I love the story of Moses. God calls Moses to meet the needs of His people. Moses responds with doubt, questions and uncertainty. But he soon realizes that God's call has very little to do with his doubt. God's call is always related to the cry of His people (everyone that walks the face of the earth). God hears our cry and meets our need. 

“The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.” Exodus 2:23-25

We are called to community! There is no way around it. Jesus said, "you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me. Luke 14

A disciple of Jesus breaks bread. Every day [the disciples] continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes...Acts 2:46  Breaking bread requires commitment. Sometimes it requires extreme commitment. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer...Acts 2:42

"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:20

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Western Christian churches today mark Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, the traditional 40-day period of fasting, prayer and penitence before Easter.

To observe the day, many Christian churches hold services during which the foreheads of the faithful are marked with the sign of the cross with ashes made from last year's Palm Sunday branches as a sign of repentance and reminder of mortality.

When God has placed a dream inside you that only He can make possible, you need to FAST and PRAY. Jesus fasted in the desert. He was tempted by the same voice that had so cunningly whispered to Eve. Yet Jesus responded, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) The Word of God sustained Him through forty days and nights without food. The Son of God fasted because He knew there were supernatural things that could only be released that way. How much more should fasting be a common practice in our lives?

I want to encourage you to commit to Biblical fasting as we continue in the prayer series.  When you obey the Lord, He will reward you!

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." (Matthew5:6) We are currently in a prayer series at Mission Church. It involves corporate times of prayer, fasting and diving deep into the Word of God. My wife (Heather) and I did a 21 day fast leading into Sunday's message on fasting. The Lord is faithful and fulfills all His promises. Matthew 5:6 is now a promise fulfilled in my life. The promises of God are true. He desires to fill us. When you hunger for God, He WILL fill you.

There is power when God's people pray--
"Is any one of your in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sings songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (James 5:13-16 NIV)

This Sunday, August 9th, we start a new series called..."It's Not My Fault." This is going to be a unique series on the beauty of repentance.

We will live in a culture where accepting responsibility for wrongdoing, mistakes, or sin is rare. It is much easier to blame someone else and point the finger elsewhere. Throughout this series, we will be looking at God's plan for repentance. Why is it important? How should we handle it? What does it look like into today's culture? What would our churches look like if we practiced it?

 I firmly believe that repentance is a beautiful thing! We need to understand the passion, love and acceptance that God has for a repentant heart.  Check these verses out:

• Luke 15:7
  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
• Matthew 3:2
  Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
• Matthew 11:20
  Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.
• 2 Chronicles 7:14
  if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

These verses are just the beginning. The Bible is filled with encouragement to repent so the power of God can heal us, free us, lead us, bless us, redeem us. Life is short. The kingdom of Heaven is at hand. May we repent and draw near to God and He will forgive our sin and heal us! I am looking forward to a great series!

A friend of mine (and one of our new team members at Mission Church:) just gave me a passage from the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. It really helps define the series that we are starting this Sunday on love, marriage, & dating. Stephen Covey writes: At one seminar where I was speaking on the concept of proactivity,a man came up and said, "Stephen, I like what you're saying. But every situation is so different. Look at my marriage. I'm really worried. My wife and I just don't have the same feelings for each other we used to have. I guess I just don't love her anymore and she doesn't love me. What can I do?"
"The feeling isn't there anymore?" I asked.
"That's right," he reaffirmed. "And we have three children we're really concerned about. What do you suggest?"
"Love her, " I replied.
"I told you, the feeling just isn't there anymore."
"Love her."
"You don't understand. The feeling of love just isn't there."
"Then love her. If feeling isn't there, that's a good reason to love her."
"But how do you love when you don't love?"
"My friend, love is a verb. Love--the feeling--is a fruit of love, the verb. So love her. Serve her. Sacrifice. Listen to her. Empathize. Appreciate. Affirm her. Are you willing to do that?"

What a great passage! What a great question? Join us for a new teaching series this weekend, July 12, as we discover what the Holy Bible says about love, feelings and relationships.  

 

We started a new series on Sunday called I NEED FREEDOM. We celebrated Mother's and talked about the need to be free from worry!

Here is a little post-service video that I made to bring people along that might have missed Sunday. 

Heather and I had the privilege of singing at the Bend Faith Explosion tonight. WOW! It was an awesome experience. God was there! The Holy Spirit was on the move. Lives were changed, strongholds were broken, people were healed, and prophecy was spoken.

 When it comes to the movements of God and church services. I hate fake. I tend to be a skeptic. But when the ONE true God speaks, it is authentic, powerful, Spirit-led and beyond my ability to describe. Tonight was one of those nights where I was reminded of who I am -- a son...a child of the Most High God. Prophecy was spoken over my life. It was on target and Spirit-led. If you want to know more, ask me about it:)

This verse really hit home for me today: "To this end I labor, struggling with all HIS energy, which so powerfully works in me." Colossians 1:29

So, hear's the deal. Writing this letter, the apostle Paul is articulating to the church family in Colosse his call and commission to serve Christ. He is sharing his heart to proclaim Christ, to admonish and teach everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. Then he says that he is struggling and laboring with ALL OF HIS ENERGY. He is not talking about his own energy. He is talking about Christ's energy, which is so powerfully working in Him. If Paul struggles with Christ enpowering him, imagine how much we will struggle if we try to work in our own strength and energy. God is willing to unleash into our lives the same power that raised Christ from the dead. That is powerful! Even with that power, it is still a battle. There is still a struggle. 

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