A Bondservant's Musings

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:5-7) Be subject to? Humble yourselves? These are not familiar pictures for North American Christians. We don't bow down before the Mayor, the Governor (resisting political comment here in Illinois) or the President. Nor should we. But we do have a King. And our proper place before Him is one of humility and lowliness. When I think of Jesus and who He is (Creator, Redeemer) and who I am (created for His worship, blood-bought sinner), I am naturally -- make that supernaturally -- brought low where I belong. So I get verse 6 of I Peter 5 and by extension verse 5 since as followers of Jesus we are to be like Him (Christian =

For the second consecutive summer, my wife and I are spending a good chunk of our vacation touring US national parks. I see signs at park entrances, visitor centers, in the park brochures, etc. urging park visitors to "Leave no trace" of their visit. The gist is to pick up your garbage, recycle and not impact the park, really to reduce man's impact on the land. While we could debate how we as bible-believing Christians should interact with, use and steward the earth, the thing that strikes me about this "Leave no trace" campaign is that is opposite of what we are to do with our lives as followers of Jesus. We too are visitors, even aliens, on this earth. But God has called us to impact this world -- think people instead of the terra firma -- for His kingdom. How are we to do so? Focus on the eternal If we are going to leave a trace, we must focus on eternal things. There are only two eternal things in this world -- God's word and people. As Pastor James has

When I was a teenager, we went to Great America every summer. I still remember the safety announcement for the Yankee Clipper flume ride, as you were getting in the boats, while you waited to go up the incline for all the fun. "Keep your hands and feet inside the boat at all times." I thought of this recently as I read Mark 4:35-41. When Jesus says, "Let us go across to the other side" in v. 35, the disciples go with Him. They are close to Him, in the boat with Him when a "great windstorm" comes. Notice that the storm comes at night when it’s dark and after a day of ministering when everyone was tired. The waves are filling the boat with water. The disciples are afraid. They fear for their lives. So what do they do? The disciples go to Jesus calling out for help. They aren’t concerned about bothering Jesus. The disciples don’t consider jumping out of the boat and swimming for it. They don’t try to get in a different boat thinking it might be a better fit t

Small group leaders and flock leaders carry a lot of responsibility in their ministry roles. Besides their own walk with the Lord, small group leaders carry responsibility for leading and shepherding their small group members. And flock leaders are responsible for shepherding the small group leaders in their flock and helping them grow as leaders. But for those of you who are married, your first area of ministry and spiritual leadership is with your wife. But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. (1 Corinthians 11:3) I want to concentrate on three areas: Prayer - Pray for your wife and your marriage. Pray with your wife. Have your ears and eyes open for opportunities to take an issue or a trial to prayer. Then take the lead. Be the one to say, "Let's pray about that" (i.e., HBC "Let's pray now" principle). Put your arm around your wife or hold her hand and pray with h