Some Kind of Wonderful

This morning as I am going through my to do list and browsing Facebook updates I came across one from a friend that said, "I would like something wonderful to happen today."  I hear people say this all the time.  Now Theologically speaking, God does not promise that our lives are going to be wonderful. But, he does bless those that are following His commandments and ask for blessing in their lives, such as Jabez.  Jabez prayed a prayer.  A simple prayer.  "Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory!  Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!"
(1 Chronicles 4:10 NLT)  That's a bold prayer to pray and it wasn't a quiet little prayer it was a shout out to God kind of prayer because of the exclamation point at the end of it!  Hundreds of other names are mentioned in this passage but only one person was mentioned as someone who prayed that prayer. And he believed that if he prayed that God would do what he asked.  And the coolest part is that we aren't left hanging.  It simply says, "And God answered his prayer."  Can we pray those kind of prayers today?  Absolutely.  He is waiting to hear from us!

 

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

from the Rogers family

 

This morning I thought of all the amazing things that God has done to show me his faithfulness in my family and the Crossroads church family. Crossroads has now been holding Sunday services for  a little over a year now at our 1915 Charles Street home.   We have an amazing volunteer staff that has been doing an incredible job getting to the church early and setting up. God has truly blessed us and I am truly thankful for each person on the team!  And God has added to our numbers.  I can't wait to see what the Lord does next! 

There is a moment right before the service starts. We all get together to pray for those coming to the service that day. It's a short prayer usually. But what that prayer does for me is amazing. We all have been running around setting up and making sure that things are ready. The prayer is that pause before the start of the service, nursery, and children's church. That moment is a constant reminder why we are here every Sunday morning. It's that time that I invite Him to come. It's the point when I recognize we are here to worship Him! It's the time that I let everything else go and pray that our human preparation plus the presence of the Holy Spirit will come together and we will see God's salvation that morning!

Last week we had the privelege to spend time with our neighbors at the hotel next door. Many weren't able to come to sit down with us at the table so we ended up bringing plates to their rooms. It was awesome watching Xroads people serve our friends. 

"He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer" (Psalm 102:17 KJV).


Be Thankful!

What Can I Do Today To Make A Difference In Someone's Life?

Last Spring I had the privilege of being in Kingston Jamaica's most impoverished sides of town participating in a week long soccer camp. While most people are going on vacays and visiting pristine beaches, this amazing group of coaches and pastors got together and sacrificed their time and did something that will forever change the lives of 85 kids.  I will never forget the kids faces as we spent time sharing the love of Christ and our love of football (soccer).   Every morning we got up with the sun and downed some great Blue Mountain Jamaican coffee, did our devos and then headed off to a high school soccer field which was more dirt than grass.  Each day we were on the field for 8 hours.  We'd sing songs and then we'd share a story about the love of Jesus.  And then we got to work on soccer skills with premier soccer coaches from all over Jamaica.  It was a soccer players dream to be a part of this and it was something never dreamed of by these kids. We fed them lunch every day and as we did we realized that for most of these kids, that this was their only real meal of the day. Many of us shed tears as we saw  groups of kids going through the trash collecting the leftovers from the lunches we just served.. 

 

You see, we could only do so much.  We could only help the 85 kids we were ministering to.  We came away from that camp asking the question, "Can we do more?"  This trip started as a dream in my friend Doug's head.  He prayed first and asked for God's help.  He saw this trip in his mind's eye.  But he didn't stop there.  He put feet to this dream.  He made this dream a goal.  He started asking for support from local businesses and he asked for help from those that know how to coordinate these trips.  Because of Doug's willingness to make a difference, all of us on the team experienced God's grace and love for a week in Jamaica.  We were given the ability to share Christ's love with 85 kids who's lives where forever changed by that week. 

 

What are you doing today to make a difference in someone's life?