These men and women, they died in service to their country. Because they were willing to put aside the life they could have lived, and fight the fight they could have avoided, you and I get to dwell in relative peace within the borders of our nation. May their act of service remind us of the one our Lord gave almost 2000 years ago.
And now we dwell in the presence of God; seated with Christ in the Heavenly places. We can be sure of this because Christ declared it on the cross saying, “It is finished.”
This Maundy Thursday, as we reflect and celebrate that rich love of our Savior, as we contemplate the words He spoke the night of His betrayal, let us take to heart the call He has placed over our lives. To love each other as He has loved us. Without restraint. Without qualification...to love because He first loved us.
He exclaimed, “Ice cream!?” Then he ran around the house looking for his little brother screaming “Ice cream! Ice cream!” until he finally got a hold of his little brother. He grabbed his brother by the shoulders and loudly asked, “did you hear the good news!? We’re going to get ice cream!” ... Why does my son seem more excited about his ice cream than we sometimes seem about the love of our God?
And it wouldn’t be [Joshua's] knowledge of the past, his leadership experience, the support of the people, or anything else that would see him through this. It would be the reality that God Himself would go before him.
What about God? What about your Father in Heaven? Does He notice? Does He care when you are living out your life as His Good and Faithful, in the midst of the ups and the downs, and you choose to do things with Him in mind? Does it matter to Him?
Knowing the character of God is one of the most important aspects of being among His Good and faithful. Following after Christ is challenging. He said so Himself. But it often helps us stay the course when we know Who it is we are following, and just how wonderful His character really is.
This Christmas, celebrate the birth of our Savior. Remember that that little boy in a manger is now seated beside our Father in the heavenly places. He sits enthroned, interceding for you and me as we live out our lives as His Good and Faithful... This is what we get to celebrate this Christmas!
[God is] not asking us to ignore the pain. He’s not asking us to sweep the suffering under the rug. What God is telling us to do is to fix our eyes on Jesus. To set our minds on Him, our hope in Him... He wants us to know that in Him we will find rest from it all! Read more!
Oh if only we could remember this throughout the highs and lows of life! Our Father in Heaven does not intend to abandon us. He does not intend to cause us harm or to cause unnecessary pain. He is not waiting to bring down the hammer of judgment upon us. Far from it!
It means that believe it or not, by God’s grace, you are to Him utterly set apart. To Him, you are not of this world, and He does not deal with you as if you were. Sometimes that may seem hard to believe. But it’s important to understand and embrace.
Secondly, we want you to see that God is in the middle of building you into something more. He is building all of us, you also, into a spiritual house. A family. Not a building. But a people. Like Pastor Charles shared in his most recently blog, you ARE the Church! You ARE the house of God. And He isn’t doing this just for fun. He doesn’t have you in the midst of a trial or challenge for no reason. He has a purpose for it all. He is making a spiritual house, for the purpose of having a holy priesthood.
These men and women, they died in service to their country. Because they were willing to put aside the life they could have lived, and fight the fight they could have avoided, you and I get to dwell in relative peace within the borders of our nation. May their act of service remind us of the one our Lord gave almost 2000 years ago.
And now we dwell in the presence of God; seated with Christ in the Heavenly places. We can be sure of this because Christ declared it on the cross saying, “It is finished.”
This Maundy Thursday, as we reflect and celebrate that rich love of our Savior, as we contemplate the words He spoke the night of His betrayal, let us take to heart the call He has placed over our lives. To love each other as He has loved us. Without restraint. Without qualification...to love because He first loved us.
He exclaimed, “Ice cream!?” Then he ran around the house looking for his little brother screaming “Ice cream! Ice cream!” until he finally got a hold of his little brother. He grabbed his brother by the shoulders and loudly asked, “did you hear the good news!? We’re going to get ice cream!” ... Why does my son seem more excited about his ice cream than we sometimes seem about the love of our God?
And it wouldn’t be [Joshua's] knowledge of the past, his leadership experience, the support of the people, or anything else that would see him through this. It would be the reality that God Himself would go before him.
What about God? What about your Father in Heaven? Does He notice? Does He care when you are living out your life as His Good and Faithful, in the midst of the ups and the downs, and you choose to do things with Him in mind? Does it matter to Him?
Knowing the character of God is one of the most important aspects of being among His Good and faithful. Following after Christ is challenging. He said so Himself. But it often helps us stay the course when we know Who it is we are following, and just how wonderful His character really is.
This Christmas, celebrate the birth of our Savior. Remember that that little boy in a manger is now seated beside our Father in the heavenly places. He sits enthroned, interceding for you and me as we live out our lives as His Good and Faithful... This is what we get to celebrate this Christmas!
[God is] not asking us to ignore the pain. He’s not asking us to sweep the suffering under the rug. What God is telling us to do is to fix our eyes on Jesus. To set our minds on Him, our hope in Him... He wants us to know that in Him we will find rest from it all! Read more!
Oh if only we could remember this throughout the highs and lows of life! Our Father in Heaven does not intend to abandon us. He does not intend to cause us harm or to cause unnecessary pain. He is not waiting to bring down the hammer of judgment upon us. Far from it!
It means that believe it or not, by God’s grace, you are to Him utterly set apart. To Him, you are not of this world, and He does not deal with you as if you were. Sometimes that may seem hard to believe. But it’s important to understand and embrace.
Secondly, we want you to see that God is in the middle of building you into something more. He is building all of us, you also, into a spiritual house. A family. Not a building. But a people. Like Pastor Charles shared in his most recently blog, you ARE the Church! You ARE the house of God. And He isn’t doing this just for fun. He doesn’t have you in the midst of a trial or challenge for no reason. He has a purpose for it all. He is making a spiritual house, for the purpose of having a holy priesthood.
