O Captain! My Captain!

This life is full of dichotomies.  Life and death. Light and darkness.  Good and evil.  Love and hate. Faith and doubt.  God has been moving in my life in more powerful ways than I have ever known could be true yet at the same time my wife is struggling with doubts commonly faced this past month.  I am humbled by both.  I am humbled by the shear amazingness of God.  I am also humbled at the lack of Christian leadership I have lived in my own home.  The Lord has taught me more about His power, His sovereignty and the necessity of me leading for Him in my home this past month than at any other point in my life.

This month has brought times of great joy, great struggles, great dependence, great wonder, and great submission.  The Lord has exploded my heart with His love and power.  He has given me the ability to explain His love in ways I never knew I could.  He has given me the boldness to share His gospel in ways I never have.  And He has put me in points of counsel I could have never imagined being available to me.

My heart has gained a deep peace in my Lord.  He has so profoundly shown me how He is constantly moving around me that my heart can do nothing but cry out in joy at His grace and love.  I have desired to know Him like this all my life and yet I have been the greatest obstacle to realizing this in my life.  Through everything He has been teaching me, surrender has been the most profound lesson.  He will not move in or through me until I fully surrender to Him.  He has also shown me that I must move first and through my steps of obedience He will move ahead of me.

Many of you have read my wife's blog in the past few days.  From the conversations I have had with others, I have found that it is likely that most of you can relate to the testimony she gave.  No matter how high we have been on the mountain top, we will always experience trials, temptations, struggles, and valleys.  The difference from a shallow relationship with God and a walk birthed from true heart understanding of God is that you can still have true peace and assurance no matter how deep the valley you walk through is when God has touched you at the depths of your soul.  Psalm 23 resounds as complete truth and becomes the anthem of your trust in the great Shepherd when you truly know Him.

I have been so blessed to see the Lord use me to teach and minister to my wife.  I am so thankful for the strength and certainty God has given me during her time of doubts.  God is so gracious to provide strength when He knows another will be weak.  I am so grateful that she is beginning to fight against her doubts and is now coming to a place of submission and peace under Jesus.  My wife and I have so much to learn and the Lord has so much more to teach us.  During our process of considering a calling to the mission field, I hope each of you will pray for us to know the full calling of Jesus on our lives.

I hope that you will come to know a soul changing relationship with God.  I pray that He will move in your life in ways you never truly imagined or even asked Him to.  I pray you come to a place of such surrender to the Lord that your every step is fully relying and trusting in Him.  I pray that your walk will no longer be about what you have been taught or strived to reach but rather a genuine deep, passionate, love relationship with Jesus the bridegroom of our souls.

Blessings,

Greg

My wife and I feel an intense calling on our lives for missions and full-time ministry.  We have created a fundraiser to help us overcome one hurtle to us being able to go to the mission field.  I pray that you will take a moment and check out this link.  I thank you for your consideration and ask that you seek the Lord's guidance in considering contributing to this fundraiser.  Thank you.

You Caring

Psalm 1

   

Psalm 1  

Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

 He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
 The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

This morning I spent time in Psalm 1.  As I read the passage, I asked myself if I live as a tree planted by streams of water?  Do I live in joy each day trusting the Lord no matter what I face?  Do I consistently live for Christ each day even when I face challenges, trials, and struggles?  Sometimes I feel like the chaff that the wind drives away.  I am so thankful for the grace of Jesus.  He always hears me when I cry out to Him in my moments of struggle.  He, through the Spirit, always provides me everything I need.  

The Lord also spoke to my heart for the part where sinners will not be able to stand in the congregation of the righteous.  Do I live in a way that challenges the sinners and lost around me?  Do I spend time with people who will challenge me when I sin?  We are not to live in a way that judges and condemns everyone around us and yet the righteousness of our lives through Christ should convict the hearts of those around us who do not know Jesus or have strayed far from Him.  

How do you live your life?  Are you the man or woman who walks in righteousness or wickedness?  As you go through your day this week, please keep the truth of this Psalm in your heart.  When you feel challenged by your day, put your trust and faith in the Lord and trust Him to sustain you no matter what you face.    

Jesus,

I pray that I would live my life meditating in the scripture.  May my life be as a tree planted by streams of water.  May I stand firm no matter what trials or struggles come.  May I be faithful.  May I be so bold in Christ that He may convict the hearts of the lost and sinning through me.  Amen

Blessings,

Greg