Here are some insights into the way of a buzzard, a bat, and a bumblebee.

            BUZZARD: If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.
            THE BAT: The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.
            THE BUMBLEBEE: A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom... It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.
            In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up! That's the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem! Just look up. Hebrews 12:2- "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..."  Reminds me of the chorus to the song, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus: "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grown strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." May the Lord find us looking up to Him and turning our eyes upon Jesus!

God's Not Dead

                When your faith is tested can you explain what you believe? That is what the movie, "God's Not Dead" is all about. Here is an excerpt from a publication I received promoting the movie:  It's about faith and the limits one young man will go to in order to defend his belief in God. In the movie a college student enrolls in a philosophy class taught by an infamous and dictatorial professor. This professor demands that all of his students must sign a declaration that "God is dead" in order to get a passing grade. Josh, the student, refuses. He needs to take the class to meet his academic requirements, so the professor strikes a bargain: Josh must defend his position that "God is alive" in a series of debates with the professor in order to stay in the class. If he loses, he flunks. When Josh accepts the challenge, he gets more than he bargained for-- jeopardizing his faith, his relationships and even his future.

                How far would you be willing to go to defend your faith? How well could you defend what you believe? It's not a matter of if our faith will be tested, it's a matter of when! I encourage everyone to make the time to go and see this movie between now and March 30th because beginning Sunday night March 30 we are going to be using that movie to help us strengthen our ability to explain what we believe. This should be a very exciting and enlightening time so invite your friends and make plans to be a part of the discussion.

Newsboys has a hit song entitled "God's Not Dead," here are some of the lyrics to that song:

Let love explode and bring the dead to life; A love so bold to bring a revolution; Some how
Now I'm lost in your freedom; And this world I'll overcome

My God's not dead he is surely alive; He is living on the inside roaring like a lion
Our God's not dead he is surely alive; He's living on the inside roaring like a lion

Let hope arise and make the darkness hide; When faith is dead I need a resurrection; Some how
Now I'm lost in your freedom ; And this world I'll overcome

My God's not dead he is surely alive; He is living on the inside roaring like a lion
Our God's not dead he is surely alive; He's living on the inside roaring like a lion
Let heaven roar; And fire fall; Come shake the ground; With the sound; Of revival
Let heaven roar; And fire fall; Come shake the ground; With the sound; Of revival
My God's not dead he's surely alive; He's living on the inside roaring like a lion

40 days of Community is all about growing in our love for God and for others. Last week we learned that we need each other. There is power in groups of people getting together and doing life together! Today we want to see that we need to reach out together. There is a world around us that is in need of hearing and responding to the Good News of Jesus Christ and it is our responsibility and privilege to partner together, as a group, to do this. Rick Warren uses the word PARTNER to help us see what we need to do to help us reach out together. Remember we are Better Together!

P – Pray. Pray Together. Ask your group to pray for your friends and family who have yet to respond to the Gospel. Pray for opportunities to share with them the Good News about God.

A – Appeal.  Appeal to common interests. Find out what you, as a group, have in common, what you like to do. Make a list of those things and then talk about who you know that would also like to do something on that list who isn't yet a believer and invite them to join you.

R – Reach out in love. We are told to  'love your neighbor as yourself.' The old saying is true, "people don't care what you know until they know you care." Let God's love flow through you.

Ask God to give you a deeper love for other people. 

T – Tell your stories. The most effective way to let other people know about the great things that God can do in their lives is to tell them the story of what God has done in your life.  That is what makes a difference.

N - Nurture friendships. Just build friendships with them so you can build a bridge between your heart and theirs and Jesus Christ can walk across. Build a bridge that is strong enough to bear the weight of the testimony you want to share.

E - Expect God to act.  Expect God to do what only God can do-- change hearts and lives.

R – Represent Christ with your life. We need to walk the walk and talk the talk. We need to communicate God's love and we need to demonstrate God's love. We need to live it in our life and we need to share it with our mouth.

What is sharing the good news?  It’s one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread. May we realize that we are Better Together and may we choose to  PARTNER together in an effort to reach our community!

Loving others enough to serve them and share the Gospel of Jesus with them is God's desire for us. Here is a story that I hope will inspire you to be about sharing your faith.

