Dr. Chris Stephens

Hey Friends,

We live in a world where almost everyone is crying, “IT IS NOT FAIR!” In many situations life is not fair. Fair is not a biblical concept. People usually cry, “NOT FAIR,” when they think someone has gotten more than them and they want what you have. It seems to be hard-wired into our DNA.  Virtually every child uses this tactic to get what he or she wants. We have all done it and seen it.

When it comes to the favor and blessings of God, it is not fair. He gives it out as He sees fit and He is, after all, GOD. So, of course He can. Deuteronomy 28:2 says, “All the blessings shall come and overtake you.” God loves to bless His kids. And we love to be blessed, Amen?

What I seem to be seeing in so many is that we are embarrassed by the blessings. You look around and you seem to be the brunt of blessing others are not receiving, so you try to hide them, ashamed of them. Do you think this honors God? Probably not! We need to brag on God and His mighty Hand of favor and blessings. Psalm 118:23: “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” Don’t you marvel at all the Lord does in your life?

Psalm 35:27-28: “…And let them say continually, ‘The Lord be magnified, Who delights in the prosperity of His servant.’ And my tongue shall declare your righteousness and your praise all day long.”

We are supposed to brag on what He does in our lives, NOT and NEVER be ashamed!!! The blessings of God on our lives draw people to Him. Some, to be sure, will be jealous, critical or angry at your blessings. So what?!? Don’t allow others to ruin or squelch all the Lord is doing. Remember, He is the Blesser and He is to be bragged upon.

If you refuse to rejoice in all the Lord does in your life because you are embarrassed, think He might stop the flow??? Your real friends will rejoice with you as God blesses.

Many times I have been in meetings with other pastors and I refused to brag on what God was doing. Usually the theme of the meetings was doom and gloom. I hesitated to talk about all the Lord was doing and how the church was growing. I was holding back on God!!!

Tell your story to others and give God the glory! He will use it for you and in them.

Do you feel His favor falling on you?

Love ya and be blessed,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

Let’s be honest, we all get discouraged. Life can throw some serious stuff at us and it is easy to let negativity and defeat take over. At those times in life we all need someone to step in and encourage us, but what do you do when no one is there to help you? How do you get yourself out of the funk and defeat? You have to do it alone!

That is exactly what King David did when he was in this kind of spot! The Scripture says: “He strengthened himself in the Lord.” This is one of his greatest attributes. This is how he was so successful in loving God and leading the nation of Israel in difficult times.

One day he and his men came home from work and it was gone! EVERYTHING WAS GONE. Their families, flocks, herds-everything they owned and loved. They all cried out in anguish and defeat. Then they turned on David and said, “Let’s stone him.” That is what I call a bad day! There was no one there to encourage David; remember his wives and kids were gone as well. Everyone was prepared to take their frustrations and anger out on him. He was the leader. Ever felt like David?

That is when it says, “David strengthened himself in the Lord.” If there is no one else to encourage you then you have to do it yourself, just like David did.

Step one: CHANGE THE CHANNEL. All he hears, feels, and sees is negative, doom and gloom, and no hope for victory. No one saw any hope to make this right or to turn things around. He had to stop listening to them. It is O.K., you can change the channel.

Step two: Remember past victories. Remember when God came through in your life and moved to help you. Trust He will do it again. Rehearse how God had moved in and how much He cares. Block out the negative people around you or they will eventually stone you.

Step three: Take charge. David stood up and said let’s go get our families back, we have won before and we will win again. He did, and they not only got their families back, but they got even more than they had before.

For some of you reading this blog you need to change the channel from defeat to victory. Start by encouraging yourself. Time for the channel of victory. Remember all God has done. Think of His great power. Bask in His Word and in His ability. Quit cursing yourself with negative self-talk and start strengthening yourself in the Lord.

Are you ready to rally to victory? All winners encourage themselves. You are a winner.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

When was the last time you laughed? I mean a long belly laugh that left tears running down your cheeks? The Bible says: “Laughter does good like a medicine.” I love to laugh. I’m pretty sure that Lucifer loathes laughter. “Why?” you ask. Because laughter releases joy and it shows him that you are not going to be defeated. God said He would, “prepare a table for us in the presence of our enemies.” We can have a feast and fun no matter what the enemy does.

“Laughter is a great addition to any home. The enemy cannot stand the sound of joyful laughter. He cannot stand the sound of husbands and wives and family members having fun together. He wants there to be so much strife, tension, and pressure that we never have any joy in our homes.” The joy of the Lord is our strength.

