Day 103 with Nicky Gumbel

Psalm 45:1-9

Psalm 45:6 “Thy Throne , O God, is for ever and ever.”

Remember the everlasting authority of God. This Psalm reminds us that Jesus is the King, chosen by God. He has all power and authority in this life eternity.

Psalm 45:7 “Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.”

Anointed means chosen. Anytime you hear the word anointed remember that God chooses. God chose Jesus, anointed Him to be glorified through His death and resurrection. God has anointed us, his children. He chose you! What grace.

Luke 15:1-32

15:2: “And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.”

The religious crowd complained. Sound familiar? Often times, the religious crowd are the ones still complaining today. They complained that Jesus would receive sinners and break bread with them. They still do the same today. Most of the time, It seems that the church would rather the sinners stay away. Not necessarily in word, but in deed and in spirit. Lord, help us to love the sinners like you love them.

15:8 “Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?”

These verses give an analogy of the value of a lost sheep, the value of a lost coin, and the value of a lost son.

15:20 “his father ran, and fell on him, and kissed him (over and over).”

What love. I can relate to this love. I love my own son with this love. Yes. I will watch for him. I will RUN to him. I will kiss him over and over and over and over… So thankful that my father does the same for me.

Luke 15:24 For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

The friends would rejoice over a sheep that came back home, but not a boy? The community would rejoice over a coin that was found, but not a son?

15:32 “for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.”

Deuteronomy 19-20

This is part of Gods plan for justice. If you are involved in a fatal accident, there will be a city of security and protection. However, if you intentionally kill someone, you will be hunted down and you will repay what you have taken. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth… (What?! Ouch!) hand for hand, foot for foot, life for life. This news will spread, and people will fear (respect) the law, the consequences of their actions, and they will henceforth commit no more such evil among you.

Moses continues to give instruction to Israel about how to go into the land. How to battle against cities, and how to take the land for their own possession. Moses tells them who to kill and who to let live. Seems very brutal. God uses Israel as his instrument for judgment against the nations that have committed abomination against Him.

Take Away

Lord, Help me to love people like you do. Help me to see others through your eyes. Help me to show grace and kindness to the ones who deserve it least. Help me to value the souls of man, like you value the souls of man. I want to see people as worth more than my “sheep or silver”.

God, I want to obey your specific plan for my life. Help me to see your justice around me. Help me to see the difference between the political banter of justice, and your true justice. If my heart is out of alignment with your, please help me see from your perspective.

Today, I will look for opportunities to love your righteousness and to love those who are difficult to love. Please let your Spirit remind me of this throughout the day.

The Importance of Advanced Education

  About two years ago my amazing wife encouraged me to look into beginning my next postgraduate degree. I will never forget the words that she said: “Lee when you are taking classes, you are the best version of yourself.” Wow! That is a strong statement, and I was so challenged and blessed to hear it from her.  I have a few thoughts about why, and will quickly share these, and then finish with a final thought about how I will invest in my future staff if ever given the opportunity.

I believe that taking college classes makes me the best version of myself because:

1. It forces me into a life that requires great discipline.

  When I am taking classes, I do not have time to waste. Every moment is planned and organized because there is so much to accomplish. Between work, family, and schooling responsibilities and demands, discipline and organization are absolutely necessary.

2. It helps me appreciate everything more.

  When I am on a diet, and I get in the habit of saying no to things that I love to eat, I create a new level of appreciation for those foods when I finally do get to taste them. Often times, they even seem to taste better than I remember. For example, one Oreo after two months of eating no Oreos tastes so much better than they do when I eat one every day. I don’t necessarily understand the science behind it, but I have experienced it, and the same thing is true with my time while studying. When I have every day open to spend with my family, I fail to use that time well, but when I am working hard on school work and ministry all week long, I find that I value and invest my time with family, in rest, and recreation so much more wisely and effectively.

3. It helps me stay sharpened

  When I am taking classes, I am constantly reading new things, learning new things, and talking to new people. Each of these habits keeps a steady flow of new material rushing into my life. Much of it, I will probably forget, but that doesn’t matter. Some things will stick and it is my responsibility to take and apply and use the things that I am learning. During my last course, I studied The Theology, Philosophy, and Methodology of Worship. During this course I was powerfully challenged to add scripture into my worship leading, I was also challenged to remember the necessity of prayer. It was incredible to also see how the Lord aligned my private quiet time in His Word, with the lessons I was learning in my class. I believe that not only have I been encouraged and sharpened by the things that I have learned, but our entire church has benefited from the work that the Lord has done in my life.

That being said: Here is why I felt the need to post today:

  Someday, if the Lord gives me the opportunity to lead in a capacity where I am able to make decisions about my staff’s education, I will make it a priority for our organization to invest into the advanced education of my ministerial staff. I believe that this is one of the best investments that a church can make.

  Many secular organizations make the investment to pay for their employee’s education because they understand and value the sharpening and the discipline that it will add to the lives of their workers and ultimately to their business. And honestly, many of those same organizations already pay their employees much better than the church pays their staff. I digress, Advanced education for the church staff member is a worthy investment.

  If the Lord ever gives me the platform, I want to remember to invest in the education of my staff. There will be accountability and even a standard of required grades and investment in return, but I want every pastoral staff member to have the opportunity to grow and learn in an academic setting. It is so important and so valuable.

Here is the simple summary: I am making a great financial, time, and energy investment in my education, and as a result, my church and ministry are reaping a great benefit from my personal investment. I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to do this and I want to remember to make this investment into others in the future. Advanced education provides an incredible return on investment for the individual and for the church!

Thank you, Katie, for being willing to invest in making me the best version of myself.