Category: Shepherd

What if Jesus Wrote Our New Year’s Resolutions?

My lunch box looks like my new year’s resolution has something to do with eating healthy. (We won’t discuss the donut I got at the coffee shop this morning on my way to work.) My credit card statement looks like my news year’s resolution has something to do with living on a budget. Both of these are probably good resolutions and things I should do, but they aren’t my new year’s resolution.

In the first Sunday sermon I heard this year, Pastor Phil asked, “What if Jesus wrote our new year’s resolutions?” Wow! What an interesting thought! What if He did? I think my resolution would be “do not be afraid and do not worry.”

The list of Bible verses instructing us not to be afraid and not to worry is nearly endless. Here are just a few.

Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff, they comfort me.

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

My list could go on for a very long time, but I think you can already see the pattern in these five verses.

Don’t worry and don’t fear. If you are focussed on Jesus, He will take care of you. Life may not always be trouble-free and painless, but He will be with you to sustain you through this life until you reach the end of it, and then He will meet you at the gate to the next life…the one that lasts forever.

With Just One Breath

One breath… Take one breath with me right now. Feel your chest rise as your lungs fill with air. Feel it fall as you exhale. Let’s do it again, but this time close your eyes. Make it a long, slow, deep breath. Imagine you can not only feel but can also see the air as it enters your nostrils, passes through your throat and down your windpipe, then flows into the passages of your lungs eventually passing oxygen to your bloodstream. As you slowly exhale, imagine the carbon dioxide flowing out of you only to be replaced by more oxygen in the next breath.

Some of us have no difficulty breathing. Others struggle with every single breath we take. Easy or difficult doesn’t change the fact that your heart needs oxygen from our breath to continue to beat. Each breath we take is important, but there was one breath taken – one simple breath – that changed the course of humanity. There was one breath taken in all of history that impacted every person living today and every person who has ever lived.

That one breath…

There was no machine to force the chest to rise and fall in an artificial rhythm. There was no one performing CPR trying to stimulate the lungs to inhale on their own. There was nothing but stillness. For three days the body with unmoving lungs and unbeating heart lay on stone carved into a cave tomb. For three days all of humanity was lost in death.

Then the stillness was broken. He took the breath – the breath that changed everything, the breath that gave us hope.

I Peter 1:3 states, “Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

With just one breath…

Faith in God’s Leaders

Brother Gary stood before the members of the congregation which were in attendance for the church business meeting. He calmly, quietly and fairly performed his duties as moderator. I honestly don’t know how he did such a good job considering this meeting was an attempt by some members to put an end to his 14 years as the pastor, but he was very professional in performing the difficult task assigned to him.

I loved Brother Gary and considered him an excellent shepherd to lead this flock, but I had not been a member of this church nearly as long as most. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe there were things about Gary I didn’t know. I decided to listen to the arguments, and arguments they were, on both sides with an open mind before deciding how I would vote. 

Though I couldn’t imagine what un-Scriptural actions Gary could have taken, I assumed the group requesting for the vote to remove him would show what they considered evidence of a sinful behavior or evidence that he was leading the congregation away from Biblical principles. I listened. I waited. I prayed. I listened some more. The worst thing anyone could say about Brother Gary was that some times he was “difficult to work with.”

When I realized the sole reason this group of members wanted Gary removed from the pulpit was because he was “difficult to work with” and sometimes stood up to them, I was furious. I felt like this group had not only wasted my time, but they had more importantly wasted God’s time. We could have spent those two hours of lost time in planning community outreach, in planning a mission trip, in ministering to the needy or in praise and worship. Instead, we spent it in an argument that eventually led to a church split. 

If God had wanted Brother Gary removed, He would have provided evidence against Brother Gary. He didn’t. It’s time for the church to remember Who should make leadership decisions. It’s time for the church to have faith in God and trust Him to put the right people in place to shepherd. It’s time for the church to realize God knows better than we do.

In Acts chapter one, the disciples faced the task of choosing a replacement for Judas Iscariot. “So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas  (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, ‘Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.’ Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles (Acts 1:23-26 NIV).” 

The disciples didn’t form a committee. They didn’t debate candidate qualifications. They let God decide, and then they did something that would be unthinkable today. They had faith that God made the right decision and they set about doing the work He had assigned to them. What if we did that today?