In last weekend’s message Pastor Scott Stevens brought an interesting perspective on the “action” that takes place in the heavenlies. It seems that so often we’re consumed with the busyness of what takes place all around us that we don’t stop to ponder the gravity of events that surrounded Christ’s coming and, perhaps more important, His coming again!
One of the things that Scott’s message did for me was to remind me of just how small I really am in the eternal order of things. God has this incredible, massive and completely wonderful plan for His universe and I have the privilege of playing a little part in it.
The blessing of it is that one day we’ll see how this all fits together and have all of eternity to celebrate God’s wisdom in the Incarnation and including us as sons and daughters of His. If you’ve not taken time today to give God praise for that incredible truth, why not do so, and then be sure to pray about those with whom you can share this amazing message in the days ahead.
Have a great day!
Dr. Jay
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
New Friends
One of the great joys of our lives is the grace gift of making new friends in Christ.
Over the past couple of months Carol and I have been getting to know Rob & Kerry Burkey and their 8 year old daughter Faith.
Rob has joined our team as the new Worship Pastor of North Way and brings an enormous amount of talent, experience and passion to his position. But more than that, he’s becoming a great friend and brother in Jesus Christ that I believe will shape our relationship and our church for many years to come.
Friends are people that you find yourself feeling comfortable with and, most of all, accepted by regardless of the conditions. Rob & Kerry are those kind of people and I trust that you’ll engage them in the coming weeks and months knowing that it will take them quite a while to really be able to settle in having moved all the way across the country to be here.
By the same token, there may be someone in your neighborhood or in the office or classroom next to you that really needs a friend and that just may be what God’s calling you to do.
Remember that Jesus put friendship in a whole new category when He claimed in John 15 that He know calls us His “friends”.
Blessings!
Dr. Jay
Over the past couple of months Carol and I have been getting to know Rob & Kerry Burkey and their 8 year old daughter Faith.
Rob has joined our team as the new Worship Pastor of North Way and brings an enormous amount of talent, experience and passion to his position. But more than that, he’s becoming a great friend and brother in Jesus Christ that I believe will shape our relationship and our church for many years to come.
Friends are people that you find yourself feeling comfortable with and, most of all, accepted by regardless of the conditions. Rob & Kerry are those kind of people and I trust that you’ll engage them in the coming weeks and months knowing that it will take them quite a while to really be able to settle in having moved all the way across the country to be here.
By the same token, there may be someone in your neighborhood or in the office or classroom next to you that really needs a friend and that just may be what God’s calling you to do.
Remember that Jesus put friendship in a whole new category when He claimed in John 15 that He know calls us His “friends”.
Blessings!
Dr. Jay
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
People Moments
Little did I know when I began my day last Friday that events would snowball to such a degree that I would go for 4 days before being able to make another entry in this daily journal. It’s my intent to record something here every Monday through Friday (and perhaps even eventually on the weekends!), but sometimes it’s the people that get in the way of my plans!
I’ve come to realize that even though recording snapshots of my thoughts in a day are important to many of you (for which I am very honored) there are occasions when I simply can’t leave a transformational moment in order to get to my computer in time to do this blog before it has to be posted.
Like many things in life, it comes down to choices and for me it will always be on the side of the people, not the stuff that has to get done to meet the deadlines.
That’s not a commentary on what I think of the communication that technology provides. It is, however, a statement on the fact that ministry is fundamentally about being with people and when those moments come at inopportune times, they require your full attention, even at the cost of other good things.
Thanks for understanding when this happens and know that I’m committed to communicating with you. I also appreciate the comments that I receive from those of you who take the time to send them back to me (and other readers).
As we get into the heart of the Christmas season, those priorities will remain the same and hopefully all of us will have many moments of engaging people who don’t know the Savior who came to this earth as a child but gave His life as a man to redeem us all for eternity!
Blessings,
Dr. Jay
I’ve come to realize that even though recording snapshots of my thoughts in a day are important to many of you (for which I am very honored) there are occasions when I simply can’t leave a transformational moment in order to get to my computer in time to do this blog before it has to be posted.
Like many things in life, it comes down to choices and for me it will always be on the side of the people, not the stuff that has to get done to meet the deadlines.
That’s not a commentary on what I think of the communication that technology provides. It is, however, a statement on the fact that ministry is fundamentally about being with people and when those moments come at inopportune times, they require your full attention, even at the cost of other good things.
Thanks for understanding when this happens and know that I’m committed to communicating with you. I also appreciate the comments that I receive from those of you who take the time to send them back to me (and other readers).
As we get into the heart of the Christmas season, those priorities will remain the same and hopefully all of us will have many moments of engaging people who don’t know the Savior who came to this earth as a child but gave His life as a man to redeem us all for eternity!
Blessings,
Dr. Jay
Thursday, December 4, 2008
It just takes one!
During our small group meeting last night, we had the normal “information exchange” which happens at every small group meeting. When we got into our study, however, it just took one person to open their heart a bit to cause the group to go to a much deeper level. We engaged the Word of God in a personal way and were able to ask some tough questions of each other concerning convictions and challenges along with encouragement and support.
