New Beginnings In The New Year
"May He grant you according to your heart's desire,
And fulfill all your purpose.
We will rejoice in your salvation,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions."
- Psalms 20:4-5 NKJV
As we welcome in 2012, let's take some time to turn our thoughts to resolutions that will improve the quality of our lives. There is excitement to begin anew, filled with hope and possibility. At this time of year, we become determined to exercise more, lose weight, eliminate a bad habit, stick with a financial budget, learn to balance work and family, and many other things. These are honorable intentions and with the right focus and planning, they can become a reality. Here are some guidelines for goal setting and making a commitment to successful change in the New Year.
Create Your Plan Immediately - Setting a goal without formulating a plan is just wishful thinking. In order for your resolution to have resolve, it must translate into clear steps that can be put into action right away. Commit your resolution plan to writing. When you write down your plan, you'll be much more likely to see it through.
Break It Down - Rather than one big "End Goal", dissect it into smaller pieces. Set several smaller goals to achieve throughout the year that will help you reach your ultimate goal. Then, you'll have the benefit of momentous achievements along the way.
Think "Year Round" - Nothing big gets accomplished in one day. New Year's resolutions should be a starting point. You must develop a habit for revisiting your plan regularly. A lifestyle of healthy living is what brings lasting results.
Remain Flexible - Expect that your plan can and will change. Life has a funny way of throwing unexpected curves at us. Flexibility is essential to completing anything. Sometimes the goal itself will even change. Most of all, recognize and celebrate your successes at every step along the way. And for goodness sake – keep going, even if you mess up from time to time! "And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint. (Galatians 6:9)"
Take Action - The key to achieving what you really want is to take action every day. It's the lack of action and follow through that stops us from having what we most want. Create 'action items' each week that will move you closer to becoming the individual God created you to be. Remember, it takes approximately 21 days to develop a new habit. A good way to help track your growth is to use a calendar. Make a daily entry on the calendar to remind yourself that you are building a new habit. Allow yourself a solid month to see your success.
Trust God for Lasting Change – Most often as American Christians, we forget; "(Not in your own strength) for it is God who is all the while effectively at work in you (energizing and creating in you the power and desire) both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. (Philippians 2:13)" Let's trust God to bring about the change we need in our lives! It's in His strength that we can do all things! "He who began a good work in us will complete it! (Philippians 1:6)"
Happy New Year!
Pastor Rob & Laura Koke
© 2011 by Rob & Laura Koke. All rights reserved.
 Robert & Laura Koke are the founders and Senior Pastors of Shoreline Church, one of America's largest churches. Through their ministry and various outreaches, they touch and inspire thousands each week. They are passionate and deeply committed to helping others realize how powerful God's grace is toward them. Their practical teachings will instruct you how to successfully live a life totally surrendered in full dependence upon Jesus Christ.
Befriend The World
Our greatest ministerial tool is our personal walk. Does our lifestyle line up with the Word or do we exhibit hypocritical behavior? For example, do we drink excessively, do drugs, fornicate, lie, cheat, steal, curse people out, etc., then quote scripture and tell others how they should live?
How do we go about our purposeful relationships with those that are not saved? Whether at school or work, our interactions with those outside the revelation of Jesus are common and I want to present an approach that isn't 'direct evangelism', in its true definition. While I agree with true evangelism, I'm realizing more and more that some people don't care what you have to say until they know how much you care. I feel that the heart of befriending individuals to know them, and in turn love them, takes the ugliness out of the worlds' perception of the church as a body of " bible thumping hypocrites who think they're better than other people" (a word from a classmate). I want us to be able to bring people to salvation through Christ in us rather than our own efforts, even though those efforts aren't always in vain. We are to share with the world the saving grace of the Gospel through everyday interactions. We are to love others where they're at in their journey rather than judge them for not being where we're at in our revelation of the love of God.
Love people without an agenda. Get to know them and walk with them as a brother or sister. Preach the gospel at all times, only using words when necessary. Befriend them. Live your life according to your convictions based on truth and be ready to give an explanation of why you live the way you do. Your love, gentleness, joy, and peace will bring them to one day ask about Christ. Then, you can use that opportunity to preach. Speak about your Lord in a personal way, using testimony and evidence of a life forever changed by a loving God. If you spend enough time building a relationship and loving a person, they will hear about your past life and see the humility and transparency of a heart surrendered. Love them. And in your quiet time, give thanks to God for the grace and opportunity to verbally tell Christ's story, because it's an honor to be used to speak to His people. Petition in prayer on their behalf and believe in salvation for them. Now, because you truly love them as a brother or sister, your request can come out of a place of anticipation.
So in this New Year, resolve to befriend the world purposefully and prayerfully in faith of the grace given to live in love with Christ.
© 2011 by Jennifer Egwuagu. All rights reserved.
 Jennifer Egwuagu is a nursing student, completing a BSN at Concordia University here in Austin, TX. She is currently working as an Office Manger for Quixstaff Home Healthcare, Inc and plans to work in the NICU upon graduation. Her hopes are to one day continue medical mission trips to Nigeria, India and other countries using the provision of medical attention as a tool to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ. As of now, she lives her life as a mentor for younger women and teenagers by grace inspiring them to live life with a heart of reverence and joy in knowing Christ. Her everyday goal is to reassure women of their identity and beauty in Christ.
Monthly Devotional
Pain That's Not Transformed Will Eventually Be Transmitted
"Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;
Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with loving kindness and compassion;
Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
The LORD performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are oppressed.
He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness."
-Psalm 103:1-8
Over the years, it's become painfully obvious to me that our God is neither afraid nor intimidated by our hurt or pain. Our raw and emotional trauma, our outright anger at others, or even our anger at Him is not untouchable to Him. He is a healing God. His nature is to heal, to redeem, and when possible and safe, to restore. He's even referred to biblically as "The God of All Comfort" (2 Corinthians 1:3). Our job, or duty if you will, is to bring our pain to Him and ask Him to heal it and transform it in a way that HE sees fit. He uses that pain for His ultimate glory in ways that we may not be able to conceive or imagine at the present time. Often, our deepest point of pain and utter heartbreak is divinely connected to our most impacting point of future ministry and effectiveness, IF we'll bring our pain to Him for His spiritual surgery and restoration process. If we don't bring our pain to Him and His chosen agents of healing (i.e. pastors, professionals, counselors), our pain will unfortunately be transmitted to those closest to us. It's not our ultimate job to heal ourselves, or our pain. We must present ourselves to Him and enable His healing power to take shape and transform our lives. When we lay ourselves down, our children and our loved ones don't have to live with and encounter our unhealed, untransformed pain. I once heard it said, "We humans are funny things…we leak." It's true; we do leak. If we don't allow God to heal our pain and hurt, it will eventually leak out and the one's we love the most will suffer along with us.
Click here to go to Affair Recovery
Click here to read Shoreline's statement of faith
© 2011 by Tony Fetchel. All rights reserved.
 Tony and Jodi Fetchel currently serve as the young adult Pastors at Shoreline. After spending over 10 years in the ministry as a pastor, Tony and Jodi were forced to take a much needed break to preserve their marriage and family. Now, over 6 years later, they have experienced an overwhelming sense of renewal and restoration, paving the way to reenter the ministry at Shoreline Church. Tony and Jodi have three children who also love to call Shoreline home. Their names are Nathan who is 11, Macy who is 10 and Zachary who is 6.
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Sundays
9 & 11am - North Campus
9 & 11am - South Campus
9:30am - West Campus
7pm - Lift Young Adults
Wednesdays
7pm - North Campus
Saturdays
1pm - East Campus
 
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