Author: jonhudson7

Did you know that Jesus had 39 accusations flung at Him while He was on earth? Talk about learning how to pick your battles! Why so many accusations? To teach us how to deal with conflict. What did He want us to learn? First, realize that as long as there are people there will be conflict. There will always be someone who will disagree with our choices and because our choices don’t align with their belief, those people often bring conflict into our lives. Second, how we react is more important than the conflict. Third, we have to pick our battles and decide which hill is worth dying on. Among the 39 accusations were charges that He healed someone on the Sabbath, was eating with sinners and that he was breaking, not the Law, but the sacred Jewish traditions. Jesus’s reaction? He continued to heal, continued to eat and He continued to do what was right. He understood that none of the accusations would stick and that His life and time would reveal the truth. Jesus knew which hill He was going to die on and none of those issues were worth the fight. He knew His hill was Calvary, that He was going to going to be accused of being God and that He was going to die for the sins of all the world. That was His hill; the battle He chose.

We too must decide what battles are important. As a Spirit filled Christian I have simplified my battles down to four dynamics. First, I believe the Word of God is infallible and that it needs to be read regularly and with a desire to know Jesus, not theology, not religious tradition or facts. Paul said it well in Philippians 3:10, “that I may know Him…” Second, I believe that Jesus is God, that He spoke the world into existence, robed Himself in flesh and through Calvary, offers us the opportunity to have His Spirit live in us. I believe He wants us to humble ourselves and repent, identify and acknowledge His work on Calvary through baptism in His name and He wants us to know we have overcoming power by having His Spirit inside of us by initially speaking in a language we do not know. Third, I believe that prayer is the most powerful tool a person has. We never completely defeat sin. Prayer is the tool that must be used every day, it is the power that keeps our flesh under control and gives the Spirit influence and the power it should have in our lives. Finally, I believe that we must live Godly and Holy. While our righteousness is as a filthy rag, God calls us to live distinctively and modest. This is reflected in our desire to please Him, reflect Him in every part of our lives including our attitude, appearance, actions, spirit and motives. There will always be hypocritical religious accusers just as there were in Jesus’ day. There will always be those making accusations about the latest issue, trying to bring chaos and conflict into your life. Settle who you are, choose your battle wisely and decide what accusations are worth your time and energy and let God be God in your life.

Isaiah 40:31
“but those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] will gain new strength and
renew their power; they will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles…”

There was a traffic jam in our backyard, too many birds and not enough perches at the bird feeder. Observing the traffic jam I noticed that birds can’t hover, they can flap for a few seconds but then they have to fly to a branch or land. My observation taught me that birds, well at least most, are created to soar, to fly, not hover. If you’re a bird and you want to hover then find a brisk wind and fly into it and let it lift you…otherwise move on, you were created to fly.

What is true of birds is true of Christians, we were not created to hover, to stall out but to soar. We were created to experience the wild side of life, to test the limits of God’s creativity, to dream, dreams to see visions. In the short time the disciples had with Jesus they saw something new every day; water turned into wine, mud turned to eyeballs, dead men called back to life just to recall a few…a day with Jesus was anything but dull and boring. Jesus didn’t hover! Unfortunately, in today society too many Christians want to hover, stay in the same place, stall around the same issue and park at their problem. Sure brisk winds of difficulty will blow into our lives from time to time but when they do all we have to do is turn and face the wind and wait upon the Lord. Isaiah said, “but those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] will gain new strength and renew their power; they will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles…” Even in difficulty you were created to soar!

My challenge to you today, live your life with expectancy! Take the training wheels off the bike, the plastic off the seats, kick up some dirt and live life in the zest and zeal God created for you to experience as a Christian. Dr. Seuss said, “Oh the places you can go…” if only you soar. Stop living at street level, get above the mundane of a surface level life. Live in the fullness of the faith God intended for you to experience. Soar!

Isaiah 66:1a
“Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool…

How big is your God? A big question. In a sense, we control the size of God. Yes, you heard
me, we control the size of God. Sure, He sits in Heaven and the earth is His foot stool, but that does not determine how big your God is. Your God is as big as your prayer and your faith. Expect little, get little. Expect a lot and we will get a lot. Ask for nothing and get the same, ask big things and see God make big things happen; not outside of His will, but ask anything in His name and it shall be done (John 14:14).

My God is big! Nothing is to difficult for Him, nothing surprises Him and there is no situation that stumps Him. My God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above what I could ever ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). A blind man asked for sight, no problem, God makes a little mud and suddenly blinded eyes see. A petition by a parent of a grievously ill girl, no problem, “I’ll come and heal her.” A cripple on a stretcher is dropped down on a cot from a roof, no problem, “He forgives his sins and then, oh yes, says “take up your bed and walk,” and he does!

So how do you answer the question how big is your God? May I submit that He is no bigger than your request, faith and hope. It’s not a question of whether He can, but if we believe He can. Got something big going on in your life. Take it to Jesus! Don’t ask, “can God” turn it around and say, “God can!”