Tina Blessitt a writer from Kentucky writes about her son Austin, who at the time was 9-years-old. He was having surgery to have his tonsils removed. Before the surgery, Austin 's anesthesiologist came to start an IV. He was wearing a cool surgical cap covered in colorful frogs. Austin loved that "frog hat." The doctor explained that he had two choices. He could either try to start the IV, or he could wait until Austin was up in the operating room. In the OR the doctor would give Austin some "goofy" gas, and start the IV when he was more relaxed. "So, Austin ," he asked, "which do you want?" Austin replied, "I'll take the gas." But when the doctor started to leave, Austin called, "Hey, wait." The doctor turned. Yeah, buddy, what do you need?" "Do you go to church?" "No," the doctor admitted. "I know I probably should, but I don't." Austin then asked, "Well, are you saved?" Chuckling nervously, the doctor said, "Nope. But after talking to you, maybe it's something I should consider." Pleased with his response, Austin answered, "Well, you should, 'cause Jesus is great!" "I'm sure He is, little guy," the doctor said, and quickly made his exit.

After that a nurse took me to the waiting room. Someone would come and get me when Austin 's surgery was done. After about 45 minutes, the anesthesiologist came into the waiting room. He told me the surgery went well and then said, "Mrs. Blessitt, I don't usually come down and talk to the parents after a surgery, but I just had to tell you what your son did." Oh boy, I thought. What did that little rascal do now? The doctor explained that he'd just put the mask on Austin when my son signaled that he needed to say something. When the doctor removed the mask, Austin blurted, "Wait a minute, we have to pray!" The doctor told him to go ahead, and Austin prayed, "Dear Lord, please let all the doctors and nurses have a good day. And Jesus, please let the doctor with the frog hat get saved and start going to church. Amen." The doctor admitted this touched him. "I was so sure he would pray that his surgery went well," he explained. "He didn't even mention his surgery. He prayed for me! Mrs. Blessitt, I had to come down and let you know what a great little guy you have."

A few minutes later a nurse came to take me to post-op. She had a big smile on her face as we walked to the elevator. "Mrs. Blessitt, I couldn't wait to tell you something exciting that your son did." With a smile, I told her that the doctor already mentioned Austin 's prayer. "But there's something you don't know," she said. "Some of the other nurses and I have been witnessing to and praying for that doctor for a long time. After your son's surgery, he tracked a few of us down to tell us about Austin 's prayer. He said, 'Well girls, you got me. If that little boy could pray for me when he was about to have surgery, then I think maybe I need his Jesus too." She then recounted how they joined the doctor as he prayed to receive Christ right there in the hospital. Wow! Austin had played a small part in something wonderful. But then, so did the nurses who prayed and witnessed. I thought about John's words in his Gospel, "One sows and the other reaps" (John 4:37). Austin's experience taught me that, although we never know which role we may be called to play, in the end it doesn't matter. What's important is that we remain faithful in sharing the gospel.

            There was a girl who worked in a factory and she became very frustrated by the words and actions of her co-workers. One day she went to her pastor for some help and began to tell him how difficult it was for her to work with so many non-Christians. "Pastor," she said, "you just don't know how hard it is to go to work on Monday morning and hear all the stories about the partying that took place over the weekend."

            The pastor replied, "Where do you place lights?"

            The girl, barely hearing his question, pressed on saying, "and you can't imagine how hard it is working with people who cuss and smoke all day!"

            "Where do you place lights?" he questioned again.

            This time the girl hesitated with a puzzled look on her face and then continued on. "Pastor, you couldn't possibly know what it is like to work around people that are so anti- the things of God and the teaching of His Word."

            Again the pastor challenged the girl, "Where do you place lights?"

            This time the girl stopped in frustration and responded, "Well, I don't know where you place lights--- in dark places, I guess!" The words had barely left her lips when it hit her and she understood the point the pastor was making. She was to be God's light in the factory where she worked. She left her meeting with the pastor that day with a new vision burning in her heart for what she could do to reach her co-workers for Christ. Over the next several months she led nine of them into a faith relationship with the Lord.

