Important Motley Church Update - What Does The Future Hold

Hey everyone, I wanted to share an update for those of you that are following along or even a little bit curious about this Motley Church thing I keep talking about.

Motley Church has seen different formats over the years and has had different core groups over the last three. End of summer last year Pastor Robert Brody and I met up to discuss this urgent call I was feeling once again on my life. After some good Sal's Pizza and an hour of conversation and prayer, Robert says to me, why don't we try to revive Motley.

Motley was the brain child of Rachel C. Rachel was a regular in a youth group that Robert ran at a different local church when she was in high school. As an adult she was curious and wanted to learn how to grow her relationship with God so she started coming to church. 

Like many of us however on most Sundays she would leave a sermon with tons of questions and not having a way to understand what she just sat through. Not that the sermon was bad, its just a little difficult in most churches to put your hand up and stop the pastor mid sermon. (see video below)

Then a week later you go back to maybe a totally different topic or lesson from the Bible, but still no answers.Some other early attenders of the group have been people who were curious but just not comfortable walking into a church setting for one reason or another.

So after some discussion with Pastor Robert they decided to launch a separate small group or gathering where people could come together to get answers, discuss what they were learning and really seek out the truth and guidance that the Bible has to offer. Hence Motley was born.

Fast forward to today. We  re-launched Motley in early October when I shared my testimony with a small group of people around a campfire. We've been meeting two Sunday evenings a month since then, sometimes to a large crowd and other times there's been only two or three, but each time we met, we've needed to be there for each other. 

Matthew 18:20

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."

Lets face it, we all have junk in our lives and there is nothing better knowing that somebody cares. That you have a safe place to go where you won't be judged and where you can find spiritual support and hopefully answers to whatever may be going on in your life, whether good or bad.

Anyhow - our biggest dilemma to date has been where and when to meet and how often do we do this, blah, blah, blah. Unfortunately its hard to accommodate everyone's schedules all the time but we have come to a change/decision on how to move forward.

Beginning Wednesday February 7th Motley will be meeting at New Danville Mennonite Church from 6:30 - 7:30 and we will meet every Wednesday night at the same time and place. We are also discussing once the weather gets a little nicer that we would have a Sunday night meet up once a month just to hang out and have fun at a park, do a picnic or some other extra curricular activity some where.

We know that Wednesday may be difficult for some but for the core group that's been attending that works best for now. We hope that any and all past attendees can make the schedule work, even if its only once or twice a month or maybe even our Sunday night meet ups. You'll also be able to follow along on our Facebook page and through my blog as I plan to keep regular lessons and updates here as well.

Our hopes are to discover the real truths in the Bible and to help each other do the same. If you are reading this and don't know whats in the book - we invite you. If you are reading this and do know whats in the book, we invite you too. No matter who you are, what you've done or what may have happened to you in your life, we invite you.

Motley is an open discussion forum where we all learn together, where you can come as you are and where we'll never judge you. We hope to see you all on February 7th as we will be starting our study of the book of Matthew that begins the New Testament. 

Thanks for reading this long post and we hope to see you then.

Matthew:1-1

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 

Getting A Jump on Thanksgiving

Hi everybody – I know this article is releasing a month before the Holiday but I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for following along and wish each one of you a Happy Thanksgiving.

My other thought was that this could be a good chance to get warmed up for the big game, so to speak. That maybe if we start exercising our gratitude early, big things could happen on the big day.

You see, I believe that being thankful for the things that we do have is one of the keys to success and happiness in life. I don’t know about you but there was a time when all I could think about was the things that I didn’t have.

Now I don’t know how that makes you feel, but I found that always wanting something that I didn’t or couldn’t have at the time put me in a pretty grumpy mood.

If you remember a few issues ago we reviewed the 23^rd Psalm which so famously starts out: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Let’s see what else the Bible says about being thankful:

1 Chronicles 16:34 (NIV)

Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good. His faithful love continues forever.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV) 

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 4:2 (NIRV) 

Spend a lot of time in prayer. Always be watchful and thankful.

Colossians 3:17 (NIV)

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

As you can see above the Lord makes us many promises if we are thankful. I know sometimes situations can occur that make it seem hard to feel this way but I bet if you stop and think about it you’ll be able to find something good in most circumstances.

Even if it’s hard to find the good, isn’t always better to feel good about whats happened. I’d ask you to trust in God and wake each day and tell him what your thankful for.

A good little exercise that works well for me is every morning when I wake I say out loud just five things that I’m thankful for. Go ahead, give it a try, you certainly don’t need to wait for Thanksgiving to get started.

I know since I’ve started this habit it has made a positive impact in my life as I hope it will in yours.

For more life tips or inspiration see Jim Bull Talks on Facebook and IG or subscribe to Jim Bull on You Tube.

MX Revival - Scripture of the Week

Here at Jim Bull Talks and MX Revival we like to share the truth and nothing is more true than the scripture that we share with you this week.

Acts 2:21 says:

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ ESV

Man it doesn't get any better than this. This scripture tells us that if we put our trust in the Lord and ask him to be our savior, that its a done deal. That we're in, no questions asked.

