Merry Christmas From Our Family to Yours

Christmas, one of my favorite times of the year. The lights, the sounds, the colors, sitting around a fireplace on a cold winters night (Really cold in Memphis). It seems however, that to many of us Christmas takes on a whole new meaning in times like these. It gets our focus off of ourselves and causes us to be greatful and thankful for the little things in life. Like a roof over our head, food on the table, being able to pay the mortgage on time. In good times these things are often taken for granted, but I am determined that this year I am going to turn my attention on the things that really matter. My relationship with Christ, my marraige, and my children. When I think about Christmas I cannot help but think about John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life. The word that stands out to me most in that very familiar passage is the word Gave. I think that this describes one of the most essential attributes of God that most of all He is a giver, even to the point that He would give His precious Son for a people (us) who were undeserving of the gift. With that said I want to challenge you this Christmas to focus not so much on getting, but on giving to those a little less fortunate than you, or maybe just lend a hand to someone who can use some help. May you and yours be richly blessed this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas,

The Claunch's

Uncivilized

Civilized. I suppose one could use this as one of the words that describes human history. Our quest to become a civilized people. Which in and of itself is not that bad, a desirable pursuit to further advance oneself in society is certainly and admirable thing.

Recently I was reflecting on the passage of Scripture in Luke 18 where Jesus rebuked the disciples after they had rebuked the little children who were wanting to hang out with Jesus. The Disciples were under the impression that Jesus had no time for the affairs of children and their childish ways. However, on the contrary Jesus took the opportunity to teach these "Men of God" a valuable lesson about his kingdom.

Let the little children come unto me and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. Luke 18:17

Pretty strong words I would say. Which brings me to this. I was reflecting on one of my favorite movies last week during Rocky week on TV the other day. Rocky 3 is probably my personal favorite of the series. In the movie Rocky is getting frustrated with his trainer Mick because he feels that Mick has been intentionally carrying him through his fights so he wouldn't loose his title. After an argument Mick looks Rocky in the eyes and says this " The same thing has happened to you that happens to every great fighter - You became civilized-

When I think of the Luke 18 verse I cant help but think of my own children, my 8 year old with not a care in the world that thinks he is invincible, or my 5 year old daughter who thinks she is a princess and one day she is going to live in Cinderellas castle. Then I can't help but think about the fact that Jesus said this is what all of us must be like in order to truly inherit the kingdom of God. Just like children - Free of worry, Free to dream, Believing that anything is possible, not afraid to try something new, not afraid to get undignified or maybe one word would best describe all of that. Uncivilized

So next time you approach God remember to get a little bit uncivilized, just be you, not the fake you that has built up over years and years of trying to be someone that your not. Because, remember God loves you for you, and He likes it best when you are just yourself.

Caught in the Middle

Recently I was reflecting on the story of the disciples of Christ as they set sail across the Sea to Bethsaida. The Bible tells us that Jesus sent them ahead of Him while He went up on the mountain to pray, It had been a long day for Christ the day prior to this event and solitude was sought but not found as He looked out and saw His disciples in the -middle- of a storm in the -middle- of the sea. When I read this passage I can't help but think of Jesus saying "they are in trouble again" (my own thought). The Bible does tell us that He obviously went out to rescue them, teach them a lesson on faith, and show them that He had control, even over the forces of nature. The part that I have always found curious is the verse that says (vs 49 And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw him and were troubled.)

There are many different lessons about our faith that we can learn from this, but the one that has always stood out to me is the fact of knowing that God is always in the middle of my storms even when I can't see Him. It says that they were in the Middle of the sea and obviously they were in the middle of the storm, the middle of any body of water is almost always the deepest part and the middle of any storm is almost always the most violent, and in life this is where most of us want to throw in the towel and just quit, much like the disciples did. They were so distracted by the storm that they almost missed their deliverer mistaking Him for a ghost.

There is something to be said about this and the fact that so many times in life we get so distracted about all of the things going on around us we forget that God is right beside us, waiting for us to recognize his presence and power in our lives, so that He can began to take control of the situation and subdue even our greatest problems.

So next time you find yourself in the middle of one of life's storms, remember that the creator of the ends of the earth, the everlasting God is right beside you waiting to move on your behalf.

Let God Drive

I am in the middle of a sermon series right now that I have entitled What Does the Lord Require of Us. Recently, I ministered that among the many things the Lord requires, mostly it is for us to have faith in Him "Without faith it is impossible to please God" Ahhhh Faith. It seems these days in these uncertain times, that the word faith takes on a new meaning.

