How have you been doing with your commitments for the new year?  I have tried very hard to stay committed to my goals.  One of those goals is to read through the Bible in a year.  I use youversion.  I am able to follow my progress online and even on my Iphone app.  Technology is pretty cool.

Today I took a few minutes to to read today’s reading.  For the plan I chose one of the passages I read today was Acts 4.  In this chapter Peter and John are arrested for telling people about Jesus’ resurrection.  They had even healed a crippled man.  As they are brought before the court they begin to tell the rulers how they rejected Christ and that there is salvation in no one else.

I bet at that point you could have heard a pin drop as the onlookers were wondering what kind of punishment would be handed out to them.  And then the Bible says this: ” Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished!  And they recognized that they had been with Jesus”

These two guys were so bold in their testimony of Christ that complete strangers knew that they had been with Jesus.  They must have talked Jesus, breathed Jesus, dreamed Jesus, sang Jesus.  It was Jesus, Jesus, Jesus….with these guys.  And people knew.  The evidence of Jesus was overwhelming because of the boldness of these two common, and uneducated men.

I want to have that kind of boldness.  I want to speak and have people know that I have been with Jesus.  I want to sing and have people know that I have been with Jesus.  I want our community around us to see people from Fellowship Church and know that they have been with Jesus.

Now that is the ultimate compliment!

My Nephews ,  A. & J joined our family the week before Thanksgiving a few short months ago.

This morning my heart is breaking for the children of Haiti. This tragedy that has taken place hits close to home for my family. As many of you know my sister and her husband recently adopted two boys from an orphanage in Haiti. I don’t have time to tell the whole story this morning but I wanted to repost my wife Jennifer’s blog which talks about the orphanage’s situation. Please pray for these children and the orphanage workers! They need GOD’S hand of protection, guidance, & strength!

Breaking News and Prayers Needed This Morning!!!
Below is a press release from the For His Glory Adoption Outreach Website.
All 133 children are en route by foot this morning to the US Embassy to be evacuated.
They have very limited supplies and won’t be provided any additional while at the US Embassy.
Please pray for the safety of these children and for the orphanage workers who will be attempting to keep all of them safe and together as they make the walk to the Embassy and then for their safety and protection as they travel together to the US.

Press Release: January 19, 2010

Orphans Intend to Depart Haiti

Orphans begin procedures to depart Haiti at U.S. Embassy

(Port-au-Prince, Haiti) On January 20, 2010, 133 orphans from the Maison des Enfants de Dieu (Children of the House of God) orphanage will begin the difficult process outlined by the U.S. Department of State for humanitarian parole and onward transportation to the United States. In accordance with instructions received from the State Department, as relayed by the Joint Council on International Children’s Services (JCICS) at 8 p.m. today, orphans along with orphanage staff members have been instructed to arrive at the U.S. Embassy as early as possible on Wednesday morning. JCICS warned that no food, water or facilities would be available for the children while processing at the U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince.

JCICS further relayed that orphanage requests to the U.S. Embassy for security and transportation for the children have been denied by the State Department. The U.S. ministry associated with this orphanage, For His Glory Adoption Outreach (FHG), was also asked to stop requesting security, transportation or even water at the orphanage location. Following discussions with staff and board members in Port-au-Prince, the difficult decision was made that all 133 children, including approximately 60 children under the age of 3, will begin early in the morning of January 20th to walk the over 2 kilometers to the U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince. This decision was made due to the limited staff available and the increasingly dangerous security situation at the orphanage in Port-au-Prince. The staff will carry as much water, food and baby formula as possible with them for the orphans while processing at the U.S. Embassy. JCICS relayed that once processing is completed, the orphans will travel to the United States on “cargo jets to locations that are not often known until an hour or so before the flight leaves.”

Kim Harmon, President of FHG, acknowledged that “this arrangement is far from ideal for the safety and well-being of the children. We are calling to all who care about these precious children to pray earnestly for their safety tomorrow.”

If you would like to check out my sisters adoption story it will touch your heart.  You can find it on her blog .

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction…”

James 1:27 ESV

The longer I am a daddy the more funny my kids seem to become. Their innocence and the way they view the world and the things around us has a purity about it. Well the other day as we were driving down the road with both boys in the back seat Mason said “Daddy, God is that tree”. I quickly fixed his theology and told him that Jesus is not the tree. He quickly replied “Right, Jesus is behind the tree.” I laughed and said “I guess he is cause God is everywhere”.

There was a brief moment of silence in the car and then Mason said “Jesus is in the car with us right daddy.” “Yep he is” I replied. More silence…then I hear the sound of the seat belts clanking in the back seat as Mason says “Buckle up Jesus, it’s not safe to not be buckled in. (as he his putting the middle seat belts together.)

Just wanted to share this funny moment with you all.

Whether you have kids or not, I hope that you are drenching your day with Jesus. I am reminded of Deuteronomy 6 where Israel is being urged to talk about God, His laws, & precepts in every area of life.  I love this.  Check it out.

6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

How are you doing with these things?  What are you speaking into your family, friends, and those around you.  Something to think about.

