Jesus' Fishing Mission

Recently I was asked to share a 3 to 5-minute reflection on the first chapter of Mark in a Bible study I have been attending.

After several readings and some study of the passage here is what I shared with the group.  Remember this is not a sermon or an in-depth Bible class.

The first verse of Mark 1 states it is "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God."
Here is a very basic outline of the four big parts of Jesus' ministry in Mark 1:2 - 15.
The first account of the gospel is John the Baptist's prediction of the coming Jesus Christ (vv. 2 -8).  Then John baptizes Jesus Christ (vv. 9 - 11).  The amazing part in these verses is God's proclamation that Jesus is "my beloved son; with you, I am well pleased" (v. 11).  Immediately after this prediction and proclamation, Jesus is tempted by Satan in the wilderness (vv. 12 - 13).  Jesus' humanity and his victory over sin are demonstrated here.
Finally, Jesus clearly declares his gospel mission (vv. 14 - 15)
The time has been fulfilled.  The kingdom of God is near.  Jesus proclaims "Repent and believe in the gospel" which is Jesus Christ (see Mark 1:1).

Jesus is predicted by John the Baptist.
Jesus is proclaimed. to be the Son of God by God himself.
Jesus is victorious over sin and Satan in the wilderness.
Jesus is clear about his mission - Repent and Believe in Jesus.

Then, what happens next in Mark 1?

Jesus,
  the predicted one,
    the Son of God,
      the victor over sin,
        the savior of the world,
chose FOUR FISHERMEN to become his disciples, to become fishers of men.
Jesus, God in the flesh, calls four fishermen to follow him.

The mission is not about how great those called are and what they can do.
The mission is about how great the one who calls is and what he can do.

Part of Jesus' plan to reach the world with the Gospel was to teach and build relationships with people who would teach and build relationships with others.  He modeled disciple-making for his disciples.  We need to do the same.  The other, and most important, part of Jesus' plan to reach the world with the gospel was to die for sinners and rise from the dead, which is the message we need to proclaim.

So Jesus demonstrated the disciple-making method.
A life-changing relationship filled with God-glorifying, Christ-centered, and Holy Spirit-empowered preaching and training.
Jesus also did what was needed to reconcile sinners to God.
He died on the cross, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven.

Disciple of Jesus Christ, no matter what your job is OR isn't right now you have great opportunities to grow in your dependence upon Jesus Christ and to share the life-changing message of the Gospel with others.  The reason you have an amazing testimony, and you do have an amazing testimony, is because of who God is and what He has done for you, a sinner, through Jesus Christ.

Remember that!

Added on 6/7/20:  

Matthias Media has a book entitled One-to-One Bible Reading that focuses on how to read the Bible with someone else.  There is also a pdf of basic questions to ask when reading any of the different types of books in the Bible.  

Serve Pray Love

Last night and next Wednesday night (05.16), I would like to use our FIGHT NIGHT Bible study times to help families learn some ways to use the Fighter Verses with their families this summer and beyond.  

To begin the evening small groups, led by a father, went through the verses of Romans 12:11-13.

The moved to various stations through the church and had several minutes to talk about some questions and share prayer requests.

The questions were in yesterday's post but I want to share them again in this post and connect them with what we talked about during the devotional time at the end of the night.

You can do this same family time or something similar thing with your at home.

What I shared in the devotion time is in italics after each set of questions.  

Romans 12:11 "Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord" 

FIND AN AREA IN AUDITORIUM

5 minutes for filling in the blanks on the verse sheet, answering the following four questions, praying that you and your family would be hard workers.

If there is time left talking about the difference be hard worker & laziness

1. What are some animals that appear busy and hard-working?

2. What are some animals that appear lazy?

3. Who are some hardworking people you know?

4. What are some ways you waste time and are lazy?

Some busy hard, hard-working animals we mentioned were bees, ants, and beavers.
Some of the lazy animals were the sloth and some bears because they are slow and hibernate a long time.  I mention a slug.

Proverbs 6:6 - 11, a passage of laziness and hard work, begins with the following observation.
"Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise."
Romans 12:11 tells to work hard and serve the LORD.  
The first verse of this chapter, command to "present your bodies as a living sacrifice."
Our hard work needs to be done in God's strength for God's glory.  

The idea of the word "fervent" is fired up. John MacArthur writes in his commentary of Romans 9-16 "The idea here is not of being overheated to the point of boiling over and out of control but like a steam engine, of having enough heart to produce the energy necessary to get the work done."
Remember:  SERVE GOD AND OTHERS WITH GOD'S STRENGTH FOR GOD'S GLORY.

Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer" 

FIND A SPOT IN KID WINGS (NOT NURSERY)

5 minutes doing the following two activities, praying for these requests.

If there is time left talking about your favorite songs about Jesus.

1. Take some time on the back of this paper or the other to write down some joys you have to rejoice about.

2. Take some time on the back of this paper or the other paper to write down some troubles you are currently facing.

Romans 12:12a says "Rejoice in hope."
Psalm 71:5 say "For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth."

So we need to rejoice in the LORD, who is supposed to be our hope.
My hope is not in created stuff or circumstances.
My hope is in the Creator and the One who controls everything.

We can be patient in our tribulations and troubles because we know that God wins!!

Because our hope and joy is in the LORD and we know that he provides for His children,
we need to constantly depend upon Him through prayer and the way we live.


Remember:  PRAY BECAUSE GOD IS WORTHY OF OUR PRAISE AND MORE THAN ABLE TO HELP US IN TIMES OF TROUBLE.

12:13 "Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality"

FIND A SPOT IN CALEB’S KIN ROOM

5 minutes for filling in the blanks on the verse sheet,

answering the following five questions, and

if there is time left planning out some of the ways you can encourage your neighbors..

1. Church

A. Think about some ways your family can help someone from church this week.

B. Pick at least one and plan to do it. 

2. Neighborhood

A. What is something you like about your neighborhood?

B. Who do you know in your neighborhood?

C. Think about some ways you family can encourage people in your neighborhood this summer.

Because God loves us, we need to love others.  
Our attitude towards Sunday mornings and other church ministries should be to glorify God and help others to do the same.  
Parents, our main priority when talking to your child about Sunday classes should not be to find out if they had fun.  

Remember:  LOVE THOSE IN THE FAMILY OF GOD SO THEY AND YOU WILL BE ENCOURAGED TO GROW IN CHRIST & LOVE THOSE WHO ARE NOT IN THE FAMILY OF GOD SO THEY WILL SEE THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL LIVED OUT!

Impossible Task! Incredible God!!

This week's Fighter Verse, Matthew 28:19-20, is an IMPOSSIBLE task!

Now if you went to www.fighterverses.com, you saw they listed this as a review week.
Instead of doing a review week, I decided to use a verse that will help us focus on what the church needs to be about, not just through 2018, but until Jesus returns for His bride!

The church's and West Cannon's Great Commission, discple-making purpose is an IMPOSSIBLE TASK!
As this "Look At the Book" video points out, we can share information but we cannot cause people to obey.
The Great Commission also includes an impossible target - ALL the nations.  How can our church in Western Michigan, or wherever your church is, make disciples in ALL the nations?

We need to think differently.  
The Great Commission is so much more than just getting more people to show up to our church building during our church services and church programs.  

We need to pray differently.
The Great Commission challenges us to depend upon God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  Our prayers need to recognize the truth that God is sovereign, holy, and loving.  God is also the Great Provider.  He will not call us to do something that He does not also give us the power to do.

We need to serve differently.
The IMPOSSIBLE task of the Great Commission is not a short-term task.  We need to remember this Great Commission is a long game.  It is an investment.

These verses and this video remind each believer that our unfinished task needs to be done God's way and in God's power.

I am excited to be part of a church that wants to be an active part of God's amazing work through the church in Grand Rapids and beyond.

I am excited to be part of a church that

• wants to continue equipping our church members to be and make disciples.
• wants to renew our ability to help other churches and pastors in the area grow in their disciplemaking mission.
• wants to continue partnering with Gospel preaching and teaching missionaries around the world who are helping  God's church grow.

For more about the Fighter Verses go to www.drodgersjr.com/p/fighter-verses.html

Learning Nothing Except

This Week's Fighter Verses are 1 Corinthians 2:1, 2 and during this week's Wednesday night study we took some time looking at the context and content of this passage.

First Corinthians 1 lists different factions within the church (v. 12) and different groups the world views as wise (v. 20).  Chapter one ends with this very important quote "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."  
This introductory chapter reminds us to preach the foolish gospel to weak people and not get caught up in names, personalities or the wisdom of this world.  

