Scott Miller Blog :: Good Stuff

Fasting - Drink and keep drinking

Just thought I'd take a minute to encourage those of you who are fasting today…one of the biggest challenges of fasting for me is that I'm not eating! (duh!) To try to get past the struggle with my appetite for food, I will drink, and never stop drinking. Really...if I don't drink through a fast, I typically end up focusing more on my lack of food than anything else!  Not to mention, flushing out your system with liquids only for a day is very healthy...

Drink water, juices, whatever…just don't stop!

Living out of His Grace

Was finishing the book of Ephesians today in my devotion time, which caused me to somehow jump over to 2 Timothy 2:1...

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

How many times do I try to live out of the grace of something other than the grace that is in Christ Jesus. I think there have been times when I've tried to pastor out of the grace that is in Scott Miller. There are times I've tried to be a husband living out of the grace that is in Scott Miller. This won't work! I need His grace, His strength, in order to be the man He's called me to be, and function at the level I am capable of functioning at in all areas of life. Anything short of living in His grace will stifle my ability to grow and move forward in any area of leadership He's given me.

Stop for a second and think about the most stressful area of your life right now. Maybe the reason the stress is so heavy is b/c you are trying to do it out of your grace and not His! Your strength and not His!

Just a thought…one last challenge from this passage…

2 Timothy 2:3 Endure hardship with us…LEARN TO PLAY HURT!

God’s Mercies

I woke up this morning with a great sense of how I've got to approach this day fresh and new.  Lamentations 3 says that his mercies are new every morning.  Do you need some of his mercies today?  Take some right now...but when you start your day tomorrow...get up calling upon the Lord, asking Him for new mercy and grace to have patience with that co-worker, your kids, your spouse, the construction guy at US 20 and SR 15, the buggy you can't seem to pass on the 'S' curves in Middlebury...

Serve Here, Serve There

OK...Stop...collaborate and listen...

(Let's try that again, with a little less Vanilla Ice)...OK...Stop...right now...tell me at least one area where you are serving others in the community, and one area where you are serving others at Pathway (or in the local church you attend).  You don't really have to tell me, but maybe jot it down on a scrap piece of paper, gum wrapper, your hand, anywhere, but get it in front of your face.  Where are you Serving Here (in the local expression of Christ's love called Pathway), and where are you Serving There (in the community in which God has placed you and shed his blood for)?

I've asked myself that a couple of times over the past few months.  Why is this so important?  Bottom line is - Jesus came not to be served but to serve.  That really is enough reason right there.  But let's dive in deeper...

Serve Here b/c it's God's plan to work through the local church.  Within the arms of the local church:

---We have the opportunity to show the community what it looks like to genuinely love each other, even when we get hacked off at each other from time to time! 

---We have the opportunity to take on projects of outreach/evangelism bigger than ourselves! 

---We can create opportunities for spiritual growth in every age group, relationally and mechanically! 

---We can create opportunities for you and I to use our gifts and talents! 

---We can offer regular times for believers to come together and worship God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! 

Serve There b/c it's a tangible way of living out Christ's heart for people who have yet to know Jesus.  Really, think about it...if Jesus lived in Middlebury, Goshen, Elkhart, Shipshewana, Millersburg, Bristol, etc., where would he go to hang out with people who are unbelievers?  What are the modern day watering holes?  Find them, and go there! 

I know the Sunday School answer would be, "they're in the bars and whore houses pastor...that's where they are at bless God!"  Well, we've got a few bars around here, not so sure about the whore houses, but then I'm not so sure that's where the majority of at least Middlebury is hanging out.  They are out on the Little League Diamonds, the soccer fields, the basketball courts, the service clubs, etc.  Are you there, serving?

Maybe for you, Serving There would look less organized and more like sitting in a nursing home, leading a group of people in singing hymns.  Hymns they sing from memory, but they won't remember you were there 5 minutes after you leave. 

Who knows how God might use you to effect the eternal destiny of someone just b/c you spent time connecting with them in the last years of their life...or on the soccer fields...or over a plate full of freshly baked cookies you took to them! 

Serve Here and Serve There people! 

Me and the Bible, on an Island

Was going over my journal today and ran across this quote again from Francis Chan - "If I was on an island alone with the Bible, how would I live?" If all I had was the Bible, and I just simply lived out what it said, what would that look like? Does our church look like the book of Acts?

Deep thoughts…

Parenthood - Top 10

We're continuing on in our series on parenting this Sunday. I'm not sure if I'll use this top 10 list or not, but as I was studying for the series, I found it, and thought it was good stuff!

10 Guidelines to help you be a good model to your children…Your children deserve:

1.    To hear you pray earnestly and often. (1 Thess. 5:17)

2.    To spend time with you as you talk about the things of God (Deut. 6:6-9)

3.    To hear you talk to others about becoming Christians. (Matt. 28:18-20)

4.    To see you put God first in your giving. (Malachi 3:8-10)

5.    To watch you live a consistent Christian life. (Deut. 10:12-13)

6.    To go with you to visit the unfortunate. (James 1:27)

7.    To hear you say good things about other Christians. (1 Thess. 5:1)

8.    To be exposed to experiences that will bring Christian growth. (1 Tim. 4:13-16)

9.    To see you love your spouse. (Eph. 5:22-23)

10.    To know your Savior in a personal way. (John 17:3)

Taken from John Maxwell's book, Breakthrough Parenting. Published by Focus on the Family Publishing, Colorado Springs, CO 80995.

