At the end of every year I go back and look through my calendar from the previous year. Amazing how many memories are so easily forgotten! As I do this I’m filled with gratitude. And I’m overwhelmed by all the people we have touched along the way with the faithfulness of God. Such a healthy and holy ritual.

So one year-end ritual is looking back. The other year-end ritual is looking ahead. I review my life goals. Then I try to figure out what my priorities will be for the new year. As I ponder what the new year will look like I am reminded that no matter what it looks like, God is always with me. With that in place I can conquer many things!! I’ve got a few choices, goals, and habits I’m working on for 2010 and I am excited to see what God has in store for all of us!!

Last weekend I was reminded of a few lessons that have to be relearned all the time:

1) Ministry Flows out of Relationship

One of our core values at Crossroads is “Ministry Flows Out of Relationships”…this core value demands time on our part to allow relationships to be built. Time can be our enemy so make sure to control it, not allowing it to control you.

2) Go the Extra Mile

So many people make this a reality every weekend. I am blessed to find so many doing different things behind the scenes that would be considered going the extra mile. One illustration is Pastor Travis stepping up and speaking for both services on less than 10 hours notice. We also have a couple of guys who show up early every week to blow and sweep the parking lot so that it is clean when everyone else arrives for services. That is going the extra mile. So many others also step up to help make our weekend services happen.

3) Do Little Things Like They Are Big Things.

One lesson we all need to be aware of is making sure we do not overlook the seemingly small details of life and ministry. I believe it is in these areas that we allow God to see our faithfulness and in doing so he allows us to do the Big things in time!! Stay faithful in the little!!

There is this book on my shelf and I love it, but I haven’t been able to complete it.

It talks about pastoral work, in particular the work of Prayer-Directing, Story-Making, Pain-Sharing, Nay-Saying and Community-Building.

The author is brilliant! The book is compelling.

I just have a hard time because I struggle with what it means to do all of these elements of my “work” with the teenage soul. In fact, I guess that last line is only one fifth true. See, I don’t finish the book. I get through the first part of the first section and I realize that my job starts with a teenager and the art of Prayer-Directing.

Somewhere there I get a glimpse of the magnitude of what it is I do and the words on the page fuzz out.

As Christ Followers we need to have our priorities set. Not all inclusive, but a good start for us should look like this: 1.Worship, 2.Work, 3.Witness. As we look to close “09” we can celebrate all that God has done. But with that same attitude we need to look forward and ask God to speak into our lives concerning our priorities for 2010.

Ever been offered a free subscription to a magazine for the first year? Why would we be offered something for free? It’s because magazine companies understand the status quo bias. Most of us will forget to cancel. And it’s not really that we’ve forgotten. We’re just too lazy to make a simple phone call or write a simple letter. Right? That is human nature! We tend to keep doing what we’ve been doing. And the problem with that is this: if you keep doing what you’ve always done you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten.

I am absolutely convinced that each one of us has room to grow. In order to grow we need to be open to look at those things in our lives which we have done from one year to the next. I understand that change is difficult for some but all of us need to make changes to grow. Take some time to look at your life on all levels: relationally, emotionally, spiritually, physically. What changes do you need to make? What do you need to do more or do less of? What habits do you need to break or establish?

As we get ready to begin a new year, you need to challenge the status quo. Don’t maintain the status quo. Challenge it.

The armies were ready to come against Israel.

They took their positions in different areas of the land for battle. The lines of opposing soldiers were in front and behind Israel.

Joab sent Israel’s army to fight against both lines of the enemy with the help of his brother, Abishai.

Joab said to his brother, “Suppose the Arameans are too strong for me. Then you must come and help me. But suppose the Ammonites are too strong for you. Then I’ll come and help you.” 2 Samuel 10:10-11

2 Samuel 10:12, “Be strong. Let’s be brave as we fight for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what he thinks is best.”

Joab and the troops attacked. The enemy ran away, yet assembled again for another attack. The Arameans beefed up their support as well as the Israelites. The Arameans lined up their soldiers to go to war against David. They began to fight against him. But then they ran away from Israel. David killed 700 chariot riders. He killed 40,000 foot soldiers and the commander of their army.

The kings saw that Israel had won the battle over them. So they made a peace treaty with the Israelites (good move!). After that, the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.

Something about this passage in 2 Samuel 10 intrigues me. When I think about our cities of Murrieta, Temecula, Menifee, Lake Elsinore, the enemy is on all sides fighting against us. Yet, he is certainly no match for God’s army. Just like Joab and Abishai, we too have partners in our fight against our enemy; they are called our brothers and sisters in Christ! Not only do we have the support of our brothers and sisters in neighboring churches, but we have our brothers and sisters at CrossRoads to cover our backs!

As we fight our good fight of faith and serve our Lord for His kingdom purposes, the opposition is clearly present. However, there is always victory because we are God’s people! As Joab said, let’s be strong and fight for our people and the cities of our God! The LORD will do what he thinks is best . . . as we . . . (and I will add)

     humble ourselves before Him.
     depend on Him fully for strength and direction.
     believe in Him for great things.
     trust that our God is mightier than our enemy.

Personally, I believe . . .

     the enemy is weak against God’s army of believers.
     our cities can be God’s territory if we want them to be.
     nothing can stop a great, mighty move of God upon a city.
     my greatest partner in taking our city for Jesus is YOU, my brother and my sister.