What does it sound like in your home? Does it sound like heaven or hell? Is the Holy Spirit comfortable in your home? I love what Joel Osteen said about laughter: “When one of our sinks clogs up at home, I buy some Drano, pour it down the drain, and wait fifteen minutes. When I come back, the sink is unclogged. Laughter works like Drano. It cleans out whatever is clogging our lives. When you laugh regularly it’s just like you are cleaning out those pipes. The instructions on the Drano bottle say to use it on a regular basis to keep the pipes free and clear. The same holds true with laughter. Pour it in, whenever you can. Find the humor in everyday moments. Make laughter a life-style choice. Welcome joy into your home as a permanent resident. Job 8:21 says, ‘He will yet fill your mouth with laughter.’ God’s dream is for you to be filled with laughter. He gave laughter the power to heal your body, soothe your spirits, attract admirers, and mend your relationships.”

Are you down? Learn to laugh. Learn to laugh at yourself and your circumstances and you will take defeat and discouragement out of the hands of Lucifer to harm you.

Our God can give us laughter in the midst of pain and problems.

Just a thought.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

Everybody needs a cheerleader. Most of us would not be where we are today if someone had not been in our corner cheering us on. Who was it for you?

For Henry Ford it was Thomas Edison. “The pioneering automaker was introduced to Edison as ‘the man trying to build a car that ran on gasoline.’ When Edison heard this, his face lit up. He slammed his fist on the table and said, ‘You’ve got it. A car that has its own power plant; that’s a brilliant idea.’ Up to this point, Henry Ford had dealt with many naysayers and discouragers. He had just about convinced himself to give up, but along came Edison and spoke faith into him. That was a turning point in Henry Ford’s life. ‘I thought I had a good idea, but I started to doubt myself,’ he once said. ‘Then came along one of the greatest minds that’s ever lived and gave me his complete approval.’  A simple vote of confidence helped launch the automotive industry. We don’t realize the power we hold.”

Any of us can be like Edison and be a cheerleader for someone else. We all need people to believe in us. When Jesus called His disciples he did not focus on their faults, but on their potential. Cheerleaders are always looking for, praying for, and hoping for the best in others. The Bible says, “Encourage each other…”

I’m sure you have heard the story of the principal that called in three of his teachers and told them they were the best teachers in the county. They were going to be given the most gifted kids in the school. At the end of the year those teachers had gotten those kids 30% farther than the rest of the kids.

The principal called the teachers in at the end of the year and told the teachers the truth. The kids you taught this year were chosen at random. They were not the most gifted kids. The teachers said that was O.K. because they were the best teachers. The principal had to confess that they were also chosen at random. They got farther because they thought they could.

Most of us rise to the expectations of those around us cheering us on. Who is in your corner? Whose corner are you in? Are you raising the expectations of those around you? “The power of life and death is in the tongue.”

Use your tongue for positive and not negative. Be an encourager not a discourager. You can be a cheerleader and God will use your words.

Just a thought.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

Do you have a trained eye? I read this cute story in a great book, Every Day a Friday:

A couple moved into a new neighborhood, and one morning while they were eating breakfast the wife looked out the window and saw her neighbor hanging wash on the line to dry. She noticed the wash was dingy and dirty. She said to her husband, “That neighbor lady doesn’t know how to wash. Her clothes aren’t clean. I wonder if she’s using any detergent?” Day after day went by and she would make the same comments: “I can’t believe the neighbor doesn’t know how to wash. I can’t believe they wear those dingy-looking clothes.” A few weeks later the woman looked out the window and the clothes were as clean and bright as could be. She was so surprised. She called her husband in and said, “Look, honey, I can’t believe it. She finally learned how to wash. I wonder what happened?” The husband smiled and said, “Honey, I got up early this morning and cleaned our window.”

It is easy to have a critical eye. It is easy to see everyone’s faults and problems. If you want to help people you need to train your eye to see the good in the people you know. Train yourself to see the strengths and to see people doing good things and celebrate those. There are enough people whose outlook is poisoned by a critical spirit. Don’t be one of those people.

You be the encourager. You be the one who finds the good in people. You be the one who points out the positive and you will be the one people want to be around, and you will help people more than you can ever know. Time to wash the windows of our souls and change our own outlooks. Jesus said, “Don’t try to take the speck out of your brother’s eye and forget the log in your own eye.”

No matter who you meet during your day you can find something positive to say. Let’s try to see people through the eyes of Jesus.

Just a thought.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

I’m so excited! We had just less than 4,500 this weekend at Faith Promise. That is a non-production weekend record! Thank you, Jesus. The pace is set for 2012 at the Church. It will be our best year yet in Jesus Name.