            What's the point... we need to love our neighbors, co-workers, classmates, friends enough to share Jesus with them. We need to realize we have been placed, on assignment from God, at our school, at our job, in our neighborhood, etc. to be a light in the darkness! We must take what we learn in the church and what we have experienced first-hand about His forgiveness and love and share it with the world around us. We must Love Enough to Share!

            Know this... you will never share with someone whom God does not love. You will never share with someone whom God has not dealt. You will never share with someone who would not be better off as a Christian. You will never fail as a witness for Christ when you lovingly and faithfully share Him with others.

            Most of you have heard of Rick Warren or at least one of the books he has written, maybe, 'Purpose Driven Church' or 'Purpose Driven Life.'  A few years ago our church did a study focused on the purpose driven idea. I was not here then but I have been through a similar study. Its' design was to help us answer the question, 'What on earth am I here for?' Rick has since written other books and developed other studies to help believers on their journey through this life. The one I am most excited about is called, "Better Together- 40 days of Community." In fact, Sunday, March 2nd, we will be starting a 6 week series based off this study. This 40 day journey will help us answer the question, "What on earth are WE here for?" Each Sunday morning from March 2nd- April 6th, I will be preaching messages designed to help us see from God's Word how we are designed to be better together. Then on Wednesday Nights from March 5th- April 9th we will be doing small group Bible Studies that feed off the topic preached on the previous Sunday.    

            Our journey through 40 days of Community will help us more clearly see how God uses other people, specifically other believers, for our good and our growth. It will also help us see how God use us to bless others. First Corinthians 13 will be the lead passage in this journey. It is commonly called the 'love chapter' and is used frequently in marriage ceremonies, but I want us to see it in the context of the family of faith, the church. This will be a great time for all who attend and I pray you will make every effort to be involved and help us all see that we are Better Together!

            If you would like a copy of the study guide and/or the devotional book for the small group study let me know or call the church office by February 24th so we can have them here in time for the study. Cost will be $7.25 for each one.

God is Good All The Time!

Jason Yarbrough

Looking for answers to Life's Hard Questions? visit http://www.truelife.org/

and watch video answers from experts in their fields.

Want to know what the most important thing is in my life?

Then visit www.mostimportantthing.org and enter my name.

Want to know what is happening at FBC Glenpool?

Take a few minutes and visit our website www.fbcglenpool.com 

All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name!

Have I ever told you that I really do enjoy music. I love to sing. I enjoy hearing stories of how songs came about and how they have been used to touch people's lives. "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" is an old hymn written by a preacher Edward Perronet. This hymn has earned him a special place in the history of church music. It also has a place in missionary history, being greatly used in evangelistic endeavors.

Here is one story. Rev. E.P. Scott, missionary to India, wrote of trying to reach a savage tribe in the Indian subcontinent. Ignoring the pleadings of his friends, he set off into dangerous territory. Several days later, he met a large party of warriors who surrounded him, their spears pointed at his heart. Expecting to die at any moment, Scott took out his violin, breathed a prayer, closed his eyes, and began singing, "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name!" When he reached the words, "Let every kindred, every tribe," he opened his eyes. There stood the warriors, some in tears, every spear lowered. Scott spent the next two years evangelizing the tribe. Wow!

Here are the words to this great hymn: "All hail the power of Jesus' name! Let angels prostrate fall; Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all; Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.  Ye chosen seed of Israel's race, ye ransomed from the fall, hail Him who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all; Hail Him who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all. Let every kindred, every tribe, on this terrestrial ball, to Him all majesty ascribe, and crown Him Lord of all; To Him all majesty ascribe, and crown Him Lord of all.  O that with yonder sacred throng, we at His feet may fall! We'll join the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all. We'll join the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all.

May God use these words to remind us of the power that is in the name of Jesus and may we be compelled to speak about His power to those in our sphere of influence. Remember what Philippians 2:10-11 says, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." There is power in the name of Jesus....let's use it!

God is Good All The Time!

Jason Yarbrough

Looking for answers to Life's Hard Questions? visit http://www.truelife.org/

and watch video answers from experts in their fields.

Want to know what the most important thing is in my life?

Then visit www.mostimportantthing.org and enter my name.

Want to know what is happening at FBC Glenpool?

Take a few minutes and visit our website www.fbcglenpool.com