Guest: Anna Meadows

Anna is one of our Youth Pastors on our Northwest OKC Campus. She Writes…

Believe… like a child.

Remember when you were a kid?

When you ran… you were fast.

When you lifted something… you were strong.

When you could reach the sink… you were tall.

But pretty soon, you grew up and realized that someone was always faster, someone was always stronger, and someone was always taller and better than you.

When did we stop believing in ourselves? Was it when we started comparing? Or was it when we heard and believed, for the first time, the two little words that control a lot of our thinking: I can’t.

Children don’t have to wait until everything is in order to go after something. They don’t care what others think, and failure is not even a thought.

So, is there a goal that seems out of reach? A dream you’ve put off because it overwhelms you? Is there a vision for your church, family or ministry that scares you into procrastination?

God believes in you, but do you believe in yourself?

“I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Luke 18:17 NLT

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Guest: Brian Kruckenberg

Title: 11 Days

Last summer during OnePrayer I was participating in the weekly fasts. On the morning of the first fast, I sat down to read out of Deuteronomy.  I wasn’t quite sure what God would have for me there but after reading just a few lines I read something that I can’t ever recall reading before: “Normally, it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea…” (Deut. 1:2, NLT) I stopped right there. I couldn’t believe what I just read: Eleven days? Really? ELEVEN DAYS!?! So, what’s the big deal? Well, what should have taken the Israelites about ELEVEN DAYS took them FORTY YEARS…or, by simple calculation: 14,600 DAYS!  You see, God wanted to give the Promised Land to the Israelites and they were a short eleven-day journey away from receiving this amazing gift but instead they bickered, doubted and rebelled their way to a journey that would last 14,600 days. That absolutely blows my mind.

There’s so much more to this story (no doubt, the battle for the promised land would have still been there) but the questions for now are these: What is taking us years that God could do in days?  What issue has handcuffed you for years that you could be on the way to defeating in a few weeks if you listened to God, faced it head on and seriously dealt with it?  Eleven days or forty years? It is up to us.

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Guest: Cindy Beall

Redemption from the Top

Can I just start out by saying how awesome my Senior Pastor is? 

He’s the guy who writes here at Swerve with Bobby G.  He’s the guy who cherishes his wife and their six children above anything else.  He’s the guy who has helped many of you with leadership issues.  He’s the guy who genuinely adores God and His Kingdom and wants to give everything away to help others. 

Trust me when I say, he has DEFINITELY helped me.

Just over seven years ago I found myself spiraling downward after a confession from my husband, Chris, about his pornography addiction and subsequent adultery.  With Chris having just joined the LifeChurch.tv staff six weeks prior, you can imagine that Craig wondered what in the world he was supposed to do with that predicament.  After a lot of prayer, he chose to confront the situation head on.  He chose the high road…the road less traveled. 

He chose redemption.

And now today, Chris and I are honored to give hope to others as we share our story of God’s redemptive power.  Had Craig not taken a very difficult stand for our marriage, I am certain it wouldn’t have taken the healing path it did.

Church leaders, whenever you find yourself in a similar situation, believe in hope.  Believe in redemption.  Believe that God’s divine power has given you everything you need for a situation like this. 

You never know just how many people you’ll affect by your faithful act.

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Guest: Scott Rodgers

Teachability Is A Must

LifeChurch.tv is a passion-filled, aggressive, ever-evolving organization.  At LC, teachability is a must. Without teachability you probably won’t  last 91 days at LC.  Why 91?  If you’re not teachable, during your 90-day review you might hear, ‘Thanks for coming, God loves you.  And, thanks for leaving, God loves you.’  What we do is just too important.

Some people mistake experience for teachability. 10 years of experience + teachability = 10 years of experience.  10 years of experience - teachability = 1 year of experience, 10 times.

Here are some behaviors I’ve observed from those who are teachable:

1. They ask for adjusting feedback. What can I do better?  What are my blind spots?  How would you approach this situation?  Etc.  Those without teachability don’t look for adjusting feedback, they look for a pat on the back.
2. They live as a learner. They ask questions.  They pursue knowledge.  They make observations.  They listen more than they speak (ouch!).  They experiment with new ways of doing things.  Those without teachability don’t live as a learner, they like to be the expert.
3. They are not defensive. They don’t make excuses when receiving feedback.  They receive it, process it, and adjust.  Even if they disagree, they look to become more self aware.  Those without teachability are simply defensive.

Are you teachable?  I know I need to become more teachable.

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YouVersion 2.0 is Live!

Over the last few months, Team Digerati has spent many hours giving YouVersion.com a complete overhaul, and we’re excited to share it with you today. Here’s a quick look at what you’ll find on YouVersion 2.0, as well as some things to look forward to in the coming months:

• A new and improved UI
• Movable widgets for contributions, daily reading, and your journal
• Tag, bookmark, and link without leaving the reader
• Optional parallel readers let you read two different versions on the same page
• My page features your friends’ contributions, likes and bookmarks
• Community page shows the entire YouVersion community feed
• Mobile Pages for more information and download links

See the new features in action on YouVersion.com.

We’ve got more plans for YouVersion over the coming months, as we turn our attention to one of my favorite areas: mobile!

We’re thankful for the opportunity to help people become more engaged in Scripture and appreciate the part you’ve played as members of the YouVersion community.

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For the Joy

According to the writer to the Hebrews, Jesus endured the pain… “for the joy set before him endured the cross.” (See Hebrews 12:2)

When you do suffer for the cause of Christ, try not to gripe, complain, or moan. Instead, count it an honor to suffer for His name. Think of the joy that lies on the other side of obedience.

Don’t worry when people persecute you for your stance for Christ. Worry when they don’t.

I pray James 1:2-3 speaks to you today. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”

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Sign up for One Prayer

One Prayer begins in just over a month, and there’s still time for your church to get involved! Here are a few quick thoughts from Craig:

Be a part of this global experience! Register your church for One Prayer. (Note: even if you joined us last year, you’ll need to sign up again to participate in One Prayer 2009.)

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The Private Pain Before Public Gain

Before God blesses your ministry publicly, he’ll often allow you to suffer with integrity privately.

Personal pain often precedes pubic gain. A.W. Tozer said, “It is doubtful that God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.”

Scripture seems to imply that God will often test us before God blesses us. He wants to know if we’ll be faithful before giving us more.

The biggest tests I’ve faced involved doing the right thing when no one else knows. One time I had to make a public and controversial stand without the freedom to explain the reason. To expose the reason would have hurt too many innocent people.

I believe God called me to endure the criticism from uninformed people on behalf of those who were innocent. One explanation would have silenced all the critics, but also compromised my integrity.

I chose to stand alone. God knew the whole story. That had to be enough for me.

You may have to do the same. If you are facing private pain, rejoice that God might be preparing you for ministry gain.

31 comments