God is moving in CR

As we reflect on the year that was it is amazing how much has happened. On a sad side, we lost some loved ones, we saw many struggle with illnesses, and lots of hurt in a broken fallen world. On a positive side though, we saw many lives changed in huge ways. Did you know that just under 11,000 people, not counting teens and kids walked thru our doors here at Fellowship CR. Just under 900 newcomers entered our meeting on Friday night. Marriages were restored, relationships reconciled, sobriety given to many, many people from alcohol, drugs, pornography, unhealthy eating habits. We had front row seats to people finding healing from destructive depression, smoking, unhealthy anger, loneliness, abandonment issues, and so much more. We get to be a part of a ministry in its eighth year now moving and changing the heart and soul of NW Arkansas and the world. We saw Life’s Healing choices go to Mosaic and also go to 11 new countries including Pakistan, Syria, Algeria, Jordan, Iraq, Israel...

Here’s a Henri Nouwen reflection on “The Spirituality of Waiting” "Waiting is not a very popular attitude. In fact, most people consider waiting a waste of time. For many people, waiting is an awful desert between where they are and where they want to go. It impresses me, therefore, that all the figures who appear on the first pages of Luke's Gospel are waiting. Zechariah and Elizabeth are waiting. Mary is waiting. Simeon and Anna are waiting. The whole opening scene of the good news is filled with waiting people. But what is the nature of waiting? What is the practice of waiting? How are they waiting, and how are we called to wait with them? Waiting, as we see it in the people on the first pages of the Gospel, is waiting with a sense of promise. This is very important. We can only really wait if what we are waiting for has already begun for us. So waiting is never a movement from nothing to something. It is always a movement from something to something more. Second, waiting ...

Christmas time is a wonderful time of the year for most. But for other's it brings sadness, insecurity, depression and even doubt. So many Christmases this is where I've been, because of hard times and inconvenient times. With construction this is usually the time of year jobs start dwindling and income slows to a trickle. So many times I've wanted to get my kids something, anything, but just didn't have anything to give. Or at least that is what I used to think! As a Christian I’m online with a resource even more valuable than Amazon.com when it comes to finding the perfect gift. God has an abundance of gifts to give us. His riches are beyond comprehension. Plus, the price is right for any budget because the gifts He gives, he gives freely. Yep, you heard me right—no money down, no cash payments EVER. I’ll be honestly, some of those gifts we don't really want and some of those gifts we covet. For example, I love to sing, and always wished God would have blessed m...

One of my accountability partners who is also one of those men that is a great a friend and a kindred spirit, has for the last several months has kept saying something every time we meet that I understood the truth of biblically and theologically, but I am not sure I have always lived out in a practical way in how I have viewed God. My friend’s statement, his declaration really, is that “God is for me.” He said it again yesterday morning as we met. Yet, while I have always understood this in principle even from a biblical and theological place, yesterday morning it was as if I felt the Holy Spirit tap me on the shoulder and say, “Listen up, can you make the same declaration with the same conviction?” and as I looked inside, I have to admit, I found myself wanting. So the last 24 hours for me I have thought about this question, “What is God for?” The place to start I would guess would be the bible… So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn...

Ever been lost? I mean down right didn’t know where you where at, couldn’t find north, east, west, or south lost? I mean deep in the woods lost? Or you turned down a street and realized that you aren’t where you are supposed to be and didn’t know where you were at lost? The type of lost where you are looking for something familiar, some marker, some tree, some rock, some vista, something that will let you know where you are at but nothing looks familiar. I have been out of the country a few times and there were times when I was separated from our guides and interpreters and I felt lost. I didn’t know the land, couldn’t read the signs, couldn’t speak the language, I was lost. How about you? Ever been lost like any these situations? No? Well, okay let’s imagine that you have been talked into an adventure; you are on a safari in the one of the deepest, densest, darkest jungles of the world. Not to worry, you are with a group of experts and have a great guide, along with a good ...

