Jon Weece's Blog http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/ en general@southlandchristian.org Copyright 2010 2010-02-25T17:44:41+00:00 In Process… http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/in-process/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/in-process/#When:17:44:41Z Archbishop Oscar Romero wrote, “The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.  We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificant enterprise that is God’s work.  Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.  No statement says all that could be said.  No prayer fully expresses our faith.  No confession brings perfection.  No pastoral visit brings wholeness.  No program accomplishes the church’s mission.  No set of goals and objectives includes everything.  This is what we are about.  We plant the seeds that one day will grow.  We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.  We lay foundations that will need further development.  We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.  We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.  This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.  It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.  We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.  We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.  We are prophets of a future not our own.”

Thanks for your partnership in loving this city.  A lot has been done and a lot more is yet to come!
 

]]> 2010-02-25T17:44:41+00:00 Distractions http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/distractions/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/distractions/#When:17:46:40Z In our elder’s meeting last night we talked about Ephesians 5:15 which says, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (NIV) It is so easy to get distracted by things that don’t matter and miss the things that do matter in life. Distractions like materialism, greed, pride, lust, selfishness, jealousy, gossip, and anger to name a few. And those distractions can keep us from living the “wise” life Jesus has called us to live. Take a look at this clip and take a few moments to think about the things you are missing in your relationship with Jesus because you are focused on the wrong things in life.

]]> 2010-02-19T17:46:40+00:00 Your love for Haiti http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/your-love-for-haiti/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/your-love-for-haiti/#When:21:53:52Z Everything has been collected, packed, and sent to the docks in Florida for shipment to Haiti! You generated over 63,000 pounds of food, medical and school supplies, as well as tents and tarps! 63,000 pounds! That is a lot of peanut butter!

The video I’ve attached is from some doctors and nurses at Southland who went in to the northern part of Haiti to perform as many surgeries in a week as they could. Most of their patients were people who had been evacuated from the earthquake zone in Port-au-Prince. Once the airports open back up, we will send more doctors and nurses in, as well as other teams to begin the clean-up and re-building efforts.

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love.” Galatians 5:6

]]> 2010-02-18T21:53:52+00:00 Pray for Port-au-Prince http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/pray-for-port-au-prince/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/pray-for-port-au-prince/#When:15:27:52Z He writes:
 
"This report is from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, a city which has become a living Hell, now 3 ∏ weeks after the earthquake, where tens of thousands of persons are roaming the streets without homes, food, drink or clothing in anything near adequate amounts for their survival. Tons of food, water, medicine, are still sitting on the tarmac of the hopelessly clogged international airport where the UN, Red Cross, US Army, and other relief groups seem somehow to be milling about with the right hand never knowing what the left is doing. I’ve been there trying to find food and water for one of the tent cities near where we are staying that have received NOTHING, and many of them are nearly starved. It is frustrating to all of us beyond measure.

The 82nd Airborne Division and the Salvation Army seem to have washed their hands of working in concert with the UN because of their incompetence. (The UN is putably in charge of the distribution process which to all appearances has failed miserably to deliver life-saving goods to this pathetically needful populace in a timely manner). I can testify to the fact that both the Salvation Army and the US Army are busily distributing relief materials in many areas and either have given or have promised to give me food and water and certain medicines we failed to bring in that are badly needed, like worm medicine, chloroquin for malaria, and topical meds for skin lice.

Future groups coming in should concentrate more on medications than surgical dressings as there is a glut of these items on hand in the city now, as the emphasis on treatment is steadily shifting from acute trauma care to the usual residual illnesses of typhoid, dysentery, malaria, malnutrition, and various infections. Right now, in addition to our work at the general hospital and another clinic nearby, we are in the process of buying our own rice, beans and oil to distribute amongst some 3000 persons in the zone of Delmas 33 and Charbonierre who are hungry and about 2200 of whom are without homes, sleeping on the streets and makeshift tents. We will purchase what we need through an organization called CAM from whom we bought food during the hurricane disasters of a couple of years ago. We are also purchasing local food for an orphanage of children that was destroyed leaving all 22 of them homeless. What a sad state of affairs that we must purchase food from private sources, while tons of it still sits on the tarmac at the international Airport.

