Thoughts about the new year

I don't know about you but in recent years I have been thinking and reflecting at this time of year about what has happened and what will happen in the next year. I don't know if next year will entail as many changed for my life as this past year did. In the past year I bought a house, moved, quit my career and started a new one. Took over a church. Preached more in the first 3 months than I have ever done in my entire life. I performed a funeral for a friend, saw others go through great struggles with their health and the health of others. I saw people's lives changed by God this year. I baptized 6 who are following Jesus. I dedicated a child and his family to follow God. It has been a year full of new things for me and for our church. Isn't that part of what God does? He makes all things new. He is a God of new beginnings. We have some of those coming up this year as we rename the church, as we move to a new location. I'm sure that next year as I look back I will see as many if not more changes in my life as I seek to follow God. How about you? What has God done for you this last year and what may be in store for the next one?

Crazy Days

Some days are just so full of stuff that it is easy to forget the time we should spend with God. Today is one of those days for me. A lot of running around and things to get done today so that tomorrow goes smoother. I woke up later that I should have and the first temptation was to get on the computer and start working since I have leave in less than an hour for a meeting. Instead I had to discipline myself to take some time in the Bible and prayer before I really got into the day. God gives me so much when I put Him first. Often what I read in the morning is applicable at some point in the day and God brings it to mind. Don't forget in the busyness of life to remember and talk to the one who love you the most and has numbered each hair on your head. Not just counted but has each hair numbered. Take a few minutes today to spend with your creator and remember why you are here.

Shepherds

In the Christmas story we find shepherds being the first to know that a Savior was born to Israel. Why shepherds? Maybe they of all people were the most open to hearing the hope that was brought to them by the angels. There must be something to the shepherd thing because most of the people God used early in the Old Testament were shepherds. Abraham, Jacob, Moses and David were all shepherds at some point. It must teach you something about God to be a shepherd and how God views us. They were just normal people going about their daily work and God spoke to them and used them in amazing ways. God still does it today with you and me.

Time to think

I normally have so many things going on around me that it can be hard to take time to think about anything fully. So today, I was able to spend 4 hours shoveling snow and was able to actually think about stuff. Nothing all that important but it was good to get away from the distractions. I find that having something repetitive and mindless to do helps me think through whatever is on my mind. I also was able to finish an audio book of John Piper's "Desiring God". It was a pretty good book and worth the time to listen to it. He broadened my understanding of why God created us, to enjoy His presence in our lives forever. Seems simple, but it can be complicated. For anyone looking for a challenging book, check this one out some time.

Polling on Sunday

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to sit outside of Murphy's Markeyplace in Atco and poll people about our new name. It was interesting to see how people responded to our request. Some ignored us or said not thanks to answering our question. Some stopped to talk and find out more about us. A few wanted to donate money. We weren't there to take money from others but to get their opinion of what church name most appeals to them and to give them a candy cane for their vote. We have 2 more days scheduled for taking polls this week and I hope that we get a good feel for the community and what name would help to draw people in to our church family. That is the reason we are changing is to connect better with our community. As I think about changing the name and what we will choose it helps to keep in mind that our name is really about connecting with others and not so much about our wants and desires.

Word Became Flesh

I wonder sometimes if we look at John 1:14 and kind of miss the amazing import of that fact the the Word, which was with God and was God became flesh. Somehow this person of Jesus Christ was both flesh and God at the same time. I can't even begin to comprehend it. That God would choose to do this just makes me sit in disbelief. I don't understand fully why He did it, but I am thankful that He did. Without the Word becoming flesh, I would not have a relationship with God, my sins would still be held against me and I would be under God's judgment and not under His grace. Join me this week in contemplating how amazing God's love for us is as we think about what His becoming flesh truly means for each of us.

Hope

To me, this time of year speaks of hope. For many years God made promises to His followers. To Adam in the Garden, to Abraham and to many others God made promises of the future messiah. We are celebrating the fulfillment of the messiah arriving. It seemed like a long time from when the promises were made to when they came true. But it happened and it gives me hope that the other promises will one day come happen. Without the birth of Christ, we are living on deferred hope. With the birth we live on a new hope as we see how God works throughout history. Remember this Christmas season of the hope that you have in Jesus Christ. A hope that is sure and will never fail.

Church Names

Today, I announced the short list of names for the church. We came down to these 3. Faith Community Alliance, Joy Community Alliance and Loving Grace Alliance. We felt strongly that Alliance should be part of our name since we are part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. There is a poll up on our website for people to submit which name they believe works best for us. The reason we are renaming is as we have looked at our community we see that it is a more traditional community especially when it comes to Christianity. We will be challenged in the coming weeks and months as to how to incorporate things that may be more traditional into what we do without changing who we are and our message. It is important for our church to communicate in ways that our local culture can understand so that they may come to be followers of Jesus Christ. I encourage you to take time in the next few weeks to talk to your friends, relatives and neighbors about our name and have them go online to www.edgechurch.org and take the poll. We need your input to make this change a success.