Then comes the Fighter Verses, 1 Corinthians 2:1-2:

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  

Paul wanted the Corinthians to first and foremost know that Jesus Christ is mighty to save.  
He was not concerned with his own popularity.
The following James Denney quote contains the same main point.  "No man can give at once the impressions that he himself is clever, and that Jesus Christ is mighty to save."

Each week www.fighterverses.com has at least one, usually more than one, devotional related to that week's Fighter Verse.

The None But Christ and Him Crucified devotional contains the following quote:

We are saved from sin, through grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone, according to the word of God alone

In this sentence, which is taken from the 5 Solas of the Reformation, we see that our salvation and our life is about God alone.

The other devotional from this week, How to Know Nothing, Except the Good News, says

"The good news of who Jesus is and what he does to save sinners like us, carries much more meaning than merely how to get saved, or how we got saved.  It also shows how we should live everyday and how we look at everything in the world."

The truth of these Fighter Verses should impact our lives in so many different ways.
In our evangelism, we should be more concerned with a truthful presentation of the Gospel and not with the end results or an eloquent presentation.
In our daily walk, we should be more concerned with pleasing and depending upon God rather than ourselves and other people.
In our prayers, we should focus more on God's glory and God's will and not our desires and personal comfort.

For more about the Fighter Verses go to www.drodgersjr.com/p/fighter-verses.html

Sunday's Devotion & Rejection Devotional

This week I am daily posting verses and resources to help us keep our focus on God.
These resources and this past Sunday night's sermon were meant to build upon Pastor Doug's morning message "The Joy Placebo" from Isaiah 5:11-17

As we worship the Lord today, remember what Jesus Christ has done for us and
how we are to live as a result of what He has done.

1 John 3:16 and 17 are today's Devotion/Rejection verses.

How Can I Be Sure I am a Christian? by Don Whitney takes a Biblical look at assurance of salvation by looking at 1st John.

Here are 10 questions Whitney develops to help people examine their lives and be sure they are a Christian.

• Do you share the intimacies of the Christian life with other believers?
• Do you have a deep awareness of your sin against the word and love of God?
• Do you live in conscious obedience to the word of God?
• Do you despise the world and its ways?
• Do you long for the return of Jesus Christ and to be made like him?
• Do you habitually do what is right more and sin less?
• Do you love other Christians sacrificially and want to be with them?
• Do you discern the presence of the Holy Spirit within you?
• Do you enjoy listening to the doctrines the apostles of Jesus taught?
• Do you believe what the Bible teaches about Jesus Christ?

For other Devotion and Rejection posts, go to https://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/search?q=Devotion+rejection

Saturday's Devotion & Rejection

This week I am daily posting verses and resources to help us keep our focus on God.
These resources and this past Sunday night's sermon were meant to build upon Pastor Doug's morning message "The Joy Placebo" from Isaiah 5:11-17

Today's Devotion and Rejection verses are Hebrews 10:24-25
These are about meeting weekly as a church family and it more so much more than that also.  This is what the Wednesday night "Your Walk with God is a Community Project" study is about.
For information the different classes and times go to www.westcannon.org/ministries
Note that some of the class times have changed.

Here is part of a devotional entitled A Lifestyle of Community.  To read the whole devotional, click HERE

A gospel amnesiac is someone who, in the middle of the duties and responsibilities of everyday life, forgets their identity in Christ and the new morning mercies they’ve been given by grace. In other words, every Christian who ever lived is a gospel amnesiac! 

It’s so easy for us to forget the gospel. That’s why the author of Hebrews tells us to stir one another up. By meeting regularly and encouraging each other, we’ll be reminded of the Lord Jesus. It’s much harder to forget the gospel when you’re surrounded by community. 

But if I’m honest, I don’t always like the idea of Christian community. First, it tells me that I’m not the independent person I think I am. I want to be like Frank Sinatra and say, “I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way.” 

God ordained Christian community precisely because I can’t face life on my own. The fallen world will bring me to my knees, and if I did do life my way, it would be a complete and utter disaster

You can also read about seven ways church members should prepare for a sermon at http://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/2016/04/seven-ways-church-members-should.html

For other Devotion and Rejection posts, go to https://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/search?q=Devotion+rejection

Friday's Devotion and Rejection

This week I am daily posting verses and resources to help us keep our focus on God.
These resources and this past Sunday night's sermon were meant to build upon Pastor Doug's morning message "The Joy Placebo" from Isaiah 5:11-17

Today's Devotion and Rejection verses are 1 Timothy 6:10-11

Flee, Reject, the love of money and stuff.
Pursue, Devote yourself to righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness for God's glory.

