Pastor James’ Blog

We live in a “wishy-washy” world.   Even some Christians are “wishy-washy”.  They can’t make up their mind in so many circumstances.  They SAY they believe one thing and yet when put to the test – relent, give in and go against what they SAID.  God’s Word is clear about those that are double-minded.  James 1:8 says “he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”    Instability is one characteristic of a double-minded man. They are easily swayed. They easily change their mind to fit whatever the circumstance, whoever they are around or whatever is going on at the moment. They are not “steadfast”. 

The Bible is clear – we should “MAKE UP OUR MINDS” and stick with it.  Moses made up his mind and stuck with it – Hebrews 11:24-26 and  Joshua made up his mind even though it wasn’t popular – Joshua 24:14,15.

The first key to being decisive is to  choose who we are going to serve with our heart and life. Deciding to follow the Lord means setting aside anything, everything and anyone that  competes with Him in our hearts and lives.  Joshua 24:14,15. 

It’s time for Christians to have the mind of Christ – a decisive mind.  What about you?  Do you find yourself tossed to and fro? Do you change your mind often? Are you easily swayed? Are you one who prays, makes a decision and STICKS WITH IT?   The Lord desires for us to be DECISIVE and not DOUBLE-MINDED.

   Hope all who read this blog have a great day and that tonight your services are a blessing to you and your family. I hope you’ve MADE UP YOUR MIND to be in church tonight – or are you still trying to decide? 

Pastor James

   Thriftiness is “multiplying my resources through wise investments so I have more to give back to God”.  Matthew 25:14-27 gives us an account of stewardship.  Jesus says that we will be judged by how successful we are in wisely using and increasing the resources under our care. 

   Thriftiness is using as few resources as possible for our own needs so that we will have greater resources for generosity to God and to others.  Stinginess is keeping back what should be given to others so that we will have more for ourselves.

   As I was reading over this Life Group Study today it hit me — it’s all a heart issue.  It’s a matter of the heart.  Are you stingy? Are you someone who can never get enough?  Do you refuse to give to God and/or give to others?  Are you laying up treasure on the earth simply for your own good?  

Here are some aspects of thriftiness:

1.  It begins to by being content with basics (1 Timothy 6:8)

2. It is using creativity to increase assets.

3. It is having only those personal possessions that are functional.

4. It is gathering up the fragments after a project (Matthew 14:20)

In order to be thrifty, one must:

Be faithful in little things.  Be faithful in the use of money. Be faithful in caring for that which belongs to another person. 

Do you keep detailed records of your resources so that you will know how they are being spent?  Are you using your energies and resources primarily for yourself or for the needs of others?

When God reviews your investments of time, energy, and money, will He commend you for your thriftiness or condemn you for your extravagance?  SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.

    As Christians we are here to bless the world with the gospel and let our lights “so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven.”  What does the world see when it looks at you and me?  Stingy? Materialistic? Self-centered? Possessive?    Loving? Caring? Giving? Selfless?

This lesson is something to think about.  Are we wrapped up in our money and possessions? Do they own us or do we own them?  God help us all to be more loving, giving and thrifty for Him.   Pastor James

      Thanksgiving is almost here and sadly most people look forward to the day simply because of the food.  YES, I am looking forward to the food too but that isn’t the main reason that Thanksgiving is so important in all of our lives. Thanksgiving is simply giving thanks.  I know that the actual holiday isn’t until next week but we all could/should take the time to simply THANK GOD for all the blessings we have. No matter how bad things are in our own little worlds – it could always be worse. I know many people who have far less material items, far more health problems, far greater financial problems and far more family problems than I do.  My world isn’t perfect by a long stretch – but I am soooooo blessed.  This coming Wednesday night the Life House family is going to erect a THANKSGIVING CHRISTMAS TREE. What’s that? Well it’s a tree erected before Thanksgiving that will contain an ornament on it from every person (member, guest or anyone who wants to put one on it. ) who is present this coming Wednesday night.  We will provide the ornament and essentials to make it during the service.  It will have the year, the name of the person, and what they are thankful for ON it. Then it will be hung on a tree in our foyer for the holiday season. We will use it to remember to be thankful. Hopefully this season we can STRESS that it’s not about the material things WE CAN GET but WHAT WE CAN GIVE to those who need it or need to be blessed through us. That’s my goal as pastor this holiday season – to help our people realize how blessed we are and how we are to be a blessing to others.  If you want – come join us for this special service Wednesday night – 6:30 p.m..

       Next Sunday is FRIEND DAY at Life House and we’ve set a BIG goal for a new mission – 100 present for the service.  We are praying that many new faces are present. We are praying that we can see lost people, unchurched people, people who are backslidden, people who need a touch from the Lord — present to worship with us. We are praying that God will save some lost people, touch some people, revive some hearts and bring many who have been backslidden and out of church back into service for Him.  Pray for us. A small mission like ours can’t accomplish such a big task BUT the God who has planted this new church CAN!  We are so blessed to be able to be a part of this exciting new mission. God has great plans for Life House. God has us here to reach souls and that’s our focus.  Pray for us, come join us in the field and let’s see God do miracles in College Hill, Texarkana and beyond!  Gotta head out and get ready for my day. You have a good one too and remember – count your blessings and shine for Jesus today!  Pastor James

    During our Life Group Study tonight we had the chance to share our blessings with one another and thank God for them.   So many times we tend to  look on the “things we don’t have” rather than the blessings we DO HAVE!  If you begin to count your blessings you will soon notice that you and I are  very RICH and blessed beyond measure.

    Cindy and I feel so blessed to be a part of the ministry at Life House.  I logged on tonight and had the chance to visit the “gallery” section of our web site to view some of the newly posted pics.  WOW what a blessing!  If you haven’t gone there and looked at them – please do so!  You will get a glimpse of what “LIFE AT LIFE HOUSE” really is. Those pictures convey so much!  You will see why God called us to this new ministry!  He just keeps pouring out His blessings time and again. Thank you Lord for all you have done for us, for our families, for Life House and for the Life House family too!

  Another “side note” blessing:  This past Sunday our church family “prayer walked” the empty lot next door – asking God to help us get it for our new ministry if it was His will. WELL….As many of you know we are trying to reach $7,000.00 in our “lot fund” to purchase the lot next door. WELL…..this afternoon another $1,000.00 came in from a couple who are not part of our church family.  They said that they believe in what we are doing at Life House and just wanted to be a blessing and help us a little bit toward the land purchase! Praise the Lord!!! We aren’t too far from being able to buy  the land – just $2,700.00 away!  Wouldn’t it be great if we could get that money by this weekend and seal the deal for the land?  Who knows – God might just have it on it’s way – RIGHT NOW!  Just pray and God will do the rest…as He wills…in His time. 

  It’s exciting serving the Lord.  Can’t wait to see all that He is going to do at Life House in the future. I love you church and community.  I love you Lord – praise YOU for all you’ve done!  Pastor James

The Lord blessed our services yesterday in a big way!  We were excited that the Lord provided a drummer for us – from within our own church family!  He did a great job and the drums really added to our services. 

Due to the need for more parking and for future growth we are seeking to save money to purchase empty lot next door to our building on East street.   In a matter of two weeks God has blessed us with right at $3,400 in our “LOT FUND” .   We are shooting to raise $7,000.00 and we are almost halfway there!  Praise the Lord for His continued provision for Life House.  Pray that we will be able to see the money come in in  a timely fashion if it’s God’s will for us to have the land next door. We started Life House Church with a “no fundraising” mentality. We don’t want to become a church that is always “selling something”.  Our people are expected to tithe and if we desire to get something “big” then we will give above and beyond our tithes to get it. Tithes and Offerings are God’s way of financing the needs of the local church.  Pray that we will be faithful to do just that and that we can purchase the land soon. 

Last night it was awesome to see the Life House building OVERFLOWING with people as we had a joint worship service with Bro. Todd & Mrs. Debbie Reed and the Shiloh Baptist Church family. This pastor and people are such a blessing to Life House.  They took the step of faith to help sponsor us in the beginning. They sponsor us in name, offerings, time, prayers and much more. It’s our prayer that God will bless them for all they do for us.  The service last night was great – the altar full – the spirit of worship all around us. God is so good.  I love to hear the  joy and laughter in the building as God’s people, black and white, brothers and sisters, share, hug and break bread together.  It was a great time of worship, food, fellowship and friendship.   Life House is blessed to have a great Sponsor church and several wonderful, supportive Partner Churches who make this new mission possible. THANKS to all of you! Keep praying for us!

PRAYER ACTION ITEM:   FRIEND DAY is coming – Pray for us as we seek to “bust” that 100 mark in attendance.  We are searching for lost people and unchurched people to join the Life House family on that day.  All “CHURCHED” people are off limits to invite (if they show up that’s cool – but we shouldn’t go out “sheep stealing” LOL).  Pray for us on Sunday, Nov. 23rd that we can see souls saved during Friend Day.

Well – it’s almost 6:00 a.m. – and time to get moving.  Devotional time, breakfast and now blog time is OVER!!!!  Time for a shower and then  look out world here I come!   Blog more later… Pastor James

      Never before have we heard the word “CHANGE” so much!  Change for change sake isn’t worth much but change that effects our hearts, lives and churches is well worth it. Change begins in ME!

This week our church begins a seven week study in our Life Groups on the “Character Qualities” found in the Word of God.  What is good character? Should we as believers be growing and changing to be more Christ like as our grow older? YES!  If you are not a regular part of Life House but would like go through this study with us – let me know. I will be more than happy to GIVE you a Life Group Study Guide each week for seven weeks so that you can study with us.  We are going to see God begin to change us to be more like Him. Join with us in this study. Pray for us and if you don’t have a church home – come see us soon! 

  Well – better get outta here cause it won’t be long and people will be coming in for fellowship time and worship time – and I can’t wait!  I have a feeling the Lord is gonna “show up and show out” at Life House today!  Hope you and your church have a great one too!  Pastor James

We don’t usually have Sunday Night worship services at Life House but this Sunday we will! We will be blessed to have our Sponsor Church family (Shiloh Baptist) with us. We will meet at 6:00 p.m. Make plans now to join us for this special time of praise and worship. God is “gonna show up and show out”!!  Pastor James

There are many people who say they believe God can do anything but they don’t believe in miracles. If you don’t believe in miracles you might not want to talk to one of our couples in our church family.  This young couple were expecting a baby girl but not as soon as she chose to come into the world.  The doctors in Little Rock wanted to keep her from having the baby until it was further along and the lungs were more mature and formed better. God had other plans. The call came that the baby was going to be born early and pray that it would survive. The mother delivered the baby last Monday and was in our service – Wednesday night!  The baby is still in Little Rock in the hospital but the physicians can’t believe that she doesnt’ need all the care and attention that most babies born so early need. She is a miracle. The Mother told the doctors when they shared with her that they couldn’t understand how the baby is doing so good – “It’s a miracle because my church family was praying for us!” Wow! Praise God!  Stop by the wall in the worship center and view the new born pic of this little miracle! Praise God – He’s still in the miracle working business!   Pastor James

One of the things that we desperately need at Life House is more room for parking. We can only hold about 12/14  cars on our lot at one time. We have been praying that God would make a way for us to buy the empty lot next door. Earlier in the summer there was a real estate “for sale” sign on it and we called to find out how much they were asking. We found out that they wanted $9,000.00 for it. In our depressed economy, in our area – it’s not worth that much.  It did not sell. The sign came down.  After a month or so I found out who the owner was and called him and asked what he wanted for the land next door to us. He said, “I was asking $9000.00 but I will take $7,000.00 for it now.”  Well…..we have been praying and little by little a “lot fund” has come about.  We believe that we can get it for less than the “7″  – hopefully “5 or 6″.  God has blessed us with money coming in for the lot from time to time. Just today someone from out of town sent us a $1,000.00 check to help ”wherever it’s needed”.  Well – we NEED the lot next door!  I got a call from a lady recently who is visiting our church and due to some inheritance she has gotten she wants to donate $1,200.00 to the “lot fund”.  We haven’t received that check yet but i’m sure we will soon. God is blessing and soon we will be able to purchase use that lot for parking and future growth at Life House. Pray for us and pray that we can acquire the lot in God’s timing. 

Also, if you want to pray for “big things” that are needed: Pray for a church van for us to be able to go into the area and pick up people who need a ride to church. Many of them are walking but with winter weather on the way we would love to be able to give them a ride to church.

And..if you know of anyone who wants a big tax deduction for 2008 – tell them to call me. We will begin buying our present building in 2009 and if someone wanted to help that would be a BIG blessing!  God is so good to let us buy the building at 1/10th it’s appraised value.

WE have seen it work and cling to:  Philippians 4:19

“And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

Thanks to all of our partner churches and friends who pray, work and give to help this ministry get off the ground!              Pastor James

As a multi-ethnic mission we don’t see great leaps and bounds made in one day but we do see “baby steps” from time to time that help us know that we are making progress in what God has called us to do.  This past Wednesday night during our Life Group Bible Study – we had several teens in our Bible Study with us.  Some didnt’ have a Bible so we “rounded some up” and I asked the entire group to turn to Romans 13:1-7.  One of the youth said “what page?” and I said “Romans 13″ .  He didn’t know how to find it. One of our ladies got up and went over and helped the group find Romans 13 in their Bibles.  I then called on three of the young men to come forward and read two verses each for me. They did – with no hesitation.  We had our Bible Study and then at the end when it came time for prayer we did a “circle prayer group” and it was one white person, one black person, one white person, one black person – holding hands and praying. A young man about age 14 closed us in prayer. It’s exciting to see God begin to move and work in the lives of some of the youth. Pray for us. Pray that we can see many grow, mature and be all that they can be for the Lord.  Thanks to all of you who are so generous to support us with your prayers, time, money and elbow grease. This mission would not be possible if it weren’t for you. Thank you to all of the churches who give, pray and support us. You are a blessing to us and to this community. I love missions and I’m thankful to be right where I am for the Lord.  Have a great day for HIM!  Pastor James