I’ve found that to be the case many times over. It just takes one person willing to risk a little bit of transparency to move the small group meeting from a social gathering to a transformational meeting.
If you happen to be reading this, maybe the Lord would want you to be that person in your next small group meeting. My experience tells me that far too few group meetings ever get below the surface. Remember, it just takes one to open the door for great things to happen when you meet in Jesus’ name.
Blessings,
Pastor Jay
I’ve found that to be the case many times over. It just takes one person willing to risk a little bit of transparency to move the small group meeting from a social gathering to a transformational meeting.
If you happen to be reading this, maybe the Lord would want you to be that person in your next small group meeting. My experience tells me that far too few group meetings ever get below the surface. Remember, it just takes one to open the door for great things to happen when you meet in Jesus’ name.
Blessings,
Pastor Jay
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Faith and Unity
I was very intrigued by some discoveries I made this week concerning the insight of our founding fathers with regard to their source of confidence in our nation’s economic system.
The very first pastors who established churches on our shores, like Cotton Mather and William Bradford, were men who understood that it took faith plus unity to bring about the blessing of God. These simple principles are seen throughout scriptures (check out Acts chapter 4), but these men had a much deeper understanding of the Judeo-Christian foundations upon which a capitalistic democracy would be established.
In uncertain times, we must unite or our chances of recovery are greatly impeded. Our founding fathers knew that unity was central to prosperity and that’s why on your dollar bills the number 13 appears about 5 times in various forms (arrows, the talons of the eagle, stones in the pyramid, e pluribus unum, etc). Thirteen is the number of the Hebrew word for one according to Biblical numerology.
There’s much more to say on this subject, but please be encouraged that it’s in our faith and unity that we will find blessing!
Discovering with you,
Dr. Jay
The very first pastors who established churches on our shores, like Cotton Mather and William Bradford, were men who understood that it took faith plus unity to bring about the blessing of God. These simple principles are seen throughout scriptures (check out Acts chapter 4), but these men had a much deeper understanding of the Judeo-Christian foundations upon which a capitalistic democracy would be established.
In uncertain times, we must unite or our chances of recovery are greatly impeded. Our founding fathers knew that unity was central to prosperity and that’s why on your dollar bills the number 13 appears about 5 times in various forms (arrows, the talons of the eagle, stones in the pyramid, e pluribus unum, etc). Thirteen is the number of the Hebrew word for one according to Biblical numerology.
There’s much more to say on this subject, but please be encouraged that it’s in our faith and unity that we will find blessing!
Discovering with you,
Dr. Jay
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Great Friends
One of the most meaningful moments of my holiday weekend was an hour and a half spent with a really close friend from my past.
Even though we are miles apart at the current time and see each other about once or twice a year, there’s an instant bond and mutual sense of appreciation for what God is doing in our lives.
Great friends seem to have the capacity to empathize with you in your struggles and to encourage you to persevere through them They also have the ability to affirm what they see as the “growth points” of your life and make themselves available to support you where you need it.
I hope you have someone, or if you’re really blessed, a few people like that in your life. They aren’t just here today and gone tomorrow, but last a lifetime. I think these are the kind of friends that God gives us as gifts during the course of our spiritual journey.
Blessings,
Pastor Jay
Even though we are miles apart at the current time and see each other about once or twice a year, there’s an instant bond and mutual sense of appreciation for what God is doing in our lives.
Great friends seem to have the capacity to empathize with you in your struggles and to encourage you to persevere through them They also have the ability to affirm what they see as the “growth points” of your life and make themselves available to support you where you need it.
I hope you have someone, or if you’re really blessed, a few people like that in your life. They aren’t just here today and gone tomorrow, but last a lifetime. I think these are the kind of friends that God gives us as gifts during the course of our spiritual journey.
Blessings,
Pastor Jay
Monday, December 1, 2008
It’s a Matter of Trust
One of the most disturbing things of the recent political campaign, as well as the economic situation in which we find ourselves, is the inability to trust the sources of our information.
It’s a very serious thing when the people who are responsible for information prove to be unreliable or “change their interpretation” of certain facts. None of this would have changed the outcome of the election, nor would it have changed the financial situation, but it does make it difficult to know how to find security as before.
At a deep level, this is why I so value the truth of the Word of God! No matter what situation I encounter, I find that I can come to the settled confidence and certainty that God is not going to mislead me and that His Word is truth (see John 17:17). As a result, I can make wise decisions and act accordingly and know that I needn’t fear that God will change His mind about anything that really matters.
Think about that today and give thanks to the Lord for His unchanging love and certain truth!
Blessings,
Pastor Jay
It’s a very serious thing when the people who are responsible for information prove to be unreliable or “change their interpretation” of certain facts. None of this would have changed the outcome of the election, nor would it have changed the financial situation, but it does make it difficult to know how to find security as before.
At a deep level, this is why I so value the truth of the Word of God! No matter what situation I encounter, I find that I can come to the settled confidence and certainty that God is not going to mislead me and that His Word is truth (see John 17:17). As a result, I can make wise decisions and act accordingly and know that I needn’t fear that God will change His mind about anything that really matters.
Think about that today and give thanks to the Lord for His unchanging love and certain truth!
Blessings,
Pastor Jay
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)