Terrific Prayer to Start the Day

October 29, 2014 / revheff / Leave a comment

Began my day with this from A Way to Pray:

Inspire us to work the works of him that sent us while it is day, since the night comes when no man will be able to work. Whatever good our hands find to do, let us do it with all our might. For there is no work in the grave where we are going (emphasis mine). Let us never be slothful in any good business of yours. Enable us to be fervent in spirit as we serve you, our Lord. Train us to be fixed in purpose, undeterred, always abounding in the work of the Lord, since we can be confident that our labour will never be in vain in the Lord. John 9:4; Eccles. 9:10; Rom. 12:11; 1 Cor. 15:58.

Lord, let us be zealous for every good work. Whatever we do, let us do it wholeheartedly, for we are not serving men, but the Lord Christ. Enable us to do the work of every day in its day, just as the duty of the day requires. Help us make full use of every opportunity, since we live in an evil age. When our Lord returns, let him find us busily doing the work he has commissioned us to do. Gal. 4:18; Col. 3:23; Ezra 3:4; Eph. 5:16; Luke 12:43.

Amen and amen.

One Word Prayer Requests of Pastors

October 28, 2014October 28, 2014 / revheff / 2 Comments

Earlier today I wondered how I could reach out to encourage some of my pastoral counterparts fighting the good fight (1 Tim. 6:12). The trick with this kind of thing comes with realizing that pastors fall into the crazy busy category. None of us relish the idea of getting spam-like texts, n0 matter how well intentioned.

So the Lord gave me what I think amounted to a pretty sweet idea. I texted this to a bunch of guys:

One word from you please? Pray for my _________________ .

So far I have received the following in reply:

words
faith
daughter
inner being (OK, cut us some slack. Pastor-wordsmiths struggle with brevity, this one included)
exercise
heart (spiritually speaking)
children (painful story attached to this one)
efficiency
niece (getting married)
wisdom (um, that would be mine)

Not a huge sample by any means. But, I would suggest we can distill some takeaways from it for building a prayer list for our pastors.

One, pray for our hearts. Jeremiah 17:9 warns us of their default condition. We may know that better than most as we day-in and day-out attempt to minister to others’ hearts. Unbelief can plague our dispositions more than we care to admit.

Two, pray for our families, immediate and extended. Before we are shepherds to our flocks, we are shepherds to our households. Your pastor may carry greater burdens than you ever imagined about the state of his marriage and the welfare of his children.

Three, pray for our health. I battle constantly the temptation to sacrifice self-care, like exercise, on the altar of pastoral demands. Some of that comes from my struggle with ministry idolatry, but not all of it. Most of us labor under excessive demands, feeling the weight of the responsibility upon us. Neglecting things like walking, running, and working out in some way over time can easily lead to weight of another kind.

Fourth, pray for our ministries. We want to be efficient/effective on every front. We need massive doses of wisdom for pastoral care dilemmas that occasionally boggle the mind and seemingly defy solution. We long to bring words of life in preaching, teaching, and shepherding that flow like a fountain of life in the lives of our people (Prov. 10:11).

Bottom line? “Brothers and sisters, pray for us” (1 Thess. 5:25).

Keys to Counseling Success

October 27, 2014 / revheff / Leave a comment

Over the years I’ve logged my share of hours on the therapist’s couch. At different seasons, biblical counseling has played a huge role in my life. Lord knows I’ve needed it.

But not every counseling experience was created equal in terms of its profit and degree of change. I suspect that had more to do with me than with the various counselors.

I wish I had been armed, during those peel-back-the-layers-of-the-onion days, with five principles I just read about this evening. They come from one of my favorite authors and friend, Ken Sande. He wrote a book in cooperation with Tom Raabe called Peacemaking for Families: A Biblical Guide for Managing Conflict in Your Home (Tyndale, 2002, 224 pages).

