How does God speak to us?

      Is it really possible to talk or communicate with God?  As we all know, there are plenty of people around who claim that God talks to them.  A couple of years ago I read about a man that was personally taken on a “tour” of Heaven and then sent back down to earth to share what it was like.  That brings up a good question, though, does God talk directly only to a select group?  Does He speak audibly to anyone today?  Has He ever?  Does He listen?  Let’s dive in and find the answers in Scripture!

God Speaks Through What He Has Made

     Growing up in California has its advantages.  Seeing the great Sequoia trees in the mountains of Fresno or taking in the awesome beauty of the waterfalls of Yosemite National Park gives just a small glimpse of the greatness of our God!  Psalm 19:1-4 says,

“¹The heavens declare the glory of God;

     And the firmament shows His handiwork.

²    Day unto day utters speech,

     And night unto night reveals knowledge.

³    There is no speech nor language

     Where their voice is not heard.

⁴    Their line has gone out through all the earth,

     And their words to the end of the world.”

According to this Bible passage, God is constantly talking to us through His material universe—in a universal language! We would do well to stop and smell the roses more often!

God Speaks Through Supernatural Acts

True, creation tells of God’s glory and ways but He has also spoken through some unusual acts of intervention in the course of history and time.  In the Bible (Exodus 5-12) we have the story of the children of Israel in bondage to Egypt.  Moses was the one chosen by God to go to Pharaoh and demand that he release the children of Israel from captivity.  As Pharaoh refused to believe in the God of Moses, he hardened his heart against the Lord.  Then God said to Moses,

“⁵And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”  Exodus 7:5

It was part of God’s strategy to display His glory in bringing His children out of bondage.  It also taught Israel a lesson to be careful to believe in the Lord as Moses declared to Israel,

       “³⁵To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.” Deuteronomy 4:35

The miracles of Jesus Himself were intended by God to speak to us:

“³⁰And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”  John 20:30-31

Miracles are real.  They have happened before and still happen today.  God is speaking through them to remind us of His power and greatness.

God Speaks to Us Today Through the Bible

As one writer puts it, “God in Christ came to us wrapped in swaddling clothes, so the word of God comes to us wrapped in the words of these men—in this human form.”   The Bible gives us a sharp resolution of who God is and what He wants from us.  But the question arises, ‘Can God reveal something “outside” of what the Bible says?’  Here are a couple of guidelines to help us stay ON COURSE with the truth of God:

If the Gospel that is Preached is NOT the Gospel of Jesus Christ,  Then God did not speak to them!

“⁶I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, ⁷which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. ⁹As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”  Galatians 1:6-9

If What They Say Does NOT Agree with the Bible, then God Did Not Speak to Them!

“¹⁹And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? ²⁰To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”  Isaiah 8:19

A Trip with a Lesson

One theme in Scripture that strikes me every Christmas is the worship of the Christ-child.  The account of the Magi stands out as the height of this theme in Matthew 2:1-12.  The opening verses in chapter two states, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."   These strangers appear on the scene suddenly, declaring that they have seen “His” star in the East and desiring to worship the One “born King of the Jews”.  They have come a great distance to follow after a star they call “His star” that “went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was” (v.9b).  Just imagine the terrain and time that it took to make this journey.  This is not a whimsical decision to present valuable gifts to the King.  No, no—this was a sacrifice of great proportions.  All of this—to worship!  Think about that.  This was the greatest of honors to be in the presence of the King and give Him homage through their gifts.  God was calling them, that much is sure.  The star and the prophecy from Micah gave them the directions to find the Messiah but they had to make the commitment to follow and worship.

Fast forward to today: we are still called to follow the revelation of God in the Bible and worship the Lord Jesus. This time of year is a great reminder of the highest calling for believers to worship the King. This is what the Lord put into the heart of Abraham, David, and the Magi—to follow and worship. I want to encourage you this Christmas to set your heart’s desire upon worshipping the Lord everyday. There is so much joy and grace in kneeling before the Lord Jesus and giving Him the treasures of your heart—I promise you will never regret it!

Blessings, Pastor George

Shame on Us

Greetings to the U.S.A.,

Well my dear countrymen, we have now entered a time and era that is unprecedented in our lifetime. The country that I live in has gone the way of Sodom--it is seeking out Gomorrah. Let me be clear, our beloved country has been going in this depraved direction for a long time but yesterday the United States took a definitive step to affirm immoral practices in public policy that will greatly change the nature of our country. This is simply a matter of moving down the list of Romans 1 and the progressive march from idol worship and the worship of the creation to affirming a public policy of homosexuality. My fellow citizens, the Bible describes this as the last stage in God giving people over to the consequences of their sin. This did not result in blessing for Israel nor for other kingdoms throughout history and the consequence will not benefit the United States of America. How can we escape the judgment coming upon the nation? Return to the Lord! He is the Judge of all the earth. This God loves us and sent His Son Jesus Christ to save us from our sins and bring us eternal life. Our corruption as a nation has reached a boiling point and will consume us from the inside out if we do not turn to the Lord by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. He is the only One who can shelter us from the coming wrath.

Dear fellow citizens, every nation and kingdom has fallen and within the account of the collapse is a corruption of values and character. This is upon us now as our country has willingly taken some deadly steps toward same sex marriage, legal use of marijuana, and abortion on demand. Today is day 1...and it will not end well for the good ol' US of A unless we return to the Lord.

Shame on Us....Shame on Us

Walking in grace, Pastor George

My Brother's Keeper Sunday

In the past election, the economy was a huge factor. We realize that things are difficult for everyone financially. This is why we deeply appreciate the financial support you share with Crossroads on a regular basis. It has always been our commitment to use your dollars in the most effective way possible. We watch the expenses closely and look to get the best value we can.


As most of you know, we provide Financial Peace University on a regular basis. I believe in the program and in the principles that Dave Ramsey teaches. The leadership team has based our stewardship strategy on those principles. We remain dedicated to that strategy. In keeping with that strategy, we have made the following decisions.

1) We have cut staff salaries by $120 per week. It is not something we wanted to do, but the circumstances demanded it. We appreciate the staff and all the hard work they do. They have always gone above and beyond what we have expected.

2) We have indefinitely suspended doing the 3% for debt reduction. Given the current economic situation, we felt that we should be focused on funding our current programing and making our regular mortgage payment. Over one thousand dollars ($1000) of each offering goes just to cover the mortgage payment. The leadership team is still dedicated to reducing our debt. We will be discussing and proposing some future changes to our stewardship strategy in regard to it.

As difficult and challenging as things are financially for us as a congregation, they are even more so for those in our community who are poor. While you and I can financially “tighten our belts”, those who are less fortunate struggle for food, paying basic utilities, and even having gas in their car to go to work. This is where our benevolence ministry “My Brother’s Keeper” is desperately needed.

MBK is funded in several ways. First, it is funded through the two garage sales we have every year. Many of you have generously donated of your time and items for the sales. We also fund it through using the PayLess gift cards. Three percent (3%) of what you put on the card before you shop is donated to the ministry. You can use the gift card to buy groceries and even pay for gas as well.

Another way you can help MBK is to utilize their other program for purchasing gift cards for many popular restaurants and retail stores. These make great Christmas gifts and a percentage of price is given back to help those in need. For example, if you purchase ten $5 Starbucks cards, 10% of your $50 would be given to MBK. See Becky Holladay or Stacy Tilton for a list of merchants that participate in the program or use this link https://www.glscrip.com/downloads/2012giftguides/holiday_gift_guide1.pdf

The final way that we fund My Brother’s Keeper is through the second of our two annual special offerings. On November 18th, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we will be taking up a special offering and ALL funds received will go to MBK. Remember this is a SPECIAL offering and should be “over and above” your regular tithing and giving to the church. It will NOT include any funds given online through our e-Give system. That means that you must come prepared to give either by a check or cash on that Sunday.

Please pray about this, and seek God’s direction. You folks blew my mind with the record special offering on Easter. I know that even in difficult times, God is still in control. Let your thankfulness and generosity be expressed as you consider how much you should give. As you do that, know this, that the funds you allow God to provide through you will make the difference in someone’s life. It will allow MBK to be the answer to a desperate person’s prayer for assistance.

See You Sunday,
Mike

On Election Day

With election day coming close I wanted to bring a little biblical advice before you step behind the curtain—vote based on character notcharisma.  One account from 1 Samuel 10 sticks out to me: Saul was head and shoulders above the people with a handsome countenance and no one was like him in all Israel (v.23-24).  However, with all of the affirmation of the outward appearance, there was not a corresponding inward desire to obey the Lord.  In others words, Saul looked the part but history would prove that he was far from the ideal leader.  Time and time again Saul was presented with the opportunity to do the will of the Lord and, time and time again, he did the wrong thing.  You see, dear friends, real leadership is built upon character not charisma.  Leadership is leading people to do what is right time after time.  In selecting any leader it is important to look beyond the charisma that a leader brings.  Don’t get me wrong—charisma is a good thing.  But effective leadership is not simply about charisma but it is built upon the character of the leader and you know character through experience.  Helpful questions in discerning character are, “Has this person proven that he is a capable leader over a long period of time?”, “Has he met with adversity and overcome it?”, “Can I trust this person based upon his past leadership experiences to lead the country in the right way?”  and most importantly, “Would the Lord be honored with the policies and values that this person holds?”  I would ask you, dear Christian, look beyond charisma and vote character on election day. 

In Christ,  Pastor George               

Important Decisions

Here I am again, trying to establish the practice of blogging. If at first you don’t succeed, try again, again, and again I guess. I feel that the need to open up this important line of communication with members and friends of Crossroads. I hope that it can be an avenue for discussion and greater understanding.

 Things around here are moving fast. We are already in the midst of our Fall programing. This month is filled with lots of events for both families and individuals. I will not mention everything that is going on, so please check the church website for full list of what’s going on.

