Notes From Church: Reaching The NEXT Generation

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:5-6 NIV)

This past Sunday our pastor continued a series on moving forward.  He spoke about the upcoming generation and how we must effectively speaks to them in a manner that captures their  interest and how they prefer to take in information.  Times are changing and must be forward thinking as we fulfill the great commission with the upcoming generation.  As the body of Christ we shouldn't be behind the times or resistant to  change our tactics of  reaching our youth. For instance Dr.Crute mentioned  snackable information to paraphrase this means to give  short quick and to the point information. Long boring lectures and condescending tones will only push them away so we must adjust our thinking.

 Our message shouldn't be compromised but  the methods should be current with the interest of our children.   It is  vital that our   children  know that we care about the things they care about and that their thoughts and ideas are valid. So it is important  not only  to  talk with our youth but to also listen to them as well.  Encourage their dreams and nurture  their relationship with Christ. In  the comments below tell me what are some ideas you may have for reaching the next generation in a  new and exciting way.

Pushing Past Life's Obstacles

 I can endure all these things through the power of the one who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 (CEB)

All pictures all taken and edited by Lesli Allyn Blogs unless otherwise stated.

We've   all come to a point where we  have  reached the end of our rope and  we just  want to give up. Life can get  hectic with all the  responsibilities  that we have and  the desire to reach,  perfection can cloud our vision.  Perfection is  not what we should be striving for  because  perfection begin and ends with Christ. But through Him we are fully equipped to  endure any obstacle because  with Christ all things are possible and  we are able to  push through  life's  obstacles.  You've  come too far to just give up; Shift your focus from your problem to your solution which is  submitting our concerns to God and  trusting Him to  work things out.

Finding Your Purpose

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.Do not forsake the work of your hands. Psalm 138:8 (ESV)

All pictures  belong to and  are  edited by Lesli Allyn Blogs unless otherwise stated.

I  believe  that we  all  have  the desire to  better ourselves.  There is  a  desire in all of us to grow and find what  our purpose is.  Sometimes  we  get caught up in our own routines and get set in  our ways that we   settle in to  a  stagnant  life.  If this sounds familiar then you recognize   the need to  break out  of  your comfort zone.



But what  if you  are unsure  of where you fit in  or  what your purpose  is?  It  can be  frustrating  to have the desire to   do    amazing things but  have  no clue where to   start.  A  good  place to  begin is to  start being  intentional about  spending  some  quiet time  before the  Lord in order to  find ourselves.  Then we  must  find  the  Lord and  absorb  His  wisdom.  Prayer  is  a  direct connections with   the Lord and it is  vital  in our  journey to a  better us.


We must  develop a  mindset that declares  that  God  will fulfill His  purpose  in our lives.  When  we  don't  believe that God can  use  us  we tend  to shy away from digging deeper  in  our pursuit  to  find our  purpose.  But  we  must do  the  complete  opposite we  must  pursue  Gods  plans for our  lives  so that  we  can  live to our  full potential.   Why live with a  stack of regrets  over things you could have done   when you  have the privilege to  tap  into  Gods endless resources?


We  can  live  life to the  fullest; Keep chasing after the will of  God and  you will  find  your  place in His  plan.   Everything that  you are  going through or  have gone through  play  a part in reaching your full potential. Remain focused ,keep  praying  and  keep  worshiping  God  because He is  faithful. Your story doesn't end with where you've fallen short  but it continues  where  your faith  meets the Lords  power.


Love,

Breaking Under Pressure

 Those who hide their sins won’t succeed,but those who confess and give them up will receive mercy. Proverbs 28:13 (CEB)

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We  put so much pressure on  ourselves to  lead  this  perfect  life as  Christians.   But the   truth  is  that perfectionism   will sabotage   your  faith  every time because we are  seeking a  standard within ourselves that we should be seeking  only in Christ.  What we  need to realize is that  God's  mercies  are new  each morning for   good  reason.   In  life  we  will  face  test  after test  and  our job isn't  to  come  up with our own  solutions but we  must  focus on God   and  seek  Him for  our   solution  and  follow  His lead.

Today  in Church my pastor  spoke about pinpointing the areas we  struggle in ,  confessing our sins and being  brave enough to  admit  that we need help.  For  many of  us   admitting that  there are  areas  of  our lives  that  we  are  unable to manage our own is  scary.    I have to admit  that I am  one of those  people who becomes uneasy when  it comes to  being open and honest about where I am and  I  can be  very guarded with  my  feelings.  But  what I am learning is that  carrying all of  my  own broken  pieces only  leaves  me  broken and confessing   my  issues enables me to move forward with Gods plan for my life.