In it, he particularly focuses on marital conflict (though he includes chapters on conflict with children as well) and ways to ensure getting the most benefit from pursuing marriage counseling, assuming you find a solid biblical counselor, of course. Here they are:

Focus on your own responsibilities (Matt. 7:3-5). Among the many drums Ken beats, none sounds louder than the call to get the log out of your own eye. Don’t go into counseling assuming your spouse has the corner on the sinful market. Sincerely pray with each session, “God, please improve my marriage, starting with me.”
Go to the heart of your problems (James 4:1-3). Don’t just focus on surface issues; scuba dive for the heart idols (desires-turned-into-demands) that ultimately control the heart and undermine a marriage. Sinful patterns will give way far more likely with that strategy than they ever will with mere behavior modification.
Third, remember the gospel (Romans 1:16). Oh, I forgot. Here’s a drum Ken bangs on even more than the second “G.” Good thing too. Fix your eyes at every turn on the One who died, was buried and rose again. He alone has the power to set us free from the old ways and help us put on the new ones of love and respect in a marriage.
Ask for prayer support and accountability from within your church (James 5:16). Marriage counseling constitutes a form of spiritual warfare given the formidable foes, like our idols, that we seek to defeat. Such things give way to the fervent, righteous prayers of God’s people. Ask people to lay down intercessory prayer cover for you.
Persevere. On this note, he writes:

Most marriages get into trouble as a result of attitudes and habits that have developed over a long period of time, some of which preceded your wedding day. Since these problems took a long time to develop, they usually take a good deal of time and effort to resolve. Therefore, make a commitment to keep working as long as it takes to overcome problems that threaten your marriage, even if that means an extended season of counseling (p. 179).

Now that’s good counsel.

Dealing with Serious Threats to Our Peace

October 26, 2014October 26, 2014 / revheff / 4 Comments

I blew through the application section of this morning’s message. You can listen to the audio here.

I promised to post this portion of my manuscript on the blog for the convenience of anyone who wanted to pay closer attention.

I promise, I fulfill.

Warding off serious threats to peace in the church requires a decisive plan for their defeat – watching out for them, staying clear of them, being smart about them, and expecting the God of peace and the Lord of grace to help us fight them. Takeaways are plain. One, relish being part of a confessional church with Reformation roots. Your best friend to guard against error is an orthodox, articulation of sound doctrine. Two, embrace the stewardship of guarding the go0d deposit of the gospel. Three, expect error to hunt us to destroy our unity. Don’t be caught by surprise. Leaders and followers alike stay on the alert. This is why you don’t teach any class at OGC unless you are a member and have been appropriately vetted in terms of sound doctrine. Four, be decisive in dealing with error in the majors. We can’t afford to pussyfoot around with heresy in any form given the costs to our unity. Five, be careful what you read, watch on Christian TV, and to whom you listen to on the web. Be smart – wise in the good, innocent in the evil. Spend more time learning the truth than you do at all in dabbling in the deceptions. Six, rely on the God of peace and the Lord of grace to fight the battle against the arch deceiver. Pray, pray, pray. And, seven, preserve peace knowing you’ve been saved by the God of peace and are helped by the Lord of grace.

I look forward, Lord willing, to continuing the peacemaking theme next Sunday with Psalm 133 – Unity’s Song.

Why I Won’t Stay in the Woods

October 7, 2014 / revheff / Leave a comment

Before long, Lord willing, Nancy and I will return to our beloved refuge in Idaho. I make no bones about the fact that living in Florida leaves me cold. Or should I say hot. I’m no flat lander; I way prefer rugged peaks. So why stay put when paradise beckons?

Easy. I know the answer. But lately I was reminded of it in a more eloquent way than usual. It came in the form of one of the poems in the last neighborhood book club.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
BY ROBERT FROST

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

“But I have promises to keep.” Those words constrain me. They will not let me go.

Jesus said in Matt,. 5:37, “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.” Psalm 15:4 warns, “A righteous man swears to his own hurt and doesn’t change.” Paul declares in 1 Cor. 6:20, “You are not your own; you are bought with a price.” A man is known by his integrity demonstrated in kept commitments.

As much as I love the Pacific Northwest, all my obligations lie on the East Coast. Aging parents, surviving son, grandchildren – including newborn twins, and a flock to shepherd. Lovely, dark, and deep though the woods may be out west, God’s call back east trumps them all.

Does the prospect of evening snowy woods tempt you to ditch your responsibilities? Don’t even think about it. Stop by the occasional forest for sure. Take in the beauty. Enjoy the respite. But keep your promises and finish the miles to go before you sleep and hear words you will never regret from Matt. 25:23: “Well done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.”

Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight

September 29, 2014 / revheff / Leave a comment

Just finished my monthly neighborhood book club. My turn to host. My turn to facilitate. My idea what to read – 101 Great American Poems. The La Floresta book club had never traveled down this road before, poetry that is. I took a chance. I made the suggestion as much for my sake as anyone else’s. I have little patience for poetry. I have enough trouble taking time out of my busyness to ponder Scripture let alone pause over verse that makes me scratch my head.

