Walking The Walk

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.   ~Proverbs 19:21 (continued from Part 3)  I've preached many times since that first time.  In fact, I preach every Wednesday night at our mid-week service, and fill in regularly on Sunday mornings.  One thing that changed is I don't get nervous anymore. That is gone completely. I'm not suggesting God gave me a wink that first morning when I preached, but what I do know is that coincidence caught my attention and shifted my perspective.  It certainly made me wonder.  It made me question whose decision it really was what kind of ministry I was going to be involved in--it's not my ministry at all, it belongs to God.  It reminded me that I've spent far too much time in my life depending on my own understanding.  I've spent far too much time planning out my own life, and what I was missing was truly understanding and accepting that my life is just a very ...

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”  ~Isaiah 30:21  (Continued from Part 2) I've always had a favorite hymn--" Blessed Assurance ." It was a favorite in the first church I attended, and we sang it frequently. That church is gone now, but every time I hear " Blessed Assurance " it takes me back to when I found God in that little church so many years ago and was baptized.  For me, nothing takes me back to a time and a place so quickly as music.  It's remarkable to me how music speaks to us in a language all its own. It's no wonder that music is such an important part of our worship--especially in the Baptist church.  So there I was sitting in the front row, next to my friend John, waiting for the time to come when I was to go up and deliver the message. I was nervous.  I was sweating.  I was feeling a little nauseous at times. All pretty common for me every time I h...

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,      and do not lean on your own understanding.   In all your ways acknowledge him,      and he will make straight your paths. ~Proverbs 3: 5-6  (Continued from Part 1)  I don't know why when my pastor asked me to at least keep the door open to pastoral ministry, I didn't tell him at that point why I didn't think that was an option for me.  That I had this horrible fear of public speaking that I'd dealt with my entire life.  That's what I should have done, but that's not what I did. What I did was I nodded politely, and said I would.    Of course, that mistake would come back to haunt me a very short time later.  My pastor planned to go on a trip and he asked me to preach for him on a Sunday morning.  And I was stuck.  I couldn't say no, because I'd told him I'd keep the door to pastoral ministry open. And an important part of pastoral ministry is preaching...

" Lord , I know that people’s lives are not their own it is not for them to direct their steps." ~Jeremiah 10:23 I've been preaching a series over the last several weeks on God's Guidance. Seeking God's Guidance.  Trusting God's Guidance.  Testing God's Guidance.  You get the idea.  But it has me thinking a lot about this topic obviously. I'm new to preaching.  I've been at it about eighteen months in total.  I started on Sunday mornings once a quarter and "as needed" when our senior pastor was out of town.  The church approved for me to start a mid-week service, and I deliver a message every Wednesday night at what we call "The ReCharge."  We've been doing that weekly service for about nine months now.  Coming up soon, I'm going to be providing a Sunday message for a Chinese church ministry each month--this church wants to have one message in English each month.  I'm looking forward to that! I got the call to minis...