Doing some reading on a familiar book and favorite of mine, “In a pit with a lion...” by Mark Batterson. Great reminder for me that we should stop asking God to get us out of a difficult circumstance and start asking Him what he wants us to get out of those difficult situations. Prayer is less about changing our circumstances and more about changing our perspective. I don’t know what all you are going thru this week but God is with you and is walking thru it with you. I am reminded that it is important that I stop spending all my energy making plans for God and start seeking Him more. I pray you are seeking Him in your walk as well. Why do we worship? Why do we celebrate every Friday night? Worship is not about pretending all is well and acting happy. No, "Worship is about forgetting about everything that is wrong with us and remembering what is right with God." Wow! That is what Friday Nights are about aren’t they? The simple fact that we are breathing is a reason to give th...

“Enter His gates with Thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to him; Bless His name.” Psalm 100:4 (ESV) This year, don’t miss the THANKS in Thanksgiving… Traditions. Turkey…Dressing…Pumpkin pie…Football…Macy’s day parade. All fun. And for many, a part of family gatherings. Traditions that give us pause to share warm memories, and the opportunity to make new ones. Occasions to relish in the old traditions passed from generation to generation, or perhaps, to even begin a new one. Holiday. A time to knock off for a day. Rest. Relax. Forget the bills, the problems, the pressures of life. Slow down from the hectic, insane pace that drives us to exhaustion, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Take the day off…and enjoy it! Attitude. An attitude of self-less-ness. In sports, one bad attitude on the team can, and usually does, hurt the whole team. Self focused and self absorbed attitudes destroy the heart of Thanksgiving. This year…have an attitude…of gratitude. Nation. Tha...

In 40 days Jesus was in the desert He faced trials and temptation just like us. Luke 4:3-10 1. Tangible needs: the temptation to separate yourself from God to get what You need . v. 3 2. Own power: the temptation to use your own gifts and power to gain profit for Yourself v. 6-7 3. The temptation to locking onto a power other than God. V. 9-10 It is so easy in our recovery to fall into the temptation trap. Ironically it is when we start to make progress in our recovery that we may be hit from the enemy even harder. We can get rolling in our recovery and see tangible changes in our life, our relationships and even our over view of our self as children of God. Why is it that we fall into this? Well, it is important to know that none of us can escape temptation. You might be thinking, "Wow! Rodney, that really gives me hope!" But the truth of the matter is that we will always be in a good spot from time to time and then the next moment be faced with some sort of temptation. ...

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. (Psalm 23:1-3). He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3) Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. (Jeremiah 17:14) But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. (Malachi 4:2) He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. (Luke 9:11) For some reason this has been lost in the recent offerings of the church. Perhaps it has been our pride, which has kept us from admitting that we are broken. Lord knows I've done that for years - probably am still doing it now. Perhaps it is our fear of getting our hopes up; it seems too good to be true. Perhaps it's been the church's almost total focus on sin and the cross. But the Scripture is abundant and clear: Christ ca...

Do you have a spirit of thankfulness? We as Americans tend to set aside one day of the year to remember things, people and ideals for which we are thankful. But we should have a spirit of being thankful all year long. Those of us who have found healing through the Celebrate Recovery program know what it's like to be thankful...thankful for healing, thankful for grace, thankful for a new life in Christ that is free from our hurts, habits and hangups. We got an idea from our friends at Vegas CR at Central that we want to invite all our fellow CR friends, their friends, their family members and the whole world to join us in doing. For the next 21 days, send out a tweet or update your Facebook status to share something for which you are thankful. We're calling this the 21 Days of Thankful event. We pray that as you share, you will not only be blessed as you realize life's many blessings, but you will also bless others. We also hope you will share this idea with others. You can ...

Ever been in a situation where you feel overwhelmed and that this is not going to end well? Where we feel like maybe God has somehow abandoned us in our situation? Several years ago I took my daughter on a roller coaster ride, her very first. She was so excited and even though I tried to talk her out of it several times she insisted to ride this gigantic roller coaster at Sea World. She was all smiles when sitting in and buckling up. She was all smiles as we awaited our climb of the high coaster. The higher we got, however, the more concerned she looked. She began to lose a little color in her face as we continued our climb. As we neared the top of the climb and began to near the decent down the steep fall she was now very nervous and quite frightened by what was to come next. I looked over into her fear stricken eyes, leaned into her, held her hand and said as calmly as I could, “Daddy has you sweetie. You don’t need to be scared. I am here.” The next couple minutes of the ri...

