Let’s pray…
Lead me down the path that’s true;
guide me in the ways of you.
Help me see where I should go;
may I seek Your Word to know.
Grant me faith to trust You now;
bring me to Your throne to bow.
Grant me words that I may lead,
Words of life that I may feed.
Thank you God for hearing me,
each and every word for thee.
The Pastor -|—
[18] While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. [19] And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” [20] Immediately they left their nets and followed him. [Matthew 4:18-20 ESV]
The call to follow Jesus is one where you relinquish control of your life and trust the One whom you follow; namely Jesus. It’s not a life where you call the shots. I was recently speaking with a group of young men when one asked me how long do pastor’s stay at churches. I responded, “That depends on God”. He smiled and agreed and that was the end of his inquiry. My guess is that he heard all he needed to know; basically, the call to follow Jesus is not one you get to control.
The call to follow Jesus is one of trust. You may not get the whole picture. Often times God operates on a need to know basis. The call may simply be to go to such and such a country or to such and such a town. God may not lay everything out in black and white but rather in a muddled, garbled mess; one that starts to make sense as you move along God’s path.
The call to follow Jesus is not necessarily one of worldly riches and comforts. And this is the one the gets a lot of people. I need to provide for my family. I have to pay the bills. So you may be hesitant to listen to God’s voice because you are afraid of what it might say (even though deep down inside you have been hearing it already).
The call to follow Jesus is one that may lead to friction in worldly relationships. Family may be upset that you are moving so far away or putting your family in a difficult financial situation or moving to an unsafe part of the world. Close friends may express sadness and maybe a little pressure to stay close. Some may call you crazy and think you have fallen off your rocker for “following Jesus”.
The call to follow Jesus is one of discipline and refining. God may bring a period of darkness in your life in order to draw you deeper in Him. God may be refining out impurities in your faith in order for you to minister in a new way. God may be convicting you of a sin that needs to be addressed in order for you to better glorify Him.
The call to follow Jesus is one of leaving peace of mind in order to bring peace to those in chaos.
The call to follow Jesus is one of Kingdom advancement; not yours, so therefore the hesitation for some.
The call to follow Jesus is one of great joy for those who place their complete faith and trust in God almighty through Christ Jesus our Lord. For when the Jesus follower does this it is because they know it’s not their knowledge or skills or wisdom or strength that will get them by. It’s God and if God is for you then who could possibly be against you?
The call to follow Jesus takes prayer, patience and persistence. Prayer in order to receive your true marching orders; patience to wait on God’s timing; and persistence to keep at it during periods of darkness and difficulties.
The call to follow Jesus is one of fishing for people so the nets of God’s kingdom are filled to overflowing and then some. Those first disciples had no clue what Jesus meant by “fishing for men” or how to go about doing it. They simply responded to the call to follow Jesus and trusted him. And you know something? They did it and the net continues to be filled.
The call to follow Jesus is a call to participate in God’s plan of redemption and God’s plan is NOT going to fail. So drop your nets and go. Follow Jesus wherever HE goes.
Holy Father, You have called me to follow You. You have called me to faith. You have called me to share the Gospel through Word and deed. You have called me to obey. Grant me the faith to listen and follow that you may continue to be glorified. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
The Pastor -|—
I am not a fighter; at least not one to get into physical confrontations. I can think of only three times in my life when I got into a physical confrontation with someone. The first time was in 6th grade when the younger brother of a classmate cut in front of me in line. For someone reason I got mad and pushed him off the balance beam. Let me tell you, my classmate and his friends were not afraid of physical confrontations. The second was in high school during cross country practice. A guy was taunting me while running ahead of me. I eventually lost it and came up behind him, bear hugged him and then dropped him to the ground. I have never run fast in my life after that one. And the third time was my freshman year in college. We were playing video games in a dorm room and a guy was chiding me over and over again because he was winning. Eventually I whirled around and, with a closed fist hit, him square in the chest; knocking him off his chair. Thankfully the other guys separated us; protecting me from getting pounded by him.
You can definitely see a theme here. I am not a fighter but I am a fighter about things that truly do matter.
