Many people have found a tremendous opportunity to grow and study during these difficult and strenuous times we are living in. Others have faltered and fallen into bad habits in regards to faith, or biblical community. Those people may find that their devotion has suffered during this current season, but the spiritual discipline for this week remains the same for both demographics. What's Accountability All About? The word accountability is one that is in reference to

Yesterday we discussed the challenge of "Joyfully Sharing Jesus Kingdom" especially when we are trying to do that in our own strength, we need our connection to the Holy Spirit. If we want to be able to practice "sharing Jesus' Kingdom" effectively we will need to lean into Gods invitation to "Sabbath Rest". As our lives get busier and the world's pressures continue to increase, so does the need for us to be diligent in practicing the spiritual discipline of rest. The Discipl

Prayer is one of the most beautiful expressions we can exercise within the kingdom of God. It allows us to connect on a personal level with our Heavenly Father who is caring for us, providing for us, blessing us, and leading us even in trying circumstances. Why Pray With Scripture? The God we serve is generous. Because of Gods generous provision, protection and care we have nothing that we lack. There are times however when we feel like we do not have what we need and Jesus r

Sunday we discussed the way that we view God in the ordinary and going from a place of death with things in our life to a place of resurrection, one of the best ways to do this is to saturate ourselves in biblical truth instead of whatever false narrative we may have come to believe. "Breath Prayer" is an amazing way to slow down the clock and saturate ourselves in the truths of God. Stop and breathe Breath prayer is an ancient Christian practice of uttering as prayers simple

Sunday we discussed "Remembering What Jesus Told Us" so that we can discern what to listen to and what not to listen to. One of the best ways to do this is to be saturated in the Word of God and listen to God as he speaks with us. Lectio Divina is a wonderful way to be sure we are trying to listen to God speaking in our lives. Why Change How I Read? Do you ever find that your bible reading is getting mundane? stale? unenjoyable? tedious? ..... well you are not as alone as you

Sunday we discussed the faithfulness of God, and that we need to remember His faithfulness so that we can be faithful. He is faithful to give us what we need every Sunday! Our faithfulness during the week can enable us to see his faithfulness on Sunday and we can be disciplined in the way that we worship God. For most people the busyness of day to day can be a tedious activity that takes up the bulk of your day. Believe it or not as a pastor I also have to be intentional abou

What Does Making Space Do? yesterday we discussed "letting go" and "giving out of nothing" because giving to other people is a critical aspect of following Christ’s example. We fail to do this most of the time because we do not have anything we can justify giving to others. We could justify giving more generously if we created space for that giving. Margin simply means empty space and we can do this with all of the areas of our life….. including our finance....our time....and

Yesterday we discussed the importance of having Jesus be "Lord" of every aspect in our life and one of the best ways to do that is to stay in connection with him daily. This may sound crazy but the majority of Christ followers struggle to pray each day, and as we discuss this discipline... first...It is important for us to remember that prayer or any other spiritual discipline, for that matter, does not earn us a place in God’s kingdom. We can't work our way into God’s grace.

Yesterday we discussed "Doing The Kings Business" in our life. Our noisy, distraction-filled world makes discerning the voice of God incredibly difficult. We are very quick to fill any moment of silence with music, podcasts, social media, etc. There's a time and a place for these things, but they often overrun every spare moment. This week, I want to challenge us to the discipline of silence and listening. This is exactly what it sounds like; it’s the practice of getting alo

Difference Between Jesus and the World We live in a culture that tells you to grow up fast and get work done quickly, but we serve a God that asks us to be still, and learn from the way that children live life. Life can have a way of bogging down our spiritual connection with God because of how busy we feel. Our spiritual practice this week invites us to let all the extra stuff in life fade away and to simply let yourself enjoy a moment with God. See The Gift All the th

The focus of the message yesterday was challenging our Idea of faith and learning to not only grow in faith but also live out our faith. This week's practice is a culmination of all of that, sharing with people the story of Gods kingdom(the gospel) by sharing our faith..... specifically without embarrassment. It should come as no surprise that the goal of this week's practice is to....share your faith .....with someone ....without embarrassment. All that is left is to disce

Can I Deepen My Worship? The term “True Worship” is what I used to describe this week’s discipline, and for some that may be difficult. I am not implying that anyone’s worship is lacking heart, I am simply saying we can be disciplined in the way that we worship . For most people the busyness of day to day can be a tedious activity that takes up the bulk of your day. Believe it or not as a pastor I also have to be intentional about my time with God…. Or I just won’t have any.

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As we move forward with this month here at CCLC we continue JOYFULLY SHARING JESUS' KINGDOM and as we said yesterday, we need to BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT WE HAVE. This of course is something that should be noticed on a regular basis and not something that we only do once. This week's discipline is one that will allow you to practically see Gods PROVISION IN LIFE without consuming a lot of your time or effort each day. What Is Blessing? If we are going to count our "blessings

Yesterday we discussed the posture of Jesus and the importance of walking in humility so we can accept the kings invitation, so if we want to be able to practice this kind of lifestyle effectively we will need to lean into Gods invitation to "Sabbath Rest". As our lives get busier and the world's pressures continue to increase, so does the need for us to be diligent in practicing the spiritual discipline of rest. The Discipline of Rest God knew from the very beginning of crea

Are You Free? Freedom is a gift from almighty God. Any gift that is offered has to be accepted and opened before it can be enjoyed to the fullest. A major hindrance to people experiencing the freedom that Christ paid for is not allowing God to take the weight of guilt and shame off your shoulders. Guilt and shame can be such a heavy chain, and keeping yourself attached to that chain only eliminates your ability to enjoy the life that God intended you to have. "does that re

What's Stewardship? When we are Frugal (responsible) with our resources, we create opportunity for us to be generous to other people. Frugal does not mean stingy…. Frugal means that we are wise about where and how we use our resources. Be Frugal…. Then be generous. What Does Jesus Say? There is a very interesting passage of scripture that addresses this topic. In this passage of Luke 14 Jesus has been invited to a meal by some of the leaders in the village he is in an

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Why Serve Someone? Yesterday we discussed how being Father Focused has a transformative nature and we begin to see other the way he does as we participate in the Love and Mission of Christ our Lord. Have you ever been in a tough place and wished someone would have lend you a helping hand?..... of course you have! It is in that spirit that we offer to someone that we know an opportunity for one less thing to worry about. What Can I Do? The EMPOWERING practice that we are work

Why Examine? Yesterday we discussed "Being Present" with God and others and "Repenting" from our failures to "love someone" the way God loves us. this is not new to the human condition, To illustrate how Israel had failed to measure up to his standard, God gives Amos a vision: This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied.