Max Lucado's New Release, Fearless

Fearless by Max Lucado

I just finished reading the new book that will be released September 8th by Max Lucado titled Fearless. This book comes at a very timely moment here in the United States. With all of the coverage the news is giving to the economy, the proposed healthcare plan and terrorism, we are a country that has literally millions who are trapped in a cycle of fear.

This book for me was one of Max Lucado’s best writings to date. I thoroughly enjoyed every chapter and the study guide and the end of the book was very helpful. I am a pastor and used the study guide for one of the chapters for our Wednesday night study. Everyone who was there enjoyed the study. I am planning to use this book and the small group study for one of our Life Groups next semester. It was challenging and inspiring all at once. This book has something for everyone no matter your age or the stage of life you are in right now. Every chapter begins with a story that captures the audience’s attention. I highly recommend this book for every person who struggles with fear.

To learn more about this book, visit www.thefearlesschurch.com

Question

There is a really nice place here in Ulysses that I like to go and think. It has lots of trees and flowers and is pretty quiet. I especially like the lighting at night. I was reading my bible at this place this morning and had a thought. As far as I can tell there were no houses in the Garden of Eden. Makes me wonder if originally God made us to live in the outdoors. Before the fall of man I doubt there were many mosquito's. We knew that it didn't rain, and the animals were pretty tame.

When I am outside I kind feel my soul breathe. There is a peace that comes when I pause and thank God for His creation that can only be described as a peace beyond understanding. It is so easy in the hustle and bustle of this world to forget to stop, take a look around us, and praise God for all He has made. I want to encourage you today to take a moment and take in all God has made around us.

Review of The American Patriot’s Bible NKJV published by Thomas Nelson Publishers

I had the opportunity to read and review this new Study Bible. I have to say after reading some other reviews I was curious about this Bible. The articles in this Bible blew me away. There are all sorts of articles that were of interest to me. There is a page that contains the names of all fifty states in the order they were admitted into the United States along with the days of admission. There are several full color featured articles that captured my attention. A few are on the following subjects; The Bible and American Presidents, Christianity in Colonial America, Faith of the Founders, The Great Awakenings, and The Bible and Famous Americans, One of my favorite features is the Presidential Oath Feature. This Bible shows you where our Presidents have placed their hands on the scriptures as they took the Presidential Oath of Office. Some of the subjects that are addressed in the American Patriot’s Bible are John Quincy Adams; Buzz Aldrin, Communion on the Moon; Todd Beamer; Winston Churchill; Columbia University; and Christopher Columbus; There is something in this Bible for everyone. This is a hard bound Bible and will last for generations to come. No matter your political affiliation, you will love this Bible.

Vacation

I apologize if there are any misspelled words in this post. I am writing it on my smart phone sitting in a coffee shop. It seems to me that whenever I get a chance to get away my mind and spirit take the opportunity to regroup and refocus. It is like a breath of fresh air. The most important things rise to the top of my priorities. It's like the story of Mary and Martha in the Bible. I can rush around and forget about the important. The most important thing is one thing. Like Curly in "City Stickers." The secret to life is one thing. That one thing is this....... Relationships. My relationship with God. My relationship with my wife. My relationship with my kids, family, friends, and others. My challenge for today is how can I improve every one of these relationships today?

To Be Honest

I am going to go out on a limb and be transparent. You have heard it said that honesty is the best policy so here goes.

Summers are frustrating to me as a pastor. We see numbers on Sunday mornings drop. We see attendance at the mid-week service jump off the cliff. We try to spend so much time trying to create momentum and excitement only to see it wane in the summers. Every fall we pull out all the stops to get people back attending church once again. It can be very discouraging. I see so many of my fellow pastors take a month off in the summer to refuel their own lives. Sometimes I wonder if it is because they don't want to have to look out into all those empty seats staring at them that just a few months before were full of people excited about what God was doing in their lives.

But then last night I came across this in a book I am reading called "Mad Church Disease."

".... It breaks my heart when I hear pastors of churches say, 'We only had seventy-five people today' or 'Only two hundred people showed up.' Only? I'm sorry. Are those seventy-five or two hundred people not enough for you?.... Numbers have become an addiction. We flaunt our numbers, despise our numbers, fret about our numbers. Our numbers validate us. But they shouldn't. We often don't know how God is using us. We only need to know that He is- and respond with grateful hearts. After hearing it over and over, leaders who aren't as 'successful' start believing the lies that maybe God just hasn't blessed them like He blesses other churches or leaders. And at that point, those leaders either shut down or begin to be driven for their need for affirmation. We have completely lost sight of the most important fact..... we are called."

