O Tell of His Great and Mighty Acts
We give thanks to you, O God,
We give thanks, for Your Name is near;
Men tell of your wonderful deeds.
Psalm 75:1
“Your Name is near.” The name of the Lord is the manifestation of His character. The name of the Lord protects; the Lord saves by His name; and His saving acts testify that His name is near. Therefore, trust in His name, hope in His name, sing praise to His name and rejoice in His name. This morning I knew for a fact that the name of the Lord was near and I was in the very presence of Jehovah. After much struggle and conflict, Cherokee Charter Academy held its very first Fellowship of Christian Athletes Huddle this morning. I was overwhelmed by the turnout and the Spirit of God in that place! Kids got to the school long before 7:00 am ready to fellowship, worship and study the Bible. There’s an old Hebrew term for that: WOW!
To the arrogant I say. ‘Boast no more’,
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.
Do not lift your horns against heaven;
do not speak with outstretched neck.’
Psalm 75:4
When we initiated the approval process for FCA at CCA, we were met with open arms by the administration of the school. But at the same time we were met with strong opposition from a few. The Bible is very clear that it is the Lord who is in control. The wicked who oppose God are considered by the Psalmist to be both arrogant and defiant. The Bible clearly tells us, “No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges; He brings one down while exalting another,” (Psalm 75:6-7). Today was evidence that God is in control. No matter what man attempted to do these past few weeks to impede the will of God for CCA, God thwarted it to accomplish His purposes.
As for me, I will declare this forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.
I will declare that God has saved me and made His name near to me. I will declare that it is God who is in control. I will declare that Satan and this world do not control me. I will declare that it is God who exalts the righteous and it is God who brings down the unrighteous. I will declare that He is God and I am not.
Please be in prayer for all of the FCA Huddles around Cherokee County this year and Bill Queen as he oversees them. Also be in prayer tonight for the 2nd annual Fields of Faith event at Cherokee High School.
To God be the Glory!
Aaron Hodges
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
SAFE IN HIS ARMS
SAFE in His Arms
You will be safe in His arms
You will be safe in His arms
'Cause the hands that hold the world are holding your heart
This is the promise He made
He will be with You always
When everything is falling apart
You will be safe in His arms
Monday afternoon around 2:30, Malia and I decided to come up to the church to do some minor decorating for this weekend. We left the five kids at home under the care of their big brother and headed to the church. We gathered up all the decorations that we would need and started tossing around some ideas. While we were brainstorming inside the building, something was brewing outside of which we were unaware. We knew that it was raining but we knew nothing about the storms that were on their way. At around 3:30, my phone rang and the call was from the house. Cohen was on the other end telling me that David Everspaugh called and needed Malia to call him immediately. It all seemed very dramatic at the moment. Malia then called David and he informed us that we needed to get home quickly because there was a tornado headed our way. We immediately called the house and told Wade to get all the kids to the basement and that we would be home in 3 minutes. On our way out of the church we were met by a Canton Police officer who told us to get home quickly. When we arrived home, we found everyone in the basement as we had requested and together we waited out the storms. We were safe!
In John 17:6-19, we find Jesus praying for his disciples. This prayer is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus. He prays it just prior to Judas’ betrayal and His subsequent arrest. In His prayer Jesus asks for the safety of the disciples because He knows that very soon He would no longer be physically with them. Jesus prays to the Father to “protect them by the power of Your name-the name that You gave Me-so that they may be one as We are one,” (John 17:11).
This prayer has two parts to it. The first part expresses how we are kept safe and the second part tells us why that is important. I believe this prayer was meant not only for the Twelve but also for Jesus’ disciples today. This awesome safety is for us too! God’s protection is all wrapped up in the name of Jesus. We read about the power of His name. We talk about the power of His name. We sing songs about the power of His name. But do we really comprehend the awesomeness of His name? In that Name every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord! In that Name the enemy flees! In that Name we are healed! In that Name we are saved! In that Name we are eternally secure! In that Name we are unified!
Unity is found in the second part of verse 11. The meaning in this verse is not that unity would come to the disciples, instead it is a unity that they already had in the name of Jesus. We in the Church talk about unity all the time and how we need to be unified. News flash: WE ALREADY HAVE UNITY! That unity came when we took the name of Jesus. The Church’s present divisions are the result of the failures of Christians. We need to boldly take the name of Jesus under which we are unified in our goal of sharing His name with others. In turn, more people will be safe in His name.
Aaron Hodges
You will be safe in His arms
You will be safe in His arms
'Cause the hands that hold the world are holding your heart
This is the promise He made
He will be with You always
When everything is falling apart
You will be safe in His arms
Monday afternoon around 2:30, Malia and I decided to come up to the church to do some minor decorating for this weekend. We left the five kids at home under the care of their big brother and headed to the church. We gathered up all the decorations that we would need and started tossing around some ideas. While we were brainstorming inside the building, something was brewing outside of which we were unaware. We knew that it was raining but we knew nothing about the storms that were on their way. At around 3:30, my phone rang and the call was from the house. Cohen was on the other end telling me that David Everspaugh called and needed Malia to call him immediately. It all seemed very dramatic at the moment. Malia then called David and he informed us that we needed to get home quickly because there was a tornado headed our way. We immediately called the house and told Wade to get all the kids to the basement and that we would be home in 3 minutes. On our way out of the church we were met by a Canton Police officer who told us to get home quickly. When we arrived home, we found everyone in the basement as we had requested and together we waited out the storms. We were safe!
