Man, this week in the Word, my life was changed as I was reminded of a transformational truth.  It was life-giving to me.

I’m a self-confessed worrier.  I can worry about anything.  Why?  Because I’m a control freak.  I like a plan.  I like guardrails. I like rules.  I like to plot the course and travel down the road laid out for me.  Problem is, life doesn’t always play by the rules.  Life doesn’t always work out.  God doesn’t always give us the road map ahead of time – he gives it to us as we need it so that we’ll learn a rock-solid trust in who he is and learn faith along the journey.

So what to do with worry?  Couple of things:

We need to know that Worry and Anxiety is a part of the human condition and won’t go away until He returns.

We need to “not” try to rid ourselves of worry and anxiety by putting our lives in a box.

We need to FIGHT worry with gospel identity:  Here’s what I mean by this:  Jesus tells us “do not worry about your life…” (Matthew 6:25).  He then tells us why we don’t have to worry…This is where it gets good.  We don’t have to worry because we’re NOT Lilies and Birds.  Jesus says that he takes care of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field.  He then tells us we are more valuable than they are.  He’s saying don’t worry because you aren’t birds or lilies.  Who are we?  He says we are the Father’s kids.  He says “your Heavenly Father feeds them and clothes them. (Matt. 6:26 & Matt. 6:32)  Don’t miss this.  Jesus says we have a Heavenly Father.  We…sinful, rebellious, rejectors of God and worshippers of created things are the Father in Heaven’s kids.  The Father that we have rejected is also the Father who has rescued us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, adopting us as His children.

So…the point is this:  Fight Worry with Gospel-Identity.  We have a powerful weapon as we are prone to worry and be anxious.  That weapon is the truth that we are blood-bought children of the King.

Who are you?  Are you believing what God calls you if you’ve placed faith in Christ?  Inasmuch as you believe the truth of who and whose you are, your worry and anxieties will decrease.

Believe today!

Pastor Chris.

I think I’ve written about APTAT before.  If I have, sorry about that, but I’m writing about it again.  This is so powerful.  This is so life-giving!  So simple, yet so mind-blowing!

As we seek to follow the Lord in deeper ways in 2012, let me commend to you APTAT.  What is APTAT?

• Admit you can do nothing without Jesus
• Pray for help from the Father
• Trust in God’s Word – his promises
• Act on God’s Word and what it says instead of emotions
• Thank God for his faithfulness

That’s APTAT.  In your life, as you seek to apply the Word of God to your daily walk with Christ, this is a helpful tool to lead you deeper into Jesus and what he wants to do in and through you.  Have something you know you must do that God is leading you towards?  Fearful about that?  Here’s how APTAT works.

Father, I admit I’m scared here and that I can’t do what you’ve called me to do apart from you.  I pray for your help, your strength and for courage to follow you.  I trust that your Word says that “I am with you always, until the end of the age.”  Act and follow through in Trust in God’s bloodbought promise to you and me.  Thank God for what he’s doing/will do through His  leading.

I’ve posted a link for you to look at it more in depth here:  http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/taste-see-articles/dana-doug-and-an-aptat-recap

Dig Deeper,

PC

Prayer is a difficult thing to get!  It’s a life-long journey of learning how to communicate with God…learning how to focus and not get distracted…learning how to NOT fall asleep…learning how to not drift mentally…

Prayer is so hard, and I’m certainly not as far along on the journey as I’d like to be.  But one thing that I see Jesus giving advice about in regards to prayer is this:  The result of praying is either poison or pleasure.  Check out Matthew 6:5-14 for more.

There are 2 groups of prayers:

Group 1: Jesus tells us that those who pray for public praise & pray so that others will make much of them have a reward (6:5).  What is their reward?  I believe their reward is just what they’re asking for.  They receive public praise and their name and reputation get’s made much of.  That’s their reward, and it’s poison.  It’s poison because being made much of and receiving public praise leads to pride and destruction.  And this was what was happening to the Pharisees.  They lived for self exaltation.  And self-exaltation leads to death because at its root it’s idolatry.

Group 2: Jesus tells us how to pray.  ”Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (6:9).  Their goal is the exaltation of God’s name, not their own name.  Their goal is to make much of God and to lift up God alone, not themselves.  They also received a reward.  They receive pleasure.  We receive pleasure when our desire is for God to be made much.  When we live for God first we enter in to a new dimension of life.  Real Life. True Life.  True Joy.  True fulfillment.  True happiness.

So…what group are we in?

Dig Deeper, RiverStone!

PC

God’s encouragement is fuel that gets us moving in order to follow through with an assignment from God. God’s patter in Scripture is this:  He calls…he encourages…He moves and proves faithful…People experience God…People Worship God.  God Gets glory.

In light of this above a couple of thoughts: What is God calling you to in 2012?  What door has he opened wide for you to walk through this year?  As a church, what is God leading us towards in 2012?  These are such important questions as we look forward to having a “Greater Things” year.

• Assignment:  Go over the Jordan and take the land.  Encouragement: Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you…No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life.  Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.  I will never leave you or forsake you…Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:1-9)

  Assignment:  “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, and go up to Ai.” Encouragement: “See, I have given them into your hand…the Lord God will give it into your hand.” (Joshua 8:1-9)

  Assignment: “Do not fear them (enemies)”…go to war against them.  Encouragement: “Not a man of them shall stand before you.” (Joshua 10:1-8)

  Assignment: Take the remaining land.  Encouragement: “The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight.  And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you.” (Joshua 23:1-5)

  So…how could Joshua and the people follow through with the assignment of God, fueled by the encouragement from God?  He believed God at His Word.  Whatever God encouraged, God did.  Whatever God promised, God delivered.  God’s encouragements are promises.

  Let this give you fuel for 2012, and let 2012 be a year that we all believe God at His Word!

  Dig Deeper,

  PC

What comes to your mind when you think about the number 40?

For me 2 things.

1. The U2 song, “40.” Here’s a link to that amazing song!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czzIhi3s7UY
2. 40 years old…I can’t believe I’m gonna reach that milestone in 5 years.  It blows my mind to think that life has me 5 years away from being 40 years old.  (No offense to those who have reached that glorious milestone, and beyond.)
3. 40 years is how long the Israelites wandered in the wilderness.

I want to camp out on #3 for a minute.  God has been helping me to see through His Word that the result of pursuing “His clear assignment” is wandering.  We talked about this at length on Jan. 8th in our corporate worship.  When we say “no” to God, nothing good ever happens.  When we “run” from God, why is it that we believe our joy will increase?  It will in fact decrease, because the wandering begins.  That’s what happened to the Israelites in Numbers 13-14.

Our main text on January 8th was Joshua 1:1-11.  We began with the premise that God desires to do “Greater Things” in 2012 in and through RiverStone Church for His Glory.  Not for our praise.  But for His Glory.  He wants to do more.  He wants to reach more.  He wants to show the praise of His Glorious Grace to more and more people.  We believe this.

But one thing is foundational for us: “Greater Things” begin when we are participating in His agenda, and not our own.  Joshua would experience a great movement of God as he followed God; not by following his own lead.  Joshua and the people of Israel would stop wandering around the desert as they participated and responded to God’s Agenda, not their own desires.

What exactly was God’s Agenda for Joshua and the people of Israel?  Cross the Jordan and take the land. Why did God want them to do so?  So that the fame of God’s name would spread!  We have the same agenda today from Jesus – “Go and make disciples of all nations…(Matthew 28:19-20).  Why?  So that the fame of God’s name would spread to the ends of the earth.”

So…it’s time to decide.  In 2012:

• Do we want to see Greater Things?
• Who’s agenda are we pursuing?
• Do we believe Joshua 1:5 and 9?

Hey RiverStone,

We are so fortunate to have capable and Godly Men in our faith family.  Dan Underwood is one of those men at RiverStone!  I praise God for him bringing the Word on Sunday, January 1st.  As we talked prior to him teaching, I shared with him a prayer for RS from my heart.

One of my prayers is that in 2012 we would grow deeper in our APPETITE FOR THE WORD OF GOD as a Faith Family.  I’m asking God to give us a deeper hunger for the truth of the Word and the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ than we had in 2011.

As Dan preached the Word, he shared the great tools that are out there to help us get in to the Word in 2012.  There are many tools available, and I’ll post some links below to some Bible Reading Plans that are out there via the web.  You don’t have to use any of these, but please have a strategy of feeding and developing a hunger for God’s Word this year.

