It Doesn't Take Much

A friend of mine passed me in the hallway and handed me an envelope. Inside was a simple colored 3x5" card with words from another friend who had sent her notes to distribute. Earlier in the day, I received a package. And when you're serving away from home both the packages and notes mean the world to you.  It's not about what's in them per se (although that's always nice), but it's the thought that someone took to remember you that really sticks out. I felt thought of and remembered and yes...loved...

And. as much as it meant to me, I was reading in 1 John 3 and noticed how that little thought means a lot even to God.

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

1 John 3:18

So my question to you today is what are your actions saying? No matter how big or small, what you do has the power to truly change someone's life? It's not rocket science. We need to stop trying to complicate things. Change our focus and realize that it's the simple things that make a world of difference. In all, we have great power and opportunity in all that we do, and it doesn't take much to love with action.

Blessings,
PastorA

That Nasty "P" Word

Recently, I've been really struggling with that nasty "P" word. You know the one I'm talking about. You know...P-R-I-D-E...(that is what you were thinking, right?). It seems a recurring theme in my life where something will happen that will make me feel affronted or disrespected. And, while I may not go off on people to their faces (my Christian standard would not allow that, she says haughtily), what's usually going on in my mind spells pride over and over again. "Don't they know how smart I really am? Don't they realize that I may be serving but I'm not their servant?" Yep...not exactly the picture of humility. And while I'm doing better that I could be doing, it doesn't make it any better before God. I used to have a friend who would always fuss and complain about the things that were happening to him. Somewhere in the midst of his rants he would express how he was so misunderstood because he was "soooo humble". I remember thinking (and saying a few times) that if you have to say you are humble the likelihood is that you are not. And in my mind, I'm sure I made a comparison to how humble I thought that I was...yeah...not much better, right?

So it's further convicting that the example we have is one of perfection in Jesus who somehow managed to genuinely not care what people thought or how they treated him as long as has Father in heaven was glorified. Mark 14:61 says that "He kept silent and answered nothing" when being questioned by the high priests. Jesus...Lord of Lords...King of Kings...Son of the Trinity...said nothing. So many of us would have said "Don't you know who I am?!" and quickly put them in check. In fact, some of you are being challenged in this area right now just as I am--wanting to give air time to the voices in your head that are telling you to defend yourself. But I'm here to remind you that it is HE who defends us at every turn. Isaiah 54:17 says that 'no weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgement GOD shall condemn.'

Today, you and I both have the opportunity to do better--get our minds right and check our self-righteousness and pride at the door. You may not want to call it that. You may feel (and actually BE) fully justified in your indignation, but that indignation gets us nowhere in Jesus. Today, be encouraged to allow God to do what He's so good at doing. Allow Him to shine above and beyond your "rightness". Allow His credentials to prove you right. Allow Him to fight your battles.

Blessings,
Pastor Andrea

He's Steadfast

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 

The STEADFAST love of the Lord never ceases; 

his mercies never come to an end; 

they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, 

“therefore I will hope in him.” 

Lamentations 3:21-24

I've been thinking a lot about God's love recently. I simply cannot fathom how much He loves me. Even though I, like so many others, learned John 3:16 as my first memory verse and could recite it to this day in my sleep..."For God so love the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life..." I know I haven't fully gotten it. We say the words, but still don't feel the love. Today, when you woke up and the situation you left behind last night was still waiting for you in the morning, did you feel loved? When your car wouldn't start or you realized that you're coming down with a cold, did you simply know that you are enveloped in the warmth of God's love? When you got passed over for the promotion, lost your job, your house, your parent, your child...did you recall in those very moments that "Jesus loves me, this I know?" 

Some would say yes to that question. Some don't have a hard time plugging into God's love and can feel bathed in it every second of every day. But so many more of us struggle at times to truly feel connected to God's love and believe that it's there even when we've disappointed Him and ourselves with sin, disobedience, and simple lethargy. Do our actions reflect a true knowledge of the fact that God loves us beyond our imaginations? Or are we holding back on God just as we would a man or woman who we haven't fully decided to trust?

Today, I wanted to take a minute to simply encourage you as I was encouraged. You see, I've been doing a personal study with some friends on the subject of LOVE. It has thoroughly challenged me in ways that would never fit on a page. And, as I read Lamentations 3 today, I had one of those moments that I simply couldn't let pass by without sharing.

STEADFAST. God's love is steadfast. As I read that word, the image of a heart monitoring machine popped into my head. I could see God's rhythm as consistent and unwavering. The pattern of his heart repeats the same and will never change. While I can be fickle and not always show love, God is nothing like that. If you were to see my heart monitor, it would be all over the place with blips and beeps going from small to large with no rhyme or reason and certainly no consistency. God on the other hand loves us so strongly and so resolutely that we can trust in Him without any reservation. 

I'm not sure what your life looks like--you may feel like you're at the end of your rope or simply trying to stay afloat. But God wanted me to remind you today that He is STEADFAST in His love of you--so much so that He's prepared new mercies for you each and every morning. So make the choice today to hope in that. Don't hold on to what happened yesterday. Hope in the love that holds you up today. Be encouraged and share that same love with another. 

Blessings,
PastorA