This will cover it

Well, my wonderful wife and I are heading out on vacation, so here are some verses to look up for the next few days

Friday: Psalm 101
Saturday: Psalm 84
Sunday: Share what you have been learning at www.fbcacrossfire.blogspot.com
Monday: Psalm 41
Tuesday: Psalm 40:8
Wednesday: Psalm 42
Thursday: Psalm 28
Friday: Psalm 133
Saturday: Psalm 141
Sunday: Share what you have liked about these Psalms

Enjoy everybody! Pray for our trip as well.

Thinking...

sitting here thinking of home
suddenly i feel very alone
thoughts of friends and family fill my mind
as i let my thoughts drift slowly back in time
people all around me laugh and smile
but my own laughter it only lasts awhile
i try to concentrate on why i'm here
i try to block out anxiousness and fear

Lord, i want to know You more than i do
i want to love You more...it's true
i want to be blameless in Your sight
Lord, i want to see more of Your face
i want to know more of Your grace
and Your love for me
Lord, i want to know You more

-scarlet thread

Writing a book of God's wonders

My wife always tells me I should write a book. Probably a funny one (she thinks I am funny) but one that holds timeless truths about God. I think that would be fun to do. Maybe one day all these blogs will turn into a book. Who knows?

But the thing is, we can all write books. From when we just start talking to the day we die, we all have a story to tell. God is telling a story through us! It's a cool thing to be able to see what God is doing and saying through our lives, backing that up with the truth from his scripture, and telling it to the world around us. What a purpose!

In Psalm 19:1-2 (MSG) David says this, "I'm thanking you God, from a full heart. I am writing the book on your wonders. I'm whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy; I'm singing your song High God." David was doing the same thing we ought to be doing, he was constantly examining his own life for how God was working in it. That is the story of God's wonders. What are you writing in yours?

How was church?

Just checking in today to see what God has been showing you lately through the local church. Feel free to drop a note with the ways God is working in your life.

Who can be against us.

Sometimes life gets a little scary. I really try not to worry about a lot of things, but the older I get, the more I feel there is to worry about. Maybe it is the responsibility of getting older. Maybe I am not as brave or courageous as I used to be. But I know I am not the only one to think about these things.

One of the reasons we have the written word of God is to remind us of the things He has promised us. It is really helpful to have these reminders, because in my worrying I often forget about them. How often is that the case that the times we should be looking to God the most, we are looking at Him the least?

Psalm 46 is one of these reminders. It is great to know that God is in control of all things and there is nothing that is not in front of his watchful eye. When we get worried about things, when we start to stress about the events and situations in our lives, let us not forget about these promises that we have been given. We can not forget that God is our ever PRESENT help in trouble. Take a look at Psalm 46 and meditate on God's control of every situation in our lives.

Hearing the voice.

Used from Deeper Devotion
http://www.deeperdevotion.com/devotions/1578/

How God Speaks - Part 4
by Tim Wade

Hebrews 1:1-2a"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son..."In these last days God spoke to us by his Son, and then His Son ascended to Heaven leaving us with His Holy Spirit whose job is (amongst many) to speak to us (John 16:13, Acts 11:28).

One of the more difficult things to do when learning to hear the voice of God is to get rid of all the other voices. When you diligently search for what it is God wants you to do next in your life there will be no shortage of stupid answers. Everyone in your life will have on opinion, including you. But only one voice will be the voice of the Holy Spirit leading you into all truth and righteousness.The key to knowing which voice is God's is the development spiritual disciplines in your life. Such disciplines include prayer, Bible study, meditation on the Word, fasting, and fellowship with other believers to name just a few. Based upon the daily practice of these disciplines I have made a short list of five rules that aid me in knowing when I am hearing the voice of God, the Holy Spirit, and not my own or someone else's. This list is by no means exhaustive, but merely serves as a guide. I know the voice of the Lord when:

1. I am in His word. The Holy Spirit bears witness inside of me in a very real way. The word of God is illuminated and is usually applied to something that I have been recently going through (Psalm 119:97-105)

2. When I am sharing my faith. As I develop my faith I share it with others. I do not keep it to myself. Whether it be with other believers or sharing my testimony with an unbeliever I am always sharing my faith in Christ (Acts 2:42-47).

