Ephesians 3:20 - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

1 Corinthians 2:9 – However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”–

What an amazing thought! Whatever we ask for or even think of, God can do more! It is easy to think of God doing more than what we ask for, but more than we think? Are we often times dreaming too small? I believe that God is waiting for us to ask for and think larger than we ever have.

He is waiting for us to break the box that surrounds our thinking, and believe for the greater things He has for us. Often times we under-ask God when we go to Him in prayer. Don’t under-ask; think and ask BIG!

God wants more for you and I than we think we want for ourselves.

It never ceases to amaze me that when we begin to really focus back in on God, the enemy really takes note. I can say that over the past 3-4 weeks, my time with God has never been better. I am digging into the Word like never before and seeing God work in the midst of our church.

Right now, I can say I at a place where a few things don’t make sense. I am seeking His wisdom and direction. The one thing that I know is that in the midst of the storms of our lives, He is our calming focus. No matter what you or I go through in life, God is always there. If doesn’t matter if we have the answers to the questions, the fact is, He is control and He will sustain us.

There is an interesting story in the book of Acts. In chapter 13 Paul and Barnabas were invited to speak on the Sabbath to a group of people. As they began to speak people began to understand God’s Word. So much so, they invited them back to speak the next week. The Scripture says that the next week the entire city showed up!

What happened next is the point of this post. The Jews began to criticize and cut down Paul and Barnabas for what they were doing. But it says that they never backed down from what God was calling them to do.

Listen, there will be critics and people who will cut you down. Remember, if God has called you to your assignment, then He will give you the boldness and courage to stand firm and never back down!

Mark 9:22b-23 in the Message translations states, “If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us! Jesus said, ‘If? There are no ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.’”

WOW! What a powerful statement. Simply believing with an unwavering faith can make things possible. It is not just the believing, but it is with the right heart that makes all things possible. It is the faith that we show that brings about the actions.

Many times Jesus told the sick and lame that their faith had made them well.

The message translation says it well. “IF?” See it is not about a question of if God wants to, but a question of if we want Him to.

What are you believing for today?

This week we continued our series of messages on worship. Man what an incredible day! I am always amazed at what God does in our midst.

• We experienced a great time in worship. The Holy Spirit was all over the place. It never ceases to amaze me what can happen when we totally give into the moving of the Holy Spirit in worship.
• We prayed for Haiti this morning. Man, what a dire need. We spoke about the need and ways Relevant is partnering together to help the relief. If you want more information on how to help go to our website: www.relevantnc.com/haiti
• We saw 5 new families visit with us. I love seeing new faces and families connecting with one another.

We are looking forward to continuing our series on worship next week with “How Do We Worship”

I can’t wait to see what God is going to do.

This weekend at Relevant we are starting a new series called Beyond Us. We are going to take an in-depth look at worship and what it means to be a true worshiper.

I really believe that the act of worship spans to all aspects of our lives. So no matter what you are doing, you can still be worshiping.

Oh and by the way, this Sunday is our Grand Opening service.

Over the next few days, I want to outline what I see as 3 characteristics of a faithful person. So here is part 1. Hope you enjoy!

I am a big fan of helping people become all that God wants them to be. One of those ways is to help people grow their relationship with God in a deeper way.

Over the last several years I have been exposed to different ways of helping with my own personal spiritual growth. I feel that having a plan in life is key; if you don’t know where you are going (plan), you won’t know when you get there (goal). That is why I see the benefit of having some sort of spiritual growth plan. Now, I have to say that everyone is different, so you may not like the ideas that I have and that is OK. The reality is that you and I need to have a plan of how we are going to be different and how our relationship with God will be better a year from now.

Since we are coming to an end of a year and many people take on some new year resolutions, I think that developing a plan of how you will grow yourself spiritually should be one of them. Below are 2 ways that I have developed my plans over the years. Feel free to adapt or borrow any of them. None of them are my original ideas.

#1. Develop a Spiritual Growth Plan – This plan is a written (a must for any plan) that encompasses the following categories:

• Spiritual
• Relational
• Physical
• Personal

Each one of these areas are written down and then a plan on how you would like to grow in the next year. For example: Relational – I want to get to know my wife on a deeper level this year. (This is your goal) – To do this I want to set aside 1 day each week to spend as date night with her (This is your plan). You would do this for each of the areas.

#2.  Develop 3 Goal Words – This is a smaller task, but effective as well. Here is a link to last years blog post on my 3 goal words. This is simply boiling down what you would like to see happen this year into a small concise manner.

Whatever your plan works out to be, I would encourage you to have a plan. You will have something that you can look back on and to benchmark your growth.

Simplicity. Such a great thought, yet for many of us a very hard concept to put into practice.

Our lives have gotten busier and demands have gotten heavier. We often find ourselves packing our days and weeks with events, lunches, meetings, and oh, don’t forget the family! The problem comes, when we start to push God out of our lives because of the busyness.

This has been true in my life. I look for the “good things” to do and loose track of the “God things”.

In Matthew 6:33-34 Jesus gives us a great way to priorities and simplify:

1. Seek Him first.
2. “Then” Do everything else.

This weekend at Relevant Church we will be looking into this passage and going deeper on how to really simplify our lives. I hope that you take some time, as I did, and look at you life to see if something is out of balance.