A New Ministry

When I surrendered my life to the ministry I knew that it was because I could do nothing else. I also knew that I would have to be willing to take on whatever task the Lord called me to with trust and obedience. It is with this in mind that I announce that my family and I will be moving to South Dakota. It is truly a pioneer area for the gospel. I am excited to see what God will do through the work there. This blog will take on a whole new look as I transition into this ministry. It will be a place to inform all those who have prayed for us as to the further requests that we have, the victories to be shared, and the struggles to be shouldered together. It has been nothing short of amazing to see how God has opened our hearts to this land that he is sending us to. Just a month ago, we were adamant that we could not leave our families and move such a far distance away. There have been several things that have happened to simply confirm that we are in the middle of God's will. That is truly the only place I want to be, even if it means South Dakota. I hope those of you that read this blog will pass it on, and continue to visit this site. I hope that you will pray with us, rejoice with us, and yes, maybe even weep with us as we minister in this new field. Until next time, God Bless.

Matt

Chasing the Mirage while walking away from Paradise

1st Peter 1:13-16

Have you ever seen those movies where someone is walking across the desert? They show the person in their desperate state of being and then they pan out into the desert and they always show this mirage. This gets the attention of the poor sap in the desert and they always take off running toward what they see in the distance only to find out that it is more sand. I think that this describes our lives sometimes. We walk around in the desert of life and something catches our eye. We desperately strive after that mirage that we think will please us, only to find out that it is a useless pit of sand. All the while that this is playing out right behind us is the key to paradise. We are so thirsty for the mirage that we fail to turn around and see the oasis that is behind us. What has to happen is a deliberate decision in our minds to not settle for the mirage and intentionally cultivate the oasis that is in our hearts. That oasis is the pursuit of holiness that each believer is called to make. We think that we will find satisfaction in the pursuit of the empty pleasures that make up the mirages of our lives, when real contentment is found in being who Christ has called us to be. When we find contentment in the pursuit of holiness then we will find that we are more content in the other areas of our lives. The things around us tend to take on the proper meaning when confronted with the oasis of Christ’s holiness that is bubbling forth out of the sand of our lives. My challenge to you tonight is to turn away from the mirage that is holding your attention and turn away from desires of your former ignorance,(v14) and bask in the oasis of God’s holiness. Cultivate the heart and actions of Christ in your life. (V15) Be Holy because He is holy. (V16)

Looking Forward and Working Now

Philippians 3:13b-14

How difficult would it be to drive a car if you always looked behind you instead of in front of you?

You may be able to drive like that for a little while but you will soon find it impossible to sustain.

Yet that is exactly how many of us try to go through life. We are always looking back and bemoaning failures or reliving success. It is okay to learn from both of those but to dwell there too long is to render us un useful in the present. That is one of the easiest tools of the enemy. If he can get us focused on either the failures or successes on the past then we will be doing nothing in the present. This passage tells us to forget what is behind and always be reaching forward to what is ahead of us. That which is ahead of us is described in verse 14 when it tells us to pursue as our goal the prize that is promised to us. If our focus is the prize then our work will be focused on getting us there. You can’t successfully run a marathon if you always look behind you.

The believer must refuse to rely on past virtuous deeds and achievements in ministry or dwell on past sins. To be distracted by the past debilitates one’s efforts in the future.

A couple of quotes to close:

“To escape the distress caused by regret for the past or fear about the future, this is the rule to follow: leave the past to the infinite mercy of God, the future to his good providence; give the present wholly to his love by being faithful to his grace.” Jean-Pierre de Caussade in The Joy of the Saints

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. - Corrie Ten Boom

Heaven's gotcha day

On February 7, 2008, God decided that it was time to bring home one of his angels. As her uncle, I am eternally grateful that God allowed us to borrow her even if it was just a little while. This angel is Allie Tanner. My sister, Stephanie, who has adopted 7 kids with special needs has given her life to love these kids. The moment you lay your eyes on any of these kids they steal your heart. Even though Allie never had the chance on this earth to run and play, she was still able to experience joy, love, family, and laughter. No one was better at playing hard to get than she was. For a little girl, who by the world's standards, could not communicate, she was very adept at teaching those around her what life is all about. I can't wait to see her one day in heaven. To see her laugh, sing, run, and play. We will miss Allie, but I am reminded of the words of Christ who said, "let the little children to come unto me". We are even told that in order to enter into heaven we must become like a little child. Over and over again, I have seen our limited understanding of how things should happen be destroyed by the simple power of God's love, and a parents unending devotion to a child. I also know that God has a purpose for each of us to fulfill and I believe that Allie was and will continue to be used by God in awesome ways. Because of this fallen world, she was given a body that worked against her but it could not hold her spirit down. Heaven truly recieved an angel home and I can't wait to see her again. If you would like you can honor Allie and her family by helping others that experience the same difficulties. Please go to http://www.allietanner.org/ to read more about this angel.

Why are we still fighting?

Why are we still fighting?
This is an excerpt from an article found in the New York Times.
Monday, April 10, 1865
Pg. 4
PEACE
~
The Surrender of Gen. Lee- The End of the
Great Rebellion

The great struggle is over. Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia surrendered yesterday to Lieut-Gen. U.S. Grant and the Army of the Potomac.

