Finding the Lost

“Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  Luke 15:10

I have a virtual friend on a Facebook page who recently lost something very valuable.  Her son and my daughter went to Navy boot camp together.  For Christmas, her Sailor gave her a special necklace. . . a Mariners’ Cross.  It holds special meaning for those in the Navy.  A few weeks ago, she posted that she had lost the charm.  I could almost read between the lines how upset she was.  It had been a special gift from her son, and she had lost it.   A few days later my friend posted that she had found the charm.  She was so excited to have it back.

This reminded me of the stories Jesus shared in Luke 15.  The first is the story of the lost sheep, the second is the story of a lost coin and the third is the well-known story of the Prodigal Son.  But as I read through these stories, God shared a deeper meaning about the three scenarios.

We can relate each of these stories to people we know who are lost.  They may not know Jesus as their savior at all, or they may be Christians who have wandered away from Jesus.

The story of the lost sheep reminds me of the church.  The shepherd is the pastor and the sheep is the congregation.  How often in your church do people seem to disappear from the congregation?  Perhaps they’ve placed other things in their life as a higher priority than fellowship with other Christians.  Perhaps they’ve been hurt by something someone has said or done.  Whatever the cause, they’re not coming to church any more and the shepherd must temporarily leave the flock to find the one that has wandered away.

The second story in Luke 15 is of a woman who had 10 coins, but lost one somewhere in her house.  This story reminds me of family members who are lost . . . people right under your own roof.  Again, they may not have found Jesus as their Savior, or have stumbled as Christians.  But this women took a lamp and diligently searched her house until she finally found the lost coin.

The third and final story is of the Prodigal Son.  The son thought the “grass was greener on the other side” and the loving father knew the boy would have to learn the lesson on his own.  So the father gave the boy his share of the inheritance and let him go.  It wasn’t long though, until the young man found himself broken and desolate, and wanting to return home.  The father saw his son from a distance.  Obviously, he had been watching for him, waiting for the day of the son’s return.

The Prodigal Son story reminds me of . . . me!  How many times in my life have I thought I could handle something on my own, only to become broken and desolate, and heading back home for the protection of my Father.  Low and behold, He is there watching and waiting for me.  His arms open wide to hold me, comfort me and forgive me.  Does this sound familiar to you??

The unique part of all three of these stories is the ending.  The shepherd and the woman asked their friends and neighbors to rejoice with them for they had found what was lost.  The father threw a party when the Prodigal Son returned home.  Joy and happiness brought each of the three stories to a heartfelt ending.

When a sinner repents and a soul is saved, the rejoicing by the angels in Heaven is far greater that ten thousand parties here.  It brings a smile on the face of God to see one of His children return to Him.  What a blessing that must be!!  What a blessing you can bring to God if you are lost sheep, coin or son.

I’m so glad my friend found her charm.  And I’m so glad she shared her joy with her friends.  It was a great feeling to rejoice with her. 

Servant Leader

“Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you let him be your slave – Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26b-27 (NKJV)

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been listening to an audio book as I travel to and from work.  It’s called Good to Great by Jim Collins.  It’s a book about his research to discover how companies move from being a good, ordinary company to a great, exceptional company.  Part of the research discusses the leadership qualities of the CEOs of a great company, and he calls this type of leader “Level Five Leadership”.  One of the primary qualities of Level Five Leadership is humility.

I read the book several years ago, but I’m listening to it again because I’m in a leadership role at work.  I want the organization for which I work to become a great organization: To stand out above the rest.  I want the company to be successful.

Jim Collins mentions several times throughout his book how the principles he’s discovered can be applied to leadership in a variety of businesses and organizations, including churches. 

Who is the leader in your church?  Do you think it’s the pastor? Perhaps the deacons as well?  Actually, there are a lot of leaders in the church . . . Sunday School teachers, youth group leaders, the choir director; even the pianoist is a leader.  It may only be one song at a time, but the pianoist is leading the congregation during a special time of worship.  Many people are leaders in the church.

Are you a part of the leadership of your church?  Do you have any of these roles or one that I didn’t mention?  Even though you are a leader, do you have a servant’s heart as you perform your tasks? Or do you look for praise and recognition for your hard work?  Do you get upset if someone doesn’t recognize what you’ve done?  Do you desire success for yourself, or success for the church as a whole?  These can be hard questions to swallow, and require a deep search of the heart and soul for an honest answer.

