celebrate from 2015

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 NLT

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

It is time to celebrate. The last day of the year is here. Right here we have the opportunity to celebrate many different things. I have listened to people talk about the greatest things that happened in their lives in 2015, but what I’d like to share as the year comes to a close is the most important resource, great potential and the reason for God’s love really is.

Plain and simple. People. God sent His son for people. His love finds its thriving place in the lives of people like you and me. His love is an incredible thing or the best of everything.

Too many churches, organizations and Christ followers put their treasure in material things. We talk about buildings being more important than people. We look at money and budgets and serve people on what it cost rather than what is needed. We put our trust in what is comfortable and easy.

All the while God talks to us about people. We remember that without people there would be no relationships, no church, no family and no reason for life. It is relationships that do the most for and that often hurt us the most or cause us the most to celebrate over. God has turned our hearts and our purpose over to people and nothing else.

I want to celebrate the best thing that has happened in the last year, the last 365 days. We have seen lives changed. Many people have accepted Jesus as their Savior. Lives have been turned toward God and away from the things that do not matter.

Lets take this a step further. What will be the greatest thing we will be part of in 2016? It will again be people. The reason we live is people. The stories we tell are about people and how God interacts and loves the people around us as well as the people around the world.

I challenge you to stop and pray often for the people that God puts on your path. Pray that God uses us and uses our resources to help more people change their lives because they comes in contact with God’s love, embraced by His grace and forever forgiven by the God who loves us so much.

1 John 4:10 NLT

This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

In the coming days I am excited to challenge our church family and friends to help raise the funds to complete our new church campus so that we can move from our current space in to a new, bigger space so we can help and serve more and more people.

It really is all about people. God is really all about loving people!

Philemon 1:5 NLT

because I keep hearing about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people.

Have you heard of EDITH BURNS?

Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas . She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His favorite patient was Edith Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because of Edith Burns. When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her. Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way: "Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly. Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith began by saying,"My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Beverly said, "Why yes I do." Edith said, "Well, what do you

why is it Good Friday?

Holy Week is the time we focus on God and His gift of salvation. We come to Friday. The day we remember the cross, Jesus’ death and all God has done for you and me Why do they call this day “Good Friday” because it doesn’t seems good? Jesus was treated as a criminal. He was beaten so much that He could not recognize Him. His pain would have been too much for you or me to endure. That is especially from Scripture I’ve read or as in the movie the Passion of the Christ . Yet it is a good day. It is Good Friday because God had our good in His heart. What Jesus did that day changed our forever direction. Here are some thoughts that come to me: He is Redemption and Redeemer He too our Pain and Punishment He is our Righteousness and Reality He is the Savior and Life All of those happened from the cross. It was meant for the worst lawbreakers. It was not meant for a Savior who never broke a law. It was lifted high so that onlookers could see the price Jesus. Look

Day 8 in Cuba

We have just come off and incredible weekend, and it is day 8 of the mission trip in Cuba. Thank you to all who have been praying for this trip, the mission team and the impact it will have on those we serve. Please don’t stop praying. Last week Alex and I served with a mission team in the mountains of southern Cuba. There were several challenges, but God gave us safety, provision and opportunity to serve some of the sweetest people I have ever met. No running water… sporadic electricity generated by a small, logo dammed up river, no transportation other than animals, limited food sources and more. These people love the Lord and sharing their faith with others. Over the weekend we made our way back to Havana. On Friday our vehicle broke down leaving us on the side of the road for several hours. We then boarded a bus and rode 14 hours. We arrived safely and even got some rest. Sunday was so, so good. We visited two partner churches. In the morning we were with one church that

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