"Marching" On

February 2010 is now history and MARCH is upon us. All this month at The Bridge, Pastor Duane will be sharing about "Going Big--entering in 2010."

Duet. 6:18 "And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the Lord swore..."

The B in BIG stands for battle. This battle isn't so much a defensive battle, but an offensive battle--which involves going in and possessing the promises of God for this year. It dawned on me how ironic it is that we are beginning our study of "the battle" in March. It's time to MARCH ON!

Joel 2:7 "They charge like soldiers, they climb over the wall like warriors. They all MARCH straight ahead and do not move off their path." (New Century Version)

As we march forward, there will be giants in the land, "shiny objects" to distract us off the path, and the temptation to turn back. But, we are not those that shrink back and quit! We will courageously sojourn on and enjoy the "good land" God has promised us.

Hebrews 10: 39 "But we are not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We'll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way." (Message)

Have your received your MARCHING ORDERS for this year? Let's go... Right, Right, Right, Left, Right. Right, Right, Right, Left, Right.

"Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our MARCHING FORWARD." - Henry Ford

Eternity Begins Now

Week 7 of the 2010 Challenge: Isaiah 35, Romans 5 & 6

Last week we talked about how Jesus came to give us abundant life now. (John 10:10) Once we are born again, we are born into the Kingdom of God. Eternity begins now!

Jesus doesn't locate his offer to us only in some distant future after we have slogged our way through our days here on earth. He talks about a life available to us in this age. So does Paul: "Godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8)... When we he hear the words eternal life, most of us tend to interpret that as "a life that waits for us in eternity." But eternal life means "unending" not "later". The scriptures use the term to mean we can never lose it. It's a life that can't be taken from us. The offer is life and that life starts now. Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, NOW we also may live NEW LIVES. (Romans 6:4) - John Eldredge, Waking the Dead, pg. 12

We are called to bring the power and rule of God's kingdom -- His Kingdom come, His will be done on EARTH as it is in HEAVEN -- into our families, our communities, our nation. This rule is not a forced government as the disciples thought, but a spiritual Kingdom of light, penetrating the darkness.

Colossians 1:13 " Who has delivered us from the authority of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the son of His love." (The Darby Translation)

I was inspired this week by an example of expanding God's Kingdom in the small. My daughter was blessed to have a special guest at her school who spoke about her experiences in Haiti following the earthquake. She went with a group of medical professionals to give aid. When they arrived, she was handed a small child that seemed to be an infant but not sure of its age. A man had found the child and said he didn't know what to do with it, because it was about to die. Surprised, the lady took the baby back to her room and made a baby bed out her suitcase, nourished it with what she had, and prayed for it. A few days later, the rest of the group was shocked and amazed when she put the baby down and it walked! It wasn't actually an infant, but a small child. That child will be raised in the church's orphanage and grow up knowing God's love.

This seems a small thing like this goes unnoticed. The media didn't report it, few will know. But, there in the middle of the darkness--the light of God's kingdom love saved a little child. Our daily choices reflect the light of heaven or is diminished by the pull of the enemy. Which Kingdom do you serve?

What's love got to do with it?

2010 Challenge: Week 6 - Proverbs 1, Philippians Ch. 3 -4

We had a great Valentine's Day at The Bridge with some fun surprises. (You never know what might happen!)Pastor Duane has been preaching a series called, "Hey, that's my question." Sunday we looked at some questions on love and relationships. You can download it for free from the podcast.

It is so interesting how REAL LOVE, (Agape love) which is the unconditionally, purely unselfish, divine love of God answers so many of life's questions. You can see a life-size picture of this kind of love in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8. "Can I live with my boyfriend?" Answer: vs.4...Love is patient. "How long should I be mad before I forgive?" Answer: vs. 5...love keeps no record of wrongs. What questions are you asking that REAL LOVE can answer?

Our culture thinks love is a temporary feeling that you accidentally "fall into" when you least suspect it and "fall out of" when it doesn't serve your agendas anymore or provide warm-fuzzies. I'm all for warm fuzzy feelings, but they are a by product of emotion that comes and goes, like an ebb and flow of the ocean. Our feelings can't be trusted to make relationship decisions. They have to submit to a higher standard--Agape. LOVE IS A CHOICE.

Jesus said people would know we are his followers, by our love for one another. (John 13:35) Our prayer for The Bridge Community is that our love for one another will be a witness to the powerful love of God for them--"All ages, All races, All kinds!"

Yes, love is a risk. But relationship means so much to God, that WE WERE WORTH the risk.

"But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for while we were yet sinners. " (Romans 5:9 NLT)

Praising God for our Miracle!

This weeks reading for the 2010 Challenge:
Psalm 16, Philippians chapter 1-3.


I call your name, Lord you reply, You bring your Kingdom and stand by my side... ("I Call Your Name" from Free Chapel, Moving Forward Album)

This was the testimony of Paul and Sonja this Sunday at the Bridge, as they thanked the church for standing by their side when they found out their 11 year old son, John, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He had been struggling with lose of sight, fatigue, nausea, and many other side effects for months, and last week they finally discovered why. He had a massive tumor (10cm) on the front of his brain. He was rushed to Cook's in Fort Worth and surgery was scheduled to remove it.

The Bridge rallied prayer support for John and his family as they faced this staggering challenge. They were told John would probably not retain his sight, his memory, and even his personality and face a hospital recovery of four to six weeks. There were many daunting facts facing this brave, young boy, but his family choose to believe God's report was different.

John surprised The Bridge yesterday by walking out on the stage just 10 days after the diagnoses and surgery. Cheers and praises erupted from the crowd to see a walking miracle! We are praising God the tumor was not cancer, he has his sight, memory and his funny personality! The doctors were amazed at his recovery and we are praising God for John's healing! We know God has a special plan for his life. They did have to take his pituitary gland, but his body has adjusted amazingly.

We are also thankful to the doctors and all the staff at Cook's Children's Hospital for being an instrument of healing. We appreciate you!

If you are facing tremendous challenges and negative facts this week, discover what God's TRUTH is over the facts and stand in faith this week!