Wednesday, July 20, 2016

ADJUSTING

Adjustments a part of life. We all do it when we begin something new. How about when you got married, you had to adjust to your life partner and the proverbial toothpaste debate. Or when children came along and you had to learn to share your spouse with a little one who demands a lot of attention. Or perhaps you have lost the love of your life due to illness or accident and you have to adjust once again,

Another adjustment in life is when we decide to give our lives over to Jesus. To allow him to walk along side of us to helpful grow us into the person that God chose for us to be long before we were even born.

The scripture speaks of many stories of people's lives whom God had to make adjustments; look at Adam and Eve, they had it made in the Garden of Eden, then lost it all, or how about Moses, he was living the life as a wealthy Egyptain boy and then God calls him back to his people for a huge job! Or Paul, who was being a great Pharisee, but God changed all that when he knocked him off his horse and called him to be the person to change the world as we know It,  to that which brought Christianity to so many!

With each adjustment God was present; the adjustments were never easy, they always come with stress and circumstances, but God is always faithful. God walks alongside of each person to guide and direct. Maybe not the way you want or expect, but God is there!

What is the adjustment that God is making in your life today? Do you know that God is there with you? Do you reach out to him and call him by name for guidance. Do you even slow down enough to hear his answer?

Let us begin to allow God to make those adjustments in our lives,  so that we can learn to trust and obey! Just as the great hymn "Trust and Obey" written by John H. Sammis, 1846-1919 is shared below:
“When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His word
What a glory He sheds on our way
While we do His good will
He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey
Trust and obey
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and obey”

Until next time, let’s sing this again and this time let’s mean it!

Pastor Patti

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Our View

Ah, is what might come to mind when we think of the great wonders of the world, or maybe the scene from the top of a mountain after a hike. Or how about sitting at the ocean as the sun is setting for the night.  What great thoughts and feelings may come over you as you think on these things.

God has given us all an opportunity to see things that others may never have had the opportunity to! I recall visiting with a group of Native American youth in Southern California in 2012. These youth were from reservations around the U.S. Many of them were thousands of miles away from home while attending school. Many of these youth had never seen life off their reservation before attending this particular school.

This story is important because it describes for us the way many might view God. Many may never have experienced anything about God other than what they are accustomed to or how they have practiced their faith for decades.

So let's look at how these two thoughts reveal the true love that God has for us... God gives us the ability to experience new things all the time. We may not like the "view from our seat" but the view is there whether we like it or not!

God may give us an opportunity to move out of our comfort zone and allow us to experience the greatness of what he has in store for us if we just "soak it all in"!

So, while we have are in a situation that requires us to look for God's blessing, remember the view God has provided that is right smack in front of us!

Until next time,

Rev. Patti