A 'Focus Cubed' Life!

Thoughts on John 5:1-8. How can we obey or follow Jesus? Answer -- FOCUS CUBED! FOCUS on the Water or on your baptism. Why? Because it begins the process of sanctification. It's our roots of who we are as believers. Second FOCUS on His Blood or the Cross. Why? Because it's because of the cross we have life. And finally FOCUS on His Spirit. Why? Because His Spirit is His daily gift to us, giving direction and purpose.

Fearless Living...

   As I was prepping for the message last week on being fearless, I came across an interesting bit of insight about Stalin who ruthlessly reigned with brut force in Russia for almost 30 years.  He was responsible for starving and slaughtering more than 60 million people.  If power could deliver us from fear, then Joseph Stalin should have been fearless. Instead, this infamous Russian premier was afraid to go to bed. He had seven different bedrooms. Each could be locked as tightly as a safe. In order to foil any would-be assassins, he slept in a different one each night. Five chauffeur-driven limousines transported him wherever he went, each with curtains closed so no one would know which contained Stalin. So deep-seated were his apprehensions that he employed a servant whose sole task was to monitor and protect his tea bags.  In contrast being fearless as followers of Jesus is summed up by I Timothy 1:5 -- "The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."  So have no fear this week!

Stats of LifePoint...

This morning I was crunching numbers.  And more numbers...  I want to get a good snapshot of how LifePoint is doing.  We are just a couple of years old.  Like a two year old we think we can do anything we want, yet we are still only two.  Not even really thinking about it, over 15,000 people have passed through the front double glass doors on Sunday morning since October 2011.  (I can't find any attendance records beyond that...yikes!)  At current we are averaging 203 people per week with 5 new people visiting per Sunday.  Considering what we've been through the last couple of years that seems pretty good.  Our staff is a great bunch of folks and I feel like they are ready to take on the next challenge of implementing a new and improved Web-based Data Management System.  There is so much to do and so little energy inside me.  Lord give me the strength to overcome my shortcomings and lead LifePoint with great zeal, passion, and vision!