Ephesians 4
I love the the book of Ephesians! The 4th chapter has especially been speaking to me lately. Over the next week or two I am going to begin blogging about all that God is speaking to me in this chapter. Lets begin with Verses 1-3........
Ephesians 4:1-3"As a Prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in LOVE."
Paul gives us 5 initiatives here
1. Live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
What is the calling? The calling is a Christ follower. We are all called to follow Christ and to live a God honoring life. Live in such a way that makes the world around you want what you have. I am not saying be fake or unauthentic, sometimes life is challenging, People are challenging. But how we respond or react to our situations is what the world around us will take notice to.
2. Be Humble
Jesus spoke of humility often. In Luke 14:11 Jesus tells us "All who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted" 1 Peter 5:5 says "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Romans 12:3 tells us "Do not think of yourselves more highly then you ought to."
God is asking us to be humble, not proud. He gives unending grace to those who are humble and believe me, I need a lot of grace!
3. Be Gentle
Titus 3:2 tells us to "speak evil of no one, avoid quarreling, be gentle and show courtesy toward all people." Be gentle and kind to each other. This honors God.
4. Be Patient
Yikes! this is a hard one isn't it? I sing a little song to my girls about patients and it goes like this.....
"Have patients, have patients, don't be in such a hurry, when you get impatient, you only start to worry, remember, remember, God has patients too, So think of all the times when others have to wait for you!"
Patients is not easy but it is attainable. Lets learn to be patient with each other and patient with God.
5. Bear with one another in LOVE
God expect and mandates us (Christians) to be there for each other. when we see someone hurting or burdened we should to be the first shoulder they have to lean on. We can not let people fight alone. We have to be there for each other in love.
Today I want to challenge you all to Pray. Pray that the Holy Spirit will help you live a life worthy of the calling, to be humble and gentle; to be patient with people and patient with God; and to bear with each other in love. Love each other.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Those Who Dreamed
Psalms 126:1-3
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." The lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy!
I read this today and loved it so much! God has given us so many good gifts and sometimes we forget. We tend to focus on all that we don't have and forget all that we do. But when we begin to remember and thank God for all he has given us we become like "those who dream" I love that statement! I love it because people who dream are the people who change history, dreamers are the people who change the world! But also, dreaming brings life and joy not only in our own lives but to the lives of the people around us. When we have God's inspired joy it causes people to say "The Lord has done great things for them." Just like Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." When we let our light shine it brings glory to God.
So, today I am going to make a challenge to us all. What do you have to thank God for? Maybe its for our families, or our health. Maybe its for a job or for a great friend. Whatever good thing it may be, give thanks to God. But if you still can't think of anything to give thanks for I know of one that we all have to be thankful for, salvation. The fact that God sent his son Jesus to die so we could have salvation is enough for all of us to thank Him today. Be filled with thanksgiving and joy today. And be a dreamer!
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." The lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy!
I read this today and loved it so much! God has given us so many good gifts and sometimes we forget. We tend to focus on all that we don't have and forget all that we do. But when we begin to remember and thank God for all he has given us we become like "those who dream" I love that statement! I love it because people who dream are the people who change history, dreamers are the people who change the world! But also, dreaming brings life and joy not only in our own lives but to the lives of the people around us. When we have God's inspired joy it causes people to say "The Lord has done great things for them." Just like Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." When we let our light shine it brings glory to God.
So, today I am going to make a challenge to us all. What do you have to thank God for? Maybe its for our families, or our health. Maybe its for a job or for a great friend. Whatever good thing it may be, give thanks to God. But if you still can't think of anything to give thanks for I know of one that we all have to be thankful for, salvation. The fact that God sent his son Jesus to die so we could have salvation is enough for all of us to thank Him today. Be filled with thanksgiving and joy today. And be a dreamer!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Harvest
Hey Guys! I wanted to give you a quick update on all that is going on with the Church plant. Adam and I are officially out of New Mexico. We are staying in Arizona until June. We then will officially become Oregonians! Can't wait! We will be taking these next few months in Arizona to dream, pray, and prepare for the launch of Catalyst Church. We should have our Website up sometime in the next week so keep your eyes open for that. www.Catalystchurch.com
We will be taking a trip to Portland at the beginning of February with a few people from our launch team. Please pray for us. We still need some direction on where exactly in the city God wants us to launch. We are hoping God gives us some clarification on this trip. Thanks!
Matthew 9:36-38
When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
I can't stop thinking about these verses today. I believe with all my heart that God is preparing the harvest in Oregon. Please pray with us that He will draw in even more laborers. Ones who are ready and willing to give there lives to bring in the harvest, to bring in the confused and helpless, to bring in the broken and the hurting, to bring in the ones desperate for an encounter with a God who loves them.
Thank you for all your prayers and support!
We will be taking a trip to Portland at the beginning of February with a few people from our launch team. Please pray for us. We still need some direction on where exactly in the city God wants us to launch. We are hoping God gives us some clarification on this trip. Thanks!
Matthew 9:36-38
When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”I can't stop thinking about these verses today. I believe with all my heart that God is preparing the harvest in Oregon. Please pray with us that He will draw in even more laborers. Ones who are ready and willing to give there lives to bring in the harvest, to bring in the confused and helpless, to bring in the broken and the hurting, to bring in the ones desperate for an encounter with a God who loves them.
