Happy yet sad to announce!

     I have said this to some of you, but to others it is a surprise. When February comes around, I will begin working as the middle school director at Livingway Church in Firewheel. This could very possibly turn into a full-time job within a year, as the church is quickly growing. Between now and February, I will visit there once in a while on Sundays, so that my new boss can introduce me to people while I start to get a feel for their church. He is being very respectful of the fact that I am hesitant to leave Northrich in a hurry because of the fact that I have such deeply rooted friendships here.

     I am so sad to leave Northrich. But I know that God is in the midst of this, and I know it's Him calling me to move on to this new position. I thank God and am so grateful for the relationships I've found at Northrich. I know they will last a lifetime, because God is the center of our lives and He will keep us connected! I will continue to pray for Northrich and to visit whenever possible. I am not leaving town; I will remain in Garland and touch base with all of you. Within the next month or two, my car will be running, and I will be able to come visit more often!

     I want to thank all of you for showing me Christ. Northrich is a very small but VERY mighty, God-centered church, and I have been so blessed to be a part of the congregation for three years. This church has showed Christ to me and my family in ways that many churches never would! Again, I am not moving away, so I will remain in your lives and want to continue our relationships, even though I won't be at church anymore as February comes. This message has brought tears to my eyes because I love every one of you so, so dearly, and all of you have a special place in my heart, and that place will remain!

     This new endeavor in my life is already very hard and very sad, which is how I know it's of Christ. God is moving me onto a new place in my life, and since it's of Him, I know it's going to be great. Again, I love all of you, and please keep in touch!! :) 

     "Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians3:12)

In Christ,

Kevin McCracken

DESIRE

Have you ever been to chilis? Do you like the chips and salsa there? They have the best chips and salsa! I can’t get enough of it. I could keep eating that stuff all day and not even order any food. In fact, I’ve done that before. Are there any other types of food that you can't seem to get enough of?
 

I also can’t seem to buy enough deodorant. Ask anyone who knows me, I have a drawer full of deodorant and however much I buy, I can’t buy enough. It’s not because I’m afraid of stinking. I’m never satisfied! Do y’all ever feel that way? Well, there’s verse that I kind of put together with this concept.  God is greater in power than any man. “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land” (Isaiah 1:19)  “The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3) And it goes on to say that underneath are the everlasting arms.

He is telling us that He wants us to be happy with what we have, right? Why can’t we? It’s human nature to crave more and more! We can’t help it! We have to trust God that He will provide the things we need and not the things we want! Do you think God was like I need more shoes, clothes, friends, money! NO! He was human too! But He was perfect.

DESIRE - Everything is never enough. The truth is, we live life to satisfy ourselves. "I am Number One" is how we live. The problem is that once we achieve or accomplish the things we thought would bring us happiness, we find ourselves as empty as before. It never seems to never be enough. Why? Because the emptiness we feel is spiritual, not just physical or emotional.

John 8 – Compassion

I know there are times in middle school when you are really embarrassed. Trust me, it’s happened to me and I’m fully aware that it happens. It still happens to me and most people, even people who are like super old. When I was in middle school, I was in orchestra. First, being in orchestra? You don’t get much nerdier than that!! Well, to make matters worse, we had a concert one day and I knew my music pretty well, I was in first chair which in orchestra is a big deal. So we get on stage and I’m like oh, I got this, I can do it…hello, because I know my music!! Well, anyway we are fixing to start and my director asked me for my rosin which it something that we use to help make the violin sound better. So, I kind of stand up holding my violin and bow in one hand and the rosin in the other, handing it to him and my foot slips….knocking my stand over into the director…he fell down, and I fell of the stage! It was very embarrassing! So, of course my director is ticked off and I got into huge trouble with him! But, unlike my director and worldly consequences, God has compassion for us when we mess up!!

Jesus has compassion on a woman caught in the act of Sin;
John 8:3--‐11

^“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” ⁶ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” ¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:3-11).

Focus Points!

·        This woman has committed adultery – and committing adultery, or having an affair with someone other than your spouse, was a huge crime back then. You were an outcast and stoned.

·        No one will ever know what Jesus wrote in the sand.

·        God  has compassion for us

·        Jesus won’t condemn us

·        “Go now and leave your life of sin!!” vs. 11

·        She still will sin but Jesus forgave her!

·        We will never fully leave our life of sin

·        But because Jesus died on the cross we are forgiven of all our sins but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t intentionally sin because we know we are forgiven.

Let Jesus be Your Remedy!

When you hear a good song, you like it the first time you hear it, in most circumstances. Something deep within you is stirred by the combination of great lyrics and the way the instruments work together to make a beautiful melody. One of my favorite songs – “Remedy” by David Crowder – has all of these things and more. The harmonies and the scenic instruments work together to complete a delightful sound to your ears.

