I hope your Thanksgiving brings you lots of turkey, (Cowboy) football, and family — not necessarily in that order. Mostly, take a break, enjoy the season, and give thanks. We do live in a great country, we are the most blessed people on earth, and God is good….all the time! Grace and peace.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
His love endures forever.(Psalm 107:1)
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the United States, a time set aside to remember what God has done for us and to offer thanks for his generosity and grace. OK, that’s what we are supposed to do between the masses of food, XBox football, Cowboys game and of course the afternoon nap! I thought I would take a brief moment and give you something un-traditional (today) to think and pray about tomorrow and everyday.
Psalm 107 is a resounding call to gratitude. It begins by inviting us to give thanks to God. Why? “For he is good.” And how do we experience this goodness? “His love endures forever.” God never stops loving us. He is always faithful, always on our side, always wanting our best.
The rest of Psalm 107 provides specific examples of God’s goodness. He leads the lost into safety. He feeds the hungry. He sets prisoners free. He heals the sick. He calms the storms. He provides harvests for the farmers. He rescues the poor. Of course, these deeds only begin to account for God’s goodness to us. So much more could be added to the list, most of all: God saves us from our sins through Christ. He welcomes us into relationship with him and his people. He empowers us so that we might serve him in the world.
So, how have you experienced God’s goodness? Why not take some time to reflect upon all that God has done for you, so that you might offer thanks to Him in abundance?
Fill in the blank. Life is too short…__________. What’s it too short for?
Today, this is why I think life is too short:
Life is too short to expend excessive time and energy on apathetic people. There are lots of people receptive to the Gospel. Let’s focus first on them. Those that are callous now may be receptive after God prepares their hearts and circumstances change. So be steadfast in prayer for all non-Christians.
During this week, I’ve read many things. Lots of bible, work articles and blog posts. As I looked and pondered Perry Noble’s post from this last Monday, I realized how much it was also about me and how I much approach my motives…..Hope spreading this will make you ask the same questions.
Oh, by the way, get your butt in a bible teaching worship experience tomorrow morning!
BAM…busted! I am so guilty of times in my past where I prayed like crazy, raised my hands in worship, made HUGE promises and so on…but NOT because I was in awe of who He is…but rather I wanted something from Him and falsly assumed that if I did the right things and gave Him enough attention that He would finally break and fulfill my selfish desires.
BUT…God knows my heart! He knows my mind! He knows my motives…and He will not be tricked or deceived by empty worship.
One of the things I’ve been continually praying over the past year or so is for Jesus to continually make my motives pure…and if there is ANYTHING in me that is not of Him…to help me see it and get it out of my life. It’s not the easiest process to go through…but it’s been incredibly liberating!
At the end of the day I am praying that I will not want what I think Jesus can give me…but simply just want Jesus! It’s a battle…and I think there will always be a struggle to try and manipulate Him…but it simply cannot be done.
So…how about you…are you pursuing Jesus…OR are you just after what you believe He can give you? Just something to think about today! I wish I were an expert on this…but I am struggling just like most of you are. However, in His grace, mercy and patience He is blowing my mind as I work through this…I hope you will work through this as well!
Well Sunday mornings…………………..hhhmmmmmm. What would it take for all of us to:
Get up early and setup 125 chairs and an audio/visual system? Then tear it all down when finished?
Make coffee for 90 minutes, smile and shake the hand of someone you’ve never met before?
Invite people to a Sunday worship experience, knowing that they may meet God there for the very first time?
Practice, practice and more practice to lead people in music to glorify and magnify God in worship?
Last and definitely not least….meet together on Sunday mornings for a life changing message all the while doing it in the face of doubters and nay-sayers?
That’s what is going on each Sunday morning at Crossroads Community Church in Halstead, Ks. Families are being unified in God’s grace. Freedom and healing from addictions of all kinds are happening because of His forgiveness. Seekers are finding the Son of God himself, seated next to them and offering HIs love and it’s being received for the first time. Students are inviting their friends, for the first time, to a way of God worship that is exciting and relevant to a generation that is fed from culture. All this, because our God IS alive!
We as Christ-followers are called to be different. Called to be leaders of change in our community for Jesus Christ. I am more excited today about what God is getting ready to lead through Crossroads and the churches of Halstead than I have ever been. It’s time to get to work. We’ve only begun. Heaven is the prize.
