I was sitting with David Saturday night at 8:45pm, we had just been talking about Scott Landrum’s funeral and how we lost him so young.  The picture of Whitney Houston flashed on the screen then the reporter said: “Whitney Houston found dead in the hotel bathtub.” and I could visualize “The Bodyguard” with the gorgeous Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, which was 20 years ago!  It seemed like just a few years ago.

David and I sat silently and digested all that had happened.

A singing icon died.  A father of five kids died.
Yes, they were both too young.
Yes, it is a tragedy.
Yes, it was most likely preventable.

Although by all appearances you are strong and successful and together, you know you have points of weakness that make you vulnerable to collapse.  The lesson is surrounding ourselves with people who will push us to be better, to not give up, to not perish, to pray for us, put our circumstances in perspective and know what we can become in Christ.

I don’t know if Whitney Houston had a team that surrounded her.  I do know that those she surrounded herself with didn’t encourage her to do good things.  But, Scott Landrum had a church surrounding him and he still slipped away from us.  We can’t forget all the characteristics that made Scott a man after God’s heart.  He was a father, a husband, a former marine, awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart.  Scott was a Sunday school teacher, coach and community volunteer.  We may never understand why his life here on earth ended. 

Who are you connected with? Who is pushing you? Who doesn’t give up on you even when you have given up on yourself? Do you have that somebody?  Are you that somebody?  How do you become that somebody?

1. Praise. Positive words and reinforcement can help progress us to a higher level of excellence. Whether you are a co-worker, boss, teacher, coach, parent or friend, communicating kind words of praise will help boost self-confidence. We all know the saying, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Don’t forget to praise the small stuff!
2. Push. Pushing requires a delicate balance of knowing when to push and when to back off; however, most of us back off too soon.  Ask The Holy Spirit: “Who do you want me to encourage today?”  2 Cor. 12:9 His power is perfected in weakness.  

3. Persistence. Many of the most glorious things happen to us only after a long wait.  Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

4. Perspective. As bitter as any loss may be, when we know the Lord there is always much more to life than any disappointment we are now facing.  Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

5.  Pray.  Huge happenings are not always visible to the naked eye – especially in the spiritual realm.  Sometimes we pray and see no change in the situation.  If we could see from heaven’s standpoint, we would know all that God is doing and intending to do in our lives.  God is working in hearts in ways we cannot know.  God is orchestrating circumstances that we know nothing about.  To those who pray God promises wisdom and strength.

On February 27 I will celebrate the 27^th anniversary of becoming a mother when my oldest child turns twenty-seven.  It will also be my 27^th year as a member of Christian Fellowship Church.  To say that I’ve seen a lot of change in those years would be an understatement.  Some things I saw coming; others practically knocked me off my feet.   But one thing that has not changed is my Jesus!  HE IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER and He is the Rock I stand on when high tide hits. Some changes have indirectly affected me while others have tremendous impact on my life. 

The changes really aren’t important.  It’s my response to those changes that make all the difference.  I’ve said before that I don’t like change and nobody knows that better about me than God.  He often has to pry my fingers off of things that I want to hold onto or just sit me down and gently tell me to trust Him.  I have made some progress over the years in dealing with this struggle.  In the past when I felt the tide about to shift I would make it a point to seek out people who would say exactly what I wanted to hear.  When the change didn’t  go my way I would then fall on my face to Jesus asking Him to bring about justice and rectify the situation.  When things still didn’t go my way I just assumed that it was my lot in life to suffer for the cause. I’m glad to say things are different now.  I still have a problem with change, especially things that are unknown, but my response formula has changed drastically.  Instead of going to Jesus last, He is my first counsel.  I up my prayer time as well as my time meditating on His word.  When I realize that the matter requires additional support I then call on my prayer warriors to stand alongside me as Aaron and Hur held Moses’ arms in the midst of the battle. (Exodus 17:11-13)  This can be done without giving details that would compromise others involved.  This formula has been far more successful than the former.  No, I don’t get my way more. In fact I pray that God gets His way!  The blessing is I even come through it with a greater understanding and closeness to God.  So when change comes, and it always does, I will be like Abram, listen to God be obedient and trust Him to deliver His promise.  Who knows maybe in the next 27 years I may actually look forward to whatever God has in store for me.

 Although Joe Gibbs did a great deal for the franchise, the most inspirational coach in my opinion was Vince Lombardi.  His understanding of the game seemed to transcend the football field.  The principles that he coached by are inspiring and could be applied to almost any area of life.  One of my favorite quotes of his is…

 “It is essential to understand that battles are primarily won in the hearts of men.  Men respond to leadership in a most remarkable way and once you have won his heart, he will follow you anywhere.” – Vince Lombardi

 Lombardi’s phrase that truly captures me is, “It is essential to understand that battles are primarily won in the hearts of men.”  It makes me wonder what battles I am fighting within my heart?  What do I believe is worth fighting for and am I winning those battles?  That begs the question, “What has won my heart and who or what do I follow?”  

