Starbucks Coming Soon!

A new Starbucks is under construction in the shopping center next to our neighborhood. Many people (myself included) are eagerly awaiting its grand opening.

To help further the excitement and anticipation, they’ve hung a large, bold banner in front of the new store that says: STARBUCKS COMING SOON! Every time I drive by and see the banner I think to myself, What if instead of the word Starbucks the banner read: JESUS COMING SOON! Would people be just as excited?

Unfortunately, I think a lot of us lose focus when it comes to the eternal things ahead. We get caught up in day-to-day life and we simply forget. Our priorities get out of order. We look forward to another opportunity to buy an over-priced, sugar laden Frappuccino, but do we look forward to what really matters?

You’ve heard it said that this world is not our home. And it’s not.  At least, not forever. For us, as believers, we have a new home. An eternal home.  And far better than any new Starbucks coming soon, we have a Savior coming again soon to take us home.

So as we wait for that expectant day, let us enjoy the temporary things but let us embrace and set our hearts on the eternal things.

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work.” He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Revelation 22: 12 & 20

Dina Pugh

Perfectly Godly Love

Our goal is to be like God, perfect in all things. The creator of the universe is an excellent role model for he is perfect in all things. But what does perfection look like to God, and what can we learn about ourselves from God's view of perfection?

In Genesis, God makes three starts: first in the Garden, then with Noah, finally with Abraham, (and that's just in the first book of the Bible.) One can easily argue that these re-boots were all part of God's plan, for he is omniscient. But there is no denying that human beings are a pesky group for their creator.

In Job, God actually uses sarcasm when responding/arguing to Job. We often look at sarcastic people as sinful in someway. God is not sinful, so does that mean that sarcasm, while not necessarily tasteful, is not sinful either? If God can be sarcastic and perfect does the same rule apply to people?

Then there is Jesus' place in the great story of our lives.  Jesus is the perfect incarnation of God on earth. Jesus came to save us. The timing of his appearance seems to suggest yet another, and arguably the final, opportunity for humans to get God right. Jesus paid for his perfect love for others with his life.

My purpose is to point out that God doesn't see perfect the way that we do. In God's eyes, it's not how many attempts you make, or the way you speak, or the things you sacrifice that makes you perfect or godly. It's your heart.

God's love for us is perfect. It never fails, it never ends. God is patient and will never, ever, abandon us. We are loved in a perfectly godly way that should inspire us to love others the same way, even when it's difficult and we get frustrated. And no price is too great to pay to demonstrate our love for others.

That's perfection.

Kevin Bibo

What Do You Stand For?

I was on a business trip this past week where I got to hang out with a large number of people. Some I knew but most I had never met before. On several occasions a handful of people mentioned they had heard I was a pastor. It is interesting to me how and when this comes up in conversation. I often wonder how that comes up about me when I'm not involved in the discussion.

The conversation usually goes the same way every time. They ask me what church I am a part of and what denomination we are. That is usually followed by a comment that they used to go to church. I like to focus on what we, as a church, stand for. Too often non-Christians get a dose of what Christianity is against.

Another thing a person will usually say is that they believe in God but they also believe that the only other thing that matters is that they are a good person. My heart sinks when they say that and I ask them why they think that. That gives me the opportunity to share further.

These are always interesting conversations. The number one thing I find that keeps the conversation going in the right direction is focusing on what I am for, not what I am against.

Blessings!

Jason Pugh

Build Unnerving Faith

"Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord." James 1:3-7

 “A Christian on fire for his faith will run into hell with a squirt gun.”  --Senior Pastor Steve Mason 

James 1:3-7 is such a power piece of the Bible to me.   It speaks directly about the kind of faith God asks from us.  But if you are like me, I worry or overthink or ponder endlessly about something I should let go of, or someone I should have forgiven or something I didn’t do that I could have.  Regardless of what it is I often do not turn to God right away.  In fact, it is typically after I’ve exhausted myself mentally or have changed my mood affecting those around me that I FINALLY ask GOD to please help me. 

That was until I had a situation where I made the decision to give it to God first!  This time I wouldn’t allow the creator to sit in the on-deck circle while I took an endless amount of swings like I normally do (to use a baseball analogy).  I would give him my most stressful situation,  one that had been keeping me up at night, stealing my joy and dissolving my happiness.  I would be FAITHFUL knowing God would help me.  I’m not going to lie; it was a little scary as I had never truly tried this.  I would ask God for help not really expecting it.  

James 1:6 says, "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."  What I discovered was two-fold: God would do more for me than I could ever do for myself when I completely submitted to Him.  And the stronger my faith, the more His blessings would be poured upon me. 

I now live in complete faith.  I know God is looking out for me, loves me and is FAITHFUL to me.   My faith in Him allows me to see things in a way I never could have before.  It has helped me grow as a man, a son, a father and a follower of Jesus and Oasis church.  It has changed my life!

Side note: every time I would think faith my hands would type Father.

Ben Linares

Words to Live By

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." James 1:2-8

Can I just start off by saying how freaked out I am with the fact that it's already March?! It is blowing my mind that we're already three months into the new year and have to wait nine more months until Christmas (sob). This past week or so has been somewhat eventful for me and also a test of my faith, which brings me to today's post.

I have been praying lately for God to give me opportunities to listen to His will in my life. I prayed that and two days later (I kid you not! TWO days later) I was informed of a new job position that might become available in the near future that is also full-time. Why is that such a big deal, or how is that even a test of faith? You see, I work two jobs. 

I have been at one for going on three years now and the other for only seven months, so when I was told about this other position I started to freak out a little bit. How could I leave my newest job after only having worked there for such a short amount of time? What would my boss think? What would my coworkers say about me? How could I leave my other job after being there for so long? What if my coworkers get mad at me for leaving? 

