Wondering what is going on with the church blog? Why our there no new posts and yet there are 5 writers? Good questions. Hopefully we can answer them.

We are going to relaunch the blog and have one primary writer, which will be myself and then we will have guest writers who post stuff as they can. I love to write and actually miss it. So hold your horses and be on the look out for some great new stuff coming soon.

Also the site is being redesigned as well for easier use and viewing.
Pastor Brian

Have you heard the new song from Matthew West and Amy Grant?  It is called “Give This Christmas Away“.

This song is so simple but has so much to it at the same time.  What if December looked different this year?  What if we all just give this Christmas away?

Do you remember when you were a kid and you made a Christmas list?  Maybe you still do.  I do not know about you but even if you received what you wanted did you still want more?  Did it satisfy your desires?

You were given the greatest gift ever when God so loved you that he gave his one and only son.  I encourage you to pay this gift forward not just for Christmas but every day that God gives you.  It is a small way of giving thanks for the most precious gift that you will ever receive.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

It is that time of year again when we look back and give thanks.  So what are you thankful for this year?  Watch this video…

For me I am thankful for each day that God has given me.  Now you may be thinking “come on why are you thankful for that?”.  But think about this for a second.  Each day God gives us is a gift.  I encourage you to each day believe Psalm 118:24 “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

For those of you that do not know I manage the Family Christian Store in Lansing and we just received a huge blessing from God a couple of weeks ago.  Each month we receive a ranking of where we ended for the previous month.  Our store ranked 1st in the district of 18 stores and 4th in the company of 300 stores.

Do you know how easy it is to take credit for that?  It was not me and it was not my staff.  We allowed God to work through us so to him be the glory.

From September to October our store helped fed 232 in Haiti through a partnership with Casting Crowns, James Fund and World Vision for each presold copy of Until the Whole World Hears through an organization called Meds And Food For Kids. That is not for the company just our little store in Lansing, MI.

There are many other things for me to be thankful for but I will not bore you with them.  I encourage you to be thankful for what you have and speak blessings into your life.  I leave you with this great song by John Waller

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Michael

Pastor Brian has been teaching about “being thankful” or “giving up”…  I keep reminding myself of the verse he shared about “giving thanks in all circumstances.” 

In all circumstances?… okay; how do we think of something to be thankful for when someone so dear to you is going through something horrible.  Maybe you are the one going something extremely horrible.  How do we think of something to be thankful for when we are right smack dab in the middle of it?  When your heart is aching in hurt or despair, when you can’t imagine one more struggle, when you wonder… “why me?”

I happen to know someone who is going through something extremely horrible.  My heart aches for this person so much that I find myself thinking about their situation daily.  When you really care for someone and love them, hearing horrible news can crush your spirit and leave you grieving for them. 
 I have to be honest, my spirit has been crushed and I’m tired of it.  Today I had a harder day than normal in dealing with yucky news.  I was talking to the Lord and I was telling him that I don’t understand why I have to ache so bad… let alone I can only imagine how that person is feeling?  I’m a happy go lucky person, I want to get back to that! 

I then continued to ask the Lord to comfort me and to give me something through all this that I can find peace in, something that will lift this burden… something to be thankful for.  All day long I felt stuck.  I felt as though I was going to be in despair about this situation for a long time and I felt like I didn’t see an end to it, BUT… finally something happened. 

I was driving home late tonight and I was praying, not really knowing what to say because I felt stuck; when all of a sudden I prayed…

“Thank you Lord for thinking so much of me, that you knew I could be a beacon of hope for this person.  Thank you Lord for being confident in me that I would have the strength I’d need with your help to be a support to this person.”  

You see, no matter what we go through… good or bad; God has a purpose and plan for our lives!  Whether the road is awesome the whole way through or whether we have bumps in the road… He thinks so highly of us that He would choose us and work through us for His purpose “which is for the good!”   Wow… what an honor, that’s something to be proud of!  I was so overwhelmed by God’s love for me.   I felt so important, so valuable and in a moment I was restored.  That burden was lifted and I was given a new confidence to press on.  How amazing is our God! 

For those of you who are personally going through something terrible, I believe God shared this prayer for you… 

“Thank you Lord for thinking so much of me that someday I might be a testimony of hope and a support to others in similar situations.  And thank you Lord for having so much confidence in me because you know that I will have the strength with your help to overcome this situation.”  Now that is something to be thankful for!

