Grace Fellowship Church

A Church in Lawton, OK

Spiritual Growth

Focusing on the Blessings

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Let’s tell it like it is. This COVID-19 season we’re in the midst of is difficult. It’s scary. It’s frustrating. It’s inconvenient. It’s overwhelming. And it’s certainly different from what we’re used to. 

A LOT has changed and we’re all still trying to wrap our heads around this new norm that, for many of us, means working from home, home-schooling our kids, social distancing from our loved ones, canceling travel plans, and wondering when all of this will be a thing of the past. 

The unknowns of COVID-19 are many!

But, I’ve learned that the more time I spend asking questions, fearing tomorrow, and looking at the 4 walls around me in self-pity and despair the deeper I sink into my rabbit hole of misery and depression. 

Rather than basking in the negative of our current circumstances of isolation and change, we can choose to dwell on the good in the midst (Phil. 4:8). After all, this is the day that the Lord has made so let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps. 118:24)!

Fixing our eyes on the good in our lives does not nullify the seriousness of this virus nor does it suggest suffering is absent from our lives. 

What it does do is it helps us refocus our thoughts. It centers us on God’s promises and ultimately strengthens our hearts, minds, and souls so that we can be the best spouse, parent, or friend we can be. 

Have you ever walked a tightrope?

I haven’t and I sure hope I never have to!

But, balance and coordination aside, just imagine there’s been an emergency and your only way to safety is by walking a tightrope from one building to another. Where are your eyes focused? 

They’re probably not closed.

They’re probably not focused on the chaos behind you.

And they’re probably not focused on the ground beneath you either. 

Most likely your eyes are focused on what’s in front of you — the safe haven on the other side. 

It’s the “good” of safety offered on the other side of the rope that give you the hope and strength to focus on reaching the other side. 

Focus on the ground beneath you, and your risk of becoming unstable and off-balances increases, as does your risk of falling. 

The same is true for our heart. Where our eyes are focused, our heart will follow.

So what are your eyes focused on today? Are you dwelling in the suffering or are you dwelling in the blessing? 

Proverbs 17:22, NLT warns us to keep a cheerful heart for “a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.”

Just as good medicine offers relief from an illness, so a cheerful heart offers relief from the pain and discomfort we experience in our suffering. Likewise, it strengthens us so we can continue serving God faithfully in whatever role he’s called us (despite the suffering).  

Proverbs 15 heeds a similar warning in verses 13 and 15. The Teacher writes, “A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit.
For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.”

Dwelling in our suffering and focusing on the negative of our circumstances only weakens us; it crushes our spirit and only brings greater anguish. It becomes more difficult to see the good when we’re stuck focusing on the bad. 

On the other hand, choosing to dwell in the blessings and focus on the good not only strengthens our own hearts but it enables us to strengthen others who are struggling with their own hardships as the result of this season. 

To see life as a continual feast is to see our current circumstances —the isolation, face masks, homeschooling, working from home, virtual gatherings— as a time to celebrate. And to find reason to celebrate, we must fix our eyes on the blessings amid the chaos and suffering.

So, where have you seen God moving in the midst of your current situation? 

For me, this season has given me:

  • More time to spend with my loved ones, making memories. As a recovering work-a-holic, this time has forced me to reevaluate how I spend my time. I actually “leave” my office on time now! And we’ve spent evenings playing games thru video chat with those I might see once a year if I’m able to travel. 
  • More time to actually be still and reflect. I’m learning what it means to truly be still in the presence of the Lord. I still have progress to be made, but being sheltered-in-place has forced me to slow down and breath allowing me more time with the Lord — praying, listening, and worshiping. 
  • A greater respect and appreciation for our healthcare workers, teachers, grocery store workers, janitors, postal service personnel, and so many other essential workers who’re often discredited and undervalued. 
  • A chance to finish some of the waitlisted and unfinished home projects. 

I’m blessed to still be working at all, even if it means having a dog at my feet 24/7 and assisting my teenager with classes throughout my day. Not to mention the weather has been beautiful, I haven’t had to fill my gas tank, I have the time (and the energy) to walk the dogs before the end of the day, and I’m finally finishing the last few classes of my Master’s degree.

