Psalm 76

11 Make vows to the LORD your God, and keep them.
Let everyone bring tribute to the Awesome One.

12 For he breaks the pride of princes,
and the kings of the earth fear him. – NLT

A prayer from my Journal, many years ago:

“Lord, I never want to forget that You are powerful and dreadful and greatly to be feared.

I don’t want to forget Who it is with whom I am dealing.

I don’t want to take Your purposes and will flippantly or lightly – personally, or with how You choose to build Your church.

I ask for wisdom, skill and confidence in You.

May I always  and only fear

You.”

If you do not understand how holy fear can exist alongside love and devotion to the Living God, it is very likely that you do not know Him at all.

Do not be afraid to fear Him.

Be afraid if you do not.

It isn’t that Jesus loves us “just the way we are.” It’s that He loves us in spite of the way we are.

He meets us where we are, but He doesn’t want us to stay the way we are.

He wants far more for us than that.

He wants us to become more

and more

like Him.

Okay, so here’s the update.

After hours and hours of prayer, seeking, exploring, working through scenarios, considering the “pros and cons,” then “rinsing and repeating” for about two years, now – Leona and I have finally said, “Yes” to God’s call to plant a church in the Denver, Colorado area.

As of today, we’re looking at a launch date of fall 2014 or spring 2015.

No, we do not yet have a name for the church.

We have only a “Call” and a “Yes.”

As you can imagine, more details will be coming soon…

Image via VintagePosterCollection.com

(Image via Denver Property Management)

One of the places that continues to come up when Leona and I talk about our next steps is Denver, Colorado.

We’re not fully sure why. Neither of us has ever really been there. Leona is from Anchorage, Alaska and I’m from Shreveport, Louisiana. Denver is sort of between those two and has some aspects that we both can relate to but I don’t think that’s it.

I must confess that Denver has been frustrating for me. We had an opportunity to make a move to Denver about a year and a half ago, but it fell through. It was bad timing and things just never really came together.

But since that time, it keeps coming up and frankly, it’s bugging me.  So this morning, after praying about it, we decided that we need to put it to rest, rule it out or explore it further. So that’s what we’re doing.

Leona and I are heading to Denver this Thursday, July 9th, 2013, for a quick, three to four day adventure of exploration, prayer and clarity.

I don’t know if God wants us to plant a church there. I don’t know if God wants me to pastor an existing church there. I don’t know if God just wants Leona and I to get away for a few days in a new location to clear our heads. But we are pretty sure that God wants us to take this trip.

In fact, it’s kind of amazing how He has opened several doors to suddenly make this trip possible, including free housing for our stay by some friends we know who live in Aurora (a suburb of Denver).  Come to think of it, it’s kind of crazy how fast this trip has come together!

So Here’s how you can pray for us:

* Pray for our safety on the trip – particularly that we have no issues with our car. (It’s in pretty good shape, but it’s an older car)

* Pray that we see and hear what God wants us to see and hear and that we come home with great clarity for our next steps, wherever those may be.

If you live in the Denver Metro area:

We’d love to connect with you while we’re there! Drop me a line at JohnnyLeckie@gmail.com and we’ll work out the details. We also hope to be at The Edge Church on Sunday morning, so we may also be able to connect there.

There are actually a few other possibilities we have rolling around, and I’ll share those and updates from this trip in the next post…

The first is here.  The second is here. The third is here. The fourth is here.

During our time on “The Daniel Fast” this past fall, my wife, Leona and I sensed God giving us five “general impressions” that we are now working out with specific, measurable targets.

These targets have been  simple, small steps that are obvious in their purpose but profound in their implementation.

We’ve held the 5th and final of these “close to the vest” as we’ve prayed, sought, wrestled and researched what it would mean for us.  With the last of our kids heading off to college, the big blue sky in front of us and the blessing of fairly good health, we’re now just throwing it out there and sharing it with all of you who have been following along.

Here’s the fifth:

 5. General Impression: A call to mission – Reflect God’s heart and share Christ with a lost world.

There’s only one basic target for this one:  Start and/or lead in a life giving, needs meeting, mission-minded, Christ honoring Church. 

I particularly sensed God confirming this in my heart recently through a conversation with a missionary friend of mine but Leona and I have both sensed it in many other ways over the past year.

Our recent pause in ministry has allowed us to learn so much about ourselves, our heart and our calling and we know that we will not be fulfilled or satisfied until we’ve fully responded to this call, wherever it leads us.

So now, the real exploring and mapping begins.

We basically know the “what,” so now we’re clarifying the “where.” I’ll share one of the possibilities that we are exploring regarding the “where” in the very next post…

Don’t let it play out like this…

Me: Oh God, it is all about You! Your glory! Your ….Centrality!

God: Go and make Disicples.

Me: Yes, yes. Disciples we are! And it’s all about You!

God: That’s great. Now go and make disciples.

Me: We won’t defile ourselves, oh Lord!

God: Yes, stay pure. Be in it, not of it, but go and make disciples.

Me: None of that “watering it down” business for us! Just pure, thick Gospel up in here! It’s all about You!

God: And I’m telling you to go make disciples.

Me: You! You! You!

God: You’re not listening.

Me: To the old wicked world we say, “It’s all about God, God, God! Take it or leave it!”

God: Now you sound like Jonah.

Me: You, You, You!

God: I care about them, them, them.

Me: Sing with me, how Great… is our God…

God: Singing me a song is not making me “Supreme” in your life. To obey is better than sacrifice.

Me: But it’s a “You” song…

God: Let’s talk about you, for a minute.

Me: We won’t be man-centered, O God! It’s all about You!

God: If you won’t do what I tell you to do, then it’s really all about you.

