Jan/13/2010 10:02 AM
You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail
Proverbs 19:21
Who would have figured that a little snow would have effected Gilmer County the way it has? Once again this morning, all of us are at home... The family sleeping in due to the fact that school is out yet again. Today marks 4-1/2 SNOW days that we’ve experienced. Some roads are still reportedly impassable. Some people have yet to leave their homes since last week’s snow event.
Of course, it isn’t the snow alone... It’s the temperatures. Yesterday was the first day in over a week that we saw temperatures above freezing! It isn’t the AMOUNT of snow... but it’s resilience. We’re used to snow falling, then melting right away. We just aren’t accustomed to seeing snow hang around day after day.
And of course, the roads are shut down at a time when we as a church have been so poised to launch such a big, new phase of our ministry. On the big “SNOW Sunday” we had two services for the first time. Tonight we are set to relaunch youth ministry, but haven’t had the chance to actually invite students, due to school being out. This coming Sunday is our LifeGroup Connection, where we hope to connect people into community.
It seems like we’ve just picked the absolute worst time for just everything, doesn’t it? Did we miss it? Should we have done something different? Was our two-service schedule a mistake for this past week? Will our youth ministry kick off with a whimper instead of a roar?
You might not have known it on Sunday, but we had more first time visitors on our big snow day than we’ve had on any one Sunday in months! Not only that, but we presented the truth of God’s love and grace, and we saw one of those first time guests turn their life over to Christ for the first time! Praise God!
We may not have posted our best-ever numbers on Sunday morning, but ETERNITY was changed that day. So, if you’re all into sheer numbers, maybe you’re counting the wrong thing. Life change is what counts, and THAT is what God had planned for Sunday.
Maybe tonight at the youth ministry launch, we won’t have a ton of kids... But GOD will do the work that HE wants to do, DESPITE what our numbers show. Our plans are good, but God’s purpose will prevail!
Jan/03/2010 06:40 PM
During this morning's message, John Bailey talked about "guarding your heart" in the new year... This really resonated with me, and I felt like God was sending me a message.
I thought to myself about how permissive I have been with the things that come into my heart lately... I've heard the "f-word" more than a few times in a couple of the movies I've watched. I've listened to individuals talking about others in what turned out to be a gossiping manner.
It's funny, isn't it, how we justify the outright contamination of our hearts to ourselves... For some reason, we think that we can just put whatever we want in there, and it won't affect us.
Proverbs 4:23
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
Notice the importance of guarding your heart... Why? Because your LIFE is determined by it! Think that isn't true? You wouldn't put motor oil in your dishwasher, would you? Or dish detergent in your truck? What would happen if you did that?
But, we think that it doesn't matter what we listen to... What we look at. "It doesn't affect me," we think.
Yet, Madison Avenue advertising firms spend BILLIONS of dollars each year to affect your buying decisions by putting their ads in front of you on TV. Somebody thinks it affects you.
God's Word doesn't just tell us that we ought to guard our hearts, but it tells us HOW... Read the next few verses:
Proverbs 4:24-27
Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.
Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.
Don't get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.
Where you look is the direction you will head. I learned this lesson while motorcycle riding on North Georgia's curvy mountain roads. If you keep your eyes on the road immediately in front of your bike, you will have great difficulty navigating the tight curves on that steep mountain... You will likely not be able to make your turn, lose control, and end up in a disaster. BUT, if you look farther ahead, THROUGH the curve and keep your eyes on where you WANT to be, rather than where you ARE, you will sail through much more easily. Where you look is the direction you will head!
Are your decisions resulting in growth, or stagnation? Are your actions resulting in steps in the directions you desire? Are you being transformed into HIS image? HE does the work in you... But WE make ourselves available to HIS work in us by keeping our eyes and lives focused in the right direction.
Philippians 4:6-7
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
