Cathy’s Corner

These past few weeks Ive been a part of a Bible study with some ladies on staff at our church. Most of us don't get to attend a small group study on Sunday so we are doing one together during the week. It is called Discerning the Voice of God by Priscialla Shirer. I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed this study and how much God is showing me. I love getting up every morning and getting into God's Word to see what I'm going to learn that day. I can't say that I have always felt this way as it has come and gone over the years. That's not God's fault but mine. God never moves away from us, He's always right there waiting for us to come back to Him. He may be silent at times but He's still always right there. I love how God shows me something and then He confirms what He was saying to me through something else I read or something someone elese might say. That's one of the things in this study that God is teaching us, how to recognize when He speaks. It is up to us to listen to Him and for Him. We can't do that when we never let ourselves slow down and be still before Him. He showed me something this past week and then confirmed what He was saying to me through one of my daily readings in Oswald Chambers. I thought I'd share it with you.

The Collision of God and Sin – Oswald Chambers
“…who himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree…’ (I Peter 2:24).

The Cross of Christ is the revealed truth of God’s judgment on sin. Never associate the idea of martyrdom with the Cross of Christ. It was the supreme triumph, and it shook the very foundations of hell. There is nothing in time or eternity more absolutely certain and irrefutable than what Jesus Christ accomplished on the Cross – He made it possible for the entire human race to be brought back into a right standing relationship with God. He made a way for every person to have fellowship with God.
The Cross was not something that happened to Jesus – He came to die; the Cross was His purpose in coming. He “is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev.13:8). The incarnation of Christ would have no meaning without the Cross. Beware of separating “God was manifested in the flesh…” from “…He made Him … to be sin for us…” (I Timothy 3:16; II Corinthians 5:21). The purpose of the incarnation was redemption. God came in the flesh to take sin away, not to accomplish something for Himself. The Cross is the central event in time and eternity, and the answer to all the problems of both.
The Cross is not the cross of a man, but the Cross of God, and it can never be fully comprehended through human experience. The Cross is God exhibiting His nature. It is the gate through which any and every individual can enter into oneness with God. But it is not a gate we pass right through; it is one where we abide in the life that is found there.
The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason salvation is so easy to obtain is because it cost God so much. The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God.

What an absolutely wonderful loving Father we have in heaven. He wants a realtionship with us and He made a way for us to have that through His Son Jesus Christ.

Cathy’s Corner
I’ve been pondering something this week and truth be told for quite some time now. How do you find time for all of the things and people in your life? Yes I know that’s no new question and none of us can seem to fit in everything and everyone into our busy lifestyles. But I’m serious? I meet people all the time or get involved in a particular project and spend some time with someone and would really like to get to know them. It is an acquaintance not a relationship. I really would like to spend time with them and get to know them but I never seem to have time to fit it into my schedule even though I keep telling myself that I will. I even tell them when I see them let’s go to lunch sometime. Sometimes these are people I know could use a new friend or could use someone to talk to even if it doesn’t turn into a relationship. I mean well but it just doesn’t seem to happen. I think about them, I tell myself I’m going to call them and then days and weeks go by and I see them and I am reminded I haven’t done it. They don’t know it, I don’t think anyway, but I do and then I want to kick myself because I feel like I should have called at least. But then I think about the relationships I have that I haven’t been working on either and I think “How can I start something new when I already don’t have time for the people in my life?” One of my daughters said the other day that she knows if she wants to talk to me she has to call me or she won’t hear from me. I felt so bad. She said it was okay because she realizes that is the way I am and that I get busy and just don’t ever stop. We will email or text or a quick word on the phone but she’s talking about a real conversation. My kids are now spread out from the East Coast to the Gulf Coast and in between. Just keeping up with them is a challenge and I’m not doing a very good job of it. All they want is some quality time and all I have to do is figure out how to give it to them, definitely no easy task.
Compare all of this to our relationship with Jesus Christ. There are lots of people out there that have busy lifestyles. They want to get to know Jesus and they want to spend time with Him but they can’t seem to fit Him into their schedule. They keep telling themselves they will and they know they could use a friend or someone to talk to and they mean well but it just doesn’t seem to happen. They get so busy and they let days and weeks go by and then something happens that reminds them that they haven’t spent time with Him and they could just kick their self. Jesus thinks about all the relationships He has and He desires a relationship with everyone of us. He can never have too many friends and He always wants to work on our relationship with Him. He wants to spend quality time with us, not just a prayer thrown up here or there, not just rushing through a Bible verse in the morning. He wants a real conversation with us; He desires quality time with us. He’s available not only from the East Coast to the West Coast or from the North to the South but to everyone everywhere all over the world. It isn’t a challenge to Him and He has it already figured out if we will just spend that time with Him. I’ve been working through a Bible study called Discerning the Voice of God with some of our ladies on staff at the church. It has been such an eye opening study to say the least and I love what God is showing me. I can’t wait to meet Him every morning to see what He is going to show me. Hopefully strengthening my relationship with Jesus will give me the wisdom and insight I need to know how to spend quality time with all of the important people in my life, not to mention maybe making some new friends and relationships along the way.

