I Love Tech Support by Joyce Schafer

I have a “love-hate” relationship with computers. I love them when they are working right. I love being able to keep in contact with friends and family using email. Writing on a computer is wonderful because I can go back, read what I have written and delete what does not make any sense and redo over and over again. Spell check is another amazing tool that I am very thankful to have. Yes, I really love my computer -sometimes. Now the hate part comes in when it is not working right. That is what happened to me, my computer died…..I wish I could say that it lived to a ripe old age and it was time to replace it but that was not the case. It was still young and should have had several productive years ahead of it. Since owning a computer has gone from being a luxury to being a necessity for us, we had to replace it.

I was feeling pretty good when I was actually able to get most things hooked up on my computer by myself and they actually worked, but I could not get my email to cooperate. After spending hours trying to figure it out, I finally gave up and called tech assistance. Now, this was the coolest thing. This guy could control my mouse and do what needed to be done and had me up and going in minutes. The whole situation was humbling to me but I also saw a similarity to my relationship with my Supreme Tech support guy-God. How many times in my life have I worried and tried to fix a problem on my own instead of just giving him complete control over the situation? As I start this New Year, I pray that I remember to give God control of my life because then 2011 will be the best year yet!

Worship Spotlight 4 5 2010

Her husband says he loves her; that she's the most important thing in the world to him. Yet his actions speak louder than his words of love and devotion. His free time is divided between his favorite sports events, television shows and online computer games. No time is left for quiet time with his wife. No time spent enjoying life together. Does this fictional husband really love his wife more than himself?

Using this example, take a good look at your relationship with Jesus. Do you love God? Of course we would most likely all answer "Yes!" Is He the most important thing in your world? What is your time and energy spent on? There are 24 hours in a day but they seem to be filled with sleeping, working, eating and other responsibilities. What free time we have is quickly filled with other activities or just vegging out.

God can be glorified while we prepare meals for our family or patiently help with homework or other household chores. But he still desires our attention and devotion. He wants to have some quality alone time with YOU! He has written you a book of love letters, poetry and stories of the past that he wants to share. He wants to whisper words in your ear that are just for you. Are you quiet enough to hear them?

Worshiping God is so much more than attending a Sunday morning service for an hour and fifteen minutes. If we truly worship God, our whole lives will be affected by it. Our Sunday morning corporate worship is important. (Heb 10: 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.) But - it is only one small part of our worship.

Col 3:23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
Deut 11: 18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up
Psalm 46: 10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
Mark 12: 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

If we are Christians, worshiping God can not be a small part of our lives. It should be woven through every part of every day. Be intentional in your relationship with Christ and encourage those around you to do the same! God will amaze you with the results.

Commitments by Joyce Schafer

Jim and I recently celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary . My marriage commitment ranks second only to my commitment to God. They go hand in hand in a lot of ways. When I became a Christian I vowed to put God’s commandments first in my life and when I got married I vowed to put my marriage vows first.
Love comes first in both relationships and when you truly love someone you put their wants and their needs first. This has not always been easy. Over the years, I have struggled with differences in my wants over my husband’s needs. Looking back at some of the silly things we disagreed on when we were first married, I just shake my head. Can you believe we once fought over how to cut toast? Of course, what you are fighting about is usually not the issue at all and in this case it was just two people trying to find a way to take two separate lives and blend them into one working unit. COMPROMISE! Over the years we have learned to do that a lot. Over time and a lot of really hard situations, you realize a lot of stuff is just not worth fighting about. We know each other well enough to know when to give each other space and when to give each other an ear and offer an opinion. If he has worked a 14 hour day and is exhausted I know to just feed him and let him hit the recliner unless he wants to talk. Likewise, if I am sick he knows to just leave me alone and not ask me every 30 minutes how I am feeling but he can usually tell before I can that I am getting sick while I am still in denial.
With God there is no compromising; His word is Law. I struggle with this because it is very hard to put myself completely in His hands. I am selfish in that I want to control my life instead of letting God control it. The only way to be able to give my control issue to God is to pray and read the Bible every day. I also have some great Christian friends to help me with my struggle.
As I get older and more mature both in my married life and my Christian life I have become more content. I have complete faith in God and in my husband. I know I still will have moments when I will mess up and struggle but I know I can confess and ask for forgiveness and it will be given.
This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible and I would like to share it with you. It sums up what it means to be a good Christian and a good spouse. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongdoing. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Love by Martha Allison