• Here’s what I’m using in 2012:  http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/life-journal-reading-plan
• Some other options: 
•  http://www.youversion.com/about/reading-plans
• http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2011/12/27/bible-reading-plans-for-2012/

Hey RiverStone and friends!  I’m back in the saddle emotionally, spiritually & physically after being gone for a week or so over the Christmas and New Year holidays.  God has been faithful to give me renewal and energy for 2012, as I desperately needed it!

I want to share with you a helpful tool from a pastor friend of mine, Rick Duncan, from Cuyohoga Valley Church in a suburb of Cleveland, OH.  He posted this for His church family as a help for the new year, and I thought it was helpful and appropriate as we embark on a new chapter of RiverStone in 2012 together.  It’s below:

______

I am sure there are things about your life that you hope and pray are different at the end of 2012 than they are today. If, by God’s grace and for God’s glory, you make those changes, then all the wishes you have received about having a Happy New Year will have come true by December 31, 2012.

But before you can make a strategy for your spiritual journey, it’s important to see where you are and then where you want to go – where the Lord wants you to go.

At RS, we strive to glorify God by making disciples locally & globally. And here’s what God’s word says a disciple life looks like.

Connecting with God in Worship. Growing in Christ in Small Groups and loving one another.  Serving His Church & the World.
It’s that simple. That’s the destination. But how are you doing?

Use the following tool to evaluate your personal spiritual health in the above-mentioned 3 areas. Simply grade yourself in light of the following statements [on a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest). This will help you see where you currently are.

Connecting with God in Worship
___ I attend church services regularly and expectantly.
___ I truly seek to experience intimacy with God during both the music and the message.
___ I spend time following an organized Bible reading plan.
___ I spend time in regular, ongoing, unhurried prayer.
___ I am giving generously and sacrificially to my local church.
___ My generosity is characterized by priority, percentage, and progressive giving.

Growing in Christ in Small Groups
___ I have become an active and accountable member of RS.
___ I am actively involved in a Small Group.
___ I am building a spiritual friendship with an accountability partner.
___ I am volunteering in a ministry of the church.
___ I am bearing the fruit of the Spirit in my personal relationships (see Galatians 5:22-23).

Serving His Church & the World
___ I am building relationships with people who do not yet know Christ.
___ I serve in local and/or international mission projects.
___ I regularly invite unchurched friends to church services and events.
___ I am volunteering in a community organization outside my local church.
___ I invite people to put their faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Now tally your score. And use the highest marks to build on and use the lowest marks to help you develop some strategies to grow.

130-160: ABLAZE Thanks for being an example of an ignited believer. But there’s still more of God available for you.

100-129: BURNING BRIGHT You’re an example to many, but what’s your next move to be even more passionate?

70-99: SMOLDERING It’s really time for you to get to be more “on fire”.

40-69: NEED A SPARK You are truly in desperate need for personal passion.

0-39: FADING Remember: Faith without works is dead. Do you really have saving faith?

Now, you can see where you are spiritually. And you can see where you need to go. Next, with the Spirit’s help, design some strategies and goals to help you get to where you know God wants you to be.

Happy New Year! All year!

700 years before the birth of Jesus, God spoke to the prophet Isaiah about His rescue mission called Christmas.  The baby born on Christmas Day has many titles according to this prophecy found in Isaiah 9:6.  Let me be picky for a minute & choose just 1 title to focus on.  PRINCE OF PEACE.

I’ve been thinking lately about this title, and it’s what I’m talking about on Christmas Eve at RiverStone.  Peace.  What does it mean?  It’s basically the absence of war or conflict.  There are 2 types of peace that are desired.  1.) External/Physical Peace and 2.) Internal Peace.

The external/physical peace is the absence of national conflict, political conflict, relational conflict, marital conflict, parental conflict, etc.  It’s the state of having unity and agreement and harmony in the different relationships and external situations.  This is so much desired!

The internal peace is the absence of internal turmoil. It’s tranquility of the heart instead of a troubled heart.  It’s the state of being settled and not wrestling with something internally.  It’s sleeping easy.  It’s not being stirred up, but being at rest.  This is obviously desired.

