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Here you'll find weekly devotionals written by each of our full-time staff members for our weekly staff meeting. We hope you are encouraged and lifted up in the Lord as you read what the Lord has spoken to us through His Word. 4/5/10 - by Ministry Coordinator Nancy Richards Proverbs 31:30 Women "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." - Proverbs 31:30 As we look into Proverbs 31:30 I think it’s important to define a few of the key words. Charm is defined as: to be in a state of favor, to be pleased with, alluring. It‘s no surprise that through this scripture God warns us about charm, because it is really about drawing another person and their attention to ourselves. Over and over throughout the bible, God consistently encourages us to be drawn to him, and our very mission on this earth is to draw others into a saving knowledge of Christ. When we are intentionally being charming, we are weaving an enticing picture of ourselves and encouraging others to give us their approval and attention. Charm may be subtle, like when we intentionally speaks on topics that another person is interested in, or in a more obvious manner when we dress or act in provocative ways. In either case, the focus is all wrong. The word deceptive is defined as: a lie, falseness, deception, vanity. I believe God calls charm deceptive because the act for attention and approval easily changes depending on whom a person is speaking to. God tells us that beauty is fleeting. So why are billions of dollars spent each year on beauty products and procedures that promise to prolong youth and appearance? The world’s view is the complete opposite of our God’s view. The picture of perfection is painted by the media and magazines, and the world agrees. It’s an airbrushed and doctored picture of beauty, but a picture none the less! None of it is real. I encourage you to guard your eyes, and be careful of the images you look upon. It is so easy to begin to make comparisons between these false images and oneself or others. It’s important to actively battle our culture of lies by not being distracted by superficial things. It’s fleeting, here today and gone tomorrow- so let’s focus on the eternal, the fear of the Lord. A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised! A woman who fears the Lord is not easily distracted by the world and its opinions. Her primary focus and attention are on the King of Glory, and she will be praised! I believe that praise will come from Jesus himself on the day of our meeting. That day will be far greater than any image or attention we could ever attain in this world. Praise the Lord! 3/17/10 - by Assistant Pastor Nate Morris Chief in our hearts What does God want from us? Is it working really hard for His Kingdom? Is it following all the rules and being a good person? Is it performing miracles and driving out demons? No! Those things are all by-products of the thing that God wants from us. So what is it that God wants? LOVE! God wants us to love Him! Read Matthew 7:21-23 with me. Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Why was it that Jesus told the people in this story to leave? Was it because they didn't cast out enough demons or do enough work? No! It was because they never knew Him! Now, I hope that if you're reading this, you already know Christ, and if that is the case, you don't have to worry about Jesus saying this to you on judgment day. But, there is a valuable lesson we believers can learn from this section of scripture, and that is this: We need to be careful of allowing our work for God to get in the way of our relationship with Him. Christ wants to be chief in our hearts. He desires to be the supreme object of our adoration, and He should be! If you're not sure why He should be,scroll down and check out the post "Our God is Big!" from a few weeks ago. Sometimes we can get so busy working for God, that we forget to walk with Him. We get so busy talking about God that we forget to talk with Him. Let's get back to basics and give Him the center place in our lives. Read this entry from "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers with me. March 17, 2010 THE WORKER'S RULING PASSION Wherefore we labour that . . we may be accepted of Him. - Corinthians 5:9 "Wherefore we labour...." It is arduous work to keep the master amibition in front. It means holding one's self to the high ideal year in and year out, not being ambitious to win souls or to establish churches or to have revivals, but being ambitious only to be "accepted of Him." It is not lack of spiritual experience that leads to failure, but lack of labouring to keep the ideal right. Once a week at least take stock before God and see whether you are keeping your life up to the standard He wishes. Paul is like a musician who does not heed the approval of the audience if he can catch the look of approval from his Master. Any ambition which is in the tiniest degree away from this central one of being "approved unto God" may end in our being castaways. Learn to discern where the ambition leads, and you will see why it is so necessary to live facing the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says - "Lest my body should make me take another line, I am constantly watching so that I may bring it into subjection and keep it under." (1 Cor. 9:27.) I have to learn to relate everything to the master ambition, and to maintain it without any cessation. My worth to God in public is what I am in private. Is my master ambition to please Him and be acceptable to Him, or is it something less, no matter how noble? Our main ambition must be loving and glorifying God! I don't know about you, but that's work that I can get excited about. 