Jeremiah 6:16 states, Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,And walk in it(the old paths); Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”

I believe God has set a path before us, and He’s asking us to choose the right (old/His) path. The word “ways” above speaks of crossroads, we are all at a crossroad in our lives. Choosing to follow closer to Him or to keep him at a “safe, manageable” distance. God is urging us to choose Him and His presence. Life Church is at a major crossroad in our spiritual development, and are we going to choose to draw more closer to Him than ever before or keep Him at a respectable distance? I am choosing to go closer. You will begin to see signs of this at Life Church, from our Sunday morning experiences to Mid Week Prayer and our Small Groups. In the last few weeks God has chosen to add many wonderful new families and individuals who are wanting and willing to go farther toward God than we have experienced corporately. God is finding us faithful.

We must be willing and obedient (Isaiah 1:19) to walk on the path of God, to choose to follow close to Him. In following after Him we will find “rest for our souls”. God has an incredible plan for each of our lives and He so wants us to follow His ways and to see clearly the sign posts He has placed along the journey of life to guide us. At every crossroads He has clearly marked the path to follow that will lead us to fulfillment in serving Him and enjoying life on earth.

Verse 16 tells us that we can, “See” the right path. In choosing the right path, we are instructed to choose the old paths. The well worn paths of those who have gone before us. While hunting with my grandfather years ago in the foothills of the Ozarks in southern Missouri I “saw” a path of some sort in the tall fields of wild grass. Paw-Paw as I called him began to explain to me that what I was seeing was an old deer path that the deer had been using for quite some time. It had been there all the while but I hadn’t “seen” it before. I was “seeing” the field from a different angle or perspective.

Verse 16 tells us to “Stand and see” the old paths. Many times to get that different perspective of a situation we need to stand still and look for God and wait until we see Him and His right, well worn path. Many of you are experiencing God in a whole new way and it is incredible to see God draw us closer to Him.

As we draw closer to Him, in verse 17 of Jeremiah 6 God tells us to, “Listen” for Him. When we are still (quiet) and looking for Him, He will speak clearly to us. I want to encourage you to continue on the path that He has placed you on for it is a good well worn path that has been traveled before and know that God has something wonderful in store for you and yours.

It’s a good question. Don’t you think?

I know this – growing is an important ingredient for our success and happiness. With so many new faces at the church lately, I wanted to share our Growth Track.

Check out these great growth quotes:

• “You can tell you’re on the road to success, it’s uphill all the way.” – Paul Harvey

• “I don’t think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” – Abraham Lincoln

• “Once in 7 years I burn all my sermons: for it is a shame if I cannot write better sermons now then I did 7 years
ago.” – John Wesley

• “A time comes when you need to stop waiting for the man you want to become and start being the man you want to
be.” – Bruce Sprinsteen

But growth is not an automatic process. Every one of us needs a growth plan. At Life Church, we have a Growth Track, a three step process to get growth going in our lives:

• Plug-In 1 – “Plug into Church” Growth begins by connecting to a life-giving church. This is a 4 week course
introducing Life Church to you, on Sundays, October 5 - October 26, 2:00 to 3:00 pm at the Annex.

• Plug-In 2 – “Plug into Growth” In these classes we share the core beliefs of Life Church. This 10 week course offered
Sundays started September 7, running through November 9, 3:00 to 4:00 pm at the Annex, it’s not to late
to join.

• Plug-In 3 – “Plug into Ministry” Biblical Leadership Principles are shared in these classes that train us for serving God
and others in Life Church and our community. These classes are offered every Sunday from 4:00 to 5:00
pm starting Sunday, September 7 and running through November 9 at the Annex.

(Ephesians 4:14-15) “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

What is your personal growth plan?

The testimonies are starting to come in concerning people catching this principle of God. One person reported that they are exercising the new found authority of God in us over pain in their knee with instant results! Another stated that the atmosphere at work is better after speaking to the situation and using the delegated authority of God! Keep the testimonies coming in, Melanie and I are seeing God move in the church as well as we continue to believe God for increase in His anointing in our services.

…about Missions. Many of you that know us, know we were privileged to live in Canada and Great Britain before planting Life Church. I’ve been asking myself, “what else can I do?” concerning missions. I want to encourage you to ask God the same question. In Psalm 2:8 God said, “Ask of Me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession.” So what else can we do? We can start right now, right here in our area to reach out and be more of a blessing to those around us. We can, (and will) continue to give to help start other churches in our region of the world and continue to bless others that are reaching out to other regions beyond us to see a greater harvest! Can you see it? “Servolution” is coming.