Jump In - The Water is Fine!

One of my favorite stories from the Bible occurs in the book of Acts chapter 8.  In that passage, the apostle Phillip meets a man, an Ethiopian eunuch who worked directly for the queen of Ethiopia.  He is travelling through the dessert catching up on some light reading from the scrolls of the prophet Isaiah when he meets Phillip on his journey.  The eunuch had one problem.  He didn't understand what he was reading, and so Phillip begins to help him by explaining the writings of Isaiah.  As Phillip shared the meaning of these Old Testament prophecies, all the lights came on for the Eunuch, and he realized that Jesus was the fulfillment of those prophecies.  As they rode on, they came upon a body of water, and the Eunuch immediately says, "Here is water; what hinders me from being baptized?"  So Phillip immediately took him to the water and baptized him.

So many times we put off important decisions, don't we?  The Bible says in the gospel of Mark, that he who believes and is baptized will be saved.  There something critical about the combination of belief and action.  Without a doubt baptism declares publicly that I'm choosing to live for Jesus Christ, but it also spiritually gives us an experience that washes our sin, frees us from our past, and allows us to rise to a new life in Christ.  So when someone calls me and says, "Will you baptize me, and will you do it today?" I'm thankful that as a church we are always prepared for those moments when people decide that now is the time, today is the day, I'm ready to see Jesus do something in my life.

Maybe it's not baptism for you.  You've done that, you've had your experience with Christ.  But perhaps Jesus is calling you to something more, something deeper, perhaps a higher level of commitment.  And as of now you've held Him at an arms length procrastinating your decision to pursue something more.  My questions to you is the same as the Eunuch's, "Here's water, what hinders you?"  Here is the well spring of opportunity, what hinders you from jumping in with both feet.  The time is now.  Write that book.  Start that ministry.  Begin serving others each week.  Join a Dream Team.  Teach a Bible Study.  Lead a Small Group.  Share your testimony.  Send that message.  Pray for someone who's hurting.  Don't hesitate.  Become all that God wants you to be and pursue God's best for you today.  If God has called you to it, He has also equipped you to accomplish it.  Now's the time.

Whatever occurred to bring you to the crossroads you stand at right now, God allowed it to bring you to a place of decision.  Consider this an opportunity to move forward and become the best version of yourself - the one that God had planned for you from the very beginning.  Go ahead, step into the water.  You never know the ripple effect of one decision, and how many will be touched because you chose to acknowledge that here is water, there are no more excuses, let's do this NOW.

Your Story Matters

Our lives are amazingly intricate.  They are filled with twists and turns, mountains and valleys, moments of abject failures and soaring triumph. 

And then there's the living: the daily grind of going through our day-to-day.  Sometimes we feel as if our lives don't matter or make little difference, especially during our seasons of normalcy.

The reality is all that we are is wrapped up in the roller coaster that we call life.  Hair-pin turns, towering climbs, death defying drops, hills small and great.  And yet, my favorite part of my favorite roller coaster is the moment when you've crested the last little hill and everything smooths out and for a moment you get a little break in the action, a momentary respite for your heart to recover, and then you race down the gangplank to rush around to the entrance, to do it all over again.

I am convinced that most of us, if we're honest we think that our story is of little value. Who wants to hear from me?  Who needs what I have to offer?  And yet, I believe it is our day-to-day existence, our times of strength and struggle, OUR STORY that God uses most.  The revelation of who we are, of our seasons of the mundane and the monstrous, the tragic and the triumphant, the normal and the nearly- impossible-to-believe - God uses those seasons, those moments, when shared, to bring hope to someone who's hurting, to bring peace to someone who's in chaos, to bring a ray of sunshine in the midst of a thunderstorm, a rainbow in the clouds, stability in the midst of an earthquake.

You see Paul describes this amazing process of comfort in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 RPV - He says (RPV? - that's the Rodney Pavie Version - look for it in a blog near you😁), "Blessed be the God of all comfort - who takes care to provide comfort to us when our world is turned upside down, so that when ours hits the sweet spot of normalcy again, we can share our story with those whose world is being turned upside down and provide comfort to them in the same way that God comforted us. . ."  It's like riding that roller coaster with someone who has been on it before, who can let you know that everything is about to smooth out and over the next hill you should find a season of peace, comfort, safety.

