AN INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL OF MARK

Jun 042011
 

In May of 2000, I started writing a bi-weekly email Bible study/devotional shortly after the baptism of my friend Wes and his family.   The baptism was a great day for me, because it is so rare to see a friend come to Christ along with his whole family.  At our “celebration” luncheon, Wes asked me if I could help him learn more about Jesus and the Bible.  He knew nearly nothing about the Bible.  He had been convicted solely by the Holy Spirit!  I agreed, and we thought that twice a week was about right.  We also agreed that email would be the best medium.  I asked my pastor, Mike, and my dad, also a pastor, if they could make sure I didn’t lead Wes astray.  I asked some friends if they wouldn’t mind being copied as well.  They didn’t.  The list kept growing until I switched jobs and had to give up writing these devotionals in December of 2001.

I really enjoyed doing these studies because many of my own struggles and questions were answered as I wrote.  My goal was to explain concepts so that a new Christian like Wes could understand it, but I also wanted to make the studies apply to our daily lives, and challenge us all to grow as Christians.

These devotionals are now being “reprinted” on the Mt. Olive website, and I am quite excited to see them go out again.  I pray that they will touch more lives.

As far as personal stuff goes, I’m a PK (preacher’s kid) and the oldest of six kids (three adopted) in my family.  My folks had a penchant for travel, and my dad was in the Navy, so as a youth, I saw much of the US and Asia.  I came to know Christ at the age of five at my first VBS (Vacation Bible School) when someone in our general assembly asked us if we wanted to receive Jesus into our hearts.  I raised my hand.  Living in a Christian home strengthened my belief as I grew up.  When my parents left me behind in California (yes, they left me!), and I had started to attend college, I began to teach Sunday school.  My prize student that year would eventually become my wife, Barbara.  Together, we did Sunday school, VBS and a weekly children’s ministry for our church at Moffett Field.  It’s no wonder that my wife became a teacher.  While both of us were dating, we were attending college, working retail, and I was playing in a cover band at night.    We were able to get married about the time I graduated, thanks to Maxine Rowley who allowed us to live in her home while we got our careers started.  I somehow landed a job as a chip designer even though I was looking towards either architecture or the Air Force as a career.  Barbara got that teaching career she wanted.  We moved out a few years later and switched churches because Moffett Field was closing (and we had become burnt-out volunteers).  North Valley Christian was a terrific church, and Pastor Dan Griffith was awesome.  We went there for a year, but Barbara, Maxine and I felt lead elsewhere, though we didn’t know where.  The answer came one night when my life insurance lady, Vikki, told me that in order to keep my “Lutheran” life insurance (AAL, now Thrivent), I should really be in a Lutheran church.  I explained that the Lutheran style of worship was “stuffy” and that I preferred a contemporary style of worship since I had been playing guitar and/or bass in non-denominational contemporary churches for a few years now.  She explained that though it wasn’t her personal style, there was this “other” Lutheran church in Milpitas that had a band. By the way, Vikki Hall turned out to be the wife of our interim pastor, Rod Hall, during Pastor Mike’s “sabbatical.”  She wound up liking contemporary worship, go figure.  Now Pastor Rod has his own contemporary service at St. Mark’s, Sunnyvale.

Anyway, Barbara, Maxine and I went to Mt. Olive, but this young kid named Mark Eiken was leading the service (now Pastor Mark in Florida).  The pastor was out of town.  I mentioned that I played bass to Mark at the end of the service and Mark was ecstatic.  Apparently, the contemporary band was scheduled to play the following week, but the bass player was out of town.  I was an answer to prayer and I played the following week.  I have been in the band “Shekinah!” ever since.  A few years later, Barbara and I wanted to start a family, but we also wanted one last fling before we got tied down.  We had planned for Hawaii, but somehow wound up in Europe.  I loved the art and culture so much that when we got back, I decided to pursue a degree in art history.  For some reason, God was calling me to do this.  Our son Jeffrey was born a year later and Courtney two years after that.  Recently, I got my degree and you know what?  I may never use it professionally and I am thrilled!  Through this degree, I have learned to study, research, and write a good paper.  I had to read the Bible a whole lot because European art is mostly Christian, and I had to constantly defend myself from the non-Christian intellectuals around me. Along the way, I have also learned about the early church, medieval philosophy and the great reformers.  Isn’t God Awesome?  Looking back, I can truly see His plan for my life and the people He put in my way to make it happen.  Now I’m looking foreword to my next adventure!

