Do Not Underestimate the Power of Connection

As I scrolled through Facebook the other day, I came across a picture of 2 candles next to each other.  One candle was lit and even though they were not touching, the other candle wick was smoking and starting to light just from the heat of the flame next to it.  Underneath the picture it said, “Do not underestimate the power of connection.”   

This concept made me think of God’s word that we have seen in our sermon "Bumper video" on Sunday mornings lately, from Matthew 5:14-16.  It says, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” 

So, what does this mean exactly?  Well, in my mind I think it means that we can be an example to others.  We can “Be the light”, by being kind, caring, and thoughtful.  We can also “Be the light” through service and good deeds, loving people unconditionally, and praying that others might just fall in line when they see us doing so.   

For example, last summer, I purchased a package for unlimited car washes at Mister Car Wash on Saginaw.  I drove through there at least once a week for a couple months to get my truck washed, and not once did I think about giving the car wash attendant a tip. I just drove right up to the gate that opened automatically when I approached it, and then straight through to the wash without having to speak to anybody.   

Then, one afternoon when I went to get my truck washed, I noticed the driver in the car ahead of me roll down their window and hand the attendant some cash for a tip.  In turn, this caused me to quickly search through my purse and find some cash because then I wanted to leave a tip too!  Well, at the time, all I could find was a $5 bill, which is a little much for an $8 car wash, but something prompted me to give it to him anyways, so I did, and his eyes lit up!   

His eyes lit up and he thanked me in such a way that it brought tears to mine, and my heart exploded with joy! I call this "The kind of joy that only God can give" because there is nothing else in the world like it, and it all started with the person ahead of me setting that example and me wanting to follow.  It was a connection, a simple act of kindness, or a flame that was lit by the driver of the car in front of me that carried on to the vehicle behind him, and hopefully to the cars that were behind us.  A chain reaction you could say, a blessing to the attendant, and a power that we should never underestimate.   

Now I leave a large tip everywhere that I go, including the car wash, just to see the light in people’s eyes when they receive it, because to me, that is a reflection of God’s love and appreciation looking back.  

Praising God from Revelations

As I studied in the park Sunday afternoon, I was reading through the first 3 chapters of Revelations and I noticed that as John wrote to the angels of the 7 churches, he was always told to begin with, "These are the words of...", and then he would go on to say something that described Jesus. For example, when he wrote to the angel of the church in Ephesus, he was told to say, "These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands, and to the angel of Smyrna, he wrote, "These are the words of Him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again." So, I went on to read how he began his letters to the other churches as well, and as I read, I wrote down all of the ways that our Father in Heaven was described in these passages. Here is what I came up with:

• The First and the Last, who died and came to life again. (Rev. 2:1)
  

• The words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. (Rev. 2:12)
  

• The Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. (Rev. 2:18)
  

• Him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. (Rev. 3:1)
  

• Him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open. (Rev. 3:7)
  

• the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Ruler of God’s creation. (Rev. 3:14)

I also went back to John's "Greetings and Doxology" to the 7 churches in the beginning and wrote down Rev. 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty”, and after writing all of these down, I realized that I had the perfect praise list! It made me think of the Lord's prayer and how we have been taught to begin with praise, so having this list in front of me was powerful, and that is the reason why I share it with you today!

With that being said, I ask you to take a moment each day and read over this list, or maybe add to it, or come up with one of your own, and then praise Him! Praise Him for dying for us on the cross, praise Him for His wisdom, praise Him for open doors providing new opportunities, and for closing doors that needed to be shut, and praise Him for being faithful and true, and for keeping His promises, just praise Him!

An Introspective Gardener's Thoughts...

The terrible intruders! 

Those thistles, I pulled out last year, and the year before, and over and over again keep coming back! I think I have them out, root and all, but NO! 

And what's so pernicious is they grow right in the MIDDLE of the Iris bulbs! Digging them out requires injury to the bulbs, but it must be done if there is to be a weed free plant. 

Is this a metaphor moment? 

Am I seeing my sins? Maybe, the ones I confess over and over, that keep me on my knees?  

What's worse is that when I’m done with one, another takes its place, growing right in the middle of what I'd hoped was good fruit, or flowering beauty. 

Only You, Jesus, I give You my ground, weeds, and all.

Pernicious, what exactly does that mean?  I wasn’t sure, so I looked it up, and it means “To have a harmful effect, especially in a gradual and subtle way”, or in my mind, I would describe it as, “You don’t even see it coming.”  It is something that happens so slowly over time, that you never even noticed it until it had already done damage.   

