Is God Right For Me?
I, like many Christians before me, have gone through a lot of spiritual change and transformation and have asked myself, “Is God Right For Me?” As I’ve taken time to reflect lately, I thought that I’d share my story. I grew up at The Village, with incredible and loving parents, who are still to this day two of my greatest supporters. We went to church every Sunday. I would go to Sunday school or to “big church”. Throughout my childhood we would often talk about the message and its meaning, as well as the important aspects of being a Jesus follower. Fast-forward to seventh grade, and I got baptized! It was an amazing moment, celebrated with my family, and was happy about my decision for the most part. There was a part of me that was filled with uncertainty. That was right before I went through what I like to call my “low spot”, which was eighth grade and my freshman year of high school. How Low Can You Go? A combination of toxic friends, a non-religious boyfriend, and stressful health issues followed by weight gain definitely put me in a low spot. I was seriously questioning if God even existed at all, often feeling uncomfortable at church, as if I didn’t belong or was an imposter. I was wondering if this whole God thing was really for me, and I decided that I would be just fine without him there. Uh-huh. I only felt empty, which pushed me away further. I was wondering how God could let me feel so empty and hollow if He really did love me. Fast-forward to January of Freshman year. I had a difficult breakup and just more emptiness. I finally told my parents about how lost I was, and they helped guide me in the right direction. They helped me to order my life, but I still hadn’t accepted that it was my struggling faith that was at the root of my problems. One Moment Changed Everything The emptiness persisted. Months later, in the spring of 2020, I had my moment, my epiphany, as I like to think of it. It was strangely sudden, and it caught me off guard, but I prayed. I don’t know why, it was over something trivial, but I remember thinking, “Thank you, God.” And that simple thought sparked this strange warmth in me. So I kept the conversation going, as if I were talking to my dad, just saying what was on my mind. I opened up my heart for the first time in ages. All of my regrets, pain, and secrets. Over the next few weeks, I prayed more often. Over the course of time, He cleansed me, of everything. I felt clean, even more so than what I felt at my baptism. I returned to Him, and He took me in with open arms. Since then, I’ve wavered on occasion. I go long stretches without praying very frequently, and then inevitably, I feel more overwhelmed and stressed than I otherwise would have. But there have been several moments, such as my mom’s cancer, where I shared my pain with Him, and His comfort has been greater than I could’ve imagined. A Pleasant Surprise The more I involve Him in my life, the more I find that I am content, and I see more joy around me, even in times of pain. I’ve learned that no pain I can experience can eclipse God’s goodness. When I go to Him, I feel at peace. For those of you who are wondering if this whole God thing is right for you, I might suggest that you take a moment to seek earnestly. No matter where you are in life, He will take you. He wants you; He wants your heart. His hand is always outstretched towards you, waiting for you. Don’t be afraid to take it. You may be surprised by where your life goes from there. Everyone is in a different place in life, there several places you can get connected. Learn More About Baptism Find a Lifegroup Serve At The Village How Can We Pray For You?
Obedient to the Opportunities
The last thing on my mind was being obedient. It had been a long day in the office, followed by a stop at the doctor’s office with a sick kid. It was one of those days when talking with everyone I knew in Walmart was low on my priority list. All I wanted was a few groceries. Lunches needed to be packed for the morning, and frozen pizza could only be served for dinner so many nights a week. I must have had the same idea as everyone else because I was seeing everyone I knew. I waved hello to a girl from high school, nodded at the sister of a friend, helped a stranger find what she was looking for, and said hello to a guy who used to go to our church that I hadn’t seen in a couple of years. As I finished up shopping, the guilt started to set in. I felt guilt because I felt like I should have remembered his name. I should have had something to say that would have reminded him he was welcome in our church. But instead, I was busy. I even got in line behind him in the check-out, incidentally. Then out of nowhere, he said: “Have a good night, Pastor Nick…” I just replied “you too” still not remembering his name. And then the check-out girl spoke up. “Where’s your church?” There it was – the opportunity. I proceeded to share about The Village. Long story short, she ended up coming to church that week. It was a great conversation. She’s moved many times and felt judged as a visitor at many churches, but she felt pretty comfortable talking to me. She even seemed excited! I wonder if I slowed life down enough and really took a look around for opportunities, how many people in that Walmart just needed an invite? How many just needed to know the truth about Jesus and how He was for them and not against them? How many could we reach if I was just obedient to the opportunities God put in front of me? Maybe it’s time to slow down and pay attention. Look for those opportunities and take action. Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. – Colossians 4:3
How Do You Forgive?
