Sonshine!

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.Psalm 90:2

The eternal existence of God and the eternity of space…….difficult and intimidating concepts to fathom. From the very beginning of the Biblical narrative God shows us He has alway been and always will be and space continues on forever without beginning and end.

We are a people of definitive experiences. We like the cause column to always equal the effect. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, what goes up must come down. Faith would be much easier if we could define God quantitatively or linearly. So what do you do when your mind won’t rest in what your heart knows?

Do what the psalmists did. State it. Praise Him for it. Ask for peace when “From everlasting to everlasting” overwhelms you. He is quick and immediate to answer. Forever and ever is yours too.

Have a Beautiful Monday,
Gretchen

You will see it with your own eyes and say, “Great is the LORD-Even beyond the borders of Israel!” Malachi 1:5

The Jewish people were in the midst of economic hardship, constant physical threat and opposition. They felt God had forgotten them although He promised restoration.

Malachi’s message? GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES FAR BEYOND OUR COMPREHENSION, NO EXCEPTIONS!

Our faith and our hope rests in God alone. His love is constant and continuing and is not dependent on our actions but His will. His will is His faithfulness to us. Our only appropriate response is absolute faith in Him.

Gretchen

I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

Very popular words from Philippians. Here’s the prequel…… ”I am not saying this because I am in need,  for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Verses 11 and 12.

So what can Paul, the author, do? Yes, all things…… the most essential things ……..contentment in all circumstances…….faithfulness in need and discomfort, grace in plenty,…….

What can we do through Him who gives strength? Persevere and become what Christ died for us to be: redeemed, missional, compassionate……..

Pulled out of context this phrase seems to be an endorsement for pressing confidently toward human ambition. It is not. It is Paul’s humble affirmation that Jesus as friend, redeemer and hope is a reliable constant and that is enough. I’m with Paul, He is enough.

Love,

Gretchen

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:15

Maturity is a choice. Growing older is not. You don’t necessarily get one with the other.

Chronological aging is just going along for the ride. We had no say in when and where we entered the world and we really have no say in when and where we leave, but in the meantime the choice is all ours. That brings us to the mental and emotional level we chose to dwell in.

Maturity is facing the truth and owning what is ours…….mistakes and failures, successes and blessings; to recognize another’s contribution to the above mentioned, show gratitude where it is due and grace and mercy in exchange for bitterness and defeat.

Believers become the body of Christ and He wants to perfect us so that we may grow and do His work on earth. The path for this progress is truth. In accepting Jesus as the only truth we submit our tainted perspectives, petty folly and selfish ambitions to His perfect knowledge, patient love and final victory. Suddenly we are grown-up Christians and it’s a very nice thing to be.

Gretchen

P.S. I don’t think my spirit face has any wrinkles!!! Or maybe in loving truth I need to be okay if it does.

Have a great day!

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. I Corinthians 13:1

Sorry if I offend any percussionist, but there is no worse music on earth than an extended, acapella snare drum solo or gong sonata, or maybe a cymbal minuet! It’s just a bunch of noise that brings about one thought, “How soon will this end?”

Talk takes no effort, costs nothing and often brings the same response as the music I just spoke of, “When will it end?” Lip service is worthless if you do not bring your manpower to back it up. Love is the manpower this world means.

Words just stir air molecules, love in action changes things.

Gretchen

She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” Acts 16:17

This loud mouthed, fortune-telling young slave girl had become a regular aggravation to Paul as he made his trek to a place of prayer. After many days Paul turned and said to the spirit that possessed this woman, “In the name of Jesus Christ, come out of her!”

The story continues that things didn’t go well for Paul and Silas after this act of healing. Sinful man acts predictably. The slave owner is outraged that his easy money is cut off, shows little respect for any other human and keeps his mouth going about his rights as a Roman citizen until he starts a riot that robs two other Roman citizens of their liberties, BUT! A few hours later a wrongly flogged and imprisoned Paul and Silas experience the miracle of freedom from bondage and lead their jailer and his household to salvation.

Godly men make beautiful history. They are disciplined to daily prayer, they free a woman from an unwelcome spirit, they respond to their injustice with praise and prayer, when a natural disaster frees them, they remain in place to minister to the frightened, hopeless and lost. Finally, they use their ‘rights as Romans’ to further the gospel, not oppress others.

You get to choose. Which legacy do you want to embrace?

Have a great day!

Gretchen

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. John 17:20

Jesus is within hours of being crucified and He knows it. He also knows that His beloved disciples, the men He spent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with for the last three years have no clue about what is coming down. Yes, Jesus has prepared them, but they cannot comprehend what will prove to be the most mysterious, glorious and victorious event of all time.

So what does Jesus do? He prays. He sets things in perspective in a quiet talk with His dad. The entire seventeenth chapter of John is Jesus praying, first for Himself to focus on the big picture, eternal life. He then prays for His disciples. Jesus is literally committing His friends into the care of His Father. How beautiful is that?! And Then……..drum roll please…….He prayed for you and I. Yes, Jesus has spoken, out loud, a prayer personally for you and for me.

What did Jesus ask the Father to give us? A oneness with Him and each other so that we may know the full extent of the Father’s love.

Oh How He Loves Us!

Gretchen

Beloved, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. I John 4:7

This small book near the end of our Bible was written with the authority of someone who walked with Jesus while He was on earth. 

As John’s life was nearing its end he knew there was a struggle to keep the Gospel pure and simple, unadulterated by other intellectual ideas and philosophies that nullified the work of the cross and Jesus incarnate. This is still extraordinarily relevant to today’s religious scene. 

At the heart of the Christian message is a God that gave His Son to become fully human and live as our light, illuminating love’s power against evil. Without Jesus’s human death and Divine resurrection, sin would still defeat us. The grave has no sting for we are reborn, beloved and cherished. Honestly, how can we look out into the world, knowing our life is eternal, and not long for the same outcome for everyone?

Love,

Gretchen  

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Luke 6:35

By nature we are selfish. I live in my head, so everything I see is through the lens of my perspective, experience and environment. This isn’t rocket science, it’s the reality of my human carnal being. To be otherwise is a choice. This scripture has been flagged as the Golden Rule, but Jesus goes way beyond the boundaries of being a good citizen and neighbor. He transformed people’s lives, not to make the socially respectable, but Kingdom ready.

We focus a great deal on the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, but Christmas is about Heaven coming to earth in LIVING color so we can witness Jesus living out the Holiness we are called to. As to that death and resurrection, the reality is, everyone won’t believe. Yet, Jesus came as a humble child so He could live and die to offer the opportunity to everyone. 

The emotions involved in being cheated, under compensated or exploited are real, but they are an obstacle to our faith, hope and love.Those we might minister or testify to will see this in our behaviors. The wise follow Jesus’ model, do right and expect nothing in return. Failed expectations rob us of joy. So live simply and joyously. 

Love,

Gretchen

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 3:3

Imagine the first Temple, Solomon’s Temple, having a church sign. Each day or two a new piece of wisdom and insight appears to remind the inhabitants of and travelers to Jerusalem to live in a community of peace, love and faith based on Kingdom values.

Chapter three reads like a parent preparing their child to enter adulthood. The goal is to avoid self-inflicted catastrophe and pain while remaining mentally, physically and emotionally whole and strong. Practical ethics are key, but again, self will gets in the way, it always does. So, let love and faithfulness bind you to a greater purpose. 

Love, 

Gretchen