 We are really focusing on keep the website current. Sunday, we had our very first “official” meeting of our newly expanded eldership. I am really excited with the current make up of our leadership team. Each person brings a unique and valuable prospective to the table. As usually, we had some important decisions that we needed to make.

 Dave Nance and I reported on a seminar we attended in Indianapolis on church compliance with the legal requirements of government. It was, as I anticipated, an eye opening experience for both of us. Basically, we learned that the government at all levels is looking very closely a churches and non-profits to see if they can get some revenue. As far as the federal government, they have created lots of new laws that we need to comply with or face fines, assessments, and even possible revocation of our non-profit status. This could mean that our members would no longer be able to claim their tithes and offerings on their taxes. In other words, these matters are serious issues that must be properly addressed.

 In order to bring our congregation into full compliance with current law, the elders have made three important decisions I want you to be aware of. First off, the leadership unanimously decided to engage the services of StartChurch to assist us through this entire process of reviewing and updating our structure and processes. StartChurch is a company dedicated to helping churches deal with the increased scrutiny by the IRS. With over 12 years of extensively researching the laws that govern religious and non-profit organizations, they have compiled over 80 effective and user friendly manuals, using simple day-to-day language, and compliance software that makes church starts and management easier.

 We have contracted with them to help us do a full audit of all our internal and financial processes, to incorporate our congregation, to update our constitution and by-laws, and resubmit our non-profit and tax exempt status to the state and federal governments. It will take the better part of year to complete this process. We will do our best to keep you informed as it goes forward. It is an expensive, but absolutely necessary process.

 The second important decision dealt with our associate minister Dave Nance. Those of you who have been around here a while know the background. Dave has been an integral part of Crossroads for nearly a decade. He was our first paid student minister. A few years ago, Dave began internship with me preparing him for ordination. This included both practical coaching as well as intensive study program. We were extremely proud to ordain him as an evangelist and minister of the gospel.

 I cannot tell how much I appreciate Dave’s work as our associate minister. He has been my right hand in the ministry here. The only difficulty has been that there is no provision for an unpaid associate minister in our structure or leadership. Dave has always been a voice on the leadership team, without an official seat at the table. We needed to correct this.

 The leadership team unanimously decided to appoint Dave Nance to immediately begin serving as an elder of Crossroads until the December congregational meeting. At that meeting, we will vote on Dave as a congregation. I have no doubt that he will serve this congregation well in that capacity. Please keep him in your prayers as his responsibilities shift.

 The third decision that was made in the meeting was the selection of a chairman. In the past, our leadership team was not formally structured with an official chairman. One of the lessons learned from the StartChurch conference was legal importance of such a structure, and need for such a position. This position is even more important now as we move forward in this process.

 The leadership team unanimously determined that Dave Nance would be the best person to serve as our chairman this year. There were a number of reasons for this. One, he attended the seminar and is already up to speed on the process of review with StartChurch. Two, he is a detailed, high organized individual. Working through this process is going to require such person to keep it on track. Finally, Dave will have the time and availability to communicate and coordinate this process with StartChurch. He and I will continue to work closely with each other. The leadership team will also be greatly involved in this whole process as well.

 As members of Crossroads, your participation in this process is going to be vital. We will keep you updated as things progress. I am certain that we will have some special congregational meetings to properly approve any changes made to our existing structural documents. I am equally certain that this audit and review is going to make us a better church as well as legally compliant with current law.

 I want to close by encouraging you to consider your financial support of Crossroads. We are currently running nearly two hundred dollars behind our approved budget each week. Unless we see a significant increase in support these final months of the year, this shortfall will have to be reflected in next year’s budget.

 If you have not signed up for e-give yet, please do so. The link can be found at crossroadschristianchurch.net If you need any assistance, ask Stephanie Guinn. She will be happy to help you. Try it, and I think you will like it. Even if you only use it to give a onetime gift, it will be greatly appreciated at this time.

 I also ask for you to remember the leadership and the staff in your daily prayers. We live in exciting and challenging times. The key is going to be leaders guided by God's guidance and wisdom.

See You Sunday!
Mike

I believe in Aliens!

That's right--you heard me say it--I believe in Aliens!  First, there have been some super cool movies about aliens (just see the new movie Men in Black 3).  Second, there have been some strange cloud formations in the sky (besides the happy face and sheep).  Third, I saw a guy the other day with green and purple spiked hair.  And finally, there must be Aliens because there is no other reason why God's people would walk away from their Lord.  The prophet Jeremiah says it this way, "Has a nation changed its gods, which are not gods?  But My people have changed their Glory for what does not profit...For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns--broken cisterns that can hold no water." (Jer. 2:11, 13)  Crazy right?  But this is not something that just happened in Jeremiah's day--it is happening today at an alarming rate.  People who have made a profession of faith only to walk away from following Jesus Christ soon thereafter.  Jesus described this kind of faith as the seed that falls on shallow, rocky or thorny ground and soon fades away.  It is sad to see someone so "on-fire" for God and then slowly fall away.  My friend, hold fast to Christ and seek Him first and foremost in your life.    

Beware the aliens!  :)

Walking in grace, George