How does a person take words spoken and written by millions of people and make them their own? The ability to communicate passion and emotion is worthy of thought and study. Words come from one person entering other’s lives. Meaning conveyed, emotion felt, ideas shared, all stemming from the ability to communicate. It is a wonder that one person can share their life with another; verbally, by talking or writing, drawing pictures, making music, using gestures, or facial expressions.

God gave us the ability to communicate with one another. He shows us how as He talks to us through His Word, through the Spirit, through the sights and sounds of creation, words and music for the soul. Many do not hear His voice because they are not listening. They do not see His beauty, feel His touch, or sense His emotion.

I am overwhelmed by the magnitude of it all, of time and eternity, of all God created and will create, of the complexity of one simple life. Yet, He loves and intimately knows – “ME” – and YOU. I can tell you what He means to me, what He has done in my life. All because, He has given us the ability to make words our own.

“Does anyone really listen to me?” “Am I making any kind of a real impact for the cause of Christ or am I just fooling myself?” “Maybe someone else would be more affective.” Others have shared these thoughts and I have entertained them at various times. Anyone in ministry, whether as a vocation or volunteer, wonders the usefulness of what they do. Some would say that this is not very spiritual. “If you are spiritual, it wouldn’t matter to you.” Let’s get past the platitudes and get to real life. We want to the best we can for the Lord and make the biggest impact we can for the cause of Christ. This causes us to evaluate what we do and our labor’s effectiveness.

Jeneen and I started in ministry as a vocation thirty five years ago. Much has transpired during those thirty five years. Would I do some things different if I could go back and start again? Absolutely! But we do not have a “do over.” Somehow, some way, God has worked in and through us over those years. Many times it would seem He worked in spite of us. Do I wish more would have happened; that we had a greater impact, more results, and wonderful fruit evidenced by everyone? Of course! But all we could do is be us. I have this treasure from God in an earthly vessel. I have thorns in the flesh. My weaknesses are for God’s strength and glory to be seen.

Pastoring a small church is not easy. Pastoring a large church is not easy. Let’s face it, ministry is not easy. It is a labor of love for the Lord, for His Word, for His people and for the lost. The results are in God’s hands. As I have said for years, “God is working in us and through us for His purposes and glory.” This conclusion has come after struggling with effectiveness in ministry.

We cannot look to the results to determine our impact. God is working in us and through us as we walk with Him. We cannot be anything more than who God has created us to be and do anything more than He empowers us to do. But we should be the godliest people we can be, letting God have His perfect way in our lives.

So, if you are pastoring a small church, be the godly pastor He wants you to be. The people God gives you to shepherd need someone to minister and love them. God has given them you. If you are pastoring a large church, be the godly pastor He wants you to be. Results are in His hands. He will work in you and through you to do His will as you walk surrendered to Him. You cannot be someone else. You cannot make it happen. God gives the increase in His time and His way. We are called to be faithful no matter where He places us or what position we hold. As we are faithful we can have confidence that God is bringing about His results in and through us according to His plan and for His glory.

May God freely work in you and through you and you walk with Him. May we be content with His will and His results for our lives while striving to be all He would want us to be.

When backpacking, I encourage the men to stop every 10 or 15 minutes to look back, seeing the area they had just hiked from a new perspective. The purpose of looking back is to give a view of the area but from the other side. People have hiked down the same trail they hiked earlier but found the scenery different. This has caused some to think they are not on the right trail or ridge, leading to them taking a different route, becoming further disorientated and eventually lost in the mountains.

It is easy plodding along the trail to keep your head down, watching your step and miss what is around you. The expression, you can’t see the forest for the trees would apply. When hiking the trail, you only see what is ahead if you do not stop and look back.

How do you know God is working in your life? It is difficult to distinguish from moment to moment the working of God. This is why we walk by faith and not by sight. We must believe that He is as He promised He would. But how do we know? We want something tangible to grasp.

The easiest way to see the working of God in your life is to look back. Remember what you were and who you are now. As we live committed to the Lord and His will, we see Him working. Sometimes it is very obvious but other times not. Here is where faith comes into the picture. If we look back, we can see how the Lord led us through events in our lives. We can see His hand in the daily situations. We can see how He developed our marriages and families as we walked with Him. It is also easy to see where we went astray when we look back, those times we did not walk with the Lord.

God is working in our lives as we walk by faith and not by sight. He works in us and through us. He brings others into our lives for various reasons and purposes. It is easily seen looking back. Doing this throughout the day, you will see God’s guidance, working, enabling, wisdom, and strength. You will say, “I didn’t know it at the moment but God, you are working.” Take time to look back. It brings God closer to the present. He is working right now, even though you may not see it, you will when you look back.

The walk of the believer can be simplified into this simple question, “Are you walking by means of the Spirit or the flesh?” If asked, many believers would not know if the Holy Spirit is actually working in their lives. One question I often ask is, “When was the last time you were under Holy Spirit conviction of sin and knew it was the Spirit, not someone else making you feel guilty?” For many, this is a difficult question.

The New Testament speaks of the comparison of walking in the Spirit or walking fleshly. When we walk in the Spirit, we walk by faith, in the light, experiencing the life in Christ. When we walk by means of our flesh, we walk by sight, in darkness, experiencing the death of sin. No one can experience both at the same time. You are in one or the other as you live each moment.

