For Days that are Full and Hearts that are Tired by Christie Lambert

As the season begins to change and we find our hands full of “to-do, go-there, be-this, don’t-forget-that”, may we always remember to empty our full hands into His hands.  Let us give it all to the One who loves us so completely that He wants to carry our burdens for us. We don’t have to figure it all out for ourselves.  He will order our steps…He will make our way straight.  He will “bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work”. (2 Cor. 9:8)   Yes, the day can bring whatever it will bring…and if we are keeping company with Christ, He will empower us in every circumstance. I believe that, placed in His care-taking, our lives can be full — but not frantic. We can be pressed and still His peace will preside. We will not be stressed, but sustained. We can look at our hands full of busy and know that, in Him, even burdens can become blessings.

 And even if it is one of those days when our emotions tell us that we are barely hanging on — because those days do come —  He is still beneath and behind and before us. We are not just hanging on to Him. He is holding us. We are safely and securely in the palm of His hand.  He never lets us go.  (You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me…your right hand will hold me fast. –from Psalm 139)

 

 So no matter how we feel and no matter what our rush-around world may bring — may we pro-actively surrender our schedules for a quiet breath, a slow-down space, and wait-on-the-Lord moments. We need Him…we need time to surrender our day-to-day lives to the One who is Lord over every emotion, every blessing, every trouble that comes our way, every task on our agenda, everything in our lives. May we open His Word and carry it in our hearts, living out His love and light everywhere we go. May we seek Him in stillness, may we allow Him to be the center of our lives…and when we take these feeble steps in obedience toward Him, even as our legs tremble and our feet falter, He is the Father running to meet us. Boundless, He crosses the space between and gives us far more than we could ever begin to give to Him.

 

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak…those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” ~ from Isaiah 40

You Matter by Christie Lambert

Yes, you. 

I know that it’s sometimes hard to hold to, this truth that you are important~ but it’s true. You have been chosen by God for this place and this time in this world.

 

Your heart matters to Him, so much that He would not allow sin to hold power over you and keep you from His presence. He sent Jesus to redeem you, because He loved you and He wanted your heart for His own. Your heart, created by His non-erring hand, is valuable to Him...and you are valuable to the rest of us, to your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to the people in your life who don’t know Him.

 

You have a story to tell. Whether it’s through your actions or through your words…maybe through music or painting…maybe through the food you take to those who are hurt or hungry…perhaps in the phone call you make when someone crosses your mind…perhaps in the faithful way you do your job and speak kindly to those around you…however you tell it, your story is important because it is the truth of a God who loves us, who reaches into our lives and sets us free. This is a treasure in your hands, my friend…the fact that He has made you new, has called you Son or Daughter, has filled you with His Spirit. We bear witness to His grace…and when we all tell our piece of the Great Story, His Good News, we reveal Him to the people around us. 

 

When we all tell our stories, I believe He is revealed to the entire world. 

 

But here’s what can happen – Satan, our enemy who seeks to destroy and to devour any image-bearer of God, sneaks in and tells you that no one notices you. You might as well be invisible, whether you’re sitting at home or on a church pew or walking around at work. You don’t have anything to offer…everybody else says it better. Everybody else knows more. Everybody else…well, they have it covered. Who needs you? 

 

If he can persuade you to believe that you are insignificant, he silences your testimony. He silences your story…because he wants to silence the Gospel. 

 

Do not believe his lies. Do not be silenced. 

 

God has chosen you. He has called you to be a witness of His mercy. He has created you with all of those gifts and personality-quirks that make you you…

and we need you. 

 

Someone needs your story. Someone is waiting to have somebody else understand where they are coming from — ‘to speak their language’. Someone is wondering if anybody out there has been through what they are going through. Someone is in desperate need to hear that this kind of storm will pass, that God makes a way…that, even in their despair, they are loved.

 

Paul puts it this way in 2nd Corinthians 1: “All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.” (The MSG)

 

So, yes – you matter. What you have been through matters. Your walk with the Lord matters. Your trials and your victories – every piece of your life – in the Master Artist’s hands, it all matters.

 

You were created and redeemed to give glory to God in everything that you do – to shine like a star, to hold out the Word of life. (Phil. 2:15)

 

God calls you His own. When those creeping lies of worthlessness, insignificance, and invisibility try to attack, I know that it can be so hard to hold your head up. I think that the enemy knows our weak moments, when our emotions are already vulnerable, and strikes when we are susceptible to agreeing with his accusations. So be alert in those times and, whenever you feel those emotions stirring – hold out your Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God and stand firm in His truth. James 4:7 assures us that when we resist the devil, he will flee from us. So resist – as Webster defines it - withstand the action or effect of.  Don’t allow his lies to devour your emotions, your moment, your day…your testimony.  I’ve been there. If we dwell on those false ideas, our whole day…or worse, a whole season of our lives…can be swallowed up by despair. But in our armor that God gives and empowers, we can “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.’ (Ephesians 5:15)  

 

Extinguish the lies!  The enemy has no place in defining your heart – your heart belongs to the kingdom of light, made new in the grace of God, a ‘treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Cor. 4:7)

 

Polish up your Sword, friends. Hold up your head and know His truth. He sees you. He knows you. You are loved. Your testimony has worth. Your life gives Him glory…so yes, always yes – you matter.  

 

“It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.” ~ Ephesians 1:11

 

“We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” ~Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

 

Of Dandelions and Hope by Christie Lambert

Of Dandelions and Hope

It was easy to become weary of winter this year. Darkness fell early, quick and heavy. Grass was brown and dry beneath my feet, trees reached bare branches up and out like they, too, were anxiously waiting for garments of new growth. Spring, summer, and fall always seem to pass so quickly with their tides of color and change…but winter felt long, lasting. The days all looked the same and I began to ache for buds of new life on the bushes that lined my house, long dusky evenings, green and sweet scents.

So days like this one, with the sun shining bright, are most welcome. I don’t take these warm near-to-summer days for granted after a winter of longing for short sleeves and flip-flops. We skipped outside into afternoon warmth after lunch and my daughter was surprised by two treasures –dandelions, one still yellow and one a “wishing-flower”. She bent over and picked the white fluff, blew the seeds into the breeze and ran off with her laughter trailing up to the sky alongside dandelion-wish-pods.

The dandelion reminded me that winter does come to an end– below and beyond the surface of winter-hibernation, the Author of creation readies nature for its next season. By His hands, it is all prepared…animals are guided and seeds ripened deep in soil….even while everything still looks dark and cold on the surface, everything the earth needs to shift into the next season is already given by Him. By His power, the world is ever-spinning on its axis towards long sun-lit hours and bright pops of flowers. Leaves will wave and baby birds will hatch and life will blossom. Because He is ever-working in the present, the brilliance of spring blesses us.

Maybe your life’s situations feel winter-ish today, long and unrelenting. Maybe events aren’t unfolding as quickly as you’d like–you feel stuck in shades of grey and brown, chilly and tired of cut-off growth.

If that’s the case, I hope that this is your dandelion of a reminder that this season will not last always. The Author of your life is working, always, behind the scenes of what we see. ‘To everything there is a season, a time to plant and a time to uproot…’ Just as the earth needs spans of quiet preparation, so do we. If this is your time of waiting, don’t lose hope — ‘He has made everything beautiful in its time’ and so your situation is His work-in-progress. He knows the weather that is coming and what every heart is in need of to thrive in it, the timing and the nutrients required for future-blossoms…His will and His mission will always be fulfilled, His Word never falling useless to the ground, and so we can trust that His plans and purpose will be done in our lives and on the earth.

So keep praying and trusting…our Creator knows exactly how and when to change our season. His timing is perfect, His love always with us…and just as weeping in the night gives way to joy in the morning, so will the winters of our lives give way to His joyful spring.

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord!  Psalm 27:13-14

The Millennial & His Money

Recently I read that the era of financial generosity seems to be phasing out with the demise of the survivor generation. That particular demographic is made up of the people who won WWII, also known as the “builders” or the “greatest generation.” These are the people who help develop the church, and financed the ministries thereof. Sadly, they are passing from the scene, and the church is feeling the loss.

I recently shared a stewardship report with my church at offering time. The statement belonged to a now deceased couple, pillars of the church, who gave consistently up to the month of their deaths. (They died within a month of one another) The effect of the reading was obvious; everyone was humbled. Here was the proof of the faithfulness, passion, and dedication of a couple who believed in contributing to the work of the kingdom. They gave $150.00 per month up to the time of their “home going.”  As a matter of fact, they had established a pattern of regular giving many years before; this most recent report was for 2012. 

The generation now coming to adulthood and into church leadership is called the “millennials.” So far, they don’t seem to be as generous as the generations before them, even though they also seem to demand more from the church.

My hope and prayer is that the new generation will value the work of God as much or more than their forbears, and in so doing they will build the church to an even greater extent than those that have gone before.

True Discipleship

Today we endeavored to follow the Lord's command to minister "unto the least of these." We fed and shared the gospel message with about 30 individuals who visited our campus to receive help from the "With Love From Jesus"  outreach. What a joy it was to see 12 people commit their lives to Christ, and benefit from the best of Christian benevolence.

But what was equally as rewarding was to see the faces of our church members as they excitedly shared food, help, smiles, and "God bless you's!"  What do you think? Does discipleship take place in the lives of the people we share our food with? Are we discipling them? Or does discipleship take place in our own lives as we share? Who is really being discipled?

As much as I would like to think that we are making disciples of the "least of these my brethren" I really think discipleship takes place in the servant as he learns to serve. If Christ came to serve, and we follow His example in serving others, we are placing ourselves in an intentional path of discipleship.

Who knew that discipleship was so non-boring!

A man had bought a new gadget that had not been assembled. After reading the instructions several times he still couldn't figure out how it went together. Finally, he sought help of an old handyman who was working in the backyard. The old fellow picked up the pieces and in a few minutes had put everything together. The man who had tried and tried said, "That's amazing. You did it without even looking at the instructions." "Fact is," said the old man, "I can't read, and when a fellow can't read, he's got to think."

