I never thought I would do something like this, but I really enjoyed it. Home roasting coffee beans with a hot air popcorn popper…I can check that off my “to do” list now.
Filed under: coffee, hobby | Tagged: Gospel, Grace, Guatemala, home roasting coffee. leivas coffee, popcorn popper | Leave a Comment »
Words and Music by Keith and Kristyn Getty
When trials come no longer fear
For in the pain our God draws near
To fire a faith worth more than gold
And there His faithfulness is told
And there His faithfulness is told
Within the night I know Your peace
The breath of God brings strength to me
And new each morning mercy flows
As treasures of the darkness grow
As treasures of the darkness grow
I turn to Wisdom not my own
For every battle You have known
My confidence will rest in You
Your love endures Your ways are good
Your love endures Your ways are good
When I am weary with the cost
I see the triumph of the cross
So in it’s shadow I shall run
Till You complete the work begun
Till You complete the work begun
One day all things will be made new
I’ll see the hope You called me to
And in your kingdom paved with gold
I’ll praise your faithfulness of old
I’ll praise your faithfulness of old
Filed under: theology, Biblical Counseling, encouragement, Health / Medicine, Worship, Chronic Pain, Gospel, Hymns, suffering, Depression | Tagged: Gospel, Grace, Jesus Christ, Suffering, depression, chronic pain, darkness, spoonie, fibromyalgia, light, Getty music | Leave a Comment »
At Calvary Baptist Church, we are studying the Gospel according to Mark. Pastor Kirk just wrapped up chapter one yesterday. At the end of the chapter is an interesting story where Jesus is confronted by a leper. This man begs for healing, stating that he is confident that Jesus could make him clean again. Jesus replies to this man’s plea for healing by saying he was indeed willing to make him clean. And then Jesus touches this diseased man. This is HUGE!
Learning about Love:
Jesus’ interaction with this leper is so key to understanding how God operates. It also is key for us to understand how we, the Church, should operate. What is the stigma about leprosy?
Loving the Unlovely:
Obviously we know that leprosy is a repulsive disease. We don’t need to go into the graphic detail about what happens to the human body when it contracts this disease, but we do know that it is a painful and hideous disease. It is so awful and contagious that lepers were put out of the community as a result. They took on a new identity as “unclean”. To look upon one who suffered with leprosy would cause nausea. As a result people just avoided all contact.
The disease was also virtually incurable. It had no pill or prescription to take the symptoms away. There wasn’t a medical procedure to reverse the effects. It became a disease of no hope. The slow death of leprosy would tear at intimate familial relationships and cause suffering to be spread throughout the family.
When the leper was put outside of the community, he was isolated from all contact. The desire for community would be left wanting and would cause additional anguish to the victim. Where once he worked, played and loved, now leprosy would be his consuming companion.
Isn’t leprosy a great model of sin?
Learning from the Loving Lord:
In the text the Lord is moved with compassion. Can we say that we are “moved with compassion” for those who are unlovely? I am not just speaking of those who are unattractive to our own lifestyles, but am thinking of our companions in the faith who are consumed with sinful desires and actions, as well as, those outside the faith who are given over to their sinful ways. How do you feel about them? Yes, FEEL. Are you moved with compassion towards their plight? We should be.
Compassion motivates Jesus’ action. He moves toward the hurting and touches him. The unimaginable occurs. Jesus touches the unclean. Oh, how this convicts me! In the margin of my Bible I have written:
True love will move you to do what no-one else will
Action motivated by love will move you toward the unlovely, to do what once was unthinkable. Love will motivate you to step into suffering, to reach into the repulsive lifestyles of others, to sit with sinners and console the hurting. Poor, needy, unclean and sinful people need Christians to be reaching out and touching them with the love of Christ.
What does a loving touch do?
It heals a broken heart. It restores the outcast to community. It soothes a suffering soul. It encourages a burdened down believer. It shines brightly the love of Christ to those in sin. It demonstrates the heart of God.
Where can you touch the life of another with the love of Christ? Will you do what no-one else would do?
Filed under: Bible Study, Pastors / Preaching, Worship, Gospel, suffering | Tagged: Gospel, Grace, compassion, Faith, healing, mercy, community, leprosy, calvary baptist, missional | Leave a Comment »
Some pretty intense, and beautiful, motorbiking here!
