After the services on Sunday, Jeana and I boarded a flight from Northwest Arkansas into Los Angeles. We flew into Los Angeles because the flight was direct and fit our schedules the best. We then drove down to San Diego. As we drove through the county, we were reminded what a beautiful place it is. Of course, we were on our way to the GuideStone Financial Services Board of Trustees Meeting. My entire day yesterday, other than my time with God and my exercise in the early morning, was spent going from one meeting to the next, beginning at 7:00 a.m. and concluding after 10:00 p.m.

Following a brief time this morning in a meeting, I will exit early and spend the entire day working on our San Diego church launch that we are doing with the North American Mission Board and the California Baptist Convention. At a brunch this morning, we will meet with Dr. Fermine Whitaker, the Executive Director of the California Convention. In that meeting will be Brad Graves, Scott Grimm, Doug Sarver, Jeana and me. Following a brief time, we will be off to the races all over the city and region. We will do down on matters from demographics to strategy. It will be a long and exhausting day, but one that must take place.

As I concluded my time with God this morning, I asked God to give us creativity, enthusiasm, and help us see what He sees are the needs in this city. It is highly important we join Him in what He is doing. As Jeana and I jogged through the beautiful downtown area this morning, I prayed again, “Lord, show us what you want us to do here.” So I ask you to join me in prayer today for our San Diego project.

God will bless all of us as we give ourselves away to something else. Join me in the journey.

I am in San Diego today, attending the Guidestone Financial Services Board of Trustees meeting.  This financial entity cares for ministers and their families in many ways such as managing retirement funds, investments, and service matters like hospitalization, also expanding into many other services.  This entity is a $10 billion entity, so the responsibiity is very serious.  Under the incredible leadership of Dr. O.S. Hawkins, this service to ministers and their families is ever-growing.

While I am in San Diego, I am making use of this time by spending most of Tuesday (following the conclusion of the GuideStone meeting) with Doug Sarver, Brad Graves, and Scott Grimm on our San Diego church launch.  We are anticipating some great things.  As I drove down from Los Angeles today and looked over the millions of people between these two cities, it is obvious that the fields are white unto
harvest.  What a blessing to be able to partner with the North American Mission Board to launch this significant church plant.  We are praying
for more churches to come on board to be partners on this significant project.  Our commitment is $250,000 over a two year period of time and the North American Mission Board will also give an additional $250,000.  This $500,000 will be increased over this two year period of time by other churches that partner with us, plus the congregation in San Diego once it gets started.

I am back in the pulpit this next Sunday, so please pray for me.  God has used the past four weeks with our people as Dr. Charles Lowery has
ministered to us.  I have been here two of these weeks and I have been blessed.

Your Staff Team is coming off of one of our finest Staff Retreats (this year we called it “Staff Advance”) I have been a part of in my almost 21 years here with you.  Unity in the Spirit was evident.  We are all believing we are on the brink of our greatest days.  God is moving and getting things ready for a mighty move of God.

Let’s pray to that end.

Pastor Floyd is conducting Advance 2007, his annual retreat for his entire Ministry Staff Team. Please pray for him, as he leads this time with his team. Even though he will return to Northwest Arkansas at the end of this week, be with our church on Sunday, he will not return to blogging on Between Sundays until next Monday, July 29.

Dr. Charles Lowery will be our Guest Speaker again this Sunday. I enjoyed listening to him so much this past Sunday. He is a gifted communicator. He is engaging, humorous, and can tell a story with the best.

This trained Phd. in Pychology provides each of us an incredible opportunity to invite someone to church. His degree and former counseling practice may engage people to come with you, so at least invite others to join you.

The future before us is so promising. Great things are happening on both campuses, and I am thrilled with some doors God may be opening for us in the future. Our faithfulness in attendance, serving, and giving will only open up these opportunities. Our loyalty to this great church and the Lord Jesus over it will be the major contributing factor to these next few moments before us.

As you consider your future this coming August and following, please do not forget the importance of the church in the life of your family. It is so very easy to buy into the various streams existent in our culture today; however, each of us must insure we are buying into the great God of heaven who loved us so much He gave us His one and only Son. This Son of God, Jesus Christ, loved His church so much that He died for it.

If Jesus did this for us, how could we ever do anything less? His BEST requires our BEST. His all demands our all. Let’s move forward together in this sacrificial service to Jesus and His church.

We can do more together for God than we will ever do apart from one another.

I want to share with you a few pictures that illustrate a little about our summer. Of course, these pictures are of our grandchildren. We hope you enjoy or endure today.

Nick and Meredith now have a baby girl, named Reese Caroline. You will see pictures of Reese Caroline so enjoy.

Josh and Kate have Peyton Elliott, and another boy on the way in August. You will see pictures of Peyton. You will notice, he is a growing boy. We love them both and feel blessed beyond words.

Let these pictures brighten your day.

It is really hard to believe we have hit the mid-summer mark. I mean folks, it is July 16. This is amazing! It is racing past us.

We did have a week with our children in Florida, even though my time was limited with them because I came back to conduct a funeral of a close, loving friend. It was fun to see Peyton investigate the beach for the first time. Reese was right at one month old, so she did not investigate the sand, but laid under the umbrella beside the beautiful waters of the Emerald Coast of Florida. Nick and Meredith had only a few days with us due to his schedule of school and work.

Jeana and I have been in and out some in July. We enjoyed a few personal days together recently, even though there had to be a few side moments of ministry engagement due to some church needs. We are grateful for any few days that ever come without some “breaking problem” or “pressing need” that demands our attention and focus.

