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Nightmares

By Mike Hosey, Elder at Fellowship Church

Since my teen years I have suffered from two recurring nightmares.  Thankfully,  their frequency has diminished considerably over the years.

While the frequency of those moments has waned, their intensity has not. 

Both are frightening, but different.  

The intensity of one of those dreams is fierce enough to ignite in me a spirit of fear and retreat.

In the past, it wasn't uncommon for my wife to awaken me from the throes and cries of that demonic dream out of concern for me.

And demonic it is!  A demon always haunts the dream. Usually, I cannot see it.  I can only hear it or feel its presence. In the few times when I do see it, I can only perceive a human-like form. I can't distinguish facial features or expressions. It's just a black darkness absorbing all light.  And its voice is . . .  well . . . I don't know how to describe it, other than to say that it evokes terror. Every time.

But starting a few years ago, I began to saturate my mind through reading, fasting and prayer with the Word of God. And when the demon would come to my dream, the name of Jesus (because I had put His name in my head and heart) would issue from my trembling mouth. And while it was never instantaneous or easy, the demon would retreat or fade away at that name.

Recently the demon troubled my dream again, and he called for one of my children. My flesh trembled, but my heart did not. I advanced with boldness against the evil in my dream -- not simply because it threatened someone I love, but because I have realized that I am a child of the most powerful Father in the universe (Galatians 4:6-7). And that He has not given me a Spirit of fear, but of power (2 Tim 1:7).  And that I can put on Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14) and refuse the desires of my trembling flesh.  And that the word of Christ can dwell richly in someone as flawed as me (Colossians 3:16) -- even in my dreams.

Enemies Are Outside The Wall

By Mike Hosey, Elder at Fellowship Church

"Some of my favorite moments during my personal bible study occur when I have one of those unmistakable aha! moments. "

Recently, while reading in Proverbs I was hit by the very simple truth of how important self control is to our spiritual, physical, emotional, and psychological health.  Proverbs 25:28 reads, "Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control (NIV)." 

That Proverb presents such a vivid picture! In the ancient world a city's first line of defense was its wall. A broken wall meant that an enemy army could enter that city unimpeded, destroy its strong men, enslave its citizens and set itself up as the new order!

When we don't exercise self-control, or continually repair it, bolster it, monitor it and tend to it, we run the risk of allowing an enemy into our lives, who can then set up his own order and govern our lives contrary to good health and spirituality.

Once the self-control wall is breached, we become slaves to temptation -- sometimes until almost all the good in our lives has been laid waste.

Proverbs 16:32 says, "Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city (ESV)."

Notice that truth! He who rules his spirit -- that is he who exercises self-control -- is better than he who takes a city!  If you keep your walls maintained, then the enemy cannot breach them.

This is especially true when we consider that God gave us a spirit of self-control (2 Tim 1:7). In fact Galatians 5:16 says that if we live by the Holy Spirit -- meaning that if we yield to Him -- that we won't yield to sinful desires. And later in verses 22-23 it tells us the fruits of yielding to that Spirit. 

So what was my aha! trigger?  The very last gift, self control, finds itself an integral part of all the others. You simply cannot have true love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness without self-control! They all require active choice.

Jesus loves you, but maybe not everyone else does...

From guest Blogger, Mike Hosey, Elder at Fellowship Church.

Several years ago I noticed what at first glance seemed like a rather offensive bumper sticker.  I saw it on the back windshield of some college kid's car as I was driving around Gainesville.  I'm sure he thought it was funny, and in fact, I must admit that I chuckled a little -- even though I found it distasteful.

The bumper sticker said, "Jesus loves you, but everyone else thinks your an A$$&$)@ !"  [Insert the slang term for an inglorious part of the human anatomy]

Luckily, I remembered that lost people act like lost people and was able to set aside my offense.  And I'm glad I did because there was a deep meaning in that offensive bumper sticker. I would have totally missed something profound if I had chosen to remain offended!

What that college kid didn't know was that the bumper sticker he thought was funny, and offensive, and provocative was all of those things in addition to being actually true!

Jesus certainly does love people who are A$$&$)@s !"  In fact, He loves them when no one else will.  And if we are honest with ourselves we all know there are times when the people around us don't have very strong feelings about us.  Well, at least not strong feelings that are positive.

It is in those times that we can turn to Jesus and thank him for loving us -- that is to thank him for being committed to our eternal well being -- at the very time that we deserved it least.  In fact, He loved us when we didn't deserve that love in any measure at all.  And what's more is that He is intent on making you in to a better person who loves others just like He does.