We never see him in the gospels and our first introduction to him is when he suggested as a potential candidate for the position of an Apostle. It is noted that Matthias had one notable quality for Apostleship, he was faithful. Up to the point when he was chosen to be a part of the twelve we don’t know one thing about him other than he had been with Jesus. The Bible says that from the time that Jesus baptized John until the time that Jesus ascended, Matthias had been there. He was there, in the shadows, listening, watching and observing. He had one necessary and required quality, he was faithful.  We don’t know of one message he preached, one miracle he preformed, we only know that he was faithfulness and loyalty, he was consistent. As far as we know, Matthias was not chosen based on his skill, knowledge, ability. The highest calling in the New Testament was to be called an Apostle and when it came time to choose the twelfth Apostle, the quality that got Matthias noticed was that he could say was, “I was there.”

May I encourage you to do something today? Make a decision to have the spirit of Matthias. Pray for the ability to have the ability to keep being faithful. Get an “I’ll be here” mentality. Regardless of what tries to get in your way, stop you from being faithful, keep coming to church, keep praying and coming to prayer meeting and praising when you don’t feel like it and it doesn’t make sense. There is power in just being there, in being faithful. The word success is only seen once in the bible but the word faithful is mentioned 105 times. If the you want one phrase said when you finish this life and enter into eternity it is, “well done you good and faithful servant, enter in.”

We have an area where five trees are grouped together. Two were planted five years ago when we moved into the house. Today one of those trees, a maple, is the tallest in the yard. The other is a spruce, its growth has been slow and steady, but regardless of the season, it never loses it beautiful green color. Between those two trees sets another tree we just added a couple of years ago, a birch. When it was planted it was half the size of the maple but in just two years it has nearly caught it in height. To the left of those three trees sets yet another. It’s the newest of the trees, an ash, not nearly as impressive as the others right now but some day if it survives the seasons it will be the tallest tree in the yard. In front of it says the fifth and final tree. It is one of the oldest but the shortest of all the trees, a cherry tree. Today none of the trees look very impressive, four of them appear to be dead and the spruce has lost its shine, but don’t be deceived, they are very much alive, its just all the growth is happening under ground. In a few weeks they will explode with life! Colors will explode, new branches will appear and some will even have flowers blooming and produce. Though they differ in variety, mature differently, have varying shapes, size and color we call them all trees.

In the Epistles, Paul refers to those who have been baptized in the water and with His
Spirit as saints. We sometimes expect every saint to look the same, mature at the same rate and act the same way. How foolish, we don’t expect that of a tree or even our children, but somehow we’ve come to expect it out of people in a church. Paul simply called us saints, people in the process of becoming what God has called them. What makes our yard beautiful in the spring and fall is the variety of colors, leaves and varying sizes of each tree. What makes a church beautiful is when we come to an understanding that we are all saints, some growing faster than others, mixed together old and new, some that look better than others at times but when we are all together and appreciate one another it makes for a great place group to be a part of. Turn off the judgment and critical assessments of one another and appreciate how God has created each of us. And if I’ve got it figured out at all, God plans on adding more variety to Life Connections! So be who you are and enjoy those he put around you.

John 10:10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows.

In the Old Testament the simplest way to defeat an adversary or to remove someone from land you wanted was to get rid of their water supply. Many towns and cities throughout the Middle East where the stories of the bible played out had no natural water supplies, meaning the only way to get water was to dig wells.  The digging of wells was a painstaking process involving surveying the land, digging out the soil, building barriers around the well and finally securing the area from those who would want to steal the well. Once a well was built and secu
red it meant there could be life, your family, livestock and crops could survive. Many battles took place over wells, those who built fought fiercely to keep them and those who wanted the land would either try to capture or destroy the well by filling it in or poisoning them. The well of meant everything in life. One of the most famous wells was Jacob’s well. It must have been surveyed well, dug deep and protected like no other. It was built by Jacob in the book of Genesis and as Jesus comes to the woman at a well in the New Testament, she proclaims, this is our father Jacob’s well. Wow! The well had been preserved for over 2000 years. What an accomplishment. Today, 2000 years later if you would go to Israel, you could still go to Jacob’s well. It’s small, well protected and there is very little water, but it is still there.

As we move into 2016 I want to encourage all of us to protect the source of Life, our relationship with God above everything else in our lives. We must remember above all our relationship with God and our eternal destination is the most important issue of our life. God has given us instruction on how we can have a vibrant life and we must protect those life sources. Like the adversaries of old, we have an adversary that would like to steal, kill, destroy and or corrupt our life sources (John 10:10). Though we have many success and earthly blessings, the life sources are vital and critical to securing your eternal life with him. So what are our life sources?

The Word of God. Jesus calls it the bread of life. We must change our view of the Word of God, it is not just another book, its not crusty and dusty and out of date, but if we slow down our life and become intentional about reading it with hunger and desire, it will enhance our life beyond our imagination.

