Caring Sharing Repairing

Reading from the Purpose Driven Connection I saw this quote, "One-by-one. Great opportunities to serve God often come as small opportunities to serve those around us who are in need."

At Santa Fe Christian Church we are a church on a mission. That mission is to be a church of Caring – Sharing – Repairing. Within our mission reaching out to those in need we are given a great opportunity to serve our Loving God.

Thanksgiving

THANKSGIVING

Psalm 97:12
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!

I pray that today you will give God thanks for all the blessings in your life.

Date with Jesus

So my wife tells me we need to get back to having a date night. I think that is a good idea. It is times like those date nights when our focus is on spending time with each other that we get to know each other better.

Did you know that knowing Christ brings the only real meaning and purpose to the human soul?

Set up a date time with Jesus each week. Let me encourage you to spend time today getting to know the Him in a more intimate way. Though you intimate times with Christ you will discover the real meaning and purpose for your life.

Going Home

Driving home the other night I felt so defeated. I was frustrated with things really beyond my control. About that time I noticed that on the side of the road were markers, actually crosses were someone had died in a car wreck.

My thought turned from myself and the frustration I had been dealing with to the thought of going home. I am not talking about going to my residence in Alvin, Texas, I am talking about going to my real home. Heaven.

As I have read Revelation 21 & 22 God’s Word describes Heaven. Let me encourage you to skim through these passages today and see the place Jesus is preparing for us, our real home. It is pretty awesome!

The Bread of Life

I love the Subway sandwich shop commercials . . . “Eat Fresh!” Over the past few months I have been watching what I eat and I frequent the local Subway often. While I know I can get a low calorie/low fat sandwich there I really go because I love their bread. When you walk in the door you are greeted with the aroma of freshly baked bread and it takes me to a happy place.

I am reminded of the passage in John: John 6:35 (NKJ)

And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

Experiencing God to the fullest is what Jesus was talking about. Your spiritual hunger will be satisfied and your thirst for a full relationship with God can be quenched through Him.

The Christian Race

Kenyans - Isaac Kimaiyo, Lazarus Nyakeraka and Patrick Nthiwa are some of the top long distance runners in the world today. For years the Kenyans have dominated the sport of long distance running. There are many athletes that can run much faster than these three but few that can beat them in the long run. Their grueling training consists of hundreds of hours of running the mountain sides building up their endurance. Their bodies get conditioned to be able to take the punishment of the race.

We too are runners. Heb 12:1-2 says, “…and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Just remember the Christian's race is not a competitive event but an endurance run.

God's Answers

I have always marveled at the artistry and workmanship of late Boyd Cottington and Chip Foose. These guys have created some of the most awesome hotrods ever built. I marvel at how they could take something ordinary and make it truly a classic. Through their imagination, creativity and workmanship the end result of their projects far exceed the hopes and expectations of their clients.

God is like that too. Did you know that God's answers are wiser than our prayers? Think about that.

Growing Spiritually

There is a little boy in our church named Jreyton. He is a cute little kid and full of life. One day he was showing me his muscles. As he proudly displayed his massive biceps I thought about the growth process we all go through.

If you want to grow physically strong, eat the right kind of foods. To grow spiritually strong, read God’s Word.

God Will Never Leave You

When reading about the life of Job, I am reminded that while God took down His shield around Job, he never left him. Remember, when God permits trials in your life, He also provides comfort.

His Mercies

Twenty-six times in Psalm 136 we find these beautiful words, "For His mercy endures forever."

mer⋅cy (mûr'sē)

–noun, plural -cies

1. Compassionate treatment, especially of those under one's power; clemency.
2. A disposition to be kind and forgiving: a heart full of mercy.
3. Something for which to be thankful; a blessing: It was a mercy that no one was hurt

Psalm 36:5 Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Psalm 89:1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever;
with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. (NKJ)

We can always trust God to be faithful to His children. God always stands behind His promises and His Word. Rest in that today!

Connectedness

How many times have you been somewhere and you met a person that went to your alma mater? Have you ever been overseas and ran into other Americans? Or, maybe you are in an airport or a store and you begin talking to a stranger and find they too are believers in Jesus Christ. Instantly in those situations we feel a connectedness to those people.

