Simplify - Everyone Dreams

Psalm 27

There are all kinds of devotional materials on the market. I want to base my thoughts on simply spending time with the Lord and listening. Sometimes we tend to complicate things. Today, you and I can gaze upon the beauty of God. I like David's approach to devotion, it was very simple.

“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4).

Interestingly, God had actually invited David to do this very thing. “My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, LORD, I will seek.” (Psalm 27:8). This has to be at the core of why God referred to David as a "man after His own heart." The very thing God wanted from David was the very thing David desperately wanted to do…to behold the beauty of his God. Just listen to David's words...

The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence. I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.- Psalm 27

Even in the face of the "fear of the unknown," David was confident. I think David had the ability to look deeper into what God could do “…to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD…”

Now that is simple and profound.

We look, all to often at times, only at the surface of our life experiences and see just that - the surface. It doesn't take much for us to lose focus on the great possibilities God might be orchastrating behind the scenes.

Recently, my family went through the pains of packing boxes, saying goodbyes, making decisions, preparing to drive across the flatlands of Kansas back to my hometown in Oklahoma. We saw most of our worldly possessions boxed up and disappear into the control of box trucks and storage. Then we had to unpack a few things and settle temporarily in my Dad's home, make more decisions, and settling, as much as possible, in that place before it felt anything like home. In all that disruption — when there was no rhythm and nothing was normal — I found myself praying that we would somehow stop to behold the Lord’s beauty and to see His beauty in the very things He was doing that seemed to unsettle our lives.

I can draw my conclusions by only looking at the surface or I can dream about what God may be doing. Everyone has dreams of becoming or being something great in this life. I believe dreams comes true in the simple event of looking and thinking about the possibilities of what God may be doing.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13

Simply gaze into the face of my God and peer into His dreams for you. This is where dreams can truly come true.

Moving...

Most of you know that Chris's mom, Sondra, passed away last November following a stroke. For the past year, it has been on our hearts to move back to the NW Arkansas/ NE Oklahoma area to be closer to his Dad and help him as he learns to live without Mom.We asked God to reveal it to us when Riverlawn was stable and He was ready for us to move. So, we are finally going. We will be moving in mid-November. The details are still quite sketchy at this point. We don’t know exactly what our employment will be or where we will live, but God does and we are not worried. We are confident this is God leading us. We do, however, covet your prayers on this journey of blind faith. We need to stress to you how we believe that the ONLY reason we feel we can now go, is because Riverlawn is stable. She has good leadership in Jeff and the Elders. There is not even a hint of frustration or anger between the leadership and I over anything. It is very hard to think about not being a part of the amazing future God has prepared for Riverlawn.

We want to express that even though we are excited about moving, there is also a profound sadness over leaving Riverlawn, a church that we love and have poured our hearts into over the past 5 years. We love you and look forward to hearing how God moves in the future at Riverlawn.

They Dream

Faithful pastors who remain in ministry, do so because of a deeply held passion and conviction of God’s call on their lives. At the end of the day, week, month, year, lifetime – for a faithful pastor, it really doesn’t matter how much money they make, how well known they are.
What matters is knowing that their life was spent doing what God called them to do.

Yet, many struggle.
They are tired.
They are discouraged.
They’ve given up.

Yet, most can’t imagine doing anything else. Ministry has become a part of the fabric of their lives.

Ministers don’t enter ministry with a goal of being burned out someday. They never planned to be depressed or discouraged, but hey that's part of life. Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world."

Pastors dream of winning many people to Christ. They dream of having the right words to say to a grieving family. They dream of sharing the highs and lows of life with the members of their congregation. They dream. Not just their own dreams, but the dreams the Father has given them. They dream with their Elders, staff and congregation. Sometimes they do as much as they can to help those who dream see their dreams come to fruition. Pastors of all kinds are destined to dream.

Rebecca and I have had a dream for twelve years. The dream of helping Christian leaders remain in the trenches of ministry. The dream has been fostered by places like, Cookson Hills Christian Ministries in KS, Oklahoma to places like The Blessings Ranch in Colorado. For some reason God keeps Rebecca and I returning to the idea of a retreat center. It hasn't taken off as quick as we wished, but God's timing is better. After I finished my MACM program at Friends University, I knew God was calling me to be a different kind of youth pastor. He is calling me to use the principles I've learned in Spiritual Formation and Direction in the youth ministry I currently serve in and to help all Christians come to know how deep the love of God runs in them.

The purpose of FreshWater Ministries is to bring encouragement, renewal, refreshment, and restoration to the hearts of Christian leaders.