Filed under: blogging | Tagged: dangerous, hazardous, mountain bike, mountain climbing, recreational motorcycling, scenery | Leave a Comment »
*Reader Warning: Graphic and disturbing news follows*
Yesterday I heard a very heart-wrenching story in the news on my commute to work. It was that the remains of a baby were found in a local city’s sewer. A baby, age determined to be 10-25 weeks of gestation, was found by workers at a Ft. Wayne water treatment facility. I have quoted part of an article describing the situation:
Workers at a Fort Wayne water treatment facility made a gruesome discovery Monday afternoon — the body of an unborn baby who Three Rivers Ambulance Authority paramedics believe was approximately 10 to 25 weeks old.
Local media reports indicate the Allen County Coroner determined the unborn baby was 14-15 weeks gestation and the race and gender of the child was unable to be determined at the time of the examination. Although there is no indication how the baby’s body wound up at the facility, Indiana Right to Life president Mike Fichter tells LifeNews he believes the baby may have been chemically aborted and discarded in sewer.
He said Indiana Right to Life will ask the Indiana State Department of Health to revisit guidelines for disposing of the remains of aborted children in the wake of yesterday’s discovery.
“We don’t know whether this baby was aborted and then flushed into the sewer system by Fort Wayne’s local abortion clinic, or aborted at home using the RU-486 chemical abortion method, but both are strong possibilities,” Fichter noted.
According to responses to inquiries made to the Indiana State Department of Health, fetal remains prior to 20-weeks are classified as medical waste to be handled according to federal guidelines. Those guidelines, according to the national Environmental Compliance Assistance Platform medical waste management web site supported by the federal EPA, list various methods for disposing of medical waste including “Discharge in a sanitary sewer or septic system that is properly installed and operating in accordance with state and local laws.”
“The horrifying fact is that abortion clinics in Indiana can use garbage disposals and toilets to discard body parts into local sewer systems,” states Fichter. “The degradation of the disposal process is second only to the degradation of destroying these lives in the first place.”
Obviously the whole story has not been revealed yet. And I think we need to keep that in consideration. But I have some thoughts about this and similar situations:
What do we know about this story?
What do I think about this story?
How will you promote a culture of life in your community? Becoming involved is the first step. Here are some resources for you:
Kosciusko County Right to Life
Filed under: abortion, adoption, Calvary Baptist Church, Culture, family, Health / Medicine, Marriage, Parenting, suffering, Teens | Tagged: abortion, adoption, allen county right to life, baby in sewer, ft.wayne, Right to Life | Leave a Comment »
Many of us know our job descriptions and what is expected of us at our place of employment. Few of us have that job description spelled out clearly for us in Scripture. Qualifications of a pastor-shepherd are clearly given in several texts in the Bible.
I don’t know of any pastors who got into the ministry because they thought they would “get rich quick”. I do know a few who got into ministry because they thought they could use their position in a way to control and manipulate people, or just have a career where they don’t exert much effort at all. I’m not speaking to these folks.
Generally, a pastor is someone with a heart for God and a heart for people. It is a person who is dedicated to using their gifts, part-time, bi-vocationally, or full-time, in helping people grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Often these people are burning candles at both ends, and have a pretty good flame going on in the center as well!
Take a break!
I got to thinking about this because of a short conversation I had with my wife. I was telling her about some struggle I was having in ministry and she just quietly said, “Looks like we’re close to vacation time”. What she meant is that she was noticing that I was just needing to take a break. Even a few days off would be a good place to start. Family time has been dwindling and Pastor Dad is not around as much as he should be. There is a lot packed into her simply true statement!
God speaks to pastors in regard to their family time
We are pretty familiar with the verses that speak to the pastor-shepherd’s family life:
He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? (1Ti 3:4-5 ESV)
What does that mean practically? What exactly might “managing” a household mean? Does it mean taking a day off? What about a regularly scheduled vacation?
Family Life
It’s no secret that pastors and their families suffer tremendously due to the ministry. Sometimes it is the hassles of ministry that cause pastors to suffer, and sometimes they are suffering at their own hand. A quick web search of “statistics pastors and family” revealed some of these startling stats:
or consider these stats: According to the New York Times (August 1, 2010)
And the stats go on and on. How should a pastor see his ministry in relation to his marriage and family life? Pastors everywhere suffer from the realization that their marriage may not be what it should be or, his failure as a parent just becomes a back breaking load to bear. What does a pastor do to regain this proper perspective in ministry and family life?