Men’s Retreat “Men At Work” 2004 Notes

Jun 042011
 

Led by Mark Zehnder

Notes from Friday night

  • Our view of God is often our view of our earthly father.  This might (or might not) explain why God is: distant, cruel, and unloving to you.  God is none of these things.  God is not your earthly father, He is: loving, just, interested, always with you.
  • If your relationship with your father is holding you back from your relationship with God, seek reconciliation with your father.  Ask God to help you with this.
  • John 6:28-29.  After Jesus performed the miracle of the feeding of the 5000, he walked across water ahead of His disciples in the boat.  The crowd found out where He was and flocked to Him again.  Jesus said that they didn’t come to Him to seek any truth, but to be fed again.  Food spoils, but heavenly food won’t.  The crowd asked “what must we do to do the works God requires?”  Jesus answered: “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”  We cannot work our way to heaven by means of various tasks, we have a singular task to believe Jesus, and do as He asks.
  • You cannot be good enough for God.  God loves you no matter what.  You cannot be bad enough for God to lose His love for you.  Basically, you cannot, in any way, change the love God has for you.  He will be disappointed when you sin, and you may be punished, but God does this out of love, not cruelty.  God will rejoice in your accomplishments, but that’s because He loves you.
  • Zeph 3:17.  God loves you so much that he sings and dances over you!
  • God is active.  Heb 13:8 says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  We have no problem with the historical Jesus.  We have no problem with the Jesus of Revelations.  We often have a problem realizing that Jesus is present now, and does the miraculous now, and cares for us now, and wants a relationship with us now.
  • Get into the lap of your heavenly father.  No kid is going to shy away from a loving father when he wants something.  We shouldn’t either.  ASK whatever you want.  Even selfish prayers.  God wants your communication.  And, you have not because you have not.  Don’t forget to ask God for anything and everything.  He loves you and will give you the good things He feels you need.

 

(Sharon Zehnder’s) Notes from Saturday Morning

  • Men – be the spiritual head of your household!  It’s ordained in the Bible, and your wife will love you for it.
  • Women are often more spiritually mature than men.  They will try to push their men into this spiritual role as head of the household, but men will run the other direction.
  • Some men relegate this spiritual role to their wife – Don’t do this!  Eph 5:23 says it’s your role.
  • One question the spiritual head of the household should ask is:  “What do we want as our four core family values?”  Is it “love without criticism,” or “honesty” or “higher education for our children?”  List them, then put Bible verses to them, then post them in your house.  At our house, we went down to a trophy store and had our core family values put on a plaque.  When our son got married, we made a plaque for him as a wedding present.
  • The top two problems in marriage are communication and finances.  Work on communication! (and finances).  Get counseling if you need it.  Give each other permission to say:  “I’m not being appreciated,” or “I just want you to listen – don’t fix my problem,” or “I really want your advice on this – don’t just sit there and listen.”

 

Notes from Saturday Morning

Before the “Five Love Languages” books came out, Mark wrote a series of sermons on what he had identified as seven languages of love spoken today:

Touchers (Physical Touch)

Talkers (Words of Affirmation, verbal processors)

Servers (Acts of Service)

Gift Givers (Giving Gifts)

Providers (Men who work to provide for their families, or so that their wives don’t have to work)

Opportunity Providers (people who plan events and situations for others to step-out, succeed or thrive)

Time Takers (Quality Time)

God is all of these – which ones are you, your spouse, your kids?

