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.

12 Days From Africa

I am 12 days returned from Zimbabwe and honestly it seems like a long ways away.  Our lives here in the States and maybe everywhere are so buys and full of stuff.  Something very meaningful happens or we do something that has a deep impact and within a couple of weeks we begin to "lose it".  So many other things compete for our affections and for our time.  In light of this I would like to fight against it and share another encouraging story from Zimbabwe about the local pastors we visited with and ministered alongside.

The first is about Peter who is a pastor in Chinhoyi and who has been through quite a journey these past four years.  The pastors in Zimbabwe rarely collect any income from their churches because all of the monies given go to the widows, poor, and sick who don't have the support structure that Americans, Europeans, and other First World nations enjoy.  Anyway, after our visit in 2007 Peter's landlord decided to double his rent and thus force him out of their home.  There was fundraiser and Peter was able to get a home of his own.  Since then, Peter has also started a butchery where his family works alongside him in order to provide for the needs of the family.  In the middle of all that, Peter has served as pastor for Revival, his church in Chinhoyi, and is planning and praying for a new church building closer to the town center in order to have a greater influence on the city and its residents.  Peter showed me the plot of land during my visit and it is just an abandoned lot right now...but with faith, hard work, and the power and generosity of the Lord, it can become the center of compassion and grace Peter and his congregation envision it to be.

Over the past four years Peter has continued to serve his church as pastor, been evicted from his home and forced to find a new one, started a business for his family, and asked God for a vision to build a church closer to the center of the city where he lives and serves.  All of this in the midst of an economy that left the shelves at the grocery store empty and the people of Zimbabwe praying for God to provide their next meal.  Praise God for Peter and for His faithfulness to him through it all.

Sunday in Chegutu

On Sunday, August 14th while in Zimbabwe I had the opportunity to preach in the city of Chegutu.  The church there meets in a beautiful building that they have refurbished since purchasing almost five years ago.  Our team in 2007 visited this site and the walls for the building were only 6 feet tall and there were no ceilings or roofs yet built.  Zimbabwe has been hammered economically over the past four years and yet Moses and Rofina (the couple who pastor the church and run the feeding center) have been able to raise funding and finish building the facility God envisioned in them.  I was very proud to be there and to see their perseverance having come to fruition.  Currently, they have broken ground on another property where an orphanage will hopefully be built in the next couple of years.

The Zimbabwean church leaders that Vital Connections is supporting and whom we work with are working so hard to advance the kingdom of God.  They want so very much to bring Jesus to those in the community and especially to those in financial need.  I want to congratulate Moses & Rofina, Peter & Stella, Eshwin and Erita, who are pastoring the churches in Chegutu, Chinhoyi that we had the pleasure of visiting as a team.  God is obviously blessing your ministry and working through you.  Keep up the important work!!!

Back Home from Africa

It is Monday morning and our team has returned from Africa.  Lori and Rebecca returned on Wednesday afternoon and Nathan and I returned on Friday afternoon after a couple extra days traveling across the country of Zimbabwe.  I am so thankful for the trip and for the team who went.  There is much to think and pray about.  In fact I spent a couple hours this morning journaling and praying about the trip.  (Jet lag has had me up at 2, 3:30, and 3:45 the past three mornings...at least I think it is jet lag.  Maybe it is God wanting me to have extended time with Him which is an even better reason to be awake.)

Our trip was a success as far as I would have measured it before leaving.  I had some rough ministry expectations in several different areas and from my perspective, we exceeded my hopes in all of them.  The team members, their spiritual fervor, and their generosity of spirit to love one another and the people of Zimbabwe were crucial and essential in the overall success of the trip.  It was a pleasure and privilege to lead this team.

The locals in Zimbabwe were very thankful and grateful for our ministry and our team and team members were also deeply impacted on a personal and spiritual level.  There is much to unpack in the weeks ahead, but I wanted to update you and thank you for your prayers and support for our journey.  I look forward to sharing more in the days ahead.

In the meantime, here is a "nugget" God shared with us through Francis, a local Zimbabwean liaison and guide while in country who is also our friend and brother in Christ.  After returning from what we sensed was a very successful ministry conference to the young leaders in the local churches, he shared this with us during the next morning's devotional time:

After returning from a successful ministry effort where the disciples were casting out demons, healing people, and seeing the power of God manifest itself in many ways, Jesus gave them these words, "Do not rejoice in this...(the miracles and power)...but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven."

If you are a true follower of Jesus, ...rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.