Bob’s Blog

It is my desire as Christ’s undershepherd to share bits and pieces of my soul. I am sharing words of encouragement that help to stimulate the unfinished soul in all Jesus-followers.  It is my mission to serve suffering people by offering words of encouragement, comfort and hope through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

An amazing thing happens when I am honest and transparent with God.  In some way, by being honest with God, I connect with his love for me as my heavenly Father.  Oh, how my unfinished soul needs to be assured of this truth. This openness is a hard thing for me to do.  It’s probably one of the greatest struggles I have, outside of communication itself.It’s much easier to go through life thinking that I can handle on my own, without God’s help, the patience I need in life’s changing circumstances, and the proficiency I need in life’s difficult circumstances. I still wonder sometimes, Does God really love me? 

This afternoon I will be officiating at a wedding ceremony.  There will be a wedding banquet that follows the ceremony to celebrate the union of two becoming one in Christ.  It will be a festive occasion.  I dare not miss it.

Jesus spoke a parable about a wedding feast.  He told stories to show what the kingdom of heaven is like.  In the story the king invited his guests three times, and each time they rejected his invitation.  God wants us to join him at his table, which will last for eternity.  That’s why God sends us invitations again and again.  God wants us to be open to him so we can connect with his love.

I know that sometimes I have been like one of those invited to a wedding banquet, who paid no attention and went off, “one to his field, another to his business” (Matthew 22:5).  So in turn I wonder, How do I respond in love to God?  What should I do to accept his invitation?  In ways I don’t understand, being open and honest with God helps me to connect with his presence so I might not only enjoy a celebration, but a living presence with God each day!

An unfinished soul,Pastor Bob

Praise the LORD, my soul and forget not all his benefits”  –Psalm 103:2 [TNIV].

It is my desire as Christ’s undershepherd to share bits and pieces of my soul. I am sharing weekly, words of encouragement that help to stimulate the unfinished soul in all Jesus-followers.  It is my mission to serve suffering people by offering words of encouragement, comfort and hope through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

I will have the opportunity to spend some time with my family this next week on vacation at Yosemite National Park.  We will be exploring the wonders of Yosemite, and give thanks to an awesome God in his awe-inspiring creation.  As we navigate the valley by hiking and biking, we will no doubt spot rock climbers on the face of El Capitan, rising over 3,000 feet above the valley floor.

In “face climbing,” the climbers pull down on handholds and push up on footholds to advance up the rock.  The technique—“three on the rock”—is the basic method of rock climbing.  At all times, two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand must remain at the rock.  It helps climbers to remain stable and allows them to ascend the rock.

The psalmist David says,
¹ Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. ² Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. [Psalm 62:1-2 TNIV]

The psalmist David lived in the midst of stress, yet his years of stress were spiritually productive.  David found his soul’s rest in God; his salvation.  How powerful that conviction!  No matter what the challenge, no matter how great the pressure upon his unfinished soul, David was sure that God could and would perform some saving act.

I can find rest for my unfinished soul this next week despite the stressful pace or pressures in my life.  How?  By following David’s example, to realize that God is our rock and our salvation; God is our fortress, we will never be shaken.  This, with the conviction that God is strong and loving will give me rest.  I encourage you to keep “three on the rock” [at least three of the four disciplines of prayer, the Word, worship, witness] at all times to find our rest and security in God.

·         What stressful area of your life do you need to stand upon the Rock?
·         How sure are you that God can and will perform some saving act?
·         Where do you need to keep “three on a rock” to discipline your life before God?

Let’s find rest for our unfinished souls upon God, our Rock and Salvation! Let’s keep “three on the rock” in praying, reading the Word, worshiping, and witnessing!  

Pray this prayer:
God, I affirm that you are my rock and my salvation.  Instruct me to stand firm upon you in my times of stress.  Help me to keep “three on the rock” in disciplines of prayer, the Word, worship, and witness.  May I continually live with the conviction that you are strong and loving.  You are my security, and I find rest in you. Amen.

  An unfinished soul,
Pastor Bob

Praise the LORD, my soul and forget not all his benefits”  –Psalm 103:2 [TNIV].

