3 Ways to Leave a Legacy of Love

What will you be remembered for?

We all have changes in our lives. We change jobs, houses, friends etc. In fact the only thing that is constant in life is change. What will you be remembered for in the weeks, months, and years that follow a change.

I have done many funerals and the part of the funeral that is always interesting is when family and friends share stories and memories of the deceased. Mostly they are stories of what this person meant to them, what they gave to them, the baton is passed on to the next generation. Some of the stories are humorous that tell you something of the person’s character. It hasn't happened to me but another pastor once told me of the story of a funeral they took where nobody had anything good to say and someone actually came to the funeral just to make sure ‘the #@*^ was dead’.

I want to be remembered that I loved well. Sounds simple doesn't it.

NOT!!!

Nothing could be so difficult. In fact if you truly take this up as a life call then you will most likely be persecuted and potentially crucified.

How do we leave a legacy of love?

1. Follow a lover.

One of the memories of my Dad was that he was a man that loved. I also remember a game we played when I was little. I would stand on his feet and he would walk around with me holding on tight. I try to follow Jesus in a similar way. I read the Jesus stories and try and follow his footsteps. I suppose the ultimate act of love that Jesus gives us is that he gave up his life for us.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16

The challenge is to hear what Jesus is calling you to lay down as an act of love for others. Fame, fortune, security? What would God be calling you to lay down or let go of for the sake of others?

2. Listen to a heart

I think the greatest love I have received personally is when people have sought out my heart. When they have inquired of my soul. There has been a listening that contained deep gentle questions. Loving curiosity not harsh intrusiveness. Connection where both feel gently warmed by each other. 

The first duty of love is to listen. Paul Tillich 

3. Serve a need

The world is full of need isn't it. So many issues, so much pain, don't you feel overwhelmed at times! The good news is that you don't have to be the solution to every problem!

Recently I listened to a message by Andy Stanley called ‘One, Not Everyone’ (highly recommended) where he discusses this issue. He has a little motto that he tells himself.

‘I will do for one what I wish I could do for all’

Limit yourself to what you can do, not hope to do. Focus on a small number of needs and do them well. What is the one or two needs that God is calling you to focus on. 

 

Where there is great love there is always miracles. Willa Cather

 

Who has left a legacy of love to you? How did they do this?

Barry Pearman

Image by David Hayward

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A Turning of the Page for Me – Commissioning at River Valley Baptist Church

I have Turned a Page!

On Saturday 23rd July I was commissioned to be the Pastor of River Valley Baptist Church based in the small country town of Parakai.

The position is for 20 hours a week and involves providing leadership and support to the life of the church. Over the past ten years I have been regularly visiting RVBC and have provided some preaching support.

RVBC is a relatively new church and has slowly grown since its inception about 10 – 12 years ago. You can read more about the RVBC at our website.

Parakai is a small rural town located near Helensville. It is about a 40 min drive from central Auckland and is famous for it’s hot thermal springs. Nearby is the mighty Kiapara harbour, one of the largest harbours in the world.

Saturday was a very special day for Dayle and I and the wonderful Church family we have now.

Here are a few photos for you to enjoy.

Barry Pearman

Images by Shirley Wood

 

Our Master of Ceremonies – Roy Mulder

Bruce Patrick – President of the  Baptist Union of New Zealand

My friend Tim Page brought a song to us

 

A very special time of prayer

Some thing we do well at RVBC, fellowship and food

I once had a prophecy that I would be a ‘pillar in the house of the Lord’ (spoken in a southern drawl) well it came true! My brother – in – laws aren't so sure and someone is heading for the nearest exit. Wise move!

A Dangerous Prayer to Pray - Franciscan Benediction

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers,

half truths, and superficial relationships,

so that you may live deep within your heart.

 

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression,

and exploitation of people,

so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

 

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection,starvation, and war,

so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

 

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe

that you can make a difference in this world,

so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

(Author unknown)

Here is a challenge. Pray this prayer everyday for the next week and post some comments as to how this prayer has changed you.