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. [1 Timothy 6:12 ESV]
Paul is encouraging young Timothy to fight the fight of faith. This was not a call to get into physical confrontations with people but rather to stand tall and hold firm to the faith he has professed. There are many that are going to resist the message of the Gospel. In that case, you fight the fight of faith by continuing to proclaim the Gospel message without watering it down.
Satan will attack you and attempt to draw you away from God. In that case, you fight the fight of faith through prayer and scripture reading and worship and fellowship with other Christians. You stand tall and not be ashamed of the Gospel; knowing that you are a forgiven sinner through faith in Jesus.
Others will chide you for believing something that is “outdated” or “irrelevant”. In that case, you fight the fight of faith; remembering the Gospel proclaimed to you and the fact that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. (Hebrews 13).
Still others will try to stifle your exercise of your faith in Jesus Christ. In that case, you fight the fight of faith and not be ashamed of the one who is not ashamed of you; Jesus. But also remembering that there is a place at the Great Banquet table, in God’s kingdom, waiting for you. Therefore you have a hope to cling to in the midst of pressure.
Fighting may not come naturally for you but I am guessing that when it involves something that really matters, you would respond. If someone were to threaten my family I would not hesitate to put myself into a confrontational situation in order to protect them. They matter to me; and so does my faith. So in both cases I will fight for them.
I fight the fight of faith because the Gospel of Jesus Christ means life and salvation and that is something I am not willing to compromise. To compromise my faith; to water down the message; to back down from my proclamation, is death for sinners. I can’t do that and so I will stand tall; asking God for strength to stand.
Jesus fought for you by suffering death on the cross that your sins would be forgiven. So fight for your faith in this Jesus, in whatever form it comes; but do so in love; remembering that God will ultimately fight for you. Don’t push and shove people; don’t verbally attack or put down people, but stand for your faith; giving glory to God through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Holy Father, grant me the courage to stand tall when I am pushed. Grant me the faith to fight back Satan’s attacks. Grant me the peace live in this world in the midst of faith confrontations. And in the end, Oh God, may you be glorified. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
The Pastor -|—
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. [John 5:24 ESV]
I lived in the state of Washington for a year while doing my internship just north of Seattle. It was my first time living that long outside of my home state of Minnesota. It was great living out there but I still longed for home.
After some time I became homesick for some snow so I decided to drive up to Stevens Pass, one of the ski resorts in the Cascade Mountains. So on my day off I set out on my little day trip but as I started ascending the mountains I came to a check station. The state police where stopping vehicles; highly recommending chains on tires. Of course I didn’t have chains (because us Minnesotans don’t use them) and so I was worried they wouldn’t let me satisfy my craving for snow. When I approached the check station the officer said they were recommending chains due to the heavy snow on the mountain pass. I told him I didn’t have any since I was just out here for a year from Minnesota. He asked for my drivers license (My guess he wanted to confirm my story) and said,
“OK then, being that you’re from Minnesota, you’re probably going to be fine. Go ahead.”
And he let me pass. I was still nervous since I had never driven in mountain snow before but once up there I found that navigating the pass was no problem for this experienced winter driver.
The pass was passable for me.
But the “pass” from death to life is NOT something that can be navigated by the strong or the experienced or the intelligent or wealthy. The “pass” can not be traversed through right thinking or big dreaming. The “pass” from death to life can not be negotiated through force of will.
The “pass” from death to live is only survived because of the One who survived it first: Jesus. When you hear the Word of God and believe in Jesus Christ, you receive eternal life right then and there. No, you are not transported to heaven at that moment; but rather given the hope of the resurrection; which is eternal life here and now.
And it is that hope that gives me strength now as I see the junk and chaos and death that is all around me. It’s the the hope of the resurrection that gives me joy when the world and culture are attacking the Church. It’s this hope that gives me courage when Christian liberty and freedom are being taken away; knowing that my true freedom is through faith in Jesus Christ.
It’s not me that defeats the “pass” but rather the cross of Christ; God’s love and grace for defiant sinners.
So hear the Word of the Lord:
~ You are a sinner worthy of death.
~ Jesus died on a cross that your sins would be forgiven.
~ Jesus rose from the dead that you may live forever.
~ The passage way from death to life has been secured for you.
And best of all, this is all GRACE.