Prayer. It must become part of the fabric of our life, because it is the essence of life. Without prayer there is no life source. Prayer is done corporately, it done individually but most of all it must be done continually. Prayer is being available for God to talk to you at any time. When it becomes a part of the fabric of our lives it brings humility and it will give us wisdom, protect us, guide us and bring us more joy and happiness than we can any pleasure of this life.

The Spirit. The infilling of God’s Spirit and the continual filling of His Spirit is God in us and is the most powerful life source a person can have. It is literally having God inside of us. Before His Spirit is inside of us we have no power of our bodies, sin or adversary, after the His Spirit fills, we have unlimited potential! With God in us and us humbling and submitting ourselves to the Spirit, it will lead us to dimensions beyond our wildest dreams, we will walk in places beyond our comprehension and He can let His Gifts of the Spirit work in our life to impact others.

Live repentantly and humbly. Paul said we must die out to ourselves daily, live humbly and under submission to God and His Word. This can be done by having a regular time of fasting and commitment with God. John’s entire life could be summed up in one phrase, “I must decrease and He must increase.” He understood that Jesus was his life source and source of power.

Be faithful to His house. Make it a priority above all else, there is no greater invitation. Some people look at it as having to come to church but a true view is, “I have been invited to God’s house!” Wow! What a privilege. Unfortunately, we don’t look at it that way and we give importance to other things and events over God’s invitation. What greater invitation is there that we can be given than to come to God’s house? Be inspired on Sunday’s, be educated on Wednesday and be empowered on Saturday. Let’s realign our perspective!

In closing I ask, how’s your life sources doing? Are they being filled in with the cares of this life, poisoned by carnality? Has your life source become your education? Your job? Your successes? Your social status? Your material possessions? How do you answer that question? Begin to look at what you give priority too, what you give your time to. If those priorities don’t align with God’s life sources then it may be that the adversary has been creeping into your life, filling in your wells, stealing the very life you fought and worked for, for so long. Protect your well.

Luke1:26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth.

It was just an ordinary day. There was nothing about it that would have caused your eyebrows to rise or raise your suspicions. Mary arose that day with the same thoughts as she had the day before, goats to milk, a home to clean and a visit to the market. Her life was rather simple and not much happened in her little community…but this day it would be different. The chill was still in morning air as she began the chores. The darkness was giving way to the sun when suddenly it happened. In an instant an angel appears before her and a proclamation is made; you shall be birth to a son. A bewildered Mary tries to come to grip that her life is going to be forever changed and so too the course of the souls of man. Jesus was coming, and she had been chosen as a participant. It was an ordinary day that would change the rest of her life.
How close are you to your divine moment? Not really that far, just one ordinary day. A day when your life looks uneventful, a day when the calendar is full of appointments, a day when you’re chasing another cold sales call, a day running the kids from place to place or just another day dealing with the stress of your life. In a moment it all could change. Whether it’s a burning bush, a visit to a well, a bright light and an angel; they all happened on an ordinary day when God destined to change the course of someone’s life. What if we lived looking for the miraculous instead of the mundane? What if we expected to see do something through us or to us? What if today was not just going to be an ordinary day? Keep praying, keep searching, and keep living expecting something amazing. Today could be the day when ordinary turns too extraordinary!

Psalms 1:3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.

A few days ago I was setting in my office looking out my front of my window and admiring the splash of color that fall had brought; bright hews of reds, oranges and yellows. Today as I look out that same window those same trees are now barren with the rare exception of a leaf or two. The combination of sun, wind and an occasional rain shower has taken its toll; now only the strong remain. What caused some leaves to have the strength to remain attached? A little more attached to the water source, a little more wind endurance or maybe a little more sunshine. Whatever the reason, a few leaves have had a little more strength than the others and they remain.
Life is much like that of a leaf. What allows some to endure the seasons of life? What allows them to remain attached to God when others seem to fall away? The formula is much the same as we see in a leaf, a little more attached to the life source, a little more intentional in their walk with God. They prayer a little more, spend a little more time in the Word of God and are just a little more faithful to His house. Those are the things that give us strength for the hard times. Be a person that remains, just do a little more!

