“Anyone united with Christ gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! God put the world square with himself through Christ, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins.” (From the book of 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 5, in the New Testament of the Bible)
A new year. Fresh starts. The old life, with its missteps and failures, is in the past. You are forgiven of any mistakes you made and given the chance to start over. Start new. The slate is wiped clean. Enjoy and take advantage of the fresh start you’ve been given, every day.
Have a happy new day, new life, and new year!
A few days ago I asked you what you see when you think about God. Then today in my prayer time I read this:
“Christ gives us the best picture of God we’ll ever get.”
What does God look like? How does God feel about us? Does God really love me? Just open up a Bible. Read the book of John or Luke. You’ll see what God thinks of us humans. God so loved the world that He entered the world as a tiny baby. God became fully human. He became one of us. God lived a exemplary life for us to follow. He was our greatest example of how to live a full, rich, abundant life. God died on a cross. Then God rose from the dead all so He could have a close, deep relationship with YOU.
I hope you have a very merry Christmas! Enjoy celebrating the birth of the One who is the greatest example of love our world has ever known. Get the picture?
“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” – Sir Winston Churchill
I hope you can join us as we give our time on Christmas Eve at Union Gospel Mission in Ft. Worth. See you there at 4!
What is usually the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about God? Do you see a picture in your mind of what you think God must look like? Do you see an old man with a white beard, a Santa Claus type figure? Do you see a baby lying in a manger? Or maybe something in between?
What comes to your mind when you think about God? Do you see somone who judges you for all of your sins? Someone who pours down wrath for every careless word you’ve said or deed that you’ve done? Or do you see a gracious, merciful friend? Do you see love?
I’m really curious. I’d really like to know. When you think about God, what do you see?
Do you ever feel like there are just not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything you want to do? I know I do. There always seems to be work left undone. Life can be a little overwhelming at times, especially during this hurried holiday season. There are still gifts to be wrapped. We don’t even have our Christmas tree up yet!
But in the midst of it all, God is still here, saying, “Be still. Be still and know that I am God. Come rest with me. Spend time with me. There’s just not enough hours for me to let you know how much I really love you.”
No one and nothing can calm the storms and hustle and bustle in our lives like our God. So relax, take a deep breath, and just be still.
I’m really excited because I was asked to fill in for the pastor at Ridglea UMC on Dec. 28 when he’s out of town. I love the process of preparing a sermon and then delivering it. A sermon is a time for us to explore together our common experience before God. It’s always an honor and a privilege to be able to speak as a representative of God. But we are all Christ’s representatives, aren’t we? His ambassadors. Every day God gives us opportunities to speak on Christ’s behalf. What will we say?
Whether you’re speaking to 1000 or to just 1 person, remember that you are speaking as God’s representative. My prayer is that our words will be pleasing to our Saviour.
“Mortgage crisis.” “Jobs at risk.” “Bail-outs.” “Negative economic growth.”
As all of these headlines splashed across my television screen, I turned off all the bad news and I picked up my Bible for my daily time alone with God. This is what I read:
“Be generous: Invest in acts of charity. Charity yields high returns. Don’t hoard your goods; spread them around. Be a blessing to others.” (Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11)
Even in these uncertain economic times, God, you mean you want me to give to others? YES. Even when my investments are earning negative returns, God, you want me to provide for the needs of others? YES. Even though it looks like there may be rainy days ahead, God, you want me to still dig deep and reach out? YES, for your gifts and assistance earn you a higher rate of return than you can ever imagine!
Today and every day, be a blessing to others. Smile. Help out at a homeless shelter or AIDS clinic. Give an extra year-end donation to a church or charity of your choice. Bake cookies to give to a neighbor. Don’t let the news clips and sound bites scare you. Continue to invest your time and energy in the lives of others.
Don’t hoard the great news of God’s love. Share it with everyone you meet!
“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health; your very bones will vibrate with life!” (From the Old Testament book of Proverbs, Chapter 3)
“Let’s agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; don’t drag them down by finding fault.” (From the New Testament book of Romans, Chapter 14)
Wouldn’t it be great if instead of looking for faults in others (we’ve all got them, don’t we?), we started looking for something nice to say about every person we meet? Let’s agree to try that this week. Do a little experiment. Test it out. I bet we’ll find that our lives will be more positive and happier as a result.
Discipleship. It’s a big word we use in the church, but what does it really mean? I ran across a definition for discipleship that I really like, probably because I can actually understand it. It said,
“Discipleship is the journey from separate self-centered lives to a God-centered life together where we are able to think with the mind of Christ, love with the heart of Christ, and serve as the hands of Christ.”
I like that. I like the fact that the Christian life is not about a one-time decision, but about a process or journey. It’s about taking me, day by day, from being on my own, focused on my own desires and wants, to a place of community where together we are focused on God. Discipleship engages our minds, energizes our hearts, and empowers our hands. It helps us think, love, and serve like Christ and with Christ. Is that not the purpose of our lives?
Today and every day my prayer for you is that you enjoy the journey and invite someone else to join you!