I remember my college days vividly.  One of the ongoing extra-curricular activities in my life was intercollegiate athletics.  I participated in three sports: baseball; cross-country and basketball.  After my freshman year, the training and time available in my busy life as a young adult reduced my participation to one sport: baseball. 

One of the disciplines in my training schedule was weight training.  Since I was playing a sport which demanded flexibility and quickness, my weight training was limited to developing muscle strength, not muscle bulk.  I needed to find a weight program that fit my physical needs, and then I increased my repetitions at a weight level which developed my muscle strength and mobility.  It was not a wise thing to develop muscle bulk to the point where I limited my ability to run, throw, catch, and hit a baseball.

There are times in the church when body building becomes a crucial discipline.  God does not desire the church to focus upon muscle bulk.  God does not wish for the local body of Christ to be so big and lethargic that it loses the flexibility to ministry in practical ways.  What God does desire is a church that attains muscle strength.  Each of the ministries of worship, study, fellowship, and service have mobility and flexibility in advancing the Gospel of Jesus across the street and across the seas.

The Apostle Paul says,
¹¹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

As I get older it is more difficult for me to stay disciplined to a stretching and exercise program.  My body responds slower than in my college days.  But it is so needed for my physical body.  Paul says that body building is an important exercise for the church as well.  We are to equip God’s people for the works of service so the body of Christ may be built up. 

What this text says to me is that every day I have a chance—many chances—to nudge people closer to the Lord.  To be one more body builder among the many it will take to bring that person to Christ.  I have a chance to extend the magnificence grace of God through what I say and do.  I am one of God’s body builders through which he keeps meeting the needs of the moment in the lives of others.

As a local body at Christ First we can be in partnership with the Lord and one another to reach those he has special designs on.  Our encouragement becomes grace that is strengthening, enabling and empowering for others.  This is the body building ministry God will call us to today.

Let’s not miss it!  Sometime before we lay our heads on the pillow, someone will be positioned to directly benefit from our words.  When the opportunity arises, let’s not forget to speak that word of grace!

An unfinished soul,
Pastor Bob

Praise the LORD, my soul and forget not all his benefits”  –Psalm 103:2 [TNIV].

It is my desire as Christ’s undershepherd to share bits and pieces of my soul. I am sharing weekly, words of encouragement that help to stimulate the unfinished soul in all Jesus-followers.  It is my mission to serve suffering people by offering words of encouragement, comfort and hope through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

We live in a time when waiting is synonymous with waste.  When we wait, we feel we are wasting precious time.  I just returned yesterday from Yosemite National Park with 38 senior adults.  We spent four days together with an Awesome God in his awe-inspiring creation.  One of the days we had to wait for hours to check-in to our guest rooms.  It seems we were wasting quality time.  I even became argumentative with the young kid at the registration desk because our rooms weren’t ready.  The next day I went back to the young kid and apologized for my behavior.  He accepted my apology.  We enjoyed the beauty of the Yosemite Valley in spite of the waiting.

Yet for so many people in pain, waiting is the one thing they do—a lot.  I can identify with those who wait in the midst of pain.  They wait for the doctor.  They wait for test results. They wait for the medicine to work.  They wait for the world to take notice that they have needs.  They wait in line at the pharmacy.  They wait for life to return to “normal.” (If there is such a thing as “normal” in our fallen world.)  Their days are filled with waiting.

Something amazing often happens, however, to those of us whose days are filled with waiting.  We discover that life is best observed and cherished in the wait.  Our waiting gives God time—time to speak to us, to bring us to reflection, surrender and peace.  How I have experienced this truth first-hand in my unfinished soul in the midst of waiting through my cancer treatments.  Waiting allows us to gather the strength and courage we need to face whatever comes.  

No wonder the psalmist David cried out…
 

I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.–Psalm 40:1

One of my favorite writers is the great pastor-teacher; G. Campbell Morgan.  He writes…
 

“Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort.  Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given!”

An unfinished soul,
Pastor Bob

“Praise the LORD, my soul and forget not all his benefits”

–Psalm 103:2 [TNIV].
 

Soul = from the Greek psyche, the “breath of life.”

