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I have fallen in love with the story of Joseph. His life is full of sorrow, hope, dreams, desires, incredible forgiveness, and love. I came across this verse about Joseph in Psalms tonight: “Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character” Psalm 105:19 (NLT).

Like most people, I have dreams and desires that have yet to be fulfilled. As I was sulking in this fact, I felt like this is what the Lord was saying to me:

“Be encouraged tonight! I haven’t overlooked your dreams and desires. I see them. I haven’t forgotten about them. But in your praying and waiting, realize that I’m not just sitting around doing nothing. I’m testing you. I’m purifying you. I’m molding you. Look up and see that I’m making you more like Me! Rise up and believe that I’m not done with you! Continue to pray and worship during these times of waiting. Believe that I will keep my promises. Continue to pursue Me during the times you want to give up on your dreams. I haven’t skipped over you. My timing is not your timing. It is not time for your dreams and desires to be completely fulfilled. But don’t lose hope! Don’t quit yearning and asking! Keep knocking. Keep pursuing Me! Your dreams and desires will be fulfilled at just the right time. Trust in My timing. Trust My promises. Trust Me. I have everything under control.”

(Savannah Jones is a Kingdom Kids minister)

Psalms 37:25a “Once I was young, and now I am old.” (NLT)

It is hard to admit that now “I am old”, it seems like such a short time ago that I was honored on Father’s Day as the youngest father. I would like to testify that I have experienced God’s faithfulness in my life. When I was young (very young) I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. My mother would often repeat the details of my conversion. One night, when I was 5, after coming home from church, I told Mom, “I want Jesus to come into my heart.” She helped me pray. She quoted my prayer back to me, “Jesus please come into my heart and never go away!” Jesus has honored that prayer, he is still in my heart. I’m so glad that Mom guided me to Jesus. It is so important for parents to be aware of their children’s spiritual needs and desires. Jesus has been so faithful to me even though I have often failed him.

David says, Psalms 37:25b “I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.” I will admit that there have been some occasions during my nearly 3/4 of a century walk with Jesus that I would ask, “Why God?” “God are you there?” or “God when are you going to answer?” I have noticed that in Psalms, David asks the same kind of questions, but he always adds quickly, “God you are sovereign! God you are merciful! God you are faithful!” God has always been there with me! In good times and hard times! It is not wrong to tell God how we feel (he knows anyway), but then realize that GOD IS GOOD and GOD IS FAITHFUL!

(Melvin is our  Senior Adult leader and an incredible example of faithfulness to Jesus through the years).

Mark 12:29-31 says, “Jesus answered him, ‘The most important of all of the commandments is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No greater commandment is greater than these.”

Has anyone ever asked you “Why can’t we all just love each other?” If so you may have chalked it up to something like “That’s just the way society is these days.” I’ve often thought of it this way until recently. I had a friend ask this question and it really challenged me. It’s likely that most of us have been taught and reminded to “Love our neighbor as ourselves.” But what does that actually look like?

The reference comes from the 10 Commandments which are found in Exodus 10 and then is re-stated in Mark 12:28 when Jesus is asked “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” And he responds with two found in Mark 12:29-31. The commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. And to Love your neighbor as yourself. “Love your neighbor as yourself” is found in the Bible more than just these two times, in fact, it’s found 8 times throughout scripture. I’ve always been told that if someone tells me something more than once then it must be important so 8 times must mean that it’s really important.

In considering what “loving your neighbor as yourself” looks like, I’ve been challenged to consider both sides – how to love yourself and how to love others. The “others” or neighbors could be friends, family, co-workers, fellow Christians, or random people we meet as we travel around (even in the communities we live in).

Here are some questions we can ask ourselves:
– Do I speak to them when I pass by, or do I keep my head down in hopes to not have to talk?
– Do I listen when they need to be heard or do I keep walking?
– Do I genuinely care about their well-being or do I only care about them when there is a personal benefit?

All of these are valid questions. However, as we dig deep we find that we first need to know how we love ourselves. What does that even mean? Loving yourself does not include negative self-talk, demeaning thoughts or actions, or self-destruction. Loving yourself includes knowing what you enjoy, what makes you smile and have fun. It includes understanding that life can’t be perfect. For the perfectionists out there, it’s a hard truth but it’s one that we must embrace in order to live a life well lived. Loving ourselves means that we know our limits and we set boundaries for ourselves. When we find out what choices in our life have positive and negative influences then we can begin to recognize what the negative is and start improving the positive.

We also must recognize that the Father loves us, and even so, His love is more than we will ever be able to imagine.  If you’ve spent time in or around nature you’ve seen this in action – the birds and the plants and trees – it’s all a reflection of the Father’s love for His creation. In order to love ourselves and therefore love our neighbors we must understand and embrace that we are loved by the Father. We can see examples of this throughout the Bible and some of my favorites are in Romans and John (Romans 5: 2-5; 8 & John 3:16).

