Thirst
This past year we started a young adult group called THIRST. What a success it has been as we have seen it grow from a small group into a large group meeting with small groups. These young people have an incredible passion to connect with their God, and that is truly inspiring. I hope you’ll keep them in prayer as they seek to make an impact in our church and in their world. They face so many issues in life. One of those is in the area of relationships. If you are a young adult there is a great resource out there from lifechurch.tv called “Going All The Way”. Check it out. If you are one our young adults in THIRST, I’ m thrilled to see how you are growing and what you are accomplishing for God. Keep going Full Throttle for God.
Tired! Thankful! Overwhelmed! Relentless! Scared!
Sunday was a crazy day. It started with one of our best services ever. People gave their lives to Christ, and many made a decision to leave their junk in the past and finally start living Full Throttle for God. I really feel like we are on the verge of busting loose and seeing God use our Church to fully impact our community. I also got the chance to let Our ViP’s (vision in person) in children’s ministry know how awesome they are and how much they mean to our church.
Then Sunday afternoon I watched my Lions lose to the Eagles. That stunk. Then it was off to a Pastor’s conference to hear Chip Ingram speak. While he was in the middle of speaking I got a phone call from South Carolina. It freaked me out because I knew my son was traveling back to Liberty and he was driving through there. I excused myself and called home to find out that my son was in a rollover accident on the highway. My heart dropped. My first question was is he ok, and the answer was YES. I immediately said, “thank you, God”. I could have lost my son last night, but God spared him. The rest of was night was filled with some anxious moments as I tried to get more information. He was stranded and I couldn’t do anything about it. Praise God some kids from school came and picked him up. Today, he realizes God must have something for him or he wouldn’t still be here.
I guess God is making sure that I have to put into practice what I preach and trust Him to be faithful. I am also reminded of how short a time we have to carry out the vision that God has for SFC. I want to be relentless in making sure that God can use us, ordinary people, to do incredible things, so undeserving people can experience the awesome grace of God.
Blog News Alert: Churches Robbed
It has come to my attention that several area churches have been “robbed” recently. Can you believe that, stealing from the Church. It takes a lot of audacity to do that. Robbery has to be one of the worst of sins in the world, especially when it takes place at a church. It takes from one what is rightfully his. The robbery that I am talking about is the one that takes place every week when the plate is passed. (Mal. 3:8-10)
“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it”.
There are several ways that we can rob from God, here are a few:
1) By not giving anything at all. We may be able to come up with what seems like valid reasons to withhold our tithe, but we must realize it is required by God.
2) When we give Him a tip, but withhold the rest. How much do you give a waitress?
3) When we miss worship and feel that we are no longer required to tithe that week.
4) When we give God the leftovers. He should always get our very best.
When we fail to give as God has prospered us, we not only rob God, but we rob the church of its ability to adequately do the work that God gave it to do. Those who are going out to preach to all ends of the earth are robbed of adequate support. But most of all we rob ourselves of the blessings of liberality (Acts 20:35). Are you robbing God? This may rub some the wrong way, but as I’ve heard my wife say, “truth will never leave you in neutral”. Just keeping it real.
3 Thoughts From A New Blogger
I’m so glad to be a part of the blogging world. In the future I hope to use these posts to connect, communicate, and to inspire those who read to go FULL THROTTLE for God. Here are a few thoughts from my early days as a blogger.
1 – It’s so cool to hear from those who comment and know that your words can have an impact on the lives of others.
2 – What a way to connect while simply sharing what’s going on in your life.
3 – I’m fired up seeing how those who comment are encouraging others who comment.
When God Ran
WOW! Today was an amazing day.
As I taught about the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 God ran to us. I spent the afternoon reading the postcards you turned in today to represent what was holding each one back from fully surrendering to God. It was definitely eye opening and heart wrenching to see what many of you are dealing with. I hope today represents a brand new start for many of you. Shore Fellowship is an amazing Church with some amazing people. And better yet we have an AMAZING God!!!
Let’s make a vow together today that Shore Fellowship will no longer be held back by our junk and our mess, but let’s let God work in the midst of our jacked up lives and turn our mess into His amazing work. A work this world needs to see. What do you say?
Go Lions
Just 8 days until my Detroit Lions trash the Eagles. I can dream can’t I. Here’s hoping that for once this year will be different. I’m proud to be from the greatest sports town in America. Say it with me now, D E T R O I T !!!!!!