The night went better than I thought it would. Among other things each of us shared a poem with which we connected. I learned a l0t about my neighbors. We laughed. We paused. We felt. We reflected. I think I will try to venture into this genre more often in the future for its various benefits. My choice to read? I learned, by the way, poetry is meant to be read aloud for a proper appreciation. I could have turned in numerous directions. It struck me how many poets, at least in this connection, wrote about death. I connected for obvious reasons.But this work by Vachel Lindsay (1879-1931) won the prize. Perhaps it was because I couldn’t sleep on Saturday night before a busy Sunday of ministry. I just identified. Occupational hazard.

Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight

(In Springfield, Illinois)

It is portentous, and a thing of state

That here at midnight, in our little town

A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,

Near the old court-house pacing up and down.

Or by his homestead, or in shadowed yards

He lingers where his children used to play,

Or through the market, on the well-worn stones

He stalks until the dawn-stars burn away.

A bronzed, lank man! His suit of ancient black,

A famous high top-hat and plain worn shawl

Make him the quaint great figure that men love,

The prairie-lawyer, master of us all.

He cannot sleep upon his hillside now.

He is among us:—as in times before!

And we who toss and lie awake for long

Breathe deep, and start, to see him pass the door.

His head is bowed. He thinks on men and kings.

Yea, when the sick world cries, how can he sleep?

Too many peasants fight, they know not why,

Too many homesteads in black terror weep.
The sins of all the war-lords burn his heart.

He sees the dreadnaughts scouring every main.
He carries on his shawl-wrapped shoulders now
The bitterness, the folly and the pain.
He cannot rest until a spirit-dawn
Shall come;—the shining hope of Europe free;
The league of sober folk, the Workers’ Earth,
Bringing long peace to Cornland, Alp and Sea.
It breaks his heart that kings must murder still,
That all his hours of travail here for men
Seem yet in vain. And who will bring white peace
That he may sleep upon his hill again?

Some days I hardly want even to be a pastor. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a president. Lord, have mercy on the Commander-in-Chief as well as the preacher.

ANYBODY WANT TO BUILD A PLAYGROUND?

September 28, 2014February 8, 2016 / revheff / 7 Comments

When I imagine how Josh, our son who passed away in January of this year, would greet the notion of Orlando Grace Church constructing a playground in his memory, I think this image, one of my favorite ways of remembering him, best captures the essence of things. At least I hope it does. Or maybe this one:

Either way, “The Joshua Place Playground,” a happy place for children for generations to come, Lord willing, gets assembled and constructed the weekend of Friday, November 14, and Saturday, November 15, of this year. So far we have seen over $21K come in towards this $25K project. We learned this past week that the playground company plans to donate the sign for the area! It will read:

The Joshua Place
“Be strong and courageous!”
Joshua 1:9

I don’t even want to tell you how much that little detail normally costs. Many thanks for the sister who went to bat for us on that one!

Have to admit, I swallowed hard last Monday in our initial planning meeting. The city has approved our site plan. The equipment gets ordered this week. BUT WE WILL NEED AN ARMY OF VOLUNTEERS COME NOVEMBER. I’m calling on the terrific people of OGC, Josh’s beloved coworkers from the restaurant service community, and anyone else, family and friends alike, who want to help on either or both for all or a portion of those two days, to let your intentions be known. All you have to do to sign up is respond to this post. Or, if you prefer, you can email me at revheff@gmail.com. I really, really, really need you to let me know if you are coming. We can’t afford to have too few volunteers (a minimum of thirty per day are required). But we can’t really afford to have too many as we don’t want folks just standing around with nothing to do. So please, take just a moment before leaving this page to respond. If you can’t come, but would like to donate some food and refreshments or to help out in any other way, that would be great to know too.

We will need your energy, your back, your tools, and your heart to get the job done. We will feed every stomach that reports for duty. If you have any questions about the project, one of our deacons is on point, but for those of you outside the OGC community, feel free to contact me and I will be happy to try and answer them. By the way, a proper dedication of the playground will be scheduled once the project is completed and the fence around it erected. More on that in the future.

May I say this to close? As Nancy and I continue to walk through the grieving process this challenging year, we are so grateful to the masses of folks who have added to our comfort in so many ways. Our huge thanks in advance for everyone who will help make the playground a reality. We anticipate this aspect of our journey to contribute to our ongoing healing in the most significant of ways. SDG!

