New Year Prayers for 2007

I’ve started writing New Year Prayers rather than New Year Resolutions. I did it last year (see my blog post on December 31, 2005) and it worked. God answered many of my prayers. Although I didn’t receive everything I prayed for I did receive many things and I thank God for it all. I am so grateful for all that God has done. I still need God to help me in every area. My New Year Prayers for 2007 are below. Spiritually – Father, help me to follow my Lord Jesus Christ. Help me to love him better. Help me to trust and obey him in all things so that I can please you. Make me sensitive and responsive to the Holy Spirit who lives in me. Protect me from the evil one. Keep me sober. Use me to lead others. Open up more doors of opportunity so that I can use the gifts and talents you’ve given me. s Mentally – Father, give me wisdom. Do not hide things from me. Make me hungry to learn, grow and change. Teach me. Show me. Help me to apply what I learn in practical ways. Socially – Father, help me to love Kim as Jesus love his bride. Help me to father my children like you father me. Bless my relationships with family and friends so that we grow closer each day. Physically – Father, keep my family and me healthy. Give me motivation to exercise regularly and take care of my body. Financially – Father, make me prosper and help us to manage our money wisely. Help me to be generous with all that I have. It all belongs to you. Help me to be a good steward. In Jesus name, Amen.

How it Works

The following passage is read before every AA meeting. It comes Chapter 5, pages 58-60 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. I’ve heard it a thousand times but it never gets old to me. It only becomes more meaningful. How It Works Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. There chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest. Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now. If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it - then you are ready to take certain steps. At some of these we balked. We thought we could find an easier, softer way, but we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely. Remember that we deal with alcohol - cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power - that one is God. May you find Him now! Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon. Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery: 1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. 4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. 7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. 9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. 10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. Many of us exclaimed, "What an order! I can't go through with it." Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection. Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and our personal adventures before and after make clear three pertinent ideas: a. That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives. b. That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism. c. That God could and would if He were sought.

God blessed our Christmas service.

God blessed our Christmas service last Sunday. We could sense the presence of God as we worshiped. We praised the Lord Jesus. We encouraged one another. The assembly was filled with thanksgiving and love. The theme of the service was “Joy in Christ” and we were joyful! Matt Hayes did an awesome job leading and directing us. Everyone worked so hard. I can’t name them all – but everyone did an excellent job. The shepherds spent an entire year preparing for this service. We used instrumental music during this service. It was a big step for an a cappella church. The care and sensitivity our shepherds demonstrated during the past year made this step possible. The step I’m referring to is not merely the use of instrumental music. I’m referring to a larger, more important issue that focuses on the person of Jesus and his love for people. The need to wrap the gospel of Jesus Christ around the most powerful forms of communication so that we can connect with them and show them the love of Christ. Our purpose is to know him, follow him, share him and worship him. That’s our mission. Everything is focused on Jesus Christ. I thank God for our Christmas service last Sunday. I’ve played it over and over in my mind. I can see their faces and hear all the people praising the Lord. I am so grateful for our church. I’m so happy to be one of the ministers here. I love my job. I pray that the Lord will continue to bless us and use us so that many people will come to know Jesus Christ.

The God-Man at Christmas

Is Jesus God or is he man? The answer to that question is “yes.” Jesus is the God-man. God in human flesh. Isaiah said “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). When Isaiah said “a child is born” he was speaking of his humanity. When he said "he will be called ... Mighty God” he was speaking of his divinity. He is the God-Man. As a child, he was born in Bethlehem. As God, he has ruled from eternity. He did not have his beginning in Bethlehem, that’s just where he was born. Fully human and fully God. That’s why the wise men came to worship him (Matthew 2:1-2). That’s why we worship Jesus.

The first time Jesus came as a baby. But he is coming back as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. When he came the first time there was no room for Him in the inn. When he comes back, all of the earth will be full of his glory. When he came the first time only a few people saw him. But one day, when he comes back, the whole world will see him. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. All of your neighbors will bow. Every world leader will bow. Every athelete from Mickey Mantle to Michael Jordon will bow. Every rock star from Jimmy Page to Eddy Van Halen will bow. You will bow and confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. God became man in the person of Jesus Christ. He died for our sins and rose from the grave. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. Fully God. Fully human. There is a man in heaven. Jesus Christ! Worship him today. It's Christmas.

We saw the movie and it was great!

Tonight we saw the movie. Kim, Amber, Tori, Shayna, Allen, Jeanie, Todd, Theresa, mom and I went to the theater. I loved it! We all love it. It's my favorite movie. I'm so proud of Allen. He's my hero. The movie made me cry and laugh. It was so inspiring.

Allen has been speaking at several events and now he is going to be speaking at Erich Robinson's church. When Erich read the article about Allen in the Christian Chronicle he sent it to his elders. Erich invited him to South Lake Church in Texas. I know he will inspire and encourage them. If you would like Allen to speak at your church his email address is Allen.D.Meadowns@pmusa.com

Worshiping Jesus Creates Unity

I heard Ravi Zacherias tell a beautiful story a that occurred many years ago. During the cold war, one of the team members of the Billy Graham Crusade was in Romania. It was a cold, blistery snowy day and he was bundled up, trying to keep warm as he was walking down the street. But one Romanian walked by with his hands in his pockets and he was whistling a tune. He wondered how that fellow could whistle in the cold. Then he paused and listened. He was whistling an old hymn “The great physician now is here, the sympathizing Jesus.” He said, “I ran after him and I asked ‘Do you know Christ?’” The fellow shrugged his shoulders because he did not speak English. He didn’t know what to do. Then he decided to whistle the hymn. And the fellow’s eyes lit up. His face just beamed. He whistled the melody with him. They hugged one another. Pointed towards heaven and walked away together whistling. Two worlds were bridged by the mystery of worship. That’s what Jesus does for us. Worshiping Jesus creates unity. Just the tune of a hymn about Jesus can cause you to wrap your arms around a total stranger because you know that they are in the family of God.

