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NEW YEAR - NEW YOU

 I want to try something new this year, blogging.  I don't know if it will last or if it will be valuable to anyone other than myself, yet I am going to try to keep you informed with where God is taking me this year.  Hope you will find the journey interesting and useful in your own journey with God.  Please send feed back so that I will know that you are out there.  E-mail me at sam@jccchurch.com.  Love to all and looking forward to growing with you this year,

Pastor Sam 

 

 

Reaching Up

Why is it so difficult to stay connect with God?  Have you heard if you are not going forward you are going backwards?  In my spiritual journey I have found that the journey is never static.  It is always moving.  I must make conscience choices that lead to a closer walk with God or I begin to drift.  If I leave things to run on auto-pilot I find that I begin a downward spiral.  Although I hate ritual, I have found that there are certain habits that are necessary for my spiritual growth.  Two stand out as vital for a growing and upward journey.

They are Bible reading and Prayer.  They sound simple and mundane.  If you are like me my day can be over taken with pressing issues that often scream for attention.  If I take the time to Pray and read my day seems to have a sense of order amidst the chaos.  When I allow the urgent calls to override this ritual my day seems out of kilter and disjointed.  I believe it is due to not staying connected to the source of our strength.  Our lifeline is our relationship with God and when we forget to check in life gets out of control.  I know I need a stabilizing force in my life.  I have found it in daily praying and reading.  That is just God's way, something so simple brings peace to an otherwise disjointed and chaotic life.  Thank you God for always being with us even in the chaos.   He is the source of our strength.

Devoted to ...

REACHING OUT, REACHING IN AND REACHING UP!

This is our focus for the year. Reaching out is how we keep ourselves sharp in our spiritual life. It is often the questions that are asked or the responses we receive from the unchurched that keep us sharp and more often than not on our knees. Jesus' mission concerns the meeting of needs around us. In our bible reading today, Matthew 10, Jesus sends the disciples out into their own neighborhood to reach the lost and hurting. He calls us to do the same. It seems the hardest ones to love are those closest to us. Yet, that is the measure of our relationship with Christ. How is our love life? I am so excited about what God has planned this year for our "team" or church. Will you become a part of his life change team to gather those outside of His kingdom to become a part of His family?

Begin by planning a Superbowl party to spread the love around. Start in your neighborhood, invite your friends to watch the game with you. You never know what God will use to change a life. It could be your "REACHING OUT" by throwing a party. Jesus' disciple, Matthew threw a party for his friends and guess who showed up. Jesus. He will show up at yours too.

New You

WOW!!! I can't believe how fast life flies by. 2007 is gone and 2008 is beginning. What will the new year bring. Will it bring happiness or heartache? Sorrow or joy? How will I react to the difficulties and the joys that will come? No one knows what tomorrow will bring, yet we all hope for the best. We have very little control over our future. Yet, that is what we worry about the most. Only God knows what is ahead.

Will I draw closer to God or will I drift?  That is really the most important and actually one of the only things I have complete control over.  Will I choose to seek God in the decisions I make or will I rely on my own intellect? Will I spend time praying or wasting more time watching tv?  What will I invest in this year?  People or things.  Always more questions than answers.   I hope you will join me as we begin a journey into the unknown with our God who is all knowing. 

I will trust in Him who is able to keep me from falling.  So much for today.  

 

LIFE'S TOO SHORT - TO BE SELFISH


One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. Proverbs 11:24


Every one of us, at some point, has acted selfishly. If the truth of our lives were known, we would see that most of us are selfish most of the time. We don't like to give up what we think is ours-whether it is words, time, possessions, or money. We think that if we hold on tightly to whatever we have, if we are close-fisted, then we won't lose it.

But God tells us differently. He tells us that what we have is not actually ours to keep. He wants us to give freely, to be open-handed. He wants us to be generous with what he has blessed us with. When we do that, when we give freely and willingly, God promises us that he will return our blessing beyond anything that we could imagine.

Oftentimes, especially when it comes to money, we hoard over it trying to keep our eyes on every little bit. We don't want to give any of it up and we constantly worry about whether or not we can afford to do this or that. That anxiousness is just a symptom of being close-fisted. We need to exchange that feeling of anxiousness for a feeling of confidence. But the only way to gain that confidence is to trust in God and follow his commands.

This week, trust that God will provide for you. Give what you have freely to others who may have a greater need. Whether it is words of encouragement, time, or money; give it joyfully and allow God's blessing to be poured into your life. Don't try to close your fist around everything in your life. Instead, open your hands and allow those blessings to flow freely from your grasp and into the lives of others.

POWER TO CHANGE

Are you interested in finding the power to change? Be encouraged by the stories of others who have gone before you. I have found this website to be helpful.


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