by Aarron Pina | Dec 20, 2012 | Uncategorized
It’s Time
In 1986, garbage was piling up on the streets of Philadelphia. The sanitation department was on strike. Joseph Paolino and Sons moved opportunistically securing a contract with the city that involved collecting, burning, incinerating and then removing the ash.
How? The ashes were piled on a freighter called The Pelicano with a disposal trip planned to a third word country. One problem. Joseph and Sons did not properly segregate the trash before feeding the incinerator.
Everything from orange peels and plastic to aluminum, copper, car batteries and light bulbs were blended together and in the end formed 28 million tons of toxic ash. Haiti, Honduras, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic… port after port turned them away. The Pelicano became the most unwanted ship in the world and for two years it went from point to port, refueling, but leaving with it’s garbage.
Can you relate? For 15 years I was the Pelicano…docking and refueling at church on Sundays and in a men’s group on Fridays, gaining some energy, but still leaving with my toxic garbage.
In Matthew 11:25 Jesus is getting ready to tell us how to get rid of our garbage…
He had just talked about the people and cities that would not repent. Now he thanks God that it is His plan to withhold the answer to those who consider themselves knowledgeable and wise, but reveals truth and reserves relationship for the childlike… a contrast to those who want to act independently of God and those who depend on the Father.
After this prayer of thanks, Jesus lays One Thing out: Come unto me all you who are weak and heavy laden…those carrying garbage around for years…and I will give you rest.
So what if Jesus had changed it up just a bit?… What if he said…and I will sell you rest. Would this be on your gift giving and gift getting list this Christmas?
How much would you pay?… Seriously…think about it!
The great news…it is free!
If you have been carrying a heavy load of trash, it’s time to lay it down.
As we are nearing December 24th and 25th…Christmas, It’s time…
Identify your garbage. All the trash that you no longer want to haul around.
Come to Jesus… lay it before Him, acknowledge…repent
Invest some necessary time around the closing verses of Matthew 11…
This Christmas I will precede our family gift-giving time by placing one wrapped package upfront and center….
Inside the package will be four wooden letters… R-E-S-T. …The perfect gift that Jesus is willing to freely give….
The heart of Christmas.
Men…somehow, in some way take the lead this Christmas and in a few memorable moments, with your family, from your personal experience, luxuriate this opportunity and share some dimension of what it means to “Come.”
One on one with Jesus, it’s time to discover rest.
– Ron Dunn
by Aarron Pina | Dec 19, 2012 | Uncategorized
A few years ago at a local dinner/event, I witnessed one of Dan Diadiggo’s family’s traditions, called “Christmas Chronicles”. For the next few days, as I take some time off from the blog to soak more thoroughly in the word and unclutter some of my own brain at year end, I’ve chosen to pass forward his Christmas Chronicles for your consumption and cogitation.
I hope as you disciple others it will serve as a helpful framework for sharing important truths about Christmas, Christ, and the God who loves us with a crazy, crazy love. It’s a tradition I’m sure the Pina family will adopt in years to come and I hope it proves to be a unique blessing to you as you and your family gather to celebrate the incarnation of a risen Savior.
—
#2 such a time as this
Read:
He went there with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born…
Luke 2:5-6
Speak:
Before God created the world He scheduled Jesus to touch down on its soil. Jesus entered this world according to a plan that God set in motion before Adam breathed his first. Long before there was a you or a me, there was a plan.
God’s plan –
a plan that involves us.
a that plan that requires Jesus.
Jesus took on flesh at exactly the right time to set us free for all time.
The Scriptures tell us the Lord determines the times and places set for us.
Think about this for a moment. He Who created the universe created you – and for such a time as this.
The people you meet, the opportunities you find and the trouble that finds you – these are divine appointments.
Uniquely yours. Entrusted to you by Jesus – Who is uniquely God.
Pray:
Thank you Lord for assigning me to a time such as this. Thank you for the opportunities and people you have placed before me – and for the good works You created for me to walk in. Thank you for the life You have breathed into me and for the days You have given me. Thank you Jesus, for joining me in time so that I might live with You in eternity.
by Aarron Pina | Dec 18, 2012 | Uncategorized
He Reigns… He Provides
Every month, it’s the same thing – God does wild, eleventh hour stuff to shock us with His care and understanding of our provision as a ministry and a family. This month is no different, except the shock level is a little higher. While incoming year end support seemed to trickle in slowly and matching funds began to wane, God used a few, key people to shift the tide:
Today, we stand about $6,500 from meeting the most basic support needs… Inches from the finish line. Better than that, we now have about $2,500 in matching funds to help make your giving go farther. Rather than clog everyone’s inbox with moment to moment updates, I’m simply going to put it out there on the blog and Facebook a couple more times over the next two weeks just to keep people “in the know” regarding where we’re at.
