Jesus is ENOUGH

I am amazed at the pain people feel.
Pain because life is just too hard.
Pain because life is too short.
Pain because life is too painful.

Even followers of Jesus.

We suffer even though we have a Savior.
We struggle even though we are Saved.

and it brings me to this thought, What are we (as a Church) doing wrong that Jesus isn't enough?
Enough to Go On.
Enough to Get Up.
Enough to Heal.

and I can only come up with a few things.


#1 We don't Celebrate Victory Enough.
Its as if we are so focused on the bad we don't rejoice in the good.
Think about your prayer requests and how many of them are filled with pain and not praise.
Even the churches in Acts rejoiced to suffer shame in His Name.
This is why every time someone gets saved I want to rejoice.
and every time someone shares their faith through Baptism I want to rejoice .
and every time someone repents of sin I want to rejoice.
and every time someone learns of God's love I want to rejoice.

Because every time something amazing happens it offsets all of the Bad.
2 Corinthians 4:14-18

(by the way this Sunday an amazing Lady is going to get Baptized in the River!!!)

#2 We worry more about Money than Men.
I realize that money is important to people but it seems as if today its the only thing.
Being Financially focused is to not be Faith Focused.

I love the passage where Peter says to the Lord, We need to pay our Taxes and Jesus tells Him to go Fishing and the first fish Peter catches will have money in its mouth. He did and it did and they did.

God has promised to provide the finances if we provide the faith but its often our financial situation that dictates our faith rather than the other way around.

It might be that when your low on funds that God is calling you to slim down, separate from things, seek Him, or see Him.

But people need to see our Praise by faith not our Panic in fear when it comes to our finances.

Matthew Chapter 6

#3 We don't focus enough on Relationship instead of Religion.
Jesus said that when we are struggling to rest in Him.
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.


He wants us to be closer to Him.
He wants us to know Him.
He wants us to feel Him.
and I hate to say it but Pain is often the driver of that.
and being religious won't do it.
we must want to speak to Him. (In Real Honest Prayer)
we must want to hear from Him. (By Reading your Bible)
we must want to experience Him. (By obeying His word by living His way)

Its not enough to act as if we have a relationship, rest only comes from having one.

As a Church if we are going to share with the world that Jesus is enough it must start with Praising Him, Seeking Him, and Knowing Him because He is Enough to give them and us Healing.

Questions.............

This Sunday we are dealing with the subject of Suicide and I need some help.
If you could ask any question about Suicide, what would you ask?

I'm Back

Sorry about the silence last week as I got a little consumed with the building but I am back to work this week and there are a few things I want to start us out with.

1. This Sunday after services I met with two people. One, a woman who found freedom by dropping the F-Bomb on someone who hurt her deeply. (That's forgiveness if you haven't been paying attention) I have waited over a year to see this amazing woman become free and this next Sunday she wants to get Baptized! Can you say "Pray for Sun?"!
The other a young man struggling to find forgiveness. In his eyes, he is a failure and has much baggage to deal with but what he doesn't know yet is that Jesus is bigger than his faults, Jesus is Greater than his failures and Jesus is Full of Forgiveness. Please pray that he is open to Jesus dropping the F-Bomb on him!

2. We have an Amazing group of teenagers at this church. Debra and I had a great time with them yesterday secretly getting to know them. But, they need someone to build them up. A couple who would invest their lives into the teens souls. Please begin to pray for them as we want to encourage the next generation.

3. This Sunday is going to be Awesome. The subject we will touch on will be deep and difficult and yet I have never been so excited about a sermon ever. Please be praying for wisdom and clarity as I prepare for Sunday.

I love my Church and Can't Wait for Sunday

A Letter to newLife from PRob

For some strange reason we decideded to begin construction on the Auditorium this Sunday. But what I learned from it was worth it. Today I want to share five things I learned from Sunday afternoon.

1. Men and young boys Love to Tear Things Down.

2. Men all think that they have a better way. To tear something down, to organize tearing something down, to tear down someones idea of how to organize how to tear something down. This holds true for those who want their ideas heard to rebuild as well. Can you say "too many chiefs?"

3. Men make a Mess. I guess they all figure there will be a wife someone to pick up after them.

4. Men are Dangerous. The close calls were many but praise God that's all they were.

5. I am so thankful for Men. They heard the call, answered the call, and finished the job!

It was a great thing seeing the men get together, work hard, and accomplish the task at hand. From the cutting to the cleaning they did an awesome job and I am so proud of them all.

Tomorrow I'll talk about the ladies from Sunday.
Thank you all for being behind this ministry.

You are More

To the young lady who this Sunday didn't think that she was enough. and you know who you are.

God Loved Her

She had a rough life.
Something early on triggered it. I'll never know.
It affected every relationship she had.
She lived with it.
One day she got cancer and it scared her.
She came to see us.
It was not easy for her.
Last week she left.
Did we do enough?

Be not Weary

I know for many who serve at newLife, it seems as if there is so much work to do and it takes so much of your time and energy. At times its exhausting and you can even get resentful as it seems as if your the only one serving. So today I want you to know why it matters that you do what you do.

You are not just getting up early – You are going before those who will show up for the first time to meet their Savior.

You are not just setting up the building – You are providing a place for the wounded to come and sit in the lap of their Healer.

You are not “doing church” – You are creating an experience with God for those who have never experienced Him.

 

For every chair you set out…For every crayon you put in a basket…For every coffee creamer you place in a bowl…For every cable you run under the building to an amp…For every sign you hang…For each and everything your hands commit to you are creating an experience for those to come. You are creating an atmosphere for others to come into and rest. A place for God’s people to enter into to find hope, encouragement, friendship, counsel, healing…life. A safe place for others to meet God.

