Check Your Thermometer

We've had some interesting weather of late. On the day I'm writing this, the recorded high temperature dropped almost fifty degrees from the previous day. That would not have mattered when I was ten. No, I didn't tolerate temperature changes better when I was younger. I had a broken thermometer. It was permanently stuck on 75 degrees. No matter what, it was always the perfect weather.

But of course it wasn't. Even if the thermometer read 75, it was still 10 degrees outside. It was a good day to have a coat and mittens, no matter what the thermometer said.

Sometimes our spiritual thermometer gets stuck. Through neglect, inattention, and apathy, we often don't notice the lag in our enthusiasm for serving the Lord, and suddenly it has been weeks since the last time we read our Bible or prayed.

The solution is simple - use a thermometer that works. Satan will provide all kinds of excuses not to do so, but make the scripture a constant part of every day. Spend time reading God's word every day, and listen for his voice. Allow God's Holy Spirit to use the wisdom of His Word to take your spiritual temperature. Memorize scripture to take it with you as you go through the day. You'll find God warming your heart, no matter what the weather.

2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

Happy NEW Year!

"New"--it seems like a simple little word, one we've heard our whole lives, not worth much in a game of Scrabble, and one that we use all the time.

The dictionary defines it, of course, as 'having recently coming into existence." However,
for Christians, two of the definitions have very special meanings.... "being other than the former or old"  and, "different from one of the same category that has existed previously." How WONDERFUL that Christ makes us NEW...not like our 'old' self with all its baggage and sin (2 Cor. 5:17), and He gives us a DIFFERENT life--a life abundant (John 10:10).

In our humanness, we celebrate the start of the New Year--but as Christians, we have reason to celebrate our newness every day! And, we can look forward expectantly to the 'new heaven and new earth' to come! In the meantime, what a great promise is found in Lamentations 3:22: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning." Now those are reasons to celebrate!



Getting a Fresh "START" in the New Year

Stop Making Excuses - Proverbs 28:13 - A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.

Take an Inventory of Your Life - 2 Corinthians 13:5 - Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.

Act in Faith - Matthew 9:29 - According to your faith let it be to you.
Refocus - Philippians 3:13 - …but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead…
Trust - Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

(Acrostic by Rev. Jim Mooney)

A wonderful reading of the Christmas Story from Lifeway:

http://bcove.me/5bnisnec

Merry Christmas from your NHBC family!

Prince of Peace in a World of Chaos

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid.  For, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people...."   Luke 2:10 (NIV)

The winter weather, snow, and cold has been nice for this southern boy who grew up wearing shorts and flip-flops through a good portion of the "winter months".

Yes, I enjoy the snow.  It's very awe inspiring when the world seems to stop and all is pure and untouched.  That is, until you have to get out in it and leave behind your cup of hot chocolate and warm blanket for a driveway that needs to be shoveled.  I've tried very hard to keep it snow free. Our driveway is rather steep, so it can get very slick.  But, unfortunately, our street isn't one that gets plowed by the city.  So, even if we get out of the driveway, we're probably still going to slide through the stop sign at the end of the street.  We've had to be very careful!

Speaking of sliding through things...sometimes, that's the way I feel about December all in all.  I mean, already it's December 9th, and I promise that I keep thinking that Thanksgiving was last Thursday!  Every year, I brace myself in November for the craziness of the month to follow.  Parties, shopping, musicals, travelling--there's so much to do and so little time to get it done!  Sometimes, it can be so much that I need to hear again the words the angel announced to the shepherds--"do not be afraid!".

The angel goes on to say, "...For, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people."  I think it's rather ironic that we celebrate the season of great joy, hope, and peace with such stress, anixiety, and busy-ness.

A.W. Tozer is quoted as saying, "Christ came to bring peace and we celebrate his coming by making peace impossible for six weeks of each year."

And, we all chuckle as we read that; all the while, deep down inside, the majority of us yearn and long for the peace that has been promised.