Asking Specific, Asking Big
While the total need above is “most basic support needs”, that contains a lot of smaller parts. Included in this number are “parts” like phone and internet (<$80/month combined), fuel and mileage ($400), postage $48 per quarter, secure post office fee ($240 for the year of 2013), Constant Contact email service - reaching 400 readers (about $196 for 2013), Speak Life - marriage conference scholarship ($300) for 4 couples in need of a "tune up"/marriage tweaks.
On top of that, I’m going to take a strange step out and ask big – I don’t believe we’re here to just “finish the year at ‘basic needs funded’ “. I believe we’re here to make an impact on more men and marriages this year than ever. I believe we’re here to do more than just “break even”. I’d like to give you an opportunity to participate in that kind of life change by bringing this ministry from 40% to 80% to 100% funded.
Would you consider joining us in support, starting January 2013, as a $25 supporter, $100 supporter, or even “board level” at $200?
To Support Online Using our Secure Online Giving Portal:
Monthly Support:
One Time Support:
To support by check, make your check payable to Seasons of Life Ministries and mail to:
Seasons of Life Ministries
2659 Freedom Parkway
Suite 285
Cumming, GA 30041
Thanks, and Merry Christmas!!!
AP
by Aarron Pina | Dec 17, 2012 | Uncategorized
Lost the Plot, Did We?
Amazing how great and tragic loss gets us asking the right questions, isn’t it? Sad there are so many distractions to take our eyes off the plot. Ever felt so stuck in the swamp you forgot you were sent there to drain it? Then, you must have seen the news on Friday, too… Terrible that we have to lose dozens of precious children to get us to pray more fervently, attend church more faithfully (even at all), or take a break from the busy-ness of business to consider what really matters at the time of year that really matters… Then, as the media cycle dies down… back to our Christmas shopping again, right?
Which is more tragic, the tragedy we saw or the tragedy of forgetting it?
OK, Shift Gears…
In Pursuit of Happiness…
At the intersection of all the newer stuff out there every year – the better, sleeker, smaller/larger (depending on the technology) – the “better deals than ever“, and the constant IV-drip of the marketers’ “you, you, you”, lies what used to be the village of “I really ought to get something for me”.
It was founded decades ago when Madison Avenue discovered that adding a few drops of consumer psychology to our water supply could turn grown adults into whiny, tantruming children who lose their minds when they can’t have what they want when they want it. Today, the town has grown up into a bustling city, renamed “Gimme” and you and I all have hearts that speak its native language.We even have a gift or two on our list that we’re buying just for us, right?
Paul makes in interesting point in 1 Corinthians 1, as he points to the identity of his audience:
“[I am writing this letter] to those who have been set aside/dedicated to serving God – holy by calling”
In fact, the letters God inspired Paul to write are all reminders to people who have lost the plot. “You started out on the right foot. You just got so caught up in the walking, you forgot where you were supposed to be headed. You’re so wrapped up in the men around you, you’ve lost touch with the Maker. You were called out to be holy – turn around and stick with first things in light of what’s been done for you!”
See? You just read half of the New Testament.
To Regain the Plot, Consider the Characters
We were created in God’s image, not a carbon copy of God, though. We are the creation, not the creator, and not endowed with the wisdom of all He knows. We lose the plot constantly because we don’t think like God. Yeah, you’ve been reading the Bible for a decade or two. That’s great. Me, too. That just makes me more prone to the sin of pride. God calls out to His people over and over again – “repent” – change your mind, radically and agree with the ways of God.
God isn’t so busy wrapped up with my deadline, your project problems, her sales quota, their ballet, soccer, karate, and gymnastics schedule. He always knows what the plot is… His glory. He’s totally stuck on Himself, but it’s okay. He’s the most important person in His life, and that’s okay. Implication: we’re not. We’re not the reason we’re alive, not the answer, not the point of the story… So, when we get all caught up in “us”, by whatever device, we’ve hijacked the lead role and lost the plot.
The Good News
The Good News, of course, is Jesus. But, the message of the Gospel isn’t. The Message of the Gospel is something far more offensive to our carefully tuned ears: “repent”. That’s great news – there’s a solution to… us. Repent… Turn away from the way that you used to think when you were, as God calls us, dead in your sin. Take off the old self, what’s familiar to you, “The Pursuit of Me and My Stuff”, and put on new thoughts. Renovate your mind.