 I claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ but what happens when my heart is pulled in different directions?  Am I always willing to follow Him anywhere?  I’d like to think so, but I believe that the answer comes back to my heart and those daily internal battles that I fight.  As I am often tempted to think of self first, I strive to serve others and follow Jesus wherever He leads.  

Submitted by Will Cravens

Warning: our goal is not to know more or read more about prayer but our goal should be to pray more.  These books provide some excellent prayer prompts but if they we just purchase the books and then set them on a bookcase or our nightstand we’ve missed our goal.

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young – This simple book has a reading for every day and takes scripture and turns them into first person readings, it’s as if Jesus is speaking these verses over you.  I have found the text of the book to be true to how Jesus often speaks and has helped me distinguish between my voice and God’s voice when I pray.

Awed To Heaven, Rooted In Earth by Walter Brueggemann – This book was a huge inspiration to me when I first used it a few years ago.  My wife is now using it as part of her daily quiet time and exclaimed the other day, “This Brueggemann is part prophet, part poet, part priest”, to which I have to agree.  I found these written prayers to be a good way to start my own dialogue with God when I’m at a loss for words or want to come before God with more then just my current “want list”.

Common Prayer by Shane Claiborne, et al. – This spin-off of The Book of Common Prayer used by thousands of Christians around the world, has been extremely helpful to me over the last year.  Each day has a reading that incorporates music, a quote from Christian history, a Psalm, readings from the Old Testament and the New Testament, as well as prayers of confession and intercession.

Body Prayer by Doug Pagitt and Kathryn Prill – For those really looking for something different to try this book introduces kinetic poses, stretches and controlled breathing techniques to help engage our body as we pray.  The first few times you try these prayer prompts you’ll probably feel foolish and be glad that no one sees you other than God, but I found by the fourth try I was really benefiting by letting prayer be more than just closing my eyes and bowing my head.

I hope these recommendations will help you hear from God more clearly and follow after Jesus more closely.

Todd Waggoner

We live in a climate where conviction can be hard to find. 

“Most recently Focus on the Family rejoiced over the decision by Susan G. Komen Foundation no longer will provide funds for Planned Parenthood.  Then, due to the amount of “heat” placed upon the Komen organization they have backtracked on such a decision.  Planned Parenthood is an organization responsible for destroying millions of innocent lives.  Karen Handel, who is openly pro-life, was the vice president of the Komen Foundation.  But as the controversy continued to swirl over Komen’s decision to reinstate its funding of Planned Parenthood, Ms. Handel resigned her post.  She refused to accept a severance package that was offered.  “I wanted to do the right thing on my own terms, and that’s what I tried to do,” she stated.  She was quoted most recently as saying, “What was unleashed over this past week was a vicious attack against a great organization and…individual attacks against [Komen founder] Nancy Brinker, an individual whom I admire greatly – and I would think all of us should be saddened that an outside organization (Planned Parenthood) should put this kind of pressure on another organization”.  (Focus on the Family –February Newsletter)

We have asked (more a decade ago than we do now) “What would Jesus do?”   How would it look for a person of conviction to go thru such pressures?  Although I’ve never met Karen Handel it occurs to me that in her behavior we are witnessing a strong example of a Christian who speaks with clarity and conviction.  Whenever you’re going to stand for your convictions you’re inevitably going to rub some people the wrong way. 

Writing to the Galatians, Paul couldn’t have been clearer:  “Am I trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?  Or am I trying to please people?  If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).  I run the risk in writing about someone in the “spotlight” because many times I have seen when the facts are not completely told or the person then does something contrary to their faith.  However, in this case, I applaud her steadfastness and her commitment to stand strong in the face of challenge. 

We are currently raising money for the Lifeline Pregnancy Center thru the “Baby Bottle Campaign” we also hold dear the sanctity of life.  We cannot know the pain that amount of abortions causes to God’s heart.  I pray for Ms. Handel and any Christian who is given the opportunity to influence others that they will do so with boldness, grace and love that Christ Jesus modeled Himself.  Jesus told the truth.  Jesus had great conviction.   Jesus did not Lord any power over anyone but, with grace and humility, shared the truth.  I admire Ms. Handel for doing the same. 

 “And God said, I will be with you everywhere you go”…This is what my 2 year old grandson recited to me the other day.  It is his memory verse for the month…I LOVE THAT…it warms my heart!!!  You do not have to wait until children are older to start planting the word of God in them!!!!!  Then I was laying him down for a nap and he said, “We have to do nighttime prayers!!”  I said ok, no problem, I said, “so who prays, me or you?”  He said “I do”, and he said “Dear God, please help me and Bit to sleep good..Amen!” He doesn’t know it, but he is in training to become a disciple (follower) of Christ!!

