Shryock’s Corn Maze & Bonfire Night:

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As I sit here and watch this storm blow, I am am amazed at how fast this is building up. I know here they are calling for 20″ of snow and that is in less than a 24 hour period, wow! I am listening to how the highway department can’t seem to keep the roads cleared because there is so much of it coming down. As I sit here thinking about all this It reminds me of how fast I can get buried with all kinds of stuff that is keeping me from a deeper relationship with God. I sometimes find that I start out with the right intentions, you know setting boundaries and telling God that I am going to keep things in balance. I really try to keep going like this but the next thing I know I am just knee deep in stuff that is not necessarily bad but it just keeps me from growth or I begin to get off balance. I also notice it’s not just in my schedule or calendar but in other areas of life like, worry. I mean it seem that as long as I am balanced in my calendar then I really don’t worry about stuff. It all has it’s time and place and things seem to go smoothly but When I try to control it and I get off balance then I begin to worry about how I am going to get everything done and how can I meet with so and so if this is going on. Once that worry begins to grow it builds up like snow drifts and I seem to be so surrounded by the worry that I have created. If only I would have kept things is balance.

What in your life is out of balance? What areas in life seem to be drifting into uncontrollable sizes and amounts? Do you feel like you have lost control? Hmm, I wonder if we would let God have the control of these things would other areas of our life seem to get into balance? I want to show you a video clip from Star Wars. This is the one that I feel really speaks to a lot of Christians in today’s society. We say that we want God to have control and we “give” him these things but when it comes down to it I wonder if we really believe what we say we do.

So do we really think that God can use the areas of our life to glorify His kingdom or not. I want to remind you the scripture that we read last Sunday. It is found in Romans 9 and it ask the question, “who are we to tell God that He is making a mistake?” In Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.” The question is, do we get off balance because we do not believe this? Do we worry because we don’t believe this? Matthew 6:31-34 says this, “So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

It is my prayer that you will let God have control so that He can move the big things in your life and that you can live in balance and not be snowed in by the worries of this world.

In His Grip,
PJ

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We need each other!

In His Grip,
PJ

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Well, I started working out today and trying to eat a little better. I got up early and went to the Y and started some cardio to get ready to start working out with a trainer friend of mine. I think I need a couple of weeks to get back into shape a little before the working over starts. You all know the difference between working out and getting worked over don’t you. Working out is when you can still walk afterwords, where being worked over you crawl to the car and ask yourself if this is worth it.  We know that if we work out long enough and with consistency we can endure so much more of the “work out” and we start to realize that you can do more than we thought and not feel like we have been worked over.  We all have had experience with this feeling of being worked over in many areas of our lives. As I came home this morning I was thinking about this from a spiritual aspect. Here is a scripture to start this thought process. “So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”" (Philippians 2:12 HCSB) Now we know that we cannot work our way to heaven and nothing we do physically can save us, we must trust in Jesus and have a personal relationship with Him. So what is this all about? Well, I think many of us want to put a human understanding on this and many have said that we have to work to be saved.  But if you look at the word that we translate “salvation” you many see something different. the worded in the Greek is “soteria” (So-tay-ree’-ah) which means, “Rescue or safety (both physically and morally); deliver, health, save, saving and salvation. I believe what the writer of Philippians is saying that we must work at keeping a health relationship with Christ and it should at the forefront of our thinking or it must be a “mind-set” (as we have been talking about in the book of Romans about having the “mind-set” of the spirit). The only way that we have salvation is through a relationship with Christ and that comes from only trusting Him and having a relationship (no church won’t get you to heaven or save you). But once through the door of Christ (Salvation) we have some responsibility to deepen this relationship. I mean you would not meet a person and get close and expect then to do all the work? I mean really, it would not work! I believe that so many people are getting “worked over” by the enemy because people expect Christ to do it all and that we don’t have any responsibility for any of the growth of our relationship. So, when we so this, the enemy can totally “work us over” because we have not “worked out” enough to stand firm (Ephesians 6) in the face of the enemy. Why is it that we then get made and say that God is not there or He is not listening or He so far away.

Now, I am not getting “religious” on you. I am not saying that we need to spend so many minutes a day in the Bible and in prayer. The we need to go out and serve at the food kitchen or things like that. All I am saying is, are we living with the mind set of Christ. like I ask last week, “how much time do your really give to God.” I think there are so many of us that are spiritually out of shape that we just are sacred to go for it and start the “work out”. So, here is my challenge for you this week. I would like for you to either start the “work out” or increase your work out with God. Start with the spiritual cardio, ask God to e the source of the heart beat of your life. Then move to the other areas, like you arms, reach out with the love of Christ to someone this week. You legs, run the race that is set before you. Your eyes, see people with Christ’s eyes not through our selfishness and bitterness. Remember Christ died for them too. You get the picture. Oh, and remember you are not alone in this “work out”. “For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to will and to act for His good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13 HCSB) You see, you have a work out partner and a personal trainer. God not only gave us His Son, but He gave the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to make it through the “work out”. Just trust Him and call someone you can trust when you need encouraging, your family is here for you.