Meanwhile we are all working to the point of exhaustion in several areas, but mostly at the General Hospital downtown right in the center of the worst destruction, where most buildings have totally collapsed. The corpses of thousands of victims will not be recovered for months, even years hence. The stench of death, while still strong in some areas is gradually giving way to the stench of excrement, as these displaced people have no place to relieve themselves except on the streets, alleys or open fields. Most of the bodies have desiccated under the hot sun, but even as I write this note, several corpses of young nursing students are being exhumed from the rubble of their nursing school which collapsed, killing many of them. This goes on a half-block from where the ER triage tent where I and others of our group have worked. As one of our nurses stated, it can only be described as “Hell on earth.” Clearly, in all my many years of medical experience, even battle conditions in Korea, I have never experienced anything even closely approximating this.

When we stepped off the plane in Santo Domingo (no commercial planes are flying into PAP for the foreseeable future) we began a long journey in a chartered bus for just our group and all our supplies that took 21 hours in all between Santo Domingo and Port-au-Prince before arriving at the residence that was loaned to us for quarters while we are here, thanks to the husband of Nurse Ritha Chavannes, a Haitian American nurse on our team. We are therefore blessed with a safe haven while continuing our work in this dangerous and virtually lawless city. Yet it amazes me at how little evidence I see daily of the looting and insurrection one would expect in these conditions: definitely a tribute to the gentle nature, courage and resilience of this brave people.

Our relief group, led by David Bevil, who has worked with us before in Haiti will arrive on the 14th, as we depart on the 13th, although Betty and Nancy will remain behind for a few days to coordinate the next group’s activities, which again will be centered around the general hospital. It consists of David, one doctor and six nurses. Please keep them and us in your prayers in this very difficult time for all involved in this huge relief effort for Haiti in their hour of deepest need.
MOL Website

Please keep them and us in your prayers in this very difficult time for all involved in this huge relief effort for Haiti in their hour of deepest need."

]]> 2010-02-10T15:27:52+00:00 Stavros Flatley http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/stavros-flatley/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/stavros-flatley/#When:20:25:51Z We didn’t have time to fit this into the ‘Decades’ series, but if there was ever any dance routine the deserved to become a parody, it was Michael Flatley’s “River Dance”! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4fPHt0FjEU 

]]> 2010-02-03T20:25:51+00:00 2010 & Beyond http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/2010-beyond1/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/2010-beyond1/#When:20:12:28Z Oscar Wilde once wrote, “I can believe anything, provided it is incredible!” On February 6 & 7 I will wrap up our “Decades” series with a message on where God is leading us this year as a church family. I want to encourage you to come and bring a friend who is looking to be a part of something incredible because what God is calling us to become in the next year and in the next decade will require more faith than we’ve ever had to live out in Southland’s history! I really want everyone who calls Southland “home” to hear in specific terms where God is leading us as individuals and as a community of Christ followers.

If you’re reading this and your tired of watching your church do little if anything to love the poor or reach the people Jesus died for in this city, then please make an effort to come to Southland this one weekend and hear me out. I think you’ll walk away realizing there is a group of people who are completely sold out to the mission of Jesus and you could join us in an unprecedented journey that is leading us to an unprecedented revolution of love that will forever alter the city of Lexington! I look forward to seeing you at one of our 8 different weekend services: February 6th at 5:30 PM or February 7th at 8:30 AM, 10:00 AM, 10:10 AM, 11:30 AM and 6:08 PM (Lexington) or 10:00 AM, 11:30 AM (Danville).

]]> 2010-01-29T20:12:28+00:00 Haiti….UPDATE 7 http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti....update-7/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti....update-7/#When:20:21:47Z You have gone above and beyond what we asked for this past weekend in terms of items needed in Haiti! Here is what we need as of today (Thursday) to complete our packing efforts:

 

1.       Tents 10 ft. X 10 ft. “Gazebo” type that adults can actually stand up in.

2.       Mats 24 inches wide that people can sleep on and sit on and can be rolled up with ease when the person needs to move.

3.       Fleece Throws for blankets (ideal size – 50 inches X 60 inches)

 

What is listed above is all we need! Again, you have brought in enough stuff to meet the needs of the people we are helping in Haiti…I’ll keep you posted from stage and this blog as more needs arrive.

]]> 2010-01-28T20:21:47+00:00 Haiti…UPDATE 6 http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti...update-6/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti...update-6/#When:19:27:02Z More and more people are responding to our request from this past weekend to partner with us in helping the children of Haiti! Thanks for being so generous on behalf of so many in Haiti! We’re doing our best to sort through all of the requests that are coming in from Haiti and we’re attempting to prioritize them based on the urgency, the long-term responsibilities, and what plan is financially sustainable over the next few years. The needs are so great and so numerous so pray for our staff and leadership to have wisdom in making decisions that will bring relief to the Haitians now as well as in the years to come.

One of the schools that we fund has made the decision to join the rest of the schools in Haiti by closing its doors for the next 3 weeks. Everyone in the country has been directly affected by the tragedy of the earthquake. One friend wrote to tell me that “everyone is in a state of shock and mourning.” Pray for the teachers there who are loving the Haitian people in so many different ways. Two of the teachers (Jonathon & Cady) are members of Southland.

I met with a young Haitian man yesterday whose wife and 11 year old son were killed in the earthquake. He is now caring for his 4 month old son and has no life to return to in Port-au-Prince. He is stuck in Kentucky with a short-term visa. His name is Fenelon and he needs our prayers. Pray specifically that our Embassy is compassionate towards him and his plight and grants him an extension on his Visa.

Food and water shortages continue to be a daily issue in Port-au-Prince, so I want to challenge everyone who calls Southland home to remember the Haitian people in prayer every time we gather around a table to eat. We need to ask ourselves what we can go without so children in Haiti won’t have to go without.

I am always blown away by the love of God that flows through each of you and I want to say “thanks” for loving people, no matter where they’re from or what they’re facing! Southland family, thanks for being Jesus in this world!

]]> 2010-01-27T19:27:02+00:00 Church Leaders… http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/church-leaders/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/church-leaders/#When:21:21:28Z Before you plan any strategic initiative towards reaching the poor, whether it be overseas or in your own backyard, please take the time to read this book: When Helping Hurts—How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself. I think it is a “must-read” in light of all that is going on in Haiti and I know it will provide some practical insight and ideas on how to really help those who need the most help.

]]> 2010-01-23T21:21:28+00:00 Haiti Needs Our Love and Attention http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti-needs-our-love-and-attention/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti-needs-our-love-and-attention/#When:15:15:41Z From the bottom of my heart…thanks! Thanks for giving $65,000 this past weekend to help with the relief efforts in Haiti. In our partnership with Food for the Hungry we have chosen two specific areas in Port-au-Prince to serve 110,000 people. You can go to Google Earth and see both locations. The first is the Bellevue La Montagne zone north of the city and Delmas 22-75. Delmas is the main road in Port-au-Prince and all the streets that intersect with it are numbered, so we’re adopting an area that was heavily damaged.

In specific terms, I want you to see how your generosity has already helped thousands of people:

  • 4,800 blankets, 160 rolls of plastic (to build make-shift tents), 2,200 solar-powered flashlights, two water community water filters, and 1,440 hygiene kits have been distributed through our partnership with Samaritan’s Purse.
  • One truck load of food and water from the Dominican Republic has been delivered.
  • A few hundred thousand dehydrated meal packs have been distributed through our partnership with Stop Hunger Now.
  • Emergency health kits that will provide basic treatment to 10,000 people for 3 months have been put in the hands of those in need of medical attention through our partnership with Global Relief Alliance.
  • Clothing, tarps, medical supplies (wheelchairs, bandages, gauze, etc…), water purifying tablets, water and food has been given to the homeless through our partnership with Kode Red.
  • A combination of wheat, corn, and other fortified foods that will last a year has been passed out to thousands through our partnership with USAID & World Vision.
  • Two distributions of medical supplies, one to a hospital and the other to a clinic, are being used by doctors as I type this.

So, you’ve already made a difference and we’re in the process of sending another $40,000 to Food for the Hungry, our main mission partner on the ground in Port-au-Prince, who has helped us reach people in need in the first week after the earthquake.

In addition, we are sending another $25,000 to our partners in the northwest part of the island because they are being inundated with refugees who are showing up on their doorsteps with nothing but the clothes on their back.

