100th Post & A Routine God

I was a bit surprised to see that this is my 100th post. It's been quite a journey since I began this little blog several months ago. I'm constantly amazed at the geographic spread of my readers. I don't know if that is intentional or if someone from Germany or Ukraine did a search for smartphones and Google randomly sent them here. Either way, I appreciate all the kind words and numerous views from everyone. While you all may enjoy this, I think I'm the one that benefits the most. There is something very sweet, and Biblical, about looking back at what God has done and what I'm continuing to learn about Him and through Him.

One of those amazing things I can look back on is all the camps I've had the privilege of being a part of over the years. Today, our youth group heads off to Winter Camp where we'll be focusing on the theme of Salt & Light. This is either my 17th or 18th Winter Camp. Add to that 16 or so Summer Camps and you'd think that this would be a routine weekend. But that's what's so exciting about these camps. Each one is different, with different breakthroughs for students and different ways God chooses to reveal Himself. While I will miss my sweet little girls at home, I am pumped for the time away with our students where we can really focus on the Lord and get away from the distractions of everyday life.

Whether it is another camp, another date night with my wife, another blog post, another Sunday of worship, or another time in God's Word, I've found that repetition doesn't necessarily mean something becomes stale and meaningless. Rather, it leads to a greater appreciation of the little details and a love for the opportunity to learn and grow. These things I do over and over again only lose their joy and excitement if I lose my joy in doing them. If I make them solely about me and my pleasure, than of course they will become just a duty to perform rather than a delight to enjoy. But that is what is so great about serving in ministry, and really seeing all of life as our worship/service to God. With God there is no routine. There is no "same old, same old". As Aslan says throughout the Narnia books, things never happen the same way twice. A friend in one of my classes phrased it this way: "God is unchanging, but always new." What a great way to remind us of what Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations:

21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24  "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."

Lam 3:21-24 (ESV)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sunday Singables: "O Sing a Song of Bethlehem"

Image
Each Sunday of Advent I'll be featuring a different Christmas song we use in our worship. Hopefully, you'll be introduced to some new and engaging songs that will bring freshness to your personal and corporate worship.  ( 12.2 - O Sing a Song of Bethlehem  / 12.9 - Christ the Lord is Born Today / 12.16 - When He Comes / 12.23 - In the First Light ) "O Sing a Song of Bethlehem"  text by Louis Benson, melody by Lucy Broadwood and Ralph Vaughan Williams Alternative arrangement and lyrics-  "How Suddenly a Baby Cries" by Keith and Kristyn Getty , released on Joy: An Irish Christmas , 2011 (this is the Getty's arrangement which gets pretty upbeat at about 1:40 into the song) You can find this original hymn in most of the hymnals at church. It is number 167 in ours. I like both arrangements of this tune as each emphasize different elements. Why I recommend this song for worship- The hymn text of this song traces the life of Christ from the cr...
Read more

Christian Deconstruction

Image
My latest morning live session gave some insights into my own experience with Christian Deconstruction. If you aren’t familiar with this phraseology, think of it like tearing down a house in order to see what the foundation is made of. Many Christians go through this process once they are confronted with a crisis of adversity or prosperity. Jesus spoke about this directly in his parable of the different soils in Matthew 13. While only one of the plants in this parable bore fruit and proved to be genuine, two others looked like legit plants until they were confronted with trials, adversity, or the pleasures of this world. When those came around they were shown to be what they were, a fake plant. Personally, I went through this deconstruction process at the end of 2017. I was very suddenly without a spouse, job, or church. My roles of husband, pastor, ministry leader, and churchman were removed and I was left to consider what my faith really rested on. Was it based on what I wa...
Read more

Lord From Sorrows Deep I Call

Image
These past few weeks I've been wrestling with loneliness. It's been a difficult transition; moving from having someone to talk to about everything to... well, to sharing that with a journal, and maybe a few highlights for my friends. The huge positive is that I talk a lot more with God. I know He's always known me, but I'm feeling like we're communicating better, and more often, than I ever have in the past. However, the loneliness still remains. I know I'm not alone in this life situation. My mother-in-law (how does that work now?) who will always be my second Mom lost her husband several years ago, and I know she's wrestled with this. I have friends who have been single all their lives, seemingly content with their friends and their God, but go through seasons of doubt and discouragement all the same. I know others who have lost a spouse through death or divorce. Still others who simply feel alone even within their marriage and outwardly perfect life. ...
Read more