Seasons

I am so ready for Fall! Yes, I said Fall - not Spring! I love the fall season of the year. I enjoy Spring, but Spring here in Oklahoma means Tornado's! I don't care for the storms either. Now fall, that is a wonderful time of the year - color changes, cool weather and beautiful scenery! Winter - cold, dead, icy and stuck in the house! I know that every season has its purpose and without the changes of the seasons creation would get out of balance.

Although I may not like the winter and spring, God certainly knew what He was doing when he created the world. Without the deadness of winter, spring would not be as beautiful. Without the storms of spring, grass would not turn green and the flowers would not bloom. Without the warmth of summer, we would not dry out from the spring rains. God told us in Ecclesiastes 3:1,"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:" Every season has its purpose - that is the way God made it.

It gives me great comfort in knowing that when the storms of life come, when the deadness of winter come and when the heat of the battle rages God has given us His promise that He is there in the midst of it all! What a comfort to know that Jesus loves us so much that he does not abandon us in the trials and tribulations of life! He is a wonderful God who loves us and wants to have a personal relationship with us! Take the time today to thank God for the seasons of our lives!

New Year New Goals

Well, as you can see I did not do very well with keeping my blog updated. However, 2010 is the year! I am going to do my best to post on my blog at the very least bi-weekly. So, this is my first post of the New Year and I am pumped to say the least. I believe that this is going to be the best year for Freedom Life Church of God. I can not wait to see what God is going to do.

Since March of 09, my wife and I embarked upon a lifestyle change that would radically change our lives forever. We have - drum roll please - lost a total of 193 pounds! My wife is at 98 pounds and I have lost 95! We did this the "old fashioned" way by exercise and healthy food choices. I would like to challenge all who read this to join us on this journey. Remember we "are the temples of the Holy Spirit". Let's take care of what God has given us.

God Bless!

The Blessings of the Lord

How awesome it was to be in church today. We had a wonderful service, the praise and worship was great and the Lord was with us in each service. We had a Gideon representative in our service this morning and he gave a wonderful report. He said that the Gideons around the world places a testament somewhere in the world every time your heart beats! Wouldn't it be great if each time our heart beats someone gives their life to the Lord?

I am seriously concerned about the state of the church in America. We enjoy the blessings of the Lord in this country, but we are not doing what God has called us to do. We get so caught up in our programs that we get our focus off of the Great Commission. Jesus longs to see people saved (it is not His will that any should perish). My prayer is that God's people will get a burden for the lost around us. God is calling His church back to prayer and intercession for the lost. Let's get busy seeing souls saved in the House of God. Lord, send revival among Your people and let it begin with me!

Pastor Appreciation

Last Sunday was pastor appreciation at the church. We feel so honored to pastor such a wonderful group of people. It is our privilege to be apart of each of their lives. Sunday was a wonderful day and what love abounded in the service for us. I think I pastor the best people in the Christian world. This is not to say that we don't have our challenges, but God is so good to us that He helps us get through them all.

I can not wait to fire up the new barbeque grill this weekend and give it a try. It is one beautiful piece of equipment! The love offering was wonderful and a great blessing for us. Pastor Krieger and Pastor Jim did a wonderful job preaching the morning and evening service. Although I have a lot of "preach" in me for this weekend. I can't wait to deliver the message God has laid on my heart this weekend.

Please keep us in prayer as we begin our remodeling project next week! I know that it is going to look absolutely beautiful when we finish. Please pray that God will continue to provide the finances we need to complete the project. May God richly bless you is our prayer.

Discipleship

God has placed such a desire in my heart for training people in discipleship. It seems that since the beginning of the year, God has placed an even greater burden for this area. I feel that it is absolutely essential for the survival and advancement of the Kingdom of God. God has called each and every believer to be a disciple and to make disciples.

With this burden, I have decided to begin a discipleship class on Wednesday evenings. The class will be called Life 101. I am so excited about this new class and can not wait to get it started. The start up date is May 6. We are going to begin this journey by first defining what a disciple is and then we are going to work on how to disciple others. Please keep us in prayer as we begin this new class.

Finally, I can not begin to say how much God has blessed in our services lately. There has been such a freedom in our worship services and a deeper level of worship by our people. It is so exciting and refreshing. I agree with David when he said, "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord."