DEEP ROOTS

AN EARLY LESSON

As a young man eager about my new faith in Christ, I would listen to talks and sermons related to the Christian life.  After awhile I began to notice a pattern.  Energetic mission minded servants of Christ spoke eloquently and convincingly about the Great Commission, the need for laborers, and the necessity of saying 'yes' unconditionally to the call of God on my life.  And I took those admonitions and lessons to heart. But I also noticed that the older the speaker, the less was the message about our mission, and the more the talk would focus on Jesus Himself and our walk with Him.  I thought to myself, "Have these old guys figured out something that us younger guys haven't learned yet?

Now, four plus decades into my journey with Christ, I am seeing more clearly that my first priority is, and always has been, my personal walk with Jesus.  It's so easy to get caught up and distracted with tasks, with needs, with opportunities, and neglect my relationship with Him. It's too easy to slide into busyness and then burn out.  Unpredictable and unexpected demands lead to frustration for me. I know that sometimes my time with God has spared me, saved me from getting overwhelmed and losing the big picture that only God has.

A DANGEROUS PRAYER

Fruitfulness for the long haul requires two things:  abiding in Him, and pruning.  I think I have the abiding part figured out; that's my responsibility. The pruning is another matter; that's what God gets to do!  When I turned 50, I prayed that God would fulfil Psalm 92:12-14 in my life, that I would be fruitful into old age.  I would like for all the years of my life to be significant and useful to God for His purposes.

As I meditated on that passage a bit later, I realized that, for a tree to be fruitful, it needs to be pruned.  I had unintentionally prayed for God to prune me into old age!

A friend recently told a story about pruning his rose bushes all the way to the ground. Nothing left but the roots.  Wow! And that is the point:  if my root system is strong, I will withstand the pruning and continue to be fruitful.

O Lord, I give myself to you again for Your purposes.  Prune me as You know what's best, that I may bear fruit that remains for Your glory.


¹² The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree,
He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³ Planted in the house of the Lord,
They will flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ They will still yield fruit in old age;
They shall be full of sap and very green,
¹⁵ To declare that the Lord is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

     - Psalm 92:12-15, NASB 

Too many funerals?

The past few months we have attended a handful of funerals/memorial services.   From the first weekend of May into the month of June, there were five of seven we attended.

In the past two weeks there have been three more.

What is God doing? What He always does. He is being faithful to His promises.

It may be the season of life for us.  Some people were elderly; those were not a surprise.  The unexpected ones caught us up short: vehicle accident, rapid health decline, and such.

 Please pray with us that we will engage our family and friends  with wisdom and grace.

NO EXCEPTIONS

"Now Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statues of his father David, 
   
except..." (I Kings 3:3)

Why 'except'?  Why did Solomon's love for the Lord and his walk of obedience need a caveat?   His 'walk' was evidence of his love for the Lord.  Yet there is an exception: he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

My daughter recently asked me, "What do you want to be remembered for?"
I heard myself answer, "A friend of God."  My answer surprised me; I hadn't thought about my legacy in those terms before.

What does a friend of God look like? My life verse is Deuteronomy 6:5, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."  Jesus referred to His disciples as His friends - what a good deal! (John 15:15).  In this passage Jesus also speaks about our love for one another.  A friend of God is  someone who values the things He values:

 -  People.
 -  Justice.
 -  Mercy.
 -  Humility.
 -  Faith.

For all his wisdom, Solomon did not possess an unencumbered love for God.

"Lord, would You attach a caveat to my love for You? 
May I grow in my knowledge of who You are, and may that knowledge fuel my desire to love You wholeheartedly and to love the things You love, no exceptions."

Please pray with us that, as we disciple young men and women, we could encourage them to seek to love God unconditionally and to serve Him for a lifetime.

Thanks –

               John & Tina

Our back yard, summer 2015                                                                     

 

STRIVING FOR SIMPLICITY

Well, what a mess.  My garage.  Looks okay on the outside; the siding and roof match the house, and it is in overall decent shape.

