What Must We Do for Victory?

Victory requires 4 things, according to Gideon in Judges chapter 7: good works, proclamation, God's power, and our action.  Charles Spurgeon shares a great devotional from this passage of Scripture that details Gideon's victory over the Midianites.  Gideon had his small band of 300 men approach the innumerably large foreign army with unusual weapons: trumpets and torches in clay jars.  All at once, they broke the clay jars and exposed the torches, blew the trumpets, and then shouted "A sword for the Lord, and for Gideon!"  With that, the Midianite army fled in terror.

These simultaneous actions bring victory for us today.  Matthew 5:16 teaches that we should let our light, as in our good works, shine before men.  Just as Gideon's army blew their trumpets, we should loudly proclaim the truth of the Gospel.  Finally, we should declare our reliance upon the Lord and the power that we have to act.

We cannot separate the light and the trumpets.  Many people, citing St. Francis' (alleged) saying to "preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words," rely upon their lives to testify to God.  The truth is that Francis never said this, nor did he live it - he was an itinerant preacher.  There is no doubt that too many Christians talk the talk but don't walk the walk.  They give Christianity a bad name by their hypocrisy.  A whole lot of us, myself often included, are guilty of that.  However, far too many Christians walk the walk but don't talk the talk.  They seclude Christianity into a corner and don't spread the Gospel.  A whole lot of us, myself often included, are also guilty of that.  We cannot separate living a life that testifies from sharing the Gospel verbally.

We must also recognize the balance between the work of the Lord and the work of us humans.  It is far too easy to declare our reliance upon the Lord, and then promptly sit down to do absolutely nothing.  Furthermore, it is far too tempting to work hard and leave no room for faith.  Just the same as we can't separate words and actions, we can't separate reliance upon the Lord from hard work and action.  Undoubtedly, the battle belongs to the Lord.  After all, we are talking about 300 men against an enormous army.  Yet, Gideon did nonetheless lead them into battle.  Without trusting God, we are running the risk of disaster.  Without acting ourselves, we are running the risk of watching God move on to another servant more willing to do His work.

Today, at LINC NT, may we show our good deeds in the community while simultaneously proclaiming the good news!  May we trust God, and walk forward boldly!  We hope that you will join us!

Lord, thank you for intervening when I'm trying to do it alone

When I sat down to write this blog, I thought to myself, "I hate blogging."  I feel pressured to be super-inspirational, and although I was an English major, I am not very eloquent in writing.  I always think it has to be perfect, so I never start.

As I looked over my colleagues blogs envying their way with words, God chimed in (thankfully) and brought to mind a message I had heard only two days ago.  At our Lutheran Women's Missionary League meeting, Pastor Landon Ledlow again reminded us that God tells us to share the amazing things He has done in our lives.  This is not something that God would like us to do, but something He commands us to do.  So here I go:

In my job, I spend a lot of time dealing with multiple schools and school districts, along with over 1000 students.  This can become difficult and taxing because everyone has different needs, and I would love to be able to meet them all.  I have been trying to work with one school in particular that experienced a large turnover of teachers over the summer.  I was upset to find that the teacher in charge had left because I felt comfortable with her and had built up a relationship.  Now there was a new counselor in charge, and I started to get nervous.  How much does she know about our program?  Is she excited about being involved?  Does she want to work with us?  As I got focused on planning for the worst, I forgot who is actually in charge of this shindig (and it's not me).

Thank you, Lord, for showing up even when I'm trying to do it alone.  You have such a better plan.  I met with the new counselor today, and she is wonderful and amazing.  She actually came to two of our parent nights with her sister and nephew at a different school, so she is already familiar with our SALI program.  She is passionate, and she has a long-term view of how the AVID program could grow.  I am so excited to work with her more as the school year goes on.  This is an answered prayer for renewed focus at that school.  Again, thank you, Lord, for reminding me that this mission to change the community is not one you have just given me or just given LINC, but one you are spreading through your followers.  Thank you also for reminding me that sharing your awesome works with others is part of the calling too.  Perhaps there will be more frequent blogs from me in the future!

The Harvest

Spring is the traditional season for sowing seeds - and rightfully so; the birds are chirping, the sunshine is warm on your face, and the shy weather is never bolder than 80 degrees with white puffy clouds.  How could these young seeds not want to sprout into their full blooming potential?  But for anyone who lives here, they realize that spring is less like a season and more like, well . . . a  prelude.  Two weeks of perfect weather before jumping in head first into a blazingly hot and long summer.  Welcome to the great state of Texas.

At LINC North Texas, we're also in a season of spring planting, only ours lasts a little longer than 2 weeks.  Like busy farmers, we're toiling away sowing seeds into the community, bringing families closer together to blossom into their full potential of what they could be.  Though the labor is intensive as we wipe our brows in the hot Texas sun, we think on the harvest: the amazing ways that God uses us to bring each other together to help us live better, richer and fuller lives that blossom into a bountiful harvest.  That's our goal her at LINC NT - not just to help others around us grow, but to cultivate character and relationship that produce much fruit.  Whether it be lessons on leadership and ethical principles in the classroom through our SALI program, bringing parents and students closer through our parent nights, or supporting our Latino community through our new ESL program and house church ministry - we toil forward with one ultimate goal:  to harvest all of God's people for his kingdom.

As you go through your weekend and into a new work week ahead, keep a question in front of you:  what kind of seeds are you sowing?  For those of you who toil towards your own rich harvests, may God bless you in your labor.  For those of you who are still looking for a chance, you're always welcome here at LINC.  The harvest is bountiful but the hands few!

Looking forward towards the fruit God is producing in and through us,

Brandon