Calling

By Susan Greeves

Something that has been on my mind lately is the word "calling". We, as Christians, use it loosely I think. We use it to say that we have been chosen to do something specific for the Lord.

I did a little research from a concordance. And what I found is that we are called to do EVERYTHING we do for Jesus. We have free will to make choices, it's the faith in Christ; the submission to our great God to make the impossible happen. If we make a choice, God will either allow the door to shut, or to allow us to go on with this choice.

No matter what, it seems to me that God is working on us. If we have a will that is totally given up for the One Who died for us, the one who made us, then all that happens in our life is for His glory. No matter what we chose to do.

Now please understand that I DO understand that we will want to make choices that are God honoring if we are submissive to Him. We won't want to make bad choices, although we still will; but He will work it for our good. Rom 8:28.

I think when we say we can't do something, we are shutting the door on faith. If that is the only reason we aren't doing something, then shouldn't we be finding ways to strengthen our faith; spending time with God, time in His word, talking to others that are doing the same thing--living by faith? I think so!! What a world for the Lord our community would be, if we all just found the avenues that strengthened our faith and did things we think we can't do, for Him. It's ALL for Him, in a life submissive.

I do think we have gifts that are ours; given to us by the Holy Spirit, and to use those helps build the Kingdom; but again it's choice. God orchestrates our very own circumstances, out of what we chose. So it will be worked for our good, no matter what, but wouldn't it be something to step out into faith and do things with a God that nothing is impossible.

Never, Never, Never Hopeless….

By Verlyn Mahaffey

Do you remember the two bands mentioned in Sunday’s testimony by Jen Goss? I don’t! She said this is what we would probably remember. But what I do remember is the word HOPE! Within her testimony she shared how the people in a certain country for 20 years told the story through art of how people were killed when a bomb was dropped and many, many died. And this is what was passed on from generation to generation! Then she shared a wonderful truth with these artists that they should begin to pass on a story of HOPE! I said yes, the story of HOPE! We have this Lord, a wonderful, powerful, life changing HOPE, a LIVING HOPE in Jesus to live in and pass on:


“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you.” (I Peter 1:3-4 NIV)

Life has pain, hurts, disappointments, disruptions, but my HOPE is in God, not my circumstances, not in this world, not in other people! We are promised that there is an inheritance that will never perish and is kept in heaven for us. The Psalms are rich in expressing man’s feelings and thoughts and the thoughts of God in showing us Himself. Look at Psalm 33:18-22:

“But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.”

Now this is true HOPE to be passed on, a HOPE that is based on the true nature and character of God. You can with all confidence say that you are never hopeless. Think about it! There is no circumstance, no time in your life that you could possibly be hopeless if you are trusting in God. Now if I can only live like I truly believe this!

A prayer from the Psalms for this week: “Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer.” Psalm 94:19 (Living Bible)

(A plug for our spiritual journey starting August 29: Psalms: Lament to Praise….Encounters with God!)

Promises...

By Adam Forsberg

This past week my family and I went to California on vacation. We headed out to the airport Saturday morning for our 11:30 flight, only to find that our flight was delayed by about two hours. We were promised that we would take off at 1:30 PM, and that we would still make our connecting flight. As expected, we didn’t take off until almost 4 PM, causing us to miss our connection. Luckily there was another flight later on that evening, but we were stuck in Minnesota for a few more hours. Going to California was amazing, seeing the beaches in LA, to huge redwood trees, to the mountains at Yosemite. But all throughout the trip, promises were made to my family that were either were not fully kept, or were just flat out lies. Some of these things were information about hotels and their amenities, departure times, ticket prices, food quality, and lots of other little things. After a while, you start to become disappointed, and start to loose faith in any promise that is made to you.

This really got me thinking about how great it is that all of God’s promises are true. We can put our full hope in what God says, without ever having to worry about Him lying, not keeping His promises, or coming up short. What a relief it is to know that the things that God promises us in His Word are completely, one hundred percent true. God gives us multiple examples of this throughout the Bible. A few are to Abraham and Sara (Genesis 21:1 “…and the LORD did for Sara what he had promised.”), to Paul (Acts 9:15 “…This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.), and to us, our resurrection from the dead to live with Him forever (1 Corinthians 15).

We can trust what God tells us, so there is no need for us to worry about our lives, what will happen to us or others. Because we know that all His promises are guaranteed, we can have peace through every part of life, and have absolutely nothing to worry about.

Listen to this song that reminds us of God’s promises. Afterwards, look up different promises that God has made to us (Romans 15:13 for example), and dwell on the fact that they are completely true and trustworthy.