Now it’s your turn! I challenge you to go even deeper in seeing the good.

I crafted these 5 simple steps —prepare, pause, pray, pen, and praise— as they’ve helped me stay focused on the blessings despite my suffering and I hope they’ll help you to stay focused all the same.

Prepare – Grab your Bible, a notebook, and a pen or pencil (and maybe some coffee, too). 

Pause – Look for opportunities to pause and reflect, distraction free. 

Pray – Ask God to open your eyes to the blessings all around you and to focus your eyes on what is good. Lay the pain, worry, discomfort, frustration, whatever you’re feeling, at the foot of the cross. 

Pen – Open the notebook and start listing anything and everything good in your life. You might write one word (i.e. time) OR you may choose to elaborate more (i.e. time with my spouse and my kids). 

Praise – Now, thank God for those blessings. Go through the list and give thanks to God (i.e. Thank you Lord for the time I’ve been given to spend with my spouse and my kids). 

—Brooke

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 

Your Next Steps

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Read The Bible

Jesus tells all believes to celebrate water baptism. It’s our first big step of obedience to Him and it’s a way that we go public with our personal faith. So here’s the order: first, you become born again in Him and then you celebrate the miracle of God in your life through baptism.

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Download a Step-by-Step SOAP Guide

Ask for Prayer

Our pastors and prayer team want to take your requests to God. Whatever your need or request is, we want to prayer for you. Submit a prayer request at anytime!

Submit a Prayer Request

Your Next Big Decision Is Baptism

Jesus tells all believes to celebrate water baptism. It’s our first big step of obedience to Him and it’s a way that we go public with our personal faith. So here’s the order: first, you become born again in Him and then you celebrate the miracle of God in your life through baptism.

Learn More
Register for Baptism

Find Community

We were created for community. We are not meant to do like alone. We grow in community, not in isolation. Our Life Groups are small groups of people who meet together on a regular basis to study Scripture and grow stronger together through prayer, encouragement, and relationship. God also calls us to serve using the unique gifts and talents he’s given each of us. The church Body cannot become unified in Christ until we all serve together as one body using those gifts. There’s a place for you in the church. Find out more about Life Groups or serving, today.

Join a Life Group
Learn more about serving opportunities

Be Still & Know

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Written By: Pastor Tanner Church

“Be still and know that I am God.” 

Psalm 46:10

In a time that is full of uncertainty and fear a verse like this seems both so needed and so difficult.

Being still is not what I want to do at all but how can I do that?

There is so much happening and so much to worry about and to do.

We struggle so much because the pace of modern life is fast. It’s constant movement and we have become accustomed to this way of life. Being still seems like a far off and uncomfortable thing to do.

I have struggled with this and have come to the place in my life as a husband and father and most of all a Jesus follower where I am not ok with this pace.

Jesus has some incredible and refreshing things for us, but they are only found when we go at his pace which is much slower than ours.

I have been on a journey for a few months now trying to figure this exact thing out. And while I haven’t arrived by any means, I have seen the faithfulness of God and he has shown me things that have been so life giving. Some of what I am going to talk about may seem simple or obvious, but I think that it’s the things we think are simple and have overlooked that are what we need to break through in order to experience the fullness of life that Jesus has for us.

So, lets do it.

Prayer

I think for a lot of us prayer can be difficult or strange. I think this has a lot to do with an unhealthy idea of prayer. We think prayer is a mental ascent to God who is in some far away location. I must have my mind free from distraction and focus so that God can hear me. I need to have the right words and have it all in the right order so my prayer will work. Expectations like these can make prayer difficult, or at least a bit of a struggle.

Here is how I think about it and how I think the Bible would pose it.

Our soul is the real us. (This might seem random but go with me.) We are not a body, but a soul made in the image of God. Our soul is the real us, what we feel, our personality, our desires, our emotions, everything we are. Our soul is real and and it is unique to each of us. If you were to do an Xray of my entire body (again I know this is random, just go with me) or to look through my body, you would not see a soul. It cannot be seen but it is more of who I am than my entire body. God occupies all the space around us in the same way our souls occupy our bodies. He cannot be seen but he is as real as our soul. God is not in some far off location but very literally in every space around and in us.

