Raise the Bar

Woman's life is changed after repenting of adultery

2008-02-19T07:21:00.000-08:00

I was in the midst of an affair and the sermon made me aware today that it has to stop ... no excuses. Please pray for me for the strength to get through this.
One week later...
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your powerful sermon last week and for your prayers. I wrote last week about troubles in my marriage. I have never felt so close to God in my life, and I haven't felt this strong in my faith ... ever. Giving up my disobedience and sin of adultery has given me a new life. In one week, I went from depression to joy and am grateful for my new life. I can breathe again. Thank you for helping me see God through new eyes. I know my marriage will have its ups and downs, but God is Whom I need to look for help, not other men. Praise God for His forgiveness. I feel humbled and unworthy of such love.

A man has accepted Jesus into his heart

2008-02-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

I wanted to say thanks for a variety of things that I have only been recently aware of.
First, and most importantly, is my faith. My family’s life is changed. My wife and I often wonder what brought us back to Cleveland from Florida. Of course the weather is a strong consideration, but we know now after all these years it was CVC. I, for one, have been searching for my faith for years, not knowing what I was meant to do, but after attending CVC, it was clear: open my heart and mind to Jesus. Maybe I was just deaf for all these years, but the preaching every weekend seems to talk right to me, which has driven me to Jesus. It's hard to put into words, but without CVC… I wouldn't have accepted Jesus into my heart.
Secondly is my ability to "start to understand" my role as a man and a father. I attend the Men’s Fraternity (when I'm not in LA or somewhere else). My family has never been closer, never been so content and never been so strong of faith. Thank you. Thanks again from me and my family. We are a changed crew.

Woman raises bar in prayer life and reading

2008-02-13T19:11:00.000-08:00

I am changing my prayer life by increasing its time and intensity.
I can feel God working on me more, and sense a strong feeling of peace when I am in prayer with Him.
I am starting to read some unfinished books at least one-half hour every night as well. When I have completed these three books, I have several others I have purchased and not read.
I am excited about growing closer to our Lord. I feel that prayer and Bible intake are the best ways.
Thank you for challenging us. I love You, Lord, and want to honor and glorify Your precious name.

Man raises bar in Scripture memorization and giving

2008-02-13T19:05:00.000-08:00

A few ways I have been raising the bar in my life are:
- I've begun to be more disciplined and intentional in Scripture intake. I am setting up a plan each week, picking a few verses from my reading, writing them on a note card, and meditating on them throughout the day. I am also journaling my thoughts in the evenings.
- I've also become more intentional in Scripture memorization by trying to memorize passages word-for-word, and remembering the exact reference instead of saying: "I think it was somewhere in Isaiah, or maybe one of the Psalms". I'm also trying to memorize entire thought processes and ideas rather than extracting a verse here and there from a book and risking memorizing something out of context. One goal of mine is to memorize the entire book of Ephesians this year. I already have most of chapters five and six memorized (I am working backwards.)
- I am increasing my giving to give sacrificially, and joyfully: above and beyond a tithe. I am also testing God to bless me, and not limiting blessings to providing me with more money to compensate for the increase in giving, as Malachi 3:10 tells us.

Man raises the bar in prayer, his time, and tithing

2008-02-13T19:00:00.000-08:00

God has put several things on my heart this week regarding the Raise the Bar challenges…
· Don’t just tell someone that “I will pray for them” and then walk away. I have been taking the time to pray, with both believers and non-believers immediately when I hear a need. I ask them if we can pray together. It has provided moments of witnessing, and has made some friendships a little deeper.
· Raise the bar in prayer every day. I am being more disciplined to write down who I need to pray for. I’m also taking several quiet moments at work and finding time to pray throughout the day.
· Go beyond my tithe. God has challenged me to go even more beyond my tithe and give, especially to those who are in poor or in need. I am in prayer on how God wants me to do that and I think He has answered my prayers.
Praise God!

Woman sees husband receive Christ

2008-02-13T18:55:00.000-08:00

I would just like to say that this past month has been so rewarding for me in many ways, not only for myself but my husband prayed to receive Christ. I can’t tell you how long I have been praying for that.
I was just about to give up when we started the "Raise The Bar" series, and through that series not only did I not give up, but I read my Bible more and prayed more often. It was during this series that I read the book "23 Minutes in Hell," and that only made me more sure that I needed to read my Bible more and pray more.
I have read my Bible some times as many as three times a day. I have prayed not only at home, but in the car and at work. When someone tells me they have some kind of trouble, or someone is ill, I pray right there. I would never have done that before this series ... so many thanks again.

