In All the World

Jesus said, "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world; and then the end will come." I am watching this prophecy come true. I just had the priviledge of spending a few days with my fellow Christ followers in a predominantly Buddhist country. They are preaching the gospel with boldness. Many are turning to the Lord.

What a great joy to see such commitment to the cause of Christ. They endure poverty and persecution to advance the kingdom. I am grateful to be of assistance in such a small way. Every American Christian should visit the church somewhere in the world, where life is difficult. Real joy is seen everywhere.

Peace,

SS

As Far As I Can See

Go as far as you can see, and when you get there you will always be able to see farther.

There is a story to the effect that a certain society in South Africa once wrote to David Livingstone, “Have you found a good road to where you are? If so, we want to send other men to join you.” Livingstone replied, “If you have men who will come ONLY if they know there is a good road, I don’t want them.”

^“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV)

Peace,

Stan

Supernatural Living

Jesus told us that when he left the earth it would be for our advantage. He would send the Holy Spirit to us. In John 16, Jesus said that when the Spirit of Truth comes he would guide us into all the truth and show us things to come. In Acts 1:8, Jesus said that we would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. Supernatural living is available to every Spirit filled Christ follower. We should expect revelation, guidance and power.

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul taught about how the Holy Spirit operates through the lives of believers-special abilities the Holy Spirit gives each of us. We should desire and learn how to operate words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, gifts of healings, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues and interpretation of tongues.

These gifts are given as the Spirit wills to benefit others. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Be a blessing to others.

Peace,

Stan

Have More Fun

I find many people to be too serious, too cautious, too controlling and too boring. Those who ought to be joyous and carefree seem to be the worst of all. When born again Christians are portrayed on television or in the movies, they are usually grouchy and hateful. Where did the writers get this image? Is this fair? Obviously, the characterization is unfair. Yet, there is truth in the portrayal.

Those whose sins are forgiven and whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life in heaven should be the most joyful, happy people on earth. My message to Christians is, “It is time to have more fun.” Psalm 126:1-3 reads, “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.”

There is a healing benefit with laughter. Laughter helps a person to build a stronger immune system. It reduces stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine and adrenaline. It increases health enhancing endorphins and antibodies. Laughter reduces pain in the body and is a natural anti-depressant. There is a physical and emotional release when a person laughs. A good belly laugh exercises the diaphragm and heart. Laughter assists one in refocusing attention away from anger, guilt, stress and depression. Laughter is contagious. People desire to associate with those who laugh freely and often.

A warped theology concerning pleasure has damaged the ability of many church members from being able to enjoy life fully. It is ungodly to pursue sensual desires for food, sex, materialism, fame, money and status in an unbiblical manner. We often hear about guilty pleasures? Yet, there is a godly fulfillment of all of these desires. Sex, for example, was God’s idea. There is a godly fulfillment of this primal desire. Jesus taught that we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves. I feel sorry for our neighbors. Most people do not love themselves very well. There are over 350 references to joy and rejoicing found in Bible. Your joy matters to God.

There should be a balance of work, rest, worship and play in every person’s life. Balance suggests equal portions. A proper mixture of these four ingredients is what I am suggesting. Everyone needs meaningful work to do. Many do get enough sleep and down time. Corporate, private and family worship time refreshes a person. Many adults overlook the importance of play. Most of us need to have more fun. A missing or insufficient part of life is often the fun part. We all need to find fun activities and fun friends with which to spend our time.

Most issues of life can be categorized as small stuff. As they say, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Selfish rituals can alleviate stress. A quiet cup of coffee and a good book can do wonders for the psyche. I like to take bike rides on gravel roads or on trails found in state parks and conservation areas. Others may enjoy working crossword puzzles. 1 Timothy 4:16 reads, “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” Change is an unstoppable force of life. Many resist change and are stressed by the thought of change. Learning to embrace and welcome change turns stress into invigoration.

My final advice is to slow down and take more breaks. Slim down schedules, meals, commitments and goals. Sit down and live in the present. Too many spend useless time grieving and begrudging the past. Many are living for a better day to come in the future. Living in the past or in the future robs one of the pleasures of the present. We all need to look around and enjoy the beauty of nature and the beauty of other people, especially our family and friends. It is time to have more fun.

