Top 10 in 2010!

I am putting out the challenge - it is called "The Top Ten in 2010!" Over the next 12 months, we as theTURN, will be participating in the top ten challenges. I will issue out different challenges thoughout the year that I feel are important for us to participate in as a church community. At the end of the year, we will rank them from 1-10 based upon how effective they were for theTURN.

The first Top 10 is something we are starting this weekend called the "New Thru 30!" It is intense - we are going to make a priority of the Word this year during the FAST which starts this Sunday. I am challenging and encouraging each of you to join with me in this. Attached is the "Read Thru 30" reading plan that guides you in your journey. Each week has two grace days provided for you if you get behind and need time to catch up. When we couple fasting with praying and reading His Word, transformation will take place! Watch below:

I am also attaching the study guide as well to help you with this process. The first day of reading is this Monday, January 11. This is not meant to be legalistic, but if we, as theTURN, can seek God in this year with fasting, prayer, and reading (more than we do throughout the year), I believe God will be big in our lives this year! I encourage each of you to join us for "New Thru 30!"

Let the challenge begin!

pcraig

Honor the Holy Spirit, and He will honor you!

"And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him." - Acts 5:32

As we embark on the journey together fasting over these next few weeks, I am encouraged by this Scripture.

To know the right is to pursue it; to perceive the truth is to receive it; to see God's will is to submit to it, in serving or in suffering. What excites me about this Scripture is its promise. Some people passively wait for the Spirit to imbue and endue them; but from what I gain from it: each new act of obedience will always bring a new baptism!

We need a baptism of His Spirit in this new year. Let love be perfected in simple obedience. Sin does not destroy God's love, it frustrates it. If we combine our hearts together and walk in obedience, He promises to give us His Holy Spirit.

Each of us over the next month must empty ourselves of selfish ambition. It is time for us to hold up our emptied vessels to be filled with the grace of God.

It is my prayer in this fast for every believer to be "a vessel, sanctified and made meet for the Master's use, prepared unto every good work (2 Tim. 2:21)."

Without the habitual recognition of dependence on the Spirit, revival will neither begin nor continue. Let me give you a secret: give your whole soul to God this January. God is willing to use you as a chosen vessel for His glory!

See you in a few hours!

pcraig

Need Direction?

Fasting brings humility and direction.

"Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer." - Ezra 8:21,23

In what areas of your life are you needing God's direction? Take a time to ask God for direction during this fast. It is when we fast that God begins to open up His plan for our lives!

When you fast, prepare yourself physically for mental discomforts such as impatience, crankiness, and anxiety. Expect physical disccomforts. You may experience dizziness, headaches, and different kinds of pains. The headaches are not a sign to stop fasting! Your body is working to cleanse itself of impurities.

Do not get discouraged....BREAKTHROUGHS often come AFTER a fast, not during it.

I want to encourage each of you to buy a journal and write in it during the fast. Write down the vision.

Without a vision (a clear prayer goal) the people perish. During a fast, have four or five prayer goals that are clearly articulated. If you are not motivated by a clear goal, fasting is much more difficult. Write down your vision, so you can run with it (Habakkuk 2:2).

Nehemiah fasted before he approached the king to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 9).

• They humbled themselves with fasting.
• They confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
• They read from the Word of God for one-fourth of the day.
• They confessed and worshiped the Lord their God for one-fourth of the day.

Humble yourself this fast - God will bring direction.

"For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones..." - Isaiah 57:15

What are you fasting for this January? What do you need God to do?

pcraig

It's Time

"Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and FASTED, the Holy Spirit said, 'Now separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' Then, having FASTED and PRAYED, and laid hands on them, they sent them away." - Acts 13:1-3

One of the most difficult things for a believer to do, with regard to Christian discipline, is to fast. In the early church, fasting was not fanatical....it was normal.

What is fasting? Fasting is not dieting in Jesus' name. Fasting is going without food for a period of time. But you need to know that fasting does not change God, but it changes us! Malachi 3:6 says, "For I am the Lord, I change not." In Philippians 3:19, Paul talks about a people "whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is their shame - who set their mind on earthly things." Fasting changes you! Fasting teaches you that you can control your flesh. The intent is to say to the flesh that it does not rule, and to say to God that He comes first over something that is important to you.

Fasting makes you spiritually aware. It is denying the needs of the flesh to awaken the spirit man.

There are different types of fasts:

A TOTAL FAST - doing without food or water (I do not recommend this). You should only do this if God impresses you....use wisdom.

A NORMAL FAST - a normal fast is doing without food under God's direction for a set period of time (drink 5-6 glasses of water a day).

A PARTIAL FAST - a pleasant food fast (Daniel 1) - no meats, no sweets (pleasant bread), and no bread, and no wine (water - no cokes, etc.)

As we join for 21 days of fasting here at theTURN, I am believing for God to raise up leaders in our ministry. Sons and daughters finish the work of their fathers. Between the fire and the fathering stands the fast. Elijah fasted forty days and fathered a double portion son, Elisha. Moses fasted forty days and had a spiritual son named Joshua, which means, "the Lord is salvation."

We need a young generation of Elisha's to go on an extended fast to be cleansed from lust, tv addiction, pornography, spiritual mediocrity, rebellion towards their parents, questionable magazines and internet sites, and gossiping. This fast may a double portion of the Holy Spirit rest on our lives and ministries!

Fasting opens the way for a greater submission to the Holy Spirit. In fasting, we can more readily say, "We love you Lord, more than anything in the world." Lust of any kind is perverted worship, but fasting enables us to cleanse the sanctuary of our hearts from every other rival.