Love has been weighing heavily on my mind as of late. The Bible tells us God's love is unfailing, faithful and eternal. From the love chapter, Corinthians 13, we are told that unless we love others, having the ability to speak all the languages in the world is meaningless and we are like a noisy gong. We could have awsome spiritual gifts like prophecy, understanding God's plans and possessing all knowledge and having faith that would move mountains. We could give all we have to the poor and sacrifice ourselves for Christ, but if we do not love others we have gained nothing. The Bible tells us that true love is patient, kind and not jealous or proud. True love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable and keeps no record of being wronged. True love rejoices when truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever.

What exactly does all that mean for us? For me? First and foremost our love for our Savior must take precedence over all others including our family and friends. It is because of our love of God that we are able to love others, including our enemies. Contrary to what the world says, the love the Bible talks about is not all about me. It is not only about others whom I can easily love, but also those whom I have difficulty loving.

Am I really supposed to love those in Al Quida who would wish to hurt, even kill us? Am I supposed to love those on drugs, those who spew obscenities and perversion, those who would abuse others physically and verbally, those who are different that us because they are dirty, lack social skills or speak crudely? Does that sound impossible? For us alone it certainly is, but remember, with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

We must reach out to others to share the good news of Jesus Christ. It is important to realize that we must first demonstrate God's love or our words will not be heard. We must get out of our comfort zone and meet and develop a relationship with those who do not know our Lord and Savior. God will give us opportunities to do just that. Will those we meet want to know more about our God of love? I pray that God's love will shine through us and others will want to know Him.

Worship Spotlight 12 28 09

2010 is upon us. What hopes do you have for this New Year? The age old resolution: “I’m going to get into shape” (which we all know means eating healthier and exercising more.) Or perhaps you plan on taking control of your finances; spending more quality time with your family; making new friends or reconnecting with old ones; and the list goes on and on. Yet, it seems to be the same list year after year, doesn’t it?

This year I’m going to try to read my Bible more. Let me restate that in a less intimidating way, “TODAY I’m going to read my Bible.” And tomorrow, I plan on doing the same. I’m sure there will be days that my busyness crowds out the time I plan to set aside to read God’s Word, but the next day I am determined that I will start over. And at the end of ‘10, I hope to have done better than I have before.

You see, I desire a closer relationship with my Lord and Savior. The best way to get to know Him more intimately is to spend time reading the love letters He’s written to me. It’s how I will come to appreciate the nuances of his character; how I will learn to see His hand in my life and the lives of others; how I will know what He requires of me – what He desires from me – what He plans for me. You see, it’s difficult to worship what you do not know.

There are many tools around to help you read through the Bible in a year. A couple years ago Mark challenged us to do just that and he provided us with a reading chart to accomplish it. I started out strong but fell behind and became discouraged. This year I’ll start again and I hope you will join me.

I’ve decided to use the “One Year Chronological Bible NLT” (available at www.christianbook.com or any Christian book store.)This Bible is divided into 15 minutes of reading for each day. This Bible places events in the order in which they happened rather than in book order as usual. There are also online Bible guides available to help you. Look through your Bible, it may have a chart listed for you already. Open up your Bible, God has something to share with you today.

Where Does Your Trust Lie? by Tana LeMay

What or who do you place your trust in? Many of us place our trust in family, careers, health, money, etc. Can we always count on them? Will they always be available to us?

The definition of trust is “a person on whom or thing on which one relies”. Still unsure of where your trust lies? One way to answer this question is to look at your lifestyle, at what drives you each and every day. What’s the foundation of your daily life?

