Thursday, September 27, 2012

Faithful

1 Corinthians 1:9
"God , who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."

Sometimes thats all we need to know. Sometimes that's all we need to grasp. Sometimes that's all we need to think about. I'm so guilty of trying to over think what I read or "go deep" that I don't just stop and let the basic truths really sink in. God is faithful! He is faithful to himself. How would my life look different if every area of my life was wrapped around this truth?

I would love to hear some thoughts on how God has proven this in your life.
Love a good discussion.

Andrew

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Preparation as worship by Ravi Z


This was Ravi Z's answer to a question posed to him at Wheaton College in reference to  using preparation as worship if you feel called to the ministry 


RZ:
 You will never find anyone of any impact globally who was not prepared. You see Moses, the Apostle Paul, our Lord himself – long before he had his public ministry he was being prepared. If you are going into your calling without preparation, you are going in through your own strength, without recognition of the sacredness of the calling with which you have been trusted, without the work that it takes to become an instrument fit for God’s use. Worship is pulling every facet of your life together in an expression of commitment to God. Traditional wedding banns include the phrase, “With my body I thee worship,” which is another way of saying, “I surrender my body for sacred use.” Preparation as service and worship is true surrender to God’s calling.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Inter-squad Games

I was in Church Sunday and I thought about how Church is a lot like an inter-squad game (a game where you play with/against your teammates as a means to sharpen your skills to get better as an athlete/player/person). Everybody gets a chance to play on Sunday, it's like its mandatory because if you show up then the coach wants to give you a chance to see your ability. So each Sunday God will speak to us in a message or in a song that urges us to take it out into the real game/life so we can have an impact for the Kingdom. Now I'm not making Church out to be competition but I am relating it to God getting an opportunity to see you at your best (Sunday best). The convicting part is that during the week I ride the bench and often mix in with Joe Public and rarely exercise my God given ability to perform or better yet use what I have been learning and practicing on Sunday's. Occasionally I'll get thrown into the game (an opportunity) during the week but instead of shooting or swing the bat (standing up for the Kingdom, words, action, or thoughts) I pass the ball or look at the heater down the middle (a pitch I could/would have crushed). So my point of this post is to encourage us to move from Sunday Christians to everyday Christians or graduate from practice squad players to game ready all-stars. I pray that we all have a home church where we attend and get fed and I pray that we would take that knowledge and use it for His glory. Be blessed fam!


Ben

Monday, September 17, 2012

Who is leading


"I don't want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit. I want people to look at my life and know that I couldn't be doing this by my own power. I want to live in such a way that I am desperate for Him to come through"-Francis Chan, "Forgotten God"

When I read this short paragraph, ironically enough, the spirit really stirred in my heart more depth. This is a topic that can get long winded, so I will try and keep it short depending on what the spirit wants to say.....(ha, winkie).   This season of life for me has been a season about growing and learning in the acknowledgement of the Holy Spirit. As a christian, it is so easy for us to "walk ahead of God"and we can get worn out, frustrated, confused, deflated,  etc trying to do the christian life in our own strength. We can also just not be submitting to the power of the Spirit in our lives.  I love how graceful God is that He still chooses to love and delight in His children despite how prone our hearts are to wonder and even when we think "I got this thing figured out"....Praise Jesus!!  God is about His glory, not ours. I believe that in our journey in life, God allows us to go thru things that will detach ourselves more from this world, and attach ourselves more to Him.  This leaves us at a place of humility and joy because He is powerful and trustworthy to carry the load.  "Humble yourself before the Lord, and He will lift you up (James 4:10). "Come to ME all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. "- Jesus ( Matt 11:28)  When our perspective changes and we begin to realize  this world is broken and man is limited, the thirst for the Holy spirit is water for the soul. I want to encourage you my brothers and sisters to keep pressing into the heart of this mysterious, but mighty Triune God. We don't have to nail it  or wait to make ourselves feel worthy enough before his presence. "God demonstrates His love for us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)   So run to the Lord with all your joy, pain, confusion, un answered questions, sin, etc. and let the spirit lead. God never gets tired of us pressing in, but our joy and His glory is at stake.  Stay in the vine, and be reminded that we are just pieces of clay as He produces the fruit in our lives by the TRANSFORMING power of the Holy Spirit.

Francis goes on to say, " I don't believe God wants me (or any of His children) to live in a way that makes sense from the world's perspective, a way I know I can "manage". I believe He is calling me- and all of us- to depend on Him for living in a way that cannot be mimicked or forged. He wants us to walk in step with His Spirit rather than depend solely on raw talent and knowledge He's given us"

I love that last reminder that everything is All His to begin with, we are just stewards.  Praise Him for this kind of  grace!
Blessings,
Brett Carroll

Friday, September 14, 2012

The New iPhone 5 is Here!!!


"I love her so much, I don't need nobody else
Try to put her down but can't help myself."

So Apple just released the new iPhone 5 the other day and just like every other Apple product, it's going to be awesome. I currently have never owned an iPhone, but I've been considering getting one here in the near future which I'm sure is going to transform my life. You can pre-order the new iPhone now online, and I'm sure there will be lines a mile long when it is first sold in stores. So before I say what I want to say next, I do want to be clear that iLove Apple products and will probably have an iPhone in the near future.

