No Little People...

Consider the words of the martyred missionary Jim Elliot...     

  "Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.” 

With this in mind, let's reflect on the following thoughts from Francis A. Schaeffer ... 

   "But if a Christian is consecrated, does this mean he will be in a big place instead of a little place? The answer, the next step, is very important: as there are no little people in God’s sight, so there are no little places. To be wholly committed to God in the place where God wants him—this is the creature glorified. In my writing and lecturing I put much emphasis on God’s being the infinite reference point which integrates the intellectual problems of life. He is to be this, but He must be the reference point not only in our thinking, but in our living. This means being what He wants me to be, where He wants me to be...

   ... Each Christian is to be a rod of God in the place of God for him. We must remember throughout our lives that in God’s sight there are no little people and no little places. Only one thing is important: to be consecrated persons in God’s place for us, at each moment. Those who think of themselves as little people in little places, if committed to Christ and living under His Lordship in the whole of life, may, by God’s grace, change the flow of our generation. And as we get on a bit in our lives, knowing how weak we are, if we look back and see we have been somewhat used of God, then we should be the rod “surprised by joy.” ~ Francis A. Schaeffer, "No Little People"

So, wherever God has placed you my pastor friend, be encouraged ... and may all your ministry efforts "change the flow of our generation". So, "wherever you are... be all there!" ... making a difference for the glory of God!

Because we are Salt and Light, 

~ PJVS

Preach the Word!

"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching." 

~ 2 Timothy 4:1-2 (ESV) 

"What is it that always heralds the dawn of a Reformation or of a Revival? It is renewed preaching. Not only a new interest in preaching but a new kind of preaching. A revival of true preaching has always heralded these great movements in the history of the Church. And, of course, when the Reformation and the Revival come they have always led to great and notable periods of the greatest preaching that the Church has ever known ... So my answer so far, my justification of my statement that preaching is the primary task of the Church, is based in that way on the evidence of the Scriptures, and the supporting and confirming evidence of the history of the Church. "

 ~ D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers

“If we are to see the church of God really restored to her pristine glory, we must have back this plain, simple, gospel-preaching.” 

~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

May the divine unction of the Spirit of God rest upon you as you preach the Word of God today my pastor friend!

~ PJVS

Relevance...

"Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations." -- Psalm 145:13

Relevance! We constantly hear the term used to encourage our efforts in communicating to a newer generation. The cry goes out for new words and techniques because the younger people will never understand or consider old truth. Unless it's new and different it won't help the cause. The question comes to mind; is there anything that hasn't changed that retains any value? 

Solomon noted that there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9) The years pass from one generation to the next and history repeats itself over and over again. Technology improves our lives, but daily needs and struggles continue without change. In a very real way we need help from someone that has stood the test of time and remains unchanged. David found just such a one in the Lord, whose kingdom is everlasting and whose dominion endures throughout all generations.

Build your ministry on things that never change my pastor friend, and you will be relevant to every generation. In the face of unchanging struggles and storms of life, everyone needs someone who "upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down". (verse 14) In this great truth we find relevance in the unchangeable person of our God and King.

Because HE is the same yesterday and today and forever! 

~ PJVS

Living the Call...

"While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ~ Acts 13:2

Kent Hughes gives us a fresh reminder of how great a privilege and opportunity it is to be called of God ... 

"LIVING THE CALL ... Every morning we ought to thank God for the privilege of being called and allowed to serve. It is as Phillips Brooks said in his famous Yale Lectures: 

'I always remember one special afternoon, years ago, when the light faded from the room where I was preaching, and the faces melted together into a unit as of one impressive pleading man, and I felt them listening when I could hardly see them; I remember this accidental day as one of the times when the sense of the privilege of having to do with people as their preacher came out almost overpoweringly.'

Oh, for more servants of God who are overcome by the power of the call! Oh, for more ministers of the Word who treasure the privilege of presenting the Truth to the pleading men and women of the WORLD!" ~ Kent Hughs, Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." ~ Matthew 9:36

My pastor friend, may you be "overcome by the power of the call" and always love them like Jesus! 

Because He gave Shepherds and Teachers,

~ PJVS 

Great Expectations...

