Likes-Dislikes

Growing up in San Diego spoiled me. I love warm, sunshine and the smell of the ocean. I don’t care for cold, windy, snowy days. But I deal with it (more blankets and a heavier coat). I appreciate God bringing me to a state that allows me to have almost a four-acre lot compared to being able to touch both houses with my arms stretched out next to us in California. We all have our likes and dislikes.

I like prime rib with ketchup. Not many people in their right mind do. I like running at 5:00 a.m. Some hate running at all. Differences. We all are different in what we like and dislike.

But when you open God’s Word and look at the plan he has for us. It’s the same. He wishes that all would come to Him and none be lost.

Today, I encourage you to open His Word and see the beautiful blessings of life that he wants you to have. Take advantage of the Abundant Life that can only be found in Christ Jesus.

Prayer Pagers

A reminder to pray for the following individuals this week using the Prayer Pagers:

JoAnne Farrar – 231-3380
Tommy Martinez – 231-3381
Doris Shinn – 231-3382
Joe Walker – 231-3383
Search Committee (Mike Wright)231-3384

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Dial the number of the person you are praying for.
2. When the voice answers “enter the number you wish displayed”, press 777# and hang up.
3. Pray for that person.

Sunday

I remember growing up my grandmother and grandfather telling me stories about “Church Prayer Meetings” back in Tennessee in the early 1900’s. Times, when the Church would come together just to pray. Prayers would be led for the sick, the hurting, the nation, and world situations.

Today we have some what gone away from that power source that we have as a Body of Believers. Prayer should be just as important today as it was for my grandparents many years ago.

This coming Sunday will be a time of prayer renewal for the Central Church. Robert Klutts will be introducing us to a new way of encouraging others in daily prayer. On Sunday evening Carl has set up our 4th Sunday Praise Night as a “Prayer Service”. I hope you can be here as we encourage each other as well as speak to our Heavenly Father as a Family in prayer.

Sing From the Heart

The February edition of the Christian Chronicle (http://www.christianchronicle.org/) has a very informative story about a dialogue beginning to take place between the a cappella Churches of Christ and the Christian Church/Churches of Christ (instrumental), also known as independent Christian Churches.

This is an effort, according to the article, to discuss differences as well as discuss items both groups have in common. Discussion is a positive move when groups have the same purpose and goals. The main concern that I feel will continue to keep both groups apart is the instrumental worship aspect. I truly believe that this will probably split the Church of Christ once again during the next few years. I love our a cappella heritage.

I believe with all my heart that God intended for man to use his heart as the true instrument in worship to Him. We need to sing and make music in our hearts to God.

I have seen a spirit of true worship that has taken place at Central the past few months. It’s not in new songs or videos or more scripture in our service. It’s the attitude and participation by the body that has enabled us to actually come into His presence. I want that to continue. I want to see Jesus lifted up in our praise and in our communion as a family.

Remember it’s not about me (Thanks Carl) it’s about HIM!

Grace

I receive a bulletin from the Southwest Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas on a bi-weekly basis and enjoy the writings on an elder named Winston Burton. Brother Burton has preached for over 70 years. His health has been declining recently, but still helps shepherd the flock of the 1,200 member Southwest Church.

He writes some great articles that deals with the younger and older generation at Southwest.

The following article was written on February 8, 2006:

In these weeks of being bedfast, I have had time to reflect on how glad I am that I have lived in a period in which the Church of Christ has begun generally to emphasize grace more than in the past. In my near 70 years of preaching, I’ve always preached grace, even though early I was not aware of the rich pregnant meaning of the word. Very typically preachers of my younger years preached what I call “grace but” i.e. having mentioned the word, we were anxious to get on to show “but not by grace alone”. It seems to me now that we didn’t dare pause long on the glory of grace lest someone jump to a conclusion that we were preaching grace alone. Some people taught that, but, we must refute that, we thought.

The result was a church filled with people who were doubtful about their salvation. There were commandments as well as traditions and rules that must be kept perfectly. One could never be sure if he/she had done enough of them to go to heaven or not. Rarely did you find one confident of his salvation.

That is an absolutely false approach to what Jesus and the gospel are all about. Grace means unmerited favor. It means that no saved person ever merited it. God is under no obligation. It means salvation is a gift. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). All have sinned….I have; you have. But oh, glory, can you imagine insignificant, weak sinful Winston saved! (Confidently put your name where mine is if you are a Christian. If not, become one).

Ah, but there’s another side: Younger generations among us have heard about grace often. In fact, in recent years I have wondered if some—not just youth—do not jump to the conclusion that salvation by grace means whatever you do afterward is okay. True, grace saves the faithful even though they sin. (If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8,9). But there is a world of difference in that and using grace to justify our immoral rebellious behavior or even do nothingness. Jude says that such persons “change the grace of god into a license for immorality,” and he calls them “godless” (Jude 4). Hopeless.