I can get so caught up in numbers that I lose sight of lives. Yes, lives are numbers. But how many lives need to be affected through me in order for me to be "successful"? One, 10, 100, 200, how many until I am content and satisfied? I know this for myself. If I allow what I see to influence my life, I can easily become bitter and discontent. My job is to do the best with what God has given me and He will take care of the rest. Yes, I have goals and it is important to have something to shoot for. But I cannot let empty seats and people who don't follow through on their commitments to influence how I lead my life.

I am called by God to live for Him not to live for numbers.

Do What You Can

This morning I was reading and came across this statement:

"God never asks us to do what we cannot do. Neither does He tend to do for us what we can do ourselves. The Lord does for us what we cannot do; what we can do He expects us to do."

This is where the faith and works comes in to play in our lives. God has given us certain talents, abilities and influence. He expects us to not just sit back and wait for Him to move on our behalf. He expects us to do all we can with what he has given and blessed us with. A good friend of mine once said, "You work as if everything depends on you and you pray as if everything depends on God." It is good for us to be used by God. There is a rewarding satisfaction that comes when you know that you have done all you can and God met you and did the rest.

There are times for resting, but there are also times to move forward and do something, anything. Don't be passive, but be assertive. Play offense, go get this life before it passes you by!

Sunday

Just want to invite you to come Sunday morning to hear part two of the sermon Truly Free. Last week was on Freedom From and this week will be on Freedom To...

Podcast

Our first podcast went online yesterday. You can go to itunes and subscribe to it there. It is under Oasis weekly Message. We will try to get the most recent sermons online net week. It is a slower process than I would like, but that's OK. Hope you enjoy the podcast!

Musings

Our family travelled to Iowa this last weekend.  It was good to back close to home.  I forgot how big the old cottonwoods get next to the river and how the leaves make that rushing noise when the breeze blows through them.  A couple of times I actually felt my body just relax and exhale.

I am not a tree hugger, but I do appreciate the beauty that God has created around us.  The Bible tells us that the whole earth is filled with Gods glory.  Everything around us reflects the glory of God.  The trees, the river, the birds, the sunsets, the stars in the night sky, and the beauty of the people and how unique each one of us is.  Sometimes we take for granted the mundane things.  But behind the mundane is the miraculous.  

Where do you see the miraculous in your life today?  What mundane thing is God's miraculous waiting behind?  Look for it today.

BHAG

BHAG stands for Big Harry Audacious Goals.  What is yours?  Before you answer I want you to hear what this fellow pastor Adam Hamilton said, 

"Too many churches (People) dream safe, easily attainable dreams.  They don't risk, they don't require faith, they don't need God in order to be accomplished.  Bruce Wilkinson says God's people are expected to attempt something large enough that failure is guaranteed..... unless God steps in."

So I ask again, what are you dreaming about?  What are the goals for your life?  Are they big enough that God must intervene or else you will fail?

Adventure

God has been challenging me quite a bit lately about how I think about Him; About how I relate to Him.  Sometimes I can get so caught up in running around that I forget about how I am suppose to live my life.  

The Message says this in Matthew 25, "That's a terrible way to live!  It's criminal to live cautiously!  If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least?  Take it and give it to the one who risked the most.  Get rid of this play-it-safe who won't go out on a limb"

Pretty harsh words for those who cling so tightly to the traditional church mindset.  Those who have the attitude that risk is sin are missing the truly adventurous Christian life God wants us to live.  Our life is an adventure, a quest, a crusade to bring Christ to the world around us.

The world around us doesn't care about our traditions.  They don't care how busy you are for God.  They want to know if Christianity really works in your life and if we are really unleashing the power of God in our lives and on the earth.

Religion will not capture a person's imagination, only an adventure with God will do.  Our focus has to change from being concerned about rules, religion and retaining the status quo and move to having an adventure with God.

Is your life with Christ religious or adventurous?  Which sounds more interesting and rewarding? 

 

Book Reviewer

I just signed up with Thomas Nelson publishers to be a book reviewer for them. One of the conditions of this is that I have to review the book on my blog and also on Amazon, CBD or another book retailer. So soon you will see book reviews here on my blog. It should be fun!