Our next step…

Food for the Hungry has asked if we would be willing to help them establish what they call “child friendly spaces” in the two areas of Port-au-Prince that we are adopting. After a war or a natural disaster, it is imperative that we help children process the trauma they have experienced by establishing routine and structured activities that include games and educational opportunities. These activities have a strong psychosocial component as they provide a caring and normalizing environment to mitigate the impact of the crisis on the children when their parents and guardians may be otherwise occupied. Typically these activities are located under trees, in what remains of schools, or any available space and offer games, drama, art activities, non-formal educational activities and sports. Eventually these activities transition into formal schooling once the rebuilding of a community takes place.

Here’s where you can play a role. Food for the Hungry needs us to buy:

  1. Tents
  2. Crayons
  3. Coloring books
  4. Paper
  5. Notebooks
  6. Pencils & Pens
  7. Construction paper
  8. Glue
  9. Scissors (blunt)
  10. Soccer balls
  11. Toothpaste/Tooth brushes
  12. Soap

Please bring these materials to our weekend services and put them on either side of Connection Point. 

Next, we have been asked by our mission partners in the northwest part of the island to provide the following items for the refugees that are leaving Port-au-Prince and settling in make-shift refugee camps:

  1. Peanut Butter
  2. Bed Sheet
  3. Batteries (double AA & D)
  4. Multi-vitamins (preferably the chewable type)
  5. Tylenol & Advil
  6. Neosporin
  7. Hydrogen Peroxide
  8. Rubbing Alcohol

Southland family, I would rather they have too much of something than not enough, so let’s pull together and demonstrate the kind of generosity that is reflective of the grace we have received from God through Jesus!

I love you and I’ll update everyone from stage this weekend. And thanks in advance for meeting the needs of the people of Haiti!!!

]]> 2010-01-21T15:15:41+00:00 Haiti - UPDATE 5 http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti-update-5/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti-update-5/#When:13:59:16Z

Thanks for your generosity this weekend! We raised over $65,000 to distribute to the missionaries we support in Haiti!!! We will begin dividing that money among those who can use it in the most effective and efficient way. Please carve out time today to pray for these two things:
 
1.      Peace—pray for the looting and violence to stop.

2.      Weather—pray that it doesn’t rain as a lot of people are living outside.

]]> 2010-01-20T13:59:16+00:00 Haiti - UPDATE 4 http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti-update-4/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti-update-4/#When:14:16:10Z As all of you know we’ve been waiting to hear feedback from our mission partners as to how Southland can respond to the tragedy taking place in Port-au-Prince. I will share from stage this weekend what we know and the preliminary plan of action which will involve a special offering. So please make it a point to attend our weekend services and pray about what God wants you to give. I love each of you and look forward to our time together in the coming days…

]]> 2010-01-15T14:16:10+00:00 Haiti - UPDATE 3 http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti-update-3/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti-update-3/#When:16:51:28Z I have visited with several missionaries on the ground in Haiti and as difficult as it is to wait to respond, we have no other choice at this point. Until our military and other major relief organizations set up camp down there and put a plan in motion, missionaries and churches like Southland are in a holding pattern. Trust me, my heart is deeply saddened by what I’m seeing on the news and hearing first hand from Haitian friends and I want us to give aid and we will bring relief, but until we know what is needed and where to ship it and who needs to go where, we have to wait. So as we wait, let’s pray. Everyone is in agreement that is our best response to this tragedy. Here are the top 10 prayer needs for the people of Port-au-Prince at this point:

1.       Water—You can’t live without it and it is scarce on a normal day, let alone after an earthquake cuts off supply. Pray that our military and the Red Cross are able to get bottled water to the people that need it the most.

2.       Food—Haitians are strong people and are used to beating the odds when it comes to hunger, but not on this scale. They eat a staple of rice and beans at least once a day, so pray for easy to access locations within that city where people will be able to eat.

3.       Infrastructure—the roads in Haiti are not in good condition to begin with and this earthquake has exacerbated the problem and will make it especially challenging for relief workers to get from the airport to the most devastated areas. It is also challenging to communicate within the country due to poorly run phone lines and poorly built electrical grids. Pray for clear and unified communication among all the organizations that are needed to rescue, restore, and rebuild life in this city.

4.       Diesel fuel—without adequate fuel supply, the military and relief organizations won’t be able to travel or run generators which will be the only source of electricity for some time. Pray for adequate and secure locations to store diesel fuel.

5.       Medical care—medicine, bandages, clean areas to conduct surgeries, qualified doctors and nurses…Haiti is not equipped at all to meet the overwhelming medical needs of the people. This is where Southland could play a huge role, so as we wait for word from our missionary partners on the ground in Port-au-Prince, pray that the supplies that are now sitting on the runway in PAP reach the doctors who know how to use them and the people who need them the most.

6.       Disease control—with the amount of bodies piling up on the streets, the threat of widespread disease is very real. Haiti is already plagued with bacterial and viral diseases due to poor sanitation, so pray that a location is found where the bodies can be properly buried and pray for hearts of the families who are burying their loved ones.

7.       Women & Children—pray for their safety…the tension and frustration of unfathomable poverty coupled with the loss of life and lack of basics like food and water could create a panic.  Pray for peace and patience among the people. I’ve seen some ugly riots in Haiti and no one benefits from such chaos.

8.       Money—The rescue, restoration, and rebuilding efforts will take time and lots of money. Pray for governments around the world to be generous and compassionate to the poorest people on the planet. If you feel compelled to give money now, be careful who you send it to because Haiti is known for its corruption. I suggest you wait and partner with us and the missionaries we support, but if you feel led to give now, I recommend you give to the efforts of an organization that we work hand in hand with called ‘Food for the Hungry’ (www.fh.org)

9.       The trapped people in the rubble—Pray that God’s angels protect them and keep them safe as the next 24 hours become critical in terms of survival rates.

10.   The Church in Haiti—In situations like this, a lot of people turn to God for help and healing. Let’s pray for revival in a land that dedicated itself to the practices of Voodoo and the work of Satan. Nothing would help Haiti’s future more than for a widespread movement of repentance and faith in Jesus.

 

]]> 2010-01-14T16:51:28+00:00 Haiti - UPDATE 2 http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti-....update/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti-....update/#When:21:36:59Z I just got off the phone with a missionary we work with and they have asked us to pray for the Haitians who loved ones in and around Port-au-Prince that they have not been able to communicate with. There is widespread fear that many of their relatives have died and you can understand the frustration of having to wait to know for sure. It will take time to account for all the people who are missing and having lived there for several years, I’m not sure they will ever be able to fully know everything about everyone’s whereabouts.

If you want to learn more about the ministries that Southland is partnered with in Haiti, you can check out these three web sites:

www.sonlightministries.org

www.NWHCM.org

www.fh.org

]]> 2010-01-13T21:36:59+00:00 Haiti - UPDATE http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti-update/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti-update/#When:20:47:30Z The most informative web site regarding the current situation in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti is www.cnn.com. I just visited with a missionary friend of mine who informed me that a lot of American medical personnel living in Haiti are in route to Port-au-Prince to assist in meeting the urgent medical needs. Medical supplies are going to be an issue so please pray for the foreign shipments to arrive in the ports of Port-au-Prince in a timely manner.
  

]]> 2010-01-13T20:47:30+00:00 Haiti http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/haiti/#When:16:51:57Z As you know Southland has been actively involved in serving the people of Haiti for over 30 years. We have a lot of Southland members who work in Haiti on a full-time and part-time basis and as of this morning, everyone we are affiliated with is safe and out of harm’s way. Most of our mission efforts are located in the Northwest region of Haiti and though they did feel the earthquake and several aftershocks, there is no visible damage to the ministry facilities (hospitals, schools, orphanages, churches, etc…) that many of you have labored to build over the years. The concern right now is for our Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ who have family members and friends who work or go to school in and around Port-au-Prince. There is currently no way to communicate with their loved ones, so we are currently in a wait and see pattern in terms of our outreach plans. We will respond to this disaster in some way and in due time. I will use my blog and our weekend services to communicate our intentions as a church family. The best option for all of us at this point is to pray.

“If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” (Isaiah 58:10)

]]> 2010-01-13T16:51:57+00:00 Come Clean & Be Free… http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/come-clean-be-free/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/come-clean-be-free/#When:15:07:59Z My good friend Matt Proctor wrote this and sent it to me today. It’s timely because all of us struggle with sin and what to do with it.

