Tag: vision

  • Letter #20–God’s Heart

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         This letter is going to appear different from the previous ones.  As I was having my devotion on October 22, 2025, I received the daily devotion from my Tecarta Bible App.  This particular one struck my own heart and mind in such a way that I have decided to invest this week’s letter in sending it out to you, too.  The app did not specify the author.  It’s possible the editors/producers may have developed it themselves.  At any rate, I pray it will touch you as greatly as it did me.

    Context Material–Psalm 78:11-57

    Title–God’s Broken Heart

         “Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the desert and grieved his heart in the wilderness. Again and again they tested God’s patience and frustrated the Holy One of Israel”.  (Psalm 78:40-41)

         Have you ever wondered how God feels about human behavior? We know that we get upset when people hurt us, and if we cause pain we feel bad about it. But what about the impact of our behavior on God?

         In the time of Noah, we are told, “The Lord observed the extent of the people’s wickedness, and he saw that all their thoughts were consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them. It broke his heart” (Gen. 6:5-6). Human sin apparently broke the divine heart.

         After the Flood things did not improve appreciably. In the long and tortuous history of the children of Israel, God suffered constant heartache. The cycle of sin, repentance, recommitment, restoration, apathy, decline, oppression, repentance, and recommitment continued in relentless fashion. This revealed the obduracy of man and the patience of God, as man’s behavior subjected the Lord to ongoing heartbreak.

         Psalm 78 catalogues for all time the many sins of ancient Israel and the many gracious acts of God. No matter how much good God sent to his people, or how much chastisement, “They did not keep God’s covenant, and they refused to live by his law” (78:10; see 78:11-16, 31-33). Sometimes they did repent and return to God, but their zeal was short-lived and often insincere (78:36-37). The writer of this psalm summarized the situation by saying, “Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the desert and grieved his heart in the wilderness. Again and again they tested God’s patience and frustrated the Holy One of Israel” (78:40-41).

         We do well to consider the impact of human behavior on the heart of God. Human sin is an affront to God. It is a denial of his sovereignty. It is a statement by one created from dust that he is taking control from the Creator. That breaks God’s heart. When sinful actions predominate in our lives, they demonstrate the extent of human fallenness. When a man’s heart is corrupt, his humanity is polluted. Understandably, God is indignant about man’s condition and actions, so he disciplines his erring children. But even his discipline stems from his brokenhearted love.

         A vision of God’s heart may soften and break the most hardened human heart. And that can lead to our hearts being molded into that for which he created and redeemed us. Our lives can be expressions of his love and goodness, rather than examples of human wickedness—for all time!

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #2–Vision

    Dear Small Church Pastor

                You’ve probably preached the verse that says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18)   That vision, that over-riding thought, that dream for your congregation, is very likely God’s will for your church.  There’s a solid chance that the vision is that “one thing” the Holy Spirit is leading you to achieve for His kingdom.  There is something you can do in order to discover if it is.

                In order to know God’s will for your own life, you had to seek God, talk to him and then listen to His voice.  You’re going to have to do the same things in order to discover His will for your congregation.  You’re going to have to pray, pray, pray, and then, pray some more.  Then be quiet and wait on the Holy Spirit to answer you.

                I know that’s a “WELL, DUH!” statement.  Here’s the rub—Too many of us small church pastors pray and pray and pray, but we don’t stop talking and listen.  We’re too busy to be still in His presence and allow Him to talk to us.

                The enemy has convinced us we are supposed to invest our days and nights in hospital visits, making follow-up calls to visitors—if we ever have any—keeping the church yard neat, overseeing the new bathroom remodel, meetings with the Kiwanis Club or Chamber of Commerce, cooking for the benefit dinner, having board meetings, planning the every month outreach activity, prepping sermons and Bible studies, etc..  The enemy has convinced us we should be doing what everyone else is doing.  He has convinced too many of us that we should be doing that “everything” deal.  (Remember the first letter?)

                None of these activities are bad things to do.  However, they do devour our time and keep us away from being still and waiting on God to speak to us.  If you are going to discover the will of God for your people, His vision for them, then you are going to have to stop doing everything and start doing what matters the most.  Make time to get alone with God in order to have regular conversations with Him. 

                Allow me to share something one of our district leaders once said to a group of pastors.  He said, “When I was pastoring, I should have spent more time in prayer listening to God than I spent in hospitals talking to sick folks and their families.”  There’s wisdom in that statement.  He had discovered the key to being a great leader lies in being a great listener to the Holy Spirit. 

                Invest more time in sharing what’s on your heart with God, then stop talking, be quiet and still, and listen as He shares what’s on His heart with you.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor