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Rob Patz: Challenge for 2020

Rob Patz and Vonda Armstrong

Rob Patz: Publisher’s Point for December 2019 SGNScoops Magazine

A Challenge for 2020

Welcome to the December’s Publishers Point. It’s hard to imagine that we’ve already reached the end of another year. 2019 was full of growth, change and challenges. As I think of those three words, I realize that it is true for every year and for some people it’s every day. Sometimes the only way that we grow is through challenges and change.

As we come to the end of the year, I am, of course, always excited about Christmas. If you know me, you know I love gifts, but I’m also excited about a new year. There’s something about turning the page on the calendar from December to January. A fresh start; 365 new days to do whatever it is that we feel God has called us to do.

I love seeing 2020. I’ve already spent a lot of time thinking about the year to come, and one of the areas that I want to challenge you to begin after the holiday season, is a time of prayer. So many people say, “January 1st, I’m going on a diet,” or, “I’m going to read more,” or, “I’m going to exercise more.” Let me challenge you this January 1st, to pray more. People ask how things change. I am blessed to have many pastors who are also very close friends, and they will tell you all the same thing: Life changes the most, and life decisions come the easiest, when we pray more.

So, I ask that you, along with me, pray more in 2020. May 2020 be a year full of vision for what God has, for what he is going to do, what he plans to pour out. That we seek those things that he wants for us; not the things that we desire, but the things that he truly has already put inside us that is there for us to do.

I was talking with a pastor recently and he told me that you are at the happiest point in your life when you are fulfilling what God has instilled in you to do, and I would totally agree with that. Over the year 2019, I will have traveled, by the end of it, 132 days. That means one in every four days I was on the road.

Now, I won’t lie to you and say it was all easy, but God always gave me strength. I had an opportunity to meet many fantastic people, to go to many fantastic places, and to do things that I only dreamed about 10 years ago. God has allowed me to do that and I am so thankful now God has allowed me to do it. It’s people like you that read this magazine and who advertise with us on a monthly basis, that are the people that laid the foundation for me to be able to fulfill the calling that I have for God.

How many of us, as we reflect on the holiday season, realize that this is a great time to begin to pray and seek what God has for us to do in 2020. Maybe you are searching right now for your calling, maybe you’re in a transition period in your life, and maybe God is just getting ready to open a door that you have never dreamed was possible.

I believe that for all of my friends, I believe that for everyone who’s reading this, that in 2020, God is going to pour out extreme blessings. I believe 2020 is going to be a year that we, as a family that works together for Creekside and all of the other events, are going to see personal and family growth.

Now, as we get ready to celebrate the holidays and begin to turn the page on a new year, I pray that you will find the peace that only comes from God, the joy that only comes from God, and the grace that only God gives.

I hope to see you in the new year at an event that I will be at. You can find me at Oxford, Alabama coming up March 21 – 23 at Southern Gospel Weekend.

Also, I will be in Tupelo, Mississippi, April 23 – 25, for Gospel Music Expo. We want to see you at one of these events.

I wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year, from my family to yours.

By Rob Patz

First published by SGNScoops Magazine in December 2019.

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Charlie Griffin: The Challenge – Living a Christian Life in 2020

Charlie Griffin

As the story goes, a pastor transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the large church that he was soon to be introduced as the lead pastor. He walked around his soon-to-be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service. Only three people said hello to him. He asked for change for food and no one gave him change. Others avoided him. A church leader asked him to leave, saying the church was not a place to loiter.

Later, the homeless person went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church. He was asked by the ushers if he would please sit in the back. People greeted him with stares, dirty looks, and people looked down on him.

As he sat in the back of the church, he listened to the church announcements and such. When all that was done, the elders went up and were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation.

“We would like to introduce to you our new Pastor.” The congregation looked around clapping with joy and anticipation.

The homeless man sitting in the back stood up and started walking down the aisle. The clapping stopped with all eyes on him. He walked up the altar and took the microphone from the elders (who were in on this) and paused for a moment then he recited,

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

“”For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“’Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ ‘The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all what he had experienced that morning. Many began to cry, and many heads were bowed in shame.

He then said, “Today I see a gathering of people, not a church of Jesus Christ. The world has enough people, but not enough disciples. When will YOU decide to become disciples?” He then dismissed service until next week.

Charlie Griffin

Following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ should be more than just talk. There is a walk to match.

The question to the church, to you and me, is this: Are you living a Christian life that follows Christ’s master plan to reach humanity? When you do…it will change your home, church, community and the world. But you need to live it every day.

How?

Whether we are playing a game, driving a car, or baking a cake, there are certain rules that must be followed for our safety as well as our success.

Life’s rules are simple as well. Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen. (2 Peter 3:18.)

The Bible teaches that our Christian life is one of constant growth. When you were born again, you were born into God’s family. It is God’s purpose that you will grow into full stature and become mature in Christ.

It would be against the law of God and nature if you were to remain a baby and thus become a spiritual dwarf. In 2 Peter 3:18, the Bible says that we are to grow. It implies steady development, constant enlargement, increasing wisdom.

For one to grow properly, certain rules must be observed for good spiritual health:

·       Read your Bible daily. Do not be content to skim through a chapter merely to satisfy your conscience. Hide the Word of God in your heart (memorize.) It comforts, guides, corrects, encourages – all we need is there.

·       Learn the secret of prayer. Prayer is communicating. Every prayer that you pray will be answered. Sometimes that answer may be “Yes” and sometimes “No,” and sometimes it is “Wait,” but nevertheless it will be answered.

·       Rely constantly on the Holy Spirit. We know that the Holy Spirit prays for us (Romans 8), and what a comfort that should be to the weakest of us. Stand aside and let Him take over all the choices and decisions of your life. Learn when to do and when to wait on God.

·       Attend church regularly. The visible church is Christ’s organization upon earth. Christians need one another, we need to gather together to worship God and nothing can take the place of church attendance. Birds of a feather flock together!

·       Be a witnessing Christian. We witness in two ways: by life action- you are living it every day and by word – and the two, where possible, should go hand in hand. Always remember, your words and actions must complement each other.

·       Be an obedient Christian. Let Christ have first place in all the choices of your life. Living a Christian life is priority not a when you can do it process.

·       Learn how to meet and deal with temptation. Temptation is not sin. It is yielding that is sin. Let Christ through the Holy Spirit do the fighting for you. I am reminded of how Christ was tempted by Satan on the Mount. Christ did not give in, thus we say Jesus is the only sinless person ever. There have been some mighty good people, but only Christ is considered the sinless one.

·       Be a wholesome Christian. Our lives and appearance should commend the Gospel and make it attractive to others. If we look like the world, act like the world, talk like world, how can others see Jesus in us? Hard to know you are where you are if you can’t tell the world’s people from God’s people.

·       Live above your circumstances. Don’t let your circumstances get you down. Learn to live graciously within them, realizing the Lord Himself is with you. When you know you are not alone, somehow the circumstances are never as bad as you feel. When you leave the problem to Christ, how many times have you overcome and just did not see how it happened? With Christ all things are possible. He is still the God on the Mountain or in the Valley…in every situation. Yes he supplies your needs. “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers.” (3 John 1:2)

·       Let love be the ruling principle of your life. Jesus said to those who followed Him, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35). The greatest demonstration of the fact that we are Christians is that we love one another.

When you are applying these principles you will find you are more than an overcomer, but you are living example of the teaching of your Savior. You are someone who impacts lives for the greater good. You are the one who people look to with wanting and questioning eyes.They want to come in out of the cold to warm by the revival flames burning.

Your challenge is simple: Be more than you can be. More than you were yesterday. Be that living example of a walking talking Christian in 2020!

By Charlie Griffin

Charlie Griffin is a regular contributor to SGNScoops and is a recording artist with Classic Artists Music Group.

For more Gospel Music news read the latest SGNScoops Magazine HERE.

Lorraine Walker: Becoming mindfully aware of your world this Christmas and New Year

Lorraine Walker: Becoming mindfully aware of your world this Christmas and New Year

Editor’s Last Word for December 2018 SGNScoops Magazine – by Lorraine Walker

Merry Christmas! I love this season and the way people seem happier and more open to talking about spiritual things. Yes, I’m that person who wears the shirts and sweaters and socks with all things Christmas on them. People have said that I even have reindeer antlers on my car…but that, of course, is just a rumor.

Our cover artist, Jason Crabb, also loves Christmas, and I hope you enjoyed his feature this month. I had such a good time talking with him recently when he sang at my church. We are both equally intense people and I so enjoyed digging into his thoughts on various subjects. What a terrific communicator, both on and off stage.

Jason Crabb was interviewed by Lorraine Walker for December 2018 issue of SGNScoops Magazine

We featured other artists of course that I have also enjoyed, like Les Beasley, who recently passed. We were unable to feature a tribute to Ernie Phillips as it was too close to press time, but I know of his contribution to gospel music and that he has many family, friends and fans that mourned his passing. I became a Kingsmen fan after Ernie’s tenure, mainly because of knowing Parker Jonathan, who joined when Garry Sheppard was the group’s tenor. Ernie, however, was an incredible talent and will be greatly missed.

I was also thinking of the passing of seasons when I read Rob’s Publisher’s Point. I hope you have read it and gleaned the knowledge that this season of your life is God’s way of preparing you for the next. I want to add to that with another piece that I am trying to learn and develop in my own life.

One of the buzzwords lately seems to be “mindfulness.” I know that can be used and misused in so many ways, and also taken to the extreme. I think some uses are not spiritually healthy for Christians. However, the literal meaning is great for all of us.

Mindfulness to me is living in the moment; not dwelling in the past or future, not thinking about what we should do or should have done. If we are being mindful or

Jason Crabb was interviewed by Lorraine Walker for December 2018 issue of SGNScoops Magazine

paying attention to each day, each moment, of each season we are in, both spiritually and physically,  maybe we would be more relaxed as well as appreciating each other more.

Perhaps paying attention to each moment and more attention to those around us will make this season even more special. Maybe we will even notice others more, share more smiles, hold our loved ones closer, and be more aware of the special gift of Jesus this Christmas. God bless you this holy season!

Read the latest issue of the SGNScoops Magazine HERE.

SGNScoops Magazine Editor Lorraine Walker

Rob Patz: New Year, New You

Rob Patz

SGNScoops Publisher’s Point for January 2018 by Rob Patz

It is a brand new year. Are you excited about what God has for you in 2018? We have a slogan right now at WPIL (91.7 FM, Heflin, Ala., www.wpilfm.com) that is, a brand new year and a brand new you. I started that with the idea to encourage people to experience new things.

I truly believe that 2018 is going to be an amazing year filled with exciting opportunities. I believe that about every year, and as I look back at 2017, I think we should always take an inventory of where we’ve been. There have been many great things that have happened in 2017, and there have been some trials. I am thankful though that God has allowed me to be a part of some fantastic events and to minister to people around the country.

The year of 2017 saw changes, but then again, if you think about it, in every year there are changes. If we stay the same we are not moving forward. In the Bible, it says that we should run the race, and my feeling about that is that God doesn’t want us to be stable. He doesn’t want us to be happy in the location we are in today.

I had the opportunity to talk with a pastor, and we were sharing our visions for this coming year. I said that God always put big visions in my head. Now, that doesn’t mean that those visions always come to fruition that year. Sometimes, those visions take years to accomplish. But it says we have to run the race, and life is not a sprint … it’s a marathon. That means like a marathon runner, we watch for landmarks to know where we are. Like when runners get to the 13-mile mark, they know they are halfway there.

I truly believe God puts it in our hearts each year to grow in new and exciting ways that He wants us to run. He wants us to continue to make an impact for the kingdom, because if we stand still, we are not fulfilling the great commission.

So many people say, “I don’t know how I’m going to get to my goal.” I had a very wise friend who was an older pastor tell me that the best way to get to your goal is start walking. If you don’t start moving, nothing will ever happen. If you don’t start exercising your faith, you won’t reach your goal. As much as we talked about running earlier, we talk the same about exercising our faith.

So, as I sit here at the beginning of a brand new year, I want to encourage you to do three things for me. This year, I want you to read your Bible more. I want you to pray more, and I want you to begin to exercise your faith.

So many of us talk about exercise as one of our New Year’s resolutions. May I encourage you this year to make one of your resolutions – that you will keep – to exercise your faith. Start to dream. Start to believe that God has bigger, greater things for you ahead. Then, start to run your race. If the Lord allows, I want to be with you at the end of this year, to cheer you on as you cross the finish line of another year.

As you start the new year off, make plans to join us in Oxford, Ala., from March 1-3 for Southern Gospel Weekend. Find more information about this great event in this edition.

That’s the Publisher’s Point.

By Rob Patz

First published by the SGNScoops Magazine in January 2018

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Charlie Griffin shares: A NEW YEAR, A NEW OUTLOOK

The New Year is off and running. I stand amazed at how fast time flies anymore. Seems we run one day into a month, then half a year is gone at the blink of an eye. James 4:14 shares that life is here for a time, then it vanishes. I think that really applies to time and our lives.

Time is a valuable commodity. You can’t touch, smell, taste, hear or see time. Yet, it is the barometer of measuring our life.  

How we measure our lives is a funny thing. To most people that measure their lives, it is summed up in one word: Success.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 provides a clear perspective on many things about our lives. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; …”

In time, we apply benchmarks of productivity to be fulfilled. This measures our successes in life. Some goals are part of our life expectancy in our upbringing. We live our lives according to the expectations of those who came before us, e.g. job, marriage, house, children, etc.

So you ask why time is important to you and me, today, right now as we start the new year of 2018. That is a simple thing yet so hard to understand.

We are only promised this day to live. Therefore it is important to live fully in the now and make the most of today.

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