And God Said (Thru the Bible, pt. 1)
Once again, started in Genesis 1 Today. Goal – Through the Bible in a year. Hopefully it’s yours too. Here’s a few thoughts from this morning.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was WITHOUT FORM AND VOID AND DARKNESS WAS OVER the face of the deep. And THE SPIRIT OF GOD WAS HOVERING OVER the face of the waters” Genesis 1:1-2.
While describing God initiating the creation of the universe, the writer describes me and countless others before God initiated His work in us through Christ. I was without form and void, I was immersed in darkness, I was without the Spirit of God within. What happened to me was the same thing that happened to the heavens and the earth – “AND GOD SAID…” God spoke the world into existence, completing His work by breathing the breath of life into man. God initiated a creation in me through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). God’s Word awakened my heart and created something good out of what was “without form and void.” 1 Peter 1:23 says that we are “born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.” Thank God for His Word!
God is still creating. When we respond to His word we live Genesis 1. Have you had your “beginning with God”?
Father, open our ears to your voice creating Your good in the hearts of men and women.
Resources for Resolution
Here’s a few good resources/ideas for you who are gearing up for New Year’s resolutions or are just hoping to make 2008 a more productive and fruitful year.
1. Each year around this time, I pull out my copy of Jonathan Edwards’ resolutions. Edwards was a pastor and theologian in the 1700’s, but his writings and legacy continue to inspire a lot of people today. The resolutions of Edwards challenge me to think deeper and aim higher. Find them here.
2. A great commitment to make if you’re desiring to grow spiritually or to make a conscientous search for truth is reading through the Bible. The new year is a great time to start and there are a myriad of Bible Reading plans to choose from. Find them online, have them emailed to you daily, there may even be one in the back of your Bible. You can download the one I have used for some time here – NavPress Bible Reading Plans.
3. One thing that we desperately need is deep thinking about where we are, where we’ve come from, and where we are going. It’s easy to get dumbed down by entertainment and materialism. Deep thinking is tiring and risky for the media saturated, depraved mind. A tool to get you started is 10 Questions for the New Year by Donald Whitney. Our church publishes this each year and I have benefited from working through the questions. Find the 10 Questions and other helpful resources here.
4. One of the greatest gifts God has given you is the ability to read. Fast or slow, you can learn from the reading of books. Make a plan to read a few books to help you grow this year. If you pay taxes, you own a vast library which professionals keep updated with the world’s best reading materials (i.e. your public library). Choose some areas that you’d like to grow in and search for books, or ask someone who you admire what books have most inspired them. Harry Truman said, “every leader is a reader.” Make a commitment to read six or twelve or twenty-four books this year. Here is a great article on reading that inspired me.
Happy New Year!
My Best of for 2007
After Christmas comes the litany of what was best in 2007. As a way to evaluate my year, I’ve put together a few list of my own. Feel free to add your own.
Best books read:
1. Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham – God’s discipleship strategy was the family. Refreshing.
2. Confessions of a Reformission Rev by Mark Driscoll – Being a church planter, I’ve had many of the same thoughts.
3. Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell – Behind enemy lines, surrounded, sacrificing for the team, dangerous rescue, Medals of Honor, True story, etc.
4. Breaking the Missional Code by Ed Stetzer and David Putnam – The church becoming a missionary in the community. It’s time to apply mission principals here at home. Thank God for this book.
5. Living the Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney – First importance – the Cross. Centering life on that is the pursuit of a lifetime.
