Monday Morning Reminder

A few of my notes from yesterday's teaching on vision:

• Vision = The God given ability to see beyond the obvious
• People of vision are "solution centered" versus "problem centered"
• All of our problems are exactly the same - impossible without God (Matt. 19:26)
• People of vision see beyond themselves and draw out the goodness in other people
• People of vision understand that God is BIGGER than their problems (Matt. 19:26)
• People of vision ask God for wisdom (James 1:5)

One other random thought: Good Ideas vs. God Ideas - I would rather have one "God idea" than a thousand "good ideas." Seek God's wisdom - not man's.

OneLife Time Movie Poll

Reminder: Don't forget to let us know your movie preference. Click Here

Also you can check the blog to get an update of the current results (see graph in upper right corner for results).

Who Will You Invite To Church This Easter?

Lifeway Research and North American Mission Board recently surveyed 15,000 people about how they would be willing to receive information about church. Below are some interesting results.

Personal relationships either through family or friends are the most received by people.

Easter is right up there.









My question: Who will you invite to Easter in a couple of weeks?

God: Logical and Good

Hebrews 12:4-6 - To think that I matter enough to the God of the universe that He desires good for me and that He loves me enough to not only provide life giving boundaries but He will also guide me down the right path. And sure if I get too far off-path it will undoubtedly hurt a little as God guides me back on course but it is the best thing for me.

It's logical and it just makes sense!

Memorization Tips

Do you struggle like I do with memorizing scripture? Here are a few tips.

Monday Morning Reminder

If you are like me, Monday morning rolls around and Sunday morning is sort of a blur. This post is primarily for me as I try to remember what God spoke to me yesterday:

1. Discipline = "delayed gratification" - pain before pleasure
2. Living with Godly discipline is the only decent way to live
3. Practicing discipline: making advanced decisions - living with intentionality
4. God rewards a disciplined life

These were my "take-aways" from Sunday. Share yours by replying to this post by clicking the "Comments" link below.

The 639 List

According to Acts 1:8 it is our responsibility as followers of Jesus Christ to spread the Gospel to the world. According to a group called "Finishing The Task" there are 639 people groups in the world that have not yet been reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Check out the list and remember to pray for them today.

Not Even a Hint

Ephesians 5:3 (NIV)
But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.

"Come on God, get serious. Not even a hint?" This is always my first what pops into my head whenever I read this verse. And then immediately God reminds me that He is absolutely serious!

Thanks, God, for yet another reminder. I'll make it my mission today to obey your command.

Will you join me?

This Sunday: Endangered Species #2

Remember to invite a friend to come along with you to Summitview this Sunday for part 2 of "Endangered Species: People of Discipline."

Courage To Repent

It takes tremendous courage to repent.

2 Corinthians 7:10 (NIV)
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

To repent means to turn away from where I am at and towards God. Repentance is almost never easy because it requires me to turn away from what I know, from what I am comfortable with, from what I love, from myself and toward God who's ways are not like mine and whose thoughts are not like mine. The reality is that God's ways are foreign to me and so it takes courage to turn from myself and my ways and towards God and His ways. And that takes tremendous courage and yet that's exactly what God asks us to do day after day after day.

Thank you God for your grace that allows me to repent.

Is He Safe?

In our reading for today (Matthew 10:26-31), I was reminded that God has given us the ability to communicate for a reason - to proclaim His glory and His truth. But that takes courage because there will be those that don't agree with the truth of God and so our tendency is towards safety. The problem with safety is that safety may be in direct opposition to the direction of the Bible.

It reminds me of a line from C.S. Lewis in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" where Lucy asks if Aslan is safe and Mr. Beaver replies, "Safe? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the king."

God is the THE King and He's good - all the time.

A Courageous Spirit

2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

To be men and women with spiritual courage is HUGE. It's courage that doesn't come from ourselves but rather from God. I have spent the majority of my life believing and trusting in myself - that's easy for me. But to walk by faith and not by sight that is so hard - that takes tremendous courage. And yet that's how God has called us to walk with Him and He has given us the tools to be successful - a spirit of power, love and self-discipline. But it doesn't just happen, we must use them as tools and not just leave them on the shelf hoping that they have an effect on us - we must put them to use.

One Step Away

In my time with God this morning, after reading the Bible, I was reading a daily devotional by Henry Blackaby called 'Day By Day' and I ran across the following that I thought I would share:

If you are in a situation or lifestyle where you are perfectly capable of handling everything, you have stopped growing in your understanding of God. God's desire is to take you from where you are to where He wants you to be. You will always be one step of obedience away from the next truth God wants you to learn about Him.
-Henry Blackaby

A good reminder that we are always one step away from where God would like us to be and that following Christ is a constant pursuit - not a destination.

