Gospel Centered Worship

Check out some quotes from Bob Kauflin that I put up over at enworship.com about keeping Christ’s work on the cross the center of our worship.

http://enworship.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/gospel-centered-worship/

A Must Read about Suffering

Follow the link below and take some time to get to know Matt Chandler and his battle with cancer.  Pray for Matt and his family, but also allow God to speak to your heart about Matt’s amazing perspective on suffering.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35086396/ns/health-cancer//

The Secret of Suffering

Romans 5:1-4

^“1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a]have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b] rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but we^[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

THEREFORE . . . it’s such an important word.  It indicates reason for something, it tells us the how the results come to be.  In this powerful passage of scripture, the secret of suffering is unveiled.  Suffering without the “therefore” can be hopeless and fruitless.  The key is “since we have been justified by faith”.  Because of that “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  That peace gives us access to God’s grace to stand through faith.  So our rejoicing is rooted not in good circumstances but in the hope of God’s glory.  We have a whole new perspective, a new nature, and a relationship with God of all the universe.  In this new condition we find our selves by grace through faith in Jesus, suffering takes on a new role, it has new results.  Because of Christ, when we suffer, we can persevere and through that we gain character.  That character produces hope in our lives.  And our hope won’t disappoint us because our hope is Christ who loves us as His own and has empowered us with the Holy Spirit.

The key, the secret of suffering, is Christ.  If we are His, and He is the one who suffered more than anyone and conquered it all, then we can persevere in Him.  Your circumstances may be more than you can bear, but your true hope does not reside in the resolution of your circumstances.  Your hope is in Jesus Christ who lives in you and is with you even in the midst of your suffering.  It’s not about not suffering, it’s about  suffering well.  You are not alone.  You are loved.  He has overcome the world and so shall we by grace through faith in Jesus Christ!

Craig Wood, who physically suffered more than anyone I’ve known,  said this:

“My greatest suffering in this life is not the fear of death, but having to wait to see my savior”

O’ Lord teach us Your ways!  Help us to live with eternal perspective.

Family Update

I’ve been a little absent from blogging for a number of days here and I thought I would catch all of you up!  I’ve been hard at work reorganizing a lot of my personal life and it’s going well.  I’m eating better (apples and orange juice!), resting more, and giving my time to the most important things that God has given me responsibility for.  I’m finding that I’m more productive and enjoying myself more.

I would encourage all of us to slow down, take stock, and invest in the most important things. You only get to live this side of heaven once and you can’t do it all.  So do the most important.  Only you can develop your relationship with Christ, be a husband or wife to your spouse, be a parent to your children, fulfill your call of God.  Make drastic changes if you need to.

Lisa and I are doing well and the kids are growing up too fast.  We are excited about the kids growth and development in Christ.  We are excited about the ministry that God has laid out before us at Eagle’s Nest and with Higher Place over this year.  Blessings to you guys and thanks for you prayers and support!

Scott, Lisa, and the Kids

In The Garden

The Lord gave me a chorus to the old hymn “In The Garden” (One of my all time favorites) and I thought I would share!  Head over the our Reverbnation Page and give it a listen.  You can even download it if you like!

http://www.reverbnation.com/higherplaceministries

Blessings

Scott

3 Questions – Tough Ones

Pete Wilson, pastor of Cross Point Church, asks these three following questions over at his blog today related to pride:

1) Am I willing to allow another person to do what I think I must do?

2) Am I willing to do what I am doing, even if no one else knows I am doing it?

3) Am I willing to let God use me for a season, and then be okay with Him later putting my work into the hands of another?

Pray about these today and write down where God nails you in the gut.

Head over to Pete Wilson’s blog and read the full article – good stuff.

Be Careful!

Here’s a quote from today’s entry in Oswald Chambers’, “My Utmost for His Highest”:

“We must simply obey and leave all the consequences with Him.  Beware of the inclination to dictate to God what consequences you would allow as a condition of your obedience to Him.”

