I have always enjoyed reading the book of Proverbs and collecting wise sayings from various people. These nuggets of truth help to keep me focused on the important things. Here are some wise words to live by.

"Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:5-7

• Be kind with your words. They have the power to change people’s lives. Speak life.
• People can only control you if you let them. Don’t let them.
• Every road needs guardrails, and every person needs boundaries. Embrace them.
• Happiness is not dependent on your circumstances or people. Choose to be happy.
• Don’t compare yourselves to others. Embrace your uniqueness.
• Faith is also spelled RISK. Try something new.
• Don’t take the people close to you for granted. Be grateful.
• Do something totally unplanned this week. Be spontaneous.
• Do a random act of kindness. Be generous.
• Focus on excellence, not perfection. Relax and stop sweating the small stuff.
• We all fail at times. Be resilient and get over it.
• Go on a negativity fast. Only think and speak positively and watch your attitude change.
• Anyone who stops learning is old, regardless of age. Read a good book or subscribe to a podcast to keep your mind young.
• Laugh a lot – Life is too short.

These sound so simple, yet they have the power to change your life, relationships, and spiritual walk. You can use them as a checklist this week and see what happens.

If God is a loving God,
why…?

I’ve heard that question so many times! Usually, it is meant to be the ultimate question to discredit God’s character. But is it an honest question?

Recently Terri Mulberry (Hopewell Community Church, Pottstown) made an observation that responds to the root of that question. She observed that around the throne of God, you hear “holy, holy, holy” rather than “love, love, love.”
                                          
From the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6:2-4) to the Apostle John (book of Revelations) we see the picture of God on his throne and EVERY living creature declaring Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord!
Moses repeated the theme of God’s holiness as the basis for God’s actions. Moses also set God’s holiness as the standard for our lives (Leviticus 20:7). The Apostle Peter repeated that standard for us today (1 Peter 1:15).

Yes, the love of God is central to the gospel. It is based on God’s mercy. It is manifest in Jesus humbling himself to live on this earth and to give his life as a sacrifice in our place . . . because God IS holy, and we fall short of his glory.

In 1967, John Lennon wrote a song that became an anthem for the “Summer of Love.” The Beatles sang, “Love, love, love, all you need is love,” and that has replaced “be Holy as God is Holy” as the foundation of our religious beliefs.

The question, “If God is a loving God” is based on a faulty premise and casts God as someone who acts in ways inconsistent with His character. God’s love is expressed in mercy that permits sinful people to approach a Holy God, not permissiveness or tolerance that overlooks our sinful ways.

Where was God when…
We ask that question a lot! After a tragedy. When our prayers are not answered the way we hoped. When we try our best and yet we see others prosper more than we do. When family members make choices that lead to pain and grief. When a loved one dies. When a friend turns against us.

The “where was God when” questions have a common thread . . . disappointment with God! Disappointment that God did not meet our expectations. Disappointment that God did not respond the way we wanted Him to respond. Disappointment that God did not intervene and cause a different outcome.

Too often our disappointment with God is rooted in our self-centeredness. We do not recognize that Jesus is Lord and King. Instead we expect Him to respond as our servant. Like God’s people in the time of Jesus, we only call on God when we have a need (John 6:26) rather than develop a close relationship with Him during the course of our lives on this earth.

Perhaps we just don’t get it… and we expect Jesus to be someone he is not. Just like there is a difference between viewing Jesus as our servant rather than our King, there is also a big difference between viewing Jesus as a King among Kings rather than the King of Kings. It’s the difference between a good option to follow on the road to heaven and the only way to heaven.
And so we pick and choose among the gods around us based on what we prefer at any particular moment. But somehow our disappointment seems to be with the God who is over all even when we chose to pursue other gods or hope for things that the God of the universe never promised!

Unfortunately we quickly end up with a relationship with Jesus that is solely based on what He does for us. And we evaluate what Jesus does for us based on our selfish desires. Our wants. What seems best in our own eyes.

We forget that as the King of Kings, God’s purpose is greater than ours. That’s true whether we are His disciples or not. Whether we choose to obey or disobey. God’s purpose is always first in how God responds to us. Not our wants. Not even our needs!

Jesus declared His purpose early in His ministry when He returned home to Nazareth. 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18-19 – NKJV)."

What are your biggest disappointments in God?

Take a moment to consider God’s purpose is for your life. What does Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, expect from you? Then commit yourself to pursue God’s purpose with all that is within you. If you do, you won’t be disappointed!

Our Hopewell Network theme for 2023 is Transforming Church and Culture.
Sounds like a very noble and spiritual goal, but how do we do this in a way that brings transformation? It probably goes without saying that the church needs to be transformed before we can see any meaningful transformation in the culture. We need to transform the culture inside the church first. We need our minds renewed or realigned into a biblical worldview.

There are many things we could engage in to make a difference in our culture and many of them are good. But the one area that I believe is key to transformation in church and culture is making true biblical disciples.