I have been doing some reading recently for an upcoming teaching in the book of Philippians. Specifically Chapter 4:10-19. What a cool book! I was struck by the thought and meditation of what it really means to have peace in ALL circumstances. I mean, isn’t that contrary to what the world tells us? The only way we have joy and peace in our heart is if we have everything going right for us and things are going our way in all circumstances then we really have something to be happy about….right? That is what I grew up believing and understanding. I truly believed that the only way I can have peace in my life is to have no conflicts in my life. So, I spent most of my life trying to avoid conflict as that only makes things bad and not fun to deal with. I believed that I could not possibly have peace if I was in the middle of a storm in my life. That is really a big lie that many of us grow up believing. So what do we do? We run from our problems and hide from them. We just as well i...

This month I celebrate 25 years of full-time ministry. During this time I have been honored to serve as a university chaplain, to minister in people in 36 nations and in my current role to serve as Lead Pastor of Capital Life Church in Arlington, Virginia. When I began in the ministry 25 years ago Ronald Reagan was beginning his second term as president, top entertainers were gathering together to sing, “We are the World” and "Back to the Future" was the highest-grossing film. In the last 25 years I have witnessed the end of the Cold War and the beginning of a new kind of war that brought forth the worst attack on U. S. soil in our nation’s history. I now have what few could have foreseen just 25 years ago: A GPS system in my car, a cell phone in my hand and a DVR in my living room. Our world has changed. What I have learned is that the Psalmist knew what he was talking about when he said, “If the Lord delights in a man’s way he makes his steps firm.” The last 25 years have o...

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives." 1 John 1:9-10 (NIV) I remember the day I realized I have Adam's Disease. It took me awhile to notice—in fact, most people with this debilitating condition don't ever recognize it. But the best doctor I know pointed out its symptoms, and though I hated to admit it, I've frequently displayed them. Could it possibly affect you as well? Adam's Disease is an insidious condition that interferes with the patient's ability to grow. It does this by preventing the patient from admitting and taking responsibility for their sin. Take a look at the first confirmed case: Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LO...

Don’t forget to stop by our newcomer tables to welcome our guests and make them feel special. I want to share some thoughts with you after reading some Max Lucado “God came near” this week. "The financial aid office says “no”, the doctor says, “pregnant” or “it’s cancer” The boss says, “transfer” the test grade reads “F”, the auto mechanic says, “totaled” the insurance agent says, “expired” Change always brings fear before it brings faith. We always assume the worst before we look for the best. God interrupts our lives with something we’ve never seen, and rather than praise, we panic! We interpret the presence of a problem as the absence of God and scoot! Isn’t it a good thing the Shepherds lingered? “Then an angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord was shining around them, and they became very frightened.” Had the shepherd not lingered they might have missed the next verse. “Today your Savior was born in a town of David. He is Christ, the Lord.” I am so honored...

In the last year I found out that I have hypoglycemia and had strict orders from my doctor to change my diet. In meeting with a nutritionist, I was told that I would have to reduce my portion intake in a meal setting. I would also have to change my diet to more vegetables and less sweets. Yikes! That is the last thing I wanted to hear as I so love sweets. (Nutter Butters to be precise. ) I told my nutritionist that it was going to be pretty tough for me to do this because of my sweet tooth. She then said something to me that has stuck with me since. She said, “Rodney, your body will crave what it eats.” I thought she was crazy, but would you believe as I changed my eating habits, ate more vegetables and more healthy foods, my body did just that. It wanted more healthy things to digest. I was in fact craving what I ate. I think about that with my recovery and how my mind is the exact same way. What I eat mentally and take into my brain, it in turn craves that very thing more a...

People just don’t stumble into recovery groups. They are usually there because of some kind of crisis that their addiction has created. Because of the intensity of their problem and the emotional instability involved the newcomer is always the most important person in the room. We as a group have the opportunity to intervene in this person’s life. We must not be involved in the drama of our own lives or the life of the group to the degree that we overlook the newcomers needs. There is no script to follow. The correct action is to be led by the Holy Spirit As members of Christ’s body and as group members we should always be in a "state" of carrying His message. We keep in mind that the newcomer in our group is a person with real needs. We adjust the group to meet this persons needs. It’s not about the “life” of the group. Even though the life of the group is important it’s more about the life of the person. If our newcomer is born again it’s just about us hooking this pers...

