BLOG Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Carmichael Communitly Bible Church

Timing Matters!

Posted on Sep 22, 2018 in BLOG, Devotions |

Stephen Edgecombe | 23 September, 2018 | Devotional

In 2010 Garrett Hedlund wrote a country song called, “Timing Is Everything.” In it he writes of close calls, what appears to be chance meetings and being hurt by love or healed by the same. Here’s a summary line:

It can happen so fast

Or a little bit late

Timing is everything

There are two words for time in the Bible. The first is chronos, and it refers to clock time or calendar time. It’s where we get our English word chronology. Chronos is sequential—past, present, future. And it is linear, moving in only one direction. Read more…

Sep '18

Appreciate the Greatness of God

Posted on Sep 20, 2018 in BLOG, Devotions |

Sep '18

As you contemplate impacting your world and community, you have to reflect on the greatness of God. While Nehemiah saw and was broken=hearted about the devastation of his city, he focused on the greatness of his God in his prayer. He identifies his God with the terms, ‘God of Heaven,’ ‘great’ and ‘awesome,’ and as the One ‘who keeps His covenant of love.’ Understanding who his God was, moved Nehemiah to immediate action.

We too need to keep our eyes and faith steadily fixed on “Jesus, the Author and finisher of our faith,” more than on our problems (

Hebrews 12:2) and the challenges. If God puts a burden on your heart, you need to depend on Him to empower you for the task and to provide the resources. After all He is the Beginning and the End. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Psalmist said, “I lift up my eyes to the hills… My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2). When we recognize the greatness of our God, it give us courage to face the impossible.

Ask God to open your eyes to His greatness, so that you may ‘walk by faith and not by sight.’ Read: Nehemiah 1:5-7 Hebrews 12:2 Psalm 121:2

The Power of Prayer

Posted on Sep 19, 2018 in BLOG, Devotions |

If you want to change your world, you must learn to kneel down to pray. Something powerful happens when we pray and stand in the gap for others. That was Nehemiah’s experience.

Nehemiah was a genius leader: He investigated, strategized, delegated and disarmed the opposition. However, all his activities were covered by intense and intimate prayer. Prayer must always be a primary spiritual practice of a Christ follower.

Prayer accomplishes four things:

Prayer internalizes the burden, which in turn deepens our ownership of the observed need.
Prayer slows us down to hear God’s voice and receiver directions from Him.
Prayer infuses the vision, enabling us to see what God wants to do.
Prayer initiates the vision’s completion, acting as a catalyst for us to act.

What walls are down in your life and seem impossible to rebuild? Share your burden and earnestly seek God direction in prayer. Remember, with God all things are possible. He can empower you to rebuild what seems hopeless.

Read Nehemiah 1:4

Sep '18

What Breaks Your Heart?

Posted on Sep 17, 2018 in BLOG, Devotions |

Sep '18

Nehemiah was brokenhearted, but he didn’t tackle the problem immediately. Why? He first needed to bring his burden before the Lord. Consider this: What are you burdened about? What breaks your heart? What has God put in front of you that you can’t ignore? What concerns you to the point you say, “Somebody has got to do something about that…it might as well be me”? – child abuse, broken families, physical/sex abuse, poverty, homelessness, unwed mothers? What bothers you deeply?

Until our hearts are broken for the situations and people around us, we’ll be tempted to maintain the status quo. Once you know what your burden is, follow Nehemiah’s example and go to God in prayer. Ask Him what the next step is. Then TAKE ACTION!

Read Nehemiah 1:3-4

Sep '18

Good Walls

Posted on Sep 3, 2018 in BLOG, Devotions |

Sep '18

In our culture today there is a lot of conversation about demolishing walls. Many of us remember the famous words of President Ronald Reagan Read more…

Jul '17

Groups

Posted on Jul 27, 2017 in BLOG, Devotions |

Jul '17

If you want to grow in your relationship with Jesus, you need to have intentional relationships with people who have the same goal and small groups are the ideal place for that.

Small Groups are the vehicle to meet new people, form new relationships, apply the weekend teachings to your everyday life and have fun doing it. It allows our church to grow smaller; the people you will meet in groups are those you serve with, pray with and do life with.

Small Groups are led by one or two individuals; most Groups are made up of 5 -10 people who meet weekly in someone’s home, a coffee shop, or your workplace. You will learn how to grow into the fullness of Christ as you see the Lord at work in and through each other. You also have fun doing life together!

As a church, we strongly encourage people who regularly attend

CCBC to join a Small Group. Church membership is not a requirement for participation. Visitors and curiosity-seekers are always welcome!

Jul '17

Leadership – Good Character

Posted on Jul 25, 2017 in BLOG |

Jul '17

A good character is about your inner qualities of goodness, morality, and integrity. People love to follow leaders who have a reputation for having a good character. After all that kind of leader can be trusted for he is known for integrity. In the words of former Prime Minister Ingraham, he “says what he means and means what he says. “

Jesus said, “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the

evil one.” Matthew 5:37 (NLT)

Coach John Wooden, who led the UCLA basketball team to ten national titles in twelve years, emphasized character as the key to success with his team. He said, “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

Dr. Myles Munroe adds: “Solid character will reflect itself in consistent behavior, while poor character will seek to hide behind deceptive words and actions.”
Munroe

Let’s be men and women who lead with integrity and good character.

Jul '17

Don’t Throw In the Towel

Posted on Jul 25, 2017 in BLOG |

Jul '17

Are you feeling discouraged with life? Are you facing a difficult challenge or situation in your marriage, in your work environment, in your family relationships? Here is great encouragement for your day. Listen, Jesus tells us. “In this world you will have trouble,” he says, “But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33) That doesn’t make the trials we face any less real or painful, but as Christians, our hope provides prospective, because, “hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Don’t throw in the towel and accept defeat. Instead,

Jul '17

Why Marriage Matters

Posted on Jul 25, 2017 in BLOG |

Jul '17

What’s the purpose of marriage? Is it just free sex and housekeeping? Is marriage just an arrangement of living off my husband/wife financially in exchange for taking care of a home and making meals? Is it merely a cultural invention?

Hebrews 13:4 NIV says

“Marriage should be honored by everyone.”

So whatever state you’re in – married, single, divorced, or widowed – the Bible commands everyone to honor marriage. Everyone means everyone should honor this oldest human institution.

Unfortunately, marriage is no longer honored by everyone in our society. It is now often dismissed and demeaned as outdated and irrelevant to modern society. More and more people are delaying marriage while many are seeking to redefine it merely as a consensual, contractual relationship recognized by the law.

Mark 10: says,

“God’s plan has been seen from the beginning of creation, when he made us male and female This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united as one body. Now since they are no longer two but one no one should separate them, for GOD has joined them together.”

In this passage Jesus points out that:

* Marriage is God’s Plan.

* Marriage is between man and woman.

* Marriage is to be permanent

From a Christian perspective, marriage is not a societal convention or cultural invention. Marriage matters because it is an

exclusive, lifelong covenant

between a man and a woman God-designed, God-ordained, and God-orchestrated for his highest creation and for His glory.

So, how is your marriage lining up with God’s design?

Jul '17

Authenticity

Posted on Jul 21, 2017 in BLOG, Devotions |

Jul '17

Authenticity

Authenticity requires honesty—not putting on a mask; not coming to church and acting okay when I’m not. It is weeping with those who weep; rejoicing with those who rejoice; bearing one another’s burdens, and so fulfilling the law of Christ. God forbid our churches would ever become a place of pretense and mask-wearing and acting like I’m fine when I’m not.

So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not

practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:6‭-‬7 NLT