"Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Dad (Bob Morrow), Mom (Guylene Morrow) and me (Carolyn Ocheltree)

This is me and my mom, Guylene Morrow. We think we look a lot alike!

My dad, Bob Morrow, and me, with the ram's horn he and my mom brought back from Israel.

"Sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan. The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you. Then he and his children are to be released, and he will go back to his own clan and to the property of his forefathers." Leviticus 25:9-11,41 (NIV)

"Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and the news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
'The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.'
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them,' Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'" Luke 4:14-21 (NIV)

Yesterday, my father asked Steve and me to visit him and my mom. Our relationship has been separated since April, 2003, nearly 13 years. Steve and I separated ourselves from my family because we did not want to be part of covering up some very serious family sins. I was blamed for being a troublemaker and a divider of the family. Steve and I made the separation in order to state that we would not continue the cycle of abuse and perpetuate family sins.

On Wednesday, January 27, 2016, my dad, Bob Morrow, called Steve and said he was sorry for the division in the family. For the first time since April of 2003, there was no blame thrown in our direction.. Just a simple apology and an invitation to come visit him and my mom. We went as soon as Steve got off work last night.

This is the 70th Year of Jubilee since the Year of Jubilee was commanded by God, through Moses, in the wilderness. This is the 40th Year of Jubilee since Jesus was on earth. I have been proclaiming freedom wherever I go since the Year of Jubilee started, on the Day of Atonement, in late September of 2015. I have been encouraging people to boldly ask God for restoration of broken family relationships, for forgiveness, healing and redemption. And, as Jesus said, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:21)

--Posted by Mama O

No pain, no gain!

This Sunday concludes our 3-part January series on "Spiritual Disciplines". January is typically the month when we commit to self-improvement. We start diets and exercise programs, we launch "Read Through The Bible in One Year" plans, we start organizing our personal areas. So, it seemed like an ideal time to address some of the less popular, but necessary topics in our Christian walk.

In our first discussion we looked at the biblical meaning of "love". We may not think of love as a "discipline", but more as an emotion or feeling. But, the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13 must be diligently maintained with discipline. Learning patience and kindness and a lack of egotism are not warm fuzzy feelings. They are hard work.

Why was love the first of the spiritual disciplines? Because love is THAT important. Without love, all other disciplines are useless. Without love, we are like a man who emerges from his house at midnight to bang on pots and pans. Our actions and our noise are misplaced: wrong time, wrong context. Our words hurt instead of help. Our actions are resented rather than appreciated.

Last week we addressed fasting and prayer (I noticed attendance was extremely low that day!). Fasting is a way of investing ourselves, personally, into our prayer lives. When we deprive ourselves of food for a time, we are putting some "skin in the game", making it personal. God is not obligated to do as we ask, even when we fast, but our fasting allows us to see and hear God speak and move in ways that we might otherwise miss.

This week, we will discuss a variety of spiritual disciplines including listening, prayer, humble service, covenantal community and simplicity, among others. We will explore the concept that "less is more". Do we really need all the junk we accumulate through the years, physically or emotionally? A good thorough cleaning might be in order for our personal spaces: our homes, our offices and our emotional life.

Wear your spiritual workout clothes. Be ready to sweat. Remember class, "No pain, no gain!"

See you Sunday morning at the gym, called Room 700.

--Posted by Mama O

Six Things Fasting Does For Our Prayers

"For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you. But this kind (of demon) does not go out except by prayer and fasting." Matthew 17:20,21 (NASV)

Jesus' disciples had been trained in spiritual healing and casting out demons and had been practicing God's medical mercy on many people when they were approached by a man and his son. The son was given to seizures, akin to epilepsy. When the disciples applied their training to the boy, his seizures continued. The disciples consulted with their master as to the reason.

Jesus responded with an encouraging lesson on faith and some further instruction, in advanced spiritual healing techniques. Apparently there are some strongholds of the devil that do not respond to ordinary methods. That's when more serious spiritual weapons are necessary. And fasting, paired with sincere and repentant prayer, is one of those advanced weapons.

What kind of strongholds might need those advanced spiritual weapons?

1. A long-standing grudge
2. An addiction
3. Unbelief
4. Prejudice
5. Childhood hurts
6. Abuse

We will study six things that fasting does for our prayers in Ocheltree Group this week. If you would like to do a little preliminary study, please read these passages, shared in a sermon by Dr. Adrian Rogers:

1. Fasting strengthens our prayers: Joel 2:12; Jer. 29:13
2. Fasting subdues self: Ezek. 16:49
3. Fasting stays the judgment of God: Jonah 3:5,10; Jer. 18:7,8
4. Fasting stops God's enemies: 2 Chron. 20:3,4,24,29
5. Fasting seeks God's guidance: Acts 13:2
6. Fasting shatters strongholds like bitterness, resentment, fear and bad habits: Isaiah 58:6

--Posted by Mama O.

The Greatest Of These Is Love

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NIV)

January is the month when we are most likely to get our lives back in order. We

1. Start reading the Bible all the way through
2.Join a gym
3. Start a diet
4. Reorganize our personal space
5. De-clutter
6. Quit smoking
7. Start reading Moby Dick
8. Vow to cut back on social media or television viewing

...And the list goes on....

I, personally, am an enthusiastic advocate of New Year's resolutions. As the old adage goes:

"Failing to plan is planning to fail."

I believe life has natural rhythms and the New Year is one of those annually occurring opportunities to get a fresh start.

In the spirit of fresh starts, I will be teaching a three-part series on "Spiritual Disciplines" in the Ocheltree Shepherding Group during January. We will address some serious disciplines, the kind we would expect from full-time monks or nuns or Jason Locke: prayer and fasting, obedience, service, community, active listening, hope, simplicity, stability, balance and hospitality.

But, without a solid and stable foundation of love, these disciplines will function more like weapons that hurt people than like tools that help them. That's pretty serious.

We will discuss the biblical definition of love and the opposite of love. (Hint: read 1 Corinthians 13; 1 John 3:17,18; 1 John 4:18 and 2 Timothy 1:7).

I look forward to a spiritually healthy 2016, built on the solid foundation of LOVE!

--Posted by Mama O.

Oaks of Righteousness

Oak of Righteousness

"So they will be called oaks of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

Isaiah 61:3 (NASB)

The Ocheltree Shepherding Group has adopted a symbol: the Oak of Righteousness.

Oak of Righteousness. What makes an oak tree righteous? Many characteristics, I'm sure. But we will limit our discussion to four.

1. Oaks are highly adaptable. They can survive in many types of soil. They can live through times of plenty and times of drought. When water is scarce due to drought, oak trees find underground water sources through their extensive system of taproots.

Psalm 1:1-3 compares the righteous to a tree:

"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the path of sinners,

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,

Which yields its fruit in its season 

And its leaf does not wither;

And in whatever he does, he prospers."

Righteous people drink deeply from the "Living Water" of God's Word and intimate fellowship with God. (John 4:13,14) When difficulties arise, whether they involve natural disaster, man-made disaster, interpersonal conflict or personal struggles, righteous people are able to keep going with the deep resources of God's Word and God's presence.

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." Mark 13:31 (NIV)

2. Oaks reproduce themselves. Those tiny acorns that fall from the mighty oak tree can be carried by wildlife, water or wind to new areas, where more oak trees will spring up. Jesus calls on His followers to "go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." (Mark 16:15 NIV)

Before that seed can reproduce a mighty oak tree, it must fall into the ground and die. In the same way, we must die to our own selfish desires and personal agendas, if we are truly to carry God's good news into the world:

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." John 12:24 (NIV)

3. Oaks give shelter and protection to many:

"The righteous care about justice for the poor,

but the wicked have no such concern." Proverbs 29:7 (NIV)

"When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone,

but the righteous stand firm forever."

Proverbs 10:25 (NIV)

"The way of the Lord is a refuge for the righteous,

but it is the ruin of those who do evil."

Proverbs 10:29 (NIV)

"The righteous will never be uprooted,

but the wicked will not remain in the land."

Proverbs 10:30 (NIV)

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

the righteous run to it and are safe."

Proverbs 18:10 (NIV)

4. Oak trees have longevity and stability. They remain, year after year, giving shade and character to a hillside. They protect the soil from erosion by standing firm. Storms, drought and intense heat do not destroy the mighty tree. It continues to do its job.

Faith in God enables us to stand firm, year after year, continuing to do the job God gives us, regardless of circumstances. We may see part of God's plan fulfilled during our lifetime, but we may have to accept, by faith, that God's plan will prevail, while we "stand our ground" in faith, just as the saints in the Bible did!

"He who stands firm to the end will be saved." Mark 13:13 (NIV)

"The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations."
Psalm 34:10,11 (NIV)

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. people who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:1,2,13-16 (NIV)

--Posted by Mama O

  

A Church That Makes A Difference

Aaron Scott and Jason Locke discuss "a church that makes a difference"

Ashley Henderson and Andrew Ocheltree were two of the church family members, scattered throughout the darkened auditorium, holding candles to light the way for everyone