Jeana and I both enjoyed hearing Dr. Charles Lowery yesterday morning and evening. We love to laugh and he makes us laugh . . . a whole lot! He was with some of our Married Adults in a fellowship setting in Springdale last night and did an outstanding job. Pray for Charles and Penny this month as they minister to our staff and people. They are wonderful people, committed to the Lord’s will.

I hope your summer is going and glowing! Make the most of it. Make it count. Warm weather does not exist for 12 months in Northwest Arkansas, so we must soak it up while we have it.

Enjoy your day today.

In the passage in Luke 12 that we have been looking at this week, Jesus speaks to our fear when He says,

• “Don’t worry about your life.” (v. 22)
• “Aren’t you worth more than the birds?” (v. 24)
• “How much more will He do for you–you of little faith?” (v. 28)
• “Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.” (v. 32)

Fear is a personal and major issue for each of us. Phobias or fears are innumerable in today’s world. All we have to hold onto in this world are God’s Word and His promises. Let’s look today at Jesus’ heart and words to us. These words we must hold onto forever.

1. PROMISE - In Luke 12:31, He says, “But seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided for you.” When we go after God and His kingdom, all our needs will be met.
2. PROVISION - God gives us His presence and His kingdom. His kingdom means eternal life with Jesus, the promise of of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and also everlasting benefits in heaven.
3. GOD’S HEART – Jesus is saying that if we desire to experience the Kingdom now and in a greater way in heaven, then we must catch His heart. God’s heart is that we invest in Kingdom Ministries.

Jesus challenges us to show Him the balance sheet of our lives. Where we spend our time, what the resources of our lives are, and how we use the money and riches He has given us indicate where our hearts are. If we look at our schedule and our checkbooks, we will see where our hearts are!

Consider today what you are chasing after in your life.

Let’s talk today about what Christ does when He sees us doubt. His words to us on this issue are, “Therefore I tell you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat; or about the body, what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they don’t sow or reap; they don’t have a storeroom or a barn; yet God feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than the birds? Can any of you add a cubit to his height by worrying? If then you’re not able to do even a little thing, why worry about the rest? Consider how the wildflowers grow: they don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! If that’s how God clothes the grass, which is in the the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will He do for you–you of little faith? Don’t keep striving for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don’t be anxious. For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.”

Consider these questions God asks of each of us:

1. Can you extend the length of your life when you doubt God in any way?
2. Do you sin when you dot God will take care of you, but yet believe wealth gives you security and grass will just show up in the field?
3. How can you be a testimony to others and challenge them to place faith in Jesus if you are doubting whether God really knows y our needs and will meet them?

We each need to LOOK and LIVE like GOD is BIG and ACTIVE. We send mixed signals to lost people when we doubt. People can learn about Jesus, but they must SEE Jesus lived out through you in order to want Jesus personally.

Let your life be a picture of God to someone today!

We are continuing today to look at Christ’s compassion for each of us, but particularly – those of us who deal with insecurity. Insecurity is the lack of confidence, being uncertain about yourself or matters relating to you. One of the biggest struggles of life occurs when we have lost our value and our confidence. Jesus gives us the answer to this dilemma in Luke 12:24 when He says, “Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet GOD FEEDS THEM. OF HOW MUCH MORE VALUE are YOU than the birds!”

Each of us deals with matters of insecurity – - we all do. It may relate to our future, our needs, our appearance, our self-esteem, or our health. It might be that we feel rejected, insignificant, or unimportant. We may have had dreams die, unanswered prayers, or unmet goals. Any of these things or many others may cause insecurity in our lives. So how do we deal with all of this?

Make the following three declarations that stand against your insecurities:

1. God will take care of me.
2. God will meet my needs.
3. I am valuable to God.

The next time one of those feelings of insecurity occurs or attacks you, depend on Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and make one or all of these declarations to God, yourself, and against Satan himself. Our greatest need is always spiritual. Ultimately, Jesus is the ONLY ONE who can make you know you are valuable.

Trust Him with your life today!

This week, we are going to take a look at Christ’s compassion for each of us. His compassion for us comes in many forms, and the first we will look at is “Christ’s Compassion for the Worried.”

Are you worried about anything today? Matthew 9:36 says, “When He (Jesus) saw the crowds, He felt COMPASSION for them, because they were like a sheep without a shepherd.” This word for compassion refers to the physical body of Jesus and how He was influenced by the emotion He felt when he saw that people were worried, insecure, filled with doubt, and fearful. He has the very same compassion for each of us today. His instructions to us are found in Luke 12:22-23, “Then He said to His disciples, Therefore I tell you, DON’T WORRY about your life, what you eat; or about the body, what you will wear. For LIFE IS MORE than food and the body is MORE THAN clothing.” Worry means “to be torn apart.” Life is so much more than worry!

Let’s look at two facts about worry:

1. Worry steals life from the the moment.
2. Worry blinds you from reality.

Corrie Ten Boom said it this way, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.”

So what should we do about worry?

1. Learn what Jesus says.
2. Listen to what Jesus says.

Jesus helps put life in perspective for us, but we have to listen to what He says. The reality is this: The only thing you can control in life is your response and attitude to life – nothing else. Jesus is moved with compassion toward every person who has a problem, even the problem of worry. When He died on the cross for our sins, even the sin of worry was included.

Live today knowing that Christ gives us hope for life and hope for the life to come. Put away worry, and live victoriously today.