Going Nuts

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Pecan and Walnut Sale for Women’s Auxiliary at SAGU.
Pecans - $9.00
Walnuts - $7.00

See Ginny Redfearn

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Discipleship, Not Just Salvation (Pt. 1)

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if you listen in assemblies of god circles you have hear and are hearing about the crisis in discipleship in our church. basically, the idea of discipleship is this: becoming a christian is more than just asking jesus in your heart (a phrase not at all found in the bible), it’s more than saying a prayer, or raising your hand. we often reduce it to these terms for simplicity and for self-congratulations. it’s easy to see five people raise theirs hands and come to the front for prayer. we can reveal in those stats, and gratify ourselves. but the issue of discipleship leads us in a different direction.

Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even life itself—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14.26-27 TNIV)

two things stand out in this verse: hate your family and carry your cross. first, i don’t think luke has misogyny or patricide in mind. what he’s talking about is reorienting our allegiances and reordering our priorities. the family has been called the fundamental unit of society. following Jesus means shifting our allegiances, our loyalties, and most basic instinct of self preservation from family to Jesus and his followers. while others may say blood is thicker than water, christians say, the cup (those with whom we serve communion) is mightier than the DNA.

of course, you can say a prayer and not change a bit. in my experience, it’s not that people aren’t willing to change, the problem is that we expect too little change from them.

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Taking Time

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I have always wanted to go white water rafting down the Colorado River. Whether it is the challenge, the adventure, or just the beauty of being on a river that runs through the Grand Canyon, I could not tell you. Friends who have gone tell me that one minute you are peacefully going down the river and then just around the corner you are fighting against the rapids.Life is like this, full of unexpected twists and turns. Keeping up your relationship with God and being in tune with His Holy Spirit, is what allows us to know which twists and turns are from Him and which are just kinks in the road of life. Recently being married and acquiring a husband and three additional children, my life has gone from semi - hectic to full blown crazy. Time to myself is limited. Some mornings, time spent with the Lord happens in my car drive down to the office, but, there are the days when I get up before dark, before the kids are up and I go for a walk to pray. It is those times that I cherish and encounter the presence of the Holy Spirit. I realize that the twists and turns that I am walking through are from Him.

Those who know me, know that I am not afraid of change, however, many would not choose to take any twists or turns. Many do not like the different seasons of life…preferring things never to change…that is not the God that we serve. There are times to hold steady and there are times to move forward. Find out which is God asking of you right now.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.

The Israelites, while wandering in the wilderness, were not alone. They had the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. We do not have those visuals, but we do have the Holy Spirit. Listen to him and allow him to lead you through life. If you are walking through a season in life that is a season of change, spend time with God. Allow him to speak into your life and to bring you understanding and peace. He is beside you and will walk you through to the other side. Don’t be afraid of the rapids, calmness will eventually follow.

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What’s Our Problem

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Let’s just face it: bad things happen to us. We are stricken with cancer; we go through messy divorces; we lose people to death; we succumb to bombs and bullets; we hurt, suffer, bleed, and cry. Many people blame God for tragedy, either in a positive way or a negative way. When my cousin died, people told my family that God was keeping her from bad things later in life or he needed another angel for his choir. It’s as if God’s a divine screen writer who has to let bad things happen to characters to advance the story. You’ve heard the platitudes, too. Other people blame God. They say, if God is all-powerful, then why didn’t he stop this from happening? The truth is in neither of these.

God isn’t behind these things: he’s not the author of brokenness. We live in a world polluted by our sin and the sins of others. We all, like sheep, have gone astray; each of us has turned to our own way. We have fallen from the way the Creator intended. And what is the source of our problem: we are.

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Getting Priorities Right

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During the last 100 years of our history there have been tremendous strides made in most phases of our civilization. We have discovered new frontiers in education, science, engineering, space, marketing and many other areas. These changes have brought an increase emphasis on competition between countries, states, schools, cities, companies and individuals. Competition will keep us alert and concerned about doing our best, but it can also have a negative effect on us. We can become so absorbed in what the competition is doing that we begin worrying about things that we are unable to control and can even lapse in to being envious of those who are doing better then we are. This is not the way that a Christian should react, for when we do so, the devil steals our inner joy and peace.Many people in the world and some of these are Christians, will do whatever it takes to be prosperous in their field of endeavor. Psalm 37:1-11 gives us instruction (commands) of how we are to conduct ourselves as well as an insight to the future of those conducting themselves in an unethical manner. This Psalm tells us to “fret not”. The dictionary defines fret as (1) a state of suffering emotional strain and (2) to eat or gnaw into. This scripture admonishes us, as Christians, not to fret or worry and not to be envious of the accomplishments of the workers of iniquity.

This Psalm tells us that the wicked shall be cut down and wither (v2), shall be cut off (v9) and shortly they will not be (v10). For the Christian we find the following principles to put into practice:

1. Trust in the Lord and do good in order to dwell in the land He will provide for you. (v3)

2. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart, for your desire will be to be in His will. (v4)

3. Commit your way unto the Lord and trust in Him and He shall bring forth your righteousness. (vs. 4,5)

4. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. (v 7)

5. Do not be angry and harbor no wrath. Do not consider doing any evil. (v

By obeying these commands given in the scriptures, the meek shall inherit the earth and delight themselves in an abundance of peace. Remember - Don’t fret for God is working on your behalf!

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