Please Pray for Pastor Greg Laurie & Family

Statement on the Passing of Christopher Laurie, Son of Pastor Greg Laurie

July 24, 2008

Christopher Laurie, son of Pastor Greg Laurie and Cathe Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., died Thursday morning in a car accident. A resident of Huntington Beach, Laurie, 33, served as the art director at Harvest Christian Fellowship for the past three years.

In addition to his parents, Christopher is survived by his wife, Brittany, and daughter, Stella, as well as his brother Jonathan. Christopher and his wife are expecting another daughter in November.

Memorial plans for Christopher are pending. More information will be posted at www.harvest.org as details become available.

Here's our "young" people after a 4 1/2 mile hike today!

Noise Complaint at Luke AFB, AZ

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization
that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that
it was there long before they were.

A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back.

Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local
paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall.

When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must have stung quite a bit.

The complaint:
Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 am, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet.

Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special? Any response would be appreciated.

The response:
Regarding 'A wake-up call from Luke's jets' (Letters, Thursday):

On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four-ship flyby of
F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the
grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt. Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.

At 9 a.m.. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the flyby, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured.

A four-ship flyby is a display of respect the Air Force gives to those who give their lives in defense of freedom.

We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respect.

The letter writer asks, 'Whom do we thank for the morning air show?' The 56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.

Lt. Col. Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr.
USAF

COLORADO OR BUST

COLORADO BOUND! Please pray for our Palm Valley Church youth who are making their way to Colorado for a week of fun crashing the Rohlinger's Family Vacation! I know they were all excited to go and get the week rolling this morning bright and early at 6 a.m. Pray that God uses this time to impact their lives significantly for Him.

Truths

If you haven't been doing the No Other Gods study this summer with Beth Moore, you have been missing out on a good one! I would encourage you to jump in. It's not too late! It's been a lot of fun not only studying the Word but also being encouraged to try "new" recipes and expanding our culinary skills! Watch out Bobbie Flay we might have a throw down! I tried Pioneer Woman Chicken Spaghetti for the first time last night - three thumbs up from the kids, a lukewarm thumbs up from my husband - he was okay with it as long as it was drenched in salsa.

One of the great revelations or "ah-hah" moments so far from the study was on page 62of our workbook when it states, talking about Genesis 3, Satan spoke a lot of true things, yet none of it was THE truth. He still does that today doesn't he? He's still able to confuse us with partial truths or a little truth but not the complete picture. That's why it is so vital to know the Word, study the Word, and memorize the Word - I'm preaching to myself! How many of us know a person or persons who have been led into a different religion or have accepted even some of the culturally acceptable truths of spirituality so readily?

Okay shifting gears, this spoke to me so I thought I would share it with you.

This comes from the Streams in the Desert book, “Genuine faith puts its letter in the mailbox and lets go. Distrust, however, holds on to a corner of the envelope and then wonders why the answer never arrives.”

Consider

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Freedom

The Key to Freedom
by Garold Andersen

"If you hold to my teaching, you are truly my
disciples: then you will know the truth and
the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32)

“Arbeit macht frei” (work will make you free) was the phrase written over Nazi work camps during the Second World War. It’s a great slogan for anyone wanting to enslave a nation. Today we don’t buy it. In our enlightened world we know that truth, not work, is the key to freedom. We scour books, magazines, newspapers, and the Internet, searching for those nuggets of truth that will continue our great liberation.

The search, however, reveals a complex snag. What truth? Which newspaper articles should we believe? Which sources are reliable? The more we dig for the truth, the more this new slogan seems no better than "Arbeit macht frei." If anything, we sense a heavier burden rather than a deeper freedom. "You will know the truth..." That's the maddening part. How can we know it? Some would say you can't: truth is just a fable. Others would say it's relative. Jesus said it's relational.

Of course, when Jesus spoke of truth he wasn't referring to the superficial information one gleans from a trip into cyberspace. He also wasn't speaking of math, science, or religious knowledge, which comes in varying colors and shades. The One who created life was instead speaking of the absolute, unchangeable core of life: the foundational truth that gives meaning to our existence. Is there really such a deep understanding that could give all humans freedom regardless of their external condition? Jesus said, "Yes, I am that Truth."

When we choose to believe His radical claim, our initial reaction is joy and relief. We sing, “Jesus is the answer…”, take off our shoes, and set up camp. We have a sense of having arrived. The search is over; the answer has been found. But in reality we haven’t really heard all of His words. So Jesus walks into the midst of our retirement camp and repeats His challenge, “IF you hold to my teachings and become my life-long disciple, THEN you will know (experience) the depths of reality...you will know Me and I will destroy your misconceptions of life, shake your faulty foundations, and set you free." This proposal is altogether different. The light begins to dawn. Jesus didn’t post a campground sign for the kingdom of Truth; rather He has extended an invitation to a relational journey. In the depths of our hearts, if we’re honest, we’re a bit disappointed. We wanted there to be an answer - simple, black and white, and a one-size-fits-all remedy. As the party music fades, the tents come down, and the traveling shoes are laced back onto our feet, we mourn the death of our easy solution. In the midst of this disappointment, we can almost forget that we have been invited to the greatest adventure on the earth: a journey with the Creator of life.

In this superficial, fast-paced world we love sound-bytes and quick fixes, but “Jesus is the answer” isn’t a real solution; it’s merely another slogan. And the version of Christianity that has been built on that thin slogan has left many disappointed and disillusioned.

The inner freedom and ultimate meaning we all desire is not found in the simple recognition of Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus isn't the answer; He is the truth. There is a profound difference between the two. It’s easy to get excited upon discovering a treasure in a field. It’s quite another thing to sell everything you own in order to purchase that field. Yet that’s the image of discipleship. The continual dismantling of our broken concepts of life and building on His view is the only way to gain the treasure of truth and freedom.

Real freedom, according to Jesus, is the outcome of a relational journey with the truth. It is an ongoing process of replacing the untruths of this world with the empowering ways of God. Romans 12:2 says, “Don't be conformed to the ideas of this age, but be transformed by renewing your mind.” Remember, you have not arrived at the truth; you are on a life-long journey with Him.

Life is filled with issues that are real. They require wisdom, mercy, and inner strength, not one-size-fits-all solutions. The Son of God doesn’t offer us easy answers; He invites us to a journey of transformation and freedom. Anything that is real takes time, and this journey with Jesus is as real as it gets.

This Week
Ask this question: Are you free? Remind yourself that you are His disciple: not one who has the answers, but one who knows the God of wisdom and truth.

Prayer
“Lord, give me the heart of a disciple. May I be teachable and once again embrace the journey. Daily reveal Yourself to me and release me from the things that bind me so that I might be a witness in this world to the fact that You are indeed the Way, the Truth, and the Life. As we journey set me free.”

Definitely Not Normal

In our summer siesta study, No Other Gods/Kelly Minter, we are learning that our identity is in Christ. We are His and His alone and in being such, we are a peculiar, alien if you will people. We should be looked at as "foreign" because our lives should stand out as so breathtakingly "good" in comparison with others. I look introspectively and ask myself does my life "stand out" for Christ. If not, why?

As Kelly Minter says, "Not a goodness that comes from self-righteousness or legalism, but a goodness that is the fruit of obedience." Mmmm, obedience seems to be a theme around here lately! I am challenged by the part that says indulging in our sinful desires will snuff out the burning goodness and we become - hold your breath - NORMAL. Yuk!

We are new creatures in Christ, old things are passed away, ALL things have become new. We already have Christ's power through the Holy Spirit to live a life "FULL-ON" for God. It's up to us to CHOOSE to OBEY.