We  don't have to  continue to break under the  pressures of life when  we are able to  give  God all that we  have and   trust Him to fill in the gaps in our lives.  Trusting Gods  plan takes  courage  but  ultimately  when we  give our problems to the Lord,   the weight  of our  circumstances won't crush us   and we  are then  able to  shift  our focus on  hearing from God  and  following His plan. So  we have to  resolve in our hearts  what we  will be  led  by.  Will we  allow  God  to navigate our lives or  are  we more content  to circle around the  same  old issues on our own?

Today I want you to remember that you  don't  have to be perfect but  what you must do is trust  Gods  perfect will for your  life. Continue to  pray  and spend time with  God  so that He can  fill you each day.  You will  find that  you will  be    better equipped to deal with  life's  ups and downs and you will  be less likely to buckle under the  pressure .

Love,

Where Does Your Hope Lie?

31  but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength;they will fly up on wings like eagles; they will run and not be tired;they will walk and not be weary. Isaiah 40:31(CEB)

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When you read over today's  reference  verses  Isaiah 40:31 and  Lamentations 3:22-23 (CEB)  you'll   notice that   God  guarantees  us that  if we   put our  hope in  Him:


1.  He  Will Renew  your Strength: 

We don't have to rely on our  own strength  or  abilities to get through the seasons in our lives.  As we  begin to  be totally  dependent on  God we  can  trust that  the Lord will  fix all that  is  broken  within us and  set  us back  on our  feet again.


2.They  Will Fly on Wings Like Eagles:  

We  are  never  below  Gods  grace  we are right in the center of  His  mercy.  Every  morning   we  receive  new mercies.  So we  don't have to  carry the  burdens of  yesterday into today. There  is  no  circumstance that  God cannot   carry us  through because  He consistently meets our  needs.


3. They Will Run and Not  Be  Tired;  They Will  Walk and  Not Be Weary: 

No matter where you are ,  no  matter   if you  feel  like   you have nothing  more to offer, the  Lord will give you  just  what you need to   take  the  next  steps you need to  get through to the other side of  each difficult  circumstance.

 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

So you have  to ask yourself,  Where does my   hope  lie when I reach the end  of  my rope? Will I continue to seek my own  way or   will  I   finally  lay down  all that I have before  God and allow Him to fill me  with  his everlasting love and  wisdom? Trust me I know life happens and there  are  so  many  things that compete  for  our  attention  but  we  have to purposely choose  to  put  our  hope in God and not  what  we  see or  feel is going on  around us. Remember,  you are never  beyond  God's  reach.


The way that we can begin to shift  our  focus  is  through quality time spent  with God. Reading  His word and meditating on His promises  instead of   the things  that  leave of  anxious and cloud our judgement. The  bible is  our  life  manual  and our  best  tool to navigate through life. Friends are great,  a supportive  family  is amazing but  no one can restore you like  God.  So  today make sure that you  intentionally  give  God  your time  so that  He  can fill you up.  


Love,

With God All Things Are Possible

13 I can do all things through Christ[a] who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:13(NKJV)

All photos  belong to and are edited by Lesli Allyn Blogs unless otherwise  stated.

It's amazing how  God  can reach  each one of  us   in  a  completely  unique way that is suited  to our  individual needs.   He isn't  limited  by  where we are in our faith,  our  circumstances  or  any  plans of the enemy.    His   abilities  are limitless  and so  is  His  love.  There is nothing that  we  cannot  do when we are  open and  receptive  to  the Lords direction .

The Lord  loves us so much  and   He  desires to  see us walk  boldly in  His purpose  for our lives. He doesn't  just  leave us to  sort things out on our  ow. He  has given us the bible as our life manual and the  gift of the holy  spirit  to   coach us  through   life and   grant  us  discretion.  It  feels  good to know that we have  so much  support.  While we   begin to trust  the  Lord with  our  journey  He  meets us  every  step of the way making sure that  we   find success.

No matter where  we find ourselves in life  we can be assured that  His power  rest in  us.   We  must    be  willing to  tap into  His  resources. He can use  us  just  as we  are and meet us  at the point of  our faith.   His grace is   sufficient  and If we are  open to   His plan   the possibilities are  endless for us.   All we  have to  do is is  accept  His provision by offering our lives to Him so that  He  begin to  change our hearts  and   mold us.

Don't  be  discouraged by where  you are in  your walk with Christ because   you are in  a place that is  less than perfect. Don't  fall into  the trap of    comparing  your walk with  other  believer. Although we all are    walking   a  path towards our  purpose everyone's  journey is  different.  What is  important  moving forward is  that  we let  go of  our  own abilities and  rest in  Christ's capable  hands.   You may not understand how things  will  come together   but  today  resolve to   trust  Gods  plan.

Love,