oneDay

IMPOSSIBILITY

Elisha replied, "Hear this message from the LORD! This is what the LORD says: By this time tomorrow in the markets of Samaria, five quarts of fine flour will cost only half an ounce of silver, and ten quarts of barley grain will cost only half an ounce of silver." The officer assisting the king said to the man of God, "That couldn't happen even if the LORD opened the windows of heaven!" But Elisha replied, "You will see it happen, but you won't be able to eat any of it!" So it was true that five quarts of fine flour were sold that day for half an ounce of silver, and ten quarts of barley grain were sold for half an ounce of silver, just as the LORD had promised. (2 Kings 7:1-2, 16)

Let's put this in modern-day terms. Elisha told the people that tomorrow CD's would be a nickel a piece and meal at McDonald's would only cost a penny. These were unbelievably low prices. So, of course this officer told the prophet that even God couldn't do that-it was impossible. We do that to God a lot don't we? We tell Him that it is impossible-that even He; the God of this universe couldn't do THAT. No, people can't just get better from terminal illness. No, mountains can't crumble from nothing. No, God, even you can't make people come alive again. Yet, he's done all this and more. We limit God to our human perspective, when in reality He's blown that limiting box away with His amazing miracles. Just as in this example in scripture, sometime people who don't believe, end up limiting themselves as well as God. For instance, a pastor who feels really called to a certain church stays where He is because it's more comfortable. Then, He finds out that he was EXACTLY what was needed. And usually by that time, it is too late. Don't limit God. Not only are you limiting a Being so far greater than your possible comprehension, but also you are limiting the possibilities of the miracles God is ready and willing to work through you.

ONE SMALL GROUP

Don't forget to come to small groups tonight. Click HERE to find out more information about small groups meeting in your neighborhood. Hope to see you there.

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY

HI THIS IS BEN TEIGLAND, AND IT IS MY 24th BIRTHDAY! In honor of that fact is will quote from the Office!

Andy Bernard: Best ad ever, 'gimme a break, gimme a break, break me off a piece of that--' I am totally blanking. What is the thing?
Jim Halpert: Nobody tell him!
Andy Bernard: Wh- no, why?
Jim Halpert: You got it. You're so close.
Andy Bernard: ... It has to rhyme with 'piece'. 'Break me off a piece of that ... Fancy Feast.' That's it! It's cat food.
Andy Bernard: Break me off a piece of that...Chrysler car? Football cream?
Andy Bernard: Break me off a piece of that...Grey Poupon?

AND HERE ARE SOME BIBLE VERSES TO THINK ABOUT:

"But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Colossians 12:9

"All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5.

GO, GO, GO, JONAH!

"When my life was slipping away, I remembered God, And my prayer got through to you, made it all the way to your Holy Temple. Those who worship hollow gods, god-frauds, walk away from their only true love. But I'm worshiping you, God, caliling out in thanksgiving! And I'll do what I promised I'd do! Salvation belongs to God!" Jonah 3:9-10

Everybody knows about Jonah. People who have never read the Bible know enough to joke about Jonah to laugh at a joke about him and the "whale". Jonah has entered our folklore. There is a playful aspect to this story, a kind of awkward clumsiness about Jonah as he makes his way along, trying, but always unsuccessfully, to avoid God.

But this playfulness is not frivolous. This is deadly serious. While we are smiling or laughing at Jonah, we drop the guard with which we are trying to keep God at a comfortable distance, and suddenly we find ourselves caught in the purposes and commands of God. All os us. No exceptions.

I'm guilty of this often when I look at the story of Jonah. I mask the realities of my life as I make fun of a guy that got swallowed by a "whale". I tend to think of it as funny and sad, but then it starts to hit home. Its easier for me to point my finger and make light of Jonah's ordeal. Meanwhile I'm swimming in my own guiltiness of forsaking my own God.

Biblical stories are the best way to see oneself in God's mirror. Stories, in contrast to abstract statements of truth, tease us into becoming participants in what is being said. We find ourselves involved in the action. We may start out like me, by critiquing and criticizing Jonah's actions in the story, but when the story instantly provides that connection to our own lives, we find ourselves no longer just listening to, but inhabiting the story. That's the kind of God we serve. He is alive just as much in the time of Jonah as He is right now.