In other words - your story matters.  How God helped you through whatever chaos or struggle or failure or turmoil or tribulation you've been through - NO MATTER how large or how small, has a purpose.  Because when you make yourself vulnerable enough to share, ultimately you are helping other to know they are not alone.  They too can make it BECAUSE with God's help you did!  Your Story Matters!  If you're really spiritual, you can call it your testimony.  It's really just an eyewitness account of the roller coaster ride we call life.  AND IT MATTERS! 

Mastermind - A Look Back

Back in June, I had the privilege of sharing a three-part series entitled "Mastermind", with the overarching theme, "Change your thinking, change your life."  This morning I was revisiting that series in my mind, and I began to think just how much it impacted me and the way I think.  

In the past, I have been quick to many times judge a situation based on my current circumstances.  If life is going good, its easy for me to think positive thoughts, dream big dreams, and explore grand possiblities of the future to come.  But when things are tough, when money is tight, when life is handing out lemons instead of birthday presents, I have generally pursue a more negative line of thinking.  But since the Mastermind Series, I have really been striving to reframe my thinking.  To see the good in all situations, even if the good is something that I'm learning never to do again.  

I'm not naive.  This approach to life is hard.  It counters every line of thinking that we've been taught.  Yet as hard as it is, it is God's approach to our life.  Whatsoever things are good, lovely, praiseworthy, etc., think on these things.  As a man thinks in his heart so is he.  Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  All things work together for the good to them that love God and called according to his purpose.  So as we face life, how we respond is directly related to how we think, and if we are striving to shape our thinking positively, positive things should flow out of us.

I haven't got it licked yet.  Do you?  Everyday is not perfect, but I'm better today than I was and each day I'm striving to be better.  As a way of reminder, I encourage you to make declarations over your life.  Declare God's Word and God's plan for you.  This is what I declare each day as I begin my day.  If you don't have any personal declarations, feel free to use this one OR edit and make it your own:

• Jesus is first in my life.
• I exist to serve and glorify Him.
• I love my wife and I will lay down my life to serve her.
• I love my children and I will do everything I can to show them how to love God and to serve him with their whole hearts.
• I will nurture, equip, train and empower them to do more for the Kingdom than they thought possible.
• I am a recipient of God's amazing grace.  My past is redeemed and I walk in renewed mercies everyday.  As a result I will extend grace and mercy to others.
• I love people and I believe the best about them.
• I am disciplined.  Christ in me is stronger that the wrong desires in me.
• I am growing closer to Jesus everyday.
• Because of Christ, my family is closer, my body is stronger, my faith is deeper, my leadership is sharper.
• I am creative, innovative, driven, focused and blessed because the Spirit of God dwells within me.
• I develop leaders.  That not something I do; it's who I am.
• Pain in my friend.  I rejoice in suffering because Jesus suffered for me.
• I bring my best and then some.  It's what I bring after I bring my best that makes the difference and I declare, the world will be different and better because I SERVED JESUS TODAY.

I hope you have a great day, and continuing striving to MASTER YOUR MIND.

Starting the Year by Giving Thanks!

As we begin a new year, I wanted to take a moment and jot down some thoughts and as I started to write I became overwhelmed with a feeling of the need to give thanks.  I know Thanksgiving as a holiday occurred a little over 6 weeks ago but it truly should be a lifestyle and not just a day.  I want my life to be a shining example of one who does not take for granted the blessings in his life but rather looks for opportunity to express the feelings that flow out of a life that has been touched by so many.  Over the last few years, as a family, we have faced many things, some tragedies of my own making and others that are just a part of life.  Through it all, I have found the blessings of God through the kindness of others and that has made a permanent impact on my life.

