...Since Jesus was delivered to you as Christ and Lord, live your lives in union with him. Be rooted in him, be built in him; be consolidated in the faith you were taught; let your hearts overflow with thankfulness. Be on your guard; do not let your minds be captured by hollow and delusive speculations, based on traditions of man-made teaching and centered on the elemental spirits of the world and not on Christ.
For it is in Christ that the complete being of the Godhead dwells embodied, and in him you have been brought to completion.
Colossians 2:6-10 The New English Bible
Great verses to ponder....
I'll be looking for you Sunday!
Mitch
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
Hercules...
Hercules is a well-known figure in Greek mythology. To make a long story short, he was assigned several very difficult tasks as punishment. Among these feats was killing the Nemean lion, taming the Cretan bull, capturing the Cernian stag, slaughtering the Lernaean hydra (a serpent with nine heads) etc.
The most interesting and difficult task assigned him was that of cleaning the ox stables of King Augeas. The king had 3000 oxen housed in stables. They had not been cleaned in thirty years. He was required to clean the stables in one day - a Herculean task indeed!
He could have looked at the mess and said, Wow, this is impossible! But having succeeded in the previous tasks, he would not be out done by dung! He made two openings in the stables, front to back. Two rivers that were flowing nearby were diverted by a channel through the stables. They were cleansed in a single day!
An ancient myth but possibly a modern plan for the church. The fact that the church needs cleansing is without debate. Pastors cannot do it alone. One after another have tried and failed.
Through the world and always near the church flow two mighty rivers - the Spirit and the Word. One (the Spirit) empowers the other (the Word); the other (the Word) provides the channel for the flow of the one (the Spirit). They both are necessary, each complimentary to the other and mutually dependant. One is the source, the other the course. The flow of each is vital but incomplete without the other.
Some through the years have tapped into the flow of these rivers and felt their power to restore, purify, and enable. At times a whole culture has been changed. At present, it seems that the rivers are so far away and the channels are too small.
If the body of Christ on earth can dig a channel to these great rivers through humbling repentance and prayer, connecting them with the body, the cleansing will be wonderful, swift, and thorough.
Our Lord, mightier than Hercules, waits to accomplish this task! He is committed to "make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish.' (Eph. 5:26-27)
Lord, bring the rivers together in our church...and let them flow!
From The Word Of God With Power by Jack Taylor
I thought the Lord would have me share these thoughts with you. ...Halleluia, thine the Glory! Revive us again.
Mitch
The most interesting and difficult task assigned him was that of cleaning the ox stables of King Augeas. The king had 3000 oxen housed in stables. They had not been cleaned in thirty years. He was required to clean the stables in one day - a Herculean task indeed!
He could have looked at the mess and said, Wow, this is impossible! But having succeeded in the previous tasks, he would not be out done by dung! He made two openings in the stables, front to back. Two rivers that were flowing nearby were diverted by a channel through the stables. They were cleansed in a single day!
An ancient myth but possibly a modern plan for the church. The fact that the church needs cleansing is without debate. Pastors cannot do it alone. One after another have tried and failed.
Through the world and always near the church flow two mighty rivers - the Spirit and the Word. One (the Spirit) empowers the other (the Word); the other (the Word) provides the channel for the flow of the one (the Spirit). They both are necessary, each complimentary to the other and mutually dependant. One is the source, the other the course. The flow of each is vital but incomplete without the other.
Some through the years have tapped into the flow of these rivers and felt their power to restore, purify, and enable. At times a whole culture has been changed. At present, it seems that the rivers are so far away and the channels are too small.
If the body of Christ on earth can dig a channel to these great rivers through humbling repentance and prayer, connecting them with the body, the cleansing will be wonderful, swift, and thorough.
Our Lord, mightier than Hercules, waits to accomplish this task! He is committed to "make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish.' (Eph. 5:26-27)
Lord, bring the rivers together in our church...and let them flow!