Let Jesus take you over and through the “pass”. Trust him and praise him always and forever.
Holy Father, words cannot express my thankfulness for Your Son, Jesus Christ, defeating death that I my live. Receive me into Your arms through the gift of faith and may the hope of the resurrection give me joy and courage and thus bring You glory here and now and forever. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
The Pastor -|—
How does one not shout, “GOD IS GREAT!”, when one contemplates God’s salvation? I suppose the person who looks at salvation as a theological concept or myth to be studied. But if God’s salvation is your salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, then, “GOD IS GREAT!”, just flows out of your mouth. If it doesn’t, then maybe you don’t realize what this salvation really means.
You are a sinner condemned to hell.
You can not save yourself no matter how hard you try.
God’s wrath is something you can not escape.
You are worthy of judgement.
You have no logical defense against God.
That right there is damning. Even for this sinner, when I contemplate my rightful place before God I shudder and shake. But enter Jesus…
JESUS was born unto you.
JESUS was unjustly judged, convicted and condemned.
JESUS was sinless.
JESUS was punished, beaten and tortured.
JESUS was mocked, spit upon and sentenced to death.
JESUS crucified.
JESUS suffered greatly.
JESUS died,
for you.
But…
…JESUS rose from the dead,
for you.
Now, think about all of that. That is salvation for you. That is life for you. And if that does not bring out a shout of,”GOD IS GREAT!”, then you have no idea the gravity of your terminal disease (sin). If you are not entering worship with joy then you really don’t know this awesome God of ours. If you are not seeking God on a daily basis then you are lost; seeking for the wrong things/people.
Stop and reflect on your terminal disease.
Stop and reflect on the awesome love of God.
Stop and give thanks to Jesus.
Stop and worship.
Stop and praise God.
Stop and shout, “GOD IS GREAT!”, for the whole world to hear.
Awesome God, when I stop and reflect on my sinfulness I am in awe of the salvation Jesus won for me. I shudder to think what I am worthy of but leap for joy what you have decreed for me through faith in Jesus. Oh God, you are indeed GREAT! All praise and worship and honor and glory be to You, through Jesus Christ, Amen.
The Pastor -|—
When I started seminary back in 2000, I was told that there was a good chance that I would end up in small town, rural ministry. At the time I was nervous about that since my plan was to go to a large church in a city to serve as a youth pastor. I grow up in a small town; population approximately 1,600, so I was familiar with small town, rural life, but I wanted something more; something big.
But God had other plans.
I served my internship year at Fir-Conway Lutheran Church; a small church in Washington about an hour north of Seattle. While there I fell in love with small church life. I was “adopted” into a family/congregation and heard the call to be a solo pastor in a small town, rural setting.
Today, I have been the called pastor at Salem Lutheran Church,
(approximately 340 members in a town of about 3,500 people) since June 2004; and because of a contact for services we have had with Belmont Lutheran Church since Dec 2005, this is my early Sunday morning commute to “work”:
Beautiful, isn’t it?
And if you look carefully in the middle of the picture, at the end of the road, you will see this…
…Belmont Lutheran Church.
It’s a beautifully, small congregation, with a big heart, in the midst of this:
Belmont is a congregation of 58 people that worships around 15 to 20 per Sunday. In the midst of Minnesota’s nasty winters I have preached to as few as 5 people (including the organist, who, by the way, drives a couple hours from Minneapolis to play every week. He’s from Belmont and comes home to visit his mother). That is commitment.
When there’s a funeral at Belmont, it feels like everyone shows up to help. Annual meetings feel like a family event. And everyone takes their turn serving on the council and doing their part.
You may ask: How does this tiny congregation stay open with 15 to 20 in worship each week? That’s a great question. You see, there is a farm place across the road and 114.6 acres of land from which Belmont receives rent. And in SW MN, farm land rates are pretty good. Without this farm, Belmont probably would have closed it’s doors long ago; but then again, who knows 🙂
I love serving and serving with my congregation in town (Salem) but there’s just something about preaching out on the prairie, in the midst of corn and bean fields, that you can’t experience anywhere else.
[It’s hard to put my finger on it, but I’ll try.]