Yesterday, we began our year in church and I was so thankful to do so.  We are blessed to be a part of a GREAT church and to be ministered to by a GREAT Pastor.  I am so thankful for the legacy of love and salvation that has been placed in my life as a result of being a part of this GREAT congregation.  I am honored and humbled to be a part of Life Church and to call Buddy Thompson my Pastor.  He and his precious wife Robin, and their wonderful daughters, Lauren & Lindsey are truly as close as family to me and are some of my dearest friends.  Also in regards to our church, I am so appreciative of the men and women who over the years have sacrificed time and treasure to make Life Church what it is.  Some people who are still there and others who have moved on gave tirelessly and sacrificially, many times emptying bank accounts to give us an amazing facility but more importantly to create a lasting landmark to truth in our community that my children are blessed to know and love.  Today I am TRULY so very thankful.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of praying for a lady in the altar who is now past the age of 90.  She is a lady who I have known since I was six years old.  Her name is Esther Carter and as a young boy she was my Sunday School Teacher.  She instilled in me a love for God's Word that supersedes and in many cases defines my life.  No matter the twists and turns of the road of my life, my love for the Bible is a constant that I can not escape and she assisted in putting that in me.  34 years later, she shuffles down the aisle behind her walker, every Sunday, and gets on her knees before God and continues to seek His face.  Thank you Sis. Esther for being a shining example of a Christian, a prayer warrior, a teacher and most importantly a lover of the things that God loves, particularly children.  You impacted my life!

I also want to take a moment and thank God for so many of the members of Life Church.  Over the last year, you have poured oil on hurting wounds and provided whatever was needed to nurse my family back to spiritual health.  Some of you, when you didn't know why, instinctively or lead by the spirit, you gave hugs and spoke words that have carried me when I've needed it most.  Some of you have given me motherly hugs that I've desperately needed now that my mother is gone.  You've sought first to restore and to love and I'm so thankful to call you my church family.

There have been so many people who have been a part of my life over the last few years for whom I am thankful.  Many who were quick to forgive, slow to condemn, looked beyond faults, recognized needs, spoke kindly, loved freely, rejoiced with me, cried with me, believed in me, encouraged me, and lifted me from some of my lowest points.  No one deserves more appreciation for those things than my AMAZING wife, Davina.  I don't know how I'd have ever endured any of life's trial without you by my side.  You deserve so much more than I can ever express or say, but I'm truly thankful that you still believe in me.  Everyday, I count as a blessing from God, extended to me, that I get to spend with you.  For this I am thankful.

To my children, who give me moments of great joy, and as all kids do, temporary moments of tension filled agony, I am so grateful to call you mine.  Jordan and Abigail, you have been so gracious and kind and stood by your mom and dad like troopers.  I am so proud of the man and woman you are becoming and I am confident that you are going to do amazing things for Jesus Christ.  To my Dad, I say Thank You.  Your kindness and goodness overwhelm me and I have learned so much about being a Christian from observing you and Mom.  Thanks for loving my Mom and teaching me how to love my wife and my kids.  You are a GREAT man and I'm honored to call you Dad.

Finally - Jesus - You are truly AWESOME!  There is NONE like You!  Just when I think your mercies must be exhausted, they are renewed with a new day.  When I am overwhelmed by the flood of the enemies attack, You raise up a standard against them.  When I am fearful and afraid you cover me with the wings of your mercy, as a hen would cover her chicks.  When the storm rages, you protect me in the cleft of Your Rock.  When attacks come on the battlefield, you are my shield.  When I want to retreat, you are my refuge and my fortress, my hiding place, my strong tower.  When I worry about tomorrow, you reassure me by showing me the birds of the air and the flowers of the field.  When I feel alone, You remind me that You are my comforter, my peace that passes understanding, my strength, my joy, my friend who sticks closer than a brother, my God who will never leave me nor turn against me.  I thank you today for knowing me and still loving me, for having plans and designs for my life even when I stand in confusion and frustration, and for believing in me, and inspiring my hope in You.  You are my reason for living.  You are the love of my life.  Jesus you are my everything - the center of all that I am and ever hope to be.  Thank you for loving me!

Perception is the key. . .

