It’s amazing how quickly we can travel around our world. Saturday morning I was in the comforts of my own home, and Saturday night I was in a hotel in Managua, Nicaragua. I’ve spent the last few days working with Because We Care Ministries training pastors in Choluteca, Honduras and Somotillo, Nicaragua. The men above are my hereos. They serve as pastors in small villages around northern Nicaragua. They live a tough life, and nothing about their life is easy. One of the pastors in Honduras had to walk over three hours in order to take a two hour bus ride so that he could be at our 9am pastor training. That’s commitment. The excitement these men have for learning God’s Word is contagious.

I don’t have to tell you how easy we have it in the United States. The poverty and struggle that I see here is humbling. And yet the problems they face in their churches are very similar to the problems we see in the North American church. We are challenging them to serve their communities and to lead with a Holy boldness. Will you join me in praying for these men as they are studying and learning this week.

I shared a video in church last week that a lot of people have been asking me about. The video has received over 20 million views over the past few months on Youtube. It’s titled, Why I hate religion, but love Jesus. The focus of the video by Jefferson Bethke is to highlight the difference between false religion and a relationship with Jesus. The video seems to have hit a nerve, with many critiquing it and criticizing it, but I think the video serves as a wakeup call to the church. We do have to be careful in defining what we mean by religion, but I think Bethke defines it accurately in the video. He says that religion is man searching for God, while Christianity is God searching for man.

Are we inviting people into a relationship with Jesus Christ, or are we inviting them into our system of rules and tradition and religion? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I just updated the site for Because We Care Ministries. I moved the site over to WordPress so it would be cheaper and easier to maintain. Don and Pam Gillette do an incredible job of ministering to the people of Nicaragua. Our church has been on numerous trips there to work with them, and I highly recommend that you check out their ministry and see how you can partner with them. I’m planning on returning in April for a week of training local pastors.

If you are interested in any website work, check out my other site at FEDesign.net.

We just worked out the details to host Coffey Anderson at Cornerstone next month. Coffey is an incredible musician and an all around great guy. He was a finalist on the show Nashville Star and his website iCoffey.com is a great place to learn more about his music. I first found out about him through his YouTube channel several years ago. On YouTube, he shares both his original songs and his great covers. I love his guitar style! You can help us spread the word by downloading the poster below and sharing it around town.

Click Here for a pdf poster you can print out

Last year, one of the books I read that had the biggest effect on me was the book Not a Fan, by Kyle Idleman. When I read it, I knew it was something I wanted to share with our church. So this week, we are starting a six week series based on the book. I am really excited about this study, because I know it has the power to start a movement. A movement of people who are not content with simply being fans of Jesus, but who are committed to follow Jesus no matter the cost.

Two of our LifeGroups will also be going through the corresponding small group material, and we will show the Not a Fan movie on Saturday night, February 11th. Details are on our church website. If you haven’t read the book, we have copies available for purchase at the church. I want to encourage you to invite others to join us for this six week challenge.

It’s that time of year when everyone starts thinking about goals and plans for the new year. I want to challenge you to make Bible reading a priority in your life. Regular, systematic Bible reading is the best way to jump start your spiritual growth. When you read the Bible, you are allowing the God of the universe to speak directly into your life.

Many of you have gotten new mobile devices this Christmas. From iPads to smartphones to android tablets, YouVersion has you covered. It’s a great Bible app for your mobile device that allows you to have access to the Bible from anywhere. I use it on my phone and on my iPad to read the Bible. YouVersion also has a great assortment of Bible reading plans and devotions to guide you.

I just started a chronological reading plan to help me as I read through the Bible this year. Why don’t you join me and start reading today! Don’t want til January 1st. Start now and start unpacking the incredible truth of God’s Word. If you want to download the app for your mobile device visit www.mycornerstone.org/bible to find out how.

One of the big new features that YouVersion has added this year is the ability to email your Bible reading to you each day. On your computer, login to the youversion site and view your reading plan. On the settings tab, choose email delivery and you’re all set. Here are a few suggested reading plans and devotions for you to consider this year (there are over 200 in all!)

• The Chronological Reading Plan – Reading God’s Story - this is the one I’m doing this year
• The Essential 100 – 100 days to take you through the key passages of the Bible
• The One Year Bible
• New Thru 30 – the New Testament in 30 days
• First Steps Reading Plan 
• Josh McDowell’s Youth Devotions
• Life Application Devotional
• Rick Warren’s Daily Devotional

If you don’t like reading on your computer or mobile device, we have some Bible reading plans that you can download and print out on our church website. Click here to see the plans we have available.

When we open up the Bible, we’re inviting the creator of the universe to speak directly to us. It’s our connection to His truth—the story of His love for us since the beginning of time. And it’s meant to be woven throughout our lives, giving us new wisdom with each season we experience.

For us to know and understand God’s Will for our lives, we must invest time in reading and learning His Word. It is His divine love letter that reveals to us how we can be reconciled to God.