Let love prevail

Navigating Each Season

Sun, 31 Dec 2023 03:40:16 GMT

To Everything There is a Season

Over the last year, I visited the ocean on several occasions and it was very surprising how very different it was depending on the day!

Somedays, it was perfectly calm and gentle, a picture of perfect tranquility. Other times, the water was so rough and wavy that I stood in awe at its power as I watched it crash against the sand. As I reflected on the various patterns and fluctuations of the ocean recently, I began to think about how similar our life can be to an ocean. Sometimes, it seems in life that everything is calm and in order and just perfect! It's peaceful and there are no waves. However, on other occasions, our life can seem to be spinning out of control. It can seem that we are thrashing back and forth, being rocked from side to side and barely able to hang on. As I have been in thought about the beginning of the new year, the scripture came to my heart, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted." Ecc. 3:3

While it may seem very unsettling to know that we go through many seasons in this journey called life, it is also very reassuring to know that God has an order and a season for each of us. God knows every step He has for us before we ever take it and He has plans of good for our life. Jeremiah 29:11 states, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

His word is very comforting to me as we begin the journey of another new year! He has a promised season for each of our lives and no matter what we experience, if He is ordering our steps, we will be okay! If it is smooth and sunny as He leads us, enjoy that season! If life seems to be rough and rocky, allow Him to navigate the journey through the bumpy patches, knowing that He has a plan for good in your life! I close with one of my favourite verses, Romans 8:28 which says, "and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. May the Lord continue to bless you this year!

Maintaining the shade garden

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 03:49:22 GMT

Daily Maintenance: A necessity for the Christian's walk

E arly mornings, cool sunshine rays, and a cup of coffee on the patio happen to be one of my favorite things to enjoy. I try to sneak outside unnoticed while the house and kids are quiet and have a few moments to reflect. The other morning, as I sat gazing out at the yard, I was awakened with a startling realization. My peaceful oasis was under attack!! My eyes glanced around the yard, and I noticed disarray and overgrowth. My perfect little shade garden that I love, was completely in disarray. It looked like a plethora of weeds had overtaken all of my well-manicured plants overnight. I sat there in disbelief at the number of weeds that had sprouted up. I remembered weeding and manicuring it not long ago! I was deeply disturbed by the state of my shade garden! I couldn't stand the weeds destroying my beautiful garden. I thought back to all the self-help yard tips I had read over the years. Aerate the soil, seed the lawn, clear out the leaves, mulch the flower bed and shade garden, apply weed preventer etc. I had done all of these things. I had carefully cleaned out the old leaves, applied weed preventer, broke up the soil and added good dirt. I had even applied new mulch to beautify the area. Then I got a little preoccupied and perhaps a little careless. My attention was divided and I had somewhat neglected the daily maintenance. I went too long without spending a few moments just tidying up my shade area. Weeds started to creep in. At first they seemed small and unnoticeable, but now they were destroying all of the beauty of my yard.

Later that day, I made a conscious decision. I was going to salvage my shade garden no matter what the cost. I wasn’t going to sacrifice it and allow the weeds to overtake it and choke out its beauty. I got to work doing the laborious task of weeding. As I weeded, the Lord began to deal with my heart. I began thinking about the effect weeds have on our spiritual temple. I had only neglected the weeding for a short time, thinking it didn't seem too bad and I would get to it another day soon and that it didn't look to bad. As I began to weed that day, I was shocked at how deep the roots were. It was exhausting work, tugging and pulling and uprooting them. Some of the stalk and root tentacles were twice as long as the plant and they were entangled into my Hosta's, Cora bell’s etc. The weeds were so small before and suddenly they were overtaking the whole shade bed. It seemed impossible to get them all removed! The more I worked, the more I found. The scripture came to my mind "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled." Hebrews 12:15. Pulling weeds that day, I pondered how a simple little weed or small offence can become such a deeply rooted, entangled issue in our life. It can begin as such a small issue and at first it seems unnoticeable, but then the fuel (sun) or water (rain) hits it and it just takes off with such tenacity, growing wildly until it almost chokes out the good fruit and plants. Uninhibited, bitterness will completely destroy the beautiful vessel that we are in Christ. Unforgiven can do the same thing. As a matter of fact, even just a little sin can become an enormous obstacle if we allow it to take root in our life. Scripture tells us that when sin is finished it brings forth death. It just destroys everything if it is allowed to take root in our life. Sometimes we are not even aware when a sin creeps in or a little root of bitterness or offence happens. It can be subtle. Maybe we just have a slight misunderstanding initially, but if not addressed, it will take root and grow. By the time it is finished, if we are not careful, it will be like the giant weed stalk that I pulled up. It took so much effort to get it uprooted because I didn't address it immediately. I should have gotten to it when it was just a small weed! I could have uprooted it so easily then. Speaking from a spiritual aspect, let us be wise to be sure to not let little roots of bitterness occupy our beautiful vessels! Don’t let the small foxes spoil the vine. Prevent the little sins from occupy a place in our life. Up root it today while it is just a weed. God Bless!