A minister came upon a group of neighborhood boys surrounding a dog.  Concerned lest the boys were hurting the dog, he asked "What are you doing with that dog?" One of the boys replied, "This dog is just an old stray. We all want him, but only one of us can take him home. So we've decided that whichever one of us can tell the biggest lie will get to keep the dog."

Of course, the minister was taken aback. "You boys shouldn't be having a contest telling lies!" he exclaimed. He then launched into a ten minute sermon against lying.  Building to a climax, he ended with the pronouncement, "Why, when I was your age, I never told a lie!"  There was dead silence for a few moments, and then the smallest boy gave a deep sigh and said, "All right, give him the dog." 

It is human nature to want to appear to others better than we actually are.  So we lie, hide our failures, manage our image and pretend to be something we’re not.  But eventually, as Numbers 32:23 warns us, “your sin will find you out.” Yesterday Mark McGwire finally admitted to steroid use.  Over the last few months, other public figures have been forced to admit extramarital affairs:  South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanborn, David Letterman, Tiger Woods. 

The fact is:  we all have things we’d rather not have brought out into the public eye.  But hear the amazing promises of Scripture:

  • “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.” (Proverbs 28:13)
  • “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”  (James 5:16)
  • “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  (1 John 1:9)
  • “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.  Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’—and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”  (Psalm 32:3-5)

The paradox of the gospel is this:  Only when we come clean can we be made clean by the blood of Christ.  So let us resolve to live honestly—to practice humble confession of our sins with God and a few trusted Christian friends.  Let us commit to keep our failures uncovered so that His grace can cover them.  A genuine pursuit of holiness doesn’t mean we won’t sin.  It just means that when we do, we’ll take the first step toward overcoming it:  be honest. 

]]> 2010-01-13T15:07:59+00:00 Decades… http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/decades/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/decades/#When:21:20:34Z Do you love hearing the music of your generation? Do you get a good laugh when you think about what you used to wear when you were a kid? Do you remember your favorite movie or television show growing up? Do you remember where you were when JFK was killed, when Nixon resigned, when the Space Shuttle exploded, when two planes flew into two towers? I want to invite you and your friends to join me and our team as we take a humorous look back at previous decades in hopes that it will help us make sense of the decade that just started a few days ago. Come early, because you won’t want to miss a minute of this new series!!!

]]> 2010-01-08T21:20:34+00:00 Me Too Vows….. http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/me-too-vows/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/me-too-vows/#When:20:52:15Z With God’s help I want to love others in the name of Jesus. I want to love my family and friends with a selfless love that focuses more on meeting their needs than my own.

With God’s help I want to serve the poor the way Jesus did. I want to be attentive to the needs of others, filled with more compassion and courage. I want to sacrifice my time, talent, and treasures with joyful generosity.

With God’s help I want to enjoy life at a manageable pace. I want to talk less and listen more. I want to be an encouragement to those I come in contact with and carve out more time for meaningful conversation.

With God’s help I want to grow in my understanding of the Bible. I want to know Jesus personally, deeply, and reflect more on his crucifixion and resurrection and the implications of those two realities in my daily life.

With God’s help I want to learn how to pray. I want to talk to God with honesty and humility. I want to be more focused on gratitude than personal gain.

With God’s help I want to heal from past pain and learn to live a life free of guilt and shame. I want to have victory over the sin that has robbed me of the freedom that Jesus died to give me.

With God’s help I want to believe that I am who he says I am, replacing my insecurities for the security of his love and grace and acceptance.

With God’s help I want to take a risk in 2010 and live by faith and not by sight.

]]> 2010-01-05T20:52:15+00:00 2010 http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/twenty_ten/ http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/article/twenty_ten/#When:20:13:41Z How are you going to ring in the new year? I spent the day drinking an old school Pepsi, playing with my kid’s “new” old school toys (legos, a slinky, and tinker toys), and we ate at Gatti Town where I played old school Galaga and Ms. Pac Man! Does it get any better than Galaga!!!
 
Before you ring in a new year and a new decade, take a walk down memory lane and reflect on what you’ve experienced and learned over the past 12 months…the good, the bad, the ugly!  Make a quick list and thank God for what He’s done in your life and in the life of Southland in 2009 and remember…tomorrow is a new day in a new year in a new decade! So enjoy your time with family and friends tonight

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