Don't You Forget!

The Jesus we serve is powerful! There is no force strong enough to resist His power. No sickness, no financial turmoil, no relational problems, no political force - absolutely NOTHING has enough power to resist the supernatural power of Jesus Christ!

Just ask the Roman soldiers!

"Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon Him, went forth, and said unto them, 'Whom seek ye?' They answered Him, 'Jesus of Nazareth.' Jesus said unto them, 'I am He...As soon as He has said unto them, 'I am He,' they went backwards, and fell to the ground." - John 18:4-6

When the great "I AM" opens His mouth and speaks, every power that attempts to defy Him or His Word is pushed backwards and shaken until it staggers, stumbles, and falls to the ground!

Don't you ever forget that.

pcraig

You Better Testify!

I could not be more excited about how the launch of our small groups here at theTURN have happened! This past Sunday night, we had our second ever meeting and the topic of discussion: sexual purity. You would be amazed to hear the testimonies from students and leaders that I am hearing. I am praying that our small groups have the same amount of people in them as our Thursday night worship experiences – what kind of health would that be! Let’s keep reaching out and growing them! I wanted to share a few of the testimonies I received in writing:

Testimonies from last night:

From a female ION - We stayed in discussion until almost 9. In our discussion we really went into a lot of issues. The greatest opportunity for our leaders to minister came in when the topic of molestation came into discussion. We had 5 girls that openly shared about how they were abused in that way. Then we had other girls ask for prayer for healing in that area. We took time to set aside and pray corporately for those girls and those specific issues. We then went into a prayer time when we paired off and shared with our partner and prayed for each other. I think this was so helpful for the girls to do. I just keep feeling so blessed to have been entrusted with these precious girls.

From a male ION - Everyone opened up very well and seemed to be comfortable. The atmosphere was great and really started to build some comradery. Thought that it would be a little closed off with ppl since we were talking about sexual purity but everyone seemed to be really open about it!

From a female ION – some quotes we had: “You can determine a man’s commitment and potential by his cell phone plan.” “Don’t put yourself in a place where your boundaries will be tested.”

From a female ION - Its amazing to me how much the girls have grown in their relationship with one another in just two meetings! I was surprised to have quite a few girls open up about their pasts and Gods healing hand in their lives. It really ministered to those who are currently going through situations such as these in their lives. Another thing is that the most shy person in our whole small group really opened up today and stepped out of her comfort zone. It was so great to see her talk to someone new. Knowing this person, this is quite an accomplishment on her part! So proud of her! :)

I have never been so proud and excited for theTURN in my life! Kickball coming in two weeks!
pcraig

Week 10 - "Be My Sunshine in the Day"

It is Monday again – sending out this week’s part of the prayer!

As a recap, here is the great prayer from Elizabeth Rhodes:

"Grant me, gracious Lord, a pure intention of heart, and a steadfast regard to your glory in all my actions. Possess my mind continually with your presence, and fill it with your love, that my whole delight may be to repose in the arms of your protection. Be light to my eyes, music to my ears, sweetness to my taste, and full contentment to my heart. Be my sunshine in the day, my food at the table, my repose in the night, my clothing in company, my succor in all necessities.
Lord Jesus, I give you my body, my soul, my substance, my fame, my friends, my liberty, and my life. Dispose of me, and all that is mine, as seems best to you, and to the glory of your blessed name. I am not my own, but yours; therefore claim me as your right, keep me as your charge, and love me as your child. Fight for me when I am assailed, heal me when I am wounded, and revive me when I am destroyed.
My Lord and my God, I ask you to give me patience in troubles, humility in comforts, constancy in temptations, and victory over all my ghostly enemies. Grant me sorrow for my sins, thankfulness for my benefits, fear of your judgments, love of your mercies, and mindfulness of your presence for evermore. Make me humble to my superiors and friendly to my equals, ready to please all and loathe to offend any; loving to my friends and charitable to my enemies. Give me modesty in my countenance, gravity in my behavior, deliberation in my speech, holiness in my thoughts, and righteousness in all my actions. Let your mercy cleanse me from my sins, and your grace bring forth in me the fruits of everlasting life.
Lord, let me be obedient without arguing, humble without feigning, patient without grudging, pure without corruption, mercy without lightness, sad without mistrust, sober without dullness, true without duplicity, fearing you without desperation, and trusting you without presumption. Let me joyful for nothing but that which pleases you, and sorrowful for nothing but what displeases you: that labor be my delight which is for you, and let all weary me that is not in you. Give me a waking spirit, and a diligent soul, that I may seek to know your will, and when I know it may I perform it faithfully to the honor and glory of your ever blessed name. Amen."

Chilcote took this prayer that is divided into four roughly equal parts and provided a theme for each section:
Part 1: Who is God to me? (first paragraph of prayer)
Part 2: What can I give to and ask of God? (second)
Part 3: How does God shape my life? (third)
Part 4: How do I live as a disciple of Christ? (fourth)

Today, we continue with part one from Chilcote.