The thrilling word Peace - the glorious fact of Peace - are now once again to be realized by the American People.(italics mine)

The profound joy of the nation in this auspicious result, cannot be expressed in effervescent enthusiasm and noisy huzzahs, but will appear in the form in which it is so fitly and opportunely proclaimed by the Secretary of War - ascriptions of Praise to Almighty God and offerings of honor to the great leader of our armies, whom he has used as his instrument to save the nation.
The history of blood - the four years of war, are brought to a close. The fratricidal slaughter is all over. The gigantic battles have all been fought. The last man, we trust, has been slain. The last shot has been fired.(italics mine)

We have achieved, too, that for which the war was begun - that for which our soldiers have so long and grandly fought, and that for which so many thousands of brave men have laid down their lives. We have achieved the great triumph, and we get with it the glorious Union. We get with it our country - a country now and forever rejoicing the Universal Freedom. The national courage and endurance have their full reward.

The event occurred on Palm Sunday, the day which commemorates the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem. It will henceforth be a patriotic as well as a pious holiday in America.
under his command. This will undoubtedly be the upshot of the whole affair.
The great rebellion is crushed. The republic is saved. Peace comes again. To heaven be the praise. (Italics mine)

Writer unknown, Page 4, New York Times geovisit();

I realize that there have been numerous articles on every different side of the fighting that is going on in the state of Missouri. This article does not intend to be an answer to the dilemma or even taking one side or the other. This is simply an observation.

The observation is that we are still, in spirit, fighting a war that was ended many years ago. It seems as if some of us in the state of Missouri are not content unless we are fighting. We can call it standing for what’s right or standing by our convictions but at the end of the day it is fighting. (By the way, the fighting in Missouri is not limited to the church world.) All around me there are people taking sides on one issue or the other

It does not take long in reading history to find that Missouri was a border state during the civil war. This, in it’s over simplified form, means that the state was divided between North and South. (Except Calloway County which formed its own “kingdom”) Families and Friends were divided by what side of the conflict they were on. Due to this conflict there were divisions created during this time that have never been overcome.

I know the issues are not states rights or even slavery in the fights today but every where you look you see groups lining up for battle. There are still families that are divided on the issues and yes we still have brothers “shooting” brothers. I want to let you in on a little secret. The war is over. It is time that we stop fighting each other. I am not saying that we all have to conform. I am not saying that we can not disagree or have different opinions. I am saying that this ‘culture of division’ must stop some where. If there is any place that this is possible it has to be with those that consider themselves to be Christians. We need people to realize that they are responsible for themselves and they can choose to stop the madness instead of waiting for someone else to go first. It is like my parents said to me growing up, “don’t wait for some one else to do the right thing before you make up your mind to do the right thing.” (See mom and dad, I did listen)

As the article from the New York Times points out:

“The thrilling word Peace - the glorious fact of Peace - are now once again to be realized by the American People.”

“The last man, we trust, has been slain. The last shot has been fired.”

I know that there is not an easy answer to the divisions that we are so mired in. I don’t pretend to think that just pointing out that the war is over will cause us all to have one big group hug and all get along. I just hope that we will realize that the one thing that is destroying our witness, the one thing that we see happening all around us in the church world, does not have to happen. I expect the world to fight. That has been happening since the garden. The more I read God’s word I do expect His children to be able to practice unity.

When will we as the body of Christ in Missouri finally be able to say for ourselves that the fact of peace will once again be realized? When will we be able to say that the last man, or woman, has been slain by our words and actions? When will we be able to say in the state of Missouri that the last shot has been fired?

I surrender All?

I was sitting in my office this afternoon taking a much needed break from study when I remembered that I had to do a study for Wednesday night prayer meeting. I was flipping through the bible trying to land on a verse for the evening study when the song I surrender all came across the i-tunes on my computer. That got me thinking about the idea of surrender. I turned to the hymnal where, over looked by most, is a verse that goes with each song. The selected verse for this song is Luke 18:28 which states, “we have left all we had to follow you! This is the words of Peter to Christ in a response to the issue of a rich man finding it hard to get into heaven due to the enormity of his own resources being in the way. Christ’s response to Peter was that what we will be given in eternity will pale in comparison to what we give up here on earth.

The question that plagues me tonight is why then, in light of that promise, is it so hard for us to truly surrender all to Him. Why then do we hold back so much, even sometimes secretly, thinking that our all knowing Father will not see. In the first verse of this song we promise when we sing that we will surrender all to Jesus, freely giving all to Him. We promise we will ever love and trust Him and we will live in His presence daily. The second verse is no easier to swallow when we state that we want our Savior to make us completely His property. We want to feel the presence of the Lord truly knowing that we are His. I don’t think we can handle going on to what we would promise in verse three of this familiar song.

What is the point! I believe that deep within us we want to surrender all we are and all we have to an awesome worthy God. I believe that we do want to be fully His. However, In order for us to truly surrender we must first lay down our arms. If we are going to truly surrender all then we must stop fighting. Stop fighting the repentance that we must make, stop fighting the service that we are called to pursue, stop fighting the places we are supposed to go and the ones we are called to reach out to. We also must stop fighting each other.

It is not so easy to promise this surrender when we fully understand what it means.

My prayer tonight is Lord show me how to truly pray, All to thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I fought against using this type of media for many reasons. Most of my fears came from fear of an unkown type of media or expression. I also asked myself the question of whether or not anyone would want to read the ramblings or thoughts of a young pastor. I finally came to the conclusion that I am mostly writing for myself. I do not know what shape this blog will take or what it will contain. I hope that it will simply evolve in its content as I evolve in my life. To all who may enter on purpose or accidently find themselves here I hope you enjoy.

In Him,
Matt