The church has become good at attracting people and making converts, but not very good at making transformative disciples. Disciples that truly change culture instead of adapting to it.
A biblical disciple is one who not only accepts Jesus as their Savior, but that also makes Jesus Lord of every area of their life with a complete and total surrender to his teaching and way. A disciple begins to think like Jesus and live like Jesus. In America 69% claim to be “Christian” but only 9% have a biblical worldview and live according to biblical values. In other words, only 9% of born-again Christians in our nation think and live like biblical Jesus.

Jesus’ number one assignment to the church, that will transform both church and culture, is to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. ” Matthew 28:19-20
 
Jesus’ definition of a disciples is one who obeys everything he commands in scripture. The focus is on obedience to his word. Jesus makes this clear when he says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matt 7:21

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” John 14:23
 
Then he said to them all, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." Matthew 16:24 
 
So how do we make disciples in 2023? How do we disciple those who only connect with us online? How do we develop a biblical worldview and a biblical lifestyle in our followers? How do we make disciples in a feeling-oriented culture that worships at the altar of self?
I give a clarion call to Sunday school teachers, small group leaders, and all teachers and preachers of the word. We need to help our students rediscover a deep love for both Jesus and his word.  We need to go back to solid biblical preaching and teaching and not just entertainment story telling with a few proof texts thrown in. I encourage you to preach through a whole book of the Bible several times a year. Showing your people how to dig out the treasures in both the Old and New Testament.

II Timothy 4:2 - Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season.
 
Titus 1:9 - Hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that (you) can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

The biblical way of becoming a disciple is to walk closely and model yourself after your teacher and his teachings. If people following us see us in love with God’s word, it will create a hunger in them as well. A disciple maker must be a student of the word. Not just intellectually but relationally living it.

For churches committed to making true disciples and not just converts and attenders, it is helpful to have a discipleship plan in place for new believers to follow. Again, the more relational you can make it the better. We don’t want to just produce intellectual Christians, but those deeply committed to Jesus relationally. This is where small groups can be helpful.
How do we transform church and culture? From the inside out. One transformed disciple at a time being sent into the culture as salt and light. That’s how the early church transformed their world.

There is something about the Christmas season that not only reveals the heart of God, but reveals our hearts as well! The Christmas story reveals God’s values and his generous spirit. Our celebrations also reveal our values and the state of our generous spirit!

The Christmas season brings out the best and the worst in us and those around us. One moment we may serve in a homeless shelter and the next we find ourselves shoving our way through the crowd on Black Friday.

God’s actions in the Christmas story are some of the best acts of a generous God. God gave himself. God’s real gift was “just to be there with us!” "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us (Matthew 1:23 – NKJV)." That might not seem like much of a gift if we talk about our presence being our gift! That’s especially true if it’s for somebody we are with regularly! But God’s gift of Jesus - being with us - came when we were alone and lost and without hope. That’s why we receive the gift of “God being with us” with such eagerness and joy!

God gave freely with no strings attached. It was up to us to decide how to receive his gift! God gave with a generous spirit . . . to those who don’t deserve it; to those who can’t repay! “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10 – NKJV).”

It’s easy to get caught up in a cycle of giving to those who gave to us; giving to those we hope will give to us; or, giving to those we are supposed to give to. God’s gift had a benefit that only required one response. Just receive it! God gave for the pure joy of giving! It’s a heart condition. He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive (Jesus quoted in Acts 20:35 – NKJV).' "

For many of us the end of year is busy and full of people. We can get “peopled out!” But many others are lonely during the end of year celebrations of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. Somebody BEING with them would be such an incredible gift. Not just dropping off a gift basket or serving them in an outreach meal but BEING with them. Maybe a cup of coffee in a coffee shop, plus an hour of your time BEING with them, listening, caring.

Keeping proper track of time is a daily activity that goes back to ancient times. Today there are so many ways for a person to keep track of time.
 
Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and many other devices, have an internal clock that keeps ticking merrily on as long as there is a bit of battery or other electrical power available. When the device is turned on without connection to internet or telephone networks, the device will use time from the internal clock. When external time reference is available, the device will synchronize its internal clock to it, if defined in the settings.

Your brain has an impressively accurate internal clock which allows us to detect the passage of time, a skill essential for many critical daily functions. Without the ability to track elapsed time with our brain, our morning shower could continue indefinitely. Without that nagging feeling to remind us we’ve been driving too long; we might easily miss our exit.

Is there perhaps a spiritual clock too. Jesus said we would know the time of his return by world events Matt 24 and 25. Most of those world events leading up to his return are now in place. Let’s awaken the believers to be prepared for his return. Romans 13:11

Psalms 84

An elderly man was taking his evening walk. He was enjoying the crisp night air and the sound of the wind blowing through the trees. Suddenly, he heard a little voice calling, "Help me! Help me!" The man looked all around and saw no one, so he continued his walk. Again, he heard the tiny little voice, "Help me! Help me!" This time he looked down and saw a small frog.
He gently lifted the frog and looked at it intently. The frog spoke, "I’m really a beautiful young princess. If you kiss me, I will turn back into a princess and I will love you forever." The man thought for a moment, then he placed the frog in his top pocket and continued walking. The little frog looked up out of the pocket and asked, "Why don’t you kiss me?" The man responded, "Frankly, at this stage in my life, I would rather have a talking frog!"

