russbutcher.com

Gas Shortage

There is not much worse than a gas shortage unless you are at a middle school lock-in and you are sleeping with the boys! 

I have heard a few stories of high tensions resulting from the shortage of gasoline in our community.  As a result of high tensions there have been arguments and conflict at the gas pumps.  Some of the people in our church have shared stories of witnessing these conflicts. 

These are difficult times filled with stress but these are times with incredible opportunity to allow the character of Jesus to clearly and practically flow through our lives.  Here are some ideas and practical steps to make a difference during these tough economic times:

1. Remember God is in control.  There is so much hope in this simple truth.
2. Chill!  Relax and remain calm.  Be slow to anger.  I think that is in the Bible somewhere.
3. See the opportunity to BE JESUS to people in a time of crisis!  What an opportunity to be a witness!
4. Speak words of life rather than words of criticism. 
5. Stand up for those being mistreated.  I am not saying get into a fight, but in stressful times, the Bullies will try to control people.
6. Act Kindly, speak kindly and look for ways to intentionally bless people!

These are incredible times to exert some influence for Jesus.  Be intentional!

Presence over Performance

Luke 10:41-42 (NIV)
⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,
⁴² but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

I am finishing a book titled Lone Survivor written by Marcus Luttrell about him being the only survivor of the worst attack on U.S. special forces in

 In light of their mission, the most famous and worst week of their training, called HELL WEEK, takes them to their physical, mental and emotional limits for the purpose of seeing what they can endure with the least amount of recuperation.  Only 25% of those that enter this week complete the week.  It is 5 ½ days of continuous training with only 4 hours of sleep total over the 5 ½ days.  It is constant drills, pushups, situps and running in and through sand and water while their teams carries either a telephone pole or a small boat.   

In contrast to the preparation of the Navy SEALS for their mission, God’s preparation for us to complete the mission He has given us it the antithesis of their preparation.  For us to complete the mission God has given us, we must pull back away from pushing our lives to the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual limits.  God lays down some principles in His word that directs us away from pushing our lives to the limits so we can have the consistent, serial recuperation necessary to be effective in what He has for us in this life. 

Jesus encourages us to focus on Presence over Performance!

Monday Morning Random Thoughts

Hurricane Ike has caused a spike.

The market of money is not as sweet as honey.

The falcons had one good game, but yesterday they looked lame.

The DAWGS are 3 and 0 but the pollsters continue to go low!

Did the Braves play ball?  I am not following them at all.

Church at the Grove ROCKED, to our gathering they FLOCKED!

I am not a poet; I say that as if you didn’t know it!   HA HA!  LOL!

Thoughts on the weekend:

Jill and I really need to apply yesterday’s message about presence over performance!  We had another exhausting few days but it has been a great weekend. 

I had a daddy-date with my daughter on Friday.  Josiah had a baseball game Saturday morning.  Jill went to a Dave Ramsey financial event so I cannot afford anything right now.  The DAWGS squeaked by Carolina.

Church at the Grove had an awesome Sunday with one of our highest attended Sundays of the year! 

We had a good offering but still need “over-and-above” gifts to get us caught up.  July was rough!

I am doing a “long-term” sub at Loganville Christian Academy for the next couple of weeks or so.  I am looking forward to the time with high school students.  LCA is a great school with a great Godly vision.  I am teaching Bible to freshmen and “Marriage and Family” to juniors.  My wife says that God truly has a sense of humor by asking me to teach “Marriage and Family”.  I didn’t know how I should take that comment.

I am excited about what God is up to in the lives of people. 

Don’t miss this Sunday as we conclude our “Profiler” series. 

9-11 and Unity

As I reflected on the events surrounding the 9-11 terrorist attacks, I couldn’t help but remember the national unity, focus, and sense of purpose we all experienced immediately following the attacks.  Here are a couple of thoughts in light of that memory:

• In contrast to the unity and focus during the aftermath of the attacks, I can’t remember our nation being more divided and hateful than right now during the current presidential campaign.  It is sad.  Why can’t we put the wicked partisanship aside and think about what is best for our nation. 
• What could we see God accomplish if we were completely unified in our local church?  I believe that we have a great fellowship currently in Church at the Grove, but we are still divided in giving our whole-hearted attention to the mission that God has called us to. 

My prayer is that our nation would unify and focus on what really matters in our nation and I also pray that in our local church that we focus on people that need to hear the incredible message of love and forgiveness offered through Jesus!