Monday, January 23, 2012

THE CHURCH

As I've been thinking about the church lately, who we are, what we are about, what we are not supposed to be about, I came up with a short list . . .

What do you think? What would you add or subtract from my list?

If Jesus was living in me and in His church what type of fruit should I bear?

1. I should have a greater desire for Him.

2. I should have a greater love of people, all people.

3. I should hate sin . . . (yes, I know and love the sinner).

4. I should be humble, thinking others are better than me (aka humility).

5. I should be practicing the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness and self-control).

6. I should be generous (financially, with time and resources).

7. I should be taking care of my body.

8. I should be drawing closer to Him.

9. I should be obedient to Him, not because I have to, but because I want to.

If Jesus was living in the church, what should the church produce?

1. People that love one another.

2. People who are passionate about Jesus.

3. People who are open to receiving all people (since all people are sinners).

4. People who work together for His good, not ours.

5. People who seek to serve, rather than be serve.

6. People who are focused on bring others to a transforming relationship with Jesus.

7. People who are willing to put aside their 'rights' so that others can experience redemption
and acceptance through Christ.

8. People who are filled with His hope and love, power, strength and courage!

9. People who are filled with joy and passion, in the midst of sorrow.

On the flip side of that, Jesus Does Not Produce:

1. A critical spirit

2. Racism

3. Fighting within the church (aka - selfishness)

4. Bitterness / unforgiveness

5. Dead and self serving worship

6. Boring preaching

7. Gossip

8. Passionless followers

9. Fear

What else can you think of? I'd really be interested in your thoughts!!

Scripture Memorization - Week 3

Here is this week's Scripture Memorization ~

It comes from Joshua 1:9 ~ God is speaking to Joshua . . .

"Have I not commanded you: Be strong and courageous, but not afraid nor dismayed, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you may go."

Joshua is about to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land. Moses is dead and he is the new leader! Imagine the fear and anxiety, but 3 times in the first verses, God says to Joshua, "be strong and courageous!"

I love this verse!! It's the reason we named Joshua, Joshua! Wherever you go, you can be strong and courageous, wherever you go, you don't have to be afraid or dismayed, all for the same reason . . . (drum roll please) The Lord your God will be with you wherever you may go!! How comforting, how reassuring to know that the God of all creation will be with us . . . ALWAYS!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Scripture Memorization - Week 2

Here is week 2's Scripture memorization . . .

(Jesus said,) "The thief only comes to steal and to kill and to destroy; I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly." - John 10:10

Jesus gives us the great offer of living the super abundant life. Are you? Or have you accepted the life satan, the thief offers you, one in which he seeks to steal and kill and destroy your heart, soul and life?

The choice is always ours!!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Tebowing

Here is a great article about the heart of Tim Tebow. Whether you think he has football skill or not, he has an amazing heart and passion for people. Read the article by Rick Reilly from ESPN.

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7455943/believing-tim-tebow


Here is a snippet from Rick Reilly . . .

I've come to believe in Tim Tebow, but not for what he does on a football field, which is still three parts Dr. Jekyll and two parts Mr. Hyde.

No, I've come to believe in Tim Tebow for what he does off a football field, which is represent the best parts of us, the parts I want to be and so rarely am.

Who among us is this selfless?

Every week, Tebow picks out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured. He flies these people and their families to the Broncos game, rents them a car, puts them up in a nice hotel, buys them dinner (usually at a Dave & Buster's), gets them and their families pregame passes, visits with them just before kickoff (!), gets them 30-yard-line tickets down low, visits with them after the game (sometimes for an hour), has them walk him to his car, and sends them off with a basket of gifts.

Home or road, win or lose, hero or goat.

Remember last week, when the world was pulling its hair out in the hour after Tebow had stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers with an 80-yard OT touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas in the playoffs? And Twitter was exploding with 9,420 tweets about Tebow per second? When an ESPN poll was naming him the most popular athlete in America?

Tebow was spending that hour talking to 16-year-old Bailey Knaub about her 73 surgeries so far and what TV shows she likes.

"Here he'd just played the game of his life," recalls Bailey's mother, Kathy, of Loveland, Colo., "and the first thing he does after his press conference is come find Bailey and ask, 'Did you get anything to eat?' He acted like what he'd just done wasn't anything, like it was all about Bailey."

Imagine if more people / athletes were like Tebow.

Fun Kids Devotional

God Gave Us the Bible: 45 Favorite Stories for Little Ones is a very well done, hardcover introductory Bible for parents to read with thei...