1. Don’t go at it alone. Group accountability is huge. Studying the word of God should never be done in isolation and the group experience provides accountability, encouragement, answers to difficult questions and so much more.
2. Read for pleasure, and not as homework. Try not and treat your reading time as “homework” or an “assignment”. Every time I sit down to read with this type of attitude I end up failing. Go into the your time with wonder and awe. Pray and ask that God would reveal something new or exciting. Pray that you would read something and that God would give you strength and lift your spirit.
3. Read for relationship. The ultimate goal of reading scripture is to know the heart and thoughts of God. Read with the intent of knowing God. What does He like and dislike. How does He interact with others in the past. What are God’s main objectives and goals? This things will help you know and understand God better through scripture reading.
4. Last point is this: don’t get frustrated, and don’t give up. Even if you miss a couple of days and get really behind, DON’T GIVE UP! Last year at 3 different points I was 20 days behind on my reading. Just stick to it, and make up time when you can. The most important thing is just keep moving forward.

The plan that I will be using this year is available online and the direct link is http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/chronological/. I really like the idea that this is accessible on your home computer, phone or tablet. If you have any other reading tips, please feel free to comment below!

We’ve all been let down, disappointed, and maybe even abandoned by the ones we love.  God’s answer is not vengeance, revenge, or hatred.  God’s only solution to those situations is forgiveness.  Below is the music video that speaks to this idea of forgiveness.

The last set of lyrics really ring true for me:

I lost count of the ways you let me down
But no matter how many times you weren’t around
I’m alright now…cause
God picked up my heart and helped me through
And shined light on the one thing left to do
And that’s forgive you, I forgive you

The challenge for today is the challenge that Chris August gives us… will you say, “I’ll do what it takes to make it right”?  Who can you offer forgiveness to?

A couple of years ago (by means of a Veggie Tales video) I started learning the details of the real Saint Patrick.  We only have a small amount of historical information about the real Saint Patrick.  The story line goes basically like this.  Patrick was born in Britain around 387AD to wealthy parents.  At age 16 he was kidnapped by some raiders from Ireland who were raiding the family estate.  He lived in Ireland as a slave tending sheep and working outdoors.  Legend has that while working in the fields he received a vision from God and it was in Ireland Patrick became a Christian.  Patrick escaped his captivity and returned to Britain at age 22.  When returning to his hometown he studied Christianity for 15 year in preparation for his ordination.   Afterwords he was sent back to Ireland to minister to Irish Christians and for missionary work to the Irish community.

What amazing story.  What a story of forgiveness!  Think about how hard this might have initially been for Saint Patrick.  Going to preach mercy and grace to the very people the invaded your house, stole from your family, put you in shackles and enslaved you for 6 years.  But we don’t hear of hatred, resentment, and anger.  We only here of the good news of Jesus Christ!

We need more people today like Saint Patrick.  Willing to minister to those who hurt them the most.  Willing to go through pain, suffering and humiliation all to preach Christ to those who don’t know of God’s glory in Christ. 

And my last rant for the day, I still don’t get the holiday of Saint Patrick’s Day.  Rather than celebrating the Irish, we should celebrate Christ.  Rather than green beer, we should celebrate our communion with God.  Rather than pinching those not wearing green, we should offer forgiveness and grace to those who have wronged us.  That’s what Saint Patrick would have done.

One of the key things that stands out to me in the parable of the lost sheep is the risk the shepherd takes while searching for the one lost sheep.  He leaves the 99 behind in search of one.  Our current business culture says that is not a profitable risk.  Chasing after one sheep while leaving the 99 in the open field could be financial disaster.  What if a wolf or some other predator came attacked the 99 while the shepherd was out searching for the one lost sheep?  “The risk is too great!” some would say.  With all the risk involved in searching for the one missing sheep, most would say leaving the 99 behind would not be a wise risk.

Not only that, what is gained from searching for the one lost sheep?  The best case scenario is that he brings back the single lost sheep.  There is no return on the shepherd’s investment.  He just starts off with the same number of sheep that he started with.  The investment world would see this as a poor investment. 

Aren’t you glad that our Father in heaven in not concerned about numbers, risk and investments as the business world around us is?  He’s concerned about the one sheep that returns.  Heaven rejoices when one is lost then becomes found.  Jesus says it plainly, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”  (Luke 15:7).  For Jesus, it’s not about the investment but about people.  People are the investment.  The risk of leaving the 99 behind was not too great a risk for the one. 

You are the one lost sheep that Jesus was willing to risk it all for.  Not only that, we are called to care for the one lost among us, just as God cared for us.  Who can you risk it all to bring back to God?  Who can you reach out to?  Who has God put on your heart to share the glory of God revealed through Christ on the cross?

After all the storms had passed I walked out to the end of my driveway to bring the trash dumpster back to the house.  The ground was saturated.  Huge puddles of water still remained from the torrential downfall of rain that had happened hours before.  While walking back to the house I couldn’t help but to notice the sky full of stars.  There were only a couple of clouds scattered here and there but for the most part it was STARS. 

