by Sam | May 2, 2014 | Reflection
The areas of wounding The places that are most vulnerable Are the same places that Received special care, attention, and Ultimately healing… To know my scars is to know me. To know me is to know my Healer....
by Sam | Apr 25, 2014 | Reflection
Here’s an excerpt from The Inner Voice of Love by one of my favorite authors and thinkers, Henri Nouwen. “Do not hesitate to love and to love deeply. You might be afraid of the pain that deep love can cause. When those you love deeply reject you, leave you, or die, your heart will be broken. But that should not hold you back from loving deeply. The pain that comes from deep love makes your love ever more fruitful. It is like a plow that breaks the ground to allow the seed to take root and grow into a strong plant. Every time you experience the pain of rejection, absence, or death, you are faced with a choice. You can become bitter and decide not to love again, or you can stand straight in your pain and let the soil on which you stand become richer and more able to give life to new seeds. The more you have loved and have allowed yourself to suffer because of your love, the more you will be able to let your heart grow wider and deeper. When your love is truly giving and receiving, those whom you love will not leave your heart even when they depart from you. They will become part of your self and thus gradually build a community within you. Those you have deeply loved become part of you. The longer you live, there will always be more people to be loved by you and to become part of your inner community. The wider your inner community becomes, the more easily you will recognize your own brothers...
by Sam | Apr 17, 2014 | Reflection
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” — Jesus (Matthew 7:12) Jesus sums up Scripture in what is known as the “Golden Rule“. Treat others the way that you yourself would want to be treated. Sounds easy enough. However the reality is that most people won’t treat you the way that they would want to be treated. When that happens it pretty much always results in hurts, disappointments, and pain, which inevitably leads to bitterness, anger, offense, and unforgiveness. In a broken world full of broken people, things just seem to get more broken. It’s sin begetting more sin. One of the greatest areas of struggle in my own life these past couple years has been in the area of forgiveness. Couple years back I was completely blindsided and betrayed by the ones I loved and trusted most. I’ve never experienced such hurt in my life before. In a moment it felt like everything was taken away. Yet to make matters worse, I was completely abandoned by community. Not just any community, but a community of Christians, and not just any Christians, but a Christian community of leaders and pastors. Never would I have imagined that I would be treated the way I was by them. So when I needed others most, I was left alone to deal with what had just happened. Forgiving the ones who had hurt me would be tough already, but when I saw that they were welcomed and even celebrated by this community as if they did nothing...
by Sam | Apr 4, 2014 | Inspiration, Pursuitcast, Reflection
No one’s faith grows in isolation. Everyone needs community as well as pioneers, fathers, and mothers in the faith who have paved the way. They are the ones whose stories shape ours. One of those people in my life is Dr. Rob Reimer. He currently serves as the lead pastor of South Shore Community Church right outside of Boston, MA. He also teaches at Alliance Theological Seminary for both the M.Div program as well as the Doctorate program. And that’s where I first met him when I took one of his classes, and since then he has made a tremendous impact in my life. Last weekend I had the great honor and privilege of sitting down with him and interviewing him about revival. His life has been an excellent example to so many of what it means to live in the light and pursue after intimacy with God. He is someone I consider to be a true revivalist and an authentic teacher of the faith. Everything he teaches on and shares about comes straight from his own journey with Jesus. He speaks with authority because he has walked through everything himself. Just being around him stirs my soul for more of God. So when I sat down with him for the podcast, it was no different. The first question I asked him was how he defined revival, and he said it was the restoration and renewal of all things back to the way that God intended before sin entered the world. That means that when revival comes, the sick are healed, the oppressed are set free, the lost are found, the demonized...
by Sam | Mar 21, 2014 | Inspiration, Reflection
My favorite annual sporting event has to be March Madness. Although it pales in comparison to the World Cup and the Olympics, it is by far my favorite out of all the annual championships. It’s full of upsets, inspiration, and excitement (especially this year since you can win $1 billion!). Through the years nothing has pumped me up more for March Madness than “One Shining Moment” sung by the one and only, Luther Vandross. Just watch the video above. How can you not be motivated? I think it’s natural for every single one of us to want to have a shining moment of our own – to have a moment where everything just comes together. We might be the underdog, yet we’re able to come through in the clutch and overcome our challenges. However, what I’ve experienced in life is that the moments where we shine on the big stage are rare. Yet each day we are faced with small decisions to be faithful, to do what’s right, and just be the person God has intended us to be. I’d like to think while shining moments are few and far in between, defining moments are there every single day. Defining moments are those times that truly shape who we are and define who we will become. It’s usually those moments when we are alone and are away from the limelight. It has been said that character is who you are when no one is looking. Every day, there are plenty of opportunities for us to be discouraged, disheartened, and even distressed. We can be brought low by our circumstances, or...
by Sam | Mar 5, 2014 | Inspiration, Reflection
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you…” – James 4:8 There are many great promises in the Bible, and this is definitely one of them. When we draw near to God, He promises to draw near to us. Can you imagine that? The Great Pursuer Himself desires to be pursued; so He invites us to come as close as we want. As we enter into the season of Lent, we want to be a people who desires to seek God and draw near to Him above all else. Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. What is Lent you ask? Lent is part of the liturgical calendar that marks the beginning of 40 days (46 if you include Sundays) until Good Friday and Easter Sunday While Lent doesn’t appear in Scripture, it has been a practice of believers for centuries. Forty days is a significant number because that’s how many days Jesus spent in the desert in preparation before His ministry began. Traditionally people have taken this time to prepare themselves through prayer, fasting, self-denial, and repentance Often times Lent is all about what we give up and our efforts to keep our promises. Yet Lent is more than having self-control and giving something up for the sake of giving something up, nor is it to try and appease God. Religion is man’s attempt to try to control God; to make an unpredictable God predictable based on our behaviors. People do this out of fear… fear of punishment or circumstances or of “missing out”, but we celebrate Lent out of love and devotion. Devotion...
