Sunday Thoughts

Today was a great day at Neel Road Baptist Church! Here’s why. . .

1. Today was Senior Adult Appreciation Sunday. This was the first time in the history of our church that we’ve had this special day and it was great! We have a great group of senior adults at Neel Road and WE LOVE THEM!!!
   
2. Jerry Hayes brought a wonderful message to us today! Jerry really challenged us all to make reaching the lost people in our community a priority! Thanks Jerry!
   
3. We’re getting a new church sign! This is such a big deal! REALLY! I meet new people every week and I am so tired of people NOT KNOWING where Neel Road Baptist Church is! Our new sign will give us a way to share with the community the many GREAT things going on at our church!
   
4. Prayer study tonight. . . always a blessing and inspires me to spend more and more time getting to know God better through prayer.
   
5. Last thought. . . Today Jerry challenged us to be the kind of warriors that Gideon was! We don’t have to have the biggest army. We don’t have to have the best strategy. We DO have to trust in God and acknowledge our dependence on HIM if we’re going to be the church HE wants us to be!!!

Have you prayed about today?

I recently started praying about each day.

Here’s what I have found so far. . .

• Praying about each day gives me clarity about what I really need to do and accomplish.
• Praying about each day gives me a sense of accountability to God for my actions.
• Praying about each day gives me the assurance that I have enough time to do exactly what God wants me to do for that day.
• Praying about each day helps me to remember that God is with me and that the Spirit is leading me.
• Praying about each day gives me confidence in knowing that He has prepared me for whatever I have to face.

Seven things I believe about Neel Road Baptist Church

2009 was a great year for Neel Road! Here’s why. In 2009 we. . .

• Continued to have new people visit and join our church. . .
• Gave more to local charities and missions groups than the previous year. . .
• Gave over $7,000 dollars to Lottie Moon for international  missionaries. . .
• Had our first full year with a full-time Student Minister. . .
• Exceeded our budget expenses for the year. . .
• Baptized a record setting eight people in one service. . .

I believe 2010 is going to be an awesome year for Neel Road! In fact, here’s what I believe. . .

1. I believe that we will have the opportunity to make a huge impact on our community this year!
2. I believe that God is raising up a new generation of leaders at Neel Road.
3. I believe that disciple-ing children, youth and parents is more important today than ever before.
4. I believe that God is giving us a renewed sense of purpose and vision for our church.
5. I believe that we could see even more people come to know Christ and join our church this year than in the past two years combined!
6. I believe it is time for us to focus less on who we used to be and more on who God is calling us to be today.
7. I believe that prayer must be the starting point for everything we do and every decision we make this year.

new book for the New Year

A few days ago Amazon.com had a great book sale so I ordered a couple of books that I’ve been wanting to read for several months now.

One of them is Today Matters by John Maxwell. The subtitle is: 12 Daily Practices to Guarantee Tomorrow’s Success. The premise or key point of the book is that all we have is today! We can’t go back and re-live yesterday and we can’t travel through time and determine tomorrow! So, Maxwell writes, “The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.” (p. 14)

Maxwell argues that if we set the right priorities, make the right decisions, and follow through with discipline TODAY. . . tomorrow will take care of itself!

If you are looking for a great book to kick off the New Year. . . I highly recommend Today Matters! I’m only on page 83 (out of 302) and I’m already sold!

Happy New Year!

i got a new Bible

About every 3-5 years I usually get a new Bible. Today I bought a wide-margin, English Standard Version (ESV) published by Crossway.

It’s a much more literal and accurate translation of the original texts which is very different from the New International Version (NIV) that I have used for years.

If you ever feel like you need to jumpstart your spiritual walk…buying a new Bible is a great way to get started.

ten reasons I take time pray everyday

I will be the first person to admit that sometimes I think I’m to busy to pray. But I have learned that out of everything I have to get done everyday – visits, meetings, planning – nothing is more important spending time in prayer. Here are ten reasons why I take time to pray everyday:

1. Because I am so selfish! Let’s be honest…you are too! Thank God that for his grace and power to change us from the inside out I’m not as selfish as I used to be. Through prayer I learn to discern between my own selfish desires and God’s will for my life.
2. I know that God has a plan for my life that is WAY BIGGER than the plans I can make on my own…and I want to know what His plan for me is! Check out Jeremiah 29:11-14.
3. To avoid temptation. That’s right. Even pastors face temptations and I know that I cannot resist Satan’s temptations alone. I figure that if the first disciples were likely to fall into temptation…I probably am too. Check out Luke 22:39-46.
4. So I don’t forget who God really is! Sometimes I get so caught up in life that I actually forget that God is perfect, holy, all-knowing, eternal, omnipotent, righteous, impartial, loving, merciful, infinite, wise, just, incarnate, faithful, transcendent, compassionate, true, and sovereign…just name a few!
5. For strength. Psalm 29:11 says, “The Lord gives strength to his people….” I often ask for strength when I have to have difficult conversations with people, when my family really needs me, or when I’m just not sure if I’m going to make it through the week. I don’t always have enough strength to make things work out on my own…but with his strength I do.
6. Because I genuinely love and care about people! Actually, this was the biggest reason that I ever considered going into ministry…because I genuinely love people and want them to know how much God loves them. Everyday I pray for neighbors, friends at church, and people I’ve just met just to ask God to touch their lives.
7. For guidance. Psalm 32:8 teaches us that we can trust in God and count on him to guide us through every decision and situation we face in life. Some of my most intense prayers are when I ask God to guide me through difficult decisions and situations.
8. Because I am so thankful! You know, my life’s not perfect and I’ll bet yours isn’t either…but I am thankful to God for the many ways he watches out for me and cares for me! I’m thankful that he loves me for who I am and that his grace is sufficient for whatever I face!
9. To get to know God better. James 4:8 states that if we draw close to God that he draws close to us. I believe that the more we try to draw close to him, the more we seek his will for our lives…the deeper and more meaningful our relationship is with him.
10. To grow up spiritually and become a mature believer. Ephesians 4:15 tells us that God wants us to grow up! Praying is just one of the ways we can grow up into the adult believers that God wants us to be. I don’t ever want to be content with who or where I am spiritually…I know that God wants us to continually be growing, changing, learning, becoming more and more the people that he wills and desires for us to be!