 Inside is another matter.  My tendency to accumulate clutter has made cleaning out the garage a major project.  Even worse, water seepage has caused the base of the frame to rot.  Numerous entry points invite little critters who chew into my "valuable stuff" and leave reminders of their visit throughout. 

This is embarrassing, a view of my life I would just as soon hide. (Unfortunately, you can click on the photo and get a closer look)

In my reading today, Jesus said, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:32)

Is my clutter sin?  Intrinsically, no. But as  I consider the time, effort and expense needed to clean out and repair the garage, it takes away resources that I would rather be investing in God's call on my life, to advance His Kingdom.  At best, my tendency to accumulate clutter is baggage I want to do without.  

We recently watched a video about backpackers hiking the Appalachian Trail.  Some pack extra gear that after a few days becomes too burdensome.  They discard shoes, books, etc. at ranger stations or cast it off along the way.

Please pray with us for the opportunities we have to invest in people this summer.  Ask God to help us focus on what is most important.  

Thanks ~

CELEBRATING A LANDMARK EVENT

   
On April 12th 45 years ago, lying in my bed late at night, I asked God to show Himself to me: "God, if You're really up there, if what Bob says is true, then I ask You to come into my life, forgive my sins, and give me eternal life."  And with that I rolled over and went to sleep.

That prayer changed the trajectory of my life.  Here I am 45 years later, thankful for all the unintended consequences that came with that prayer of commitment.

I had a cross placed in my class ring as a reminder of the most important decision of my life.

The demands of a military school were conducive to my new focus and direction.  We were being trained to be men of integrity, discipline, teamwork, courage, and sacrifice, qualities that immediately resonated with Christ's call.  The next two and a half years helped me clarify my priorities and decide what I really wanted to do with my life - walk with Jesus and help others do the same.

Having yielded to God and stepped out on that commitment, I look back with gratitude, for my time in the Navy as I trusted Him to live a faithful and fruitful life, and for three plus decades of vocational ministry with The Navigators.   And for the blessings of a great wife and four amazing children.  I love my job.  I love my wife and kids.  And I love Jesus.

I am a fortunate man.

Why I am thankful to be a Navigator (one reason, anyway)

I recently received an email from our national director expressing his appreciation for the heart and character of Mike Treneer, our international president, who is voluntarily stepping down this year.  

Over the years I have had men over me organizationally who not only were gifted in ministry, but expressed as much concern for my spiritual and personal well-being as any productivity in ministry, and to this day I count them as good friends and brothers in Christ.

Although there have been exceptions within The Navigators, Doug's reflections on his deep appreciation of Mike Treneer as a man of God is consistent with what my experience has been as well.

I am grateful for having been, and being, under men such as Mike is described here.

Doug Nuenke's letter follows:


Dear Friends,

One of the greatest gifts in my six years as U.S. director is to have Mike Treneer as my leader, coach, and friend. As you have heard, Mike will be transitioning out of his role as international president of The Navigators in the spring of 2015. Pam and I will miss our regular interactions with Mike and his wife, Chris, but we affirm God’s leading in their lives.

Mike is only the fourth international president The Navigators has had in our 80+ year history, following in the footsteps of Dawson Trotman, Lorne Sanny, and Jerry White. Mike leads out of an overflow of his relationship with God and his heart for the Scriptures. He is wise, patient, steady in crisis, and has a heart like David who “inquired of the Lord” (1 Samuel 23:4 NIV). His leadership has enabled encouraging progress in mobilizing The Navigators as a Worldwide Partnership around a common Calling.

As the International President’s Selection Council convenes in mid-February, please join me in asking God to guide us to the next leader He is preparing. Psalm 78:70-72 tells of God’s chosen leader David:

He chose David his servant
   and took him from the sheep pens;
from tending the sheep he brought him
   to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
   of Israel his inheritance.
And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
  with skillful hands he led them (NIV).

Just as God prepared David to shepherd God’s people, the nation of Israel, He prepared Mike to shepherd The Navigators for a season. We can also trust that God has prepared our next leader who He will identify through the selection process. We thank God for Mike and Chris and we wait in anticipation to see what God will do through them in the future, and through whomever God calls to lead us next.

Trusting with you,

Doug