From The Word Of God With Power by Jack Taylor
I thought the Lord would have me share these thoughts with you. ...Halleluia, thine the Glory! Revive us again.
Mitch
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
The Simpler Life...
I don't know of anyone that's not looking for ways to simplify their life. With the demands of our culture, packed schedules and the need to multi-task, there is a longing to find anything that can modify the intensity of it all.
High Springs is growing very fast and many of the people who are coming are from South Florida, hoping to escape the complicated fast pace of that part of our state. I can't say I blame them.
I've been working on this for a long time. Simplifying life in all of its dimensions isn't done over night. The scripture gives many clues for this. I've especially been noticing that Jesus was never in a hurry, never panicked, seemed to always be on time and remained remarkably peaceful in the context of tremendous pressures.
I've touched on this before but Jesus disclosed the secret of His life in the Gospel of John as we are allowed to glimpse into the intimate relationship He had with His Father. Living here was simply a matter of hearing His Father and doing what He said! With life being full of messages, sounds and images that forcibly intrude on us, I find it challenging to filter out the noise and clearly discern Him. I think it takes practice and intentional disciplines...and it's worth it!
A spiritual life requires discipline because we need to learn to listen to God, who constantly speaks, but whom we seldom hear. Henri Nouwen states that when we learn to listen, our lives become obedient lives. Obedient is from the Latin word audire, which means listening. Without listening, our lives become absurd (derived from the Latin word surdis, meaning deaf), ridiculous, out of control, complicated. Spiritual discipline is necessary to move slowly from an absurd to an obedient life, from a life filled with noisy worries to a life in which there is some free inner space where we can listen to our God and follow His guidance.
Jesus was always listening to His Father. We need to be "all ears" for God! The core of all prayer is listening and obediently standing in His presence...the simple life as Jesus prescribed it.
Adapted from The Only Necessary Thing by Henri J.M. Nouwen
I needed to hear this. Hope it blesses, challenges and begins to simplify your life as it has mine.
Blessings,
Mitch
High Springs is growing very fast and many of the people who are coming are from South Florida, hoping to escape the complicated fast pace of that part of our state. I can't say I blame them.
I've been working on this for a long time. Simplifying life in all of its dimensions isn't done over night. The scripture gives many clues for this. I've especially been noticing that Jesus was never in a hurry, never panicked, seemed to always be on time and remained remarkably peaceful in the context of tremendous pressures.
I've touched on this before but Jesus disclosed the secret of His life in the Gospel of John as we are allowed to glimpse into the intimate relationship He had with His Father. Living here was simply a matter of hearing His Father and doing what He said! With life being full of messages, sounds and images that forcibly intrude on us, I find it challenging to filter out the noise and clearly discern Him. I think it takes practice and intentional disciplines...and it's worth it!
A spiritual life requires discipline because we need to learn to listen to God, who constantly speaks, but whom we seldom hear. Henri Nouwen states that when we learn to listen, our lives become obedient lives. Obedient is from the Latin word audire, which means listening. Without listening, our lives become absurd (derived from the Latin word surdis, meaning deaf), ridiculous, out of control, complicated. Spiritual discipline is necessary to move slowly from an absurd to an obedient life, from a life filled with noisy worries to a life in which there is some free inner space where we can listen to our God and follow His guidance.
Jesus was always listening to His Father. We need to be "all ears" for God! The core of all prayer is listening and obediently standing in His presence...the simple life as Jesus prescribed it.
Adapted from The Only Necessary Thing by Henri J.M. Nouwen
I needed to hear this. Hope it blesses, challenges and begins to simplify your life as it has mine.
Blessings,
Mitch
Monday, August 21, 2006
Pruning...
...An essential for most plants, to maximize their beauty, productiveness and fruit. That's nice to know but Jesus teaches us that pruning is necessary in our lives in order to maximize our intended possibilities and potential. I can't say I like that idea too much. It's fine for my yard and O.K. for someone else, but Jesus gets real personal and assures me I need it too.