That's his whole plan!  He loves you so  much that He wants to turn you into a new creature who possesses a sinless perfection just like Him.  He wants to make you clean, new, and loving.

So remember, Jesus does love you, even when you're not lovable. Now, go out and commit yourself to others as Jesus did for you.

Confessions

It has been said that confession is good for the soul.  I believe that.  Psychology has proven it.  And it is in fact Biblical.  James 5:16 says, “…confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed…”

There is a process called “risk-reward.”  There are certain actions that carry a high risk and with that high risk comes a potential high reward.  I think James 5:16 is talking about this in part… “confess your sins to each other” – high risk.  Now here is the high reward: “pray for each other so that you may be healed.” Each of us have areas that need healing – that is the reward.  Are we willing to take the risk – confess our sins to each other?

Here are some areas that I challenge you to confess not only to God, but to someone else:

THOUGHTS – as many as we have in a day, there are those that run wild and are clearly defined as SIN.  Be as specific as you feel comfortable sharing.  Confess that your thoughts have at times been less than pure and righteous.

WORDS – Proverbs says where words are many, sin is not absent.  We’ve all done it.  Said something that we knew was wrong to say, but we said it anyway.  A judgment made.  A gossip shared.  A negative outlook spoken.  Confess the sinful words spoken by your mouth.

ACTIONS –things that we do that we know are sinful.  And then there are the things that we don’t do, yet know we should, this inaction is also sin.  Confess the active and passive actions of your life that are in the sin category.

MOTIVES – this cuts right to the heart of the matter…literally.  Our motives reveal what is in our hearts.  It is why we think what we think, say what we say, and do what we do.  Some are good.  Some are not.  Confess the motives of your heart that are sinful.

Once your have confessed to another, now you are ready to receive.  At this point, if you have been honest, you are humble and in need of grace from Jesus!  And He is ready to pour it into you through the prayers of his servant whom you have confessed your sins to.

Who will you confess your sins to this week?

Loving and Leading,

Jeff Powell

A Train Watching Pastor

Fellowship Church is a place where real relationships begin with God, people, purpose, and change.  We earnestly desire to be such a place for the 8,200 non-churched people in our area.  And in order for us to be this it will take faith – it won’t be easy, but it will be worth it!

I recently heard a story about a young pastor years ago who would go down to the local railroad station to watch the local train pull through.  Word began to get out about this habit.  In fact, word got back to the leaders of his church that when the train would come through, he would lose it with joy, excitement, and exuberance.

One day the leaders decided to go secretly to watch their pastor at the railroad station.  Sure enough, when the train came barreling through the depot their pastor lost it with passion and expression.  After the train passed, the leaders came out from hiding to question their pastor as to why he got so excited when the train came through town.

He told them that the reason he got so excited when the train came through town was because that was the only time in his week when something was moving in that town that he wasn’t pushing!

I’m glad that this can’t be said of Fellowship Church!  We have always had a wonderful history of people being active and alive.  Our challenge as a church has not been getting going, it has been getting going in the same direction.  The image of that train should be the image of our church – great momentum, connected, single direction. 

Our momentum comes from the individual passions and energies given to us by the Holy Spirit.  Our connectedness comes from the relationships we develop with each other.  And our single direction comes from our Biblical mandate to reach the 8,200 non-churched in our community.

Are you on the train of Fellowship Church?  Are you ready to impact the 8,200?  Are you committed to the unity of our church as we roll forward?

Loving and Leading,

Jeff Powell

Are You Paying Attention?

From guest blogger, Mike Hosey, and Elder at Fellowship Church.

Sir Isaac Newton once argued that whatever valuable discoveries he made were more the result of patient attention than they were of any other talent. That means he believed that his greatest scientific discoveries owed more to his patient observations than they did to his great intellect!

This truth is really not that hard to understand.  If you don't pay attention to the world around you, well, you're going to miss the world around you.

Usually, we notice this in the negative sense.

For instance, the other day I wasn't paying attention as I was driving home from Gainesville. As a result, I did not slow my vehicle as I entered an area with a reduced speed limit. As you might have guessed, I was pulled over by the local police. Luckily, the kind officer let me off with only a warning and a coloring book for Joshua.  And needless to say, I will pay more attention in that part of town from now on -- or at least until I get lazy again.

In a situation like that, it is easy to learn what we missed because there is an unpleasant consequence.

Unfortunately, we don't usually notice the usefulness of paying attention in the positive sense.