God’s closeness to us is crucial in understanding prayer. We don’t have to mentally struggle to connect with a God who is far off. He is closer than your own skin!

Knowledge of this, for me, makes prayer easier. There is no way God could not hear me. He is in the very breath I breath. I don’t have to strain with energy to connect with him, like someone holding there phone as high as they can on the tips of there toes to get better signal. I can just speak with the knowledge that he is listening.

So, find a spot, maybe a chair, a spot on the floor or in your garage. Wherever that spot is, take a few minutes — like 10 or 15 if you can — and talk. Talk about everything. And remember, He is your Father who cares about everything. Big or small. He wants to hear. Thank Him for things in your life, ask him for things you need, apologize for things you have said or done that you know were wrong. Say it all.

Another form of prayer that I love and I think is so life giving is “breathe prayers.”

An old pastor of mine told me about this and I have no idea where it came from but its wonderful. If you are busy or stressed and don’t have time to find a spot or 10 or 15 minutes, you still have time to breathe.

Take a few breaths and talk with your Father. Breathe out anger, shame, worry, and breathe in His love, His peace, His forgiveness. Within a breath, express yourself to God. If it helps to even say what you are breathing out and in under your breath, do it. And remember above everything else, there is no law about this. There is no condemnation here. Practice makes perfect and he sees your steps and is not expecting perfection. He knows and loves you.

What am I supposed to “know” about God?

Psalm 46 says to “Be still and know God” so how am I supposed to know him? And what am I supposed to know about him?

God is a person. He has emotion and preferences like any other person. Obviously, God is very different than us, but nevertheless, He is not an emotionless, human being. He is a person with characteristics and personality.

Imagine how your best friend or spouse would react if you said that you “knew” them but you really only meant you acknowledge that they were are physically present before you. That would not feel good to anyone. We want to be known. We make ourselves known by showing and sharing our emotions and thoughts with people we are close to and care about. We have characteristics and it feels so good when the people who we love and are close to recognize those characteristics and see us for who we have shown ourselves to be.

One of the most harmful things that can happen to a person is to be seen and known by someones idea of you and not who you really are. So, what are we to “know” about God? That he is a person who wants to be seen and recognized by who He has shown himself to be and not by our idea of him. To recognize that he has shown who he is and how he wants to be known and loved through his word. We need to “know” who God is, how he has presented himself who he has shown himself to be.

One of the best ways to know God and show him love in a way that he loves to receive it, is through worship.

This can for sure look like singing but it is not limited to that. John 4:25 says to worship God in spirit and in truth. This means to worship him with your true self. Who you truly are. Your personhood and your personality pressed into God. Enjoying him and his presence.

We have made worship hard. Something that is difficult and that seems like we have to work for it. It’s not true. We are literally made to worship. It comes as easy to us as anything does. We focus on and rejoice in so many things throughout our day. This is natural and easy for us because it was placed in us by God himself. Simply rejoicing in, focusing on and being in his presence is worship to him. He loves it.

So, throughout your day, when you have a pause or a free moment, just rest and be in his presence as a righteous and loved son or daughter of God. That is worship and that is knowing him and giving him love in a form that he loves because of who he is.

My last encouragement for all of us is this: Christians are notorious for trying really hard to do these things and then we fail.

So, lets not try really hard, but lets train really hard. You don’t try to run a marathon. You train. You make little steps forward every day. We are on a journey and if you mess up or fall short, go again, get back up, train harder. God sees our training and our work and he loves it and it means so much to him in and of itself. He is your Father and he loves you.

So, my thought and challenge for myself and for you, if you are willing, is to acknowledge that God is closer to me than I am probably comfortable with and I can speak to him easily.

There is no strain or pressure, but speaking as one does to a friend.

And, to explore who God has shown himself to be and not whatever my idea of him is (which is informed by parents, pastors, politics, friends, culture, movies, and the list goes on and on).

