Praying Through 1 Peter 1:13-15

Most Heavenly Father, I pray that you would prepare my mind for action in your kingdoms work this day. Help me be self disciplined that I might serve you well in righteousness and help me set my hope completely on the grace that you extend to me through Jesus Christ.

Help me Lord Jesus be disciplined in obedience to your word and not be conformed to the desires of my former life, that I might be considered holy as you are holy in all my conduct.

I thank you Lord that I am holy because of the work Jesus Christ has done on my behalf. I praise you and worship you for being a holy and righteous God, full of justice and mercy and lovingkindness which endure forever.

Thank you Lord for being an impartial judge. Give me strength to conduct myself in reverence during the time you have given me in your service.

Thank you Lord for the redemption I have in Christ. I thank you that I have been redeemed from my former way of life and the life inherited from my fathers. I recognize that I have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ and that my previous life holds no power over me.

Thank you Father for Jesus Christ and for your word which reveals him at this time.

Thank you Father for raising Jesus from the dead and giving him the glory that is his and his alone so that my faith and hope will be in God.

I pray that your Holy Spirit would lead me in the truth that I may have a pure heart to love the brother and live a full and complete life being born again by the living and enduring word of God. Amen

New Name, Same Mission

You may have already heard via other media outlets that Campus Crusade for Christ announced a name change at our recent National Staff Conference. The new name that Campus Crusade for Christ has selected is Cru. Cru has been a nickname used by our staff for a number of years. Who we are and what we are about has not changed. This name change does not impact the mission or name of FamilyLife®. FamilyLife remains a subsidiary of Cru.


We understand that some recent media reports have questioned our commitment to Jesus and our calling as ministers of the gospel. FamilyLife, along with Cru, are unswervingly committed to proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ in all that we do. We are committed to the centrality of the cross, the truth of the Word, the power of the Holy Spirit and the global scope of the Great Commission.

We still exist for the sole purpose of helping individuals experience the transforming grace and forgiveness of the gospel through Jesus Christ. Words may take on new meanings over time, but our calling never changes. We are committed to give every person around the world an opportunity to hear the gospel and a chance to say Yes to Jesus. That is what makes a name change necessary.

You can be sure that our calling and mission for FamilyLife and for Cru have not changed. Our heart remains the same - to help fulfill the Great Commission by winning people to Christ, building them in their faith to see their lives transformed, and sending them out to reach others for Christ.

For more information you may follow this link Campus Crusade for Christ.

Love and Self-control

My dad recently shared the importance of the Bible verses found in Matthew 5:43-48 to his life . This prompted me to put together the following thoughts on love and self-control.

I have recently been meditating on the biblical concept of love and have come to conclude that there is a direct relationship between love and self control.  2 Timothy 1:7, "for God has given us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self control."

Since the biblical concept of love (agape) is an action, if I  act lovingly towards others I  will be exercising self-control. If I exercise self-control in all matters, then I  will be expressing love in word and deed.
 
This connection between love and self-control is also mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23a. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control." There in lies the answer, that is, "the fruit of the Spirit". I must be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit moment by moment in order to express love and self-control in my life.

Confidence in Christ, Sufficiency from God

I remember well how with great excitement as a new believer in Jesus Christ I embraced the Apostle Paul's testimony in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."(NASB) Here was the Apostle Paul who had been whipped, beaten, shipwrecked, and endured other hardships and illnesses saying that there was nothing he could not do because he was strengthened by Christ. Wow! What power there is in being a Christ follower. I memorized this verse and reflected on it often as well as prayed for Christ's strength in times of difficulties.

Lately I realized that because of my fallen nature I was missing the emphasis of this verse. Over the years of using this verse the initial pronoun 'I' became the emphasis. I, instead of Christ, took center stage. Recently another portion of Scripture has clarified Paul's intent and my application of the power of Christ in me.

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward (in) God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 (ESV)

Believers in Jesus Christ are not sufficient in and of themselves. But rather their sufficiency is from God! It is God the Father who saved us. God the Father makes us sufficient to minister. No matter what our role in the body of Christ is (father, mother, pastor, missionary, electrician, clerical worker, etc.) we are sufficient only through God's grace of being made sufficient.

My application of this verse now is one of worship. Worship of a God who so loves that he has given me sufficiency to minister. I can now worship God in all situations knowing that he has given me the sufficiency to meet the challenge of the moment. It is not about I, but it is about God the Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Each and all are worthy of our honor and praise.

Love Like You Mean It™ Cruise 2011

On February 14 we embarked with 2200 guests on the inaugural Love Like You Mean It™ marriage cruise. Our responsibilities were to pray during each session for our guests, the speakers, artists and entertainers, and our staff. We were encouraged to have a number of others join us in the prayer room at various times throughout the four-day cruise.


From pre-cruise prayer requests we knew that there were couples looking for immediate help in their relationship and couples looking for encouragement in their already good marriage. Our over arching prayer request was that God would meet couples in their area of need and that many couples would come away encourage to disciple others in marriage relationships. From the below selected comments we are encouraged that God answered our prayers.


We were really struggling! This trip was an answer to prayer. God opened my eyes as a Christian man and husband to step up and be intentional about changing me and my marriage through the power of the Holy Spirit. This marriage cruise saved my marriage!! - married 4 years

This was very instrumental in reviving my heart and re-dedicating my life to Christ. It really helped me figure out how to take my chaotic life and get back to what’s really important. The speakers helped me to sort through my feelings and figure out how to get back to God and a Christ-centered home. We were given the tools we needed to improve our marriage and work through issues. You’ve changed our marriage and our lives! Thank You!! - married 11 years

We were in love when we came, but we are more in love after 4 intense days than we could ever imagine. We have become “contagious” with a message that we can’t wait to get home and “spread” what we caught! - married 40 years

2010 ended on an exciting note, actually more than one!

Seeing the seriousness of the relationship between Rebecca and her boyfriend Jeff, we invited them to attend the Weekend to Remember® in St. Louis with us. They accepted and off we went for a weekend getaway.  Jeff, the assistant men's golf coach at Texas Tech, was on a recruiting trip and flew in from Dallas.  Rebecca and we flew in from Little Rock.  Our fights arrived early enough in the day to allow us some time to play on Friday afternoon giving us an opportunity to spend personal time with Jeff and Rebecca. A trip to the St. Louis Zoo fit the bill very nicely as we were able to walk and talk as we experienced many exotic animals.

The Weekend to Remember was a hit with both Jeff and Rebecca. Midway through the getaway Rebecca even commented "Mom and Dad,