Am I Competent for the Task?

As a pastor I often wonder how God works out His plan through me (and us)?  How is it that God can take misled, mixed up, malcontents and use them to spread the word about His Son Jesus Christ?  And, how then can He expect that anyone would come to hope in Jesus when the message comes through such messed up people?

The reality is that I, and every other pastor out there, am a mess of sin and striving and insecurity and worry. Find me a preacher completely comfortable in his role and his spiritual life and you will have found a phony.   No one can stand before the people of God to speak His Words and be completely at peace with his own sin.

To make a living and respond to the call of Christ on our lives we must look our own sin square in the face daily and try to deal with it for your benefit.  It is a gut-wrenching task and anyone who says it isn't probably wants you to give them "seed" money... but that's for another post.

I was reading this morning in 2 Corinthians 2 and found a couple verses at the end of the chapter that spoke to this issue of insecurity so perfectly I needed to share them with you.  Here's how Paul dealt with this complexity.

"Is anyone competent to take it on?" (He had been talking about sharing the Gospel) "No— but at least we don't take God's Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ's presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can."

You could probably accuse me of a lot as a pastor and as an individual.  But you can't accuse me of watering down God's Word.  I never have and don't plan on starting.  I pray earnestly that God speak through me and use the words that come out of my mouth to bring life to those who hear.  I shudder at times as I prepare and then deliver a message because of the heavy burden to be in Christ's presence and speak for Him (as though He needs me).  But I have no other option.  His Spirit compels me.

So I preach the whole Gospel to the best of my weak and feeble ability and try to stand in the Strength of Christ and look God in the face.  What a wretched man I am and from what a wretched people... who will save me from myself.  Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus who gives me the victory and the strength.

Real Life is Moving!

As God has grown Real Life over the last several months it has become apparent that our current facility simply is not big enough to sustain any more growth.  Our one kid's room is maxed out, the Pastor continue to share an office with ever-increasing nursery children and although he enjoys playing with the toys during the week the space is getting tight!

So with prayer we have secured a building at 109 N. Main in El Dorado and will begin moving into that space on August 1st.  The building will house offices and a large meeting room for Bible studies and various meetings.  We will also be saving some space at the front of the building for some cool stuff I can't tell you about right now.

Then on August 19th Real Life will have it's first Sunday worship in the Civic Center (201 E. Central), an intimate time of looking back and forward as we remember what God has done and what He has yet to do.  And our official launch at the Civic Center will be on the 26th of August.

Please continue to be in prayer for this move that God will provide everything needed to make it happen and that we will not only continue to see lives changed for God's glory but that we will be able to help many more people find real life through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I am so blessed to serve and work with you and look forward to an even greater harvest as we take this step together.

Corey.

Apology and Excuse...

If you follow this blog... I think there are like five of you... I want to apologize for not posting much lately.  Real Life has been growing, it is summer and we're planning some major stuff happening in the next four to six weeks.  So, please accept my apology for limited postings and I hope my excuse is well received!  We are excited about what God is doing - it just takes some doing!

Living Life in the Matrix - begins this Sunday

Did you ever think about how the Apostles lived and the incredible things they did and want have that kind of life?  To be in tune with the Holy Spirit and see the impossible take place?  It's not a big secret that only a few are aware of, it's just learning to live by God's rules.  We are to be in the world but not live as the world, we're to live differently and with God as our Father and the Holy Spirit living in us we SHOULD be different.  This new message series will help us live by God's economy.  It's HIS world, He makes the rules.

God Bless America

I was thinking early this morning while doing my Bible reading and prayer time about how blessed I am to be an American. I could have been born in a third-world country with nothing. Instead, I was born in a country of freedom and peace. freedom and peace that has come at the expense of the lives of my countrymen. A price that I have not had to pay because others were willing. My family and I enjoy the freedom to worship, to move about the country and live in relative peace.
I thank God for my country and pray that not only will God bless America but that America will come to bless God. I'm not naive enough to believe that this is a Godly country, but it is a country in which I am free to worship God.
So on this Independence Day, I acknowledge that I and we have attempted to exert our independence but are not and never have been independent from God, but that we have and always will be dependent on Him for all good things come from God
So enjoy your independence day and celebrate that God has not left us alone.