Posted on Friday, August 7, 2015

If You Have Regrets…

It’s never too late. When I married and graduated college, I had a choice to make. What type of life did I want to build? It’s been a series of choices ever since for my wife and I. Some decisions we have hit home runs, and some, well, we blew it. But I want to learn from my mistakes. Got regrets? Of course, who doesn’t? But it’s time to build a life that teaches the Next Generation key building blocks by example. Our hope is they will surpass anything we have been able to accomplish.

I made a decision from the age of twenty to Live Differently and build a life that was centered on Gospel ideas, and twenty years later, I am glad I made those choices. Now I am committed to develop these building blocks in others.

“He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.” Luke 6:48

Over these years I have watched people (including myself) make terrible mistakes in the following four areas. I am convinced, if we can get control of the below areas, our lives will begin to look more like a disciple of Jesus. These are benchmarks that will reflect a well built life!

Four Building Blocks of Life

1. Spiritual Fervor – Are you listening to the Spirit of God?

This week I was listening to a very thorough explanation of how Jesus left with us the Holy Spirit and how He still works. I was reminded of how much we can ignore God in our every day life because of all the distractions that get in the way. Sometimes the Spirit tells us to do something and we are a coward, and other times we just have too many other things in our life to listen to Him. Every major decision in life needs to be made by listening to the voice of God. This means, we pray, read the word, write our thoughts, take sabbath, and overall learn to be in harmony with the Holy Spirit. Your life begins with a relationship with Jesus. Your very life depends on the Holy Spirit!

2. Relational Cooperation – Do you forgive others and keep short accounts?

This starts with your spouse, kids, parents, brother, and sisters, your nuclear family, and extends to those you work and do life with. Bitterness and un-forgiveness will ruin your life and destroy your soul. We need to learn to forgive those we live and do life with. No matter how much you have been hurt, it isn’t worth holding a grudge against anyone. Jesus forgives and we are instructed to forgive. It doesn’t mean we enable abuse and neglect, but we always seek the path to forgiveness. Recently after preaching on forgiveness, a woman came up to me and told me God was telling her to go to her husband who cheated on her and tell him, “she forgives him.” My jaw dropped and I told her, “listen to God and do it, we’re here for you!” If you fail to have this block, your moral authority crumbles away and your credibility disappears.

3. Financial Integrity – Are you generous in giving?

Every Christ follower should be on the road to be what I call an “irrational giver.” I believe this starts with giving away 10% of your income. Not for legalism sake, but as a starting point of telling God you trust Him. When you give you emphasize He is the provider of all the resources. We are simply managers. I have referred to giving the first 10% as “training wheels.” When we look FIRST at other’s needs and the advancement of the Kingdom of God, we become aligned with God’s purpose and he WILL USE US! Selfishness and irresponsible financial management will lead to your ruin. Our giving should be joyful, regular, and sacrificial. Give, provide for your family, pay your taxes and always seek to ask, “how much should I give?”

4. Physical Disciplines – Are you intentional about how you treat your body?

Food, exercise, sleep and our mental health are spiritual issues. Many people eat whatever they want, fall prey to addiction both substance and sexual, over work themselves, and fail to exercise. This is a recipe for premature death and a toxic life. Your body matters to God! The bible says our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. This means we should be paying attention to taking care of our physical health. It doesn’t mean you have to run a marathon and bench press 400 pounds, but it does mean you should ask God how He wants you to take care of the body he gave to you.

Build it smart, build it steady and it will stand.

It’s going to be an INCREDIBLE weekend!

Josh

This week at 217church week 9 of our Defining Moments series, A study of Ruth

Join us at 217church, a multi-site, contemporary church in Mercer County NJ. 217church is a family with small groups in New Jersey and Pennsylvania that meets Sundays in the Hamilton AMC24 Theater 10:00am and Sharon Elementary school in Robbinsville, NJ at 11:00. Our new Robbinsville/East Windsor Campus meets every Sunday. If you are looking for a church in East Windsor NJ, Lawrenceville NJ, Ewing NJ, Robbinsville NJ, Hightstown NJ, Hamilton NJ, Mercer County, Middlesex County or Bucks County, PA, we would love to have you join us. Don’t miss our weekend services. Visit www.217church.com for more information. or watch a weekend message here

Posted on Friday, July 10, 2015

Persevering Through Stress

The other night I was thinking about a couple of situations my family is facing and I couldn’t sleep. What keeps you up at night? Have you been there? There is a common thread running through our western culture. People are STRESSED OUT all the time. Whether it’s finances, marriage, family, job, or moving, all of these cause mental, emotional and can even affect our physical health. The sad thing is, even our children are stressed out!