This brings us to the necessity of walking by means of the Holy Spirit in order to experience the life we have received from Christ. It is a walk of surrendering control to God, dealing with sin as the Holy Spirit convicts, yielding control to God, and embracing His desire and will for your life.

When we walk with the Lord by means of the Spirit, our life is consumed with glorifying God. An observable sign of how you are walking is distinguishing the purpose for your life at the moment. The Spirit will lead us to glorify Christ. The flesh will lead us to watch out for ourselves. If it is all about you, this indicates you are walking in your flesh to the glory of yourself in some way. The Spirit leads us to experience the walk in Christ, experiencing the abundant life of joy and peace, walking in love, to the glory of God.

To find corrupt politicians they say, “Follow the money trail.” To find Christians walking in the flesh, “follow the glory trail.” Who is getting the glory for your life?

The trees move with the wind, making sounds as the unseen passes through the pine needles and leaves of the trees. Waves of music are carried through the air, soothing, moving with the wind to new notes played by different instruments, the trees becoming the orchestra, each playing their part in the symphony.

As a young boy I remember listening to the orchestra of wind play as I would walk by myself throughout town. The sound became a comfort and yet a pause to my heart. I would listen to the voice of the wind as it played its melody, singing, “Even though you cannot see me, I am here and the song I play is evidence of my being, reaching out to touch you.

In my grade school music class, we were taught a song about the wind. It was from a musical produced in 1951 called “Paint Your Wagon.” The song was “They Call the Wind Mariah.” Somehow the music made the wind seem alive, naming it, speaking about it, and showing its effects.

The wind is used in the Bible many times. It was the mighty rushing wind which signaled the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. Jesus used the wind as an example of being born of the Spirit in John 3. An interesting observation is that the wind and the Spirit are not seen but evidenced by what they do; the wind as described earlier and the Holy Spirit as being in control and producing fruit in the Christian. Both are unseen but there.

The green hillsides are dotted with trees and brush. Reeds filled with birds singing and flittering about line the waterways. Colorful flowers present themselves in manicured lawns along the streets. The ocean waves are heard as they beat upon the rocks and beaches, creating fine sand. A dog barks for reasons only know to it. Looking to the trees I try to find a bird rustling the branches. The breeze carries the fragrance of the flowers and the smell of the ocean. It is good to be back in South Africa.

Everywhere in this life there are sights, sounds, and smells. Some are more pleasant than others. As I described South Africa, it may have brought similar experiences to your mind. You remembered the flowers in your own garden or the fragrance of your roses. The dog barking may have reminded you of a neighbor’s pesky dog. Seeing the trees may remind you of a drive you took through the redwoods or some other forest highway.

We have opportunities to experience beautiful sights. We can listen to people putting sounds together creating beautiful music. We have fragrances that stimulate special memories.

Our fast paces lives sometimes cause us to miss the beauty. Take time to observe, listen to the sounds, and be aware of the smells. Using our senses will add to the memories of our lives. The Bible says to observe the ant. Jesus said to consider the lilies of the field. There are many verses that tell us to use our senses. We will learn from what we see, smell, and head. We need to use our eyes, ears, and noses for more than a place to put our glasses.

“Take time to smell the roses.”

“It is my duty as your husband.” If I said this to Jeneen when I gave her flowers, what kind of a response would I get? She would be hurt because she wants a deeper relationship. She desires that I love her and that my love moves me to bring her flowers. She wants me to be motivated by my deep affection for her. Do I have duties as a husband? Yes. There are expectations and responsibilities for me. But what is my motivation as I fulfill my responsibilities? Is it simply because of duty? No, both Jeneen and I want more from our relationship.

What is our motivation to the duties we have being Christians? Do we accomplish them because it is simply our duty? I can imagine a person reading their Bible because they are supposed to in order to be a good Christian. It is their duty. The same could be said for going to church. “I am here because I am supposed to be. It is my duty to attend and serve.” These things are true but there is much more in our walk with God. He wants more from our relationship.

Can you imagine us telling God that we are praying because it is our duty? Imagine His response to us when that is our motivation. Jesus wants more in our relationship with Him. He wants us to be motivated by love. That is why He said if we “love” Him, we should keep His commandments. There is more to our relationship than duty. We are settling for so little when God has so much.

Pardon me. I need to help Jeneen with a project. It is my duty, you know. But more than that, I love her and love working with her.

How many sermons have been written while mowing the lawn? When I was pastoring my first church, I would gladly mow the lawn. I enjoy making the property look nice. While sitting on the riding lawn mower, I had lots of time to think. During those times, I would meditate on some of the passages I was studying. That time became valuable to me. Things would come together during my thought. Yesterday I was doing some yard work at our home church. The time to meditate was enjoyable.

How many pastors have experienced the same thing? I have talked with several who said they enjoyed mowing the lawn. They have found it a good time to think through passages or a particular subject. It is a time when they can focus without interruption.

Yes, I believe some messages have come from mowing the lawn. Study of the Scriptures must happen before the meditation time. Without the input, there is nothing to meditate upon that would bring forth a sermon.

Do you enjoy mowing the lawn? If you are a pastor, how many times have messages come together while meditating when doing something like yard work? Is it the yard work or the meditation time which is important?

While you ponder these thoughts, I am going to mow the lawn and meditate.