“Wait Patiently”

This past weekend I had the honor of leading a memorial service for a man named John Kaufman. John was deeply loved by his family and friends and left quite a legacy for those who had the pleasure of knowing him.

For the last nine years of his life, John suffered from a disease called frontotemporal dementia. Even though FTD slowly limited him physically, John’s heart and love of life will always be remembered.

The night before his passing his wife Sharon wrote “Wait Patently” and has allowed me to share this with you. I have read this a number of times and it always reminds me of just how precious this life really is. Enjoy this reading and John; I look forward to playing tennis with you one day in eternity.

God Bless,

Mike

“Wait Patiently”

by

Sharon Kaufman

Wait Patiently, My Love,

it is not yet time for me to go.

I know it has been hard to watch me suffer,

and you’d rather release me than to think

of the agony I am experiencing.

This dying process is part of life.

It hasn’t just begun in the past several days;

it’s been going on since the day I was born; however,

you are so much more aware now because

these days are the final ones.

Wait Patiently, My Love,

it is not yet time for me to go.

There is much preparation going on

that we don’t see.

My body is slowly turning out the lights,

one area at a time,

but my spirit is building in strength.

There is preparation going on in the heavenlies also.

We cannot see it but my spirit says it is so.

They are preparing a place for me, and

just as with building our home, they are working

on the finishing touches.

Wait Patiently, My Love,

it is not yet time for me to go.

I await a visit from the Author and Perfector of us all.

When I was born, He breathed the breath of life into me;

when He comes for me now, I will exhale

my spirit and finally be free.

Wait Patiently, My Love,

It is not yet time for me to go.

It is the third watch and dawn will come shortly.

Candid Conversations

Here are some great thoughts I have been processing this week. They come from Achieving Success at Work and Life one Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott.

· Organizations succeed or fail one conversation at a time.

· Organizations sub optimize because people don’t say what the are really thinking.

· Effective leaders are less concerned with how positive or comfortable the conversation is and more concerned with how honest it is.

· Make each conversation as real as possible.

· Real conversation can be uncomfortable however the only thing to fear more than a real conversation is a unreal one.

· Even if it is uncomfortable, most people want to hear the truth.

· Leaders must set the tone and climate for their teams to identify and discuss the real obstacles in their path.

· The person who can most accurately describe reality without laying blame will emerge the leader.

· Deliver the message without the load.

Finding Hope: Part 3

There is and incredible relief that comes when one understands that we as individuals don’t have to earn the love or attention of God.

It is in this relief that we can often find strength in the midst of trials and hope for both today and eternity.

However, this hope is not something that we are to hold on too for ourselves, but rather is given to us so that we may share it with others.

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul contrasts the glory of both the old and new covenant: the Law of the old covenant and the ministry of the Spirit in the new.

Paul writes, “If what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.”

Paul continues and says that we are not to live like Moses, who hid his face when it was reflecting God’s glory, but rather we are to live in such a way that reflects the glory of God as we are being transformed into His likeness daily.

And we are able to do this because untimely of the hope that we have in Jesus.

Read through 2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Ponder these questions:

• According to 2 Corinthians 3:12. In what way are we called to be bold?
• How can we better reflect the Lord’s glory as a group? As an individual?
• How can we continue to be transformed into his likeness?

Prayer

• Confess the areas of your life where you have not reflected the Glory of God. Ask for forgiveness.
• Ask God to transform a specific area of your life that needs to be changed.
• Ask God to reveal a person this week that you can share the hope of Christ with. A person with whom you can reflect the glory of God.

Finding Hope: Part 2

Many people have experienced moments in life, when in the midst turmoil, they have slowed down their hearts and minds in order to find hope.

But hope is not just for moments of pain and struggle, but can also be an ever-present source of strength in our lives through a relationship with Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Romans Chapter 5 says:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

In this passage, the apostle Paul reminds us that our source of hope is not found in anything that we have done. It is not in our good works, not in our intellect or our understanding but rather solely can be found in the work of Jesus.

I love how Paul says this, “While were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”

This is a pretty radical thought when you think about it. In every other relationship we work to become worthy of attention or affection.

Think about the time that you started dating your wife or special someone. It is during this time that I have seen men do the funniest things to win the heart of the woman they love.

The same thing is true in a job interview. It is in these situations that we do everything we can to impress the people that are interviewing us.

We clean-up, we put on our best clothes and create lists of all our professional accomplishments and trainings. We then give it to the person we want to impress and try to convince them that we are worthy of being part of their team.

Scripture says that our relationship with Christ is much different than this.

