Then God Said...

I remember saying to myself, “never again will I be back in full-time ministry.”  For me, this statement holds a lot of moments that collected into a breaking point. I never thought this breaking point would occur and I also did not see this breaking point coming. When I answered God’s call into full-time ministry I never considered I would quit. In fact, if you told me that one day I would decide to quit ministry I would have called you a liar.  There I was, quitting ministry. I remember not knowing how to deal with the pain associated with the experiences that led me to this place of quitting. I remember feeling like a failure and fraud as I turned away from the beliefs I once held so dear. During this time, I closely associated myself with Peter, who so passionately followed Jesus, but during a defining moment denied Jesus and went back to his old career as a fisherman. Like Peter, I too denied Jesus’ call on my life and returned to an old and familiar career.  So, why di

[love] bears all things...endures all things. Love never fails -1 Corinthians 13:7-8 (NASB) Many sufferings in life try to convince us that we should quit, but the love of God brings endurance that enables us to persevere through all things. As I reflect on the impact of what this means, I clearly realize the many sufferings people endure and are overcome by: relationship strife, persecution, marginalization, unemployment, betrayal, sickness, financial strain, inequality, educational inability, poverty, addiction, imprisonment, and so much more. However, I also realize the sufficiency of God's love in these moments. That God can meet anyone in these moments with his love and empower them to endure and overcome. Romans 5:3-5 illustrates: We also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within

 We give careful attention to spiritual formation because we have learned, from long experience, how easy it is to get interested in ideas of God and projects for God while at the same time losing interest in God alive, deadening our lives with the ideas and projects. It is the devil's work to get us worked up in thinking and acting for God and then subtly detach us from a relational obedience and adoration, substituting our selves, our god-pretentious egos, in the place originally occupied by God. -Eugene H. Peterson Within Christendom there can be a tension between faith works and an intimate relationship with God. Some camps even seem to put these ideas at odds with each other; however, there should be both in our lives. Often times, many of us find ourselves on either side: works or relationship. Reality is, it should not be an either/or but a both/and situation for us. We should be in relationship and doing faith works. Relational Intimacy with God God desires nothing m

So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets... When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men... And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words... Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do , for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men -Matthew 6:2,5,7, 16 NASB Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. -Matthew 23:27-28 (NASB) Jesus is identifying a type of person in these passages--a hypocrit

For everything there is a season,      a time for every activity under heaven. 2  A time to be born and a time to die.      A time to plant and a time to harvest. 3  A time to kill and a time to heal.      A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4  A time to cry and a time to laugh.      A time to grieve and a time to dance. 5  A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.      A time to embrace and a time to turn away. 6  A time to search and a time to quit searching.      A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7  A time to tear and a time to mend.      A time to be quiet and a time to speak. 8  A time to love and a time to hate.      A time for war and a time for peace. -Ecclesiastes 3:1-8  Every season, or time period, in our life there is a certain identifying theme. These seasons can be full of joy, sorrow, wonder, excitement, disappointment, or heart-break. Some seasons in life we expect and plan for, and others we did not see coming. Take a