New Picture - Olamana's 3 Peaks

You all will notice the new picture for the "Narrow Path".  Although this is not my picture, this is a narrow path that I have climbed.  It is the Olomana Trail on the windward side of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands.  This was a great hike, but then again, it was also 15 years ago.  I wonder how I would fare today?  Nonetheless, we hiked all three peaks which is pretty challenging.  Most people stop at the first peak...but not a bunch of Marines!

Super Sunday (for Caroline)

But not for the reasons you might think...

Today in church I looked and saw our daughter Caroline raising her hands during the singing portion of worship.  Now this shouldn't be a surprise since both Julie and I will raise our hands in praise of our God when we are worshiping, both at church and at home.  But Caroline, who is 5, is not yet a "believer" in Jesus, in that she has not yet understood enough to profess for herself what salvation in Jesus Christ means.

For the past year now both Julie and I have been reading bible stories to her, talking about faith in Jesus, answering questions she might have, and asking her questions to see if the Truth is sinking in and sticking.  Caroline has done a great job listening and learning the different stories.  Also, she is connecting the different Old Testament stories of Jonah and Abraham to Jesus and what His call to "Follow Me" means to us today in 2012.

Well, today after church I asked Caroline why she was raising her hands and she said

A Personal Story About Gordie Howe

Tonight I found out that the famous Detroit Red Wing, 83 year old Gordie Howe, is suffering from Dementia.  This same disease took the life of his wife back in 2009.  Gordie Howe is one of the greatest hockey players of all time.  In fact, before Wayne Gretzky he was the greatest to ever play the game of hockey and and many still consider him the greatest.  However, my sadness and appreciation for Gordie Howe has little to do with what he did on a hockey rink.

My father passed away on December 1st, 1993 when I was 19 years old.  I was in the Marines and flew home from Pensacola where I was stationed at the time.  It was hard losing my dad, and after the funeral and all the family events, it was time for me to return to Florida.  It was a Monday morning and I had been dropped off at Detroit Metro airport and began making my way to my terminal.  I remember walking through the concourse and there in front of me was this older gentlemen walking towards me.  He was wearing a suit that was somewhat disheveled and looking very tired.

Some People Are Crazy!!!

I saw this video a couple weeks ago and I still can't get over it.  I thought I would share it with you as it is not too long.  I am not afraid of heights, but this would paralyze me...

Providing for Children as God Provides for Us - 1/28/12

Last Sunday I shared a message at Rooftop that is the 3rd installment in our parenting series.  This week was seeing God as our Provider and how then should we provide for our children.  For those who may want to watch... (There is also an audio file on the Rooftop website www.rooftop.org.)

NFL Championship Sunday

My favorite spectator sport, and the only one I really watch anymore (apart from Detroit Red Wing playoff games I can find) is Football.  I will watch some college, but mostly I watch the NFL.  David and Jonathan have taken a HUGE liking to football as well.  They play a ton of it in our back yard and they love to watch it whenever they get a chance.

Well today two of our favorite teams, the Patriots and the 49ers played for the chance to go to the Super Bowl in two weeks.  The Patriots won, but the 49ers lost...to the NY football Giants.  Actually the Niners had the game won, but gave it away twice on mistakes returning punts.  It reminded of another game 21 years go when I was 16 and a HUGE Niners' fan and the Niners gave that game away on a costly fumble...to the Giants.

Coffee With A Friend

This morning as our family finished up breakfast (I made Papa's special Saturday Morning Hash) and we were beginning to clean up, I got a phone call from a friend of mine, an older gentleman named Bill.  Bill and I met when I first arrived in St. Louis and get together periodically to talk about God, life, and everything else.  Sometimes matching schedules is difficult, but this morning Bill had some time and we got together on short notice at Panera, or St. Louis Bread Company, "Bread Co" as the locals call it.  It is a gift to have a chance to sit down with an older and wiser man who loves the Lord and Bill is exactly that.  As a pastor who loves to listen, serve and minister to people, having somebody listen to and serve me, as happened today, is a real blessing.  Thank you Lord for our time today, and thank you for Bill.

Psalm 33

Tuesday morning as I began to journal and pray I felt like God wasn't all that big and I was much more important than I should be.  (My importance in this world always leaves me feeling uncertain and out of control.)  This is a good indicator in my life that things are upside down and I need a reorientation.  I opened up to Psalm 33 and here are some truths that the Holy Spirit impressed upon my heart and used to renew my mind for the day:

v.5 - He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord
v.6 - the word of the Lord made the heavens and all their host
v.8 - let all the earth fear the Lord, let all the inhabitants stand in awe of Him
v.9 - He spoke and it came to be, He commanded and it stood firm
v.12 - Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord...
v.15 - He who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds
v.16 - the king is not saved by his great army...
v.17 - the war horse (or Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles - ICBMs) is a false hope for salvation
v.18 - the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love
v.20 - our soul waits for the Lord, He is our help and our shield
v.21 - our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name
v.22 - let Your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in You.

It is always encouraging and liberating to be resized by the word of God His eternal truths.

Hello 2012

Normally I am not a resolutions guy, but I do like to set goals periodically, and specifically to help me accomplish various tasks and personal objectives that are laid on my heart.  I have resisted it for 37 years but this year I felt like I needed to take a more serious approach to my health.  Now I am not going vegan or anything, but I may need to cut out the 10:30 p.m. spoonfuls of  peanut butter that I have always enjoyed.  (Undigested peanut butter in your stomach while you sleep just doesn't settle as well as it used to.)

Also, thanks to Julie's accomplished goals from last year regarding her prayer, bible reading, and journaling time, I am inspired to set some goals and establish more accountability for myself in this area as well.  So far so good...17 days in. I am excited to see what God wants to do with this year.  I am asking Him regularly to open up "the gates" and do something new and significant both in my life and in the Zilkie family.

I think these two pieces are important: (1) to ask God for more of Himself and for greater Kingdom impact (2) to discipline ourselves for godliness. (1 Tim 4:8)  The first is a prayer that God wants to answer and the second involves surrendering ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit and hopefully allowing God to trust us with more of Himself and Kingdom responsibility.  As Jesus said in Luke 16, "Those who are faithful with little will be faithful with much."

I myself am not deserving or faithful, but by the grace of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit, may I be faithful with what God would want to give me.

"Finish the Mission"

This past weekend I had the privilege of driving 550 miles with my wife Julie and three other members of our church, Rooftop Community Church for the Desiring God National Conference. This year's conference was entitled "Finish the Mission" and we were five of over 3,000 people to attend this year. It was a great and challenging weekend!

What does it mean to "finish the mission"? This is a term used in evangelical circles to describe the objective of the true church of Jesus Christ since he ascended into heaven in Matthew 28. Jesus told his disciples, and subsequently those of us who have chosen to follow Him since then to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature..." Many in the church believe the the return of Jesus Christ is being delayed so that God, through His church, can reach as many people as possible with gospel of Jesus Christ.

According to the statistics presented at the conference, there are over 16,000 different people groups in the world.