What we want from life changes from season to season. We have seasons where we may desire success and fame as well as seasons where all we want is one night of uninterrupted sleep!

But no matter what season we are in, we can understand the value of being blessed. If you feel blessed than you will be thankful and be better able to enjoy life.

Psalm 84 gives us a short list of where we can find that blessing.

1. There is blessing in the presence of the Lord
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising You (Psalm 84:4 – NKJV).

2. There is blessing in a journey that depends on God
Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage (Psalm 84:5-7 – NKJV).

3. There is blessing in praying for those in authority
O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed (Psalm 84:9 – NKJV).

4. There is blessing in serving the Lord
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness (Psalm 84:10 – NKJV).

5. There is blessing in living upright lives
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11 – NKJV).

6. There is blessing in trusting in God
O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You (Psalm 84:12 – NKJV)

Summertime is typically the time for vacations. Kids are out of school and summer is a great time for outdoor activities with the family. But sometimes the packing, unpacking and activities with the kids leave us exhausted instead of refreshed. Sometimes we need a vacation from the vacation.

I want to encourage each of us to take time to unplug. It doesn’t need to be a week or two week summer vacation. In fact, sometimes it is just a day away by ourselves to be quiet or doing something that relaxes and refreshes us. We all need time to refresh, clear our mind, and allow God to breathe new life into us.

I hope you are able to prioritize some time to be refreshed. It affects not just you but the people around you as well. A refreshed leaders refreshes others. A healthy leader produces health in others.

So, for now, I'm sitting on the dock of the bay watching the tide roll away and being refreshed by God’s handiwork.

Some people will only receive a touch of God through you!  (Acts 3)

Some years ago we lived in a town where there was man who sat by himself on a corner of a street about two blocks from where we lived. People went past every day. We did too! One day I stopped and said hello. I quickly found out that he was considered the town drunk. But I got to know him as a person.

One day he died. We had a small funeral. Not many people go to the funeral of the town drunk. I don’t know for sure what his faith commitment was when he died but I do know that he knew who Jesus is.

There are lots of people who just blend into the scenery. We see them every day but never have the time to interact with them as people. Some are nice neighbors who get up every morning and go to work and keep to themselves. Others are family members that we only see at reunions . . . and have to ask to remember their names! Or the quiet co-workers who show up and do their job and go home. And the parents of our children’s friends that we only know as “Johnny’s mom or Mary’s dad.”

Peter and John met somebody like that in Acts 3. They were going about their normal routines and were going to the Temple for the three o’clock prayer service (v. 1). When they arrived at the Temple gate, they saw what they always saw at the gate. The same thing that the other disciples saw whenever they entered that gate. The same thing that Jesus saw when He entered through that same gate. They saw a man lame from birth (v. 2) who was there to ask for money (v. 3).

The man was over 40-years old (4:22). He had been begging there for many years.
Peter and John had three choices. Walk on by like most people do with those who are just part of the scenery. Slow down and drop a little something in his cup without making eye contact. Or stop and treat him like a person.

Peter acknowledged the beggar as a person of value. He stopped and talked with him. He told him to look at them (v. 4).

The lame man expected alms. Perhaps he had received alms from the disciples before. But Peter chose a different response. Instead of giving alms and moving on, he stopped and gave the man his hand (v. 7). And in the name of Jesus the man was healed.

So today, when you see that person that you’ve seen so many times before but don’t really know . . . stop and take a minute. Say or do something that values them as a person and see what God does!

There are many things that hold us back from God’s best for our lives. From serving God with confidence. Or worshipping God more freely. Or taking that step that you know God has for you . . . 

Jesus met a man who struggled with stuff in his life and tried hard to control his image. That is a recipe for holding back from God’s best!

The man had a question (Matthew 19:16). What must he do to have eternal life? Jesus answered with a list from the commandments. But the man responded that he had kept those commandments. Jesus challenged him to sell his possessions and follow him. That made the man extremely sad because he had many possessions! He just couldn’t take that step!

Here is the reality check:  we are all hooked to something that holds us back from God’s best in our lives!

It’s always a choice! To stay hooked to what is holding us back or break free and pursue God’s best for our lives!

Four factors that hold us back from taking that step that we know we should take for God’s best in our lives are: fear, frustration, fatigue, and failure. These are not sin (breaking commandments). But those are factors in our lives that hold us back so that we just can’t take that step.

Don’t wait until there is a crisis or you feel you have no other options.

Remember that God will see you through!

When you go through deep waters and great troubles, I will be with you,... you won't drown! When you walk through the fires of oppression, you won't be burned up (Isaiah 43:2-3 - TLB).

