Guest - Dusty Takle

Validation

We all need it.  We all want it.  Some of us need it more than others.  Others of us look for it in incessantly in other people.

It’s called validation.

I had the opportunity to speak at my father’s church in Georgia on Mother’s Day.  After I finished, I found myself needing to hear that I did a good job.  I asked my Dad, “Did you get any feedback?  Any response?”

What was I looking for?  Validation.

We all love the attaboys and our egos being a little inflated…..for the Kingdom, of course.  Ahem.  But, at what point in our ministry do we minister to people for the sake of the Kingdom alone?  And, at what point do we realize that the only person who can truly validate us is Jesus Christ?

If we are serving in ministry or otherwise, Jesus Christ has already validated us.  If we never hear another “Amazing message!” or “Great job!” again, can we accept God’s validation and stop searching for man’s?  When do we say it’s not about me?  Not even the tiniest part is about me.  It’s about the Kingdom.  I must decrease.  He must increase.  We don’t need any one else to tell us who we are.  Pastor Craig has said often, “You are not who people say you are.  You are who God says you are.”

We are His children called according to His purpose.

I think that’s validation enough.

Do you struggle with needing validation from others?

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Guest - Scott Rodgers

Help. I’m broken and I can’t get up.

‘Broken by God’—that’s a statement I’m hearing a lot lately.  What does it mean to be broken by God? I’m not so sure that it’s something that God does as much as it is a place we find ourselves in.

I think there are two primary places of brokenness.  First, brokenness can be the result of sin.  We’ve messed everything up and now, life is just broken.  Second, brokenness can be the result of surrender.  We’ve submitted ourselves to the purposes of God so much that we are experiencing pain; the pain of selflessness, submission, being misunderstood, etc.

It’s critical we don’t confuse the two. We need to stop saying, “God is breaking me,” when we’re really just breaking ourselves by repeating destructive, sinful behavior.  And, if you’re experiencing brokenness as the result of surrender, lean into it; you’re going through a process of transformation.

Help.  I’m broken and I can’t get up. I’m flat on my back.  My sin is great. Lord, please forgive me and restore me.

Help.  I’m broken and I can’t get up.  I’m on my knees.  My surrender is great. Lord, please give me the strength to stay the course.

What are your thoughts or experiences with this topic of brokenness?

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Guest - Andrew Statezny

Please Pray

I’d like to ask you to pray specifically for three of the Network churches of LifeChurch.tv.

Network began several years ago when a few churches regularly started using the video messages available for free at LifeChurch.tv OPEN. Each week, they used Craig’s talks on video to fill the role of teaching pastor. Since that time, the LifeChurch.tv family of Network churches has grown to include about 75 churches, and new ones are added each week.

Here are three Network churches you can pray for this weekend:

1. Brandon Duff, pastor of Church at the Falls in Canada, has been in and out of the hospital this week with intestinal issues.
2. Life Church of Muskogee, OK has their official launch this weekend.  Pray for Eric Allen and his team as their steps of faith now become reality.
3. Ian Altman and Café Church in Lithgow, Australia are celebrating a record attendance at their last baptism experience.  Pray they continue to see more and more growth.

What can the Swerve family pray with you about this weekend?

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Guest - Brian Kruckenberg

Enough talk…what are you going to do about it?

You see the problem or issue or opportunity or challenge. You’ve talked about it with your friends. Perhaps, if this issue concerns what others are—or are not—doing, you’ve gone over the line and gossiped about it. (I know that never happens.) The question is, “what are you going to do about it?” Or, if you are talking to yourself like I am right now, “What am ¬I going to do about it?” If the answer is “nothing,” then why even talk about it? Why do we waste our time talking about something that we have no intention of making better when there’s plenty in our lives that needs our attention? There are people around us who need our help and there are plenty of opportunities for us to contribute to our families, co-workers, churches, clubs, etc.

Yet, many of us, will just sit and complain about something…and never lift a finger to change it. We are all messed up so it is no wonder we spend so much of our lives focused on things that don’t amount to much at all. I pray that God gives me the vision to spend my time helping others meet their challenges. I pray that my focus is on things I can actually influence for good and that I DO actually influence that situation for good.

Talking is good if it pushes your life or the lives of those around you forward. But, the real question is “what are you talking about doing?”

