God Bless America!

I just wanted to take a quick moment on this day on which we celebrate our country's independence to say Thank You!  First Thank You to God for all of the blessings you have bestowed on us and our country.  We may not be perfect but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.  We have the freedom to speak our minds, freedom to worship you, and countless other freedoms that many times we take for granted.  Dear Lord I ask for your continued guidance of our country, our servicemen and women, and our political leaders.  Be with your churches that they continue to complete the mission your son set before us in the great commission.  All I can say is Thank You God for your grace and your unwavering love for us.  Secondly I want to take the time on this day to thank all those who have sacrificed and served our country.  May we all fight as Americans to never forget you sacrifice or forget what you were fighting for...our freedoms.  We don't all get along in this country but the fact we can all have our opinions and we can all have our beliefs is what makes this country great and what makes all those who have sacrificed for country truly heroes.  Happy 4th of July America.  In closing I want to quote Lee Greenwood and say "I am PROUD to be an American were at least I know I am free and I won't forget the men (and women) who've died and gave that right to me."  Thank You God and Thank You Soldiers past and present!

I Miss My Time With You!

This particular post is not about the youth or a Scripture, this is just a simple realization from this humbled Christ follower who got a wake up call and thankfully I had my listening ears on at that moment in time.

On Palm Sunday this year I put together a prayer journey for the students and also invited the congregation to join us. The theme of this prayer journey was simply to Get Real with God. The main point of this prayer journey was for each individual to to focus on their personal relationship with God. The journey took each person through 7 prayer stations with the last one being a communion station and a chance to thank God for his love and for the sacrifice Jesus made. It was amazing evening a great way to start the week of Easter. However there is one station during this journey that has stuck with me and been on my mind ever since I set it up. The station was number 5 and it was titled Conversation with God. This station was set up in the old sanctuary which is now the fellowship hall. I set up 10 pairs of chairs facing each other through out the room. I lit one lamp in the room and the cross was lit above the old baptismal. Participants were to sit in one chair and to imagine God Himself sitting in the chair directly opposite of them and to have a conversation with God. They were suppose to ask questions, tell Him their thoughts and also to be patient open up their hearts and listen to what God wanted to say to them. This was a pretty powerful and enlightening room for a majority of the attendees. After I got done setting up the room I realized that I used to talk to God that way once a week in that very same room. I used to sit in a pew, late at night, with some christian music playing over the sound system, I'd have the very same cross lit and I would just talk and listen to God, sometimes for hours. There were times I listened, there were times I worshipped, there were times I yelled, and there were times I argued with him (funny thing is I always lost). No matter what happened in those conversations I always got so much from that dedicated time to talk with my friend. As I looked into that dimly lit old sanctuary I realized I was missing that in my life. Sure I pray and sure I spend time in my bible, but I missed my one on one conversations with my friend, my Lord, my Savior. The funny thing is I think He was telling me the same thing, "Jeff I miss my time with you."

So if your feeling the tug on your heart saying talk to me it might be God saying something similar to the words from the old Larnelle Harris song "I Miss my Time with You"

"I miss my time with you
Those moments together
I need to be with you each day
And it hurts me when you say
You're too busy
Busy trying to serve me
But how can you serve me
When your spirit's empty
There's a longing in my heart
Wanting more than just a part of you
It's true
I miss my time with you"

Don't wait any longer MAKE time to Get Real with God.