3/09/10 - by Office Manager Heather Warmuth Crazy Kind of Love I read somewhere recently the story of a young child who was memorizing 1 Corinthians 13. The child’s mom had forgotten to do something or had done some disciplining during the day. That night at bed time when she talked about the incident with her child, the child said to her “it’s okay mom, you’ll probably do it again but love does not get mad, and it keeps not records of wrongs.” Wow, what a great attitude and pure heart. This story prompted me to read 1 Corinthians 13 and to really think about it. These descriptions are incredible and so beautiful. I read both the NIV and NKJV because they use such different, yet the same words in a few places, then both ending with love never fails.
If you read this entire chapter Paul tells us our acts, deeds, and gifts are nothing without love being the motive. Living in a fallen world has clouded our mind with a me centered mindset. When we love others it is often in a fashion similar to how we want to be loved. It is not typically in a way they receive love, nor in the characteristics described above. What a challenge it is to think loving thoughts when we are mad, frustrated, disappointed, and have been wronged. I believe it possible if we cling to scripture, call upon the Lord, and keep trying. Philippians 4:8 says Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. I like that it starts with the words finally, a reminder to me that when I am at my end, when I have prayed, and sought the Lord the final place I should rest is thinking things that are lovely. In 1 Corinthians 13 there are a lot of always and do not’s. There are also many words of hope and joy, truth and trust. Of course we are not perfect and could not ever fully attain this kind of love with out the grace of Christ and the Holy Spirit at work in us. If I am nothing, I have nothing, I can do nothing without love, then I better get to work believing and applying these principles of love - in all things! Will you join me? Let’s start by loving Christ with a crazy kind of 1 Corinthians 13 LOVE! Mark 12:30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. 3/02/10 - by Assistant Pastor Ben Zamora Two Demon-Possessed Men Healed Matthew 8:28-34 28 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. 29 And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.” 32 And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water. 33 Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region. Some of us have heard this story and maybe some of us haven’t, but here Jesus has just come to Gergesenes and there he met two demon-possessed men. As we keep reading, we see that there was a herd of swine in the distance. Jesus with one powerful word cast out the demons, “GO”. So when the demons came out, they went into the herd of swine and suddenly the entire herd ran violently and into the sea. Finally we read that as the people saw Jesus they begged him to depart from their region. This is an amazing story and one that at times is tough to understand. Really, how often do we see demons cast out of two men, go into pigs and casually watch them fly off of a cliff. I know that this isn’t an average week for me. What I want to focus on though is the response of the people in verse 34, “...And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.” This is quite the response from the people, Jesus had just done something amazing, he set two men free. Has this ever happened to you? You may be able to relate with this. You’re doing something for the Lord, your feeling great and someone has to come along and say something to discourage you or even worse, full on reject what you’re doing. It’s almost like they knew you were having a good day. I think that as we serve the Lord and we allow him to use our lives, we see opposition. This isn’t a strange coincidence, but rather, many times an attack from the enemy. It’s interesting that after Jesus did this, the Bible says that the people begged him to depart not only the town but the region. As we serve the Lord and the Lord begins to use our lives, some people will appose us, some people will not like what the Lord is trying to do, some people will try to discourage us. If God has called you to serve Him and submit to Him, keep seeking the Lord and keep fighting the good fight. Keep asking the Lord to guide you and to use you, regardless of what people may think or feel. Finally, we may see that people don’t like what the Lord is doing in your life or how he’s using us but if we simply have Him in the center of your life, accountability, and it lines up with what God’s Word says, then all you have to do is keep trusting and allowing him to use your life. 2/18/10 - by Assistant Pastor Stephen Couch Something I've been thinking a lot about lately, because I've seen it presented by some great authors, is the idea that when we get closer to God and His heart for the world we experience both joy and sorrow more deeply and more frequently...sometimes at nearly the same moment. Seeing the world as God does will cause our heart will ache and break for things that we might otherwise miss or ignore. We will be asked to hurt with the hurting. At the same time, though, we will get to experience joy and hope where those without the Lord would have none. We get to share in a Work that's greater than ourselves and be driven by the knowledge of life that's greater than this one. The sadness is deeper, but so is the delight. And we ought not to feel bad about going back and forth between the two. Its okay to hurt for the world's brokenness and laugh in the Lord's goodness in the same minute. That's not a way of thinking that I would come up with on my own, but the more I've thought about, and experienced it in some ways, the more I've found it be true....and deeply freeing. Its possible, and even necessary, to enjoy the good things of our life without minimizing or neglecting the awful, terrible wrongs that exists, too. Earth is broken, but Heaven is not. Darkness is terrible, but the Light is beautiful.....and the Light will overcome! 