There's no way we can fully understand all He is doing in the pruning regimen He has formulated for us. But, one thing is for sure; Psalm 25:8-10 tells us that He is good and upright as He leads and teaches us. That all the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth. Whew, that is so comforting to know.
Bruce Wilkinson in his book Secrets of the Vine says God has 4 prime points of pruning on us. They are:
The people you love the most...
Your right to know why God does what He does...
Your love for money and possessions...AND last but certainly not least...
The sources of your significance....
As He lovingly shapes you, governed by his goodness, rightousness and truth, be assured, in spite of the pain, of a beneficial, profitable, positive and glorious end (Ps 25:12-15).
Your Heavenly Father just wanted me to tell you this...and, I needed to hear it again too....
Blessings,
Mitch
There's no way we can fully understand all He is doing in the pruning regimen He has formulated for us. But, one thing is for sure; Psalm 25:8-10 tells us that He is good and upright as He leads and teaches us. That all the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth. Whew, that is so comforting to know.
Bruce Wilkinson in his book Secrets of the Vine says God has 4 prime points of pruning on us. They are:
The people you love the most...
Your right to know why God does what He does...
Your love for money and possessions...AND last but certainly not least...
The sources of your significance....
As He lovingly shapes you, governed by his goodness, rightousness and truth, be assured, in spite of the pain, of a beneficial, profitable, positive and glorious end (Ps 25:12-15).
Your Heavenly Father just wanted me to tell you this...and, I needed to hear it again too....
Blessings,
Mitch
Thursday, August 17, 2006
What Happened This Week?
Well, if you've been accustomed to reading the Leadership Blog each week, you probably noticed that Monday's post didn't get done. Sometimes, life is like that. Sorry for the blip in the routine.
I wanted to mention a couple of things to you all:
The new Bible Study Quarter begins Sunday, September 3rd. The new line up will be posted in the upcoming Equipper.
Life Groups are beginning to fire up for the Fall. Make sure and check out the Info in the Welcome Center.
Coming in October: Pastor Rick will be teaching a 4 Sunday series on Sunday Nights at 6:00. Be watching for more information. This may impact your Life Group if you meet on Sundays. We're all looking forward to hearing more from Rick. Plan some creative fun things with your group that will keep you connected during that time.
AND...
An Agape Feast / Town Meeting has been scheduled for Sunday, September 17th at 6:00 P.M. in the MMB. More to come on this!
Great things coming. Look forward to seeing you Sunday.
Mitch
I wanted to mention a couple of things to you all:
The new Bible Study Quarter begins Sunday, September 3rd. The new line up will be posted in the upcoming Equipper.
Life Groups are beginning to fire up for the Fall. Make sure and check out the Info in the Welcome Center.
Coming in October: Pastor Rick will be teaching a 4 Sunday series on Sunday Nights at 6:00. Be watching for more information. This may impact your Life Group if you meet on Sundays. We're all looking forward to hearing more from Rick. Plan some creative fun things with your group that will keep you connected during that time.
AND...
An Agape Feast / Town Meeting has been scheduled for Sunday, September 17th at 6:00 P.M. in the MMB. More to come on this!
Great things coming. Look forward to seeing you Sunday.
Mitch
Monday, August 07, 2006
Soul Nourishment First
From the Autobiography of George Mueller....
It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, a benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state and how my inner man might be nourished.
I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God - not prayer, but the Word of God. And here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God so that it only passes through my mind just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what I read, pondering over it, and applying it to my heart. To meditate on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved and instructed. And that thus, by means of the Word of God, whilst meditating on it, my heart be brought into experimental communion with the Lord.
I began therefore to meditate on the New Testament from the beginning early in the morning. The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord's blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God, searching as it were into every verse to get blessing out of it.
