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Beloved in Christ,
Two weeks ago I sent out a video-link called "We Need Each Other." The response was much larger than anticipated. Seems its simple message struck a chord...that loving God and loving one another can never be mutually exclusive, as they are two parts of the same package deal. We're either good at both, or we're lousy at both. [1]
But we can do neither on our own.
Indeed, we need the moment-to-moment guidance of the Holy Spirit to walk in the fullness of such love, but that's not really the point, is it? For it's not His guidance we lack, but our willingness to yield to Him in real time.
And lest we're tempted to justify our foot-dragging (a practice I'm more adept at than I'd care to admit), let us remember that we are supernaturally hard-wired to obey the voice of the Spirit, since, as His redeemed, we've already received another package deal, that is, the fruit of His Spirit within us! We simply need to crucify our flesh and walk in it. [2]
Easier said than done...at least for me.
What a relief to discover that as knuckleheaded as I can be, God is always more faithful. He never leaves me hanging; He never deserts me. If I am willing to receive Him and yield to His Spirit without compromise, He makes my moment-to-moment life glorious!
SO THIS WEEKEND I'm at the "Y" and a young man I've befriended comes up to greet me. He asks if I've been on the road because he hasn't seen me in a few weeks. I reply that I've just returned from California which prompts him to ask how the ministry is going, how the prayerwalks are shaping up, etc.
We chit-chat for awhile. Actually, he does most of the talking (I know, hard to believe) as I am hustling to get through my workout, huffing and puffing cryptic responses to his litany of questions and comments. We talk about all sorts of things...haircuts (his, not mine), the tragedy in Japan, marathon training, Libya, law school, our dependence on foreign oil...all kinds of stuff. Then he switches gears...
"You know that other thing we were talking about?"
"The 'other thing?'", I ask innocuously...though I'm pretty sure I know where he's headed...
"Yeah, you know, that 'other thing' we were talking about..."
"You mean the 'sex' thing?"
"Yeah, that. Well, I just wanted you to know...we're not doing that anymore..."
He goes on to tell me about how our last conversation about his relationship with his fiance-to-be...wherein I gently posed some real-life questions about his admitted premarital intimacy with her...got him thinking, which led to his approaching her to honestly reassess whether or not their convictions about their physical love-life were really mutual.
Turns out they weren't. Go figure.
I know the church they attend and their pastor is a good guy, a real truth-teller. My young friend is a seeker at that church; his fiance-to-be grew up there. It didn't take an Einstein to figure they probably weren't on the same page about premarital relations. But in today's culture, even after a lifetime of solid teaching, she feared she'd lose him unless she gave herself to him that way. (A tragic epidemic throughout the Western Church.)
But now, she is relieved and he is her hero. Rightly so. More importantly, I'm convinced he's about to go from being a "seeker" to a "finder." Come Lord Jesus!
I high-fived my young college-educated friend, telling him how proud I was of him. I told him God will bless him for doing such an honorable thing. He actually beamed.
Beloved, it's true. We do need each other.
It is through our hand-to-hand and heart-to-heart interactions that disciples are made. It is through the moment-to-moment yielding to the Holy Spirit that Sovereign friendships are formed. Again and again in our lives, the faithful, tough-love "wounds of a friend" are what shape us into bona-fide followers of Christ. [3]
If God is poking at your heart right now, you might want to watch the video again. In Jesus' mighty name, may all of us honor the Lord with our friendships...both those we already have and those we are willing to receive. Deeply thankful for God's gift of friendship; especially for your love and support, Tom Pivotal Mission News & Footnotes... THROUGHOUT our recent 40-day fast, many prayer-warriors emailed me with a similar prompting from the Lord...that God is presently leading many to support our mission on a regular monthly basis. While this could readily be written off as a cause-and-effect response to the specific fast we announced (for a paradigm shift in regard to our financial support), we believe God is speaking. If this resonates in your heart, please pray for us, that those called would respond to the Lord, and to Him alone...to His tapping on their hearts, not our tugging on their emotions. To check out becoming a monthly supporter of our mission, please click here. I COVERED only two of the five essentials of our mission over our recent 40-day fast, as other prayer requests seemed more pressing. I will get back to these non-negotiables, and to our roll-out plans for 70 regions across the country. Bring it, Lord! [1] Matthew 22:37-40, 1 John 4:20-21 [2] Galatians 5:22-25 (Galatians 5:25 is our mission-verse.) [3] Proverbs 27:6, 17 I welcome your feedback; simply reply to this email... | 