Do WORK

How many of us TRULY take the Word of God seriously? We truly obey everything it has to say to us & then go about living it? Apply it? Tough questions. Ask yourself.

I think for many of us we somehow think we're exempt. That certain things in the Bible don't apply to us or we don't REALLY have to obey them. We surely obey the BIG things in the Bible, but somehow the smaller commands aren't as important.

How deceived some of us are! If you aren't obeying just a small command in the Bible, you're disobeying the ENTIRE thing. We have to know that everything the Bible tells us is equally important to follow & ALL of it demands our obedience.

But there's a disconnect. We hear & know what God wants from us, but we choose to obey ourselves & the world. For example, we won't give up certain music. Certain TV shows. Certain friends & activities. Certain habits. Even when we know God calls to pure & righteous living, we still live for ourselves & the world & won't give up the things God calls us to give up.

But how? Why? What makes us feel like we're outside purity & righteous living? We're outside obeying the Bible in it's entirety? What makes us feel like we can call ourselves Christians & continue to live like the world & everyone else?

James 1 tells to "not merely listen to the Word & so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS." We are called to obey the Word of God. To DO what it tells us to do. We aren't exempt. We can't choose what to follow. DO WHAT IT SAYS. Be like Jesus.

JV

BEing Alive

Jesus tells us the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13. The parable of the seed falling on four different types of soil & what happens to that seed after encountering the certain soil. But it's the last two that really stick out to me.

Jesus describes the thorny soil & how the thorns choke out the seed. The seed has the potential to grow, but has been engulfed by things that surround it & then kill the seed. And I think this is where many of us fall spiritually. We hear the Good News & Gospel of Jesus with a great potential to grow, but let other things choke that out. Fear of rejection. The worry of what our friends & other people will think of us. The cost of following Jesus & what things we have to let go of to follow Him. We simply just deny spiritual growth in light of living for the world.

HOWEVER, Jesus also describes the seed when it falls on the good soil. Spiritually, the good soil is open to hear the Word of God & then go about LIVING it. We hear the Good News of Jesus & the freedom that comes from His free gift of salvation & simply can't help but grow! And growth comes from desire. You have to take personal responsibility to grow in your faith by pursuing a personal relationship with Jesus. Talking to Him in prayer. Knowing Him more through the Bible. Growth will come through the time you invest.

The difference between the first three soils & the last? Life. The first three all end up dead. Only the last one has life. Sure there might be some quick growth at first, but it doesn't last. Only the last soil has life & life eternal.

So, what about YOU? You living or dying? If you aren't growing, you're dead. You have to grow. You have to pursue Christ. In Him & the pursuit of Him is only where life is found. Be ALIVE.

JV

Summer TUNE-UP

Summer. Such a great time to roll down the windows & pump up the jams. I've put together a little Summer playlist that NEEDS to go on your iPod. Check all these guys out & give them a listen on the playlist on your right.

1. Stellar Kart - Something Holy
2. Rapture Ruckus - Hold On
3. MIKESCHAIR - Keep Changing the World (Feat. Lecrae)
4. Satellites & Sirens - Anchor
5. Owl City - Tidal Wave
6. David Crowder Band - Oh, Happiness

Warning: This music will make you cooler. 

JV

"WHY Come to Camp" Video 1

BEING Light

We're always told to never worry about what others think of us. That we shouldn't care.

But should we really NOT care? I think we should. I think we should care about how people view us. How they think we live. What they think about the example & life we lead. I think other's perception of our ourselves only keeps us accountable to the life we should be living. 

John 12:9-11 tells us a little more about Lazarus. After Jesus had resurrected Lazarus from the dead, Lazarus was living the life. The life of becoming more like Christ. And because of the miracle & change in Lazarus' life, John tells us that many others were putting their faith in Jesus on account of Lazarus. People were coming to see Jesus & were believing in Him. But they were also believing in Jesus because of Lazarus & the life he was living. So much so that the chief priests were planning to kill him. 

That's an amazing challenge for us. Do others come to Christ on account of YOU? Do others believe in Christ because of the life we live? Can others see the life you live & the example you set & see Jesus?

1 John 1:7 tells us to walk in the light as Jesus is in the light. Do others see us in the Light? See us living like Christ? Or see us in the darkness? Living like the world? 

What do others think about you? It matters. Live in the Light of Jesus.

JV

UPdate

Hey everyone! So it's been quite a week. Took a quick 24-hour road trip to Texas to visit a dear family after the loss of a great friend on Tuesday, then ended up having an unplanned adventure on Thursday. So here's the skinny:

Thursday, the youth & I took on Pinnacle Mountain. And it was awesome! Had a great hike up, enjoyed the views & loved the fellowship. The only complaint was the heat. The heat index was near 108, so it was pretty hot. As we were sitting there at the top hanging out, I smelled smoke. Then another group at the top yelled for some water. Apparently a third party had shot off some fireworks & left a fire behind. In a mad dash, Scott Mead & I jumped down some rocks to a ledge below & stomped out a bush fire. Smokey the Bear would have been so proud.

Yet in the midst of the chaos, I missed a student who had decided to lay down in the shade of a tree to rest at the top. I called for everyone to hike on down to go to lunch & the resting student fell asleep. So at the bottom, I of course noticed I was missing one & just took action. Sent a pair of students up the normal trail & I decided to take the long trail just in case he got lost or off track. And man was that trail LONG.

