Prayer Requests and Today's Oswald Chambers Entry

Greetings All:

I hope everyone is enjoying their Mondays...despite all the physical issues you or your family members are having. Speaking of, here are the prayer requests...and updates to them...that I'm aware of:
- Anne: She's still not feelig 100%. I called her on my way into the office and got a vMail back from her that she
is feeling a little bit better...to the point of being able to get up and get Ashley to Soccer Camp. Please continue to pray for her getting better.
- Jennifer's Dad: From her eMail last night it seems that they weren't able to conclusively figure out what was wrong
with her dad. He will hopefully be seeing several more competent docs today...and will hopefully be able to figure out what's going on. Please continue to pray for her dad...and for her and her mom in taking care of things.
- Dunlop Family Health: I think Kristin's crud has gotten a bit better, but I think she is still feeling a bit crappy. Chuck went to the ER last night because a spot on his leg that had been bothering him (not related to his back issues), started to get really inflamed and swollen. I've called to get an update from them, but haven't heard back.
- Safe Travels: I think that the Overly's have gotten home safely - they were planning on getting home last night at 5:30...and I'm not certain when the Davis clan was headed back in town.

So that's what I know now. I'll let you know if I hear anything else.

Below is today's entry from Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest. I found it to be a good, but challenging read...particularly in light of our loving each other (in our group and at CCC)...and others that God puts in our path on a daily basis - whether we are in a "service mode" or not. Speaking personally, I know that I can really get bogged down and think that I don't have capacity in my "oh-so-busy-day...whaaaaa!"...but that's really limiting things to ME and what I'm DOING vs. leaning on God and HIS strength...and his capacity is limitless. But really where I really screw things up is my attitude - focusing on ME versus HIM...which doesn't even allow for me to hear from Him. And all of this goes back to Alan's sermon on Mary and Martha and our need to SIT WITH HIM first...otherwise we will be POWERLESS and DIRECTIONLESS.

Those are my oh-so-deep thoughts. What are yours? Read below...

Over and out,
Doug

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July 7, 2008

All Efforts of Worth and Excellence Are Difficult

Enter by the narrow gate . . . . Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life . . . —Matthew 7:13-14

If we are going to live as disciples of Jesus, we have to remember that all efforts of worth and excellence are difficult. The Christian life is gloriously difficult, but the difficulty of it does not make us faint and cave in—it stirs us up to overcome. Do we appreciate the miraculous salvation of Jesus Christ enough to be our utmost for His highest—our best for His glory?
God saves people by His sovereign grace through the atonement of Jesus, and "it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" ( Philippians 2:13 ). But we have to "work out" that salvation in our everyday, practical living (Philippians 2:12). If we will only start on the basis of His redemption to do what He commands, then we will find that we can do it. If we fail, it is because we have not yet put into practice what God has placed within us. But a crisis will reveal whether or not we have been putting it into practice. If we will obey the Spirit of God and practice in our physical life what God has placed within us by His Spirit, then when a crisis does come we will find that our own nature, as well as the grace of God, will stand by us.
Thank God that He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a joyous thing, but it is also something that requires bravery, courage, and holiness. It tests us for all we are worth. Jesus is "bringing many sons to glory" (Hebrews 2:10), and God will not shield us from the requirements of sonship. God’s grace produces men and women with a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, not pampered, spoiled weaklings. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the worthy and excellent life of a disciple of Jesus in the realities of life. And it is always necessary for us to make an effort to live a life of worth and excellence.

"Drawing on the Grace of God — Now", Oswald Chambers

June 26, 2008

Drawing on the Grace of God— Now, Oswald Chambers

"We . . . plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain" — 2 Corinthians 6:1

