oneDay

ONE NIGHT

NO DEVO??? WHAT!?!?!

OH, YEAH TONIGHT IS ONE NIGHT!

The one night a week that we all come together as a group and worship ONE GOD and Listen to his word together!

So, come out to ONE Student Ministries @ 6:30 !!!

We cannot wait to see you here!

INTEGRITY

Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?   He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart, and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts Psalm 15:1-4

In today's world, Integrity is a behavior that is so often abused in so many circumstances, by so many people.  In this Psalm, David is entreating the Lord to know how he may someday be able to be with God in heaven.  We all know the story of how David messed up his life, commit adultery, and killed Batshebas husband.  However, that does not stop David from being repentant and having a desire to be with his Lord.

Every Christian ought to have a heart that has this same desire, to be with God at the end of the world.  Having integrity is a fundamental ingredient in achieving this lofty goal.  When all is said and done we have to be people who do what we say, regardless of what it might cost us.  Years ago when I was in a morning Bible study, we looked at Psalm 15 and dissected it verse by verse.  The leader of the study gave us a good description of integrity to follow.  It went like this: "Integrity is what you do when no one is watching you."  It's one thing to tell people how much you want to do what is right.  The evidence is how you would be able to answer that question.

Suppose you were attending college and had a take home exam to complete for your final grade in a very critical class that you needed to graduate your degree program.  The parameters set for the exam were closed book, however, you were able to use your notes taken during classes.   Would you be able to stand up in front of your fellow classmates and professor and honestly state  that you followed those guidelines for the test? 

When we hear about corporations such as Enron, the Lincoln Savings Bank debacle of years ago, we see how a lack of integrity by a handful can impact thousands of other innocent individuals.   What lies at the root of that kind of behavior?  Greed, selfishness and an enormous lack of any integrity in people in high positions looking to capitalize on others losses.  Today, take some time to search your hearts ans souls about the amount of integrity you have in your own life.  Would you be able to meet the qualifiers set out in Psalm 15?  If not, I suggest that you take some serious steps to clean up your spiritual house and throw off any sin or burdens that are entangling you from being a person of the highest integrity.

A SEASON FOR EVERYTHING

To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:  Ecclesiastes 3:1

Have you ever gone through something and could only wonder why?  You almost wanted to yell, “Why God; why is this happening to me?”  There was no explanation for what was going on in your life, and all you wanted was someone to care.

Maybe you have been on the opposite side of this though.  Maybe there have been some incredible circumstances pulled together in your life that are simply unbelievable.  A real life miracle that you can share with everyone you know. 

Personally, I have been on both ends of this spectrum.  I am going to take a wild guess and say that you have too. Ecclesiastes 3 describes these circumstances perfectly.  Verse one, as shown above, says that there is a time and a season for everything in life.  I recommend that you set aside time to read the following seven verses as well.  They describe all of the things you go through in life: being born, dying, laughing, weeping, love, war, etc.  There are so many diverse emotions described in these few short verses that they manage to cover all that one can feel.

When something bad is happening in your life, turn back to these verses.  Remember that God has a plan for you, and that even though bad things happen, joy will come your way.

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.

BIG MOUTH!

For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. Acts 4:20

As a Christian you have probably been told or at least heard , "keep your beliefs to yourself."

It has been pounded into our heads on a daily basis that the things we believe should be kept to ourselves. We aren’t supposed to "force" our opinions on people, we aren’t supposed to talk about the Bible or God or anything on those lines.

People tell us that we shouldn’t "offend" anyone with ‘what we believe.’ In my opinion that is a bunch of crud. Yup, thats what I think. Being the type of person I am , when I believe something I’m very bold about it. I’m very outspoken and say what I think.

Sometimes it gets me in trouble.

But you know what. I don’t care. The Bible tells us that we were put on this world to proclaim the name of Jesus and what He has done. It doesn't say, proclaim the name of Jesus ...only if it doesn't offend someone. It doesn’t say, proclaim the name of Jesus in a sugar coated way. It says proclaim the name of Jesus. Black and white. Proclaiming the name of Jesus isn't just talking about what Jesus has done for us, but it is showing others how to live like Him .

What kind of stand are you taking if you keep silent about your faith?

You can’t go through life being afraid to offend people about your faith. Yes you will offend people. People don’t like to hear the truth. They don’t like to be told that they way their living is wrong. They don’t want to hear that drinking, smoking, homosexuality, adultery, etc... is sinful.

They think that making themselves happy , with a little fun here and there is ok. Its not in God’s eyes. So yeah speaking up will offend people. Some people won’t like you for it. But the Bible says that if you don’t speak up for the name of Christ, Christ won’t speak up for you on the day of judgment. You most definitely want Jesus to give a good word about you.

So don’t be afraid to offend. Speak up and don’t be silent about what you believe.

A CORD OF THREE

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:   If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!  Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9
 
Have you ever attempted to break a string made of three cords entwined together?  If you have, you realize how difficult, if not impossible to break it.  This is an excellent representation that Solomon uses as a description of how strong a truly bound relationship is.  It is also a wonderful example of what a good marriage is like when two individuals join together in marriage and bring God in as the third participant of that marriage.