What comes to your mind when you hear the word forgive? That can be a loaded question, right?!? Is forgiveness something that you hope to receive, but you struggle to give? Whether you are a follower of Jesus or not, I would submit that this statement is true. “Not forgiving someone who has wronged you is like drinking poison and hoping that the other person dies.” Think about that for a moment. So often, when we hold on to the anger and bitterness, it just eats away at us. We’ve all had people who have wronged us in our lives. It may have been in the past, or it may be happening right now. Either way, we have a choice. You have a choice. Forgive that person, or let it eat you alive. Forgiveness is NOT EASY! Years ago, Staples had a fun advertising ad where they said they could easily fix all our office needs. Just hit the easy button and Staples will fix it. I so wish it was that way for us and forgiveness. There is a wild little book in the Bible called Hosea. In the book, God called Hosea to take back his wife, “Gomer” (yes, a very odd name for a lady). One problem for Hosea was that his wife had been unfaithful in their marriage. Hosea’s wife, Gomer, had cheated on him not once, but multiple times and was currently with another man. Talk about a tough marriage situation! God asked Hosea to take back his wife to symbolically show his people how He still loves us in spite of us turning our backs on him multiple times. (Hosea 3:1) Hosea boldly went out and took his wife back, and he loved her unconditionally. The people saw this and had an amazing one-sentence reply. “Come, let us return to the Lord.” (Hosea 6:1) So Simple—Return to God So often we humans like to make things so complicated, but it can be very simple. Let’s forgive others and forgive ourselves, and then return to God. Allow him to do his best work in us today. Who do you need to forgive? I encourage you to take a few minutes right now to think about that. Now I encourage you to go to God for comfort and peace. What do you need God to forgive in you? Be honest with yourself. I encourage you to go to God right now and allow him to forgive you immediately. Scripture encourages us so beautifully with this verse, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) Check out this message on What the Bible Says About Forgiving.
It’s Time To Get Rooted In Your Faith
“This is the first time I’ve been honest with another person about my struggles.” “Before I felt like there were a lot of toxins in my life. I am feeling loved by the Lord and am happier after working through Rooted.” “I used to want to control everything in my life. Rooted has helped me to lean on my faith and surrender it all to God.” These are huge, life changing statements! In Rooted there were people who weren’t sure what they thought about God and hadn’t accepted Jesus when they started. There were also people that were long time Christians who needed to be refocused and recommitted to following Jesus. We had people that were lonely and looking to find community. Rooted changed all of that. It provided a new perspective. What Is Rooted It is hard to explain the journey called Rooted, but here are the key points of what it is: 10 weeks of intentionally serving with, praying with, and growing your relationship with God and the people in your group. Asking questions and receiving answers to BIG questions. Learning how to do the thing that many Christians are afraid or unsure of, which is sharing Jesus with other people. Share what Jesus has done in your life and practice telling your story in a safe environment. “I loved the camaraderie I experienced in Rooted. I loved the diversity of backgrounds, thoughts and opinions, arriving at the same common place and goal.” – Rooted Graduate Some people came to Rooted because they were signed up without their knowledge, some came ready to learn, some, unsure of what it would be and if it would hold any benefit for them. There were even a few people that came because they heard the announcement wrong and thought it was something else entirely! 10 % of the room dropped out over the 10-week period for various reasons. 90% collectively arrived at a place of thanksgiving, gratitude and joy. They had a stronger knowledge of God, who He is and how He speaks to them. This group was able to explore their purpose, why He allows suffering, how and why we pray, serve, and most of all, how very loved we are by our Father in Heaven. Take the plunge, make the commitment. If you are willing to follow the experience for 10 weeks, you will receive a maximum impact in your life. It is the best odds ever! Now is the time to experience real Life Change, Life Growth and Life Purpose! Learn more about Rooted…
Invite God Into Your Decisions
Have you ever had to make decisions? There is this fascinating conversation that Moses had with God in Exodus 33… “Moses spoke with God as a man speaks with a friend.” – Exodus 33:11 Can you imagine speaking with God like that? How cool. In the conversation Moses essentially says to God, you’ve told me you will lead us, but you haven’t told us where to go or to whom we are going. God replies…I will go with you and I will give you victory. Sounds pretty good. The next sentence is to me what is so fascinating. God said 2 things… I will go with you I will give you victory In my brain, I think I would have focused on the victory part. What is going to be our next victory? Who are we going to defeat and when is the battle? Moses instead focused only on one thing. That God would go with him. Check out these amazing 2 verses in Exodus 33…. Then Moses said to him, “If you yourself don’t go with us, then don’t send us away from this place. If you don’t go with us, no one will know that you are pleased with me and with your people. These people and I will be no different from any other people on earth.” – Exodus 33:15-16 Moses says if you don’t go with us, it’s not even worth packing our bags. Your presence in our lives is the absolute most important thing. Without your presence, there’s no point in going anywhere because there will be no victory. What’s your next step in your life? What’s the next stage with your kids? Your career? Your marriage? Have you invited God’s presence into those decisions, those moments? According to Moses (and I happen to agree with him ?), the most important thing is God’s presence leading. He wants you to invite Him into your decisions. He is ready to accept that invitation. Better to stay still than to lead out without God. Better to have God’s leading, then follow.
