CHOICES

In this, the start of a New Year, I am focusing on the wisdom of God that we find in Proverbs. These wonderful 31 chapters of Scripture written by King Solomon help us discern the foolish from the wise—the choices that we must make in order to live the life that God has planned for us. So on Saturday and Sunday, I’m beginning the new message series Choices: Finding the Doorway to Godly Living.

How easy is it to make the wrong choice in life? We need only check out the newspaper or the news on TV to see the consequences people are facing for making the wrong choice—that split-second decision that changes everything. At the same time, when we make that heart decision to follow Christ, to trust in Him, to choose His way over our own way, life is changed forever ... for the better!

Proverbs 3:5–6 have long been life verses for me.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

These verses hung in my room when I was a child and a teenager. They were and continue to be a constant source of encouragement to me. I am confident that God guides His children and I am confident that we can know the will of God. And the reason that God wants us to accomplish His purpose and will is so that we may glorify Jesus Christ! His purpose is to conform us and make us like Jesus.

So, I hope you’ll join us at one of our five weekend services at Prestonwood and Prestonwood North, or if you live out of town be sure to catch us online (11:00 a.m., CST, on Sunday). Take to heart the wisdom in these pages as we study Proverbs, and know that all that God brings into our lives and all that God does in our lives is for the purpose of making us like His dear Son.

2011: "The Trumpet Call Is Sounding."

Happy New Year! As we begin 2011, I wanted you to meditate on something the great Billy Graham said a few years ago:

“With the New Year before us let us prepare ourselves for spiritual battle. Let Christ be more than mere sentiment. Away with pretense and half-heartedness. Away with compromises and defections. Away with faith that awakens only on holidays. Away with faith that is as flimsy and as seasonable as tinsel. These are days of emergency. The trumpet call is sounding. He that puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God. Let’s put our lives on the line for Jesus Christ. Nothing short of this will do.”

Those are powerful words. And they are convicting words. And they are words we should take to heart as we take spiritual inventory in this New Year. The “trumpet call is sounding” indeed, and God expects us to do His work and His will and He tells us in Ephesians 5:15–17:

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

We must make each day count; living each day as if it were our last. This is the only life we have and Scripture tells us to redeem the time, seize the day. Seize it, love it, live it, experience it, exhaust every day not for ourselves but rather for the glory of God and for others, that the time here on this earth might be powerful and effective.

We are to live with passion, purpose and to walk with precision. A wise man, a wise woman measures each step of the way and fulfills the plan and purpose of God for their lives. We must seize the day and the opportunity in order to maximize each moment for Jesus Christ. We must give this day completely to God and every day for Jesus Christ.

Let Christ be more than mere sentiment.

I shared this short devo with my Daily Word subscribers this morning... Thought I’d share with you because it’s such a great reminder of everyday worship of our Lord as we head into the New Year.


Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD! —Psalm 150:1-6

It was Billy Sunday who said we need to “Yank some of the groans out of (our) prayers and shove in some shouts.” And of course, one of the most precious and beautiful ways to praise God is to sing the name of Jesus.

I’ll tell you, I just love singing to the Lord. In fact, there are times I even make up songs. Now they’re not fit for human consumption. In fact, they’re not fit for anybody but the Lord! But I’ll be driving down the road sometimes, just singing and praising God. It’s great!

Now I realize that most of us aren’t professional recording artists and many might not like to sing. But one clear truth we find in the Scripture is that God wants us to praise him with music.

Musical praise isn’t just limited to those on stage with microphones. No, singing praises to God should be done by “everything that has breath!”

So next time you’re driving down the road by yourself, turn the radio down and sing a few songs to the Lord. You’ll be amazed how it feels to express your heart to your audience of one!

PRAISING GOD THROUGH MUSIC IS A COMMAND FOR EVERYONE. SO USE YOUR VOICE TO EXPRESS YOUR LOVE TO HIM!


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MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I pray you and yours have a wonderful Christmas!

"I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day"

Have you heard the story behind the powerful song "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow? I shared it with our church family on Sunday, followed by a beautiful interpretation by one of our worship associates Jordan Grizzard. I hope this blesses you as much as it blesses me...

THE GIFT OF CHRISTMAS

If you live in the Dallas area, you don't want to miss The Gift of Christmas, an absolutely stunning presentation by the Prestonwood Choir & Orchestra, along with our Students and Children's choirs. Gift of Christmas starts tonight at 7 p.m., the first of six performances.

I was at the dress rehearsal last night and I can tell you that this is truly the best Christmas presentation we've had in a long time. We're combining beautiful voices (1,000 of them, including adults, students and children), with pageantry (flying angels!) and technology (a 60-foot long LED wall)...

It was great to share this incredible night with many folks from our Special Needs Ministry and from our English as a Second Language Program. Being able to provide them the opportunity to come as our guests was a blessing.

Some 30,000 people will be taking in this presentation over the next few days... My prayer is that the Spirit will open hearts to the miracle of Christmas.

You can purchase tickets to one of the six performances at prestonwoodgoc.org.

Watch this video for a sneak peak...

Powerful Testimony of Life-Change

I wanted to share with you a testimony from one of our newest members, John Potter. I am grateful for the amazing work that the Lord continues to do at Prestonwood.