Sonshine!

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

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.”

There is no argument 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, we cheer when the underdog triumphs over unsurmountable odds, AND we all get bogged down in the drudgery of everyday life. We are a very predictable species.

Except………

In Christ’s fullness you break the barriers of ordinary, habitual and frustratingly destructive conduct. 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 you are filled with that same power to overcome the ordinary responses of human nature. Faith tears down fear, love nullifies anger, mercy wins over vengeance and grace irradiates poverty of body and soul.

The fulness of Christ means to lose our human nature 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 NIV

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 that 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.

Blessings,

Gretchen

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

When I am traveling and 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 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 need materially.

God in His great love offers us this “As the crow flies” way of life. He has already planned the route, He keeps it clear of what will hinder, tempt, distract or discourage us from the joy of our journey with Him and those He has given us along the way. His path is straight, safe, nurturing and nourishing, but the best part is that every step leads straight to the Throne of God.

Happy Trails,

Gretchen

The first time I realized my home was profoundly different from most was as a teenager during the Cold War. Minute Man missile silos in the near country side were a continuos reminder of world affairs and I worried constantly about peace on earth, goodwill toward men. That there were people on the face of the earth prejudiced toward me simply because I was an American was never far from my mind. Yes, I stayed distressed without ceasing! My dad commented that if I couldn’t think of anything real to worry about I invented something. I’m glad my parents had enough wisdom and personal strength to see me through these age appropriate worries without having me institutionalized or treated for extreme paranoia.

Dad was patient and wise. He realized I was on a journey to knowing God as my source of strength and assurance and sat beside my bed one sleepless night discussing the greatest concerns of my life: Friday night activities, facial blemishes, stylish fashions and the biggie….. Did the opposite sex find me acceptable? Exceptional? Or revolting? In the course of our conversation we graduated to discerning what the worries of fourteen year old Russian girls, or Chinese girls were. I began to realize that adolescent girls worldwide spend most of their creative energy and mental space on boys, social acceptance and daydreams of happily ever after, rather than the nuclear destruction of me.

In the following years as I became a wife and mother I again felt overwhelmed by the social and political status of the world. I had a toddler when the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed killing 168 people, including many pre-school children. The terror of Sept. 11, 2001 brought the world to a stop and my mother’s heart felt cold and afraid. As I processed each of these events and many others I returned to that night of crisis when dad taught me that with the exception of a very few extremely evil beings we are all the same world wide with much the same objective, peace. I am comforted that the issues of greatest concern to every mother in the world is the well being of her children. Therefore, there is hope and great possibility of dialogue on world peace or the lack thereof.

Loving a physically and emotionally hungry world is a priority to many people, not just me. I’m not in this alone and never will be. The essence of God is this, He sent His Son, the Prince of Peace to settle the battle between good and evil. The declaration that “Love Never Fails” (I Cor. 13:8) isn’t just a warm fuzzy, but a promise worthy of guiding our every action. It’s 100% guaranteed to win……..… Actually, it already did!

Blessings,
Gretchen

Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love.   1 John 4:8

Sometimes there are no more words to add. Have a wonderful weekend 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 that have paid the ultimate price for our freedom and peace, and rightly done. Except, this passage of scripture says nothing about the life given coming to an end. Jesus is emboldening His disciples to love one another, to 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, objectives become shadowed by a world that needs our grace. I’ve often used the slang phrase, “Cut me some slack.” In other words, “I need your grace, please look beyond my 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, they have set aside their life for the sake of mine. They put me first when I don’t deserve it but need it in great proportions. Kindness, goodness, perseverance, self-control…….these things are sacrifices that we can offer 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 life. He put us first. We must lay down our lives for our friends and put them first daily.

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

Here is a restatement of Lamentations 3:22 with dictionary.com and Gretchen partnering to remind you of how much love and assurance you have.

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!

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. Abram’s 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 the 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.

May you feel God’s abundant love today,

Gretchen

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

These very familiar words are taken from Jesus’ prayer that is actually part of His ‘epic’ Sermon on the Mount. They are a request, ‘On earth as it is in Heaven!” That’s a pretty tall order if you ask me. Was Jesus’ just waxing poetic or was He serious?

These things I know: God is Holy. God dwells in Heaven…. Holiness is the absence of sin…. Heaven is Holy so there is no sin there…..God will not dwell in the presence of sin….SO….if Jesus said to pray, “On earth as it is in Heaven,” then Heavenly things are possible for us on earth. Really, Jesus said to pray in this manner, vs 9.

Now 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 within me on earth just a boldly as I know it will when my address is Heaven. I can’t create a Holy earth, but I can pray for a Holy me on earth. The essence of Heaven is that God fills that space with His love and Holiness. Today I ask that God fill me, my space, with His love and Holiness and my heart will be ‘On earth as it is in Heaven.”