This is a post from David Foster. Meant to add it yesterday, but still means something today. Get to church. NOT just any church! Make a difference in you and other’s lives around you.
Tomorrow’s Sunday and you need to go to church. But you need to go to a great church. So how do you find a great church? You can look on the Internet, and if you know where you’re looking you can find a bunch of them. You can look through the Yellow Pages, if they still print such a thing. You can drive around your neighborhood and look for signs. That’s not a great idea.
The very best way to find a great church is to find someone who’s thrilled about attending the church they’re going to. They believe it’s a great church and they love going. They’re infected. It’s like a great restaurant. When I’ve had a great experience I can’t wait to tell someone. What’s the very best way to find a great church for tomorrow? Find someone who’s going to a great church and go with them. If they’re fired up and excited, odds are you might be too.
Stop using the excuse, “We just don’t know which church to go to.” Talk to your friends, your neighbors, and the people around you and dare to ask them, “Hey, do you attend a church? Do you attend a church you love going to?” If they say, “Well, we’re kind of going here and there. We’re not really sure.” Then avoid that church at all costs. But if someone lights up, if they lean forward and smile and say, “Oh man, you gotta go with me. This church is amazing.” Then you ought to go. You ought to go this weekend. Don’t delay.
Missional Community On mission, fulfilling vision.Len Sweet once said, ‘the most at risk leadership skill is inspired imagination.’ Inspired imagination begins with the end in mind. Thinking ‘what would our community, church look like if?‘
Since the it’s beginning of serving the city of Halstead, Crossroads Community Church leaders often dreamed with inspired imagination. What would it look like if we served cold drinks to city workers on a hot day? What would it look like if we delivered turkey dinners to the less-served the weekend before thanksgiving? What would it look like if we create a place where the less-served could receive care? Their dreaming provoked action.
Their inspired imagination continues to this day. The creative spark is spreading the good news done in practical ways all over their city and into the world.
Paul spoke about ‘people being of one mind, being of one heart, of one spirit, intent on one purpose.’
True community is formed when a people chose to live life on mission, and begin to actively give themselves to pursue their vision…together. Community is formed when people seek to live life intentionally.
Community is living life forward moving toward a purpose.
The purpose?
Perhaps it’s seeking to fulfill the Great Commission.
Perhaps it is a group of people are consistently thinking, ‘How can I help people within my sphere of influence take their next step toward Jesus Christ?’
Five friends…
we don’t know much about them. Just that they were friends. Four of them were healthy, one wasn’t.
He was not well, needed healing. Five friends heard about Jesus.
They heard that he was healing the sick, preforming miracles and that He was teaching how to live life within the Kingdom of God. We don’t know how far they had to carry their friend, we just know that they were intent, focused on one purpose… to bring their friend to Jesus no matter the cost.
Five friends decided to move toward Jesus… together.
Someone had to find the directions to the house.
Someone had the foresight to bring ropes… just in case.
When they arrived they noticed the crowd was huge. Many people were pressing in to hear the words of Jesus. At some point they realized they couldn’t gain access.
They formed a new plan. The roof.
They pressed through the crowd and found a way to the roof. Determined they parted the roof, tied ropes to their fiends mat cautiously lowered him to the floor.
Jesus seeing their faith… Their friend was healed.
The walk home was probably pretty exciting.
The principle: True community is formed when people are determined to move toward their common purpose together.
There is no greater purpose than helping others move toward Jesus Christ.
This has been an interesting presidential race. I am asking that God be in control of the White House. With all that has been spilled during this campaign, the One who this country needs to be #1, should be lifted on high by all who call Him Lord. If Christ is your savior, I am asking that you pray up our President, the congress, the local government and all church leaders. This will be an interesting 4 years. Let’s be sure that all will know who is truly sovereign (large and in charge) and lead them to Him.
Hey, Tom Wells here. I am a happy husband to Sharon and proud father of Lauren, Alex, Corey, Trevor and Amanda. This blog is my opportunity to share with you how my life is going, my occasional daily ponderings about my God, my family, Crossroads Community Church and my life. Thanks for stopping by!
Tomorrow’s Sunday and you need to go to church. But you need to go to a great church. So how do you find a great church? You can look on the Internet, and if you know where you’re looking you can find a bunch of them. You can look through the Yellow Pages, if they still print such a thing. You can drive around your neighborhood and look for signs. That’s not a great idea.
