Let me tell you about a good book to read. It is done in gift book form, but is a challenging and beneficial read. It has only 91 pages. I read one chapter a day and was blessed by it personally.

The Power of Crying Out, When Pray Becomes Mighty was written by Bill Gotthard. It was published in 2002 by Multnomah Books. It has major endorsements Gary Smalley, Charles Stanley, Bruce Wilkinson, Pat Boone and many others.

Years ago, Bill Gotthard was used by God in the lives of millions of believers. His biblical and practical “how to” teaching was used by the Holy Spirit in a great way. I attended my first Bill Gotthard Seminar in 1976 in Portland, Oregon. I was in that region, sharing Christ door-to-door daily during that summer. His seminar was a refreshing breeze into my life. Through the years, I attended several kinds of events he did for pastors.

No, I do not agree with all that Bill has taught through the years due to the lack of balance in a few areas; however, Bill is a godly man, a great Christian leader, and this small book was a great blessing to me. I am so grateful for the great men of God who made a deposit into my life. The only reason I heard about this book is because Dr. David Jeremiah mentioned on his program one day how God had used it in his life. God used it in this pastor’s life as well. It has been years since I have heard of any of Bill Gotthard’s works, but this little book on prayer is a good read.

Let God use this little book on prayer sometime in your life. I believe you will be more than blessed and challenged.

Our own Shiloh Christian Saints are heading to the State Championship Game in War Memorial Stadium In Little Rock on Saturday at 12:00 noon. Our school competes in the public school league in Arkansas, even though we are a private Christian school, owned and operated by our church. What a great way to spend a Saturday, so come to Little Rock and join us. The school can provide you any information you need pertaining to the game.

Shiloh has won three football State Championships in our short history of having a football program. We have not been to the State Championship game since 2001, and we won that year. This is a great achievement for our young men, our school, and our church. This program is back at a highly competitive level, regardless of classification. The end of the regular season poll by the Associated Press has us #8 among ALL classifications, as well as #1 in our own classification.

If we could win just one more game and finish 14-0 this season, it will be interesting how high we are ranked, perhaps not high, but perhaps so. There will be much going on at Shiloh this week and if you live in this region, participate with us, regardless of your affiliation with other schools. There will be a State Championship Pep Rally sometime on Thursday, plus other matters. Additionally, you can attend practice during this strategic week. Pray for our young men to do their best, and the results we will all live with in the future.

Later…

The eyes are very critical to the way you view life. What you permit your eyes to see will determine your attitude and actions in life. So many times we are viewing things wrong because we are not looking in the right direction. I want to share a few simple hints for us to remember as we live life daily.

Do not gaze at people, they will usually disappoint you. No, I am not being cynical, but realistic. In this age of “high expectations,” we expect way too much from others. When you gaze and expect others to respond as you desire and they do not, then disappointment, criticism, and a judgmental attitude abounds.

Do not gaze at situations. They will usually discourage you. We always want situations and circumstances to be perfect. The problem is, they are not and never will be. Last Friday afternoon, I went to the LSU and Arkansas game, and the weather and circumstances were incredible. It was an absolutely gorgeous day in Arkansas. As I sit here and write this morning, I know I will be going to a High School State Semi-Final Game that will be played on Friday night. The weather will be cold and very frigid and snow may be on the ground today in this region. If players or coaches or fans gaze at the weather situation, it will discourage you and then becomes a possible influencer in a game. If they know it exists and keep their focus on the game, their chances of winning are greater. Great teams overcome it all. You do not play weather. You play teams.

Do not gaze at yourself or disappointment and discouragement may both set in. When you take yourself too seriously, you will usually be the hardest person to please, and even you cannot please yourself. You will be overwhelmed with the “should haves” and “should not haves” that will greatly paralyze you. Yes, we can be our own worst enemies. We usually imagine things from one extreme to the other – worse than they really are or better than they actually are!

Gaze on Jesus and only give quick glances at others, situations, and even yourself. Loving others and yourself is important and getting on top of situations is a part of life. However, all of these people and things change dramatically when you gaze at Jesus and only glance at the others.

Jesus was right: the eye is the lamp of the body. Be careful what you gaze at in life this weekend. One of the secrets to life may be: learning when to glance and when to gaze!