If you’re looking for the perfect example of Level Five Leadership, read the four gospels.  Jesus set the bar for all of us in the leadership role whether it’s in the church or the corporate board room.  He was subservient, humble, self-sacrificing, and compassionate, yet stood firm in His faith and beliefs.   We can read all the secular books on management we can find, but a successful leader will garner proven leadership qualities and skills by following Jesus’ lead.

Please pray with me . . .

Sweet Heavenly Father,

I thank You for giving me the opportunity to serve You as a leader in Your church, at work and in the community.  I pray for Your guidance, wisdom and strength as I make daily decisions and interact with others.  I pray for humbleness of mind and heart, and give You all the glory and praise for any success I ever see.  Help me to always be a reflection of Jesus Christ in my home, my church, my job and my community.   Let me always be a blessing to You and those around me.

In Jesus’ precious name . . . AMEN

Forgiving the Unforgivable

“And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.

Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.’” Luke 33-34a

To help promote this blog, I started some social media pages to get the word out.  I now have a BFF Fan Page and a BFF Twitter page.   While looking at the tweets of those I’ve started following, I found one by a lady that said this:

“Really struggling w forgiveness. Is it possible 2 forgive smbdy who isn’t sorry?”

I replied back to her with the verse from Luke 23:34a (above) with the hope it helped her find direction.  However, it made me stop in my tracks for a few minutes and think about those who have hurt me over the years and never apologized.  Did I ever forgive them? Or do I still hold grudges?  If I do, why haven’t I let it go?

Jesus had suffered horribly at the hands of the Roman soldiers during the last hours of His life.  But what was worse was how His own people (God’s chosen people) had treated Him. 

 Matthew wrote “And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said ‘He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.’” Matthew 27:39-43 (NKJV)

Yet somehow, someway Jesus found compassion for those people.  He could have come down from that cross and struck them all dead if He really wanted to.  But He knew He had to die on that cross so their sins could be forgiven.  He recognized the fact that they didn’t know better, and in His worst time, He also recognized the fact that they needed forgiveness, knowing that one day they would understand.

That’s how we should look at someone when they hurt us and don’t apologize.  Chances are they just don’t understand: They don’t get it.  What really helps me to forgive what seems to be unforgivable is the fact that one day, some day . . . they will get it, they will understand.  I may never see that day come, but I do know that if I follow the example Jesus set, He will be sure to bless me for my faithfulness.  There’s no doubt that it’s hard to forgive the unforgivable, even seemingly impossible.  But there’s another verse that I repeat to myself quite often when facing the impossible . . .

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

What a great way to start out the New Year; to let bygones be bygones and give everyone a clean slate.  On a piece of paper, write down the names of those who have hurt you and have not apologized . . . those who you can’t seem to forgive.  Once you have the names written down, tear the paper up and burn it.  Let it go and praise God for the work He has done through you.

Please pray with me . . .

Sweet Heavenly Father,

Thank You for giving Your Son to save me from my sins.  Thank You for the lessons He taught me during His tribulations.  Please give me the strength to forgive those who have hurt me.  I may feel they don’t deserve my forgiveness, but then I remember I don’t deserve YOUR forgiveness.  I want to be a blessing to You and those around me.  Help me to be as Jesus was that day and forgive the unforgivable.

In Jesus’s precious name . . . AMEN

Just Be Still

“Be still and know that I am God.”  Psalm 46:10a (NKJV)

WOW . . . was this Christmas season busy!  I thought I’d never catch up with myself.  Not only did I have to buy and wrap presents, and decorate the house, but I was also over our Christmas program at the church.  We went Christmas caroling the Sunday before Christmas, had practice on Wednesday, then the program on Thursday. 

On top of all of that, I was finishing up the semester in grad school and had two major final projects due on the Monday after Christmas.  It was wild at work all week which caused me to work overtime every day.  I didn’t know which way was up for days. 

