Who are you listening to ?

Steven Furtick offers good counsel regularly. A recent blog made me think a bit more than usual. Thanks Steve!

We receive so many messages every day and have heard them from birth. We learn and seek to be discerning and sort out the good from the bad. Sometimes, perhaps when we were younger we listened to some from authority figures like parents, teachers etc, perhaps some were not so helpful.
I need to listen to the my Father's voice and ask him to help me remove the messages I've taken on board that are not the truth. More than that now I need to find my identity in Him - and filter all the messages through that.

HT: Steve Furtick

Expectations and excitement

Carey Niewhof has a great blog about getting what you came for. It got me thinking about what gets us excited. More over what do our kids see us getting excited about.
A question I asked my son last year - "What would you bring me if I asked you to bring me what was the most important thing in my life ?" - He told me my computer ! What a challenge !
How would your kids answer that question ?

What if ...

At our small group last night we were discussing loving together. And said the challenge was that we don't know each other that well. We asked what it would take to get to know each other better. So ..
What if we met with our small group more regularly even every other day. Maybe these times would be prayer times, sharing communion together, annointing of oil, laying hands on each other, speaking blessings over each other and of course singing God's praises. The kids would be there of course.
Billy Ritchie over in England has thoughts on these lines too.
What does it take to make this "What if... " a reality ? Choosing to make it a priority and finding like-minded people. Anything else ? ... WHat do you think ?

It broke Dad ! Can you fix it ?

I'm not a poetry kind of guy, but every once in a while a poem will really grab me. Ratna, one of our amazingly hard working and caring office staff here at First Alliance Church shared this poem with me last night.

First I was reminded of my son who had just yesterday morning asked me to help him build a Lego project, but then immediately after I start to help him pushes me out of the way so he can build it. A few minutes later he comes and grabs me again and syas he really, really really needs my help this time, because it seems to be broken and not working out right.

Next my mind goes to Moses and his grasping God's calling on His life to save his people in Egypt. He starts off by killing two Egyptians who abusing his fellow Jews, which he seemd to think fitted into the plan. However that only made him have to wait another forty years to nove into his calling!

Anyway I'll let you read the poem ...

Broken Dreams

As children bring their broken toys

with tears for us to mend,

I brought my broken dreams to God

because He was my friend.

But then, instead of leaving Him

in peace to work alone,

I hung around and tried to help

with ways that were my own.

At last, I snatched them back and cried,

"how can you be so slow?"

"My child," He said,

"what could I do?

You never did let go."

Author unknown

Discipleship - go with the program - NOT !

Discipleship programs and curriculums sem to be a good thing - they bring structure to an otherwise messy process. But what happens when you remove them, or the DVD breaks down, or you have to move away from where the program is ?

Bill Allison has a good look at this here
(http://cupojoewithbill.blogspot.com/2007/10/escalator-or-stairway-part-2.html).
How's your walk/escalator with God ?For me - it's so easy to get carried along and not take my own steps in my walk. One step at a time is ok!

Change, growth and maybe, even discipleship !

As you can see our Church's vision prayer focus is asking God to change us.

"Oh God, make us a body of people so transformed and empowered by
Your Spirit that our community, nation, and world will see and know
Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life"

I think we need to keep growing otherwise we go stale, stagnate and get bored. so where do we go from here ... John Johnson helps us think about this ...

Walter Brueggemann was asked—“If you came into a room of ten of the brightest, committed, determined to change the world kind of pastors, and had one word of advice, what would it be?” Without any hesitation, he responded—“Discover how it is people change, and build your ministry accordingly.” I hear him saying—find what it is that more than inspires—find what transforms people, what transforms all of their
being, and give your best ministry to that. This seems to be what Thomas has devoted himself to doing in his latest book—and where the church needs to get
its focus.