Our church is currently seeking to buy a larger building and 21 acres of land for growth and expansion. We need to raise a lot of money for this purchase. So to do my part, I am going to golf fore green. Take a look at the video.
I need people to partner with me through this challenge. My goal is to play 4 full rounds of golf in one day. I will attempt this on May 9th at the Links in Groveport, OH. If you would like to support me in this challenge please click the link below and pledge online.
Recently, my oldest daughter sprained her foot pretty badly. I have done that many times and it is a slow painful recovery. The worst part is that she is in the middle of her soccer season and isn’t able to play. Today, I decided to take her to the game to watch and cheer for her teammates.
One thing she noticed was that watching from the sideline is quite a bit different from being in the game. You have a different vantage point and are able to better see the whole picture.
Sometimes when we are in the middle of the fire all we can see are a few trees around us. But if we will take a step back we can see the entire forest. When we do this, often those huge issues in our life become smaller and more manageable.
What area in your life do you need to view from a different vantage point?
As you can tell, the site is completely different. The design is completely different and we are now hosting this site on a new server. The reason for this is to enable me to do more with this page.
If you previously subscribed to this blog, you will need to do it again. It is very simple, just enter your email address in the bar to the right and click “Subscribe”. This new site will give us much greater flexibility for the future. The design will probably continue to change, but the content is all here.
This site is here to stay, so I encourage you to create a login and feel free to engage through comments. Enjoy the new site!
I’ve been studying a passage from Luke for this week’s message. I am going to be talking about investing in your future. As I was studying the parable of the Rich Fool in Luke, I came across a phrase that Jesus said that really stuck with me.
Luke 12:15b
…a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
Most of the time we probably do feel that our life consist of how much or how little we have. In the context of this passage it seems Jesus has a different perspective than we often do. He knows that our possession, whether few or many, are only temporal. You can’t take ‘em with you.
I guess what our life really consists of is what we can take with us. What can we take with us? Well, our relationships. The people we invest in for eternity will be there. Also money that we give for God’s purpose on earth will bring us a great return in heaven. Jesus said that he is going to give a reward to each of us according to our deeds. Also, I believe that who we become on this earth (inside) is who we will be in heaven. The Bible says we get a new body, not necessarily a new spirit or mind. In fact Jesus met with his disciples after his resurrection and was in many ways the same Jesus.
So, what are you taking with you? Does your life consist of building an abundance of temporary possessions or are you saving for your future?
It is absolutely gorgeous outside right now. Spring is in the air and it is really hard to sit inside. I love the sunny skies and mid 70′s temperature. I just came in from taking a 2 mile prayer walk. I love to pray and I love the beautiful weather…so it makes a perfect match. Let me give you a few ways you can enjoy this amazing weather we are having.
Take a long walk (and not on a short pier)
Play with your kids in the yard or take them to a playground
Go the zoo (I went on my day off with the family this week)
Have a picnic
Take a bike ride
Play a sport (basketball, tennis, golf, etc.)
Sit in the sun, close your eyes and try to think about nothing at all (good luck)
Work in the yard
Wash your car
Work on your tan
Whatever you do, enjoy the beautiful weather that we have and take a moment to thank God for it.
This week we are kicking off our capital campaign for the purchase of a facility on 21 acres of land in Lithopolis, OH. I am calling this series “The Bridge”. I’ll explain more on Sunday.
Bridges are incredible feats of engineering. Some bridges span miles while others stand nearly 1,000 ft in the air. Do you ever wonder what is keeping them from toppling over? When I think about bridges like the Millau Bridge in France, I marvel that God gave us the ability to design and build something so magnificent.
Millau Viaduct, France
Imagine what we could have built if God didn’t confuse us with several types of languages at the tower of Babel (Gen 11).
Our church is joining with hundreds of churches around the world to participate in the One Prayer Series through the month of June. During this month we will be exposed to several world-class preachers all answering the one question, “If God would answer ‘one prayer’ for the church at large, what would you pray?”
Lifechurch.tv is hosting this effort to join churches around the world in unity and prayer. Here are few reasons why we are participating in this upcoming series.
This series serves several purposes. Specifically, we believe it will…
Promote unity in the body of Christ.
Expose churches to other great teachers and ministries.
Empower churches to experiment with video teaching.
Infuse spiritual passion into a typically challenging month.
Give the senior pastor a three-week break from teaching.
Raise money for a mission project.
Teach our people to fast, pray, and seek God in concert with thousands of other believers.
Participate in the larger work of God in His church.
To find out more about One Prayer click the link below.
I asked the question last time, “Is there ever a good reason to go into debt?” This is a hard one to answer. It’s hard to say “yes” to this question knowing that debt represents losing a bit of our freedom. But permit me to play devils advocate for a moment. Sometimes debt might be a necessary means to a greater end. Let me give you 2 reasons most consider acceptable reasons for debt.
Debt for educational purposes - What if you have a dream to be a doctor? You have a deep desire to help people with medical problems. But in order for you to become a doctor it will require 8 years of training to the tune of over $150,000. Is it worth it? Many doctors would say yes. In a way, borrowing for educational reasons is investing for your future. What are you investing in? Your dream…and the ability to earn a great living. I personally don’t know of any doctors who began their careers debt free. If you can follow your dream without taking on school loans, that is the ideal situation, but not easy for some careers and most people.
Debt out of necessity – If you’ve ever bought a house without paying cash, then you have taken on debt to meet a need. We all need a place to live. Most people fall into two categories, renters and owners. Either way you have to pay money for a place to live. Some argue that renting is throwing away money. You pay nothing toward owning the house when you rent. But when you purchase a home, at least part of your payment usually goes toward owning it…someday. This kind of debt is usually considered “acceptable” in most people’s eyes.. In a way you could say it is the lesser of two evils. The only situation I don’t believe in is taking an “interest only” loan. In this case you can say you bought a house, but truthfully you are renting. The same argument could be made for buying a car. Only in this case understand that you are taking on debt for a depreciating asset. Not usually the best idea, but sometimes it is a necessity.
These two reasons are commonly considered acceptable reasons for going into debt. I personally carry a mortgage and have at times had a car loan. But in both of these cases, I have never been upside down in the loans (owing less than something is worth). Sometimes debt can be a necessary means to an end.
This past Sunday I spoke on “Closing the Door on Debt”. After the message I heard a few responses that led me to expound a little more on debt. It is impossible to address every unique situation in a 30 minute message. For many, debt is a real issue. But are there ever any good reasons to be in debt? Here is my basic understanding of debt from the Bible.
Debt is not a sin - I made sure to express this on Sunday, because I didn’t want anyone to feel “condemned” if they were in debt. The Bible never comes out and says, “Don’t go into debt”. In fact, God made provisions for people who fell on hard times and had to sell themselves as servants to another to survive. They became indebted to someone else. (See Deuteronomy 15).
All debt is a form of bondage - Proverbs 22:7b says “The borrower is servant to the lender“. The Hebrew word for servant means “bondage or slave”. No matter what kind of debt we take on, we become tied (bondage) to that debt and to the creditor. It can be secure debt (owing less than something is worth) or insecure debt (owing more than something is worse). All debt is like a burden. We owe someone else…and we are bound to that oath.
Debt is not ideal - There are some things that are not sin but are still not beneficial. 1 Corinthians 10:23 says “Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial.“ Debt seems to be permissible, but is definitely not beneficial. We end up paying far more for something than it is worth. Just because debt is not a sin doesn’t mean it is wise to bury yourself in it. We also have to be good stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us.
I’ll share more thoughts in the days to come… Stay tuned.
When hard times come how do you internalize it? We all take hardship differently. But one thing we always wonder is, “Am I the cause of this problem?” Some hardships we go through because we cause them, others we go through because we have an enemy who wants to bring us down. How do we know which situation we are facing?
I believe we should ask ourselves 3 introspective questions to determine which situation we face.
1) Is there any sin in my life? - It is apparent that our sin can lead us into many pitfalls. Sin separates us from God and can lead us to make decisions that will bring hardship to us. Consider praying a prayer like we find in Psalm 139:23-24 saying, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” As God shows you the sin, ask for forgiveness and make it right.
2) What is my motive in life? - Sometimes it’s not intentional sin, but perhaps our motives that can be askew. Ask yourself if you have the right motives. Are you doing things because you want to glorify God or yourself? Are you living to serve others or to please yourself? This is a good indicator as to how you make decisions.
3) Am I hearing from God? - If we aren’t receiving guidance from God regularly then we can’t be sure that we are on the right course. It’s when we veer from God’s course that we can find ourselves vulnerable to trouble. Consider the prophet Jonah. He ran from God and right into a storm. If we are spending time with God daily and listening to his leading, then we have to set our course by that.
We must first be ready to check our own hearts. Those who cannot do this will always feel that it’s someone else’s problem, when in fact maybe you are the problem. If you can honestly address these three questions and still feel that you are walking the course God has given to you, then you might be facing a spiritual attack from the enemy. Now you know how to pray effectively.
