More Encouragement for Small Group Leaders
I love the account of Phinehas' zeal in Numbers 25. Do you remember the story? Phinehas was the grandson of Aaron, the Priest. And when the Israelites were weeping before the Lord because they were being punished with a plague for their sexual sins, a man from the tribe of Simeon walked right past them with a Midianite woman. Phinehas was indignant. He grabbed a spear, followed them to their tent and drove it right through both bodies. His action put an end to them, an end to their sin, and an end to the plague.
BUT what inspires me was that God was impressed with Phinehas’ zeal. God commended him “for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them.” Sometimes we have to show our zeal for God by stepping out and speaking the truth in love to someone in our small groups. I know some of you have and are being zealous in this way, and that’s why I wanted to remind you how special this is to God.
It’s not easy confronting someone else’ sin:
It takes preparation – arming ourselves with the Word.
It takes time and energy- when we could be doing something else.
It takes boldness and courage- uncomfortable delicate social situations.
I personally was challenged by the fact that most of the Israelites were weeping and praying outside the tent of meeting, but that wasn’t enough to stop it. In fact, twenty-four thousand Israelites died before one person stepped up to confront it. How many more would have died had Phinehas NOT stepped up? It took Phinehas to see the sin and CARE ENOUGH about GOD’s HONOR to DO SOMETHING about it.
Finally, I am encouraged about how personally God received Phinehas’ act. He saw that there were two distinct acts of righteousness that went forth that day. One was the slaying of the sin, but the other was the will of Phinehas’ heart. God rewarded both. First, by stopping the plague and the second by honoring Phinehas in a very personal way. We see it in God’s instructions to Moses that basically said: ‘Hey Phinehas! I saw what you did and I know that the reason you did it was for Me… and I’m going to bless you for this… and I’m telling Moses to tell everyone that I am going to bless you for this… so that all people of all time will hear about it…’
Well, God’s word says it better: "The LORD said to Moses, “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites. Since he was as zealous for my honor among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal. Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites.” (Num 25:10-13)
So, this morning, I am thinking about the ways small group leaders express zeal for the Lord. And I just wanted to remind you that God does see it… He will help the lives of those you are stepping out for and He delights in YOUR zeal to honor His name!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Regard It As Holy
My Small Group Leader friends came to mind as I was reading from Numbers 18 this morning about the duties of the priests and Levites… Aaron’s line. They had special service before the Lord. They alone had special access to the most Holy place. And, they alone were allowed to partake of Holy offerings. But, the LORD told them “You must regard it has Holy.”
I was remembering how far away that line of priests fell from God’s original plans by the days of Nehemiah. There were many factors that pulled the most precious line of priests away from the call the Lord had on their lives. I suspect the worst was they had forsaken their first love… and that gave the enemy the foothold he needed to draw them away. They left the temple work to panel their houses and plant their own fields. (Living for self… right?) What struck me as I read it today was God’s command that they must REGARD their most special call as Holy, or set apart. I think he was telling them to not let the world or their own thoughts or even the enemy tempt them into minimizing the importance of the work they are doing before the LORD.
And, that is what I am writing about today. We are servants of the Most High God and have received a call to serve as a priest (if you will) in His Very Important Ministry. The world, the enemy, and sometimes even our parents and co-workers will minimize our service. They will liken it to other volunteer works or act as if we are wasting our time…. But YOURS is the REAL DEAL. Each of the ladies He has place in your care is precious to Him. He died for them. And the work that the LORD is doing through you is life-giving… and life-changing. And, there is a strong reason that the enemy doesn’t want you to remember that… so, I wanted to take a moment from my DC stuff and remind you. You are loved by the Lord Most High, and He has assigned you a most precious call. Your service to Him is so very important… for now and for eternity. And, the ladies in your group need you… to be faithful, to be faith-filled and to love them with Christ’s love and in His power.
“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. (Rev. 1:5b-6) I hope you have a blessed evening and a wonderful week of refreshment. Remember to send me your prayer requests.
