This Week's WOW 9/15

I want to pass something on to you I read recently.  It was written by Patti Ann Thompson -- Pastor Rick

Something’s Bugging Me

           

“Search me, O God . . . See if there is any offensive way in me.” (Psalm 139:23,24).  While I was reading a biblical devotion online one day, a message popped up from my computer antivirus program: “Warning, your virus protection is out of date. Click here to upgrade.”  Most of us who own computers have an antivirus program. It protects our computers from harmful viruses.  Sometimes we fail to update the program and a virus infects our computer.

            Like my computer, I am virus prone, too. I still make mistakes and download the wrong things. God knows we are human and that our hearts are prone to infection by spiritual bugs – pride, unforgiveness, anger, gossip, and selfishness. How many times have I allowed chronic discontentment or an addiction to worldly lifestyles enter my life and bug me?  Sometimes I dismiss the warning by clicking on “remind me again later”.  I convince myself I will handle it later. When our hearts get infected, our sensitivity to love and serve others is blocked.

            Like the antivirus program that detects and fixes the threats to my computer, God’s Spirit has the power to search my heart and cleanse it from the threats to my spiritual health and service.  We need to constantly ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts, minds, and actions.  Then, with God’s help, we can change what needs to be changed and reflect the example of Christ in our life and ministry.

This Week's WOW 9/7

Push 1, 2, 3

By Pastor Donnie

    A few months ago my wife Lauren gave birth to our beautiful baby boy Obadiah.  Through the labor process, the nurse allowed me to participate in helping Lauren.  Unfortunately, there came a point where I think that Lauren and I both questioned the nurse’s wisdom in allowing me to help. When Lauren reached the pushing stage, I had the task of counting.  It seemed simple enough. How hard could it be to count to number 10? However, about the 15th time of counting from 1 to 10, I started to question whether I knew how to count at all!  “Ok Lauren, push!  1, 2, 3, 6, 7...no no...I skipped something...3, 4, 5,....wait I think I already counted number 3.”  Needless to say, my wife was not too happy with me!

  

    Often we get so busy and stressed out in life doing things - work, eat, church, kid’s practice, TV show, etc., that we forget how to do the simple spiritual things – pray, read the Bible, commune with God.

    In all of life’s hustle and bustle, we need to take time to slow down and remember the important things for our spiritual well-being.  Take time this week to get alone with God and allow Him to refresh and re-energize you so that you can accomplish life’s everyday tasks with excellence.

This Week's WOW 9/1

Tips for Inviting Someone to Church

            According to Barna Research Group, one out of four unchurched people would attend church if a friend invited them.  So what stops us from extending an invitation?  Perhaps we feel awkward at times.  Here are five helpful tips from Dianne E. Butts of Pueblo, Colorado for inviting people to church.

1.      Earn the right to invite. Sometimes spur-of-the-moment invitations work, but other times blurting out, “Wanna go to church?” when you first meet someone gives the impression you only care about attendance goals. Taking the time to build a friendship communicates you want to share an important part of your life.

2.      Instead of asking, “Do you want to go?”,  invite her to come with you. If she feels you are only going to church to take her, she will likely say no. Saying, “Want to come with me?” communicates you are going whether she comes or not.

3.      Give guests an idea of what to expect. Will the service be formal or informal? Loud or low-key?

4.      Give your guests an idea of what to wear. It is embarrassing to stand out in a crowd, so tell him what you will wear and how most other people at your church dress.

5.      Arrange to find each other. Offer to pick up your friend at home, meet for coffee or breakfast before the service, or plan to meet in the parking lot so you can enter the church together.

Remember, inviting others to church is important because it is one step toward inviting them to meet Jesus or redevelop a relationship with Him.

This Week's WOW 8/25

The Great Illusion

By Pastor Donnie

    I really like illusionists (magicians).  I think their sleight of hand and attention to detail is fascinating.  No matter how focused I am when watching the illusion, I am always surprised at how they pulled it off.  It might be that I’m gullible or that I don’t have a trained eye, but no matter what it is – I always end up amazed.  Illusions seem so simple and yet the magician has spent countless hours perfecting the illusion so that it is easy to believe.  I came across a quote this week that made me think of some other illusions that we easily believe:

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."
-- George Bernard Shaw

It’s easy to think that we communicated our desires to our spouse, children, or co-worker but very often we are merely believing in an illusion.  Unfortunately, some of us are Master Illusionists in the sense that we don’t give a second thought to what we just said and believe that we communicated clearly.  We wonder why the results we get are often so far from what we wanted.  This week, try to stop buying into the illusion that correct communication has taken place in your conversations – it takes a little more work than you think.

This Week's WOW 7/28

Parental Blind Spots

Every parent has blind spots. Here are a few blind spots I have seen in myself or in other parents.

1. We want to be liked more than we want to parent: This does not mean being a jerk. It means we parent and make decisions led by the Holy Spirit even when they are not popular with our children. It means our children may not understand or like every decision that we need to make, but we are still willing to do what is best for them and for the family in spite of not being popular.

2. We do not see potential problems quickly: Many of us end up in a jam and solving a problem that could have been avoided.  Molehills can turn into mountains if left unchecked. Often times we think the problems will just disappear on their own, so we choose to ignore the problems and the potential confrontation with our children.  If you want to waste a lot of time, constantly let potential problems turn into big problems by doing nothing.

3. We do not parent strong on the front end: If as a parent I am weak in my parenting on the front end (especially when my children are young), there is always a mess to clean up on the back end.  I have learned that I would rather start a little more firm and loosen up later on rather than starting loose and then have to get tough later on.  With most children, if you give them an inch, they will take mile, and then we have a dilemma on our hands.

This article was adapted from an article “Leadership Blind Spots” by Herbert Cooper lead pastor of People’s Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

This Week's WOW 7/15

 Stop Praying
by Pastor Donnie

 

I recently finished a book entitled "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan.  Here is an excerpt:

"What if I said, "Stop Praying"? What if I told you to stop talking at God for a while, but instead take a long hard look at Him before you speak another word. Solomon warned us not to rush into God's presence with words.." 

What caught me was the phrase "talking at God."   So often when we pray we merely talk at God which means that we could hold the same dialogue with a brick wall and walk away feeling just as good.  We need to be in communication with God.  We need to stand in awe of who He really is in our lives and realize that when He speaks into our lives we need to be listening because His words are power!

This Week's WOW 7/7

“God’s power flows primarily to people who pray.”

            The scriptures are riddled with passages teaching that our almighty, omnipotent God is ready, willing and able to answer the prayers of his followers. . . . God’s power can change circumstances and relationships. It can help us face life’s daily struggles. It can heal psychological and physical problems, remove marriage obstructions, meet financial needs—in fact, it can handle any kind of difficulty, dilemma or discouragement.

            Someone has said that when we work, we work; but when we pray, God works. His supernatural strength is available to praying people who are convinced to the core of their being that he can make a difference. Skeptics may argue that answered prayers are only coincidences, but as an English archbishop once observed, “It’s amazing how many coincidences occur when one begins to pray.”

From “Too Busy Not to Pray” by Bill Hybels pg 10-11