A Morning Prayer

A prayer by Thomas Merton

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certainwhere it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. BUT, I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

The Responsibility of Leadership

Scandels. Money laundering. Sexual misconduct. DUI’s. Greed. Business leaders fall every day in America. White collar crime is at an all time high. Why?

We have lost all values and morals in our society. Especially those in leadership capacities. It has been constantly on my mind the past few weeks, so many leaders have fallen recently. It gives all those in leadership a bad name. A bad reputation. In business, but also in the church.

It shouldn’t surprise me to hear of leaders falling. The Bible is full of leaders who fell from grace because they did not keep their eyes centered on the one who gave them the ability and opportunity to lead a group of people or an organization.

Saul and his people were great examples of leaders and followers who fell because they were so interested in their own needs and wants, that they felt like they didn’t need God’s direction.

In 1 Samuel 12:23-25, "As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."

They did persist in doing evil. Was their King swept away? Yes! Saul would soon fall consulting with a witch. Were they swept away? Yes! Eventually they were all swept off to Babylon all because they had persisted in evil. Samuel's conditional prophecy came true.

I have always told Debbie my goal when go to sleep at night is that I want to know that I have tried my very best and that I hope have the best interest of my kids, patrons and employees at heart. I don’t want anything found in my closet that would embarrass me, my family or my God.

Leaders, we have a vast responsibility. One that God has blessed us with. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes we don’t want that responsibility to lead, but God has a different direction for our lives.

God please keep me humble and grounded as I lead my school district each day. I pray that I will always keep my eyes fixed on You. You are the one that can provide that strength and encouragement, that as a leader, I need each day.

Worship....

Worship allows me to come into contact with God, His will, His word, His way, and His people.
Worship shows me where I need to work harder and where I need to focus my attention.
Worship provides a place for me to retreat from the stresses of the world.
Worship provides me with a support structure to assist me in times of trails and/or struggles.
Worship allows me to praise the Lord while sharing my personal relationship with the world.

Here Is My Heart

Had a few requests for the words to “Here is My Heart” a song that was sung by the quartet at Saturday 4 the Savior. We will be singing this in a few weeks during our morning worship assembly. Carl thank you for reminding us to "Listen to the Sounds of Love" each day!

Here is My Heart
Martin Nystrom
1998 Integrity Music

Merciful Savior
Gracious Redeemer
Slow in your anger
Rich in Your love
Full of compassion
Longing to heal and bless
You will forgive all of my sin
If I will confess

Here is my heart, Lord
I lay it open
Search every corner
Cleanse every part
Here is my heart, Lord
Yielded and broken
Merciful Lord
Come and restore
Here is my heart.

My Favorite Valentine's Day

One of my favorite Valentine’s Day was in 1979. Debbie was a senior in high school and I was a junior. We had just started dating about three months earlier. After basketball practice on Valentine’s Day, I got dressed up in my 100% polyester brown suit (Not Leisure Suit) with my wide, short brown tie, and I took out the most beautiful girl in the youth group (wearing a maroon dress) to a restaurant called Goodtime Charlie’s at the Falls in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We had a great evening. I got her a special card and gave her a heart necklace. We ordered butterfly shrimp and enjoyed the evening talking about the future and what we wanted to accomplish.

What a future it has been! I never thought sitting there that night that we would look back on that evening 28 years later and say that was the start to a beautiful love story. A love story, where we have placed God as the head of all our decisions and callings of life. One that we have enjoyed as life-long partners helping each other become the very best in our spiritual, emotional, personal and professional walks. One that has blessed us with two sons that have been so rewarding and special.

Debbie, this Valentines Day, I remember that special evening in 1979. One that I will always cherish because I spent it with you!

(P.S. Sorry Deb, but I have a basketball game, as usual, that I must supervise tonight. Rain check on a special evening out)

Loving Each Other

In 1947, Jackie Robinson was the first black man to play in the Major League. While he was trying to overcome the color barrier as the only black in the Major League, he was jeered and ridiculed in almost every stadium in which he played. One day, while he was playing in his home stadium in Brooklyn, he made an error and even his own home fans began to boo and ridicule him. Robinson dejectedly returned to his second base. Pee Wee Reese, the short-stop, walked over to Robinson at second base, put his arm around his shoulder, and faced the crowd. The noise of the crowd began to quiet down and they became silent. Later Jackie Robinson said that that arm around his shoulder saved his career. That was a beautiful picture of brotherly love.

Brotherly love is one of the most important concepts that Jesus taught during his short ministry here on earth. At Central I see this practiced daily. May God give us an abundance of Brotherly Love as we unite to minister to those around us.

"Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart"
(1 Peter 1:22)

"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another"
(John. 13:35)

Saturday for the Savior

What does love sound like? That is the theme for our Saturday for the Savior on February 11. We will begin with a chili cook-off at 5:00 and then our devotional at 6:15. The Saturday for the Savior programs are intended to bring us closer as a family, and closer in our relationship with God. We will have a challenge by Carl Wheeler, uplifting singing, prayer time, scripture and special music and video. All of this to bring us in the presence of God who has blessed us greatly.

Paul Harvey's On Air Prayer

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those Who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it Enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!"


Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program,"The Rest of the Story," and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called "One Nation under God."

Praying for Our Future

As I was holding Alyson on Sunday morning, I couldn’t resist thinking about her future. What will she be like when she is 10 years old? Will she be tall like her mother? Will she still be wearing glasses? Will she be talented in music? Will she like sports? Will she still like horses?

Her future is so exciting and the potential she has will allow her to be a beautiful and talented young lady. I look forward to watching her develop into a Godly Christian young lady.

How about our teens and other young people at Central. What will they be like in 10 years?

Our kids and young people today need your constant prayers and support. They are living in one of the most difficult times in the history of the world. They have the ability to be what they want to be but they also have can have what ever they desire. The temptations they face are extreme and mind-boggling. From the media to internet to music to lifestyle our young people will be continually hit with worldly desires and challenges as they grow up and mature.

What can we do as adults? Pray. Pray for our young people daily. Pray that God will place that hedge around them as they grow and as they develop the Christian principles that they will need to live in a world of greed and filth.

Support our young people. Talk with them and be truly be interested in them as young people. Find out their talents and abilities and support them in their positive pursuits.

As a church, we must instill in them the ability to understand right and wrong. They need God’s Word more than any other group of young people. They need to understand what God says about sexuality, life style, relationships, alcohol, peer pressure and commitment to God, Church and Family.

I pray that we, at Central, will be that support mechanism that our young people need. That Godly people can bless them with direction, love and encouragement as they grow up in Jesus Christ.

Alyson, I pray for you often. And I know God will richly bless you as you look to Him!

Worship

“Worship is much more than the corporate assembly. Worship is the submission and sacrifice of our lives for the purpose of glorying God in everything we do. Worship is our total life response to God's creative and redemptive acts. In worship we offer our lives as a sacrifice before God in response to God's work for us. It is the orientation of our very being through the recognition of who we are as God's people whom he has created to share communion with him. Everything about our life is oriented and dedicated to the glory and honor of God. All of life is worship because all of life is devoted to God's glory”.

On Going to Church
John Mark Hicks

Change in Time

This coming Sunday, February 5, evening services will begin at 5:00 p.m. instead of at our regular 6:00 p.m. time. One of our young men, Andy Askins will be speaking.

All for Jesus

Mary D. James wrote "All For Jesus" as a New Year’s resolution. As she wrote a New Year’s letter for 1871, she rejoiced in the effectiveness of her work for Jesus the previous year. She wrote that "I have written more, talked more, prayed more, and thought more for Jesus than in any previous year, and have had more peace of mind, resulting from a stronger and more simple faith in Him." She saw how her increased commitment to God gave her a stronger ministry. "All For Jesus" was a personal expression of her devotion to God; that all that she was going do in the coming year would be for His glory.

This text is one of two commonly used for this hymn, the other being by William J. Sparrow-Simpson.

Rex has requested this hymn be sung after his message Sunday on “Serving in Ministry”.

All for Jesus
By Mary James

All for Jesus, all for Jesus!All my being’s ransomed powers: All my thoughts and words and doings,All my days and all my hours.

Let my hands perform His bidding, Let my feet run in His ways; Let my eyes see Jesus only, Let my lips speak forth His praise.

Since my eyes were fixed on Jesus, I’ve lost sight of all beside; So enchained my spirit’s vision,Looking at the Crucified.

Oh, what wonder! how amazing! Jesus, glorious King of kings, Deigns to call me His belovèd, Lets me rest beneath His wings.

Discipline

Discipline. Is it a bad word? A negative feeling for many?

Discipline is one of those items we hate to discuss. As a former high school principal, I felt, at times, that’s all I did some days. Instead of being the instructional leader of the building, I felt like I was the judge and jury on several occasions. The older I get or hopefully the more mature, I see the need for discipline in our society. I see that individuals must be held accountable for things that we do or not do as we live in a civilized complex society. Without discipline, we have no order. Chaos exists.

God speaks volumes in His Word about discipline. In the Old Testament, discipline was severe. In the New Testament, discipline brought about severe punishment, but what has happened over the last thousand years is that we think discipline is too severe and no one is held accountable for wrong.

We will be held accountable. It might not be today or tomorrow but we will be held accountable for our actions. God states this throughout His Word.

Proverbs 15:9-11 (New International Version)

9 The LORD detests the way of the wicked but he loves those who pursue righteousness.
10 Stern discipline awaits him who leaves the path; he who hates correction will die.
11 Death and Destruction lie open before the LORD— how much more the hearts of men!