Time to walk not just talk.

Thank you again for being who you are as a committed family.

Here are things I want us to pray over and talk together about:

Our next meetings is in two weeks. It will not be sharing like we did Wednesday night. Richard and I will begin equipping and directing in how to walk out what God is saying to us, so let’s seek God morning, noon and night; let's watch for how He and with whom He wants to involve us with this week.

“Take aways” from the small groups sharing 8.12.15

1. Core Convictions (non-negotiables)

2. How will we express them.

3. What do we need to walk out the revelation God is calling us to do

Convictions/values and how we walk them out

We are a family committed to growing and going in the love of God. 

We walk out our covenant relationship with God and the body of Christ by practicing morning and evening prayer, meditation in the Scripture for how to think and live, intentionally blessing and involving our lives with others to be and make disciples, tithing, participation in a small group, every member serving, honoring spiritual authority and one another, and by refusing gossip,

What do we need to walk out our covenant?

We need both small groups and all together gatherings. We need a place to gather that expresses us being a family that welcomes and serves others. We need equipped to minister to others and be good stewards of God’s creation. We need special events and celebrations. We need the power of the Holy Spirit. We need Christ our peace, our unity and his grace to be joyful for a change.

Grace and peace to you in the love of God

-PD

How to handle opposition and hold onto your values

Joshua and Caleb return with the grapes of the Promised Land in “Spies return with grapes” by Michiel van der Borch, 1332

We always have choices. If I choose to bite on the bait of Satan (his tasty morsels of offense are always offered on the “baitstick” of a trap) then I may be caught and ensnared by it. But I don’t have to live in my pain or in a bitter vow of offense (“I will never let that ___ happen to me again”). I can choose to avoid or even be set free from a stronghold of judgment or bitter root of negative expectation against a person and life in general. Here are three direction to make better choices on how to handle opposition: toward Christ and his body, toward the accuser-Satan, and toward yourself (past, present and future).

Toward God and the Body of Christ (Lessons from Ezra 3 going forward)

1. Give thanks, worship and pray: Keep the altar in your heart free of old ashes. The priests had to take yesterday’s ashes outside the camp and keep the fire burning on the altar (Lev 6:9-13 and Heb 13:13-17). Each day choose to “take out the trash” and add new wood to keep the flame of God freshly burning in your heart - morning, daytime, evening and through the night. Then it will be easier to think on him and call on him through the day.

2. Feed your spirit and soul the truth by meditation in God’s word  (Ezra taught the people God’s commands (Ezra 7-10 and Nehemiah 8).

3. Repent and confess your sins: Humble yourself before God and cleanse yourself of impure motives and sinful thought, words and actions. (Israelites who had married unbelieving wives had had to divorce them (keep hearts with undistracted devotion to Christ-don’t marry the world). “I am a partaker of and contributor to the sins of the world.” “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner." 

4. Don’t withdraw or neglect gathering for fellowship with friends

5. Be generous in word, in deed and in service to those around you. Others need your help.

6. Keep your focus on Christ - what we do we do for the love of God in Christ - it’s not about me. “I ask the grace that my motives, my energies, my actions and my relations with others be purely by your love, service and glory; that I will be saved and use all created things for your intended purpose-the salvation of the world” (ancient prayer).

7. Share in Christ’s suffering for the body (Col 1:24) and continue to do good, as He suffered for you (1 Peter 4:12-19).

Toward the devil

1. Ignore the distraction if possible (person, circumstance or bad spirit). Keep your hands on the task God put before you because that’s where God gives you grace. Ezra records how the Israelites had nothing to do with those who were stuck in the past and sowed discord. The leaders would not allow threats and distractions to undermine the forward purpose of God (until they were ordered to cease work by the king in Ezra 4).

2. Be armed while together building a safe place for your families and for those harassed by the enemy to enter (Nehemiah 4). Wear God’s spiritual armor while you are busy building the new wall of protection together.

Toward your own soul

1. Be aware and acknowledge your pain. Ask Jesus to walk with through the distracting and painful thoughts and feelings. Process your own grief (shock-denial-anger-bargaining-acceptance and peace).

2. Engage and explore your feelings with a friend who can help you (share up with spiritual authority but don’t dump down on someone who may pick up your hurt and offense).  

3. Discern and exchange the lies with Jesus’ own word to you. Within the pain you can encounter Jesus, the Living Word. Speak what He says to you (Rhema) to directly rebuke and resist the devil-tell him to “GO.”

4. “Reframe” and “Resolve" the event or person which activated the pain until you feel a close bond with God and those whom God has brought you into relationship. “Shalom” or “The peace of Christ be with you,” is a peaceful and healthy response. “I am able to have a good response” ( “I am a responsible person”). 

Core Convictions

Passion to know God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit 

The Co-mission to be and make disciples 

Death and Resurrection Life through the power of the cross

We love God and His family (the church)

The Kingdom of God: the care of creation and its inhabitants

VALUE BASED LIVING

VALUE BASED LIVING

By Rick Warren

Let your life be a stepping stone to Christ and not a

stumbling block. 1 Cor. 8:13 & 10:31

Everything you do is influenced by your values. Even if you've never actually sat down and made a list of what's important to you, your actions in life are largely determined by the values you hold. Every time you make a decision you're relying on your values to tell you what to do.

Unfortunately, some of the values you operate by are counter-productive to your success and a hindrance to your satisfaction in life. You see, many of the unconscious values you live by you didn't choose. They were imposed on you by parents, peers, and the culture around you. (Today, television is the #1 values shaper in our society.) You may be operating on incorrect information and values that don't stand up under pressure.

Just like the ‘set of the sail’ determines the direction of a sailboat, your values chart the course for your life. The questions are: In what direction are your values leading you? Are they going to deliver what you hope or will you eventually be disappointed?

Here's another fact about values: they cause a lot of your stress! Stress occurs when what you say you believe and what you actually do don't line up. For instance...

When you SAY "My family is important to me.”

             But you're always too busy or too tired to enjoy them.

When you SAY "I value my health."

             But you overwork, overeat, and never exercise.

When you SAY "I'm not materialistic."

             But you become so in debt you must worry constantly about finances.

When two of your values conflict, that's called a dilemma. A Gallup Survey recently revealed that incongruent values is the #1 cause of emotional tension among Americans. What's the solution?

1.    IDENTIFY WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT IN LIFE. "...We should choose to follow what is right. But first we must define what is good." Job 34:3-4 You need to come up with a personal definition of success - not someone else's definition, but your own. Remember this: Success is the feeling I get when I live out my values. It is not a destination. You can be successful at any stage of your life, based on your own personal values and goals. Begin by making a list of what you value most in life. Ask yourself "What is going to last!"

2.    BEGIN BY ELIMINATING THOSE THINGS THAT REALLY AREN'T IMPORTANT. "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how God's ways really satisfy you." Romans 12:2

© 2003 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved. Adapted from a column by Dr. Rick Warren