It's Time to Pray

It's about 8 days until our country steps into the polling booth and cast our votes for the next president and several other important positions depending on where you live. The rhetoric has been going on for months. If you were able to put a meter on it you would probably find that none of the candidates are completely truthful or forthcoming.

So what are we going to do? It is time to PRAY! 2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us that God is willing to help and heal our land, if we are willing to pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways. It starts with prayer and simple prayer that asks God to help you with the rest of what he asks of us. Prayer is the beginning of seeking His face and the beginning of turning from our wicked ways.

Chuck did an awesome job today of reminding us that God is pro-life and all that this means. It is much bigger than the Roe v. Wade decision although that is a huge part of this campaign. It goes to the very meaning of life and how we are going to live it.

I would like to encourage Christians to spend next Monday fasting and praying not only about how you are going to cast your votes but for the will of the Lord to be done. We will be having a group prayer time at church this Wednesday night and the building will be open for prayer from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. next Tuesday if you would like to stop in and pray before going to cast your votes!

Praise You for the Rain

We never know when God is going ot answer our prayers. Many of us have been praying for rain for weeks. I've got to be honest driving from Knoxville to Frankfort in the rain today wouldn't have been my first choice for a trip home from the mountains, but as I recall I didn't say anything about the timing of the rain in my prayers. Not that it would have made any difference in when God sent the rain. Now that I am home I am just glad that it rained.

I am sorry we had to postpone the Impact Service Day tomorrow, but I am glad that it rained.

When was the last time you realized that your prayers had been answered in a way other than what you thought was best?

By the way, if you still really want to work in the cold and rain tomorrow, I'll be in the garage! (At my house)

The Beauty of God and Friends

I am in East Tennessee for a trustees meeting at Milligan College and yesterday before the meetings started I got to experience the beauty of God and a friend. The beauty of the East Tennessee hills in the fall is breathe taking. As I rode to each new vantage point I was able to see another panoramic view of God's wonderful creation. - OK - I was on a golf course, but it was still beautiful, which brings me to the second beautiful thing.

I got to spent the morning playing golf and talking one on one with a dear friend and mentor Dennis Bratton. Dennis has done an amazing job of leading Christ Church at Mandarin into a multi-campus mega church. The beauty is that he cares enough to engage in time and conversation to help me learn to be a better leader.

This caused me to consider how blessed I have been to have Dennis and other men like him that have shared their wisdom with me and to pray that I will be able to pay their kindness back by investing my life in the lives of others that come behind me.

So here is the question. What do you have to share with someone that you could mentor and who will that person be? Why not start today?

God First - Even in Politics?

We have spent this year focusing on two words at our church, "God First". We have spent a lot of time suggesting what it means to put God first in every area of our life. First in our family, first in our finances, first in our thoughts, first in our jobs, first in our relationships; in other words we have realized that God wants to be first in all areas of our life.

We are even talking about putting Him first in our political views by having a Biblical Worldview in every area of our life. So we know what He wants - to be first.

But I am not sure we know how to put Him first. I am not sure I always know how to put Him first. We all seem to have certain closets or drawers that we want to keep for ourselves, while turning the areas we have don't struggle with over to Him. What makes the "how" so hard is the drawers are different for everyone of us.

So here's my first thought putting "God first" in our lives starts with deciding that is truly what we want to do and telling him through prayer that this is our desire and then patiently letting the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.

Paul told the Philippians that God would see the good work in them through to completion. So how about it are you ready to open some closet and drawers and allow God to be first in your life.

I Love My Life

Last Friday night Jason and I went to Big Blue Madness (UK ROCKS!!!) It was so much fun getting to dream about and anticipate another year of Kentucky basketball. Before the events began Evann (my daughter) came up to sit with us in the nose bleed section. She had great seats because she now works in the UK Sports Media office. Just as the team was about to be announced Evann made her way back down to the good seats via the actual Rupp Arena floor, where she convienently made her way to a corner and stayed. Right next to where the players were coming out to be introduced. Several times, she texted me with these words, "Did I mention I love my life!" I have laghed about that several times this week, but today I paused to remember how blessed she is to have her life and how blessed I am to share it with her.

December 7 of last year Evann could have easily been killed in an accident on I-75. Since that time she has taken on a new appreciation for life and so have we.

So here is my question ... what does it take for us to love our life?

Did You Give God Your Best

This morning as we were worshipping I could sense God asking me, "Are you giving me your best?". I listened to even closer to the words we were singing in the songs Mighty to Save and God of This City. It made me realize all that God was doing even when I don't realize it and how much I have been forgiven of throughout my life, including today. It made me want to sing with everything that I could muster so that the whole world would know. So I began to wonder why don't we give God everythign we have everytime we worship. Any thoughts?

Do the Right Thing

Last week a young lady at our church was competing in the regional golf tournament. The team celebrated as scores were posted and showed the team winning the region by 19 strokes and going to state. But Michaela realized the posted score was not her correct score and that she had signed an incorrect score card. Without hesitation Michalea went to the scorers table and disclosed the mistake. She was disqualified and her score was thrown out and replaced by the score of the number five player, a sixth grader who had never broken 100. That day Madison shot a 99 and when her score replaced Michaela's the team was still ONE STROKE ahead and won the region. Shannon played really well and Candice won the region with a one-under par and a hole in one. I am so proud of these girls who stepped up, played awesome golf and to Michaela who in a world of people who cut corners, she did the RIGHT THING!!!