Bobby Lepinay

God's Call To Peace

Sunday, I finished out our "Joy" series by focusing on the entire 4th chapter of Philippians.  I knew I was only going to get thru the first part and planned on finishing here on the blog.  

So, here goes....

As background, Paul is sitting in a Roman prison, just steps from the Forum where at anytime he could be taken, given final judgement and executed.  He pens this letter to the Philippian church and the one thing most filling his heart is PEACE....deep peace....God's peace which surpasses understanding.

In the 4th chapter, Paul talks about how God in Christ has provided His peace to us, yet it is OUR job to work that peace out into 3 arenas of our lives:

1. RELATIONAL peace (vs 2-5)
2. MENTAL peace (vs 6-9)
3. CIRCUMSTANTIAL peace (vs10-19)

To hear what I unpacked concerning relational peace, go to www.harvestpensacola.com and listen to Sunday's message there.  It is a challenging message, no doubt.

Today, I want to unpack the 2nd and 3rd arena of peace God wants for us:  Mental peace and circumstantial peace.

Recently, I was talking with a girl who was a single mom, struggling to make ends meet, to take care of kids, to pay bills, to just survive.  She made the comment, "I honestly feel I am losing my mind."

Life is stressful.  But God has provided 2 ways for us to stay mentally clear:

1. PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING

       VS. 6 "Dont worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and                        thank Him for all He has done.  Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds all                        understanding."

    Get that.  Pray about EVERYTHING.  Dont worry about ANYTHING. We are to keep 'turning things       over' to God, again and again and again.  When we start obsessing over it, again, we cast that care       right back to Him.

2. FIX YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE RIGHT THINGS.

         VS 8 "Fix your thoughts on what is true, what is honorable, what is right, what is pure, what                   is lovely and admirable......then the God of peace with be with you."

    Our tendency is toward being critical.  We get zoned in on our children's and spouses flaws, the           things that annoy us and irritate us.  If we want peace of mind, as well as peace in our relation-              ships, we have to stop this.  We need to FIX OUR THINKING on the good things, the things that              are praise-worthy, admirable, true from God's perspective.  

    Critical thoughts lead to a critical spirit.  Depressing thoughts lead to a depressed spirit.  Fix           your thinking on the good and the God of peace will enjoy your company much more!!

God calls us to work out the peace of Christ in our relationships.  He calls us to seek to have his peace ruling our minds, our mental state, which is so fragile. Finally, He calls us to enjoy His peace in each and every circumstance we find ourselves in.

I put it this way:  Peace RIGHT NOW....Peace RIGHT HERE.  The way I remember this is NOW/HERE peace.  Like "nowhere", only now...here.  :)  We are always saying we will be satified 'one day....when I move to....get another job.....you name it.  It is always future, somewhere else.  

God says find contentment NOW.....right at this very point of your life.  HERE...right in the very place you find yourself in.

Paul said this in Phil 4:

    "I have learned to be content with whatever I have.  I know how to live on almost nothing or with      everything.  I have learned the SECRET of living in every situation,....I can do all things thru            Christ who gives me the strength."

What is the SECRET to a 'contented heart'?  Receiving strength and grace from the Presence of Christ, wherever we find ourselves, whatever circumstances.  It is casting ourselves in dependency on God's loving care for us.

What is God calling you to DO in your relationships?? Are you dealing with stuff or passively doing nothing, saying 'God will take care of it'?

Have you been 'turning things over' to Him rather than worrying?  Do you truly have mental peace?  

Are you contented in the circumstances you find yourself in?  Or is discontentment eating you alive?

Love you guys and be praying for my preparation for the Multiply series starting this next Sunday!

PB

 

 

Familiarity Breeds Contempt

Last night, in my Leadership Development Class, we talked about how to handle people not respecting you in your position when they are too 'familiar' with you.  VERY fruitful conversation!

By the way, for any leader/pastors out there, I changed the way I am doing leadership training and it is extremely fruitful.  Simply put:  a leader has to train other leaders.  If you are looking for a way, dont hesitate to contact me, as I have experimented with many forms thru the years, but this that I have landed on is natural, easy, and fruitful, a good combo. :)

Ok.....so I was thinking about the concept this morning, running it thru my mind...."familiarity breeds contempt"...."familiarity breeds contempt"...  The applications are limitless.  Children with parents, husbands and wives, leadership team, employees......even where we live, our homes, our city, the blessings we all have......it is easy to start to see only the NEGATIVES and forget the POSITIVES.

Last week, I had 2 opportunities to eat at Jacko's on the water.  Both times were amazing as I watched the sun set on the water, sat back and followed the gulls flying and the boats coming in.  The food was also fantastic.  I drove away refreshed and thankful that I live on the water.

I hear many people complain about where they live.  I love where I live.  Yes, there may be negatives, as with any place, but every time I see the water, I am thankful.  Every Sunday when I come to church, I am thankful.  Every time I see my friends here, I am thankful.

This Sunday, we continue the "Joy" series out of Philippians.  The week after, I will be talking more about this very thing I am talking about here, learning to be content.

Grace,

PB

 

 

4 Seconds Of Shear, Unmitigated TERROR.....!!

By JEFF BARNARD   10/13/11 04:35 A

Doug Niblack, Surfer, Tells Of Standing On Great White Shark Off Oregon Coast

-- Doug Niblack was trying to catch another wave before going to work, when his longboard hit something hard as rock off the Oregon Coast and he suddenly found himself standing on the back of a thrashing great white shark.

Looking down, he could see a dorsal fin in front of his feet as he stood on what he described as 10 feet of back as wide as his surfboard and as black as his own Neoprene wetsuit. A tail thrashed back and forth and the water churned around him like a depth charge went off.

"It was pretty terrifying just seeing the shape emerge out of nothing and just being under me," he told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "And the fin coming out of the water. It was just like the movies."

Coast Guard Lt. J.G. Zach Vojtech said officials do not officially log shark encounters, but he had learned about Niblack's ordeal from an off-duty member who was nearby when he was knocked from his board.

Jake Marks, the Coast Guard member, said he never saw the shark, but witnessed Niblack suddenly standing up, with water churning around him. He said joined Niblack in paddling as fast as he could for shore after seeing a large shape swimming off between them just beneath the surface.

"I have no reason to doubt there was a shark out there," said Marks. "With the damage to his board, the way he was yelling and trembling afterwards – there is no other explanation for that."

Niblack figures he was standing on the shark no more than three or four seconds, when the shark went out from beneath him. The dorsal fin caught his board, dragged him three or four feet by his ankle tether.

"I'm just screaming bloody murder," he said. "I'm just yelling, `Shark!' I thought for sure I was gone."

Before it all happened, he had been spending a couple hours surfing at The Cove, a popular north Oregon Coast surfing spot. He was scheduled to go into work waiting tables later that day.

There were about a dozen other people, but most of them went in when the waves started getting big, leaving Niblack with two other guys sitting on their boards about 50 yards from shore.

Niblack had paddled out about 20 yards beyond them, when the swell dropped and his board hit something solid. He kicked down with both feet, trying to stand up so he wouldn't get thrashed by the next wave, and found himself standing knee deep in water too deep for standing.

"When I put my hands down on it, it felt rubbery like Neoprene, like a wetsuit," he said. "There was a moment there when everything was going on, I just kind of made my peace. I honestly thought I was going to die. Then paddling back in, I was praying the whole time. Like, `Don't let it be following me.'

In six years of surfing, Niblack, who grew up in Yelm, Wash., has seen sharks in the water, but never so close.

He was still shaky when he went to work that night, but was better the next night. He has been waking up from vague dreams of sharks, but is planning to go back out to surf. When he does he will take a waterproof video camera his roommate gave him. He also put a sticker on the bottom of his board to ward off sharks – a shark with a red circle and a slash over it.

"I'll definitely go back out," he said. "It's just the surf sucks right now. I'll wait `til that gets better, then go back out."

 

Skeleton Man

One of the things I keep before me that keeps some sense of balance in my life is something I heard Rick Warren say years ago:

Divert daily.......

Withdraw weekly......

Abandon annually

The way I practice it is to find something each day to divert me from the business of life.  Weekly, I try to take one day completely off.  Annually, the goal is to abandon it all and unplug for a week or two.

Consider this little 3 minute video your 'diversion' for today! :)  Without question, the best puppeteer I have ever seen.  Watch it til the end.....I promise, you will LAUGH OUT LOUD!! 

To a blessed life,

PB