In my opinion, if a person is concentrating more on the discipline and his or her ability to keep a rule then he or she is still living under the law system. If, however, one is concentrating on the focus of Christ then he or she is truly living by grace. That should always be encouraged.

God said that Joshua and the Israelites needed to rid themselves of anything that was standing between them and God. Joshua went to the people and found a man who had been worshipping idols. The people took that man from the city and stoned him to death. It would be very fair to say that that man was “devoted to destruction”. In fact, that might be an understatement.

Moses was used of God to do incredible things for God’s glory, yet Moses, more than many leaders I know, questioned his own abilities. He lacked confidence and would have probably never volunteered for the job. His reasons might have been:

Getting out of town always provides me with time to develop new thoughts. Often I get into such a routine at home, that I don’t stop to just reflect, ponder, think and dream. I have to be alone, totally removed from my normal comfort zone it seems to really slow down enough to reflect. Yesterday, between sessions, I went for a long run along the Lake Shore Drive. (This is my favorite city in which to run.) About half way through the run, as I was talking to God, it seemed He impressed on my heart that there are new challenges He wants me to consider.

What if God were a person, who is actually in the room with you, that knows you better than anyone has ever known you, that would never betray you, so you could trust Him with anything, that loves you unconditionally whether you do the right things or not, and that always has your best interests at heart…

This past Sunday’s message was about failure. Although we had this message in the series planned for months and we spend considerable time in prayer about what to speak about each week, I never imagined how sensitive this topic would be. I have been inundated with stories this week of how failure has impacted people’s lives. (And to think I thought it was just my story…)

There are some things in life that have stolen from us the people we thought we would be. Last Sunday I spoke about how the direction of our life, or lack thereof, can be the culprit in stealing our identity. Have you lost your way? Watch this message to help you get back on the right path.

Sarah lived 127 years. That’s all. Period. End of the writing of her story on earth. Her memory would live on and we are still reading and talking about her today, but as far as altering her story she only had 127 years of days in which to write it.

This is a blessing to watch. What are you going through that you would have never asked for, but have no choice but to endure? You can choose to embrace the unknown by trusting God, or you can become bitter and resist the great things He can do through suffering. I look forward to watching as God continues to develop Colt McCoy’s life.

None of us probably enjoys worrying, yet even Jesus must have recognized our tendency to worry, because He made it a point to challenge us not to worry. The simple truth is that living worry-free is very simple in theory, but it’s the practice of doing what we know to do that is hard for us. Still, in spite of the difficulty, are you up for a challenge? Let me encourage you to follow these steps to a worry-free 2010.