Congratulations to the Rogers Mounties for an outstanding run this year, even though they lost the state championship within the last few seconds. Coach Ronnie Peacock did an outstanding job this year and we applaud his commitment to spiritual matters and moral values. He is a man who loves the Lord and his leadership among students is highly encouraging for those of us who follow high school football. Therefore, to all the players, spirit groups, school administration, and coaching staff, I say “you did great and represented Northwest Arkansas in the highest manner.” We are so proud of you. Folks, support students in every way. Believe in them.

How about those Hogs? We are the Western Division Champions in the Southeastern Conference, playing the Florida Gators for the overall championship this Saturday night. What a great honor and privilege. This team has some outstanding intangibles in leadership and performance that is very unique, but not to winning teams of which they are. Even though we lost to LSU on Friday (I was there for the 1st half in person and watched the rest of it from a Hotel Room before I went to a high school game), the Hogs have had an outstanding year. Congratulations to Coach Houston Nutt, his staff, and the entire Hog football team. We are rooting for you against Florida. I believe we have a very legitimate shot at winning the game so perhaps we will do what no other Razorback team has ever been able to do since entering the SEC.

My Shiloh Christian Saints won on Friday night and play in the State Semi-Finals game here at home on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.We will play the undefeated Harding Academy and they are the real deal. Their history is incredible and have been a great winning football program. We need to have you here to go for our Saints on Friday night. It is the only game in Northwest Arkansas that night, so let’s have standing room only getting behind these fine young men who stand at 12-0, ranked #1 in the state. Come and watch some great football and enjoy some great fun on a cold Friday evening in Northwest Arkansas. Go Saints!

Yes, I do love football!

What is the deal? Stores opening up before dawn on the day after Thanksgiving for people to get their “deals for Christmas.” This is incredible and what is even more incredible – people camp out and prepare to do it! This is really amazing to me. Whoever came up with that idea in marketing needs a raise or correction … depends on your perspective.

This indicates that the acceleration to Christmas has now formally begun. I love the Thanksgiving to Christmas holiday season. I just want to be able to enjoy it without it running my life … don’t you? We need to pray for each other in regards to this.

Thanksgiving has not come to our church for many years now without the Blessing Basket Food Ministry. This year was a huge success, and we give God praise for it. Doug Sarver, our gifted World Missions Pastor, the missions staff team, the entire staff team, plus hundreds of volunteers pulled off the greatest day of Blessing Baskets in our history of doing them. Here are some of the statistics:

• Over 2,300 families assisted
• Over 4,300 people present (in those families)
• Over 480 people received Christ personally
• Needs were met, lives were changed

This is a tremendous ministry of our church and is just the beginning of the ministry season we are calling “Shelter Our Community.” This passion to shelter our community with love and care extends greatly through the meeting of many needs to the various shelters of all kinds located here in Northwest Arkansas. Pray for this ministry this holiday season. This is our first attempt at this ministry and
we are excited about its possibilities.

Let the Season Begin!

We tell ourselves that we will not do it again this year. And yet, here we are again, Thanksgiving week and we are still so busy that stopping to be thankful almost seems out of the question. Something must happen with the coming of fall or the changing of leaves. Someone … somewhere speeds up our calendars in order to try to rob us of our basic need to be joyful and thankful.

Wait a minute; let’s take a moment to think about Thanksgiving or just the everyday version of giving thanks. As far as I can tell, our calendars are not going to slow down anytime soon and being thankful should be much more than a once a year holiday. Isn’t it interesting that the apostle Paul places that thanks-giving reminder right in the middle of a whole host of other general admonitions? It could almost be lost in the crowd much like it’s almost lost in the midst of our busy schedules, and yet there it is in 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”.

Think just minute … think about all that you have to be thankful for in your life. Grab that cold and callous calendar that supposedly runs your life and mark out time this week to not only be thankful but to actually thank God for all of His endless blessings He has bestowed upon you. And while you’re at it, go ahead and personally thank those around you who have blessed your life and have invested in you this year. Remember, while being thankful is important, actually taking the time to thank someone expresses from your heart just how grateful you really are for their love and contribution in your life.

