Treasures of the Heart
Monday, December 29, 2008 at 03:27PM 
I have made a commitment with a few other brothers to memorize the book of Philippians next year. There are 104 verses so that means we will cover 2 every week for the next year.
You might say why are you going to do that? When I look back over my transforming life as a believer, one of the most impactful disciplines I have practiced on and off for the last 18 years is to memorize scripture. It started with taking Crown Ministries and later a brother took me through the Topical Memory System or TMS that the Navigators ministry developed. These have been life verses that remind me of God’s truth in the midst of life’s challenges.
In the process of memorizing, which is really much repetition that causes meditation, I always experience understanding the word of God in a deeper, richer way and helps meto know God. I have learned parts of Philippians over time and love Paul’s writing and exhortation to press in to God, for He is worthy. Then I read Psalm 119:9-11 again and I ask myself, why not.
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all of my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden (nasb says treasure) your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Why do we hide things? Because they are valuable like a treasure and we want to hold onto them? And we do have an adversary who wants to steal, kill and destroy. In our hearts they won’t get lost or misplaced and can be accessed at any time or place?
It won’t be easy, but HE is worthy and it WILL be worth it. If you would like to join us starting on Jan. 1, 2009, let me know. We will pray for and encourage one another.
Do not fear to fail! Whatever you accomplish will stay hidden and will be more than you have now.
Your brother in Christ,
John Thomas
Prayer Makes the Difference!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 at 02:31PM 
I was reading a story about a small group leader who had become quite effective in developing new leaders, which in turn birthed new groups and grew the ministry of building authentic Christian communities. A pastor in the church who was observing this leader was surprised because what he observed about this person from a distance was not very impressive. He wasn’t very outgoing or a particularly good speaker. When he inquired further about this leader, he found out that his secret was PRAYER. This leader’s testimony was this “I knew when they asked me to take this role that there was no way I could do this on my own so I’m always asking God for help”. The difference in this leader’s effectiveness came through prayer. He prayed for his people every day. I thought about the verse in James 5:16 “The prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective”.
I read a little further in the book and it reminded me of the importance and effectiveness of prayer. It highlighted the prayer life of some highly influential people throughout the ages and just reading their thoughts were enough to energize me, cause me to examine my own prayer life and compel me to do more. Take some time to read and contemplate what has been learned and modeled for us.
J. Oswald Sander – “Leadership is influence…Prayer influences men by influencing God to influence them.”
Hudson Taylor – “It is possible to move men by prayer alone”.
John Wesley – “God will do nothing on earth, except in answer to believing prayer”.
John Calvin – “While God never slumbers or sleeps, He is inactive, as if forgetting us, when He sees us idle and mute.”
Charles Spurgeon – “God can multiply our ability to make use of time. Your other engagements will run smoothly if you don’t forget your engagement with God.”
A South Korean Pastor in one of the largest churches in the world – “One of the greatest lies of Satan is that we don’t have enough time to pray. However, all of us have enough time to sleep, eat and breathe. As soon as we realize that prayer is as important as sleeping, eating and breathing, we will be amazed at how much time we have to pray.”
E.M. Bounds – “Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still.”
Samuel the Prophet – “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.” 1Sam 12:23
Please take just a moment and pray for someone in your life-it is powerful and effective!
Perspectives
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 10:40AM 
The movie Matrix has become a little dated now within a culture that is here today and gone tomorrow but there are several scenes that have stuck with me since the first time I watched Keanu Reeves on the giant Imax screen. One in particular is when Morpheus asks Neo if he wants to see just how deep the rabbit hole goes? Neo has the choice to take a blue pill and return to what he has always known – life as usual, forgetting that there ever was a rabbit hole, or he can take the red pill and have his eyes and experiences opened to a whole new reality that has always existed but he never knew was there.
It is you and maybe someone in your life group’s turn to face the same question. Do you want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes or just go about life as usual? If you want a look into the heart and mission of God, you need not take a red pill but merely the Perspectives Course. You will learn things that will draw you closer to the heart of God and never leave you the same again.
John Piper has this to say about the course, “Perspectives has been essential in mobilizing hundreds of lay people in our church to be World Christians and instilling passion for God’s supremacy.”
In Perspectives you get more then one Morpheus to guide the way. The classes are taught by a list of world renown speakers including our very own Jim Zippay. Other speakers include; Bob Sjogren, author of Cat and Dog Theology and Unveiled at Last, Don Richardson, author of Peace Child and Eternity in Their Hearts, George Houssney, the founder of Horizons International, and Foumad Masri, the founder and President of Crescent Project. These are just a few of the passionate and experienced followers of Christ that will guide your journey. Check out www.perspectives.org/columbus for the complete list of speakers, more information on the class, and to register. Perhaps someone in your life group might even pray about taking this class. There is worship and prayer incorporated into the class with the teaching.
On a more personal note, I have been a part of Young Life, Campus Crusade, several good churches, and mission trips to Central and South America as well as Central Asia. God has used all of these organizations to further His Kingdom and grow my faith and understanding of Him, but the Perspectives Course took me deeper into the heart of God and His purposes for me and the nations than I’d ever been before. Join me for an adventure just down 270 that will impact the way you approach God and others forever.
Guest Writer Jim Cornett.
Someone Needs an Invitation
Monday, December 1, 2008 at 05:49PM As I reflect on Thanksgiving Day and our church services this past weekend, I was truly blessed and reminded to be thankful for all that God provides for me. I was also reminded of many who have needs right in our midst and how can I help them. My burden for them was renewed.
One of the things I did during two of the services was to share about group life at the participating membership class. We decided to ask a few people who are in life groups to come and share about their experiences because we know how much weight a personal testimony carries compared to my talking about it.J
When I heard several of these stories I got choked up and had to take some time to recover before I could finish my piece. I’ll share 2 of them. One was about how transformational it was for a wife who was pulled aside by a loving sister in Christ to talk to her about her attitude toward her husband that was obvious to the group. She received it and made some changes that have blessed their marriage. The other one was about a woman who was single again with a 7 year old and was just coming back to church again after a long time away. Someone in the group who originally met her at the gym invited her to the group. Since she was just starting back to church and didn’t really know anyone she was hesitant but decided to give it a try. Part of it was a feeling of intimidation by all of the mature Christians who had been going to church for a long time. In the 3 months since she first attended she has experienced real life change. She has become excited about learning more about God with these new friends who embraced her and really weren’t intimidating but had challenging lives like hers. She got baptized spontaneously during the last baptisms and has been growing in her new relationship with Christ.
When I think of these examples and many other lives that are blessed through their small groups, I want everyone to experience this. We still have many people who are not in fellowship in a small group. One thing that stood out from people sharing in those classes was how they got involved in the first place. Someone invited them. Time and time again you hear testimonies about how people were invited to a group and it changed their lives. It reminds me of how Jesus invited the apostles to join him. He invited Zacheus to join him. If we want to be like Jesus, we need to have an inviting heart and see lives change.
I know there are challenges and logistics and all kinds of things that get in the way. Let’s remember how we got connected. Let’s remember the attitude of the 4 guys who went through the roof to help their friend see Jesus and inside people were hanging all over the place. When we have His heart, he will make a way. God will be glorified, they will be blessed and we will be blessed. Think about it, pray about it. Let’s look for people who are not in fellowship and do some inviting!
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