Wordless Wednesday

Jesus Calling........Christmas Devotional

The hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season have already begun, and its hard to keep things organized and balanced this time of year.  

Don't let your time with the Lord fade away with your hectic schedule.  Sarah Young, the author behind Jesus Calling is launching a daily Christmas Devotion for the next month.  Click on the picture below, and sign up.  Be blessed this Christmas Season by keeping your heart and mind centered on what this holiday season is all about. 

Devotions begin today!

Have a great week!

NorthStar News!!

Here is the latest news from NorthStar!!

Church at the Joe, Dec. 5th, 6:30pm. We need your help to get the word out. Go the their page on Facebook, “Like” the page, and forward the event “Church at the Joe—December 5th Service” to your friends from your friends list.

Volunteers needed to help for the Water Angels Christmas Program Dec. 18th

• Help prepare for it on Sat. Dec. 17th


• Person with truck needed to help on Fri. Dec. 16th


• Sign up at Connection Point or call Vicki at 591-2890 or 591-8716

Connect with your NorthStar family and even use on-line giving with Fellowship One. New children and volunteer check-in system with enhanced security, on-line Life Group search and more. Get instructions on how to get started today at Connection Point.

Ladies: Group rate ticket signups now through Thurs. Dec. 11th to see Beth Moore LIVE in Knoxville Aug. 10th-11th at Thompson Boling Arena. This is the only way to get reserved seats together. $60. Sign up at Connection Point.

Have a blessed week!!!

Living Your Thanksgiving!

"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his^[a]; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100

When I was younger, Thanksgiving was pretty much just another holiday—a day when I got to eat a whole lot of good food and nibble on all the sugary stuff I wanted. 

In fact, one year it only took me, my sister, two forks and about 30 minutes to finish off the rest of the pecan pie, while everyone else was either glued to the football game or snoring in a recliner. We had no regrets, and 

I'm pretty sure we'd do it again.

But besides being a holiday when I had permission to indulge, thanksgiving was also a word my grandfather always incorporated at the end of his prayers: "And with thanksgiving, in Jesus' name, Amen." I always wondered why he used a word that made me think of cornucopias and construction-paper turkeys; but he had the Th.D. in our family, and I did not. So I knew he must have had a good reason.

Years later, I think I now understand. In that one word, he was saying "Thank You for giving." You, being God. From my grandfather's example, I see that thanksgiving was more than a one-day family gathering. It was and is a way of living, a daily act of expressing gratitude to our Maker who first gave to us.

At this time of year, I sit and think about when I last thanked God for giving me anything—let alone His son, Jesus Christ. I'm ashamed to admit that I don't remember. But I know that I want to make such gratefulness as prominent as the giant turkey on the table and see thanksgiving become a way of life. 

There's no better thanksgiving wisdom than that found in God's Word, specifically The Old One-Hundredth (Psalm 100). If you open your Bible and take a look at this passage, you'll see a notation under the heading: "A psalm. For giving thanks." 

Following that, there are many directives listed that can help us live our Thanksgiving ...

• Make a glad sound to the Lord 
• Give worship to the Lord with joy
• Come before Him with a song
• Be certain that the Lord is God
• Come into his doors with joy, and into his house with praise 
• [Remember] for the Lord is good … His mercy is never-ending … His faith is unchanging

Reflect on these today, and ask the Lord how He can help you really live your Thanksgiving each day of the year.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Your celebration with friends or loved ones is probably already planned by this point. But here is your Thanksgiving Day challenge: take time to "live your Thanksgiving" and call or visit someone who is alone or having a hard time (for whatever reason) on this holiday.

From: Crosswalk

Wordless Wednesday

Run to Him

For by the death He died, He died to sin [ending His relation to it] once for all; and the life that He lives, He is living to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him]. Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.
—Romans 6:10–11

The devil delights in reminding us daily of all our mistakes from the past. One morning I was spending my time with the Lord, thinking about all the areas in which I had failed, when the Lord spoke to my heart: "Joyce, are you going to fellowship with Me or with your problems?"

It is our fellowship with God that helps and strengthens us to overcome our problems. Our relationship and fellowship is to be with God, not with our sins.

How much do you fellowship with your sins, failures, and weaknesses? Whatever time it is, it is wasted.

When you sin, admit it, ask for forgiveness, and then continue your fellowship with God. We are alive to God, living in unbroken fellowship with Him.

Don't let your sins come between you and the Lord. Even when you sin, God still wants to spend time with you, hear and answer your prayers, and help you with all of your needs. He wants you to run to Him, not away from Him!

Lord, I want to live in unbroken fellowship with You. I consider my relationship with sin to have been broken at the cross and behind me. Amen.

From the book The Confident Woman Devotional: 365 Daily Devotions by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2011 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

NorthStar Holiday Schedule!!

Holiday Service Schedule

• No Wednesday night services Nov. 23rd
• Children’s Christmas Musical Dec. 21st, 7pm, Sherrill
• Christmas Eve Services, Dec. 24th, 4:30pm and 6pm, Sherrill
• No Christmas Day Services
• No Wednesday night services December 28th or Jan. 4th.

Other Important Announcements

• Church at the Joe, Dec. 5th, 6:30pm. We need your help to get the word out. Go the their page on Facebook, “Like” the page, and forward the event “Church at the Joe—December 5th Service” to your friends from your friends list.

• Volunteers needed to help for the Water Angels Christmas Program Dec. 18th. Help prepare for it on Sat. Dec. 17th. Person with truck needed to help on Fri. Dec. 16th. Sign up at Connection Point or call Vicki at 591-2890 or 591-8716.

• Mission of Hope Angels in the Lobby!! Sign up in the lobby today to help very needy children in rural Appalachia this Christmas season.

• Connect with your NorthStar family and even use on-line giving with Fellowship One. New children and volunteer check-in system with enhanced security, on-line Life Group search and more. Get instructions on how to get started at Connection Point.

• Ladies: Group rate ticket signups now through Sun. Dec. 13th to see Beth Moore LIVE in Knoxville Aug. 10th-11th at Thompson Boling Arena. This is the only way to get reserved seats together. $60. Sign up at Connection Point.

Have a great Thanksgiving Week!

Be Who You Are

While awaiting a routine medical procedure in a local hospital, I noticed a wall plaque showing Christ on a cross. Later, a nurse asked me several administrative questions, in-cluding, “Do you have any spiritual needs you’d like to discuss with a chaplain?” I said that I appreciated her asking that question, which I found unusual in today’s world. She replied with a smile that they are a faith-based hospital and “that’s part of our mission.” I was impressed that the people were not afraid to be who they are in an increasingly secular and pluralistic society.

Peter urged the first-century believers who had been scattered by persecution and were living in a hostile world to consider it a blessing to suffer for the sake of what is right. “But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it” (1 Peter 3:14-15 NLT).

Just as the woman at the hospital freely stated their faith, so we can express ours. And if we are criticized or treated unfairly because of our belief in Christ, we should respond with gentleness and respect. We should never be afraid to be who we are in Him.

Whenever people judge and say
They don’t like what we believe,
We need to show a Christlike grace—
Then our Lord they might receive. —Branon

It’s better to suffer for the cause of Christ
than for the cause of Christ to suffer.

Devotion By Our Daily Bread

Image vs. Integrity

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity 

(Proverbs 11:3, NIV).

 

Friend to Friend
On a recent flight, I was thumbing through a magazine someone left behind when the title of an article caught my eye. “Image is everything” the author declared. For a few seconds, I found myself mentally agreeing with the author’s statement until I recognized the subtle lie hidden in the seemingly benign words.

As followers of Christ, we sometimes focus on developing and presenting the right image while neglecting the spiritual discipline of integrity. Our public lives are only as authentic as our private lives. Image is who and what people think we are while integrity is who and what we really are. Billy Graham once said, “Integrity is the glue that holds our way of life together. We must constantly strive to keep our integrity intact. When wealth is lost, nothing is lost. When health is lost, something is lost. When character is lost, all is lost.”

Bobby Jones was one of the greatest golfers to ever compete, having won all four major tournaments in the U.S. and Britain in a single year. Early in his career, Jones made it to the final playoff in the U.S. Open. While setting up a fairly difficult shot, his golf club accidentally touched the ball. Jones immediately became angry, turned to the marshals, and called a penalty on himself. Since the marshals had not seen the ball move, they left the decision to Jones. It was a two-stroke penalty – which Bobby immediately called on himself, not knowing he would later lose the tournament by a single stroke.