Garbage for Grace

We have more garbage cans than anybody in our neighborhood. When I drag the garbage cans out for pick up, everybody else has one or two cans. But we have five or six. I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s because there are more people living in our house. Maybe all my neighbors have trash compactors. Maybe their garbage cans are bigger and better than mine. But we have more garbage than anybody else. Every Wednesday all my garbage cans are full. I feel a little self-conscious about it. I sometimes help the men who pick up my garbage. I help them lift the cans and dump it in the truck. One morning I bought them donuts. I thought I should give them something. All I give them is garbage – and lots of it! So I gave them donuts and they accepted them. Sin is like garbage. Everybody has garbage. I have more than others. There was a time when my life was so trashed. I had so much garbage piled up I couldn’t see. Shame. Guilt. It overwhelmed me. But I couldn’t stay out of the garbage. I threw my addiction (my bottles) in the garbage and made vows and promises that I did not keep. I could not stop. At night, I went back to the garbage. Literally! This brought more guilt. More shame. But I couldn’t quit. Then I hurt myself. I hurt others really bad. It woke me up. I came to my senses and cried out “Lord, help me! Save me!” He did. He took my garbage away. Jesus Christ is my garbage man. As I say that I cringe. I almost deleted it. It sounds so irreverent. But it’s true. All I had to give Jesus was garbage – and lots of it! He took it away and told me to stay out of the garbage. Jesus told me to “get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you” (James 1:21). So, by his grace, I accepted his word and he saved me. But I still have garbage in my life. More than anybody else I know. I try to stay out of it. I keep giving it to Jesus and he keeps taking it away. He picks it up every day so that it doesn’t pile up. I feel self-conscious about it. I sometimes try to help him but he always tells me that he has to take care of it. I can’t help him. He has to do all the work. He takes my garbage and I take his grace. I try to give him things to show how grateful I am but my gifts are equivalent to donuts. He doesn’t need my gifts but he accepts them anyway. What an exchange! Garbage for grace. Jesus takes my garbage and I take his grace. He takes my guilt and shame and credits me with his righteousness. Lord, Thank you for saving me. Thank you for the cross. Thank you for your grace and love. Help me to stay out of the garbage. In Jesus name, Amen!

Three Recent Speaking Engagements

On Monday December 11 I provided training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for counselors at The Counseling Center in Portsmouth Ohio. On December 12 I spoke for Pat Chambers at a holiday luncheon at St Mary's Hospital. On December 18 I provide consultation focused on the clinical application of CBT for Kindred Spirits near Lucasville Ohio. I thank God for these opportunities to speak at other places. The people are great and I love it!

Allen Meadows in the Christian Chronicle

The Christian Chronicle featured the story about Allen Meadows and his friends from the 1971 Young Thundering Herd. Bobby Ross Jr. writes ... "On a recent Sunday, the Young Thundering Herd came to church. In town to see a premiere of the new Warner Bros. movie We Are Marshall, more than 30 players and coaches from the 1971 Marshall University football team received a heroes’ welcome at the Norway Avenue church in Huntington, W.Va.“Your story is going to be told all over the world, and millions of people will be inspired,” minister Jeff Garrett told the special guests in a sermon titled “The Hall of Faith."

You can read the rest of the article by clicking on this link - http://www.christianchronicle.org/

We are Marshall - The 1971 Young Thundering Herd Came to Norway Ave Church

Allen and Jeanie Meadows invited the 1971 Young Thundering Herd football players to our church on Sunday (December 10). It was fantastic! At 8:30 Allen led a memorial service in the cemetery across the street from our church building. Several people spoke at the memorial service including Head Coach Jack Lengyel and quarterback Reggie Oliver spoke. At 9:30 we had for coffee and refreshments for the team, church and community. This was followed by a worship assembly. Our assembly was filled with the presence of God in a unique way. The Holy Spirit moved us and Jesus Christ was praised. I preached a sermon from Hebrews 11 called “The Hall of Faith.” You can download the podcast of the service from itunes – just type in “Norway Avenue Church of Christ” and click on the free subscription. The Young Thundering Herd received two standing ovations during our assembly. They signed autographs afterwards. The community came, school administrators from Marshall came, we had to shuttle people from other parking lots (the bank and HIMG because our lot was packed). Newspaper reporters and television reporters were present. It was a great weekend. I thank God and give him praise! I thank Allen and Jeanie for there hard work and making it possible.

1971 Young Thundering Herd at Norway Ave This Sunday

The 1971 Young Thundering Herd football team will be at our church this Sunday. Allen and Jeanie Meadows contacted the players and they responded. They are coming to our church this Sunday - a total of 47 with family members. We're so excited! We are having a breakfast for so that the community can meet the real stars - the original players who rebuilt the Marshall University Football Program. This is two days before the premier. After the social at 9:30 we are having a worship service and I will be preaching "The Hall of Faith" from Hebrews 11. I pray that everything goes great and that Christ is glorified.