As you’re going through your day to day routine consider how you can influence those around you for the better while discovering how to love yourself better so that you can love people better.

(Samantha is an Engage Group leader and an important part of our Young Adults ministry, as well as being actively involved in many other ministries in the church).

“The Lord answered her, ‘Martha, my beloved Martha. Why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions? Are they really that important? Mary has discovered the one thing that is most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won’t take that privilege from her.'” – Luke 10: 41-42

Busyness would tell you the lie, “The more you do, the more you accomplish.” However, the quantity of work that you do is not as important as the quality of the time you spend with the Lord.

Psalm 39:6 warns us, “We live our lives like those living in the shadows. All our activities and energies are spent for things that pass away. We gather, we hoard, we cling to our things, only to leave them all behind for who knows who.”

Doesn’t that sound a bit chilling? The last thing I would want for my life is that it would end up pointless in view of eternity.  The good news is that Jesus tells us exactly what we need to do to ensure that our lives end up meaning something.

“So above all, constantly chase after the realm of God’s kingdom and the righteousness that proceeds from Him. Then all these less important things will be given to you. Refuse to worry about tomorrow, but deal with each challenge that comes your way, one day at a time. Tomorrow will take care of itself.” Matthew 6:33-34 TPT

Spending time with God helps us to focus our efforts and know what our purpose and calling is. That time with the Lord also equips us to fulfill His destiny for us.

When we get busy, we are unable to recognize the opportunities that God places in front of us. Or worse yet, we are unable to respond to those opportunities because we don’t have the time to do so.

Take time to spend with the Lord and you will start to see things from His perspective. When you take time so learn from and be equipped by God, you are able to say, “No” to the unimportant things so that you can say “yes” to the important things. Set in your heart to chase after the realm of God’s Kingdom and the righteousness that proceeds from Him. There is no higher calling, nor more worthy activity.

**All verses taken from The Passion Translation.

(James is an active part of our worship team, men’s group, and welcome team)

We are aware of the fact that in order to change things in our lives, we have to change our way of thinking about things and we have to choose to do things differently. Things don’t change simply because we want them to, we have to do something. Romans 12:2 is a passage we are very familiar with. The Passion Translation puts it this way: “Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through the total reformation of how you think.”

Often our first reaction to this type of instruction is to say, “I really want to obey, but how do I do that?” This is one of those cases where there is a clear, simple (though not easy) answer to how we accomplish the transformation of the way we think (the renewing of our minds). Hebrews 12:2 says “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…” Stare at Jesus all the time! Paul gives us instructions in his letter to the Philippians: “So keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always.” (TPT)

Focus on Jesus and put every thought, word, or action through the filter of Philippians 12:2. We will be transformed and we won’t look like the world but like our beautiful Lord and Savior!

Brenda is the Women’s Group leader and Worship Director.

 

‘Seek the Kingdom of above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.’ Matthew 6:33

Jesus speaks these words during His Sermon on the Mount to those sitting around Him.  Recently, it struck me that almost everyone sitting around listening to Jesus that day were ordinary people, not qualified and highly trained priests.  Jesus is offering a relationship with the Father that is so personal that He elevates it from “follow the law’ to “seek the Kingdom”.  He is opening a door to everyone that is listening and later reads this scripture to embark upon a journey that is life transforming.

The best part of this scripture to me, is when you find a place that everyone is “seeking the Kingdom”.  When you find like-minded believers that are seeking the Kingdom, you find a place in which God is present!  The funny thing is, when you are seeking the Kingdom, righteous living comes because you are in Scripture, worshiping, and connecting with those who are seeking as well.

Jesus also gives a promise that “He will give you everything you need.” It is amazing that when you are seeking the Kingdom, the things we need change, and we become great with that.  This Scripture is a promise of an action upon which we must act; we don’t need to make seeking a mystical thing — it is an action that we carry out every day when we study Scripture, meet with like-minded believers and discuss what He is doing, when we go to Him in prayer and when we are sharing the Gospel with those around us.

Every morning I wake up wondering what seeking His Kingdom today will look like, and it is never the same.  There is so much excitement and joy in the “seeking”, that we don’t even realize we are walking in step with Him in righteousness, and He is giving us what our hearts desire because it is what His heart desires.

(Quinton is our Engage Group Coordinator, an Engage Group Leader, as well as being very active in many other ministries)

I have found in my time with God that its often the simple verses that often have the most impact for our lives. For example, John 14:6 states: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.’”