As we look to 2010 . . . there is territory to claim, souls to seek, lives to pray for, and people to reach in the mighty, powerful, beautiful name of Jesus. So very glad you are a warrior standing right next to me as we see what God thinks is best for our cities! 2010 is upon us . . . let’s be brave and give the year to HIM!!

 Christmas is such a joyful time for families…and such a difficult time for those who are alone. I spent a Christmas far from family when I was in college…in a huge dormitory with just a handful of guys, none of them friends of mine. A family in town invited me over for Christmas dinner and what a difference that made for me. This is a week when we need to consider how we can bless somebody. Make a phone call and wish somebody a Merry Christmas. Go out of your way…just a little and your Christmas will be better for it. God Bless you.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, God celebrated with a star and an official announcement.  The shepherd’s job was not one of the most high paying jobs around; in fact, it was considered to be a lowly position. Yet, it was the humble, lowly shepherds who were the first to learn about the miraculous birth of Jesus. And how did they find out about it?

An angel and then a host of angels interrupted the shepherds usual watch that night and pierced the darkness with that glorious sight . . . all for the shepherds. They were humble, yet honored with a privilege. They were not necessarily on anyone else’s radar, but God knew right where they were and what they were doing and gave them an incredible presentation and piece of His glory, just for them. A gift from God for the shepherds so that they would be the first to share of the gift from God for the entire world!

‘But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.’” Luke 2:10

The shepherds returned to their fields, “glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” They weren’t worried about whether people would believe them or not. They knew what they had just experienced and they had to proclaim it. They wanted others to know the truth of what they had experienced. They just saw the baby Jesus, King of all kings!

Let’s be like the shepherds of old and not forget to proclaim to the world the good news that Jesus was born. This is why we celebrate Christmas. It’s a time for us to proclaim the best gift of all, Jesus. Let’s be like the shepherds who were so changed by the experience that when they told people about Jesus, the people were amazed.

I may be far away from Crossroads, but you aren’t far from my heart. I arrived Saturday during a very heavy snowfall. The last 40-45 miles were extremely slippery as the snow was piling up on the highway. I got in tight behind a semi truck and stayed in his tracks. He pulled off about 9 miles out of Bishop…so I became the leader of 9 other cars, making a path for them. The truck reminded me that Jesus makes a way for us…breaking thru the difficulties and dangers of life. If we are willing to slowly follow Him, we’ll be fine. I saw a car that decided the pace was too slow…and guess what, ended up in the ditch. How many times in life have we tried to jump ahead of Jesus and found ourselves with delays that could have been avoided? Following Jesus is the only way to get to His destination for us…and that’s a good place to be!

Charles Kraft talks of Christianity existing in three dimensions.
The first dimension is the “Knowledge-About dimension” which he says is an important dimension but it has sadly been over emphasized. This took me back for a second. I asked, “Is it possible to have too much knowledge of God?” but Kraft clarifies his point suggesting that knowledge is important but incomplete as an end goal. Some point our Christian walk should contain a move away from ‘knowledge-about’ towards ‘practice-of.’

The second dimension he calls the “Relationship Dimension” which he says we are confused about. We don’t reject this dimension, in fact we understand the necessity of a relationship with Christ for the salvation of our souls. However, when we gather we talk about our relationship with Christ and each other thereby reducing relationship to a ‘knowledge-about’ level and then feel relational because we have talked about it. Here is a quote, “Yet we have contented ourselves with merely increasing our knowledge about our relationship with God and His people. We can only learn relationship through relating! Jesus came that the world might be saved through relationship not through informational oriented theology.”

The third dimension, which he calls the ignored dimension, is “Spiritual Power.” Spiritual power is not the primary dimension, the relational dimension is. However, Spiritual Power was a fact of the ministry of Jesus. Jesus always used His power to show His love. Physical healings, the casting out of demons and restoring people to wholeness were hallmarks of Christ’s ministry. He came to set the captives free, not just intellectually, but completely free. Bringing people to freedom should be as high on our priority list as it was on Jesus’ list. “He showed us a faith with a living, active, concerned, loving, healing and freeing God. This is quite a contrast with what we see in most of our churches at home and abroad where knowledge is prominent, relationship is a byproduct and spiritual power is a mystery.”

Alright, I feel as if Charles Kraft has brought a huge accusation against me and my Christianity. Perhaps he accuses you too. I don’t intend to answer or rebut anything he has said. Instead I ask you to do what I am doing. Think about this ‘Three Dimension’ Christianity, the knowledge-about dimension, the relationship dimension and spiritual power dimension and ask yourself if Charles is correct about your Christianity.

2 Kings 9
1 The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak into your belt, take this flask of oil with you and go to Ramoth Gilead…. look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat…3 Then take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run; don’t delay!”
4 So the young man, the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead.
6…Then the prophet poured the oil on Jehu’s head and declared, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you king over the LORD’s people Israel.
11 When Jehu went out to his fellow officers, one of them asked him, “Is everything all right? …Jehu said, “Here is what he told me: ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ ”
13 They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, “Jehu is king!”
How can we possibly be ready for what the Lord has in store for us?
God has placed you where He wants you and He anoints you.
Perhaps like Jehu you are living your day to day life and God is arranging your future anointing.
Perhaps like Jehu you have been required to fight for godliness.
Perhaps like Jehu you have been thrust by God into an unexpected position.
Perhaps like Jehu you have friends that are able to see God moving in your life and you need to listen to what they have to say.
Keep it up and at the end be able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 7