WholeHeartedLife

Roots

We're going into the 3rd week of our new year's series titled, "Rooted". In this series our emphasis is based on Ephesians 3:16-19, really digging in verse 17 and 18: And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

Sunday as Pastor was beginning the message I was thinking about roots: Roots are of the upmost importance to a tree having a successful lifespan; they receieve much-needed moisture and nutrients as well as tending to give a tree stability in the ground. As important as roots are though, you never hear anybody say, "you know, that tree has fantastic roots! It gets so much water - those roots are AMAZING!"? People talk about the part of the tree they can see - the branches, the leaves, the canopy. 

We often have a tendency to place value on that part of life which is seen - like the top of a tree and it's branches rather than on the things that are unseen (the roots). Truth is, as wonderful as a tree may look, if you lose the root system the tree itself will die, NO MATTER HOW MAJESTIC ITS CANOPY MAY BE.

Too many people's faith is similar to a majestic looking tree with a shallow root system - looks amazing on the surface but not much underneath the surface. You know, I don't really care how big your "tree" looks - how are your roots? Maybe we need to spend a little more time tending to that which is not seen.

I'm just sayin'  

Some GREAT Music

Just got home from Music rehearsal for this weekend and WOW!!!! Are you ready for an unbelievable Sunday? The music we have in store for the weekend is gonna be special...

This Sunday, Pastor will finish the "Miracles" series by talking about the scripture when JESUS comes to His disciples by walking on water. Lots and lots of good stuff you can see in that passage. i know Pastor is excited about it because he's been talking about it a lot - this is definitely a can't miss day (by the way, they ALL are!)

For those of you who are interested, we were thinking about packaging the whole "Miracles" series in a 4 Pack storage booklet - if you're interested in getting it you can check that out at GUEST SERVICES on Sunday. (if you already know you're interested let me know and we'll set one aside for you).

Still waiting on you for suggestions as to a family that we can help during Operation Inasmuch on April 19th!

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What Miracle do U need?

Last weekend I spoke about the "Miracle" where Jesus calmed the storm (you can hear the message here). I related it to the fact that so many of you are dealing with personal storms in your own lives. Near the end of the message, when I was praying, I asked you to indicate that you were going through a storm with a lifted hand.

I WAS ABSOLUTELY BLOWN AWAY BY HOW MANY OF YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN A STORM. UNBELIEVABLE!

To think that so many of us are struggling... no wonder so many responded like you did to the message. Which brings me to a statement and then a question:

Statement: There are so many people whom I believe would go right to the throne of JESUS for you if they knew you wanted them to. Would you like people to pray specifically for your situation?

Question: What Miracle do U need? If you really do believe in Miracles, and you really do want us to pray, share it here.

LET'S START A MOVEMENT (today) THAT CHANGES LIVES AND UNLEASH THE ARMY OF GOD ON THE HURTS, HANG-UPS and STORMS that have been keeping God's people down for TOO long!

"OVERCOME" my unbelief

"Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" Mark 9:24 (NIV)

Last week I asked THE Question: Do I really believe in Miracles? If you were with us this past Sunday you know, without a shadow of a doubt, that i do. (check out the message online here)However, I think that most of the time in my life, it's more like i "half-believe" - let me explain...

I believe that God can do ANYTHING - yet often times I live as if "I" do EVERYTHING...

I ask God to work miracles - yet I forget about the follow-up involved in continuous prayer...

I say that I want to be SO close to Him - yet, when I have the opportunity to prove it, I often sucumb to my own desires...

God wants to do Miracles in my life - both within me and through me. You know, I've found that it takes a lot of faith to live this way. Remember, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1 (NIV). You know, our lack of faith is a huge obstacle to developing a real faith that works in your life. By the way, "Real Faith" is a Miracle in itself.

This weekend, as we tackle part 2 of our "Miracles" series - we will experience through the scriptures the Miracle of JESUS casting an evil spirit out of a helpless little boy. We will also learn how to develop real faith, the kind of faith that expects the unexpected and encourages the miraculous - the pathways to this life will blow your mind.

God is working Miracles - invite that friend that has been promising they'll come for a long time - we promise a weekend that might prove to be life-changing in all ways!

The Answer May Shock You!

It's a question that we really need to ask ourselves, but I warn you in advance: you may not like your answer.

The Question: Do I really believe in Miracles? Before you answer ask yourself another question: When was the last time that you prayed with the faith that demonstated your belief that JESUS can and will do what He promises?

I absolutely believe in miracles. I wish that I would demonstate it deeper in my life - you see, I seem to have way more in common with the father seen in Mark 9:14-24 who told JESUS, "...the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"' (Mark 9:24, NIV) than I do with the great fathers of the faith. I do believe - with ALL of my heart. I believe that God wants to do "immeasurably more than we could ask or think" (Eph 3:20). I believe that He wants to turn this area upside down for Himself through us. I believe that God wants to do Miracles in our church, in our marriages, in our families...

But most of all, i think that the greatest miracle of all is when He saves us from our sins - giving us a new life, a new mind, a new heart and a new direction for our life.

This weekend the series "MIRACLES" begins with the message, "He Calmed the Storm" - He will not only calm the storms in your life - He will make you better and stronger because you trusted Him "IN" that storm. Maybe you know someone in the midst of a storm - this is THEIR weekend - do all you can to get them here for this service. Who knows, God may begin to work a "Miracle" in their life beginning this Sunday!

i would "RENEW" but...