I ask you to pray for the 10 PRAYER GOALS we believe God has given us:

1. 500 New Core Members. We are going to stop using the word member and use the word Core. The core is who we can count on. Is that you? This question Christ asked often.
2. 400 Baptisms. This is the greatest miracle we are asking for.
3. 300 Total Adult Small Groups.
4. Launching of the North Knox Campus. Pray for Pastor Mike and Kandice and the launch team.
5. 20/20/20/  = 20,000 hours we are going to give in serving the East TN area for Jesus, 20 mission trips and 20 partners we are going to minister with.
6. 2,000,000 given in the Miracle Offering
7. 18% increase in General Budget Giving.
8. 774 New Servants serving Jesus in His Body the Church. Time for hundreds to step up the the Next Level.
9. 4700 in Average Attendance for 2012.
10. Leadership Development Track Initiated.

This is a huge list. It will require we all pray and participate. This cannot be done by a few but by our whole body. I am counting on you to do your part. I believe God will use each of us like never before. Faith is a great journey and adventure. I can’t wait to see how the Lord will use you. Stand strong and believe with me for the favor, blessings, and presence of God to cover us like a blanket.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

Monday on the blog I asked for some ideas on how to get the word out on the book. Wow, so many ideas came in and I hope will continue to come in.

I need some help with one of the great ideas that came in from Dan and Scott. They said we needed to have people who have read the book put a review on Amazon’s website. This would help the book move up in the ratings. Great idea that will take only a few minutes.

Here is how: go to http://www.amazon.com/Plan-Your-Life-Managing-ebook/dp/B0065545XC/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1322833233&sr=8-9

Go to customer review and click the “create your own review button.”  Do you think we can get 100 reviews on the site today? I know we can.

If you have read the book you know the potential for anyone who reads it. We are a team and together we can get the book moving. Thanks in advance for your help. Keep the ideas coming.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

I really need your help. As you know, my second book came out early in December.  The reviews have been great. Early testimonies of those who have read it have been better than I could have hoped. If you have read the book then you know it has the potential to help anyone who reads it.

Only one problem – very few people know about or will ever know about it. There are millions of people who are wondering how they can grow closer with the Lord, and this book has the answers. The book is a great tool, but they can never read it if they do not know about it. That is where you come in.

I am looking for creative ideas of how to get the word out. Some of the smartest people alive read this blog. I am asking for ideas on promoting the book. I am praying it will “grow legs.” I am praying for 100,000s of people to read it. I know God is able and He may use one of you, or several of you, to give the ideas of how to let people know.

Please respond in the comment section of the blog so others can read your ideas and it may generate other ideas. Thanks in advance for all your prayers and help. You are the best.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

The Word records: “Be it done to you according to your faith.” How much faith do you have?  The size of a mustard seed? That WILL work! To be ready for 2012 you have to have faith. God has plans for you but on your part, faith is required. The Prophet Zechariah told the people that if you cannot see it then God won’t do it! Strong language.

What mountains are you facing in 2012?

What mountain is your family facing?

What will you need in 2012 to be successful? What new skills will you need to develop? Will you need more courage or faith?

Where will the enemy attack you? What temptations will you face that you need to be ready for? God has made a way of escape and you need not fall!

Where will you need to help your family in 2012? Are your kids growing in the Lord? Do they have a growth plan? Can you see the favor of the Lord on you and your family? If not, then make that a regular request. I pray daily that favor would cover my family like a blanket on a cold winter night. God’s favor is our shield.

I believe 2012 will be the greatest year my family or Faith Promise has ever experienced. I am looking for miracles daily. I am looking for people to be saved every day this year as Faith Promise shares their faith daily. I look for the greatest growth we have ever experienced. I believe God will move on the North Knox Campus launch like never before – Ephesians 3:20. I believe my kids will grow closer to Jesus than ever before. I will watch my youngest son, Zac, get married to an awesome woman of God this new year. I will see my new book grow legs and get into the hands of 10,000s of thousands of hands and hearts.

My daughter will graduate as a Registered Nurse this year and possibly give us our first grandchild. Michele and I will grow closer this year and God will use us like never before. This year at Faith Promise we will see more leaders rise up and more volunteers than ever before. We will give more money to Jesus than ever before. This year the heart of generosity will grow at Faith Promise and the Lord will be blessed and proud of us.

Yes, I’m ready for just some of what the Lord will do, are you? What are you believing for? The list I just gave you is only a part of what I am trusting God for. I am praying for you that you will grow in your faith, favor, obedience, and love of the Lord this New Year!

Love You,

Pastor Chris