Hello, friends.

This past couple weeks has been full of ups and downs. God has blessed us with some great victories, but there have also been many struggles. I’ve been hit with the reality that I have a long ways to go before achieving the “maturity in Christ” that Paul talks about in Col.1:28. Hearing hard words where your “growth edges” are pointed out to you is never easy, and as I swallow hard and try to hear the truth and receive the criticism graciously, maintaining a teachable spirit, it is easy to begin to doubt yourself. In those times, the wise wife of a seminary professor of mine said, “Eric, don’t doubt in the darkness what God has told you in the light.” Confessing our weaknesses, humbling ourselves before colleagues, admitting we messed up and not making excuses – wow, these are so unpopular, but it seems as I read through the Scriptures that they are essential attitudes of anyone wanting to grow in Christ. As it says in Psalm 46, sometimes it may feel like the “mountains are falling into the heart of the sea,” as our world is turned topsy turvey, but what I am finding healthiest is to return to those things I know to be true:

• Christ is my all in all – He loves me, accepts me, and my chief goal in life is to love Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.
• My family must come before any ministry or other relationships. There are many others who can do what I do, and probably better than I do it. But I am the only husband for my wife, the only dad for my kids.
• Take one growth step at a time, keeping my eyes on the prize and maintaining perspective through it all. I will not change overnight, but “by the grace of God, I am what I am.” (1 Cor.15:10)

These and a few other pertinent lessons are what I’ve been dwelling on recently, and I thank God for doing his work in me. As he says in Ps.139: “Search me o God and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there be any hurtful way in me. And lead me in the everlasting way.”

Thank God that He is faithful, and will never give up on us. We are all on a lifelong journey, and may we continue moving forward, little by little, till we hear the Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Pressing on by God’s grace, from the Potter’s wheel. Eric