Up Next from the Pulpit

September 6, 2014 / revheff / Leave a comment

With the Gospel of John in the rear view mirror, the question comes “What’s next at Orlando Grace?” In the short term, as I mentioned in last Sunday’s message (listen here), I will tackle a topical series called “The Peacemaking Church: Striving for Excellence in Preserving Unity in the Body of Christ.” We’ll look at passages that suggest the best church fight we will ever have is the one we never actually experience. I hope to kick things up a notch or two in the quest for a culture of peace at OGC.

Come the New Year I hope to plunge headlong into the book of Genesis for the next expository series. Now I know what some of people are thinking. If John with its twenty-one chapters took as long as it did, how in the world will he ever finish the fifty chapters of Genesis before he starts using a walker? Good question. Let me remind you that most of the first book of the Bible is narrative in nature. One can make much faster tracks in that genre than in didactic portions. Anyway, I plan to try to move at a quicker pace just as I did in my series from First Samuel back before John.

I would very much appreciate prayer for these preaching endeavors that God would give me favor in doing my best to present myself as a workman who does not need to be ashamed handling accurately the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15).

Help for Anxiety

September 4, 2014 / revheff / Leave a comment

After our worship service a few weeks ago, someone hit me with a pleading question. “PC, in one sentence, what has helped you most in dealing with anxiety?”

Have to admit it. I immediately dropped back ten and punted. “Can I ponder that for a bit and get back to you?” Then, I thought, wait a minute, I have an answer. I told her that since returning from my sabbatical I have been operating daily with a new motto in mind:

Expect nothing; enjoy everything.

I’m not sure anything has ever helped subdue my anxiety demons more effectively than this little phrase. Why expect nothing? Because I don’t deserve anything. Well, that’s not entirely true. This sinner deserves judgment. That’s why I often respond to the question, especially from strangers, “How are you?” with “Better than I deserve.” because it’s entirely true.

But back to the anxiety issue. The longer I live, the more Psalm 115:3 becomes my life verse. “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” I control very little in the big scheme of things. Keep the expectation bar set this low and you’re liable to avoid a lot of disappointment. God is in control. He will do what He will do. I remain on a need-to-know basis.

Why enjoy everything? Because God gives graciously. First Corinthians 4:7 also competes regularly for my new life verse. “What do you have that you did not receive?” Answer, nothing. Everything I experience daily – salvation, life, breath, health, family, vocation, food, drink, friends, housing, books, faithfulness, fruitfulness – the list could go on infinitely – comes to me as a gift from above (Jas. 1:17) for which I am immensely grateful when I consider the alternative.

Expect nothing; enjoy everything.

Take a dose of that every day and you likely won’t have to call me or any other pastor in the morning.

Another Conclusion That Wasn’t

August 17, 2014 / revheff / Leave a comment

No, I’m not planning to make a habit of this.

The member family meeting we called for after the service today caused me to trim some things.

As promised, here is the way I planned to land the plane had the runway been longer:

Let me close this message with these eight principles in mind with nine no-brainer steps of application:

One, get equipped to disciple. Get a copy of Trellis and the Vine and read it.

Two, use means. Grab some of the Randy Pope discipling plan packets and get busy. We’ve got a bunch of these for free at the office.

Three, become a member in your local church. Membership solidifies your commitment to be a discipler somewhere and gives you the ideal outlet for it.

Four, become a sanctified busybody. Determine to be the kind of believer that gets in somebody else’s face – IN LOVE! Someone paid our church the best compliment a while back. “I’ve never been in a church where the people are so involved in everybody else’s business.” And she didn’t mean gossip!

Five, take initiative. You have not because you ask not. Reach out to others; don’t wait for them to reach out to you.

Six, get help. Ask your elder or somebody to assist in matching you up with others. Don’t expect everyone to comply. Not everyone has the bandwidth for an ongoing relationship given their season in life. Some folks don’t want this, even though they claim to be followers of Jesus. Also, be a discipleship matchmaker without being asked. Look to connect people wherever you can.

Seven, keep on growing in your own walk by the Word and Spirit so you have something to offer to others.

Eight, train others you disciple to do the same things with others. Multiply yourself. Plan to attend one of the new Equipping Hour classes this fall starting September 7 WITH someone else.

And, nine, mediate daily on the gospel of grace that you might not live for yourself but for Him who died for you and therefore gladly spend and be spent for others (2 Cor. 5:14-15; 12:15).