Harvest Thoughts

Thankful for Non-Religous People

I am up early at 4:21 this morning reflecting on what makes Harvest Church Norfolk such a great church. It is certainly not great because we are all perfect people. At Harvest, we readily admit that, "We are all broken people, but God is putting us back together again." At Harvest, this is not only spoken often, but it is believed and it is so true. This embracing of an obvious truth has become a major reason why Harvest is such a great church. It makes us all free to be normal, not wacked out, super-spiritual, condemning and condescending to all others, hate to be around, "Christians." Do you know what I am talking about? Those "Christians" who instantly find a way to raise their status higher than anyone around them. They have more "gifts," more inside information with God than anyone on the planet. They have that, "when you get to my level you will really be deep and tight with God" attitude. Their attitude and actions make me sick. Yeah, I said it. They make me sick. And for the record, Jesus didn't like that crowd either. If our church were like that I wouldn't attend it. That "holier than thou, come up higher" attitude literally turns my stomach. I want no part of it. But Harvest is different. At its very core our motto rings true, "We are all real people pursuing a real God." And because it is such a core value at Harvest, when someone begins to attend with that religious stuff on them, they either quickly get better and lose it, or they don't stay long and leave considering us "poor elementary Christians." Hey, I am so okay with that. Considering the options, I'll stay real. Their evaluation doesn't concern me, only His does. So at 4:20 I woke up with this horrible thought, "Wouldn't it be terrible to be the pastor of a group of religious people? You are always judged. You can never do enough. Everyone is faking perfection. The expectations put upon you are more than anyone can bear. But instantly, once I was fully awake, there came this warm, wonderful, and comforting thought; like a warm blanket and a cup of hot chocolate on a cold wet day, I am so glad I am a part of a normal church family. I am free to be me and you are free to be you. We can't fix ourselves, but God is under the hood. His grace is enabling and teaching us how to walk blamelessly before Him. At Harvest we are having fun serving our Lord together. And that is just how church should be.

Amazing Workers

"You have many workmen: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as men skilled in every kind of work in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the LORD be with you." 1 Chronicles 22:15-16

What an amazing God! He assembles the team, He gives the vision, He supplies the provision. Oh how wonderful it is to serve such a loving Master. Truly, "His yoke is easy, and His burden is light." Not so, when we are striving, doing our own thing and then asking God to bless it. Come under the yoke with Jesus today. Let Him take the lead and simply walk along side of Him. At Harvest Church Norfolk we are witnessing such an amazing assembly of people "skilled in every kind of work." It is a delight to watch!

Amazing Nursery Workers at Harvest!

Wow! I am amazed at how good our nursery workers are at training our babies. I don't know so much about the content, but this is amazing :-). Enjoy,

Humpty Dumpty

We had another great Harvest 101 last night. At these events we share some coffee and desert and then we get to know each other. This has become my favorite event because I get to hear everyone's story. We conclude our night with a quick overview of what Harvest Church Norfolk is all about. I am continually amazed at how each of us, though unique in many ways, share the same common desires, hurts, aspirations, regrets, hope, emotions ... and the list goes on. I always walk away with great hope because though we are all broken people, God really is putting us back together again. Though Humpty Dumpty couldn't be fixed, God is doing the impossible with us. I sincerely hope that we at Harvest can share in that process, that we can share life with you.

The first step toward healing is to toss our masks. We are all broken, and yet we have found the Remedy in the person of Jesus Christ. He grants those who will follow Him the ability to come into right relationship with God and with one another, to better one another, to mend. So here is the bottom line: When you come to Harvest, you can leave your mask at home. Come as you are, come get better, come be loved. We choose you. Of all the people in the world that we could pick from - we choose you. I can hear some of you saying, "But you don't know how broken I am." It is of no consequence. WE CHOOSE YOU EVEN WITHOUT YOUR MASK. We've discovered that we are all broken people, but God is putting us back together again.

