Optimum Power

" I am the vine and you are the branches.
If a man remains in Me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit ;
apart from Me you can do nothing. "
John 15:5

Sometimes we can feel so very distant.
We become disconnected from the source
that gives us the power to live by.

May we never forget ...
we need to stay connected to Jesus ... the true vine.
He is our true source of power...
apart from Him we can do nothing ...
connected to Him we can do all things... through Him.
( John 15:1-8 )

Living the Call Together - All for the Glory of God

Fly with the Eagles

Yet those who wait for the LORD;
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles;
They will run and not get tired;
They will walk and not become weary.
Isaiah 40:31

Don't settle for ordinary... fly with the eagles.

Living the Call Together - All for the Glory of God

Walking the Talk

Preach the Gospel ............
if necessary use words !

Do People See Jesus In Us ?

Living the Call Together - All for the Glory of God

Put On Jesus

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
Romans 13:14

A grandfather told his grandson a story
about 2 wolves that live inside him.
He told his grandson that the one wolf was good
and the other wolf was bad.
He went on with the story and said...
both wolves were continually fighting inside him.
The grandson interrupted his grandpa
and asked him which wolf wins the most fights?
The grandfather leaned over and told him...
the one I feed the most... always wins.

Paul is telling us in Romans not to feed our sinful desires.
Instead... we need to put on Jesus
and make Him "Lord" over our thoughts and actions.
The more we focus on Jesus
and the more involved we are in sharing Him with others...
the less we will desire the things of the flesh.

Put on Jesus everyday... before stepping out the door.

Living the Call Together - All for the Glory of God

Just Give Me Jesus

The world is filled with lots of clutter
and so many distractions.
Sometimes the noise of life
drowns out the voice of God in my ears.

I want to base my life on the fact that I am a child of God...
through believing in Jesus Christ.

I am an heir to the Kingdom of God... I want to live like it.
May the fruit of the Holy Spirit be practiced in my life...
peace, joy, love and all the other Gifts of the Spirit.

I want to move more stuff out of my life...
to make more room for Jesus.

Just give me more and more of Jesus...
and more people to share Him with.

There are a lot of people lost in this world
and our Heavenly Father wants them found...
by sharing the Good News of His Son... Jesus Christ.

Let's go... starting with Cambridge Springs...
the clock is ticking.

Needy Take From Church Collection Plates

Church lets needy take from their collection plates...

In these hard economic times,
we can't be so into church business
that we forget what our business is,
and that is to help people.
Pastor Toby Slough

A North Texas pastor passes the collection plates at his Church,
but now he tells struggling people to take what they need.
Toby Slough, pastor of the Cross Timbers Church in Argyle, TX,
says the church is helping single moms and widows,
and people who are behind on their utility bills.

Slough says it all started early this year
when he told his congregation to take money from the plates
if they needed it, even though donations were down.
That day, he tells the Dallas-Fort Worth TV stations,
the church took in the largest offering ever,
even after people took for their needs out of the plates.

Slough says, that it all started after he gave a ride to a jobless man
who was down to his last bus pass.
That's when the Lord told him...
to turn the collection plates into giving plates.

Would you be willing to trust God and do this in your church?

Turning Fear Into Boldness

Trying to do the Lord's work in your own strength
is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work.
But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit,
then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.
Corrie ten Boom

I have personally found...
that when trying to do the Lord's work
the most important thing is to pray first.
The time spent in preparation
is certainly vital too.
But the absolute most important thing
is to be prayed up........
You will be operating in His confidence after praying and preparing.
Cling to the promise.......
that the Lord will equip us for whatever He calls us to do.
Be not... overly concerned about what words to minister with
our Holy Spirit will put them on our lips...when we are prayed up.

Be bold for our Lord... step out in His confidence...
be prayed up.

Keep Pressing On For The Lord In All You Do
Bringing Glory To The Name Of Jesus Christ.

What Is Enough

My friend Dale, who loss his wife last year,
just shared this story with me.
It is an account that has been posted on the net before,
but it really touched me

Recently, I overheard a mother and daughter
in their last moments together at the airport.
They had announced the departure.
Standing near the security gate,
they hugged, and the mother said,
'I love you, and I pray you enough.'
The daughter replied,
'Mom, our life together has been more than enough.
Your love is all I ever needed.
I pray you enough, too, Mom.'

They kissed, and the daughter left.
The mother walked over to the window
where I was seated.
Standing there, I could see she wanted
and needed to cry.
I tried not to intrude on her privacy,
but she welcomed me in by asking,
'Did you ever say good-bye to someone
knowing it would be forever?'
Yes, I have,' I replied.
My wife went to be with the Lord last year.
'Forgive me for asking,
but why is this a forever good-bye?'
'Well...I'm not as young as I once was,
she lives so far away & has
her own busy life.
I have some challenges ahead and the reality is,
her next trip back will be for my funeral,'.