All around us are beautiful things made by a surpassingly beautiful God.  Because we are not paying attention we miss this beauty (and the beauty of its author) probably every hour of every day. And because there is no immediate unpleasant consequence for missing this beauty, we tragically never even know that we've missed it!

How many times do we miss a sky full of stars right above us, or a beautiful meadow outside our speeding car's window?

But worst of all is when we miss noticing the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of our fellow human beings, and the beauty that comes from serving them -- because there is great beauty in seeing a person changed from a sacrificial good deed. 

So like Sir Isaac, let us use  patient attention to make our greatest discoveries. 

Dealing With Loss

In December I spoke on the subject of loss.  I shared the idea that life is one big experience in loss.  None of us escape it.  Few of us are ready for it.  When it comes, we are forced to deal with it.

Recently I was sitting in a hotel lobby in Jacksonville, Florida awaiting a day full of meetings.  I was rested.  I had eaten.  I was looking forward to the day.  And then it hit –loss over Allie.  Here is what I wrote as I sat in the lobby…

“I really don’t want to move – or even live for that matter.  This is one of the pains of loss – a stinging, stunning shock to the entire person.  Feelings are skewed, senses are shocked, actions become hard.

Here I sit.  I don’t want to move.  I don’t want to go forward.  I want to go back – but I can’t.  Moving forward with loss is like moving forward without a part of me – a leg for instance – vital for support, stability, and strength.  Where does that come from now?  I feel amputated by the loss of my daughter!

Strength only comes from You O Lord!  You are my hope.  In this dark place, I choose you and your light.  Please help me – no – please carry me!  I can’t, you must.  I am fully dependent on you.  I thought I knew what that meant.  Now I am just beginning to know what it means.

Into your hands that are hard and soft, fearsome and calming, hurting and healing – into those real, raw, and redeeming hands do I fall and do I trust. 

I need a power not my own – I need you.  I am a mess; you are the miracle.  Please come and carry me I pray in Jesus name, Amen.”

God answered that prayer.  And He has continued to answer it.  Every day is hard, which means every day is another opportunity for His faithfulness to be fulfilled in my life.

How are you dealing with the loss you are facing?  How can you help someone else who is dealing with loss?

Loving and Leading,

Jeff Powell

Take Home Truths from Church Revitalization Conference

This past week I spent two days near Tampa, Florida at a Church Revitalization Conference.  Every time I go to a conference, I always seek to come away with “take home” truths – things that can apply to our church.  Here is what I “took home”…

FIRST, networking is vital to health and survival.  It was great to be reminded that we are not alone in our victories and struggles.  Spending time with other like-minded leaders breads creativity and encouragement.  Receiving from others is key to renewal and refreshment in life!

This is why relationships are so important.  Life is not meant to be lived alone.  We need each other.  Together we are better.  Teamwork does make the dreamwork.  Who are you relationally connected to at Fellowship Church?

SECOND, leadership matters.  I heard this again and again.  Any organization will only be as great as the leadership base of that organization.  The way to kill any organization is to stop developing the leaders of that organization!  Could that be the reason the Bible says the pastor is to prepare God’s people for works of service (Ephesians 4:12)?

Hearing these truths affirmed our church direction.  We are in the process of seeking to strengthen our current leadership base AND increase it!  This is why we have developed a specific process over the course of 5 months which will be implemented twice in 2013 (Spring and Fall).  It all begins next Sunday at 4pm!  Are you planning on attending Leadership Training on February 10?

Fellowship Church is a place where real relationships begin with God, people, purpose and change.  I hope you are connected with others in Fellowship Church and I hope you will pray about being a part of our Leadership Development process this year!

Loving and Leading,

Jeff Powell

God Is More Than A Crutch

One of our Elders, Nelson Plasencia recently shared with me the following devotional.  I think you will enjoy it as much as I did...

“Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”  It matters how people view God! A literal, rough translation of Psalm 46:1 from the Hebrew would read something like: “God, to us, a refuge and strength. A helper in adversities, to be found abundantly”. You see, for those who do not know Him, God is a crutch; God is a myth; God is distant; God is vengeful. 

Whenever I hear people say that God is a crutch I can’t help but think that, if anything, He is the wheelchair. A crutch implies that I have some strength to get by and only need a little assistance; a little support. The reality is that apart from God I can’t do anything. When a man is wheelchair bound, he only needs to rest all his weight on the wheelchair. It is a picture of total dependence. 

As it is written, “In Him we live and move and have our being” (i.e., exist; Acts 17:28). But to us, He is a refuge and strength. And, who is us? Those who through faith in Christ have embraced the God of the Bible; the God of creation; the God of Jacob (Psalm 46:7,11) and have thus been brought near, been forgiven and set apart. 

