Be Still My Soul, BE STILL
Come to me, all you who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
And you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
JESUS
Matthew 11:28-30
I don’t know about your household, but since the beginning of this year, I feel like my family has been going 100 miles an hour 24 hours a day. Malia and I have been wondering why we are so exhausted all the time. When we stopped the other day to think about the exhaustion, we realized that we have been going to bed around midnight every night and have not had many uninterrupted nights. With restless kids, so many things to do and lack of ability to shut my brain down, sleep has become a rare thing. Many of you can probably relate to that scenario. So how do I get out of this hole that I have made for myself? How do I slow down? Will this rat race that I am in ever stop? On my own, I create bigger holes. On my own, I don’t know how to slow down. On my own, I will only make the rat race worse. Praise God! It’s not completely up to me.
Jesus made it very clear in Matthew 11 that our responsibility is merely to “come” to Him. It is Jesus who will give us rest, though that is easier said than done. I am sometimes guilty of reading scripture and agreeing with what I read, but then when I go to put it into action, I fall short. With everything in life, it is hard to just “come” and lay things at the feet at Jesus. I tend to bring my burdens to Christ, but then I pick them right back up and carry them on my own once again. It is like what Paul says in Romans 7:15, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” I want to lay my burdens at the feet of Jesus, but do I really trust Jesus to take care of my life? I do trust Him, but in my actions, I often don’t prove that. Am I being too transparent? Am I the only one in this boat? Where do I go from here? I go to the Lord!
O Lord, I cry out - take control of my life!
Take the desire that I have to be in control
away from me.
Help me to be still and know that You are God!
Rid me of my unbelief.
Teach me to trust You.
Father, get me out to the way, so that you can shine through me.
I want to see you do amazing and
wonderful things.
Give me a glimpse of what You have prepared
for me when I totally depend on You.
I long for You to move!
Aaron Hodges
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
THINK ON THESE THINGS...
Think on these things…
Philippians 4:4-9 The Message
4 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! 5 Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! 6 Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. 7 Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. 8 Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. 9 Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
Last Wednesday night at around 2:30 am, I was awakened by my wife telling me I was getting a text message on my phone. I have to honestly say that I did not wake completely up and get the message, but instead, Malia got it and answered it for me. She then woke me up enough to tell me what it was about. The message was from Ron Graves letting me know that Deana’s father, Dean Patterson, was on his way to the hospital with heart problems. In fact, on the way to the hospital, Mr. Patterson clinically died, but they were able to revive him and get him to the hospital in time. They put in two stints, and on Thursday, Malia and I headed to the hospital unaware of the condition we would find with Mr. Patterson. To my pleasure, I found Mr. and Mrs. Patterson in great spirits, thanking God for the great ways that He protected them. They were doing exactly what Philippians 4 says to do. It would have been easy for them to focus their attention on all the negative things that had happened, but they chose to focus their minds on the “best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not to curse.” He did go home, but has developed some complications and is back in the hospital. We need to continue to pray for him.
Last Sunday, Dr. Steve Parr did a great job taking this even a little further. In the times in our life when we face giants, are we choosing to rejoice in all things? In the good times and in the bad times, we are to make it clear to others that God is in control and we trust Him. How will others see our faith if all we do is worry about the giants? There are many things in our lives that we can worry about, most of which are out of our control. I serve a God who is ABLE - able to heal, able to provide, able to do miracles, able to see us through challenges, able to provide peace, able to work everything for our good and able to defeat our giants. I know from experience that when I give my giants to the Lord and think on the positive, God will always bring me through the rough times. To God be the glory for He has done great and mighty things for His children!
Reveling in Jesus,
Aaron Hodges
Philippians 4:4-9 The Message
4 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! 5 Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! 6 Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. 7 Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. 8 Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. 9 Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
Last Wednesday night at around 2:30 am, I was awakened by my wife telling me I was getting a text message on my phone. I have to honestly say that I did not wake completely up and get the message, but instead, Malia got it and answered it for me. She then woke me up enough to tell me what it was about. The message was from Ron Graves letting me know that Deana’s father, Dean Patterson, was on his way to the hospital with heart problems. In fact, on the way to the hospital, Mr. Patterson clinically died, but they were able to revive him and get him to the hospital in time. They put in two stints, and on Thursday, Malia and I headed to the hospital unaware of the condition we would find with Mr. Patterson. To my pleasure, I found Mr. and Mrs. Patterson in great spirits, thanking God for the great ways that He protected them. They were doing exactly what Philippians 4 says to do. It would have been easy for them to focus their attention on all the negative things that had happened, but they chose to focus their minds on the “best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not to curse.” He did go home, but has developed some complications and is back in the hospital. We need to continue to pray for him.
Last Sunday, Dr. Steve Parr did a great job taking this even a little further. In the times in our life when we face giants, are we choosing to rejoice in all things? In the good times and in the bad times, we are to make it clear to others that God is in control and we trust Him. How will others see our faith if all we do is worry about the giants? There are many things in our lives that we can worry about, most of which are out of our control. I serve a God who is ABLE - able to heal, able to provide, able to do miracles, able to see us through challenges, able to provide peace, able to work everything for our good and able to defeat our giants. I know from experience that when I give my giants to the Lord and think on the positive, God will always bring me through the rough times. To God be the glory for He has done great and mighty things for His children!