2/09/10 - by Assistant Pastor Nate Morris Our God is big! Psalm 97:1-6 The Lord reigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad! Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. A fire goes before Him, And burns up His enemies round about. His lightnings light the world; The earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples see His glory. The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad, let the multitude of islands rejoice! Why? because God reigns! That's good news for us! OUR God reigns, not some other God, not any earthly president or king, but our GOD reigns! And our God is BIG! I think we sometimes forget how big our God is. Remember, He is the Creator, He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end. We tend to put God in human terms so that we can better understand Him, but we need to remember that God is not bound by our limitations and our weaknesses, He is as far above them as we can possibly imagine. Our God is not a God we can put in a box, or keep in control, He's not a tame God or a "safe" God. I love what Mr. Beaver says about Him (in the character of Aslan) in C.S. Lewis' The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe: "Safe? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. but he's good. He's the King, I tell you." I tell you, He's the King! Our God holds all things together. (Colossians 1:17) He holds everything from the invisible forces that keep the atoms of our bodies together to the galaxies and constellations in the heavens. In Job 38, God answers Job's questions about God's reasons for His actions by contrasting God's power and majesty with Job's. Here's a little snippet from that conversation: Job 38:31-33 "Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, Or loose the cords of Orion? "Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her satellites? "Do you know the (rdinances of the heavens, Or fix their rule over the earth? God is talking about star constellations here, and how He alone has the power to do with them as He pleases, in fact, He holds them and guides them! Here is a picture of the Pleiades star cluster that God is talking with Job about:  Just out of curiosity, can you hold that star cluster together? Can you even hold that star cluster? Can you even visit that start cluster? Obviously, the answer is no! You and I are not even specs of dust in comparison with that star cluster. But God, God holds that thing in His hand, and he binds it together with the forces of gravity and electricity and keeps it where He wants it to be. Wow are we small, but man is God big! In case that doesn't do it for you, check out this verse: Isaiah 40:12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales? Our God has marked off the heavens with a span. That means that He takes His hand and holds it up, and the space between His finger and His thumb holds the whole universe. Do you know how big the universe is? Right now, estimates place the size of the universe at around 28 billion light years in diameter, we can never really know the actual size, so that's a small estimate, based on what we can see. A light year is 5,878,630,000,000 miles. So the estimated size of the universe is 28,000,000,000 X 5,878,630,000,000 miles wide at it's diameter. I'll let you do the math on that one. Here's a picture of what the universe might look like were you to look at it the way that God does, by the span of your hand.  You can't find earth in that image, you can't even find our solar system, in fact, looking at this image, it would be near impossible to point out our galaxy, the Milky Way. The spots that look like stars are galaxies, and even clusters of galaxies! Bigger than our minds can comprehend. Our God holds THAT in the palm of His hand. We serve a BIG God. When you think about how big our God is, and how small we are, it's pretty amazing that He would care about us isn't it? Psalm 8:3-9 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field, The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth! The same God who made those stars and galaxies, and who measures the universe by the span of His hand, loves you enough that He came to earth and lived as a man, and died the death of a lowly criminal for YOU. The God who measures the universe in His hand became smaller than an atom in relation to the universe, and lived humbly, submitting to men, dying on a cross, so that you could have life in Him. When you think about how big God is, doesn't it make your problems seem small? If God is that powerful, He can take care of the problems and struggles in my life can't He? Of course He can! How small are my problems in relation to the universe? And when God doesn't do things the way that I think they should be done, and I'm going through struggles or hardship, I need to realize that doesn't mean God can't handle it. It means He is handling it in exactly the way He wants to handle it. He is allowing things to happen the way that He wants them to be. He has the power to change every situation I am in, and if He doesn't it's because He is doing a work in my life, and His plans are infinitely better than mine. The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad, let the multitude of islands rejoice! Why? Because God reigns! That's good news for us! I'm glad that a God that loves me is in charge. 