I connect with the story of Jonah extremely well due to the fact that he isn't a hero, he's not King David or a Moses. He's alowly preacher called out by God to bring forth the Word. Through the story he doesn't accomplish anything significant. This insignificance is the significant part of the story. He's one of us, a partner, a friend we can easily connect to. Even when Jonah gets it right (like preaching, finally in Ninevah) he does it wrong (by getting angry at God). But here's the gold nugget: the whole time despite Jonah's flaws God is working in and around Jonah and giving him His very own touch. He raise him up, edifies and chastizes him, then envisions a new purpose for him. I don't know about you, but I could use a friend or two like Jonah

ONE TEXT MESSAGE

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ONE NIGHT

NO ONE NIGHT MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

As the verse from the Gospel of John tells us, for those of us who have received Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we have been given a clear instruction of how we are expected to treat others.  If we are truly a Disciple of Jesus, it becomes evident by the manner in how we demonstrate our love for others.

When Jesus was asked what the most important Commandments were, he answered the question in this way: and the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  Matthew 22:39.  His answer makes it very clear just how much importance He places on loving our neighbors.

Understandably, there may be people in your life who have hurt you, deceived you, betrayed you or lied to you.  Do those actions release us from loving them?  Absolutely not, in fact Paul told the Corinthian church precisely what God expects of Christians in those types of situations.  “Do everything in love.”  1 Corinthians 16:14.   That verse does not appear to provide any exceptions, regardless of how we might feel toward someone else.

The prophet Micah provided Christians with important guidance in this area as well.  In Micah 6:8 it is written “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Isn’t this just the way we want others to treat us?  Then shouldn’t we treat others in that same manner?   

Jesus met and accepted each one of us just as we were and where we were at in our lives.  The greatest act of love and mercy we can give others is to do likewise.  This is how we show others in our sphere of influence that Christ is truly abiding in us.  If you have not been living your life in this manner in the past, today would be a good day to begin.  Become an outstanding example of Jesus to others and see what it might do for their lives.

TOUGH TIMES

I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.  My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body.  I am feeble and utterly crushed; I grow in anguish of heart.  All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you.  My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light is gone from my eyes. Psalm 38:6-10

I don’t know about you, but even amid God’s great blessings I have sometimes been left wanting more.  I long for this, I yearn for that, and I want more than I have.  Sure, I know God has me waiting on some things for good and perfect reasons, but that hasn’t changed my longings.

There was one point in my past where I went through a tough time emotionally.  I won’t go into detail, but I often felt almost depressed, or sad.  The first two sets of verses I shared with you above are the passages that really describe how felt at that point.   The feeling went away for the most part, but it sometimes comes back now and then, I’ve noticed.  I’m sure we all go through times where we feel like David felt when he wrote those passages.  Maybe some of you are also going through this right now.

In the third passage I shared, we learn that God wants us to tell Him of our sorrows and troubles!  That’s simply it!  When we are going through tough times, God wants us to tell Him all about them.  He is our compassionate, sensitive, caring, and understanding friend!  He hears us and invites us to fall into His arms and cry when we need to, and only after we expose our pain and tell Him of our brokenness, can He begin helping us through our hard times and heal our wounds.

Here’s a final note for anyone who is going through a tough time (to some degree):  God is holding out his arms to you.  Now it’s up to you to fall into them and let God take care of you.

ONE SMALL GROUP

Don't forget to come to small groups tonight. Click HERE to find out more information about small groups meeting in your neighborhood. Hope to see you there.

BAD DAY

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 1 Peter 1:6

I know that anyone reading this has had one of those days. I know, you know what I am talking about. One of those days that starts off wrong the second you open your eyes in the morning and trip out of bed, can't seem to get the toothpaste on your toothbrush, what you wanted to wear is in the dirty laundry, and when you get to Starbucks their machine is broken. Then it is just a down spiral from there.

Yes Yes. You have had one or multiple days similar to this. I know I definitely have. Indeed life is hard sometimes. Bumps in the road occur, and when they do it's hard to be joyful and happy. Sometimes God throws us curve balls to see how we will react to them. Whether our trials be little or large, how we come to them is up to us. Our faith would be pretty sad if we never had to deal with trials. If everything was fine and dandy ALL the time, our faith would grow stagnant and stale. Our faith only grows when we put it into action. It is so easy to be joyful and all smiles when life is well..peachy...but when life gets rough we need to step up our faith and show that whether times or good or bad, we can keep the joy of the Lord in our hearts and on our faces.

It is also good to remember that the world is constantly looking us. Waiting for us to fall or say the wrong thing or react a certain way. And when people see that we are going through a trial in our lives, they will watch and see how we will react to it. Even though life is hard at times, God is there to bring us out of it. 1 Corinthians says"And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." God will never give you more than you can handle, so just remember that when your having one of "those days" that Jesus is Lord and you are Saved, so no matter what its a good day.