The 2-man rescue crew found the missing student pretty quick. But I told the students I would meet them at the top, so I continued. I never made it to the top. In fact, I was slowing down pretty quick. I didn't take any water with me the second time around, & I was paying for it. After about 2 hours, I finally made it back to the bottom. But I was in terrible condition. My legs were completely cramped, I was nauseated, & was freezing in 108 heat. I was extremely dehydrated & suffering from heat exhaustion.

Turned out to be a long day. I threw up well over 20 times & couldn't even hold down water. I eventually made it to the hospital where I received 2 liters of IV & nursed back to health.

All in all, lessons were learned. Drink LOTS of water. Always have a BUDDY system. And just like the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus will always go out & look for us. He will always love us. He will always do whatever it takes to keep us in His flock. He loves & cares for us that much.

Thank you all for your prayers & thoughts. A special thanks to the Forsyth family, the Porterfield family, & the Williams' family. Thanks for taking care of me & making sure I was okay!

JV

Skillet Concert Saturday

Looks like we will be able to provide transportation for a few of you on Saturday to Magic Springs! We only have the 15 passenger van right now, so that's only a few of you that can go on the van.

BASICALLY, if your parents of friends can take you - GO. If you absolutely need a ride, just meet at NLBC at 2:00 PM on Saturday afternoon & we'll get you there! RIOT!

*First 15 to text me get a free ride. 479.381.7502. GO!

Summer Camp 2010

This summer we're heading down south to Texas for church camp! Hot Sauce! Here are the details:

• July 24 - July 30 --> we're heading down a day early to take in some Six Flags over Texas!
• $100 --> this is our target price for each student after fundraisers & prorated rates. 
• Speaker --> Scott Venable. Sound familiar? Yeah. He's my beast brother. 
• Band --> The KalebMoore Band. Up & coming group that leads unbelievable worship. 

Basically, clear your calendars. Cancel trips. Skip activities. Don't let anything stop you from coming to Camp at the Mount 2010! No excuses! 

Nothing will be as fun, more meaningful, more valuable or more eternal than spending that week with Jesus & your brothers & sisters in Christ. 

It's going to be an unbelievable camp & an unforgettable experience. Don't miss it for ANYTHING!

http://www.mtlebanoncamp.com/student_camp.html

JV

UPdate

Wowzers! It's been WAY too long!

May has truly been a crazy month. Tara wrapped up her first year of med school. We moved homes. We took a little trip with her family to Branson. And we're just now finally getting settled into our new home while preparing for summer at New Life.

But it's good to finally get back on here & update what's been going on! And I got a couple of updates to go along with the freshest post as well:

1. VBS --> starts Sunday night @ 6:00 PM & will occur every night through Wednesday night. Got some awesome stuff planned so be sure to come & kick it with us each night!
2. Summer Days --> will kick off the following week June 17th & will occur every Thursday throughout the summer. Got some sick activities together so be sure you're coming out every Thursday!

More info to come so STAY TUNED!

JV

STAY

Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt distant from God? Ever felt like God was way over there & you were way over here?

Chances are that in your Christian walk you have felt this distance before. You have felt like something just wasn't right & there was this huge gap between you & the Lord.

Take a look at Job. A great servant of the Lord known to fear God, obey God & live his life for Him. Also a man of great wealth. Had a huge family, tons of livestock & simply had it all. Then Satan comes creeping into the presence of God one day & God offers Job to be tested by Satan. Just like that. God has such confidence in Job's faithfulness that he literally hands everything but Job's mortality over to Satan's dispense. What a test.

And Satan takes everything. Takes his livestock, all of his children, all his servants & even his health. Satan covers his entire body in boils & literally takes it all. Job went from having everything to having nothing. Nothing but a wife & 3 friends who constantly encouraged him to curse God & die. But Job never wavered. He never lost faith. Despite all he went through, Job believed in God's promises & remained faithful to the end.

Now why did Job go through that? Why did Job lose everything? Because God was testing him. God allowed Satan to test Job to prove His faithfulness to Job & Job's faithfulness back to him.

Now back to you. Why do you feel distant from God? Why do you go through the things you go through that just make you feel like God is far away? It's safe to say Job felt like God was a pretty good distance from Him. So here's a few reasons why you may feel the distance:

1. Test --> God is simply testing you. Just like Job, He is allowing you to go through tough times or difficult experiences just to test your faithfulness. He isn't gone. He's just testing your faith. 
2. Sin --> whenever you choose sin & yourself over God, you're naturally going to feel distant. If you continually choose to live your life in the wrong direction, the distance will be inevitable. 

So what do you do? How do you close the gap? Simple: STAY. 

1. STAY in the Bible --> you must read God's Word daily. Cannot express the power of God's Word to know Him in such an intimate way. 
2. STAY in prayer --> you have to communicate with God. Simply talk to Him. Talk to Him & listen to what He is telling you. 
3. STAY in church --> be consistent & faithful to go. Be available to hear God's Word being taught & be an active component in the body of Christ. 

And these principles apply to your spiritual life whether you feel like God is the furthest thing from you or if you feel like you are walking side-by-side. Whether you feel dead or on fire, you must STAY. And it's when you continue to be faithful that God restores you. When you continue to live your life for Him & choose Him over this world that He comes & makes you know He is right by your side. 

God is always faithful. He just wants you to be faithful back to Him. Will you STAY?

JV