3. When I am not in sin. Only when I am being obedient can I have full fellowship with God. In sin the relationship is not broken, but badly hindered. Do not make spiritual decisions when you know you are not living according to the Word! This includes relationships with co-workers, friends, and family (1 John 1:9-10).

4. When I am prayed up. My fellowship with God must include pray time which means time alone. For me this is not always an on your knees moment. I often converse with God over the scriptures in addition to the petitions I make to Him on behalf of others (Luke 6:12-13, John 17).

5. When I am in service to Him. To me serving God is worshiping God. The two go hand in hand, whether I am in the pew singing a hymn on a Sunday morning, or developing a PowerPoint slide presentation for the Sunday morning sermon, I am in worship. Thus I am in the presence of God and can hear His voice (John 15:7-11). When God speaks, He will always bring glory and honor to Himself. He will not contradict His word. Therefore, seek out wise counsel that knows the Bible. Surround yourself with Godly men and women who know quite well what the voice of the Lord sounds like and follow Him daily. And when you hear God speak to you, whether it is through His Word, His people, or directly to your Spirit from His, above all obey Him and do what He tells you to do.

"Then [Saul] fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus ..."(Acts 9:4-5a)."

The road back.

We all sin, you know, do what is wrong, break God's law, we all do it. Even the best of us find ourselves deep in to sin at times, even to the point where we may feel it is too hard to get out or don't know the way. It can be tough. David, known as a man after God's own heart, found himself in this situation at one point. He had just saw a woman bathing, seduced her, then had her husband killed, and pretty much got caught in this whole situation. But David, being a man after God's own heart, repented, and reconciled his relationship with God. We can see his prayer in Psalm 51. Take a look at it today.

What were some of the things David did in response to his sin?

Use this Psalm as a prayer to God today, especially if you find yourself in the midst of sin. Use this to get on the road back to your relationship with God.

For the next few days

Well, for the next few days I will not be able to leave these messages because we are on our Middle School Mission trip. But never fear, here are some verses you can look up over the next few days:

Friday- Matt. 5:1-12

Saturday-Isaiah 12

Sunday- What has God been showing you?

Monday-Ecclesiastes 9:11

Tuesday-Proverbs 30:5-6

Wednesday-Psalm 63

Who controls me?

So now it's after midnight... what is going on here?? Anyway, I was thinking today, "Who controls me?" I often times find myself saying, I need to go to sleep, or I need to eat something, or I have to do this or that. What is it that makes us have to do any of this stuff? Looking at 1 Corinthians 6:12 Paul talks about us being allowed to do anything through grace, but not everything being benefical but stipulates that he will not be mastered by anything. What are we mastered by? Are we mastered by our desires for sleep, food, money? Christ has given us the freedom to truly live, but we must be careful to keep our priorities straight. Think about this today as you go about your day.

I'm so tired!!!

As it nears midnight when I write this, I begin to think back to the Disciples in the Garden when Jesus was praying right before he was crucified. I think back because I think they are villanized. There are so many who look to them and say "I can't believe they fell asleep" or "if it were me with Jesus I wouldn't have deserted him." The sad thing is, that where the Disciples fall short, we do too.

Maybe this isn't true for you, but there are times when I am trying to pray, even for 5 minutes, and my mind is wandering all over the place or I am starting to drool on myself because I am falling asleep. How is this any different, if not worse, than what the Disciples were doing in the Garden? We abandon Jesus in these times because He is here with us, even when we fall asleep or allow our mind to wander.

I don't pretend to have the answer for this, maybe its extra coffee, maybe it's more discipline, maybe it's more sleep, but whatever it may be, let's try to pray as if we were meeting with Jesus... Because we are!