 

Notes from Saturday Night

Men in the workplace – how to be effective witnesses at work.

Eph 2:8-10.  Most people stop at verse 9.  It is important to note that God wants us to work (witness) because He has already set up opportunities for you to do so.

Eph 4:11-12 Work in the manner God made you – not as you think an evangelist should.

Eva – bring

Angel – Messenger (of good news)

Ist – to be in the business of

Evangelist – being in the business of bringing the good news

1Cor 3:10 God has already set the foundation

Col 3:23-24 Always work as though you were working for the Lord.

How to work in the world:

Insulation: John 17:11-19

  • Do not imitate the world
  • Do not avoid it either
  • Be insulated by God’s Word

Influence: Matt5:13-16

  • You are salt and light
  • You are a person of influence
  • Don’t be afraid to witness – be bold

Intentional: Col 4:5-6

  • Be good and wise in dealing with non-Christians

How to be effective at your workplace:

  • Say “blessed” instead of “lucky” when someone asks “how did you do that so well?”
  • Be above reproach – be a man of honesty and integrity
  • In witnessing, you don’t need all the answers; you don’t need passages of scripture memorized – you need your personal testimony of what God is doing in your life
  • Pray for an opportunity to share – ask God to show you the person He wants you to talk to.  Be intentional in prayer.

 

Notes from Sunday Morning Q & A

Can you imagine – it’s dawn – Peter wakes up and sees Jesus praying off in the distance.  Peter says “We’re about the Kingdom of God today.  Let’s Go!  Jesus can catch up later.”

When you are about the work of the Kingdom of God, consult Jesus first and wait for Him.  Don’t go off blindly.  Pray, wait, act in power and proper direction when God says “go.”

Approach God in prayer as a child would approach his father – bold; asking anything, and expecting an answer in love.  After all, what father doesn’t want to give his kid good things?

Sin separates us from God, and may make our prayers ineffective.  A man who is right with God (through repentance, forgiveness, the forgiveness of others) can have effective prayer.

Numbers 25

Jun 042011
 

Hi,

My wife thought it would be a great idea to write some notes on the section of scripture we studied Friday night, since a couple of families were missing.

As we weave our way through the narrative portions of the Torah, we now find our 40-year wanderers encamped at Shittim (in Moab), a stones throw away from Jericho on the other side of the Jordan River.  This is the last home base the Israelites will have before they make their way into the Promise Land.  It is somewhere between year 38-40 in their journey (probably 38), and pretty much everyone who was 20 years old or older when their trek began is now dead (Moses, Joshua & Caleb being the exceptions).

Numbers 25

Moab Seduces Israel

1 While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, 2 who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. 3 So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the LORD’s anger burned against them.

4 The LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the LORD’s fierce anger may turn away from Israel.”

5 So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor.”

When will these guys ever learn?  It seems that the lure of the temple prostitutes were just too much for the Israelite men to handle.  The temple of Baal also had lots of food.  I’m pretty sure that the men first snuck out of camp and went to the temple for free food and sex, and then began to worship Baal.  Notice though, that the Moabite women invited them to come.  There is purpose here – it’s not like the Israelite men stumbled on this temple at Peor.  The Moabite women lured them there.

God’s anger burned, the judges put on their swords, and killed the “cancer” in their ranks.  We’ve seen this a few times already in our story of the Exodus.  You would think that the guilty participants would have caught on to this recurring theme by now.

6 Then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand 8 and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear through both of them—through the Israelite and into the woman’s body. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; 9 but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.

10 The LORD said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them, so that in my zeal I did not put an end to them. 12 Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. 13 He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”

14 The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Cozbi daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.

16 The LORD said to Moses, 17 “Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them, 18 because they treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the affair of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of Peor.”