For the majority of my life I have never been concerned about my eyesight.  I have had better than 20/20 vision for the better part of 40 years.  I have been told constantly by those who are older than I that the moment I turn 40, it's all down hill, but as of yet I still have no problems with my sight.  My wife and son, on the other hand, are different stories. 

Both Davina & Jordan have been forced to wear corrective lenses (either glasses or contacts) for as long as either of them can remember.  I never even stopped to think about the qualifications of the eye doctor making decisions about my families sight.  We went to the eye doctor, he said they needed glasses, he determined the proper prescription of the lens necessary to correct their sight, and we took the green slip of paper to a retailer who then shaped lenses to fit that prescription.  From that process my wife and my son gained a different perception based upon the eye doctor's prescription.  If you've ever seen an eyeglass prescription you know that a numeric value preceded by a positive (+) or negative (-) sign determines how the lenses are shaped, assisting with ones ability to see properly, correcting either farsightedness or nearsightedness.  None of this was of particular concern for me until today.

My son went for his eye doctor's appointment today.  After his examination, the doctor told my wife and son that he was never to put those particular glasses on again.  Apparently when they were made, they were made to the wrong prescription.  The doctor who wrote the prescription misplaced the sign.  In other words, my son who is far-sighted has been wearing glasses made for someone who was near-sighted for over a year and a half.  He's had headaches, his eyes have hurt and this past baseball season, although he took his glasses off when he played, because of the prolonged usage of inappropriate eyewear, his depth perception was inhibited and he struggled to hit the ball with any consistency.  His perception was determined by simply a positive OR negative denotation on a prescription.

Now once my blood stopped boiling and we determined where the fault lies and restitution is in the process of being made, I began to thinking how much our perception is determined by a positive OR negative outlook on life.  If you are someone who is constantly dwelling on the negative things in life then your perception on every event, every action, every relationship is going to be tainted toward the negative.  But if you tend to see things in a positive light, your perception improves.  The negative view causes you to be near-sighted in life, focusing on all the minutia, becoming critical of everyone and everything around you.  But when you have a positive perception, you are able to see the big picture.  You can see God's hand at work, preparing you for things that lie ahead, even when up close things may not always appear that way.  Our perception is the key.

So - are you viewing life from a myopic near-sighted perspective, only seeing the problems and issues that you are facing right now.  OR are you looking through positive eyes, faith-filled eyes, where you are dreaming of a future that God is preparing the way for you to inhabit.  It may be time for an eye-check.  You may need a new prescription and if so, make sure that you don't ever put the old one back on.  Let God's perception of your life become your perception and it won't be long before you will be walking in the favor and faith of a greater future than what you can see right now. 

God bless you as you look ahead to a great future that God has planned just for you! -- RP

The Delicate Balance of Spring

This morning as I rode into work, I noticed the beautiful signs of spring.  The buds of new life breaking forth from the crust of winter on the trees.  The fresh sprigs of green grass breaking through the hard surface of the ground.  Dandelions and tulips breaking forth from bulbs buried deep under the ground.  The fresh white blooms of pears and dogwoods dotting the landscapes, perfectly pushing past the wintry gray of a season soon to end. 

For many spring represents new birth, rejuvenation, new life.  We are surrounded on all sides by fresh and new.  It seems to bring hope and renewal and with it, many find that their spirits are lifted and they feel a sense of encouragement that has been missing all winter.  AND YET, as encouraging as all of the new life seems to be, there are many who dread the beginning of spring, because with it comes stuffed heads, runny noses, headaches, scratchy throats and itchy runny eyes.  At my home, I love the spring, but my family suffers all around me with the pain of spring.  Allergies affect so many people as pollen begins to blanket the world, many suffer from reactions to the necessities of growth all around them.  It is certainly a delicate balance between the joy and pain of spring.

The same is true in our spiritual lives.  As we go through seasons of growth and new life in the kingdom of God, we struggle with the pain of the growth.  With every struggle comes strength and so just as the dandelion must break through the crusty ground to beautify the landscape, so we must struggle to break through the old man, our sinful nature, or even our old way of thinking.  As we struggle to break forth, there is pain in the struggle but the joy of spring lies just beyond.  As a baby struggles to be born, it causes pain to the mother, but once having received that new baby in her arms, she would never regret the pain of the moment.  We are the same.  Once you experience God's best for you, the pain of getting there will pale in comparison to the glory of His reality in your life.