Man raises the bar in tithing

2008-02-13T18:50:00.000-08:00

In August 2005, I was up to my eyeballs in debt. I hit rock bottom financially speaking.
Scared, depressed, and worried that I would lose my house, God brought me to my knees. I cried out to him begging , pleading, and praying for him to help me. I felt that I learned my lesson and was hoping that I wouldn't have to lose my house in this process. I told him that I would do all the hard work, including selling things on eBay and working a second job delivering pizzas. I just asked that He would bless me by bringing buyers to me on eBay, and by my receiving good tips with the second job.
I also made a promise to Him. I promised once I was debt free, I would start to tithe my income. I wanted to tithe anyway, but couldn't see how it was possible and in my mind it seemed logical to put that extra money towards paying down my debt.
Well, I broke my promise to God. I actually starting tithing early. This week, in the spirit of "Raising the Bar," I'm going to tithe my income for the first time in my life, even though I won't be debt-free until April or May.

Woman raises the bar in prayer with her kids

2008-02-13T18:45:00.000-08:00

With four kids we have gotten complacent in praying one-on-one with them. Everyone goes to bed at different times, and it is nearly impossible to pray together. So my husband prays with our son and puts him to bed while I pray with the girls.
No one has been praying regularly with our oldest son. I decided to raise the bar by praying with each of the kids every day. It has been a real blessing.
Our oldest son has not refused once, but has stopped what he was doing each time to pray with me. It has turned into a special couple of minutes for just the two of us.
This morning, after a tough time finishing homework, I knelt on the kitchen floor to be eye level with our eight year old and prayed before the bus came.
These times will be special times that pass quickly. I know as a Mom they will be things that I treasure in my heart. I hope that my kids will treasure them as well.
Thank you for this opportunity to take time and look at where we are and where we would like to be. It is awesome to be a part of a church that continually helps us to be more of who Christ calls us to be.

Woman reads Bible and runs to raise the bar

2008-02-13T18:41:00.000-08:00

I have combined my New Year's resolution of becoming more fit with my new worship resolution of getting my soul more fit.... by reading the One Year Bible while I run on the treadmill. I'm losing inches and gaining spiritual discipline.

Man raises the bar in all areas of his life

2008-02-13T18:34:00.001-08:00

I am very thankful for the series entitled, "Raising the Bar." So much of what has been spoken about in this series resonates in my life. By the encouragement from a few godly friends I have devoted more of my time and energy to raising the spiritual bar in my life.
One way I have started to do this is by being more devoted to morning prayer. Though there have been times that I have done some of this in the past, lately I have strived to be more devoted despite how I may be feeling. Each day I have been getting up and spending some time reading the Psalms, thanking God for His many blessings, asking Him for His will for today, and praying for my family and ministry. I know more time spent this way would be better, but I am pleased I have at least established a routine that I can build on in the future. I can already see that the consistency of this routine is helping me in my life.
Another small way I have raised the bar is in Bible reading and study. I have for years used a 365 Bible which I read each night before bed. During the "Raise the Bar" series I have been encouraged to reflect more on what I am reading. If needed, I will go back and read a verse three and four times until I feel like I understand the deeper message. I am amazed at how often what I am reading ties into other areas of my life: it shows up in a message during Men's Fraternity, in Sunday sermons, or in a conversation with my wife or a friend. It is reassuring to see how God is speaking to me and reinforcing his Word in my life.
Lately, I have really been getting hit with God's challenge to overcome my feelings. There are often many areas of my life that I do not "feel" like addressing. I have seen that when I listen to my feelings I can become complacent, distant and, frankly, a little depressed. I am not always a great student, but I think God is teaching me that I have to fight through these feelings and "just do it." Boy, it can be a struggle, But, when I take God's advice I have found that He will often meet me when I've stepped out, and I will feel better.
I think it is a humility thing - often times I just want to be in control. When I am in control I only have to do what I feel like, but eventually I so distance myself from God and His will that I get lost and depressed. At these times, I am especially thankful for the encouragement of friends. It's good to know that I am not alone in my struggles and that others believe in me and my ability to persevere. God definitely uses these relationships in my life to point me back to Him.
Thanks again for the Raise the Bar series. In the last year or so, many sermons have been very convicting to me. I have spoken to others that feel the same. Thank you!