Happy New Year everyone! As I am sitting here planning out the  next few months of worship I came across an email from Nick McGowan who is part of the band  LHB (Last Hour Battle).  He along with his bandmates have been part of the worship ministry at Fellowship Church for the last several years.

Recently an incredible opportunity has been made available for them to play at a well known Philly concert venue.  There are eight bands that will be playing and the band that sells the most tickets will be the featured band.  Being in music myself I understand first hand the dreams these guys have.  I want to encourage anyone who reads this blog to go to their website  www.LastHourBattle.com and purchase tickets.  Even if you can’t go please support these guys by buying tickets.  They are they are good friends of mine and I want them to succeed.  

Today has been one of those days for me.  I have been open about my struggles with Panic & Anxiety.  There are a weeks when I could honestly tell you that I am not struggling with it.  But today is not one of those days.  It seems that it hits you out of the blue.  Today it hit me.  So as I wrestle with this real life battle even now as I type I want you to know what I do so that maybe you will take something from my experience.

When I am anxious and the walls seem to be coming in on me, I pray, I read, I listen.  Right now, I am praying and reading about the greatness and powerfulness of God found in Job 26.  He is powerful enough to hold the earth and space, so I know that He can handle my little anxiety and panic attacks.  No matter how huge they are in my own eyes, they are nothing He cannot handle!  He is bigger than my anxiety & panic.  Fill in the blank with this one.  Whatever your battle is at this very moment speak it out loud.  Say “God, You are bigger than________”  Claim that!  Because IT IS TRUE!!  There is nothing that our God cannot handle.  Say it again from the depths of your heart.  “God, You are bigger than  _________”     Speak it and believe it!

I didn’t really plan on blogging any of that.  I simply was going to throw this song up here and hope it encouraged you.  So here it is.  This is a great song of hope.  I believe it is going to be all right!!  Listen and remember God is bigger than ______.

Wow, it has been a long time since I have actually “Blogged”. It’s not that I don’t like to blog, it’s just that the season I have been in for the past six months has been a personal journey. I have heard rumors about me which frankly I would be proud of if they were true. One such rumor was that I was leaving with one of my band members to go start our own church. Although that would be cool, it is not true.

What is true however is that the past 10 months of my life have been such a hard part of my own journey. I have remained silent to you, the public about the events that have occurred through out the year. They were painful and and I withdraw when I hurt. God moving John & Michelle on was painful for us all, but especially painful for those who went into spiritual battle with Him day in and day out. It hurt and I withdrew quite a bit.  Fast Forward!!

Here we are 18 days until our new pastor Eric Koehler delivers his first message as the lead pastor of Fellowship Church and I can honestly tell you that I am more excited about Fellowship Church than I have ever been before.

God has done some incredible things through Fellowship Church in the past, but I believe that it doesn’t compare to the things God is going to do in the future in our lives, church, & community.

My family and I just returned from one of the best Holiday vacations we have ever had. We went to Dayton, Ohio to be with my sister & brother in law, their 6 kids; my other sister & brother in law & their 3 kids, my parents, and our family. All in one house mind you. Now the first thought is not how much fun that sounds like but it really was the best Thanksgiving we have maybe ever had.

One of the reasons why it was so special is because of two little boys from Haiti, Aaron & Jordan. They are twins that my oldest sister Julie & her husband Rob adopted. They began the process of the adoption 3 years ago when the boys where just 6. They finally came home to live with their new family 4 weeks ago now at age 9. The adoption was a grueling process for them full of excitement and disappointment. But we got to meet these two boys for the first time last week.

We walked in the door and two bubbly little boys ran over and tackled me while saying “Uncle Jeff” in broken up English. It was the coolest thing ever! I had never met them. Within a few minutes they had captured my heart! Our family is so truly blessed!

Mason had the best time playing with all of his cousins and it was so hard to leave them all knowing that we only see them once a year. As we left I promised we would try to come visit this summer. Outside of Jesus, family is the most important thing in the world to me. I love my family!!

I know this is getting long but I want to share one other thing before I get back to working on Christmas. I think I am officially tired of Christmas and it’s only Dec. 2. But I get to have that attitude since I have been working on Christmas since Sept.

Anyway…as we just finished celebrating Thanksgiving I came across a verse which has impacted me in a profound way. It puts my whole perspective of life back into focus.

Proverbs 30:8-9

give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 lest I be full and deny you and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.

That is my prayer.  I don’t want to have too much that I don’t think I need God.  And I don’t want too have too little that I resent God.  I want what I need so that I can be most useful in His Kingdom.

So for this Blog…it might be a little thin until the new year.  But know that I am excited about what God is doing!  And begin inviting people to our Christmas Services.  It is going to be a worshipful event as we focus on “That Night”!

Just in case you missed it here is Eric’s introduction video we showed at Fellowship Church this past Sunday.  We are so excited to spend time with he and his family this week & weekend!  Make sure you make it a priority to be there Sunday morning as Eric preaches and then Sunday afternoon for a town hall meeting with him.  Greater things are yet to come!

Introducing Eric Koehler from Fellowship Today on Vimeo.