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." 

~ Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV) 

The next time your great expectations fall by the wayside, maybe the following testimony of Steve Farrar will be of some encouragement for you...

"I remember years ago sitting on my front porch trying to absorb the biggest ministry setback of my life. I had put everything into this venture. I had given it all my effort, all my energy, and now it was utterly destroyed. I’m talking total annihilation. In one afternoon, the whole thing went down. As I sat on the porch that night, I was absolutely devastated. 

I was battling God and I was battling wrong thoughts about God. I was feeling utterly abandoned by God. And quite frankly, I was angry at Him, because ultimately, I knew He was the One who had allowed this great ministry plan of mine to come unraveled. But if I could have had a glimpse at that moment of what God had in store for me over the next ten years, I would have been on my knees thanking and praising Him for His goodness and lovingkindness in allowing my plan to die. God killed my dream because He had a better plan. He had something else for me to do. 

I must confess that I was not thinking largely about God that night. I was thinking cockeyed because I didn’t understand His ways. God is good even when our dreams and plans are nuked beyond recognition. But you must think largely and correctly to get a grip on your circumstances when your dreams and plans are going up in smoke." 

~ Steve Farrar, Tempered Steel

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" ~ Psalm 27:14

Because He opens the doors that can't be shut, 

~ PJVS

Dependable Parts...

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.” 

~ 1 Timothy 2:8-15 (ESV)

Over the years I have played baseball, football and soccer. These are all team sports that require everyone to do their part. No matter how many MVPs or GOATS come and go, without quality working team members, winning scores will be few and never. In professional sports, winning games are often enthusiastically predicted, only to crash and burn, due to the failure of team cooperation. Off the field athletes may be distinct people, but on the field, they are expected to be dependable parts of the whole.

Anna was one of those “dependable parts of the whole” at my second church. She and her husband Mark attended services faithfully every week until Mark went to heaven. Eventually, Anna’s health slipped away and she was no longer able to come out to church. Yet, the church and I depended on Anna’s ministry. You see, she was a diligent, consistent, and ever up to date prayer warrior. She would pump me for all the current ministry needs during every visit I made. Anna was a vital team member who played a quiet, but significant part in the success of our ministry. 

Paul knew that position is never the issue in ministry. Faithfulness is the key and teamwork is the engine. Timothy needed to know that God uniquely places Godly men and women in his church to be “dependable parts of the whole”. We should treasure them and encourage them my pastor friend. Whether they serve in church leadership, Christian education or the home prayer closet, we need them. Every quarterback needs blockers to protect him and receivers to carry the ball. You may preach like Billy Graham did, but without a team, you're up the creek without a paddle. Even Jesus had a team of twelve. 

Because we are "one another",

~ PJVS

So Send I You...

As familiar as you may be with the hymn “So Send I You”, did you know that there is a second edition? 

“Over the years Margaret Clarkson realized that her 1936 hymn, ‘So Send I You’ was rather one-sided. She decided to “rewrite” the hymn in 1962, while on vacation at the Severn River. After creating the second version she believed that she created a more biblical hymn that reflected the trials, and the joys, of God’s call on the lives of his children. The new version began to replace the earlier one to Margaret’s pleasure.” – from: Archives of Wheaton College, Biography of Edith Margaret Clarkson 

“So Send I You — by grace made strong to triumph 

   O’er hosts of hell, o’er darkness, death and sin,

   My name to bear and in that name to conquer — 

   So send I you, My victory to win. 

So Send I You – to take to souls in bondage 

   The Word of Truth that sets the captive free

   To break the bonds of sin, to loose death’s fetters — 

   So send I you, to bring the lost to Me.

So Send I You — My strength to know in weakness, 

   My joy in grief, My perfect peace in pain,

   To prove My pow’r, My grace, My promised presence - 

   So send I you, eternal fruit to gain.

So Send I You — to bear My cross with patience, 

   And then one day with joy to lay it down, 

   To hear My voice, “Well done, My faithful servant — 

   Come share My throne, My kingdom and My crown!”

May the trials of ministry always give birth to the treasures of present and eternal joys my pastor friend. 

Because He who called you is faithful, 

~ PJVS