I was remembering how far away that line of priests fell from God’s original plans by the days of Nehemiah. There were many factors that pulled the most precious line of priests away from the call the Lord had on their lives. I suspect the worst was they had forsaken their first love… and that gave the enemy the foothold he needed to draw them away. They left the temple work to panel their houses and plant their own fields. (Living for self… right?) What struck me as I read it today was God’s command that they must REGARD their most special call as Holy, or set apart. I think he was telling them to not let the world or their own thoughts or even the enemy tempt them into minimizing the importance of the work they are doing before the LORD.
And, that is what I am writing about today. We are servants of the Most High God and have received a call to serve as a priest (if you will) in His Very Important Ministry. The world, the enemy, and sometimes even our parents and co-workers will minimize our service. They will liken it to other volunteer works or act as if we are wasting our time…. But YOURS is the REAL DEAL. Each of the ladies He has place in your care is precious to Him. He died for them. And the work that the LORD is doing through you is life-giving… and life-changing. And, there is a strong reason that the enemy doesn’t want you to remember that… so, I wanted to take a moment from my DC stuff and remind you. You are loved by the Lord Most High, and He has assigned you a most precious call. Your service to Him is so very important… for now and for eternity. And, the ladies in your group need you… to be faithful, to be faith-filled and to love them with Christ’s love and in His power.
“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. (Rev. 1:5b-6) I hope you have a blessed evening and a wonderful week of refreshment. Remember to send me your prayer requests.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Keep Scooping
I thought of the toil of small group leaders I know when I wrote the message below in response to Luke 8, the parable of the Sower:
“But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”
Bearing Fruit with Patience…. P-aa-tience.
I don’t think I would have always been a patient farmer, more spazzy at times. I might have found myself standing in the middle of the field and, talking to the dirt, looking for the tiny sprouts…. as if I was making them grow. Well, maybe.
But, in reading that verse, you came to mind…. Meeting every week with your group… faithfully being what God would have you be to them. It may not be as ideal as you would wish… or envisioned, but you are faithfully sowing God’s word with His love...like He asked you to.
Jesus said the seed that fell on good ground represented those who heard the Word and had noble and good hearts. They treasured it… kept it for themselves… and they bear fruit… with patience.”
The word ‘patience’ connotes stability in doing the task. The NIV uses ‘perseverance,’ which implies a consistency… like a mother getting her child to try a new vegetable. He spits it out. She puts it back in… he chokes it out, she scoops it off his face and in it goes. And, tomorrow… same thing… all over again.
Experts say babies have to try a new food 10-15 times before they will eat it.
It is reasonable to expect that it may take us 10-15 exposures to a new spiritual thought before we can clothe ourselves with a new flavor of humility, or love. So, at times you may feel just like that mom… scooping it in… again. But that's okay. They won't get to the tenth try until they have tried it the first 9 times!
So when the calls come in that ‘this one quit’ or ‘this one can’t keep the commitment’, keep in mind it’s not because of you. (No matter what our enemy says!). You are the servant with the noble and good heart who is keeping the Word for yourself… and persevering to bear fruit… yes, even with patience.” So, keep scooping!
“But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”
Bearing Fruit with Patience…. P-aa-tience.
I don’t think I would have always been a patient farmer, more spazzy at times. I might have found myself standing in the middle of the field and, talking to the dirt, looking for the tiny sprouts…. as if I was making them grow. Well, maybe.
But, in reading that verse, you came to mind…. Meeting every week with your group… faithfully being what God would have you be to them. It may not be as ideal as you would wish… or envisioned, but you are faithfully sowing God’s word with His love...like He asked you to.
Jesus said the seed that fell on good ground represented those who heard the Word and had noble and good hearts. They treasured it… kept it for themselves… and they bear fruit… with patience.”