Just one candle gives light to a whole room

With more and more Christians leaving the church, yet not leaving God, what are they saying about the church?
1. "God is missing from the church."
2. "Christians have missed the point."
Jason Locke and Aaron Scott discussed the changing role of the church in society this morning, Aaron's last official Sunday on staff at College Church of Christ. Jason shared these common thoughts from disenchanted Christians and asked Aaron what he thought.
"We've lost the ability to see God at work in the everyday things of life," Aaron said. We tend to equate God's working in our lives with "getting our own way" (i.e. a short line at Starbuck's on a busy day). We must learn to discern bewteen God's working within a body of Christians and the fulfillment of self-centered desires.
Jason and Aaron agreed "it's been a tough year" for our church family at College Church of Christ. We have said "good-bye" to two full-time ministers, we have said "farewell" to a number of long-time members because of death, several families and individuals have left our church family to worship elsewhere.
In the midst of the difficulty, though, Jason said he has seen people "fight and struggle to understand one another, to ask questions. I believe God is most at work when we struggle," Jason observed. "God is glorified in the midst of our struggles to understand one another."
In the midst of all these losses: "Is our church a dying church?" Jason asked Aaron.
Aaron pointed out that well over 20% of our church is in the Children's Ministry, and there is a committed core in high school and college ministries. "That is significant," he pointed out.
Jason addressed some of the complaints most commonly heard at our church:
1. The elders don't take charge. They move too slowly.
"How would you respond to that, Aaron?" Jason asked.
Aaron said he has been involved in a number of churches during his lifetime and our elders are different than the elders at many other churches he has observed Our elders care far more about shepherding individual people than they do about functioning as an official "Board of Directors". Our elders are more concerned about guiding our diverse congregation to develop a mature faith than they are about spelling out a certain "Code of Conduct" for the congregation. For that reason, our church can appear less organized than a church where the congregation is told what to do and how to do it.
"Our elders have taken a step back and let us own our own faith rather than controlling us," Aaron observed. "It takes faith in God to do that."
2. College Church of Christ accused of being irrelevant. Our property is not maintained in the style of large, contemporary churches, our worship is not seen as being as up-to-date as some more fashionable churches.
"How do you see that in youth ministry, Aaron?" Jason asked.
At College Church, Aaron pointed out, it is much harder to remain anonymous, or get lost in the crowd, the way you can at so many larger, more fashionable churches. At College Church, our young people are allowed and encouraged to get to know adults of all ages, to see Larry Wiseman bopping little kids on the head with bulletins, to listen to Tom Howe give everyone a hard time, to be in a church family where we have women with nicknames like "Mama O" and where you get a hug every Sunday from Pat McKinzie (and if you pass her by, she will hunt you down and hug you!)
Aaron observed that young people at College Church learn from the adults, who share their lives and their stories. We are broken people who are growing in Christ. We know God loves us just the way we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way! So we help each other grow.
Jason and Aaron drew from the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk, who gives God's answer to the complaints of His people.
God assures His weary people that the answers to their questions and complaints will come, if they will wait:
"For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come and will not delay."
Habakkuk 2:3 (NIV)
For those looking for the right thing to do at the right time, God assures His people, He will lead them. The people's job: have faith in God!
"The righteous will live by his faith"
Habakkuk 2:4 (NIV)
At this point, the conversation between Jason and Aaron concluded with a darkened auditorium in which several lighted candles were passed from one church family member to another, scattered throughout the dark room. Each candle gave off enough glow for those around it to see by its illumination.
And so, with our walk of faith as a church family, we must continue to walk by faith in God's love for this diverse group of people. We can help light the way for one another and for others who are seeking a safe place to be loved and restored to God's purpose for their lives!

--Posted by Mama O.

A-Dorla-ble!

I was paying bills on Saturday, the usual post-Christmas batch: mortgage, Macy's, Kohl's, Union 76...
but the most important debt I paid was a spaghetti dinner that my son, Andrew, and I made to take over to Bob Cross and his extended family.

The Apostle Paul admonishes us, in Romans 13:8 to "let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law." (New International Version)

It was our privilege to take dinner to the Cross family on the day of Dorla Cross's passing from this life into eternal life. Family was gathering at Bob and Dorla's house late in the day to prepare for her funeral and burial. Steve and I pulled our wagon full of spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and lemon cake over to their house (we live close-by) and were greeted by family members who thought we were members of another religion, coming to their house to convert them with our wagon full of literature!

After we all had a good laugh at our mistaken identity, we sat with the grieving family, remembering the wonderful life that Dorla lived.

Bob and Dorla opened their home to so many college students in their days of hosting church events that, daughter Cindy estimated, there were more than 100 house keys floating around in student's pockets, purses and backpacks.

"If anyone had broken into my parents' house and the police had asked who had access to the house, the list would have included more than 100 people!" she laughed.

That's how Bob and Dorla lived life. They lived to serve others, to be generous and to give many, many others an example to follow.

Although we did not have the privilege of knowing Bob and Dorla in their "Big Hospitality" days, we have received countless hugs, back pats and words of encouragement from them in the 10 years we have been part of the College Church of Christ family.  We owe them a debt of love that we can only attempt to repay by continuing to build on the foundation they helped to lay, a foundation for a church that is hospitable, loving, accepting, forgiving, generous and encouraging. May we keep working, in the spirit of Dorla Cross, to pay the debt of love we owe!

--Posted by Mama O.