I am reminded of one of my fishing experiences when I was about 16 years of age. As I have mentioned before I love to fish and so does my dad who of course, taught my brothers and I how to fish. On this particular fishing trip we found ourselves about 5 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River out in the Gulf of Mexico at one of our favorite offshore oil rigs where we were loading the boat with snapper (at night- we would frequently spend the night on the boat as it is a great time to fish during the summer). We suddenly began to notice some lightning that was being generated by a thunderstorm that was barreling down on our position, you certainly don't want to be caught in 800 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico in a bad thunderstorm at night. So my dad decided it best to head back for the river. That area of the gulf can be very confusing at times because of all of the lights generated form the many oil rigs and the ships coming in and out of the river, so needless to say it was a pretty scary ride back, as a matter of fact about half way there I found myself on the floor of the boat in tears begging my dad to stop. For a second there I just wanted to push dad out of the way, grab the wheel and turn around, even though dad kept on telling me that it would be O.K. that he knew where he was going. Low and behold he was right and he put us dead center of the river and brought us back to safety. I was so relieved and remember thinking of how smart my dad was.

I said all of this to say that, life is just like this at times. I have found myself so many times on the stormy seas of life wanting to take the wheel from God and try to fix things myself, because I am not sure that I totally trust Him. This is faith, trusting God when trusting Him is hard, when we can't see nor do we know where we are going. Remember the Bible says that Faith is the evidence of things hoped for and the substance of things not seen. Sometimes we can't see the evidence, but it is in these moments that we have to trust our heavenly father that indeed He knows where He is going and what He is doing.

Our Inheritance

Well it has been a while since I have posted. I am going to try to do better with this, it is amazing how quickly the time goes by . Speaking of time, my oldest child Bradyn recently started second grade, my middle Madi just started kindergarten and my youngest Brock is almost two. I cannot believe I have a child in second grade, it seems like yesterday I could hold him in one arm.

As I began to think about my children the other day I remembered the Proverb in the Bible that says a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children. Of course, the first thing that usually comes to our mind when we hear the word inheritance is money, but I think the Bible is referring to more than money. I have found with my children that it takes more of an effort for me to give them my time and attention than it does to just buy them something. In today's society there seems to always be some new gadget to keep your kid happy, but it is your time and attention that they really desire, and that desire is a God given one, it is a desire that can only be fulfilled by a parent.

It is in these moments that we teach and show our children the attributes of God. Love, Patience, Integrity, Character, perseverance, peace, joy, etc. The fact is the greatest inheritance we can leave our children is that thing that will not fade away with death or the passing of this world, and that is to live a Godly lifestyle, treating people with respect, and making a difference in the world around us. These are things that can only be taught by spending time with our children.

So before yours are grown and gone, vow to spend some more time with them and leave them a lasting inheritance.

Jake

Hot Fudge Showdown

This past Sunday night at youth we had a hot fudge sundae contest to see who could build the best looking and best tasting hot fudge sundae. They broke up into pairs of two and competed to see who would take home the crown of Sundae champ. (Congrats to Trey and Chris for winning). What we all realized is that some times what looks good doesn't always taste good. Some of the sundaes were pretty terrible.

Afterwards, we talked about how the things of the world are not much different. Many times the things the world has to offer look very good and appealing, but when you actually take a bite it winds up not tasting very good at all, in fact it's almost like food poisoning and may even taste good going down, but when it gets down. Well you know the rest of the story.

Jesus however, is quite the opposite. He tells us "Taste and see that I am good" I have never had a person that gave thier life to Christ come back later and tell me that they regreted it. The reason for this is because once a person truly gets a good taste of a relationship with Christ, they realize that Christ truly is good.

So if you are tired of chasing temporary highs, try Jesus! He won't dissapoint!

Unleash The Dream Within

"Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall have no beggining" This is a quote that I recently came across by John Cardinal Newman, and how true it is so many times in life we live by the rules of playing it safe, but sometimes playing it safe can be risky business. When God first laid it on my heart to plant Eagle Heights Memphis I thought that it was just me talking, that God wouldn't tell me to uproot from a great life, a great church, and a great job to go and start a church from scratch 400 miles from home. I thought that just didn't make very good sense. However, that was the problem, I was spending all of my energy making plans for God, instead of really seeking God and what it was that He really wanted me to do. The point is this, maybe there is something that you have always dreamed of doing, or maybe God is telling you to take a leap of faith into the unknown and the unfamiliar, keep this in mind. Twenty years from now you will be more dissapointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, discover. (Mark Twain)