Isa 43:18-19  Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

•  I see the church waking up. Dry bones rattling and coming to life. Fresh oil is being poured out on the church. Streams in the wasteland. As tough as it has been, God is in this season.

• I see evil becoming more blatant and oppressive and at the same time true believers becoming bolder and more effective in their faith.

 

• I see both persecution and God’s manifest presence increasing side by side.

• The church will become and is becoming more versatile and adaptable to increasing disruptions. The Holy Spirit will release kingdom creativity which will enable us to work above ground and underground as needed.

• We will see leaders and churches of various evangelical persuasions beginning to work together in a new spirit of unity to reach their community and confront social issues that threatened the church.

• Churches who compromise on the authority of God’s word and moral issues will continue to decline but churches that stand strong will experience fresh oil in their lampstands, fresh waves of revival, fresh impartations of grace, fresh resources from heaven, and fresh anointing that will release signs and wonders among them.

• Believers that stand strong with courage and conviction will face opposition but will also see and know God in deeper ways than ever before. His presence will increase in every area of their lives in tangible ways.

• The world will become more chaotic with pandemics, terrorism, high crime, moral decadence, and attacks on basic freedoms. We will see increased political, economic, and military upheaval worldwide as nations posture for power and control.  But we are not to give into fear. This will ripen the harvest all the more as disillusion, hopelessness, and fear increases in the earth. Be ready for a great harvest of souls worldwide. We will see an increase of salvations this year.

• The Book of Acts is about ready to happen all over again on steroids. It is a great time to be alive! 

• Be encouraged. Shake off any discouragement and weariness from this past season. Stop dwelling on it. God is doing a new thing among his people in the nations. The Holy Spirit will help us perceive it and embrace it. Let’s continue to work while it is yet day and let’s keep our heads lifted up for our redemption is getting ever closer.

John 9:4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.

Luke 21:28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
 

How do you know that Thanksgiving Day is near? Halloween decorations are replaced by Santa Claus scenes!

I must confess that I don’t have the same warm fuzzies about Thanksgiving that some people have. I grew up in Cuba as a missionary kid and didn’t even get off school for Thanksgiving (they didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving holiday). Thanksgiving was just another school day.

For several years, I worked for a denominational conference of churches that had the tradition of holding their annual business meetings on Thanksgiving weekend starting Thursday morning! So, Thanksgiving Day was just a workday. There aren’t too many warm fuzzies about going to a denominational business meeting!

Then for four years, we had a son who wrestled in a major tournament over Thanksgiving weekend. That meant that Monday through Thursday was cutting weight time. Not the best combination with Thanksgiving eating memories!

It’s not that I don’t like Thanksgiving . . . I do. But there is something about taking a day to stop and be thankful about what we have just to turn right around the next day and begin the Christmas shopping season. One day we are thankful, and the next we focus on what we and others still want!

Somewhere the meaning of Thanksgiving morphed.

The Pilgrims who arrived at Plymouth Rock over 300 years ago didn’t have a lot of possessions. In fact, they were going through desperate times. Many of the people who lived through the voyage died during that first winter. The ship that was supposed to bring them food and useful items arrived with 35 mouths to feed but no provisions.

They didn’t have much. They knew grief and pain and hard work with little to show for it. So why do we celebrate Thanksgiving Day?

The first national Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed by Abraham Lincoln in the fall of 1863. It was a desperate time for the nation. It was not to celebrate abundance and affluence, but to honor “all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife.”

None of us has led a charmed life, at least not like we dreamed or hoped it would be. Each one of us has hurts and scars that keep us from FEELING thankful. The scars of loss, discouragement, suffering, weariness . . .

King David understood this. He wrote (Psalm 103 – NKJV): 1 Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

This Thanksgiving let’s bless the Lord. Bless His Holy name. Remember all that the Lord has done, especially during the desperate times of our lives. Remembering God’s intervention in our desperate times is harder that you’d think! And if you are going through a desperate time, know that just as the Lord has intervened in the past, he will do so again!

I just finished reading the book “When Faith is Forbidden”.  A collection of stories by Voice of the Martyrs of persecuted Christians. I was deeply challenged by the accounts of present day believers who are being persecuted for simply believing in Jesus or for having a bible. Some are beaten, kicked out of their homes, put in prison, or even killed.  When asked how we should pray for them, the one thing in common was that they would have the courage needed to continue in their faith and witness for Jesus.

They remind me of Peter and John. After they had been threatened and thrown in jail for preaching about Jesus, their prayer was for more boldness to keep preaching.
Acts 4:29-31 “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
 
The thing that intimidated and angered the persecutors was the courage of the Christians. The threats and persecution seemed to have no effect on them. In fact, their numbers only increased all the more.