Cast Thy Bread Upon The Waters

Sat, 20 May 2023 23:10:47 GMT

Cast Thy Bread Upon The Waters

From the time Sophia was little, she had an explicit knack for "shopping". She literally could find something at any store that she would want to buy. She didn't discriminate stores- Home Goods, Target, Home Depot, and even the Local Grocery store all got equal opportunity so it was no surprise to me when she picked up a pack of "tomato seeds" at Petitie's the other day and decided she was going to plant some seeds.

I smiled internally at her excitement at the prospect of watching plant seeds become actual plants! That genuine childlike excitement and true faith spoke to my heart. She had no fear or doubt, just a true belief that if she sowed the seeds, she would get a return!

From a planting phase, we know how it works in the natural. Tomato's have a germinating phase and a natural process for the time they take before one sees the fruit of the planting process. Do we see the exact same principle with spiritual planting? In many aspects the spiritual concepts of planting follow the natural laws but I also see a concept in Spiritual planting from the writer of Ecclesiastes. He shares "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days". From a human perspective, I envision casting bread upon water and it dissolving and discipating. Imagine with me what happens when bread is placed in water. It gets wet, soggy and mushy, but that's not what the scripture predicts will happen. Instead the scripture tells us if we cast our bread upon the water, after many days it will come back to us. Of course, this scripture is telling us to stretch out, sow seed and it will come back. Casting bread or sowing seed on water seems to be an exercise in futility, but the scripture tells us the results we can expect. In faith we can sow generously, and in faith we can expect a return somewhere down the road. This aligns with Proverbs 11:18, “The one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward”; and Galatians 6:9, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” My Spirit says it is time to plant generously! Cast thy bread upon the water, sow kindness! Plant the Word of God generously and even it it looks unlikely to see a return, trust the Word that after many days it will return!

Take Up Your Cross

Sun, 16 Apr 2023 04:19:43 GMT

Take Up Your Cross

I s anything more universal than the cross? We see it world-wide: on churches and walls, as jewelry and tattoos, and even on foreheads. For Christians, it symbolizes salvation. Jesus knew the cross was in His future. He also told His disciples that to be His follower, they needed to “take up their cross.” What did Jesus mean when he said to “take up your cross?”

The cross represents fulfilled prophecy. God revealed His plan to defeat Satan and give us salvation through Jesus Christ!

The cross in Jesus’ day symbolized the brutal and shameful death of a slave or criminal. To Christians, the cross represents the most incredible gift we have ever received. It is a gift we can’t truly comprehend! We could never have asked for it and we know there is nothing we did to deserve it!

While Jesus was teaching the disciples about his impending death and resurrection, Peter takes Jesus aside and said, “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!”. Peter meant well; he loved Jesus and couldn’t bear to think of him suffering. He didn’t understand Jesus’ purpose yet. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” This must have shocked the disciples. They were aware of what carrying a cross meant. Crucifixion was for criminals. The nails, the torment, and agony were well known. When Jesus told his followers, they must take up their cross to follow him, it didn’t sound like a pleasant proposition. It doesn’t sound like something anyone would willingly take part in.

But Jesus had a deeper meaning in mind. He wanted them to “put to death” their own plans and desires and turn their lives over to Him, doing his will. It would require self-denial and obedience. To follow Jesus, He asks for complete dedication and no turning back. Jesus tells us we must deny ourselves and take up our cross, but it’s not something that’s forced onto your shoulders.

“They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lust.” Galatians 5:24

It’s a choice; something we do willingly, as Jesus did. We belong to Him- our old passions and desires are dead. When we take up our cross, our lives are focused on Jesus and reflect His attributes. Just the words “deny ourselves” sound like punishment. It sounds like we must throw away all our comforts and carry a heavy burden. Denying yourself is not the same as self-denial. When we deny self, we make the choice to replace our desires, thoughts, and plans with God’s thoughts and purposes. Jesus was the perfect example and when we choose to follow him, we agree to live as He did. This means accepting the call to do things you normally wouldn’t do!

How do we “Take Up Our Cross”

1. Obedience to God

“He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death- even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:8

2. Guard Your Thoughts

“…whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, whatsoever things are of a good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philippians 4:8.

3. Let Us Run the Race

When we take up our cross, we keep our eyes on Jesus. We lay aside the love of our possessions, our pride and accomplishments. We lay down anything that impedes working for His kingdom.

The Secret Place

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 20:35:29 GMT

The Secret Place

Psalms 91:1 ¶ He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Some years ago, during early morning prayer one day, I felt the sweet but strong presence of the Lord. I opened my bible to a random scripture in the book of Psalms 27, and there I began reading.

Psalms 27:6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

Immediately upon reading this, a vision was before me of a man who was too small in stature to see the beauty of the land beyond the enemy that surrounded him. The enemy was huge and surrounded him in a circle and he was bent over with his head facing the ground while the enemy beat him in order to keep him in submission. the problem the enemy never seems to understand is when you’re prostrate to the ground broken and humble; you are in the best position to cry out to the only One who can truly deliver you. because of his trust and faith in the power and a Word from the almighty God, the Lord lifted him up so he could see the beauty that God was about to bestow upon him.

On a personal note, Earlier that year, I began experiencing a deep depression and despair. It was real and the suffering of my heart was real. The troubles that besieged me caused a great divide between the Lord and me for a period of time because in my anguish my eyes were blinded to the very present help in God.

“In my anguish my eyes were blinded to the very present help in God.”

The Lord spoke some incredibly simple words to me that brought deliverance and healing to my heart. This is my experience with the Secret place in God! I began to glory in His magnificent presence like never before. the new love I had in my heart for the Lord was beyond description.

Then the Lord came. He became Psalms 27:6 to ME; He became the lifter up of mine head. When this happened, I began to praise like never before, and I entered into the presence of the Lord and felt His spirit stronger than I ever had.

Psalms 3:4 ¶ I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.

The vision I described was me. This is what the Lord did for me and I hadn’t truly seen it until that day. One by one as I glorified the Lord daily, my enemies began to fall.

We are already delivered by the blood of Jesus Christ, may your eyes never be blinded to that. The yoke of oppression is broken. may your faith allow God to raise your head out of the sand and trust under the wings of the everlasting God. In His presence there is fullness of joy; prayer is the secret place we need to abide in.

De 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

Daniel Criss

January 25, 2023

Let Love Prevail

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 05:53:04 GMT

When Love prevails

Prevail...this term has been stuck in my heart for the last few days, so I began searching for its use in scripture. I found it is used in several instances in the Bible. For example, In Genesis, when speaking of the flood the Bible states " And the waters prevailed and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. Another example of the term prevail is in Acts speaking of the word of God, "So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed". An additional example comes from the prophet Jeremiah speaking of the Lord, he says "And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee" 1:19). Pe rhaps the most well-known passage that speaks of prevail is “and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against thee " spoke by Jesus in the Gospels . As I read through all these passages, I reflected on the meaning of the word Prevail . One simple definition of this word means to prove more powerful than an opposing force. In the case of the flood, it was more powerful than the earth and overtook the earth. In Acts, the word of God was more powerful than the forces of darkness, and in Jeremiah, God was stronger than the enemy. Finally in the last passage mentioned above, the gates of hell will not prevail. It’s a promise and a hope that we have that we will not be overcome by the power of darkness and the forces of evil. Now this leads me to my title for this month, Let Love Prevail". Love ultimately has the power to overcome every other emotion. It makes sense that the scriptures tell us to get charity (love) above everything else. Love is the emotion that has the ability to prevail against all other forces if we allow it too. It was because of love that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Love is a powerful emotion and because we were created in God’s image, we as humans have a deeper understanding of love than other creatures. We have the power to choose love. I encourage each of us to let love PREVAIL. Let it overpower anger, bitterness. Let it prevail even when we feel wronged. Let it be stronger than all other emotions. Let our love for God prevail over any worldly desire or ambition. Let our love for each other prevail and prove to be more powerful than any opposing force! As you think of Love this month, let it prevail!

