Month: April 2023

“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.” Luke 6:43

A very simple thought, straight forward, not a parable. Jesus calls us out: Your spiritual DNA will reveal itself in what you say, do and produce both personally and publicly. Further more, it is not that difficult to tell good from bad. Figs don’t look like thorns. (Read further through verses 44 and 45.)

Jesus had no hidden agenda. His entire purpose is to save mankind, one heart at a time, through the greatest love that ever did or will exist. We must mirror this transparency of heart, and reflect goodness and love.

We can do nothing about our physical DNA. It was settled the moment we were woven together in our mother’s womb. However, we determine everything about our spiritual identity through our free will. The good news……..like Nicodemus, we can be born again, and that DNA is out of this world!

Happy Tuesday,

Gretchen

He remembered us in our low estate and freed us from our enemies. His love endures forever. Psalms 136:23

When in the depth of despair, your only hope is someone listening, comprehending the magnitude of your situation and bringing help quickly.

The God the Psalmist knew intimately is a champion of such people. Written in call and response (read it in its entirety!) this Psalm reads like a spiritual, or a crowd pleasing, pep rally cheer. It lists all the miraculous things God has done for His children through the ages, followed with praise for enduring, steadfast love.

Why can we and this Psalmist praise God and trust Him to the future? Well……..God had that, so we know beyond a doubt, He’s got this, whatever this may be.

Happy Weekend!

Gretchen

As for me, I call to God and the LORD saves me. Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalms 55: 16 and 22.

When I was in college I would come home at the end of the semester, crawl into a bed under my parent’s roof and sleep the deep, dreamless slumber of an innocent child. All my cares were put aside, the woes of the world were their’s to worry about for the night, I could get some rest.

This trend hasn’t changed much, although many years have past. I rely on the strength of my parents in other ways too, and just knowing we create a Power of Two or Three makes the world seems much less threatening. I want this same connection and security for my children.

What we seek in our earthly parents, what we long to do for our own children, Father God has already provided for us. Cast your cares like an exhausted, broke, unemployed and disillusioned college student home for the summer. God will not let you be shaken. Victory has been won long, long ago and there’s always room and rest at Dad’s, aka The Throne of God.

Love,

Gretchen

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

“Pay it forward” is cliche, but it is the only appropriate response to the gifts we have been given through the Grace and Mercy of Jesus the Christ and Savior. Paul’s salutation in his second letter to Corinth begins with praise to the Creator of all we depend on and we must share it to spread it.

God is the author of compassion, the need to alleviate someone’s sorrow. In Christ alone we find peace amidst the confusion of this world, comfort in times of disappointment and despair. For those seeking, the believer is the connection to Heaven, the light on the path to the Throne.

Give praise, a very personal testimony, to The God, Father, Lord, Christ…………forward, backward, anywhere, everywhere……you need it, they need it, we all need it.

Whoop! Whoop!

Gretchen

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2

“I am nothing,” is a pretty strong phrase, especially spoken in first person. Not the usual self-assessment of the mentally well balanced person, but Paul is emphasizing love as the believers highest achievement.

Paul is setting priorities for correct patterns of thought and behavior. In Corinth, a world of Greek polytheism and pagan worship of a god for everything with an extra to spare, divination, soothsaying and worldly academia were held in high esteem, carrying monetary benefits. However, these things are worthless if love is not the center motivation and end result.

Love is about everything except you, everything else is about you. If faith in an all loving, grace granting, mercy extending God doesn’t create love, then it is not a faith worth having.

Paul implores, “Let love define you!”

Amen,

Gretchen

Do not be misled; “Bad company corrupts good character.” 1 Corinthians 15:33

Corinth was a town on a cross roads of culture. Commerce to and from Rome came through Corinth giving it wealth, but also an extremely diverse mix of pagan religions that involved every perversion imaginable. The twenty-first century hasn’t reinvented sin. Paul saw it all and wrote God’s message to these people who embraced salvation but struggled with sin’s unrelenting temptation.

Sin engages our whole being. Therefore, it is important to guard against the things and people that engage our emotions, attitudes, natural lusts and casual behavior negatively. Holiness is not something good people achieve and others fail at miserably. Holiness is a choice to live with the heart of Jesus and just like salvation, it is available to each one of us.

Friends, relationships and life habits matter. Chose with the heart of Jesus.

Love,

Gretchen

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. I Corinthians 15:14

I Corinthians chapter 15 is incredibly important to sound theology. Read it, digest it and live it.

Our belief, our faith is totally dependent on this one fact: Jesus died, was buried and rose again. If He did not, then neither will we. If He did, then such is our future too.

Have a Terrific Tuesday!

Gretchen

Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness, because of my enemies, make Your way straight before me. Psalms 5:8

There is right and there is wrong. This song of praise asks guidance for remaining Holy. The writer does not plead, “Make MY way straight and clear.” Instead he humbly begs, “Make Your way straight before me.”

The road to God’s Throne is not hard to find, but must be sought. God does not tease or torment with vague clues and intrigue. Ask and you will find. It’s just that easy.

Love,

Gretchen

No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – He wants to please his commanding officer. II Timothy 2:4

The ideology of military is sacrifice for the greater good. Wise, discerning leadership is the key to successful strategy in order to achieve this goal, because it begets the confidence of its soldiers, who are willing to put their lives aside for the security of others. A good soldier dedicates him/herself to discipline, endurance and most of all, focus.

Paul, the author of these words, is directing his fellow missionary Timothy to persevere and not let the small stuff become the big stuff, thus distracting him and his ministry from the pure Gospel. God is kind, not quarrelsome, a tolerant and gentle teacher to those who need discipline.

We are soldiers of the cross. It is we, who go to battle against evil, for those who are defenseless. Our commander is all knowing, wise and loving. His purpose…..THE ONLY GOOD.

May You Have Sonshine Today,

Gretchen

That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have trusted to Him for that day. II Timothy 1:12

Alone in prison except for Luke, Paul writes this last letter to Timothy. Death is imminent and soon, yet he is encouraging those he loves to carry on the mission they began. Paul has no regrets, fully understanding the cost of following Christ is life given in sacrifice.

Paul as a child of God, a sinner saved by grace, has unlimited trust in his Father. These words are beautiful spoken alone in two sentences, yet their poignancy takes on a powerful dimension when understood in their entire context.

In Paul’s final words of encouragement, he relates his unconditional thankfulness and confidence in the God that designed Grace before time began and provided it for him and all mankind through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Our everything, just as Paul’s, is in Christ alone.

Happy Friday,

Gretchen