Exponential - Discipleship

One last thought from the Exponential conference I was at last week, from Matt Chandler. He had an interesting session on discipleship…

Main thoughts from the session -

The Church's end goal is disciples (who observe what Christ commands), not converts. The question is – how do we disciple, not just how do we reach them! 2 methods of discipleship:

Mechanical Discipleship Model (at the end you are a disciple)

Pro's:

• No better way then this to get info to the people
• Historic success
• Easy to motivate people to join and participate
• Tons of resources and curriculum
• Easy to measure
• Lends itself to strong historic orthodox theology

Con's:

• Hard to sustain (Greek factor)
• Can lead to coldness (have facts, but no heart or application)
• Can create theology police
• Become sacred very quickly

 

Organic Relational Model

Pro's:

• Seems to yield greatest results/built relationally
• Tends to appeal to a broader group of people

Con's:

• Organically we are sinful/maturity doesn't just happen

 

How to take pro's of both:

1. Must celebrate transformation and change…don't just highlight the wins, celebrate all transformation
2. Create a lot of on ramps and off ramps
3. Keep flexible
4. Everyone learns/applies differently
5. Needs to be a relational aspect to everything, even mechanical

Exponential – Fancis Chan

One of the most amazing sessions of the whole conference was the very last one…speaker – Francis Chan.

Really, I'm still in shock.  This may be pushing it too far, but it's like most (not all) A/G conferences tend to lean heavily on the Spirit empowerment, and light on the practical "head" stuff.  Anytime I go to a conference like this (such as Granger Community Church, Northpoint, Fellowship, etc.), they are heavy on the how to's "head" stuff, but they leave out the Spirit empowerment stuff!  How refreshing to hear from these guys from overseas…and Craig Groeschel, and Francis Chan of all people…that we need the moving, presence, and empowerment of the Holy Spirit! 

Really, I just sat there at the end of the service, a bit in awe, thinking about what was happening…at First Baptist Orlando, in a group of mostly non-charismatic type people, we are called on to answer an altar call to be filled with the HS, be anointed with oil, and have hands laid upon us!

Steve Pike (A/G Church Multiplication Network guy) had a great post on this session as well…

Exponential – The A-Team

In one of the sessions, Shawn Lovejoy, talked about choosing staff (paid and volunteer). I thought this might be good for all of us, in marketplace or church leadership. Would you add any to this list?

How to Pick an "A" Team:

1. Competence – Highly competent people
2. Chemistry – Relational Mark 3:13-14 – that they might be w/ Him, vision chemistry
3. Character – teachable, loyal, soft hearts

What else would you add to the list?

Exponential – 3 Lines

Craig Groeschel's session was out of the park, as he usually is. His emphasis on the Holy Spirit empowering you oozes out of him! Here's the top thing I walked away from his session with…it was his thoughts on 3 lines of believers:

• First line – believe in the Gospel enough to benefit from it
• Second Line – believe in the Gospel enough to contribute comfortably
• Third Line – believe in the Gospel enough to give my life to it

Goal being…a church full of third liners!

Exponential – America’s Impact on Korea

Part of the thrust of this conference was to see/talk about not only what God is doing here in the US, but what is he doing around the world in church planting.

I don't know if you've followed anything that has happened in South Korea over the past 50-75 years, but they are a country that is largely Christian. Something like 6 of the 7 largest churches in the world are in South Korea.

So, the speaker guy from Korea, Marc Choi, is ending his talk...what he said is still ringing in my ears…he took the last few moments of his talk to thank us…yes, thank America…his exact quote is – "America brought revival to Korea." US Missionary Horace Underwood went to Korea in 1891, and thus started the ministry of Christ in this country!

As I sat there and heard him say that, I had several thoughts:

• I thought of the missionaries we support out of Pathway. Church, we have no idea how our missions giving is effecting whole countries for GENERATIONS!
• I thought about some from Pathway who God will one day send to foreign countries to make this kind of an impact…maybe they are being raised by you right now?
• My heart broke here as a Korean guy is expressing more love for our great country than many of our own citizens (including some of our highest government officials). We're not perfect, but its things like this that make me PROUD of my country.

Side note – what part did the Korean War have in allowing these great people the freedom to choose to follow Christ without persecution? What if South Korea would have gone communist? Do I like war? Absolutely not…is it necessary at times? I think so.

Exponential – Erwin McManus

I've spent the last few days at what was billed as the largest church planting conference in the history of the US...how about those apples. I'd like to share a few thoughts from the conference, as well as from the Holy Spirit, with you over the next few days.

Tuesday Afternoon – Erwin McManus

Erwin's strength is marketplace ministry (ministry outside of the church). Marketplace ministry is not anywhere near my strong point. Two thoughts that hit me from Erwin, though they aren't so profound:

• Society is looking for people with presence…presence of Jesus
• Marketplace needs/wants a non-watered down Gospel

Challenging thoughts coming from a guy who someone said dresses a bit like an alien (who was it that said that?).

What I’m thinking about: Cheap Sacrifice

What I'm thinking about…I just finished up 2 Samuel…what a gut wrenching last chapter!