1/22/09 - by Assistant Pastor Nate Morris The Truth of the matter Jesus said that God's word is truth. "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." - John 17:17 God's word is not just true, it is Truth. True is an adjective, truth is a noun. God's word is the Truth, the standard by which all that is true must be measured. There are lots of things that are true, but those things are not truth itself. We must measure whether things are true by the holding them up to the truth. When we face things that are called "true" in the world, we must look at whether those things line up with the Truth, the Word of God. We live in a relativistic society, and say "That may be true for you, but it's not for me". How smart, thinking human beings can make a statement like that is beyond me. For something to be true, it must be true universally, otherwise it is not truth, it's opinion. For us to have truth, we must have a standard of what is true. And for Christians, we have the answer to what that standard is, the Word. If we cling to the Word, the Truth, we will be able to discern all the false truths out there, and get to reality! If we want to actually know what is true, we must line it up with the Word of God, the Truth. Those that would claim you can find truth in all religions and in all places are not lining those things up to the Word of God, the Truth. If you take the Word, and line up those so-called "truths", we quickly see that they sound very similar to the truth, but are twisted just slightly, so that they say something different. Let us cling to Truth. Let us cling to Christ, the Word. Let us seek to know the Truth, and then we can discern what is true, instead of seeking what is true, and getting confused about what the Truth is. Remember, Jesus said "I am the way and the TRUTH and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me" - John 14:6 If we will simply cling to Jesus, we cling to the Truth. We don't need to look anywhere else! We don't need to look to find truth in other religions, or in the world, we have the one who is the Truth! 1/06/10 - by Office Manager Heather Warmuth This devotional started out as a search for the Bible reference for a verse that actually isn’t really a Bible verse after all. After much searching, resulting in no verse reference, I emailed two Pastors Wives and got great giggles via email in return. My failed searches were correct this is not a Bible verse and just an old phrase used by Pastor Chuck Smith. However from their giggles and fun replies I can tell it is certainly a true statement and one they have tucked in their heart with actual Biblical memory verses. Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be broken. – Pastor Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa Life is busy and filled with many ups and downs. Life is impacted not just by our own life but also by our family, our friends, our co-workers, our community, this nation, the world, and of course our Savior. As all things are whirling around us we aren’t always in control or able to predict our circumstances or the upcoming situations we will be in (no matter how hard I try to be in control it doesn’t always work for the best or work at all) but we can remain flexible and grounded in the promises of Christ. What is being flexible? Letting the out of towner go first in the round about without honking? Not pushing back when being pushed by the cart of the person behind you in line at the grocery store? Loving your spouse, your children, or maybe your parents in ways that are not your desires but ways they would desire to be loved? As I was on the journey of finding a Bible verse that isn’t a Bible verse I was reminded of Paul who has endured much, suffered long, and been broken. His life and words offer us some hope and encouragement on being flexible. Philippians 4:11-13 For I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 
The only true way we can be flexible and do all things - is through Christ. Notice it is not with Christ or in Christ but it is through Christ. His Spirit in us equips us and enables us to remain steadfast, strong, and graceful, in all things. Jesus’ body has already been broken and crucified for YOU. He has paid the ultimate price so that you would not have to be broken. Cling to Him, ask Him to work in and through you. He will help you stay flexible! 