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Guest - Amanda Hyden

Like a Fire

Have you ever hung out with someone so much that you start to talk like them? Do you catch yourself making gestures like your best friend? Or saying something JUST LIKE your co-worker? I do this a lot actually. And it weirds me out every single time… that just being around someone can change me, change the way I talk and the way I move!

What about God’s Word? There are those times in life when I find myself speaking the words of the Bible constantly. When I pray, my prayers are covered with His Word. When I talk to my friend, I happen to say the very words of Jesus. My thoughts in my head turn to something I read that morning. These times come when I am poring over His Word daily. When instead of switching on the TV, all I want to do is read more of it. Isn’t it amazing how alive and active His Word is when we choose to fill ourselves with it? It just pours out. It becomes who we are, how we talk and what we do.

Jeremiah 20:9 “…his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”

How has God’s Word been alive and active in you today? Are you so filled with it that is pours out of you?

5 comments

Guest - Dusty Takle

Dusty Takle and her family are faithful partners at LC. She writes…

Blurred Vision

I can remember taking my six-year-old to school one day when he noticed how small the trees were around us.  We had just spent time in Georgia where the trees are tall, lush, and plentiful.  This fact can, often times, make me critical of the scarce vegetation in Oklahoma.

“The trees aren’t like that here,” I told him.

“But they’re growing,” he said.

His response stayed with me the rest of the day.

But, they’re growing.

I grew up in ministry.  I’ve seen times in ministry where things just seemed to flourish.  Financial provision was plentiful.  Growth was evident.  If you’re functioning in ministry every day, you know how amazing these times are.  But, then there are times when ministry seems like it’s an uphill climb at every level.  It’s in those times that we have to trust more.  And, it becomes so easy to see where God has us with a critical eye.  Or, with blurred vision.

How often we look at situations – specifically people – with a critical eye.  When we have blurred vision, we usually try to focus on both worldly and heavenly values.  Matthew 6:22-23 says, “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light.  But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!”

Our critical eyes can allow darkness to fill our body.  I don’t think any of us want blurred vision.  It is so important in both life and ministry to not only trust where God has us, but also pray that He gives us eyes to see His hand in it.

And, when it comes to people, I want to be able to see them with His eyes.  When I do, I just might see that they are growing.

How do you overcome blurred vision in your life or ministry?

12 comments

Guest - Amanda Hyden

Amanda is on our Content Development Team. Here’s what she said…

Once you say it, you believe it

I’ve heard so many people recently giving “I hope to” or “I wish I could” or “I’m going to try to” statements. I was talking to a friend the other day and she mentioned that she “hoped” to not have sex with her future husband before they get married. Let’s be honest, she’s already made her decision. Sometimes that’s just easier than committing… I hope to stop looking at pornography, I’m going to try to lose weight, I wish I could be bold enough to tell them how I feel about their actions… I was up front with my friend and told her that she more than likely will falter in her “hope” to not have sex before marriage because she didn’t actually believe what she was saying yet.

Switch it around in your head. Let’s be BOLD. Let’s make the decision and stand strong. You’ve got to say it with confidence though… I will not have those inappropriate conversations anymore. I will not make another purchase on my credit card. I’m going to spend time in the Word everyday… As you speak it out, you will believe it and your conviction and passion will grow. But don’t do it alone, you’ve got to tap into God’s strength to make it happen.

13 comments

Guest - Andrew Statezny

Andrew’s our Pastor of Parntership Exploration. He said…

Optimism and Preparation – Parenting a Teen

A few days ago I posted on my Facebook page and on Twitter that my oldest son, Sam, just turned 13.  There were a couple of well wishers but more than anything there were bunches of warnings as to how bad it’s going to be.  Reading the responses I think I need to prepare a new will, take a course in criminal justice, build a fallout shelter and pay a counselor in advance for the inevitable time I’m going to spend in their office.   He is not a perfect son just like I am not a perfect father; but my outlook is a bit more optimistic than all the pessimists (I mean well-wishers).

I don’t know everything about raising a teenager (I was a youth pastor for 10 years, but that’s not the same thing).  So here are the things that I’m doing to prepare myself:

1. There are several people that believe in me and my family.  I’ve introduced my son to them as my role models and encourage him to do the same.

2. Amy and I have great examples on both sides of our family and have strong relationships with our parents still today.

3. We have a healthy view that God’s Word is the best compass point for parental direction.

What else will we need to know to not just make it through these next several years but excel through them?  What is the best advice you’ve ever heard about parenting a teenager in 140 characters or less?

28 comments