Best Podcasts:
1. Matt Chandler, Village Church, Dallas, Texas
2. Rick Warren Ministry Podcast, Saddleback Church,
3. Ravi Zacharias, RZIM Ministries
4. Fighter Verses (Scripture Memory), Bethlehem Baptist Church
5. Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church, Seattle, Washington
6. Tom Cheyney, NAMB Church Planting Group
7. Darrin Patrick, Journey Church, St. Louis, Missouri
Best Places/Events Visited:
1. Azalea Falls, Arkansas – Family Vacation, May 2007.
2. San Kristobal, Chiapas, Mexico – Mission Trip, October 2007
3. Jena, Louisiana – No matter what they say, I still love my home town
4. Abita Springs Crawfish Festival, Abita Springs, Louisiana – May 2007
5. Hope Cafe, Hope Church of Waldheim
Experiences that have helped me grow:
1. Watching my son being wheeled away for surgery – September 2007. Jack broke his arm and had minor surgery to set the bones and insert pins. However, it was still a life changing hour of my life. I now know what they mean when they say, there is no such thing as minor surgery.
2. Hearing unfounded criticism and gossip about myself spoken from someone I considered a friend. Not responding to immaturity and ignorance with my own immaturity and ignorance has been a challenge that has forced me to rely on God more than anything. Loving those who say all manner of evil against you is truly a supernatural phenomenon, impossible apart from Christ. The pain of conflict seems constant in ministry. It’s what I dislike most about what I do, but it has helped me grow as a Christian and as a leader like nothing else.
3. Preaching at the graveside service of a dear friends infant son – January 2007. I’m still trying to figure out what I should say. But God gave me grace and His Word gave us comfort.
4. Watching those friends recover and serve God enthusiastically the remainder of the year. I’ve learned in ministry that it’s the people who should be and could that usually don’t serve enthusiastically and sacrificially, and the people that shouldn’t have to that usually do. God’s strength is promised in our weakness and God gave incredible strength to these friends and amazed me in the process.
5. Choosing to confront instead of flatter a friend. Knowing that something must be said and that it might cost friendship has kept me up several nights as a Pastor desiring to protect the flock God has placed me over. Sleepless nights and responding to the call to be honest has helped me grow this year.
6. Preaching and serving in a primitive Indian village in Southern Mexico – October 2007. Trying to communicate from English, to Spanish, to Tzotzil, in speech and in culture was an awesome experience. Seeing the light bulb of the Gospel burst on in their hearts and minds, made it very much worth the effort.
Best/Most Used Blogs and Websites:
1. www.theologica.blogspot.com
2. www.desiringgod.org
3. www.drudgereport.com
4. www.bpnews.net
5. bible.lifeway.com
6. www.amazon.com
7. www.edstetzer.com
8. www.churchplantingvillage.net
9. www.theresurgence.com
10. www.newchurches.com
Unreached in the Americas
Last week a group from my church journeyed to Chiapas, Mexico to work with the Tzotzil Indians that live in the mountainous region along the border of Guatamala. It was an amazing trip to say the least. We worked along side the International Mission Board Volunteer Strategy Coordinator, Sergio Matassa, and a team from his church (Oak View Baptist in Irving, Texas). Sergio has been working in the state of Chiapas for six years and has formed a non-profit organization called G.L.E.D. (Global Leadership and Economic Development) to help facilitate a church planting movement among the unreached Indians of Mexico.
Our work consisted of three projects:
1) Visit and encourage mission churches planted among the Indian villages around San Cristobal and Simojovel.
2) Construction work at the Institute for Church Planting in Simojovel.
3) Medical Clinic and Evangelistic work in a Tzeltal Indian village near San Cristobal.
The scenery was breathtaking, the food was interesting, but the experience of seeing people of another tongue hear the story of Christ’s death and the way He paved for eternal life was unforgettable.
Please pray for the Unreached Indians of Chiapas, Mexico.
For more info see www.tzotzil.ovbc.net.
“You can’t love Jesus and hate His wife”
Insightful article by Ed Stetzer on the church (click here). The church is the Bride of Christ. Why do so many seem to be content on harming instead of helping churches? A few quotes from the article:
Paul was willing to take a beating for the church because Jesus submitted to a brutal murder “to make her (the church) holy, cleansing her in the washing of water by the word. He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and blameless.” (Ephesians 5:26-27 HCSB)
Seems like fewer and fewer people are willing to take the church seriously, let alone take a beating for her.
