IMPACT

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lively, whatever is admirable-If anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."  -Philippians 4:8-9

Some of you that will read this were sitting in that same service. Indian Falls Creek, Last service, Thursday night... Were you there? I was there and I heard God use Mike Keahbone to preach one of those messages that will forever stick with me. It was something I had been struggling with since our youth group at church kind of got put on the back-burner so to speak. I know God wanted me to invest in our young people here more. But I waited for someone else to see what God was showing me. God shows you things for a reason right? He shows you because He wants YOU to do it!

God I've got too many other things to focus on. I don't know how to start that. Someone else has got this. These were some of my thoughts. But When I heard that message, I knew it was God letting me know I still want you to do this. So here we are. We've been meeting for 2 weeks with our new youth small group.

I want to invite your young people, your kids, grandkids... Whoever. We're meeting Sundays at 5pm. The purpose? To get our young people together and teach them they have an important role in the church. Not only are they our future, they are the church right now. We don't have to wait until we're old to serve in the church, we have those opportunities right now...Today. Our young people can get this idea that church is where you go on Sunday, that's it. But the truth is the Bible says the church is ALIVE...LIVING... A building isn't living. Church is our community of believers supporting, encouraging, living life TOGETHER. So if you have children in your family that need that community of believers to encourage them, bring them to church Sunday evenings at 5. You can come together Sunday mornings at 11 also.

Our first meeting was coming up with a name for our youth ministry. Our young people chose IMPACT. In short, it means "Influencing My Peers As a Christian Teen." That's what we want to do... Have an IMPACT on the world around us. We want to live boldly for THE LORD. If you want to be apart of it, or even help ol' pastor Josh love on some of these young folks come join us. Sunday evenings at 5pm.

One last "disclosure." We're not experts. We don't know how this whole youth ministry thing looks or works. But we are trusting God to work it out. We believe "Where He leads...He Feeds." We'll keep looking to Him for all our needs. Much love. Pray for us!

I Was An Idol Chaser

"Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them." Jonah 2:8

That scripture just recently jumped out of my Bible and slapped me in the face. What was God wanting us to know when He instructed Jonah to write this in his letter? To find out, let's check the context.

So Jonah was given a specific instruction by God, go to Ninevah and preach against it. He didn't want to do that, and who could blame him? This was their sworn enemy and God wanted Jonah to go alone. Jonah decided to do his own thing. He went the opposite direction toward Tarshish. He hopped on a boat and was set for smooth sailing. Instead, a storm came and threatened to break the boat into pieces. The other passengers began to pray to all kinds of gods. Eventually they found a sleeping Jonah. He told them that it was his fault this great storm came. "Throw me into the sea and it will be come calm." He told them.

When he was in the sea, a fish came a swallowed him up. But not before he was on the brink of death. When he was in the belly of that huge fish, Jonah recognized who sent that fish to rescue him from his desperate situation. It was God and God alone. It led him to make two statements in Jonah chapter 2.

1. Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them.

2. Salvation comes from the Lord.

So what does Jonah tell us? I can hear him clear his throat a little as he makes that statement. "Listen, I want you to know something. When I was desperate, when I was in despair, when I was drowning with no hope. There was only One that could save me." It wasn't candy apple red with shiny new rims. It wasn't a stack of anything green with a man's face on it. It wasn't in a glass long-neck bottle. The only thing that saved him was God. That led him to make the 2 statements.

All through my college years, I struggled. I knew what I was supposed to do, but rarely did I do it. I strayed away from God and chased after the wrong things. Much like Jonah, it took the storm for me to realize that I was wasting my time by pleasing other people and not my God who loved me enough to send His own Son to die for me. My storm was in the form of devastating loss of a loved one, who happened to be my high school sweetheart. You know the type of relationship, where you have your whole future planned out... Then in a matter of 4 weeks, that loved one went from going to the emergency room to entering the gates of Heaven. I was torn apart. It was the worst storm I have ever been in. No idol was there to save me. I realized then what God was telling me in Jonah chapter 2. Those who chase idols, chase the wrong thing. They don't have power. They can't save. They can't comfort. Only God can do that.

The second statement he made in Jonah 2 came to life in my life. Salvation only comes from the Lord. He's the only One that can carry that kind of burden. Why did I waste so much time in the world? I don't know, but if I can tell you now, PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME. God has a perfect plan for you life. Don't run from that. He wants to save all of us TODAY!!

The good news for me is this... GOD WAS NOT DONE WITH ME. He restored me when I repented to Him. He's given me a wonderful future. He's given me a testimony to share, a story to tell. I want to tell it so that maybe someone out there struggles with that feeling that I know what I'm doing, I'm not supposed to be doing. Don't waste your time by chasing those idols in your life. ONLY THE LORD SAVES!

Persevering

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:36

Perseverance is a strong word and most of the time, a stronger lesson to learn.  The simplest definition of the word is this: When the easiest thing to do is quit...DON'T.

I came across the picture above the other day and it took me back. This was our first Christmas here in Immokalee. It was just the beginning of our ministry here. It's always good to remember where you started, as well as where you are today. But it's always good to remember the process that brought it all together. There are good things that happen and they grow us, there are also bad things that happen and they grow us... If we allow them to.

That's the thing about perseverance, it's our choice. We can let the bad things spoil us, or sour us. Or, we can let them be used to grow us and challenge us. The choice is ours. Jesus tells us, "In this world you will have trouble..." It's a guarantee. Put it on your calendar, stamp it on your forehead, TROUBLE WILL COME! The rest of Jesus' statement is... "BUT take heart! I have overcome the world." When the trouble comes, don't run anywhere else, run to Jesus! We can overcome, because HE overcame!

My mom and dad raised me on some 80's hair-band music. We used to listen to it all the time riding to wrestling tournaments and such. There was this band called Poison. They sang one of the greatest songs of the 80's, it was called "Every Rose Has It's Thorn." I never gave that little lyric much thought, until I had to persevere. Think about it, every rose does have a thorn. We can choose which one to focus on. The rose or the thorn. To persevere, focus on the rose, the beauty of your situation. The beauty is that God will give me strength during my weakest times. He will give me a peace that'll leave me scratching my head. That's the beautiful thing about God, He is there with us in the middle of the storm. He wants to use the storm, Let Him!

Or you can focus on the Thorn. Too many people focus on the thorn. That's all they think about and that's all they'll ever remember. Many people have given up, focusing on the thorn and how bad it hurts and how ugly it is. Focusing on the thorn is like staying stuck in the past, like spinning your wheels in a mud puddle. I heard this week, "Don't be a prisoner of your past: it was a life lesson, not a life sentence." Shift your eyes from the thorn to the rose. Step out of your past and know that God has a perfect plan for you and even the situation you find yourself in.

This got long, real quick... But let me finish, one thing I have learned about perseverance... The key to persevering is relationships. Cultivate the good relationships in your life, the ones that bring you closer to The Lord. You can't do this on your own. Depend on God. Depend, also, on those He has put in your life. Maybe that's your spouse, your kids, your friend, prayer partner, or whoever. Get with them and pray together... Encourage one another. We need each other. I pray God gives you peace about your situation. Remember, when the easy thing to do is quit... DON'T!