"Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you."
Mark 5:19

Jesus spoke these words after casting demons out of a man from Gadarene.  His command was simple:  Go and tell others what I have done for you.  What a powerful reminder this gives us of the need to express God’s goodness to others—even in public settings.

All believers face the danger of forgetting "how much the Lord has done for us."  Our spiritual journey is a great opportunity for us to strengthen and renew our appreciation to a good God.  Communicating gratitude is important for at least two reasons:

1. It makes us more reliant on God.  Romans 1:21 tells of those who “although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him.”  Thankfulness occurs inwardly, in what our heart expresses.  Glorifying God happens publicly, in what our mouth confesses.  Public expressions of gratitude strengthen our commitment to God while counteracting our human tendency to self-sufficiency and self-reliance.
2. It has a profound impact on those around us.  Family and friends need to hear our successes are not of our own making, but we are beneficiaries of the goodness of God.  Read David’s words in 1 Chronicles 29:11-13 to see how his gratitude set in motion a great celebration of sacrifice and praise among God’s people.

Prayer Focus: Following David’s example, take the time to identify some examples of God’s goodness in your life and then express your gratitude to God in the presence of a friend or family member today!  Don’t delay.  Just step up and do it.  Go tell your family or a friend how much the Lord has done for you.  You’ll grow… and be glad you did!

“Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.”
Philippians 1:14

Prisons today are five-star resorts compared to those in which Paul suffered.  He enjoyed no heated cell with private toilet and sink.  There was no mattress for sleeping, no TV room for relaxing, no well-stocked library for reading and study.  There was only the dark encasement of rough stones, filled with putrid odors and the pungent reminders of human depravity.  Perhaps worst of all were the chains, their rusty coarseness scraping his skin raw, constantly tugging at him.

As if imprisonment weren’t painful enough, Paul had to endure something worse:  the stinging criticism of those who called themselves his Christian brothers.  They dared to attack God’s apostle even while he was held captive.

Stop and imagine yourself in Paul’s situation.  Feel the weight of the chains on your raw skin.  Taste the nauseating daily food.  Listen to those dreadful sounds of suffering that filled his ears day and night.  Look into the menacing eyes of the Roman prison guards.

You are there.  You are suffering.  You are chained.  You are Paul the apostle.  Now, what’s your attitude?  What fills your heart through the weary hours?  Here’s what Paul wrote to his friends in Philippi:
“Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.  As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.  Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly” (Philippians 1:12-14).

What an attitude!  Rather than being furious and inflamed with self-pity, Paul is encouraged by the positive impact of his negative condition.  In spite of the severity of the circumstances, Paul is joyful.

Prayer Focus:  What a lesson Paul teaches us!  We have troubles and trials, sure; but what is our attitude, and what is our commitment?  Paul was joyful and he kept on advancing the gospel.  What is God teaching you today about joyfulness and the priority of advancing the gospel – reaching out?  Most certainly this spiritual journey will end in God moving on all of our hearts to provide a 3 year financial commitment of some kind to further the kingdom.  Are you seeing the joy of giving even in difficult times?  Paul did!  Pray for God’s wisdom and grace, in this regard.

“Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.”
2 Corinthians 9:13

As we look to the future, we see thousands upon thousands of people all around us who need Jesus.  Some are falling away.  Many, many more are waiting to be reached out to by loving laborers.  Elk Grove and south Sacramento continue to grow with thousands of new residents.  Who will reach out to these precious souls with the good news of Jesus?

We must take on this challenge.  We must invite them in and open our hearts to receive them with love and acceptance.  But we have a difficulty that must be overcome: Our home is not big enough.  We must have more space for more people.  We must adjust what we currently have and make plans for a future move or expansion (that’s the “X”) to bring more people into a relationship with God!  How can we do this?  First, by seeing this as a challenge and not a problem.  This demands the right spiritual vision.  In the days ahead, together, we are going to believe God will give us the insight — and the foresight — to do great things for His sake.

Prayer Focus:  Today, think about a close friend, family member or someone you can see being reached with the Gospel — someone you are praying will one day worship the Lord with us in Impact’s new home. 

Pray about what it will take to get them in the Kingdom.  Then envision them in a seat at Impact.  Awesome isn’t it?  Now envision about 1000 other current attenders at Impact doing the same thing.  Wow!  Where will we put them?  Let that simmer with you and God for a while!

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 28:19

Moments before the resurrected Jesus returned triumphantly to heaven, He left His disciples with this promise:  “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).  After He spoke these words, Jesus ascended before their very eyes.

With this scene fixed in your mind, consider this question:  Was Jesus’ promise only for those disciples who were physically present that day?  The answer carries implications for us as believers today.

Those assembled with Jesus that day were no doubt profoundly affected by everything He did and said following the Resurrection.  They took it all to heart.  But the promise wasn’t exclusively for them, any more than hundreds of other promises in God’s Word were meant only for the relative handful of people who originally heard or read them.

In the “true” Lord’s Prayer, recorded in John 17, Jesus prayed for spiritual fruitfulness and unity among the disciples.  And He said, “My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you” (John 17:20-21).  Many of the plans and the promises of God encompass all believers, not just those who were blessed to literally see and hear the Messiah.

Prayer Focus:  Pray today our entire church family will have the spiritual vision to see the reality of these truths and to act in obedience to them.  With that in mind – we have received power in the Holy Spirit to be witnesses.  Everyone is a witness even though we are not all evangelists.  Sharing our faith is 100% imperative. 

Talk to God right now about your witness.  How are you doing?  If the last words Jesus spoke were about us having power for witness… don’t you think that is something you should do?  Now?  What does that look like?

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.”
1 Timothy 1:12

After Watergate, there was an abundance of books that were published by the various personalities involved.  One of the most famous was Chuck Colson who wrote the very famous “Born Again.”  This book detailed his conversion to Christ.  All of these years later, we think of Chuck Colson as a great man who has had such an impact on the world through his prison ministries.  We forget that before his conversion he was known as “the hatchet man.”  It was a common saying in Washington that Colson would walk over his own mother for Nixon!  Another player in the Watergate scandal was the very boisterous G. Gordon Liddy.  One of the great quotes from his book tells of a time when a certain court date came around.  Everyone had been discussing Colson’s conversion to Christianity.  As Colson walked into the courtroom, Liddy was overheard to say, “Oh, no, if Colson would walk over his own mother for Nixon, just think what he will do for Jesus!”

Time has proven Colson’s conversion genuine.  He certainly is one more example of how God can change a life.  In 1 Timothy, the Apostle Paul is encouraging Timothy in the faith to cherish, protect, and preach the Gospel.  The reason is the Gospel’s message changes lives.  Indeed at Impact, the Gospel is taught so the goal of seeing more lives changed can be met.

Prayer Focus: Pray our church will always be a place that impacts the world for Jesus.  Pray each one of us will join together to help expand God’s kingdom. 

Be more like Christ as we do our part to accomplish the “X” in the X Factor.  What is God doing in your heart with regard to the future?  Listen to Him.  Is He challenging you some place?

“Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9                                                                                                                                                         

When we are called by God our Savior out of sin’s bondage, we begin to journey with Him.  We follow Him as our Lord and Boss into the promised purpose of the future, our destiny.  Along the way, God will stretch us and enlarge the horizons of our vision.

Jim Elliot, the great missionary who gave his life trying to reach the Auca Indians said, “Am I Dangerous?”

If we are honest with ourselves, we may feel we are utterly ordinary and commonplace.  We profess to know a power the world cannot reckon with.  But, we are often spiritual pacifists in this battle to the death with principalities and powers in the heavenly places.  Oh, that God would make us dangerous!  That He would stretch us to places of risk!

How do we get there?  According to Joshua there are several principles:

   Choose to be strong.
   Choose to be courageous.
   Choose to be obedient.

Read Joshua 1 and write down everything God commands him to do.  Then reflect how these commands compare with what the Lord is calling you to do.

Prayer Focus: Pray 2 Chronicles 15:7 for our church, “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” 

Ask God to equip you with strength, courage, and submission to Him to follow the path He has placed before you.  Pray these traits for our church, as well.

“Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”
John 4:35

Imagine this scene....