Scripture

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.....The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” - John 1:1-5,9

Meditation

Light, as we have already seen, figures prominently in Elizabeth’s prayer and surfaces several times. Charles Wesley filled his sacred poetry with allusions to the light. Some of his most powerful hymns celebrate the light of Christ. Few compare to his “Morning Hymn,” however, more generally known by its first line, “Christ, whose glory fills the skies.” The contrasting images of the second stanza emphasize the importance of the light of Christ in our lives. Journeying through our days without Christ as our companion results in a dark and joyless life. But when the beams of God’s mercy break through the clouds of this gloomy world, the illumination of the Son warms our hearts and cheers our eyes. The darkness cannot overcome this light, for Jesus is the true and only Light, the Sun of Righteousness, the Dayspring, the Daystar who arises in our hearts with healing in his wings. The light of Christ penetrates to the depth of our very being, pierces our gloom, scatters our unbelief, and shines through our lives into the world.

The writer of John’s Gospel connects this light with life. Apart from this light, life is but a shadow land. The good news is that God shines this light into the life of every person. The Wesleys celebrated this prevenient grace – this offer of God’s love extended to everyone before any even know the difference between the darkness and the light. John and Charles Wesley devoted their ministry to showing people how to open the window of their soul to let in the light.

Prayer

Gracious Lord, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, you enlighten every person coming into this world: visit my soul today, pierce the darkness that surrounds me, and fill me with your radiant presence that others might encounter your light in me. Amen.

Part Eleven coming next Monday...
pcraig

The Pearl of Great Price

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." - Matthew 13:45-46

Just some thoughts on giving of our tithes and offering in the worship experience.

When I became a Christian, the more I became exposed to other churches and movements, the more I notices some leaders would spend quite a bit of time trying to motivate people to give in the offering. They would give these great incentives and many promises of God's generous reciprocity. They would say, give and you will get it all back and more. Folks, we have done it all wrong.

The best offering statement I have heard: If Christians really understood the pearl of great price, there would be no need for long messages on giving.

The truth of the matter is, you might get it back or you might not. But you can definitely be sure of one thing. If we give something of value then someone else in need will receive something of value.

Who is that pearl of great price? Jesus!

Jesus, because of love, gave all He had to get what He valued, us. If we give out of love, others will get what we value, Him!

Really study the above scripture. Is there really any other motivation to give than Him?

The Four Horsemen of Sexual Purity

So what momentum we had going tonight....tonight was a rally for sure! So thankful for God and what He is doing here at theTURN! Hope more than anything tonight's message helped us in our journey of purity at this season of our lives! Here are the message slides:

pcraig

Staying After It!

Bottom line: we all must have people in our lives who are on their way to hell.

See, I have this inconvenient belief that there is a hell. That is an inconvenient truth in our day and age. That is a very difficult one.

Because when you actually have friendships with people who are going there, it bothers you! It affects how you spend your time, your prayer life, your finances, your life! When God runs, we must run! When God goes after my neighbor across the street, I must go after my neighbor across the street.

Ever feel dry spiritually? Just ask yourself, am I in the places where Jesus was? Chances are, probably not.

Let's stay after reaching people!

pcraig

Are You Maturing?

"Don't let Jesus think you think more of His people than you do of Him." Those words rung through my ears several months back.

Wow. Really? I can become so bogged down with the work of ministry that I forget who I am working for. Of course. We all know this can be true in our lives. Am I thinking about His people more than I am of Him? It is a question of maturity.

Transparent moment: I feel like we are living in a day and age when God is looking for a virgin spirit, like Mary, to deposit His truth into. I believe wholeheartedly in a righteous holy lifestyle, one that pleases God. And that is what He is looking for. It is the sign of true maturity. It is only in His presence that we are annointed for the work to which He has called us. And there is nothing, NOTHING, that can substitute for the fire and power of God in your life.

But there is a price to pay for that annointing and maturity. You will more than likely have to go to hell and back for it. But hey, once you've traveled that distance, what is five more yards?

I want to tell you something. Whatever crisis you are going through right now, it has been allowed to happen by the unseen hand of God. But He is there. He is faithful. In fact, I believe that we will live our whole lives always with some form of crisis in our lives. Why you ask? Well it keeps us dependent. And that is what He wants. That brings maturity.

It is amazing to see that the first thing that leaves a man when he goes in the wrong direction is his humility. And humility only grows over the grave of pride. You can mature God's grace in your life only thru humility. Never forget: God is way more committed to character than talent. He wants a servant's attitude more than charisma. The reason people do not act like Jesus is because they do not think like Jesus. We must be renewed in the spirit of our minds to move on to maturity.

So can I encourage you today? Keep your passion. Keep your belly full of fire. And filter all your motives thru the Holy Spirit. This will keep you on track.

Share some comments below about your thoughts on this blog. Where are you at personally?

So, are you maturing?

pcraig