12/09/09 - by Assistant Pastor Nate Morris Your Calling in the Lord Romans 1:1-7 1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; 7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about how confident Paul is in stating that he is a "bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God." There is a confidence in his statement that few of us have. How confident am I in my position in Christ? I know that he has called me, and he has set me apart. But I think that often my lack of confidence in what He thinks about me causes me to be less than what He's called me to be, because I don't view myself in light of His calling, I view myself in light of how I see myself, and the things that I have done. We are not called because we are good enough, so why, after we are called, do we not walk as if we are called? Confident of that calling? We walk as if we have to earn that calling, and fall short of it. No, God has called us just as we are, so that HE can change us to who HE wants us to be. We need to walk, as Paul did, in confidence not in who we are, but in who God is, and how He's called us. 1 Corinthians 1:26-32 26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. God isn't looking for people with the right credentials to be his representatives, He's looking for those with the right heart. But, sometimes after we accept God's calling, we tend to lean back on our own strength and look at our own faults and shortcomings, instead of looking to Christ, the one who has called us. It's only when we walk with our eyes on Jesus that we are able to truly walk in that calling, and when we do that, we will be bold in what Christ has called us to be, not because we are good enough, but because God is big enough. Paul was not saying these things in self-confidence, he was saying them in God-confidence. I have no confidence in myself, and rightly so, I mess up most of what I do. But, when I have all confidence in God, I can walk boldly, knowing that He has called me and will direct my steps. Ephesians 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, We often look at this verse in the context of living a pure, holy life, and that is the appropriate context for it. But, I would also like to look at it in the context of our confidence in God's calling. If we are not walking confidently, boldly, knowing who God has called us to be, we are doubting God's ability to work in our lives, and we are living in sin. 2 Timothy 1:6-7 6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. There is a power in acknowledging the work that Christ has done for you, and the person He's called you to be. It allows you to accept who He's made you to be, and to start to live it. The second thing to notice is that he calls us saints... I know that many of us don't think of ourselves as saints, but that is what God has made us to be... we already are saints, we just have to accept it and the live in the freedom of being a saint. You'll be surprised how your life will start to look saintly. Man, good stuff there! If you are a believer, be confident of your position in Christ, and start to live in His power for your life! It's not self-confidence, because we truly have no reason for self-confidence, it's confidence in God! 12/02/09 - by Assistant Pastor Stephen Couch Persecution I was talking with a friend recently and he brought up an interesting point regarding persecution. My friend has visited, lived in, and served in several countries throughout the world and had made an observation. When he talked with pastors who’s church’s and who themselves were facing persecution, their prayer was seldom that the persecution would stop. Rather, that God would keep them strong in the midst of it. They did not ask for God to change the circumstance, but for Him to lead them through it. Jesus said in Matthew 5.10-12, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” In John 15:20 he said. “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” I would guess that most of us who’ve grown up the United States know little of persecution. We may have been ridiculed at times for our faith and the decisions we make. Maybe we’ve missed out on ‘opportunities’ that we might otherwise have been able to take advantage of. Perhaps we’ve even been singled out or targeted and received unfair treatment at a job or school. But few of us have experienced the kind of persecution our Lord did. We have not seen the treatment that the early followers of Christ endured and that many people in other nations still face today. And so with persecution largely absent from our faith experience, we might think that something has gone wrong when it becomes a possibility. Perhaps we have not prayed enough, we’ve been disobedient, we’ve elected the wrong leaders, we’ve lost God’s favor. But none of these are likely to be the cause. Prayer is not based in formulas; God’s favor and love are not won or lost according to our actions; a government that upholds our faith is not something our scriptures talk much about. In fact, until Christ chooses to reign, most connections we see between a government and Christ’s followers involve persecution. It would seem from the scriptures above and other places in our Bible, that God is quite willing allow the persecution of His church…for now. The trials we face are often the very catalysts we need for growth and solidarity. They help us to put aside our petty differences and unite in the things that matter most. We are forced to rely upon God and upon others when we face circumstances we can’t handle alone. And all of these lessons are vital to a healthy, humble church of Christ. In an era of unprecedented wealth and resources we all ought to be careful not to presume upon our comforts or even expect to be treated well by those who don’t share our beliefs. Our Master was persecuted and surely we are not better than He. Please pray for God’s strength and peace over those in this world who face persecution daily and live in fear because of Whom they serve. And let us learn to care for each other, depend upon each other, and