Nathan Neighbors
Follower of Christ, Husband, Father, & Youth Pastor
“Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his love endures forever.” (Psalm 106:1) “My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul.” (Psalm 108:1). These are the lyrics from songs written by King David. All of these Psalms in this section of today’s Bible reading are drenched with words of praise, adoration, and love for the One True God. The words written on these pages have been used in countless of songs, hymns, and worship services for thousands of years. It’s hard to read these passages of scripture without a song coming to mind that uses some of these lyrics. These verses are ageless and are universal words that the human soul uses to give glory and adoration to the LORD.
What’s amazing is that these words were penned by a mighty warrior – the leader of Israel – King David. When I read these psalms and see the depth of David’s spiritual maturity and get a glimpse at his heart, my first thought isn’t of a mighty warrior. When I think of a warrior I think about a strong, harsh, fierce man who goes into battle and shows little emotion. David is something of an anomaly. He was a mighty warrior, a passionate follow of God, a skilled musician, and even a man who had healthy brotherly love for other men like Jonathan. Wouldn’t it be amazing if our leaders had this kind of spiritual depth? Wouldn’t it be awesome to be led by people who began their days singing words like those in these psalms? I desire to be that sort of leader. I hope you do too. I pray that for our local, state, national, and world leaders as well.
One of the great stories from our week on mission in Charleston came from Janna McClure. Here it is in her own words:
Thursday I got some sort of bug and had to leave my site early, and I felt like I kind of left my group out to dry. So, when I woke up on Friday morning my prayer was that God would use me in some way that day. That morning I told my team that I was ALL IN and that I was going to give it 100% for our last day! We went to a new site on Friday at Saint Andrew’s Church. We had the awesome privilege to play with some great kids! One little friend I met was named L.J., but I gave the nick name “Lebron James.” It was fitting seeing as how Lebron signed with Miami that day! I was drawing the word “Morningside” on the ground with sidewalk chalk when he walked up and asked what I was writing. He sounded the word out and I told him that was where I went to church. I asked him where he went to church and he told me he didn’t. I immediately jumped at the opportunity to share Christ with little Lebron James! We talked about how when he went to heaven he would like to be able to eat macaroni and cheese and play basketball everyday! He could answer all the questions I asked, such as “who did Jesus die for?” etc… The words “I want to pray that prayer” came out of his mouth right as it was time for our team to leave and get ready for mega relay back at camp. He lost interest and ran off. I was so frustrated! I felt like that was my opportunity to do the Lord’s work, and I had failed. As I talked to people about it, they all said the same thing, “you planted the seed, you did your job!” On Saturday morning a girl from my ministry group came to me and told me that she had watched and listened when I was talking to L.J. and that I had impacted her, and she was saved Friday night. Through all of the frustration with L.J. I found so much peace through Candace’s decision! It was an awesome week, and I was honored to do the Lord’s work with my youth group! – Janna McClure
Isn’t that just like the Lord? God’s ways are not our ways. He was at work the whole time. I’m proud of Janna for being a willing servant and witness for the Lord. Her faithful witness not only impacted L.J.’s life, it led Candace (one of her team members) to realize her need for salvation too. Janna is just one example of the amazing students at Morningside. I’m proud of every one of our 33 team members. Here’s a picture of L.J. and a picture of Janna with Candace (girl in the blue shirt). Pray that L.J. will soon pray to receive Christ as his Savior. Pray that Candace will be surrounded with many fellow believers who will encourage her in her new walk with Christ.
It’s Monday. Typically on Mondays I reflect on how things went at church and in the youth ministry the day before. This Monday I’m reflecting on the entire week that I’ve just spent on the youth mission trip. As a leader I’m always trying to set a good example for the students and model Christ-likeness. When you spend seven days with a group and you live on less that 5-6 hours a day of sleep, you begin to get a little rough around the edges. It’s in those moments that I fear that I will act or speak in a way that dishonors Christ and my role as pastor.
In today’s reading a passage jumped out at me that I’ve never read before. David said in Psalm 69:6, “May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me, O Lord, the Lord Almighty; may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me, O God of Israel.” This psalm describes the low pit that David felt himself in. Even at his lowest David prayed that his life would not reflect poorly on the Lord. That’s my prayer too. I never want to do anything that would disgrace the Lord or detract students from seeing who Christ really is.
Nathan Neighbors 