Have a great day in the Lord.

Easter is Coming!

Can you believe it is just two weeks until Easter? Well it is. Have you been inviting your neighbors, co-workers or people you see around town? Be sure and get some of our round invites to hand out and tell them about the Cross service on Friday night April 10th and the three Easter services on the 12th. They will be at 8:00am, 9:15am and 10:45am. Connection classes will still meet at the regular time as well. We are planning to have just a few classes available at 8:00am for those helping with the 8:00 service. If you would be interested in helping out at 8:00am as well as your normal Connection class time, please see your associate. It’s always hard to get paid teachers for Easter Sunday and they cost us twice as much because it is a holiday. Our adult classes are signing up to help as well that hour, so hopefully we can get it covered it without any paid people.
Be praying about who you can invite. It is one of the few times a year people will consider coming to church. So let’s be ready to welcome them with open arms and show them what a great place First Euless is to worship all of the time, not just Easter. Maybe they will return and keep coming back. Can I get an amen? April 14th we will have a huge Outreach night to go and visit the guests who came on Easter. We will need lots of help. So please be sure and sign up with your Associate and let us know if you will be here. There is a meal at 6:00 and then we go out and take bags and visit. Nothing tells a parent that you care about their child more than a personal visit to their home.
Have you signed up to help in Vacation Bible School yet? What are you waiting for? Its going to be the best year ever as we travel to Australia to see the Kangaroos and Koalas. We will learn how Peter met Jesus and his experiences following Jesus and what Jesus taught Peter. There are lots of opportunities to bounce babies, train toddlers, tutor twos and threes and play with pre-kindergarten and kick back with kindergarten. June 15-19 will be a great week as we plant spiritual seeds in the lives of our preschoolers.

Terrell Ann Dickerson is our Administrative Assistant for Preschool. Each week she provides your roll sheets, makes updates and adds new members, processes the information for our guests so we can go visit, produces the weekly newsletter and so much more. She is my right arm and if anyone can keep me in check it’s her! Terrell Ann is a valuable asset to our Preschool Ministry and she constantly keeps us laughing around the office each week. While she and her husband Clarke serve in our youth area each week, she still has a heart for Preschool Ministry. She served as the Pre-K and Kindergarten Associate a few years ago. She loves the Lord and each of you and wants to make sure you have everything you need each week. Be sure and let Terrell Ann know just how much you appreciate her. She will be going into the hospital next week for surgery and will be out for a few weeks. So be praying for a quick and complete recovery.

We are so blessed to have such an awesome Preschool Staff who care about you and about our preschoolers. Our heart’s desire is to lay a spiritual foundation for our preschoolers and to equip you to help lay that foundation. What we all do is so important and the investment you are making in each of these children and their parent’s lives is huge. Never forget that what you do is making an impact and that you make a difference.

Have a great day in the Lord!