 On April 11th, I headed out to a men’s retreat
put on by First Baptist Church of
Merced. Nearly 70 men came together for a time of mutual encouragement,
worship, and hearing God’s Word. The retreat was held at Camp Oakhurst in Oakhurst, CA.
Tom Joyce was the guest
speaker for the retreat. He is a retired Navy Captain who is serving the Lord as
Pastor of Discipleship and Family at Immanuel
Bible Church in Springfield, VA. His quest for effective ministry both to
the world and in the church is evident in his testimony and life.
He
challenged the men with a series titled, “Leaving a Legacy.” On
Friday evening Tom spoke of his journey of faith and how God used his son to
challenge him with this daunting question, “dad, what are you going
to do with the rest of your life?” The next morning we opened up our Bibles
to the book of Joshua and were convicted on the truths of leadership from this
great OT leader. Tom asked us men, “where is holy ground for
you” (cf. Joshua 5:13-15). On Saturday evening we headed to the NT to 2
Timothy 3:16-17, where we were reminded that spiritual reproduction is all about
intentional discipleship. Lastly, on Sunday morning we turned to 2 Timothy 4:6-8
with the challenge to “finish well”.
The weekend made an
impact in my life as I thought about these challenging truths from God’s Word. I
also saw men answer tough questions in small groups. The fellowship was sweet
with men I did not know very well. Thanks to the invitation of my adopted
“mom and dad” (Angie’s parents – Dr. Bob & Sandy Nelson), my
heart was challenged in leaving a legacy. In the end, it is all about faithful
obedience to our Lord. It is as Paul said to the Ephesians “trying to
learn what is pleasing to the Lord” (cf. 5:10). This is the kind of life
that I want to live. This is the legacy I want to leave behind.
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