Mike Higginbotham is home! Now life can get back to “normal” for the Higginbothams…except for Mike. I think we all have to realize that right now, even though this soldier is home, his plate has probably never been more full. Why do I say that?

First, he has to figure out what his next step is: should he go back to school, get a job or both? He and Kacie have a wedding to plan in the next six months: where are they going to live, who is going to wash the dishes, who is going to decorate their home? And he has to try to figure out what to do with all the emotions he’s experienced from the last six years. Mike was on the front lines. He has seen death, anger, and depression (and so much more). These realities and the emotions that come with them have been with him constantly. These are things that most of us have never had to face and probably never will. So what can we do?

Calvary Church is a family, and when a family member comes home we celebrate and support. We need to be praying that God will continue to transform Mike, and that God will heal the emotional and spiritual wounds he suffered while doing two tours of war in Afghanistan. Pray that God would give Kacie and Mike guidance as they prepare to honor God through a biblical marriage. Pray for wisdom about job and schooling decisions. And we need to go one step further and speak words of encouragement and support. Love him and be patient. Take him out to breakfast, lunch or supper (I’m sure he would be available).

And let’s always remember, this is the same Mike who left us six years ago to get a haircut, new clothes and a gun, but he is not the same. He had our love and he has earned our respect. Let’s just be for him. Let him know how thankful you are that he was willing to put his life on hold, and on the line, to protect our freedom.

Welcome Home Mike,

Happy Father’s Day! During a time in our culture when it is not uncommon to hear about fathers who’ve checked out (or maybe who’ve never even checked it to begin with), it is refreshing to hear about and see dads who are attempting to plug in and engage their kids not just in the activities of our society but more importantly in a serious spiritual walk with God.

Dads, I want to encourage and admonish you that it is primarily your responsibility to disciple your own children. It is a high calling to shepherd a child’s heart, and that is exactly what God has called us dads to.

Don’t wait – do it now. If you are the father of young children start shepherding today. You shepherd by protecting, guiding, warning and loving the kids God has richly blessed you with. I encourage and warn you, don’t be a dad who delegates this God-given privilege to others. We will be held responsible for how we raised our kids, nobody else.

It’s never too late to begin. What if you find yourself with teens or older children? You can still have an impact in their lives. You may have to get creative but it can still be done. How? Establish a family devotional time each day. If your kids are out of the house when they come to visit they will see that you are serious about your devotion to Christ. Other ways you can help steer their hearts in the right direction is to text, email, facebook, call or write them. Any small gesture of discipling will have a profound impact in the years to come.

Don’t see this as a burdensome task; see discipling your kids as a joyful quest. We only have one shot so let’s make it the best shot we can. With all your might fervently pray and with all your love shepherd wisely. Make your home a joyful place where your kids will want to be. Make them long to gather around the dinner table even after they leave.

My prayer for us dads is that our kids would outstrip us in following Jesus!

Grace & Peace,

God has blessed my life tremendously. He has blessed me with a gracious relationship with Himself through the redemption He provided through His Son, Jesus Christ (back to this in a minute). He has blessed me with a wonderful family. He has blessed me with a loving church. He has blessed me with caring friends. He has blessed me with a beautiful place to live. He has blessed me with clear instructions through His Word. He has blessed me with life. He has blessed me with opportunities to serve Him. And the list goes on. In fact, most everyone reading this has been blessed in many of the same ways. Now back to redemption…

Redemption is the plan whereby God beautifully reverses the fortunes of those who are not His own. Peter put it like this,

Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:10)

That is the gospel and the gospel is the great reversal. Throughout the Bible we can find different metaphors describing the reversal. Once we didn’t belong, but now we do belong; once we had no identity with God, but now we are identified with God; once we didn’t know who our father was (Satan), but now we do know that our Father is God; once we were lost, but now we are found; once we had no hope, but now we are filled with hope. Isn’t that a beautiful reversal of fortunes?

Peter shares the purpose behind this reversal in the previous verse:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (verse 9)

So God changed our lives so that we could tell others how He could do the same for them. This is at least part of why God saved us, isn’t it? Yes it is! Evangelism is not about some new program that the church needs to buy into; it’s not about a certain night when we all “go out” to knock on doors. While those may be helpful they may also become harmful. How? Because it leads the church to think that getting the gospel out into the community is something that we can check off our list of things to do for the week. It can also be dangerous because it leads Christians to practice evangelism once a week instead of making it part of our lifestyle. What about the girl you work with? What if she was to ask about your hope and joy on Friday morning but visitation was Tuesday night? I guess she’s just out of luck for four days, right? No, right then and there we can begin to share the gospel by sharing our story of how God’s marvelous grace rescued us from the darkness and placed us into His beautiful light.

Has God’s blessed you the way He’s blessed me? If so, then why don’t you thank Him and then look for an opportunity to share His blessings with others.

Grace & Peace,