Drawing of All Men

Posted on December 24, 2017 by nicke2345

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.

~ Luke 2:15-16

From before the creation of the world, through His appearance as a baby, into His departure from this earth, and to our waiting for His return a story is happening. A story found on every page of scripture; the Lord is drawing all men to Himself.

As a baby, shepherds near by and wise men from the far east were drawn to Him, the Messiah had come, the One who would take away the sins of the world. Today those who appear near, neat, clean and those whom appear to be without hope and far away are drawn to Him, for He is the Savior. “For where Christ is named, idolatry is destroyed and the fraud of evil spirits is exposed; indeed, no such spirit can endure that Name, but takes to flight on sound of it (Athanasius).”

This Christmas as we gather with friends and family, let us remember that since the beginning the Lord has been drawing all men to Himself, those near and those far. He has been in and is in the business of saving men out of their mess and cleaning them up. For that friend we love who just needs Jesus, and that relative we really don’t want to be around, the answer for both is Jesus! He is drawing all men to Himself, may we seek, beg and ask Him to do it again this season in the lives of those around us and in the lives of those around the world!

Light has entered the world and is pushing back darkness!

Only the humble believe him and rejoice that God is so free and so marvelous that he does wonders where people despair, that he takes what is little and lowly and makes it marvelous. And that is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves the lowly…. God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings. God marches right in. He chooses people as his instruments and performs his wonders where one would least expect them. God is near to lowliness; he loves the lost, the neglected, the unseemly, the excluded, the weak and broken.

~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dangerousness of Drifting

Posted on November 11, 2017 by nicke2345

And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

~ Judges 16:20

Five days after Christmas 1972, Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 departed from JFK Airport heading to Miami International Airport. As it began it’s decent into Miami when the pilots flipped the switch to let down the landing gear they noticed the landing gear indicator light on their dash did not light up. As they began to assess the situation they received orders from the tower to climb to 2,000 feet and the hold due west over the Everglades.

What tragically transpired next was while the pilots were working on the situation wondering if the light was simply out or if they had a real issue, the plane got knocked off autopilot and began an ever so slow decent into the Florida Everglades. So slow in fact that no one realized they were descending until at the last moment when it was too late. On December 29, 1972 Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 crashed killing 101 of the passengers and crew plunging into the ground at more than 220 mph. (you can read about it more here)

A slow descent towards destruction, unnoticeable until it was too late.

Unfortunately we see a similar situation when we examine the life of Samson, whose story is told in Judges 13-16; he was set apart by God to be a Nazarite, to deliver the Israelites. Throughout his life we see a constant drift, wandering eyes chasing the women of the land, a disobedience to the Lords calling on his life by touching a dead animal. Eventually this drift lead to Samson coming under attack with him not realizing the Lord had left him, that ultimately lead to his death.

The wandering eyes of Samson lead to spiritual blindness, he did not notice the Lord had left him (Judges 16:20), that eventually lead to his physical blindness and death.

Much like Flight 401 and Samson, we are prone to wander, to drift away from holiness towards our destruction without proper evaluation of where we are, and fighting to press on to obtain our goal. As DA Carson states:

People do not drift toward holiness.

Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord.

We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.

Apart from grace-driven effort we are prone to drift to our destruction. We must fight for holiness! Fight to live in open community to allow those around us to look into our lives to help us notice where we are drifting. Let us examine our lives, press into the Lord allowing Him to supply all that we need to live a life of Holiness (2 Peter 1:3).

Kenya Recap

Posted on July 4, 2017 by nicke2345

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

~ Romans 1:11-12

What a trip Kenya was, I am still trying to process through everything that we saw the Lord do and all that we experiences. This is a trip that I can say I returned with a full heart and greatly encouraged by the work that is going on in Kenya, specifically through the ministry of SIM and Sports Friends.

Trip Recap:

We traveled to Kijabe, Kenya for purpose of connecting with missionaries from our church to assist them in the running of a sports camp for Special Needs children in the area. However, this camp was so much more than simply playing sports with some children for a few days. As we arrived at Camp Wendo (think Baptist encampment in the States) we quickly learned that many believed that this would be the first camp for children with special needs ever put on in Kenya, you see many see disabilities as a curse in their culture. Those born with disabilities in Kenya are often ignored, marginalized, or treated even worse.