Doing the Little Things

By Eric Miller

This past week I had the opportunity and privilege to speak at a High School camp in Pennsylvania. It was a humbling experience. I realized that being a passionate follower of Christ is hard work. I realized that I take so many things in my daily life for granted. But most of all, I realized that it’s easy to pray and read my Bible
because I’m “supposed to” or because its expected of me … but if I really want to see God work in my life; then I cannot survive without prayer and Bible reading.  You see for a long time now, I’ve had this burning desire to truly see God do something amazing, something HUGE, in my life. I’ve wanted to witness Him do something I can’t explain or justify. Don’t get me wrong; I know He’s at work in my life and all around me. I
don’t doubt that at all. I also love seeing Him do the little things and can praise Him just the same because of those. But for some reason, I don’t want to be content with that.  I want to be a part of something so much bigger than myself. And that’s where it hit me.

… God cannot use me for something big IF I’m not doing the little things right. If I pray before meals because that’s what I’ve always done. If I read my Bible when I’m preparing for a lesson at Youth Group or if I have time and feel like it. No! I should be praying constantly, about everything that passes through my mind. Every decision I have to make should be rooted in prayer. If I want God to move in the lives of the students of our church, then I need to talk to them less and talk to God on their behalf more. Rather than trying to problem solve and ask other people for advice, I should be asking God and reading His word. For every hour I spend in worry, I should spend two hours in His throne room pouring out my heart.  It must start with doing the little things and doing them well. I will not mindlessly pray over something just because I’m supposed to. I want to start fervently praying for things, big and small, because of my need for God and knowing that I can’t do it on my own. I want to start reading my Bible with a hunger and thirst for the wisdom that only God can give. I want to stop singing worship songs to Him while allowing my mind to be somewhere else.

High School!

By Camille Coston

My name is Camille Coston and I will be going into ninth grade next year. A couple of my fears about going into high school are how big it is, the people, the teachers, the grades, and also the peer pressure! I am excited about going into ninth grade because I want to be in the Olympics when I get older and I’m hoping that by doing track next year the start of my dream will be fulfilled. This is something I would really want to do and I believe that God has a plan for my life! Jeremiah 29:11 says “I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I know that God has a plan for my life if I want to believe it or not, whatever that plan might be.


The biggest fear I have of high school is definitely the peer pressure! Pressure to get involved with drugs, boys, sexual immorality and all the stuff that people might be tempted to do in high school! I am well aware that high school will be very different from middle school and I will be going T.J high school! To me, T.J. is a rough school to go to because there are so many people there that won’t be living for God and wanting to be obedient to Him! I am just scared that the devil will tempt me to do things I know is wrong.

I pray that God will help me through every weakness and help me find my strengths. God is not only a solid rock but He is also alive in me! During my freshman year at T.J I hope to grow in my faith and become on fire for God!

Get Passionate about your Finances

By Jim Peterson

We have just completed the second session of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University and I am here to report that it is having PROFOUND impacts on the lives of many of our families. Many of our graduates have accomplished that wonderful goal of becoming totally debt free (except for their homes). Others are still working on what we call the “Baby Steps” building an emergency fund and working on the “Debt Snowball” to get rid of all their consumer debt.


One of our favorite things to do as the class progresses is what we call “plastectomies” which is the cutting up of all of our credit cards. In our last class, we had over 60 credit cards destroyed and celebrated a number of families getting their budgets arranged on a cash basis.

In all cases, couples are reporting that they are “on the same page” regarding finances for the first time in their marriage and it is having a major impact on their relationship. In one case, a couple stated unequivocally that the things they have learned in this class have saved their marriage.

Over the years, I have heard from many families that they wanted to give more and tithe regularly but they just couldn’t because of so much debt. This class will teach you how to take control of your money rather than the other way around. It will show you a simple (but hard to do) system of moving from being a “slave to the lender”, to total Financial Peace. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?

If you want to get passionate about your finances, then I challenge you to enroll in our next Financial Peace University. Classes will begin on September 13th here at the Grace Chapel from 7pm-9pm for 13 consecutive weeks. I guarantee that it will change your lives if you apply the principles taught in the class. Look for more details in the days and weeks ahead.

Where the GodWind Blows

By Dr. Dan Haffey

Scott Brown’s message last Sunday on God’s love and plan for the Israeli people left me with a couple of burning thoughts.  First, I felt the immense love of God that he would allow me, a Gentile,  to be adopted into the family of his Chosen People, the Israelites.  In his sovereignty,  he could’ve only chosen Israel and rejected the rest of us but He didn’t.   Now I, and all other Gentile believers, have been grafted into the Tree of Salvation. Thank you Father God!

The second thought that I had was how God’s Spirit blows where He wants to go without limitation.  John 3:8 says  “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”  The Spirit of God leads us where he wants us to go,  where he is working.  For Scott Brown, God called him to New Zealand (Where is that?) because God is at work in New Zealand.  God’s love for His people, the Jews,  sent Scott Brown to New Zealand to give them the Good News their Messiah.  

Where is the Spirit of God blowing around you?  Where and what is He calling you to?  Are you willing to respond?  Will you pray for Scott Brown and his work with Israeli tourists in New Zealand?   