This is a great blog on this topic from ANN VOSKAMP. www.incourage.com http://www.incourage.me/2010/10/why-tell-secrets.html For information about a life changing ministry that keeps a safe place in telling your secrets "so that" you may be healed" Contact Rodney at Celebrate Recovery at 479-659-3679 or roholmstrom@fellowshipnwa.org

So I sat there last Friday night and as I listen to David do the announcement about the 7th Anniversary Event I was it full force in the face with something by the Spirit of God that was then reinforced by the worship led by Rodney that followed and then again by Angela’s testimony that followed that. Celebrate Recovery is celebrating 7 years of life change at FBC and we are asking folks to look outside our walls and invite someone to experience this great ministry thru this exciting celebration. It really caught me Friday night how much CR is a Kingdom thing. It is not a Saddleback thing, it is not a Rick Warren or John Baker thing, it is not a Fellowship thing, it IS a Kingdom thing, it IS a Jesus thing. It is not about a single church or church leader or about a denomination even. It IS about the Bridegroom and His love for His bride though, His church. That being the case, I have not been able to shake the thought that this 7th Anniversary Celebration is bigger than we think....

Church is not a building. Church is not an event that takes place on Sundays. I know, its how we think of it. "I go to First Baptist." "We are members of St. Luke's." "Is it time to go to church?" Much to our surprise, that is not how the Bible uses the term. Not at all. When the Scripture talks about church, it means community. The little fellowships of the heart that are outposts of the kingdom. A shared life. They worship together, eat together, pray for one another, go on quests together. They hang out together, in each other's homes. When Peter is sprung from prison, "he went to the house of Mary the mother of John? where many people had gathered and were praying" (Acts 12:12). Anytime an army goes to war or an expedition takes to the field, it breaks down into little platoons and squads. And every chronicle of war or quest will tell you that the men and women who fought so bravely fought for each other. That's where the acts of ...

Here are five simple suggestions to help make loving your spouse a top priority, second only to your relationship with Christ. Remember, giving your marriage the time and attention it deserves truly matters to God. He will help you implement these steps if you are willing to order your life and marriage according to His will. 1. Pray together before the day begins. Couples that pray regularly together experience less than a 1 percent divorce rate. 2. Act out love to experience feelings of love. One of the mysteries of keeping a softened heart is that we must continue to ACT that way even when we don't feel that way. 3. Spend thirty minutes a day in a shared activity and intimate conversation. It's a truism that men communicate as the result of a shared activity, while women view communication as the activity itself. Make spending thirty minutes together a top priority so that you can stay connected through intimate conversation. 4. Give your spouse the right to access you any...

Greed is the jealous hunger to obtain more than we need at any cost. A couple driven by greed will never know true peace or contentment. Why is greed, the insatiable monster, never enough? 1. Greed is ultimately based on a lack of faith in God's provision. 2. Greed is driven by the lie that the things of the world can satisfy our hearts. The Biblical cure for greed is Thanksgiving: A life of continual thanksgiving to God is the remedy for greed. Thanksgiving focuses on all we have been given rather than all we lack. Thanksgiving acknowledges God Himself is more than enough. Thanksgiving sets us free to enjoy all we have without comparison or complaint. (Jesus said to them) "Watch out! Be on guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Luke 12:15 Marriage Minutes Bob and Cheryl Moeller Monday, September 20, 2010 Email: cherylmoeller@comcast.net to subscribe For information on Celebrate Recovery contact Rodne...

I have a point blank question for you; do you treat people with piercings, colored hair, tattoos or anything out of the “norm” with the same respect as you do a person in a business suit? Recently I observed a young man receive what appeared to be judgmental looks as well as an attitude from a business man. (With that said, there is NO way for me to know what someone else is thinking. I’m going by my own experiences and what the appearance was at the time and place.) This young man was taking orders and making sandwiches in a restaurant. As I stepped up to order after the business man, the young man’s eyes just barely met mine so that I would know that it was my turn to order. (Whatever the reason was for his lack of eye contact, I felt compassion for him.) I placed my order, went on, got my sandwich, and sat down to eat when I realized that it was missing one of the main ingredients. I really didn’t want to say anything about it, but somehow I knew that’s exactly what I needed to d...