This camp consisted of two parts: 1) Connect with the Children and 2) Connect with their families. To show the children they are seen, known and loved by God; as well as help the families know they are not alone, but are also seen, known and loved by God.

Connect with Children

These children, were so precious. The camp was set up for ultimate attention to the children, each camper had one American coach and one Kenyan coach assigned to them. It was then our joy to love on them and serve them for three days. Through eating breakfast, lunch and dinner with them; accompanying them to chapel, and playing many different activities with them. For some this meant kicking of a ball for hours on end, and for some this meant sitting in the sun allowing the child to feel the warmth of then sun. The three days were draining and filling all at the same time; physically tiring as some campers had to be carried everywhere, and spiritually filling as we were blessed with the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ in this campers life.

Connect with Families

Many of these families have been living in isolation for many years. All of these families were from the same area and yet did not know each other. While our team was loving on and playing with the children, the local staff with SIM was loving on the families through a workshop for them. Answering questions such as, “Are there people with disabilities in America? or just Kenya?” And hearing comments like, “I thought we were the only ones with a child with a disability, I had no idea there were others!”

It’s hard to put into words the apparent impact of this camp, we heard one mom testify that at the end of the camp she now saw her son as a blessing, no one had ever told her that before, and she had never seen it.

Takeaways:

Importance of Community – These families had no idea there were others in the world and even in their neighborhoods that were in the same situations as them. Until we are willing to be venerable and let others into our lives we will face many circumstances feeling alone. Walking in community reminds us we aren’t alone, and we aren’t the only ones, facing whichever circumstance we find ourselves in.
Freeing of the Gospel – It’s the Gospel that sets us free and allows us to serve out of this freedom. As the truth of the Gospel was revealed to these families, burdens that had been carried for years were lifted. The Gospel frees you to step outside your comfort zone to love on those who don’t speak your language, look like you, or can ever repay you.
Global Work of God – We serve a Global God who is doing a Global work all around the world. This week in Kenya reminded me that He is doing a work of drawing people to Himself of every tribe, nation and tongue. He allows us to play a part in this process, though we aren’t needed.
Encouragement of the Saints – There is a strengthening of souls that occurs as saints labor alongside one another for the sake of the Gospel. Both our missionaries and the team I was blessed to serve alongside displayed not only to the campers and their families but also to me, Jesus. Watching their actions helped me see Jesus more clearly and love Him more.
People are People – Despite language barriers, culture difference, abilities or disabilities, people are people. Precious image bearers of God who are seen, loved and known by Him. A smile, a hug, attention to them goes a long way to connecting with them and pointing them to Christ. This takes effort, comes easily on a mission trip, but it is imperative that we practice this in our lives daily with those we do life around.

I could go on and on about this trip, I don’t have time to go into all that I learned from being around Shane, Allyson, Shaun, Abby, Stephanie, Sheri, Greg, Cambi and others. The Lord is doing some amazing things in Kenya, I’m thankful for the opportunity to see a part of it.

One final thought, let us not neglect to remember those whom have gone from us for the work of the Gospel around the globe. Remember to pray for them, reach out to them, remind them we are all in this together, that they are not alone. It’s the people of God, doing to the work of God for the Glory of God!

“We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God.”

– John Stott

Lessons From My Mom

Posted on May 14, 2017 by nicke2345

Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

~ Proverbs 31:25-26

On Mothers Day as I begin to think of all that I have learned from my mom, I’m not sure where to start, she has taught me so much over the last thirty-five years. She is one of the strongest, most loving and self-sacrificing women I know. She has continually exemplified to me and our family the characteristics of a Proverbs 31 Woman.

A short list of what I have learned from her:

Commitment to the Lord: I can remember waking up in middle school and high school walking into the kitchen and finding breakfast already made and my mom sitting at the table reading God’s Word, day in and day out. Mom you live a life that shows that your faith is alive and active not merely something you profess on a Sunday, thank you.
Unconditional Love: Through all of life ups and downs, you continue to be a fountain of love that over flows to all those around you. Mom I have learned how to love those around me by watching you, thank you.
Putting Others First: Anyone who meets or is around my mom any length of time, you will see that there is a genuine love, concern and care for those around her. She continually puts everyone’s needs and wants before her own. Mom I seek to serve those around me because of the example you have lived out in front of me day in and day out, thank you.
Proverbs 31 Women: The standard of a Godly women is so often contributed to the list in Proverbs 31, women are told to seek to live up to this standard, men are encouraged to look for a women who shows these characteristics. Mom I never have to wonder what a Godly women, wife and mom looks like or is supposed to look like, I simply have to look at you. Thank you for the example you have lived out in front of us.

Mom, for these few of the many more reasons it is a blessing to be able to call you mom. Thank you for all that you do, the Lord has used you to help form us and shape us into who we are today because of your example. Thank you! Happy Mothers Day!

The impression that a praying mother leaves upon her children is life-long.

~ D.L. Moody

Heading to Kenya

Posted on April 30, 2017 by nicke2345

Friends and Family:

And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. ⁷And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. ⁸So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. ⁹And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰And when Paul³had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

~ Acts 16:6-10
Over the past several years I have been blessed to travel to various parts of the world in order to serve in the mission field. Sometimes these trips were planned for and sought after, other times these trips presented themselves to me unexpectedly. Although I may have never of been given a vision in the night of a man calling me to a location in order to help them, I feel the Lord has pointed me in a direction as I was asking Him how I should use my time. This summer will be no different as a few weeks ago Kenya wasn’t even on my radar, however after some prayer and guidance of those around me it appears the Lord is opening a door in this direction.

The Trip:

I have been presented the opportunity to travel to Kenya with The Village Church, June 17-28, where we will be serving alongside our longest serving missionaries. The Smiths have been in Kenya for many years and we will be joining them to aid in the running of sports camps through the ministry Sports Friends. These camps are more than simply teaching kids to play sports, they are seeking the opportunity to present the Gospel and ensure those who hear are connected to churches in area. Here is a short video on the ministry.

Will you partner with us?

Pray: Pray for our team as we prepare our hearts to go and board a plane on June 17.
Give: I will need to raise $2000 of the $3000 by May 20th in order to purchase plane tickets. You can contribute here through our church (setting up an account is easy and allows for a tax deduction).
1. Check – Make it out to The Village Church (“KENYA I – Nick Elizondo” in the memo line)
2. Cash – The Village Church (“KENYA I – Nick Elizondo” on the envelope)
  1. Note: Cash or check can be dropped in any offering box or mailed to The Village Church, 2101 Justin Rd, Flower Mound, Tx 75028

It is both an honor and a privilege to go to spread the Gospel to all who will hear. We are going praying to faithfully plant seeds and water them while pleading with the Lord to reap a harvest among those we are laboring for His Names sake. Thank you for taking the time to read this email, I would love to have the opportunity to talk with you on this further.

His Servant,

Nick Elizondo

“Missions is the overflow of our delight in God because missions is the overflow of God’s delight in being God.” — John Piper

Shepherding Our Singles

Posted on April 17, 2017 by nicke2345

Shepherd the flock of God that is among you…

1 Peter 5:2(a)

Looking at the trends today in the US we see that there is a growing trend of Singles; men and women are staying unmarried longer than any other time in US History. Currently, as of 2015 there are 109 million singles in the US making up nearly 45% of our total population. Viewing this chart (here) we see that the gap between those married and those unmarried has shrunk quite a bit since 1950.

Not only is this trend in the United States growing, it is also growing in our churches causing us to pause and think, perhaps for the first time, how do we best shepherd this demographic within our body. There seems to be a growing discussion amongst church and their ministers around this topic. Recently 9Marks released their new journal titled Pastoring Singles, due to this growing demographic within our churches helping aid us in thinking of our Singles.

Lately I have had multiple conversations with local pastors asking the same question, “How do we best love and serve the singles entrusted to our care?” Having thought through this question as well as speaking with many singles on the subject, I would like to provide a starting place for us:

Speak to Who They Are Not What They Are

When speaking to those under our care and in our churches who find themselves unmarried, we must remember to speak to who they are. Who are they? They are first and foremost adopted children of God (as believers) and as such our brothers and sisters in Christ. Speak to them as such!

What are they? They are single, a label that is on them defining their current season of life but not one that is defining all of who they are. This is one of many labels that are making up their life as a whole, don’t narrow down their whole existence to this one label.

Ask Better Questions

I believe we are asking the wrong questions of our singles today. We ask them, “Are you dating? Why aren’t you dating? What about so-in-so?” While I feel that if Paul was here today he would walk into most of our churches and see the group and singles and ask, “You are all single? Where are you going? Who are you discipling? How are you advancing the Kingdom?”