When we pray, we speak to God. Now, prayer, in order to be continued for any length of time in any other than a formal manner, requires, generally speaking, a measure of strength or godly desire; and the season, therefore, when this exercise of the soul can be most effectively performed is after the inner man has been nourished by meditation on the Word of God, where we find our Father speaking to us, to encourage us, to comfort us, to instruct us, to humble us, to reprove us.
By the blessings of God, I ascribe to this mode the help and strength which I have had from God to pass in peace through deeper trials, in various ways, than I had ever had before.
How different, when the soul is refreshed and made happy early in the morning, from what it is when, without spiritual preparation, the service, the trials, and the temptations of the day come upon me.
Blessings,
Mitch
It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, a benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state and how my inner man might be nourished.
I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God - not prayer, but the Word of God. And here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God so that it only passes through my mind just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what I read, pondering over it, and applying it to my heart. To meditate on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved and instructed. And that thus, by means of the Word of God, whilst meditating on it, my heart be brought into experimental communion with the Lord.
I began therefore to meditate on the New Testament from the beginning early in the morning. The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord's blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God, searching as it were into every verse to get blessing out of it.
When we pray, we speak to God. Now, prayer, in order to be continued for any length of time in any other than a formal manner, requires, generally speaking, a measure of strength or godly desire; and the season, therefore, when this exercise of the soul can be most effectively performed is after the inner man has been nourished by meditation on the Word of God, where we find our Father speaking to us, to encourage us, to comfort us, to instruct us, to humble us, to reprove us.
By the blessings of God, I ascribe to this mode the help and strength which I have had from God to pass in peace through deeper trials, in various ways, than I had ever had before.
How different, when the soul is refreshed and made happy early in the morning, from what it is when, without spiritual preparation, the service, the trials, and the temptations of the day come upon me.
Blessings,
Mitch
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Prayer...Life's Limitless Reach
This is the title of a book written on prayer and ever since I heard it, it echos in my mind reminding me of this powerful privilege we posses.
Prayer not only has power and practical results for now, but for years and generations to come. In Colossians 1 Paul prayed for the church and his prayer continues to reverberate and influence us. He says: We've not ceased to pray for you...and ask that you would receive [from Him] all wisdom and spiritual understanding for full insight into His will, so that your manner of life (how you live and behave) may be worthy of the Lord and entirely pleasing to Him. We pray that you may bear fruit in active goodness of every kind, and grow in the knowledge of God...that He would strengthen you, in His glorious might, with ample power to meet whatever comes with fortitude, patience, and joy; and to give thanks to the Father who has made you fit to share the heritage of God's people in the realm of light.
I ditto his prayer for you, that all these things be true and increasing for His Glory, to the advancing of His Kingdom and for your continued benefit, blessing and joy. May God continue to grace you in this race (gk. agon, from which we get the word agony) as Paul calls it, until, in His time, we realize the blessed hope that He has guaranteed.
Full, to overflowing,
Mitch
Prayer not only has power and practical results for now, but for years and generations to come. In Colossians 1 Paul prayed for the church and his prayer continues to reverberate and influence us. He says: We've not ceased to pray for you...and ask that you would receive [from Him] all wisdom and spiritual understanding for full insight into His will, so that your manner of life (how you live and behave) may be worthy of the Lord and entirely pleasing to Him. We pray that you may bear fruit in active goodness of every kind, and grow in the knowledge of God...that He would strengthen you, in His glorious might, with ample power to meet whatever comes with fortitude, patience, and joy; and to give thanks to the Father who has made you fit to share the heritage of God's people in the realm of light.
I ditto his prayer for you, that all these things be true and increasing for His Glory, to the advancing of His Kingdom and for your continued benefit, blessing and joy. May God continue to grace you in this race (gk. agon, from which we get the word agony) as Paul calls it, until, in His time, we realize the blessed hope that He has guaranteed.
Full, to overflowing,
Mitch
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