Take a look at Mark 14:32-42. What can we learn from the Disciples and our own tendencies?

Sure or Unsure? Part II

Yesterday we talked about how we can sometimes be uncertain as to our salvation because we doubt our own faith. The good news is we aren't the first to deal with this. Take a look at 2 Peter 1:5-11. Here we see Peter writing to a group of Christians who were experiencing the same doubts. How did Peter say to know if we are saved? To Grow!

Look at the process Peter sets out in verses 5-7. It starts with our faith but is shown in our love. Are you following the path of growth that 2 Peter sets out? If we are we can know that we are secure. It is God alone who knows our hearts, but we can see our actions!

Sure or Unsure?

Do you remember the commercials for SURE deodorant? It would have people in differnt situations where they would have to be lifting their arms in the air. Places like roller coasters, sporting events, classrooms, things like that. What would happen would be the people that did not use SURE deodorant would not lift their arms because they had stinky arm pits but those who did use it were sure that their SURE deodorant was working. Orignal eh?

Our faith can be like that sometimes can't it? There are times when we are so sure in our faith that we are willing to do anything, no matter what the cost. But then, there are times when we are really uncertain as to if we even have faith.

Jesus said that we don't need a whole lot of faith to be faithful, after all, he told us that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed we could move a mountain. I haven't moved any mountains lately have you? We often aren't doubting God's ability to save us through Jesus, we are doubting our own ability to have faith.

We aren't the first to find ourselves in this quandry. Just like Moses, we are looking for assurance. Tomorrow we will look at what Peter has to say about how we can be certain in our faith. But for today, are you SURE or UNSURE in your faith? If you are SURE, what is holding you back from going all out for Jesus? If UNSURE, think about why? You can be SURE, be sure to check in tomorrow to find out how!

Number 20!

This is the twentieth installment of Crossfire Contemplations. What do you think so far? How has God been using this to help you grow close to Him?

The truth or not the Truth... that is the question.

Postmodernism is an interesting thing. I have been told that I am living in a postmodern culture, generation, time, etc. All this talk about being postmodern and what does it mean, blah, blah, blah. The funny thing is, after doing some research on the whole thing, I have found that I really do fall into that category at times. I wouldn't be surprised if some of your thought patterns fit into this idea of "postmodern."

While looking at an article by this guy Rick Edwards, I found this intersting quote, "One of the most dangerous tenets of postmodernism is the notion that truth is either non-existent or, if it does exist, is impossible to discern and articulate. The first position makes truth relative, the second makes it irrelevant."

This is a really good point, and one that we need to keep in mind as Christians. Jesus said that "[He was] the way, the TRUTH, and the Life." When we look at the concept of truth in relation to our faith in Jesus we must see that we have a definitive truth and one that can be articulated in Jesus, even if it is beyond our comprehension.

Take some time to think about how your decisions and thought processes may match with Rick's warning. Is the truth to us a relevant thing found in one place in Christ or is it something different for you. Where are you finding your truth?

I'm in the Bible!!!

Did you know that you and I are in the Bible? We may not be mentioned by name, but Jesus takes some time to pray specifically for those of us who believe in Him, those of us who are his disciples.

Just before Jesus was arrested and taken off to be questioned, beat, and killed, he spent time praying for us. You can read about it in John 17:20-26.

Jesus finishes praying for the Disciples he had with him at the time and then says he is praying “also for those who will believe in me.” That’s us!! And Jesus prays some specific things for us.

First, he wants us to be in Him and Him in us. Always a confusing saying, but if we look at the example Jesus uses that God was in Jesus, that is what Jesus wants for us. He wants us to be in Him so He will be in us, in order that the world may believe.

Next, Jesus wants us to live in unity with one another. He wants us to love and serve so the world will see how much God loves us by how much we love each other.

He also wants us to go to Heaven with him and see God’s glory. He knows that the only way to do this is to believe and be a follower of Jesus because Jesus himself said, “no one comes to the Father except through me.”

