepherds to speak out courageously with 100% truth and 100% grace and live it out, it is a huge and necessary calling. In Ezekiel 33, God says that the watchman needs to "sound the alarm when he sees the threat of the enemy coming" so the blood will not be on his head. May the Lord strengthen our pastors in our churches to stand up and speak up, being a light in a dark place. Our passage today says we need to hold our spiritual leaders in high regard and make their jobs easier, not harder. You see a big part of what we do as finishing well believers is to help our pastors to finish well themselves. I have been SO fortunate through the years to have a loving supportive family as we've got to serve in six different churches that all were tremendous blessings for us. Please lift up your pastor today and ask God to give them courage to COMMUNICATE (as a prophet), CARE (as a priest), and COORDINATE (as a king). Of course they're not the only voice, or the only heart, or the only leader. But they do sing the melody in the local churches where they serve for others to join in and sing harmony with. It takes all of God's people pulling together in the same direction and in cooperation with the Holy Spirit to allow the Kingdom of God to move forward. May we do that and help each other along the way! FRIDAY The VERSE... Deuteronomy 6:4-9 "Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord, your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." (NLT) In a Word...PARENT Those are great words for parents, but for those of us with more miles, gray hair and Medicare, we need to realize the great privilege of being grandparents! The Bible doesn't say a lot about grandparents, but it does say in Proverbs 13:22, that "it is good to leave an inheritance for our children's children". And I know the primary implication seems financial, but what kind of spiritual inheritance are they receiving from us? I love long drives with our grandkids on occasion where I can hear their personalities come out and also have them held hostage for a while in a vehicle to have a conversation with them. Now I know every family struggles today with "screen time on the iPhones and iPads" and our family is like any other. It used to be TV was the culprit, but not so much anymore. But think with me how you and I can just "plant a few seeds and pull a few weeds" in the hearts of our grandkids in a loving way. Time well spent. Stories well told. Prayers well prayed. Memories well made. Games well attended. Ice cream well consumed. God's name respectfully mentioned. Have you noticed how fall is knocking on the door? One season changes to another pretty quickly. From May to November, all five of our grandkids move up a number. We now have 7-year-old at the low end and a 21-year-old at the top. When in the world did that happen? May the Lord put in your heart a strategy for loving those grandkids. Harmonize with your kids (their parents) in their efforts because you won't innately do it exactly the same way. If you need a chuckle in that area, the movie, "Parental Guidance", with Billy Crystal and Bette Midler seems pretty funny as best I remember it. So, rake some leaves, make some s'mores, watch some Saddleback Bible stories for kids with them on your lap if they still fit there. And may the Lord bless you as we're about to launch the fall together. Love you guys...and committed to finishing well together, george
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