We have been talking here at church about making and being disciples.  People tend to think about applying that to adults, but I always think about applying whatever we are talking  about to children.  So how do you make a disciple out of a child?

It is actually easier than one might think.  All you have to do is practice passionately following after Christ yourself, model and teach that to your child.  We here in the church are doing everything we can to come along side of the parents and help you out with this process, but we can’t follow you home, that is where you need to engage in the process. 

Children as you know, catch maybe a lot more than they are formally taught.  This can be a scary thing, depending on what they are catching from you and your behaviors.  If they see that Christ is the most important thing to you and to your family, they in turn will learn that Christ should be the most important thing in their lives.  If they see you praying, or reading your bible, and if you spend time praying with them and reading the bible to them and talking to them about it, they will “catch” that it is an important thing for them as well.  Conversely, if what they see is a casual attachment to following Christ, their walk will also lack commitment.

I was visiting the AWANA group last evening, and it is SO AMAZING how many verses these kids can recite, and not only that, the leaders ask them questions about the verses, so that it is not just rote memory.  What I know, is that these children DO NOT just say, oh I want to learn verses, and do it, NO, they learn the verses because the parents are involved working with them on their verses all week long! It produces a great result, because the children are hiding God’s word in their hearts, and this is a great way to invest in disciple making!  I was telling the students last night that by being in God’s word, and hiding it in hearts, it makes it easier for them to them to hear from God  and helps them along the way  figure out how to follow after God.

 I am just blessed by my 2 year old grandson reciting God’s word, because it is a blessing to know that I have invested God’s principles into my children, and now, I see them investing in their children at a very young age……this gives me hope and excitement for the next generation!

Have you seen that video that’s going viral on youtube?

Which one???

                                           THIS ONE

That video get’s me pumped up but sometimes the word DISCIPLE can sound a little lofty.  It really just means follower.  But it’s one thing to say you want to follow someone and to actually follow them.

In the day to day functions of life in NOVA it’s easy to lose sight of why we follow Jesus and what motivated us to decide to follow him in the first place.  That’s why I love this video!  I watch it and hear the poetic words and that steady flame in my heart gets a burst of of fuel that turns it into a blazing inferno once again.

I follow Jesus because he fulfilled the law, did what he said he would do, fixed the broken, healed the sick, raised the dead, freed the captive, took our sin, and saved the world.

There is no one else I would rather follow.

DISCIPLE…yeah I’m guilty.  Follow me as I follow HIM!

I recently returned from a trip to Santiago Chile where I visited a youth camp run by the Word of Life organization.  It is summer time there and celebrating Christmas swimming in the pool and going to the beach just seemed wrong.  But none the less I enjoyed the time with the missionaries and doing some light work around the camp helping get ready for their summer camp season.  My now 16 year old granddaughter wished to return to the camp after visiting them on a mission trip 3 years prior.  She thought that God was speaking to her about serving Him full time and her first trip has started her on a journey. 

It is interesting to see God at work in our younger generation.  Seeing the passion of the younger generation at the camp sharing the gospel and putting off the material things of this world touched all of us including my granddaughter.  She shared that her heart is being “tugged” toward mission work and wanted to finish high school early so she could serve in the mission field before starting college.  As you can imagine from a grandfathers point of view another generation being spoken to by God made the trip worth all the material cost.  This trip helped us in many ways to refocus our spiritual life on understanding the “Real Reason for the Christmas Season.”  Even in a foreign country with seasons completely opposite of ours hearing God speak and move a new generation to serve Him brought a new meaning for me to the season we have chosen to celebrate the birth of our savior.  No matter where we are, what season we are in, what sport we play or enjoy, God has given us all a platform to share His Love with as many as we can.  May you be refreshed and energized in this a new year that will give us many opportunities to share the gospel of our savior Jesus the Messiah.  Pray for the next generation.  Happy New Year!

Submitted by Pastor Fred Clark

 Philippians 4:6-7 states, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 To live distressed and worried lives hinders us in every way and keeps us from living the abundant life which God desires for us.  Yielding to the strength and peace of God — laying aside our anxiety is our part; He is always available when a concern arises and He deeply cares.  The rest and peace of Christ are real and prayer enables us to receive it.  Keep in mind though that Paul said to pray with thanksgiving – then and only then the peace of God will follow.  Circumstances may not change but prayer with a grateful heart frees us to trust in the Lord, alleviating our anxiety and as a result receive the peace that transcends all understanding.

And so it is with being a disciple of Jesus our Lord!