Just by looking at the sky, you would have never thought earlier in the night we had thunderstorms and tomato warmings.  Everything was quiet, clear and pleasant.  Looking at the ground you were quickly brought back to reality to realize that rain did come.  It was a strong contrast between two worlds.  One being the still sky and the other the after effects of a storm.

I find many parallels from the storm and sky to current life on earth.  We all find our selves in the storms of life.  Battered, beaten, worn and completely drenched from the rain.  We find ourselves cold, wet, and uncomfortable in our own skin.  This translates in real life to trouble in relationships, jobs, health or other storms that life brings.  But I think the tragedy of it all is that even after the storm has passed, we remained focused on the puddles, the soggy ground, the branches that have fallen and other negative effects of the storm.  Rather than looking down, we should look up to the sky.  There we see, the storm have passed, the clouds have broken and peace has been restored.  Focusing upward also helps us remember that the sun is always faithful to rise the next morning.  

We cannot prevent life’s storms.  What we can do is know that storms are temporary.  They pass.  Then the clouds break and gives way to sunlight.  Not only that, we can control where we focus.   I think this is very nicely wrapped up with some lyrics from the song Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundantly and free!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face.
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

As a parent we want to teach, train and equip our children for life.  We want to give them every mean necessary for success.  We want to look back and know they we gave our children our all and we didnt’ hold back.  I realized something last night, no matter how much of myself I give my children, it will never be enough.  Why?  Because I’m flawed.  I have my own issues and my own problems and if I gave them 100% I would just be passing down the good and the bad, and I don’t want this for my children.  I want to give them more than that. 

And that’s where Rich Mullin”s song comes in. 

Me and your mom
And all the love we have
We can only take you so far
As far as we can
But you’ll need something more to guide your heart
As you grow into a man

My kids need more than my love to help them grow into the adults God wants them to be.  They need Mercy.  And Jesus Christ is Mercy.  And I need to give them the one thing that can fill all their needs, give them peace that surpasses all understanding, and allow my children to use their gifts to the fullest.  That one thing is Christ!

Let mercy lead
Let love be the strength in your legs
And in every footprint that you leave
There’ll be a drop of grace

I want Christ to be the strength in their legs, and grace to ooze out of every action, every thought, and every word.  I want to let Mercy lead in my life that it may be one thing I pass to my children.

Proverbs 18:24 says, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”  I’m truly grateful that I have reliable friends!  I’m grateful that I have friends that have stuck by Alison and I through think and thin.  That’s what church is about.  The church is about God creating a community (the body of Christ) and that we stick by each other in hard times.   We are loved and we love you!

1. I can say that I’m at peace with what happened yesterday.  Would I have liked things to be different or happened differently?  Yes, but the instant I received the news I received “… the peace of God, which transcends all understanding…” (Phil 4:7).  Even though I have a range of emotions, PEACE is always the one that rises to the top and comforts me.
2. Do I know where I’m going or what I’m going to do?  I don’t have a clue.  That is something that will require some serious prayer.  One thing I know is that God will guide and direct me to where He wants me.  With that being said, if you know of an opportunity, please let me know!
3. The main thing that God is teaching me is FAITH.  Faith and obedience was the main topic of my personal time with Christ before coming into the office yesterday morning.  I said to God, ”Whatever the cost, whatever the hardship… I submit to You!  My number one priority is to be in Your will, to hear Your Spirit, and to be obedient in following Christ.  Please give me the strength and courage to do just that.”  I can honestly say that yesterday morning’s prayer was probably one of the quickest answered prayers I’ve experienced.  God heard and responded.  I’ve always heard it said, “Be careful what you pray for…”  God was ready to move and ready to shake things up.  He has a plan for me and this is part of it.  This I am confident of.  This I have FAITH in.
4. Crosspoint Christian is still and always will be my family.  I pray that many of the friendships that have been created over the last couple of years will continue to grow and flourish.  Particularly the small group I’m part of, you guys ARE my FAMILY. 

Today begins the start of something new.  This I know: God is and always is in control.  God will be praised.  Even though this will be a hard time for both Crosspoint and the Hope family, my prayer is that we all seek Him and give Him the glory.

Those of us who have been true readers all our life seldom fully realize the enormous extension of our being which we owe to authors. We realize it best when we talk with an unliterary friend. He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. The man who is contented to be only himself, and therefore less of a self, is in prison.

What an amazing thought by C.S. Lewis.  He’s basically saying that when we don’t read we limit ourselves and suffocate ourselves.  One of my goals over the next couple of days is to catch up on some reading.  Who’s going to join me?

In the midst of sickness, medical bills, and struggling to get everything ready for Thanksgiving I have found an overflowing abundance of things to be thankful for.  The key to remaining thankful in times of trial is not looking at what you could have had or what should be, but rather focusing on what God has already given.  All my kids may be sick, but they are wonderful kids!  Not only that I have an amazing wife, a roof over my head, great friends,  a loving church family and many other blessings that would be too numerous to list here.

So today is a day of being thankful.  Forgive those who need forgiveness, share with all who are in need and above all give thanks to God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!