You are who you are for a reason.

You’re part of an intricate plan.

You’re a precious and perfect unique design,

Called God’s special woman or man.

You look like you look for a reason.

Our God made no mistake.

He knit you together within the womb,

You’re just what he wanted to make.

The parents you had were the ones he chose,

And no matter how you may feel,

They were custom-designed with God’s plan in mind,

And they bear the Master’s seal.

No, that trauma you faced was not easy.

And God wept that it hurt you so;

But it was allowed to shape your heart

So that into his likeness you’d grow.

You are who you are for a reason,

You’ve been formed by the Master’s rod.

You are who you are, beloved,

Because there is a God!

Have a joy-filled week!

Tim

A number of people asked me for the Scripture references that I used in the Christmas Eve service, so I am providing them along with the corresponding ‘gift’ that we all have received through a relationship with Jesus Christ. We are abundantly blessed in this life and the next because of the birth and death of Jesus!

I am justified

2 Corinthians 5:21, “For God made him who never sinned, to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

I’m prayed for

Romans 8:26, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”

Romans 8:34, “Christ Jesus, who died and who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God interceding for us.”

I’m loved

Romans 8:35-39, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God is with me

Matthew 1:23, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel—which means, “God with us.”

Psalm 46:1-3, 7, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging…The Lord Almighty is with us.”

Psalm 23:4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

Isaiah 43:2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you…”

I can talk to God

Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

God cares for me.

Matthew 6:25-34, “”Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For unbelievers run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

I have the Body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:27-28, “You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

I have a gift

1 Corinthians 12:7, “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.”

I have purpose

Ephesians 2:8-10, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

I have the Spirit

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

I have the Word of God

2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…”

I have hope

Titus 3:4-7, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”

Tim

Standing on a small pier late one afternoon, an investment banker from a large city who was vacationing along the North Carolina coast, watched as a lone fisherman docked his small boat. Inside the boat were several large yellowtail tuna.

The banker complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The fisherman replied, “Only a little while.”

The banker then asked, “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?”

The local responded, “With this I have more than enough to feed my family and share some with my friends.”

The banker then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take naps with my wife, stroll into town each evening where I sip wine and play the guitar with my friends. I have a full and blessed life.”

The banker replied, “I have a plan for you! You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. Then with the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would, however, have to move to a larger city, perhaps eventually to New York where you would run your ever expanding enterprise.”

The fisherman was intrigued and asked, “How long will all this take?”

“Fifteen to twenty years,” the banker replied.

“But what then?” asked the fisherman.

The banker laughed and said, “This is the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions!”

“Millions?” the fisherman asked. “Then what?”

The banker said, “Then you could retire, move to a small fishing town where you would sleep late, play with your grandkids, take napes with our wife, stroll into town in the evenings where you would sip wine and play your guitar with your friends.”

Enjoy what God has given you today! Work hard, but also leave time to enjoy the simple pleasures of family and friends because God will supply all of your needs!

Psalm 23:1, “Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything that I need.” (TLB)

Tim

If you are feeling like your present life is full of weeds and trash, look around. I bet you can find something beautiful that God has planted there to remind you of his presence, care and faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Tim

“Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds you down or polishes you up depends on what you are made of.”

“Character isn’t inherited. One builds it daily by the way one thinks and acts, thought by thought, action by action.”

“If all the gold in the world were melted down into a solid cube it would be about the size of an eight-room house. If a man got possession of all that gold – billions of dollars worth, he could not buy a friend, character, peace of mind, clear conscience, or a sense of eternity.”

“The best index to a person’s character is (a) how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and (b) how he treats people who can’t fight back.”

“Character: When you have the same ailments as the other person but refrain from mentioning it.”

“Character is not made in crisis – it is only exhibited.”

“Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.”

“Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy.”

“It is the character of very few people to honor without envy a friend who has prospered.”

“Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.”

There you have it; my top picks. Take one or two of these quotes that stood out to you, write them down and put them somewhere where you can read them every day for the next week. And parents why not take this list and read it to your family around the dinner table? You may be encouraged with the discussion that follows.

Tim

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery’. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

If you want to hear the message, go to riveroaks.org media center and click on January 30th message, “Lust of the Eyes”.

In the message I mentioned some helps for men that I would put on my blog and here they are. I trust some of these ideas will be helpful to you in keeping a pure heart.

1.      A very helpful on-line accountability tool for men can be downloaded at x3watchfree.com. X3watch is a free accountability software program helping with online integrity. Whenever you browse the Internet and access a site, which may contain questionable material, the program will record the site name, time, and date the site was visited. A person of your choice (an accountability partner) will receive an email containing all possible questionable sites you may have visited within the month. For additional helps go to XXXchurch.com

2.      If you are in an accountability group or a small group Bible Study you might want to give copies of these questions from Chuck Swindoll to each man and ask one or two each week along with whatever else you do:

Have you been with a woman this week in such a way that was inappropriate or could have looked to others that you were using poor judgment?

Have you been completely above reproach in all your financial dealings this week?

Have you exposed yourself to any sexually explicit material this week?

Have you spent daily time in prayer and in the Scriptures this week?

Have you taken time to be with your wife this week/children this week?

Have you just lied to me?

3.      Two books that Scott Tilley, our Adult Ministries Pastor recommends for men dealing with sexual sins:

The Game Plan

Wired For Intimacy: How pornography Hijacks the Male Brain

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:18, “Flee from sexual immorality!” May we be men with a firm resolve to live our Christian faith out in our thought life!

Tim

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Check out this list of quotes about worry!

Tim

“I don’t know what will happen to me now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter to me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. I won’t mind. Like anybody else, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I’m happy tonight…I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

The next day Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed.

Sacrifice is an essential part of leadership. It is a given. Even Jesus, our Ultimate Leader, was at his core a servant.

Philippians 2:5-8, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!”

I was reminded again that in my position I need to be a servant to the body of River Oaks, the staff, the elders and deacons. It is just ‘part of the job’; it comes with the territory. It is both a huge responsibility but it is also a high calling!

What about you? Where are you a leader or where are you responsible for others? Today, find ways to serve them because,  in order to go up, you have to give up.

Tim

I stopped and prayed for those in the River Oak’s family who are, for whatever reason, feeling weary or are carrying heavy burdens. I know many of you are dealing with stressful financial issues, health concerns, the pressures of no job, issues with children or parents, or are in a season of discouragement or depression. I prayed that you would find rest for your souls today as you lean into Christ. May you find him sufficient today for whatever is dragging you down by accepting his invitation to come to him… and find rest for your soul.

Tim

As you read and reflect on these great verses, I have no doubt that God’s Spirit will bring things to mind for you to consider, start, stop, or develop in your life in order to become more like Christ. Here is Colossians 3:5-17 in the New Living Translation. I challenge you to read it every day for seven days.

“So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”

Tim