Here's an honest confession: I struggle to rest in the Lord. Maybe I'm a bit compulsive, but I find it difficult to be still and know that God is working when I can't see what He's doing. When I need the Lord to do something in my life, I tend to "help Him" do it. But I have come to realize that God doesn't need my help! In Old Covenant times, God instructed His priests to dress in linen garments instead of wool so they wouldn't perspire while they worked. Ezekiel 44:18b (NASB1995) says: "They shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat."
Jesus' name is listed in the Bible 1,281 times, more than any other individual. The next most mentioned person in the Bible is David, at 971 times, and we can learn so much by studying his life. David went through many struggles, failures and battles, yet he stayed faithful to God. He knew how to keep spiritually strong, even when his trials and tests were overwhelming. David's worst day is described in 1 Samuel 30, when the Amalekites raided his camp at Ziklag. These terrorists kidnapped all the women and children, torched the city and looted everything.
Summer is here, and with the warmer weather comes the opportunity for many American Christians to go overseas on short-term mission trips. I suspect large numbers of believers will travel out of the country because COVID kept us so isolated during the past two years. One of the greatest joys in my life is ministering overseas. Since I surrendered to a call to missions, I've visited 36 nations and developed relationships with dozens of pastors and leaders who now consider me their friend and brother.
Last weekend after I spoke at a church in Jacksonville, Florida, a young woman came to the altar to ask for prayer. She had heard me share how Jesus wants us to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we can have the boldness to share the gospel - and so that we can experience all the Spirit's miraculous power when we minister to others. This woman was a bit shy, but after I prayed for her, she began to speak in tongues for the first time. It was a new experience for her, but she wants all God has for her. Her fears didn't keep her from claiming something new from God. Her life was changed in that moment.
All my life I've heard many creative excuses for missing church. Long before memes were invented for social media, absentee churchgoers joked about attending "Bedside Baptist," "Church of the Holy Comforter" or "Church of the Inner Springs" to imply that they were sleeping in on Sunday morning. But during the last two years we've had even more convenient reasons to stay away from church. The pandemic ushered in the era of "Zoom worship," and I'm grateful we had the technology for virtual meetings. But now, as mask mandates are relaxed and COVID cases drop, many Christians are still watching church online in their pajamas.
A few months ago, I preached at a church in Michigan called New Life Christian Fellowship. At the conclusion of the service, while I was praying for the congregation, the Lord showed me that someone was struggling with a strong addiction. I shared this with the people and invited the unidentified person to reach out to Jesus for help. Immediately, a young man made his way to the front. He was already crying and he knelt near the stage without any prompting. My friend Cliff quickly got up and knelt beside the man to pray with him.
My wife and I had the opportunity to tour Israel with a small group of friends in 2018. I'll never forget walking along the rocky shore of the Sea of Galilee, looking out at the small fishing boats and imagining what it would have been like to see Jesus and His small group of disciples in that place, just a few miles south of Capernaum. When I got close to the water, I rolled up my pants to my knees and waded in. I noticed some fishermen throwing their nets into the blue waters.
My wife and I raised four daughters - without shotguns in the house! We love our sons-in-law, and it's obvious God handpicked each of them to match our daughters' temperaments and personality. I have always believed God is in the matchmaking business. If He can do it for my daughters, He can do it for you. Today I have several single female friends who would very much like to find the right guy. Some tell me the pickings are slim at their church, so they have ventured into the world of online dating. Others have thrown up their hands in despair, wondering if there are any decent Christian guys left anywhere. They've begun to wonder if they should lower their standards in order to find a mate.
I've been blessed to know many wise and courageous ministry leaders over the years. Some have been examples from a distance and others have been mentors up close. But I have also known many leaders whose churches or organizations failed because they didn't adopt the solid principles of leadership found in the Bible. Today I constantly remind young leaders what I've observed. Based on the eight biggest blunders any leader could make, I offer this cautionary advice.
Fifty years ago, Time magazine featured Jesus Christ on its cover to document an unusual spiritual revival that was sweeping the nation at that time. At the height of the Jesus movement, which began around 1967, thousands of teenagers and young hippies found salvation as an alternative to psychedelic drugs, free sex and Vietnam War protests. But this spiritual awakening exposed a big problem. Many churches weren't prepared for an influx of new souls - especially young people with long hair, tie-dyed T-shirts and love beads. Some Christians actually rejected the new converts because they couldn't handle the change.
Follow Up