You will get stressed! But what should you do?

“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” Matthew 26:28

I lead a church and daily hear of and spend time with people who are at a crossroads in their lives. Death, marriage, birth, moving, bankruptcy, moral failure, I have seen it all. We can learn much from Jesus’ moments before he suffers crucifixion, one of the greatest physical and emotional stresses known. Jesus understands your stress.

4 Things To Do When You Are Stressed –

#1 Separate Yourself – When stress hits it is often because I don’t see a pathway forward. As Jesus was preparing to die, he knew he needed to get away. Sometimes we are forced into solitude and other times we need to have the foresight and discipline to take a sabbatical and get away, FAST. Jesus needed to feel the support and the love of His Father to have the strength to go forward.

#2 Pray – Maybe this one is common sense, but I am not talking about a casual prayer, I am talking about a desperate prayer. One that calls out to God for deliverance and a miracle. Call out to God, even if you don’t feel close to Him, even if you feel like He won’t listen. If Jesus prayed and sweat drops of blood out of stress, well, maybe that is what it takes.

#3 Rely on Your Friends – When Jesus went to that Garden, He went with his friends, not alone. He specifically asked them to watch. Now, they failed him, but they needed to be present with him. Have you ever thought what you are going through may be to help others gain courage? The disciples learned a valuable lesson on that night. I’m sure they never forgot those moments with Jesus.

#4 Follow Through – If you need courage, you need not to look further than Jesus on the cross. Take the step, have the tough conversation, ask forgiveness, pay down the debt, believe God for your healing. He is there with you. Do it!

Jesus ultimately came to bring peace to all of this chaos. Let this scripture resonate with you today…

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

Josh

This week at 217church week 5 of our Defining Moments series, Joseph: When Perseverance Meets Blessing Genesis 41:37-57.

Posted on Friday, June 26, 2015

Help, I Want To Pray More

Last month I was sitting on a hill staring out at one of the most beautiful lakes in the world in Africa, Lake Victoria. I was praying for my family, our church ministry, the leaders, my marriage and overall wisdom in every decision. Many times God calls you to make hard decisions, sometimes that are unpopular but rooted in the word. God teaches us different things in different seasons. In this season, He is teaching me to depend on Him more through prayer. We must have a rich prayer life, These are prayers I am praying for you…

“The prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective ” James 5:16

God is not done with you. No matter what you face it is for a season. But when all else fails, you can absolutely depend on God. It’s time to pray.

Four Prayers I am Praying For You…

#1 Your Faith – Jesus takes convicts and turns them in to converts. That is right, this is what we are all about, restoring people in their relationship with Jesus. He came that we would have faith and that He would die and be the ultimate sacrifice so we would have eternal life and know and follow HIM. RESTORED! This is our word. Jesus rose from the DEAD and while pointing to Jesus, My prayer is your belief and dependence would increase that you would be able to take your eyes off the worldly results, temptations and pride and call out in the heavenly reality.

#2 Your Finances – What we invest in we value. I have talked to so many people these last two weeks who are hurting financially. When you can’t provide for your family there is uncertainty, fear, confusion and even insecurity. We need to continue to pray for God’s provision for the people of our community. Especially the elderly, the disabled, the widows and the single moms. When we begin praying these prayers God will move us to realize that we are to be generous and help one another through difficult times. I love being a part of a church and community that believes in taking care of those who are going through rough times. We do this because it is an example of the Gospel of Jesus in action. Giving is not about a legalistic percentage, but a heart that is transformed as a reflection of the Gospel. A FAMILY takes care of one another and advances the Gospel with its finances. My prayer is you would have enough to live but not so much that you would depend on your riches.

#3 Your Focus – Be more afraid of missing an opportunity than failing. Distractions will derail your life. Jesus and the Gospel are what matters. We are to be pursuing Him as our FIRST priority. We are to serve others and love them. Who has Jesus sent you to? Take your eyes off yourself and you will begin to gain the right focus. The church is at it’s best serving the community, loving people, taking care of one another, pursuing the common good, sharing meals together and speaking out as a peaceful voice of reason. My prayer is you would focus on the right things.

