Who Are The Needy?

Three things are on my mind today that burden me.

One is a family I heard about through an e-mail. They have been kicked out of their appartment and today the dad lost his job. He just did not go to work. It is a situation I want to examine for myself but I am not sure what God wants me to do to help.

The other is a high maintenance church member who is in constant need of stroking. She is playing the no one has called me game after missing church a few times.

Finally I am concerned about Grover, the son of Ed and Luz Aungon who is in the hospital in the Philippines and in critical condition. He is very young. Has a liver disease.

What can I do?

I prayed for Grover. I visited the family and am still evaluating. I will probably call the lady on my way to a hospital visit.

That is my part. The rest is up to God and to others.

I Stole A Paper On Christmas Morning

I went to the local convenience store to get a paper but they were not open. However, the paper person had placed three stacks of new Daily Oklahoman's with their precious cargo of day after Christmas sale circulars near the door. There they were. New. Ready for sale but no one there to receive my $.50. So I took one. Yes, I stole the newspaper on the day of the birth of Jesus and I am a minister of the gospel. Now I do plan to take the money to them later in the day when they open. I stole the bad news on the day set asside to celebrate the good news.

Others tried to steal the good news soon after that time. Herod had all baby boys killed forcing Jesus' parents to take him to Egypt for a while. Then the scribes, pharasees and saducees were on a witch hunt to rid the world of such a fraud as Jesus. Finally He was nailed to a Roman cross and that was it. So, there you go. The story is over.

Not so fast. In three days he got a wake up call from God almighty and busted out of the grave and graveclothes to walk again with his disciples. He is alive. That is good news.

So I stole a paper on Christmas morning. The news was not so good but the sale circulars opened up new avenues for finding more things to buy to make my life more easy and fun. Now that is a good consumer and American thing to do.

I will get to the convenience store sometime today. Beleive me.

I'm Back

Well I guess I am getting introspective today. So I am back after several months. It is Christmas and we are having a big time with my grandaughter, son-in-law, son and daughter. My other daughter and her fiancee will be here tomorrow. I am cooking and watching videos and eating too much for a guy on a diet. I need to work out and probably will in a few minutes.

I am focused about three things today.

I am focused on my church and the tough decisions that will be made in the next few months. We are finally being confronted with the reality I knew when I first came to SLBC. We are a big ship with a limited crew and the crew is dying. My roll is to instill vision and at the same time lead the church to make the tough decisions that will involve people that we love. We have had the greatest year evangelistically yet the hardest year in breaking with the past. We are destined to have an even greater year in 2009. We are going to focus on prayer and Sunday school. I will work with staff on a prospect list, prayer focus week in January and staff prayer meetings.

Second I am also focused on my personal frame of mind and physical stamina. This is something I usuall don't address but I will. I am pleased with progress made in the last three months and I will continue. I have lost 22 lbs and have consistently ran or walked three miles a day. I am going to get the cholestoral down by February 15.

My frame of mind is another story. Christmas is a hard time for me and I have had some things happen in my extended family that have been really challenging. I am trying to not let it hinder what I do. It is hard to separate. However, I have a choice. I am not a victim.

Third, I am focused on sermon direction for January and my challenging opportunity to speak at a church on Exodus. I plan to be prayerful in the next two weeks and take a look at the scripture for what God wants to say to us in these days. It will happen.

There are some things that are out of my controll but of those things that are within my controll I plan to do three things:

1. Keep in mind that my main goal is to get closer to people not to win the argument.

2. Award myself for being successful in personal disciplines and keep my mind focused on the good things.

3. Get into the scripture and pray that the Holy Spirit will direct my thinking as I prepare. I will do this for an hour a day between now and Sunday.

So here I go. I am thinking out loud. It is fun and pregnant with great encouragement.