And finally, not only does he want you to see them, he wants everyone to see who God is. He wants to be in us to show others through us.
It is awesome to think about us being prayed for specifically by Jesus himself! Are we living up to the things Jesus prayed for us about?

Jesus serves

We always hear the saying “Jesus Saves.” You go to a church and they say “Jesus Saves,” go to downtown and you see billboards that say, “Jesus Saves.” The catch phrase of our religion.

Now don’t get me wrong, I totally agree with that phrase because it is true. Jesus does save us from our sinful selves, but what Jesus came and did, was in reality, more than just saving. Jesus served.

In John 13:4-17, Jesus is again setting an example and giving instructions to his disciples. When Jesus, who remember IS God and the savior of the world, gets up and lowers himself to the point of a servant this was a major belittling of himself. Peter especially recognizes this, and Jesus uses Peter’s loud mouth to make an example of us needing to be cleaned by him daily (feet washing happened often in that culture).

But the point he is making to the disciples in verses 14-17 is that, we as followers of Jesus are to do the same thing Jesus did. Make ourselves lower in service to others, for this is the example that Jesus Christ himself set.

So I don’t know why we don’t hear more of “Jesus Serves,” perhaps because it requires us to do something that seems unnatural to us, or requires us to do something at all; but remember, we can never lower ourselves in service more than what God already has. He has lowered Himself from Creator to created, from perfect to sin, all in order to serve us. Now it is our turn to go and do likewise.

It's still Wednesday.

Not everyone understands why we believe what we believe. And some people aren’t afraid to let us know they don’t approve of who we follow. They can be mean to us, yell at us, and in some cases (like Columbine) even want to kill us.

Jesus knows exactly what this experience is like, he actually told us to expect it (Matthew 10:22)! Not only did Jesus expect this to happen, he experienced it even up to the point of death.

In John 18:19-24 Jesus is before the High Priest being questioned right before he is crucified. Not only is Jesus questioned but he is hit and called a liar. Jesus demonstrates how to tell people the truth in love even when being persecuted.

His first response happens before the persecution even starts. We see in verse 20 that Jesus was completely authentic and in the open with everything he did. Then even when he was hit, he was still open and honest, but humble to the authority that was questioning him.

We need to remember the way Jesus acted when opposed. The first thing is that we must always be open and authentic so that no one may bring any substantiated claim against us. But then, even if there are claims brought against us, we should be humble in bringing out the truth in these matters, letting our actions speak for our reputation.
Are your actions telling the story that none can bring up issues with your character and with who you follow. If we are followers of Christ, we will have opposition, but he has shown us the way to deal with those who are against us. Are you following Christ’s example?

The Command.

So yesterday we talked about needing to be Disciples of Christ for that is truly what will set us free. We also learned that in order to do that we need to be doing what Jesus taught us to do. Well that sounds good when we say it like that, but what does it look like in real life?

The thing I like most about Jesus (besides being salvation from our sinfulness) is that he knows us. Not like our friends or our family know us, because we can still hide things from them, but he really really knows us and we can’t pretend to know the answer, to avoid looking dumb. But along with knowing us he doesn’t draw attention to us when we don’t get things, he just answers. So when we are seceretly thinking “What does he mean by ‘obey his commands’?” he comes out and puts it in plain words.

In John 13:34-35 Jesus says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love on another. By this, all will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

He lays it right out there, people will know we are followers of Jesus by how we love one another, just like Jesus loved us. He also says in John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”

Jesus loved us so much he put his own agenda to the side to serve us, all the way until death. We are disciples when we serve others in the love of Jesus.
What are some ways that we can put aside our own ideas to serve others and be disciples of Jesus?

I'm a disciple?

Did you know that you can believe what Jesus has to say but not be a disciple?

You may be asking yourself, “what is a disciple anyway and do I really want to be one?” This is a good place to start.

