God is for us!

Last Sunday, we were in 1 Peter 2:1-12. Our focus can be summed up with four words - "God is for me." When we read the words of Peter, guided by the Holy Spirit, we quickly see that God has hand-picked us, he thinks were are precious, we are HIS! The difficulty in living life here sucessfully is that we forget that we aren't our own - we have been bought (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). When I lose sight of who I truly am, I tend to focus on just me, my life and nothing else. This quickly turns into a pity party and/or whining! The answer for the churches today is to remember who you are and whose you are!

This week's topic is 1 Peter 3:8-17. We will look at what survival in an unfair world looks like. The summary is simply - living as if Christ is Lord over my life and circumstances that come my way. Just like the previous week this is easier said than done! But my willingness is still a major factor to it all. God isn't just for me, but HE is attentive to me (1 Peter 3:12). I am called to not fear as the world fears, but to instead set apart Christ as Lord, then be ready and willing to speak in love about the greatness of God and HIS activity in my life.

Is God for you? Most certainly. What this means depends on you!

May God Bless your journey.

Growth Hurts!

I am saddened a little as I sit here in my office. It's a Saturday...which I am hardly ever in the office on a Saturday. But that's not what saddens me. Tomorrow, I don't preach we have a guest speaker. Not preaching is not what saddens me either. We are having new visitors and I am being stretched like never before in ministry. Yet even that is not what saddens me...(Okay, I will get on with it!) I am saddened by the ups and downs of ministry. While I feel like FCC is on the brink of breaking out in to a big 'revival', I am overwhelmed by the struggle that some friends of mine are having in the minsitry; locally, close to home and far away on the other side of the states and even far away in other countries. Yet there are victories in just as many places if not more. However, for my struggling brothers - I ache. (Of course, I think we should ache for all our struggling brothers and sisters out there!) I guess my struggle for them is - being there in the past and feeling so discouraged and so ready to throw in the towel. I have felt like not even wanting to go to church during these difficult times (in the past.) But for me, at those times, I had incredible growth moments. Yet the pain was very real. As I look back on my greatest times of growth in the past, they were surrounded, but great struggles and tragedies with victories sometimes not even in sight.

So if you read this (?) Would you just take a moment to lift up those who are in ministry/missions both close and far away? We (ministers/missionaries) need you in prayer for us more today than yesterday! Please on behalf of all of us, struggling and the non-struggling, pray for us like never before - the Kingdom is at stake! To HIS glory through us all!!! Amen.

"It Could Happen"

I am preaching out of 1 Peter right now...I am loving it. This coming Sunday we are in 1 Peter 1:13-25. I just love the way God's Word is so powerful. A big part of 'setting our hope' is mind-work. Peter tells his readers, then and now, to 'prepare your minds for action and to be totally self-disciplined.' We often don't do this (at least me). I find myself trying and struggling to find how to be holy, often falling into the trap of thinking that it is 'my efforts'. Peter shows us that this is not the truth. I need to work on my mind and preparing it for God and what HE wishes to speak to me so that I can be used by HIM to show HIS holiness, but I have to be focused or totally in control of my life for HIS sake. Happy Hoping!