I believe all the Bible is full of interesting insights, Godly wisdom and general instructions about living. It teaches us about loving God and our neighbor. It pushes us toward new and uncomfortable ideas. Within its pages, I find peace and encouragement that I can discover nowhere else.

With that said, there are some books and chapters that I am continually drawn too. They connect with me on a deeper level and move me in profound ways. There are within the pages of the Bible lines that speak to me in an extremely personal way.

Here are two passages that have shaped my life and I return to them week after week. I hope they help you as you live and serve the Lord.

1. 1 Timothy 1:15-16 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst. (16) But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. (NIV)

There are not many days that go by where I do not feel the weight of my sin. I say the wrong thing, I do the wrong thing, or at the very least I think evil thoughts. I am a sinner, and in my mind, I am one of the worst ever to live. And yet, God offers his salvation to me. No matter how I view myself God sees me as a person worthy of his grace.

The second line also catches me. It is possible that other people see me the same way that I view myself. They may take note of all my sins and shortcomings and label me with ugly names, but God chose me to show the world his unlimited patience. God says that my messed up life is not a bad example for people to avoid, rather a display of the power of God at work.

2. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. (7) So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (NIV)

My life is not about completing a task and making a name for myself. My life is serving God in the best way I can and allowing him to use that work for his glory. Each one of us has a role to fill for the kingdom of God. Some plant the seeds of faith in the lives of people. Other people water that seed through their service and their teaching. I might also add that there are people who work the soil and those who add fertilizer. Some individuals instruct farmers on the best practices, and there are those who pull weeds that hurt the plant. Paul’s analogy is not limited to a seed and some water. The process of growth includes several specialized steps to bring about growth.

There are many days I feel like my work never sees completion. Seasons come and go, and I never get the joy of the harvest. That is okay because I am not working for my own success. I give my time for the kingdom of God, and my purpose is to bring him glory.

Some days my faith seems more like a struggle than a walk in the park. I am disappointed in myself and in the work I am doing. Then I am reminded that God is still working on me and possibly using me as an example to people of his grace. God is taking my life and using it in ways I never imagined. Even in tough days, God is still at work in me and through me.

Yesterday I attended a conference in Kansas City to learn some helpful practices for ministry. Most of these events are great opportunities to expand my thinking and challenge my assumptions in Church leadership. This one exceeded my expectations, and I returned home with a notebook full of comments, ideas, and applications.

One of the pieces of helpful information was found in a ten-minute discussion of Church metrics. What does a Church measure to find out if it is helping people to grow in their walk with Jesus? The speaker explained that their Church measures four primary areas to discover if people are fully engaged with Jesus.

*Attendance – While this is not a ministry measurement, it gives them a baseline from which to work. For example, the shepherd in Luke 15 knew he had 100 sheep total, but only 99 were counted at the end of the day. We need to know how many people we have attended before we can measure their engagement.

1. Serving. What is the percentage of people are serving both inside and outside of the Church? This could include everything from greeters to worship leaders, but also people who help with Meals on Wheels and at the local food pantry. People who are fully engaged with Jesus will be serving.

2. Giving. How many givers does a congregation have in its gatherings? They determined that a regular giver is anyone who gives over four times a year or gives over $3500 total. These people have thought about their donations enough to have a plan or at least a budget. One of the marks of a follower of Jesus is that they are generous with their money through the Church.

3. Inviting. This is the hardest one to measure. His congregation places surveys on each seat with a few questions. One side of the question card says, “Attended for more than a year” and the other side reads, “Attended less than a year.” Underneath it asks questions like this, “have you invited anyone to Church lately? Did those invitations help you actually bring anyone to worship with you? What could we do to help you bring your friends to Church.” Believers should be excited about their faith and work to reach everyone they know.

4. Grouping. The speaker admitted this was not the best word, but it fit his overall format. The fundamental question is, “what percentage of attendees are involved in small groups?” If you are walking with Jesus, you need companions on the journey.

As he worked through the list, my immediate thought was about the Church I lead. Am I doing a good job of helping people get fully engaged with Jesus? What can our Church do better to help people on this journey?

My second thought was more personal, “How am I doing?” If these are the right areas to measure to better understand a growing faith, then how am I doing as a believer? Am I serving more as I get older? Am I giving more? Am I still inviting people to Church and to follow Jesus? Am I purposely connecting myself to other people?

Am I fully engaged with Jesus as his follower? These may not be the only things worth measuring, but it is a good place to start. And I want to start with me.