OK, so there is a lot of weeping going on because, no doubt, a lot of men have just been killed by the judges.  It also seems that there was a plague to wipe out anyone the judges missed.  While this is going on, Zimri brings a Midianite woman into the encampment, right by the Temple of Meeting (God’s house) and into his tent to have sex with her.  Up to this point, the men had been sneaking out of camp, now Zimri is bringing a woman into camp in broad daylight.  It’s no wonder that Phinehas had some righteous anger.  He promptly shish-kabobed the two, perhaps even in the act (since they were obviously close at the time).

Notice that this was a Midianite woman, not a Moabite woman.  The Moabites were “kin” of the Israelites – the ancestors of one of Lot’s daughters.  The Midianites were nomadic sheepherders who were also kin – the ancestors of Abraham and his last wife after Sarah died.  Neither kin had remained loyal to the One True God, and seemed to be collaborating against Israel at Peor.  True, Moses did marry a Midianite, but the Israelites and Midianites had always disliked each other.  Now God adds the Midianites to His list of people groups to wipe off the face of the earth; because of their sins.  God uses Israel to mete out justice.

Remember the name of the Midianite’s  dad, Zur – we’ll see him later.

Since Chapter 26 is not narrative, we’re skipping it.  Hey, it is the book of Numbers, and there are a lot of numbers here.  What I do find cool about this second census is that the Israelites numbers seem to be very close to the first census.  The first census was taken before 20-year-old and above crowd died.  Versus 20-21 also contain the name Perez – a descendant of King David, and Jesus.

Whistling Angel

Jun 042011
 

By John Fischer

This weekend was a busy one for us with our older children home and a birthday to celebrate. Then there’s the fact that when the word is out, my kids’ friends flock over and we can never be completely prepared for who might end up at our place.

So Saturday found me frantically moving up and down the aisles of the local market trying to get prepared for a late night barbeque and birthday dinner. The stress was starting to cave in on me as I saw how late it was getting and how much was yet to be done when suddenly I heard a man whistling a familiar tune quite loudly down the cereal aisle. Something struck me odd about it, but it didn’t register in my consciousness until he came around to the produce section and I realized he was whistling a hymn – “What A Friend We Have in Jesus,” to be exact.

The effect on me was immediate. My heart unwound from the knot it was in, and my spirit gave a big sigh. It was as if the eternal suddenly broke in on my stressed-out temporal existence and put me under heavenly citizen’s arrest. I looked at the guy as he rounded the corner at the milk section and disappeared whistling, and the words of the familiar hymn came back to me: Oh what peace we often forfeit/Oh what needless pain we bear/All because we do not carry/Everything to God in prayer.

That was me alright, forfeiting peace by simply forgetting to pray. And what a relief it was to be reminded again of what really matters. We can get so wrapped up in the busy lives we live that we forget why we live them.

Why was I throwing this party? Because I love my kids and am happy they are home. What if more people show up than I planned on? That means more people will be exposed to the hope that Christ is real in our family. As it was, one of the girls we just met this weekend is facing serious surgery in four days, and we were all able to reach out to her in significant ways, not to mention what we learned from her own perspective facing a life and death situation.

I don’t know who the guy was in the market, but I prefer to think he was an angel, come to bring me back to my center. Remember today that you have a friend in Jesus and He wants you to bring everything to Him in prayer, all the time. Believe me, it’s a lot better than stressing out.

The Purpose Driven Movement Vision

Jun 042011
 

(The Angel Stadium Declaration – April 17, 2005)
By Rick Warren

Today I am stepping across the line. I’m tired of waffling and I’m finished with wavering, I’ve made my choice, the verdict is in, and my decision is irrevocable. I’m going God’s way. There’s no turning back now!

I will live the rest of my life serving God’s purposes with God’s people on God’s planet for God’s glory. I will use my life to celebrate his presence, cultivate his character, participate in his family, demonstrate his love, and communicate his word.