Israel had sinned…David had sinned…When David recognized it, he repented. God gave him three options for punishment…he chose the one that would bring a 3 day plague on all the people. David stepped in at some point, probably toward the end, and pleaded with God to stop punishing the people for his sin. God told him through the prophet Gad to "build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." Araunah was completely willing to let David have the threshing floor, the supplies, the bulls, etc (for free)…but David refused to accept it for free b/c he knew God would not accept a sacrifice that cost him nothing!

How does this correlate to me/you? In NT times, my whole life is to be lived as a living sacrifice to God. But God still is not interested in a cheap praise, a cheap sacrifice…it's got to cost me something. Living a life where I just add Jesus to the rest of my life costs me nothing. Living a life of anything less than complete surrender to the cross of Christ is missing the mark.

Sacrifice involves the engaging of the heart. If my heart is not engaged throughout today, and I'm not purposeful of doing things for and unto God today, then my sacrifice was cheap today. When we come together corporately this Sunday, to bring our sacrifices of praise and prayers to God, if my heart is not engaged, it's as offensive to God as the money changers in the temple.

Is your heart engaged today?

Strength and Contentment

Really feel like God's given me some insight into the connection between strength and contentment. Read Philippians 4:10-13, and you see what you think…

Oh yah, and DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT SKIPPING CHURCH TOMORROW! (this will be our topic)

Jesus wants the Rose

Ugh...I follow a couple different blogs throughout the week.  Every once and a while, I'll find a video that stops me in my tracks.  This video did just that...

I first heard a guy named Matt Chandler speak last summer at a Multi-Site Church conference.  Not that I agree with everything Matt ever says, but the guy is absolutely passionate about people who have yet to come to Jesus.  Would be worth your time to watch...

Forward/Faith Thinking

Our Middlebury Campus was pushed close to its limits this past Sunday (at the very least, pushed farther than it's ever been pushed before!)…and I loved it! I like to think of it as forward thinking/faith thinking…

It was forward/faith thinking that led us to build this facility back in 2002/2003.

It was forward/faith thinking that led us to go to 2 services in 2005.

It was forward/faith thinking that led us to add on to this facility back in 2005/2006.

It was forward/faith thinking that led us to add on what we added on back in 2005/2006! (foyer, café, nurseries, classrooms, etc.)

All of these forward/faith thinking idea's gave us the capacity to minister to as many people as we did this past weekend. All of these forward/faith thinking idea's gave us the tools to reach/teach more people this past weekend than we ever have in the course of one weekend.

Can I challenge you church? Don't ever stop forward/faith thinking. Don't ever give in to mediocrity or apathy. In every area of this church, let's think with faith. Let's dream big, let's plan big, let's take big steps of faith.

Now's not the time to play it safe…now's the time to step up and take it on…ah yes…

Help - Question for you:

   

Parking - This past Sunday, I saw a person parked in the gravel and heard that several parallel parked under the pine trees.  All of our staff was so busy on the inside of the building that we never noticed what was happening on the outside!  When you came to service, were there still parking spots available? 

   

Lobby/Classrooms/Restrooms - Did you notice the lobby or any classrooms being overly crowded this past Sunday?  Did you have to wait to use the restroom?

What do you have?

This is a shot of the altar area during one of our services this past Sunday. The thrust of the message was how God's not looking for the next Christian superstar. There is no American Idol for Christianity!

• God asked Moses – What's in your hand?
• God asked the widow through the Prophet Elisha – What's in your house?
• God asked the disciples when they were needing to feed the 5000 plus – What do you have?

In each situation, what they had was enough. God will use what we have, but the key is we've got to offer all we have to Him!

I closed the message with a story Tim Sanders had shared at the Catalyst Conference last fall. It was about Timberland (shoe company), who held their yearly conference in New Orleans, 1 year after Katrina. One of the Timberland employee's ended up giving one of the relief volunteers his shoes…which led to 3 bus loads of Timberland employee's to follow suit. They offered what they had.

We symbolically took our shoes off, placed them on the altar, and spent time in prayer at the end of both services Sunday. It really was an amazing moment…God moved…glad I was there…

You can listen to the message here…

Vision Thoughts – Bill Hybels Axiom

I've been slowly reading through a great book by Bill Hybels called Axiom – Powerful Leadership Proverbs. Hybels defines vision this way:

Picture of the future that produces passion in people. (p. 30)

I know many of you reading this right now are involved in helping lead people. Have you given them a vision to press toward? Have you developed a picture in their mind for what their area of ministry ought to look like? Has it produced passion for it to happen? Vision is so closely tied to dreaming, and I love it.

Another vision quote:

Wise leaders understand that the single greatest determinant of whether followers will ever own a vision deeply is the extent to which those followers believe the LEADER will own it. (p. 35)

Good stuff…

Opportunity – from a man’s rib?

Every once and a while I'll come across a quote that just downright tells it like it is. In preparing for last week, and this week's messages, I ran across this quote from Thomas Edison on Opportunity…

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Thomas A. Edison
US inventor (1847 - 1931)

God is into the everyday, normal things. God is looking for everyday people, like you and me, to do anything but "everyday" ministry for Him! God can take what you think is the mundane parts of your life, and use them to further his kingdom!

