Delightful Service

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

So today's verse comes from Princess Belle. Chelsea LeValley who I watched play Belle this past weekend, had the above verse in her cast Bio. It struck me as very appropriate for a Princess, someone who is a role model to little girls and young women alike. :)

Recently I've been talking a lot with people about the purpose of their lives. "What am I supposed to be doing with my life?" "What is God's plan for me?" "How can I feel fulfilled?" The answer is simple, and yet it is a lifelong journey.

What is God's plan for you? He wants you to share the good news. He wants you to tell everyone about Jesus. That is God's plan for you. "But how?" you ask. Well that's where it gets a bit tricky. That's also where today's verse comes in handy.

What does it mean to delight in the Lord? God gives us all gifts. When I am asked, "What does God want me to do Doug?" My reply is, "What do you like to do?" God gives us gifts. The things that we really like to do are the things we're good at, and those are related to the gifts God gives us. So the question, "What should I do?" can be answered, "Whatever God made you to do!"

Of course, it's not always as easy as that. When I asked someone the other day what they liked to do, the answer was soccer. How do you turn that into a lifelong way to serve? I don't know. I'm still working on that one. However how you act on and off the field is a chance for you to witness. You never know who you might inspire and not even know it.

The other thing you can do is listen to the people around you. Part of the process for becoming a pastor is to have the internal call that God gives you be affirmed by an external call. That means people have to think you'd make a good pastor. When someone tells you you're good at something, even if you have trouble accepting the compliment, file it away. External call is God's way of helping to affirm that we're on the right path.

So take a look at what God is calling you to do, and if it doesn't make sense you know where to find me. :)

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Giving Back

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men,

Ephesians 6:7 (NIV)

Yesterday in church the people who went to the National Youth Gathering reported on the event. Bill Meicke, one of the parents that went had this to say about what he learned from the trip, "If you have a strong faith what you need to do is give back."

Today's passage is about service. Specifically it is instructions for slaves to serve their earthly masters. Today I saw it is instructions for how we should serve others. We are supposed to put ourselves last. We are saved by grace, not works. Works are the fruit of our faith. So like Bill says, if we have faith then we need to be giving back - both in helping others, and in sharing our faith.

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God is Calling

¹¹If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 4:11 (NIV)

Today's verse is about service. As I am spending my week contemplating how I want to serve - and more importantly - how God wants me to serve, I invite you to do likewise. Some of you are going off to your first year of college. You get to create new identities - be someone different. Who are you going to be? Is church going to be a part of your life? What can you do to make that happen, and not just be lip service that is soon forgotten?

Some of you are going back to high school. You have to deal with the same old stuff you did last year. People know you. It's hard to be different - whether that's change in yourself or standing out from the crowd. How are you going to take Christ into your life when you go back to school?

Some of you are entering the workforce. You will be experiencing the harshness of life. You will be dealing with new people. Some will be jaded, hurt and mean. They will try to crush your dreams. How will you handle them? How will you keep your spirits up?

Some of you, like me, will have the same life you did yesterday. Things haven't changed. Have you? What will you do to show God's love to those around you? Will you forget about church and youth events and the things that seem so far away now that you're back in the real world?

If someone asks, will you talk about your faith?

Will you seek out fellow Christians this year in an effort to grow in your faith?

Will you serve those around you through God's strength, and not your own?

I don't have answers to these questions. I am not you.

God is calling. What will you do?

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Adminstering God's Grace

¹⁰Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.

1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

Today's passage was inspired by an experience I had Sunday with my cell phone. It died. I had to go to the Apple store to get it fixed and I had about 5 minutes to get there due to extended goodbyes. :) So Sarah Yucha offered to go with me to help me find it. We got in my car, and it wouldn't start. :( Not one to give up, she said, "Let's take my jeep!" So we did. We drove into the Short Pump mall, which is a huge outdoor mall. It's a bit confusing if you have never been to one. Sarah knew where to look , and we literally walked into the store with seconds to spare.

It was like walking into California. People were everywhere hanging out with Macs. The salespeople/cashiers wandered the stores chatting with people. At the very back of the place were people in different shaded blue shirts. These were the "geniuses" I needed to fix my phone. I knew none of this. Sarah knew it all, and pointed to the screen taht showed my name like an airplane arrival list. We had made it in time. After a DMV-like wait in a coffee shop background, it was my turn. My phone was replaced in two minutes. I was back in business.

If it hadn't been for Sarah, and her dad who had suggested making the appointment that morning, my day would have been much more stressful than it was. After I learned my lesson about material things (see Monday's verse), God sent me someone to help me out. Sarah didn't use an encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible or share her faith story with me. She helped me out in a stressful time. She was calm, collected and smiling - her usual charming self. She helped me out in a small way, but it had a big impact on my life, and it made me thankful for her. It also made me thankful for the many other people that God puts in my life, and how on a daily basis they help me out in big and little ways. Today's picture is of a pink sunset. I chose it because it display's Meredith's talent of finding beauty everywhere, and because pink is Sarah's favorite color. :)

Who has God put in your life to help you today?

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Hospitality

⁸Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

1 Peter 4:8-9 (NIV)

For the next two days I will be away at the VA Synod Vocations Conference. It's where you learn about being a pastor. What you have to do, talk to people about what it's like and decide if it's something you really want to do. I went last year, and I'm going again this year. Last year was just to get a head start. This year it will hopefully be the first step on a new journey for me. Please pray for all those in attendance this week.

Since I'll be away again, I'm doing a series of three passages for the next three days. I was going to do three different passages on these three topics, but a single passage from 1 Peter 4 worked very well.

This past weekend I spent the weekend with Sarah Yucha's family. They were wonderful and gracious hosts. They fed us delicious food and helped us out in big ways and small. (See tomorrow's verse for more on that.) What struck me was how many families have opened up their homes to myself and others as part of the Kairos planning group process - and not just before Kairos, but after it. The Delaney household, and Dave's wife Nancy in particular is always so wonderful about us invading her house for half a week and then stealing her husband for another week after that. Jack French's family put us up last year and fed us blueberries until we burst (ok I ate most of them). My time there was one of the fondest memories I have of the 2008 Kairos week. This year Malinda Britt's family put us up and made us feel so welcome. Last year Justin Arnold's family and Mandy Fitzgerald's family shared the task of housing the planning group for a reunion. Their parents were so nice and glad to have us.

I mention all these families first because I am thankful for what they did for me and the other members of various planning groups they have housed. But I also mention it because every time I went into one of these houses I felt welcomed as a brother in Christ. I felt what Jesus talks about when he talks about welcoming people into your home. They didn't just open the door, but made us feel like we belonged. They took time out of their lives to get to know us and form relationships with us. They took time to have fellowship with us. These memories are some of the fondest I have of my past two Kairos, and I just wish that more people could share the experience.

My point? Fellowship is a wonderful experience - and it is not limited to Kairos or Winter Celebration or reunions or church narthexes. Fellowship is something you enjoy whenever you are with fellow Christians. Enjoy it. Seek it out. Offer it with joy. It will bring you and others so much more in return.

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A Prayer for the ELCA National Youth Gathering

For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Ephesians 2:10

I am praying tonight for all those who go to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's National Youth Gathering. 32,000+ youth and adults descending on the city of New Orleans for a week of fellowship, worship and service. I am sad that I cannot be with all my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, but I am there with them in spirit. I pray that they will enjoy their time there and the opportunities the trip provides; and that they will serve joyously in the tasks they are given, so that the people of New Orleans will see Christ shining in them.

Amen

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