Here is a quote I believe shows parents what these verses are challenging us to do.

For other Devotion and Rejection posts, go to https://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/search?q=Devotion+rejection

Thursday's Devotion & Rejection

This week I am daily posting verses and resources to help us keep our focus on God.
These resources and this past Sunday night's sermon were meant to build upon Pastor Doug's morning message "The Joy Placebo" from Isaiah 5:11-17

Today's Devotion and Rejection verses are Philippians 2:3-4.
Devote yourself to loving God and others.
Reject selfishness. 

The New Morning Mercies devotional for September 14th begins with the following statement:

The disappointments of relationships are many, but his grace is sufficient - in fact, it is made perfect in your weakness.

The devotional identifies the problem

Sin causes each of us to be selfish in the real sense of what this word means.  It makes us more demanding than serving, more accusing than forgiving, more defensive than approachable, and more critical than understanding and patient. 

It then clearly provides the answer

The hope for your relationship is not to be found in you or in the others in those relationships.  Hope is found in a third person who has invaded your relationships by his grace.   

You can give yourself to love, to forgive, to confess, to confront , to trust, and to persevere even when things are hard, because "he gives more grace."

The Bible reading for this devotional is James 4:1 - 10

For other Devotion and Rejection posts, go to https://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/search?q=Devotion+rejection

Wednesday's Devotion & Rejection

This week I am daily posting verses and resources to help us keep our focus on God.
These resources and this past Sunday night's sermon were meant to build upon Pastor Doug's morning message "The Joy Placebo" from Isaiah 5:11-17

Today's verses are 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.
We need to take time to reflect upon what salvation is.

In God's Word, he provides us with two Biblically commanded reminders of salvation:

• Baptism  -  Matthew 28:19-20
• Communion  -  1 Corinthians 11:17-34

The Old Testament is filled with laws, events, and celebrations to remind the Israelites of God's faithfulness.  

Communion and Baptism are symbols given by God to remind us of Jesus Christ.

There are many other ways we can remember God's faithfulness.

During Sunday evening's message, I mentioned reading Christian biographies.  I specifically referred to the Swans Are Not Silent series.
One of the great things about this series is digital copies of these books are FREE. 

1. The Legacy of Sovereign Joy
2. The Hidden Smile of God
3. The Roots of Endurance
4. Contending for Our All
5. Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ
6. Seeing Beautiful and Saying Beautifully
7. A Camaraderie of Confidence

For other Devotion and Rejection posts, go to https://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/search?q=Devotion+rejection

Tuesday's Devotion & Rejection

This week I am daily posting verses and resources to help us keep our focus on God.
These resources and this past Sunday night's sermon were meant to build upon Pastor Doug's morning message "The Joy Placebo" from Isaiah 5:11-17

Today's verses are Romans 1:16, 17
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.'"

The Gospel Primer is a book that has helped me think about and lean upon the Gospel more and more.  I have posted about this book several over the last couple of years.  This is an extended quote connected to Romans 1:16.

Outside of heaven, the power of God in its highest density is found inside the gospel.  This must be so, for the Bible twice describes the gospel as "the power of God"  (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:18).  Nothing else in all of Scripture is ever described in this way, except for the Person of Jesus Christ. (1 Corintians 1:24; 8   Such a description indicates that the gospel is not only powerful but that it is the ultimate entity in which God's power resides and does its greatest work. 

Indeed, God's power is seen in erupting volcanoes, in the unimaginably hot boil of our massive sun, and in the lightning speed of a recently discovered star seen streaking through the heavens at 1.5 million miles per hour.  Yet in Scripture such wonders are never labeled "the power of God."  How powerful then, must the gospel be that it would merit such a title!  And how great is the salvation it could accomplish in my life, if I would only embrace it by faith (Hebrews 4:2, Ephesians 1:18, 19) and give it a central place in my thoughts each day!

For other Devotion and Rejection posts, go to https://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/search?q=Devotion+rejection

Monday's Devotion & Rejection

Last night, I preached a sermon that built upon Pastor Doug's morning message on Isaiah 5:11-17.
I really wanted to use this opportunity to remind West Cannon Baptist Church that we need to regularly, consistently regard the deeds of the LORD and see the work of God's hands.
The first way we do this is by spending time in God's Word.

I shared seven different passages, one for each day of the week, to help each of us remember different things God has done and how He wants us to live.

Each day of this week I am planning to post some resources to help others think about that day's passage.