We've got to get past the "who am I for God to do something significant through me" thought process, and just bring who we are and what we are to God. Bring your success, your failure, your good, your bad, and let Him do something marvelous with it! He is a master at creativity! Face it, God made one of the greatest creations ever out of a stinking man's rib! If God can use a rib, he can use whatever it is you bring to the table!

Good stuff…

Seize the Opportunity

I love hearing how one of our Sunday messages impacted you...or how the Holy Spirit used a message to speak to you.  Monday, I received an email from Pathway person Michelle Oliver.  I asked her if I could share a bit of her story with you guys. Michelle was born to missionary parents, while they were serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Her family tries to keep abreast of what's happening there as they still have friends who are in the country. 

This country has been embroiled in fighting between warring factions and tribes for several years now.  The amount killed over the past 5 years is the equivalent to eight Rwandan genocides and five Darfur conflicts.  The province where Michelle was born has been deemed by the UN the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

She describes what happened in her heart on Sunday morning as she was challenged to 'seize the opportunity' -  My heart goes out to these people and I believe God is calling me to do something; I'm not sure what yet.  

What is it God is saying to you? 

Are there any opportunities you are steering clear of mainly b/c you aren't sure you have the goods to deliver?  Like when Moses reminded God that he stuttered...(as if God didn't already know that)... 

Or b/c you felt you aren't "spiritual" enough?  You doubt God could ever do anything significant in you b/c you continue to struggle in areas of self control, or wherever...

Listen, it's time you and I stop looking at what we don't have, and start looking at what we do have!  It's time to step up and seize the opportunity God has given us to reach this region with the Gospel and shake things up a bit! 

It's time that we both seize the opportunity we have to connect with the co-worker or neighbor, and serve them like Jesus would.  It's time! 

It's time we step out in faith and do that thing we know God has placed on our heart to do, and trust Him to come through!  This is the season my friend! 

Part two of the message, Seize the Opportunity, this Sunday...I pray you can make it!

No thanks Jesus…

Do you ever wonder if Jesus had asked other people to be his original disciples (around the same time as the ask went out to the original 12) and they said no? Maybe the 12 could have been 15? (I'm just asking, not saying I think it's true or anything)

What if one of the disciples would have said no? Matthew, James, John, Philip, Ringo, (just making sure you are paying attention), Bartholomew, Thaddaeus, Simon Peter, Simon the Zealot and the others…what if they would have said no? What if God gave them an OPPORTUNITY to be in on the ground floor of the most world revolutionizing moment in all of history…and they said, "nope, rather go back to fishing."

Is there any opportunity right now that maybe you are passing on, but God's best is that you run with it?

Seize the Opportunity…this Sunday, March 22…hope you're there…

A Pair of Dockers

Megan and I had just moved back to Middlebury to start a church. Part of the deal in following God's plan is that you sell out to his provision. Some people never make it to God's perfect plan simply b/c they are too hung up on things, or their pursuit of things. They forget the old, maybe overused phrase, "where God guides, He provides."

One day, God made this crystal clear to Megan and I. I desperately needed, of all things, a couple of pair of pants to wear day to day. I know it seems odd, but really, much of what was in my wardrobe at that time consisted of things I had from college 8 years ago. It was worn, missing buttons, etc. We had no money for new clothes at that time, so we just submitted it to the Lord. We just trusted God to provide, choosing to see things through eyes of faith.

Little did we know that this was one of the small tests God was taking us through. About a week after just leaving it in God's hands, someone dropped 2 pairs of Docker's (my pant of choice at that time) off at our house. Not a lot of fanfare, just felt like they ought to buy them for me.

It might as well have been a million dollars dropped off at the house…there was a need, we trusted God, and he provided. God is no respecter of people…He'll do the same for you…TRUST HIM!

Measure of Spiritual Maturity

I've been reading Jim Cymbala's new book, You Were Made For More, off and on for the past few months. I just read a quote I've got to share…

The only measure of our vertical relationship with God is the loving quality of our horizontal relationship with others.

Do you agree? Good stuff…

Do something, anything…

Can I encourage you again with this thought…Faith is not always standing still! Sometimes, it may be…but I'm convinced more times, God is waiting for us to make a move. We're busy standing around, saying we're just 'waiting on the Lord,' and the Lord's saying "I'm here, just start moving…I'll lead you, just do something, anything…but I can't move in you/through you until you start moving!"

It's like an airplane...the crew can be strapped in, the wings ready, the rudder ready, all trays and seats in an upright position, but if there is no forward thrust, you are going nowhere!

For eight years now, we've talked about starting a new campus/church. We've been standing around (or maybe I should say I've been standing around) "waiting on the Lord," and God's been saying "do something, anything!" Here we go!

Just step out, and trust that if you step a little out of the will of God, the Holy Spirit will bring you back in!

Gnawing in my heart

For a couple of days now, I've had this gnawing feeling going on inside my heart (for a lack of a better location, I'll say it's in my heart). It's this feeling I get from time to time when I feel I'm settling. Or when I feel the church is settling. It's not that anything is glaringly wrong, b/c really, things are going great! I think there's a healthy gnawing at your heart that ought to happen from time to time though.