Bobby dismissed praise for his honesty by replying, "You may as well praise a man for not robbing a bank!" Jones may have lost the tournament, but his character was legendary and today the United States Golf Association's award for sportsmanship is known as the "Bobby Jones Award."

I have often heard it said that integrity is what you do when no one is watching or that character is best illustrated by how you treat people who can do absolutely nothing for you. Integrity is a heart issue and a spiritual habit that decides beforehand to do the right thing. Character counts. Integrity matters to God.  

Matthew 5:8 (NIV) “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

1 Chronicles 28:9b “For the Lord searches every heart, and understands every desire and every thought.”

The word for “pure” means “ready for sacrifice.” In other words, the decisions and choices we make should be living sacrifices that are holy and acceptable to God as acts of worship. To have integrity means to live an integrated life. That integration occurs when what we believe, what we think, what we say and what we do are all consistent. In reality, image really is nothing without integrity and character to back it up.

Let’s Pray
Father, I come to You right now, asking You to examine my heart and show me every impurity hidden there. Search my desires and thoughts and show me the disobedience that breaks your heart and hinders my walk with You. I want to please You with every choice and decision I make, Lord. Forgive me for the hypocrisy in my life. I lay down my pride and my agenda and choose instead to seek and follow You.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

 

Now It’s Your Turn
Memorize Psalm 51:10 that says, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” As this verse becomes the consistent prayer of your heart, each choice and decision you make will begin to line up with God’s will. He will be honored, and you will experience a new power and purpose in your life. Continually ask yourself, “Will my choice make God smile?”

By: Mary Sutherland

NorthStar News...........

Here are announcements for this week at NorthStar:

• Ladies: Group rate ticket signups now through Sun. Dec. 13th to see Beth Moore LIVE in Knoxville Aug. 10th-11th at Thompson Boling Arena. This is the only way to get reserved seats together. $60. Sign up at Connection Point.

• Ministry Opportunity! The Geagley’s need someone to stay with Chris Mondays and Fridays between 6:30am and 3:45pm and on Wednesdays between 11:30am and 3:45pm. If you can help, please call Seadina at 556-7588.

• Mission of Hope Blue Barrel Drive to begin November 18th—December 5th. Barrels will be in the lobby to collect new clothing, new toys/gifts, non-perishable food, and hygiene items for very needy children in rural Appalachia.

• Parent’s Night at C.O.W! Parents of middle school and high school students...come out this Wednesday to see what we are doing, what your kids are learning and how you can stay or get involved.

 Have a great week!! 

Does God Speak Through Angry Birds?

Yes, Angry Birds.

It’s been around for some time now but I admit to still playing it when I need either mindless distraction or to think very specifically on something. It really is amazing how one thing can offer both. But lots of things are like that for me. It’s all about my intention. Walking is another example. I can just zone out. I can sing and worship God. I can analyze something to death with each step. I can create my shopping list. Or I can carry on a conversation about deep and meaningful things.

And in ALL things God can decide if he wants to speak, right? He is God after all.

Well, the other day He used a quick game of Angry Birds to speak volumes to me. Well, it was supposed to have been a quick game :)

But there I was though after about 20 minutes (instead of the intended 5) still flinging cannonball birds and penguin bombs at those dang fancy caged Rio Birds, breathing heavy, a small drop of sweat actually forming between my shoulder blades as I sat hunched over my Droid X, when God tapped me on the shoulder and asked me this question...

"What if you purposefully aimed Me at things that were being held captive?"

Of course I Scooby Doo'd God with a "hhuurrhh???"

I clearly heard Him then ask me "How many more bars would be broken on the cages that imprison the captive if you so carefully aimed My Word, My Compassion, My Love, My Patience, My Wisdom, and My Son at them? If you my child worked half as hard contemplating my Word, considering MY timing, MY path, how to approach the one in need with what I teaching you and want to teach you, if you did that with the same consideration as you do this game, then just think what could be happening for my Glory all around you!"

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with Angry Birds - I for one am all for a little release - and when those pigs grunt and laugh and taunt me, I'm taking as many out as possible, laughing maniacally while doing it too!