God has shown himself as his true self in his word. A great place to start is the Gospels. Jesus is said to be the visible image of an invisible God (Colossians 1:15) and everything he did and said is what his Father in heaven does and says.

I truly believe that if we spend time in prayer and communicate to God our thoughts and feelings, it will give us a sense of his closeness and true affection and love for us as well as making us feel known. And if we spend time knowing God for who he is, our relationship will expand and thrive is a way that is special and beautiful.

Some potentially helpful tools and books to read are:
– The album “Forever Amen” by Stephanie Gretzinger
– Psalm 139
– Matthew 6 (The Lords Prayer)
– The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
– The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer

CABIN THRIVE: A REMEDY FOR CABIN FEVER

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Cabin fever is real, y’all!

If you’ve ever spent time cooped up inside for a significant duration of time you’ve probably experienced “cabin fever” — the irritability and restlessness that typically results from isolation.

COVID-19 has changed how we do life.

At least for this given season. And chances are, even once restrictions are lifted and fear subsides, there’ll remain lasting change in its wake.

As we walk through this new season, practicing social distancing, we’re experiencing life in an entirely different light.

Grocery store shelves are left bare. Restaurants are offering curbside pick-up and delivery in hopes of staying afloat. Schools are closing for the remainder of the school year. And during a time no one is traveling, gas prices continue to be reduced.

So, during a time without schools, movie theaters, shopping centers, arcades, parks, and in-person church gatherings, how do we keep from cabin fever-ing? How do we cabin thrive instead?

To thrive means to prosper or to flourish.

Just as a plant must be watered to thrive, we must be watered; we, too, cannot thrive without being nourished. And just as our bodies hunger and thirst, our souls hunger and thirst for spiritual nourishment.

The irritability and restlessness of cabin fever is just that — our soul hungering and thirsting for something more nourishing than that of the temporary sources we’re currently seeking fulfillment from.

As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.

(Psalm 42:1)

Temporary Water Sources:

  1. Streaming
  2. Sleeping
  3. Social Media-ing

These things can be great .. but there are limits. We will not find long term satisfaction through these means and will soon find ourselves thirsty once again. But just as Christ explains to the Samaritan woman in John 4, when we drink from the water of life (Jesus) we will find our thirst is quenched for eternity rather than temporarily.

Long-Term Water Sources:

  1. Sit with God
  2. Serve Others
  3. Social with Safety

Scripture describes God as “the fountain of living water” (Jeremiah 2:13, 17:13). And from the fountain comes water — a necessity for sustained life.

God is our source and Jesus is our nourishment. To be nourished we must seek it through the source from which it dwells. We must seek the Lord!

“They will come home and sing songs of joy on the heights of Jerusalem.
    They will be radiant because of the Lord’s good gifts—
the abundant crops of grain, new wine, and olive oil,
    and the healthy flocks and herds.
Their life will be like a watered garden,
    and all their sorrows will be gone.”

(Jeremiah 31:12)

“But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant,
    Israel my chosen one.
The Lord who made you and helps you says:
Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant,
    O dear Israel, my chosen one.
For I will pour out water to quench your thirst
    and to irrigate your parched fields.
And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants,
    and my blessing on your children.
They will thrive like watered grass,
    like willows on a riverbank.”

