By Paul Lu

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:3

Since the time we attended Sunday school classes as children, we learned that God loves us very much. Week after week, we learned more about the Bible, and at some point gave our lives to Him as followers of Jesus. We often profess that God comes first in our lives. However, do our priorities show that we indeed put Him at the forefront of our lives?

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:3

 It sounds simple enough, but what does it really mean?  Is it enough that I go to Bible study and attend Sunday service? How much is enough? I think that it is not a matter of deeds, but a matter of the heart.

Our devotion to God is not measured by the church activities we engage in, or even by how much we serve at church. When you have a moment, take a deep breath and quiet your mind. Then ask yourself this question, “Do I love God above everything else in this world?” Give yourself a few minutes to think about it. Reflect upon your life during the past week. How did you spend your time?  What things were you preoccupied with? When you woke up every morning, what was the first thought that came to mind?  If we are honest, God is probably not at the top of our list. We tend to get busy with practical things like what to eat, what activities to do, what project needs to be done, what to buy next, etc. Since we can’t see God, He is often relegated to certain routines; and these routines make us feel good that we have not forgotten our Christian duties.

 Are there “gods” in your life that are taking the place of God?  Who do you live for?  There are many things in our world that compete for our attention. It is so easy to be distracted by all the “good” things this world has to offer: be the first to get the latest tech gadget, shopping for that outfit that is on sale this weekend, watching that sensational movie that everyone is talking about, spend hours clicking ‘Like’ on people’s Facebook statuses…the list goes on. 

 If we are serious about putting God first, we will care about our relationship with Him every day. Spend time with Him and listen to Him. See what He wants you to do today. Plan your day with Him in mind.  As you go out into the world, don’t neglect the voice of the Holy Spirit, who will guide you to the people who need you. When you come home, don’t go on your computer or turn on the TV.  Ask your wife or husband how their day went. Play with your kids and help with their homework. Teach them the ways of the Lord over the dinner table. End the day with heartfelt gratitude that God has blessed you with another day of life. 

 Intertwine your faith with every aspect of your life.  Give your heart to Him today.

By Pastor Ron Miyake

If you were to tell the story of your life, what would say? What would be part of your story?  But more than just your personal history or events that happened in your life, I feel that the Lord wants us to also think about and consider our spiritual history.  Psalm 78:4b says, “… tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.”  I think that it’s not only important to think about and tell the stories of the events in our lives, but it’s even more important to remember and to tell others… our family, children, grandchildren, siblings, relatives, friends, neighbors… and even strangers… about our spiritual history with the Lord.

What is our spiritual history?  The way we met the Lord. The ways we have seen the Lord meet us, love us, help us, provide for us, forgive us, bless us, encourage us, and answer our prayers. But I also feel that our spiritual history is not just in the special events and times that happen in our lives.  A spiritual history with God is rooted mostly in having a daily history with God. Time with God reading His Word. Praying… talking and listening to the Lord. Singing songs of praise and worship to Him. Doing the things He tells us to do. Intentionally taking the time to be with Him. It is in these daily times… times alone with God… that God will meet us, mold us, transform us, and prepare us for the special events and times… and for even dealing with the daily happenings in our lives. 

I would encourage you to keep track of your spiritual history. Write down and tell others of the ways God has met you and worked in your life. Continue growing in your faith, experiencing God meeting you and working in your life so that you can see how God is adding to the spiritual history of your life.

My hope and prayer for each of us is that we will have a deep, rich spiritual history with the Lord, so that God will be glorified in and through our lives… and so that we can tell others of the ways that the Lord has loved us, met us, and has worked in and through us.  So that they, too, will come to know and experience the Lord in their lives. 

By Pastor Terry Gee

“Prayer and sinning will never live together in the same heart. Prayer will consume sin, or sin will choke prayer. I cannot forget this. I look at men’s lives. I believe that few pray.” – J. C. Ryle, A Call to Prayer

Prayer can be hard. At times, nothing can be so trying to our minds as setting aside time to pray. Yet, nothing is so vital and important to our lives. Both private and public prayer need to have their place in our daily spiritual experience, yet how can we persist in distracting times?

