shepherding the shepherd
from PreachingToday.com
Mercy Me
Some hurts can be forgotten but others cannot and should not be stuffed down. Wounds fester and lead to grudges, a besetting sin of pastors. Instead, Jesus tells us how to leverage even the hatred of enemies to kingdom advantage.
A Kingdom Paradox
It’s still hard for the Lord’s disciples, us included, to grasp that only those who come to Jesus with their spiritual pockets turned out have access to the treasures of the kingdom, that only those starving for a crumb of righteousness are invited to a seat at the Lord’s banquet, that only those who grieve over the world’s never-ending sin and who have wept at too many graves will laugh for joy when we see the end of the story, when “everything sad is coming untrue.”
The Right Accent
I’ve wondered if I might have made the preaching big leagues if I’d just had an accent. British, say, or better yet, Scottish. We all know those guys have a leg up on the rest of us. That said, there’s hope even for me.
Prodigies
In writing to Christians facing “trials of many kinds,” James explains God’s generous offer to supply wisdom upon request, enabling us to persevere till we become “mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Everybody must persevere through trials, and some are better for it, but only Christians can persevere shaped by the unique wisdom of God.
Trial Guides
Most of the Christians we serve would love to rejoice in trials, but they can’t just turn on the joy of the Lord whenever they’re afraid, attacked, or grieving. They’d like to persevere, to become mature and complete, but they’re not sure how that happens. It’s like seeing the porchlight on a hillside across a dark, deep ravine without knowing how to find the trail to get there. So James tells them the way.
‘The Slow Work of God’
In a season long ago, when I was deeply worried about a loved one’s future, a friend sent me this by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: “Above all, trust in the slow work of God.” That counsel comes back to me from time to time, like a whisper from behind a door, “Psst. This is the slow work of God.” It is also a timely word now, at the turning of the year.