I Hugged My Son Tonight
If you’ve read my previous post, you know that just about a month ago I dropped my oldest son, Justin off at college. Needless to say, it has been an adjustment for my wife and I the past few weeks. As I prepared for my message this week God unmistakeably led me to the passage about the prodigal son in Luke 15. As I read about the son leaving home, it was easy for me to relate to the Dad. The father in the story is a clear picture of our God who waits for His children to come home to Him. What is amazing about God is that no matter what mess you may have created He waits with open arms. He’ll hug you no matter how dirty you are,. And guess what, He will wipe you clean. His grace goes beyond my mess. The bigger my mess, the greater His grace.
Now, my son isn’t the prodigal, but I still miss him. That’s why when he called me today and said, “DAD, I’m coming home for the weekend,” I was pumped. I waited all day with anticipation, waiting for his call to pick him up at a friends house. Well, the call came at about 11:30pm and when I saw him I gave him a hug and said, “Dude, it’s really good to see you.”
I can’t wait until Sunday to share how incredible God’s love for us must be. I hope someone who feels that God can’t love them gets the message.
What They See Is What They "GET"
We live in a culture of so few role models. Even the ones we look up to tend to let us down. As I write this I am consumed with the thought, “I wonder what they see,” My neighbors, those I coach with, the guy I just cut off on the road. Do they see Jesus in me? Better yet do they see Jesus alive in me? Maybe the question should go deeper. If people only had me to watch as an example, and they were to ask the question, “Has Jesus risen from the dead?” What in the world would they say?
What if they watched how I spend my money, or where I invest my time, or what I love , or who I love. Could they see through my life that Jesus has risen from the dead?
My relationship with Jesus can’t just be a spring fling, but one in which I take up my cross and follow Him. Only then will I be worthy to be a Full Throttle, pedal to the medal role model for Jesus. Ask yourself, “What do they see in me?” Cause what they see IS what they get!!!
Sitting On A Gold Mine
Recently, while on a mission trip to Mexico, God taught me a valuable lesson. After a hard morning of work helping build a church, our group was taken to a swimming hole that was down in a cave. The water was crystal clear and man was it refreshing. There were three sections to the cave and in the very back section there was a ledge about 2 feet under the water that you could sit on. Once we got to the back I noticed that my wedding ring had slipped off. My heart sank as I swam back to the front to tell my wife.
Now, if you know me, you know that I am a persistent dude. So, through a little interpreting I found someone who knew where I could find some goggles and a flashlight in this small pueblo. A little while later I came back to the cave and began my search with one of our team members. We looked everywhere. As we swam to the back of the cave, we even passed some locals swimming in their unmentionables. Unfortunately one dude must have forgotten his if you know what I mean. I’m scarred for life. Imagine what he thought; two dudes with a flashlight and goggles. Anyway, we pressed on to the back of the cave to the ledge. I really didn’t have much hope considering the water was 12 feet deep and the bottom was rocky. After making several dives to search for it I decided to simply turn around and look on the ledge. You won’t believe this but as I got up and looked on the ledge it was directly under where I had been sitting, 2 feet under the water right under my hind end. I was sitting on it the whole time.
I sat there and had a God moment as I realized that when you seek after God, He finds you. When you draw near to Him, He draws near to you. I am so glad He puts it in our heart to diligently seek Him, and when we do we will find Him. I hope you understand that you are sitting on a goldmine. As for me, every time I look at my ring, I will always have a deeper appreciation for the reward of an intense, persistent search for what is most valuable; our connection with our maker.
"FURY" Makes Landfall
After all the hype, predictions, and anticipation, Fury made landfall at Shore Fellowship and God’s word is reeking havoc all over the place. Here is hoping that the after effects of the storm will change the course of history for SFC. Yesterday we were challenged to take a long hard look at the God that many of us claim has taken up residence in us. A great friend of mine, Buddy Cremeans, posted on his blog some thoughts about plastic people. You out to check it out( buddycremeans.com).
In our creative meeting today we had a great time talking about the furious love of God. We decided that it’s not the love you experienced in Jr. High when you had a friend ask someone to go with you, but it’s a love so deep, so passionate, so profound, that when it needed to be expressed God came Himself. He showed up to ask for your hand in marriage. He showed up personally to say I love you, not because of who you are or what you’ve done, but because God is love and He can not not love you.
WOW and WOW!!!!!!! I hope the storm stays around for a while.