The word ‘patience’ connotes stability in doing the task. The NIV uses ‘perseverance,’ which implies a consistency… like a mother getting her child to try a new vegetable. He spits it out. She puts it back in… he chokes it out, she scoops it off his face and in it goes. And, tomorrow… same thing… all over again.
Experts say babies have to try a new food 10-15 times before they will eat it.
It is reasonable to expect that it may take us 10-15 exposures to a new spiritual thought before we can clothe ourselves with a new flavor of humility, or love. So, at times you may feel just like that mom… scooping it in… again. But that's okay. They won't get to the tenth try until they have tried it the first 9 times!
So when the calls come in that ‘this one quit’ or ‘this one can’t keep the commitment’, keep in mind it’s not because of you. (No matter what our enemy says!). You are the servant with the noble and good heart who is keeping the Word for yourself… and persevering to bear fruit… yes, even with patience.” So, keep scooping!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
A Full Breath
My husband never felt better after his 3rd heart incident in 2005. Two years later, with 8 stents in his heart, he still couldn’t take a full breadth. The physical distress was bringing him down. My clinical friends told me to keep looking for answers. So... I took him to Cleveland Clinic, which is the named by US News as the best heart hospital in the nation for over 20 years. Other doctors had not been able to find anything wrong with him, but performing over 10,000 heart procedures a year, Cleveland had all the best clinical tools. We were there twice and they didn’t find anything wrong...except during our second visit, they did one test that showed just a tiny irregularity... hardly discernible. The physician told us since we were out there, it was worth exploring, because everything else looked fine, except his ‘stated distress.’
That example came to mind as I thought about some of the women in my groups of yester-year. Some of them seemed so fine... nothing really obvious on the outside.... except one little... hardly discernible problem they were having.... like continued request to have a regular quiet time or lack of victory in a certain area. The ‘spiritual rut‘ syndrome can be the same ‘hardly discernible’ symptom that can show us, as their mentor, that something is really wrong inside. They can’t get a ‘spiritiual breath‘.
Mentoring someone spiritually can be so difficult because only God looks at the heart AND the secret things belong to God. BUT, as shepherds in God’s kingdom we are called to disciple and impart spiritual gifts... to spur one another on toward love and good deeds. You may have women in your groups, who need you to ask the hard questions... say the ‘tough things’... and challenge or encourage them. Why, after 4 months, are they still asking the same prayer request? Is it just a continual area of concern? or is there something else blocking their relationship with God?
When my husband was at Cleveland, the doctors and clinicians made him frustrated and discouraged. Some didn’t believe him. They asked him questions... ran tests... it was not comfortable. BUT, when that doctor went in and found that one of the stents was too small for the vein and used the most advanced technology to open that vessel... he immediately got his first full breath in years! Since then, his outlook has been so much brighter.
For those of us serving as shepherds in small group ministry, we can be liked to God’s clinicians.... asking the tough questions... praying for the answers. While Christ alone is the Great Physician and Healer.... perhaps this week your probes into your ladies lives could lead to the ‘procedure’ He uses to give them a fresh breath of His presence... and isn't THAT what brings joy to your heart and results in rejoicing among the angels in heaven?
That example came to mind as I thought about some of the women in my groups of yester-year. Some of them seemed so fine... nothing really obvious on the outside.... except one little... hardly discernible problem they were having.... like continued request to have a regular quiet time or lack of victory in a certain area. The ‘spiritual rut‘ syndrome can be the same ‘hardly discernible’ symptom that can show us, as their mentor, that something is really wrong inside. They can’t get a ‘spiritiual breath‘.
Mentoring someone spiritually can be so difficult because only God looks at the heart AND the secret things belong to God. BUT, as shepherds in God’s kingdom we are called to disciple and impart spiritual gifts... to spur one another on toward love and good deeds. You may have women in your groups, who need you to ask the hard questions... say the ‘tough things’... and challenge or encourage them. Why, after 4 months, are they still asking the same prayer request? Is it just a continual area of concern? or is there something else blocking their relationship with God?
