Did you recognize that quote? It is perhaps the most well known quote from the book of Esther. In the book of Esther, Mordecai is coaching Esther on how to approach her husband, King Xerxes. He has agreed to a plan to put to death all the Jews in his kingdom. Esther, a Jew, is in a very unique position. She is the Queen but she is not allowed to just walk into the kings presence and ask for a favor. She is hesitant and knows that it could result in her own death. Mordecai sends word to her: “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your fathers family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14.
For such a time as this! What a great concept. What if God has you where you are at this time for a particular purpose? You are the coach on your team for such a time as this; you are in the office at your place of work for such a time as this; you have an opportunity …for such a time as this. What if God has arranged our lives, our talents, our ability and availability for such a time as this?
This is the attitude I try to have when I have certain opportunities as a pastor. Part of every pastor’s job includes funerals and weddings. I think that I always try to do the absolute best that I can when performing a funeral or a wedding. My attitude is “ …and who knows that you have come to …position for such a time as this”. Perhaps God has me in this place, at this moment in time to show a group gathered together a picture of a good and beautiful God. Of course I am ministering to the couple being married or the family who lost a loved one. But so much more that that…I have come to this place for such a time as this. It is my opportunity to beseech the Father to bless and spare those who do not know Him…just as Esther did for the Jews. I want the family to be pleased with the wedding or funeral, as the case may be. But more than that, I really pray for those gathered to see a Good and Beautiful God, His Good and Beautiful Son and His Good and Beautiful Community called James Island Baptist.
Take a moment. Where does He have you? Who knows that you have come to …position for such a time as this? I am praying for you as you show them a Good an Beautiful God!
See you this Sunday, good Lord willing,
Pastor Tom
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
A.C.T.S OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE
I begin with prayers of Adoration and Praise. My first thought is to look over what I just read in the Bible. Was there anything I just read that would help me to praise and adore Him? This morning I read a few chapters in Esther. So I praise God for His ability to work behind the scenes moving even the heart of a pagan king to accomplish His work. This brings me hope about today’s politics in America!
I then move to a time of confession. I have written some of my favorite verses about confession and so I read them and then ask for the Spirit of God to show me my sins, my hurts, habits and hang-ups. My favorite verse of confession is 1 John 1:9.
Then I turn my heart and mind to thanksgiving. I have a few verses about thanksgiving written down that I will read. Then I write down 3 things I am thankful for from the day before. I try to be specific. I often thank God for my wife, Janie, and for good coffee! I also frequently thank God for our church family. I am currently on day 549 in giving thanks every day. Writing them down helps me to be specific.
Last, I pray prayers of supplication. I pray for others. Again, I have verses that I have recorded about praying for others. This helps me know what to pray. My habit is to pray for certain things on certain days. On Sunday, I pray for the Marty and the praise team, our safety team, all the volunteers who teach and serve, etc. On Mondays, I pray for all my preacher friends. Monday is a tough day for pastors. The adrenaline rush of Sunday is coming down on Monday. It can feel like depression when it is really the body and mind just relaxing and slowing down. We have an old saying among pastors…never resign on a Monday. And so on and so on for the rest of the week; I pray for certain things on certain days. Then I have my daily prayer list: that includes, family, staff, friends, the green sheets turned in on Sunday, etc.
ow you can see why I have to have an orderly way to pray. The A.C.T. S. prayer guide and my prayer journal/notebook helps me to be consistent in my prayers. Don’t let this article limit your prayer life. Some of you are way beyond this in your prayer ministry. Some may feel like this is not the plan for you, maybe it seems to complicated. No problem. Just repeat the request of the Apostles… “Lord, teach us to pray”. The how to pray will come along…the bigger issue is…just pray!
See you Sunday, good Lord willing.
Pastor Tom
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Teaching Series Next
I have so enjoyed speaking on “Building Faith” these past 5 weeks. I began the series by saying I will be speaking to myself over the next 5 weeks and you all will get to listen in! The New Testament speaks about faith over 245 times. The entire Bible speaks about faith over 336 times…depending on which translation you use. Hebrews 11 says that without faith it is impossible to please God. In Matthew 17, Jesus said with faith the size of the tiny mustard seed, impossible things could be accomplished. Why would a pastor not want to teach on such a beautiful topic as faith? I hope it was helpful to consider how God builds our faith…since without faith it is impossible to please God.
Now, leading up to Easter, I will be teaching a series on prayer. Many of us over the years have used the little prayer guide A.C.T. S. It stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication (praying for others). My goal will be to teach on one of these aspect of prayer each week. When I teach Class 201, I spend a good bit of time talking about prayer and equipping our church family to be people of prayer. This series will be more like the nuts and bolts…the practical application of prayer. I am trusting it will indeed result in the JIBC family and friends being people of prayer. Not a bad way to be known right? People of the Book, people of Prayer, people of Mission and people of Worship. That is kind of a lofty goal…but it is worth the effort. After that, we will be right up to Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter! The teaching topics for these services kind of pick themselves! We will look forward to a Holy Week celebration.
In Luke 4:22, we read of Jesus “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.” I know I have a long way to go, but that is my goal...to be like Jesus in His teaching, to be known for gracious words. The very word Gospel means “good news”. Of course Jesus could be prophetic and speak a strong, harsh word...usually to the hyper religious...
not the “sinner”. He was delivering hope not despair, talking about the way to life, not death; rarely spoke about hell (although of course he did...and of course I do). Someone said Jesus spoke about hell 3% of the time, heaven 10% of the time and the other 87% he spoke about life and how to live an abundant life. Yeah, I think that is where I will try to come down! Like Jesus, known for his gracious words.
Be blessed.
