Gathering with the Bishops

I am present at a gathering of the College of Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America in Sumas, Washington.  It is encouraging to be around such men of God who have a passion for the Lord Himself, desire to evangelize North America, and make disciples of Jesus Christ!!!!  Iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17) and I already feel sharpened by the prayer-time, teaching, discussion, and good questioning of our presenters.

Newly Ordained Bishop Julian Dobbs Teaching the Bishops

The View Outside our Meeting Room in Sumas, Washington

Pray for the bishops of the church.  May we serve Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit with significant obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ in the modern era.

Finally!!

A simple flight to Seattle and then a brief drive north turned into an almost 16-hour ordeal today.  The Lord was helping me learn anew to practice patience and live into His full provision.  When my flight arrived in Seattle, I turned on my phone to discover a voicemail from the airline saying that my luggage was not put on the flight.

Normally, the airline will deliver to the place where you are staying, but in my case the place I am staying with the bishops from the Anglican Church in North America was out of their range of delivery.  They would send my luggage FedEx.  But of course, FedEx would not pick it up until tomorrow morning (Tuesday) meaning a probable delivery on Wednesday (so no luggage for tonight, all day tomorrow, and some of Wednesday).   OR I could wait at the airport almost 5 hours until the plane arrived with my luggage.  I waited at the airport.

Yes!! My luggage has arrived!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding...." (Prov.3:5).

St. Andrew's, Rome, GA

As part of my bishop's duties, I visited St. Andrew's, Rome, GA today.  I led the service, preached on Philippians 2, and confirmed and received new members into the church.  It was a great day!

With Austin Goggins leading the Liturgy of the Table

Aaron Buttery, me and Pastor Austin Goggins

St. Andrew's is an Anglican church plant which has been under way for over a year.  Austin Goggins is the rector.  He is a bi-vocational priest with a warm personality, a heart for the Lord, and desire to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  If you live near the Rome area, give St. Andrew's a try.  You will enjoy the preaching, the fellowship, and the worship.

John Stott on Sin

Sin is an unwillingness to let God be God, a refusal to acknowledge his "otherness" and our continuing dependence upon Him.  Sin is a revolt against God's unique authority; it is an attempt at self-deification.

Oh... That I could get this!!

Outside of the will of God, there's nothing I want, and in the Will of God there's nothing I fear. We are sent to bless the world, but we are never told to compromise with it. - A.W. Tozer

The Investiture of Bishop John Guernsey

Bishop John Guernsey and his wife Meg

This past weekend I was privileged to participate in the Investiture of Bishop John Guernsey as the first bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic.  It was a joyful celebration which I would describe as a little bit of heaven in the worship.  Great music and singing.  Excellent preaching.  Joyful fellowship.

Truro Anglican Church in Fairfax, Virginia

Bishop Leonard Riches

Bishop Bill Ilgenfritz

Bishop Stephen Leung

Bishop Roger Ames and Canon Jack Lumanog

Bishops Dave Bena and Derek Jones

It is truly exciting to see what the Lord is doing in this Anglican Movement.  Churches are being planted. Individuals are coming to the Lord Jesus.  Individuals and groups of congregational members are going on mission trips to different parts of the world.  Excellent worship.  A recovery of the historical liturgy. Biblical preaching.  An excitement to be in church.  The needy are being helped.  The sick are being healed.  New leaders are being raised up and trained.  God is up to something!!

Bishop Don Harvey

The above pictures are some of the other bishops who were present on last Saturday.

Jewish Followers of Jesus

This past week I was privileged to share in a meeting between leaders in the Anglican Church in North American and Messianic Jewish Leaders from around the U.S.  It was a wonderful time of encouragement, faith, inspiration, and evangelistic challenge.

Messianic Jews are Jews who have come to believe in Jesus (Yeshua) as their Messiah, Lord, and Savior. They have encountered the Living God through Yeshua and are passionate about helping others come to know Him.  Gentile Christians need to remember that the Christian Faith began as a Jewish Faith.  All the early Christian Leaders were Jewish.  Jesus was Jewish.  All the early bishops of Jerusalem were Jewish.  As these early Jews took the message of Jesus to all parts of the known world, Gentiles began to come to Faith and receive the Holy Spirit.  By A.D. 350 Christianity had become mostly Gentile.

How exciting to live in a time when God is drawing many of the Jewish people back to Himself!!!  Their love for the Lord and for their Jewish roots should be an example to all of us.  We need to understand our Jewish roots to really understand the teachings of the New Testament.  After all, the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, and all the books of both are mostly written by Jews!

Let us not only pray for our Jewish brothers and sisters in Yeshua, but let us walk with them and join them as they seek to share the Messiah with their fellow Jews.

Let Us Never Forget

When one looks back on the tragedies around the 9/11 attacks, I find it astounding that people so easily forget the horrors and the devastation so many families in our country went through.  It is a stark reminder that many people around the world and even in our own country, are working to destroy the way of life God has blessed us with.  I hope all the publicity around the 10th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks will cause you to stop and give thanks for the country we have, the freedom we enjoy, the Faith we proclaim, and family we love.  I hope you say a prayer that God will help us return to the kind of country He will bless, and that we will all be motivated to love our neighbors as ourselves.

God's Incredible Creation!

Check out this video -- about four minutes.  AMAZING!

Labor Day in the USA

It is Labor Day here in the U.S. and many of us are enjoying time with family, cooking out, and having that last hoorah before the Fall and cooler weather.  While the topic of Labor Unions is one which stirs up debate and disagreement, there can be no argument that Labor once had a significant function in making employment in this country more humane and more profitable.  But as history has shown again and again, there has been a paradigm shift and Big Labor has been slow to realize the change.  The American public will no longer tolerate large salaries and benefits for government labor employees when they themselves make so much less than the union worker.

There is a much more serious problem which our government policies seem to enhance -- unemployment. The politicians argue over the what the actual percentage is while millions are out of work, can't pay their mortgage, utilities, and in many cases, put food on the table at home.  Federal government regulations and tax laws are stuffing it to those who can actually create jobs for people - small businesses across the land.  The deadlock in Congress between those who want to cut spending and release business to act, and those who want to empower the Federal Government to spend more money on construction and infrastructure projects, is not going away anytime soon.

You and I need to follow the principles from 1 Timothy 2 and pray for our leaders asking God to give them a solution to our economic woes -- of which, employment is just one piece.

Collect for Labor Day
Almighty God, who hast so linked our lives with one another that all we do affecteth, for good or for ill, all other lives:  So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good; and as we seek a proper return for own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Daniel Thornton

I passed a little church today on Howell Mill Road in northside Atlanta called North Park Baptist Church.  I immediately had a flashback of some 30+ years ago when I was a Young Life leader while in college.  I was leading a team of volunteer leaders at what was then Northside High School.

Daniel Thornton, one of our leaders, invited me to start praying on Monday nights for the kids at the high school.  We received permission to use the little church and we would gather and fall on our needs, pleading for the Lord to invade the lives of teenagers in the high school.  Those kids we knew by name, we would call before the Lord asking Him to draw them to Himself.  Hours would go by like minutes as we were lost in the Throne Room of Heaven with our Lord.  Much spiritual fruit came from those sessions.

I lost touch with Daniel soon thereafer. I can't remember why.  Maybe he moved.  Maybe I moved.  And today I have no idea where he is or if he is still on earth.   But I will always be thankful for that Pentecostal brother who taught me how to go boldly into the Throne Room of God on behalf of others. (Hebrews 4:16).

What a delightful memory the Lord brought back to me today!!