The Power of Prayer

I hope this finds everyone doing well. I wanted to write just a quick blurb about prayer and then ask that you take advantage of this powerful weapon. Prov 15:8 says "the prayer of the upright pleases Him." James 5:15 says, "the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well;" Please be praying for Shay Stallings today. Shay went in for surgery today at Children's hospital in Tulsa, OK for open heart surgery. It is going to be a long and difficult surgery but our God is able to strenghten him and heal him. You can follow along with a blog that was created specifically for Shay.

Here are some things to pray for specifically:

• Pray for Shay's body to respond well to the surgery.
• Pray that God will give the doctors the wisdom and sure hands to perform a great miracle on him.
• Pray for Shay's family as they deal with this difficult time.
• Pray for Shay's recovery and the tough road that lies ahead.

Please check out his blog and leave him an encouraging note just click on his name above and it will take you to his blog.

Faithfully praying,

Brian

If only for One

This past weekend we had 58 people go to S.P.E.J. which stands for Swings, Paintball, Eating & Judgment House. It was awesome! We had a bast with the swings and paintball as you can see with the pictures posted. But what is the best is that 2 people accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. What a Rush. What an Experience.

I am reminded of the words I heard from my parents pastor Jeff Maness "If only for One." In all that we do as a youth minstry and a Church leads at least one to Christ then we have succeeded. But let us not be comfortable or satisfied with reaching only one. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is so much bigger than that. It is the word of truth that reveals the truth of salvation to all. I always want to celebrate a victory, but let's not be satisfied. Sometimes satisfaction is what Satan uses to keep us comfortable. Lets continue reaching out to those who have yet to respond to Christ. Always keep in mind the deliberate mediocrity is a sin and that we shouldn't be satisfied with one. Let's keep pushing and keep loving. You guys are doing a great job.

In Christ,

Brian

Thought Provoking!

I came across this today and thought I would share it with you.

Never Ending Circle

Have you ever struggled with doing the right thing? Or maybe you were doing the right things but for the wrong reason. Often times we can get pretty discouraged when we are doing things because of the sin in our life. We do something only if it is going to benefit us. Hopefully this little bit of thought will help you out when you struggle with this thought.

First, you always must remember that in all of our trials and struggles to do good we will still fall well short of what God expects. No matter how good you are the Bible says "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." Isaiah 64:6. What this says is that no matter how good you think you are, in God's eyes you are still filthy cause of the sin in your life.

Second, remember that God loved us while we were yet sinners. Romans 5:8 speaks volumes on the love Jesus Christ had for us. In other words everything that we do and struggle with God knows about, yet He still died for us. Hebrews chapter 9 & 10 say alot about this as well. Read Hebrews 9:13-15 & 10:1-17. The major point being made is Christ's sacrifice is a once for all, never to be redone. Jesus showed His love for us in dying and that sacrifice was the final and perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. In 10:14 when you acknowledge Christ you have forever been made perfect. That doesn't mean sinless, it means that your sins have been cast as far as the east is from the west. Forgotten. Gone. Never to return. But this isn't the end.

Third, Romans chapter 6 tells us to not keep on sinning because of Christ's sacrifice. 6:12 says do not let sin control the way you live, and do not give in to sinful desires. In 6:13 it tells us to use our bodies as instruments of righteousness. The actual thought or idea is to use your bodies as weapons of righteousness. When you use your very self as a weapon of righteousness for the name of Christ you as a shining city on a hill. So the idea is to use your body as a tool to do good to others. This shows others the love of Christ. Have you ever thought about how you are the very weapon that is taking part and doing battle in the Spiritual world? That is what is at stake. Your good works are a proof of your faith James 2:14-26. Hebrews 10:24 says, "Let us consider how to spur one another on toward love and good deeds. I hope this helps you out, because at some point in life we all struggle with this.

Assumptions

Sarah and the kids and I all flew out bright and early this morning to Denver to come up to Cheyenne. I am officiating my cousins wedding and looking forward to that. Anyways we went out to eat for lunch to a great place called "Parkway Pizza," for us old time Cheyenne folks, but if you were to come here today it is called Losteria Mondelo.

While we were eating lunch the news was carrying a live high speed chase in Los Angeles. Now immediately my mind jumped and I thought it was some sort of punk that was trying to get away from the law. You know what I mean. We have all made assumptions before. I assumed that this GUY had broken the law, stole a car, robbed a bank, etc. and was trying to get away. As the chase went on I began to question the Police tactics. They really weren't doing anything just following. The driver would stop, they would get out of their cars (remaining behind their doors with their guns drawn), and then the driver would drive off again. It got rather comical because it seemed as if the driver would stop to see what the police were going to do and then would drive off agian. Finally after 5 or 10 minutes of this going on the driver pulls over on the side of the road and begins to get out of the car. Remember, we all make assunptions and those tend to lead us into judging others. I am expecting a young (30 or younger male) to get out of the car. When the door opens it's an elderly woman, who looks like she is having mental problems. Talk about a shocker!

It made me think how often times we make an assumption based upon a persons actions or lack there of. As a Christian it is my responsiblility and role not to assume anything about anyone, but to show the love of Christ to all that I come into contact with. Never assume that someone is or is not a Christian. Christ died for all we can't allow assumptions to stop us from speaking the truth of the Gospel and loving others.

Craziness

So I haven't updated this thing in a while cause we have been extremely busy. Now we are tearing into our new youth room, soon to be called "The Refuge." I hope you can come out and help us work on it tonight. There will be no family groups at the host homes just us coming up here to the church and working on our new digs. Here is just a glimpse of what you missed or will miss if you don't take advantage of this opportunity.

Driver's beware!

Ever thought about the other drivers while you have been driving. Ever been distrcted by something and almost caused an accident? Do you drive? Then this is for you. Warning this may be a little graphic, but strongly recommended.