Humility: God's Turbocharger that will Energize Your Marriage Philippians 2:1-11 Definition: Humility is letting God have the place in our heart that "Self" wants to occupy. A. What Does a Spiritually Energized Marriage Look Like? 1. We are united eternally to Christ 2. We are living daily in fellowship with the Holy Spirit 3. We are walking in agreement as a couple. 4. We are acting out love to the other person when life hurts 5. We are pursuing oneness in our life's calling and commitments. B. How is the Power of Humility Released in a Marriage? 1. We give up all selfishness or pride in our married relationship. 2. We consider our spouse's needs before our own. 3. We don't lord our position, role, gifts, strengths, or money over our spouse. 4. We give up all right to use our rights in any selfish way. 5. We let our servant spirit not our controlling attitude change the heart of our spouse. 6. We leave our desire for all recognition and rewards...

Do you have a scar? : http://wp.me/p12MHN-16 For information about Celebrate Recovery at Fellowship Bible Church in Arkansas contact Rodney at 479-659-3679 or roholmstrom@fellowshipnwa.org

Since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you. Galatians 4:7 (NLT) Your spiritual family is even more important than your physical family because it will last forever. Our families on earth are wonderful gifts from God, but they are temporary and fragile, often broken by divorce, distance, growing old, and inevitably, by death. The apostle Paul says, “When I think of the wisdom and scope of his plan, I fall down on my knees and pray to the Father of all the great family of God – some of them already in heaven and some down here on earth” (Ephesians 3:14-15 LB). On the other hand, our spiritual family – our relationship to other believers – will continue throughout eternity. It is a much stronger union, a more permanent bond, than blood relationships. The Bible teaches, “To all who did accept him and believe in him he gave the right to become children of God. They did not become his children in any human way – by any human parents or human desire. They were born of God” (Joh...

You have been bought and paid for by Christ, so you belong to him—be free now from all these earthly prides and fears. 1 Corinthians 7:23 (TLB) God says not only are you accepted; you're valuable. How much do you think you're worth? I'm not talking about your net worth; I'm talking about your self worth. Don't ever confuse your valuables with your value as a person. You can be rich or poor but it has nothing to do with your value as a person. What determines value? There are two things that determine value in life: 1 - It depends on what someone is willing to pay for it. How much is your house worth? Not as much as you think it is, and probably not as much as it was a year ago. Your house is worth what somebody is willing to pay for it. No more. How much is a baseball card worth? To some of you, it's worth nothing. To Matthew, my son, it's worth a lot of money. Some people are willing to pay $10,000 for a baseball card. How much is a piece of art...

For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. (Matt. 13:15) "And I would heal them." That's a different offer from: "And I would forgive them." It's a different offer from: "And I will give them a place in heaven." No, Jesus is offering healing to us. Look at what he does to people who are broken. How does he handle them? The blind are able to see like a hawk. The deaf are able to hear a pin drop. The lame do hurdles. The corroding skin of the leper is cleansed and made new. The woman with the issue of blood stops hemorrhaging. The paralyzed servant hops out of bed. They are, every last one of them, healed. Now follow this closely: everything Jesus did was to illustrate what he was trying to say. Here-look at this-this is what I'm offering to do for y...

Don’t Go Through It Alone

Who is The Landing For? Monday, August 16, 2010 at 4:26PM Lots of people think that recovery is only for those who have drug or alcohol issues. While it is true that recovery, and Celebrate Recovery, is for people with chemical dependency issues, it isn't only for them. In fact, one of the unique things about Celebrate Recovery is that it offers groups for more than just chemical addicts. CR offers groups for people with any hurt, hang-up or habit. And so does The Landing. The Landing will be a great resource for any teen who is struggling with addiction issues. By working through the Christ-centered principles among a community of peers and caring adults, students will learn tools to help them give over their addictions to Jesus and find true healing and victory. But The Landing isn't just for kids facing addiction issues. It's for students that find they have hurts they can't deal with, hang-ups that have them spinning out of control, or who aren't really sure wh...