Family life management is key
See the above text for an indication of how important the Apostle Paul thought family life was for pastors. If you can’t manage your home, you won’t be able to manage your church either. Why is this true?
Time away
Every pastor needs to have a regularly scheduled day away from ministry to the congregation, so that he can focus on ministry to his family. Emergencies arise on occasion and a well rested pastor will eagerly and competently be able to respond in a proper pastoral way. Not only is a day away important, but also a regular time of vacation and rest is vital. This should be a time where he is all but “unreachable” by others in the congregation. He should allow one, or a few key leaders know how to contact him if a true emergency arises, but otherwise remain on vacation at all costs. A good congregation will understand that a rested pastor is an energized and focused pastor.
Rubber to the road
Pastors, here are some questions to work through in regard to your family life and time away:
More resources from Practical Shepherding:
Filed under: Bible Study, Biblical Counseling, Calvary Baptist Church, Counselors Tools, Depression, encouragement, family, Health / Medicine, Marriage, Pastors / Preaching, prayer, suffering, Worship | Tagged: administration, bi-vocational, Biblical Counseling, burning candle at both ends, burnout, church leadership, compassion, depression, Divorce, God, management, Marriage, Ministry, New York Times, part-time, Pastors, shepherd, statistics, suicide, tired, Vacation | Leave a Comment »
I just have to try this! I was speaking with Nate McLaurin (Christ’s Covenant Church – Winona Lake) at the St.Regis Club in downtown Warsaw on Friday night and he made a passing remark about this process. So, with a little help from Google, I found this video which demonstrates the process wonderfully. Its about 5 minutes in length – grab a cup of joe and sit down to watch how its done!
Filed under: coffee, Reading, technology | Tagged: air popcorn popper method, Coffee, green coffee bean, home business, how to roast my own coffee, roasting | Leave a Comment »
There are three great passions in my life: Jesus Christ, my wife & family, and coffee. My coffee consumption: some people call it an “addiction”, I call it fuel for life! I was recently introduced to Leiva’s Coffee from Guatemala and the way I view how I purchase coffee changed tremendously. Leiva’s coffee is a company that is dedicated to transform people’s lives in practical ways in Guatemala while introducing them to Jesus Christ at the same time. I was introduced to the coffee by some friends who traveled to Guatemala recently and purchased the coffee after visiting the farm where it was grown. Since then I have been able to speak with Geovanni Leiva and gain some insight into both their vision and mission to the farmers and families in Guatemala. Here is their story as told on their website:
The Green Book:
When Pedro Leiva was a boy, he had a vision: Two women dressed in white would give him a gift that would change his life. A green bible that would show him the way to God.
22 years later, during a time of personal tragedy, Pedro made his way to the local village to discover two women dressed in white standing on a wagon, speaking to small crowd. Pedro approached the two women and asked in a quiet voice, “Do you have a green book for me?” The women exchanged glances. What a curious thing to ask! But just has it had in Pedro’s vision, one of the women reached into a cardboard box and removed from it a Bible bound in a green cover. “Is this what you are looking for?”
In that moment, these truths were confirmed. God existed, He had a plan, and Pedro Leiva would devote his life to it.
Coffee and Purpose:
Pedro Leiva lived a quiet life of virtue. It was from him that his nephew, Ezequiel Leiva, learned the values of a humble Christian life. But it was with his own hands that Ezequiel learned the skill of cultivating coffee.
For years, Ezequiel labored on Guatemalan coffee farms, hoping to provide a better life for his family, just as his own father, Pedro, the generation before. He was a good a pious man, traits he had gained from his father. Ezequiel knew that his purpose would be shown to him if he only stayed the path.
In the meantime, he saved his money. Life as a coffee laborer was difficult, but the Leiva’s understood that reward was rarely revealed before personal cost. They were a happy family. The Leiva’s had patience.
One day, Ezequiel’s purpose arrived in the form of a man seeking to buy a transistor radio.
