Ladies, there are only 3 openings left for this round of leadership training.

I was looking at the parantheses in the opening of the book of Galatians this morning in the first verse.  Verse 1 says, “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)“  It got me thinking how powerful it is to be of God.  If you think about it, God planned you out before you were born (Psalm 139).  He knew you before there ever was a planet Earth.  And then He chose you to be His child.  He died for you to win you to Himself.  He called you to His mission.  And not in just some general way!  He has called you PERSONALLY to His mission.  He has a specific plan for YOU!

If you think about it, you and I can say what Paul said - We aren’t of men.  We have been called of Jesus Christ and God the Father.  Think of the power in that statement…

I have three sons and, at any time, I may give one of them authority over the others.  It works this way:  I need for them to clean their room or to wash their hands for supper or whatever.  So I tell one of them to tell their other two brothers to do what I have told them to do.  At that moment that individual boy is OF ME with MY AUTHORITY and carries with him all the weight of their father.  For the other two to disobey that boy is to disobey ME!  There is much power being in that position.

What a blessing!  That’s why we can walk like a pimp!  I’m not of me.  I’m of Jesus Christ, and God the Father.  I come with His power and His authority in the context of His mission.  I wear His name (Christ-ian) and am the apple of His eye!

How do you define yourself?  Who are you?  I was meditating on the opening of Paul’s letter to the Galatians this morning and noticed the first word “Paul.”  His salutation to the church there was an acknowledgment of who he was.  Notice he doesn’t say “Saul” because HE WAS NO LONGER SAUL.  He records his new name because he is a new man.  That was the life from which he lived.

How do you see yourself?  When you think of yourself is it from God’s perspective or from the perspective of someone who, for whatever reason, won’t let go of their old identity?  We have a new identity with new power, new peace, new grace, and a new mission.  I am no longer my own.  I am now simply an extension of God through Jesus Christ.

Maybe a touch of the “reset button” is in order.  Stop looking from your perspective and start looking down from God’s perspective.  Start today by saying:  “Christ in me, the hope of glory - Have your way!  Not I, but Christ!” - It’s who I am!!!

God bless you guys!

I thought I would make another attempt at a post.  So if this works it will be a minor miracle!  Last time I tried I wrote out a fairly lengthy blog only to lose it for no understandable reason.

I have felt sooo busy of late.  I’ve said this before but it really does feel like 3 weeks between Sundays to me.  My days seem jam-packed with so much.  Anyway…  I’m seeking the Lord’s direction as to what He is calling me to do with respect to most effectively ministering to college students.  I have spoken to many of you and it sounds like everyone is happy in Jesus with all of the changes.  However, I’m already noticing a little disconnectedness with the changes as far as my interaction with you is concerned.  Please be in prayer about how we are to connect both with one another as well as with the Body overall.

Another thing…  We just finished Phase 2 with the guys which means it is now time to start Phase 2 with the ladies.  We had waaayyyy too many ladies in Phase 1 of leadership to allow all of them in this first round of Phase 2.  Phase 2 needs to be about half as many ladies due to the level of interaction we have to have with one another.  So here’s what I’m going to do.  The first 12 ladies to email me will be in the first round of Phase 2.  Numbers 13 - on will have to wait until this first group goes through.  Another thing that interests me to find out…  Who will actually read this and tell their friends?  Who will be first???  This little note is hidden away in a blog that hasn’t been attended to in three weeks.  Will anyone actually discover it?  How long will it take them?