Horizon.org

Thanks to our missionaries…the gospel is spreading to the ends of the earth. It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway—our missionaries not only faithfully serve our Savior, they are also serving us. As a result, they are deserving of our grateful thanks. Here are ten ideas to show our thanks without leaving the comforts of your computer:

- Pray scripture over them and their ministry and email the verses to them.
- Commit to pray for them on a specific day of the week for a year.
- Contact their family members. Holidays are hard not only for missionaries who are away but also for their family at home. Encouraging the home front is huge.
- Phone cards are a hit overseas (skype.com is the coolest thing ever, but not always easy due to internet connections). Services like OneSuite are an easy win.
- Last minute flights are expensive! Available frequent flier miles are good as gold.
- Buy an iTunes card and have it sent to you. Email the acct # to the missionaries.
- This is fun; make a crazy holiday video with lots of people you know they miss.
- Make a year-end gift through their church, missions board or agency.
- Western Union — still the fastest way to send money.
- Call their local florist, Pizza Hut or Hotel and bless them with a surprise delivery (not everyone is in the jungle these days). The locals are happy to help!

How about you? Any cool ideas come to mind? Respond to this post and share some thoughts on how we can work together in blessing our missionaries this holiday season. Remember to use discernment in written or video communication if the missionaries are working in security-sensitive locations. God bless you. Let’s not forget to bless the one’s who are representing the Lord (and us) to the uttermost parts of the world. A great big THANKS to all our missionaries around the world…we LOVE you guys!

WORSHIP: THE ESSENTIAL THANKSGIVING INGREDIENT …

If you were to ask just about anyone (including me) who their favorite songwriter of the last decade is, lots of folks would say Chris Tomlin. And with Thanksgiving upon us, this song always comes to mind;

Chris has such a heart for worship that is perfectly in tune with the Scriptures that encourage us to …

GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD, CALL ON HIS NAME; MAKE KNOWN AMONG THE NATIONS WHAT HE HAS DONE. SING TO HIM, SING PRAISE TO HIM; TELL OF HIS WONDERFUL ACTS. (1CHRONICLES 16:8-9)

I WILL GIVE YOU THANKS IN THE GREAT ASSEMBLY; AMONG THRONGS OF PEOPLE I WILL PRAISE YOU. (PSALM 35:18)

GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD. HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER. (PSALM 136:1)

Remember this Thanksgiving all the blessings and benefits of the Lord in your life. Really there aren’t any conditions that would justify us not having a heart of Thanksgiving, yet many times instead of remaining thankful, we forget the goodness of the Lord that is constantly being poured into our lives.

Many times unfortunately we forget to be thankful. In so doing, we fall short in giving God the recognition He deserves, for His faithfulness endures forever. What are some things that diminish a heart of thanksgiving? Here are some things to watch out for …

1) Settling for something less than God’s best (follow Abraham’s example, not Lot’s)

2) Letting our fears outgrow our faith (thanksgiving is trusting Him for things we can’t control)

3) Focusing on temporal instead of eternal (don’t lose sight of your heavenly destination)

4) Remaining self serving vs. serving others (as the Turkey needs to die to be a blessing, so do we)

You see, Chris Tomlin hasn’t provided the church a bunch of cool songs we enjoy singing as much as a picture of the life we are to be living; a loving, grateful, thankful life-song that daily brings God praise.

Paul begs us by the mercies of God to present our bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God, which is our reasonable worship (Romans 12:1). As families gather together let’s remember the blessings of the Lord and let our praise rise to heaven from truly grateful and thankful hearts.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Being the Pastor of a totally awesome cranking church, preaching several times a week, leading a staff, running a school, radio shows, etc. makes having a normal life pretty challenging. Here are a few questions I frequently get asked;

#1) How do you do it all? Typically my answer is “beats me.”  I know it’s not in me, but in Christ that I can keep up this pace. Which often spills into a better question…

#2) How can we pray for you? I always love being asked that. A few things come to mind; health, strength, vision, focus … all connected and all needed daily. I have to stay healthy to keep up the pace, and strong in the Lord and dependent not on my own abilities. I’m always praying for vision to see where we are going as a ministry and what the Lord wants to reveal to His church, and praying for a focused plan that brings it all to life. Big Thanks to all who pray for me.

#3) What do you do for fun? My work is fun. I love what I do. My favorite thing to do is study. Outside my office is always preferred. And in view of the beach is the best. I love it. You might also catch me typing up a storm at Starbucks or Panera. I travel a fair bit, so I see a lot of folks at the airport and on planes. I speak at tons of churches and conferences, which for me is fun. My idea of fun is going somewhere. Bonnie’s idea of fun is staying home. We’re a good balance. Either way, ministry is our life not our job. It’s what God has inclusively called us to and we’ve come to embrace it unreservedly. As for me, and my house, there’s no
other way.

#4) How does your family put up with the demands on you? That’s a good question. Maybe one better answered by them. If I were to guess I’d say we cut each other a lot of slack. They have a front row seat in knowing how hard I work (show me a church that is accomplishing it’s vision and I’ll show you a worn out staff) but they also see the fruit of all that God is doing. My kids love our church (which in a Pastor’s home is a rare thing). They don’t resent it and I’ve never heard them say they regret being the pastor’s kid. I can proudly say my kids are proud of their dad! We are definitely in this together and I couldn’t do it without their love and support. Practically, they’ve come to accept that there’s a difference between dad being home and dad ‘really’ being home. On Friday’s or Saturday’s when I’m home studying, it’s like I’m taking a final exam in my head, getting things set for the weekend. They know it’s not the time for ruckis, loud TV or wrestlemania. They also know that Sunday after it’s over, dad’s ready to cut loose. We make it work. Bonnie is just as I am with the women’s ministry. We respect each other and the calling that God has placed on our lives. My kids support of me is vital to the ministry of Horizon and I thank God for them.

#5) What’s a regular day look like? Regular? Ummm let me think. Actually, at this pace there are some important tracks that help keep the train from derailing. I’m typically up at 6:00 every morning. The kids are first out the door with either Bon or myself driving them. Then it’s devos and the news. I read some scripture and usually a little commentary provided by Oswald Chambers, Spurgeon or some other dead guy (I highly recommend reading books by dead guys … preachers who are long gone yet their words live on to the point of being re-published). Breakfast is my favorite meal, usually consisting of eggs, toast, granola, cottage cheese and lots of coffee. Followed by blocks of time devoted to study, prayer, writing, meetings, counseling, staff and more study. It’s never a surprise to Bonnie and the kids for me to be in the work zone for the majority of everyday. I highly recommend being busy. People these days have too much time on their hands and end up wasting a lot of what God has given us to be & do. My schedule’s pretty insane. Most guys burn up from always being in the pressure cooker (like cramming for those finals in grad school) but I seem to thrive on it. Evenings typically slow down and focus on family time (unless it’s Tuesday when Bonnie leads the women’s ministry, or Wednesday when I teach our midweek service, or the Sat night service). We try to have dinner together, work thru the homework load and unwind.  It’s a crazy “Venti” pace of living but God is faithful and life is good. That’s a glimpse into a not so normal life but one I hope let’s you know me as more than a stiff on stage.