The grace you had yesterday will not be sufficient for today. Grace is the overflowing favor of God, and you can always count on it being available to draw upon as needed. ". . . in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses"— that is where our patience is tested ( 2 Corinthians 6:4 ). Are you failing to rely on the grace of God there? Are you saying to yourself, "Oh well, I won’t count this time"? It is not a question of praying and asking God to help you— it is taking the grace of God now. We tend to make prayer the preparation for our service, yet it is never that in the Bible. Prayer is the practice of drawing on the grace of God. Don’t say, "I will endure this until I can get away and pray." Pray now — draw on the grace of God in your moment of need. Prayer is the most normal and useful thing; it is not simply a reflex action of your devotion to God. We are very slow to learn to draw on God’s grace through prayer.
". . . in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors . . ." ( 2 Corinthians 6:5 )— in all these things, display in your life a drawing on the grace of God, which will show evidence to yourself and to others that you are a miracle of His. Draw on His grace now, not later. The primary word in the spiritual vocabulary is now. Let circumstances take you where they will, but keep drawing on the grace of God in whatever condition you may find yourself. One of the greatest proofs that you are drawing on the grace of God is that you can be totally humiliated before others without displaying even the slightest trace of anything but His grace.
". . . having nothing . . . ." Never hold anything in reserve. Pour yourself out, giving the best that you have, and always be poor. Never be diplomatic and careful with the treasure God gives you. ". . . and yet possessing all things"— this is poverty triumphant ( 2 Corinthians 6:10 ).

To Be or to Dooby, Dooby Do” CG Discussion

Greetings My Fine Friends:

Great discussion last night on the "Mary/Martha story"...and the importance of having a Biblical Worldview (one word). I know that my understanding of things was expanded by what you all had to say. Thanks so much.

Here are some of the verses that we looked up to complement our understanding of the main passage - Luke 10:38-42:

- Jesus' worldview: Isaiah 61:1-2
- Mary's worldview: Deut. 8:3 & 18:15
- Verses for DWS: John 10:10b & 14:26-27

Additionally, here is the quote from John Hamby that Alan used in his message that really resonated with me...causing me slow down and put first things first (spending time with God...in the Word and in prayer and worship) before I march out on my own strength and cleverness...not to mention helping me develop a more accurate BIBLICAL worldview in the process: "Sitting without serving is powerless. Serving without sitting is directionless. Serving after sitting produces power and balance." Chew on that for awhile.

Lastly, below you will find the questions that Alan posed as a charge to us/Community Groups to help us develop our own Biblical worldview....challenging all of us to go through the process of coming up with our own by the end of the summer. I'm not going to make the same offer to y'all that Alan did to his 3 oldest kids ($25), but I would like for us to take that challenge on...so be thinking and praying through this. More on this later...

1. Does God Exist?
2. What is the character and nature of God?
3. How and why was the world created?
4. What is the nature and purpose of humanity?
5. What happens after we die on earth?
6. What spiritual authorities exist?
7. What is truth?

Remember as you go through this to have specific scripture references that support your answers...otherwise, it could be based on something else (e.g., the world's perception of things). Also, I looked up "worldview" and this is what I found...thought that it might prove helpful:

- The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world.
- A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group.

Prayer Requests:

- Anne/Brett: Ashley and their discernment, patience, and energy in parenting her
- Brett/Legal Team: Energy, discernment, and Brett being a light in a very dark place
- Anne: Boy from Africa without one arm and the other hand...healing and calling to be a preacher
- Chuck/Jennifer: Baby Martin...health of mommy and baby...and Baby M.'s physical health when he/she is born and spiritual health beyond
- Chuck/Kristin: Baby Dunlop...health of mommy and baby...and Baby D.'s physical health when he/she is born and spiritual health beyond
- Bryan/Jenn/Ricky/Tina: Friend Dan's physical and spiritual health/healing; discernment in sharing/being with him
- Bryan/Jenn: Safe travels to CircleKTown; good/meaningful times with family and friends; great memories for WeeYum and Wussle.

Operation CG Service

We had some great discussion about how we could weave SERVICE into our CG's "DNA" - sparked by Jenn's and Bryan's hearts for both being the church AND providing opportunities to model to our children what Christ calls us to do in the way of serving others. To that end, Bryan is going to take the helm in starting to figure out what we could do and how it might work itself out. Chuck D.'s "mobile haircuts and feet-washing" idea could fit right into this.

Jennifer M. and Brittany chimed in with their desire to have this be a way to provide exposure to multiple ministries and demographics that we COULD serve...but with the end-game being finding that one ministry or demographic that individually we are CALLED to serve...where we could dive in and serve passionately. We all agreed that we would like to see what we do corporately becoming something we can serve individually in a more purposeful, heart-felt way.

More to come...

Take care,
Doug-E-Fresh

Community Group...What is it...or not...to you?

Greetings All:

Great discussion on Wednesday night at the lovely Pinion home about what true community is and how our Community Group can help make it happen. Thanks again Pinions...for opening up your home and the wonderful meal. Thanks also to the group for being flexible to talk with Joe vs. discuss Sunday's message in detail. (We missed you Kristin/Chuck, Tina/Ricky, and Jenn!)

With Wednesday's discussion as a launching pad...think through and potentially "blog" your thoughts on the following questions...or other interesting musings you have on the subject:

1. Why is community important to you (or not)?

2. How do you think God uniquely uses community in our lives...for His purposes?

3. Does our Community Group bring you closer to God through real community? Why or why not?

4. Reading the verse Joe referred to (the one he will base his July 6th message on), Hebrews 10:22-25, how are we doing as a CG? Please explain. (ASIDE: If there are stories/testimonies of how God has used our CG to accomplish these things in your lives, write them down in this blog or jot them down somewhere else...that might help us prep for our time with Joe on the 6th.)

5. How could our CG do things differently (ongoing or just for a season) to be more effective in developing real community...and bringing us closer to God...encouraging us to do/be what is referenced in the Hebrews passage?

6. What could we do as a CG that could help us bring our sense of community (i.e., our deeper, real relationships (my assumption here)) to others outside our CG that would glorify God (at CCC, outside CCC, etc.)?

Just some questions to ponder...let the group know your thoughts on any or all of these...or anything else that comes to mind.

Chow, chow,
Doug-E-Fresh (is that better than "d.scott", Jenn!?!)

Prayers and Hopes for CCC

So, the last question on the bulletin goes something like this:  After a healthy understanding of our verses from last night, what are your goals, dreams, and prayers for CCC? 

I thought about Mr. Pinion's comment at the end of the meeting on the ride home last night and this morning.   He said his hopes for CCC are that we continue to serve the people in Smyrna.  I saw the passion and excitement in his eyes, and the excitement is infectious.  The momentum is there (with events like Argyle) and I hear people like Mr. Dunlop talk about how he wants to start a sock/haircut ministry to the homeless in our community.  I get excited when I picture Argyle as the beginning, not the end or just a cool think that happened...once.  I would really like to see Chuck's idea come to fruition in the near future, because I know this will be one of many new ways Cumberland will BE the church.  Chuck, count me in Chuck.  

I also wonder how this will carry over to my every day life.  Can I discern when the opportunity to "be the church" pops up at work, or at a restaurant, when I write down prayer requests, or when I am playing with Russ and Will?  I feel God adjusting my eyesight so that I see these chances more clearly, and I am just one of many at Cumberland.  

Thanks for a great meeting last night.  Your friendships and faith mean the world to our family! 

Post vs. Comment, that is the question.

You can do 1 of 2 things.
1. Add a "comment". this is a way to respond to the current blog (Breaking Ground with your leader)
2. Add a "Post". This is the icon at the top right corner of the page. This will start a whole new blog that others can read and/or comment about.

Breaking ground with your leader

Doh!

I almost let it happen...letting this fall through the cracks..you know, my promise to start an email discussion of sorts to help continue the conversation we had at our last CG.  Sorry my friends...I've been a bit busy and it completely slipped my mind...till now.

So with that, below you will find links to a couple of articles or devotions I found on the Luke 9:23 scripture that served as the foundation for our discussion around what the words: DENY, CROSS, and FOLLOW.  That said, read them over and let the group know if anything strikes you...OR if you just have some additional thoughts since our discussion.  Here they are:

http://crossroad.to/HisWord/notes/oswald/bearing-cross.htm

http://www.tuesdaytogether.us/articles/cross.htm

http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/sermons/48 (a bit tough to get through with all the old English... but worth the read and pressing on to get through it)