Acts 4:13 “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

Many of our international brothers and sisters are experiencing persecution and it is increasing in the United States, as well. Biblical truth is called hate speech and our culture is trying to cancel our voice and intimidate us into silence so we surrender to their agenda. God is using these pressures to wake up his church and to teach us how to stand strong in this hour. Christians are once again finding their voice and becoming salt and light in their homes, communities, schools, and workplaces. This is not the time to compromise our values to make people like us. We need to join the ranks of the faithful who faced the lions and dared to stand for truth.  

Another thing that impacted me deeply as I read the stories of those undergoing intense persecution was their joy in suffering for Jesus. Again and again, they said how much of an honor it was to suffer for Jesus and join in his sufferings. Here in the west, we so often try to avoid suffering and ridicule which has caused us to lose our voice and has made the church weak.
 
We are coming into a time here in America, where we will be increasingly persecuted for our Christian faith. We need to make a choice in our hearts now. Will we stand for Jesus and for truth or will we compromise and remain silent to avoid persecution?  

It is time! Time to stand unashamedly for Jesus. Time to speak up concerning the faith issues of our day. It is time for Holy Spirit boldness! Time for the church to wake up and take up our voice and mantle once again. (Let’s just make sure we are focused on the right things such as biblical truth and values and not conspiracy theories that distract and discredit.) I am reminded of the verse in Proverbs 28:1  The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

This is a time for lion hearted boldness and courage. Like the lion in the Wizard of Oz we need to find our courage. This is not a time for fear. We have been intimidated and silent long enough. God will help us with supernatural courage if we are willing to stand for truth.
Ezekiel 3:9  “I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.”

Deuteronomy 31:6  “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Luke 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”

Hopewell Network Believers – The Father is pleased to give us the Kingdom. The gift of his rule and reign, the gift of Kingdom power to drive out demons and heal the sick, the power to see miracles as God tears down strongholds and sets the captives free and opens the eyes of the blind to his truth.

This is the hour of God’s increased presence and power being released upon churches and ministries that are hungry for more of him and willing to be courageous in their witness.
Let’s be those people. Lion-hearted like our leader, the Lion of Judah.

Recently I have been having some issues with my eyesight. My focus is blurry at times. Not only are things not clear, but I also see flashes of light at times. I wish they were heavenly visions, but my optometrist thinks it has more to do with my age.

When you are not able to focus it limits what you can do. For some people it hinders their ability to read or drive. I am counting on my genes to help me. My uncle was still driving at 102.

Being able to spiritually focus is an important leadership trait that we should all nurture in our lives. It so easy to be attracted and distracted by all the latest fads and trends instead of leading with a clear word from God.

Leadership today is challenging because there are so many expectations and ideas people lay on us. Our to-do-list keeps growing longer and our vision for the year is often 10 plus points long. Sometimes it is helpful to downsize our expectations and desires and get focused on the “one thing” that is most important to us.
 
The Apostle Paul narrowed down his personal spiritual goal to “One Thing”. “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” Philippians 3:13

David did the same thing. “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” Psalm 27:4

Paul and David focused their heart on one thing above all else. They focused their eyesight on what was the most important things to them. I’m sure they had many other goals and desires but there is something powerful about defining the most important thing.

As you read this, just pause for a moment and let the Holy Spirit bring into focus the “One Thing” your heart aches for more than anything else in three areas.

• What is the “one thing” you desire above all else for your family?
•  What is the “one thing” you desire above all else for your church?
•  What is the “one thing” you desire above all else for your life?

Now make your “One Thing” the primary focus of your prayer life. God delights in giving us the godly desires of our heart.

Stay focused and keep the one thing, the main thing, and keep on leading and driving until you are at least 102.

Spring is a great season of the year, especially after a hard winter. The tougher the winter, the more welcome the spring. We are coming out of a season dominated by COVID issues. A winter season in too many ways.

We are entering a new season. It can feel like spring with the hope and new life that it brings. But just as quickly, it can turn back to the “same old.” Charles Dickens described it well. He wrote: Spring is the time of the year when it is summer in the sun and winter in the shade. It’s time to move forward. To live again. To plan again. Leo Tolstoy wrote: Spring is the time of plans and projects. So, we plan for the new season.

Jeremiah prophesied: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). As we move into this new season, let’s declare the word of the Lord. Let’s declare that the Lord plans to prosper and protect.

And as we set our plans for the next season, fill those plans with hope and describe the future that God has set before us!

For over 40 years, my wife and I have been pastoring and caring for people. We have taught, encouraged, prayed, dedicated, married, counseled, buried, cried, laughed, and worshiped with people who we have served and loved. It has been a joy and privilege we will always cherish.

But now we find ourselves in a new season of life and on the receiving end of care from those we have cared for. In many ways it feels strange to have people caring for us. Since my wife has been diagnosed with cancer and has been going through treatments, we have had many people reaching out to us. We have been blessed with meals, cards, gas money, and the prayers and encouragement of many.
 
It feels strange being on the other side of the care ministry. But it also feels good. We are right in the middle of treatments, scans and more scans, and trips to the doctors. There are many unknowns ahead of us, but let me share a few things Erma and I have come to know in a new way.