(Isa. 44:1-4)
  • Read through Proverbs with us as a church. Follow along on Facebook & Instagram.
  • Find a Bible Study method that works for you. We like the S.O.A.P. method.
  • Schedule time with God every day. If this is a new concept for you, start with 5 minutes. Often we set such high expectations for ourselves we become disappointed and discouraged when we fail to meet those expectations. So, start small and work more time in every day. You’ll likely realize it becomes more natural to spend time with God. And remember, you don’t have to talk the entire time. God wants to speak to you, so don’t hesitate to sit in silence and just listen!
  • Worship at home. Whether you choose to listen to the GraceFCLawton Spotify playlist or another favorite. Tune in to your favorite Christian station throughout the day while you’re cleaning house, playing with the kiddos, or even cooking dinner.
  • Check out the YouVersion Bible App. You can read devotionals with your family & friends.
  • Take communion. You don’t have to attend in-person church services to partake in the Lord’s Supper. You can take communion at home. Let us know if we can serve you with some communion elements as we’d love to drop some individually wrapped elements off to you so you may partake in communion regardless of where you are.
  • Check on your neighbors. Some of our neighbors are more vulnerable to the virus and can’t (or shouldn’t) risk exposure. Yet, they still have essential needs. Ask if you can help pick up groceries, pharmacy needs, walk their dog, pray with them (over the phone), or maybe help them set up their streaming so they can watch church online.
  • Fill out our Serve Form and we’ll let you know if anyone reaches out to us with a specific need.
  • Keep yourself healthy. One of the easiest ways we can serve others is through the practice of healthy habits — hand washing, cleaning, sanitizing, and social distancing.
  • Pray for others. Small business owners, parents now homeschooling their kids, prisoners, nursing homes, healthcare workers, churches, the unemployed, the homeless communities, government officials, etc.
  • Invite your family & friends to join you in the YouVersion Bible App. Experience the Bible in community. Invite your community to complete devotionals together.
  • Join in on our #EasterAtGraceLawton Scavenger Hunt. This one’s especially fun for families! Drive around town and answer the trivia questions on the painted windows to complete the Trivia Puzzle for a chance to win some great prizes!
  • Host online watch parties for Sunday service on Facebook. Engage your watch party with the sermon application questions that will be provided with each weeks message notes.
  • Join the Church Online chat when you tune into services on Sunday. Our online engagement pastors are available to chat and pray with you during our 4 Sunday service times at 8:30a, 10a, 11:45a, & 5:30p.

Our Prayer

Lord, may we use our time wisely, glorifying the name of Jesus in all we do. May this season of isolation be a time we thrive in your presence — continuing to be the hands and feet of Jesus. In Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen.

I Transitioned To Adulthood: A Testimony

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I unfollowed God because I transitioned into adulthood.

