As we slide into the week of Thanksgiving, many of us will be entertaining guests. This season reminded me of a line I heard a teacher say at a conference a couple of years ago (I believe it was Beth DeFazio).
“Hospitality is making people feel at home when you wish they were at home.”
Like precious metals drawn from the earth, believers in Jesus undergo a transformation. Just as gold or silver must be refined, placed in a crucible, and heated repeatedly until all impurities rise to the surface and are removed, so too are Christians refined throughout their journey of faith.
The Master Refiner uses life’s challenges and trials as His purifying fire. Each experience serves a purpose – to gradually remove imperfections and reveal something of greater worth beneath. Through hardships, joys, failures, and triumphs, God works to cleanse the heart and soul of all that diminishes its value.
This divine refinement is a lifelong process. None of us has achieved perfection, yet each season brings new opportunities for growth and purification. Every challenge faced and every lesson learned brings us closer to reflecting the pure character that God envisions.
Though we may not yet shine with our full potential, we can take heart in how far we’ve come. Like precious metal emerging purer from the fire, we are being steadily refined into something beautiful.
Are the people closest to you developing a more robust faith by knowing you?
Do they see your example as one of commitment to Jesus?
Is there evidence in your life of being transformed by the power of the gospel for them to witness?
Are those around you increasing their love of God and other people?
What is your influence producing?
Know this – either you are influencing them to draw closer to God in faith, or you are not. Carefully evaluate the spiritual lives of the people closest to you, and you will see a reflection of yourself.
While typing my blogs for this week, my phone rang. While I didn’t recognize the number, I did know the location and thought of several people who might be calling. I answered, and the voice on the other end said they were calling from my Alma Mater.
My mind went to the same place it always does; I bet they are going to ask for money. As if the voice was reading my mind, he said, “Don’t worry, I am not calling to ask for anything.”
He went on to say he was with the Alumni Association, and they were reaching out to see how I was doing and if I needed special prayers for anything. I have to be honest; I was taken aback. No one ever gets in touch with me “just because.” There is always a plea for something.
Not this time. The young voice was very kind, asked a few questions, and assured me that he would say a prayer for me, and then he hung up.
That one insignificant call was a blessing to me today. It always feels good to know that other people care and are praying for you. However, it was also a challenge: Who do I need to call now to keep spreading the blessing? How about you?
It is the time of year here in the Midwest when I spend several hours a day sitting in a tree stand waiting for a deer. Honestly, I love this time of year for so many reasons. I am able to spend numerous hours outside in the fresh air. I enjoy watching the wildlife behave as though I were not there. I love the sights, sounds, and smells of fall that come with each day in the woods.
The biggest thing I enjoy most during this season is time to think. Every time I head out, I take a book or Kindle, a notebook, my phone, and a charger. I can sit there and read or listen to a podcast and take the time to process my thoughts. Time slows down, and for a few hours, I am not busy rushing to the next thing.
As my time winds down each day, I take out a notebook and write down all my ideas, thoughts, insights, questions, and observations. Then, at the end of the season, I will sift through the notes to see if there is anything usable.
I believe everyone needs to build into their calendar some time to think. Perhaps God wants you to open your eyes to a new concept, ministry, or direction in your life, and you will not slow down long enough to hear him.
Quiet reflection is a gift to the soul and I am blessed to spend time outside doing it this time of year. Let me ask you, when was the last opportunity you had to sit down and think, especially about the things of God?
One difficulty in teaching the Bible is that every person has a part they specifically do not want to hear about. The Bible gives the truth about your thoughts and actions but also the motive behind them. This includes addressing things from greed to gossip, lust to love, and anger to apathy.
Not liking the information you read in the Bible does not make it less accurate.
Some will find arguments against its instruction, and others will agree with their conclusions. But that does not make it correct.
If the clear teaching of scripture prohibits certain behaviors and the attitudes behind them, then they are wrong, no matter how you feel about it.
I am struggling to know how to do ministry these days. Where I live in the Midwest, things were fairly normal until 2020 and Covid. Pastors on the East and West coasts had been describing what was happening in their Church communities, and it had not hit my Church until then.
The massive shift is that people attend worship 1-2 times a month. It used to be that people were here 3-4 times a month, and an absence was the exception, not the rule. Now, people come once or twice, and it will take a month to six weeks before I see them again.
This change has led me to many questions that I am still not sure how to answer:
As I dream and ask God to direct me into 2025 and beyond, these questions are plaguing my soul. I have no idea how to minister in this world. I am struggling to assist people in following Jesus, growing in faith, and becoming spiritually mature.
The world has changed while the Church remains on the same mission of making more and better disciples. Lately, I have more questions than answers, and I pray that God will direct me and other Church leaders in ways that will help us do his work effectively.
We are 14 days away from the celebration of Thanksgiving here in the United States.
One project I would challenge you to do during this time is to become a more thankful person. Would you be willing to spend a few minutes each night at dinner or before bed and list at least five things you are grateful for?
This does not have to be a huge event. Simply say in a prayer, “Thanks God for giving me today …” Then fill in the blank with at least five things. Some days, coming up with five might be challenging, but most days, I bet you can come up with six to ten items.
We spend a great deal of energy getting into the “spirit of Christmas,” perhaps it is equally important to get into the spirit of Thanksgiving.
We make time for whatever we value the most.
I don’t care what you have scheduled for the rest of the week; if you receive a call that your spouse has been hurt in an accident, then suddenly you find a way to spend time at their bedside.
On the flip side, when you tell someone, “I am too busy” or “I don’t have time.” What you are really saying is, “I don’t value that enough to make time for it.”
Take a few minutes and evaluate where your time goes. That will show you how much you truly value your spouse, children, friends, and the Lord.
It is easy to convince yourself that you value certain things based on your intentions rather than your actions.
The musician was walking through her house, showing off her palatial estate. She stopped in a little room set up for writing and recording music and said, “This is where the magic happens.”
What she meant was that this was the place where she felt inspired to be creative. This was the room where ideas, dreams, and music combined to create the hit songs she produced.
In the Church I lead, there is no place where “magic” happens, but in my office, the Holy Spirit works creatively through me. It is the room where I pray and ask for God’s guidance. It is where I spend countless hours reading, researching, and writing out my ideas on paper. It is where I sit in front of my computer to type in my thoughts to create sermons and lessons.
Powerful speaking is not the result of magical creativity; it is the result of prayer, study, observation, and experience coming together as God guides. The Holy Spirit then takes what I have done and uses those words to touch the hearts and lives of people.
Is it sometimes unexplainable? Yes. Is it all about God’s power through people teaching his word? Again, I hope the answer is always yes.
Second Chance Pastor 