Seeking out his promises for you

If you were with us on Wednesday night then you may remember hearing Hosea 4:6 My people perish from a lack of knowledge. Another version uses the word destroyed, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. On wednesday we talked about without the knowledge of Jesus dying on the cross and what that means for all people, then they will perish, be separated form God. It is that fact why we are missionaries right, taking this knowledge to those who don't know it so they can have eternal life. But there is another way I want us to look at this verse. I touched on it a little wednesday, but I want to go a little deeper with this thought, we talked on Wednesday about God's promises and how He keeps his promises and He is faithful to all of them. But if we don't know what his promises are then we will be destroyed from that lack of knowledge. If we don't know who we are in Christ and the authority we carry over the enemy, the devil, then we will not be able to fight him off when the attacks come. If we struggle with depression, what does the word tell us about that. I will give you oil of gladness. If you struggle with a sickness, the word tells us, I will heal all your diseases. If you struggle with having ends meet, I know most youth don't have to think about this, but it does effect some of you, the word says that, he will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches, and that's not just confined to money that is whatever our needs are, he will meet them. The enemy will throw things in our path and try to destroy us, that is his goal, to kill, steal, and destroy. And unless we know who we are in Christ, and like I said, our authority that we have, then his flaming arrows will not be extinguished. Know the power in Jesus' name that you have to overcome all evil. Seek after rightousness so you know when sin comes your way, seek out the promises of God. You have the power living inside of you to overcome all things, by the grace of God you have the same power in you that raised Jesus from the dead. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT let the slimy devil destroy you and steal away from you the very thing that Jesus went to the cross for. Rise up against the feelings that come against you that are not from God, do not settle for depression, bitterness, anger, whatever you struggle with, don't settle for that fight against it. Fill your mind with the word of God, so you will be full of knowledge, but remember it is the Holy Spirit that reveals the truth to you rely on the Holy Spirit to teach you what you need to know. But it takes you to take the effort to seek his face. Be blessed and happy promise seeking.

a

The Lord is Faithful!!

Tonight as we were tucking the kids in for bed, we were going over the verse they are learning right now, and Landon blurted out the last one we just learned, which is..... God is faithful to all his promises. And after having a conversation with someone tonight, and encouraging them that God will ALWAYS provide the things we need, hearing Landon say that tonight it was like a fresh revelation, that GOD IS FAITHFUL TO ALL HIS PROMISES. When we read things in the Bible that talk about God and who he is and what he will do when you apply that, that he is faithful to all it puts weight behind the word your reading.
Like Isaiah 40:31, but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Phil. 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
Phil. 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Phil. 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
This is only four, the bible is full of God's promises, search them out, when you read the Bible look for those thing in the passages that are God promises and believe in them, claim them, live them. Allow your minds to be transformed by understanding what God has available to you. Are you tired and weary? Put your hope in the lord and He WILL renew you. Are you in need of something? Your God will meet your need according to His riches, His riches are endless, He has all you need. Search them out and apply them to you life, and be ready to share a testimony of how God is applying his promises to your life.

a

I Surrender All (at least I want too)

Hello all, It has been a long time since I've posted a blog. It's been a little crazy around here. To all you who came along on Sunday to Urbana, thank you for coming with us we enjoyed having you along.

Now on with the post. If you have been paying attention, lately we have been hearing a lot about surrendering. A few weeks ago I was reading in 1 corinthians, and I was reading where it was talking about our resurrected bodies. As I read verse 36 (in chapter 15), it hit me that this can not only be applied to our resurrected bodies but also our lives and all that we do here on this earth. It says,
You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
What this said to me was that unless I die to myself, the things that God want to do in my life will not be able to come to life. I need to die to MY way of doing thing, the things I want to do, when I want to do them. Completely surrendered! And as we surrender more and more to Him the more that we can grow, and become who He intended us to be. This is something that is a daily thing. We are faced with choices everyday, how we spend our free time, places we go, things we do, who we hang out with, things we say, how we respond to things, the list could go on and on, and this is all in one day! When we die to ourselves in all these areas, what Jesus would have us do will come forth. And that is for sure the better option. So continue to surrender to the Lord everyday, all day.

a

some info you need to know

-hey we are inviting whoever wants to come with us next Sunday to our "college life church" Crossway Community Church, in Urbana Ohio! we will make it possible for whoever wants to go to go. this is nothing special, just a day to spend together and have some fun.

-My brother, Andrew John Sommers, well call him Andy will be teaching this Wednesday night at youth, drag some friend's along with you, like you always should be!!!

-School of leaders 1 for you crazy youths is coming soon. cost will be whatever the book costs. what I need to know ASAP is who is in on this, SOL 1 is all about "growing" in the Lord. this is for everyone who has been through an encounter. please comment and tell me you are in, even if you are not the comment leaving type.

sanks, p-ditty

watch out, look to the fields

As I sit here on Sunday eve for what seems like my weekly blog update, i am thinking of all that happened today. I am tired to say the least, had a great nap and roasted a lot of coffee!! Today was a milestone for me, leading worship on a Sunday morning with a group of young people was amazing. and even those of you who were not up front for the leading aspect of it, you are a vital member of the team because you sing and cry out to God from the church, and worship spreads. and o my word was Ken's sermon amazing. the part about what fields in your life are white for the harvest, lay those down, overwhelming to say the least.
God is wanting to flood over us, and change everything we have ever known about Him and about Church. let me know you are hearing this, we can't even comprehend what God has in store for us, but I am convinced as we wait on Him and His timing we will reap a bountiful harvest, but my challenge is this grow. grow. grow. A seed doesn't get planted then immediately the next day bear fruit, it takes time to grow before a fruit is produced. let's not rush what God is trying to do, allow him to lead. As we as a group grow it is important that we are going out of our way to make newcomers feel welcome, and if that means leaving a good conversation or screamo contest, do it. as we welcome others into our lives genuine growth will easily occur. The words to that song "they'll know we are Christians by our love" comes to mind. let's kill others with kindness and respect as we welcome them to the crazy times we know as NCF youth. Don't give up, fight the fight!

p-ditty

Faithful in the simple things!

God is so good, this is especially evident in the way he works in our lives. we can go through trials and troubles yet he is right there, always with us! The fact of the matter that I am typing this on a laptop that was not mine a little over a week ago! God is always with us, we need to always remember that in our everyday lives, and take time each day to spend in his presence, in his word, and in worship and prayer this is a priority we need to make in our lives! to remain full and overflowing we need to be constantly immersed in the Lord. I am so excited about what God is doing in our midst. lets set our focus on the Lord and keep looking forward and not allow the enemy to steal our joy. I am ready to go swimming, anyone else in?



Some food for thought and to chew on for ya'll. a School of leaders will be starting in January, more details are coming as they evolve, also for those who were interested in the FMI retreat it has been moved to the first weekend in March. if you didn't know before that you wanted to go we really encourage you all to come it will be a great time, cost will be around 40.00 to 60.00!