Man getting up earlier to spend time in prayer

2008-02-13T18:27:00.001-08:00

Since I began living for Christ three and a half years ago, I have always been convicted of spending more disciplined time in the Word, in prayer, and resting in God, but I never really could convince myself to put him first, in the morning (very early in the morning if need be.) That is until I heard your message last week.
How can I attend to my earthly body, if I do not attend to my spiritual nourishment first. This made so much sense to me. So I have been getting up an extra hour earlier and driving to work one and a half hours earlier to not only sit and read and pray, but to begin my work day earlier to serve my coworkers. It has been a little more tiring, but the spiritual nourishment and joy and discipline I am experiencing far surpass the thirty minutes to one hour of sleep I lose each night. That's why God gave us a sabbath. Additionally, I save thirty minutes in drive time because of I-77 North traffic.
Thank you!

Woman sees God raising the bar in daughters' lives

2008-02-13T18:18:00.000-08:00

I am so joyous and honored to share the miracles God is working in my life as each day I yearn to move closer to Him in prayer, worship, reading His Word and in giving of my time and talent to serve Him. He has shown me how faithful He is to those who truly love Him.
It has just been about 7 years since Jesus called me to make Him the Lord and Savior of my life. Sadly, I had previously lived a very worldly lifestyle and did not bring up my 2 daughters in the church. After a painful divorce from my ex-husband, who is not a believer, my older daughter was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. She pronounced that she was an atheist, wrote a suicide note and took an entire bottle of pills. She made it through, but struggled with suicidal throughts and deep depression for many years. My younger daughter who had always been a very loving person, turned to anger, defiance and alcohol and ended up on probation and eventually in jail this past summer.
Through it all, I have prayed on my knees for countless hours, prayed for my girls in front of them and with them, read and slept with my Bible wrapped in my arms. I have continued to sing praise and worship to my God each day in my car and each week in church. Each day I have asked God to give me the strength through it all to model the love of Christ for them.
Christ working through me and my fiance has born fruit that are miracles in front of my eyes. With my older daughter, we never suggested that she come to Christ, the Holy Spirit was doing that work in front of our eyes as we saw her life changing. She came to Christ this past Easter at CVC and she told me about her decision after the service: we hugged and cried. She now tells me that she no longer has to fight for the will to live since Christ entered her life.
She is a singer and gifted musician, and God is urging her to use those gifts in a church. God has now brought a wonderful Christian young man into her life who has just graduated from a Christian college.
I was unsure as to whether my younger daughter was ready to go away to college this year, but God amazingly intervened and placed her with two Christian roommates who had Scripture posted all over their Facebook pages proclaiming their love for God and His importance in their lives. And just this past weekend I saw my daughter's Facebook site, and under the religion category it said "Jesus Is My HomeBoy."
These are prayers that five years ago I would have said were impossible. But with God, all things are possible!

Woman raises the bar by using Godly passwords

2008-02-13T13:46:00.000-08:00

I have really lost touch with God lately.
My job has become a challenge to say the least. I am well-educated in a job that has many openings. I should be encouraged by that idea. I am not. I can do nothing right.
So I opened my Bible and started reading a Psalm. I read it and wrote down in my own words what the passage was saying to me.
Just these few words are helping me to find out what God is asking of me. I know if I keep reading he will answer me through his word. Because He said so!
I have changed my computer passwords to reflect Godly characteristics. I need to ask God what He wants me to meditate on with my sign-on passwords. I have to do it lots of times a day so it is a good way to reenforce my teachings from the Master.

Woman is raising the bar and ready for change

2008-02-13T13:44:00.000-08:00

The Lord has brought to my attention during this series a number of things.
I`m ready to raise the bar, and I`m always ready to hear from God.
I`m hoping to be consistent, and ready for change.
My prayer is to bring God glory with my life, for God to keep on dancing over ( I knew God danced !!!) Now we're taking dancing lessons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks!

