A New Normal

Change is something that comes to everyone, at some point and time in our lives we will all be known to change. It is how we gracefully embrace the change that faces us.

     As we move through life stages, we see rapid change. From the day of our birth to age 5 our bodies and minds are growing and changing so rapidly we can hardly keep up.

     It is no different in the time of the church. From the moment that Jesus was crucified, died and rose again the birth of the church took on such rapid change that the disciples even had a hard time keeping up. From the time of Pentecost and the disciples finding themselves in the upper room praying for what would be next; the Holy Spirit arrives on the scene and they all received power to do mighty things in the name of Jesus, the Christ.

     Peter speaks boldly for the first time in public since Jesus was no longer with them on a daily basis. The followers of Jesus needed to find a "new normal" for themselves. They had to learn to trust God more than ever.

     Church, are we ready to address a "new normal"? Or are we going to get angry and fight amongst ourselves, or are we going take the focus off of ourselves and trust God for what God has had planned for God's church from the beginning of time?

      I would prefer to take my eyes off of the "new normal" and keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and the grace and love that comes with knowing Jesus as my savior and redeemer of all people!

    Let us not find ourselves like those that heard the disciples speaking in many languages wondering what was happening; but keeping our focus on the mission of what we are to do: 1st - pray; 2nd - share God's love and forgiveness with all those we meet; 3rd - pray more!

Acts 2: 17 

"And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all humanity;..." (HCSB)

So what is Pentecost really? 

We celebrate it each year in the church. the color is red on the altar, so what's all the fuss about?

HERE YOU GO!!!!

God tells us that we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us! This power is what the disciples were waiting for that day in the upper rooom. Men AND women alike were gathered together to pray until they knew that God had done what Jesus promised! God sent them the Comforter and told them to "...go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation." Mark 16: 15 (HCSB)

Let us take the day we celebrate as Pentecost  and make it every day  inorder to become people of the Spirit of the Living God and preach the Gospel of Jesus everywhere we go, through all the things we do, for all the people that cross our path!

Ash Wednesday

                                             

Psalm 51: 1-3 “¹ Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. ² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.”(NRSV)

 Ashes, suffering and pending death, never seems like a great topic to start a conversation with someone.  We participate in the service of Ash Wednesday as we begin the season of Lent. During the 40 days prior to Easter we are to be in a state of repentance. You see we place ashes on our foreheads to remind us of the suffering that Jesus encountered during his trial, crucifixion and death.

The ashes that are placed on our foreheads as an outward symbol of suffering actually are made from the burning of the palms that we use as a reminder of the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

What a contrast; we see the palms as joyous in the celebration and then the ashes as a sign of death and suffering.

These ashes we wear as a symbol of all the suffering we experience through the separation of our relationship with God through our sin.

Once we complete the journey of Lent, we once again see the glorified and risen Christ. The one who came to reclaim us from our eternal suffering to a place of relationship and love that God has for all God's children.

So wear your ashes, as a sign of repentance for the sin we have committed and how Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice for each one of us!

In The Cleft of the Rock

It has been many many months since I had the opportunity to sit and write some of my reflections from the porch. 

Now that the snow has arrived and the porch floor is covered in the gleam and sparkle of fresh new white snow, many may say that they are in the midst of experiencing heart ache and pain. Both spiritual and physical discomfort.

These past months I have learned that I need to remain in the cleft of the rock. A place where comfort and peace can be found!

My prayer for all, is that we can find such a place. So hold onto this truth which is found in the Song of Solomon 2:14 


"My dove in the cleft of the rock.
in the hiding places on the mountain side,
show me your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely" (NLT)

Let us take this verse and hold it in our hearts as we come to a place of enjoyment, hope, joy, peace, love and expectation this Christmas Season!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

                                     A Fresh Encounter... 

I have been reading a book with this title, authored by Henry and Richard Blackaby.  I have discovered that we all need a fresh encounter from time to time.  We need a fresh awakening in our life with God, we need a freshness in the air we breathe, just as we experience after a rainstorm.