Who is God to you? How do you view Him? As this New Year gets underway, let us resolve to live in total dependence on the God of Jacob. He is an abundant help for all our troubles, tribulations, adversities; anything and everything that hinders our moving forward in faith!”

Thanks Nelson for sharing this devo with us all!

Loving and Leading,

Jeff Powell

Seeing God

From the outset of creation we have sought to deviate from who God has revealed Himself to be.  At times He reveals He is the generous giver of life.  At others, He reveals He is the judge.  At others, He reveals that He is loving and forgiving. At others still that He is healer, savior, deliverer, corrector, provider, on and on I could go.  Through it all, He is in control!

I honestly want a God that I can control - thus the reason for so many idols in the history of humanity - we want a God that we are in charge of.  Even faith at times, can be an agent to control God.  Or what about prayer - we pray hoping that God will respond the way we want Him to. 

But what if God does something totally out of the realm of our expectation?  In fact, the true follower of God will see this side of God. Just when I think I have Him figured out, He does something that baffles me, that I don’t agree with, that I don’t want, that I don’t like. 

Take suffering - we want it how we want it and when we want it - which is never, unless it brings glory to our flesh.  But what about God?  He brings it when He deems it best for His purposes and ends - which are way higher than my own.  He is God, I am not.  And thankfully, He took the form of a baby to reveal to us the character and nature of God and to be the sacrifice for our wretchedness! 

“Forgive me Lord for seeing you only as I want to see you and not as you truly are.  I am terrified at times, and yet you call me to trust you just the same.  Help my failing heart I pray.  Help my eyes to see you as you really are and not just the way I want you to be. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.”

Jeff Powell

He's Just Different...

This week's blog is shared by Mike Hosey, an Elder at Fellowship Church.

Over Christmas break I met an author of two books. His works are fiction, but contain strong biblical allusions. After autographing my books, we had a friendly debate. Even though we had differences about what certain scriptures might mean, we came away strengthened, and genuinely viewed each other as Christian brothers. 

Since we differed on doctrine, how were we able to maintain a Christian bond? Well, I got to thinking...

A truth that we all learn from a young age is that no two individuals are the same.  We have different heights, weights, intellectual capacities, athletic abilities, and creative strengths.

There is no domain in any individual in which he or she will not have some kind of a difference with any other individual. 

Often, these differences result in everything from personal conflicts to bloody wars between houses and nations..

But sometimes our differences strengthen us. Good teams capitalize on differences. The team's victories are marked by cooperation among different individuals.  Those teams have an understanding that not everyone can be the coach, or the quarterback or, or the waterboy.

So how do these teams get that? How can I and that author remain friends and brothers?

It takes two disciplines. First, we must be committed to the essentials.  Good teams are committed to common goals. With my new friend, we are both committed to the truth of Jesus Christ and his word and work on earth.  And we agree on what those are.  Secondly, we must be willing to submit ourselves whenever possible to our teammates. This is much harder, because it requires us to suppress our own desires, goals or views.

In the case of my new friend, I was willing to say, "Y'know, he might be right on that." And he was willing to do the same.

Consequently, our discussions strengthened our abilities to minister more fully to people who have questions about those truths!

Mike Hosey

Elder, Fellowship Church

17 Years Ago...

January 6 is a very special day for me.  It is Jane and I’s anniversary.  We celebrate being married for 17 years!

Many years ago, before I even knew Jane, my older sister  told me something that really baffled me.  She told me after she had been married to Monty for some time that the day she married him was the day that she loved him the least!  This baffled me - I didn’t understand it until I married Jane on January 6,1996.

Now I too say that on the day that I married Jane, I loved her the least.  We were just beginning our journey together.  Sure we loved each other, but compared to the love we have for each other now, it was small love back then!

With each year that passes, I love my wife more and more.  And such is the depths of love.  There is no bottom.  Sure we say things like the greatest expression of love is sacrificing one’s life for another.  Great as that is, there is greater still.  For Jesus not only gave His life for us, but He continues to live and love us with an undying love.

Now to be honest with you, Jane and I have had our fair share of fights.  There have been times I wondered IF we would make it.  And yes, there were times when we both wondered IF we had made a huge mistake in marrying each other.  But through it all one thing has kept us together:  commitment.

We have been committed to our relationship with God and we have been committed to each other.  Our commitment to God has allowed us to be committed to each other through “thick and thin!”

I am blessed to have such a wonderful wife.  Happy anniversary - I love you more today than I did yesterday!

Jeff Powell