33

It was about 9 years in the making and it landed on me last week during family vacation.  Some might call it an emotional breakdown, I would call it burnout. From 2001, when Lisa and I began a series of miscarriages to church transitions, financial things, and a break-neck pace of life in the present, my mind, spirit, and body would not let me continue.  In those moments, you make a decision.  You either lose all hope and give up or you get determined that things are going to change.  I have that determination.

Since last week, I have begun a journey of rearranging my schedule, re-investing in my devotional life, prioritizing family, and such.  I read a great book entitled “Leading on Empty” by Wayne Cordeiro (I would highly reccomend it if you are struggling).  I am hearing God so clearly in these last few days.  Tuesday, I was awakened at 5 AM and as clear as an audible voice I had Jeremiah 33 on my mind.  I couldn’t have told you what Jeremiah 33 is about.  So I got up, grabbed my journal and my bible and cracked it open.  The title of the chapter was this:

“The Promise of Restoration”

That got my attention. I have felt like I was spinning my wheels, struggling in some of my relationships, and losing the grip on my calling.  Here I was in the early morning hours and God was reminding me of a promise.  The chapter goes on to share that out of Israel’s suffering and wrong choices in the past, that God, out of His love and mercy, bring healing, health, forgiveness . . . restoration!  God also says that He will never break His covenant with His people!

Hear me today!  Call out to Him and He will hear.  He comes with a promise of restoration.  No matter where you began, He can meet you where you are today, and out of that suffering, He brings a promise of hope and a future!  You may need to make some choices of how you spend your time or how you steward your resources, but God will never break His covenant with you!

So What Did Jesus Die For?

Two nights ago I sat up and watched the movie “The Ultimate Gift” on the Hallmark channel.  Great TV flick and definite recommended watch.  I won’t give you the plot, but in the movie there is a little girl who has leukemia.  Maybe I was just on an emotional binge, but I cried.  I was just gripped by how ugly and awful it is when children suffer and I really felt a heaviness of loss.  I went in to see my kids while they were sleeping, kissed them, and cried.

Today, I found out that a lady that my brother, sister, and I had literally grown up with has a very serious and aggressive disease.  I again have been gripped with a heaviness.  I am reminded of the reality of suffering and evil.  Just how real the Fall of man is.  How awful and hopeless this life is without Christ.

You know, I believe that the church of today is sometimes (all too often I’m afraid) deceived  into self improvement religion.  It’s the idea that if I follow Jesus then things are going to get better, I’ll have a “blessed life”, and there will be physical prosperity.  Sometimes that does happen.  In Christ, our lives will be full and blessed.  But we are also promised another blessing – the road of suffering.  Often people choose to follow Jesus and things in life seem to get worse.

Our reward is Christ. Not financial security or physical health.  At times, God moves in those ways and glorifies His name as we live as His adopted Children.  At others, God is glorified as we refuse to bow in the face of great pain or tragedy and lift up His name in our darkest hours acknowledging our adoption as His children.  His name is Jesus, we are His and He is ours by the work of the cross.

What did Jesus die for?  He gave His life in obedience to His Father to pay the penalty for our sin.  He died that we might know Him and be known by Him.

Whether in loss or gain in this life, we must set our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.  If we truly treasure Christ in times of prosperity, we will be generous and pour out to others.  If we treasure Him in times of suffering and pain, we will give thanks as we mourn because we will persevere, grow in character, and have hope (Romans 5:3).

Hope. His name is Jesus.  He heals, sets free, delivers, never leaves, and carries us through.

As you read this, pray for our friend Monica and have hope in Jesus.

How about your Christmas plans?

Christmas is a great time to develop some family traditions to instill values, create memories, and worship Jesus!

Here are a list of some of ours in recent years:

• We always buy an ornament for each family member – usually related to something from that year like a sport played or event that took place
• We normally watch the “Christmas Story” movie marathon on TBS
• We spend a lot of time of the phone with extended family as well as travel to see them
• We make a lot of crafts with the kids
• Our children make gingerbread houses and men and decorate them
• We attend the Christmas Eve service at Eagles Nest Church to celebrate communion, read the Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth, and close with Silent night
• We also give extra and participate in some service to the needy in our community with our children

What are some of your traditions and family celebrations for this time of year?