“Be still and know that I am God!”  I have to repeat that verse to myself sometimes to calm down and slow down.  But there’s more this verse than being still.  The key to this verse isn’t the “be still” part; it’s the “know” part.  We exercise stillness a lot in our lives . . . a hot bubble bath, a massage, a walk down a quite country road, lying on the beach at sunset, sitting in the dark after the kids have went to bed, or drinking a cup of coffee before the kids get up.  But in those moments did you just seek the stillness or did you seek God?  Or better yet, did you seek to KNOW God? 

The psalm tells us what happens when we’re still and know God . . . He “will be exalted among the nations, [He] will be exalted in the earth!”  When we know God, we can truly praise and worship Him.  We can exalt Him no matter how crazy our life and the world gets.

One of my New Years resolutions for 2011 is to KNOW God better than I have ever known Him.  How can He be my best friend if I don’t take to time to be still and know Him.  He is an awesome God, and He wants to spend time with me . . . ME!  Little ol’ me!! 

When life gets crazy, take the time to be still and KNOW that He is God.  He will carry you through the tough times and rejoice with you in the good.  He wants to spend time with you.  He wants you to get to know Him better.  Join with me in this 2011 New Years resolution . . . to grow in knowledge, faith and love of God . . . before the flower fades.

Please pray with me . . .

Sweet Heavenly Father,

When I feel I like I’m at the end of my rope and the world is crashing in on me, give me the strength to take time to be still.  And as I steal the moment in quiet peacefulness, bless my heart with Your presence and my soul with Your compassion.  Remind me, Lord to take those moments to walk closer and talk deeper with You.

I pray You will bless this upcoming year with peace, love, happiness and those still, quiet moments when I can truly get to know that You are God!  The God!!

In Jesus’ name . . . Amen 

New Years Resolution

As part of my 2011 New Years resolutions, I want to do a better job at sharing with you here on the BFF Ministries blog. 

I’ve decided I want to blog more. Rather than just thinking about doing it, I’m starting right now.  I will be posting on this blog at least once a week for all of 2011.

I know it won’t be easy, but it might be fun, inspiring, awesome and wonderful. Therefore I’m promising to make use of The DailyPost, and the community of other bloggers with similar goals, to help me along the way, including asking for help when I need it and encouraging others when I can.

If you already read my blog, I hope you’ll encourage me with comments and likes, and good will along the way.  May God richly bless you through our weekly walks in His Word together.

Kim

The Forgotten Christmas Present

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (KJV)

A couple of years ago, we moved from town into our new home in the country.  As I was going through one of the closets to sort and pack-up items, I came across an unwrapped Christmas present.

It was a gift we had bought for one of Pastor Tony’s grandmothers.  She collected bells and we had bought her a bell to add to her collection.  But we never had the opportunity to give it to her, so it had been placed in the closet.  Over time, it shoved further and further back into the closet and eventually forgotten. 

Unfortunately, Pastor Tony’s grandmother had passed away by the time I had found the forgotten present, so we were never able to give it to her. 

As I am sitting here waiting for my oldest daughter and her boyfriend to arrive so we can open gifts, the forgotten present came to mind.  It made me think of a Christmas gift that, over the years, continues to be forgotten and shoved to the back of hearts.  It’s the greatest gift ever given . . . in the form of a baby born in a manger some 2000 years ago.

We fail to share this gift with those we love the most.  We think to ourselves there’s plenty of time to share it so we put it away for another time and place.  Then, our loved one is gone and the gift is left unwrapped and forgotten.

If you want to give someone that perfect gift this Christmas season, share the gift of Jesus Christ.  Don’t let another season, day or hour pass by, for one day it could be too late.  Material gifts fade and pass away, but the gift of God is eternal.

Please pray with me . . .

Sweet Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the gift of your Son, who came to save my soul and open the gates of Heaven for me.  Please give me the boldness and patience to share this gift with my family and friends, those who I love the most.  Bless them with Your gentle spirit to open their hearts and minds to this gift You have so freely given to us.

In Jesus’ precious name . . . AMEN

Before the Flower Fades – A Poem

Yesterday slipped thru our fingers,
Tomorrow has no guarantee.
A lifetime is just a blink of an eye
When compared to eternity.

So praise Him in this moment
With each heartbeat and breath of today.
Serve Him with all of your being
Before the flower fades.

kim c