I once heard it said that "Pain is inevitable. . . Growth is optional."  We're all going to struggle.  We're  all going to go through painful circumstances.  But we choose whether we grow from them.  I choose to embrace the new life of His presence and spring forward into God's best for me.  "If any man is in Christ, He's a NEW creation.  Old things are passed away and all things become new." 

Enjoy the warmth of the coming days.  Notice God's handiwork all around.  Enjoy the growth that is taking place.  Recognize that some of us may be suffering through (with red noses and watery eyes) but soon we'll all be basking in the sunshine of His greatness as His best in played out all around us.  God best to each of you!  -- RP

Restoration - Rebuilding on the Broken Pieces of Yesterday

Why is it that we have such a hard time believing that God is capable of restoring or bringing back what once was?  Why do we have such a tough time believing that God is able to take the broken pieces of yesterday and rebuild something even greater than what once stood on the heap of ruin?

In the 30th chapter of Jeremiah, the prophet, as he watches his once proud and great nation be led into captivity and the once great inpenetrable walls of his great city, Jerusalem, torn down and destroyed, begans to speak the words of the Lord to His people.  He tells them that because of their failure, their sin, they will experience pain and punishment, but it will only last so long.  The day would come when he would bring back out of captivity this great nation and he would restore health to them and he would heal all their wounds, and because she had been an outcast, God would bring her back.  Then in verse 18, he says ". . .The city shall be built upon its own mound. . ."

 Years later, Nehemiah is a cup bearer in the palace of a Persian king.  The king notices that Nehemiah is not his normal happy self.  Rather, he seems disturbed, discouraged, downcast, beaten up.  The king calls him in and asks, why Nehemiah is so low in spirit.  Nehemiah explains to the king that the capital city of his homeland lies in ruins and has no walls to protect it.  With the blessing of the king, Nehemiah returns and begins an amazing restoration project, that Jeremiah had prophesied would come to pass years before.  Nehemiah goes and he rebuilds the walls of the city in an amazing feat, but what fascinates me is the fact that he used the broken down burned out pieces of the previous wall to rebuild the wall that stands to this day. 

Isn't it just like God to take the discarded pieces of a broken life and allow it to become a blessing that touches future generations?  When he chooses to restore, he doesn't do it halfway.  Rather He takes the pieces of our greatest failures and disappointments and builds again on what was destroyed.  Have you ever considered that Peter, God's man with the kingdom keys, when he fell into sin and returned to his fisherman's lifestyle, was found by Jesus?  And when He found him, he doesn't punish Peter but rather reassures his love for Peter and puts him back on the job.  From Jesus-denier to Pentecost preacher within 50 days.  But what I love most, is the fact that God allows Peter a second chance to proclaim his knowledge of Christ.  Where he once denied he even knew the man, 50 days later, he proclaims him both Lord and Christ and when others felt the same conviction that he felt 50 days earlier, he knew exactly what they needed to do to find exactly what he had found - the restoring hand of Jesus Christ. 

Paul in his second letter to the church at Corinth, says "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."  I've often wondered why it seems that I bump into people all the time who have struggled or are fighting battles that I've already fought.  I believe that Jesus rebuilds with the broken pieces of our life so that when he, having put us back together, brings broken people to us, we are then able to follow His lead and offer the same restoration and comfort and healing that he once gave to us. 

Nehemiah never forgot what it was like to rebuild walls out of broken pieces that lasted.  Peter never forgot what it was like to be restored as a fisher of men.  And I don't ever want to forget what it feels like to experience the forgiveness of God and find His hand of restoration taking the broken pieces of yesterday's failures and building a future that will, in faith, touch the lives of others to come.

May God bless you all!  I hope to not be so long between postings.  It's time for me to get started doing what God's gifted me to do more often and I hope that it will be a blessing to each of your lives.