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Guess what guys… I’m not giving up!  I’m thankful because God have given me a purpose!  How special am I!

I have to say this was by far one of the best experiences that I have had with the men here at Journey Life Church.  We laughed, we talked, we shared experiences.  There was nothing drawing our attention in different directions.  We were able to focus on having fun and enjoying the time.  It looked grim on the approach for it rained all the way there.  We all said our prayer that it would be clear when we got there.  It seemed almost as soon as we got to the park the rain subsided and it was clear until we were done late that night.  It was as if God gave us those moments with one another.  Moments all of us needed, young and old(er).

The next morning we listened to Steve Bradshaw as he spoke to us about having self control.  He said, “The real man is the man that controls himself, not everyone else.”

That morning he showed us that we need to recognize who we are in Christ, that this is where it starts.  We need to recognize that we are all equal in Christ.  We should not compare ourselves to other men in Christ, we are who God created each of us to be.

Steve left us that morning with this thought:

“We are not merely natural beings having temporary spiritual experiences, rather spiritual beings having temporary natural experiences.”

We then had an awesome breakfast and the stud Olympic contest.

From there some of us had to split while the rest enjoyed some flag football and another awesome session with Steve Bradshaw.

I can guarantee when we do this again next year you will not want to miss this awesome event!

Loving you,

– Pastor Jerry

Yesterday, my Grandma passed away peacefully while she slept. She was surrounded by ones she loved and by those who loved her so dearly. She lived a long life; eighty eight years. She was a wonderful Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother and Great Great Grandmother. What an accomplishment she was!

Through the grief of loosing someone I love, I am comforted by God’s ultimate gift of love…

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16

For God so loved my Grandma, that He gave His only begotten Son, that because she believed in Him, she didn’t perish, but is having everlasting life!

Because of that wonderful gift, my Grandma is “more alive” than me today! She is walking in glory on those streets of gold and I’m sure she is amazed and in awe!

If I could describe my Grandma, it would be a woman full of admiration! Whenever I would talk to her, she would listen, give you her full attention and always responded with such admiration.

She made you feel as though whatever you said or did was important! She took everything to heart and made you feel valued and special. No matter how little the accomplishment or how simple the story… to my Grandma, what you said had worth!

This reminds me how our heavenly father looks at our hearts… He doesn’t look at all the wonderful or not so wonderful things we may have done. He looks you and chooses you, simply because you’re you; His creation!

My Grandma looked at the ones she loved with admiration; not because they did all these amazing or not so amazing things, but because in her eyes, you were important simply because you were you… someone she valued and loved!

A common thing I remember her say was… “Oh, that’s just wonderful!” It seemed like the simplest news to Grandma was wonderful enough to bring a tear of joy to her eyes. Having someone around who is for you, not against you, someone who cheers you on, someone who uplifts and makes you feel important; is a person to admire, someone who truly radiates God’s love.

I am encouraged by my Grandma… to take that positive spirit and continue to strive to be that way in my own life. I am encouraged to value people, to find ways to be amazed and show admiration for them because people are of worth and value; they are one of God’s creations.

Angela

The church today fill their rolls with baby Christians who,

instead of growing week by week on the milk, bread, and meat of the word,

receive only a constant barrage of the elementary principles of the gospel.

– Kenneth Gangel

I want to challenge Journey Life Church.  Let’s not be the church today.  Let’s be what God has called us to be, Journey Life Church, a Church full of Life on His Journey.  Jesus answered, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  — John 14:6

I encourage you today!  The great “I AM” has guided Journey Life church in His direction.  He is the commander and Chief showing us the Way.  He has put Journey Life Church on a Journey!  Will you follow Him?  We must pray or talk with him, study His Word and meditate on Him in order to gain the Truth and follow His example.  Then and only then can we expect to reap His last truth of Life!  Life in abundance is found in the fruit you produce.  Are you producing fruit?  If you are not, is it because there is sin in your life?  Do not be fake or hypocritical.  Jesus wants us to be hot or cold for He hates luck warm.  You can’t enjoy both worlds nor serve two master you must choose.

Jesus is our example.  He said to follow his example.  If we pick up our cross and follow after Him, He promises us that we no longer have to be slaves of sin, rather we inherit His kingdom and bring our neighbors with us!