A few months ago someone to asked me if I would write my definition of success. I began to reflect on when it came down to my last day on this earth what would make me feel like I had, as Paul said, “fought the fight and kept the faith,” that I had succeeded in life. We were on vacation and I was setting at a coffee shop in a part of the country where fame and wealth were the marks of success. It was here that I began to write about what success was to me. In the simplest of terms it is to make Heaven my home, to see my family and generations that will follow do the same, and to reach as many people as possible with the gospel of Jesus Christ that Simon Peter preached. 
How that occurs and how I get there I must admit, I am still a little bit unsure about; I know it involves passionate prayer, a desperation to know God, being daily filled and led by the Spirit, a willingness to obey and submit to His direction and faith that does not waver when life does not make sense. 
As I continued writing and reflecting the music playing in the background of the café caught my ear. It had a consistent beat, a calm melody, but no words. What caught my attention though was the flute; while everything else flowed together, the flute seemed to just meander at its own discretion, unconcerned about the rest of the instruments, the melody or the beat. In that moment, the flute reminded me of the Spirit of God, that though there are consistencies, the Spirit moves where it wants. It was then it was if God spoke to me and said, “Jon, your life must have that same flow as the music you are hearing; have a steady confidence in Me, rely on my Word, and have a desire to have a close relationship with Me every day, but all the while, be willing to be flexible with where I want to lead and direct your life.”
I ended my writing that day with this definition of success for me: His Spirit, His will, His way, His time in my life every day.

The Tabernacle. To the casual observer who might see it from the outside there was nothing that defined it. It was simple, plain and to someone who might pass by, it was just a large tent. Step inside its walls and you might sense something different but with the exception of a couple of odd pieces of furniture sitting in the courtyard, again you might not be overly impressed by the surroundings. But, if somehow you could step inside the small tent inside the courtyard, everything would change. There you would see some of the most beautiful gold fixtures ever made. Examine the room more closely and to one side you would see a candlestick hand carved and covered in gold, lighting the room with the most beautiful of ambient light. Around the room you would see forks, spoons, knives, cups, staves and other ornate pieces all made of the finest wood and covered in gold used in sacrifices. Look the other direction and you would see a beautiful wood carved table covered in gold with fresh bread sitting atop. Before you, would be the heaviest and thickest purple curtains and setting before it a small altar emitting the most beautiful smells you have ever smelled. Beyond the veil was the Holiest of Holies, the place where God came down to meet with man. No place was more holy or pure; it was as close as man could get to God and to be in His presence was met with awe and the understanding that there was no greater blessing in life than to be invited to come into His presence.
Move to the New Testament and Paul speaks in I Corinthians 6:19 and says, Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit who lives within you? We, our bodies, our lives have become the very place that God dwells. This honor, to have God dwell inside of us should be met with at least the same, if not more reverence than those who met with him in the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. How we live, what we wear, what we bring in to our lives, where we go, what we view should all be done with the understanding that we are the Temple of God’s Spirit. Our goal should be that God’s dwelling place, His place in us, replicates that of the Old Testament. Our lives should be a place of honor, a place of awe, a place of reverence, a place where God feels welcome to live, a place that is Holy. As God said, be holy, for I am Holy.

It amazes me how important aspects of a Christian life are being eliminated or looked at with distain in many churches today. Messages on grace, mercy and love are everywhere but rarely do we hear messages on repentance, obedience or submitting ourselves to God. It isn’t that I’m against grace, mercy and love, God knows I need it and couldn’t survive without it, but what bothers me is while we preach certain concepts we are beginning to see the shunning of other concepts that are just as important. When there is a failure to call for repentance, to separation and to a higher standard of living, we do people a great disservice and we give them a lopsided view of God. Words like holiness, godliness and righteousness are often met with a roll of the eyes or a look that says, “don’t go there,” and I’m not talking about in the world but in the church. The Bible says that without holiness no man shall see God. We have relegated holiness to the back burner because in some ranks it has become legalistic and a reason to be judgmental. Charisma magazines states that the younger generation seems to look at holiness as optional at best, many don’t know what it is, have no interest in being holy and do little to purse it. What we need a renewed Biblical view of God; to see God, not just as touch feely God, but a God that we revere and are in awe of. He is holy and calls us to be Holy, to live in reverence and awe of His awesome power. When we live Holy we live pure and we live for Him, not ourselves. To often the call to live righteous is met with ridicule and even mockery, but when we fail to live right we loose our witness, our power and our testimony. One of the greatest things we can do as Christians is simply do the right thing in every moment. Do the right thing when it not convenient, do the right thing when its not popular and do the right thing when others don’t. Godliness is the last word that is being lost in the modern church. To live godly is to live like God would. Our priorities, actions, attitudes and motives should match how God would respond and live in this world. Too often we want to condone our priorities, actions, attitudes and motives instead of compare them to God. If we would line our life up with God once again there is no telling how our lives would be transformed. As we come to the end of summer and look forward to fall, let me encourage you to get back in proper alignment with god. Live holy, live righteously and live godly.

Right now everyone is hoping that winter will disappear and spring taking center stage. We’re tired of the subzero temperatures and we’re anxious for flowers to start blooming. Unfortunately there is little we can do to make seasons change. Do a “spring dance,” set out the patio furniture; even get out the spring wardrobe. While doing those things might help us mentally, until winter is ready to fade into a distant memory all we can do is anticipate a change in seasons. The good news is that we know that the change in seasons will eventually come; we must simply endure until it does.

