Preconfirmation 4-25-09

All glory to God always. Having just completed two of the most fruitful weeks in our Gideon camps history, with a very successful Pastors Appreciation Banquet (PAB) and a Gideon message at the local Salvation Army Church, we are now looking forward to the Florida State Convention of The Gideons International, while simultaneously completing a long period of preparation for the confirmation of several youth at Grace United Methodist Church, the challenge of finding a new leader for our praise team, and the end of another school year. We have been blessed beyond measure. Thank God that He has chosen His servant to undertake such formidable tasks. But didn’t I read once, that it said somewhere “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” [Matthew 11:28-30]?

What lies behind us seems too grand for us to have accomplished, yet the mountain we see in front of us seems so insurmountable. How did we meet the challenges of our past? It all started with prayer. We prayed for every aspect of the PAB. We bathed our service at the Salvation Army with prayer. For once my heart and mind are in agreement. We should be praying for every part of the confirmation, pray for the state convention, pray that God will call the right person to lead our music ministry, and even pray for the children and their teachers as the school year comes to a close. “Anything in my name you ask, you will receive” [John 16:24]. Remember this holds true for you as well. I am convinced that what we have accomplished took place by the hand of God, and the only way for us to overcome the challenges in our future is if it is His will.

In a time when our society seems to be turning away from God, our church has one of the largest confirmation classes I can ever remember. Tomorrow, all of these fine youths will be confirmed into the church; what a joy to see so many committing their lives to the Lord. Having been a mentor to one of the youths and having attended retreats with the youths, I bare witness to the personal relationship each of these young people have developed with our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, where do you stand in the scheme of things? Do you have praises to give for the miraculous things that have happened in your life? Are you feeling the tremendous weight of tasks that have been placed in front of you, too large for you to bare alone? You are not alone. Jesus has said “And surely I am with you always” [Matthew 28:19-20]. This doesn’t mean only when you are successful, rich, strong, winning. He will be with you when you fail, are pour, weak, are lost and even in those times when you can not seem to find a friend, God will be there.

Kingdom Opportunity 4-03-09

Recently I was asked to take a leadership role in Florida for the The Gideons International. As I looked at what this role would entail, I discovered that for me to be successful I would have to be extremely efficient, have no extra meetings other than those I am already aware of, and assistance from both my brother Gideons and my family. Having taken on positions like this in the past I am quite aware of the stress that goes along with the long hours, and so is my family. So, when I told my wife about the position and that I was considering it, she flew off the handle. With all the positions both paid and volunteer that I currently hold, with seemingly too little time to complete tasks already before me, and now without the support of my family I felt crushed. This was just about enough to convince me that I should decline this offer, but then I remembered my own words. When the position was offered to me I told our regional coordinator that I would pray about it, and that night I did just that.

The next morning at our weekly prayer breakfast I read these words in Luke 9:62- “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God”. There isn’t a person on earth whose point of view I would feel bad about rejecting, yet this was the Big Guy speaking. Everything told me that this position was all wrong for me, but suddenly there it was- am I fit for His kingdom.

A little over a year ago, I went on a mission trip with about 20 youths from the Venice area to the Dominican Republic. When I first felt the calling for this trip I recall feeling the same way as I do now. I couldn’t understand why I was going. I couldn’t afford it; I needed to raise over $1000. I couldn’t speak the language; the one year of Spanish I took in high school (over 30 years ago), was definitely not enough to get by. Although I knew many of the kids from helping with the youth group, there were many who I had very little prior contact with. Raising the money was easy, as sponsors were coming out of the woodwork to support me; in fact so much was given that I was able to help other missionaries. When we arrived in the Dominican we discovered that the missionary family with whom we were staying had developed strong ties to a local church youth group, several of the youths were excellent interpreters (including the missionary’s two children). As a group we developed ties throughout the time we were there. I was blessed over and over again during this time, as I had the opportunity to witness and distribute nearly 100 testaments during the week we were there. I now realize that when God offers you a kingdom opportunity it is to bless you not to challenge you.

May you be bless in you walk with the Lord.