Since my past has been forgiven, and I have a purpose for living, and a home awaiting in heaven, I refuse to waste any more time or energy on shallow living, petty thinking, trivial talking, thoughtless doing, useless regretting, hurtful resenting, or faithless worrying. Instead I will magnify God, grow to maturity, serve in ministry, and fulfill my mission in the membership of his family.

Because this life is preparation for the next, I will value worship over wealth, “we” over “me,” character over comfort, service over status, and people over possessions, position, and pleasures. I know what matters most and I’ll give it all I’ve got. I’ll do the best I can with what I have for Jesus Christ today.

I won’t be captivated by culture, manipulated by critics, motivated by praise, frustrated by problems, debilitated by temptation, or intimidated by the devil. I’ll keep running my race with my eyes on the goal, not the sidelines or those running by me. When times get tough, and I get tired, I won’t back up, back off, back down, back out or backslide. I’ll just keep moving forward by God’s grace. I’m Spirit-led, purpose-driven and mission-focused so I cannot be bought, I will not be compromised, and I shall not quit until I finish the race.

I’m a trophy of God’s amazing grace so I will be gracious to everyone, grateful for everyday, and generous with everything that God entrusts to me.

To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I say: However, Whenever, Wherever, and Whatever you ask me to do, my answer in advance is yes! Wherever you lead and whatever the cost, I’m ready. Anytime. Anywhere. Anyway. Whatever it takes Lord; Whatever it takes! I want to be used by you in such a way, that on that final day I’ll hear you say, “Well done, thou good and faithful one. Come on in, and let the eternal party begin!”

True Wisdom

Jun 042011
 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

—  James 1:5

“Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them.”

—  Proverbs 4:5

I’ll admit it — I’ve been struggling.  I’m depressed, stressed, and wallowing in sin.  This has made me self-focused.  How could I even approach the throne of God in prayer in such a condition?  How could God use such a broken vessel?  But He said he could — He spoke to me in scripture and devotion today.  Here’s what He said:

“The possession of wisdom does not guarantee that it will be used.
If wisdom is the application of knowledge, then obedience (to God) is the application of wisdom.  Solomon’s wisdom did not fail him in the end — he failed to follow it”

—  Quest Bible; note on 1Kings 11:4-8
My problem is, and has been, obedience.  I know what is right.  I have simply failed to follow.  I have set myself upon the throne that rightly belongs to God.  I have been solving my own issues — poorly!  So what can I do?

I need to receive forgiveness from God and forgive myself as well!

I can learn from this experience if I can truly repent (that is, to turn around and run the other way).  I cannot, however, do this in my own power, so I must ask God to help me repent.  He needs to be the control in my life, since I can’t seem to steer very well.  I swerve a lot!  Lord Help me!

He did.

Pretence

Jun 042011
 

“We may fool people with a pretense of piety for awhile.  We can assure them of our prayers for them–without really praying.  We can attend worship services–without really worshiping.  We can give and work–without intending to serve Christ.  But going through the motions doesn’t fool God.”

—  Jane L. Friar, “Today’s Light Bible,”

—  “Sharpen the Focus,” 1Kings 14

Rehoboam, King of Judah (grandson of King David), was trying to fool God while ruling, but God made it very clear that he could not get away with it.  God was angry at Rehoboam for breaking God’s #1 law.  While Rehoboam was pretending to worship God in the Temple, he was also setting up Asherah poles on all the high hills.  Rehoboam was, in fact, serving other gods–even going so far as to install male shrine prostitutes; all of which was detestable in God’s eyes.  God had Egypt attack Judah because of this, and the Egyptian army took all the wealth from the Temple and the palace that David and Solomon had built-up.

If we go back a few chapters, we find out that Solomon had so much gold that he had 500 gold shields made for his army so all the gold wouldn’t be in one place.  The Egyptians carried these off in addition to all the other gold stuff.  Rehoboam decided to make new shields of bronze so the people wouldn’t realize that all the wealth of Judah was gone.  It was all pretence.