Rightnow Media Equips You
When I was a little girl, I loved the library. It was one of my favorite places to go. I loved the wealth of information available at my fingertips, the smell of the books, the anticipation of learning something new or discovering a new author. At one point, we lived in a tiny town that didn’t have a library of its own. That was the worst possible scenario to me! One day, to my surprise, a library truck pulled into town and I quickly ascertained that they came once a week. Now I wouldn’t have to be without books, and the access to learning, growing… I still feel that way because I love to learn and discover. That is one of the reasons I am so ecstatic about Rightnow Media. What a wealth of information. It is like the “Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory” of Christian resources. Just about any topic at your fingertips with so many gifted speakers, teachers and authors. Immediate access to incredible conferences. So much love and pursuit of Jesus all in one place. We study, we learn, we receive encouragement and hope as Romans 15:4 tells us, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the scriptures and the encouragement they provide, we might have hope.” Rightnow Media Is For Everyone There are over 20,000 learning options. It is easy to access, simple to navigate, and a readily available option to engage with friends or family. Our Lifegroups can choose solid curriculum that meets the current needs and interests of the people that attend. All the groups can be studying something different but equally impactful. That is awesome! Age isn’t a factor. Our children, tweens, teens and adults can all find something to engage with. It is for those that are new to faith or born and raised with it. No one is left out. You can access it from any smart device, your phone, notebook, laptop, tv. Parents, how many times do we hand our children our phone to watch something? We put parental controls in place and we hope for the best! There is no need to worry when you use Right Now Media for children’s entertainment. They will be engaged with Christ-centered content geared for them. I have been aware of and have wanted to get Rightnow Media for quite a while. It seemed like a dream to be able to have this resource for our church, like a “someday” possibility. Now, that possibility has become a reality. The “library truck” has rolled into town and isn’t just available weekly but 24 hours a day for each and every one of us. I am ecstatic to offer Rightnow Media to our church community. It is absolutely awesome. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. I hope that everyone will take advantage of this opportunity and use it to get even more equipped to do the great things God has planned for us!
Be A Disciple – Take The Next Step
What is a Disciple? I would define a disciple as someone following Jesus, who helps others to find and follow Jesus. Finding Jesus can be a process and learning to follow Him is part of that, but teaching someone to find and follow Him may seem like another ballgame altogether! We don’t just automatically know what it looks like to live a life of someone who loves Jesus, we need to learn. Thankfully, there are many incredible options available for us at the Village; attending church and learning from the Pastor’s teaching, studying the Bible, the Rooted Experience, serving and joining a Lifegroup. Matthew 28:18-20 calls us to make disciples, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.” How Do You Do It? We typically understand the “what and why”, but the “how” can be tricky. What if we are asked questions, we don’t know the answer to? What if they are offended? We can easily be left feeling unsure, insecure or scared to share, however feeling equipped can make all the difference. Personal Discipleship After you have taken advantage of the opportunities listed above, the next step could be a personal discipleship. I love these words from one of our attenders who just finished her personal discipleship, “I had just ended Rooted; which significantly changed my perspective of God, Jesus, and my life. I wasn’t ready to disconnect from the deep learning Rooted offered, so I reached out for an option to continue learning. One of those options was a one-year personal discipleship with Sarah, one of the Pastors. As I started the discipleship, I was uncertain about what it would entail, but I knew it would be a commitment. Each week I learned so much more about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Any question I had and real life experiences I was facing, Sarah utilized the study to improve my understanding of who I desired to be as a follower of Jesus and who my identity is in God. In addition, I felt challenged and God made me focus on things I did not want to face. Through this process God helped me learn to forgive myself and begin the process of my new life in Him. The book we used did such a great job at detailing every area of living a Christian life. It explained questions that I did not know I had and frequent questions people have about being a Christian. It empowered me to believe I am adequate to spread the Word of God and provided a way for me to express my daily life differently than the world. This study was a foundation to grow far bigger in God than I ever imagined. Now I know the Holy Spirit is giving me the strength, knowledge, and love to reach others. I cannot express how amazing an opportunity it has been to do this discipleship. I truly believe this is a blessing all people need to experience so they can honestly see the bones of what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus. Leave all the world’s misconceptions of what a follower of Jesus looks like and open one’s eyes to the humbling love of God.” Samantha Tyree What’s Next? Are you a devoted follower of Jesus? Who are you discipling? Are you willing to commit to walking with someone as a mentor and discipler? Or do you feel like you need a personal discipleship as a mentee or disciple? My prayer is that we will have people in each of these groups that will step forward. Imagine the steps we could take for the Kingdom of God with hundreds of followers feeling equipped to share and disciple others. The impact would be exponential!
