here is one more resolution from a busy blogger who begins the new year promising to blog more this year. I am serious though, I think. Time will tell. On the slight chance that anyone is checking this out. I promise to you that I will try my best to blog more often. Christmas was great. The New Year was super relaxing and here we are with a whole year ahead of us. I’m going to be a lot better this year…at everything…or at least I’m going to try. Isn’t that what it is all about. Trying. Trying. And trying harder. Well, whatever you are resolving to do or not do this year, try harder. Don’t just make them to break them or make them out of habit and not really care about achieving them. Try harder this year and change for the better.
taran & I just got back home from an awesome vacation off of the Roanoke River on Lake Gaston. It was awesome. We hung out, went tubing, put puzzles together, played ping-pong and pick up sticks. Very relaxing. Very fun. It’s good to be back home though.
I’m looking forward to this week’s event for emerge. We are having a Dive-In movie this Saturday @ 7 o’clock featuring Jaws & Saved by the Bell: Hawaii. We’re trying to get a slip and slide worked out which should be a blast. We’re grillin and chillin. Come out and join us for this sweet event.
Call the church @ 229.244.1855 or be there on Wednesday for additional information.
a special thanks to everyone who helped out at the golf tourney. we made some good money and had a blast. thank to all sponsors who made this year’s golf classic possible.
also, major props & thanks to the band & anyone that had a part in our sunday night service. it was awesome. you guys did great. i was so proud and feel very blessed to get the opportunity to work with you guys.
thanks.
tonight in our praise team practice God kind of interrupted our time together and directed our attention completely to Him. so many times, especially in a busy church environment, my (our) temptation is to just get junk done: learn new songs, have meetings, spend time together, teach, preach, and anything else i might try to do. but again God, through His spirit quickens our minds to think on Him and spend our time on Him.
nothing is more relevant than the presence of God. nothing is more necessary than the grace of God. and nothing is greater than the love of God.
always be sensitive to the breath that breathes life and only life.
hey emerge. tomorrow night we are starting a new and very exciting series continuing on the theme of discipleship. it’s called “the life of a disciple”.
Practical Life- the call to serve
Purse- the call to give
Politics- the call to govern
Personality- the call to change
come out and join us as we grow every wed. @ 8:30pm in the youth center.
a sad day has come for many within the circle of Christendom as well as those outside of it (not to make it sound as if this circle is exclusive in any way, in fact it is the opposite of that). the despair is in the halt of a journey. each of our formative journeys stalls at the moment we believe we have it all figured out.
admitting the fact that we don’t have it all figured out is a more arduous task than it might first be perceived to be. to say that we don’t have it all figured out is a statement of humility that can only be made in submission to those that do have the answers or as I believe, The One who holds all the answers and defines Truth.
the essential aspect in this journey is that we each realize that every person is in process. we are in many different stages but indeed, each of us is in process. for many of us the process is difficult and filled with unanswered questions but a masterpiece would not be all that magnificent if it could be made in a microwave. where sure, everything is quick and easy but it doesn’t taste near as good as those that take longer to prepare.
if you consider yourself perfect then this has nothing to do with you. but for anyone who is a work in progress be patient with the process.
be sure what process you are in and who is taking you through it.
base all things on truth and not feeling.
the summer is such a crazy time. it’s great because it is a break from the normal day to day stresses that many people endure. but if not done right it has the potential to be a complete disaster for anyone.
to parents: keep your children busy and supervised. trouble is lurking behind every corner. you deserve a vacation. take one. a good and long one. everybody. for some of you it may be hard to leave a few bucks behind to spend on yourself but your body and mind need it. you will be twice as productive come fall after taking a well-deserved vacation.
to teens & young adults: i believe it is possible to make every summer the best yet. you have some time off so make the most of it. soon you won’t have this luxury. don’t just sit around and do nothing- it’s a waster of a lot of good time. PLAN to do 2 things this summer. first, to grow. put a plan in place to see spiritual growth in your life. read books, plan events, get in the word, have Bible studies. secondly, have fun. plan out some really fun weekends with friends. go camping, go to the beach, have a slip-n-slide day. whatever sounds fun- go for it.
so here’s to the summer
marriage as God designed it to be. sex as God designed it to be. intimacy as God designed it to be. relationships as God designed them to be. we will rediscover the way God designed it to be. come check out this months series of “relationships by design”
We live in the multi-tasking society. We are consumed by everything. You name it. Whether we are studying with the TV on and eating dinner at the same time or if we’re driving, texting, and putting make-up on in the car (ladies). The result of this lifestyle is that we don’t do anything effectively. We fail our tests and get in more wrecks and we don’t spread our make-up evenly. I don’t know. I had to stay consistent. I am as guilty as any when it comes to multi-tasking so I’m throwing these stones in the air.
I remember watching an episode of MythBusters a while back on this topic. MythBusters for those of you that don’t know is a show that is kind of title self explanatory. The show is about busting myths. They do a series of experiments and tests using all kinds of sophisticated equipment to break commonly known myths. One time on the show they tested the talking on the cell phone while driving myth to see if it really made you drive worse. Turns out yeah. Reaction time was a lot slower and the drivers were knocking over cones left and right. I don’t think we can keep this up for much longer especially when it comes to very spiritual matters like prayer and the reading of Scripture. These require complete attention and focus. These are the things that need to consume us.
I think this might have been what Paul had in mind in Philippians 3.12-14 when he said to press on toward the goal to which Christ has called us heavenward for.
Word of the year: FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS
We just don’t, we don’t trust God. We say we do, we even believe that we do but the fact is that we just don’t. Not with our money, not with our time, not with our life. The truth is that when oppression and tough times come most Christians bail on God and stop believing or at least begin to doubt. Kind of resembles our Lord and Savior crying to the Father; “Elohim, Elohim, why have you forsaken me!?” How could you allow such terrible things to happen to me or why have you forsaken me?
As I was reading chapter 29 of Jeremiah I noticed a deeper level of complexity and faith necessary to accept the popular Jeremiah 29.11 “I know the plans I have for you…” This whole chapter is a message via 2 letters to God’s people who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Also known as the Babylonian captivity. I would like to point out a few verses in this chapter that we might often skip right over but change the whole level of faith necessary for the believer.
First and foremost. V.4 says “Thus says the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.” Sure Nebuchadnezzar was the one to actually take the Israelite people into captivity but apparently according to Scripture it was in fact God who sent him to do so. After this the prophet instructs them to build houses, live in them, plant gardens and eat their produce. He tells them to get married and have lots of kids and to make sure their kids get married and have lots of kids. V.7 “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.” In these few verses we find the importance of living a kingdom oriented life. When we live a kingdom oriented life it doesn’t matter what comes our way we will just follow the Lord’s lead and have faith that he will work it out. The Israelites were a people that needed to hear that God knows the plans and that he has a hope and a future for them (v.11).
One more thought.
29.12-14
12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
God is sovereign and acts as he sees fit. We are to believe and follow even when it doesn’t make sense. That is faith. Trusting God when he takes everything from us. And as Derek Webb said in his song “In God we trust”- “In God we trust, even when he fights for others against us.”
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