This again helps speak to who they are as a brother and sister in Christ and not simply speaking to what they are and assuming that every single is looking to date and every single is in season of life to be dating. The first set of questions are ok questions to ask if you have a close relationship with singles in your life and are having these conversations on top of many other conversations.

Have Higher Expectations

We have a generation of singles today that want to be challenged and held up to a higher standard. Many singles I talk to, have the sense that the expectation of their church is that they are simply good church members and attenders until the day they are married. These singles came up in youth groups and college ministries where they were challenged not to let anyone look down on them because of their youth (1 Timothy 4:12); now feel they get to “big church” and their expectation is to be a good member.

The singles in our churches have special gifts and talents for the betterment of our church bodies. Leaders use the singles under your care, have high expectations for them. Allow them to worship the Lord and serve the local body according to their giftings.

Churches, leaders and ministers as the culture continues to trend in this current trajectory it will become more and more important that we think on and begin to answer the question, “How can we best love and serve the singles entrusted to our care?” This population is growing and in many of our churches will continue to grow. Let us shepherd this flock well, in this season of their lives for His Glory and the betterment of our churches.

Learning to Lament

Posted on April 2, 2017 by nicke2345

“A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance”

~ Ecclesiastes 3:4

There are commands in the Bible such as Philippians 4:4, commanding us as believers to “rejoice in the Lord always,”and in case we missed it the first time Paul adds an echo, “again I will say, rejoice.” Yet, there are also commands such as Romans 12:15, to “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”

Here is the unique collision, to rejoice and to weep, when needed. Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes that there are seasons for both. How do we do this well? When we need to weep and long to weep how do we weep/ mourn well? We lament.

In a recent article on Desiring God, lament was described as:

Lament is God’s people desperately crying in faith to their Lord until God shows himself to be the faithful one he has promised to be.

Webster dictionary defines lament as:

to express sorrow, mourning, or regret for often demonstratively

We see examples of a holy lament throughout the Bible, there is a whole book dedicated to this theme, the book of Lamentations. Also throughout the Psalms we see example after example of lamenting before the Lord. Psalms such as 142, where we see David crying out to the Lord as he is hiding in a cave. To lament is to be honest before the Lord with where you are, how you are hurting, how you are struggling to see Him rightly. To lament rightly is to in a holy manner weep before the Lord.

In an article for the ERLC (Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission), looking at Psalm 142 they list out four points in learning to lament:

Turn to God
Cry for Help
Speak the Truth
Trust the Lord

I have learned that in lamenting I must:

Be Honest with Myself: I must admit, I don’t like this step, perhaps because I am a dude and we don’t like trying to figure out our hearts. However, in order to lament rightly I must look into my heart, be honest with myself, with how I am feeling and deal/ wrestle with it not suppress it.
Be Honest with the Lord:Once we are honest with ourselves we can then be honest before the Lord. Lets be honest, He already knows, how we are feeling, He knows how we are wrestling, He knows our concerns and hurts more than we know. So tell Him all of it. He is big enough to handle it. If you are frustrated, tell Him. If you are hurting tell Him. He already knows!
Focus on the Lord:The point of lamenting rightly is to pour out our hearts before the Lord. In focusing on Him, we are turning to the One who already knows what we are going through and to the One alone who is able to hear and answer. Who alone is able to heal the hurting, answer the searching, and restore the broken.
Remember Who He is: Once we have set our focus on the Lord it is then that we begin to remember who He is. That He is good and does good (Romans 8:28); that when we cast all our burdens on Him for He will sustain us (Psalm 55:22), that it is He alone who satisfies the longing soul (Psalm 107:9), that we can wait on Him and trust on Him for He is our refuge (Psalm 62:8), that when we wait on the Lord it is He who restores our strength (Isaiah 40:31), and that it is the Lord who helps us, strengthens us and upholds us (Isaiah 41:10).

Lamenting rightly reestablishes my trust in the Lord, taking my eyes off self and placing them onto Him who is able to do abundantly more than I could ever ask (Ephesians 3:20). It is here that I am able to begin to rejoice again in the Lord, no matter my circumstances.

Lament is a cry of belief in a good God, a God who has His ear to our hearts, a God who transfigures the ugly into beauty. Complaint is the bitter howl of unbelief in any benevolent God in this moment, a distrust in the love-beat of the Father’s heart.