Yes, it has actually come to this. I’m writing about writing…

When I was in college, I worked in a library and often had to do “shelf reading.” This is when you literally go along a shelf of books or periodicals and make sure that they are all in the proper order, rearranging them as necessary.

Well, one night I was shelf-reading the bound, LIFE magazines.  And by “bound,” I mean, “a couple of year’s worth of giant, LIFE magazines, bound together as a hardback book, heavier than most old dictionaries.”

I was in the process of rearranging a few of these bad boys on the top shelf when they began to slide, toppling the ones next to them in a massive, avalanche-inducing “domino effect.” Suddenly, and despite my best efforts, it was raining boulders of bound, hardback, LIFE magazines all over my head and shoulders.

Seriously, it was like a cartoon. “Ow! What the -! Ooh! Ow!” Words were falling and they were heavy. I had bruises.

As I looked at the pile of rocks – I mean books – that I was standing in up to my ankles, a ridiculous and obvious thought dawned on me:  “LIFE is trying to kill me.”

Yeah. That’s how the writing projects I’ve been working on lately feel right now. Too many thoughts, too many notes, too many words all falling down around me.  Words may not be trying to kill me, but they have been beating me up a bit lately!

So that’s why I stopped writing for a few minutes and started writing about writing.

Instead of writing.

Which is sort of like writing.

But it’s not.

Jesus’ command to “Go and make disciples” doesn’t mean “Go and make self focused, spiritual soakers.”  “Make disciples” also doesn’t mean “Go and make scholars.”

“Make disciples” is about making “followers” or “apprentices” of Jesus. His “Great Commission” involves “teaching them” (knowing) “to obey/observe/put into practice” (doing) all that He taught them. Not just “teaching them,” but “teaching them to obey.”

Knowing and doing.

You have to know it before you can do it, but if you know it and don’t do it, …you never really knew it the way it was meant to be known.

You might want to read that last sentence again.

Know, go and do.

James 2:18-20

Churches should have great environments and great expeditions.

“Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles he does for his people!” – Psalm 66:5 NLT

“Philip went off to look for Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ ‘Nazareth!’ exclaimed Nathanael. ‘Can anything good come from there?’ ‘Just come and see for yourself,’ Philip said.” – John 1:45-46 NLT

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19-20 NLT

It’s both “Come and See” and “Go and Tell.”

(Worship Gathering image at the top of this post: My pals at Keystone Church)

After talking about it for years, Leona and I finally ran a 5K this year. It was also one of the “targets we were aiming for.”

Here are seven things I learned along the way.

1. It was hard. Especially in the early weeks, it was really tough for me. Before this, I hadn’t done any real running since about 7th grade, so at first, even running for 90 seconds without stopping felt impossible.  I would obsessively watch the app on my iPhone count down the seconds till I could walk again and huff and puff my way along till it gave me a break.  It was worth the effort, but it wasn’t a walk in the park…

2. It wasn’t that hard. It’s funny to me now, having completed the race, how simple that “90 seconds of running” seems.  Sure, it was tough to get going and press on through the hills and all, but it was doable.  It wasn’t an “impossible dream” or anything.  What was hard in the beginning seems easy, now. That’s something I want to keep in mind the next time I face any challenge.

3. It took time. The Cowtown Marathon Adult 5K was in February. We started training for it back in November.  It took us longer to prepare for the race than the app we were using allowed for. We repeated some weeks and added extra “rest days” in between when needed. But we didn’t just wake up one morning and run a 5K. It took time.

4. A publicly stated goal and the encouragement of friends make for powerful fuel. Announcing what we were doing provided some accountability and put our reputation on the line. It was a good motivator to get out there and do it when we knew we were going to have to post our progress when we got home. On some nights, that was our sole motivator to complete the workout. And the encouragement from those who were following our progress made us feel like we were accomplishing something together with friends.

5. So much of the process was a head game. We received some great “running” advice early on: “If you’re hurting, do a ‘self-check.’ If it’s not going to kill you or cause irreparable damage – Keep going.” That was really good advice. “I’m not feeling comfortable, right now” is not the same thing as “It’s time to stop, now.” It’s so easy to psyche ourselves out…

6. We can do more than we think we can. Many times during the 5K training, Leona and I prayed and quoted Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Slightly out of context, but true nonetheless. That was a very helpful reminder. When I would reach a point where I didn’t think I could continue, I’d also set a short goal, like “just make it to the end of this block.” Then I would make it to the end of the block, find a “second wind” and decide to keep going.  It was surprising to me each time.

At the end of the Cowtown 5K, Leona and I both sprinted the last block to the finish line. I have no idea where that energy came from. But it was awesome. We can do more than we think we can.

7. The glory fades quickly.  We waited a full four days before running again after completing the 5K and it was immediately evident that we can’t coast in this thing – it was starting to feel “hard” again. We have to keep moving. There will need to be more running ahead; more 5K’s, 10K’s or who knows what.

I’ve decided to see “running” and exercise  in the same way Andy Griffith ultimately approached “Aunt Bea’s Pickles.” After trying to find ways around having to eat them and keep from hurting her feelings, he ultimately decided on a different course of action. In the end he says to Barney, “Well, there’s only one thing to do. It’s what we should have done in the first place…Learn to love ’em.”

Running is still not my favorite thing to do but because of the many benefits it provides to my mind and body, I’m committed to learning to love it.  And it’s growing on me. Or maybe I’m just growing.

I’m not interested in a one time goal. I’m interested in a new way of life – one that is active, strong, healthy and one that honors God with my body. At least in part, it is a spiritual act of worship, after all…

Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” ESV

1 Corinthians 6:20 “for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”  ESV