Jesus is gathered with a small group of followers on a hillside overlooking the area.  With a sweeping gesture of His hand, He says “Some think there are still four months until harvest, but I say, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest.”  The followers squint their eyes, straining to see what Jesus sees, but they recognize no gleaming fields of grain.   With puzzled expressions they turn to Him, as if to ask, “Where exactly is the grain ready to harvest?”  Knowing their hearts, He says, “I’m not talking about a physical harvest of grain, but a spiritual harvest of people.”  Patiently, He continues, “Dear ones, you must look above and beyond the distractions to see the people.  It is to them that I came to give life and give it abundantly.”

Just as He wanted them to see the spiritual harvest, He wants us to do the same today.  And, just as they needed to look above and beyond, so do we.

Prayer Focus:  Right now, at this crucial moment in the history of our church, God is checking our vision.  As we continue this spiritual journey, He’s determining if we can see what He really wants us to see.  And He’s challenging us to be obedient to Him as we carry out what His spiritual vision demands that we do. 

Today, ask yourself, “What can I do to check my spiritual vision and ensure that I see what is right?”  What Do I need to see?  Who do I need to chat with? 

What action should I take?  Where do you want me to go?  When?  I’m open!  I’m saying “yes” before you even ask!

I waited to post this blog until Sunday, out of respect for those of you still fasting until today!

As you can see, our family broke our 21 Day Daniel Fast at iHop on Friday morning (we started two days early). I forgot how great Bacon & Sausage tasted... let alone the pancakes and syrup - WOW!

I had also downed my first Mt Dewby 10:00am. Oh, the sweet nectar of the God! Remember, God sent 'dew' from Heaven! It's the only biblical drink.

I was challenged during this fast. And even though I got to eat all I wanted, it was avoiding bread, meat, sodas and sweets that made the 21 day fast extremely difficult. I thought about God all the time. I prayed for our spiritual growth, my kids to accept Christ and be baptized, and that many people would meet Jesus during our 4 week series, "It's Personal" beginning on Easter, April 12, 2009. Hope to see you all there!

The 21 Day Fast is just a week underway and NUMEROUS people are growing in their faith. Here is the rundown!

Approximately 450 people are involved in some fasting endeavor.

20 people are doing the full-on 21 Day Daniel Fast. Most are fasting from all meat, bread, sweets (including coffee, caffeine, soda, etc) and anything else that most of us find enjoyable to consume. :)

115 people chose at least one full day to fast completely from everything but water (including 2 children). This number also includes a few duplicates as some are fasting more than one day. Regardless, this should produce some amazing results over the next three weeks as most every day has at least four or five people fasting for themselves to get closer to God, for Impact, and for unchurched people to get saved at our Easter Series, "It's Personal".

An additional 334 people are fasting from various things for various time periods over the next 21 days. This includes 92 children who are fasting for 21 days from 'something.' It could be sweets, 'fast food,' video games, technology, etc. Some adults are fasting for 21 days in several areas of their life as well. For instance, my kids are fasting from desert for 21 days - WOW! And my daughter is fasting from sweets as well (with just one slip-up so far with her grandparents... it's hard to say 'no' to root beer floats).

The point is, some 450 people are growing in their faith, stretching their comfort level, going deeper, and prayingfor our church and its ministry to the unchurched. (This even includes about a dozen prison inmates from Folsom who are joining us in the fast.)

May the fires of evangelism remain WHITE HOT at Impact. May YOU continue to reach OUT as people are more receptive than ever to a word about God! These are amazing times we're living in... be a part of it!

If you haven't checked out the site yet, head to Impact's 21 Day Fast site... print out the CALENDAR and read the daily verses and prayer requests for the 21 days. You can also find recipes, FQA's, food guidelines, etc. God is doing something supernatural here. Don't miss out!

Our church, Impact Community Church, is involved in a community television outreach called, "Full of Questions." It's an experiment from an employee that works for Fox 40 in Sacramento.

Here is a commercial I just did a couple weeks ago. It should be airing during the month of December.

Full Of Questions from Barry Smith on Vimeo.

If you don't see the video link - click here for fullofquestions.com video.