It was just a reminder for me that there is a lesson in everything, and also that there is a chance that anything could become an obsession (now don’t confuse this with healthy obsessions, such as my healthy obsession for Mac Powell of Third Day), and that seemingly harmless things can sometimes pull us and distract us unnecessarily.

What I began noticing though with newly opened eyes though was the precision, the intense concentration, the planning, the time, and the emotion with which I played this Angry Birds Game... I mean I am IN THIS THING, aware of the affect it can have on my heart beat, my breathing, how hard I am concentrating, how my heart leaps when I clear a scene with all pigs dead and three stars earned!

So I begin to imagine if I put that much effort forth how much more satisfying it would be to see freedom in Christ occur more often!

This past Sunday Scott told a story of a baby circus elephant that grew up since birth chained to a wooden 6 inch stake driven into the ground. And how as he got older and bigger he never quite realized he could simply pull away from what held him captive and be free - all because he was trained to think he was a captive.

Satan does that to us. We do that to ourselves. Satan does that to our friends.

What if I put all the same Angry Birds effort into digging into Gods Word, learning who Christ really is, what the Holy Spirit truly can do, and believe that I do truly have a God who is "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" Ephesians 3:20

But did you catch "according to his power that is at work within us"?

The power that I have because of Christ shed blood and sacrifice, and His Holy Spirit living in me is beyond my comprehension, beyond my understanding, and if I'm being honest - sometimes beyond my belief.

We decide how much of that power works in us - He doesn’t. It’s already there when you become a child of God... when you become a co-heir of Christ to the reward of Heaven its given to us. How much is at work depends on how much of ourselves we are willing to give up, give over. And that means trusting Him enough to give Him anything that holds you back, holds you down, and holds you captive

So as we get closer to the new year, when the holidays get us thinking about what changes we want to make in our lives, how we want to impact our world more, how we would like to be able to grab more of that "abundant life" that Jesus came to give us, I think it’s time we consider making a choice to be all in, to be intentional with our time, our energy, and that we become purposeful and intentional with passion. Be purposeful with how much of Him we want, how much of Him we share, how much more we should aim to go deeper and invest in the lives of others, to finally pull up our own 6 inch stake, and help someone else dislodge theirs.

Its time we fling the biggest weapon we have - and let Him truly set us all free!

Joyfully on the Journey,

Marisa

Thank You!!

A Special Thanks to All the Women who attended Conversations & Craft Day today!!  We had an incredible time, and wish you a wonderful Holiday Season. 

-Women's Leadership Team 

This Saturday........Conversations & Crafty Crew Day

Don't forget this Saturday is Conversations - Holiday Style & Crafty Crew Day!! 

See you Saturday!!!

Restoration Is a Process

For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.
—Hebrews 4:15

Jesus understands us when nobody else does. He even understands us when we don't understand ourselves. He knows "the why behind the what."

People only see what we do, and they want to know why we are not doing it better or more. Jesus knows why we behave the way we do. He sees and remembers all the emotional wounds and bruises in our past. He knows what we were created for.

He knows the temperament that was given to us in our mother's womb. He understands our weaknesses—every fear, every insecurity, every doubt, all our wrong thinking.

Once we put our faith in Jesus, He begins a process of restoration in our lives that will not be entirely finished until we leave the earth. One by one He restores to us everything Satan has stolen from us. We must aggressively resist the legalistic attitudes that condemn us for not doing enough. Jesus understands us, He loves us unconditionally, and He is committed to working with us through the Holy Spirit—and He does not condemn us while He is at it.

Lord, who You are making me into is so much more important than the doing that others expect from me. Help me to trust Your hand and the shaping You are doing in my life. Amen. 

From the book The Confident Woman Devotional: 365 Daily Devotions by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2011 by Joyce Meyer. 

Church at the Joe - Tonight!

If you can't make it to Church at the Joe tonight, will you please pray for life change for those that come? 

 

Pray that we will be salt and light to those that are hurting and in need of a Savior!

A Divine Interruption

 The word of the LORD came to Jonah...." Jonah 1:1 (NIV)

I couldn't wait to spend the whole afternoon alone. My husband was mountain biking and both of our children had plans for the day. All I could think of was the fact I would spend hours by myself...no one asking for anything...no one needing me. It was going to be a glorious day!

But then it happened. My daughter came bursting through the door saying she forgot she had a project due the next day. She needed me to take her here and rush there to purchase items she needed to complete it. Soon it became our project.