The Radio:
In Guatemala in 1969, land was plentiful. One day, a man with an abundance of land put his coffee farm up for collateral in order to purchase a transistor radio. The deal went bad, an Ezequiel graciously helped the man pay his debts. Soon, Ezequiel was the owner of 10 acres of land located in the Eastern Mountains of Guatemala, 3300 feet above sea level. It was purchased for the price of a transistor radio.
The fate of the radio is lost to history. But the land became both a family legacy and an instrument of God’s grace.
A New Way to Work:
For decades, the Leiva’s land was cultivated into a producer of some of world’s finest coffee. It featured four crystal clear streams to aid in a “wet process” that Ezequiel preferred.
The land bore more than coffee – oranges, oak trees, bananas and papayas flourished in the fertile soil, and today you can taste the flavorful influences in every cup of Leiva grown coffee.
For decades, the Leiva’s sold their coffee to middlemen called “coyotes,” who then sold the coffee to distributors and vendors – just like most coffee growers worldwide. This process leaves farmers performing the bulk of the work while others receive a lion’s share of profits.
The coffee farmers remained poor despite producing the world’s second-most traded commodity. Seeing the need for a new way to do business, The Leiva’s made a bold decision.
The Mission:
In 2008, Armando Leiva and his two sons, Geovanni and Mynor, broadened the vision of their modest coffee farm and founded Leiva’s Coffee.
Instead of selling coffee to middlemen, Leiva’s Coffee now sells its single-source coffees direct to the public. The proceeds are then invested back into the tiny Guatemalan communities whose hard working laborers fuel the world’s coffee consumption.
Leiva’s Coffee has become fresh water wells for villages, churches for the faithful and schools for youngsters. Every bit of profit earned by Leiva’s Coffee helps Guatemalan families afford medicine for the elders and education for their young.
Your purchase of Leiva’s Coffee enriches lives in need of a graceful guiding hand. Enjoy the coffee because it is good. Buy it because it does good. And feel good know that you had a part in helping others.
What I’m Looking Forward To:
I am excited about some opportunities to partner with Leiva’s Coffee in the near future. These opportunities will be presented to Calvary Baptist’s youth group and congregation, and prayerfully, will become a reality where we not only drink the coffee but invest heavily in others’ lives with the goal of the gospel of Jesus Christ – allowing His love to transform their heart, as we seek to transform their life here on earth.
To order Leiva’s Coffee, click here to be taken to their website store. I encourage you to pray about how you might be used of God to reach others, locally and globally.
Drink Leiva’s Coffee, transform a village. Coffee with a purpose!
Filed under: Calvary Baptist Church, coffee, Culture, Gospel, prayer, Worship | Tagged: Gospel, Guatemala, Jesus Christ, Leivas Coffee, missions, transformation | Leave a Comment »
Lastly, to the righteous this doctrine is a source of abundant consolation. In every place they meet a friend, a protector, and a father. Does the voice of thunder, or the raging of the ocean, of the fury of the tempest, announce his presence? They have nothing to fear, for love to them presides over the commotions of the elements. Do they perceive him in the more tranquil scenes of nature, in the silent progress of vegetation, in the smiles of the heavens, and in the regular beneficence which supplies their returning wants, and diffuses so much happiness among all classes of animated beings? Oh! how delightful the thought that he, in whom they repose confidence, is so near that they may always assure themselves of ready and effectual aid! This thought is fitted to enliven every scene, and to sweeten every condition. It will make the springs of joy burst out in the parched and thirsty wilderness, and clothe the naked and cheerless waste with verdure. It will give a relish to a dry morsel, and a cup of cold water. It will lighten the pressure of poverty, and soothe the pangs of affliction. It will dissipate the horrors of a dungeon, and console the exile form his country and his friends. How transporting the thought, that we cannot go where God is not! A good man may be bereaved of his reputation, his liberty, his earthly all; but the deadly hatred of his enemies can never so far succeed as to draw from him the mournful c0mplaint, “Ye have taken away my God, and what have I more?” With whatever afflictions his faith and patience may be tried, and whatever change of circumstances a wise providence may appoint him to undergo, although there should be no human heart to sympathise with him, and no kind hand to perform the offices of friendship, he can express his faith and joys in the words of an ancient saint, “Nevertheless I am continually with thee; thou holdest me by my right hand. Thou wilt guide me by thy counsel, and afterward receive me to thy glory” (Ps.lxxiii. 23,24) – Dick’s Theology, p.102
Filed under: Chronic Pain, encouragement, Gospel, Reading, suffering, theology | Tagged: comfort, encouragement, happiness, immanence, omnipresence, theology | Leave a Comment »
Do you know the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? They are the three young Jews, captives of Babylon, away from home, serving a godless, tyrannical King Nebuchadnezzar. This story I reference is completely told in Daniel chapter 3.
