We’re ending this series by doing baptisms in Oasis too, which fits perfectly since the topic will be Real You. If you’re ready to be baptized, don’t hesitate to let Jeff or Jack (or your group leader) know. It’s ganna be an awesome night of celebration!

Oasis students…I’m proud of you!  Between going to the movie “To Save A Life” and the “Super Bowl Party” I have met so many of your friends.  But not only are they coming to our events your friends are coming to Oasis.  Way to go!  I know many of you are investing heavily in the lives of others and you’re taking any opportunity you can to invite them.  As I read through the New Testament the heart of Jesus is clear…he loved people that where far from God. I hope you sense God’s pleasure in what you are doing as you desire that those close to you would experience being a part of the family of God!

This morning I took much of the day and headed out of town for a “day away”.  I have fallen out of the habit of doing this once a month.  My goal in these outings is clear…get my heart re-connected/refreshed by God.  It is true of me that I have been sensing a decline in my heart’s passion these days…not a good thing.  It’s not that I’ve had any less view of God or any less of a conscientiousness of my need for Him.  But rather it’s that the pace and the challenges of life have taken some knocks at my heart over the course of the last several months.  If you have walked with God for any period of time you can relate to this.

So today my goal was simple…to reconnect.  I was listening to a message on the way in today and not to my surprise (God’s timing is encouraging) it was on being vitally connected to God if you want to live a passionate life for Christ.  The text was John 15:5-8.  What a powerful text! 

In the five hours that I’ve been on this “day-away” I can honestly say God has totally met with me.  I sense a deep level of connection and a re-newed passion to tackle the joys and the challenges of ministry and life.  My prayer to God: “Lord thank you for being so faithful.  You are real, you prompt, you speak, and you truly are a relational God that loves His children.”  Today I didn’t take a magic pill…just simply sat quiet for a bit, read God’s word, spent some time in prayer, read some of a leadership book, and even took a 10 minute nap! 

So, how you feeling these days?  Has your bible reading gone flat?  Do your prayers sound like a broken record?  Are things that usually don’t bug you getting under your skin?  Do you lack passion for the things of God that used to get you out of bed?  My word of encouragement to you today…lead yourself…get yourself deeply connected to your Savior.  His grace and his mercy is good.

We hope you can join us Sunday night…it’s going to be a blast!

2/04/2010 4:30 PM ET By Terence Moore

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Now this is different. More than a few executives, players and coaches for the Indianapolis Colts are deeply into the spiritual, and they are sincere about it. “I’d say around 100 percent of the guys,” said linebacker Clint Session, studying a ballroom filled with teammates on Thursday at their seaside hotel, where nobody was shy about discussing his faith.

I mean, nobody.

This really is different. Historically, when it comes to professional sports, the most lethal combination in any locker room beyond that of T.O. and a starting quarterback has been that of the Bible and the playbook.

Here are some quick examples from a decades-old list.

During my San Francisco newspaper days, I covered the God Squad of the San Francisco Giants in the early 1980s. The slew of non-believers blamed the small but vibrant group of believers for the team’s devilish play.

Nine years ago, Charlie Ward’s remarks about Jews were misconstrued after somebody revealed the discussion — well, their version of the discussion — of a private Bible study among teammates on the New York Knicks. Ward nevertheless was ridiculed in the aftermath, along with the rest of the organization.

Tebow Testimony

Bonus ESPN Story:

Tim Tebow Story

McCoy Post Game Interview

Don’t know about you but what I’ve seen from what is going on in Haiti is “disturbing” to say the least.  It’s heart wrenching.  It seems like there are a couple responses that we could have. One, look the other way because it’s just to hard to look at head on.  Or two, look the tragedy head on and let our hearts get “wrecked” by it.  Though not the easy option I think we should choose to “enter in” and to be overwhelmed with compassion and prayer for these people. 

I remember when we visited Haiti two summers ago thinking how incredibly bad this place was.  This was before any sort of tragedy of this magnitude had come their way.  To think of  this place now and to see video and photos that represent their reality is hard to do.  Yet as Christ followers our response has to be to engage…to feel their pain as best we can from 1000’s of miles of away.  When we do I think we step closer and closer to the heart of our Heavenly Father. 

Let’s fervently pray that the name of Jesus would be made known as a result of the this…that might sound like a church answer but honestly it’s a good one.  There will be people, thousands and thousands of them that will examine their lives at a deeper level than they ever have before and many of them will be incredibly open to the things of God. 

I got a mass email from Bill Hybels today and he said this: “I have been committing myself to praying for this situation every time I eat or drink something through out my day.  It will be a very long time before any meals will be normal in Haiti.” I think he is right on and I’m trying to do the same thing.

If you feel God is directing you to learn more about what is going on in Haiti right now, Miguel Shaul’s blog is a pretty good place to start. Just click on the link in the sidebar of the Oasis blog here to the right. Pray that this tragedy would lead people to salvation by putting their trust in our Lord Jesus!