The Urgency of the hour!

tamsmithson@icloud.com (Tammy Smithson) — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 04:56:52 GMT

The Urgency of the Hour

Another year just started, and I find myself in a more reflective state these past few days. The Facebook compilation of pictures captured the last year in a quick collection of photos and sent my mind reeling. Where did the year go? It seems that each year passes more quickly than the previous one and I find it hard to believe that we have closed out another year. It seemed like yesterday that I put the Christmas tree away and rang in 2022 and now it is over . I’ve become like so many others before me wishing that time would slow down but knowing that it doesn’t. My sweet grandmother used to tell me how fast time passes, and I couldn’t understand it. Now, I find myself realizing that she was right. Life is a vapor! The writer James stated it so eloquently “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth (James 4:14) .

Here we all are in the beginning of a new year. January 2023! As I enter this year though, I find my thoughts stirred more than any other year. One word remains heavily impressed upon my spirit. It's simply the term "Urgency". Sitting on the couch pondering the 2023, I asked my husband "What does the term urgency mean to you?" Promptly he replied, Something that needs immediate attention. Is this your definition or Webster's, I asked sheepishly. Truthfully, I agreed with him immediately.

My mind went back to two weeks previously. It was cold and dark as I sat next to Olivia, my thirteen-year-old daughter, waiting on the ambulance. In that moment, I felt the need for extreme urgent attention. It was the first day of Christmas break and we had been enjoying a little shopping. Right before dinner time, she began to complain that she “wasn’t feeling well”. I noticed her facial expression looked off to me. Within just moments, I watched as she began to complain of her vision being changed, and weakness and numbness spread along her whole right side leaving her unable to grip my hand. Next, her speech became confused and aphasic. Coming from a background of ICU nursing, the differentials went through my mind quickly. At the time, I didn’t know it was a hemiplegic migraine, I just knew something was very wrong. I sat in a state of worry and felt panic arise. I knew that timely intervention was of the utmost importance. Whatever was causing these symptoms needed immediate diagnosis. Each second felt too long as we headed to the hospital that night. I felt like there was no time to waste.

That urgent feeling is what I want to share in this blog today. Since that night, I have been stirred with the urgency of the hour for the church. Jesus told us over and over that He would go to prepare a place for us but that He would return for us.

Tonight, as I write to all of us at Summit Pentecostal Church, I again feel such an urgency in my spirit. This time, I feel impressed that we are nearing the return of our precious Lord and Savior and we must share the news of Jesus. It’s time to awake from sleep and realize that His return is soon. It is 2023! Could this be the year for the Lord to return? Have we shared the Gospel with everyone, or do we think we have plenty of time later for sharing? My spirit feels the urgent need to not waste another second. The scripture keeps flowing through my mind "I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work". Every second matters! Every prayer service, every bible study, every time we pass a hurting soul at the store! The night is approaching just like the closing to the door of the Ark so many years ago. Soon the night will come, and darkness will be upon the earth. We must work while it is day and capitalize on every moment! Every soul matters and every second counts . God Bless and Be Prosperous and About His Business in 2023!

Suit Up

tamsmithson@icloud.com (Tammy Smithson) — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 02:10:03 GMT