Cornerstone Church Vision Statement

At Cornerstone Church of Chillicothe, Missouri, we passionately love God and genuinely love people. Mark 12.30-31, "Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

We want every Sunday to be a family reunion. We want Sunday to be the best day of the week, an exciting gathering of our church family and new friends. Our services are marked by enthusiastic praise and heartfelt worship of our Heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit has complete liberty to minister to and through us. We teach the Bible with a practical emphasis for every day life.

At Cornerstone Church, we love kids. Through our facilities, staff, programs, and volunteer ministers, we demonstrate our commitment to nurturing a generation of young people who passionately love God. They are trained to believe they can do all things through Christ who strengthens them.

LIFE Groups are the lifeblood of our church. No one should have to go through life alone. We want to do life together with people who love us just the way we are, but exhort us to get better. Everyone should have a place to be him or herself, without having to put on airs. At church, we want every person to find good friends who are a delight and who provide comfort and stability during life’s difficult times. We want to build a church where people laugh freely and often.

We are always designing ways to reach out to people. Our people are trained and excited about sharing the Gospel with others. We reach out to people through LIFE Center Food Pantry, the media, in jails and prisons, at work, and wherever we go. We go, send, and support mission work all over the world. We have a part in the harvest of souls on every continent and in islands of the seas.

Peace,
SS

Simple Prayers

Matthew 6:5-13 NKJV, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
In this manner, therefore, pray:
      Our Father in heaven,
      Hallowed be Your name.
      Your kingdom come.
      Your will be done
      On earth as it is in heaven.
      Give us this day our daily bread.
      And forgive us our debts,
      As we forgive our debtors.
      And do not lead us into temptation,
      But deliver us from the evil one.
      For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Basically, Jesus instructed his followers to pray simple prayers. So many of us are intimidated by prayer. There are a ton of books on the subject. There are so many methods and theories. People truly desire to talk with God and to get answers from him. Yet, they do not pray, because they think they don't know how to properly.

I believe Jesus opened the door to all of us who might be intimidated by prayer by telling us to not worry about how long or how good our prayer sounds to others. He told us to enter a room alone, close the door and talk to God in simple sentences. Don't think your prayers will be answered because of your many words. Jesus later brought a young child in and explained that unless we become like a young child we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom is for simple people like you and me.

Very simply we can ask our loving heavenly Father to meet our daily needs, after we have yielded ourselves completely to his will and to his ways. We can ask forgiveness and strength to overcome temptation. In all things we can give him thanks and praise.

I encourage you to try praying more simple and basic prayers.

Peace,

SS

Big Story

The theme of the Bible is the Kingdom of God. The idea of kingdom suggests there is one ruler. In the Christian world view, we believe that God created the world. It was created for good. God took care of his creation, including the people he created. The people glorified and blessed God in return and cared for his creation.

After the people decided to contradict the way of God, this world was and is being destroyed by evil. Everyone can recognize that this world is a mess. Inherently, we all know that things were different in the past or can be different in the future. God loves his creation too much to leave the world and its people in this mess. So, God came to the earth as Jesus. He taught us the Kingdom of God (Way of God). He healed and helped people, undoing the works of Satan. Ultimately, Jesus laid down his life as a sacrifice for the sins of all people. Whoever believes and trusts Jesus become part of God's family (kingdom), receiving everlasting life.

God’s mission is to re-establish connection with his creation through willing acceptance of his ways and his authority. Our mission as Christ followers is committed participation to the reconciliation of God’s creation to the kingdom of God. In other words, after a person accepts salvation through Jesus Christ as Lord (ruler), he or she accepts an assignment to be sent out to heal and to bless others.

When God called Abraham on this journey of faith, he promised to bless him. Abraham was blessed by God to be a blessing to all of the families on earth. God's blessing in our life is to be shared with others. We receive Christ individually to become part of God's Big Story. God blesses us to be a blessing. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and body. He continued saying the second command is to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Let's all get busy loving God and loving others.

Peace,

Stan