I know this is hard work and I am exhausted from serving every Sunday. I am told that I need to exercise but what some don't realize is that every Sunday is like doing a week of P90X. And every single drop of sweat is worth it because its about God and those He sent His son to love on.

So whether you hold babies, set up the coffee, turn knobs on the sound board, pray your heart out, greet people or count the money in the upper room, please know that what you do REALLY MATTERS.

I can't wait for Sunday.

If I could........

I would like to take a moment to speak to someone who has a father wound.
Someone whose father failed to fulfill his role.

Here is part of her comment.
"BUT I am struggling to forgive my dad for letting a lot of evil happen to me... It is hard because I want to hear him say I am sorry for all the times that he knowingly let evil have me, for all the times he just knew something wasn't right but did nothing to stop it."

As a Father this hurts as it is so close to the heart.
I hear the pain of an innocent child left alone to defend herself.
and worse, I see the pain I have caused my daughter.

I was so busy trying to survive life that I ignored my daughters needs. I was so full of wrong teaching that I believed that I was right to live the way I was. I was consumed by work, other peoples problems, and caring for a wounded wife that my daughter became an unintentional casualty in my life.

While I have told her I was sorry, it doesn't seem to help. I can't make up for the pain I have caused and I have no words to defend it.

My only hope is that the course I sent her on leads her to a father who is far greater than I. My prayer for her is that she would find in God what she could not find in me.
A Father who lovingly guides.
A Father who carefully corrects.
A Father who passionately protects.
A Father who famously forgives.

While I do not know what evil your father let have you, I know that as a father if I could I would never let it happen again, but once you've failed as a father its hard to live with the facts and even harder to move forward.

It might be that your forgiveness might just be the hope He needs to find his forgiveness and become the father he always wanted to be.

If I could......

The Missing Link

Just when I thought we were done, you and God said no. (Not necessarily in that order)

While I am amazed at the number of people who are being freed through forgiveness and Years of suffering and pain are being healed by love, were not all there yet.
While I do not expect 100% I can hope and so I have a question today.

What is the missing link to forgiveness for you?
What do you need to hear and understand?

Let me know

There is much to learn

 This morning I want to simply share some open thoughts I have had. There are no promises that they will make sense but only that they are on my heart this morning. Do what you want with them.

I have come to know two types of Christians.
Those who seek information and those that seek inspiration.

Those who seek information can easily find it today. From the Internet to the television we can get informed from around the world from some of the best teachers available. This is especially true when it comes to bible teachings.
I know this in my own life as I am a voracious reader and a connoisseur of fine sermons and yet in the end knowledge does little more than puff up or fills us with air (1 Cor 8:1). Paul himself even said that in the end, men would be seeking teachers wanting much teaching yet struggling with standing on truth (2 Tim 4:3). 

Jesus concern when He returned was this? Not would there be a people who are informed about me but would there be anyone who had faith (Luke 18:8)? Faith does not come from information but Inspiration. When that which we know is not just truth, but true. So true that we would be living it.

Inspiration was the platform whereby Jesus lived.
His lessons were not truths read from a book or thoughts taken from a sermon, but were truths and thoughts that inspired Him by life.
Much of Jesus teachings came from things He had seen, stories He had experienced and people that He had known. His information came from things that inspired Him. This takes time, experience, silence, and processing thoughts.

Most Christians are informed, few inspired. The inspired seek faith, the informed facts. And only one of those pleases God.

Today I seek to be inspired.
Today I want to learn from you as I live with you.
Today I want to take what I know and inspire you by it as you inspire me.

There is much to learn.

PRob is Learning

One of the things that God is teaching me is the power of emotional stress. All forms of ministry carries it.
As a church we work with people, not machines or systems.

When I worked at the mill my day ended when someone relieved my position or the machine was down.
I could go home and leave it all behind because it wasn't personal.

But working with humans is very personal. Every week we work with people who have been deeply hurt, horribly scarred, and are painfully existing. Their pain, their problems are not easy to shut off for them let alone ourselves. Their pain speaks to our pain and often awakens things in us we thought long forgotten and we often carry their pain in our hearts and minds.

This is a major drain on us emotionally which is why many quit ministry because they can no longer live with the stress of working with such pain. There is a reason school teachers need to retire often after working only 25 to 30 years and why most Pastors 90% don't finish well.

This week for me is about regaining some sanity from the emotional stress of ministry. The marriage and the  F-Bomb series have been fruitful but also draining and I believe that God is teaching me things that will be helpful to my own Ministry longevity but also to yours.

Here are a few things that I am learning about emotional stress.

#1 Ignore Critics. No one called them to critique your ministry. Critics think too much and do to little. Trust those God has intrusted to encourage your ministry, don't trust those who just think they have been.

#2 Ignite Celebrations. Parties are always a great way to relieve emotional stress. They allow you to see the value in the heavy work that we do. When someone gets saved - Celebrate, when someone gets Baptized - Celebrate, when someone becomes an Owner - Celebrate, when someone finishes discipleship- Celebrate, when someone repents of sin - Celebrate, when someone forgives another - Celebrate. Ministry ought to be celebrated on a weekly basis and nothing is more encouraging than a constant party.

#3 Investigate Christ. Do what Jesus did. When the emotional stress was too much, He prayed, He stayed (waited a few days before going to raise Lazarus from the dead) He cried (Many times), He died (the emotional stress of dealing with people was the reason He died on the cross)

This week I have been praying.
This week I have been staying. Waiting on Gods timing
This week I have been crying.
This week I have been dying. There is much I need to do, but one thing is best to do, get ready for Sunday.

Tonight, Have a party and enjoy being together.
I can't wait to see you all Sunday