But, the news Paul writes in 1 Corinthians is not to those who don’t know Christ. These aren’t people who are “dead in their sin”. These are people who’ve received grace by faith, but are being tugged this way and that by “every wind of teaching and the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming” (Eph 4:14). Know anyone like that?
The great news is, at least we know the Main Character and the plot. At least we have a means to regain the plot once we’ve lost it. And, despite the pain we’re feeling over our loss, their loss, any loss, we have gained something by the tragedy – a painful post it note that reminds us there was a plot in the first place. Go ahead, put your kids’ picture or one of the photos of those victims of the shooting on your dash board. But, don’t let it be there in vain – let it be a reminder of who the story is about and who you and I are not.
Pray for comfort for the families who have lost. Pray that God puts a smile on their face through the comfort that can only come from “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles (2 Cor. 1:3-4)”. But, pray also for the salvation of all around them. No sense in showing up to the gates of Hell with a smile on your face… Let’s not gain a smile and lose the plot. Give the gift of the Plot Writer to yourself and others this Christmas.
Jesus is the reason, not just a season.
Grace, peace, and momentum to you today in Christ!
AP
by Aarron Pina | Dec 11, 2012 | Uncategorized
Unlikely Heroes:
Last year, a handful of people wrote year end giving checks and made online donations that saved the day. They had no idea that they’d be the difference between Seasons of Life starting our 5th year in ministry at a stable walk rather than a wobbly limp. It’s that time again. Care to be a year end hero?
The Numbers:
To finish the year “with the wheels safely on the runway”, all that’s left to raise is about $8,317, with just under $2,000 in matching funds available to reach that milestone. Immediate need (due by 12.15.2012) is about $2,900. [Update: 12.28.2012 – <$4,000 to go with a little over $1,000 in matching funds]
For next year, our prayer is that some of you who’ve been sometimes givers will join us in regular monthly support. We’d love to see us pull closer to 70-80% funded. Obviously, while we’re praying for that, we’re also on our knees asking God to bridge the gap between December 15th and December 31st. I cordially invite you to consider us n your giving as the year closes out.
Dan’s Story
For the past few weeks I’ve been meeting with “Dan” (not his real name). Dan’s in the middle of what he believes may be a divorce – her resolve to pursue the divorce is uncertain. He admits a lot of his hand in the marriage breakdown and that his faith has been tested by all this. Talking to him, I got a very clear picture that his church experience has been a culture of “performance” where he’s done a lot of “Jesus stuff”, but never been actively discipled in experiencing Christ and walking closely with Him. He’s even been taught a few lies about marriage and never had a chance to confront and debunk them.
Dan’s one of those guys that John Woodall calls “dying on the vine”. But, at least he knows Who the vine is, right? As we’ve been talking, I can see thin, but heavy layers of hopelessness lifting off his shoulders. Talk of repentance, apology, and forgiveness surfaces when truth meets transparency. Only time and prayer will tell what the future holds for Dan. But, I’m honored to walk with him through this season of life, indeed the most challenging holiday season he’s ever faced.
Many of the men and women we meet with are active supporters of Seasons of Life. But, for every one of them, there’s a Dan out there who can’t yet afford to support because of this kind of financial hardship. Your support “buys us” the time to meet with a guy like Dan. Thank you, from us and from Dan.
Why Now is Important
Many non-profits, ministries, and churches rely on year end giving to catch up on support from earlier in the year and to prepare for a solid start for the year to come. In addition, the availability of just under $2,000 in year end matching funds means your giving is doubled up to the $2,000 mark. Your $25 brings us $50, your $100 brings us $200, etc. These matching funds are only available for giving up to the end of December.
5 Ways You Can Support:
1) Pledge: Contact us to let us know if you’re planning to support and we’ll guide you through the process.
2) Support online or by check (details below) at any level.
3) Consider Seasons of Life in your 2013, 2014, and/or 2015 giving & let us know as the Lord leads.
4) Invite your small group or coworkers to join in “liking” us on Facebook or following our blog or start a pool in your group or office to help push us over the top.
5) Pray, pray, pray. That’s a gift we always appreciate.
To Support Online Using our Secure Online Giving Portal:
Monthly Support:
One Time Support:
To support by check, make your check payable to Seasons of Life Ministries and mail to:
Seasons of Life Ministries
2659 Freedom Parkway
Suite 285
Cumming, GA 30041
Thanks, as always!
in Christ,
AP