Reveling in Jesus,
Aaron Hodges
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
THE STATE OF OUR UNION
The State of Our Union
Union:
a. The act of uniting or the state of being united.
b. A combination so formed, especially an alliance or confederation of people, parties, or political entities for mutual interest or benefit
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Ephesians 4:3
On this the 5th day of January in the year 2011,
• What is the state of our union?
• What makes our union unique?
• What are the benefits of our union?
• What are the strengths in our union?
• What are the weaknesses in our union?
• What can make our union stronger?
I want to proclaim today that our union in the worship ministry at FBC Canton is strong. It is strong because of the great improvements we have made over the past few years. It is strong because it is a focused ministry. It is strong because of its members. It is strong because of what makes our union unique.
Our union is not like the unions that you hear about on talk radio and the news. No our union is based on a different foundation. As we read in Ephesians 4:3, our unity is founded on the Holy Spirit. It is based on the love of Jesus. It is held together by the powerful name of God. Our union cannot fail. Our union will remain until Jesus returns and unites all Christians to Himself.
The benefits of our union are not for the benefit of ourselves. I am not saying that we will not find benefit in this union. What I am saying is that the basis for our union is in glorifying Jesus and drawing all people to Him. Our union is basically for the benefit of others.
The strengths of our union are all around us. Our worship choir is seeing great improvement in their worship leadership. They are boldly proclaiming Jesus every week. In fact our Christmas worship service was by far the best presentation I have been a part of and it was a blessing to all who heard it. Our band and orchestra are incredible. What they give each and every week is glorious music that sets the stage for the message to be proclaimed. In fact, due to their passion in their playing, I have had a number of people inquire how they could join the orchestra. Our union is strong.
No union is perfect. Every union has its weaknesses. One area of weakness that needs our attention is in commitment to the union. Our union is a union that requires participation and when we are not participating our union suffers. Let’s all recommit to the worship ministry of FBC and make 2011 an even stronger year than 2010.
Another area in our union that needs help is in our technical side. Right now we need around 5-8 new people to help run the worship center screens. If you know of anyone who can push a button on Sundays, please let the worship ministry know.
Our union can be stronger because of individual commitment to each other and to Jesus Christ. What will you do in 2011 to make our union grow?
With His Song,
Aaron
P.S. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with any form of malice. BE KIND AND COMPASSIONATE TO ONE ANOTHER, FORGIVING EACH OTHER, JUST AS IN CHRIST GOD FORGAVE YOU.” Ephesians 4:30-32
Union:
a. The act of uniting or the state of being united.
b. A combination so formed, especially an alliance or confederation of people, parties, or political entities for mutual interest or benefit
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Ephesians 4:3
On this the 5th day of January in the year 2011,
• What is the state of our union?
• What makes our union unique?
• What are the benefits of our union?
• What are the strengths in our union?
• What are the weaknesses in our union?
• What can make our union stronger?
I want to proclaim today that our union in the worship ministry at FBC Canton is strong. It is strong because of the great improvements we have made over the past few years. It is strong because it is a focused ministry. It is strong because of its members. It is strong because of what makes our union unique.
Our union is not like the unions that you hear about on talk radio and the news. No our union is based on a different foundation. As we read in Ephesians 4:3, our unity is founded on the Holy Spirit. It is based on the love of Jesus. It is held together by the powerful name of God. Our union cannot fail. Our union will remain until Jesus returns and unites all Christians to Himself.
The benefits of our union are not for the benefit of ourselves. I am not saying that we will not find benefit in this union. What I am saying is that the basis for our union is in glorifying Jesus and drawing all people to Him. Our union is basically for the benefit of others.
The strengths of our union are all around us. Our worship choir is seeing great improvement in their worship leadership. They are boldly proclaiming Jesus every week. In fact our Christmas worship service was by far the best presentation I have been a part of and it was a blessing to all who heard it. Our band and orchestra are incredible. What they give each and every week is glorious music that sets the stage for the message to be proclaimed. In fact, due to their passion in their playing, I have had a number of people inquire how they could join the orchestra. Our union is strong.
No union is perfect. Every union has its weaknesses. One area of weakness that needs our attention is in commitment to the union. Our union is a union that requires participation and when we are not participating our union suffers. Let’s all recommit to the worship ministry of FBC and make 2011 an even stronger year than 2010.
Another area in our union that needs help is in our technical side. Right now we need around 5-8 new people to help run the worship center screens. If you know of anyone who can push a button on Sundays, please let the worship ministry know.
Our union can be stronger because of individual commitment to each other and to Jesus Christ. What will you do in 2011 to make our union grow?
With His Song,
Aaron
P.S. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with any form of malice. BE KIND AND COMPASSIONATE TO ONE ANOTHER, FORGIVING EACH OTHER, JUST AS IN CHRIST GOD FORGAVE YOU.” Ephesians 4:30-32
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