daddy4ms

I had the opportunity to attend Here We Still Stand in San Diego organized by The 1517 Legacy Project and Christ Hold Fast on October 19-21.  Today, I would like to share some reflections from the conference. These are in no particular order. 5 Solas -Faith Alone, Grace Alone, Christ Alone, Scripture Alone, To the Glory of God Alone.  The speakers focused on these Solas and they were a great reminder to me that often as a Christian I can get distracted from the most important thing.  What am I going to focus on?  Humans and our ability to do and to be or on Christ the One who has done it all for me. Thanks Doug Klembara for the banner picture! The Gospel -As I was glow paddleboarding in the bay in San Diego, I talked with Elyse Fitzpatrick about the difficulty in finding a conference focused on the gospel.  What do I mean?  The gospel is what Christ has DONE.  It is Jesus' life, death, resurrection and ascension.  So, often we as Jared C. Wils...

This is the final post on my thoughts from Sabbatical.  I have already posted on rest and relationships that occurred during these 3 months.  Today I would like to share reflections from Sabbatical.  Here they are in no particular order: God is good and I am loved .  The words of a new song capture this thought, "You're a good good Father. It's who you are. It's who you are. It's who you are.  And I am loved by you. It's who I am. It's who I am. It's who I am. You're perfect in all of your ways." I Am His-Identity- For many people, what we do defines us.  For pastors, this can especially be true.  So, how would my identity be affected by not going "to work" for 3 months.  Early during my time off, I heard God whisper, "I Am His."  This helped me remind myself throughout these last few months that my identity in Christ is so important. Abiding/Fruit Bearing/Good Works -I am combining all of these because they are related....

Wow!  What a week.  6 of us from Hesston MB Church were in Guatemala from July 9-16.  We were on a "vision trip" to consider the possibility of future long term partnership with a ministry in Guatemala.   If interested on the process to choose Guatemala, we can talk later.  We spent about 3 days at each ministry location learning what they do and their vision for the future.  Our team has not met yet to come up with a proposal for our missions committee, but let me say that both ministry organizations are doing great things and would be a great choice for you personally or for your church.  Below are the links to both ministries. Impact Ministries in Northern Guatemala http://www.impactministriesusa.org/ Eagle's Nest International in Western Guatemala http://www.eaglesnestint.org/index.php Now, I would like to share my personal reflections from my time in Guatemala. Joy-filled worship --Due to travel, we were not able to attend worship on ...

I am sitting in Ft. Lauderdale airport waiting to depart.  I wanted to jot down a few thoughts and reflections for Liberate 2015. I was thankful to have 7 others from Hesston MB join me this year.  I look forward to discussions with them moving forward. Here are a few take-aways or reflections: This is a repeat from last year.  I am loved, accepted, righteous, and approved by God therefore I don't need to seek approval, acceptance, and love from others, but because of God's love, approval, acceptance I am free to love others freely. I walk away from this conference refreshed, relaxed and renewed that I don't need "to do" anything.  Yet because of the good news of grace, I want to preach/teach grace to others and love others. Elyse Fitzpatrick talked about Satan's lies.  I need to remember what God's Word says about me not the lies of flesh, world or Satan.  Here is a quote from her message: "When Satan accuses you, look up! We conquer...