Thankful in Pain?

I wanted to write to those of you who didn’t have a great day yesterday. It was Thanksgiving Day…and yet you weren’t surrounded with a house full of laughing family members. In fact, this last season for you has been seriously difficult.

There is a promise of God I want you to see and receive today. The promise is one of PEACE in the midst of our anxiety. What do we have to do??? Talk to God about it.

Paul, who’s sitting in prison, says we can rejoice and then pray with thanksgiving. On the other end of that prayer is the promise. Check it out, then spend some time talking to your Lord today…the One that knows everything about you, and still loves you completely.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:4-8 NIV)

Grateful or Entitled?

Remember, with Thanksgiving on Thursday, there will be no Thursday night service this weekend. However, we’ll see you on Sunday at 8, 9:30 or 11:00am. (If you can go to the 8:00am service…please do!)

A Grateful Heart vs an Entitled Heart…

Let me start with this: Which person would you rather be hanging out with??? I’m sure it’s the one with the grateful heart. And yet, our culture keeps telling us “YOU DESERVE THIS.” Maybe we worked hard and deserve a break, but usually that YOU DESERVE thing just feeds into our entitlement mentality way too easily.

Today spend some time throughout your day noticing God’s blessings in your life and be grateful. Share your grateful moments with others. Let them also know why you’re grateful for them.

Yes, tomorrow is set aside for that kind of thinking, but why wait till then. Let’s be grateful every day!

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17 NIV)

Who are you telling?

As Thanksgiving week begins, I want to encourage you to reach out to someone who’s been a help and an encouragement to you. Let them know the difference they’ve made in your life.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing and text them right now!

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:3-5 NIV)

21 Days of Prayer…Day 21

Being ALL IN isn’t primarily about our money or our relationships or our time…it’s about Jesus! When Jesus is Lord of ALL…then we’re on the right track. Everything else will fall into place as we respond to His leading with love and obedience. Going from GOOD TO GREAT in our relationship with Him is a daily choice.

Jesus said something about the necessity of our connection to Him in John 15. Notice carefully the last phrase.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  (John 15:5 NIV)

As we head into the week of Thanksgiving, before your prayer prompt for the day, let me say THANK YOU for going on this journey with me. Whether you’re a part of our church called Community, or you’re from some other place…plugged into your own church family…I know God has been moving and working in our lives. Let me say it again: THANK YOU!!

Prayer Prompt: Dear Father, this may be the last of these 21 days, but I want to be ALL IN for my entire life. I know in order to be close to you, I need to stay connected to you through your Word and your Family. I can’t do this on my own. Thank you for lovingly guiding me. I want to honor you with my life by being absolutely ALL IN!

21 Days of Prayer…Day 20

Jesus talked a lot about money. Seriously. But there are two verses that go straight to the core of why He does.

“Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. … No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.” (Matthew 6:21, 24 NLT)

Go back and read those verses again.

Why do you think our money and our heart are so connected? Ever thought about it?? How do we “serve money” if we’re not careful? How does my love for money make me despise God? Wow…Jesus hits hard right here.

So now, how are you and I going to respond. Are we going to continue to get sucked into the same priorities born from materialism and greed in our culture…or are we going to break free and truly go ALL IN with Jesus?

Prayer Prompt: Dear Father, I know money can do a lot of good things, but I also know it can grab ahold of my heart. I want YOU in charge. I want to serve YOU. Help me see the areas in my own life where money creeps in to take ahold of my affection and attention. I know one of the reasons you want me to give to YOU first is so I remember who’s really in charge. Thank you!