It’s not that we feel alone and isolated and therefore we cling to that; trying to keep to ourselves. It’s not that we don’t want others to find us and get “too big”. It’s not that we are poor, simple people, cut off from the rest of the world. Those descriptions couldn’t be farther from the truth for Belmont. Rather, the “thing” about serving out on the prairie is that feeling of being part of a close knit family farm that has it’s doors open to anyone who would want to come in; not keeping to themselves as they share their faith in Jesus Christ. But even that description doesn’t do Belmont justice.
Basically, we are a little church on the prairie with a big heart.
The problem out here on the prairie, though, is that many small family farms are giving way to big corporate farms and thus many of these small country churches are closing their doors. I’ve seen that happen to a number of these country churches in SW MN. It’s sad, really, but I am very grateful that a family many years ago had the foresight to donate their farm to Belmont to help ensure that it’s ministry continues on for a long time.
God is indeed doing something here and I feel blessed to be part of it. We may not have the numbers that other congregations have but it’s not quantity that matters but rather quality. We can’t control the growth of a church; only the Holy Spirit does. The fact that Belmont is small doesn’t indicate that it is doing church wrong or is deficient in someway. All it says is that the Spirit has chosen to use this small congregation for big things.
So next time you are out driving in the country side, and you come upon one of these country churches; stop, look, and give thanks; for these churches were the beginning of the Church in the rugged, rural frontier. These congregations were the foundation for a way of life that continues to be important today. These small congregations are not deficient because they are small but rather, they are big with passion and faith. It’s not the size of the church building that matters but rather the faith being lived out in it’s members.
Lord God almighty, I give you thanks for those pioneers that built the Church in a rugged and wild land. I give you thanks for the people who passed on the faith. I give you thanks for the ministry of these places. It’s not the size of the building or the number of people but rather your Spirit working through people. Oh God, you are awesome in this place. In Jesus name I pray, Amen
The (small country) Pastor -|—
This is the opening prayer I wrote to use for worship on Sunday. It is loosely based on the hymn, “O Master, Let Me Walk With You”. Now, I don’t claim any artistic ability when it comes to writing “poetry” (if that is what you can call this), I’m just happy I got stuff to rhyme 🙂
Oh well, in the end, may GOD be praised, right?
Let’s pray…
O Master, let us ever walk with you in lowly paths of service true.
Help us, the slow of heart, to believe in you; and may Your children give the glory Your name is due.
Teach, oh God, our wayward feet to stay, and guide them in the homeward way.
And when we stray, Oh Master, Lord of all, may Your forgiveness help us, in Your love, to stand tall.
And so may our path be one of service true and worship of You; that Your glory may ring loud and clear with beautiful tones of victory near.
All praise and glory be to You; gracious and humble and thankful for You.
In Jesus holy name I pray, Amen.
The Pastor -|—
Oh God, this world makes me weary and tired;
physically
emotionally
mentally
spiritually
And when I feel like I am just scraping by I long for something to quench that which is lacking in me.
I long to be satisfied.
I long to be quenched.
I long for You.
But why only then? Why not when I feel full and satisfied and charged? Why not then, oh God, why not then? I loathe the fact that my sinful self leads me to complacency when I feel full.
But then there are times when I am lacking that,
I seek other waters
I seek other streams
I seek other wells
and they fail to do what they promise.
Oh how foolish I am.
But You, oh God, do not fail in what You promise. You are a faithful God. You are a faithful God to give to Your children as they need. When we are lacking, you provide.
May my heart pant for you as a deer pants for flowing streams.
May my heart thirst for You.
May my soul wait for You.
May I live for You.
Oh God, this world makes me weary and tired; through my faith in Jesus Christ, when shall I come and appear before You? When shall I lie down in those green pastures and walk beside those still waters? When shall my soul be restored? When shall my cup runth over and over and over and over…
When shall I dwell in Your house forever and ever.
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so my soul pants for You.
Father God,
sustain this holy longing in me for You;
sustain my thirst for You alone;
sustain my faith and trust in You. Amen.
[pant, pant, pant…]
The Pastor -|—
My little girl just turned two recently and I have discovered something:
I need to keep a closer eye on her, especially when we are outside.