King Nebuchadnezzar gets this brilliant idea to make a huge golden image of himself, with the express purpose of having people within his kingdom worship him. Sounds like he’d fit in today’s culture, eh? So the King gets everyone together and wants to dedicate his golden self-image and kind of christen it with all the kingdom leaders worshiping it. The idea was that when the music started everyone was going to bow down and pay homage to the King. As a little motivation, the King issued this decree:
Whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.
So, what happened? Well, when the music starts, people from everywhere fell to the ground and worshiped the golden image that he set up.
Except three guys. Yes, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. This is where the story gets interesting!
Three guys get reported to the King as having failed to fall and worship his image. The King angrily summons them and gives them a second chance. They don’t even hesitate to answer. They don’t need any more time to reconsider. This is what they said:
O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.
Well, you can imagine the response. The King was really ticked and so he has them thrown into the fire. Long story short: they not only survive, they survive with no harm done and they get to meet Jesus in the flames. Read the entire story – it’s an amazing tale.
But what I want to focus on is their conversation, pre-blaze, that they had with King Nebuchadnezzar.
They were facing an impossible situation. They had reason to doubt and even fear. But their answer to the King was: God can, God will and even if God doesn’t…
That got me to thinking about a tough situation I’m in, and I know others are in: dealing with Chronic Pain. Does my theology drive my reaction to impossible situations. Yesterday I blogged my frustrations. Today I’m trying to temper it with my beliefs.
God can
God can remove my pain, there is no doubt in my mind. Just reading in our text for our Sunday services (the Gospel of Mark), and I see over and again that Jesus Christ is bigger than any physical impediment. A little back pain and nerve pain isn’t even going to slow him down. He can change my circumstances right now if he desired.
God will
This is one I struggle with. I don’t like to pray for healing for myself. I think it’s selfish. I know – it’s weird. I would counsel others to pray for healing for themselves, but somewhere along the line I started thinking wrongly about how I, personally, pray for healing for myself. Do I really believe that God will heal me? (You don’t expect me to answer that on the internet do you?) This is the greatest challenge of my thoughts on these words. Am I going to let my faith go there?
Even if God doesn’t
I’m a little more comfortable here than God will. I absolutely believe God can change the suffering in my life and the lives of others. And I am perfectly willing to accept the situation even if God doesn’t. In his plan and purpose for my life, God will do what is necessary for him to receive glory. If it means I hobble and cringe and break down from time to time, so be it. If it means that this condition gets worse, so be it. If the meds never cover the stabbing, burning, gripping pain – so be it. Bring on God’s glory, because that’s what I want.
Meeting Jesus in the fire
I don’t want to spiritualize the passage. I do think, however, that we grow closer to Jesus the hotter the furnace. What I mean is, what do you embrace when faced with an impossible situation? You can’t hold onto your physical strength – that will surely fail. You can’t embrace your cunning and crafty personality – that will let you down. You can’t expect others to bail you out of something no-one but God has control over – it just won’t happen.
So hang on to the one who created the fire.
Jesus is greater than anything you have faced, or will ever face. He’s bigger than my Chronic Pain. He’s bigger than your destroyed relationships. He’s bigger than the turmoil and grief of your child running from God. He’s bigger than your crimes and distress. He’s bigger than that job loss, death, conflict, grief, or whatever you’re facing.
God can, God will, & even if God doesn’t…
Worship him. Hold onto him. Allow the furnace of affliction to drive you closer to Jesus and as a result bring him greater glory.
Filed under: theology, Bible Study, Pastors / Preaching, prayer, encouragement, Health / Medicine, Chronic Pain, Gospel, suffering | Tagged: Gospel, counseling, Suffering, encouragement, chronic pain, daniel, shadrach, meshach, abednego, babylon, sovereignty of god | Leave a Comment »
