A Pastor in The Northwest

A week or so ago I spoke about the power of health and spiritual fatherhood in our church gatherings.  In that talk I tried to encourage fathers of all kinds to see how crucial their role in raising up the next generation of faith is and how to go about doing that well. One of the big challenges was to be present at home and to protect what comes into the home environment.  With that, I mentioned modeling faith in Jesus and having other healthy men and women surround kids - people who would say the same things you would say if you were no longer in the picture. Finally, I encouraged dads to be the first ones to read the Bible stories to their little ones.  I used to read a Bible story, tell it in my own words (later let the kids!), and then ask what we learned about God, people, and ourselves and what we might do differently because of what we discovered.  If you need help, here's a starter of 25 that takes you from Creation to Christ here . The other day I noticed a new album of s

I sometimes get a bit down with my physical self. I'll complain inwardly about my poor eyesight, bad hearing, and desire to consume things that are bad for me. Hmmm. That reminds me of an old Alan Jackson song called "Everything I Love"... Anyway, I digress... We are told in Scripture that our bodies are special temples where God dwells - His presence in and through us is powerful. It's crazy to think about. Listen to the Apostle Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 4:7ff (NT Wright's New Testament for Everyone translation): But we have this treasure in earthenware pots, so that the extraordinary quality of the power may belong to God, not to us. 8 We are under all kinds of pressure, but we are not crushed completely; we are at a loss, but not at our wits’ end; 9 we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are cast down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry the death of Jesus about in the body, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our body. AND... 16 For this

One of the big takeaways from a few days studying the letter of Ephesians with NT Wright was this statement about communities of Christ-followers, aka, churches, and the main vocation: Small, working models of new creation The church of Jesus was ushering in the new humanity - the way to be genuine humans under the banner of Messiah Jesus. The church is this amazing, counter-cultural but multi-ethnic and multi-cultural people who radically love one another in unity and peace.  When this happens, the world around those followers can't help but be changed for the good. What's my role in the working model of new creation where I minister and serve?  Leader? Lead vision caster? Unity encourager? Disciple multiplier? New creation modeler?  Maybe all of the above. Lord, empower your church to BE that working model of new creation until you bring about your kingdom come and will be done! Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

I was reading a book recently called Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers and she included this quote: "Ships in harbor are safe but that's not what ships are built for" -John Shedd I've heard that quote before and have been thinking about fear and risk and living the most abundant life we can. I wonder when I've missed an opportunity due to fear or risk or maybe a worry of failure. Ships are meant to sail and humans are meant to be God's image bearers to the universe. God loves us perfectly and perfect love throws out fear. That begs the question, then...what could God do in and through us when we're completely confident in His love and His will? God help us believe You can do the impossible and that through Your power, we too can by faith do impossible things! Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash