A meteor shower happened just the other night. Our family had heard about the expected event on the news and it was supposed to be amazing. Later that night, our family was on our way home from church and we were all excited to see some "shooting stars". We drove faster to get out of all the lights of the city into a darker area so we could see a little better. If we were ever going to see the anticipated event, we were going to have to get out into the country, where it was darker, to be able to see. It seemed the darker it got, the brighter the shooting stars were. It truly was amazing!

In our not so distant past, making a decision to serve Christ and to live for Him was expected. Twenty years ago, in everyday America, the differences between right and wrong were obvious to almost everyone. We are not living in the same society anymore. Today, for most people, the lines are a little fuzzy. Unfortunately, what was once considered sinful is now almost common place. This world is getting darker and darker and it stands to reason that our lives should shine brighter and brighter.

Is your Christian light getting brighter and brighter in a darker and darker world? Can the world see you and your light for Christ even more clearly now? Your light should be brighter!

Summer is such a wonderful time of year! School is out, vacations are planned, the potential for fun is endless. It is so exciting in the days leading up to a much anticipated activity. The wait can almost be overwhelming.

As Christians, we have the most wonderful, amazing place waiting for us...Heaven. The Bible tells us that eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for us. That should excite us so much. Nothing in this world can even compare...not the most beautiful sunset, the most perfect beach, not even the best day we can remember in our entire lives. Our minds can not comprehend the things God has waiting for us.

Heaven is going to be worth the wait. We should not only look forward to that day, but we should be planning for it every day of our lives. It is important that we examine our own lives and make sure our relationship with Jesus Christ is our top priority. We have to make it at all cost. The joys of this life will not even compare, and the struggles of this life will seem as nothing when we make it to that wonderful place! Has your reservation been made?

It won't last forever. That is a very comforting thought sometimes. When we are going through a rough place in our lives, we have to remember that the storms don't last forever. In fact, when they are over, they usually bring the most beautiful peace. But in order to experience that comforting peace, we must hold on tight to the Lord through the roughest times.

Just as the Lord did for his disciples in Matthew chapter 8, He will speak, "Peace, Be still," for us in the roughest storms we face. In verse 22 of that chapter, Jesus told his disciples to follow him, and they did. That is proof positive that wherever Jesus leads us, or whatever situation we find ourselves in, He is right there with us the whole time, and He will save us from the storm we are in. He will either calm the situation, or He will calm us and bring us safely through.

Hold on tight, and keep your eyes focused on the Lord. The wonderful thing about Jesus is that His mercy endures forever and He will never leave you stranded in a situation that will overtake you. In Lamentations 3, the writer has suffered through terrible circumstances, and all hope seemed lost. In verse 21 he remembers the mercy and compassion of the Lord and he again has hope. The writer goes on to tell how the Lord's mercy is new each morning and that God is indeed faithful. He was faithful to Jeremiah, and He is still faithful today. So, no matter the storm, hold on tight!

John 3:16...this is perhaps the most well known Bible verse ever written, and to me the most important. These few words give hope to every person on the planet. It is all inclusive...there are no stipulations attached. Whosoever...that means the old, young, rich, poor, good, bad, and ugly! God sent His one and only precious son to bleed and die for you, and for me...and whosoever would call upon His name.

Tim Tebow proudly wears John 3:16 on his eye-black under his eyes. The verse can be found on bumper stickers, coffee mugs, and spray painted on over passes on the freeway. We should be ready to share this verse at a moments notice with people we come in contact with every day. The message is so simple, but one that could have the most profound impact on a person's life.

For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. That is worth printing on your t-shirt, and shouting from the roof tops! Jesus loves you so much that He died for you...have you heard anything more profound? I haven't!

Solomon told us in the Book of Proverbs that a merry heart does good like a medicine! When I was younger, I remember laughing until my sides hurt, until I could hardly breath. That is a wonderful feeling. I don't think I do that as often now, which is a little sad. Sometimes we just need to practice being happy and just laugh for a while! Sounds silly, doesn't it!

I have a friend who says she must practice being thankful, even when she doesn't feel very thankful at the moment. She will find something to be thankful for in every situation and dwell on that thought. We need to do the same thing from time to time, and practice being happy. Sit down and watch the Three Stooges, or Napoleon Dynamite, or whatever it is that makes you laugh. Spend time with the craziest friend you have and just enjoy their company!

God wants us to have joy like a fountain running over. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly! Don't dwell on the negatives for a second more than you have to!

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. Psalm 30:11-12

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8

I do believe this single verse in the Bible would solve about 99% of our problems if we could truly apply it to our lives every day. Some of the biggest battles we face are battles of the mind. Worry, doubt, fear, sadness, and so many other negative thoughts bombard us as we go through the day. This should not be! As children of God, we are on the winning side. We are more than conquerors...we are victorious through Jesus Christ!

Try this. Make a set of flash cards with encouraging Bible verses, and every time a negative thought comes through your mind, get out your flash cards and read one of them, out loud if you have to! Don't entertain the thoughts Satan attacks you with...but counteract them with thoughts of victory! He will eventually get tired of hearing you quote the Word and he will have to move on! We are overcomers through the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony! Proclaim it!

I really regret that...oh how I wish I could go back and do that differently. Has that thought ever crossed your mind? I have wished for a time machine a time or two in my life...to go back and right some wrong I had done, or to redo some failure in my life.

The beautiful thing about coming to know Christ is that He remembers our sins, mistakes, faults, and failures no more. They are cast into the sea of forgetfulness, and our slate is wiped clean. Every time we go to the beach we write our names in the sand and then sit and watch the tide wash it away. That's how I like to think of what Christ did for me through His precious blood.

We all have things we wish we could do over, or that we had never done to begin with...but we are new Creatures through Jesus Christ and His work on the cross. We should take comfort in the fact that the perfect, spotless Lamb of God has forgiven us and remembers our sins no more. It is a new day, with a brand new, clean slate. Breathe in a big breath of life and rejoice...YOU ARE FORGIVEN!

Not all of our experiences with God are mountaintop experiences. Some of our most intimate times with God are spent learning all over again the depths of His mercy and love for us. We as human beings are so flawed and imperfect, and it takes a perfect Savior to bring us back to a right relationship with God.

When we feel ourselves slipping away from God, (and deep down, we always know), you can rest assured that He is reaching for you, He is pursuing His child. It is God's plan that we run to Christ and fall upon His grace and mercy. It is never God's plan for us to be crushed, or to be separated from Him.

My son told me once that he felt so far from God, that he had not spent time with Him the way he once did. He said, "Mom, I feel like God may be tired of me." I explained just how untrue that was. God, our Heavenly Father, pines for us. He longs to spend time with us, just as we do our own children. If we will only take that first step toward Him, God will meet us with open arms every time.

The first words that God speaks in the Bible are, "Let there be light." And there was...and it was good!

Many years ago my husband and I visited Mammoth Cave and we took a tour to the bottom of the cave. While down there, the tour guide turned off all the lights and it was the most intense darkness I have ever experienced. It is so dark in fact, the fish in that river do not even have eyes. They would be useless...for there is absolutely no light to see. While standing in the darkness, the guide simply lit one little match and it was amazing how that little match drove away the darkness. When you think about it, all darkness is, is the absence of light.

It reminds me of this world and the fact that God is still saying to his children, "Let there be light." He has called us for that...to be salt and light to this world who is struggling every day to find their way in the total darkness that surrounds them. Imagine what a difference your little light could make. Don't ever count yourself too small. Go out every day and let your light so shine that others may see Christ in you...that really is what they're looking for, you know.

Have you ever walked through a field of wild flowers? We live in the country, so we are blessed to be able to see fields of flowers, to listen to the birds singing praises to God every morning. Birds and wildflowers...these are two things that a lot of people don't give a lot of thought to. I can tell you that God does.

Matthew 6:25-34 tells us just how much God loves these simple things...and how much more He cares for us. God tells us to take no thought for tomorrow, to not worry, to not stress over whether we will have food, clothes, and place to live. He takes care of the sparrows and the lilies of the field, and He will take care of us.

Our job is to love God and have faith in Him as our Heavenly Father that He will give us good things. God expects us to work hard, and then He expects us to rest in confidence in the fact that He knows our needs even before we ask. He desires to give His children (you and me) good things. He sees every little sparrow that falls and He knows all about you, and He cares.

Monday morning...does that make you smile, or stress? I think the devil works overtime on Monday mornings to stress us, discourage us, to fill our minds with negative thoughts. It makes sense, because the weekend is family time, church time, a time of rest and refreshing for most of us, therefore I think the devil feels he must make up for lost time.

I am here to tell you, we should wake up on Monday mornings praising the Lord that much louder, until it is deafening to Satan and his lies! We are more than conquerers through Christ, and His plan is to give us abundant life...Monday through Sunday! As Pastor Jeff so wonderfully preached last night, WE CAN MAKE IT! We are not here to just cope...but to be victorious every day through Jesus Christ!

Meet Monday head on! Wake up with a praise in your heart and on your lips! Tell the devil, "Not only am I going to be victorious today, but I am going to help someone else along the way!" Praise the Lord for Mondays!

Have you ever looked in the mirror and not recognized the person you see? Have you ever not liked what you saw in the mirror? I think we've all experienced that at some point. Often we look at ourselves and we see things others don't even notice. We see a nose that is too big, crooked teeth, blemishes, or wrinkles...when others see a beautiful smile, a twinkle in your eye, nice hair, or cute dimples.

More than the physical attributes that we so often focus on, we should turn our attention to what our heart reflects. When we have a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, everything about us will be a reflection of Him. There is no possible way to reflect anything other than love, mercy, kindness, joy, concern for others, when Jesus lives in us.

When our life truly reflects Jesus Christ, I can assure you, you will have beauty that not even Hollywood can duplicate. People who have a relationship with Christ are beautiful inside and out. You can confidently look in the mirror, and look deep inside and be pleased with what you see!

We will have many friends in our lifetime. Some of these "friends" love us when we are having the cool parties, wearing the best clothes, when we are popular and on top of the world. These friendships are usually fleeting because they are based on shallow, temporary things.

Then there are those friends who love us when we feel completely unlovable. They are there for us when we are broke, down on our luck, sick, when we've just been dumped or humiliated. We are lucky to have a handful of these friends in a lifetime. This is the kind of friend I want to have and the kind of friend I want to be.

Jesus Christ is a friend who will never leave us or forsake us, but He will go with us even until the end. He is there through all our low points and is ready to pick us up, dust us off, and encourage us to do better. He is also there to cheer us on and celebrate our accomplishments. He is never jealous when we are at our best, or embarrassed of us when we meet failure.

We should examine our relationships and make sure we are being the best friends we can possibly be. Invest your time in your friends...listen to them, be an encourager, and most of all, love them with a genuine, lasting love.

One day I just asked the kids... "What questions have you always had concerning being a Christian or the bible, but were too afraid to ask? I promply received over 40 questions.

Wow, I was not prepared for the questions! Here has been just a few.

What type music is ok to listen to?

What does God think of homosexuality?

What if people in other countries never hear the Gospel? Will they still be saved?

How should I dress? How does that compare to culture?

I must say that it has been challenging and great! What does the scripture say concerning such things? We have dertermined to be like the Bereans of old. "to search the scriptures, whether these things be so". God has revealed much to us through His word. Every week is a new topic!

Come and discover God's word with us!!

Dan

Just a little over a year ago I remember sitting in church with a super burden for our youth. After some thought and discussion with my wife, we decided to take the giant leap of faith and begin our weekly IMPACT services. I mean...what was I thinking? I have no time. We don't have the funds. Nobody will show up. These were all things going through my mind. I have no time to breathe let alone take on another service. But, God had big plans. He was just waiting for a committment. We started out with about 10-15 kids and a great desire to be used by God. There were some things that I wanted to do. One was to make sure all the kids were fed each week. Not only did we want to feed spiritual food, but I wanted to have a good meal each week for all the kids. 10-15 slowly grew into upwards of 100 kids at times, multiple churches have helped and participated, a mass choir has been birthed, drama team, lives have been challenged and changed. It was all God. Guess what, we have never wanted for the funds. They have always been there and we have never missed a meal. I just want to take the opportunity to thank all those who have gave a helping hand. You know who you are. I trully appreciate everything!!! God is so good.

I pray that everyone is strengthened from the great youth camp we had last week. I am so proud of the growth that I am seeing in many of our youth. So you ask…what’s new? What is on the horizon with IMPACT? Well here it goes…

Starting this week we will be beginning an eight week series of messages designed specifically for the youth concerning prayer; the different types of prayer, why we pray and how to see results and victory in your life. This will include some exciting videos and skits, so drama team…get ready! Do we have any new volunteers for the dram team? If you would like to participate just let us know. Our IMPACT drama team needs help!!!

Also, I would like to take the opportunity to welcome Sister Chrystal York as our new IMPACT choir director. Yes, you heard it right! An IMPACT choir! You remember Sister Chrystal from youth camp! We will be discussing all the details this Thursday.



Brother Dustin York and his wife Chrystal are the pastors of Spirit of Truth Outreach Center in Somerset, KY. I am confident that Sister Chrystal’s God given talent, prayerful zeal and enthusiasm will definitely take IMPACT to a new level! If you are interested in being a part of the IMPACT choir, be there this Thursday!

There are big things in store for the IMPACT youth!

Please remember to always be faithful to your home church on your church nights. IMPACT is a combination of all the youth in the area churches. Our desire is to make a community impact! Looking forward to seeing everyone this Thursday at 7pm at BEC! You don’t want to miss this!

Bro. Dan