• We know the value of Christian community and friends. The support we feel helps us to keep going and get up in the mornings. It’s so powerful to know we are not on this journey alone. The relationships a person took time to develop before the crisis are what will carry them through the crisis.
• Just knowing people are praying gives hope that things can get better. Prayer is our lifeline to an all-powerful God. I remember telling people who were in crisis and feeling guilty for not having the emotional energy for consistent prayer to let other people carry them with their prayers. The days we are depleted are so much better knowing we are covered and carried with the prayers of God’s people.
  
• Hope is powerful. Listening to the many doctors and hearing their medical opinions can be overwhelming and discouraging at times. It is amazing how we grab hold of every little word or nuance that offers hope. And how we gravitate to hope inspiring people. We all need hope to help us dream and enjoy life. Yes, we need to embrace reality, but hope helps us perceive a higher reality where God rules and reigns and has the final say.
  
• The Scriptures are medicine to the soul and health to the body.  I am watching Erma soak in God’s word and seeing the strength it brings to her. After everything is said and done, it is God’s word that provides refuge and strength. He communicates his thoughts to us through his word. His word is life and Jesus is the living word to us.
  

Thank you all for your prayers and support!
Pastor Lester Zimmerman

Is it time for the church in America to walk up and take a stand?

Every day as we see the news headlines, we see the morality in America decreasing and the immorality increasing. In the meantime, does it seem we do not hear the voice of the church, which has stood for Godly righteousness and moral, societal values for over 200 years?

The Church in America is being eroded. Is it time that the churches grow closer together with a Kingdom mentality and then take a stand in public, on billboards state righteousness, in social media, on the radio, and on the internet. I am not referring to make America a Christian country, but Jesus strong states in Matthew 5:13-16:
"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
 
Has the salt of the church in America become good for nothing, as Jesus said? Is there no longer a light in our society. Maybe it's time to get out the salt shakers and the high beam spotlights. Let us draw a line in the sand against immorality and get out into the community one way or another and tell immorality no more!

Sometimes we talk about the glory of the Lord covering the earth as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 3:14). We express a desire to see God’s glory poured out all around us. We even pray fervently for the Holy Spirit to come and have his way . . .

But what will it look like? What are we really praying for?

We expect that it may resemble revival. Azusa Street. The Great Awakening. The Jesus movement. Toronto. East Africa Revival. Wales. Blessing our region. Exported to pockets around the country or the world.

But what would it be like if it covered the whole earth?

We have a picture of what to expect when God’s glory covers the whole earth – COVID-19!
I know, I know. We don’t like how COVID has disrupted our way of living. We wish things would get back to normal. It’s constantly on the news. Everybody talks about it and has an opinion that leads to a lot of controversy – even in the church. It seems to be the same everywhere on earth. There doesn’t seem to be a way to control it. No law will stop it. No border can hold it back. And when there is news about how it is changing in another part of the world, it has repercussions where we live.

EXACTLY!
COVID-19 is but a dim counterfeit of the impact of the glory of the Lord covering the whole earth . . .

I want to remind you of something the prophet Isaiah said as we begin the new year of 2021.

“Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.”  Isaiah 40:31

The key to this verse is where we put our trust. If you put your trust in government and politics, you will be disappointed. If you put your trust in the economy and world markets, you will be disappointed. If you put your trust in science and the health field, you will be disappointed. If you put your trust in religion and institutions, you will be disappointed. If you put your trust in people being civil and kind to each other, you will be disappointed. If you put your trust in anything or anyone other than God and His word, you will be disappointed.

I don’t know about you, but I had a lot of disappointments this past year. It seems everything we tend to put our trust in has been shaken resulting in an epidemic of anxiety, fear, and anger in our culture.

But if we will refocus our hearts and put our trust in the Lord, we will experience his supernatural peace and strength. We won’t just endure or survive 2021. We will run, we will soar we will excel, we will overcome, we will advance. God’s purposes and plans for us are not limited to what is happening in the natural realm. That’s what super-natural means. He blesses and uses us to advance his kingdom in a way that is beyond our natural ability and circumstances. He is going to teach us how to live more and more in the supernatural realm. That’s what God wants to do in and through us this coming year.

So, soar higher with the wings of eagles God gives you. Gain a higher eagle perspective that God is in control. Things below will constantly change. Pandemics, presidents, and problems will come and go in the earth realm.  They always have. But God’s kingdom is constant and strong and will endure the changing evil times we live in. We are kingdom people! We live and breathe the air of the kingdom. We think differently and see things differently as we soar above. We are able to run and not be weary. We are able to walk and not faint. We are able to catch the wind of the Spirit and soar to new heights, because our trust and strength is in the Lord.

Here is a Psalm to live by in 2021:

Psalm 20:6-8
Now this I know:
The Lord gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.

God has good things in store for your church, your ministry, your people, and your family, this coming year. God is inviting you to live like an eagle! This is your identity and inheritance as a child of the King.