The thing is… while new bronze looks like gold, it requires constant attention to keep it looking like gold.  Without polishing, bronze quickly turns a dark greenish black.  Rehoboam wasn’t fooling anyone.  The shields were just another indicator of how he was living his life.

To quote Abe Lincoln: “You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.” I might add to that, that you can’t fool God at all.  The best way to “keep up appearances” is to have a close relationship to Christ through prayer and Word.  When you are truly living your life for Christ, then what appears to be reality is in fact reality.  We become the genuine article and we gain integrity.  Being “real” is best!  It sure beats a lot of polishing.

15 rules for staying sane

Jun 042011
 

1) Take time each day to pray and read God’s Word, it’ll transform your outlook!

2)  Take a vacation.  If you look like your passport photo you probably need one!

3)  Cut back on caffeine; what goes up must come down!  Buy Starbucks cards at the SCRIP table in the lobby. (PM edit)

4)  Eat right – a balanced diet isn’t having a cookie in each hand!

5)  Exercise 3 – 5 times a week for 30 minutes; it’s nature’s “magic bullet” for stress.

6)  Develop better time-management skills.

7)  Make room in your life for fun.

8)  Get eight hours sleep when possible.

9)  Maintain your sense of humor.  “A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom
and doom leave you bone-tired.” (Pr 17:22, TM)

10)  Start counting your blessings.

11)  When you talk to yourself, say nice things.

12)  Simplify your life by eliminating clutter.  If you haven’t used it in two years, you
probably don’t need it.

13)  Develop a sense of purpose by setting personal goals.

14)  Forgive: grudges are too heavy to carry.

15)  Read the end of “the Book.”  We win!

 

—  On The Right Note (KLOVE devotional), August 29, 2003

Scribbles

Jun 042011
 

By John fischer

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. (Matthew 6:9)

With Father’s Day coming, what do you give the Father who has everything?

Short of reducing God to Hallmark sentiment, there is a way to think about our Father in heaven that would be appropriate on any day, but especially this weekend since this is when we focus on fathers.

Earlier this week I received a book from my daughter. It’s a gift book with pictures of and brief thoughts about fathers and daughters. But what really makes it special are the notes she wrote in it, for as you work through the small book, you find a comment or embellishment by my daughter scribbled on almost every page. So far I have yet to read the book, but you can be sure I’ve taken in all her comments. That was the first thing I did.

Why are her words so much more valuable to me than the printed page? Because they are hers. They express things in her own inimitable way and they recall special moments we have shared together.

In the same way, I believe our worship is something we can give to our Father in heaven who has everything. And most importantly, not just the words of liturgy printed on the pages of our scripted worship, but our handwritten scribbles between the lines. Is this not one of the reasons He created us — to reflect our love for Him in ways that are unique to us? If He doesn’t have this from you or me, He doesn’t have it. I suppose you could even say He is lacking something we could give Him. We were made to glorify God and we each do it differently.

There is yet another gift we can give our Father. He would love to have whatever it is we are holding on to — what we think we are keeping to ourselves. These are things like dependencies that keep us from depending on Him, self-indulgence that could be turned into worship, sin that cheapens the deeper gifts He has for us — all these things become shortcuts to satisfaction that never satisfy. These are the idols in our lives that draw our attention away from God, which is the one thing He really wants that we are in control of — our attention.

This Father’s Day, let’s think about our Father in heaven and how we might scribble a note to Him over the liturgy of worship — some personal _expression that captures our love for Him and gratitude for the life He gives. Back in the ‘60s, Noel Stookey recorded a song about writing God a note on the back of an envelope in church. Hmmmm….

Refueling your life in mid-flight

Jun 042011
 

By Rick Warren

During the Cold War, the Strategic Air Command operated 24 hours a day as a shield of protection for our nation. This meant that at any point in a given day there were fully combat-configured bombers flying to assure the safety of our nation. Since these planes flew constantly, how did they keep them full of gas? They did what’s called mid-flight refueling. A re-fueling plane actually flew up next to the Strategic Air Command plane, docked in, and filled the plane with gas.