Yesterday something happened that has only occurred three times in the last five years. On Sunday morning February 11, I slept late in the morning. On Saturday night an ice storm moved into our area, and we decided to cancel our first worship program already. I woke up the next morning and saw no change in the weather with no signs of the city cleaning the streets. I texted with the leaders of the Church, and we decided to cancel all other programs on Sunday. I sent a series of texts and emails along with making sure the information was on the website and Facebook. Then I put my head back on the pillow and went to sleep.

Rarely does a Sunday morning come along that I have the occasion to sleep past the early morning hours. Worship, even on vacation, is a regular part of my weekend. I want to be a worship participant somewhere every weekend. This week the ice canceled our Church gathering, and there was no opportunity to do anything else. A morning like this reminds me of a few ideas that need repeating.

1. Sleeping Allows Me to Experience My Competition. In a world that is rushing from place to place and is always busy, rest is a precious commodity. A minister I know tells preachers that they should sleep late one Sunday a year just to remind themselves what it feels like and why others enjoy it so much.

2. Sleeping One Sunday Makes Me Feel Nothing. Today I feel no closer or further away from the Lord. I do not feel like my growth is stagnate or fading. I honestly feel like nothing has changed. Sure, I missed the fellowship of other believers, but I know I will see them again. It was just one Sunday I missed, and I am completely convinced it will have no ill effects on me.

3. It Would Be Easy to Miss Again. Yesterday I was able to get some extra rest. I don’t feel like my faith diminished in any way. One week seemed to have no consequences, so would it really hurt to miss another?

4. Missing Worship Can Become Regular. One Sunday can give way to two. Two leads to three. You tell yourself nothing has changed with your relationship with God. In fact, you might try to convince yourself that you are better than those hypocrites that go to Church. After all, you are out in the world shining your light while others are hiding out in the Church building. You are blessing your family and your community, and you worship in your own way. Slowly your attendance at Church gatherings gets more sporadic and infrequent.

5. It is Easy for Church and Worship Will Become a Thing of Your Past. One day you wake up, and your faith is gone. It is a long slow slide that leads from one Sunday sleeping late to a position of no faith. It sounds almost unbelievable, but I see it happen nearly every year. When I talk to people about why they no longer attend Church, the response usually becomes something like “I just got out of the habit.”

I hope that yesterday some of you were able to attend worship somewhere. I know that others of you were not able to do it. I hope that you will not let it become a habit. I hope that you will begin making plans to be there next Sunday. An ounce of planning and prevention is worth a hundred blogs and sermons trying to bring you back.

Here are some of the best articles I have read lately. Enjoy.

Reasons Not To Go To Church

Serving is the Path to Maturity

10 Phrases I’d Like to Hear More Often in the Church

Why Churches Should Excommunicate Longstanding Non-Attenders

Perplexing Passages: Do Exodus 1 and Joshua 2 Permit Christians to Lie? – Interesting question and thought

Michael Kruger And De-Conversion – I find this one fascinating.

The Philadelphia Eagles: A Band of Bible-Believing Brothers Whose Faith is Inspiring Millions

Here is also a video of a commercial that played during the Superbowl. I wonder how many people know these words are from a sermon on a Bible passage. The Gospel truth is powerful for all generations. (I hate that it is a truck commercial, but it is still good stuff)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlbY1tGARUA

Every day I am more convinced that one of the tricks evil plays on us is to keep us busy. If we spend our lives running around keeping the plates spinning, then we think we are somehow successful as a person. Over time we wear down and become susceptible to the temptations that surround us. We neglect things that are important, and we lose precious days we will never recover.

Here are a few random ideas for Christians who are perpetually busy.

1. Prioritize. List the five things that are the most important to you. Devote yourself to them. Be warned, for every priority, you add to the list of five, one thing must come off the list. For example, if you decide to coach your child’s team then something else will get less attention. If you try to keep everything on the list, you will be busy simply for lack of priorities.

2. Stop Glorifying Your Busyness. How many times a day or possibly a week do you tell people, “I am just so busy.” You wear it like a badge of honor. While you say you hate it, the reality is that it allows you to have excuses for poor behavior. It makes you feel important as a person as you are always needed. It does something for your soul that you can’t explain. Meanwhile, it is slowly destroying you and your relationships. You need to stop talking about how busy you are each day.

3. Avoid Multi-Tasking. Everyone believes that can do two things at once. Studies have shown over and over that you are only partially doing each job. Your attention is distracted, and you are not giving anything your whole attention. The result is that time on a project is less fulfilling and meaningful because you are not fully present. You will need to spend twice as much time on any task to get the same result because you are only half there.