~ Ann Voskamp

Come to the Throne of Grace

Posted on February 25, 2017 by nicke2345

I recently picked up again The Power of Prayer in a Beleiver’s Life by Charles Spurgeon, it is a top three read all time for me. This morning I was reminded of the hope we have in prayer, that we do not approach a Priest that is unable to sympathize with us; He sees us, He hears use and He knows what we are experiencing. On this Spurgeon writes:

And so, all the petitioners miseries shall be compassionated. When I come to the throne of Grace with the burden of my sins, there is One on the throne who felt the burden of sin in ages long gone by and has not forgotten its weight. When I come loaded with sorrow there is One there who knows all the sorrows to which humanity can be subjected. Am I distressed? Do I fear that God has forsaken me? There is One upon the throne who said, “My God, My God, why has thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46). It is a throne from which grace delights to look upon the miseries of mankind with a tender eye – to consider them and to relieve them. Come, then, you who are not only poor but also wretched, whose miseries make you long for death, and yet you dread it. You captive ones, come in your chains; you slaves, come with the irons upon your souls; you who sit in darkness, come forth all blindfolded as you are. The throne of Grace will look on you if you cannot look on it and will give to you, though you have nothing to give in return, and will deliver you, though you cannot raise a finger to deliver yourself.”

To the wanderer, the weary, the heavy-hearted the call this morning from the Throne of Grace is to come; as you are in your mess, in your hurt, in your despair and there you will find grace upon grace.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need ~ Hebrews 4:16

Quote taken from The Power of Prayer in a Beleiver’s Life by Charles Spurgeon, Chapter One, page 24.

Singles and the Church

Posted on January 2, 2017 by nicke2345

The question of how does the local church love and serve singles is something I have been trying to pray through and think through for the past year. Around a year ago I reached out to several non-married friends of mine with the question:

“What has the church done well and not so well in serving you as a single?”

Within the group of those questioned were both men and women, some in large cities, some in rural cities, some that attend mega-churches and some that attend smaller churches. Now when I address this question, I am predominately thinking about those in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties, as this is the context I find myself in and ministering in. Asking myself the question, “How do we as the Church minister to singles well?” So that they are able to flourish as part of the Body of Christ and in their personal walk with Christ to see Him as the main object of their affection.

Conversations I have had with other non-marrieds I would say are always all over the place. Oftentimes I feel that singles make things hard on the church. We want to be apart of the Church like everyone else, but also want something separate for us. Plan something centered around families and we feel left out; yet plan something specifically for singles and we wonder if it will essentially be “speed-dating.” Oftentimes we are so focused on wanting to get married that we are not serving in the Church, and the Church as a whole is suffering because we have specific gifts the Lord has given us and placed us within our context for the flourishing of the Body that we are not using.

All that being said here are some ways I have observed as well as discussed with other singles that the Church has loved singles well and not so well:

Things I have seen the local church do well concerning the non-marrieds:

Recognizing the gifts of the singles as a valuable part of the church. Seeking to use their gifts and allowing them to serve the church in a manner that grows their gifts and utilizes their gifts.
Allowing the Singles to have a voice in the church. Essentially having an ear for the non-marrieds to have a voice. Whether by serving in leadership or by being part of focus groups as the church thinks through and prays through various issues facing the church.
Reminding the non-marrieds that their identity is in Christ not in a relationship. By not looking down on the non-marrieds as “lesser members”
- I have seen Pastors do this from the pulpit by not only using family illustrations and being more mindful how the passage or point also applies to the non-married.
Emphasizing the need of the non-marrieds to serve and volunteer within the body, and pointing them to ways to serve.

Ways I have seen the church do not so well concerning the non-marrieds:

Making them feel like they are “lesser members” until they are married. Many singles I have talked to have discussed the frustration that they feel from their Church that until they get married their life will not be fulfilled.
Have a singles ministry that is almost completely separate from the rest of the Church. This does not build up unity in the body. Non-marrieds have gifts and talents to serve the body that the marrieds need and vise versa.
Placing singles into service areas that do not meet their specific giftings or talents. There is a tendency to sometimes take a single who wants to volunteer and immediately place them into Children’s Ministry to help out. Many singles love this and have passion for working with students and the children of their Church, but not all of them do. The end result is volunteers being frustrated in seeking to serve.

This topic is one I am continually trying to think through to better love and serve those the Lord has placed in my path. This is not complete, I am certain that we could definitely add to this list. Hopefully this helps us begin thinking through how we view and serve those non-marrieds around us.