As a pastor, you need to learn how to refuel your life in mid-flight. You can’t just hop off to Tahiti every time you get tired and discouraged. You have to keep going. You have to learn how to recharge yourself in the middle of your hectic lifestyle.

The fact is, it takes energy to do God’s will. What do you do when you run out of energy? Psalm 94:19 (LB) says, “Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer.” Are you ever quiet? Americans are afraid of silence. It makes us very uncomfortable. The moment you get in your car, the radio goes on. The moment you get home, the TV goes on. Very little of your life is honestly quiet. God says, “If you want to lower your stress, it’s as simple as this: shut up. Be silent. Stop talking and start listening.”

I suggest that once a day, you should go out in your backyard, sit down, and just be quiet. I’m not talking about reading your Bible. You ought to read your Bible every day. I’m just talking about getting alone for five minutes a day and being completely silent. Ask God a question, and then just sit there and listen.

Sometimes we say, “God, I really need your guidance on this,” and then we get up and walk off. We don’t wait for an answer. The reason you never hear from God is you never listen.

On days when I’m really stressed out from problems and needs and crises, I go home knowing that when I walk through my front door I’ll be greeting a wife and three kids who also have problems and issues and who also need me. Often when I’ve had my most hectic day I will walk up to the front door and not go in. I’ll just stand there for a minute, before anyone knows I’m home, and take a few deep breaths. I’ll stand there and decompress for a minute. We used to have this big old milk container that sat outside the front door and I used to call it my worry jug. I’d stand there and imagine putting all my worries in the jug so I wouldn’t take them into the house with me.

Learn to take little mini breaks during the day. When you feel your pressure rising just stop and say, “God, I want to tune in on you again. I want to focus in on you.” I’m not suggesting thirty minutes of meditation. I’m talking about fifteen or twenty seconds. Just little mini breaks where you stop and be quiet.

Why is this important? Because the race of life is tough. Inevitably it’s tough to live God’s plan for your life. You start getting distracted. You start having discouragement. You start to doubt. And you start wondering, “Maybe this idea of trying to live for God is a bad idea. Maybe I should just coast for the next couple of months.” When you coast, you start heading downhill. You go the wrong way.

Discouragement leads to doubt. How do you defeat doubt? You remember three things:

1. I remind myself of God’s goodness yesterday. I make a list of all the things he’s done in my life, and I just start being thankful. The attitude of gratitude is the healthiest emotion that you can have.

2. I remember God’s presence today. I remind myself that he’s with me right now. I’m not alone. Even when I feel like I’m completely alone, I’m not. I’ve just forgotten that he’s there with me. He says, “I’m here. I’m going to help you. I’ve promised I’ll never leave you or forsake you. I’m with you right now in this crisis.”

3. I remind myself of God’s promises for tomorrow. There are more than 7000 promises for us in the Bible. Each one is like a blank check that I can write out: “God, I claiming this one today. I’m turning in this coupon.” He has said, “I will give you strength. I will give you the necessary tools to accomplish the task I’ve given you. I will give you the wisdom you need in this situation if you’ll just call on Me.”

God’s goodness yesterday, God’s presence today, God’s promises tomorrow. I don’t need to doubt. I don’t need to be discouraged. I don’t need to be distracted. I can renew myself daily.

If you want to last over the long haul of ministry, you have to learn how to recharge yourself spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally. 2 Corinthians 4:16 (TEV) says, “For this reason we never become discouraged. Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being is renewed day after day.” That means daily. You need to figure out what renews you. Make a list of the things that keep you going, the things that re-energize you. Then do those things over and over.

Here’s an easy formula to remember: Divert daily, withdraw weekly, abandon annually. Know what relaxes you and what recharges you spiritually, physically, mentally — and do it.

Until next week,

Rick

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