Category Archives: spiritual life

Trust

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Someone in our church sent me an email of encouragement and support a few days ago. Included in this email was this quote by Brennan Manning about trust. I think it’s absolutely powerful!

“The way of trust is a movement into obscurity, into the undefined, into ambiguity, not into some predetermined, clearly delineated plan for the future. The next step discloses itself only out of a discernment of God acting in the desert of the present moment. The reality of naked trust is the life of a pilgrim who leaves what is nailed down, obvious, and secure, and walks into the unknown without any rational explanation to justify the decision or guarantee the future. Why? Because God has signaled the movement and offered it his presence and his promise.” – Brennan Manning, Ruthless Trust

I don’t know about you, but I want to trust God like that! If you are anywhere near Millington, make sure to be here THIS SUNDAY; I’ll be talking about what it means to trust God with everything.

It’s been 19 years…

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Today marks the day that I surrendered my life to Christ. On March 15, 1989, at Second Baptist Church in Warner Robins, GA, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I can remember the day and the moment just like it was yesterday. There’s no doubt about it, that day changed my direction in this life and for all eternity!

Something else I remember vividly is a conversation I had with my mom. It was March 15th, about 10 or 11 years ago and I walked into the kitchen to remind my mom that it was my “birthday.” She looked at me and said, “I know honey, how much have you grown since last year?” I looked at her and made some silly joke like, “about an inch or two” and turned and walked away.

This day is a time for me to take spiritual stock of my life. I’m older physically with each year that goes by, but I also age in my relationship to Christ. As I’m aging, I hope that I’m also maturing. This is the mark of a true disciple!

How much have you grown since last year?

God knows…

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God led me to read in Proverbs the other day and I was simply amazed at how this entire chapter dealt with almost every area of my life.

First, verse 1 deals with our ministry here. We must lead with integrity if we are going to build trust. One of my goals for ministry the first year or so at Crosspointe is to build a foundation based on trust. A “good name” and a good reputation is more desirable than great wealth or sliver and gold!

Second, Stephanie and I are participating in the Financial Peace University on Wednesdays here at Crosspointe. Verse 7 tells us “the rich rule over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.” Just the other night we were working on a budget for this year and looking at how to reduce expenses so we can give more. God’s Word speaks right to that issue here in this chapter!

Third, we’ve been really challenged lately in raising our children. I never knew I had a temper until I had kids! We’ve been discussing all sorts of issues about teaching and training our kids and here in verse 6 the Bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

God’s Word speaks to us in any and every circumstance we encounter. It’s not accident that God led me to Proverbs 22. This one small chapter deals profoundly with three major issues in my life right now. Value God’s Word, treasure His teaching, don’t miss your time with God each day. Make Him a priority in your life!

The Bigger Team

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Part of being a big UGA fan is to hate our rival teams. Hence, my natural hatred for the Florida Gators. But, (and this is a big “but”) I am a huge Tim Tebow fan and am very excited that he won the Heisman Trophy tonight.

Tebow is an extraordinary athlete with incredible skills and abilities. He broke an NCAA record this season by rushing for over 20 touchdowns and passing for over 20 touchdowns. While his talent is obvious, the thing I like most about him is that this guy loves Jesus Christ. He was born in the Philippines while his parents were missionaries there. He listed his top four priorities in life and his relationship with God was number one. And tonight, he continually thanked Jesus Christ for the ability to play the game of football.

What an awesome guy and what a great way to glorify Christ. He took advantage of his God-given talent and his God-given opportunity tonight and pointed people to Jesus Christ. Awesome!

The Sermon on the Mount

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I just started reading Matthew in my daily time with God and I am just blown away by the Sermon on the Mount. Not only is this the greatest message ever preached, by the greatest Messenger, but its content is completely radical and revolutionary.

You will notice a recurring theme throughout Christ’s sermon. Over and over again He says, “You have heard that it was said…” In other words, Christ is correcting some misunderstandings about God and the life of a true Christian. Jesus elevates the discussion well beyond the outward actions of an individual (murder and adultery) to the inward attitudes of the heart (hatred and lust).

What would our Christian life be like if we no longer depended on what we “heard” or what others “said;” and instead, depended solely upon what Christ had said. Wouldn’t there be a radical shift if Christians stopped comparing themselves to other Christians and instead compared themselves to the teachings and actions of Christ? What if churches no longer compared themselves to other churches but measured their effectiveness by the standards of Scripture?

I do believe there would be a fundamental change in our lives and in our ministries. And maybe that’s just what we need!