Suit Up

S UIT UP

Each night as I prepare for the next day, I begin strategically to plan so that I can be ready for the challenges that lie before me the next morning. I know the kids are going to wake up and want to sleep just a “few” extra minutes so I prep as much as I can in advance. I routinely set out the girls’ clothes and begin pressing them. By getting all our attire out and in place, I convince myself that it will be easier to get up and get started the next morning. I’m sure many other mother’s reading this understand my thought process! I then make sure the girls have their computers charged, their hair accessories, water bottles, back packs and of course their lunches and shoes ready to go. If it is a PE day, my youngest child will remind me that she needs something "stretchy" so she can run fast. For myself, I make sure I have my stethoscope, badge, otoscope, and my work jacket pressed. I don't want to get to work and be missing any of those items because then I'm not prepared for the patients, I’ll be seeing that day. I also want my children to be set up for success with a good night of sleep, breakfast and all the supplies they need for the school day. As I prepped the other night, I began thinking about how we get up and start our day facing the world as "Christians". I wonder if we start our day, planning to be prepared for the attack of the enemy? The scripture tells us that the devil is our adversary. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” Every day, the enemy is planning his attack on us and our family. He has planned how he might trap us or trip us up on our walk with God. He knows our goal is to make it to heaven and it is his greatest desire to hinder us from achieving this goal. I began to think about this in greater depth that night as I prepped for the next day. I began to ask myself "what do I do each morning to be sure I leave the house "Suited up" in my gear to face the attack of Satan. Am I putting the same amount of energy setting myself up for spiritual success that I do for my earthly success? The scripture tells us to "put on the whole armor of God". We are to put on the Helmet of Salvation, The Sword of the Spirit, The Breastplate of Righteousness, and our loins are to be gird up with Truth. I worked many years in the trauma areas of the hospital, and I know first-hand the value of a helmet when it comes to protecting one’s brain from injury while riding bikes etc. Salvation should be an automatic part of our attire each morning. It protects us as we go about our daily business. The breastplate of righteousness keeps the darts and bullets of the enemy from penetrating the skin and causing deep wounds, injury or even death. I would compare it to a “bullet proof vest”. With Righteousness, our chances of survival are greatly increased. The Sword of the Spirit is our personal weapon that allows us to fight back against temptations and evils. Jesus uses scripture when He was tempted by Satan. It’s a weapon for us as well as a light unto our path. The word will always be true, and we help us to not be deceived by the enemy. This thought is quite simple “Suit Up”, yet I think overcoming trials and temptations would be easier if the moment we woke up, we put our spiritual amour on. How may you ask? Let’s begin by waking up and quoting the word over our life and family. Today, I began to speak, “If God be for me, who can be against me”. I challenge us to allow the Spirit to fill us with a renewing as we drive to our job or begin to think about the things God has done in our life while we make our first cup of coffee. If we do this, I know our faith will begin to rise before we even start our day. Think about this, the scripture says, "taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked". We should start our day off proclaiming our faith in God and encouraging ourselves in the mighty things we have seen God do before we even get to our first hour of work or our first period of class. I believe if we would strategically suit up each morning, that we would defeat the enemy easier. I encourage you to think about this as you start each day. "Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" with you each morning as you start the day.

What doth hinder me

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 05:56:38 GMT

What doth hinder me?

No doubt over the past few days or even weeks as we have drawn to the close of another year, millions of people have begun to consider making a change in their current lifestyle. We often refer to it as a New Year Resolution. We resolve to change our eating habits, balance our lifestyle, spend more time with family, becoming more organized, give up bad habits, pray more and so on.

Certainly, this time of year we give more thought and attention to course corrections, as I would call them. However, from a Biblical perspective, scripture does not encourage us to wait for a new day or a certain time before we make a fresh start with God. As a matter of fact, nowhere does the scripture ever encourage us to wait to make changes but rather it urges us to immediately receive what God has for us. For example, in Luke 19:9 Jesus speaks to Zacchaeus and says, “This day salvation has come to your house.” Another passage from the book of Psalms (Psalm 118:24) tells us “This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Emphasizing that we seize the moment and not waste opportunities.

However, my personal favorite example from scripture that really shows us the importance of taking advantage of the moment and making a new start right now is found in the book of Acts. If we read the 8 ^th chapter of Acts, we find the Apostle Phillip was directed by an Angel to travel to a certain city. In his travels, he meets an Ethiopian Eunuch who was reading from the Old Testament. When Phillip appeared to him, he quickly realized that this man was struggling to understand the scriptures. Phillip proceeded to expound and explain the scriptures to the Eunuch teaching him from the Old Testament how Christ was prophesized to come and die for the sins of the world. Following this teaching, we find in the next scripture a beautiful example of how we should respond to the call of God.

Acts 8:36, And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?”

Scripture tells us right there in the river, he was baptized and began a new walk with the Lord.

As we close out another year and begin a new one, many people will spend time reflecting on the past and plan to set a date to begin to make a lifestyle change. For many, New Year’s inspires change and gives hope that mistakes and failures of yesterday can be corrected at the turn of the last page of the calendar. However, I would challenge us today to just act. I propose this question, what doth hinder you? Actions today will always outweigh even our best laid plans. The Apostle Paul writes, “Therefore, if anyone be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. One of the wonderful blessings of serving the Lord is that His mercies are new every morning!

There are many occurrences in the Bible that let us know that today is our most important day. As quoted earlier, “This is the day that the Lord has made…” “Today is the day of salvation”. In fact, we find in the Word of God that most every important decision made, was made in the moment when truth was revealed. So, the point of this is…if you desire to grow closer to God this year, you don’t necessarily need a Bible reading planner, you just need to break open the Bread of Life. If you desire greater communication, develop a consistent prayer life. If you desire to become a new creature in Christ, you must do away with the old (carnal) things of yesterday. Why wait until a specific date to do the things we know to do “right now”!

Is there a Season for Jesus?

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 16:17:04 GMT

Is there a Season for Jesus?

Jesus is the reason for the season! This phrase is commonly used during the holiday season. It appears on catchy artwork and banners everywhere. Although, I wholeheartedly agree that He most certainly is the reason for the Christmas season, I rarely use this phrase. Why, might you ask? Let’s just think about what this statement subconsciously implies. Perhaps, we should stop and reverse it in our minds. The phrase leads us to believe that this is the only time to think about Jesus and His birth. So, in a reverse sort of way, it implies that thinking about Jesus is seasonal. It equates celebrating Deity becoming Humanity (1 Timothy 3:16) on an equal level with other holidays such as Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, and an annual Birthday. It suggests that we pause for a Holiday or even over Christmas vacation and make it a priority to reflect on the birth of our Saviour. I suppose the reason I shy away from this phrase is mainly because it becomes all too easy to return to business as usual once the tree is taken down and the Christmas decorations are put away. Jesus being the reason for the season is quickly forgotten. Our attention moves on to candy hearts and celebrating a new love the next week as we see the shops filled with Valentine Day décor. Now, I do appreciate that we have a season to think about Christ. I hope that we always will continue to reflect on the miracle that occurred in the manger over 2000 years ago. However, now we begin to understand that it’s not the phrase that I find fault with, but it’s the concept that living for God is seasonal that I resist. I am grateful that each Christmas we remember Christ and reflect on His Birth. I also love that we as a people become more aware of others, kinder, and more giving for a season. However, I must admonish us as followers of Christ, that loving Jesus is not a seasonal concept nor is it a brief short-term relationship. Instead, I would claim that placing Christ as first in our life is a daily process. The writer Timothy refers to being instant in season and out of season (Timothy 4:2) He suggests to Christians that we ought to always be spiritually in tune. Likewise, Paul (1 Thes 5:17) tells us to pray without ceasing. He does not mean to pray 24/7 but rather that prayer is a continual part of our lifestyle, and we are to be Spirit minded continually. Thinking about Christ should go way beyond a seasonal period. Let us remember that seasons come and go all to shortly. No sooner than the leaves fall, the winter snow begins to approach and before we know it, we have passed through another year. This year, let us not forget about our relationship with God once the Christmas lights come down and the presents get put away. Instead, He desires that our relationship with him would grow deeper with each passing day. This holiday season, I encourage you to live everyday remembering the hope that was born in the manager so long ago. The night Christ came to the world brought hope for all eternity. This miracle still changes lives everyday no matter what season we are in.

The Journey Vs. The Destination

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 16:17:04 GMT

The Journey Vs. The Destination

What is it with the children of Israel? I’ve pondered that question many times wondering how one could possibly mess up what would seem to be the easy part. All they had to do was trust and have faith in God. God had orchestrated all the other details for them. Yet, after 400 years spent in captivity crying out for God to save them, they ended up wandering aimlessly for 40 more years while traveling to their promised land.

While it’s easy to detail every failure they had, if we are honest with our own life, we see that we oftentimes we are our own worst enemy on our travels from the journey to the destination.

Several weeks ago, our family planned a quick getaway for hopefully a few days of downtime and relaxation. As with every destination there is a seemingly mundane part of the journey. For us, it is the airport process. We love to travel, and usually everything goes off without a hitch, but this last trip we were not so lucky. Before we even headed to the airport, our flight had been delayed 3 times. By the time we reached the airport, the flight originally set for 9:00 pm had been delayed until 12:30 am. We contemplated sitting around in an empty airport for 3 more hours and it didn’t seem appealing to any of us, so we did what any normal family would do in a time of crisis… we found a fast-food drive thru! As we entered back into the airport at 10:30 pm, to our dismay we found out (along with several others) that TSA had closed for the night and that we could not get to the gate. The only alternative was catch the

next flight out. After much aggravation, and very little sleep, we caught the morning flight, and finally arrived at our destination with the mindset that we would NEVER get ourselves into that type of situation again! Famous last words.

