Category Archives: Daily Word
Prayer for the Local Church
Today, we give thanks for the local church. Scripture compares the church to a body and tonight is attempt to bring that body together. We strive for unity. Not a bunch of churches getting together, but The Church getting together. Many branches but one tree. Many parts but one purpose. We are thankful to God that he has given us this method of establishing His kingdom here on earth. The local church saves the lost, feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, visits the imprisoned, heals the sick, rebukes the devourer. Each November those that are involved in the San Marcos Ministers’ Association gather as sort of a heaven practice. All gathered in one place, at one time, in one mind to worship and give thanks to our creator and Savior.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for providing this vehicle called the local church. Where strangers become family and broken are mended. Thank you for the spiritual community of San Marcos, TX. Lord, we are grateful that you have placed us in this place at this time for this moment of your kingdom. We pray that we will take the rightful responsibility as your church and not squander our resources and talents, but we will rise to the great calling you have placed on us. To be the Salt of San Marcos. To be the light of the world. A city on a hill that cannot be hidden. May your light permeate from your church to the darkest parts of this community. Endue us with power from your Holy Spirit to build your kingdom, we pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen!
Should it Hurt to Give Money to God?
PromiseLand’s Online Giving Website
Giving money to God often hurts.
We make a conscious decision to take money that we would normally spend on something else, invest, or save and give it to our local church. It can sound like a great decision on Sunday morning when the preacher lays out the scripture and vision of the local ministry. However, the truth is that later in the week or month, you will FEEL THE BURN.
When you look at your bank account online and see that there is a significant amount of money “missing”, your mind begins to struggle. This is normal. We often feel the weight of any investment. Any sacrifice whether it is physically working out, ‘doing the right thing’ with a relationship, or exerting time to study for a test will at some point be really tough to walk through. A pressure point. Tension. Questions…should I have really done that?
I’m not talking about giving God a tip. When we give God a minimal amount that is not a sacrifice or significant to our overall income, it does not take faith. In fact, you need minimal motivation (and no scripture) to make this type of contribution. We can put a litte in the offering and in the back of our minds, think “if this doesn’t work or if they don’t spend it correctly, then it doesn’t really matter. There is no real loss to me.”
Because of the Old Testament standard, we often use 10% as a guide today. Giving the first 10% of our income to God immediately gives us a different viewpoint of God and our money. All of the sudden we are relying on God. We are believing that when we start ‘feeling the burn’ of missing finances, that His grace is sufficient. He will carry us with our remaining 90% better than we could have handled 100% by ourselves. Not only will God deal with us individually (in a positive way) because of our personal commitment to him through sacrifice, but our local church will have financial resources to reach others.
+Robin
Notes from Wednesday Night 4/4/2012
When Jesus was arrested, the disciples ran. Then, two of them (Peter and John) circled back around and followed the group to Caiaphas’ and Annas’ quarters. John was familiar with the guards, so he went in promptly with Jesus. Peter was standing at the outer gate, John spoke to the girl attending the gate and she let Peter in. At this point, Peter messes up. He decides to stand out in the courtyard and warm himself by the fire, while John and Jesus are in a different part of the compound. Peter is surrounded with a lot of people that are not supportive of Jesus and it sets him up for failure.
We see 3 types of people:
My Backstage Life
Tony Morgan
Currently, I am being coached by Tony Morgan. He is teaching me, asking great questions, and pushing me to go further with God, ministry, and life overall. Part of my homework assignment this month is to read Replenish by Lance Witt.
Last night, I read a powerful truth that I needed for my own life and it just so happens to line up perfectly with PSM’s weekend message. I will be finishing our sermon series called FIT and this message is centered around “one on one discipleship”.
We all have a front stage and a back stage.
Out front is our public life. It is what everyone sees and knows about. We focus on making it look as good as possible. It is all about doing things. It is important. However, we are killing ourselves softly if we don’t…. Read the rest of this entry
When I (as a pastor) Get Anxiety
Today is my day off. Fridays for our staff is a Sabbath day of rest. We aren’t supposed to work.
When I got out of bed this morning, I began to feel the pressure of anxiety creep into my consciousness. It wasn’t linked to specific thoughts or pressures of life. It was just a dull roar in the depths of my spirit. Why? I began to ask myself, “What did I leave unaccomplished this week?” Maybe I was getting stressed because I forgot something. Maybe I did something wrong or maybe I didn’t finish something successfully. What was left to accomplish before Sunday? Maybe I needed to ‘get something done’ before our services on Sunday. Is someone mad at me and I need to resolve it? I begin to focus on the mystery and try to figure it out. Thinking that if I could just resolve the issue, then everything would be at peace. All these thoughts came before my feet hit the floor. I had only been awake about 30 seconds. So this is what I did…
Robin Steele 