Posted by: Sonny Tags: army of god, atheist, Body of Christ, Church, Grace, Hope, jesus, Kingdom, mission, Self, Selfishness, Servant, Service, Sinner, Trust, War
I have been praying and thinking a lot lately. There are a few decisions that have to be made soon concerning life in general and my placement in the ranks of the army of God. I have not written very much because I am very concerned about being a stumbling block or an instrument of offense. Some seem to think I have been the instigator of division in the Body already. So I have waited, prayed, and pondered.
I thought that I wanted to see my church grow. I was wrong. What I really want to see is transformed lives. My true desire is not just to see more people in church, not just to add more to the number of inwardly focused bodies sitting on pews, but to see instead a radical group of servant-soldiers interested in what God is interested in. And willing to fight for it.
I want to see the arms of the Body of Christ reach out to grab, hug, hold and comfort a dying world. I want to see the legs of the Body of Christ start running to get to the place where those trapped in service to our enemy are, wherever that may be. I want to see the eyes of the Body of Christ constantly gazing beyond the walls surrounding our assembly to seek those desperately in need of a new Lord. I want to see the lips of the Body of Christ speaking the words of love and acceptance that the lost and lonely want and need to hear. I want to see the heart of the Body of Christ beating passionately for the mission that is being sidetracked by selfishness. I want to see the tears of the Body of Christ that should flow from our current inability to effect change in the community around us.
I want to see the atheist become a believer, the sinner become a saint, the unchurched become attendees, and the disillusioned become enlightened. But what I want the most is to see the self-centered become sacrificially concerned with the harvest of souls all around us. We must stop being so concerned with our own comfort and desire and turn those concerns towards the ones that Jesus is concerned about.
When ‘church growth’ is mentioned anymore it is usually about figuring out how to get people to switch from church A to church B or how to get more people like ourselves in the pews. We have become a double minded and apathetic church. Double minded in our wonderful but empty words about growth and apathetic in our solicitude towards the lost.
I feel that I have not been effective in my service to the Kingdom. As a teacher I believe that there should be a lot more evidence of transformation in the lives of those that have been entrusted to me than I have seen. I believe it is time for me to re-evaluate my position in the Body to make sure I have not failed too badly and am in the right place. I hope and pray that I have not caused irreparable damage. I have no one to blame and am not looking for consoling words. This is a struggle in me to determine what steps I may need to take next.
I am writing this to let all of you who do care know some of what is going on. I am saddened but still at peace. I struggle for answers but I rejoice in God’s grace. Serving Christ is always sweet but I have to say, it is also sometimes bittersweet.
Pray with me.
Love you all
We live in a great time in history. The levels of comfort, convenience, information, entertainment, and leisure, among other things, have never been found in history like it is now. Some of us enjoy the study of history and may even dream of living in some bygone era.
The beginning of the 20th century, the settling of the old west, England in its days of power, and many other times fascinate many people. Even the days when our King, Jesus, walked the dusty roads of Jerusalem might be a very interesting time to live.
I would just like for some of you to share your dreams today.
If you could live in another era what would it be?
What makes that time period special for you?
What do you think it would be like?
And finally, what would you miss the most about the time you live in now?
Love you all
My daughter had her first accident this evening. While driving the speed limit on the interstate in the drizzling rain she somehow lost control and hit a guard rail which sent her back across the two lanes and off the other side. According to the word I received the car is probably totaled. The airbags did not engage but, God is good and He is merciful; she was not seriously hurt.
I was reminded of an accident many years ago where the state trooper, on arrival at the scene, declared his surprise that I was able to stand and address him. The paramedics told my daughter something similar. Even though I lived for many years in opposition to God, sometimes actively fighting for the enemy of us all, I can look back and see the many instances where it seems the protective arms of our Creator were wrapped around me.
I believe this is true for my daughter, and my other children and grandchildren. I believe it to be true because no matter what we are doing or where we are in life, God loves us. He loves us before we love Him and He loves us even if we never love Him. I also believe it to be true because I am praying for them all. My wife is praying for them all. In fact, there are a lot of us praying for them all.
It is an amazing thing to realize that the Creator of all things cares enough for every one of us that He protects us even if we do not deserve it.
I praise God tonight. Not for what He does or has done. Not even for His part in saving my daughter from harm.
I praise Him for who He is. Because who He is, is the answer to all we need.
Pray for your loved ones tonight.
Love you all
The galleries page at the top has been updated with some new photos and a video. This page is primarily for family and friends but all are invited to look and comment.
I love to show off my grandchildren. They are precious and I thank God for them all.
Some of the gang.
Love you all
There are four precious but exhaustingly time consuming little girls at my home for the weekend. This is half of my granddaughters. All at one time. Ages 3 to 7. They are a handful. We just got through watching Mighty Joe Young
for about the fifteenth time. It is amazing to watch these four together. And awesome. I am truly blessed.
But there hasn’t been a lot of time to think on anything else.
And I really do not intend on keeping on about the election, politics or anything near those topics anyway. I don’t think I dwelled on that as much as some. But any time spent on things other than Jesus or family is not useful time to me to start with.
So I just want to say thanks and have a great weekend. At church tomorrow, worship God like there is no tomorrow.
You just never know.
Love you all