One Mayah’s favorite things to do outside is to look for birdies and bunnies and then go chase them, and chase them she will. The other day we were outside and she spotted a couple robins in the grass. Mayah got all excited as she announced what she saw,
“Daddy! Birdies!”
and then off she went. And before I knew it she was across the yard and almost around the corner of the church building. My calls for her to return went unanswered so I took off to retrieve her.
[She sure can cover a lot of ground quickly]
Upon returning Mayah to the yard closer to me she soon spotted more birdies and off she went again. I indeed must pay close attention to her and…
…WE must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. [Hebrews 2:1]
What we have heard is the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of our sins. What we have heard is the Word of God as proclaimed in holy scripture. What we have heard is God’s commands. And we must pay close attention to this lest we drift away, and drift away we will. Because when you think about it, there are many “birdies” and “bunnies” in this world that will draw your attention away from the safe haven that is God.
The defense?
Pay attention to God’s Word.
Pay attention to what you have learned.
Pay attention to what God has promised you in scripture.
Pay attention to the fact that Satan is prowling around like a roaring lion.
Pay attention to the bad influences around you and then hold them at bay.
Pay attention to your relationship with Jesus.
Pay attention to what your children are learning.
Pay attention to what your pastor is preaching/teaching.
Pay attention lest you drift away.
And paying attention is “hard work”, but not really; especially when the paying attention involves someone you love. I love my children and my wife, so I will pay attention to them. I will pay attention to the birdies in my yard that will draw Mayah away from me. I will pay attention, as my children get older, to the friends around them. I will pay attention to what they are learning.
And…
I love God so I will pay attention to my relationship with Jesus. There will be times when I drift away but it is the “paying attention” to what I have heard that will bring me back; confessing my sins and receiving amazing grace. It’s when we forget to pay attention that we find ourselves in trouble;
hopeless
lost and
alone.
Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. [Hebrews 2:1]
Stay close to God through Jesus Christ, and you will never find yourself adrift.
Loving Father, tune my eyes that they may see you and sharpen my attention that it may focus on Your Word. May I not stray, but when I do, return, quickly, my attention to Your promises. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
The Pastor -|—
There are times, like the apostle Paul in Philippians 1:23, that I want to hasten my departure from this world in order to be with the Lord (and not in a suicidal way). There are times I just want to be done with the anti-Christian rhetoric that seems to be growing. There are times I just want to be done with stories of ISIS reigning terror on many people. There are times I just want to be done with politicians who don’t get it; who don’t care or understand the concept of freedom OF religion and instead hold to the concept of freedom FROM religion. There are times that I just want to throw my hands up in the air and say,
“Lord, come and take me home. Come, and establish your kingdom in this world. Come, and begin your eternal reign.”
Yes, that would be nice, to be with the Lord; away from sin and death and persecution. But then there is the other side of me (like Paul in Philippians 1:24) that says I need to remain here for the benefit of others. And when I think about that I am overwhelmed.
Who am I to think that I can be a benefit to anyone?
Who am I to think that I have anything to offer?
Who am I to think that I can make a difference?
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. [Psalm 16:7-8]
It is NOT you who can do anything but the Lord who gives counsel.
Last night I posted some verses from Proverbs 16 about committing everything to the Lord. This came after a church council meeting as we are discussing and exploring who we are, what we believe and where God is calling us to go. It’s a daunting task to consider this, and therefore one that needs to be committed to the Lord because it is the Lord who will give us counsel.
And as I consider my role in this messed up world, once again, it is the Lord who gives counsel and therefore I shall not be shaken. This doesn’t change my desire to be with the Lord, but these verses do give me hope that God is still doing something through me, and the Lord is doing something through you.
I believe the day will come when I will be with the Lord; praising and worshiping him forever, but it is just not now. Apparently God believes it is to someone’s benefit that I remain. And therefore, unlike James Bond, I DON’T want to be shaken but rather stirred (to action). And with the Lord, giving counsel, this will indeed be the case.
Lord God, may my faith not shaken by what goes on around me but rather stirred to glorify Your holy name. Give me counsel, oh Lord, and lead me in paths of righteousness. Give me counsel, oh Lord, and strengthen me. Give me counsel, oh Lord, and grant me wisdom. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
The Pastor -|—
The Heart of a Pastor 