Dreaming of a world without pretense,

Pastor Craig

Somethings We are Never to Forget

• March 14: Supporters of opposition leader Nawaz Sharif party shout slogans behind a banner reading 'Let's go to Islamabad for Long March' during an anti-government rally in Multan, Pakistan. Pakistan's president urged opposition parties to negotiate an end to the country's political crisis while vowing to maintain law and order "at all cost" in the face of gathering anti-government protests.
• March 14: An man walks into the prison in St. Poelten, Austria, where Josef Fritzl is locked up. The trial against Josef Fritzl who is accused of imprisoning his daughter for 24 years and fathering seven children with her in a windowless cell, starts on Monday March 16.
• March 14: US murder suspect Amanda Knox, center, is escorted in a courtroom during a hearing, in Perugia, Italy. Knox, and Knox's former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, are being tried on charges of sexual violence and murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia in Nov. 2007. Both defendants deny the charges.
• March 14: - Charlotte firefighters responded two alarms to this fire at the Silver Oak Apartments on Monroe Road early Saturday morning after they received three calls. Despite arriving within two minutes of the call firefighters weren't able to save a mother and her two children who lost their lives in the blaze.
• March 14: South Korean protesters stand near the Tower of Korean War during a rally against the annual joint military exercises, dubbed Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, between the South Korean and United States, in front of the Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea. North Korea put its troops on alert and cut the hot line Monday as the American and South Korean militaries began joint maneuvers.
• March 13: Canadian musher Sebastian Schnuelle, followed closely by Aaron Burmeister drives his team off of the Yukon River and into the Anvik, Alaska checkpoint on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race trail.
• March 13: Calif. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell speaks to fifth grade students at an elementary school in San Jose, Calif. School employees throughout California warned of draconian classroom cuts Friday as local officials faced a deadline for issuing layoff notices to educators at risk of losing their jobs. The state Department of Education estimates that preliminary pink slips will have been handed to 26,500 teachers by the Sunday cutoff, two-and-a-half times as many as were issued last year.
• March 13: - Jerry Tongret, 11, of Columbus, Ga., has his picture taken with actor Gary Sinise in front of the movie poster for the documentary "Brothers at War" before its premiere in Columbus, Ga. Sinise is an executive producer of the documentary film by Jake Rademacher, who went to Iraq to film his two brothers and their units.
• March 13: A poster in the hallway of Bunker Hill High School is seen in Catawba, N.C. Pauline Chao, a senior at Bunker Hill, was one of the four family members killed in a shooting in Conover, Wednesday night.
• March 13: Dale Hausner, left, looks at his lawyer, Ken Everett in court in Phoenix, Ariz. Hausner was convicted Friday of six murders in a series of nearly 30 attacks in 2005 and 2006.
• March 12: Mourners stand in front of flowers and burning candles in Winnenden, southern Germany. The 17-year-old gunman who went on a rampage at his former school and killed 15 people before taking his own life gave a warning in an Internet chatroom only hours earlier and said he was 'sick of this life,' officials said Thursday.
• March 12: Children tour the new police station in La Uribe, a former stronghold of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in southern Colombia. The station was built with U.S. financial aid.
• March 12: An anti-Kremlin activist marches during a protest in downtown Moscow. Russia's anti-Kremlin activists were holding protests across the country Thursday to criticize the government's response to the financial crisis.
• March 12: A survivor is removed from a Cougar Helicopter on the helicopter tarmac at the Health Sciences Center in St. John's, New Foundland. The survivor was among 18 people aboard a Cougar helicopter offshore shuttle taking workers to Husky's Hibernia offshore oil platform when it ditched in the Atlantic Ocean after reporting mechanical problems.
• March 12: Police officers arrest a female protester taking part in an anti-government march in Karachi, Pakistan. Police detained protest leaders Thursday and stopped hundreds of marchers from leaving Pakistan's largest city for a rally in the capital, underscoring the government's determination to squelch the demonstration.
• March 12: Canadian musher Gary Willomitzer's dogs are shown after arriving at the Takotna, Alaska checkpoint on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
• March 11: Jockey Ruby Walsh takes 'Master Minded' over a fence on the way to winning the Queen Mother Champion at the Cheltenham Festival in Cheltenham, England. 'Master Minded', the 4-11 favorite, emerged from the bunched field four fences out and eased away from 12-1 shots Well Chief and Petit Robin to win the 2-mile race.(
• March 11: Pakistani police officers hold their weapons as they escort the convoy of Shahbaz Sharif, brother of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, at Kamoki village, near Lahore, Pakistan. Pakistan banned protests in two provinces and arrested scores of lawyers and opposition leaders Wednesday ahead of planned rallies threatening to batter the already-shaky rule of its pro-Western government.
• March 11: Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, some in Purim costumes pray next to the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, in Jerusalem's Old City. The festival of Purim commemorates the rescue of Jews from genocide in ancient Persia.

"Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them; but when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them, the Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year; and that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed." Esther 9:24-28

God wants us to remember the mighty deliverances that He has done for us. Still today, the Jewish people remember how God delivered their people through Queen Esther. When we are faced with a new trial or crisis, we quickly tend to forget how God has kept us until now. God repeatedly instructs us in His Word to, "Remember..." Remember all that He has done for you today. You will find the courage and hope you need to move forward by doing this simple exercise.

If we are following Jesus, why aren't we becoming fishermen of men? We are falling behind.

Americans Losing Their Religion

Study shows percentage of Christians has declined — and more people say they have no religion at all.

Are You Sharing Your Faith? Did Reagan Try to Convert Gorbachev?

Did Reagan Try to Convert Gorbachev?

During Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev's summits in the mid-1980s, Reagan speculated that Gorbachev, an avowed atheist, harbored religious beliefs. James Mann lifts the curtain on Reagan's secret attempt to convince the Soviet leader that God exists.

This is a fascinating story found in today's Wall Street Journal. The link to the story is:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123638337001957991.html

President Reagan did his part to share his faith, are we doing ours?

Could this be the Beginning of the End?

U.S. Ready to Shoot Down N. Korea Missile

We are living in such volatile times. Today's headlines read like the response that Jesus gave His disciples when they asked, "When will the end come?" Folks, we are living in the 'last days." Want more proof? Just read the following exchange between our country and North Korea:

The U.S. military is prepared to shoot down a North Korean missile or rocket if President Obama should give the order, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command said Thursday.

"If a missile leaves the launch pad we'll be prepared to respond upon direction of the president," Adm. Timothy Keating told ABC News."

And North Korea's response?

"If the puppet warmongers infringe upon our inviolable dignity even a bit ... we will not only punish the provokers but reduce their stronghold to debris," the committee said in a statement carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency.

Stop and consider that we have a new young president hungry to make his mark on history. Consider the historic implications of this decision that he will be asked to make in the coming days! Our world's economies are tanking and we are already overextended with our military. What will tomorrow bring?

Jesus said, "When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."  Luke 21:28 (New International Version)

While the world is so focused on their economies, could this be the beginning of the end?

Are you ready to stand before Jesus to give an account of your life, should He return this week?

For those who know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, there is peace that remains in the face of such growing uncertainty in our world. Our instructions are straightforward and they bring us peace. Do you have such peace? You can be sure that you are ready for Jesus Christ's return. If you are not sure that you are ready to meet Him, you are not prepared. We can help if you will let us, but by all means, get ready, for HE IS COMING SOON.

A Picture Says a 1000 Words

Back to '02 for Dow
Plunging bank stocks and ugly economic data sent the Dow to its lowest close since October 2002

At times like these, I am glad that I am a faithful tither. I am tied to God's economy that has no need of a stimulus package. There are no Wall Street thieves to rob heaven's storehouse. Be faithful in your giving and God has promised to "open the windows of heaven" for you.

Driver's Ed School?

How do two nuclear submarines carrying state-of-the-art sonar equipment bump into each other? | VIDEO
•French, British Nuclear Submarines Collide in Atlantic

You've got to be kidding me! How do you miss another submarine on your sonar? And what you do with the crews; send them back to Driver's Ed? I guess my take away from this story is just how fragile our world really is. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. My grandfather's advice still rings true today. He told me when I was just a child, "Son, if you live right, you'll die right." What simple, yet profound advice.