Happy soaring! Happy New Year!
Pastor Lester

Following the birth of Jesus, God the Father was excited. Like all excited fathers, he told everybody – it’s a boy! And people reacted the same way they always do to that kind of announcement.

The Archangel Gabriel announced the birth of Jesus and to the shepherds (Luke 2:11). The shepherds told everybody in town (Luke 2:17) and recounted the announcement to each other in the fields (Luke 2:20).

The wise men received the announcement through a special star in the east (Mt. 2:2) and told everybody they met in Jerusalem (Mt. 2:1, 2), including Herod. Herod made everybody aware of this birth (Mt. 2:4, 16), albeit in a horrific way.

The priests and teachers of the law repeated the prophetic announcements (Mt. 2:5). Joseph and Mary made public announcements (Luke 2:21, 23). Simeon declared Jesus the Messiah in the Temple (Luke 2:25) and Anna talked about Jesus to everyone in the Temple (Luke 2:38).
God wanted the whole world to know. With these announcements God expected that everybody would understand the significance of the moment.

But, after the brief excitement, everybody went back to their routines of life. Nothing changed for them. After all, Jesus was somebody else’s baby; somebody else’s responsibility; an interesting occurrence (not a life-changing event).

That’s the sad part about Christmas . . .  it meant so much to God but so little to everybody else!
So why would Jesus come as a baby… especially knowing how people view somebody else’s baby?

Think about what having a baby means to us as parents. Our schedule revolves around them. They rule our finances – their needs are first. They rearrange our house – every room must be child proofed. They turn your choices of entertainment upside down. And they change our focus of what is really important in life.

God’s intention was that Jesus would move into our lives and homes to take over like babies always do.

2020 has been an extremely interesting and incredibly challenging year. First with government impeachment hearings, then COVID-19, now the polarizing Presidential election. . . impacting “the church” across America. What should we look for ahead? As leaders in our churches and communities, people look up to pastors; Spirit-filled pastors, you are positioned to hear the voice of the Lord and the Holy Spirit even better than others. You can be like the sons of Issachar who knew the times and what to do.

So, what is next? First, no matter who is elected, Jesus Christ is still Lord and King. Secondly, God is shaking the worldly church in America and worldwide to awaken his believing church to be the power-filled church of the scriptures. Third, God always has a plan and a process ahead of what the enemy may seem to be doing.

The number one thing is to stay in close fellowship with the Lord Jesus and the power of his Holy Spirit. Take extended times for personal prayer. Jesus will draw you closer and give you the wisdom of heaven.

God is calling his pastors to be like Joshua--be strong and of good courage. God is looking for every pastor who will be a leader in their community. We pastors have always had a strong voice in society from the Revolutionary War and the Great Awakening and then the Second Great Awakening until the Johnson Amendment muzzled the church pastors. One thing this President has done is to put that rule in abeyance. While some care is needed in the church, the pastors, however, can speak anything that they want to outside of the church. Pastors need to speak up in all kinds of social media and public settings. Be a leader for Jesus. Let’s not cower or maintain, but let’s pioneer together in the Hopewell Network.

I hear a lot of mumbling and grumbling in the ranks of the saints these days. I have done my share as well. Covid challenges, mask wars, government overreach, social unrest, election year politics, and gloom and doom prophets. Leaders are carrying a huge stress load and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and just plain tired.

I recently felt faith rise up in me when I heard someone boldly declare; “We were made for this!” It stirred some fire in my spirit. Yes! We are not victims to whatever is happening around us. This is our hour to shine as leaders! It’s time to boldly lead your church and ministry into the future. Sure, this will probably require doing some things differently and thinking differently about how to do church in the future. But God is for us and with us. He has not given us a spirit of fear. People desperately need a leader with some vision to give them hope in this hour. Don’t be intimidated – LEAD ON! You were made for this!

This reminds me of what Mordecai said to Queen Esther. “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 NKJV

Who knows whether God has put you in your position of leadership for this exact time in human history to make a difference? He has created you and called you to lead boldly in the middle of all the uncertainties and fears of a pandemic and social unrest. God has set you into your role at this time because he knows you can bring faith and hope to your people and region.

I like what Tony Evans says:
“He’s placed you where you are because you are in the midst of a battle; a war. You are in the midst of a seismic conflict involving Good versus Evil. To miss your kingdom assignment because you have become too caught up in your personal kingdom itself is the greatest tragedy you could ever face. An entire nation was grateful for how Esther responded to Mordecai’s rebuke. Their lives were spared. How many can be spared in the culture where we live today when we choose to step up to service, even if it involves sacrifice?

We can’t simply stay in a crisis management mode forever. We need to step out and lead!
I am so aware that people take their cues from their leaders. If we are faith filled, positive, and encouraging, our people will be encouraged to be the same in their homes, jobs, and schools.
A great leader always sees possibilities and is able to envision the future. There are great things ahead. You were made for great things. You were made for this!