What is true of weather seasons is also true when it comes to the seasons of life. While we might long for a certain season of our life to come to an end: a stressful situation that wearies us, a difficult person at the office or a financial situation that just seems to linger, whatever the circumstance, we are left with one choice, endure. How do we endure a season? I get my encouragement from David. Sometimes we think that David lived a life without difficulties but it’s obvious that he too dealt with difficult seasons. Think he wasn’t discouraged where he wrote, “I will bless the Lord at all times” or wasn’t overwhelmed when he said, “I cried to the Lord?” How did he survive the season? He trusted God (Proverbs 3:5) and waited. So how do we endure? We hit our knees and spend time with God, we come to church with praise in our heart even when our flesh doesn’t want to and we read God’s Word and take courage in His promises. Will it make the current season go away? No, but it will give us the strength to endure until God brings the change we are anticipating and know is inevitable because we have read His Word. Now bring on the flowers, patio furniture and cookouts, I’m ready for spring!

Is there anyone you would really like to meet? Or better yet, is there anyone you would really like to get to know? There is a great difference between knowing about someone and actually knowing the person. Someone can know a lot about a politician, artist or sports star but this much more different than actually knowing him or here. Being able to repeat every detail about Andrew Luck, his pass rating, which college he went to, his sack to touch down ratio or even the fact that he still carries a flip phone doesn’t mean that you know Andrew Luck.

Like knowing facts about your favorite politician, artist or sports star, I’m afraid many know a lot about Jesus but don’t actually know Him. There are those who profess to be Christians, but nothing about their life shows that they are. There are those who study theology, some who can quote a lot of Scripture or even debate doctrine but this is not an indication that they know Jesus. Being a member of an organization, following a set of disciplines or faithfully attending church is all fine but it does not mean that you know Jesus. In Philippians 3:10, Paul says “that I may know Him”, referring to Jesus. In the simplest terms, knowing Jesus involves seeking after Him. Not seeking favor or blessing, not seeking His miracles or power, not revival or even an answer to a problem but simply seeking to know Jesus. Knowing Him involves intimacy, relationship and a longing to be with Him. It means looking to His word to see how we can please Him. It’s being so crazy about Jesus that nothing can keep us from His house or missing an opportunity to be with Him. It means being faithful to pray because we want to know He thinks about things in our life. There’s a big difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 7: 22-23, “22. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23. And then I will declare to them ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

Like Paul, my prayer in 2015 is “That I May Know Him.” How about you? Do you know about Jesus or do you know Him? Let’s get it right in 2015!

It was a moment. A moment a woman realized she might never see again, so she seized it. She stepped out of the life of the mundane, took a risk and her life was forever changed. She had no promises that her life would be changed, her past erased, her pain removed or circumstances rearranged. She simply realized she had an opportunity to be in the presence of the God of the universe and she was going to worship Him. While others stood by, she seized the moment, worshipped God and over 2000 years later, we are still talking about her act of worship.

What causes some to seize the moment and other to shrink from it? Sometimes it’s as simple as being unaware of the moment. Caught up in the daily affairs of life, we miss the fact that we are in the midst of something magnificent. Sometimes we get focused on our situation instead of the God that is over every situation. Other times we don’t realize how special the moment is or that we may never see the opportunity again. Instead, we put a higher priority on something less important. Finally, too many times we put a higher priority on something we see as more important than being in the presence of God. That day, many people were in the room, but each had a situation, priority or a reason for why they weren’t ready to seize the moment.

As we enter into 2015, I challenge you to make this year the year you seize the moment. Seize them in your home, on the job, with your children and at church. Sometimes, the moment is an opportunity to make a memory. Another moment may be a chance to be a witness of God’s love and grace. Seize the breeze of the Spirit when in devotion, when in prayer of while listening to a worship song. Seize the moments in this church. Be the first to worship, to lift your hands or come to the altar. Pray with someone and let the Spirit operate through you. Simply put: Make His presence a priority and seize the moment!

Dark Thursday, Black Friday, Cyber Monday…deals, deals and more deals. If it was important enough, you left the Thanksgiving leftovers and the football game, got up at four in the morning or surfed the Internet for hours upon hours trying to find the perfect deal. What it teaches us is that we make time for what is important to us. If the price is right and the value of the gift is equal we made the sacrifice to fight the traffic, wait in lines and deal with difficult people that all comes along with the deal. If you didn’t get out for the deals, well something else was more important; Thanksgiving, football, sleep, family or friends just to name a few that might have been a priority over the deal.

Not much has changed in 2000 years. Jesus came to this earth yet so many of those we thought would have made it to His birth missed it. Why? Because something else was too important; the innkeeper missed because his Inn had never seen so much traffic, the merchant missed it because there was too much money to be made and the religious missed it because He didn’t come the way they thought He would. Who could have imagined that God would come robed in flesh in a manger in the sleepy town of Bethlehem, it was unthinkable.It’s also unthinkable that anyone could miss Him; His presence is so overwhelming, His miracles too grand but yet during His 33 short years here on earth many people missed Him. Caught up in the busyness of life, reaching for social importance or climbing the ladder of success, they missed “God with us.” Today, though He is not with us physically, we still miss Him, especially at Christmas. The office parties, the hustle to get Christmas gifts and even in all the events that we do to celebrate Him many times cause us to miss His simple presence.

