Good Devo Thoughts

I'm a huge fan of the One-Year Bible. If you want to check it out, I've got a link to the daily reading on the right side of the blog. This year I've been reading the One-Year chronological Bible. It is a different and eye-opening way to spend time in God's word. Here it is the end of September and I'm out of the Old Testament and in the New! As the NT starts, you have to grasp that God has been silent for 400 years! That is a long time. To put that in perspective, think about America and all its rich history. We have only been a nation for 233 years. For 400 years there was no real movement of God...no prophet. Then the NT begins with God moving fresh and new with the birth of John the Baptist and the miracle birth of Jesus. I had a couple of thoughts that challenged me the last 2 mornings. First, just because God is silent does not mean that He is not working and going to move in the days ahead. God's silence is not to be equated with inactivity. Second, I need to be faithful and committed to God even in the silence...like Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, Simeon, and Anna. Those folks are such examples of people who remained faithful in the midst of God's silence. So if God is silent right now, hang on and hold on...He is working and you likely shall soon see!

New Series Going!

I'm really excited about this new Sunday morning message series. God laid this on my heart some time ago to preach on Christian beliefs. For many, a "doctrine" series seems to bring yawns and groans, but that should not be so. What we believe is the heart of the faith. And the reality is that many Christians simply don't know what they need to know about the core truths of the faith. I, like other pastors, feel the need weekly to be highly relevant and applicable when preaching the truth of Scripture. At times, we have done this at the expense of dealing with subjects like doctrine. God has reminded me that we have done this to our detriment. For too many believers, if they were asked to lay out the faith's core truths, it would be a test they would fail. That reality is a strong indictment not just on them, but more so on the Church's failure to teach this stuff. I'm ready to change that around here over the next few weeks!