The list of what I thought goes on and on. You see, I am the definition of a people-pleaser. I will do or not do something to avoid other people being "mad" at me or feeling "disappointed" in me. It's terrible! So after I heard the news of this other job possibility, I panicked. I prayed about it immediately and came upon the verse shown above and had one of those a-ha moments: with my track record of avoiding any sort of change so as not to rock the boat and "upset" other people, maybe this was the perfect opportunity for me to heed this God-given moment and take that leap of faith (even though I felt scared senseless.) 

And so, I put on my big girl pants and let both of my bosses know that if this job proposition does come to pass that I am going to take it. And guess what? The world didn't end! Neither of them told me that they hated me for me wanting to better my life! This was such a big deal for me and I felt so pumped with the fact that I made my final decision and felt like I was listening to what the Lord was wanting me to do. But wait, what about the part of these verses that talks about "faith producing patience"? Oh, we'll get to that. 

That is another one of my laundry list of flaws. I am the complete opposite of patient. After I made the decision in my head that if this new job ever happens that I was going to take it, I sat there waiting. I made my choice, then a week went by and I hadn't heard of any progress of this new job coming into culmination and I got mad! I thought, "Ok God, I listened to what You told me to do and nothing's happening! Come on and let's get this show on the road!" I had completely forgotten about what's probably the most important part of these verses, and that is the part about patience coming from the testing of one's faith so that we "may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." 

Talk about feeling dumb when I expected God to just snap His fingers and make all of my wishes come true the moment I wanted them like He's some sort of genie. That's not how life works and that's certainly not how God works. Yes, it is so very crucial for us to listen to what God wants us to do, but it's just as important that after we make that decision to listen to His commands that we wait for His perfect timing IN PATIENCE. 

2014 is definitely turning out to be a year of excitement and of potential, untapped opportunity. Just always remember that after you listen to God's voice that you wait patiently for His wonderful timing because you never know what He may have in store for you.

With Love,

Kelsey Pugh

Breakfast

When I was young I had breakfast every morning before I went to school. I would take out the Lucky Charms and fill the bowl and pour on milk ‘til my cereal started to rise. Then I would eat all the oat bits first and save all the marshmallows ‘til the last. And to finish my breakfast meal, I would drink all the pink milk at the end.

When I started college, breakfast changed so much. It became leftover pizza or Top Ramen. I remember when my grandmother gave me some extra dishes and pots/pans for my college apartment. She told me, “You can use this pan to make yourself eggs in the morning.” I do not remember if I ever did. Hot Pockets and frozen burritos were my staples. That’s when I started skipping breakfast. Breakfast time was replaced with sleeping in until the very last moment and rushing to get ready and running out the door.

I continued not having breakfast for a long time. It wasn’t until I had my kid, did I start a breakfast routine. When my son started eating real food (not smashed up mush called baby food) he needed to have breakfast. So on the weekends, when I wasn’t rushing off to work, I volunteered to make breakfast in the mornings. That’s when I realized some thing great about breakfast: out of the three meals we eat each day, breakfast is the best!

Dinner is the most formal of the meals we eat in our house. When we go out to eat dinner we usually dress nice. Dinner usually consists of a main course and some sort of vegetable. When we have dinner at the house we always remember to give thanks and say some sort of prayer for our meal. It’s the most planned out meal. In our house we have a list of all the dinners we will eat during the week on our fridge. Dinner is well planned.

Lunch is super causal. For me, lunch is random. When I eat lunch it is usually with friends or co-workers. I have had more lunches with people outside my family then people inside. Lunch is mostly decided like 15 minutes before lunch actually starts (unless I bring left over dinner to work).

Breakfast is intimate. Breakfast is real. It is always with the people you care the most about. It’s the meal where you don’t have to get dressed up. You don’t have to think up random conversation. It’s the meal where you can sit in your place and not talk ‘til the coffee is ready. Your hair can be messed up. And yesterday doesn’t matter because you have a whole day ahead of you.

I guess the whole reason I’m talking about breakfast is because I see something pure. I see something that doesn’t have to put on a show, that doesn’t have to put up a front. As Christians, we should strive to be more like breakfast. There doesn’t need to be a formality about us. There doesn’t need to be a surface level casualness. There does need to be realness. A “let your hair down” attitude and honesty. Why front? Just wait to talk ‘til the coffee is ready.

Austin Mcleod

Master Gardener

Spring is just around the corner and that means time to clean up the yardand get ready to plant. Out with the old, in with the new. Rake up the dead leaves, prune the rose bushes, and trim branches. 

I enjoy gardening. I like to plant flowers and different kinds of vegetables. For the first few months, my plants do well because I take time to care for them. I check on them daily, water them, trim what needs to be trimmed, and provide them with necessary nutrients in order to help them grow and reach their best potential. 

However, over time, I start to lose interest. My fun new project turns into one more chore I have to do and I begin to neglect what I've planted. My beautiful plants, which had great promise and started out so well, begin to die off and wither from my lack of attention. 

Thankfully, God never neglects what He has planted. We are His workmanship. He is our Master Gardener. Unlike me with my plants, God never tires of working the soil of our hearts. He desires daily to dig up our fallow ground, sow seeds of righteousness, prune the areas in our heart that hold no place for Him, and chooses to help us reach our full potential that He, Himself has placed in us. God lovingly watches over us, constantly keeping us in His care. He provides all that we need to grow abundantly in Him.

 As Philippians 1:6 states: "He who has begun a good work in you will completeit until the day of Jesus Christ."

Dina Pugh