; but GOD!

It’s a brand new year and with the start of a new year a lot of people think starting a regular Bible Reading program. 

Hebrews 4:4 says that the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edge sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

It has been amazing to me to see how the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to give me just what I need at just the right time. 

The Center of Bible Engagement polled 40,000 people to see the impact of reading the Bible has on a person’s life.  What they found shocked them.   They discovered something that has been called THE RULE OF FOUR.

Here’s what they found.

If you read/hear God’s Word in your life:

• ONE DAY a week, there was little to no effect on key areas of your life. 
• TWO DAYS a week, little to no effect.
• THREE DAYS a week, little to no effect.
• FOUR DAYS?  The results literally spiked off the charts!

Loneliness dropped 30%
Anger issues dropped 32%
Relational issues dropped 40%
Alcoholism dropped 57%
Feeling spiritually stagnant dropped 60%
Viewing Pornography dropped 61%
Sharing your faith rose 200%
Discipling others rose 230%
https://www.backtothebible.org/research

Can you imagine having God’s Word in your life EVERY DAY?   I’ve found that one of the best Bible Reading Programs in an app called YouVERSION.   It is the number one Bible App in the world.  Under the tab PLANS you can search for whatever reading program fits your schedule.  Depending on what translation you use, it will even READ it to you which might come in handy when you get to the Book of Numbers filled with names you can’t pronounce. 

YouVersion Bible App

Some guidelines.  Don’t be religious or legalistic about it.  You will miss some days.  Give yourself some grace and catch up when you can.  Also, as you read seek to have at least one takeaway that you can think and apply that day.  Most of all, remember the purpose of reading God’s Word is not to master the Scriptures, but to allow God to master YOU through them. 

I’m excited about starting a new year with you.

Pastor Bill
Medina Community Church

I read this week of a man who took his whole family around the neighborhood to sing Christmas carols. He was a resident of Hillsboro, California. As his family gathered together in the front of the first house, he knocked at the door and a woman came to the door, distraught and said, “Look, fella, I’m too busy, The plumbing went out, I can’t get anyone to fix it, and there’s a mob coming over for dinner tonight. If you really feel like singing Christmas carols, can you come back at 9:00, OK?”  And the man politely said, “Yes, ma’am.”

The man’s name? Bing Crosby.  That Lady missed out on a serenade by the entire Crosby family because she was too busy to really take time to think about the significance of the season.

Sometimes that’s easy to do, isn’t it? Sometimes it’s so easy to get caught up in one of the busiest seasons of the year. With festivities to plan and parties to throw and presents to buy, sometimes it’s easy to lose the real joy of the season.  It really involves a conscious, continuous effort not to let the reason for the season to slip by. This Christmas don’t let the busyness of the season rob you of the joy of the season. Let’s remember that Christmas is about God entering this world as a little child to save us. My deepest prayer for all of us is that we will allow this Christ Child to be born within our lives in new ways this year.

Merry Christmas,

Bill.

Psalm 107:1 (NKJV)
1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

The Jews have a word DAYENU that means, “It would’ve been enough,” that they sing during Passover. As they remember the FAITHFULNESS of God they sing,

“If God had delivered us out of Egypt, but had not parted the Red Sea… DAYENU.”

“If God had parted the Red Sea, but had not fed us manna in the wilderness… DAYENU.”

“If God had fed us manna in the wilderness, but had not led us to Sinai… DAYENU.”

“If God had led us to Sinai, but did not give us the Tora… DAYENU.”

“If God have us the Tora, but did not give us the Promise Land… DAYENU.”

“If God gave us the Promise Land, but did not give us the Temple… DAYENU.”

… and I would add, “If God gave us His Son to die for our sins and give us His righteousness… DAYENU (It would’ve been enough!!) Yet God continues to pour out His blessings and we should be THANKFUL~

Let us give thanks to the Lord for He is Good. His LOVE endures FOREVER!

Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” In looking back on the days of 2022 these are some things I’ve learned or relearned in my life…

1. Above all guard your HEART (Proverbs 4:23)

2. It’s not about me.

3. God’s grace still amazes me.

4. The more grace I show, the more I understand it.

5. I pastor the best church in the world!

6. You grow more when times are bad than when times are good.

7. No matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt.

8. There really is a SPIRITUAL BATTLE going on!

9. The greater the battle, the greater the spoils.

10. God NEVER wastes a hurt.

11. Your greatest ministry is most likely to come out of your greatest hurt.

12. God can use my mistakes.

13. The only mistake is a mistake in which nothing is learned.

14. Just because I can’t understand God’s love doesn’t mean it’s not real!

15. Greater is He who is in me, than he who is in the world.

16. You can run, but you can’t hide from God.

17. God often has more faith me than I have in myself.

18. There’s no sin that’s too big for God not to forgive if we simply take it to Him through Jesus.

19. You don’t have to clean up your act before you come to God; you come to Him so that He can clean it up.

20. Priorities is often a matter of distinguishing what is best from what is good.

21. God is BIGGER than my ability to figure Him out.

22. That when I step into heaven, I’m going to have a HUGE red mark in the center of my forehead from me hitting it with my palm and going, “OH, NOW I get it now!”

23. That I’m not a Calvinist or an Armenian, but a CALMINIAN.

24. Time is too short, and hell is too hot to argue about little things.

25. It’s a lot easier to react than to think.

26. Fasting isn’t something you do, it’s something that happens to you.

27. You can’t make someone love you.

28. Love isn’t something you feel; it’s something you DO!

29. I HATE religion, but love JESUS.

30. There is no such thing as a little sin.

31. I need more COWBELL.

32. Faith is daring the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see.

33. Faith is found when it’s tested.

34. God is not enough; He’s TOO MUCH!

35. You can’t really embrace the Good News until you come to grips with the Bad News.

36. You really can read God like a Book.

37. I don’t have to know all the answers, it’s more important to know the One who as ALL the answers.

38. All men die, but few men really LIVE.

39. If you’re going to be stupid, you better be tough.

40. I can never out give God.

41. It’s easier to forgive others that to forgive yourself.

42. There are some things I really don’t want to know!

43. God helps those who cannot help themselves.

44. God’s not done with me yet.

45. It’s Friday, but Sunday is a comin!

46. Don’t follow the Crowd.

May God bless you and keep you; may He make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; may the Lord lift up your countenance and give you peace in 2023