Faith in Men

I'm not sure what I'm learning, but what I'm seeing is troubling.  In the last few weeks, I have had two men whom I would consider friends, men who have filled my pulpit, fall from their ministries.  I must say it has been very disturbing for me.  I considered them both to be better men, better pastors, better husbands and fathers than I.  I have often said, "That will never happen to me", when I see these things on tv; but now, these are men I know and respected and they have fallen.  I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about it.  I have found in the past that how I feel about it usually depends on their attitude towards their sin.  If they are willing to step down from ministry and repent then I usually can forgive.  But if they deny and go on as if nothing has happened, how I feel about them is much different.

Is this how God feels about our sin?  As long as we repent and confess, He is willing to forgive?  I believe it is.  How many sins are there in my life that I am denying and hiding and pretending don't exist?
1 John 1:8-10-If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5-And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. ²For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, ⁴and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Tozer on solitude

I wanted to use this space today to share some thoughts I read this morning from A.W. Tozer on prayer from an article called "Let's Cultivate Simplicity and Solitude".
Retire from the world each day to some private spot, even if it be only the bedroom. Stay in the secret place till the surrounding noises begin to fade out of your heart and a sense of God's presence envelops you. Deliberately tune out the unpleasant sounds and come out of your closet determined not to hear them. Listen for the inward Voice till you learn to recognize it. Stop trying to compete with others. Give yourself to God and then be what and who you are without regard to what others think. Reduce your interests to a few. Don't try to know what will be of no service to you. Avoid the digest type of mind--short bits of unrelated facts, cute stories and bright sayings. Learn to pray inwardly every moment. After a while you can do this even while you work. Practice candor, childlike honesty, humility. Pray for a single eye. Read less, but read more of what is important to your inner life. Never let your mind remain scattered for very long. Call home your roving thoughts. Gaze on Christ with the eyes of your soul. Practice spiritual concentration.

Thoughts on 30 Days of Prayer

Our church is now 10 days in to our "30 Days of Prayer" and I thought I should share some of my observations regarding my prayer life from that time.  The first thing I have noticed is that without deliberate intention my patterns will not change just by thinking or hoping they will.  (This is probably true of any habit.)  But I have also noticed an increased intent and expectation of prayer times.  Instead of something I "have" to do they become something that I "get" to do.  Instead of the rote recitation of a list it has become a time of fellowship, silence and sitting still long enough to hear what God might have to say. 

Last Sunday, in my Sunday school class, we discussed the miracles that God may be doing everyday that we don't notice.  Yesterday, Tanya and the kids went to Indianapolis and she called me about two hours after leaving and said that someone had hit her at an intersection and that the other driver didn't stop.  As it turns out, the reason that he didn't stop is because he didn't hit her.  Tanya is certain that she felt the car being "pushed" by something.  As she describes it, there was no way that he didn't hit her.  We finally decided that God had performed a miracle and "pushed" her car out of the way of the other car.
1 Chronicles 16:11-12

Seek the Lord and his strength;

seek his presence continually!

 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,

his miracles and the judgments he uttered.

Why Shiloh?

Why Shiloh?  Well... I spent some time trying to think of something profound to title this blog; something both witty and religious yet helpful and hopeful.  It seems that "Shiloh" is...a difficult word.. It has been interpreted both as a reference to the place Shiloh (although the city has no particular messianic function) and as a verb form meaning "until he comes to whom it belongs."

Whatever it means, in Scripture, it is a place of religious significance.  Many of Israel's important events (check them out!) happened there.  So while my posts may not all be of the religious variety, it is my hope that they may eventually be of religious significance to someone.

How often I will be able to post remains to be seen, but I hope that any who may read it will find what they are looking for.
Shiloh