Author: pastor.gerooney@gmail.com

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3

Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, sneaks away in the night to find Jesus, the teacher, seeking the comfort of truth. Jesus responds to his inquiry with rebirth, a radical new beginning, not bound by the natural cycle of life and death, but the beginning of life eternal.

It was to Nicodemus that Jesus spoke the beautiful words Martin Luther later called the Gospel in a sentence. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Death ends life, birth begins it. Eternal life does not begin at death, it begins at rebirth, that moment of belief, faith, confession and acceptance when Jesus becomes Savior and Lord.  Come today and live forever.

Love,

Gretchen

P.S. My statement about birth and the beginning of life pertains only to the matter of Nicodemus and rebirth and has nothing to do with today’s subject of when life begins. Thank you.

Desegregation of the Heart

My grandparents pastored a church in Batesville, Arkansas. Batesville is a lovely community on the banks of the White River, but in the late 1940’s it was a city divided by color.

My father tells that one afternoon a black man came walking down the street in front of the church parsonage carrying a beehive on the end of a pole. (This was how you moved bees and started a new colony.) This gentleman’s path followed the middle of the street as he was not welcomed to walk on either side near the homes. Dad and his older brother began mocking and tossing rocks at the man, but in true segregated fashion, the dark skinned victim of their ridicule meekly continued on his march without reacting to my father and uncle’s cruel behavior. Granddad interrupted the scene by calling the boys back into the yard. Nothing was said at the time, and these two young boys thought the event was over and done.

A few hours later grandmother called the family to dinner but instead of setting down to the delicious meal granddad took a warm fruit pie off the counter, called the boys to his side and began a long walk to the “other” side of town. I don’t know what conversation accompanied the trio as they journeyed block after block in the late evening sun inhaling the aroma of a dessert they would never enjoy, but somewhere along the way dad and uncle realized the wrong they had done and disrespect to another human being for any reason would not be tolerated.

Granddad found the home of gentleman beekeeper and waited patiently while dad and uncle humbled themselves to a black man on his front porch, on the wrong side of town in 1940’s rural Arkansas. From what I know now of these two Godly men, they didn’t just apologize, they made a commitment to a lifetime of seeing all humans as God sees them.

It is very arrogant of man to think we need to ‘correct’ God with our attitude toward one another. It has been observed that the most segregated hour of the week is from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. Many people have tried to change this trend but, with the chronological and cultural preferences and tastes, change isn’t going to happen soon. Yet, we must understand and know, God didn’t create a world of monotony. He isn’t going to start making us all the same now because He realizes He did wrong thousands of years ago and He needs a redo. His plan for diversity was and is to fill the earth, grant His children blessing, meet their physical need and glorify Himself. If you take the entire love chapter (I Corinthians 13) and apply it to the complexity and diversity of the human race you can see that there is no room for prejudice. Love one another because He first loved us and love never fails!

Love,

Gretchen

PS This story was previously posted for Greenbrier Nazarene Church’s blog.  Check it out for some other wonderful and encouraging readings.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

Wind, breath, dove or as gentle as a dove, the third part of the Godhead, that which has come to dwell in us and fill us so there is no part of us incomplete.

The Christian gentiles in the church of Galatia were struggling with orthodox Jewish tradition, specifically circumcision. Paul told them this physical act is irrelevant. Christ’s gift of Grace has eradicated any bondage, from sin or man’s law. However, freedom in salvation is not so much a freedom as an obligation to seek the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and produce spiritual fruit: Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness and self control. (v.22)

It isn’t our outward appearance, our traditions and rituals or anything else that keeps us close to the Heart of God. It is walking with and in His Spirit. Satan doesn’t like that neighborhood so it’s a perfect place of residence.

Love,

Gretchen

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

The early church struggled with divisions and such was the case in Ephesus, where predominately Gentile converts looked down on their fellow Jewish Christians. This Epistle written by Paul reads more like a sermon pamphlet than a friendly letter and in it he stresses an attitude of ‘oneness,’ evidenced with actions.

If you read all of chapter 4, or study the entire book, you will notice that Paul doesn’t speak in generalities. There is too much at stake and honest truth is called for. Unresolved bitterness and grudges result in spiteful behavior, crippling the spread of the Gospel and minimizing the miracle of grace. Our underserved, unmerited favor, salvation, free for everyone, puts us all on equal ground. One God, One Love.

If you are unsure about what to do, be nice. If you must ere, ere on the side of kindness. Just as Christ died for you, you must love the world that much too!

Love,

Gretchen

Take delight in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

This entire Psalm is a power packed song of encouragement, reminder and warning. It is not a blank check. Obtaining the desires of your heart is not the objective, sharing in the LORD’s delight is.

Shared delight, a component of a healthy relationship, is a drop of wonder, a pinch of laughter and a full scoop of undivided attention. We must seek God’s perspective and celebrate righteousness with single mindedness purpose. Then God’s desires and our desires merge. The result? He generously gives and you accept contentment and perfect peace.

Have a terrific Thursday.

Gretchen

Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7

The creation story is told two times. In Genesis chapter one, God spoke and the world came into order. Chapter two’s accounting of creation connects the intimate details of man’s origin to his relationship with the Creator.

Breath. The source of life. Without oxygen intake we die. Other things sustain health, but life begins and ends with a breath. Breathing is involuntary. The moment we exit the womb, inhale deeply and exhale with a mighty cry, we breath by no power of our own. Only His breath, that first gift of human life, was a choice.