Pastor Tom
Now, leading up to Easter, I will be teaching a series on prayer. Many of us over the years have used the little prayer guide A.C.T. S. It stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication (praying for others). My goal will be to teach on one of these aspect of prayer each week. When I teach Class 201, I spend a good bit of time talking about prayer and equipping our church family to be people of prayer. This series will be more like the nuts and bolts…the practical application of prayer. I am trusting it will indeed result in the JIBC family and friends being people of prayer. Not a bad way to be known right? People of the Book, people of Prayer, people of Mission and people of Worship. That is kind of a lofty goal…but it is worth the effort. After that, we will be right up to Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter! The teaching topics for these services kind of pick themselves! We will look forward to a Holy Week celebration.
In Luke 4:22, we read of Jesus “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.” I know I have a long way to go, but that is my goal...to be like Jesus in His teaching, to be known for gracious words. The very word Gospel means “good news”. Of course Jesus could be prophetic and speak a strong, harsh word...usually to the hyper religious...
not the “sinner”. He was delivering hope not despair, talking about the way to life, not death; rarely spoke about hell (although of course he did...and of course I do). Someone said Jesus spoke about hell 3% of the time, heaven 10% of the time and the other 87% he spoke about life and how to live an abundant life. Yeah, I think that is where I will try to come down! Like Jesus, known for his gracious words.
Be blessed.
Pastor Tom
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Ask, Seek and Knock
One of the most wonderful promises and invitations given in the Bible is found in Matthew 7:7. It is a word from God about prayer. I take it as a promise and as an invitation. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open.” (Matthew 7:7) The passage goes on to speak of the trustworthy nature of our Father in Heaven…who gives us good gifts. So, I would like to ask you to put these three needs on your “A.S.K. List”.
First, have you seen the progress on the new entrance and elevator? It is framed in and I think the electrician is scheduled to run the electrical this week. Whoohoo. The completion of the entrance and the elevator are the major part of this particular project. But a part of the entrance and elevator project is also completing the sidewalk, the exterior of the entrance, some basic landscaping and parking helps. Oh, we are ever so close. As soon as we find out some dates, we will announce the day of dedication and celebration. Remember, be thinking of a “Name” for our elevator. And, keep your eyes open for the time we will have the big reveal of what is inside the time capsule we found. We have found several people who were present in 1949 when it was placed behind the memorial marker.
Second prayer need: We have some church staff needs that we are “asking” the Father about. First, the Associate Pastor position. This person will be in charge of our Connection Group Ministries, Ministry Teams and Administration. This is not a part of a succession plan for the far distant future when I retire. It is a full time position to help us make disciples who make disciples that change the world! We have a few resumes we are checking out and have “advertised” in several places that can help us. Just fyi, putting in the elevator took a major office space. So, we will be using all our creative thinking to find a suitable office space for the new staff person. You can go to our church web site and read the job description. Second, we are currently looking for a Director of our Weekday Preschool Ministry. Beth Lloyd, who has been with us for years and has done a great job, turned in her resignation letter. Her mother is requiring more of her time and attention these days and…she has a first grandchild soon to be arriving. Our heartfelt thanks to Beth for her years of faithful service and friendship. She will be missed in that position, but plans to continuing visiting with us here at JIBC. We wish her the best! And third, we are trying a brand new custodial service. We no longer have an individual doing our custodial work. We have hired a company. The good news is their team will do a complete and thorough cleaning every Monday and every Thursday. The bad news is that in between, we will have to get use to a new way of cleaning. Oh how I miss the days of Grady Maynor, perhaps the best custodian I have ever known! Using this company will have a little learning curve, but we are hoping the end result will be worth it all.
So, there is the A.S.K. Would you join me in prayer?
Pastor Tom
First, have you seen the progress on the new entrance and elevator? It is framed in and I think the electrician is scheduled to run the electrical this week. Whoohoo. The completion of the entrance and the elevator are the major part of this particular project. But a part of the entrance and elevator project is also completing the sidewalk, the exterior of the entrance, some basic landscaping and parking helps. Oh, we are ever so close. As soon as we find out some dates, we will announce the day of dedication and celebration. Remember, be thinking of a “Name” for our elevator. And, keep your eyes open for the time we will have the big reveal of what is inside the time capsule we found. We have found several people who were present in 1949 when it was placed behind the memorial marker.
Second prayer need: We have some church staff needs that we are “asking” the Father about. First, the Associate Pastor position. This person will be in charge of our Connection Group Ministries, Ministry Teams and Administration. This is not a part of a succession plan for the far distant future when I retire. It is a full time position to help us make disciples who make disciples that change the world! We have a few resumes we are checking out and have “advertised” in several places that can help us. Just fyi, putting in the elevator took a major office space. So, we will be using all our creative thinking to find a suitable office space for the new staff person. You can go to our church web site and read the job description. Second, we are currently looking for a Director of our Weekday Preschool Ministry. Beth Lloyd, who has been with us for years and has done a great job, turned in her resignation letter. Her mother is requiring more of her time and attention these days and…she has a first grandchild soon to be arriving. Our heartfelt thanks to Beth for her years of faithful service and friendship. She will be missed in that position, but plans to continuing visiting with us here at JIBC. We wish her the best! And third, we are trying a brand new custodial service. We no longer have an individual doing our custodial work. We have hired a company. The good news is their team will do a complete and thorough cleaning every Monday and every Thursday. The bad news is that in between, we will have to get use to a new way of cleaning. Oh how I miss the days of Grady Maynor, perhaps the best custodian I have ever known! Using this company will have a little learning curve, but we are hoping the end result will be worth it all.
So, there is the A.S.K. Would you join me in prayer?
Pastor Tom
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)