Pastor gave us 5 steps to "RENEW" on Sunday - easy as 1,2,3,4,5. They all make sense - so why are they so hard to follow through?

• Truly giving God the 1st thoughts of the day is more than a quicky prayer that gets you on His good side - it's the changing of direction. It's asking Him to order our thoughts according to HIS thoughts that we might live out our day HIS way. I once heard Bill Hybels say something to the effect that he doesn't even let his feet hit the floor; he literally crawls out and hits his knees. That's a good idea, huh?
• Giving Him the 1st day of the week seems like a pretty easy one for a Christian, doesn't it? I mean, we should go to church anyway, right? I'm gonna say that giving Him the 1st day means a lot more than making an appearance at your church. Ok, you made your appearance at church - what about the rest of the day? Is your heart His all day long?
• Giving Him the 1st 10% of your income...I am shocked that so few people bring the tithe to the Lord. I guess i'm naive - i thought everyone did. When i became a Christian, Keyna looked at me and said, "are you gonna tithe." I said, "yeah, i guess so. What is a tithe?" She said, "giving 10%". "10%!!! Where did you get that?" She said, "call the preacher" and i did. After he confirmed it - i did it. God doesn't want your money - God wants what your money represents: your devotion. I dare you to trust God with your finances!
• Giving God 1st consideration in your decisions is a hard one. This is making Him the filter that all thoughts spiritual, family, work, recreation, everything - the filter that you run all those things through. God doesn't want to be "a part" of all this - God wants to be "IN" all of it, integration.
• Have you given Him the sins of your heart? Is there "a place" that is secret to everyone, no one else knows? He does - give Him access to that place, ask His forgiveness and trust Him to do it. Period. And now start over with Him - fresh.

Ready? RENEW.

Confession

Confession: there have been many times (too many to count) where i allowed the busyness of church work to become a reason not to pray.

5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

I know that without Him i am nothing; I know that apart from Him i have nothing to offer...no work is spirit-driven without Him, yet...

There are times when "the draw" of work haunts me - "do this NOW" it says - "accomplish that, IT can't wait - don't put it off, you can pray later!" yet that later never comes.

I don't want to work without Him leading...

I don't want to lead others without Him leading me...

I definitely don't want to prepare without His leadership...

Apart from Him i have nothing to offer you - and there's NOTHING WholeHearted about that. Anybody else feelin' this?

Your Plan to Renew?

"Worry is a signal that you don't trust God, that He's not first in your life." Pastor Dennis

You know, I never thought of it that way. Have you? This week we will talk in depth about Sunday's message, "Renew by Devotion". Do you need a Renew'd Devotion? I know i do...

My main spiritual goal this year is knowing God's will for my life and my ministry. In that I plan to work in more times of quiet, times to discern. Pastor's 1st point was that we need a Renew'd devotion because we become divided. I have seen many times where I confused the work of the ministry with relationship (funny how easy it is to do that). If you don't watch out you will confuse the work that you do FOR God with the relationship that you're supposed to have WITH God. The more I listen to God the more the deeper my relationship will be.

I want my understanding of scripture to be deeper - I will do all that I can do not to read that I might "check it off my list" of things to do (funny how easy it is to do that too, isn't it?) God isn't impressed by how much we read - what do we do with what we learn, how does it affect me, how does it affect others.

I want my walk to be closer. I want to be so filled with JESUS (to the point of overflowing) that I can't help but give Him away to others - but I gotta be close for this to happen.

As Pastor said, "If you are not disciplined you will drift through life." I often say it like this: If you fail to plan you are planning to fail. So let me ask you: as a result of the message and your new year's goals, what are you doing that you might "RENEW"?

(Here is today's reading from YouVersion 1 year bible: Genesis 15,16 Psalms 18 Matthew 10 )

Click: Fast Forward

The "CLICK: Doing the NEXT right thing" series continues this weekend with the message, "CLICK: Fast Forward".

Ask yourself this question, "Is God currently changing me from the inside-out?" (seriously, stop right now and ask yourself that question). If you "hem-hawed" (do they say that anywhere but here?) around or had a hard time answering it, you need to Click: Fast-Forward on your faith. I don't care how long you've been a Christ-follower, we are expected to consistently grow in our faith and knowlege of God.

Have you "gone public" with your faith? I don't mean do the people around you know that you attend church - i'm asking, have they recognized the change that God is making in your life? Is that part of your life "off-limits" to them; have you believed the lie that it is inappropriate to actually allow your faith to be demonstrated in your daily life?

If we are actually able to "do" what we have planned for Sunday it will be something I have never personally experienced at church since I've been a Christ-follower *Please pray that God would prepare the way that it might come off as planned* 

What is YOUR next right thing?

Have you ever really thought about it? If you're like me you sometimes find yourself going "with the flow" and you end up where you end up; the only problem is "the flow" might not be the right direction for your life.

At times I don't think much about it - I don't strategize enough. I've found that when I don't have a plan I never end up where I want to go.

Have you developed a plan to do the next right thing? What is the next right thing? "mike p - what in the world are you even talking about?"

Check out this verse. (in other words, we need to figure out God's will for our lives and then just do it.)

Doing the right thing - with our lives, work, our marriage (our relationship with God), our church, our ministry, our money, our kidz. You could go on and on - quite exhausting, actually, which is why many just ignore it.

I think that this is going to be a fun series because we all want to do the right things - we just at times lack the focus to actually do them. So for the next 6 weeks we're all going to concentrate on actually doing what we need to do NEXT.