Who caught Him in the moment; those who were in tune with His presence, those who understood and appreciated His value and those who truly longed for Him. It was shepherds, wise men and hurting souls longing for hope. As we go about all the “events” of Christmas make sure we don’t miss the gift to us, the present of His presence. Truly it is the only gift that keeps on giving. Merry Christmas from the Hudson’s – Jon, Mary, Gentry and Risa

Do you have big dreams? Does it seem as though your dreams have been overrun by chaos? Are your fears overwhelming your faith? Keep the faith; you’re likely exactly where God wants you to be. Life is full of seasons; seasons of intense heat, dormancy, dying out and times of amazing growth, whatever your in the middle of, its just a season and it will pass. David went from an amazing high of being anointed future king to a difficult time where even his own family despised him. He went from a ticker tape parade after defeating the Goliath to finding himself hiding in caves within just a few months and he went from where there seemed to be an adversary at every turn to a time of total peace from every enemy.

Seasons, we all face them, but as we walk through each one we must understand that God is “working all things together for our good, according to His purpose.” There are two important things to see in the verse Paul wrote in Romans 8. First, God works all things together for good. If you were to taste the individual ingredients it takes to make a cake there would be many ingredients that we would say, “yuck, that taste horrible,” but when they are mixed together “the yuck” becomes yum. So it is with life, while individual moments may seem like a “yuck,” when God gets done putting them all together it will come out as a “yum.” Second, notice that Paul said that is the good was according to His purpose. The good is not always what we would ask God to do, but trust Him, His purposes are better than our dream.
When God finishes you will be amazed. David had a desire to build God a permanent home, stone, expensive wood, gold, sliver and brass; a place for the whole world to look to. To David and even Nathan the prophet, it looked like an amazing dream, in fact Nathan in essence said, “David, what a great dream, go for it.” But then God stepped in and said, nice dream David, I have a bigger vision for you than your dream. You’re not going to build me a house; I’m going to build a legacy through you. Your dream of wanting to build me a temple that is temporal is kind and thoughtful but I have a bigger idea. I’m going to use your linage to come into this world and change the course of history; your name will be remembered forever.

What’s my point? Simple, dream big dreams, work hard, serve God but expect more. We think too small, we think way too little of our God and ourselves. Dream big, but expect more!

September is Month of the Family at Life. We kick things up a notch and fill the month with lots of activities and special services. This year’s Month of the Family kicks off with three days of prayer and fasting followed by special services for both our men and women. We close out the month with a fresh commitment to God with Communion. There are lots of activities too! Our ladies have a trip to Brown County, the men a Monday Night Football Night, our Youth have a Paint War and Kids Connection has both a crazy hat day and creative cupcake day. There is so much going on that we actually close out the Month of the Family in October! It all ends with our famous Chili Cook-Off where families throughout the church bring their best chili…or hottest chili and its judged by our newest members. Lots of fun games for the kids, our annual volleyball tournament and, of course corn-hole and a hayride! I hope you’ll make plans to be a part of all the activities and get connected to your church family.

Family is important to God, in fact if you look in Genesis one of the first things he does after creating this earth was to set up a family; a man and woman, Adam and Eve who becomes the central theme. When Jesus came to save mankind He compared his relationship with His church to a bride and groom. Society is trying to redefine the meaning of family these days but regardless of what laws they pass or what opinion men may have God has established a family as a man, a woman and children if God chooses to bless and they chose to have kids. What makes for a successful family? Pretty simple in my eyes; keep the basics a priority. Make the Word of God the foundation of your home. Let it be your instruction manual, your road map and the final decision maker in all you do. Prayer must be an essential. Spend time as a family praying together; share your needs and success with one another and God. Finally, go to church regularly and spend time together. Make “together” one of your highest priorities. Protect your church and family time. Play games, ride bikes, take walks; be creative, but whatever you do make memories. Make this year the best Month of the family your family has ever had!

Last year I planted my first garden. Went to Lowe’s and got my plants; tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and strawberries. For a first timer I must brag that it turned out pretty well; strawberries didn’t make it but we had plenty of tomatoes, cucumbers and squash. This year we are at it again, we skipped the strawberries but added peppers, so far so good, though we’re still waiting on tomatoes. I was thinking about how I got exactly what I planted. I didn’t plant cucumbers and get watermelons or plant tomatoes and got potatoes No, what I planted is what is growing and it’s also what we’re enjoying. Though I wouldn’t call myself a master gardener I do have this much figured out; we’re going to plant what we like to eat. No need in planting asparagus or broccoli, Mary would eat it but the rest would either be given away or go to rot. So we make sure we plant things that we’ll eat and what we will enjoy.