This passage, of less than 25 words, can be broken down into three easily understood messages with incredible applications for every Christian life.

Jesus is the Way
There is only one way to the Father. That way is Jesus. No other religious thought is sufficient. Additionally, He is the exclusive way to the Father. Jesus, combined with any other religion, thought or action will not do. Is there anything in our life that we try to add to Jesus? Is our way to heaven Jesus and hard work? Is it Jesus and charitable giving? There is only one way, and that way is Christ.

Jesus is the Truth
We live in an age fraught with relativism. Every action can be justified based on someone’s perspective. Truth has also become relative (and for many, irrelevant) as a result of this new thinking, and we can see the dim results of these thoughts everywhere. Let me say this, Jesus is the truth. Not a truth, not one truth, but THE truth. What Jesus calls sin will always be sin and what Jesus calls good will never be wrong. No matter what anyone’s perspective may be.

Jesus is the Life
Finally, Jesus is the life. Earth is corrupted and humanity is sinful, vile, and evil. No utopia will ever blossom on Earth through human means, no political party will solve all our problems, and every single person on earth will experience pain, hardship, and loss. But take heart, for this world is not our life, this world is merely a layover until we fly to our true home and our true life. Christ’s death and resurrection guarantees us eternal life where we will progress from glory to greater glory for all eternity.

Dear saints, never forget that it is Christ alone that made a way for us. How great His sacrifice and how worthy is He of praise! Focus on Jesus, and I believe you’ll be surprised at how much straighter your paths become, how much clearer the truth is, and how much greater your life can be.

(Dylan West is our College Leader, and he is also a faithful member of our worship team)

Isaiah 43:10-12 “‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed – I, not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am god.’”

The main reason why we are the Lord’s witnesses and chosen servants is that we would know and believe him and understand that he is God. We can’t give anything to anyone or do anything for anyone until we know him, believe him, and understand that he is God. Amazing… I think sometimes we get the cart before the horse. We want to do things for the Lord, we want to do things for others before we KNOW and BELIEVE God, before we UNDERSTAND that HE IS GOD. “Oh, the depths of the riches and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgements and his paths beyond tracing out!” Romans 11:33

“I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.” There is no other way, He is our ONLY hope.

“I have revealed, and saved and proclaimed.” He enlightens our minds and opens up the truth to us. He redeems and rescues us. He declares His word and His promises.

“You are my witnesses… that I am God.” We have seen Him, we have experienced the fact, the undeniable truth, that He alone is God! May we live, without compromise, in the TRUTH.

(Brenda is our Worship Pastor and Women’s Group Leader.)

Exodus 15:22-25
“Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water. When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”). Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink.”

The stick Moses throws in the water can be symbolic of the cross, turning all things that were once bitter better.  The scenario of what our life looked like before we knew the Lord only speaks of the bitter reality without a savior. Once we experience the cross, the great exchange takes place and the transformation begins from bitter to better. What other god takes the bitterness of our fallen state and creates beauty and sweetness except Jesus. May we drink our fill of the sweetness of this spring, as it is all satisfying for everyone who tastes it. Jesus is very sweet, and all He has to offer is very, very sweet! It is similar to a nice big glass of ice water on a hot Oklahoma day! Just what we needed when we needed it! He forgives our sin, calls us by a new name, gives us a place in His kingdom, and brings us into a sweet friendship with Him beyond anything we have ever experienced. Don’t forget His benefits!

“He is… most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend…” Song of Solomon 5:16

(Marci is our Children’s Pastor and Community Missions Director)

Psalm 8:2 says, “Through the praise of children and infants, you have established a stronghold against your enemies to silence the foe and the avenger.” Don’t you see the Lord’s heart here? Every single life, no matter the age, is useful for furthering the Kingdom of God. You can see that He has a BIG place in His heart for children and infants. We see that all throughout Scripture as He uses young people to do incredible things for Him.

Somewhere along the way, we have attempted to devalue what our kids say and believe. That is our enemy at work because he knows the power those little ones hold! I say all of this to bring your attention to the fact that children have authority when they pray. So let them do it! Let them partner with you in the things for which you are contending.

Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with my grown up problems that I forget that my Father asks me to have a childlike faith. I read this Scripture a few months ago and it brought me to my knees in humility. Since then, we have fairly regular praise parties with my 2 year old at my house. This means that we turn on praise or worship music that we can dance to and we praise with FULLNESS in our hearts. Sometimes it means that I dance like a fool in my living room with tears streaming down my face because I know the weight the of issues we face, but I also know the power of what we’re doing in the moment. Invite your children into the intimacy of your relationship with Jesus and watch how the dynamics of situations in your life change!

(Katelyn is our Administrative Assistant and co-leader of our Young Adults group)