Category Archives: People

Iron Sharpening Iron

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About ten years back, when I first arrived with my family in Indiana, there were a number of people that were hugely supportive of us right from the beginning. Among those people were Barb and Randy Bills.  They blessed us, fed us, loved us, and said or did more random nice things for us than anyone really had to.

As Horizon Central started, Randy led a men’s group.  We’d meet every Tuesday for prayer, fellowship and a short time in the Word.  His heart to love and serve God’s people was evident at that time. 

Then after a few years, one bittersweet day Randy announced that he “sensed the Lord was moving him on,” or something like that.  Pastors (like myself anyway) dislike those inevitable moments when quality people walk out the door, though certainly it made perfect sense.  Besides, he and his wife both still worked downtown, so it didn’t alter our friendship in the least. 

They committed to Horizon Christian Fellowship South.  He and his family became a vital part of that church.  They stuck it out with several others even as their fellowship remained pastor-less for the last year.  But now all that has changed.  After a good deal of soul searching, stress, and seeking God’s face, Randy has taken the plunge.  He is now the pastor of Horizon South. I sense that our fellowship and friendship will be sweeter as a result. 

God bless you Randy, and may those people continually see Jesus every time they look at you.

As iron sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
– Proverbs 27:17 (NKJV) 

Dull-Hearted Shepherds

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Only occasionally do people rise above the level of their leaders.  It happens now and then, to be sure, but not often.  This is especially true in the area of personal character.  Thus, lousy leaders produce pathetic people and together they share the unhappy effects of their common corruption.  This was the problem in the days of Jeremiah and it was the cause of great calamity.

For the shepherds have become dull-hearted,
And have not sought the Lord;
Therefore they shall not prosper,
And all their flocks shall be scattered.”
     – Jeremiah 10:21 (NKJV)

The remedy, of course, is that leaders must lead well.  They must lead with integrity, always setting a good example, and tending to the deepest needs of the people entrusted to them.  Simon Peter understood this and he offers the following counsel.

The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd* the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd** appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. – 1 Peter 5:1-4 (NKJV) ***

May all of us who in any way lead God’s people take the apostle’s advice and see the satisfying results multiplied in many hearts and lives.  

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For those who like to study words, I offer the following tidbits:
* Jesus used this verb form of shepherd when He said to Peter, “Feed My sheep,” in John 21:16
** The noun Shepherd is translated “pastor” in Ephesians 4:11.
*** This passage is one of two in the New Testament that bring the three terms shepherd (pastor), elder (presbyter) and overseer (bishop) together, placing them in the same context more or less as synonyms.  The other passage to do so is  in Acts 20; see verses 17 & 28.

God’s Plan for You

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Finding God’s perfect will for our lives is not an exact science.  Many people seem to constantly spin their wheels seeking “His Will”, all the while pursuing what amounts to a search for the Holy Grail or the Lost Ark of the Covenant.  In the meantime they are accomplishing very little, as anyone observing them can often see much more clearly than they can.  I know, because I’ve searched for this pot of gold myself, but never quite made it to the end of the rainbow. 

The message the Lord has for Jeremiah seems instructive:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” 
                                                     – Jeremiah 1:5 (NKJV)

God had made His plans for Jeremiah well in advance.  One day, however, He decided to reveal to him that special calling, that role this young priest was to play in the unfolding intentions of the Almighty.  There is no indication that Jeremiah was really seeking this.  In fact, He argues the point a little, implying that God’s ideas were all wrong. 

Here’s where we find a great lesson – visible in Scripture and frequently reinforced by our own experience:

We don’t discover the “Will of God” by directly pursuing it. 
He reveals it to us through daily submission to Him. 

Some days that will seems pretty ordinary: You get up, get to work, and dutifully fulfill your duties.  This is God’s will and you can rest in peaceful contentment with it.  At other times it’s more dramatic: The whole course of your life can be altered through a career change, relocation, a death, a birth or a marriage.  But each of those big things normally happen step-by-step, or through something you never, ever had the opportunity to control. 

A balanced, daily combination of the Bible, prayer, examining your own desires or circumstances, and a bit of godly counsel will usually do the job.  If your heart’s desire is truly to become and remain submitted to God’s desires, God’s will cannot remain elusive for very long.

Solomon and Effort

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King Solomon was very clearly a man who knew how to get things done.  It all started with the temple in Jerusalem.  His father David gathered most of the materials, but it was Solomon who oversaw the actual construction.  Then there was his own palace, along with more work in and around the city, the building of a powerful military, and his vast commercial enterprise empowered by a fleet of ships.  People came from all over just to hear his wisdom or receive his counsel.  He might easily have made a fortune as a consultant – well, if he weren’t already a king.  A man like Solomon should even have some solid advice for us to help in our endeavors – and he does.  We find it in Psalm 127:1-2:

Unless the Lord builds the house,
   They labor in vain who build it;
   Unless the Lord guards the city,
   The watchman stays awake in vain.

It is vain for you to rise up early,
    To sit up late,
    To eat the bread of sorrows;
    For so He gives His beloved sleep.
                         – Psalms 127:1-2 (NKJV)

Solomon is not advocating laziness, merely pointing us to the reality that anything we mere mortals do is subject to futility – if the Lord isn’t in it.  Take some time this day to ask God’s blessing upon your work.  We need His Holy Spirit’s empowering in all our efforts. We need His mercy, His grace and His guidance.  With His hand upon you, you will never “labor in vain.”

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. – 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV)