Photo of the Day (01.15.10)

Haiti Earthquake

Here are pictures of the earthquake that has devastated Haiti:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/01/earthquake_in_haiti.html

Some reports suggest that as many as 500,000 people may be dead as a result of the earthquake.

Pray for this nation.

Photo of the Day (01.08.10)

Christmas 2009 Photo

TRAJECTORY QUESTIONS

Scripture encourages us to examine our lives regularly to make sure we are tracking in the right direction.  Often questions can be used to help evaluate our current status.  Here are some questions to consider...

Kevin DeYoung offers these:

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2010/01/01/10-questions-for-2010/


Don Whitney offers these:

http://biblicalspirituality.org/newyear.html

And here are mine inspired by both DeYoung and Whitney.

TRAJECTORY QUESTIONS

·      Spiritual:

1.    Have I surrendered my day to the Lord or am I trying to control everything?

2.    Am I spending time slowly reading God’s word and memorizing Scripture?

3.    Am I having consistent, focused, extended times of prayer, including interceding for others?

·      Physical and Mental:

4.    Am I using my time wisely or am I piddling it away?

5.    Am I going to bed on time?

6.    Am I eating too much?

7.    Have I exercised properly this week?

8.    Am I thinking on Godly things?

9.    Am I using my words with wisdom realizing that they have the power of life and death?

10. Am I taking a Sabbath—having an end of day, week, month, and year?

·      Family:

11. Am I investing in the lives of my wife and kids by modeling what matters?

12. When at home, am I “fully present” for my wife and family or are my mind and energy elsewhere?

13. Have I done anything out of the ordinary to cherish and help my wife?

·      Work:

14. Am I leading Explore Church relentlessly by example, from Scripture, and with faith?

15. Am I making sermon preparation a priority in my week or am I doing other less important things first?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I hope you all have a happy and productive New Year.  May you grow exponentially toward Christlikeness.

See you next year!

RESOLUTION #21

I RESOLVE to rest so that I can do and be my best.  I will take a Sabbath rest each week to rest, reflect, and recover from the grind of life and ministry.

The body and mind need breaks.  Long runs with no breaks will result in long unplanned breaks--the body will shut down.  Rest is necessary and must be planned.  Only you are responsible for replenishing yourself.  How will you build times of recovery into your schedule in 2010?

Louie Giglio says:  "Sabbath is not so much about a day off as it is a 'day up'--a day to remember that He is God and we are not.  Without Sabbath, we forget who we are and lose sight of who He is, leaving us to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders.  When there is no Sabbath in our lives we become intoxicated by the lie that the sum of our lives depends on our effort alone."


REST MUST BE ROOTED IN FAITH AND ULTIMATE REST IS FOUND IN JESUS CHRIST!