Hiatus Over!

My hiatus is over and I am excited to continue to share my thoughts on this blog. We have experienced some big changes recently as I have resigned as the Founding Pastor of Pointway Church in Baxter, MN.

My family and I will be moving to Waconia, MN February 1 to begin a new and exciting ministry. I am joining the staff of Freshwater Community Church in St. Bonifacius, MN as a Campus Planter/Pastor.

Freshwater is a great church lead by a gifted pastor. They are going Multi Site and I have the honored privilege to launch the Waconia campus. We are humbled and grateful that the LORD has allowed us to give ourselves to this wonderful mission.

I am also looking forward to sharing this adventure with you as you follow our updates on this blog.

Soli Deo Gloria

Tea with Tozer

DEEP INSIDE EVERY MAN there is a private sanctum where dwells the mysterious essence of his being. This far-in reality is that in the man which is what it is of itself without reference to any other part of the man’s complex nature. It is the man’s “I Am,” a gift from the I AM who created him.

The I AM which is God is underived and selfexistent; the “I Am” which is man is derived from God and dependent every moment upon His creative fiat for its continued existence. One is the Creator, high over all, ancient of days, dwelling in light unapproachable. The other is a creature and, though privileged beyond all others, is still but a creature, a pensioner on God’s bounty and a suppliant before His throne.

The deep-in human entity of which we speak is called in the Scriptures the spirit of man. “For what man knoweth the things of man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God” (I Cor. 2:11) . As God’s self-knowledge lies in the eternal Spirit, so man’s selfknowledge is by his own spirit, and his knowledge of God is by the direct impression of the Spirit of God upon the spirit of man.

~ A.W. Tozer, Man the Dwelling Place of God

Big Thought of the Day

I few years ago I was struck with a simple but profound thought. It came to me as I was driving. I was cruising along when I noticed a police car following behind me. Immediately I looked down to check my speed, and I straightened up and put both hands on the wheel.

The presence of that police officer driving behind me forced me to be more focused on how I was driving. Then I began to wonder how would I drive if I always had a police officer following me wherever I went.

Hebrews 4:13 says,

No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Zechariah 9:1 says,

For the Lord has an eye on mankind

So my simple yet profound thought is this. How would our lives change if we had a deep awareness of the LORD’s presence with us. What things would we stop doing? What things would we start doing?

The truth is that the LORD is intimately aware of every thought and action we engage in. My prayer is that I would live with a deeper awareness of the reality.

Great God, in public and private, in sanctuary and home, may my life be steeped in prayer, filled with the spirit of grace and supplication, each prayer perfumed with the incense of atoning blood. Help me, defend me, until from praying ground I pass to the realm of unceasing praise. Urged by my need, invited by Thy promises, called by Thy Spirit, I enter Thy presence, worshipping Thee with godly fear, awed by Thy majesty, greatness, glory, but encouraged by Thy love.

I am all poverty as well as all guilt, having nothing of my own with which to repay Thee, but I bring Jesus to Thee in the arms of faith, pleading His righteousness to offset my iniquities, rejoicing that He will weigh down the scales for me, and satisfy thy justice. I bless Thee that great sin draws out great grace, that, although the lest sin deserves infinite punishment because done against an infinite God, yet there is mercy for me, for where guilt is most terrible, there Thy mercy in Christ is most free and deep. Bless me by revealing to me more of His saving merits, by causing Thy goodness to pass before me, by speaking peace to my contrite heart; strengthen me to give Thee no rest untiI Christ shall reign supreme within me in every thought, word, and deed, in a faith that purifies the heart, overcomes the world, works by love, fastens me to Thee, and ever clings to the cross.

 

Taken from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett

What is my purpose in life? Part 1

This is a question I have been wrestling with of late. It is a question for the ages that all men in all generations have wrestled with. The big answer to this question was answered well be the Westminster Divines.

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

I couldn’t agree more with this statement. I was made by my Creator and I exist for his glory. Knowing that gives me a overarching understanding of my purpose in life, but I am digging deeper, as we all must, in an effort to make the most of the time I have been alloted by my LORD in this earthly sojourn.

It amazes me that our LORD has created each one of us uniquely and has hardwired us according to his design and desire. I want to live according to that purpose as much as I possibly can, so I have embarked on a journey of seeking greater clarity and understanding of what my purpose in this life is.

I had a very dramatic conversion to Christ. In fact I met Jesus in a radical life transforming way while traveling on my own road to Damascus. In Acts 20:24 Paul described his purpose in life when he said this:

“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the LORD Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

When I first read this verse it burned within my like fire in my bones. I felt the passion and truth of it in the deep and I claimed these words as my own. I can truly tell you that these words represent the cry of my heart as I strive for intimacy with the Almighty making him the passionate pursuit of my life.

So in seeking out my purpose in life I have come to understand the following:

1. My overarching purpose in life is to glorify God, and enjoy him forever. He is my delight and treasure. As John Piper has famously said, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”
2. I cannot and will not live for myself. My life is not of value nor precious to me in light of what I have been called to and the reward awaiting for me at the finish line.
3. Jesus Christ has mapped out a course for my life and I must seek Him in order to find out what that is. My top priority is to finish my course.
4. The gospel of the grace of God is central to my life. I must live a gospel-driven life fueled by the Holy Spirit.

This is just one leg of a Journey I am on in defining my purpose in life. In this season I hope to come to a deeper understanding of that purpose knowing that my knowledge, wisdom and experience in living out my purpose will continue to grow.

TO BE CONTINUED…