Happy new year

Today, we start a new year. We have dreams and expectations, Some good, some not so good. Gen 26:24...the LORD appeared to him on the night of his arrival. "I am the God of your father, Abraham," he said. "Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant."


When I read that today, it really stood out to me." I am with you and will bless you." God has a good record of taking care of those who put their trust in Him. He took care of Israel for more than 40 years as they wandered in the wilderness headed to the Promised Land. He provided them with food, water, shelter and protection. This same God is our help in times of trouble and will be with us. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He doesn't change.

The other day, I was sitting and thinking about this coming year and asking the Lord what He desired from us and these are some of the things that came into my heart. God desires for those that call him their God to return unto his house (the Church).  If you have been away from church, it's time to make the time and commitment to get back.



Another thing that the Lord spoke to my heart about is those that do not know him. His desire is that all men would turn their life over to him and let him become your provider, protection and friend. There is no one greater, or more important in this life.


What this year holds, I don't know. But the one thing I do know is that Jesus is going to be with me and help me face what lies ahead. I don't put my faith in governments, people or promises that people make. My trust is in the one who knows what lies ahead and is able to provide, protect and meet my every need. His name is Jesus, and I encourage you to follow Him with me

No perfect people allowed

I am beginning to read this great book by John Burke. It's about creating a culture within the church that is welcoming and accepting to even the worst of sinners. John told a story in the book that really got me thinking. Here is a condensed version of the story


"In 1986 I was traveling through Asia with a couple friends when we decided to tour a Buddhist temple. Every sight and sound provoked a new question.Why was there a tree with money all around it? where we supposed to throw money down? would they be offended if we didn't? Why was there a woman standing by the gate with her head shaved? What was she doing with the beads in her hand?


as we stood by the wall listening to the mesmerizing hum of the chants rise and fall a million questions began to form in my head. why do they do this? What does it do for them? Am I an intrusion or will I be welcome here? Will they be mad at an "outsider" an "unenlightened one" has invaded their space?


Then everything changed. A gong sounded and everyone got up. Some went over and kissed the statues. My heart raced as I looked around the room for clues as to what to do. Were we supposed to bow? why were they bowing? Will I be insulting them if i don't bow?.... I wanted to escape the awkwardness that I felt.


Just then a kind-looking young man came to us signaling us with a smile to follow him. we made our way out to the courtyard as the lamas resumed their chants. He spoke to us in plain English, but his words were still foreign to us, as he tried his best to explain the things we saw and heard."
From "No Perfect People allowed" pg 55


This story really got me thinking. Every time new people come into our church, it can seem as strange to them as going to a Buddhist temple would be for us. They don't know the rules, so they automatically feel out of place. They don't know if they should sit or stand, will we be offended if they don't sing? They don't know the bible, or how to decipher the christian lingo that we speak. and they don't know if their questions will offend us, or if we'll still accept them if they voice their skepticism.

so it's up to us to be patient, and lovingly explain our culture to those who come into our doors, and to be accepting of everyone who comes in, despite our prejudices, and expectations. In fact, I think we need to get rid of any expectations that we have. Christ came and spent time with the worst society had to offer. Thieves and sinners, even a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. The law said she should be stoned to death, but Jesus chose to forgive.

So my question is... If the very scum of the earth started to attend the church that you attend, how would you react? Would our response be to conform them to our image, or could we accept them as they are and let God work in their lives?

Peace in our time

Peace. The second Sunday of Advent.

I was looking at my facebook page today, and noticed someone talking about needing peace. Christ came into the world to bring peace. His name is prince of peace. So why do we live in a world that seems to be without it. Wars in the middle east. famine and genocide. Unhappy and broken marriages. Troubled children, dysfunctional family units, trouble with the in-laws.

Christ came to bring peace. We need to let it rule in our lives. Collossian 3:15 says "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."

Advent: Hope

Stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
-Luke 21:28 (NRSV)

Wow, here it is, Advent season again. A time when the church basically remembers to be watching for Christs return. A few years ago, I decided to give up something for Advent, I tried to give up rich foods and desserts until Christmas, hoping that my heart might be more open to the presence of Christ. It was a challenging sacrifice, and I didn't fair so well.

When suffering, hardship, or disaster come, are we ready to stand firm and place our hope God? I recently read an article online about a South African who spoke about her families history, they lived during the beginning of apartheid. Families were taken in trucks from their homes and towns and taken into exile to the so-called homelands. Singing arose on those trucks as loving parents comforted their children and offered songs of hope.

In dark times gifts of memory and hope comfort us, bringing strength to stand in the face of cruel injustice. God give us the strength to stand for you. To hope in you, and to find strength in You during this Christmas advent season. Remember to reach out to those around you who find this time of year difficult. Show them the Hope of Christ

Live it out

Today is the time to begin to live Worship! Not tomorrow, not yesterday, not the new year.

Everyday we have to choose. We can choose to live the same old way or we can start to live it to our best through living a life of worship. Does this mean we need to go around singing, dancing and praising every minute of the day? By no means. What I mean is living in integrity and being thankful for what God has done, and is doing.

So how do we begin to live a life of worship? Forgiveness is a place to start. If we hold anything against anyone or towards God we can't live our lives in worship.

Next, give honor and glory to God. God does so much for us each day that we don't give Him credit for, So take time to thank God for the simple things.

Next, pray. The word says to pray without ceasing. This doesn’t mean that every word from your mouth should be a prayer, it simply means that we need to stay in contact with God through our thoughts. When we do, we have less time to think about distractions that try to take us out of our lives of worship. We tend to forget about distractions and difficulties when we are focused on prayer!

Then we should take time each day to read the bible. when we do this we are actually hiding God's word in our heart. God will help us to understand His word and hide it in our hearts. You don’t have to memorize large parts of scripture. But if you take verses and meditate on them you can absorb these truths. They will help you to make better decisions while you are living your life of worship.

Last but not least you must take time to worship and praise. take the time to worship God in the way he designed for you. Whether it's on your face, or bouncing around the room, just take the time. You will find your freedom in praise when you are by yourself, but I encourage you to bring it to the sanctuary on Sunday. It is contagious. the more people who begin to feel free on Sunday, the more others will join, and soon we will all be worshiping freely in many different expressions

In Hard Times

In Loving Memory of a beautiful person. You will be missed.


Sometimes we wonder, "Why me???" or "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did God allow this to happen to me?" I came across this article in an e-mail I received. It kinda hits home and it is a thought provoking explanation...



A teenage daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.

Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake."

"Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers.
"Yuck" says her daughter.
"How about a couple raw eggs?" "Gross, Mom!"
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"
"Mom, those are all yucky!"

To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! "

God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times.
But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!

God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.
Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.

"Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." Nehemiah 4:14b

Isn’t this a powerful statement! You can almost feel the zeal of Nehemiah. Watching Kevin say the words, was almost like seeing Nehemiah speaking. He had authority, he had power. He was ticked because people around him were starting to fall to the lies of the enemy. Now we all know from what we have heard and read in our Bibles that God is, as the text says “great and awesome”, but do you know that for yourself? When you personally think about God, do the words great and awesome come to mind? If they don’t, I assure it is not because God has ceased to be great and awesome.
Author Henry Blackaby says in experiencing God. “Right now God is working all around you. One of the greatest tragedies among God’s people is that even though they long to experience Him they do not know how to recognize him at work in their midst”
If this has been the case for you, take some time to pray for God to reveal to you where he is working so that YOU may be able to say, with all sincerity of heart, “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome”.