The empty tomb turned the world upside down. The women were expecting to find Jesus’ dead body in a closed tomb, but instead the stone was rolled away and the body of the Lord was not there. The Lord emptied himself of everything by giving his life. At the outset of this reality, it seemed like another failed attempt at redeeming the world of its failings. The women were left in wonder and confusion but the angels appeared proclaiming, “He is not here; he has risen!” What?! Death is not the final answer?! There is life beyond the grave?!

      Jesus revealed that living a life of self-sacrifice and obedience to God will lead to eternal life and joy. As Jesus gave all his heart and all his love, he was able to conquer death and overcome the grave. Seeking a life of self-promotion and self-glorification, will onlylead us to forfeiting our souls in pursuit of our own benefit. The pursuits and desires of this materialistic world will not carry us past the grave. They have no power to save our lives. They have no ability to do us any good. We use them and then they are gone. They are fleeting and they are weak. They demand our lives to obtain and leave us empty and wanting more. Turn your life upside down.

      Empty yourself and pursue the Lord, then you will find life. Then you will be full, and his power and grace will break through the bonds of sin and death. Stop killing yourself by trying to gain more. Start living real life by giving more, serving more, and loving more. “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33). Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Matt. 6:24). “Choose you this day whom you will serve” (Josh. 24:15). Please choose life.

-Bryan Johnston

     When I was in college and traveling between Culbertson, MT and York, NE there were many times that I was literally running on empty. With many miles between towns I had to strategically plan out my gas station stops. The wind and the traffic at times negatively impacted the fuel efficiency of my compact car. There were times that I was 50 miles from the nearest gas station when my fuel gauge flattened out on empty. Somehow, I never ran out there always seemed to be enough reserves or fumes in the fuel tank to power my car into the next town.

     Jesus emptied himself when he came to this earth. He left heaven to become a man and as a man he emptied himself by becoming a servant. As a servant he become obedient to death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:6-8). See what the Lord was able to accomplish when he gave up everything. The call of Jesus to become his disciple is also call to empty oneself. The first disciples left everything. Upon calling his disciples, Jesus expects the response to be a complete denial of self and a total following of trust and obedience. He says, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

     If you would like to have a full life this year, then be like Christ and follow him. Following Jesus is a life of emptying yourself of all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and seeking him first. Being a disciple of Christ means choosing to be last, leaving everything behind, and taking nothing with you on the journey. Deny yourself and take up your cross daily and follow Jesus. If you want to gain your life you will lose it. If you want to live a life to the fullest, then you have to become nothing. Choose to become less that he can become more. May God bless you with a full life this year.

Bryan Johnston

As of this writing, our website in its current iteration has been online for 5 years, 4 months, 24 days. In that period, 1,179,396 unique visits (not counting repeats) have occurred, which averages out to 596 visits per day as of this date. We would like to take a moment to thank each and every one of you from around the world for stopping by (often many times over) and helping to spread God's word.

Mark Magill, Webmaster

     We had such a great response from our "40 Days of Prayer" that many wanted to continue the focus of praying together. In the General Downloads section  you will find a reading and prayer guide called "Praying Through Romans." Use this guide to study and pray through the book  of Romans as we study and discuss the Romans together in our Sunday Morning Bible Class. You can also click on THIS LINK to go directly there. To Save a copy of the file (instead of opening it) RIGHT-CLICK on the link and choose "Save Link As.." or "Save Target As..." whichever your browser uses.

     God’s great love has been evident to me this past week. We were blessed to have a house filled with nieces and nephews from Vancouver, whom we haven’t much of these past nine years while in Oklahoma. I was blessed to be able to laugh and play with them. We were busy with jumping on the trampoline, which one of the nephews told me, “You are a professional jumper because you don’t fall down!”, wrestling on the couch, playing the Wii, and exploring the beach. I loved seeing their smiles and giving them hugs.

     We all received a wonderful gift of seeing and hearing our church. children sing about the birth of our Lord and Savior during our Christmas Sunday Worship last week. It was a blessing to see all the families who gathered together that morning. We finished our Christmas weekend in Newport. I am always humbled by the beauty and power of God as displayed in the crashing ocean waves. It was a blessing to be in a warm home with family with the constant view and sound of the ocean roar. God is mighty and in control of all creation. I am at peace knowing that God is in control of my life. The gifts keep coming and coming. The Lord is faithful.

     As the year is ending and another is beginning I am thankful for the Lord’s faithfulness. I am prayerful for many in our church family who are in need of healing: Jean, Clifford, Sue, Laurie, Laura, Mike, and Linda. Let us end and begin this year with praise, “Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord” (Psalm 117).

Bryan Johnston