Being a disciple is an extremely important part of being a Christian. It is actually what makes us a Christian. Back when Jesus was on the earth before he was crucified, there were many who believed that Jesus really was the Son of God. But Jesus did not yet call them disciples.

Jesus says in John 8:31 “If you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples” or as the Message puts it “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure.”

So what we see here is that we need to obey what Jesus taught and continue to follow them in our lives, only then will we “know the truth and the truth will set [us] free (32).”

This is the basis for what Jesus wants for us and for those around us. When Jesus was just about to ascend back into Heaven he tells his followers in Matthew 28:19-20 “Go and make disciples [of Jesus in] all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus wants us to be and to make disciples—followers of Him. He has promised to be with us until the end, will you follow him until the very end?

Sunday Blog.

What has God been showing you this week. Let us know at www.fbcacrossfire.blogspot.com. You can also click at the bottom of this message to get there. What has God been using in your life to show you himself? We want to know!

U-N-I-T-Y

Sometimes Christians can be the most un-unified group of people. It really upsets me.

I heard a story this evening about another church going through major trouble because the "Christians" in the church were all looking for their own agenda and was causing major trouble in the church. I don't think many people were coming into the church either. Why is this? Why can Christians at times be the worst at creating unity amongst themselves? After all, doesn't the Bible call us to unity (see Philippians 2)?

The problem begins with a lack of communication, especially when it comes to disagreements. Jesus has given us the way to become reconciled in our unity in Matthew 18:15-20. Take a look at these verses today to learn the best way to maintain unity within our community, even in times of conflict.

A Congress of Hospitality

As we come to the end of another week, here is a thought from Our Daily Bread.

Let me be the first to summon the church to a National Congress on Hospitality. We could hold it in Minneapolis near the Betty Crocker Kitchens, and perhaps we could borrow the Pillsbury Doughboy as our symbol. After all, there's some truth to the slogan, "Nothin says lovin' like somethin' from the oven."
The biblical word for hospitality means a "love of strangers." Some times people who visit our churches feel unwelcome. No one greets them or notices them. Hospitality, however, can break down barriers and build bridges. It can make strangers feel more welcome than just a word in the church bulletin.
For those tempted to shrug off my call for Congress on Hospitality because they are planning another evangelistic outreach, let me insist that hospitality doesn't conflict with outreach; it complements it! Inviting someone in for coffee, offering to babysit, taking a meal to a sick mother--all these show that we care. And people listen to someone who cares.
-Haddon Robinson

This little blurb from Our Daily Bread rings true in all our lives. Think about how we can make ourselves more welcoming to those who are new to our groups, no matter where we are at. It's not easy but just as Christ welcomes us shouldn't we welcome others? Take a look at Romans 12:9-16.

Who are you?

How would you define yourself?

This is an important question in our lives. We get to make the choice about who we want to be and how we want to be known. Some make this choice based on hobbies or jobs or music or how they dress. This is something I often times find myself thinking about, just who I am and how I want to be known and I must admit, I am not always very good at coming to an answer on these things.

In Luke 16:14-18 Jesus is talking to the Pharisees about who they are and what they were presenting themselves as. Jesus tells them this: "You are masters at making yourselves look good in front of others, but God knows what's behind the appearance. What society calls monumental, God sees through and calls monstrous. God's Law and the Prophets climaxed in John (the Baptist); now its the Kingdom of God--the good news and compelling invitation to every man and woman. (MSG)"

Jesus reminds us of a few things here in our search to define who we are. First, we are part of the kingdom of God and therefore our outward appearance is of no consequence to who we are (after all, Jesus was poor and probably pretty ragged looking most of the time). And second, that God, who is the ultimate judge, is looking only for one definition of who we are. Are we defined by Christ? Now that doesn't mean we can't dress differently or listen to different music or have different hobbies, that's all apart of our God-given uniqueness. But ultimately, when it comes down to it, we need to be defined by Christ in us. That is why we have this, so we can work together to find out what that looks like. Who we are....in Christ.