Hello, Crossroads Family !
I hope you’re having a good week. For most of us, life is busy right now. May God give us wisdom in the choices we make about our time. May we have hearts and wills to follow Him as He leads us through this new day !
Some thoughts to help with time management :
Psalm 127 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. … It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors, for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep” (Psalm 127:1-2). In my Bible, the phrase “even in his” is in italics, meaning it has been added to make the English more understandable. If that phrase is left out, verse two reads even more simply, “He gives to His beloved sleep.” Sleep is also a gift from God ! He will take care of all the details and demands of life. He longs to renew our minds, bodies, and spirits. Rest is important too.
“Cease striving and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
Jesus lived with a sense of God the Father having a purpose for each hour of His life. He often said things like, “The hour has come …,” or “My hour has not yet come.” Let’s ask God to sharpen our understanding of His purposes for our life.
I find myself up early again this morning which is either a reality of growing older or is perhaps, also, the reality that God often meets with us in the early hours of the morning. Many things in the Bible happened during those early morning hours : Jesus came walking to the disciples on the water in the fourth watch of the night, i.e., between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m. The resurrection happened during the night, likely just before morning. Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord just before daybreak. Is there a place in your schedule for some morning time with the Lord — not necessarily between 3:00 and 6:00, but a few minutes of quiet with Him before your busy day begins ?
A.W. Tozer wrote this : “How completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has none. Eternal years lie in His heart. For Him time does not pass, it remains ; and those who are in Christ share with Him all the riches of limitless time and endless years. God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves. For those outside of Christ, time is a devouring beast” (from The Knowledge of the Holy).
Happening at Crossroads
Nominating Committee
Thank you for your affirmation of our new Nominating Committee made up of Emily Lewis, Catherine Moss, Tommie Ray, Dave Reedy, and Heather Vestal. Please pray for this team as they seek God’s leading for a nominee for Elder Board for next year. They may be asking for your input as they go about their deliberations. Thanks in advance for being a support to them !
Missions Team
I enjoyed meeting this week with our new Missions Team — Bobbie Barbour, Heather Hall, Julie Kemper, and myself. We’re seeking to understand how we can build upon steps Crossroads has taken in recent years in the area of world missions, and how we can have more involvement in local missions. Our meeting was mainly a time of brainstorming. Here are some questions and ideas discussed :
How can we help our church family grow its relationship with our current missionaries ? A quarterly update on Sunday mornings ? Including our missionaries and their prayer needs in slides before the worship service ? How can we make our missionaries’ newsletters more accessible to the church family ?
What is the difference between “Missions” and “Outreach” ? Both of those subjects currently have a line in our church budget.
What kinds of missions or outreach activities could be possible for Crossroads in the near future ?
Renew our experience of serving at Kamp Keirsey ?
Continue outreach to our neighbors, like our recent hot dog Parking Lot Party ?
Backyard Bible Club in one of our neighborhoods ?
A missions trip ?
Training in evangelism ?
Thank you for praying for this team !
On the calendar …
Worship this Sunday morning at 10:00.
Women’s Christmas ornament painting party this Sunday at 3 pm.
Immerse next Wednesday, November 13, 7 pm.
Elders meeting next Sunday, November 17, following the worship service.
A Thanksgiving dinner is planned for November 24 following the worship service. There is a sign-up list at the church if you would like and are able to bring food. Questions ? Contact Heather Vestal.
Crossroads Women’s Cookie Exchange, December 8, at 3 pm.
Congregational Meeting, December 15, following worship.
Christmas Eve service, December 24, at 6:00 pm. Everyone is invited !
Prayer
Thanks for being a praying church ! Here are some prayer needs that come to mind :
Our new Nominating Committee and its work ; the choice of a new elder for our church.
Our new Missions Team.
God’s protection of lives and relationships.
Spiritual growth.
Please pray for our current Elder Team ; they have a lot to accomplish in the final weeks of 2024.
Thank you for praying for me during a busy season of life.
Takeaways
Here are two thoughts I left with from Immerse last night (study in the early chapters of Numbers) :
- The Israelites, while capable of great disobedience and sin, were also capable of great obedience, as evidenced by the many gifts they brought to support ministry in the Tabernacle. Isn’t that true of us as well ? While we are acutely aware of our failings, are we also aware that, with God’s help, we are capable of great obedience ? Oh, that it would be so !
- When we complain about circumstances (as the Israelites did so often), we are saying, in essence, that we could have done things better than God did. May God put a check on our complaining ! It’s a bad habit most of us have ! Do we know better than God ? Could we do it better than He does ? How brighter and more hopeful our lives would be if we would learn to trust Him and give thanks in all things. How important it is to remember that our God is faithful — has been and always will be !
I hope to see you this Sunday !
— Tom
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