#4 Favor of the People – We are HIS children – Let me say that again. You have a seat at the table with Jesus and he calls you, “brother, sister and friend.” I tell my children they bear my last name and they need to act like it! When you realize whose family you are in and that the Father has lavished the greatest gift of love and favor on your life, it changes how you PRAY. Through forgiveness of sins, repentance, privilege and honor to be called the church and a life in heaven with HIM, he has given us favor. This changes our perspective. We need to pray for the favor of God that he would be merciful and gracious, especially with those who don’t know Him yet. My prayer is he would INCREASE HIS FAVOR upon you.

You refresh my heart and it is a privilege to pray for you.

This week at 217church week 2 of our defining moments series as we study Deborah: When Calling Meets Action Judges 4.

Josh

Posted on Friday, June 19, 2015

4 Things Dads Must Do

I stepped off the plane and watched my 3 biological children meet our 3 new adopted children for the first time, and there was pure joy! What an INCREDIBLE FATHER’S DAY GIFT! Over the past three years we have been waiting, anticipating and looking forward to the culmination of a vision. I will never forget watching all of our six children hug, smile, beam, and then laugh uncontrollably on the way home from the airport. To all of you who prayed and supported in countless ways, you were with us. Now I’m a father of SIX! I am blessed, children are NOT a burden. However, I woke up today feeling and realizing that alone, this is an insurmountable task and I better focus on what is important…

(My New Travel reality) “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” Genesis 21:6

I’ve learned you can’t be a dad on your own strength. There are too many responsibilities, too much stress, not enough money, not enough time, too many problems, too many disagreements and it’s HARD to please everyone. So with these four things, I am aiming to PLEASE GOD. I MUST depend on God to help me be what he wants me to be. Here is what I learned from Abraham, the Father of nations in Genesis 24:

4 Things DADS MUST DO:

#1 Laugh – If you haven’t taken the time lately to laugh at yourself, your children, and the pure miracle of God allowing you to be a father, it’s time to relax! Over the last two months especially, every day there has been a laughable moment. The things my children say, their interactions together, their fashion sense, (or lack there of) their quirky habits, they are AMAZING. EVERY DAD should be laughing with pure joy because God has provided these children for these years for you to empower with joy.

#2 Declare – Your words are more powerful than you can possibly imagine. I am learning every day to declare things for my children. My role is NOT to be their critic but to be their catalyst. Not to berate them, but to BLESS THEM. They look at me with desire for approval. I’m choosing to give that to them. Here are a few practical ways to declare things for your children.

Prayer – Pray over your children. Already after three months, my new children have adopted the prayer of approval from God for a STRONG BODY, a SHARP MIND and a BOLD SPIRIT. One has to do with the way we treat our bodies, the next, the need for us to be wise and educated so we can bless others, and the third asks for help to live a life reflecting the Gospel in everything.

Affirming Words – I can’t even begin to count the times I have praised my children in the last few months with words like, “that is a great choice, thank you for saying your sorry, that was excellent, you are really good at coloring…etc, etc, etc.” There isn’t any way you can over encourage your children.

Tell Others – Want to see your child absolutely beam? Watch what happens when others share with your children your fatherly approval of them. When they find out you have been bragging on them, it will last a lifetime.

Make a fool of Yourself – Embarrass yourself for them. Be extravagant in declaring gifts, hug them when their friends will see it and it feels uncomfortable. If you truly love, you will make a fool of yourself!

#3 Follow – Your talk has to line up with what you do! I’m choosing to FOLLOW JESUS because he is worth following. I want them to have a dad with character. They will not do what you say, they will do what you do. I was reminded of this two weeks ago. Godfrey said, “Daddy, seatbelt!” I had forgotten, he reminded me. We are teaching them to wear seat belts and obviously, I need to model this behavior. Everything is modeled: Prayer, giving, speech, word selection, eating habits. They want to be like you so give them a high standard to live by.

#4 Receive – Where is your strength coming from? Learn not to be the provider, but to depend on Jesus. Let him provide the mental and emotional strength. Let Him give you humility to choose the right thing, to love your wife with EXTRAVAGANCE like Jesus loved the church. Let Him reorganize your priorities to live a life designed with the correct priorities. Feed yourself scripturally. Discipline yourself in your mind and in your actions to be determined to please God. It’s not your own strength, YOU MUST receive it from God.

Josh

Join us this Sunday for Father’s day as we celebrate Dad’s in a BIG way and start our new Defining Moments series

Josh Conn

Live Differently

Category Archives: Defining Moments

If You Have Regrets…

Persevering Through Stress

Help, I Want To Pray More

4 Things Dads Must Do