Monday's verses are Matthew 28:19, 20.

It seems that Monday mornings are challenging for most people.  People are coming off the weekend and getting back to the weekday routine - school and/or work and so many other things.

You may have come from a great Sunday of worship and fellowship at church and then it comes.
Monday!!
This week devote yourself to glorifying God and not building your own kingdom!

But think about this the disciples and the church are told to go and make disciples not wait for people to come to your church building.

In the challenge of Monday morning, these verses remind us that we have a task:
Go and make disciples through our words and deeds this week.
This disciple making task is so much more than just passing on information.
This disciple making task is to teach people how to live out Jesus' commands.

In the challenge of Monday mornings, these verses remind us that God has provided what we need to do this task:
Himself.  "Behold, I am with you always to the end of the age."

Let's remember we have an impossible disciple-making task and we have an all-powerful God!!

To share Jesus, we must rely upon Jesus!

To help others find their joy in Christ, we must find our joy in Christ!

HERE is an 8 minute video study of this passage.

For other Devotion and Rejection posts, go to https://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/search?q=Devotion+rejection

Yesterday was all about FAILURE

Yesterday was all about FAILURE!
Now don't misread that sentence.
I didn't say "Yesterday was a FAILURE!" 

I was reminded three different ways about the importance of FAILURE.

First, in prepping for my time at West Cannon Baptist Church this weekend, I was going through some Vine Project notes I had in Evernote  (Yes I am shamelessly continuing to plug Evernote and The Vine Project).  I came across this insightful post - http://gotherefor.com/offer.php?intid=29481 - 
on why Matthias Media’s Vine Journal failed, 

some lessons they learned through the process and 
lessons everyone needs to learn about FAILURE.

The post refers to an article by Seth Godin entitled "How To Fail."  

The link on the page didn’t work for me, so I am reposting it here - http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/04/how-to-fai.html

Both of the articles reminded me of many things I have planned, done, succeeded and failed at over my life in ministry
and
it reminded of some lessons I need to remember in my next ministry.  For right now these are personal posts in my "Some really great ideas sound stupid at first.  But then, so do some really stupid ones" journal.

The other lesson was from a movie.
Last night Joel and I went to see Dunkirk, 
which is the inspirational story of Great Britain's "colossal military disaster."

HERE is the Plugged In video review of the movie.
HERE is the Plugged in article on the movie.

After watching the movie I came home and found several articles and videos of the Winston Churchill speech he gave after Dunkirk.

 The transcript of his speech can be read at www.winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1940-the-finest-hour/we-shall-fight-on-the-beaches
A reenactment of the speech from the movie Into the Storm is below.

The failure of Dunkirk, inspired Churchill and Great Britain to continue battling on.

As I am preparing for this next phase of ministry, I never want to let a fear of failure control me.
  
In Matthew 16:26, Jesus said "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?  Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?"
I don't want to miss the biggest thing, God and His glory, for the sake of so much smaller, lesser things like my glory.  

I want to succeed and I want to fail in ways that bring honor and glory to God!

In a practical ministry sense, 
I want to always stay true to the message of God’s Word and 
always evaluate the methods I am using to teach/preach/present God’s word. 

Or in the words of the missionary William Carey,
"I'm not afraid of failure; I'm afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter."

Why does the church meet together?

I want to offer what I believe is the biggest reason the church meets together and
why those who follow Jesus Christ should make it a habit to regularly meet with a local church gathering.

My personal and family devotional time this morning helped remind of this reason.

This month we are starting The New City Catechism with our family.  
So this morning I asked each person on their own to 

• read the passage, Romans 14:7, 8, that is connected with the first question/answer (Q: "What is our only hope in life and death?"  A: "That we are not our own but belong to God.")
• think about how this verse connects with going to a church service.  

Here is the passage.

Now I gave this assignment to my family before reading July 2nd's New Morning Mercies.  Here are two quotes from this devotional.

Corporate worship is designed to turn your heart from the shadow glories of creation to the one glory that will satisfy it.

Life is only ever found in what all those earth-bound glories point to - a God of awesome glory who is the source and giver of life; life that satisfies and remains forever. 

After doing my assignment, giving it to my family and then reading New Morning Mercies, I wrote the following in my journal (Just to let you know, when almost all of my journal entries are written as prayers to God).   

God, In reading Romans 14:7, 8 and today's New Morning Mercies, I am reminded that my life, church and corporate worship are not about me and my wants and my comforts.  