Thank you for all your prayers and support!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Changed
2 Corinthians 5:17
" This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"
I cant stop thinking about this verse today. When I became a Christian at the age of 15 my life was completely changed. At the time I was just a little girl with serious abandonment issues. I remember I would come to church and my youth pastor would say this simple sentence to me "Dana, I am so glad you are here!" and that simple sentence would bring me to tears. Every week he would say the same thing and every week I would cry. During that first year of me becoming a Christian my life was completely changed. I didn't become a perfect Christian (I am still not) but my life was set on a completely different course. I fell in love with Jesus, I realized that Jesus loved me even though I was a completely broken person. I realized that he had a plan for my life and I wanted nothing else but to fulfill that plan. I was a changed person, not a perfect person, but changed.
As we are closer then ever to the launch of Catalyst Church I cant help but to remember that 15 year old girl who gave her life to Jesus at a tent revival meeting on a rainy summer night almost 15 years ago, and wonder about all the other 15 year old girls who are desperate for their own life changing encounter with God. Those are the people we want to reach. The broken, the hurting, the abandoned. We want to be the hands and feet of Jesus and show them that God sees them and that he loves them. We don't want to grow a church full of church attenders, we want to grow a church full of broken people that have a life changing encounter with the living God and will never be the same again.
" This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"
I cant stop thinking about this verse today. When I became a Christian at the age of 15 my life was completely changed. At the time I was just a little girl with serious abandonment issues. I remember I would come to church and my youth pastor would say this simple sentence to me "Dana, I am so glad you are here!" and that simple sentence would bring me to tears. Every week he would say the same thing and every week I would cry. During that first year of me becoming a Christian my life was completely changed. I didn't become a perfect Christian (I am still not) but my life was set on a completely different course. I fell in love with Jesus, I realized that Jesus loved me even though I was a completely broken person. I realized that he had a plan for my life and I wanted nothing else but to fulfill that plan. I was a changed person, not a perfect person, but changed.
As we are closer then ever to the launch of Catalyst Church I cant help but to remember that 15 year old girl who gave her life to Jesus at a tent revival meeting on a rainy summer night almost 15 years ago, and wonder about all the other 15 year old girls who are desperate for their own life changing encounter with God. Those are the people we want to reach. The broken, the hurting, the abandoned. We want to be the hands and feet of Jesus and show them that God sees them and that he loves them. We don't want to grow a church full of church attenders, we want to grow a church full of broken people that have a life changing encounter with the living God and will never be the same again.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Provider
Philippians 4:16
"My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
Church planting cost money. And not a little bit of money, a lot of money. we need money for a building, for chairs, for sound equipment and video projectors and screens, for kids curriculum and kids equipment, and a million other little things. It gets expensive really fast.
I have to admit that at times it becomes overwhelming when I begin to think about all we need in comparison to all we have. But isn't that how God always seems to work? He seems to always asks us to do something beyond our own ability. And at the end of the day all we can do is have FAITH that He will provide.
These last couple of weeks I have been amazed at how God has already begun to provide for Catalyst Church. We haven't even begun to do our official fund raising yet and money has already began to pour in. First with a ten thousand dollar donation, and then a two thousand dollar donation.
But the donation that impacted me the most happened a week and a half ago while we were in Panama. The church took up a 1800 dollar offering for the church plant. They told us they believed in us and wanted to be apart of what God was going to do in Portland Oregon. As we stood in front of 500 Panamanians I was overwhelmed with emotion because I realized that this gift was from God. He used the generosity of the Panamanians but the gift was His. It is a reminder that He is for us and that He has called us.
"My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
Church planting cost money. And not a little bit of money, a lot of money. we need money for a building, for chairs, for sound equipment and video projectors and screens, for kids curriculum and kids equipment, and a million other little things. It gets expensive really fast.
I have to admit that at times it becomes overwhelming when I begin to think about all we need in comparison to all we have. But isn't that how God always seems to work? He seems to always asks us to do something beyond our own ability. And at the end of the day all we can do is have FAITH that He will provide.
These last couple of weeks I have been amazed at how God has already begun to provide for Catalyst Church. We haven't even begun to do our official fund raising yet and money has already began to pour in. First with a ten thousand dollar donation, and then a two thousand dollar donation.
But the donation that impacted me the most happened a week and a half ago while we were in Panama. The church took up a 1800 dollar offering for the church plant. They told us they believed in us and wanted to be apart of what God was going to do in Portland Oregon. As we stood in front of 500 Panamanians I was overwhelmed with emotion because I realized that this gift was from God. He used the generosity of the Panamanians but the gift was His. It is a reminder that He is for us and that He has called us.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
New Logo and New Promises
Hey guys! this is our new Logo for Catalyst church. We haven't decided on color yet but I kinda like the gray on black. Let me know what you think.
The old song "I have decided to follow Jesus" has been running through my mind all day. If you don't know what song I am talking about, here are the lyrics......
I have decided to follow Jesus
I have decided to follow Jesus
I have decided to follow Jesus
No turning back
No turning back
The lyrics are so simple yet so powerful. "I have decided to follow Jesus." I can remember singing this song as a 15 year old girl when I gave my life to God. It was my hearts prayer and I meant it with everything in me. But the truth is, I did turn back. Lots of times. That is why I love the scriptures in Lamentations 3:22-23
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
His compassion is new every morning. Some translations say His MERCIES are new every morning. I am so grateful for this truth because I need mercy and grace everyday!
So, I will continue to promise my devotion to him, and try my hardest to live that promise. And even if I do turn back I know that he will never turn away from me, and I find my comfort in the truth that His Mercy and His Compassion is new everyday for me.
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