It's time....many more details on Thursday night!

pcraig

Attaining the Inner Life of Christ

"The beginning is the most important part of the work...for that is the time character is being formed." - Plato

This quote from Plato moved me the other day. How true. Maybe because my own son is almost here. Maybe because it is simply truth. Either way, I think it deserves our attention.

Never have I realized more that it is so important for character to be instilled at the beginning of life than now; I think about it all the time. Knox will be here soon, and it will be imperative for my wife and I to teach him and help to develop character inside of him.

But it is also a new year - and it is time for us to realize what areas of our lives that need to have the character of Christ formed in them. Our life and how we respond to the world is a result of who we have become in the depths of our being. We call this inner being, our soul, or our will - or, as a comprehensive term, our heart. From the contents of our heart, we see our world and interpret reality. We live from our depths - most of which we understand only in part.

The work of Christ always begins in our heart and moves outward into our everyday experiences. To get to that place of increased self-knowledge, honesty, humility before God, and a consistently Christlike attitude, we must step away in moments of reflection or even times of personal retreat to examine the inner workings of our human nature.

In this new year, we must focus our spiritual formation entirely on Jesus. Our formation of character must have as its goal conformity to Christ, a process that arises out of purposeful interaction with the grace of God in Christ. Obedience is an essential outcome (John 13:34-35; 14:21). We can't manifest Christlikeness through a primary focus on external behavior though.

In my experience, when externals are the main emphasis, spiritual formation doesn't really happen. People fall into legalism quickly. We must "have Christ formed in us (Gal. 4:19)." Our aim is not first to act differently but to become different in our inner being - to obtain a renewed soul - to engage in sanctification of our souls.

Would you give yourself to a transformation of character in this month of 2010? God's gracious action through His Word and Spirit is something we are responsible for - we can look like Christ (Rom. 8:29)!

See you Thursday night,

pcraig

A New Year Unfolding

Being your pastor, I wanted to inspire in this first week of 2010! I thought it would be appropriate to post some of the greatest New Year's quotes. Enjoy!

I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me. ~Anaïs Nin

The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. ~G.K. Chesterton

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential. ~Ellen Goodman

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~Benjamin Franklin

There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. Joshua 13:1

Many people look forward to the new year for a new start on old habits. ~Author Unknown

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. ~Bill Vaughan

People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas. ~Author Unknown

Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account. ~Oscar Wilde

He went out not knowing whither he went (Heb. 11:6-10). Abraham took “one step” and he did not “ask to see the distant scene.” And that is faith. Faith is not concerned with the entire chain; its devoted attention is fixed upon the immediate link. Faith is not knowledge of a moral process; it is fidelity in a moral act. Faith leaves something to the Lord; it obeys His immediate commandment and leaves to Him direction and destiny. And so faith is accompanied by serenity. “He that believeth shall not make haste ‘ — or, more literally, “shall not get into a fuss.” He shall not get into a panic, neither fetching fears from his yesterdays nor from his tomorrows. Concerning his yesterdays faith says, “Thou hast beset me behind.” Concerning his tomorrows faith says, “Thou hast laid Thine hand upon me.” That is enough, just to feel the pressure of the guiding hand. - John Jowett

Face the New Year with the Old Book. Face the new needs with the old promises. Face the new problems with the old Gospel. - Author Unknown

Believing this will be the greatest year we've experienced!

pcraig

Are You On Board?

"Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God." - 1 Corinthians 4:1

It is interesting to note that the Greek word for "ministers" in this verse is the word huperatas - the Greek word that was used to depict the very lowest class of criminals. The huperatas of ancient times were the criminals assigned to live the rest of their lives in the bottom galleys of the huge ships. In those galleys, they became the engines that moved the ships through the seas. When you think about this, you can see why Paul used this word to describe those of us who are serving in the Kingdom of God!

For instance, a great number of these criminals were held in the bottom galleys of ships. They were seated and chained to a bench along with other criminals - and together they shared common chains, held a common oar, and worked the same number of hours. They all had to provide equal labor to the task. Their entire lives became a group effort. They became inseparable from the other men who were on the bench with them. God never calls you to do a big job all by yourself. He will call others at the same time to assist you. When you say yes to the will of God - when you jump into the middle of your assigned task and surrender your time, money, talents, and ideas to the Lord - you will discover that others will be right there by your side to help you with the task. You are not the only one God has been speaking to!

The ships on which the huperatas served were so huge that it would have been impossible for one servant to move an entire ship by himself. It required the strength and effort of many servants working together in order to move those huge ships.

That is the way I feel about theTURN in 2010. I can't accomplish what God has called me to do all alone. I have to keep looking around me. God is placing people around me to help me fulfill the dream. I would not be able to do what God has told me to do if I had to do it by myself. The vision is too big and demanding. I know he has called some of you to stand with me, pray with me, and stay for the long haul, working beside me "on the under-rowers' bench." Your call is just as real as my call.

Likewise, if you are going to fulfill the dream God has given you, you will have to learn how to cooperate with other key people - your partners in life - who can assist you in fulfilling that dream.

When these men rowed, the boat moved. When they stopped rowing, the boat stopped. These servants were the driving force behind the speed of the ship. If they ever stopped working hard at rowing, the ship stayed motionless in the water. It was totally dependent on the rowers in the bottom of the boat, which was powerless to travel anywhere without them.

The bottom of the boat may not be the most pleasurable place to be. Serving day in and day out may seem monotonous and almost boring at times. But sticking with the vision and continuing to row will eventually produce eternal results for the Kingdom of God!

What is that vision you ask? Join us on Thursday, January 28 for VISION 2010!

So surrender to the plan of God, take your place on the ship, grab an oar, and start rowing!

Are you on board with theTURN?

pcraig