Barry Pearman

Image by NYC.andre Creative Commons Flickr

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Heart-Shattered Lives don't for a Moment Escape God's Notice

Jacob was a cheater,
Peter had a temper,
David had an affair,
Noah got drunk,
Jonah ran from God,
Paul was a murderer,
Gideon was insecure,
Miriam was a gossiper,
Martha was a worrier,
Thomas was a doubter,
Sara was impatient,
Elijah was moody,
Moses stuttered,
Zaccheus was short,
Abraham was old,
and Lazarus was dead ...
God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the CALLED!

I wonder what qualifications we place on ourselves before we think we can be of use to God, or even to have a relationship with God. 

Perhaps the qualities that God is looking for are vastly different to what we would consider as important.

He also works within our flaws to bring us to a place of dependence on him, to a place of need and surrender.

Within that flaw, the charcoal tasting flavour that you can’t get out of your mouth, a seed of hope germinates.

You call back to your mind, as the writer of Lamentations says, the stableness of God’s faithful love for you. You that are flawed and fragile.

I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed.I remember it all—oh, how well I remember— the feeling of hitting the bottom.But there's one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up.They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! Lamentations 3:19-24 (The Message)

If you look at many of famously flawed mentioned above, God communed with them when they hit rock bottom. 

Their flaw led them to fellowship with a forgiving God. 

They discovered a new and real depth in their relationship with God and this percolated out to others.

Here is David’s cry out to God.

Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt,
soak out my sins in your laundry.
I know how bad I've been;
my sins are staring me down.
You're the One I've violated, and you've seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
whatever you decide about me is fair.
I've been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
What you're after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.
Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,
scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don't look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don't throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from grey exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I'll let loose with your praise.
Going through the motions doesn't please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don't for a moment escape God's notice.
Make Zion the place you delight in,
repair Jerusalem's broken-down walls.
Then you'll get real worship from us,
acts of worship small and large,
Including all the bulls
they can heave onto your altar! Psalm 51

Perhaps the greatest qualification needed is brokenness.

Do you have a Certificate or a Doctorate?

Only suffering arouses the deepest thirst.
Only uncertainty breeds stable hope.
Only failure and fear escort you to the centre of your God-filled soul and will then release you to be the poem of God’s making. Larry Crabb

Barry Pearman

Image by Jeremy Stenberg Creative Commons FlickrBlogger Labels: 

Straight from the Mouth of a Sheep

Off he goes again, leading the way.

I hear him singing one of his little songs. It’s quite beautiful as we all trot along behind. I remember the first time I heard his voice. It sounded so caring and kind, yet forceful, strong, protective and reassuring. It was like he had known me forever and he knew all my problems, fears and needs.

He knows exactly what I need to hear to be reassured.

Sometimes he leads me through incredibly rocky dry places. Nothing to satisfy me, nothing to drink, it’s just one foot after another. Panting and gasping for breathe we go up a mountain and I truly wonder where he is leading.

Then there are times when he provides a resting place. Grass up to the knees, sweet cool water washing the dust away and making the tough times a faint memory.

Some times these places are as flat as a table and he goes ahead and makes a big ruckus so that all the snakes and mountain lions run for cover. This table is a safe place for me to sleep and rest.

The dark valleys are scary. There is one called the Valley of Death. Its a very narrow valley and if there is a sudden rain storm it can quickly shift from being a dry valley to being a swift flowing stream that can drag you away to death. When I find myself in that valley I hold on to him with everything I have. He is right there and never leaves me. He always gets me through.

As I walk along I collect the usual cuts and bruises. Sometimes they get infected and I need some help. I can’t do anything for myself. He sees I am limping so he stops and pours ointment on the pains and cuts. At times I get a thorn in my hoof and he has to use his knife to cut it out. Painful but good.

Once I got lost, I had wandered off the track and lost sight of him. When he realised I was gone he left all the other sheep and went looking for me. He loves me so much.

I suppose that is why they call him the Good Shepherd.

I will keep on following Him, in good times and bad.

 

Barry Pearman

Image by John Haslam Creative Commons Flicker

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