Pastor's Bleet Archive
Thought, prayers, and intimate steps in a pastor's walk with Christ
January 23, 2012
I have the privilege of pastoring the most wonderful group of followers of Jesus Christ in the world! I mean that! I have never know Christians who are more kind, generous, merciful, and gracious than those believers who worship, love and fellowship in, at, and through Sovereign Christ Bible Fellowship!
I want the world to know that I love each person who attends SCBF! Thank you Lord Jesus for each one of these lovely saints!
Grace to you,
Jim
December 14, 2011
In January of 2011 I was surprised to learn that I had cancer of the kidney. The experience turned out to be one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. It was not because I was so brave and amazing during the suffering, but God was! His faithful ministry to me during that time will be cherished by me till He calls me to Himself!!
The gripping pain and constant retching induced by the cancer served as a platform for joy in, and adoration of my Sovereign Savior King. His joy was a gift from God to brighten me during this time! Aside from all the wonderful visitors one of the many blessings given me during that short season of suffering came in a poem by a person named Madam Guyon. I still do not know who she was. But, as you will read, the Lord Jesus sustained her through her 10+ years in a dungeon below ground with no outside light to brighten her day. It was the Lord who brightened her countenance with His perfect Hope! Read this. It expresses so much better than I could ever tell you of the joy we Christians have knowing that our God is Sovereign over all our circumstances. He does good for us, even if it hurts!
"A little bird I am,
Shut from the fields of air;
Yet in my cage I sit and sing
To Him who placed me there;
Well pleased a prisoner to He,
Because, my God, it pleases Thee.
Nought have I else to do
I sing the whole day long;
And He whom most I love to please,
Doth listen to my song;
He caught and bound my wondering wing
But still He bends to hear me sing.
My cage confines me round;
Abroad I cannot fly;
But though my wing is closely bound,
My heart's at liberty.
My prison walls cannot control
The flight, the freedom of the soul.
Ah! It is good to soar
These bolts and bars above,
To Him whose purpose I adore,
Whose Providence I love;
And in Thy mighty will to find
The joy, the freedom of the mind."
I can only say, "Thank you, Lord, do what's best to Thee!
Grace and peace to you all!
Jim
November 17, 2011
Colossians 3:15b-17 says, "And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach…with gratitude in your hearts to God. And what ever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
From a vocational standpoint a person may think that being a pastor would be the most spiritually fulfilling of all vocations. To be sure, as a divine calling, the vocation of pastor can be rewarding. But, I am also convinced that very few vocations can deplete spiritual vitality or varnish the heart of a man more quickly and thoroughly than the pastoral ministry.
One of the great blessings of being the pastor of Sovereign Christ Bible Fellowship is that I have the privilege of spending the bulk of my time in the study of the Scripture, meditation on the Scripture, prayer, counseling and problem solving.
But all this ministerial activity does not produce the righteous life that God desires. If Christ's Words are not dwelling/living/abiding in me presently and actively, then the only overflow of my heart will be tired words and tired deeds. It is the Living Word of Christ in me (and you) that produces true spiritual vitality. And, according to the Colossians passage above, the mark of true spiritual vitality is thankfulness, which is derived from God and directed to God in Christ!
So, having been sweetly renewed and cheered in the Lord, I can say with certainty that my greatest need is not more work, more study, etc., but Christ and His Word dwelling in me richly! Our fellowship doesn't need me. But as long as I'm the pastor of the fellowship, they will be better served if their pastor is faithfully abiding in Christ with thanksgiving!
It was my son, Bennett, age 6, who actually pointed me to the passage above just this morning. I bless God for this young, but faithful follower of Christ. He ministered (served) to me this morning out of his heart! And what came out of his heart? What bubbled up into precious words out of his mouth? The Word of God! This faithful, uncomplicated, grateful little boy helped this "seasoned" pastor get grounded again!! For this, and to God in Christ, I am truly thankful!
I want to encourage you to be vigilant in abiding in the Word, that the Word of Christ will abide in you richly. Your investment in the word simply for the nourishment of your soul will provide an abundant return in the form of spiritual richness. And I want to encourage you to be thankful in all things! This is God's will for you.
Grace and peace to you all!
Jim
October 18, 2011
"Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me." (Psalm 119:97-98)
The words of King David reveal his trusting submission to the Lord. If the king depended on the wisdom and power of the Word of God to be for him his wisdom and power, then should not I?
Of course the answer is an emphatic, "Yes!" Most of the pastors I know are stretched very thin, like an over inflated balloon. There is no wiggle room. Apply the least pressure and they are liable to pop. But something has to give or they will pop. To find release pastors will often set aside their own time alone with God. It is easier to jettison spiritual renewal than it is to disappoint the ladies aid society, or the weekly men's breakfast, or lunch with a peer. But what may seem like the easier thing to do in order to find relief actually adds to the pressure.
David realized one thing: without God's abiding presence through His ever-present word dwelling in his heart he was vulnerable to destruction.
So, help your pastor by encouraging him to be a man of prayer and to daily meditate on God's Word! You will be glad you did. And you and your church family will benefit from having a man minister to you who has spent time in the presence of God!
Grace and peace to you,
Jim
September 7, 2011
The Goodness of the Psalms
It is a good practice to read and meditate on the Psalms.
The Psalms bless the happy and comfort the sad. They lift up the humble and bring down the proud.
The Psalms comfort the rebuked and rebuke the comfortable.
The Psalms strengthen the faithful giving more confidence in God's power and goodness.
The Psalms lift up the down cast whose hearts have been pierced with fiery darts of doubt.
The Psalms give light to darkened pathways.
The Psalms ignite visions of hope and triumph in God, whom we trust!
The Psalms help and heal the brokenhearted and calm the anxious!
The Psalms are God's ministers and counselors sent to us when we are filled with terror, doubt, fear and confusion!
The Psalms are an ever-present worship leader leading our hearts to thrill with overflowing gratitude, peace, joy and love from, to and for God.
The Psalms are a sent evangelist proclaiming Good News that God forgives sins!
The Psalms are our mothers of comfort and patient fathers.
The Psalms are never tiring teachers and thundering preachers.
The Psalms are prophets painting portraits of a suffering, compassionate and conquering Messiah King.
It is a good practice to read and meditate on the Psalms.
Grace and peace to you,
Jim
August 31, 2011
This is my first "Bleet". My intention is to offer some thoughts of mine, which are longer than "tweets" yet shorter than "blogs". (However, you may be thinking, "If this is a "Bleet" how long his blog be?")
In this "Bleet" I offer you some of my meditations and gleanings from various authors as I have studied in Acts 16:6-40 in preparation for this coming Sundays message from the same passage.
In Acts 16:6-40 God moved Paul and his team where He wanted them. The pathway cut contrary to Paul's desire to go minister in other regions. Paul was bent on preaching the Gospel. For Him there was no higher joy, but it appeared that some BIG DOORS closed. I would imagine Paul was perplexed by all this, but apparently he neither was dispairing nor deterred from moving forward with the Gospel anywhere and everywhere the Lord Jesus wanted Him to go. And, in Acts 16:9 God gave Him a vision to which Paul prepared to go to Macedonia immediately!
Paul had a vision that provided his marching orders. But, had he not contented himself with trusting and following Jesus even when doors closed he may never have been guided to go to Macedonia.
I want to be guided don't you? I want to know what I am supposed to be doing, don't you? We rarely have visions, yet we really want visions. We don't hear an audible voice whispering, "Go to the right." Or, "Go to the left." But we can be led. God will use circumstances.... Perhaps this quote by G. Campbell Morgan will state it better:
"It is the watcher for the Lord who sees the Lord. If we make up our minds that the way of guidance is the way of flaming visions, and rolling thunder, and an articulate voice, and a lifting to a height of ecstacy, then we may never be guided. But if we are watching for Him, we shall find Him guiding us in the day of difficulty and the day of disappointment, and the day of darkness; when it seems as though the rhythmic and majestic flow of the river has ceased, and we are in cross-currents, and are tempest tossed... What we need then, is confidence in the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the hours when no voice is heard, and no vision is seen. If we will follow then, the hour of vindication will come, there will come the vision, there will come the man from Macedonia. His voice will be distinctly heard, and then we shall conclude that God would have us go into Macedonia."
For me that quotation has simply undergirded my growing trust in the Lord. As a Christian and as a minister of the Gospel, like you I encounter trials and afflictions of all kinds. But, praise be to our great God-- "if...sudden illness [or trouble or distresses or perplexities] prevent [us from seeing clearly], and we cannot follow, then rest in the Lord in the darkness, and know that God's shortest way to Troas (Acts 16:8) may be [contrary] to our inclinations and purposes. It is better to go to Troas with God than anywhere else without Him." (GCM)
This passage in Acts 16 reveals clearly that God's Sovereign Providence prevails when doors close or open. I hope you will be more confident and trusting in God's Sovereign Providence even when it feels like some important doors have closed in your life! He will lead you where He wants you if you will let Him guide you even if you are currently in a day of difficulty, disappointment or darkness!
Grace and peace to you,
Jim |
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