A storm is
brewing, winter is coming and that is what I said three weeks ago when we
started this series and here we are again in the deep freeze!! We have been told that this time of time of
year is the most difficult for people.
It gets dark sooner and often the mind goes there too. It’s harder with the holidays and a lot of
people blame God…but how did we really get here?
We all have personal
triggers that lead us down a dark path and get us stuck in a ditch of confusion
and despair.
1. Not expecting the storm. All too often, myself included, we start our
day by being totally unprepared. We don’t
put on the armor of God, we don’t take captive every thought, we don’t renew
our minds. We allow our minds to wander much like someone using Instagram to
explore pictures that led them astray from purity and righteousness. We think that we can remain immune from
temptation. However, when we are not
proactive with our decisions and who we follow, the message and story of our
life loses focus. John 10 The devil
comes to steal, kill and destroy
2. Our approach. We mark our lives by INSANITY by doing the
same thing over & over again and expecting different results. Simply, if it takes you 45min to get ready in
the morning and you choose to keep setting your alarm for 30min before you need
to leave…guess what… chaos!
3. Shame. We listen to the wrong voices.
We assume that Jesus doesn’t care much like the disciples said to Jesus that
night in the boat…’ Lord don’t you care that we drown?’ They assumed that by sleeping in that moment
that He wasn’t there for them. ‘For we
do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, Hebrews 4:14-16 He is right there in the
midst of our mess, our muck and the chaos of our lives. He is the one who will carry us through.
Overcoming TRUTH
Carry ON!
Have you ever been to a beach where there is warning signs of an
undertoe? What are you supposed to
do? For one, you don’t fight against the
current and then you are supposed to swim parallel to shore to get out of the
current.
We want to fight, kick and get out of the difficult situation, but Jesus
is the one who wants to calm the storm in our lives. Awaken your brave heart!
As Steven
Furtick shared in his ‘Be Brave’ series, we need to learn to speak peace to the
real waves in our lives, to our anxious heart, to our negative emotions. Be anxious for NO THING!
I thought
that was a brilliant take on Philippians 4:6,7
We will succeed when we don’t press the panic button. We will find our way when we don’t run to our
‘addiction of choice’ and try to meet our needs in our own way and learn to
experience the presence of the Holy Spirit in the eye of the storm. John 14:27 "I am leaving you with a gift--peace of
mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't
be troubled or afraid.
OVERCOMING
TRUTH
The Words That We Speak!
Proverbs
18:21 The tongue has the power of life
and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
We need to
start with the words that we speak over our lives and the lives of others. All too often we can get caught up in
negativity and take the path of self defeat.
We have to know that the words that we say and the promises that we
claim will have a direct affect on the atmosphere of our heart. One of my favorite verses to being an
overcomer is Philippians 3:13,14 Brothers
and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one
thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me
heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 4:
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is
helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit
those who listen.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test
and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
OVERCOMING
TRUTH
Be An Aggressive Worshipper!
I was at a
Fire Conference recently where Todd White was challenging us to always be ready
for opportunities to share about Jesus, to be totally unashamed followers of
Christ who don’t care what people think of us.
So while I was there I saw a young man at the front in worship dance. However it was his style that really caught
my eye. It was as if he was acting out
the words of the song through his motion and it was aggressive, passionate and he
was completely absorbed by the music. It
was powerful to me and reminded that in worship, breakthrough happens. Pastor Jim Gordon at our church makes it
clear every Sunday that in a moment of worship we can be changed in an instant
where lifelong recovery could never do.
I believe we can lift the atmospheric pressure in our lives simply by
our decision to worship with thankfulness and praise.
Manor
Ministry Update
So, last
week I was meeting with Roger, the owner, who is almost always at every
service. He sees one of the men come
down for lunch from Sue's Inn and notices that he is heading back to his
room. He pulls him aside and challenges
him to stay for the service. He then
brings him to me to answer his questions about religion. We have a good talk and then he sits down
with one of our ministry team members and stays for the time of worship! So, as
you can see Roger will do whatever it takes to get people there!
So, this
week he says, ‘Why can’t we just have
one religion?’ It would be great if the Jews
would just accept Jesus but they are too stubborn. He always surprises me by what he says! He is so open to talking about faith and life
with me. He attends our services, tells
me I’m his pastor and I fell down into his seat as he pulled me down for a
hug.
Another
praise item as a young man by the name of Joey prayed to receive Christ on
Sunday and wants to be baptized! So,
that brings the total to 3! Now, time to
set a date.
Introduction
to a social experiment… We have four
people who have been speaking truth over themselves from verses that affirm
their identity in Christ. This Sunday will mark three weeks for them and we
look forward to hearing their stories.