First are you Enjoying the Way and the Truth and the Life?  Second are those around you curious of the fruit you are producing?  Or are they left questioning?

One good place to start  that is short and sweet is Ephesians where you will learn God’s plan, how to grow spiritually, unity among the body, living in the light, and the whole armor of God. 

– Loving you

Pastor Jerry

How awesome it is to come in and experience the Holy Spirit as if it were new.  Last night was amazing!  People came in.  Worship began and you felt as though God was looking in.  There was this calm, quiet presence that I sensed saying “I AM here”.  I lifted my hands and cried out Lord you are wonderful, amazing, good, true and you love me.  The Holy Spirit met us at the altars as we gave our burden to him and laid it at his feet.

Then the instruction came through Pastor Brian.  We have a brain that God has given us to not only use but to choose.  To make the choice of what is important in life?  Ultimately we need to recognize that God is good and that we have a calling as Christians the bring others into the trone room of God with us.  We do not have to be afraid or feel that we are inadequate. 

I think sometimes we miss the mark with our Brain.  What I mean is we think that because we came in to the church body for answers of restoration that we were the ones that chose God when in FACT God was the one that chose us.  He chose us before we chose him.  Before we were born God chose to give us His only Son to die for us and deliver us from eternal damnation.  When you grab a hold of the FACT that He chose us our thoughts can change.

God chose us so He values us.  He puts a stamp of approval on us.  After we are forgiven and confess our sins then that is it we are then free of our sin.  From then on we are a soldier for the Lord.  We must let others know of his goodness and what he has done for you and I.

Exodus 9:16
But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

It is time to proclaim God’s good works in your life to all.

– Loving You

Pastor Jerry

I hope these thoughts give you a laugh or a simple pause in your morning to stop and reflect on the meaning and how it applies to your life.  I love you all and hope you enjoy!

Loving You

– Pastor Jerry

Unknown
If you stir the pot, you always get some on you.

Face it head on for a moment, or ignore it for a life time.

Knowledge talks, wisdom listens.

Only the wisest and the stupidest of men never change.

Don’t let your victories go to your head, or your failures go to your heart.

William A. Ward
The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.

Ralph Waldo Emerson
The years teach much which the days never knew.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where the stand in times of challenge and controversy.

Woodrow Wilson
We are not here merely to make a living. We are here to enrich the world.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.

I am sitting here in a beautiful garden area at the hospital, my family and I just gathered together to give thanks to God for his faithfulness and grace. I lead out in prayer thanking God for His hand that was guiding the surgeon’s, His hand that provided strength to my grandfather. We truly thanked God for all that he had done. I felt like the Israelites after a great victory how they would gather together and thank God. That is just what we did, we prayed and even ended with a song “How Great is Our God” It was an amazing moment as we thanked and asked God for his continuing touch upon my grandfather.

A thought hits me as I sit here after they have all left. This hospital is filled with sick people all around, people who need a touch from God. People who don’t have the support system we have and the Godly legacy I enjoy. They are hurting with a pain that cannot be described. You see they don’t know the peace that passes all understanding. They don’t know the love of a heavenly father that is being offered to them. And why do they not know, is it because they have rejected this love, maybe or is it because no one has lived it out in front of them. Is it because no one has shared what a relationship with Christ is all about. Some who are here maybe only have hours to live, like the one man by us earlier who just received news that his grandfather died. Or the man who came walking by that looked as though there were not many days left. Time is short and we have a solution to the pain that this place represents.

My prayer tonight is that the presence of God that is in my grandfather’s room would invade the entire floor, that people would receive a touch from their heavenly father. Like the Ark of the Covenant which carried the presence of God and everywhere it went Gods favor and anointing with it. So may that be the case with us. You see we are the Ark of the Covenant. No, we are not made of gold or fine wood but we are people who carry the presence of God with us. We are ones who carry the antidote to the sickness of sin.  We are the ones who know the healer; we are the ones who know the truth. But what will we do with this great knowledge. I love this line from one of my favorite movies “Spiderman”. With great power comes great responsibility. Remember Peter grandfather said that to him right before he died.  So the question comes to mind what will you do with the great power of God that is living inside of you? Will you share it with others or will you be selfish and hold out. The responsibility and privilege is yours so share, share, share.

Love you all and thanks so much for your prayers.

Pastor Brian Henley