'When you were saying good-bye,
I heard you say, 'I pray you enough.'
May I ask what that means?'
She began to smile.
'That's a prayer that has been handed down
from other generations.
My parents used to say it to everyone.
'She paused a moment and looked up
as if trying to remember it in detail,
and she smiled even more.
'When we said, 'I pray you enough,'
we wanted the other person to have a life
filled with just enough good things to
sustain them.'

Then, turning toward me, she shared the following
as if she were reciting it from memory.

I pray you enough sun to keep your attitude bright
no matter how gray the day may appear...
I pray you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I pray you enough happiness
to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I pray you enough pain so that even
the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I pray you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I pray you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I pray you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

Then, she began to cry, and walked away.

They say, it takes a minute to find a special person,
an hour to appreciate them,
a day to love them,
but an entire life to forget them.

"To all my friends and loved ones,
I PRAY YOU ENOUGH..." Dale Sabin

Make Time To Love

If you judge people,
you will have no time to love them.
Mother Teresa

Lord forgive me for all the time I have wasted.
Teach me to love people with your love.

An Unforgivable Sin

Chapter 5 of the book of 1st John,
is a very exacting declaration that faith in Jesus Christ
is the only way to receive forgiveness and eternal life
from the Heavenly Father.

Verses 10 thru 16 read,
10. Anyone who believes in the Son of God
has this testimony in his heart.
Anyone who does not believe God
has made him out to be a liar,
because he has not believed the testimony
God has given about his Son.
11. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
12. He who has the Son has life;
he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
13. I write these things to you who believe
in the name of the Son of God
so that you may know that you have eternal life.
14. This is the confidence we have in approaching God:
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
15. And if we know that he hears us,
whatever we ask, we know that we have what we asked of him.
16. If anyone sees his brother commit a sin
that does not lead to death,
he should pray and God will give him life.
I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death.
There is a sin that leads to death.
I am not saying that he should pray about that.

A lady once asked me to identify the sin that leads to death,
mentioned in verse 16.
Her question started a 15 week Bible study
on the Book of 1st John.
The answer to her question is revealed in verse 10.
"...Anyone who does not believe God
has made him out to be a liar,
because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son."

God's word is telling us here
that if we go to our grave not believing in His son,
we have called Him a liar.

We concluded from the study
that an unforgivable sin would be not believing
in Jesus Christ and thereby calling God a liar.

While we still have breath,
all who repent and receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior
can know that they have eternal life.
But woe to those who knowingly do not and call God a liar.

Keep proclaiming Jesus Christ
to the loss world we live in.

"Living the Call together"

Letting Go of Our Anger

Sometimes anger can sneak up on you.
You think everything's fine
and then the smallest thing
will cause you to erupt.
But before our emotions get away from us,
we must remember that rage often comes at a great personal cost.
Dr. Charles Stanley

Anger is an extremely powerful emotion.
It can destroy lives, tear relationships apart,
and ruin a believer’s witness.

The apostle Paul understood the negative potential of resentment,
and he offered this advice on how to deal with it:

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger
and clamor and slander be put away from you,
along with all malice.
And be kind to one another, tender-hearted,
forgiving each other,
just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
Ephesians 4:31-32

Our anger can shut down communication with others.
It can also lead to a silent and very damaging type of resentment.
The “passive-aggressive” person takes out his bitterness on others in subtle ways.
One of the most harmful consequences of uncontrolled anger is depression.
Over time, inner turmoil and unresolved conflicts
will take their toll on a person’s mental health.

We can let our anger control us and suffer the consequences.
Or we can conquer it by forgiving others
that we feel have stirred up the bitterness in us.
Try to identify the causes of anger in your life,
and give those burdens over to the Lord.
Trust that He will empower you to overcome them.

We can't move ahead - if we're trying to get even.
Frank Tyger

More Than A Village

When warmth exists in God’s house, God is pleased and glorified!
Don Schultheis

Look at Acts 4:42-44
“They devoted themselves to the fellowship…
All the believers were together”

The people in that very first church loved each other.
The atmosphere was warm and caring.
They were devoted to fellowship and all the believers were together.

Ten times in the first five Chapters of Acts,
the word tells us that the early Church in Jerusalem was unified.

Look at these phrases:
They were in one accord.
They had one heart.
They had one purpose.
They had one spirit.
They were all united in thought.

There is a mighty movement of God
happening in our church.
May our cups continue to overflow
and spill into our neighborhoods.
Keep lifting up the name of Jesus Christ in all you do.

God is doing something in our midst... be in the center of it.