FOR UNTO US, A CHILD IS BORN!

This picture reminded me of what I saw, looking back at you guys at our Candle Lit worship service...2009 holds great things for all of us!!!

From our family, to yours...have a great, safe, reflectful Christmas!

See ya at the NYE Lockin!

Brian & Melissa

NEW YEAR'S EVE LOCK IN

Hey Elevate - Let's ring in 2009 together! Party starts at 8:00 p.m. and goes until 7:00 a.m. the next morning. Lots of fun, live music, games and a couple surprises. Bring your friends. $5 cover charge.

ICFW - JEALOUSY - "God Owes Me"

When we think of jealousy or envy, we think of the things that others have that we lack – looks, skills, opportunities, health, height, inheritance, etc. We assume that our problem is with the person who possesses what we lack. But let’s face it; God could have fixed all that for us. Whatever he gave your neighbor, he could have given it to us, right. So jealousy is us saying, “God owes me”. The point is; there’s an inequity that God could have remedied. Let’s be honest, most of us believe on some level that if God had taken as good care of us as he has some people we know, our lives would be richer.

The one thing that serves as vindication to my jealousy is for the person I envy to suffer a setback of some kind. The one thing the HAVES can do to make us HAVE-NOTS feel better is to lose what they have. Ever feel a twinge of satisfaction when that girl is dumped by the guy you like?

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

When we come to God with our disappointments and discontentment, we will find mercy and grace. Why? The preceding verse explains:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. (Hebrews 4:17)

When you bring your wishes and wants, dreams and disappointments to our Heavenly Father, you are bringing them to one who is able to sympathize.

So when discussing guilt, we said the antidote was confession. The habit that overcomes anger is forgiveness. Greed is overcome with generous giving. The habit that will enable you to strengthen your heart against jealousy is celebration.

To guard your heart against jealousy, you’ve got to celebrate the success, size, beauty, stuff that you tend to envy in others. You have to go out of your way and make a habit of congratulating those who are good athletes, give them a pat on the back, be their best cheerer. If your sister is petite and beautiful, make her feel special. It is the only way you can conquer jealousy. Expressing the truth helps to free you from the emotional bondage that is such an integral part of jealousy. You are protecting your heart. You are saying “no” to jealousy.

ICFW - Greed "I Owe Me"

Okay. Greedy people believe that they deserve every good thing that comes their way. Their mantra is "What's mine is mine because I earned it! AND I got a lot more coming." Greedy people rarely come straight out and say, "I'm greedy". What they say is "I'm careful". Unlike anger and guilt, greed hides behind several virtues.

Greed is not a financial issue. There are greedy rich and poor people. Greed emanates from the heart. LUKE 12:15 says, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Jesus started off his statement with a warning. Why? He knew that greed can take up residence in the heart and live there undetected for years. Jesus then went into a parable about a wealthy landowner whose property yielded a much larger crop than he expected. Rather than seek God about what to do with the extra God provided him, he asked himself, "what shall I do with all of MY stuff?"

The very day that this man made the decision to hoard all his things for himself was the day he lost it all. God said to him, You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?"

Jesus closes the parable with a stern warning, "The is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself bu is not rich toward God". (Luke 12:15-21)

Being rich toward God simply means being generous toward those in need with what God has given you. Greed is destroyed by giving generously. If you consume to the point of having little or nothing left to give, then you are greedy. Greed is not a feeling, it is a refusal to act.

In closing, having money is not a bad thing. It’s not knowing why you have money or things that cause problems. Whether we were born into rich families, came into it somewhere down the line, have great jobs, etc., there is no reason to feel bad about having a lot of money. It is not really yours anyway! If we are going to leave it behind anyway, one thing is clear: we are not owners, but rather managers of it.

Kind David wrote, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.” 1 Chronicles 29:11

God owns it all. What we have was given by him. We all need to look at our things and decide, what was it given to me for? If you have extra, is there something you have that someone else could benefit from? Every time we are given something extra, we should consider “God, what do you want me to do with these assets?”