Question to consider:

What does "being saved" mean to you?

We welcome you all to join in the conversation by following the blog and adding your comments and questions below and we hope that you come back again.

MX Revival - Scripture of the Week

Hey all and welcome to the MX Revival - Scripture of the Week.

Its Labor Day weekend so I thought we would look at a thought about work.

Philippians 1:6 says:

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (NLT)

OK - so maybe this isn't the spin on work you were expecting. In this passage Paul, one of Gods most loyal followers tells us that God will not give up on us, that He will do good work in us until the day Jesus returns as long as we believe in Him.

Question to consider:

Are you allowing God to do his work in you or are you out there trying to do it all on your own?

We welcome you all to join in on the conversation by following the blog and adding your comments and questions below and we hope you come back again. 

Baby Miracles

Baby Miracles

By: Jim Bull

Are You Looking For a Miracle?

I don’t know about you, but many times I find myself looking for that “massive miracle” that is going to change my life forever. I think that no matter what your heavenly beliefs are that most people are always looking for the next big thing.

Whether it’s a job or relationship change, some kind of fortune that is going to fall into your life and then there is the most popular, when I hit the lotto baby. Lol

Even as believers in Christ and in knowing the miracles that God has granted over the years, aren’t we always hoping and praying for God to intervene and just fix everything in our lives?

Let’s look at just a few:

Matthew 9  (NIV) - Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man

9:1 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” And the man was healed.

Matthew 14:13-21 (NIV) - Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Acts 2: 24 - How About the Big One

But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. (speaking of Jesus)

Here’s my challenge to you this month:

How about instead of looking for the huge miracle in our lives, we become thankful every day for the “baby miracles” in our lives. Like the fact that we wake each morning, or that we have food to eat in a world that’s starving or that God protects our racers each time they hurl themselves 100 feet through the air.

I know they are easy to take for granted, but I urge you to look for the “baby miracles” that happen to you constantly as you go through life and to be thankful to the Lord above for making them happen.

                               

 For more life tips or inspiration see Jim Bull Talks on Facebook and IG or subscribe to Jim Bull on You Tube.

For more scripture head on over to: Bible Hub

Learn How to Lend a Hand In The Fight Against Heroin Addiction

Please watch this episode as we ask for help for two different organizations that are out fighting on the front lines to help save maybe the people you love. 

Check out the short video then click on the links below to find out more about each.

Sick Recovery Racing - Click Here

The Way Recovery Houses - Click Here

You Can Make A Difference - Thank You

Always Find The Silver Lining - What Are You Thankful For

Chaplains Corner

By Jim Bull

Being Thankful

You know it seems the more time goes by the more I realize how thankful I am for the things that I have. It certainly is very easy to take things for granted, isn’t it? I don’t know if it’s what our society teaches us or if it’s just human nature but either way I am finding that by stopping each morning to give thanks for the things that I do have makes life more enjoyable. I mean who wants to go through life in a “state of want” all the time?

So let’s see what the bible says about it:

1 THESSALONIANS 5:18 - Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. (NLT)

This month’s inspiration came not only from the bible but from long time MAMA racer Bryce Reeves. I have a habit of asking people “whats up” and Bryce just happened to be standing near me while I was taking pictures at Southfork and he said something like “God first, then family, then mx” and that sparked our conversation and the basis for this article.

It turns out about a year ago Bryce suffered from a brain hemorrhage which led to a stroke and heart failure which almost took his life. He ended up in the hospital for about a week and a half and till this day still doesn’t have full use of the left side of his body.

He told me that after spending 41 years racing motocross and raising his kids at the track and watching them grow up racing that there was no way he could stop, that he had to find a way to stay on the bike. It was a year to the day after Bryce was released from the hospital that he crawled back on the bike at Tomahawk earlier this year.

He’s had to retrain his body and learn to compensate with his right to make the left side of his body work. Bryce told me he always believed in God but his health experience made everything he thought he already believed come to reality.  He believes that because of God that he is still here racing and for that he is most thankful.

Bryce said if the race was to the first turn only that he could still win every time.

So I’ll ask you, what are you thankful for? Do you stop to think about it on a regular basis or do you unconsciously go through your days looking for more? Please don’t misunderstand the point I’m trying to get across. I too am a believer in setting goals and always striving to do your best - here I’m talking about the things that we sometimes take for granted. Maybe it’s the things our family does for us on a regular basis that we’ve come to expect or possibly a coworker that pulls some extra weight for you on a day that you’re a little sluggish. Maybe it’s the fact that we just woke up today and aren’t in pain and all our body parts work.

I would ask you to think about it and even to write it down. I’ve found a good little habit to form is the minute you wake up to think about three things you are thankful for that morning. Maybe start a journal and write it down every day but more importantly if your thankful for someone in your life or the things that they do for you - let them know about it, just don’t assume that they already know.

For more life tips or inspiration see Jim Bull Talks on Facebook or subscribe to Jim Bull on You Tube.