I recently read that the average person has 10,000 different thoughts every day. That's encouraging to me being that I try to come up with a new thought to write about every day. Those who consider themselves to be computer geeks are familiar with the GIGO. It is an acronym for 'garbage in garbage out.' What is true with a computer is also true with the human mind. There are times when the mind seems to drift and suddenly you become aware that uninvited thoughts have entered your mind. A good example is when you find yourself singing or humming some tune of a song you were not purposely thinking of. I'm sure that is the basis of the old adage that you can't keep birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.

2 Cor 10:5 exhorts us to "bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." If we fail to control our thoughts, our thoughts will control us. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can change our lives by changing our thinking.

Col 3:2 encourages us to "set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."

Phil 4:8 "Whatever things are true, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of a good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things."

Once again you can change your life by changing your thinking. Replace thoughts of despair with thoughts of hope. Replace thoughts of anger with thoughts of love. Replace thoughts of suspicion with thoughts of trust. Replace thoughts of gloom with thoughts of cheerfulness.

And so what do you think? What you think will greatly influence how you live. It has been said that youth are too happy to think. Adults are too busy or too worried to think. Those in declining years are often too old or too sick to think. And then when death occurs it is too late  to think.

Rev. Kenneth Woods - Guest Blogger
(Mrs. Rhonda Summers' father)

Commitment vs. Conviction

I have been thinking about the word, "conviction" as it relates to "commitment." Many times pastors bemoan the lack of commitment they perceive in their membership. They say things like, "Our people are just not committed like they should be." Or, "What the church needs is greater commitment." While I agree that commitment is a needed attribute among believers, what may really be lacking is conviction.

I have typically thought of conviction as that bad feeling when I have done something wrong - I was convicted of my sin, for example. But what I think is a more accurate description is "that which I believe to be right or true." Conviction is the thing that I am convicted of, the thing I live by no matter what. If my conviction is that marriage is honorable, then I will honor marriage. If my conviction is that truth is paramount, then I will be truthful. If my conviction is that God is a reality, then I will live according to His reality.

Should a believer gather with others at worship on Sundays? Yes, that is my conviction! Is worship more important than other activities? That is also my conviction. Does God deserve the best part of the first day of the week? My conviction tells me, "yes."

What are your convictions?

Tear Down the Walls!

I get very frustrated with technology, and sometimes consider the required use of it a form of discrimination. Think about it; if someone does not own or have access to a computer and an internet connection, he will be unable (or at least have great difficulty) to make many transactions, apply for a job, contact certain professional people, or use reward points to pay for flights or motels. The post modern world has devised a way to keep some out, and some in; some outside the “loop” while the others are considered “insiders.” And the means of doing that is a digital one.

Has the church done a similar thing, in keeping some out, while bringing others in? What are the means the church uses to do that? Is it our attitudes, lack of response, general lack of acceptance, or failure to recognize the lonely? As frustrated as I am when faced with yet another computerized obstacle, how frustrated are some people when barriers are put up at church?

Here’s to tearing down walls.

Pastor Mark

In this world you will have trouble.

We are told that the world is unraveling. We are told that the economy is unstable; diseases are without cure, depression and anxiety more prevalent than ever before. We are told that there is no guarantee of safety, no guarantee of provision, no guarantee that a new disaster won’t befall us when the new day dawns.

We are told all of these things from the media sources that speak into our homes… in the plots of our ‘entertainment’… we can overhear the conversations in restaurants and grocery stores… in our twitter feed… on Facebook. We hear the endless sounds of despair and the incessant arguments of political solutions that bring no peace and no optimism. I’m sure that you could add more to the list I made, more worry-planting seeds you’ve heard… and these seeds fall easy into the soil of our broken hearts.

Are the problems real? Yes. And yet this is not the entire truth… because, contrary to what it may seem, the problems are not ~ and never will they be ~ the end of the story. They are not the whole story. Here’s what is left out of the conversation:

We have a Savior and this is what He says about our earth so undone -

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Jesus Christ is the same today as He was on the day that this world was spoken into existence. (Hebrews 13:8) He is the same today as He was on the day that saw a sea parted for a way of escape, a sun standing still for the victory to be won, three hundred men defeating an army with nothing but jars to break, torches to light, and trumpets to sound. He is the same today as He was when one stone knocked a giant to the ground, when the captives returned from exile, when the wall was rebuilt no matter the obstacles that came. He is the same today as when one lunch became a feast for thousands, when Lazarus walked from death into life, when the mute and the lame were suddenly shouting and leaping. He is the same today as when He spoke peace to the storm, opened blinded eyes, and He is the same today as when He rose from His grave and ascended in power and glory to the right hand of the Father.

What I am trying to say is this: no matter how many times this world turns, no matter how sin destroys and divides, no matter how much power the enemy thinks is in his hands ~ there is one King of kings and He is in control. He has always been the Author of this story ~He began it, He unfolds it, and the ending is His and His alone.

Christie Lambert - guest blogger