The principle that works in our garden works in life. It’s one of God’s Biblical laws, what we sow we reap. If we pray, we get hope, answered prayer and faith. If we read God’s Word, we get vision, direction and understanding. Be faithful in giving and attending God’s house and you will likely see God’s goodness, blessings and favor in your life. Simple principle. But be reminded that if we plant worldliness and carnality in our home and family, we will likely reap that harvest in the future as well. Some people can’t figure out why they keep having problems in their lives and homes. For me it’s simple, it’s that they are planting one thing and a hoping to reap something else. Not once have I planted squash and expected tomatoes, but for some reason we think we can put anything before our eyes, listen to any media or come to church one time a week and think we’re not going to see any effects of what we’re planting. Paul says in Galatians 6:8 For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Make sure that each day you are investing in the right things in your life; plant so that you are blessed. One other thing that I should mention, when I plant one tomato plant I get dozens of tomatoes. What’s the principle? Simple, you’re always going to get more than what you plant. So plant wisely. Pray, give, worship and be faithful and God will send it back to you pressed down, shaken and running over! I challenge you to be with us each Wednesday this month as we learn how God’s principle of blessing works as we watch together the DVD series, “The Blessed Life.” Come, be challenged, be blessed and watch your life change in ways beyond your belief.

We live in a time when much of society is looking for something that is genuine and authentic. They have seen so much fraud in so many areas that they have become skeptical of almost everything. They have seen government officials lie, big business’ swindle and church leadership fail morally. No wonder they question everything and long to see something that is truly as it says it is. George Barna recently stated that more important than great music and dynamic oratory in churches, many are looking for a church that is real in living its faith. So what is required to be authentic? I believe what it will take to draw people to Life is when our daily life matches the faith we profess on Sunday. So how do we get there? As God said in Deuteronomy 6, we must love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. I believe we must become people who desire to live filled with the Holy Spirit, are willing to be led by the Spirit and attempt to walk in the Spirit daily. That means we will have a desire to read the word of God so that we know what pleases Him, that we will submit our lives to the Word and that we will spend time with Him in prayer daily, seeking His direction for our day. Loving the Lord and living in relationship with Him will cause there to be an aura about us, one that reflects His glory. Also, by living with a consistent prayer life we will have an aroma about us; one that only comes by spending time in humble submission and seeking His will for our lives. When this happens no longer will people see a religious person, but a Christian as was described in the book of Acts. When authentic Christianity, empowered by the Holy Spirit takes place in our life and world, there will be an impact that can only be described by looking at the disciples in the books of Acts. Their authenticity caused a skeptical and callused world to say, “these are they who have turned the world upside down! Lets be authentic.

It was just a sign, but a warning that caught my eye. Within seconds of seeing the sign the road changed and you could feel the difference. Wouldn’t it be nice if life had a rough road sign ahead? A sign that lets you know that sickness was about to hit, a financial challenge is getting ready to come your way or a relationship is about to be strained. Unfortunately there are no such signs but we can take comfort in that God knows the plans He has for us (Jer. 29:11). No matter what come are way, God is never caught off guard and since He is aware we can rest that He is with us. Want proof? Jesus told His disciples, lets go to the other shore, on the way a powerful storm arose. The disciples were overwhelmed, afraid and fearful for their lives. Where was Jesus? Sleeping. What was He trying to teach His disciples and us? Trust Me; no matter how it feels or what it looks like, I am in control. Facing a rough road? Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

I was privileged to watch Team LC run the 500 Mini Marathon Saturday. As we were watching my mind went to verse where Paul said, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” It was then that it occurred to me, everyone in the race has one goal; the finish line. It didn’t matter how they ran, some were slow, and some walked, some ran bare-footed, some were in wheel chairs and I even saw a person who was blind in the race. The outfits were colorful as a rainbow, there were costumes, army fatigues, one ran in a firemen’s suit and I even saw several in tutu’s, but all ran with one purpose…to finish.

May I encourage all of us to do the same, lets run the Christian walk with one goal, to finish! It doesn’t matter how you get there, just keep running! Some will run with great discipline, some will be fast and swift, others will stumble and fall, some may look like they don’t belong, but lets encourage one another to do one thing, finish! The disciple’s personalities were as colorful as the outfits we saw in the race, but each one had one goal, to complete the course, to finish the race and stand victorious with Jesus. Today make up your mind, I will fight the fight, keep the faith and finish the race!

