J.R. Lee

I have heard Perry Noble say this several times since I have known him and I write it down every single time.

“We cannot expect the Spirit of God to lead us PUBLICLY/PROFESSIONALLY if we’re not yielded to Him PRIVATELY!”

I love that statement and it is so true.  God’s not a heavenly genie waiting to grant whatever wish comes to our mind.  He’s under no obligation to give us the answers if we haven’t studied for the test, and He isn’t compelled to show up on Sunday if I haven’t spent time with Him throughout the week. Spending time with God is a tremendous privilege – but it doesn’t happen by accident.

What’s your plan to consistently yield to God’s plan for your life?  Is it working?

Long, but good quote from Millard Erickson in Christian Theology (P. 1077)

“The church must be versatile and flexible in adjusting its methods and procedures to the changing situations in the world. It must go where needy persons are found, even if that means a geographical or cultural change. It must not cling to all its old ways. As the world to which it is trying to minister changes, the church will have to adapt its ministry accordingly, but without altering its basic direction. As the church adapts, it will be emulating its Lord, who did not hesitate to come to earth to redeem humanity. In doing so, he took on the condidtions of the human race (Phil. 2:5-8). In similar fashion, the body of Christ will preserve the basic message with which it has been entrusted, and conintue to fulfill the major functions of its task, but will make all legitimate changes necessary to carry out its Lord’s purposes. The stereotypical church-a rural congregation headed by but one minister and consisting of a group of nuclear families who meet at 11AM on Sunday morning in a small white building with a steeple – still exists in some places. But it is the exception. Circumstances are now very different in most parts of the world. If the church has a sense of mission like that of its Lord, however, it will find ways to reach people wherever they are.’

Good thoughts from the Publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, Darren Hardy…

Maybe one of the most powerful laws of the universe is also one of the most counterintuitive, thus for many, the most elusive.  If you can embrace this principle, it can liberate the resistance you might have to getting anything you ever wanted in life…

What do you want in life?
What do you think you lack?
What do you wish to receive?

Here is how to get it –
Give to others what you wish to receive.

Why?
“Giving starts the receiving process” –Jim Rohn
“You reap what you sow.” “You get what you give.”
“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Lk 6:31
“Every action generates a force of energy that returns to us in like kind” –Law of Karma

Want more success? ? Help someone else become successful.
Want more love? ? Give love to someone else.
Want to make more connections? ? Help others connect.
Want more happiness? ? Make someone else happy.

When you give, you provoke your power to create abundance. If you withhold, you are stopping the rebounding energy flow of reciprocity.

I very rarely repost something that someone else has written, but I couldn’t help myself with this one.  Pastor Steven knocked this one out of the park.  Here it is…

One of the most devastating effects of sin is the way it strips away our confidence.

I think it’s impossible for a pastor to confidently lead his congregation to trust God for the unknown while he’s nursing known sin in his life. 

Many fathers are unable to fully lead their families to seek and worship God because they’re aware of their own hypocrisy…and it strips confidence away layer by layer.

Unconfessed sin will chip away at your confidence until you find yourself backing down from Christ centered challenges, and settling into survival mode. 

Walking in purity activates a boldness that enables you to follow Jesus with a holy swagger.

Be pure…and be bold.

1 John 3:21
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 

One of the phrases that a person will hear quite often around Freedom Church is that “Incredible journey’s start with Irreversible steps.”  That quote has proven to be true over and over again over the course of the past 6 months.

With that in mind, the next phase of the journey has just begun.  I have heard several stories just in the past few days of people taking irreversible steps in order to experience the journey that God has planned for their lives.  Keep them coming!

I can’t wait to see what is in store over the course of the next few weeks!