If we thought the first leg of the journey was strained, we had no idea what disasters would confront the journey back home. Thinking we had plenty of time, we picked a place for lunch only to realize that we had better pick up the pace just in case something happened again. Seemingly there was a problem at every turn. The traffic was bad, twice I missed the address for the rental car drop off. The satellite bus was slow in getting us to the airport and the lines were extremely long going through the safety check. How we made it to the gate and got buckled into our seats, I have no idea. Finally, ready to get home and relax! Not so fast. Just like that everyone was instructed to deboard the plane for some unknown reason, and we were delayed again.

Well, as you learned before, I don’t like just sitting around doing nothing, so I get my mind set that I must have this certain type of coffee before boarding. Against my wife’s better judgement, I proceeded to fulfil this urge. We checked the destination screen again confirming that our flight was still set to leave at 7:45pm. Plenty of time to get back home and get a good night’s rest before church the next day. Coffee in hand, I return to the gate. Much to our horror, we found out that not only had they boarded the plane early, but the plane had already left. Insert instant panic!

We literally are going to relive what 4 days before we promised would never happen to us again. Here we are again, trying to find a place to sleep a few hours before starting the process all over again.

We had only the clothes on our back. The luggage didn’t have my same appetite for coffee and was calmly flying back to Cleveland at that moment. Luckily, the next morning flight went off with a hitch we made it home just in time to get to church with minutes to spare! And let me tell you, we had church that morning! Praise God! Mercifully, He has a way of covering our mistakes.

Now, I know there were factors that worked against us. Did the certain airline experience chaos that affected us and many others? Absolutely! But at the end of the day, it was my responsibility to make sure my family reached its destination, and I inevitably could blame someone else, but the results were that same. We missed our destination. I am glad everything turned out ok in the end but as I began to search deeper, I realized that so often during our spiritual journey, we find ourselves missing the mark of the

destination.

In Philippians 3:14, Paul states that he presses toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. How often did the enemy try to get Paul sidetracked or “off” the mark? How many land mines did he avoid due to his persistence? The children of Israel that wandered for 40 years let fast-food places, coffee bars and many other issues derail them from their promised land that God had intended for them. The journey was just too much for them to overcome as they got sidetracked on what we understand now as totally senseless and a lack of faith. Did they realize the time spent questioning Moses or complaining about their lack of meat would so easily get them farther from their destination? Did they ever just say to themselves that God would not bring them out of bondage to leave them to die in the desert? No, they said and did the opposite. The journey was so tough that they thought they were meant to die there.

Historical perspective allows us to clearly see the way of God is right and that we can trust Him in every aspect of our life. So, what will future generations say about us? Did we become a casualty of the journey, or did we finish the race that was set before us?

Thou He Slay Me yet will I trust in Him?

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 16:17:04 GMT

Though He Slay Me Yet Will I Trust Him?

Certainly, there are some Pastor’s wives and ministers that may not admit to struggling with

certain verses in the Bible, but I will confess that as I reflected on this passage, if I am honest, it

goes against my fundamental human nature. Thou He Slay me; I’m still going to trust Him? This

phrase of course is referring to Job’s declaration that when He lost everything, He professed

that he would trust God.

I would suggest that I am not the only 21 st century individual that has these thoughts. Let’s stop

and ask ourselves if we honestly can profess this statement for our lives. Seriously, we are

prudent and practical people, and we have no interest in putting ourselves in vulnerable

situations that cause us or our families to encounter devastation. In fact, if one hurts us through

dishonesty, or mistrust, we are likely to never trust them again or to put-up barriers and limit

interactions with those individuals.

So how does Job profess this bold statement that even if hurt comes to his life, he is still going

to trust God?

It’s really such a simple explanation. Job so clearly understood that even if God allowed hurt to

come into his life, that it was for his good. He understood that God is always working all things

for our good and that even pain and suffering are not meant to harm us but to bring us through

the fire as pure gold. While individuals may hurt us intentionally or life may hurt us, God’s ways

and thoughts are so much higher for us. He is working all things for our good. SPC, let’s strive to

profess that we will trust God no matter what. (Romans 8:28)