Marvin Williams said, "The next person you meet may need to meet Christ."

Let me encourage you to always be ready to share the good news, the gospel with those you meet. What you have may very well be just what they need!

He Cares For Us

Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Isaiah 40:11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young. (NKJ)

Thanks be to our Lord Jesus Christ for caring for us in all of our ways!

Growing In God

2 Corinthians 3:18 (New Living Translation)

18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

I watched a video the other night of my granddaughter Tatum as she has learned to jump. I remember her crawling then walking and now she has moved on to bigger things.

One of the downsides of pastoring is the separation from your family. My children and their spouses are in ministry and our schedules center around our pastoral responsibilities in different cities. While I love that technology allows us to see things like Tatum jumping, it isn’t like being there in person.

As we live for Christ, I believe that God gets excited when He sees us change and grow into His image.

Don't Be One Of Them

2 Tim 3:2-5 NIV

2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power.

Make sure you are not one of them! Unless the Lord's power is present in us, we will be just another person who has religion.

Ask the Lord today for His presence and power in all your activities.

I AM FREE

I AM FREE!

John 8:36 NIV
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Sometimes we get so bogged down with life in general. We also get so much stuff in our life that our minds become clogged and our spiritual fruit becomes inanimate. When that happens nothing is allowed to freely flow to others.

If you truly want to be a blessing to those in your circle of influence, ask the Lord to remove anything hindering the free flow of His Spirit through you.

Coattails

My friend Jack Roady is running for District Attorney of Galveston County. The elections are a year away and I am so thankful for a believer that seeks to serve in public office. I am sure that Jack will receive many votes on his own merit. However, I think he and many other politicians ride the coattails of their Party’s tickets.

You may be going through some rough times. You may even question God’s love for you. In those times, when you feel so all alone, you must cling to His coattail. By doing so, you will get through it to victory and later may even see His purposes in it.

Let me encourage you today. Trust in the Lord. Do not throw away your confidence in Him; Have faith and you will be richly rewarded.

Real Security

I have known a number of successful, Christian people that lost everything they had and then a few years later they had rebounded and were better off than before their loss. Some failed but failure didn’t keep them down. I think a lot of it is because of their attitude, work ethic, a refusal to quit, but most of all God’s blessings.

The Bible says, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5 NIV)

While there are many ways to lose your possessions, real security must be found in something that can never be taken from you. Jesus said, “God will take care of you if you trust Him."

God's Protection

At a church outing with our teenagers we went “paintballing” this was my first experience and I quickly realized that I am not as young as I used to be. Running around the course, ducking behind old cars, boxes, and trees for protection was exhausting to my un-physically fit body. Of course the alternative was to get pelted with paintballs coming at you at 300 feet per second or 205 miles per hour. When you get hit, it hurts! Oh, and the pastor is naturally a prize target for a group of enthusiastic youth.

As I think back to that event I realize how fortunate we are that God is our protection. We can run to Him and know that He will shield us from the fatal shrapnel flying about trying to take us down. Let me ask you this. Are you up against a difficult situation or an imposing problem?

If so, run to God and know that He is with you and will protect you in every circumstance.

Work

Work, work, work, it seems like most of our time is spent working. Be it on the job or around the house we are constantly working. Did you know that your work is part of God's plan for your life and that is why, as you work, you worship Him. Now that is a different way to look at it!

Well Done

My desire is to one day hear God say to me, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

I pray today that God will keep you faithful to the purposes He has for your life. Just know that He strengthens those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.

I Stand Behind It

James 1:17 (KJV)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

I love to watch cooking shows on TV. The Iron Chef, Top Chef, Chopped, etc. One of the phrases the chefs always use when their food is being judged is, “I stand behind my dish.”

That is really what God is saying in James 1:17, “This is My Word, and I stand behind it.” I love knowing that God will fulfill His Word in our lives just as He has for others. God’s Word is for each of us . . . and that means you too.

He has some great things in store for you this week. Embrace His Promises