Be The Church

Acts 2:42-47 is probably a section of scripture that I have read and contemplated more than any other. For me, it is an embodiment of what it looks like to be the Church. I don't get the sense that church was just something 1st century followers of Christ went to once a week. Rather it seems that they devoted their lives to the things that mattered to God - his Word, prayer, fellowship, and breaking bread.

They lived the Truth. They were the "living testament" of what it meant to live a life for Christ. And God rewarded them for it. May we always be seeking to grow towards their example.

Faithwalkers Journal

Don't forget to checkout the "Faithwalkers Journal" - a daily devotional published by 'Great Commission Churches'. You can check it out in the right sidebar of this blog. Just scroll down a little bit and take a look.

Every Effort

Ephesians 4:3 - Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Why couldn't God just say, "Make one or two efforts" or even "Try your best". The "Make every effort" thing leaves it kind of open! Don't know about you, but that makes me squirm a little. What a responsibility we have as followers of Christ to be united with one another.

As hard as that seems, I hope that describes my life and the life of SVCC.

A New Command

In our reading for today (John 13:34-35), I was once again convicted that our love toward fellow believers is not an option but a command. A command with a purpose: so that non-believers can see a living, breathing testimony of the love of God.

God is so into "do as I do" - what a responsibility - what a command! My prayer is that I can live that out today - and that we all can as believers - not for our benefit but for the benefit of those who do not yet believe.

An Answer

It blows my mind that we have an opportunity to actually be an answer to Jesus' prayer (John 17:22) - that we would be ONE as a community of believers.

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Please Pray For Me

You can submit your prayer requests online by going here or by clicking in the "Please Pray For Me" area in the right sidebar of this blog. You can also submit your prayers by clicking the "Prayer" link at www.summitviewcc.com.

Kaleo #4: Called To Be ONE

The think It Through for this week can be found here.

Spring Forward!

Don't forget to set your clocks forward one hour before you go to bed tonight!

The Living Word

In our reading for today (Hebrews 4:12-16) I was struck, as I always am when I read this scripture, that God's Word is so different from any other written word that we interact with. (yes, I know I am ending a sentence with a preposition but...)

God's word is "living and active" and it is through the process of interacting with His Word that we are changed and the world is changed around us as we engage with God through His Word.

Talk about POWER! Be in prayer for this weekend as we will again have an opportunity to come together to interact with God and His Word corporately as a church body.

Generosity

Some generosity info I ran across this morning. Just thought I'd share it. It reminded me of the blessing that is in giving.

• In 2006, Americans gave $295 billion to charity, up 4.2 percent from the previous year.
• Charitable donations have consistently risen faster than the GDP since World War II.
• Per capita, the people in the United States are perhaps the most generous in the world, as measured by what they give.
• Only a third of Americans itemize deductions on their tax returns. Research consistently shows that almost no one is motivated to give only because of their tax consequences.
• Those who donate to charity are three times as likely to give money informally to friends, and even strangers. And they are twice as likely to donate blood.
• People who attend church are 25% more likely to give to charity and 23% more likely to volunteer. They also give 46% more to family and friends who are in need.

Source: Article called "The Surprising Truth About American Generosity" from Trends Magazine

Pray Continually

1 Thessalonians 5:17 simply says "pray continually." Simple. Enough said! I'm going to make that my goal for today.

Jesus In Hand

John 1:1-16

To think that the totality of Jesus is encapsulated within the Word of God. That blows my mind! The WORD IS JESUS. Have you gotten to know Jesus today through the Word of God?

Don't forget to be in prayer today. Our prayer for today from the Think It Through is:
Have an honest conversation with God by telling Him your true feelings about Him. Ask for a deeper relationship with Him.

Prayer and the Word is simply the blessing and grace of God.

Submit Prayer Requests Online

You can now submit prayer requests online. You can do so by clicking HERE. Or by clicking the link in the right sidebar on this blog.

Becoming the Living Word

I posted this back at the end of 2008 but I thought I would post it again given part 3 of our Kaleo series.

Do you have a Bible reading plan for 2009? There is nothing that can prepare us better for the coming year than being in His Word.

Here are some resources that may help you in seeking God on a daily basis in the year to come.

Reading Plans to download:
Bible in a Year Plan
Bible in a Year - Chronological Plan
Biographical 4 Month Plan
61 Day Bible Highlights Plan
61 Days of Chronological Bible Key Events Plan
31 Days with Jesus Plan

One Year Bibles for purchase:
One Year Compact Bible - NIV
One Year Chronological Bible - NIV
One Year Bible - NLT
One Year Bible - ESV

Online resources:
One Year Reading Plan on YouVersion (also specific iPhone and Blackberry and mobile versions)
Bible Gateway Reading Plans
Daylights Devotional (there is also a one year plan at the bottom of each daily devotional reading)

Kaleo #3: Called To Connect

The Think It Through for this week can be found here.