There seems to be so many challenges facing us as we try to worship God in this unprecedented (fill in the blank). We lament the changes and find it more difficult to worship as we try to adapt to those changes.

In the Garden of Eden, worship was very simple. It was walking with God in the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8). That ended after an unfortunate lapse in judgement on the part of Adam and Eve.
At Mt. Sinai, God wanted to meet with his people. He longed for the days in the Garden of Eden when he could walk with his people in the cool of the day. But the people did not go up to the mountain into God’s presence. They were afraid because of the fire (Deut. 5:5).
So, God gave his people detailed instructions about the Tabernacle (Exodus 25-27; 35-39). Why? If God’s people were NOT willing to enter into God’s presence, then God would provide a provisional place.

Now with the New Covenant through Jesus, God again invites us to enter into his presence just like in the garden. But, too often, we have been comfortable with a provisional place. A place like in the Old Covenant with boundaries that keep us comfortable. Close but not too close.
Our provisional places and provisional routines have been disrupted during this unprecedented (fill in the blank). So, we lament the changes in the provisional places and long for the day when the familiar place and routines of worship where we could observe God will be restored.
God’s desire is to restore. Not the provisional places, but places where he can again walk with us as he did with Adam and Eve in the garden.

I have had an interesting two weeks as I have “devoured” books that have addressed various cultural/racial issues we are facing today. I have been totally blessed and encouraged by the following books.

Since I am in the “ministry” I choose books that address the church cultural by male and female, “black and white”, young and old and two “history books” that spoke to the heart of the “divide” between races.

Here they are! We all are at different “places” but a great season in the church to learn how to move towards realizing the prayer of Jesus in John 17 that “all my be one” so that the world will recognize that you sent me.

“History Books”
Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman. He was a pastor, educator, theologian and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. and this book helped shape the Civil Rights Movement. He uses the life of Jesus and the transforming work Jesus spoke into lives who were “disinherited” in his day such as the woman at the well, the tax collectors, woman caught in adultery etc. or in terms today, people groups who have their “backs against the wall”. Great read!

Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr. This offers a penetrating analysis of the events and pressures that propelled the civil rights movement to the forefront of American consciousness. Good read for us who are not familiar with Martin Luther King Jr. and his vision and actions.

Books that are helpful for church conversations:
Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison. Latasha Morrison served on staff at Gateway Church led by Robert Morris in Texas. She now leads a ministry called Be the Bridge. www.bethebridge.com She is a black writer and shares her vision, experience, and insights on racial reconciliation to bring the church into unity. She has developed a model of “listening/prayer groups” as a way of being proactive in our conversations and moving the church “forward”. Check out her website.

White Awake- An honest look at what it means to be white by Daniel Hill. Daniel Hill served on staff for Willow Creek and then planted a church in Chicago. This book describes his journey and interactions as a young white pastor in cultures other than his own. I found it to be a helpful guide for those who want to learn more about both the theology and the practice of reconciliation in America today.

Tonight, I am unable to sleep - again. So, I am doing what I often do when that happens. I sit in my office and pray.  Pray is such a nice word for what I am pouring out to God. Tonight, my heart is broken; my spirit is angry; my soul is deeply disturbed.

I pray for my family. My wife and our three sons and their families. We are blessed with three honorable sons and an honorable grandson (and another grandson that is as honorable as a baby can be!).  I would love to have them live close to us, but I know that will never happen. The memories of their experiences in this area are too painful.

I pray for their safety - even from those who are sworn to protect them. Most won’t harm them, and many won’t harass them, but some do. Those who would mistreat them wield enormous power to inflict harm. So, I pray for God’s protection when they again find themselves in a situation where they are helpless from such power.

I pray for the church. I love this church, but it has not always embraced my family. I recall a family that left because they felt that Rebeca and I were living in sin (due to our cross-cultural marriage). What hurt the most were those who knew why their friends left and did not tell us. What stung even more was their choice to maintain their friendship by not challenging their friends.

The conversations about who did what and who was right or wrong do not help me tonight. They have never helped. Those conversations will die out as the news cycles shift or as people get tired of the stress of the theme. Dissecting the details of an incident only provides reasons to dismiss the pain. Nothing will really change until we begin to understand the pain and respond with healing to the hurt.

Because I love my wife and my sons, I do not have the privilege of getting over it or taking a break from this stress. I am not able to stop thinking about it for a day or a week or a month or a year. It is always there. And it shapes what I think and who I am.

As I reflect on how persons respond in situations like the event I wrote about (response to family who left because they felt we were living in sin), it is about choices. To choose to keep what we have despite how it affects others OR choose to minister healing to the pain around us in spite of what it might cost us.

It is not easy to love like Jesus did. But we try because God loves those who mistreat us and our children. And God has called us to this place.

So tonight, I again pray that seemingly impossible prayer – Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

And tomorrow I will bless and invest in people, whether or not they embrace my family, because I want to love like Jesus does.