Perspective is so important. It’s how we see things and more importantly, how we see God, His Word and His love for us. Many things influence perspective; upbringing, attitude and education just to mention a few. Why are there four gospels in the New Testament? Perspective. Each author witnessed the same event, the life of Jesus and the cross, yet each book is written so differently. Luke, as a physician, writes from a perspective of compassion and spends much time talking about how Jesus helped women and children. Mark, writing on behalf of Simon Peter, wrote about the actions of Jesus. Matthew wrote with a love for his heritage, his perspective was all about showing that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament. John’s perspective was making sure that everyone knows that Jesus is God in flesh. How we see God, His Word and how we worship is often dependent on our perspective. That’s why sometimes God has to change our view of Him and ourselves. Sometimes He has to change our perspective and let us see how great His grace and mercy is while other times He must humble us so that we see our need and dependency on Him.

Job is a perfect example of God changing a man’s perspective. Job had a perspective of himself and his relationship with God that was a little messed up. Job thought that he was blessed because of his works and righteousness. Job sacrificed daily for himself and his family. Job’s perspective was that he was saved because of his works. God, in His great love for Job, allowed a great test to come to his life and by the end of the trial Job’s perspective of himself and God had totally changed, causing Job to say, “once I have spoken and I will not answer. Even twice, and I will add nothing more.” What a change in perspective, in just a short time Job came to realize how insignificant he was and how great God was.

Nicodemus came to Jesus asking about the changes He was about to bring to the world. Talk about changing man’s perspective. Jesus basically told Nicodemus, I’m moving from one man behind a veil to all access for everyone, I’m moving from being confined to a building to filling any man who seeks after me. The great fight Jesus fought was getting religious people to change their perspective That’s why Jesus told Nicodemus, The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. It takes a man who is hungry and who is willing to allow God to change his perspective to see the great things God can do. My prayer for LC is simple, keep us hungry and help us to always allow God to change our perspective.

Do you glow? Do you radiate? Do you reflect? No, I’m not concerned that you may have spent time in a nuclear reactor. What I mean, does your life have an aura that creates an atmosphere that makes other sense God is near? In life I have had those rare encounters with people that glowed with God’s presence. After Moses came down from an encounter with God he had to wear a veil, the glow of God was so bright upon his face. Stephen’s glow was so impactive on a young man by the name of Saul, that it changed his name and changed His life. That day who would have imagined that the glow of Stephen would impact the world in such a powerful way. The Pharisee’s and the Sanhedrin who had crucified Christ and were trying to rid themselves of what they considered a scourge of Israel, the disciples, had no choice but to take notice of changed disciples after their Spirit infilling and say, “they have been with Jesus.” A dynamic encounter with the almighty changes us, not only on the inside, but how we are viewed. No longer are we a reflection of ourselves, but we are a reflection of His glory. Step outside on a clear night and you will see a powerful example of the power of reflection. The moon, a simple rock with no energy to create light in itself, positioned in the right place, reflects the sun we see in the day. What is my point? If we can get ourselves in the right place with God there is no telling how our life can reflect in this world. My goal for each one of us this year is that we might position our lives in such a way that we glow, that we radiate; that we reflect Jesus. How do we get there? It all starts with prayer. Make it a priority every day; stop by the church, spend five minutes as you crawl out of bed and be at Saturday at Seven prayer. What else? Humble yourself before God; read His Word and submit yourself to His wishes and desires. Get in the right position to reflect God’s glory in 2014.

2 Thessalonians 2:3a
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away…(NASB)

The old saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” is one we often hear when people are slow in making progress on a project. Another saying that I think should be as important is, “Jerusalem wasn’t destroyed in a day.” The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple years; it was a slow erosion of faith, apathy toward God and before you knew it the temple was being taken away piece by piece. By the time the last pieces were taken either people didn’t care or were already captive, a tragic period in the nation of Israel.

What happened to the Old Testament Temple may once again be happening in lives today. Lives and families that were once faithful, fervent and committed to the Gospel, holiness and living an overcoming life are slowly being taken captive. What was once important has been forgotten or become unimportant. How do you loose your walk with God? Just a little bit each day; a slow erosion of godliness, apathy toward the Word, prayer and the house of God and before you know it you are gone. Today I ask the families of LC to take evaluation, is your spiritual house being taken away piece by piece? If so, let me wake you up. Save your life and home before its too late.

Michael Phelps, his face is plastered everywhere. Eight medals, six which are gold and two bronze. He is the new icon of American swimming. But what draws my attention to Michael Phelps today is what he did outside the pool. In an era of sports when it seems that less emphasis is placed on sportsmanship and team and more on individual success, we saw a wonderful gesture of kindness and sportsmanship this week.

After winning the preliminaries in the relay, a coach, not Michael, announces Michael has given his spot up in the finals to Ian Crocker, the same Ian Crocker that probably cost Michael his seventh gold medal and a one million dollar bonus. In a time when he could have been selfish, arrogant and bitter, Michael chose to be a sportsman.

Micheal’s act reminds me of another act of kindness. When the Creator robed himself in flesh, came dwelt among us, died for us, so that we might have everlasting life; He didn’t have to do it, but he did. He did so we could have peace and hope. Today as we pray for our children, lets pray not only for their safety and provision, but also that they will become people of faith, character and integrity.