ultimately realize how much we need each other….persecution or not. 11/12/09 - by Office Manager Heather Warmuth Family Communication For me communication is an area that there is always room for improvement. I long to be a clear, effective, and loving communicator. This is an area that I often seek the Lord in prayer over. In the past few weeks at MOPs (Mother’s of Preschoolers) communication has been our theme or topic. As it has continued to weigh upon my heart, several of the disciples encounters with Jesus were brought to my mind. Jesus is our example! We have to do very little searching to find an abundance of information on the positive impact of family communication and family dinner. Communication is the foundation of our interactions with others. Few family traditions can be as helpful in providing opportunities for communication as family meals. During family dinner we learn that communication is a give and take. You learn to ask and to respond. This can also be an environment in which we safely develop our ability to express and discuss opinions and feelings. We can share stories and ideas. As each member of the family participates we also learn to listen. Family conversation is a time to teach and reinforce commitment, values, and basic life principles. This is where I look to Jesus and see that even He leads in the importance of meals together and the incredible conversations He lead during those precious meal times. Matthew 26:20 When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. Now as they were eating, He said… I love this! It was the end of the day, they had come together for a meal and Jesus shares with the twelve that one of them will betray Him. Although the topic was not easy nor light, it was truth, and it involved all of them talking. No way, not I, why. I can just see His love for them pouring out over this meal as He is preparing them for what is to come, the giving of His life for us. Mark 16:14 Later He appears to the eleven as they sat at the table. After Jesus death and resurrection He appears to the disciples to give them the Great Commission. He is about to share with them the plan for them, a goal that is difficult, challenging, and so rewarding. Where were they when He chose to appear to them, the table! At the table they received the instructions go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. John 21:12 Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” The 3rd time Jesus shows himself to the disciples after He was raised from the dead is along the shoreline. They have been fishing all night, there were times of discouragement and then times of abundance. When they came in from the water Jesus had prepared the fire, and the meal was ready. Come and eat breakfast. Jesus had created this safe and filling place for them and so they recognized it was Him. Solving family issues relies heavily on the family members being able to talk and listen to each other in an environment that encourages honesty, trust, acceptance, and fairness. Family dinner time can provide such an environment. Creating an atmosphere for positive conversation will take effort. Remove distractions like the phone or the tv. Make sure the people you are with know that they and this conversation time are the priority. If you don’t know where to start try asking questions that require more than a yes or no answer. Set a reasonable goal to designate as family conversation time, such as 30 minutes. Have desert to bring interest and keep everyone there longer! Lecture, anger, criticism, or discipline can happen at another time. Keep dinner table talk positive. Colossians 4:6 (speaking on being a Christian, things we ought to do) Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Whether you are single, married with no children, have infants or your children are grown and out of the house, it is not too early nor is it to late to start Family Conversation time. The benefits of a positive conversation do not require that conversation to be in a mold. It can be a neighbor, a roommate, with your spouse, or even your family when you get to be with them. Get creative when you set family meal time. It does not have to be dinner. If Saturday morning breakfast is best for you and your roommates then have breakfast on the shoreline! If a picnic lunch at your spouses work in the break room is the only time you can make it happen, then make it happen! When we make this time a priority for us it makes a (daily) statement about the importance and value of family time together. 11/05/09 - by Assistant Pastor Nate Morris Trials Exodus 23:28-30 "And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land." God does not always defeat our enemies and struggles all at once and cast them out of our way, because He knows that we we grow stronger in the face of opposition. He knows that were He to just clear our way and make everything smooth sailing, we would lose our dependence on Him and be devoured by the wild animals and dry out in a desolate land. No, God will drive out our enemy before us little by little, allowing us to grow in the face of opposition, until we have increased in Christ-likeness, reached the full measure of our sanctification, and can inherit the land in that final day when we meet Him face to face. So stand strong in the face of your trials, knowing that God is using them to mold you ever more into His image, and that He will ultimately bring you into the land He has promised for you! 
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