The Kingdom of God is about more than keeping the lights on at the church. It's about more than opening song, welcome, greeting, worship, announcements, offering, preaching, altar call, and leaving, all while sipping coffee. I'm not saying I don't like these things, but that's not IT in itself! Without the anointing, and touch of the Holy Spirit on the worship time, worship is empty. Without His touch on the preaching, it's mere words. Without you and I, seriously taking the message from Scripture shared on that day, and living it out on Monday, we're just punching in with our Christian time card, appeasing our need to feel religious.

Jesus said in Luke 4, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. That's where I want to be…I don't want to settle! I want to live in the realm that Jesus talks about in John 14:12, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Let's press through the routine church…let's go past tradition…never settle…allow God to do something fresh in you this week!

Bigger: Gripped by the Word

One of my favorite quotes from Wayne Cordeiro's book, The Divine Mentor, (and there are many favorite quotes), is the following one I'll use in my message on the 11^th…

God is intimately acquainted with our ways, and He's more concerned about transformation than information. Our daily times in the Word are not necessarily designed to produce theologians. The primary purpose is to produce disciples. When we enter the Bible, we don't enter to study it as much as we allow it to study us!

Spending time reading the Bible is less about gaining information, and more about transformation…allowing it to change you, direct you, impact you…Good stuff!

Feeling Pressure…

I heard a message from Brian Houston Monday night on "Pressure." It was a great message! But more than the message was one verse that I've been trying to think on all week…

2 Corinthians 8:10 We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us.

Now that's good stuff…

Bigger: Playing Hurt Final Post

Final thought on learning to play hurt…As King Neb looked in on the 3 Hebrew guys (Daniel 3) as they dropped into the furnace, he noticed there were now 4.

You may think you are all alone in this. Your mind (and the enemy) may trick you into thinking that you are cut off from God. But my Bible says no sir. He never leaves us, he never turns His back on us. Even in the moments when it looks like 'God did not,' He was still there. His fingerprint is all over the God did not moment. If you can step back and remove the hurt…the pain…the anger…the anxiety…and see what remains…you'll see that God was still working, even in the midst of this bologna.

Learning to play hurt is about understanding God rarely snaps us out of the trial, but instead, walks with us through it. He's perfecting us…refining us…maturing us…stretching us.

God help me to learn to embrace the pain, and trust you through it. Amen.

Bigger: Playing Hurt Part 4

The hardest part of learning to playing hurt is dealing with what I call the 'God did nots.' These are times when you know God could have, but He didn't. The three Hebrew guys made it clear that God could save them from the furnace (Daniel 3), but then they said this amazing piece of history –

¹⁸But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.

My dad prayed the following at the end of almost every meal he ever prayed over, "guide us and protect us, and keep us safe, in Jesus name, Amen." God could have answered this prayer the way we all wish He would have and protected my parents on August 10, 1990. God could have…but God did not. Faith is…getting BIGGER is…trusting God, responding in faith, even if, God did not.

There were times in 2008, where it seemed as if God 'did not'…and it shook you…in 2009, you'll experience more…how will you respond? Faith or Fear?

Listen to the whole message here…

Bigger: Playing Hurt Part 3

A commitment to play hurt doesn't mean we stop asking and trusting God for the miraculous!

The 3 Hebrew guys (Daniel 3) stood in the face of what seemed certain death, and declared "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it…" That is FAITH! It would take faith to say such a thing the day before, when heading into a time of prayer - "I don't know about you two, but I think we have to defy the King on this edict. Even if we do get caught, I know God is able to save us!" But to say something like this in front of the dude who is ready to cook you up extra crispy is a whole other issue.

In your quest to learn to play hurt, and press through adversity, don't give in to the thought that "well, I guess it will always be this way." Until the day I die I will ask for and trust to have every promise in the Bible that is mine!

Listen to this whole message here…

Bigger: Playing Hurt Part 2

Playing hurt is not an option for 2009. I'm not a prophet of doom and gloom, but there are going to be challenges/trials in 2009 that will try to take you out. Like King Nebechenezer's decree in Daniel 3, these trials will literally scream at you to bow down to them.

Part of learning to play hurt is standing in the face of adversity, and not bowing down to it. This year, fear will attack you. This year, immorality will scream at you. This year, the enemy will target your weakest point and scream at you to bow down to it. You have to decide right here, right now, that you will not bow. Surrounded by your Life Group and other believers who are sharpening and challenging you spiritually, you will stand up to the trial and come out stronger!

You can curse the trial, or embrace it, refuse to bow, and get STRONGER and BIGGER in God! I choose to get BIGGER!

Listen to this whole message from December 28 here…

Bigger: Playing Hurt

I shared a message this past Sunday (first part of our Bigger series) that may have been one of the top 5 messages (in terms of timeliness) that have ever been shared at Pathway. I can't remember a time when a message was more painful to deliver.

In 2009 we've got to learn to PLAY HURT! We've got to stand in the face of adversity and trial and refuse to bow to it…to keep going…to not give in…b/c God is working on us through this trial (James 1:2-4).