We do have a one free choice that pertains to our breath. Vocal chords anchored between our nostrils and our lungs and operate according to our will. With this one organ we can spread the glory to the One who loves us most, or we can rip His world, our neighbors, apart one word at a time.

Today with my breath I will, smell some roses, sing some songs, laugh with children and shout to the LORD, for He is good.

Love,

Gretchen

Dear Children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.     I John 3:18

John was called by Jesus to leave his fishing boats and follow. He and his brother James were known to have fiery temperaments and were coined, “Sons of Thunder.” Then John became one of Jesus’ closest friends. He was with Jesus in the most poignant moments of His ministry, and at the crucifixion when he was given care of Mary, Jesus’ mother. These events John witnessed had an impact on his deepening character. The reality of Christ’s purpose shaped John’s heart and He became a great champion of love.

I strongly encourage you to read the entire passage, I John 3:11-24. If what you are feeling does not move you into action, then what you are feeling is not love. Words do not cost much. In fact, words of love are tossed around lightly and manipulatively, but actions are different. Actions come at a price and payment is something we ration sparingly.

Actions define our character, our faith, our heart. It is not our words that express our love for God, but our behavior toward our fellow man. For in unconditional love toward others we give God complete and total control of the outcome and take ourselves out the equation. Giving all with absolutely no expectation of ever getting anything back but eternal life is serious action. That is loving as Christ does, because that is what He did.

Love,

Gretchen

It was majestic in beauty, with its spreading boughs, for its roots went down to abundant waters. Ezekiel 31:7

Egypt’s Pharaohs considered themselves to be immortal and infallible as did their subjects. Egypt was successful, strong, like the tallest and strongest tree in the forrest, sustaining itself from an endless supply of resources only it could access. The prophecy? All things of earth come and pass away, except the things of God.

Look at the verb ‘was’. The second word in this scripture. It speaks volumes. Was…….all gone. The glory of the past is not today, it was……….

This earth will someday become a WAS. I will someday be an earthly WAS! The only sustaining, everlasting resource is Jesus’ love and free gift of eternal life that everyone can access. When time ceases there will never again be a WAS, and until then, do not live for the things of this world, but the things for which time has no hold, ETERNITY.

Love you,

Gretchen

Who’s Child is This?

Many years ago my suspected pregnancy was medically confirmed and I became a mom. It was an unplanned pregnancy, but it was welcomed, and so began my campaign to be the best version of me that I possibly could. I took vitamins, read appropriate ‘mommy to be’ books, decorated a little nursery and waited!

My delivery was difficult and frightening, but the outcome was the world’s most beautiful child, a girl (the first of two perfect children). Keith and I buckled our little angel into her car seat, headed home and things got real! Actually, disastrous!!! My baby hated me. She didn’t want to nurse, she didn’t want to sleep. I attempted to bathe her in the manner the books advised. Soapy and wriggly, she screamed, stiffened and I nearly dropped her. At that moment I handed her to my mom and said, “I can’t imagine loving anything so much, but I don’t want to. The risk to my heart is too great. What if God takes her away? How will I survive?” Mom, the seasoned mother of four, took both of her wet and crying children, her daughter and her daughter’s daughter, sat down on the couch and held us both until we calmed. From the silence, holding my now sleeping child, mom gave me wise counsel, “Gretchen, give her back to her Heavenly Father. He loves her more than you do. It’s going to be alright.”

Time seemed to pick up speed but motherhood didn’t get any easier. Leah was everything I was not. She loved dirt, dogs, strangers, adventure and she had great hair!!! I was not equipped to her mom, but I loved her more than life itself and so I heeded my mother’s sage advise. I gave her back to the One that created her and I prayed. I prayed God would send her friends and together they would bring out the best in each other. I whispered prayers for the man that might someday be her prince charming, and I prayed that God would give me patience and wisdom when they ran in short supply.

God answered every petition. Many of those friends were adults that kept watch over the teens in our church and community, giving generously of their time and money, assuring quality things for farm kids to do, because Leah’s pets grew from dogs and cats, to chickens, goats, opossums, raccoons, rabbits and horses.

Prince charming made his grand arrival one sunny summer day and asked for her hand in marriage. I had a quiet season of tears over the magnitude of change that was upon me. The tears dried and we began to plan a wedding. Leah’s only request was that her special day be full of laughter and joy……… and could her dog be with her at the alter? Some things got left undone and some compromises were made, but laughter and joy reigned. It was beautiful and today she is living her happily ever after.

Returning my child to her Creator freed me to love without boundaries and know the same God that guided me through life’s storms and brought me the greatest joys this side of Heaven would do the same for her. When I remind my precious child that she is not mine, but His, she knows this world is not her home, and that’s really all I wanted in the first place. She is His, I am His and we are Family.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hoped, always perseveres. Love never fails. I Corinthians 13:4-8b.

Have an exceptionally great Sunday,

Gretchen

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18

When I was young I heard, “If only I had the wisdom I have now, combined with the energy I had then.” I vowed never to say those words, but here I am….plodding along, growing older, wiser and wishing.

Youth means dreaming, planning, executing, and accomplishing, until you realize the vehicle you own mean Saturdays with a water hose maintaining that car lot shine, walking miles to the store entrance to avoid a door ding and working overtime to pay the bank note. Wisdom means accepting that it will never reach ‘classic’ status if you haul your kids and their friends to the beach and the fuel turns to a useless vapor at a faster rate than you care to ponder. The only true value of these possession is the intangible things they provide……memories and connections of love.

Paul’s words to this church in Corinth speaks to the same mentality. Invest in something lasting, Heaven, not just for yourself, but for others too.

Love,

Gretchen