4. Less is More. Let’s say your child loves sports. The school provides them with a 12-game season, and they love it. You want them happy, so you sign them up for travel teams, special tournaments and every opportunity to play. Now they are involved in 36 games a year. The final result is not that they have three times more fun. In fact, they usually love each game less. Each win is now less important because there are more games. Here is one way to see this shift. If a snow day comes and cancels a tournament when you tell your children, are they happy it will not happen? If so, they are on overload.

5. Ask a Big Question. Ask yourself, “If this were the last year of my life, would I live this way?” None of us know how many days or months or years we have been given. Last year I lost my dad and what I would give to spend a few more days with him. Then I think of the days I was given and must ask, “Did I spend those wisely or was I too busy with unimportant things?”

6. Say NO. You need to learn to say no to people. You need to accept that some people will not like you for it. If you have a priority list, then some things will merely not make the cut. You do not need to apologize. The more you live to make everyone else happy, the busier you will become.

7. Fine is Okay. Not everything needs to be done to perfection. Some things in life do not need your focused attention. The bed can stay a mess. Your yard can be flawed. You do not need to keep your Facebook status updated to the minute. It is okay to be half-hearted in some areas of life so that other areas can get more attention.

8. Some Things Can Wait. Here is a test for the importance of an activity, delay doing it for a day or two. Does it seem more or less significant later? I know it feels urgent to send that text or email today, but is it? Yes, sometimes it is. And there are times it becomes less critical. I usually use the quote, “An emergency to you is not always an emergency to me.” Many times, I have left a job for to do till tomorrow only to find out everything had already been handled.

9. Create Margin. Leave blank spaces in your schedule for things to pop up. If you try to schedule every minute, then when something takes longer you are forced into an overloaded busyness. Leave free time on your schedule. If nothing claims that time, then just relax, don’t feel the need to fill it.

Being busy all the time is a decision. Not being on overload is also a decision. You might be the type of person who is always on the run from one event to the next. You blame it on this and that, but I would bet that you have never done an in-depth self-evaluation. Today might be the time.

As a believer, this is significant because the first thing to get bumped off our list are the spiritual and relationship tasks because they have no immediate consequence. We understand that we are not losing our faith or our marriage because of one busy season. Unfortunately, it slips into two seasons and then three and one day your marriage is over and your faith are gone not because of some big sin but rather because you were too busy with other things.

Maybe it is time for a change.

Goliath has defied the armies of God. He marched into the valley repeatedly seeking just one man to come and fight with him. David arrives at the battle lines late as he brings a sack lunch for his brothers. He hears the words of Goliath and believes something must be done. King Saul tries to get him to wear his armor. David cannot fit into it, and he takes it off, opting only to pick up five smooth stones (1 Samuel 17:40).

The classic question is, “Why did he pick up five stones for one fight?”

There are several possible answers.

First, David knew it might take a few stones to bring the big boy down. Even though he had fought wild animals, he had never fought a giant. Who knew exactly how many stones it would take to do the job?

Second, maybe David knew that once he killed Goliath, there was no guarantee that the Philistines would not run out into the valley to fight. David needed to be prepared for whoever else ran out onto the battlefield. Take as many bullets as possible before you go to war.

Third, maybe that was all he could fit in his bag. Maybe David filled the bag, and five was all that could hold.

Fourth, some have speculated into numerology. Numbers in the Bible have significance. Five is considered the number of completeness. David, therefore, picked up enough stones to complete the job.

Finally, most people appeal to 2 Samuel 21:15-22. They recognize the fact that four other giants in Gath were related in some way to Goliath. It was possible that David knew of these other men, although the original passage does not indicate it. David then picked up enough stones to handle all five of the men.

Any of the explanations are valid, and it is entirely possible several of them are correct at the same time.

What catches me about this detail of the story is that David is prepared beyond what we might initially expect. He knows that even if the giant falls with one stone, the story is not over. There will be more battles to fight before peace is achieved.

One thing I notice in the life of many believers is that they think one battle will bring them peace. They say, “If my spouse just did this one thing, everything would be better.” They think, “If this one problem at work were to go away then all of my troubles will go away.” It is easy to think, “Just one smooth stone is all I need to make my life better.”

David was not naive. He knew that this was only his first confrontation in a series of many battles.

I wish I could tell you that if you do this one thing for God, everything will get better. My guess is that even when you defeat that giant, more struggle is coming.

The harsh reality is the flip side of this story. We can bury our heads in the sand and try to avoid the struggle, but Goliath is not going away. The best way to find peace in your life is to grab a handful of stones and run toward the battle. The first fight may not solve everything, but it is a step in the right direction.

Go now and fight the good fight … and then fight it again and again until peace is secured.