Discipling our children, some call it homeschooling…

By Susan Greeves

God has given us parents the awesome responsibility of raising His children that He gave to us to take care of and raise up for His purposes. I believe that we; as their parents, are primarily accountable for raising them, shaping them and preparing them for a life of service to Him. For my family that’s done by homeschooling (at least for this year and the previous years…God may have a totally different plan in the future, and if I’m truly in His will, then any avenue of education is still open to where He wants my children and us).

Deut 6: 6, 7 “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

This verse is one of the first verses the Holy Spirit led me to, to see God’s plan for our family to homeschool. I don’t think homeschooling is the answer, I know Jesus Christ is the answer! It’s not something I do for my kids to get a superior education, it’s a tool in which God works on all of us in the family, refining us, shaping us, and at the same time fulfilling what He has laid on my heart; to disciple my children for Him. I believe that Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” means in EVERYTHING we do we should seek his righteousness.

I trust that God will bring the academics if I follow Him wholeheartedly. There WILL be holes in their education, but even in public or private education there is (I can attest that there are still holes in my education and I did go to public school). Jesus WILL fill those holes, and fill them in His timing, if we seek first His kingdom and righteousness.


Isaiah 61:1-4 resonated with me when I first read it. We are chosen to preach the good news to our children, they are the brokenhearted, they are the poor in spirit, they are captives to sin, with Jesus they are released from darkness.

Then Isaiah 61:3 states “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” That’s what my children are, God’s gift to us for the display of God’s splendor, not for their own purposes or even mine, but God’s and they should be rooted deeply in Jesus. The whole point of our existence is to love Him more than anything else, and to love others more than ourselves. Out of that is born the great commission; which is to make disciples. I look at what we do as missionary work, just right here in our very own home.

Do You Believe in Angels?

By Steve Ranney

If you never even think about something, why would you even consider its existence?  It is like God.  Many people don't believe in Him because they haven't spent the time.

Have you ever just about fallen asleep driving a car - and you didn't end up in an accident?  Or driven on slick pavement or in icy snow when you lost control, but you avoided an accident?  How do these things happen?  Are we just lucky? 

Think again about the existence of angels - spread all around the world by God to protect us among other things.  Here is my proof:

1. My ladder got loose and I fell off the second floor -- about 15 feet to the ground.  I was extremely sore, but no broken bones.  What I can't explain is how I hit the ground.  I passed out on the way down.  One minute I was on the ladder, then I was on top of the ladder on my back. 

2. I got almost mortally wounded in battle in Vietnam.  Our company got over run with 18 dead, 50 wounded.  With my type of head injuries, I should have been left at the battle field, but I was brought in and I survived. 

3. With my injuries, my face was paralyzed for months, and the doctors said it may revive in about six months.  I was in a plane on the way to a hospital and all of a sudden I felt some sensation in my face.  The date was exactly 6 months from my injury.

4. Do you ski?  Have you ever tried a 360?  Well I haven't either.  As a result of my head injury, I had a hole in my head about the size of a tennis ball.  In a year the hole would be filled up with plastic.  Should I have been skiing that day when I totally lost control and I would normally have ended up on my head?  Some how I ended up on my feet - 360 degrees.  I am still around!

I wasn't a believer at any of these times, but I am sure now.  I am sure you have similar circumstances if you seriously think about it.  God really does do a lot of things for us in mysterious ways!

The Golden Boy & The Prodigal

By Matt Johnson

On my way into work this morning I heard this song by Jason Gray.  It really hit me hard. 

Do you have two personalities?  One that you hate and the one you want to be?  I know I do. 

Listen to the video or read the words.

In particular listen to the last verse of the song.  Jesus didn't come to earth to die for your made up self or fake self.  He came to die for the broken.  He came to die for the person you hate - the one we wish we weren't.  He came to die so we no longer had to pretend to be something we aren't. 

The Golden Boy & The Prodigal
By Jason Gray



There are two sides to every person
Like the two sides of a dime
Heads or tails it depends upon
Who's watching at the time
Though I hate to say it
Mine is no exception
One part is the prodigal
The other part: deception

Like the prince and the pauper
Like Jacob and his brother
Each hide a different heart
Each a shadow of the other
Me and my doppelganger
Both share the same blood
One I have hated
The other have I loved

One of them's the Golden Boy
The man I'd like to be I show him off in the parades
For all the world to see
The other is much weaker
He stumbles all the time
The source of my embarrassment
He's the one I try to hide

The Golden boy is made of straw
His finest suit will surely burn
His vice is the virtue
That he never had to earn
The prodigal's been broken
And emptied at the wishing well
But he's stronger for the breaking
With a story to tell

I'm not easy with confessions
It's hard to tell the truth
But I have favored the golden boy
While the other I've abused
And he takes it like a man
Though he's longing like a child
To be loved and forgiven
And share the burden for awhile

So take a good look in the mirror
Tell me who you see
The one who Jesus died for
Or the one you'd rather be
Can you find it in your heart
To show mercy to the one
The Father loved so much
That he gave his only son...