It is my desire as Christ’s undershepherd to share bits and pieces of my soul. I am sharing weekly, words of encouragement that help to stimulate the unfinished soul in all Jesus-followers.  It is my mission to serve suffering people by offering words of encouragement, comfort and hope through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

When we get thirsty, we simply guzzle down cold liquid and go!  We’re not thirsty anymore.  The body, however, thinks of thirst in a much different way.  I recently came across an interesting concept regarding the body and thirst.  The hypothalamus is the region of the brain primarily responsible for monitoring the body’s level of water, sensing an increased concentration of salt in the bloodstream.
 

Our unfinished soul experiences its own kind of thirst.  Those deep, inner longings we feel are simply the soul signaling to us that it needs something—comfort, affirmation, love.  Our soul is designed to consume one thing and one thing only: God.  All other earthly pursuits to quench our thirst do just the opposite.  Things we think will quench our thirst are simply loaded down with more “salt” of self-doubt, frustration, covetousness and pride. 
 

For example, if my pursuit in life is to have physical well-being in order to accomplish all the important things in life, then this thirst will not be quenched when my body is being attacked by cancer.  This past week the doctor reported my latest test results in my cancer treatment process.  The doctor said that he was “cautiously optimistic.”  Well, I have some frustration and fear when it comes to fully understanding the diagnosis of “cautiously optimistic.”   However, if God is my main pursuit, then I can drink in the cold liquid of his presence to quench the thirst I have for love, purpose, and hope for my life when it comes to physical well-being.
 

Only God is pure, clean and deeply satisfying to our unfinished soul.  Only God meets every need.  Only God ends the hopeless search for the soul’s true comfort of love, purpose and hope.  The psalmist David cried out in the Desert of Judah…
 

“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you;I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” –Psalm 63:1.
 

Only God.  David kept those two words echoing in his mind.  What is our main pursuit?  What are we really thirsting for today?  Let’s echo in our minds the words “Only God!”
 

An unfinished soul,
Pastor Bob

 

 “Praise the LORD, my soul and forget not all his benefits” –Psalm 103:2 [TNIV].

Soul = from the Greek psyche, the “breath of life.”

It is my desire as Christ’s undershepherd to share bits and pieces of my soul.  These collectibles will hopefully provide encouragement to others who are seeking to nourish their own souls.  Even though God created me perfect in his image–formed and fashioned me with care–my soul is still unfinished. My Manufacturer is continuing to shape me so that I might one day be like Jesus.  I am sharing weekly, words of encouragement that help to stimulate the unfinished soul in all Jesus-followers.  It is my mission to serve suffering people by offering words of encouragement, comfort and hope through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

These collectibles are short. But then life is rarely an orderly compilation of large blocks of time.  Life is composed mostly of small, ill-fitting happenstances.  Life is not often seen as an architectural wonder made possible by meticulous blueprints.  Rather, I’ve experienced in my walk with God, it is a jumbled edifice: a collage of little renovations to dreams that must continually be repaired.

So here is a composite of my ongoing scrapes and bruises–my day-to-day gatherings of short, significant growing and learning encounters with God.  I am not learning these truths through long lectures in formal classroom settings, but as Calvin Miller says, “I have always collided with life.  scraped knees, nuclear explosions, amoebas in culture, cotton candy, and the church: all these weird and different items without framework or category have been my motley host of unlikely tutors.”  I am discovering more and more that nourishing the soul is a never-finishing lab center of learning.  I have not become all I once wanted to be.  My soul is still unfinished!

The Manufacturer’s Comfort

I want to begin this week with encouraging words from 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 [TNIV]…

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 

God really does comfort his children–and most often God chooses to do so through the arms and legs and voices and ears and faces and souls and tears of men and women who have been to the front lines and returned with battle scars.  I’m battling cancer right now on the front lines.  I’m going through hormonal therapy with infusions of drugs into my body.  I am wrestling with this disease.  So who better to reach out with understanding, empathy and genuine concern with those encountering the ravages of cancer?  I have the understanding and credibility to know what it is that the person in pain is going through–the questions, the doubts, the fears.  I can speak both compassionately and authoritatively because of my own experience.

I wonder…have you considered how God might want to use you to comfort someone in pain?  If you have suffered or are presently suffering, and God has and is still stepping in with his comfort, then you qualify to join God’s band of comforters. I hope you’re ready to enlist, because we need you.  And so does a hurting world!

An unfinished soul,

Pastor Bob