Update on the Journey...

I am almost at the half way point of the planned journey. As some of you know, last August I felt called to pursue the completion of my seminary education and complete the needed testing and internship to be eligible for ordination in the PCA. While the path has been challenging, God has been gracious in both practical and prayer support all along the way.

Over the next few weeks, I plan on listing the ways God has confirmed my call. But today I just want to let you know what God has on my plate right now.

• I have six more classes to take at RTS virtual - I am working to complete all class work by the end of 2010
• I am working as an internship at DaySpring (preaching on a regular basis, putting together a plan to reach the Linthicum/Northern Anne Arundel County with the Gospel through mercy, some worship service planning, and worship leading.)
• I am beginning to study for the three licensure exams (Exam 1: "Basic knowledge of Biblical doctrine as outlined in the Confession of Faith and Larger and Shorter Catechisms of the Presbyterian Church in America" Exam 2: "Practical knowledge of Bible content" Exam 3: "Basic knowledge of the government of the Presbyterian Church in America as defined by the Book of Church Order) Each exam has a written and oral component. I meet with my Mentor pastor Jeff Rickett to map out a realistic plan for accomplishment tomorrow.
  
• My internship is not funded by DaySpring, so I must raise my support. That is something new to me and requires a lot of time and prayer.
• Coordinating and administering Auto Care Saturday four times a year.
• Leading a men's group on Thursday mornings.
  

I am stating all this because I often ask for your prayers without providing the detail. How can you pray for me if you do not know what God is doing in my life? I hope this gives you a little picture of what God has placed on my plate. It looks like a lot. It is a lot. But I can do all the things He wants me to do or a Paul penned it,

[13] I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
(Philippians 4:13 ESV)

In addition God has provided friends and family like you to encourage me along the way.

Seeking to know Jesus better,

Dwayne

There would be a test?

(This blog post is in response to the July 20 Robert Morris Cheyne Bible in one year Reading Plan. Check out the blog for more information about this reading plan.)

In the Judges, it states plainly that God left certain nations (5 to be precise), in the land to test His chosen people (Judges 3:1-2):

Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.

Friends, in a world where we work very hard to protect ourselves, spouse, and children from experiencing struggle, God the best lover of my soul desires me to experience struggle and suffering. Why would a loving God do such a thing? Because it is that very struggle and suffering that will force us to turn back to Jesus. We see that in the account of Peter walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-33). As soon as Peter understands the peril of the situation, he turns to Jesus. Often the most receptive hears of the Gospel are those most desperate enough to trust and turn to Him. The first part of T.U.L.I.P. is about how God opened our eyes to just how totally depraved we are in life. We have no choice but to turn to Him.

What struggle do you believe God has placed in your life as part of your personal sanctification plan? What about your family? What about your church? What about your community?

In Acts, Stephen tells the story of Israel and their rejection of Christ. Again, God tells us the story of Israel. There is something important about remembering all Christ has done for each of us. Here is a challenge. Every time you pass a McDonald's or hear a commercial about McDonald's tell some part of your story to yourself or the person next to you. Let me know what happens.

Seeking to know Jesus better,

How do you remember?

I hope you had a restful sabbath. Our Westminster Confession encourages us to do the following:

This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs before-hand, do not only observe an holy rest all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations, but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of His worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy. Chapter 21 - 8;

As I prepare for Licensure (BCO Chapter 19) , I will be adding items from the confession and BCO when appropriate.

In Judges we read about the people falling away from God. First they stopped listening to God's voice. Next they did not know or remember the Lord and His work for the people. Finally, the people did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. They abandoned the Lord who had brought them out of Egypt.

Soon raiding parties where attacking and taking food and resources. When they went to battle they would lose. Finally, the whole nation was in distress. Then they would turn towards God and ask for help. God in His grace and mercy would send a judge to save them from the enemy, but the people would not repent and God would grow frustrated and angry.

Do you think this reflects the way we live today as a person, family, and church? As we watch the previous generation die, we are quick to abandon many of the ways they attempted to remember the deeds and works of God. Then we are free to do whatever we think is right?

In the Westminster Confession, our modern church fathers encouraged us to take a day off from worldly employments and recreations. What does that mean to you today? What does that mean to your church? Do you see the current church struggling to know our Jesus well because we have grown slack in observing the sabbath in this manner?

Once again thank you for all your prayer support. If you have not had the chance, check out the video "A Proposed Strategic Plan for the Future of the PCA" at the bottom of my blog page. It is good to know what God has placed on the hearts of the leaders of our denomination.

Whatever God Ordains...

The readings today (Judges 1; Acts 5; Jeremiah 14; & Matthew 28) demonstrate what the song "Whatever My God Ordains is Right" is about. God doesn't always work along paths that make sense to us. Give me the courage to hold on to Him even them. Below please find the lyrics. Hope you have a great day celebrating Jesus and resting with the family of Christ.

Whatever my God ordains is right
In His love I am abiding
I will be still in all He does
And follow where He is guiding
He is my God, though dark my road
He holds me that I shall not fall
And so to Him I leave it all

Whatever my God ordains is right
He never will deceive me
He leads me by the proper path
I know He will not leave me
I take content, what He has sent
His hand can turn my griefs away
And patiently I wait His day

Whatever my God ordains is right
Here shall my stand be taken
Though sorrow, or need, or death be mine
Yet I am not forsaken
My Father’s care circles me there
He holds me that I shall not fall
And so to Him I leave it all

Nothing like a good slap to the back of the head....

One of my favorite television shows is NCIS, short for Naval Criminal Investigation Service. The show is centered around a team of 6 people solving crimes committed by or against members of the United States Navy and Marine Corp.