Woman gives anonymously and is blessed

2008-02-13T10:30:00.000-08:00

I had a couple of “delightful” happenings this past week that I thought I’d share.
Two weeks ago, I felt God remind me of a single mom that I work with who is in a desperate financial situation. I “cheerfully” challenged myself to start giving her some anonymous gift cards in her mailbox from each paycheck. This was a big step for me because since last year I have put myself on an intense plan to rid myself of school debt (and I am happy to tell you I paid off $10,000 in one year!!). This plan did not leave me much room for giving outside of my tithe and sponsor child. The funny thing is, not one hour after I bought the grocery gift card, I received a rebate check in the mail for the same amount from a Christmas purchase I totally forgot about! And yesterday, I bought another random gift card for a different person then went to a baby shower and won a gift card to the same store from the baby bingo game! A few other happenings including a surprise return on taxes, unexpected extra money on a paycheck and then a series of free skiing passes from a friend occurred too.
I’m not surprised that God blesses those who are faithful and willing to trust him. But I found it interesting that I was trying to find other logical reasons for these happenings other than God blessing me. I guess it’s easy for me to believe that God will bless others but why is it so hard to believe that for myself? I seriously struggled with giving God all the credit because I just thought it would be more logical to believe a technicality than an actual divine, tangible, personal intervention.
This whole experience opened the door for me to see the holes in my faith. I’m more motivated now than in a long time to get to a point where truth takes over my every thought and that disbelief will be eliminated. Thanks for being so intentional in teaching us for it truly is making a difference in my personal walk with Jesus.

Woman has raised the bar in prayer

2008-02-13T10:27:00.001-08:00

I was backsliding a little during the last three or four months for a variety of reasons. Now I am back on track and actually raising the bar in the areas of prayer, meditation and obedience due, in part, to this series (last month I never would have believed I would be raising my bar - even getting back to my spiritual "status quo" seemed far out of reach).
But God, with our little tiny bits, does so much more than we can ever imagine. It's like you take one little step toward Him and He gives you wings!
I praise God for His faithfulness to me (I don't know why, but He never lets me go) and I thank Him for this church leadership and their faithful obedience to the teaching of His Word.

Woman says thank you for answered prayers

2008-02-13T10:20:00.000-08:00

I am so very honored to be a tiny part of CVC, that I would probably wash the floors if anyone asked. CVC has touched my heart, my mind, and my soul in ways that I could never have imagined. When I walk into the church, a huge weight is lifted off my shoulders. A sigh of relief, I am home. Thank you for not pushing me, but allowing me in my own time to find my way. Because of Raise the Bar, I prayed, and He answered a few prayers for me.
The first one is, my daughter is now talking to me about God and I had some answers for her. I was praying and asking God to give me the words and He did.
The second and the prayer was the selfish one, I asked God if He could make it happen for me to move closer to my family and out of this horrible place I live. I have to walk 29 stairs to get to my apartment (no elevators). With me having MS, it has been a struggle. This week I got the good news, the place I wanted to move to in Medina is accepting my application and I go on Tuesday for an appointment with them, I have been on a waiting list forever.
I wanted to also tell you I have Raised the Bar in my life and I thought I would share this with you because CVC has taught me so much.
I read my Bible everyday, sometimes 2-3 times a day and I enjoy it. I read longer, I have index cards and write the scriptures that pop off the pages at me.
I also thought that volunteering was a form of Raising the Bar, besides the fact that I am honored to be there at CVC.
I also have committed myself to giving, and although I am very poor,and it won't be an amazing amount, it is a start in the right direction.
Am I a better person today than I was a year ago? Yes! Thank you!

Woman in Maryland is raising the bar

2008-02-13T10:18:00.000-08:00

I left Cleveland and CVC a year ago to take a good job and start a new life in Maryland. I still thank God every day for CVC. Three and half years ago I was widowed. I was so lost. With the help of CVC, God completely healed me and my broken heart. I have met a new, wonderful man that shares my faith and we attend church together, every Sunday, we are active at our church and we are talking marriage. God knew exactly where to meet me and how. My Community Group was an amazing source of strength and healing for me. I now download sermons to my iPod and read my weekly newsletter here in MD. When I am in Cleveland, CVC is for sure on my to do list. Praise and Thank God for what a wonderful body of Christ you all are. Thanks,