In John 17:6-19, we find Jesus praying for his disciples. This prayer is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus. He prays it just prior to Judas’ betrayal and His subsequent arrest. In His prayer Jesus asks for the safety of the disciples because He knows that very soon He would no longer be physically with them. Jesus prays to the Father to “protect them by the power of Your name-the name that You gave Me-so that they may be one as We are one,” (John 17:11).
This prayer has two parts to it. The first part expresses how we are kept safe and the second part tells us why that is important. I believe this prayer was meant not only for the Twelve but also for Jesus’ disciples today. This awesome safety is for us too! God’s protection is all wrapped up in the name of Jesus. We read about the power of His name. We talk about the power of His name. We sing songs about the power of His name. But do we really comprehend the awesomeness of His name? In that Name every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord! In that Name the enemy flees! In that Name we are healed! In that Name we are saved! In that Name we are eternally secure! In that Name we are unified!
Unity is found in the second part of verse 11. The meaning in this verse is not that unity would come to the disciples, instead it is a unity that they already had in the name of Jesus. We in the Church talk about unity all the time and how we need to be unified. News flash: WE ALREADY HAVE UNITY! That unity came when we took the name of Jesus. The Church’s present divisions are the result of the failures of Christians. We need to boldly take the name of Jesus under which we are unified in our goal of sharing His name with others. In turn, more people will be safe in His name.
Aaron Hodges
A CLEAN HOUSE...
A Clean House….
Last Wednesday night I had to run back to the house to pick up a few items that the kids had left. I took someone from the church with me. We got out of the car, went through the garage, and entered the house by way of the kitchen. I proceeded upstairs to get what I needed while my friend stayed downstairs. We then left the house and headed back to church. On our way back, I was asked if our house was always that clean. Many of you know that my wife, Malia, is a very organized woman who loves her house to be orderly and clean. It is true that when we leave the house everything is in its place but there are times when the house looks like a tornado has come through. I am not aware of any house that is not messy at some time or another. I guess the only time that everything is perfect is when we aren’t home! We are the ones who mess things up. How does this relate to Church life?
Some people say that a “healthy church” has the following attributes: 100% of its weekend attendance participates in small groups, it is saturated with people carrying their Bibles to church and is dominated by the Biblically literate. What if we surveyed FBC Canton and we discovered that 95-100% of our regular attenders were tithing, reading their Bibles regularly, inviting people to church every week, consistently serving on the weekend, attending Sunday school, and attending our Morning Worship? Would that be considered a healthy church?
On the outside, it may look clean and orderly, but on the inside it is not what God wants. Consider a stable: “Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; but much increase comes by the strength of an ox (Proverbs 14:4).” When you seek to have an increase, messes happen, but with the mess comes a great harvest. So what does a healthy church look like? In John 4:34-38 Jesus makes this very clear, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
The local Church will not be exclusively filled with whole-hearted, Bible-believing, salvation-proclaiming, passionate worshippers. On the contrary, the local Church will be filled with people at all stages of spiritual development. It’s important we at FBCC remember God desires a good portion of our church be the not yet or the recently converted. When we seek to reach out to a lost and dying world, things get messy. Glory to God! It is not our job to clean the place up. That is the job of the Holy Spirit. We are simply charged with the responsibility of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with a dirty world. When we start to really be the Church God wants us to be, then things are going to get a little messy. Hallelujah! BRING THE MESS! For with “the mess” will come a great harvest!
Aaron Hodges
Last Wednesday night I had to run back to the house to pick up a few items that the kids had left. I took someone from the church with me. We got out of the car, went through the garage, and entered the house by way of the kitchen. I proceeded upstairs to get what I needed while my friend stayed downstairs. We then left the house and headed back to church. On our way back, I was asked if our house was always that clean. Many of you know that my wife, Malia, is a very organized woman who loves her house to be orderly and clean. It is true that when we leave the house everything is in its place but there are times when the house looks like a tornado has come through. I am not aware of any house that is not messy at some time or another. I guess the only time that everything is perfect is when we aren’t home! We are the ones who mess things up. How does this relate to Church life?
Some people say that a “healthy church” has the following attributes: 100% of its weekend attendance participates in small groups, it is saturated with people carrying their Bibles to church and is dominated by the Biblically literate. What if we surveyed FBC Canton and we discovered that 95-100% of our regular attenders were tithing, reading their Bibles regularly, inviting people to church every week, consistently serving on the weekend, attending Sunday school, and attending our Morning Worship? Would that be considered a healthy church?
On the outside, it may look clean and orderly, but on the inside it is not what God wants. Consider a stable: “Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; but much increase comes by the strength of an ox (Proverbs 14:4).” When you seek to have an increase, messes happen, but with the mess comes a great harvest. So what does a healthy church look like? In John 4:34-38 Jesus makes this very clear, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
The local Church will not be exclusively filled with whole-hearted, Bible-believing, salvation-proclaiming, passionate worshippers. On the contrary, the local Church will be filled with people at all stages of spiritual development. It’s important we at FBCC remember God desires a good portion of our church be the not yet or the recently converted. When we seek to reach out to a lost and dying world, things get messy. Glory to God! It is not our job to clean the place up. That is the job of the Holy Spirit. We are simply charged with the responsibility of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with a dirty world. When we start to really be the Church God wants us to be, then things are going to get a little messy. Hallelujah! BRING THE MESS! For with “the mess” will come a great harvest!
Aaron Hodges
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