Here in America we have experienced 2 great awakenings in the life  and history of the Christian church. The First Great Awakening occurred during the 1730's and 1740's. This awakening happened in the churches, it was noted to have strengthened the protestant churches to a point of bringing people into that experience of a fresh encounter.  Then during the 1800's The Second Great Awakening took place on our shores here in America. This movement was reaching the unchurched people and bringing them in droves into the churches across this great country.

Then in the 1960's- 1970's we had The Charismatic Renewal. This was both found in the Roman Catholic church and the protestant churches through the experiences of the young people known as the Jesus Movement.

Today I am praying for a fresh encounter with God which will reach both the church and the unchurched people. 

I pray that God reveals this fresh encounter for all people; so that we learn to focus our hearts and eyes on the Creator of the universe, through the love and grace we receive, because of the greatest sacrifice known to humankind. The death and resurrection of the Son of God, who freely gave his life; so that all people would experience eternal life!

Let us today be in prayer for this fresh encounter like we have never experienced before. That God through the power of the Holy Spirit would bring an everlasting change to every heart in the world!

                                 Can I get an AMEN!

Walking In Your Brother's Shoes

Jesus spoke to us through his teaching in the Scripture about peace.  A peace that comes to us through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Today in many of our churches people are desperate to find peace. Peace for their broken hearts; peace for their broken families; peace for their broken spiritual lives.

How can we as Christians, those who proclaim to be followers of Jesus Christ help others to find the peace they are yearning for?

It is easy to say to a person, here read this book or I will pray for you! But have you really allowed yourself to get to know that person. Have you spent time listening to their story?

Jesus did just that, Jesus spent time with the people who needed what he had the most!

Jesus sat and ate with them, Jesus walked with them...all over the place...Jesus washed their feet, Jesus fed them.

Can you say that you have done any of these things this past week?

Have any of you walked with someone so that you could truly understand their ideas that may be different than your own? Not saying that you agree with them. But have you taken the time to listen!

Can you honestly say that you care enough about your neighbor to take the time and have a meal together, to show that person that they have sacred worth?

Jesus did just that. He showed the woman at the well how to not be thirsty, he spoke to the woman found in adultery, he chose Judas to be a part of God's big plan for our salvation.

Let me take a moment to challenge each one who reads this, to do something this week for someone besides yourself.  Take some time to walk in your neighbor's shoes!

Cloudiness

     Sometimes the cloudiness in our vision is because there is a problem that causes us to not see clearly; this cloudiness could be caused from a medical condition, like the forming of a cataract. 

    It might be caused from a weather condition, fog has rolled in off the seashore. 

    Sometimes it might be cloudy because of an agenda that a group of people have on a political issue that they are trying to get others to agree with.

Cloudiness is something that we could legitimately see every day if we live in certain areas of the world. We could see this cloudiness in our own lives every day. 

This reminds me of the Scripture story that talks about the Israelites that followed the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night: Exodus 13:20-22

"They moved on from Succoth and then camped at Etham at the edge of the wilderness. God went ahead of them in a Pillar of Cloud during the day to guide them on the way, and at night in a Pillar of Fire to give them light; thus they could travel both day and night. The Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night never left the people." (The Message)

Moses knew that without the cloud the nation of Israel could get lost...Remember these folks were lost for 40 years in the desert!

One thing that comes from this story is the fact that if cloudiness is on our lives it might be GOD made and GOD sent for us to follow. BUT we must first discern that the cloud is a God thing or a nature made thing.

Moses knew God because he had an encounter with the Creator on the mountain. My belief is that Moses was the right man for discerning that the cloud was GOD given. 

My question is: have you experienced a visitation from God lately; to help you figure out if the cloudiness in your life is nature made, man made or GOD provided?

My suggestion is: we spend time with God every day to learn the difference between cloudiness that is caused by disease or a cloud that is placed before us out of a life of oppression, sin and separation from the ONE who loves us more than we can comprehend!