Paul says while we were still sinners, while we were powerless to impress the creator of the universe, He loved us so much that he gave up everything for us, even His life.

Paul says because of this, we have hope. Hope not in ourselves, but rather hope in God and what He will do in and through our lives today.

Maybe take a couple of minutes and share of a time when you tried to earn the affections or attention of someone else. Many of us have done some pretty funny things to earn the attention of others.

Then take some time to ponder the following questions:

• Read Romans 5:1-8
• How does this understanding of Christ’s love for us give us hope?
• When has someone done something for you when you did not deserve it? How did you react?
• What is the role of the Holy Spirit in this passage?
• Where is our hope placed in this passage?

Finding Hope: Part 1

It is often in the moments of great hardship, that we realize that our hope can only be found in God.

You see many of us, spend much of our lives trying to acquire things and relationships that we believe will give us a since of control or normality.

We construct plans and dreams that give us a since security and a future, and when these things are taken away, it is often in these moments that we experience hardship or even a loss of hope.

But I believe that it is in these moments hardship, those moments when our plans begin to unravel, that we begin to see things as the really are.

Because it is in these moments, that we are reminded that we are ultimately not in control and it is in these moments that we are literally forced to place our hope again in God.

The Psalmist knew this well when he wrote Psalm 130:

“Out of the depths I cry to you O lord. O lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.”

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in His word I put my hope.”

This thought continues on in Psalm 131 where David writes:

“My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things to wonderful for me.”

“But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.”

In these chapters we see that it is often in the moments of hardship, that we are reminded that our hope ultimately lies in God.

I love the picture that David gives in Psalm 131 when he is done wrestling and he quiets his soul.

He likens his soul to a weaned child.

I have two little girls and to me those are some of the most precious moments in life, when I hold them child as the drift off into sleep after a bottle of milk.

There is no greater image of contentment in my life. No greater image of peace.

Take a few moments to read through Psalms 130 and 131 and ponder the following questions.

• When was the last time in your life that you were reminded that you were not ultimately in control?
• How did you react?
• Think about moment in your Life when you had to wait on the Lord like in Psalm 130?
• What happened?
• Are you still waiting?
• When is the last time you quieted your soul?
• Describe the experience.

Living a Thicker Gospel

Today I am participating in the Global Connections Leadership Community with Leadership Network in Dallas.

Eric Swanson opened up today’s gathering with a challenge to live a thicker gospel. In this session Eric stated that one of the challenges for the church today is that we have settled for conversion rather than transformation.

Many of you are familiar with the bridge illustration of spiritual transformation. In this illustration Eric has added two more levels of social and economic transformation as well.

Take a moment of look at this model. How does your faith impact your social and economic word? How thick is your Gospel?

The Search for Hope: Part 2

If we live long enough, all of us will experience seasons when hope seems lost. But it is also in the complexity of life, that we experience great moments when it seems like we are full or overflowing with hope as well.

Many times these moments of hope are found in the circumstances of life. Like the birth of a child, a job promotion, even a well-timed vacation.

But for some of us, the source of our hope is found in something much deeper than the events of our day. It is found in our relationship with God.

You see it is in this condition that many of us live:

Balancing the ups and downs or our daily lives, those moments when we gain and loose hope, with the steady constant reminder that ultimately our hope is found in God.

The author of Hebrews in knew this well. And in chapter 11 he writes these words:

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

In the following verses we get an actual list of those who have lived with this kind of hope in their lives.

Many have called this section the “Spiritual Hall of Fame,” as many of the great leaders of the Old Testament are commended for living in the hope of eternity.

But that is what faith is all about. It is living in a way that demonstrates the hope that you have in Jesus.

Paul knew our struggle well, the struggle between placing our hope in the things of this world and the hope of eternity when wrote these words in Second Corinthians.

“Therefore we do not loose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

For the next few moments take some time to ponder the tension that we all experience between finding our hope in the things of today and the things of eternity.

If you are like me you probably find yourself toggling back and forth between these two worlds.

Look at Hebrews Chapter 11. Notice all the incredible things that people like you and me were able to be a part of when they placed their hope in God.

Look at 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18. Think about how you might fix your eyes on that which is eternal.

Read Hebrews 11:1

· What is the difference between this Hope and the Hope of Job? (See last post) Where is this hope placed?

· Look through Hebrews 11:4-38. What are some of the amazing things the ancients did with this hope?

· Have you even witnessed this “Hope” in action in your life? Describe?

Read 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

• Have you ever experienced the feeling of “outwardly wasting way” while “inwardly being renewed?” When?
• How can we fix our eyes on the things that are eternal?