You Are Perfect As You Are
What if you lived a life where you weren’t up at night worrying about how you are going to make everything perfect for your kids? Do you worry about money, or stress about the number of things on your to-do list? Do you have a spouse that you feel like doesn’t recognize your worth? Doesn’t get what it feels like to be a stay-at- home mom or a working mom? Are you going through some scary health news or see your family struggling? There is some really good news…you can stop worrying because you are loved so greatly by our Lord. You are perfect. I used to be there. Sometimes I still catch myself worrying about pleasing people or over-worrying about things that are out of my control. Here are a few words to describe what I used to be…depressed, suicidal, anxious, lonely, fearful. I lived through trauma I thought I’d never escape. Here is a short snippet into my high school days: Hiding in my closet with my dog to protect myself from my drunken brother who was out to hurt himself or my family. Crying at night when another brother would be standing on the balcony threatening to jump with his cut arms. I constantly felt like I was never good enough because that’s what I was constantly told. It’s All About A Relationship We all have our own unique stories, but I’ve realized the more of a relationship I continue to have with the Lord, that is farther and farther that is from the truth. We are wrapped in His grace and love. And the more you learn about our Lord, the more it is impossible to describe the love that He has for you, the more for filled your life will become, and the more meaning your life will have. You are perfect. God made you for a very specific purpose, a perfect purpose. YOU were chosen to be a mother by our creator, a wife, a daughter, and I’d say that’s pretty darn special. Embrace the woman that He has designed it to be. Remember not to compare yourself because every story and journey is different. Once you accept your story and who God made you to be, you can extend that love so greatly to others; and that’s the greatest award. “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.” Proverbs 31:10-12 NIV
Stop, Be Quiet and Listen
We live in a busy world and it can be difficult to stop and just slow down. Ask any person how they are and chances are they will say, “I’m really busy”. That is accentuated during the holidays. Rachelle and I were married December 14, 1996, which is a challenging time to celebrate because of the busy holiday season. Last year, we decided to escape to a beach the first week of December to celebrate, but also use the time to review the year and make plans for the next year. Rachelle loves to sit by the ocean, read, and pray. I love to swim, snorkel, play beach volleyball, run, swim with dolphins, read, and pray. As you can see, we have different ideas for vacation. 🙂 This year, I’m in a walking boot because of a broken toe that should have healed by now if I would have followed the doctor’s orders. So this year since I can’t be active, I decided to bring a bunch of books to read and be open to God’s voice. The first book I read began with this quote from Steven Furtick, Lead Pastor at Elevation Church: “Most believers aren’t in imminent danger of ruining their lives. They are facing a danger that is far greater: wasting them.” That sentence has caused me many hours of reflection. In 2019 I’m beginning my 25th year in ministry. As I’ve reflected on the last 25 years and prayed about what I hope will be the next 25, allow me to share some ideas with you that I’ve come up with in my time of sitting still… 1. Daily time with God to stay connected to Him, trust Him, and be challenged to life change. 2. Invest in relationships. I won the lottery when I married Rachelle and I’m so thankful for her. Time spent on building our marriage must take more of a priority and I can’t take her for granted. 3. Teaching your children. Teaching my boys (Kaden/Carder) to have a daily relationship with Jesus needs to be a priority. I’m amazed at the young men God is molding them to be, but just because they are older doesn’t mean my job is done. I need to continue to encourage and challenge them every day. 4. Invest in The Church, Life Change, Life Growth, and Life Purpose. Seeing God work in thousands of lives over the years never gets old and will last forever. 5. Developing leaders. The last half of my career needs to be focused on developing others to do the work of the Church. 6. Discipleship is what it’s all about. Spending time with 1-2 people per year, helping them develop a relationship with God, then challenging them to do the same for others needs to be a priority. A broken toe is a good thing. It’s helped me to slow down and listen to God’s voice. In this new year be aware of those opportunities to slow down and seize them. Reserve time this week to stop, be quiet, and listen to what God has for you.