In His Spirit,
Pastor Jason

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Sorry to tell you that we are canceling Youth Group tonight due to the weather. Please be safe and stay warm. I will try to post a devo for you at least by tomorrow morning.

In His Grip,
Pastor Jason

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Hey I have a question, how much time do we give to God in a week? Let’s do the math: 1440 (minutes in a day) X 7 = 10,080 minutes  in a week. If we go to church on Sunday for connection classes and the service (150 minutes) and that is all you gave to God your percentage would be,  1.5%. Now, lets say you go to both connection classes and spend two hours at a bible study and 15 minutes a day in prayer and in the word your  percentage would be, 3.7%. OK, you all now that I am not big numbers and statistics but i just wanted to show you how little we really spend with God. Here is a video that show really how we try to communicate with Him and how we fall so short.

How We Pray (CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO)

My challenge for us is to just stop and spend sometime with Him. I though it was really interesting when you take the time to put a percentage on the amount the we truly spend with God.  I praise God that He dose not tell us what the amount of time  is that we have to spend with Him because I know I would fall short. I thank God that He looks at my heart and see’s what my true desire is. I praise Him that He is full of grace.  This though process forces me to think about how I would react if my wife would only spend 1 to 3% with me. Praise God that He is not a God who looks at things the way we do. I just wanted us to think about were our true desire is, in the matter of spending time with Him. I know that over the years He has worked on this area in my life and I see great improvements but there is always room for me to grow. I just want to remind you to do the possible and let God take care of the impossible and you will see amazing things take place in your life. I challenge us to have the desire for the possible and that we would trust Him in all we say and do.

In His Grip,
Pastor Jason

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I just wanted to remind you all that we will not be having youth group tonight. When North Callaway Schools cancels school, so do we. So, hang in there this week and call some friends and see whats up. Remember that this could be a chance for you to share about your relationship with Christ. Use the time that God has given to you for His purposes. Hey, here is a verse you all can study on your own tonight. If you need help call one of the adults and ask them. Email, FaceBook or text me with what you learned about this passage or how you made this “open” time a tool for God.

1 John 1:5-2:1-2

Here are some questions to help you out.

1. What is the main message of these scriptures for me?

2. How am I doing with what it is teaching me?

3. Is there something here that I am not practicing or doing in my life?

4. How can I apply this to my life?

5. How can I make this real in my life right now?

6. How can I share this with someone else?

Well, have a great week and we will see you soon.  Remember you a the chance for change in this world!

In His Grip,
PJ

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Greetings all,

Well, it is Tuesday again and God has been really talking to me about an issue that I believe is one of the biggest issues in the Church. It is how we talk offense to words or action of others without even looking at things from the other point of view or, as we would say, put ourselves in their shoes.

Now, I am not saying to change your opinion or  admit that they are right. What I am saying is that we need to offer grace and restoration so that we can walk in the foot steps of Christ. Now, I know that there are times when we are called to take a stand and not back down, but how many of those times do we really have? I mean how many of us say, “God is telling me to do this or say this” when really it is just a reaction to what we have fenced in our own lives. What do I mean by this? Well, We all have had things happen, we believe different things, we have different ideologies and ways of think about issue and events. These things have been place in our “yard” of life and these really have a direct effect on our perceptions. Some of these things are drawn from trauma in our lives or hurts – these become a protection mechanism.  Some of them out of selfishness and pride – SIN.

So when someone says or does something that we perceive as an offense we react and we tend to lash out without thinking or praying or looking for counsel. When this takes place we hurt the body of Christ. I find that in the scripture Jesus say that we are to go to the brother that has something against us and make it right. He talks about this when He is teaching us about taking Communion in remembrance of Him. So, when was the last time we, after being offended, did we remember Christ before we reacted.

Jesus also taught that in this life we would be persecuted. Now, many of us hear that word and we begin to think that this is laying down of our lives for His name in a dramatic way, like being burned at the stake. But, I think we need to give it a broader thought process. I think it is much more than that, I think it is saying that we are going to be offended and we are going to laughed at and we are going to be hurt. The thing that matter is how we respond to all these things. Do we really turn the other cheek? Do we really put others first? Do we really practice what we preach?

The fact is we really don’t know what is piled up in the “yards” of the lives of people. We don’t know how deep the hurt is that they are trying to protect. We don’t know how hard they try to protect them selves. We just assume that they are attacking. Well,  maybe they are or maybe they are just defending their “yard”. I believe that we as a family are called to jump in and help do some “yard” work. but it all starts by walking through the fence and doing the hard stuff first. That is offering ourselves as living sacrifices, by asking for forgiveness and asking what needs to be done. Nine times out of ten, it is all a misunderstanding and God is using these situations to begin healing. Are you going to be God’s tool to help in healing or are you going to give into what the enemy has done for centuries in the church and react to the point of damaging His body? Have you ever thought about it that way? When we take offense instead of walking through the fence we are hurting His body, His family and His Chosen people. Just something to think about.

In His Grip,
Pastor Jason

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Here is something to make you laugh. Have fun!

In His Grip,

PJ

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I know Christmas is over but this one was good. I know you might have seen it but it is worth a second look.

In His Grip,
PJ

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