One of the purposes of marriage is for the couple to join together or 'cleave' to one another, having left their siblings and parents behind when they become a man and wife.  They now have new obligations and responsibilities to each other that did not exist prior to the marriage.  This does not mean that they totally disengage from their families because they are now  married.  What it does mean is that a different kind of relationship has begun with your families.   

Rather than being subject to the spiritual guidance of her parents, the wife now comes under the spiritual guidance of her husband.  The husband in turn, comes under the authority of the church and God.  He has to stand before the Lord on the last day and be accountable for his wife's spiritual condition.  This is no small matter for the husband not to take quite seriously.  It points out just how important that verse in Ecclesiastes becomes in a marriage.   God absolutely has to be involved in the marriage for the husband to successfully carry out his duties and responsibilities that come along with the marriage vows.

Many couples like to read, or have read by someone else, those particular verses, during the course of the wedding ceremony.  While it's very nice to do that and it may sound very special to the families and invited guests, that reading, like other Bible verses, need to be taken a step further.  Once the wedding cake has been cut, the gifts collected, the guests have sauntered off and the bride and groom leave for their honeymoon, they need to remember to pack those verses and take them along with them, not only for the honeymoon, but for the entire marriage.

ONE NIGHT

NO DEVO??? WHAT!?!?!

OH, YEAH TONIGHT IS ONE NIGHT!

The one night a week that we all come together as a group and worship ONE GOD and Listen to his word together!

So, come out to ONE Student Ministries @ 6:30 !!!

We cannot wait to see you here!

UNEXPECTED

nd the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s and captiain of the guard. Genesis 37:38

The scripture is talking about Joseph. Before Joseph was sold into Egypt, he had to deal with some things. He was the favorite son and his brothers didn’t like it. They plot to kill him. He had a dream that his brothers and everyone else will be bowing to him and they hated him even more. They sold him to slavery and he end up with Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s and captain of the guard. 

When I think of this story, I think about Joseph and what was going through his mind at this time. Just imagine with me for a moment that you are the favorite in your family and your brother or sister hate you. They plot to kill you. They sell you to someone else. The unexpected. If Joseph would have known ahead of time what he would be face with, he would disagree with the road or path that he will be going down. Things happens in our lives unexpectedly. We question sometimes if we are connected to God? We even ask the question, why me. Why do I have to experience this hurt and pain? How did that tragedy happen to me? What did I do to deserve this? Just when we are enjoying life and things are going right for a change. The unexpected happens. Sickness or bills or problems enter our lives. Something comes to knock us off our feet and we continue to ask why me. We turn to God and pray then something else come to take our breath away. We can sometimes get tired of life and all the stuff that is going on in our lives. We say to ourselves, lord I didn’t do anything wrong. Why all this suffering? Why I got to go through this? The unexpected. Things in our lives will come unexpected. Like a death of a love one or a friend. An unexpected bill comes. A situation come into your life that is bigger than you. I want you to know that you can handle it for the lord is with you. You can deal with whatever your dealing with today. The unexpected is to make you strong. The good news about Joseph is that in the end inspite of everything, his dream came to pass and they were indeed bowing before him. The unexpected happens sometimes not in our favor but there are times when God will send an unexpected blessing into your life. We try to figure out what is on the mind of God. What is he thinking? We try to figure out what his next move in our lives will be. We don’t know but we can trust him. But don’t sleep with don’t know what will be next for you and me. You can’t prepare for the unexpected but with God walking with you, you will be able to handle it.

THE WATCH

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.  Matthew 23:27-28

If we claim to be a Christian, we need to be real to the bone.  We need to really live the life of a Christian.  It’s not enough to just “do” the right things when others are watching or knowing the right answers in Sunday school.  To be a real Christian, it takes you really walking the way of Jesus.  If I am a Christian on the inside, then I’ll be a Christian on the outside.  But if I’m only a Christian on the outside, then I am just an actor.  I am a hypocrite.

I have a dressy watch that looks great.  I always get complimented on how good it looks.  I can wear this watch when I want to really dress up.  I’ve worn it to interviews, important business meetings, while I was preaching and when I got married.  It’s a great watch.  About a month ago the battery died and I had to get a new one.  When the people in the store changed the battery, they must have messed something up because now it doesn’t keep time accurately any more.  I can set the time correctly, but in a couple of hours my watch will be way off.  It will either be really slow or several hours too fast.  While my watch looks really great, it’s worthless because it’s not doing it’s job.  I am going to try to take my watch to the shop to get fixed, but if they can’t fix it, I’ll have to throw it away and get a new one that will work.

Just like my watch I can look like a good Christian but I can still be worthless.  Christians can be faithful in going to church and still be completely worthless to God and in the world.  We can look good on the outside, we can do and say the right things when people are looking but if we aren’t really living the life on the inside, we aren’t doing our job. 

If you aren’t truly living your life for God, I want to encourage you to change that today.  God has a job for you right now that He wants you to live in to.  He is counting on you to listen to His voice and to live in to your calling.  If you aren’t really walking the walk, then listen to God today and start right now.  Where are you right now with God?  Can He count on you to keep pretty accurate time?  Or are you way off?  Are you usable to God right now?  If not, you can be.  Repent, turn from your sins and live in to His calling.  Can God count on you or will He need to get another Christian to do the job?  That answer is yours for a limited time. 

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.