I heard Craig Groeschel say the following about a year ago, and it's been bothering me ever since:

Embrace the pain…the world hates you, keep in mind they hated Jesus first…if you are really following Jesus, the chances are you'll experience more pain, not less. (comments from the 2007 Creative Church Conference at Fellowship Church)

Over the next few days, I'd like to rehash some of the thoughts from this message. You can listen to it here if you'd like…

Spiritual Set Point

Several years ago, I heard Mark Beeson talk about Spiritual set points. All of us have them, and we've got to let the Holy Spirit lead us in busting through them!

For this season of life, my physical weight is right around 205-210 pounds. (I know you really would have guessed that is was more like 170-175 given my handsome physique, but it's the truth guys) I can splurge a bit at Thanksgiving and Christmas, eat a couple of extra cookies and sweets, etc, and come January 1^st, I'll probably still be right around 205-210. In order for me to break through this weight, I'm going to have to do something drastic. Cut more calories, eat more veggies, and exercise more often. But the truth is, I'm not really motivated to do such (I'm working on it…I'll get to that right after I finish this whoopee pie from the Essenhaus).

It's the same way with our Spiritual set points. We can reach a point of comfort, where unless we do something drastic, we are going to stay right there. When I say "something drastic," I'm not talking about some sort of raised level of action (works) as much as I'm talking obedience. It's the whole "to obey is better than sacrifice" thing.

I think our church is in one of those seasons of break through right now. You can rear back in your comfort, or press on and break through! Jump in! It's exciting to say the least!

1 Samuel 15:22 But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

March Madness – Spiritual Gifts

I wanted to throw this 2007 series back out to you. March Madness was a series I did on the Spiritual Gifts, 1 Corinthians 12-14. The last 2 were probably the most pertinent to our recent messages on the Holy Spirit coming ON you.

Messages: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Stop Praying & Have a Business Mtng

I love this…look at Acts 1…Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Gift of the Holy Spirit. They were praying, all 120 of them. Really, verse 14 says "they all joined together constantly in prayer." And what did they decide to do, right in the middle of this whole prayer, seeking God thing…THEY HAD A BUSINESS MTNG!

They had to figure out what they were going to do about the loss of Judas. I love this! Being filled with the Holy Spirit, walking out in the Gift of the Holy Spirit, isn't just about some sort of Holy Spirit La La land. It's about being empowered for every day stuff!

In charismatic circles, some people live from church service to church service. It's almost like they are addicted to the "spiritual high" they get going from outpouring to outpouring. What about the times in between? What about the fruit of the Spirit (which speaks to your spiritual maturity) called "faithfulness?"

Living out your faith in faithful, everyday ways, is just as important as a prayer mtng. Having a business mtng (aka – paying your bills on time, showing up at work on time, serving faithfully, living in the everyday) is just as important as a prayer mtng!

Get it? Good stuff…more on Sunday…

Holy Spirit coming on You

I'm sitting here (well, really, I'm pacing, walking, typing, sitting, etc…hard to sit still when going over my message notes) trying to get my hands around this thought – if only every believer could understand the difference between the Holy Spirit being in you (at salvation), and the Holy Spirit coming on you.

Since I'm in Judges, talking about Gideon, look at his experience. The Holy Spirit came ON him. The ESV version of the Bible says the Holy Spirit clothed him (Judges 6:34). Did this work of the Holy Spirit bring him into any kind of a further "right" standing before God? Nope. This was taken care of by the sacrificial offerings he had done earlier in the chapter.

The Holy Spirit coming ON him had one main thing to accomplish – empowerment to do what God was calling him to do. Same thing for Bezalel and Oholiab (Exodus 31:1-11 and 35:30-35), Othniel (Judges 3:9-10), Jephthah (Judges11:29), and Samson (Judges 14:5-6; 15:14-16).

But the good news is, Joel prophesied (Joel 2) that the day is coming where the Holy Spirit will no longer just be poured out, and come ON, individual persons, at specific times…but it will be poured out on us all. Insert Acts 2.

Did what happened in Acts 2 have anything to do with these men and women being more "saved" or in "right" standing before God? Nope. It had everything to do with them being empowered to do what God was calling them to do…with Power!

You get it? Can't wait to bring the word tomorrow…

Put Your Clothes On!

This is exactly what God did to Gideon…he had him put his clothes on! This Sunday is going to be great!

Judges 6:34 ³⁴Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon (ESV - ³⁴But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon), and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.

Encourage One Another Daily

I fully admit that being an encourager is not my greatest gift. I'm more of a grin and bear it, and let's just keep going type of a guy. Yah, life stinks sometimes, let's just keep moving.

I remember one time in college when there were 2 car loads of us going to this house, off campus. One of the other cars was involved in a bit of a fender bender. The gal who was driving came in crying and very distraught. Like an idiot, I spoke up and mentioned how it was all going to be ok, and let's get on with things here (after all there were games to be played and food to be eaten). One of the other students turned to me, and said out loud, "we are all moved by your concern here Scott." In other words, "you are being a bit of a dork here…would you just have a little compassion?"

God has called me, and you, to be encouragers. I must spend time encouraging Megan, my girls, those I work with/minister with, and any others who I come in contact with.

God has called each of us to encourage each other daily! Hebrews 3 says encouragement from others actually keeps us from sin! How about that…the next time I find myself slipping up somewhere, it might really be your fault. Thanks a lot! Sounds good, doesn't it? Hah!

Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

Zeal for the House

David says in Psalms 69:9 "for zeal for your house consumes me…" This verse is amazing!

