New Song Forever Reigns

Take a few moments and watch this new worship video!
Listen to the lyrics and have fun in God's presence!

Faith part 2

The last blog we talked about what it means to really have a relationship with God, the amazing creator of our lives and the universe.

Once you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ and once you surrender your life to God, then what?

When we cross the line into a relationship with God we change citizenship's. We become citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20). Because of God's grace and mercy, heaven becomes our home and our destination.

We also get the privilege to walk with God in relationship and to live for His glory on this earth. We get to use the gifts, talents, energy, time, and money he gives us to worship and honor him every day. What an exciting adventure. He gives us purpose not just for the future but also in the present!

In 1 Samuel 2:12 we read about Eli's sons who were priests serving at the temple. Yet we read in this verse that they were wicked and had no regard (no experience or perception) for the Lord. They did whatever they wanted and ignored the heart of God. They thought because of their position and title they could do whatever they wanted.

This is where a lot of followers of Christ get tripped up. For years, many have fallen into a set of legalistic rules that squelched their relationship with God away. Manyy turned following God into a list of rules that was void of life. GOD was not pleased. So the pendulum has swung the other way, where many claim to follow Christ but they live their lives for themselves and order their lives for how they think is best. He is not pleased with this either.

Always remember, that God has our best interest in mind. Everything He asks us to do is for our benefit and will bring the best outcome. When we read His Word and follow His ways, it always brings true life. No matter how it hard it seems, you never regret following God's way.

If you finish reading 1 Samuel 2 & 3 you will find out what happens to Eli's sons. They reap the results of their own actions. It is not good.

Have you crossed the line into a relationship with God yet? If not, today is the perfect day! if you have, are you living your life God's way or your own? Do you know what God's plan and will for your daily life is? We get the amazing privilege to read God's Word and to discover His plan for our lives. Let's be people who follow Him completely! Let's let God change us who we are on the inside and everything will take care of itself.

FAITH

The first part of our vision at Wyandotte Family Church is to encourage individuals and families on their faith journey. As i was reading this morning in the Old Testament, Judges chapter 2, I was reminded of the faith journey.

Judges 2:10 says after the whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.

After Joshua had died there was a whole generation that didn't know God or basically know about Him. The faith journey includes both of these aspects.

There are some people who "know about God." Kind of like how I know about the Detroit Lions. I know statistics (unfortunately) about them, their schedule and even names. However, I truly can't say I know them personally. Maybe that's you....you know about God but you don't know him personally. The amazing thing is that you and I can! God extends a personal invitation to us through Jesus Christ for forgiveness, wholeness and the bridge to knowing God. Simply pause for a moment and express your desire to know Him and that You want to walk in a relationship with Him...He will come running toward you.

However, once we know God the other side is important as well. Once we begin to walk in a relationship with God, it's good to learn about His character, power, faithfulness and love. It's knowing the Bible and what He has done that builds are faith when we face hard times today.

Heart and head.....it starts in the heart but we need them both.

Do you know God today?

Shortcuts

I remember one time when I was dating my wife Julie in college, we were going from Springfield MO, to Branson, to Joplin and my roommate and I mapped out a "shortcut" to save time. Well, it may have been less distance but it probably took twice as long and we barely found our destination while it was still light out.

Shortcuts...we all try to find them. With summer construction, lane closures, crazy drivers and accidents, any chance we can take a shortcut we are all over it. However, just like my shortcut to Joplin, if we aren't careful the shortcuts can be dangerous and sometimes even derail us from our destination.

Matthew 4 is the story of the temptation of Jesus in the desert. Why don't you pause for a moment and take a minute to read the chapter. If you don't have a bible, just check out http://www.biblegateway.com/ and type in Matthew 4 in the passage search. Did you read it?

3 times Satan tempts Jesus with a shortcut. The ironic thing is that the shortcuts didn't seem that bad in the natural. The first one was to turn the stones into bread. Jesus was fasting so he was extremely hungry...food isn't a bad thing right? Then he was tempted to show off the glory of God and His power. It's not a bad thing for people to see how powerful he was right? Finally, he was tempted to bow down to Satan so he could have control of the earth.

Jesus was tempted to take the easy road but I'm so thankful he didn't. He eventually got all 3 of those things but not the way Satan wanted him to. He eventually finished his fast and we read that he broke bread symbolically teaching His disciples of how his body was going to be broken on the cross for our healing. Later on we see that Jesus raised the dead man Lazarus back to life and showed everyone His power and glory. Finally, after He died on the cross He rose again in 3 days defeating death, hell and the grave taking rightful ownership of this earth and our lives.

What shortcuts are you being tempted with? Shortcuts are just distractions from the real thing! Let's follow God with all our hearts and stay committed to what He has called us to do!

No meeting tonight so families can spend time together!! Happy Fathers Day. See you next Sunday, 27th @ 5pm "lessons in leadership."

2 Buildings

Today we are looking at two buildings in Wyandotte as
places to meet when we launch September 12th. Both
are close to the downtown area which is where we want to
be.

We appreciate your prayers as we look for God's direction
and provision.

PS. I can't find my personal notes on the book "Do Hard Things."
The book must be in storage right now so I will have to
revisit this theme at a later time

Do Hard Things

I got a chance to watch the grand finale of "The Biggest Loser" last week. The irony of it all is that I hadn't seen one episode all season. Yet, I sat there in amazement watching recap videos of every person and where they started. One lady in particular was so big and so out of shape she fell off the treadmill and started weeping she couldn't do it and wanted to quit.


What would of happened if she would have quit. She would have joined the rank of thousands of other average people living in mediocrity and probably would have been consoled and patted on the back. However, they got in her face, strongly encouraged her (lol) and she didn't give up. She did hard things and came out on top and was extremely satisfied with the results.


Doing hard things isn't popular these days or promoted. When is the last time you have seen a product advertised on TV that is going to make you work harder? Most inventions are made to make life "easier" and less work (remember the Clapper?). However, if you study the life of men & women who changed their world, they all did hard things. I red a book a few years ago called "Do hard Things" by Alex & Brett Harris. Over the next few weeks I am going to challenge you and use experts from this book to do hard things.


1 Corinthians 9:25-27 says--Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize



Get ready to do hard things!!