If you claim to be a disciple of Jesus, then love his wife. Don’t be guilty of going to great lengths to show your love for Christ while ignoring, marginalizing, or attacking the Bride.
You can’t love Jesus and hate His wife.
Read the whole article. Also check out Ed Stetzer’s blog.
Should We Live Together? part 3
Hebrews 13:4 (ESV) Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
One of my roles as a Pastor/Shepherd is to lead people to green pastures. That is to counsel people to accept God’s very best for their lives and live in a manner that will produce spiritual fruit and give them the best path for spiritual growth and Kingdom living. In regards to marriage, without a doubt, God’s best equals a high and sacred view of marriage which seeks to save the acts of marriage – sexual intimacy, living as one, rearing children – until a covenant commitment has been made. These acts of marriage thrive and flourish (and research shows are most enjoyed) where godliness and committment exists. To live outside of God’s standard is to accept second best and risk damaging the relationship (see part 2), your testimony as a Christian, and your growth in godliness. The reasons that I hear for this decision are pathetic when you think of the risk and the better alternative that God desires. Here’s the three I hear most often:
Criticism Quote
Great quote concerning a leadership constant: Unfounded Criticism.
“Little men with lots of time find it easy to discover faults in great men with little time.” – Hershael York
Find the whole article here.
Should We Live Together? part 2
Before You Live Together: Will Living Together Bring You Closer or Drive You Apart? by David Gudgel
Also check out the author’s website, www.beforeyoulivetogether.com, to read book excerpts and more.
Revealing and helpful book on this topic. Very well researched and practical, complete with real life scenarios and testimonies of those who have paid consequences after deciding to live together. The author, a Pastor and Counselor, piles high the research and real life evidence for deciding that cohabitation is not God’s best for any relationship. KEEP READING BELOW TO FIND OUT WHY.
Should We Live Together? part 1
As a Pastor, one of my duties is the preparation for and performing of marriage and its ceremonies. It is something I have learned to do with fear and trembling, because so much is at stake when two people become one in God’s eyes. I take it very seriously and I know that I will one day give account before God for upholding his view of marriage (Hebrews 13:4) and shepherding people according to His will (Hebrews 13:17). Increasingly, I am put in the position of dealing with two people who are not married but live under the same roof. They are asking me to bless their future marriage while knowing I probably do not approve of this arrangement. They know this usually because of their conscience slaying them with guilt, but also because they know the Bible teaches that marriage is the only right way for man and woman to relate to one another sexually. As I have sought to uphold God’s standard of righteousness and counsel couples to do what I believe to be in the best interest of their relationsip, I always encourage them to separate. I have lost friends, been verbally berated, and had people leave my church for this reason. However, the evidence continues to pile up that this position is in their best interest. Below is a list of verses that guide me concerning this topic and links to a number of articles from Christian and secular authors stating the evidence stacked against living together prior to a marriage commitment. Hopefully this list will be helpful to couples considering moving in together, already living together, or to other ministers struggling with this issue.
Remembering Katrina
Forty-five miles north of New Orleans on August 29th, 2005, a small community in St. Tammany Parish was reeling from devastating tree damage. The Waldheim area lost 30% or more of its trees and near 100% of homes were damaged in some way. The smell of pine sap is forever entrenched in my nostrils as well as the sound of our 125K Generator at Hope Church of Waldheim, where we were without electricity for 10 weeks. Today, our cell phones work better and there are more flowers and more grass to cut, because of fewer trees. I am thankful to the countless groups of volunteers that made mounds of saw dust in our area and continue to come and help rebuild our community. Here are a few pictures from Waldheim/North Covington in the months after the storm.
This van was left in our church parking lot by evacuees from St. Bernard Parish.
Lane Corley 