Frustration rose up within me with every step of the way. My words were few and short. I was clearly irritated and did not hesitate showing it. She was interrupting my plans.

Jonah experienced an unwelcome interruption, too. Jonah was a prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He was popular, successful, and highly respected. Then one day it happened. "The word of the LORD came to Jonah."(Jonah 1:1 NIV) and God interrupted his life of comfort with a command to leave his beloved country and people to preach—not to God's people—but to one of their most hated enemies.

God's call would take Jonah's life down a completely different path than the life he currently enjoyed. Jonah felt angry and frustrated...the same way I did when my daughter came bursting into the house...the same way we all do when an interruption disrupts our lives whether it be an adult child coming back home to live, an unexpected pregnancy, a job loss, a startling diagnosis or an unforeseen move.

Jonah was frustrated to such an extreme that he not only disobeyed God's instruction, he ran in the opposite direction to get as far away from God as he could.

If only Jonah could have seen the end of the story. He would have seen that this "divine" interruption was an invitation to participate in one of the more miraculous events in history, an opportunity to be part of God's eternal plan for His Kingdom.

Eventually Jonah obeyed, and God used him to bring about the revival of an entire nation of people. Jonah spoke only eight words, "Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed" (Jonah 3:4 NLT), and within 24 hours the people of Nineveh repented and turned from their wickedness! Some scholars believe this to be the greatest revival in human history.

Jonah's story helps me redefine "interruptions." In fact, it has made me examine every interruption to see if God's hand is in it...if there is something divine in which He is inviting me to partake.

Just a few weeks ago, we took our daughter to college. I would give anything to have that divine interruption back...to have an entire afternoon to shop with her and spend time working on a project together.

How might Jonah's story help you see the interruptions in your life differently? Join me today in trusting God with His plan, accepting His divine invitation to experience Him and be part of His plans in ways you may not expect. Will you yield your plan for His today?

Heavenly Father, thank You that You have a plan for my life...a plan to prosper and not to harm me...a plan to give me hope and a future. Thank You that You allow divine interruptions in my life to draw me back into that plan if I ever wonder away or get too comfortable with where I am. Please give me eyes to see and a heart to respond to each and every divine interruption. Enable me through the power of Your Holy Spirit to obey. Amen.

-Devotion By: Wendy Blight, Proverbs 31 Ministries
 

Change to Bible Study Location

Even though they have the new bulb in the projector (yay!), we had more of you sign up and show up for this awesome Faithful Abundant and True study that we imagined - GO GOD!!!!!
Sooooo, we are changing the location - to our Carmichael Campus. We wanted to try using Sherrill and start trying to develop how that campus will work for such events since the other location is up for sale, but with this groups size we realized quickly there are many kinks to work out :)
We will meet at the same time, 6:30pm this Thursday. If you have never been to our Carmichael Campus (former site for Northstar that still houses our admin/staff offices) it is not very far from our current building at all.
The address is 10919 Carmichael Rd Knoxville TN 37923. Basically Carmichael Road sits between Hardin Valley and Lovell Road exits off Pellissippi Parkway. Just a hop skip and a jump away.

First Things First

Often we don't think about what our priorities are, but we still have them. Our priorities are whatever is first in our thoughts and in how we plan our time. Having real peace in our lives requires making God first above all other things that demand our attention.

If you put God first in your finances, first in your time, first in your conversation, first in your thoughts, first in your decisions, your life will be a success. I am living evidence of this truth. Before I learned to put God first, I was living in the worst messes that anybody could have. I had a bad attitude and couldn't think two positive thoughts in a row. I didn't like anybody, and nobody liked me. The abuse in my childhood had left me full of bitterness, resentment, and unforgiveness.

Our lives will not be blessed if we keep God in a little Sunday-morning box and let Him have our priority attention for only forty-five minutes, once a week during a church service. If Christians were putting Jesus first in everything, then the world would be in a better condition. There are, of course, sincere, God-fearing, dedicated believers in every church and in society, but not nearly as many as there should be. 

I've trained myself to start each day by giving God the firstfruits of my time. I've realized that I'm not going to get through the day peacefully if I don't spend time with God and put Him first.

---

From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2006 by Joyce Meyer. Published by InProv. All rights reserved.