I hope the answer is your relationship with Jesus. The bible tells us He will never leave us or forsake us. Jesus loves me and He loves you. He wants His best for you. Does that mean life will always be easy and carefree? We’ll all experience times of difficulty in our lives. We’ll have our struggles and days when it seems nothing is going our way. Even in the midst of darkness and pain, we can trust that Jesus is there, right beside us.

Some struggles are brought into our lives for a purpose. They are an opportunity to grow stronger in our faith; to further develop our character. These refining moments are best defined in 1 Peter 1:7, 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. If you have placed your trust in Jesus, 1 Peter 1:5 tells us that through faith you are shielded by God’s power.

If you are having trouble trusting God this week, spend some time in prayer and in His word. Memorize these scriptures below and carry them with you. When your trust falters, meditate on them and ask God to strengthen your faith.

Psalm 125:1 1 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.

Psalm 9:10 10 Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Jesus Loves Me, This I Know by Susan Shull

I hate missing church. When I am not there, I know I am really missing out. Even on the days we are out of town and visit another congregation, Sunday doesn’t seem “right.” Those of us who attend Scott Avenue Christian Church are so lucky. Let me restate that. We aren’t lucky-we are blessed. We have so many opportunities to learn about the love of Jesus.

We are so blessed that our Praise Team leads us in worship each Sunday. The psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs we sing are very powerful. They uplift us, and we pray are pleasing to God as we proclaim his majesty and glory, praising him for who he is and all he has done for us in sending his perfect Son to die on the cross for our sins.

We are so blessed that we always have an inspiring message. It is evident that Mark spends a great deal of time immersing himself in the word and praying that God will give him the words that we need to hear. I don’t know about you, but every Sunday it seems that I am convicted of sin in my life and changes I need to make. I am also reminded that my life is not about me. We are here in this time and place for a higher purpose than the amount of pleasure we can get from each day, or the amount of work we can accomplish, or the amount of money in our bank accounts.

We are so blessed that we have wonderful Bible fellowship classes to attend. It is heart-warming to me to see people heading off to class grabbing a cup of coffee and chatting for a few minutes with their brothers and sisters in Christ. Relationships are built as we open God’s word in small groups and share how Christ is working in our lives.

Even with all of this occurring every Sunday, we also know that what happens for two hours one morning a week will never completely fill the need we have to know Him more. I am so very thankful that our God doesn’t stay in a church building and only show himself to us once a week.
Because of the mercy and grace of our heavenly Father, we can have access to his perfect love 24/7. As Christians, the Holy Spirit lives within us. Those are such simple words to write, but almost impossible to fathom. I don’t understand it, but I am so thankful for it. As if that wasn’t enough, His word is always ready to be opened and He will speak to us, showing us his magnificence and splendor.

How can you not love Jesus once you meet him on the pages of the inspired word? The more I learn about Him, the more I want to know. Don’t cheat yourself. Get involved so you can partake of the best thing this life has to offer-true LOVE.

God Loves YOU! by Theresa Zuber

I have three children. Although each is different, I love them all. They in turn love me. How did this come to be? First, I cared for them when they were small; when they were too tiny to even understand what love is. As they grew, they began to understand that they were dependent on me for their needs. But they also loved to be near me, to have me hold them and to spend time with them. They grew to love me. You see, no one explained love to them, they just loved naturally. They loved because they were shown love, experienced love, and lived love.

Your heavenly Father has created you. He loved you before your mother ever saw your face. He has formed you, taken care of you, showered you with love, and met your needs. As you have grown in His love, have you returned that love to Him? God desires a relationship with YOU and you alone. Oh, He also desires a relationship with me, but I cannot give Him what you can.

Should I be satisfied if only two of my children returned my love? Would I not be empty and heartbroken if the third child ignored my existence? Or perhaps acknowledged me but his or her words were empty of meaning – empty of love; a half-hearted attempt at a relationship. I desire a special relationship with each of my children.

Much in the same way, God desires a special relationship with each of us. No one else can fill that special place in God’s heart that is YOU-shaped. Take a look at your relationship with the Creator. He’s waiting just for you.

Isaiah 49:15-16 (TM) "Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, I'd never forget you—never. Look, I've written your names on the backs of my hands.”