So why can these external/physical and internal states of peace so rare?   It’s because we have an enemy that desires to disrupt peace, both external & internal.  He prowls around like a lion to disrupt and destroy.  He hates peace and loves turmoil – internal & external.

So how does Christmas promise peace if their is so much warring from the enemy?  Christmas is God’s remedy to the war.  Christmas pronounces eternal and forever peace.  Christmas is the bull horn to the world that God is victorious and has overcome the enemy to peace.  How?  By the birth of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.  The Prince of Peace arrives on Christmas Day long ago and brings with him to all who place faith in Him for salvation, internal peace, and ultimately external peace.  He does so through the blood of his cross (Colossians 1:19-20).  He enables us to have internal peace in the middle of external war because HE is our peace.  And nothing can squelch that peace because He alone is God and He alone brings the peace that surpasses all understanding!

Dig Deeper,

PC

Many things hit the cutting room floor when I study for Sunday morning’s time in the Word at RiverStone.  I hear some of you begging to differ as you rib me each week about the length of the teaching!  I love you all!  But seriously, many things don’t make it into the message as I try to pray and pull out what God wants to communicate to our people at RiverStone.

This past week as I studied through Luke 2:1-21, I had to bring out something so beautiful in the text.  On the surface most people miss it.  In the NIV, the translators miss it, I think as well.  The ESV Translation gets this right on the nose in a way that helps us to see the gospel clearly in Luke 2:10-11.  Watch this.

In the ESV…God brings a message to the shepherds through the angel – “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

In the NIV…God brings a message to the shepherds through the angel – “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

The difference in the two translations is that the ESV illustrates beautifully the intention of Luke through the power of the Holy Spirit in preaching the gospel to the shepherds.  Here’s the original language:

ὅτι ἐτέχθη ὑμῖν σήμερον σωτὴρ ὅς ἐστιν Χριστὸς κύριος ἐν πόλει Δαβίδ.

The first word in the original language is the word hoti meaning, for or since.  Putting this with the previous verse, it demonstrates clearly the reason for great joy!  Let me illustrate:  Luke says the angel’s message was “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people FOR unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Did you catch that?  The hoti is telling us the basis, the foundation, the reason for great joy to be had in our lives.  The hoti is important to be translated because it’s showing the means of salvation and great joy.  What is it?  The baby born in the city of David, Christ the Lord!

As I mentioned yesterday, when we get the hoti clause out of order, our joy gets out of order.  When we get the hoti out of alignment, we begin to commit idolatry because we attempt to gain joy from other things: jeans, houses, lands, people, affirmation, acceptance, success, money, possessions, possibilities, progress, etc.

The message of God is crystal clear from the angel to the shepherds.  Joy is available.  Great Joy is available.  It’s available to those who seek joy through Jesus, Christ the Lord.  That’s why the hoti is there.

Dig Deeper,

PC

Our goal is WORSHIP during this Christmas Season, not simply Celebration this Christmas Season.  We desire to see through the decorations and the music and the lights and the gifts, and gleen what Christmas is all about – the arrival, the coming of Christ Jesus to the world!

Remember that the people of God chose an inferior king – 1 Samuel 8 details this.  They wanted a king they could see, a king they could physically take refuge and comfort in rather than the Superior King who can’t be seen.  In other words, they didn’t want to have as much faith as God required of them.  They wanted a shortcut to their preferred future instead of depending and treasuring the God of the Universe.

What is the result of following inferior kings?

We all know how it turned out for them.  Saul (the first king) failed.  David (the second king) failed.  Solomon (the third king) failed.  The Kingdom Divided.  The kings in the north and in the south led God’s people far away from God and into deep idolatry and eventually into slavery.  That’s what following inferior kings will always do – slavery.

What is the big deal with the Superior King?

• He came to “us” – Isaiah 9:6.  We are the ones who rejected him, yet he is the one who rescues us!
• He is nothing like the inferior king(s) – Isaiah 9:6.  He will have the government upon his shoulder, and he will be known as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father.  He’s not Saul or David or Solomon or Rehoboam or Jeroboam or Ahaz or any of the other kings in 1 Samuel – 2 Kings…
• His Kingdom will rule forever – Isaiah 9:7.  He will reign forever and his peace will have no end.  He will rule not with idolatry and selfishness, but with justice and righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.