It is first and foremost about YOUR GLORY.  Help me remember that.  

Then I was reminded of this song that declares this truth.




As many of you know our family is in the midst of a big transition.
I am thankful for God's reminder that my life and my ministry are not about me!

So my closing questions for you are not...
Did you enjoy church this morning?
or
Did you have fun this morning?  (You know this is the question many parents asked their kids this morning)

But rather...
Did you glorify God this morning?
and
How were you challenged to be more Christ-like?

The Many Forms of God's Care

Today (June 1) begins my last month as pastor of small groups and children/families at Emmanuel Baptist Church.

The New Morning Mercies devotional for June 1st has served as a great reminder of what (who) is most important!

God’s care comes in many forms. He cares enough to break your bones in order to capture your heart. 

Please pray that as
  I prepare to hand off ministries that mean so much to me
  Krista, the kids and I work on our house
  Krista and I continue to prayerfully seek God's direction for our next ministry

that our hearts would be captivated by God and His glory and not our circumstances.

During this time it has been amazing to see how God is blessing us through people, His Word and His presence.

There have also been some challenges.

Here are a couple of specific prayer requests related to the three general prayer requests above....

1. Wisdom and direction regarding our house.  We are preparing to put it on the market soon but aren't sure what that means during this transitional time.
2. Wisdom and direction regarding ministry direction.  
• We have heard from several different churches and are prayerfully looking through them.  We also are waiting to hear back from some possibilities and have been informed that some churches are looking at different candidates.  Pray that we would wait on the Lord and His good plan.  
• I am very excited about the opportunity to once again speak at Camp Patmos the week of July 17 - 22.  Pray for my time there and preparation leading up to it.  
3. Wisdom and direction regarding ministry transition at EBC.  
• We have been so blessed to have had the opportunities to encourage and be encouraged by so many different families and individuals at EBC.  We want to finish our time here well for God's glory.  I know this means so much more than giving information about the programs that I had oversight of.  
• Also, prayer for the pastors and the staff of EBC during this transitional time.  

The New Morning Devotional today included Psalm 51 especially verse 8, which is a great Psalm to always remember.

"Let me hear joy and gladness;  let the bones that you have broken rejoice." 

Added on June 8th:
One of my biggest takeaways from this devotional has been that God is the one who brings joy and gladness.  He is also the one who crushes my bones.  It is not circumstances, situations or individuals.  God is the one who is sovereign.

Ascension Day!

Ascension Day occurs 39 days after Easter Sunday and commemorates Jesus Christ's ascension into heaven. 

Over the last couple of years, I have been reminded of the importance of this aspect of Jesus' life and ministry.
I want to share some things that I have been reminded of, and am learning about Jesus' ascension.
Then I want to share some life lessons God has been teaching me in this.

Right before his ascension, Jesus said: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8).  

Jesus ascended so that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, the one who would give His followers the power to be His witnesses around the world.

Hebrews 8:1, 2 says "Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man."

In his article "4 Results of Christ's Ascension," Tim Challies shares some of the great results of Christ's ascension:

1. Glorification
2. Coronation
3. the gift of the Comforter
4. the ministry of the High Priest

Now, the life lesson that has been challenging.

Before he ascended Jesus promised the disciples a Comforter and power (Acts 1:8).
Since his ascension, we have a high priest who is seated at God's hand that we look to (Hebrews 12:1, 2).

With everything my family has going on right now, I am so thankful 
for God the Holy Spirit who comforts and gives power, 
for God the Son who is the founder and perfecter of my faith, and 
for God the Father who is sovereign over everything and on HJis throne. 

We are not sure what ministry God has for us in the future.
We are not sure what God has planned for our house.
We are not sure what God has planned for the ministries and people we love at Emmanuel Baptist Church.

At the same time,
I am sure that God is in control.
I am sure that Jesus has saved me.
I am sure that the Holy Spirit will give me and EBC the strength and power to do what God has planned next. 

These truths don't make what is next easy.
There are definitely struggles and difficulties. 
but I choose to say blessed be God's name and I am not alone.
Here are two online resources that have been extremely helpful.

• I posted about the song Hills and Valleys at http://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/2017/05/hills-and-valleys.html
• Here is a sermon by Alistair Begg on the Ascension - https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/ascension-of-jesus-christ-the/

We would greatly appreciate your prayers for our family, for Emmanuel Baptist Church, and for whatever God has us doing next.