Have you ever taken a major risk? Left your comfort zone? I’m
sure you have. The question is, “Who or what motivated you?”
We all know the age old story of the dad and child at the
swimming pool: Dad is in the water with his arms outstretched beckoning his son
or daughter to jump into his arms. I’m sure many have experienced this timeless
event. My three daughters could share memories…especially the times that
included me catching them at the bottom of a water slide. In my reference to
this illustration, the pool is the world around us with all of its waves and
uncertainties from the viewpoint of a less than average swimmer. The dad
represents our Heavenly Father who loves us and has nothing but His best in
mind for His children.
Has God, with arms outstretched,
invited you to jump? Is He inviting you to jump into His pool of opportunity
now? God specializes in leading us through the scope of His Word and the
guidance of the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t use gimmicks, trickery, nor does He
lead us by a whim. He leads us from the character qualities of wisdom, assurance, and hope.
When we seek after God’s will in
our lives, we learn that He allows the situations of today to prepare us for
tomorrow. I have come to believe there is a reason for everything. Our God is
not absent-minded nor does He frequently change our direction as one without a
plan. He is not indecisive nor is He tentative in His decision-making.
June 1, 2014 was a significant day
for my family, in my personal life, and the ministry of Christian Center Church
in Davenport, IA (where I pastored from 1994 to 2014). As you may have read in
earlier blog posts, we embarked on a pastoral Sabbatical to take time up the
mountain to pray and seek the Lord for His direction at this point and time in
our lives. God confirmed many things within our hearts; He has also opened so many
doors. During this past year, the Lord has demonstrated His faithfulness to the
church and to us in ways too numerous to count. God set many things in order
both in Iowa and in Tennessee for His plan to come to fruition. There are so
many instances where Tracey and I have had to look one another in the eye and
say, “There is no doubt… this is God’s handiwork!”
June 1, 2015 is another significant
day for my family, in my life, and the ministry to which I am called. We’re
jumping into the outstretched arms of our Heavenly Father yet again. Not
because we are putting Him to the test, it’s because He has beckoned us to do
so. We’re jumping by His invitation. In the story of the dad and the child in
the swimming pool, at first it seems the dad is usually required to invite the
child to jump into his arms repetitively in order to help overcome fear and
resistance and to convince him or her that it will be ok. However, once the
child experiences the safety of landing in dad’s arms, it reaches a point where
the child initiates the jump…repetitively. Why? Because there is great joy in a
genuine father/son father/daughter relationship. This is true in the Christian
life as well. God loves it when we become this excited to do His work,
especially when there are great risks involved from our perspective. Generally,
when God invites us to do something, there is a bold step of faith connected
with it. He beckons us in a variety of ways, “Follow Me”, “Come unto Me”, “He
who has ears to hear”, “Be strong and courageous”, “Trust in the Lord with all
your heart”, “Go into all the world”, these are just a few of many examples. On
a personal note, as we fall into the arms of our Father placing our lives and
ministry completely in His hands, we are seeking Him to provide all that is
needed to sustain Shepherd’s Fortress as a full-time ministry to pastors,
pastors’ wives, and their sons and daughters. We trust He will continue to
quicken people, through the Holy Spirit, to partner with us from places near
and far. God is our Source and we are confident that He will abundantly bless
all who come alongside this ministry.
In most everything in life you will
hear someone say, “Well, it’s sink or swim.” From a Biblical point of view I
see it as either, “I must fix my eyes on Jesus” or I can “focus my eyes upon
the storms and the waves that surround me.” The choice is ours to make. We
choose to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus every day…every moment in His strength. “Choose
for yourselves this day whom you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will
serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15
In the natural, when we enter a new
season, we tend to focus on what we have left behind. While we are thankful for
every person, every joy and blessing, and every experience that taught us, I
believe Scripture teaches us to focus on Whom we are following more than
anything else. We have been asked countless times, “What made you come to
Tennessee?” We don’t mind being asked. Our sincere answer is, “The Lord truly
led us here.” Through much prayer, God has settled something very important
within both Tracey’s and my heart. The focus isn’t that we left Iowa; the focus
is: “We’re following Jesus.”
In Mark 1:16-20 we read the story
of how James and John left their father Zebedee, a family of fishermen, to
follow Jesus. They didn’t leave their dad all alone; verse 20 confirms there
were hired servants in the boat to help him in their absence. Jesus sums it up
this way in Mark 10:29-30, “Jesus said, ‘Truly I say to you, there is no one
who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or
farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a
hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to
come, eternal life.’”
We are genuinely thankful for the
promises of God found in the Bible! This is the foundation of our lives, the
anchor of our soul.
Many blessings to
you and your family!
Our hearts are filled with
gratitude for each person who has committed to pray for us. We would ask the
following favor, when you pray for us, please pray for Christ-centered pastors,
their wives, and their sons and daughters all around the world. Thank you!
Let us pray for you! If God is
beckoning you to “jump” into His arms in some way, please leave a comment
below. You may also write, email, or call us and we will add you to our Prayer
List.
Here is our contact information:
Shepherd’s Fortress Ministries
P.O. Box 104
Brush Creek, TN 38547-0104
P.O. Box 104
Brush Creek, TN 38547-0104
Phone: 615-489-3676
Email: shepherdsfortress@gmail.com
Email: shepherdsfortress@gmail.com
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