Being Busy

Man, does life ever keep us busy. Many times we are so busy that we can not even rest well at night simply from staying busy in our minds thinking about all the stuff we have to do. The sheep we count turn into projects that need to get done or people we need to write or papers we need to get done.

I think that God is not pleased with all the "stuff" we have running around in our minds. The "stuff" crowds out His will and way for our life. He wants us to set time aside to spend alone with Him. He wants us to talk to him (pray) and in turn He will speak to us through His word.

Let's put forth the effort to remove the stuff so that we can spend quality time with our Father. He loves us so much He wants to spend time alone with us, so we He can talk with us. For He told us, "I know the plans I have for you..."

I hope everyone has a wonderful week in the Lord! God Bless each of you!

Blogging Is A Challenge

Well, once again I have not kept up with posting. I do have a great excuse this time. I have been busy working on an MDiv program. I guess that excuse is as good as any of the rest. Also, I can't seem to get anyone to post comments. It is boring to simply blog to myself. Maybe I need to try that Twitter thing. I am not sure what all is entailed in that, but I have heard allot about it.

I recently joined Facebook and found tons of my high school friends are on there. It is like a blast from the past. I have lots of wonderful memories from my High School days! After all I found the love of my life at that High School. Barbie and I have been together ever since. A total of 28 years we have known one another, we have been married almost 26 years now.

I have found in my MDiv studies, a new love that I love. It is Greek. It has been both a challenge and a wonderful learning adventure. I don't think I would ever be a Greek scholar, but I truly find the study of the Biblical language wonderful! Well, I am going to quit blogging now and call it night. Maybe, just maybe someone will post a comment on here and that will keep me motivated to blog.

Spiritual Journey

It has been a long while since I last posted. No excuses - just have not kept it up to date. Once again, I am attempting to try.

I thought I would beging this new post with the Spiritual Journey that the Lord has called our church to particpate in. We have been in this special emphasis on prayer, Bible Study and being faithful to the house of God for the past three weeks. I would venture to say that it has certainly impacted all of our lives. We have had some outstanding services over the past three weeks. During a recent evening service, a young man came to be prayed for and the Lord worked a miracle in his life! He was set free from alcohol addiction! I am believing that for the next several weeks as we take this journey together, that God is going to do a miraculous work in our midst!

We are looking for great things to occur during this special emphasis on spiritual discipline. God bless you and if you don't have a home church, come check us out!!

The Love of God

As you read the Bible, the revelation of God's love for His creation comes to life. When you begin to read about the work that God went through in creation to provide a perfect place for His greatest creation, you can not help but sense His great love for us. He loved us so much that even after we messed things up in the Garden, He still wanted to have a relationship with us. The most amazing aspect of this story is that God was calling out to his creation in the cool of the day even after He knew they had sinned against Him. Of course He knew what Adam and Eve had done - they disobeyed His command. But still He called out to them because He wanted a relationship with His creation.

As you continue to read His word, you find that even though we sinned against Him - He loved us enough to forgive us of our sins. We ask ourselves how he can love those who are in rebellion against him? How can He love me when I have done so much wrong? How could He forgive me for the horrible things I have done? Society screams revenge, justice and let's get even, while Jesus says, "forgive those who despitefully use you", "love your enemy", "love your neighbor as yourself". The scream of society is very different from the still small voice of the Spirit. The voice of the Spirit cries, "Mercy and love". Obviously not because we deserve mercy and love but because He loves us.

I for one am thankful for God's love and His mercy. Can we be thankful for God's love? Can we love the unlovable? Can we be His hands extended? My prayer is that God's love can be seen in my life. How about you?

God's Blessing Of Vision

We know that the Bible says, "Without a vision the people perish". Many of you may remember last year during Summer camp meeting in Shawnee, OK that God spoke to my heart about seeing 500 in our church. While we still have a long way to go, God is being true to His word. Over the past couple of months God has sent 10 new people to join us in our church. We are so excited about what God is going to do.

I also understand that with growth comes change. Change is one of the most difficult areas we face as a church. Because change is scary, new, and at times even threatening we have a tendency to not like it. However, I know that unless changes are made we will always get what we have always got. I am calling all our prayer warriors together and asking them to specifically pray about the changes we need to make as we continue to grow.

Rest assured that your pastoral staff has been and is continually in prayer about the vision we believe God is giving us. We want you to be patient and understanding with us so that the vision God has given to Freedom Life will continue to come to pass. God is doing fantastic things at Freedom Life and its just the beginning of what He is going to do in our midst!