The journey away from faith is usually a slow fade into nothing. Very few people wake up and say, “That’s it. I am done with Jesus. I am done with the Church. I am no longer a believer.” Instead, most people take small steps away from the Lord day by day and week by week until one day they look back and say, “I can’t remember the last time I did anything with my faith.”

On my blog, I write numerous articles about how to grow spiritually. I preach dozens of sermons each year on how to maintain and even improve your faith. But what does it look like when someone is taking steps away from God and fading into the darkness of unbelief?

1. The Schedule is Full of Activities that Have Temporary Meaning. The first trick that evil uses to separate us from our beliefs is to fill our lives with events that hold no eternal meaning. When our lives are full of work, children’s activities and our hobbies the things of God quickly slide to the bottom of the list. When you look back on your month or your season and can think of nothing of eternal significance in which you participated, there is a problem.

2. There is a Disconnect from Other Believers. The second trick is to separate us from people who will encourage us on our journey of faith. Many times, the only people we have any more in-depth conversations with are our family and even those come sparingly. Without a community of faith around me, our spiritual life is never questioned or instructed. Alone our lives can drift into a self-seeking pleasure hunt instead of a God-pleasing adventure.

3. You Can’t Remember the Last Time You Learned Anything New About Faith. People with vibrant faith are always seeking to grow if only in small ways. They listen to sermons, read books, are a part of a small group and do a hundred other things to help them mature. Without new information to help form our souls, we grow stagnant and live on memories of what we learned as a child.

4. Anyone Who Questions Your Faith is Seen as Judgmental. Through the years I have noticed that people who are drifting from faith rarely speak to me. In fact, many avoid me like the plague. They know that I might question their behavior and the state of their soul. If they do talk to me, inevitably I am labeled as judgmental and mean. This usually lets them off the hook failures, and it gives them a reason to give up any connection with the Church. They say, “I used to attend there, but the people, especially the pastor, are judgmental.” The truth is that they are far from God and they allow no one to point out the obvious.

5. In Your Mind, You Have Convinced Yourself You Still Believe in Spite of the Evidence. Sure, you no longer attend worship or small group. You even skipped Christmas and Easter religious celebrations to be with family, because you have been so busy. Yes, your Bible is collecting dust while your language has more cuss words than Christian. There is a massive amount of evidence to prove your faith is nonexistent, but in your soul, you believe none of that matters.

Are any of these true in your life? I think we must always be on guard against the forces of evil that seek to destroy. Usually, they whisper in our ear that everything is okay, even when we know the difference. Some of my ministry is helping people grow; another part is warning people of their impending destruction. Where does the road you are taking lead?

Most of my life has been lived with feelings of inadequacy. I have never been the smartest, strongest, most handsome or talented. My list of shortcomings is far longer than my strengths.

These thoughts have been underlined to me throughout my life. I received no awards or accolades from my college for any of my achievements. My first full-time ministry performed my one-year evaluation and said, “I lacked people skills.” At meetings with other ministers, most of them talk down to me as if I was a wide-eyed teenager lost in the adult world. I have grown accustomed to feeling like I was not given the adequate tools for the work I need to do.

Then, something goes right. I preach a sermon that has people offering words of praise for weeks to come. I write a blog post that racks up hundreds of hits. People respond to the message of the gospel I have been preaching. The Church grows, and good things happen beyond anything I could have dreamed.

What happens when you break through your inadequacies and succeed?

I must continually remind myself, “Don’t let it go to your head.”

The New Testament is clear that God hates pride and he stands opposed to the proud. Christians are to have a humble spirit that elevates God’s work above their own.

How do you do that?

1. Embrace Your Weakness. Paul gives us the standard by which we are to view our shortcomings. 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

2. Give God the Glory. All praise I receive needs to be deflected towards God. If God is working in my inadequacies and brings about something good, then he is the one who deserves the praise. This is difficult because the approval feels so good. I want to be recognized and receive a pat on the back. As a Christian, I need to continually point to God working through me and glorify his name.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to do our best. The trouble comes when we take God’s glory on ourselves. It is easy to think somehow we are better than other people. When you are tempted to accept his praise as your own, “don’t let it go to your head.”

God is great, and I am not. Praise be to God.

The Old Testament book of Joshua tells of the capture of the city of Jericho in chapter six. The children of Israel have come up against a fortified city that it appears there is no way to defeat it. Then God gives them his unusual battle plan. The armed men and priests are to march around the city one time for six days. Finally, on the seventh day, they are to march around seven times and then give a shout with a trumpet blast and the walls will fall.

