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Showing posts from April, 2019

Planting seeds

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By Joe Holloway, Encourager Coach at The Landing, Celebrate Recovery, Fellowship Bible Church, Rogers  4/24/19 There is a popular parable in Mark chapter 4 about the sower:  “ Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty-fold and sixty-fold and a hundred-fold .”  As with most passages in the Bible, there is a lot packed into that little space! In my life, I was blessed that many people came to sow seeds. Early on in my life, some of those seeds clearly "fell along the path" and they were eat

They're just words, right??

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By Rodney Holmstrom, Fellowship Bible Church Celebrate Recovery Ministry Leader 4/17/19 What’s the big deal?! They are just words. I used to be so bad about the stinkin’ thinkin’ and damaging self talk. I would think things like, “I am worthless, stupid, and good for nothing!” “No one would miss me if I left this earth” and “I will ‘never’ experience happiness in my life” Are they just words? No, that’s a big bunch of lies, huh? Words and thoughts like this are exactly what the enemy wants us to believe. Words really do make an impact on us. If you are still having trouble figuring out if those kinds of words and thoughts are damaging, imagine how painful it would be to take those same sentences and speak them to someone close to you.  Honestly, they would be crushed to hear them and so would you.  So, if it wouldn’t be appropriate to talk to others that way, why do we allow ourselves to be persuaded by the enemy in believing that it’s ok to talk to our self that way? “ From a w

What's in your bucket?

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By Eric Hutchinson, Fellowship Bible Church Celebrate Recovery Men's Encourager Coach,  04/10/2019 What's in your bucket? Have you ever said something and then later thought, "I can’t believe I said that"?  I know I have.   I am in my fifth step study and I just finished my inventory again.  Just as a bucket, when dumped out can only dump its contents, what is in my heart will eventually come out.   When I take a look at what’s in my heart I can then give it over to God and he can fill my heart with the right things so that good things come out of my life.  So what’s in your bucket?   Matthew 12:34b says, “ the mouth speaks what the heart is full of .”   As you evaluate your life and the things that are coming out of your life, are you pleased with what you see?  If not maybe there needs to be a change in the things that are pouring into your life.   Proverbs 4:23 says, “ Guard your heart above all else,  for it determines the course of your li

Finding God in Each Moment

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By Anonymous sister in Christ at CR, Fellowship Bible Church 4/3/2019 “ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ” Jeremiah 29:13 I always took this as a foundation verse. An essential place to start.   But I never thought of it as a place to stay, a continuous practice.   However, if I see its connection with John 15:4 where Jesus says, ”Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me”, and  Luke 10:27 when Jesus declares, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”... I can see that God is calling us, calling ME, to seek Him daily - with all my heart.  And not just to seek His truths, but also His presence- or His mark- in each moment. Each moment.   Is it possible to become so acutely focused on God throughout my day that I can look for glimpses of His work in each moment?  W