This past year Mary Lou and I have attempted to walk 2 miles a day which gives us a little exercise and a time to catch up from the activities of the day. Some weeks we do very well, others have been a little more difficult but we've kept at it. It's been good and it's got to a point that I miss it if we don't get our daily walk.
The same holds true for our walk with the Lord. Just as it takes discipline to walk 2 miles per day, so it takes discipline to spend time each day in prayer and reading and meditating upon Scripture. It doesn't just happen even if the intentions are good. You must actually set aside time each day or the day will be gone and you'll soon be spiritually flabby, even if you started out in good spiritual shape.
On Thursday of this week I head to Wichita to be on the "Walk to Emmaus" team. I am heading the music team and will be working with about 20 others who are seeking to assist about 25 men grow in their walk with the Lord. For some, this will be a totally new experience and will be quite a challenge. For others it will be a return to a walk that they might have once had with the Lord, but have either stopped walking or have turned and gone in the other direction. No matter the situation, it will be modeled after the passage in Luke 24 where 2 men encounter Jesus in a way they least expected and their lives were transformed. That is our prayer for the men who will be participating this weekend.
I invite you to read that passage and pray for the team leaders (of which I am one) and for the "pilgrims" who will be participating. Pray that God would stir their hearts and that they too would encounter Jesus in a most unexpected way. Who knows, as you read the passage, you too might experience Christ in a new way. If so, you can be sure your walk will turn into a run. Nothing like being in shape for Jesus, huh?
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Meanderings!
JUST a variety of thoughts and observations from the past few weeks:
Why do so many people want to drink from the devil's watering holes when the living water is so readily available?
Why does an hour at the football game seem so short and an hour at church seem so long?
Why does the church so often shoot its wounded?
Why does the 18 inches from the head to the heart seem like miles?
How is it that the devil gets a foothold in a worship service at the same time that the Spirit is at work?
If childlike faith is what God desires, why do we make Christianity so difficult?
If we didn't call it "Sunday School", would more people participate?
Have you noticed the kids who are desiring to be loved in God Squad? Pay attention to the dynamics.
Did you know it's just as far to Towanda from Leoti as it is from Towanda to Leoti?
TGJ - Did you really drive to Leoti just for biscuits and gravy? Hmmmmmmmm..................
Why do so many people want to drink from the devil's watering holes when the living water is so readily available?
Why does an hour at the football game seem so short and an hour at church seem so long?
Why does the church so often shoot its wounded?
Why does the 18 inches from the head to the heart seem like miles?
How is it that the devil gets a foothold in a worship service at the same time that the Spirit is at work?
If childlike faith is what God desires, why do we make Christianity so difficult?
If we didn't call it "Sunday School", would more people participate?
Have you noticed the kids who are desiring to be loved in God Squad? Pay attention to the dynamics.
Did you know it's just as far to Towanda from Leoti as it is from Towanda to Leoti?
TGJ - Did you really drive to Leoti just for biscuits and gravy? Hmmmmmmmm..................
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
October is always one of those months for me that reminds me of Willie Nelson's song "On The Road Again." This October is no exception. I just returned late last night from leading some renewal services in Larned (No they didn't check me into the hospital). It was a great three days. Tiring, but great, as people each night responded to the invitation to be renewed and refreshed regarding their relationship with God through Christ. Sunday I leave for Towanda (between ElDorado and Wichita) for another three days and nights. I pray the people are prepared for God to work in their lives just as the folks in Larned were prepared. The next couple of weeks I will be back and forth to Wichita in preparation for the Walk to Emmaus event which will be held the last week of October. I am leading the music team with my brother Rod and Kevin Fruechting, one of the guys I used to sing with at Aulne. That will be a blast. The first weekend in November I will be going to Moscow (KS, not Russia) to lead another series of renewal services.
So, as you can see, these are busy days. But they are exciting days as I witness what God is doing in the lives of his people. It is humbling to me to be used in such a way that I can work with kids, youth, and men and women in various locations and settings and proclaim God's love, forgiveness, restoration, and renewal. The real blessing is that I am just as encouraged and revived as those to whom I'm preaching or teaching. Isn't that JUST the way God works?!?
So, as you can see, these are busy days. But they are exciting days as I witness what God is doing in the lives of his people. It is humbling to me to be used in such a way that I can work with kids, youth, and men and women in various locations and settings and proclaim God's love, forgiveness, restoration, and renewal. The real blessing is that I am just as encouraged and revived as those to whom I'm preaching or teaching. Isn't that JUST the way God works?!?
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