I spent time talking today with the Leadership Team about the absolute necessity of the house, or what we call the local church. Think about it…without the corporate anointing of the local church, there is no way to live out the Great Commandment or the Great Commission. You CANNOT accomplish the Great Commandment and the Great Commission to its fullest extent without the local church.

I was preparing my notes for today's session the other day, and I wrote down (really, I typed out) the thought that the local church is God's method to reach a community. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the local church IS NOT a method. Methods change, principles never change. The local church is the principle, how we do local church could and should change (the methods we use), but the principle that God uses the local church as His main way of reaching and building lives will never change!

I could say a load of other stuff about this (and probably will in a message series), but I want to challenge your thinking on the house, the local church.

Psalms 92:12 ¹²    The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; Planted in the House of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.

Serve Here, Serve There

Here is the question we ought to ask the people we meet: How can I serve you? I cannot save anyone. But I can serve everyone! And when we serve people, people get saved. – Author/Pastor Mark Batterson

It's more than a catchy slogan, it's a lifestyle. I will serve in my local church (Serve Here), God's hope for a dying world! I will serve in the community (Serve There), God's call for the church!

Go in the strength you have…

I ran across some thoughts I've used before concerning working/living/ministering out of your strengths. I thought of them again as I talked about how God said to Gideon "Go in the strength you have…" (Judges 6:14)…think on it…

Strengths: Consistent near perfect performance in an activity.

3 of the most important principles of living a strong life:

1) For an activity to be a strength, you must be able to do it consistently.

2) You do not have to have strength in every aspect of your role in order to excel.

3) You will excel only by maximizing your strengths, never by fixing your weaknesses.

(Taken from Now, Discover Your Strengths – Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton)

Do you agree?

Stepping into your Destiny

I've been studying all day for the second half of my message on Faith, using the life of Gideon (Judges 6-7). Do you realize it wasn't until Gideon stepped out in faith that the Lord moved him into his Destiny? The Lord used Gideon to take down the enemy's of Israel, and then caused 40 years of peace! Almost a whole generation changed simply b/c one man took one step of faith…and then God brought him into his destiny!

What about you? Could it be that the biggest step of faith you are facing right now…that step you know is God, but you are teetering on, is the very thing that will bring you into your God ordained destiny? The new season of life you've been longing for is only one step of faith away?

That will make you want to slap somebody…I feel the preacher coming on me…everybody say yah, "yyyyaaaahhhhhhh"…everybody say uh-huh, "uuuuhhhh-hhhhhuuuuhhh"…(I'm probably the only preacher in the world who has visions of a choir suddenly jumping out behind him, shouting him down, as he's working on his notes for Sunday…hah!)

More on Sunday…

Word for today

This morning, I met with a group of pastor from Middlebury for our Ministerial Association mtng thing. Anyhow, Rich Troyer, from Middlebury Church of the Brethren, read Psalm 46. Would you take one minute to read it through? I think you'll be glad you did…

 1 God is our refuge and strength,
       an ever-present help in trouble.

 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
       and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

 3 though its waters roar and foam
       and the mountains quake with their surging.
       Selah

 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
       the holy place where the Most High dwells.

 5 God is within her, she will not fall;
       God will help her at break of day.

 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
       he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

 7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
       the God of Jacob is our fortress.
       Selah

 8 Come and see the works of the LORD,
       the desolations he has brought on the earth.

 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
       he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
       he burns the shields ^[b] with fire.

 10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
       I will be exalted among the nations,
       I will be exalted in the earth."

 11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
       the God of Jacob is our fortress.
       Selah

Saturday Inspiration

A good Saturday morning to you…

You know, I've worked on this Sunday's message all week (got an early start on it on Monday). By the time Thursday night rolled around, I had 2 different messages, with ready to preach outlines, but didn't feel any "inspiration" on either one!

It's like I go through seasons that are like this. Sometimes I have a message/series that I struggle very little over…but then I have messages like this weeks that seem to never fully come together…at least…until Saturday. I don't understand the Saturday thing, but when I'm having an off week, it always seems like God helps me nail a message down come Saturday. Typically this happens by Saturday morning…sometimes not until the final "run through" on Saturday night (which makes for a stressful weekend).

I know pastors who have their message nailed down by Tuesday every week! I am trying, but for some reason, my fly by the seat of my pants way of doing things affects my sermon prep as well! Oh, I'm working/praying all week, but there are times when everything doesn't come together until Saturday (like this morning).

We'll see how well it came together tomorrow morning!

Gideon

I've been studying the story of Gideon in the book of Judges all week (Judges 6-8). Have some time and desire to dig deeper in the Word? Join me…share with me what you see in the story…email or comment…

Right now I'm a bit amazed by this thought – God made His promise to Gideon before repentance had even taken place? Still developing this thought, but God promised to help Gideon strike down the Midianites, and that whole scene…then the 1^st offering was offered up, followed by the 2^nd offering, which included the tearing down of the idolatrous altar of Baal and such (and using it's wood for the fire…hah!...I love it).

God is not looking for the most spiritual among us, He's looking for the obedient and dedicated to His plan. Hopefully the most obedient and dedicated are the most "spiritual among us."