Now, just think … you have already started being thankful this year by just reading my blog! Don’t stop here … find those in your life and say: “Thank you!” Oh, by the way … “Thank you”!

One year ago tomorrow, my Dad died while sitting in a chair. From the burdens that life brings, the Lord took him into the peaceful reality of eternity with Him. It is really difficult even reflecting on the morning I got that call. I had just reached the decision on the night before that I would not attend Dr. Adrian Rogers’ funeral in Memphis that was to take place on Thursday. In my heart, I just knew I was not to go. Little did I know that within hours I would understand the reason.

So as the sun rises tomorrow, it will be Dad’s first anniversary in heaven and Mom’s first without him by her side after the 55 years they had together. It was probably around 9:00 a.m. CST (we are not sure because he was alone) that Dad entered into his eternal reward. My reflection began last night in a greater way after talking with Mom. We knew this day was coming, but neither of us even mentioned it. We will, but not last night.

So our hearts must look upward tomorrow, upward to the plan of God with hearts filled with gratitude for the great life Dad was given on earth and his investment into each of our lives. There is a big picture we must gaze towards, the big picture only the Lord sees and one day we may see. We will gaze at that picture. We are Christians, committed followers of Jesus, and the one lesson death teaches you if you are a Christ follower is that we have hope.

Hey, tonight or tomorrow, just pray for Mom. Pray for God’s rest and peace to be in her heart. She is peaceful with God’s plan even though her heart aches over the loss to her personally and to our family. I will cling to the memories, thank God for the love and faithfulness, and know that one day I will see Dad again in heaven.

Until then, we are filled with hope. Have a blessed day, a day filled with hope. Hope for today, hope for tomorrow, and hope for eternity.

You are loved.

This past Sunday was a great moment for our church and members at our Pinnacle Hills campus. We had our grand opening with more than 3300 in attendance in the morning services, and over 2000 for the evening service. Travis Cottrell, band, and singers led us in worship that evening, and we concluded with the lighting of the crosses. Below are a few pictures from the days events.

We had a fabulous day on both of our campuses last week. God is good! This Sunday, we begin a new six-week series that will take us all the way to Sunday, December 24 – Christmas Eve. It is hard to believe that we are that close to Christmas!

The title of my new series is MySpace. I am sure you are familiar with the phenomenon that has become so successful on the internet. MySpace is a social network, a place for friends to network with friends. What does this have to do with church today? Everything! The “me mentality” displayed through MySpace affects everything in our lives – our relationships with others and especially our relationship with God.

This is a great time to look at the life of Christ in a contemporary way. We are going to find out what Jesus said about the MySpace mentality. There is much in Scripture about this very subject. Isn’t it amazing? The Bible is always up to date, speaking about the issues we face every day.

Please invite people to come to church with you on Sunday. Use this series as a tool to encourage your friends and co-workers to attend with you. And the most important thing … please pray for this Sunday.

Invite and pray!

This morning I am moving slowly, but moving, after the huge day yesterday. I even slept in an hour later! Unique for me on a Monday morning. We have had Claude and Janice Thomas in our home since Friday night. He was our guest pastor yesterday at Springdale while I gave complete attention to Pinnacle Hills for the day. We were up very late since we did not get home until late from our special service last night at Pinnacle Hills.

I was blessed all day yesterday with the opening day at Pinnacle Hills. God was awesome in every way. The crowds were incredible. The movement of God among us was obvious. It was a special day because of all the Lord did, from the initial drive onto the campus in the morning until the lighting of the crosses last night. Thank you God.

I have heard great reports already from our Springdale Campus that was led in worship by Travis Cottrell and Claude Thomas. What I have been told is that it was a “great morning!” God is answering our prayers over these 50 days of committed, strategic praying.

Pinnacle Hills and Springdale Campuses have morning services each Sunday (now that opening day is behind us at Pinnacle Hills) at 9:15 and 10:55 a.m. This is outstanding for both campuses. We are grateful to God for these opportunities to join Jesus in building His church.

Pinnacle Hills will have an evening service for the next couple of Sunday nights. This Sunday night, Tony Evans will be preaching and on the following Sunday night, The Crabb Family will be in concert. These are two great offerings for both of our campuses to experience. Regardless of the campus you attend, support these special evenings.

Moving on …