The Boy and the Bee

The boy ran up to the bee and said, "Move!"  The bee just sat and looked.

The bee flew up to the boy and said, "Move."  The boy ran away as fast as he could go.

May Reading List

• Blessed Hope - John F. Walvoord and Mal Couch
• Genesis Vol. 2: A New Beginning - James Montgomery Boice
• Excellence In Preaching - Simon Vibert
• Bonhoeffer on the Christian Life: From the Cross, For the World - Stephen J. Nichols
• Jesus the Son of God - D. A. Carson
• The Man Who Was Thursday - G. K. Chesterton
• Father Brown: The Essential Tales - G. K. Chesterton

April Reading List

1. Saint Patrick - Jonathan Rogers

2. Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity In Christ - John MacArthur

3. John Bunyan - Kevin Belmonte

4. A Third Testament - Malcolm Muggeridge

5. The Yellow Feather Mystery - Franklin W. Dixon

6. Genesis: Vol. 2 - J. Vernon McGee

From Old, Even From Everlasting

March Reading

1. The Serpent's Shadow - Rick Riordan
2. Living With Confidence In A Chaotic World - David Jeremiah
3. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
4. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
5. Choosing a Bible - Leland Ryken
6. 7 Men and the Secret of Their Greatness - Eric Metaxas
7. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
8. 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess - Jen Hatmaker

Pair of Sevens

I recently read two extraordinary books that I highly recommend.  What do they have in common?  Yes, of course, they are both books written to encourage and motivate Christians.  However, that's not all they have in common.  Interesting enough, they both have "Seven" in the title.

The first one I recommend is 7 Men and the Secret of Their Greatness by Eric Metaxas.  Many of you may recognize Metaxas as the author of Bonhoeffer, which I also highly recommend that you read if you haven't already.  Metaxas' humor, whit, and distinctively Christian-worldview perspective makes 7 Men a fascinating and fresh approach to seven great men whose examples we would do well to emulate today.  Of all the people that he could have written about, the author limited himself to these seven: George Washington, William Wilberforce, Eric Liddell, Jackie Robinson, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John Paul II, and Charles Colson.  One thing men seriously lack in our culture are good role models, and Metaxas has ventured out to try to reverse that trend.

The second book I'd like to mention is 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker.  Hatmaker's experiment involved seven months of seven identified areas of excess and seven simple choices to fight against those excesses.  The seven identified areas of excess are food, clothes, possessions, media, waste, spending, and stress.  Through the process, Hatmaker, in decluttering her life, experienced God in ways that she couldn't before because of all the "noise."  I found the book to be a delightful read.  In fact, Hatmaker had me laughing out loud several times.  More than that, though, I was led to identify and examine the excesses in my life and to come up with ways to knock them down.  I'd like to attempt my own 7 experiment soon!

Sheep Without a Shepherd

In the Gospel of Matthew we find these words:

"Seeing the people, [Jesus] felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.  Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.'"

I just returned from a trip to Montreal, Quebec, where I met with a few church planters to hear and observe their mission field, vision, and strategy for reaching the most unreached city in North America.  Montreal is 99.5% lost.  It is a spiritually dark place, and yet the light of Christ is beginning to shine in significant ways.  Although the task is overwhelming, the situation is not hopeless.  Jesus told us to pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send out workers to accomplish the mission, and that is just what I did.

Oratoire Saint Joseph overlooks Montreal from Mount Royal.  As I stood on the highest point that I could get to, I prayed, "Lord, the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are so few.  Please send your people here to reach this city for your glory.  Jesus, bring your light to this dark place."

I invite you to begin praying for Montreal as well.

• Pray that God would send church planters to Montreal and the surrounding areas.
• Pray that the Gospel will be demonstrated and magnified in the lives of the people.
• Pray that God would raise of people of peace within Montreal.
• Pray that God will continue to provide for the church planters and missionaries already there.
• Pray about how you might be involved with what God is doing in Montreal.

My hope and prayer is that one day Montreal will be so radically changed for the glory of God that they begin to reach and transform other nations with the power of the Holy Spirit and the light of the Gospel.

February Reading

1. Embracing the Ends of the Earth - Jim Richards

2. The Definitive Guitar Handbook - Rusty Cutchin

3. The Throne of Fire - Rick Riordan

4. The Source of My Strength - Charles F. Stanley

5. Radical Together - David Platt

GROWTH

Go to God in prayer daily.
Read God's Word daily.
Obey God, moment by moment.
Witness for Christ by your life and words.
Trust God for every detail of your life.
Holy Spirit--Allow God to control and empower your daily life.

"Grief and Grace"