But, that's the beauty of the promise.  Christ was born the Prince of Peace into a world of chaos.  And, sometimes, despite the intensity of the chaos around us during this season, we hear, once again those beautiful words of great hope fulfilled and breaking through, not unlike the angels piercing the darkness and revealing glory:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end."  Isaiah 9:6-7a  (NIV)

Thanksgiving Living

Remember Thanksgiving? It was that holiday just a few days ago.... And now, we are headlong into the Christmas and New Year holidays. Well, actually some people headed that way before the turkey even had time to digest, but that's another topic!

I heard it said several times this year that thanksgiving was never meant to be limited to just one day, and how true that is. After all, God certainly doesn't confine His blessings into just one day. Everywhere we look EVERY minute of every day, He is providing us MULTITUDES of blessings...not just the job we wanted, physical healing, the birth of a baby, and so forth. He does it with the air we breathe, the smiles we see, the laughter we hear, the warmth of the sun, the rain for our land, and even the problems we encounter--because we know we are not going through it alone, He is with us every step of the way.

I'm challenging myself to be more diligent about thanksLIVING. And when you begin naming those blessings one by one, rather than in mass, you will truly be ASTOUNDED at what the Lord has done and continues to do each day.

          Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 107:1 (NIV)

#100

This is the 100th post to our NHBC Blog! Thanks for allowing us to share our hearts with you each week. Since this is also the week of Thanksgiving, I can't think of a better way to celebrate 100 posts than with one of my favorite psalms, a song of thanksgiving, Psalm 100.

Happy Thanksgiving!
 

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving thanks.

¹ Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

² Worship the Lord with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

³ Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

⁵ For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations. (NIV)

A Time To Be Thankful

A Time To Be Thankful

As hard as it is to believe, we are a month from Thanksgiving. In writing/putting this article together, I came across the following article that I wanted to share: (the following article is from Dare 2 Share)

Every year it seems to me that Thanksgiving is increasingly just a thin slice of celebration sandwiched between the massive marketing machines of Halloween and Christmas. It's become a few days of respite for post school/work burnout and pre Christmahanakwanza preparation!

But it hasn't always been this way you know. There was a time when Thanksgiving was a sacred day set aside for so much more than watching the Detroit Lions lose and downing twice your body weight in turkey and stuffing. It was more of a time to remember, reflect, and rejoice in what happened in the Fall of 1621 when the Pilgrims and Native Americans shared a meal as a sacrifice of praise for their survival. The story of that momentous day was passed on to each generation, and in 1777 George Washington made it an official holiday.

The Pilgrims came across the pond for many reasons, one of the most critical being the dream of being able to worship God in whatever way they felt was His calling on their lives. They endured the bitter winters and hostile conditions to fulfill a dream of finishing the race and remaining faithful to the end.

Their resolve was galvanized by their Christian faith. And no doubt in their hardship, they took courage from the following words of the Apostle Paul, penned shortly before his death:

But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.

As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me - the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing (1 Timothy 4:5-9).

So what about you? You are charged with THE Cause of making disciples who make disciples - an endeavor that will outlast all holidays and every nation on earth.

As I read this article I began to think about The Cause of making disciples and what I have to be thankful for. Although one thing I have learned in life, I should celebrate thanksgiving each and every day because I have much to be thankful for each day. SO WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR? The following is TEN things I have to be thankful for:

1)       Relationship with God and the salvation that He freely offered me.

2)       Family, both immediate and extended, including Sara and her family.

3)       Friends

4)       Opportunities God has given me ministry and that God allows me the opportunity to be involved in what He is doing.

5)       Opportunities God has given me to share the gospel with those who don’t know Him.

6)       An amazing church to serve at

7)       An amazing group of students that I get minister to and serve alongside

8)       Great health

9)       God’s amazing creation

10)   The Christian heritage that runs all through my family.