            The song “Remedy” is one of my favorites because of the way it sums up God’s love for broken people like us. It starts out very relaxed with the xylophone and the ukulele and soft pattern on the drums. Then the singing begins: “Here we are; the broken and used; mistreated, abused.” These lyrics are true in a lot of people’s cases. We are broken, like that girl who got raped at eleven and can’t love again! Used, mistreated and abused. Like that boy who gets beaten by his dad on a regular occasion! The song gradually gets faster towards the chorus; the buildup symbolizes the triumph of what David Crowder is singing about.  “So we lift up our voices,” he sings. “We open our hands, to cling to the love that we can’t comprehend!”

I truly believe that once you are saved, you want to jump up and down and share with everyone the great miracles that God has done in your life. That’s the same basic idea that David Crowder is talking about. We lift up our voices and open our hands! We are eager to praise God because He saves us! And even then, we cannot grasp the concept of the love that God has for us, because it’s beyond human comprehension.

The world around us teaches us that the love of God either doesn’t exist or doesn’t matter – that we should only worry about ourselves. We have been brought up in a world that is vulgar, selfish and teaches the wrong ways for a Christian. It’s hard to get out of that lifestyle, even after we are saved.  But we must remember what Jesus said: “Take courage, for I have overcome the world.” David’s song reminds us of this – that Jesus is our remedy, that He took our place on that Cross so we don’t have to worry about the world we live in. Instead we can try to help others in the way that God has helped us.

            I have a question for you. What frees you from feeling broken, bandaged or mistreated? We all have things in our lives that keep us from seeing God’s face. All of us are here in this world bandaged and bruised! Just like David Crowder states in this song, we are waiting for a cure. But many of us don’t realize that Jesus is that cure. The cure that mends our broken hearts and fills the void within us! Our beautiful King brings relief, and He is with us wherever we are in life! He went through worse things than we went through. In fact, He went through the worst of all; he was beaten and was crucified, willingly, for our sins!

            He is the one who has saved us, David sings; he is the one who forgave us; the one who came and is coming again! He’s the remedy. We don’t have to worry about anything in life because we have a God who is willing to take everything we are going through, and handle it for us! We have to have faith that He will either take it away from us – or work through us to deal with it. Either way, He will handle it, if we allow Him to.

So we must let go and let God be our remedy. As David Crowder says in his song, “We lift up our voices, open our hands, let go of the things that have kept us from Him.” If you find this difficult, picture yourself kneeling at the Cross. This mental image of myself kneeling at the Cross helps me whenever I have trouble letting go of something. Because the Cross is where Christ let go of His own life to take a hold of me!

            The lyrics in this song have so much meaning. At the end of this song, we are asked to be the remedy. Jesus doesn’t only heal us; He works through us to heal the broken people all around us. Consequently we now have the power, with God, to change lives and to help others see how great God is.

Fall Apart: Josh Wilson

How many of you have just wanted to start over because your life looks like a wreck? That's happened to me a lot this month. With school, relationships and my friendship with a few people. When your whole world is caving in is when you are more likely to see God working more. && remember, God can make anything new if you just ask Him :)

We need to take this verse seriously! "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12) God has commanded us to do all of these things on a regular basis! This is for me too, don't always be in a bad mood. Don't get mad at someone because they didn't call you back or something. We are living for a greater purpose. And that is to glorify God in everything we do! THIS IS NOT OUR HOME!! :) That excites me! I'm excited for the day that God calls me home. I'll be in a better place with the God who created me! That excites me! And should excite all of you! :)

We Want To Share

We Want To Share

Needless to say, I had a wonderful time at celebrate freedom 2011. Had great music and wonderful people there to worship with. This is just something I experienced while there and was hoping you all would enjoy it too!

Wyld Life Camp 2011

It's been a VERY long time since I've posted. That's not okay. I apologize!! My life has been crazy lately. I just got back from Wyld Life camp in Burnett, TX. It was great. Very exhausting, but I love going every year! It's great to see those kids so eager to know more! I got asked plenty of great questions. One of them being, "Does God love the Satan?" I was so excited when I was asked this...Yes, of course God loves Satan. He loves everyone! I took this time to explain to Him, and you can do everything wrong in your life, and God still is CRAZY about you. He doesn't want you to be perfect when you start your relationship with Him! He loves you JUST THE WAY YOU ARE. Overflowing in sin and God still loves you no matter what! He is waiting to start that relationship with you! 


I love being able to share that news with people, and answer questions one may have! Later that week, that guy prayed to accept Jesus in his heart, and I had the privilege of walking him through it! It was a great week at camp and I'm excited to fellowship with those guys over this year until next year! :)