When my husband was at Cleveland, the doctors and clinicians made him frustrated and discouraged. Some didn’t believe him. They asked him questions... ran tests... it was not comfortable. BUT, when that doctor went in and found that one of the stents was too small for the vein and used the most advanced technology to open that vessel... he immediately got his first full breath in years! Since then, his outlook has been so much brighter.
For those of us serving as shepherds in small group ministry, we can be liked to God’s clinicians.... asking the tough questions... praying for the answers. While Christ alone is the Great Physician and Healer.... perhaps this week your probes into your ladies lives could lead to the ‘procedure’ He uses to give them a fresh breath of His presence... and isn't THAT what brings joy to your heart and results in rejoicing among the angels in heaven?
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
A Missionary Named Jay
I wish you could have met Jay and his wife. They were the leaders of the very first Bible study I attended as a new believer. They had been missionaries in Africa most of their lives and dearly loved by the congregation. Our paths didn’t cross very long, but I remember him because he used to laugh at some of my answers in the Wednesday night study that he led. It wasn’t an offensive laugh or a mocking laugh either… in fact it seemed kind of private… I didn’t understand it at the time…. I remember considering if I should be offended, but decided to just ignore it.
Several years later, I heard the laugh again. But this time it was when my grandmother first gazed my firstborn…her very first great grandchild. There was the laugh! It took me a few days to place where I had heard it… then I remembered Jay. That was Jay’s laugh! That’s when I realized Jay had been delighting in the new life he was seeing in me. It touched me, because I heard he and his wife were going through a difficult time…. yet whatever his difficulties, I suspect they were health related, God used the freshness of life in another believer to refresh him. My life moved on, but I can’t tell you how many times God used Jay’s example to remind me to look at others with a kingdom perspective.
And thinking about it today, there is something that I am still learning from Jay… it is not so much what you say… but who you are. His laugh was an overflow of who he was… and where his heart was with God. Amen?
Several years later, I heard the laugh again. But this time it was when my grandmother first gazed my firstborn…her very first great grandchild. There was the laugh! It took me a few days to place where I had heard it… then I remembered Jay. That was Jay’s laugh! That’s when I realized Jay had been delighting in the new life he was seeing in me. It touched me, because I heard he and his wife were going through a difficult time…. yet whatever his difficulties, I suspect they were health related, God used the freshness of life in another believer to refresh him. My life moved on, but I can’t tell you how many times God used Jay’s example to remind me to look at others with a kingdom perspective.
And thinking about it today, there is something that I am still learning from Jay… it is not so much what you say… but who you are. His laugh was an overflow of who he was… and where his heart was with God. Amen?
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Hope That is Certain
I love Spring. For months we live under clouds. Storms. Icy blasts. Darkness. Then seasons change.... and the dark, ugly death and decay give way to bright green buds that turn into fresh colorful flowers.
I am certain that God gave us the change of seasons so that we do not lose hope... in our own circumstances.... and in the circumstances of others. Winters do thaw. Little brown bulbs that look dead and ugly morph into beautiful, fresh flowers. Grey birds molt and become bright yellow and red.
Spring builds our confidence that our hope is certain. SO I close with these words of encouragement for you... as we begin to see the seasons change in some of the ladies in our study, because some of the work that you are doing this season, despite the circumstances you are enduring, will surely one day will also be a display of God's pageantry in heavenly places: “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them" Hebrews 6:10
I am certain that God gave us the change of seasons so that we do not lose hope... in our own circumstances.... and in the circumstances of others. Winters do thaw. Little brown bulbs that look dead and ugly morph into beautiful, fresh flowers. Grey birds molt and become bright yellow and red.
Spring builds our confidence that our hope is certain. SO I close with these words of encouragement for you... as we begin to see the seasons change in some of the ladies in our study, because some of the work that you are doing this season, despite the circumstances you are enduring, will surely one day will also be a display of God's pageantry in heavenly places: “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them" Hebrews 6:10
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