He's more interested in your direction than perfection. You see this theme in the OT where God even used a prostitute, and the NT, where God used imperfect fishermen who turned into deserters!

What do you think?

Miracle by Subtraction

You ever feel like God is setting you up for a miracle? The kind of miracle that blaringly points out that this really shouldn't have happened like this, BUT GOD! BUT GOD blessed it, and blessed your faith, which caused you to be crazy enough to listen and follow Him.

I was reading Judges 7, the story where Gideon defeats the Midianites. I love this story. Gideon has this huge army, and God says, "thin it out boys, so that you hard headed oafs won't think you did this in your own strength." This huge army was dwindled down to a group of 300 water lapping crazy faith people. These are the kind of people I want to hang out with! You can take your well thought out, by the book answers, and develop your strategies. I'll take a group of crazy faith, hearing from God, getting it done no matter the costs, kind of people any day!

Ok, ok, I know that we need to consider the cost and all that, but I've learned "by the book answers" and "strategizing" can at times CONSTIPATE the very creativity that God is trying to resurrect in you! Maybe we could call it a miracle by subtraction? God's trying to set you up for a miracle that may take you down a very uneasy, hit rock bottom, not the way you planned it, process. YOU THINK GOD'S LEFT YOU HANGING HERE…But what He's really doing is clearing out the army, clearing out all of man's brilliant ideas, so that when His plan happens, everyone will know it was Him b/c you aren't that smart!!! He's doing a miracle by subtracting every man made solution, and inserting the one plan that only God could pull off!

Hello! Somebody comment an Amen here or something…that's good preaching my friend! I might have to get up and dance around for a minute as I think about how God's setting YOU up right now!!! AMEN – SO BE IT!

Hopeless

Hopeless...that's what I felt this morning at 6:20am. I was minutes from walking out of the house for a breakfast appnt at 6:30am, and my youngest came running into our bedroom crying and a bit traumatized. She said something about her nose bleeding. I didn't really understand b/c she only had a little bit of red around her nose. Megan picked her up to hold her, and I went into her room to try to figure this out.

 

On her pillow, next to her Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck (and a plethora of her other stuffed animal friends), was a pool of blood, about 12 inches wide. I have a hard time dealing with blood in the first place, but seeing your child's blood like that...wow, too much for me to take. My heart broke.

 

My instincts kicked in, and I removed the blood stained pillow case, pillow, and sheets from the bedroom ASAP so she wouldn't see them again. I felt this hopelessness start to sink in. What in the world is happening with her? Why did she have this bloody nose issue? Is something more serious wrong? I knew Megan had issues like this when she was little, but could this be a sign of something else?

 

I prayed a simple prayer of faith with Megan and her, as she fell back to sleep in Megan's arms. We laid her in our bed as she continued to sleep. After a while, I laid down next to her. She wrapped her little arms around my big hairy oaf arms, and clasped her hands together. She held on to my arm as she slept in peace.

 

I didn't want to move, but I had to help get her sister off to school, etc., so I gently slid my arm out of her grasp, and she rolled over and continued to sleep.

 

Reminds me of our Father's love. God actually asks us to come to him…run to him…and bring him our bloody noses. He then envelopes us in peace as we clasp our hands around his mighty arm. We run to Him, and rest in Him.

 

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

God’s Will Wheel

Used this "Discernment Wheel" (for a lack of a better description) yesterday as I talked about how we can discern the leading of the Holy Spirit. The message should be here later on this week if you are interested.

(adapted from Preparing for Marriage by Dennis Rainey)

I think the most unused "spoke" on this wheel is our desires and circumstances. These 2 things don't seem as "spiritual" as the others, but I'm convinced God speaks to us through those more than we know!

Potential - Body

Are you serving God with all your strength/potential???

We've already dealt with your spirit and your soul, so let's finish up as we look at your body! Are you living up to your potential in this area? Are you exercising your body? Are you eating healthy? Ouch!

What about Sabbath? Are you taking a regular Sabbath? Sabbath is about taking one day a week to rest…to cease creating! One day a week to put away the cell phone, turn off the email, sleep in, take time with family, and simply rest. Give this day to the pursuit of enjoying God and His people. Are you doing this? If not, what makes you think you can get away without a Sabbath and even God needed one (he rested on the 7^th day)? Do you realize this is one of the 10 commandments? It's as wrong for you to commit adultery as it is for you to not take a Sabbath.

Jesus served others with all of his strength. There's not a doubt in my mind that by the time he said "it is finished" on the cross, that included every ounce of physical strength he could muster. Jesus set the bar when it came to loving/serving God with all of your strength…are you up to the challenge?

Potential - Soul

Are you serving God with all your strength/potential???

Let me zoom this in a little bit further…we've already dealt with your spirit, what about your soul? Your soul is made up of 3 areas as I see it. So how are you living to your full potential in these areas:

• Emotions – When you hear about the sex trade going on involving young Philippino girls, you ought to get a bit emotional. When you are brought in on hard life issues involving lives of people you work with, you ought to get hit in the gut! God wants to use your emotions to serve him!
• Intellect – God has given some of you great minds to use for his Kingdom purposes. Are you using your intellect to its full potential?
• Will – Our will must be submitted to his will. Where do you fall on this? The values that you will not bow or bend on in your life – are they God things?

What do you think?