The Biblical account is too brief for my liking. It gives some details of the first day, and then it offers just a line about the second day. The next few days are summarized in one sentence, “They did this for six days.”

Personally, I would love to know the details about those days, especially day four. I am sure day one was filled with excitement. The Israelites have been forty years in the wilderness, and now they have moved into the promised land. This is the first step in the conquest that will give them the land of their dreams flowing with milk and honey. On day one everyone cheers and marches with confidence and faith.

I imagine on day two the excitement is less than day one. Day three is routine. I believe on day four it was hard to get the troops out of bed. I am sure some were asking themselves, “What are we really accomplishing?” I am sure that day they walked a little slower, joking around about Joshua and his ability to lead them in circles. Day four takes every ounce of energy just to complete one small task that God has given them. It is a Wednesday and the midweek blues make it hard to get over the hump.

I wonder if that day they began to question God. I mean, “If God is so powerful, why not just deliver the city in one day?” It would be easy to ask, “Why does God have us doing the same thing over and over with no results?” Finally, “What a waste of time, there is no God and Joshua is just trying to buy time.”

Can you hear the grumbles and see the apathy that day four brings?

Most day I feel like in I live on day four. I find myself walking around unsure if I am doing the right thing. I don’t know what God is thinking. I can read his word telling me to love my wife, my family, my neighbor and my enemy. I know I am supposed to spend more time in my bible learning about his ways, “but for what?” Some days I am not even sure why I started walking in the first place.

The Israelites are challenged to trust God even when they are unsure what is going on. Their faith in him is being tested with every painful and possibly discouraging step. God giving them a seven-day walk is pushing them to build a stronger faith.

A life of faith is not lived out on day seven. Day seven the walk is different. That is the day we are going to march a few more times, but we will see results. The journey of faith is getting up like every day is day four. You trust that God knows what he is doing, and you keep walking even when it may produce nothing today.

Life is a seven-day journey with God and some days are more difficult than others. Get up, get dressed and get moving. Keep walking; day seven is not that far away.

Looking at my “To-Do” list, I noticed recurrent themes in what I am trying to accomplish. I then placed my action list next to my prayer list and suddenly saw several similarities. Both lists together highlight the most significant concerns in my life right now as a pastor.

1. Overloaded Schedules. I am convinced that most people are way too busy. The hard truth is that they do not know why they are so overloaded. They do not function with a purpose in their family or community life. I believe people think they are accomplishing more by being busy. They think they are helping their children by living every day with a maxed-out schedule. I find this type of life does not resemble the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus. Jesus moves about with purpose and yet has time to help people. He takes naps and still is able to set aside time for prayer. I am slowly making it my mission to get people to do less in the name of Jesus.

2. Drifting People. The single most painful part of being a pastor is leading people to the Lord and then watching them drift away from faith. I lay awake at night and wonder how I can help people stay true to their commitment to Jesus. Frequently this leads me back to number one on my list. I also think there is a need for more and better discipleship. I believe there is a need for accountability and shepherding. Right now, I can list several people who have already drifted away from the Lord in the last three years, and it concerns me.

3. Rouged Individualism. Everyone is trying to live life alone. Sure, they are surrounded by people, but they let no one inside of their soul and spirit. They do not share their hurts and questions. They do not ask for help or seek the wisdom of the aged. They push back from Church and the community it offers to them. God in his infinite wisdom did not recreate us in Christ to live alone. The “one another” passages fill the New Testament. We are called to a Savior who then connects us to people for their good and ours. This message is getting more difficult to preach with every passing year.

4. Passive Parents. I have helped build a youth ministry in every Church I have the lead. In the early days of my ministry, I could count on a parent to “force” their children to come to youth group. New believers immediately brought their children to group each week without question. As the Church grew, the youth group grew too. That is no longer true. Every youth leader I talk to complains about one thing, “passive parents.” Most parents have no real concern for their child’s spiritual development. They care more about sports and academic development. They claim they “don’t want to push their children.” In the end, there is a void of parental involvement in the spiritual development of their children.

5. Leadership Development. All of the previous issues build up to this one. The Church is struggling to find people who will step up to lead the Lord’s people. People are disconnected from the Church, or they are far too busy, or they simply don’t care. Most Churches used to have a man or woman that everyone looked up to in the Church. They were leaders who had the respect of the generations who followed them. I am finding very few of those people exist today. It concerns me deeply.

These are some of the things God has placed on my heart. I know he is big enough to handle all my concerns, but he did give us free will to reject his work. I pray that people open their heart to the Lord’s leading and I hope that the future looks different from where I am afraid we are headed as believers.