I don’t know about you, but I do best at difficult things when I do them with others and I do it regularly. What if this spiritual practice could be done regularly in the company of other people?

Evergreen House of Prayer (EHOP) will be launching later on this year, hopefully in October. There the church family will gather together to worship God and pray for our church, seeking God’s face and asking for His guidance and strength. If you set aside time just one evening a week, you can know that you will be praying at least one night a week for things of eternal weight. Spending 52 evenings each year in prayer for our church may do more than we could imagine.

So consider coming to EHOP when it launches. God will give you grace and strength for prayer, and I believe your soul will be more satisfied in meeting with Him than with anything else. Consider what change could be brought about in many lives, what plans of eternal significance will be set in motion if our church would gather to pray. Perhaps the very thing you are seeking for your own life or for our church must be first brought, with all sincerity, to the throne of grace. Again, consider whether this will do better for your life of faith than many other things you could be doing one night a week, and let us come together to pray.

“Prayer is that point in religion which you must be most of all on your guard. Here it is that true religion begins; here it flourishes, and here it decays. Tell me what a man’s prayers are, and I will soon tell you the state of his soul.” – J. C. Ryle, A Call to Prayer

by Pastor Terry Gee         

 So you don’t play guitar or piano but you want to have worship songs in your small group? No problem – using recordings can be a great alternative. Be sure to follow a few guidelines to avoid some common pitfalls.

Prep: Listen and Sing Along First

When choosing your song recordings, remember that not all recordings were created equal. Some are in keys that are too high or too low, and some recordings have special elements that you may or may not want in a small group worship setting like 2 minute guitar solos or 3 minutes of spontaneous singing. Listen through the whole recording beforehand and sing along to make sure it’s in an acceptable key.

Still Lead: MP3s Make Lousy Leaders

You should still lead the time. Invite your group to worship. Maybe read a portion of Psalms first. Pray beforehand and turn your hearts to God. Pray after the songs finish. It’s no less of a worship time because you are using recordings. It’s less of a worship time if your group is not exalting God from the heart. Lead them to worship by what you say and do, and you will be a true worship leader.

Still Sing

Even though the recordings have a lead singer, you should still lead the singing. Use the recordings as a helper, not as the leader. It’s much nicer to hear the leader of the group singing and sing along with him or her than to just sing with a recorded leader. Again, this will require a little bit of prep on your part. Be familiar with the song and have the lyrics so you can lead the group into the next verse or chorus of the song.

Transitions

If you’re doing multiple songs, try making a playlist so it will start the next song right after the first one ends. This avoids having to poke around on your MP3 player to find the next song and can make it as seamless as possible. Not necessary, but helpful.

I hope this makes leading worship times in your small group easier and more enjoyable! 

by Mandy Terasawa

The WELL Discipleships is a women’s ministry that involves small groups of women meeting together once a week for about 28 weeks. Our 2014-2015 season just ended and we were privileged to have about 36 women participate. The Well provides a place where women can grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ as they seek their identity in Him. The ladies also share their testimonies, do book studies and a Bible study on John 4, the Samaritan Woman, practice solitude, plus make a commitment to pray for one another. The meetings are a safe haven for the ladies as they share deeply about what is going on in their lives knowing that everything is kept confidential and that they are being supported through prayer. We recently had a final celebration with the facilitators of the Well groups and here are some of their reflections:

• Close community was emphasized as the ladies shared their lives with one another. They supported each other through the struggles and joys of life. One group even experienced two weddings and two babies being born!     
• "Mother-daughter" relationships developed as some of the groups had participants of diverse ages. The ladies learned a lot about issues that different generations face.
• The co-facilitators discovered that each had different God-given gifts. This provided a balance in their leadership roles as they facilitated their groups.
• Learning to trust God and listen to the Holy Spirit was central in the planning and facilitating of the groups
• The ladies enjoyed spending intimate time with Jesus through prayer, solitude and silence, flag worship, and releasercize.

We are so thankful to God as He guides and leads us to fulfill His plan through this ministry. May God continue to bless and grow the Well Discipleships for His honor and glory!