Author: pastor.gerooney@gmail.com

Day after day, in the temple court and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. Acts 5:42

In addition to this verse I encourage you to read Acts 5:17-41.  The Apostles were suffering extreme injustice and persecution for their evangelical work. Yet, no threat of abuse or loss of life was worth losing the promise of eternal life. Following a flogging intended to shut them up, the Apostles began rejoicing because they were counted worthy to suffer for the cross (verse 41). Then came ‘Day after day, in the temple courts…………….’

I’ve heard of praising God, ‘In the Storm.’ I’ve managed to rejoice while the thunder rolls, but these men were praising God FOR the storm. 

It takes great maturity and faith to look back across life’s journey and be thankful for the tempest that nearly took us out.  Yes, it is crucial that we praise God in the storm, for this is the only way to survive and grow, but it is huge when we can look back and see that the cross we were bearing was leading another to the cross of Calvary.

As the Apostles did, be faithful, grateful and very vocal, knowing it will be worth it throughout all eternity.

Love,

Gretchen

And in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. Colossians 2:10

I should really back this devotional up to verse 8 which states, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental forces of this world rather than on Christ.” 

No one would argue that humans across the globe share similar patterns of behavior.  We tend to act and react the same way in response to stimuli.  We cry over a sad story, cheer when the underdog triumphs, AND the drudgery of everyday life victimizes each of us from time to time.  We are a very predictable species. 

Except………

In Christ, fullness is achieved.  In Christ, you become all you are meant to be!  You are no longer commanded by predictable human nature.  Christ has every power in Heaven and earth and through Christ we are filled with power to overcome the ordinary responses of our human nature. Faith tears down fear, love nullifies anger, mercy wins over vengeance and grace eradicates poverty of body and soul. 

The fullness of Christ means to lose our human instinct and take the nature of Christ. It’s a total makeover, totally free and totally worth it!

Love,

Gretchen

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” John 3:5

It is never appropriate to pull one verse away from its context and give it independent meaning. This verse is an extreme example.  Read John 3:1-21 and experience the story of Nicodemus, a pharisee, a prominent powerful Jewish leader, coming to Jesus in the dark of night seeking answers.

Jesus did not scold Nicodemus, like a naughty child, for lurking about in secret, but neither did He laud him for his status. He simply explained God’s love, God’s plan and God’s redeeming hope.  The beautiful words of John 3:16 were first uttered to this struggling seeker.

Jesus gave Nicodemus what He gives us all, the offer of salvation from a world that will kill us, and redemption from the hater that thinks he owns us.  The choice is ours, no one else’s. Just remember, you are worth the great price that was paid for you and instead of bondage you receive perfect, unfathomable freedom!

In His Great Love,

Gretchen

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5  NIV

Meek is an adjective that has been totally flipped by the English language.  It is a positive descriptive word but a self absorbed world that demands its own way has devalued meekness to the point it brings shame. By human standards meekness denotes someone who is easily maneuvered against their will while never daring to protest, an easy target that no one ever dreams of becoming. Yet, Jesus states in His Sermon on the mount, meekness as a very desirable characteristic in achieving favor on earth.

What’s the real deal with meekness then?  Meekness begets kindness, practices forbearance, depends on faithfulness, exercises gentleness and self-control and reaps love and joy. Isn’t ‘Meek’ a beautiful ideal?

Meekness is not weakness, it’s strength under perfect control.

In all Your ways submit to Him, and he will make you paths straight.  Proverbs 3:6

When I ask my Garmin GPS to search for the nearest Walmart, it gives me directions that include time and distance through city streets and traffic but it also offers an ‘As the crow flies’ milage. I often find myself envious of the crow.  Oh to have a straight passage, uninterrupted with mundane clutter and disturbances, straight to the place that holds all things I think need.

God, in His great love, offers this “As the crow flies” way of life.  He already carved the path, He keeps it clear of what will hinder, tempt, distract or discourage and accents it with peace and  joy. His path is straight, safe, nurturing and nourishing, but the best part is, every step leads straight to the Throne of God.   

Happy Trails,

Gretchen

Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love.  I John 4:8

Sometimes there are no more words to add.  Have a wonderful day and know, you are loved, you are cherished and you have great value because God gave His Son so that sin (yours or anyone else’s) cannot hold you captive.

Love,

Gretchen

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  John 15:13 NIV

This verse is commonly used to memorialize civil servants and military personnel who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom and peace, and rightly done.  Except, this passage of scripture says nothing about the life sacrificed coming to an end.  Jesus is emboldening His disciples to love one another and make love their priority however long life will last.

To lay down our lives for others is to set ourselves aside and put others first, to love others so much that our own feelings, emotions and objectives become shadowed by a world that needs grace.  I’ve often used the slang phrase, “Cut me some slack.”  In other words, “I need your grace, please look beyond my faults, carnal instinct and behavior and forgive me.” I need the grace of my family, colleagues and friends daily.  When they set aside their natural reaction to my mistakes or misspoken words and return kindness and camaraderie, it is an act of laying down their life for the sake of mine. I don’t deserve it but need it in great proportions.  Kindness, goodness, perseverance, self-control…….these things are sacrifices that can be offered in our daily walk and the world really could use it. 

Christ loves us so much that His comforts, His very life, meant nothing in the battle for our eternal soul.  He put us first.  We must lay down our lives and put others first daily…..because it really is ‘What Jesus would do!’

Love,

Gretchen

Because of the LORD’S great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  Lamentations 3:22 NIV

Here is a verse packed with powerful words:

Not, meaning prohibition

Consumed, to destroy or expend by use; completely use up.

Compassions, a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another, a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Never, at no time.

Fail, fall short of success.

I’ve restated Lamentations 3:22 with the help of dictionary.com to illustrate how much love and assurance God gives to those who put their trust in Him.

Because of the LORD’s great love, He will prohibit us from being destroyed or completely used up, for He has a strong desire to alleviate our suffering, He sympathizes with our sorrows and at no time will He fall short of success in this endeavor!

I don’t need to commentate on these impactful words, but I encourage you put these absolutes into your heart and live them as the reality they are.

Have a wonderful mid-week,

Gretchen

The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you,” Genesis 12:1 NIV

This verse marks the beginning of Abram’s story.  God calls to Abram and he obeys. The end………..NOT! 

Abram grew up in the city of Ur.  It was a major port metropolis.  Residents of Ur had financial security and a high standard of living. Abrams father Terah took his entire household and began a trek toward Canaan but stopped in Harran.  Terah did not honor God (Joshua 24:2) and he died before the journey ended.  But God called Abram to leave the traditions and security of his family and the convenience of urban life and go into a wilderness that would be the equivalent to the pioneer’s Kansas prairie. 

Why are these details important?  Because God called Abram away from what was ordinary and comfortable to make him His own, so he could become extraordinary!  Abram’s story ends with a complete change to the history of mankind, so you may think this invalidates the relevance of your obedience on this scale. But the story isn’t about the history of the world, it’s about becoming God’s own. We are nothing until we are God’s own. 

May you feel God’s abundant love today,

Gretchen

Hello again!

“Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven” Matthew 6:10 NIV

Holiness is the absence of sin and God and Heaven are Holy. God will not dwell in the presence of sin. SO….if Jesus said to pray, “On earth as it is in Heaven,” modeled in His Sermon on the Mount, (6:9) then Heavenly things are possible on earth.

Ask yourself, “What in Heaven do I long for on earth?”  (Be reasonable and know that those loved ones really don’t want to leave there and come back here.)  I long for God’s power and Holiness to dwell with me on earth just a powerfully as I know it will when my address is Heaven.  I can’t create a perfect earth, but I can pray for a Holy me on earth and live with the confident, overcoming victory I know I will realize when I reside there. The essence of Heaven is a space filled with God’s love, perfect justice and the absence of things that harm and create fear and sorrow.

Today I ask God fill me, my space, with His love and Holiness, empowering my encounters to be as though I was reaching down with God’s touch rather than my own.

Bring Heaven to earth. It is possible or Jesus wouldn’t have said so.

Love,

Gretchen