The leader of the team, Jethro Gibbs, is an ex Marine Sargent who walks quietly but carries a big stick. He is determined, driven, acts based upon his own convictions (summed up in 51 rules) and will fiercely defend and protect the members of his team. The rest of the members has a love / fear relationship with him. It is that relationship that drives the team to take professional and personal risks with the goal to succeed and solve the crime.

During the course of the each show, a member of the team will get off track. They will begin to talk about stuff not related to solving the case or personal life stuff will begin to have an impact on the performance of the team. One of the ways the "Gibbs" corrects the individual is to give that member a slap on the back of their head. It is a playful yet effective way to get the member team to focus on what is important right now.

Psalm 141:5 we see that God can and does give you the needed "head slap" correction.

Let a righteous man strike me - it is a kindness; let him rebuke me - it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.


In this verse, God uses the "head slap" of a righteous man. To help us focus on what is important right now. Who is a righteous man? In 2 Corinthians 5:21 we read

For our sake He (God) made Him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him (Jesus) we (Christians) might become the righteousness of God.

Those in spiritual authority and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ would be righteous people in our lives. People the Holy Spirit will use to get us focused on what God tells us is important.

Who has God placed in your life to give you the needed "head slap". In my life I have a group of guys I hang with on Thursday mornings, long time Christian friends and family. Many a time, God has used them to not so gently get me back on course. On course to finish my degree, on course to forgive those I feel wronged me, on course to see God's Word from the position of grace and love.

If you have a good "head slapper" in your life, drop them a note and thanking them for all the blessings (kindness and oil) you have received through them.

A few weeks ago, I preached for the first time at DaySpring Presbyterian Church. The sermon is now available on line. Click here to listen. If you feel God is calling you to be my "head slapper" in this circumstance, send me an e-mail or comment below.

Thanks for all your practical and spiritual support!

After Freedom...

(This blog post is in response to the July 2 Robert Morris Cheyne Bible in one year Reading Plan. Check out the blog for more information about this reading plan.)

In the first reading, the nation of Israel completes crossing the Jordan River. God tell the people through Joshua to build a "sign" a memorial. God goes on to tell the nation what the "sign" should cause them to remember.

vs 6 -7 When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”

vs 21 - 24 And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”

I do not want to get into the discussion of whether the United States is or was a Christian nation. But I do want to discuss what are we doing to remember how God has acted in our nation's past? The 4th of July is two days away. What are you prepared to show and tell your children? In the verses above, the children ask in response to seeing the stones. On national holidays are we taking our children places where they would even have a chance to ask the question? What does this memorial mean to you? What an opportunity to share how the Savior we worship is active in our personal lives and the history of our nations as well. We can tell how God directed a people with limited military force, resources, and public support to defeated the greatest military in the world. Or how God used the United States to humble the mighty British Empire.

The other passage that had an impact on me is Matthew 12:43-45, the teaching on the unclean spirit. This passage more than any other reminds me why the body of Christ needs to help (disciple) new members and those recently freed from an addictive sin. When we are freed from sin, whatever the sin might be, we will suddenly have more time. If your sin is working to much, once free from that master, you will have the time you once spent working to do.... that is the question. If those of us more experienced in our walk with Jesus do not help the new believer know what to do with this time, this passage states, (and I think we all can agree), the time gets filled with something. In this example, maybe the time gets filled with pornography, shopping, gambling, withdrawing from family, etc...). These sins, while no worse in the eyes of God, have as great if not greater impact on our relationship with God, family, and friends.

As we see God identifying more members of the family, let us be ready to share with them our habits of corporate and small group worship, our practice of corporate and personal prayer, our discipline of small group and personal study and devotions. In other words, be ready to disciple them.

If you are struggling in these areas, contact your pastor, elder, small group leaders, or me and ask us for help. As Christ continues empty our heart of sin, we will need to fill your empty house (heart), that is swept and in order, with the God Word, prayer, and the fellowship of the saints.

Do you know God is in action?

Because God is in action all around us, we should live like we know Him. Sounds simple, but something we fail to do. In the Robert Morris Cheyne Reading Plan for today, we see that God is faithful to act in ways we can remember and acknowledge Him, that we need to acknowledge that anything done is done with God, that God can harden our hearts, and that we should be afraid when are hearts are hardened and we forget to acknowledge God.

In Joshua, God is acting in a visible way so the people will remember who He is, trust Him and worship Him before other gods. Amazing how our Lord continues to show us who He is even when He knows we will walk away from Him.

The Psalmist reminds us that unless God is part of the actions in our lives, our actions are in vain. When I look back at all the ministries I have attempted to build, I wonder how many times I attempted to build without God? Then Psalm 128 begins with the following line:

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!

Then we read in Isaiah 63:17

O Lord, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants.

vs 19

We have become like those over whom you (God) have never ruled, Like those who are not called by your name.

This is one of the points Bryan Chapell made in his video presentation. The people in our churches are not living like people whom God has ever saved.

Finally in Matthew vs 11:20

Then he (Jesus) began to denounce the cities where most of his (Jesus) mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.

Brothers, do you think God is working to humble our nation, humble your community, humble your church, humble your family, humble you and I? Are you actively acknowledging God and His might work? Do you think God is hardening our hearts, preventing us to see His mighty acts and fear and worship Him?

If you believe the later, are we ready to pray like the prophet Isaiah and tell God we have become like those who never knew God? Please soften our hearts and help us learn to fear Him?

I will post the rest of the PCA presentation to my blog page later today. I encourage you to watch it. Then if you attend a PCA church talk to your elder and pray about some of the issues presented.

Seeking to know Jesus better,

Dwayne

http://christian-ninja.blogspot.com