F4S: May 2013

Thursday, May 30, 2013

All real believers need roots and wings if ya will.

Sure. God's Word will help us with the roots, so purpose in your heart to go down deep in God's Word. 

Allow Him to get you firmly established. And red hot on-fire Christian friends who just love to pray, praise and worship Christ can then help get us aloft. 

Seek out fellowship, first upwards and then outwards with those who are growing in connection with Christ and a sound local church. 

When you get a few moments, see what you can study in God's word regarding getting and being rooted in the Lord. After that, you might want to go check out "wings" okay. 

Colossians 2:6-7 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
 
Jeremiah 17:7-8 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.
 
Psalm 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
 
Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;
 
Ephesians 3:16-19 That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
 
Matthew 13:6 But when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.
 
Psalm 15:1-5 O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved. facebook.com/shareJesus

Saturday, May 25, 2013

I love to engage the young, the middle-aged, the old and even harvest online!

How about you... love it too? Why not edify more than one with the same energy and time expended ..as it would take while you seek to edify one? That's what's so cool about online tools in the hands of the Church today. If the enemy can use it for evil, why can't we fear God and use the web for God's glory? I say get your go from the Lord.  

Been sharing my faith daily in connection with Harvest Ministries and some other great groups... and am having a blast doing so. I'm not super at it, but am a learner. Have a long way to go in this, but I've got a good Teacher. 

Feel really excited about it too, even when I simply plant seeds and don't get to reap. And there seems to be so many ways that God is leading His people to witness in these times of ours. 

Do you have a heart for tactfully getting the Gospel out?.. for reaching people far and wide in a non-creepy, non-pushy, and spamy kinda way?..yes, for reaching the next generation for Jesus Christ?

Where can they be found? Many are online…duh. So it would make sense to know where they are online right? A mountain fisher would like to study to know where they trout would hang out in schools huh.  

Do use any social media at all for a platform to communicate with youth regarding the Gospel, to influence people with the truth, to edify, encourage and uplift other believers, add to simply value to people in general? Do you use it to maintain your friendships? Wouldn't blame you if you didn't and just wanted to keep your personal info private. But for those who do, some new Pew Study results came out that show that 77% of online teens (ages 12-17) surveyed use Facebook. 

Yes, Facebook is still the most popular of all the social networks among teens, but their interest is now waning some ..I mean their enthusiasm is. And 425 is the average friend count in FB.


And 94% of teens who are online still use Facebook even though many teens say they really dislike seeing an increasing number of adults on there, and they don't at all like all the "oversharing" and all "the drama" they say happens online.

Sounds about right huh. I know what they mean too. It's easy to do. And what teens of any era have not wanted to be left in a group of peers away from all their parents for a lengthy  part of their time. Friends do mean so much to them and that will fade a bit more later on in life.

Why do they return? I say teens / people are still lonely, empty, very hungry for purpose, and are searching for meaning in life. And Jesus Christ can address and meet all those needs for anyone, but too many merely think of Him as a mythical prophet as their schools have taught, or as a mere historic figure or as "a religion for born agains." Many are gaming gobs and looking in the wrong places to deal with their loneliness and frustrations.


"Say not, There are yet four months, and then comes harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." ~ Jesus

Did you know that 2% of online teens say they "have had an experience online that made them feel good about themselves."  And among teen social media users, "57% said they had an experience online that made them feel good, compared with 30% of teen internet users who do not use social media."

One in three online teens (33%) say they have had an experience online that "made them feel closer to another person." And then looking at teen social media users, "37% report having an experience somewhere online that made them feel closer to another person, compared with just 16% of online teens who do not use social media."

Pew also found that 24% of online teens now use Twitter, an increase from 16% in 2011. But while 39% of African-American teens said they use Twitter, only 23% of white teens said the same thing.

But looking at the stats.. outside of Twitter and Facebook, teens don't have as much of an online presence at all. In 2012, 11% of teen social media users said they use Instagram (which is number 3 and is mobile based) and believe me it ain't only about sharing photos, they communicate a lot alongside of their photos there, while Tumblr gets only 5%, Google+ gets 3%, and Pinterest only gets 1% (btw: follow me, cuz I'm at @kurtwvs with all of em). Me thinks we can better learn to worship Christ, grow in Him, and just point others to Him together.  about.me/kvs and facebook.com/shareJesus

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Ain't forgetful like some weakened elderly man struck by dementia.. no, God is alert and thinking about you every moment of this day!

"I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands." ~ Isaiah 49:15-16

Man, praise God He has zero memory loss!

Indulge me for a sec as I brag on my excellent wife Liney who has taken it upon herself to remember and rescue stray dogs runnin' around our streets that many owners have simply forgotten or unintentionally lost. She has empathy for em and for neighbors and coworkers who often show up on our doorstep.

Often times I return home to find new and strange looking furry faces with whiskers and tongues hangin' out in my backyard (I mean the animals here) as she's inside on the phone trying to locate their owners.

Sure, as a little girl in Northern Colorado she has seen dogs and cats severely mistreated and hurt by callous teenagers throwing things at them etc.. and I guess that's where all started. And now ..among many other great things she does.. she so easily makes lots of friends when she simply takes time for their pets.  

So, would you mind if I asked you.. Have ya ever felt abandoned, harassed, bullied, lost like a stray.. or like no one even cares about you? Hey, I'm not totally sure why people turn mean, get hurtful or abandon others, but God's great love certainly won't ditch you and His kind presence is assured. I assert that you can trust Him 24/7/365. Let's pray…

Lord God, I am so grateful for Your selfless rescuing kinda love, and for Your never-failing empathy that was actually turned into the most positive action when You sent Christ to Calvary's cross to address our greatest need—for forgiveness. Thanks that You then raised up Him alive from the tomb on the third day. I appreciate it that You protect us, and never bail out on us, or get negligent when some people have. Father, thank You for Your never-failing presence—help each of us come to rest in our relationship with You, and with Christ who genuinely cares for all people. Makes us the kind of tactful, pro-active rescuers that Christ perfectly exemplified when He walked the dirty paths of this earth. Yes do so please, in Jesus' Name, amen.

Never forget that God faithfully promises His kids that He will never leave us (Deut. 31:8). He will be close to us no matter wherever we go, no matter wherever He leads.. yes, "always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20). As you give your heart to Christ and seek to know and serve Him, He indeed has your back.

You know that flawed men can falter in the area of commitments, but God won't ever falter or change in His eternal commitment to His children. Yeah, even if we've been abandoned by others, or have done the abandoning in the past He loves you. And each of us can find forgiveness and strong confidence in His Bible promise.. that nothin' nowhere will ever "separate us from [His] love" (Rom. 8:35-39). I say, Come as you are with a willingness to be cleansed and changed by Him. facebook.com/shareJesus