Now, that being said, I think moments like these need a dose of fresh perspective in regards to our extreme consumerism here in our culture. We are so quick to become discontent with what we have in hot pursuit of the next best thing. The iPhone 4s is old news and now we need the iPhone 5. The iPhone 5 is going to cost $200-$400 based on which one you get. That doesn't seem too bad for such an awesome Apple product, but it got me thinking... what else could I do with $200?

Here's two things:

1. $200 will buy 1,000,000 gallons of safe water for 4 different children and their individual families. 900,000,000 people worldwide lack access to clean water and 4,000 children die every single day from water related diseases such as cholera and typhoid making unsafe water the 2nd biggest killer of children worldwide. Many more experience severe sickness from unsafe water.

2. $200 will buy 20 mosquito bed nets to protect children from the deadly spreading of malaria. A child dies from malaria every 30 seconds. 5 children will die from malaria before you finish reading this email.

Now, this is not intended to be a slap in the face or the cops crashing the party, but maybe it is a little. There is a lack of awareness and so this is a small attempt to raise some awareness, and I personally thought the timing was perfect. One more thing, a typical iPhone monthly plan cost anywhere from $80-$200.... what else could I do with $80 per month?

Here's one thing:

1. For $80 per month, I could sponsor 2 children through Compassion. This would provide:

a) Education - including school clothes, school supplies, and tutoring
b) Health - including teaching on hygiene and maintaining personal health as well as food
c) Church - including love and personal attention for each child, recreation and fun, Bible training and encouragement

So do you really need that new iPhone 5? Maybe. Should you buy the new iPhone 5? Sure. This is not meant to say iPhone's are bad because they are certainly not. In fact.. their awesome. This is just meant to raise your awareness and encourage you to not fall into the temptation of this constant covetous consumerism that surrounds us within this particular culture we live and operate in. There's a whole other world out there that we easily forget about and how we spend our money can impact that forgotten world more than any new App that we may download onto our latest accessory.

With Peace,

Terry

A disciple

I'm going over a few notes from our last bible study and wanted to share this.... A disciple.... Someone who does the right thing, for the right reasons, with the right spirit. A disciple is someone who does what Jesus would do if He were there. I pray that this group would do the right things, for the right reasons, with the right spirit...

-waino

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Community

So me and my wife and a few couples are in the beginning stages of starting a couples study. The more I read in the Bible the more examples I see of how we are meant to live in community. I was speaking with my cousin in reference to their study and his response to the idea was great for me and my wife as we have become new parents. He said that as we get older and we become busier and busier with children and work and sports teams that our community is essentially created for us. The people we work with and who our  kids play with and our neighbors becomes our community. Now there is nothing wrong with this but we also need to be intentional about our community of believers. We  need to set aside time to fellowship and eat and share life together. We have to be intentional about our "inner circle". I'm sure many of you already have an inner circle of people who you run big decisions of life by and people who keep you accountable. For me this is a relatively new idea and I love it. We need to have people in our everyday life that challenge us to be better men as we are called.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Would You Like to Help?

In my last email, "Please Read... Please Pray," I briefly discussed the roller-coaster journey that my sister Donna and her husband David have been on for the past year and a half. This journey has led them to the path of adoption which is an exciting process that both of them are extremely grateful to be embracing. However, as some of you may know, this is not a cheap, quick or easy process either. Its a process that takes a good bit of time and energy to complete and one that is tough to prepare and plan for since you could get the call that you've been selected next week or next year. That being said, I wanted to do what I can as my sister's big brother (and soon to be uncle) to help her be as prepared as possible for the exciting new addition that God will soon graciously bless them with. So that's why I'm writing this email. I wanted to inform everyone and provide any of you guys that would like to help as well with an opportunity to help. Here's some ideas I had:

1) If we have any old baby stuff (clothes, toys, anything) that we don't need then we could send them to Donna and David.

2) We could buy small gift cards that they could use for diapers and stuff like that.

3) A friend of theirs is taking Donna to register for some things at Target and Babies R Us sometime in the near future so friends and family would be able to help in that way too. We could wait for that and help in that way if that might be easier. I'll provide that information if and when she registers.

4) We could write an encouraging card or email simply letting Donna and David know that we are praying for them. You could also write on the blog that they made here.

5) We can simply take a few minutes out of one day this week and pray specifically for them and the child that God will soon bless them with. There are many very specific things we could pray for.

Some of you have already helped in different ways, and I really can't even explain how much that has encouraged Donna and David. I guess you could say that this is my creative way of throwing them a baby shower before I get back home with them in a few weeks. There is obviously no obligation here because God has provided for them already in some pretty awesome ways. This is not a situation where they need help or they can't adopt. This is simply an idea that I had in order to maybe help them out some and encourage them at the same time. Thanks for taking the time to read, and I'll provide their address below for anyone who wants to join in to help.

With Peace and Anticipation,

- Terry

You can send whatever you'd like to:
DAVID AND DONNA FEUERBACH
312 AZALEA CIRCLE
CUMMING, GA 30040