We all like the stories of people that 1. were sinful, 2. found Jesus, and 3. now everything’s great. But what if that’s not my story? One of our members here at Grace, Michel, shares his testimony having grown up in the church only to slowly fade away as he transitioned into adulthood.     “For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Michel Harding and I probably have a very similar story to some of you in this room. I grew up in a Christian household, I was in church every Sunday, I went to Sunday school most of the time, I went to a private Christian school for kindergarten, and vacation Bible school most summers. From day one my parents taught me all about the Bible stories: David and Goliath… Jesus and the disciples… Adam and Eve.      But for me the stories were not deep/personal, they were just stories. I remember being in Colorado and going to church, I must have been in fourth or fifth grade, and I remember planning out when I would get up and go “use the restroom” during worship. I was the type of kid who did not like worship back then. Anyways, I knew that there were three songs, but I had to be careful. If I went too soon, I would get back at the beginning of the second song. But if I went too late, I would walk in after everyone has already taken a seat and everyone would notice. But that is what I did. What I did not realize is that these thoughts of “being bored” stayed with me and continued to grow as I went to high school. I Started realizing that it was not exciting to wake up early in the morning on Sunday to go to church…. The messages were boring…. I did not understand the Bible…. I was more excited about seeing the friends that I knew then what we were doing and the message that we were listening to. That was my life through high school.     Then came college. I had all the freedom in the world. And I don’t know about y’all but I also had an amazing ‘book of excuses.’ ‘Oh, I don’t want to wake up early because it’s my only day off.’ ‘Oh, I need to get my rest…’ ‘Oh I need to study for my classes because I’m going to college and working.’ ‘I don’t have time.’ Each excuse added upon the last until I found myself taking step after step after step away from my faith. The next thing I knew I had not been to church in 2 years.      During this time, I became a workaholic. I would work 50 to 60 hours a week, go to school 15 hours a week and then come home and sleep. I used to joke about how my life revolves around three things: work, school and sleep. And that I knew the semester was almost over I would always get sick at the end of each semester. For my work… I became stagnate. I was not learning new things. I was not growing. I was doing the same thing over and over. Then I graduated college. I stayed in Lubbock and kept working, but I lost the aspect of interactions that going to class every day brought. I had not built up real relationships with people so I got to this lonely time. AS a result, I was bringing my frustrations to work. I was getting frustrated with people when they did not meet my ‘high standards.’ I would take my workaholic mindset and expect people to do the same. I was running people into the ground and wearing them out. As a result I was pushing people away at work.. which led to even more loneliness. This was the only time in my life that I can truly say I was lonely and depressed.     …But thank God, that my story doesn’t end there. By the grace of God, I had a fellow brother in the faith that invited me to church. Being as lonely as I was, I jumped at the opportunity to build some relationships with somebody outside of the four walls of the place that I worked. I started going to church and listening to this fantastic pastor who just spoke the truth about the Bible. Truth that started building up convictions in my heart for the first time in my life. I remember that this pastor would always challenge the congregation with three things; He would say if we would just read our Bibles every single day, go to church once a week and join a life group, we would be amazed at what our lives will look like 6 to 12 months from today. I took this concept and ran with it. I started reading my Bible (not every day but close), I was in the church pews every single Sunday, and I joined a life group. And what I will tell you is that the life group is where things started getting crazy.      I think it was the second, or third time that I was attending this life group, the leader started talking about the day that he was baptized. How excited he was and how great of a day he remembered. Now, remember what I said earlier, I was in a Church from day one. I was baptized when I was in kindergarten, or first grade, but I couldn’t remember the day… I couldn’t remember this massive declaration of my faith… Did I make the decision because everyone else did that day, or because I genuinely wanted a relationship with Christ? Even to this day, I do not remember, but what I can tell you is that this was the first of many convictions that the Lord placed on my heart. I just knew that I had to get baptized again. Not because I needed some validation from my life group leader. Not because it says in the Bible that if you can’t remember the single day that you were baptized that it “didn’t work,” and you must do it again. But simply because I felt in my heart that this is what God was calling me to do.     …so that’s what I did. I got baptized again, and what I’ll tell you is that from that day on, my life changed. I can honestly say that since the day I got baptized, March 16, 2016, my loneliness disappeared. My depression… gone. The beginning of Every single spiritual gift that God has given me can be linked back to that day. Two months later, I got a job that jump started my career. Five months after that, I met this beautiful woman who is now my wife, and in about 30ish days, my first child will be born. Now, I can go on and on about each of the many stepping stones that have landed me in front of you all today, but long story short, it was like this one event sparked them all. Now, please do not understand me… all of these events did not happen because of being baptized. All of these blessings happened because I listened to a conviction that God placed on my heart, and what I will tell you is that God states over and over again in his word that he will bless those who listen to Him.”  

22 Baptisms!

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Hey Grace! My name is Tanner and I am the Connections Pastor here at Grace. On Sunday November 3rd we celebrated 22 Baptisms as a church.  It was an incredible Sunday and one that I won’t forget any time soon. What was really cool about these Baptisms in particular was that going into that Sunday we had 9 baptisms scheduled. 13 were spontaneous after hearing an incredible message delivered by Pastor Josh Trueblood. Pastor Josh felt so strongly to talk about baptisms and encourage people to take that step even if they hadn’t signed up during the message. The night before Baptism Sunday our some of our First Impressions team members went out and bought shirts, shorts, bras and yes even underwear for people to change into so that there was no excuse not to get baptized. It was amazing to see people flood our lobby during and after service to get clothes so they could get baptized. I love that God moved so powerfully and had a plan for that Sunday and He clued us in as a church so we could be ready to help people with that decision. Baptism is a huge deal in our faith. It means so many things. It’s a public declaration of faith, it’s a powerful internal moment of life change and it’s a massive step in obedience to Jesus. So many times in the Gospel baptism is the step that immidiatley follows being saved. Acts 2:38 says “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” The Apostle Peter sees the importance of this decision and it was so amazing to see that same spirit in our church on Sunday. Thank you Grace Fellowship for being a church that is so hungry for God and so hungry for more! Thank you for your obedience to Jesus and your willingness to move forward in your faith and change into brand new clothes and underwear to get baptized! You are amazing! Pastor Tanner