Some examples of these things could be harmful habits that destroy your body and affect your health over time, self-defeating thoughts, lack of confidence, or fears that hold you back from doing great things, and the things that eat you up inside that nobody even knows about.  These are some of the thistles that we think we have gotten rid of at the root, but then in certain situations, they seem to pop back up, and these are the thistles that can break our hearts and hurt for a time, but the strength that remains after they are removed comes from God alone.  It is His strength, and He is the one who empowers us to overcome the world!  

Sometimes Our View is Just Obstructed

As I sat at the park Sunday morning before church, I looked out of the passenger side window of my truck and I saw so many trees, and I couldn’t help but think to myself, “These are same trees that were here when my grandpa played at this park, and that brought me a sense of nostalgia. 

Then I turned my head and looked out of the driver’s side window, and I saw rocks of all shapes and sizes piled up along the side of the riverbank, and I saw the water flowing steadily downstream with the sun reflecting off of it, making it sparkle, and I thought to myself, “God your creation is so beautiful!” 

Then I looked up and I saw the 3 towers that hover over the Dam, and I thought to myself, “God you are so mighty!”

And then I think back to another time that I sat here in this park, almost in the same spot, and things were not going so well in my life then, so I thanked God in that moment for saving me, and then I shifted in my seat, and I closed my eyes to pray. 

When I opened my eyes afterwards, I was looking out of the windshield of my truck, and my view of the river was obstructed. The frame of the truck that goes around the side of the windshield split the river in half from that angle, and it blocked the rocks all together.  I could also see the blue city of Lansing trash can that sat directly in front of my parking space, and I thought to myself, “What the heck?”, and then I thought to myself, “God, what are you trying to tell me?”  Then, as I sat there, I heard His still small voice and He said, “Sometimes your view is just obstructed, you can’t see everything right away.” 

So, I thought about that for a while, and I realized that when I sat in that same spot a little over 2 years ago, all I could feel at the time was pain and heartache, sadness, shame, and regret, and I wasn’t really sure how life could go on at that point, but what I didn’t realize then was that my view was just obstructed. 

I couldn’t see myself sitting there praising God like I am today and thanking Him for the joy that I find in His creations. I couldn’t see myself shifting positions and looking out of one of the other windows for a better perspective, but now I can, and that is why I am thanking God today for all of the many different views and perspectives that He gives us, even the obstructed ones because these are the ones that make us appreciate later on, what we have been through, and how far we have come. These are also the ones that show us that God’s promises are true, and that even in our painful seasons, He will make beauty out of ashes, just we are told in Isaiah 61:3, where God’s word says that He will “comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion, to bestow on them a crown of beauty, instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”   

You see, our sorrow can leave us feeling defeated, but when we fully give ourselves over to God, our view of these sorrows will change, and even though the circumstances might remain the same, we can change the glass that we look at them through.

A Posture of Humility

Sticking with Pastor Matt's theme of humility this week, and the tool of repetition, I would just like to begin today by reminding you that your greatness is based upon what you give up to serve others, and not what you gain for yourself. This really stuck a cord with me as Pastor Matt was preaching on Sunday because there have been so many times that I have heard somebody say things like, "Why should I do that for them when they never do anything for me?, or "Why should I help somebody when I can barely afford to help myself?", and when I hear these things as a Christian now, they make me cringe. You see, I have had this mindset in the past, so I understand it, but now that I know Jesus and seek to be an imitator of Christ, I know that that this is the way of the world, and not God's way. For in His word He says, "Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45.

So, with that being said family, I encourage you today to keep this particular scripture verse in your mind every day, especially on the days that you find yourself in a worldly mindset, thinking that things just don't seem to be fair, and you wonder why you should help anybody at all. Remember, start with a posture of humility, just as Pastor Matt said on Sunday, because doing so brings us closer to our Creator, strengthens us in our transformation, and helps us be a witness to others who do not yet know Christ and the love that He has for us.

Are You a Real Christian?

While reading an article on Christianity.com titled, "Are You a Christian?', I came across the question, "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" and by evidence, I don't mean how many Bibles you own, or how many bumper stickers you might have on your car with Christian sayings on them. I mean hard evidence. If your family members, neighbors, and coworkers were interviewed and asked the question, "Is (your name here), in your opinion, a real Christian?" what would be their response?

Well, I thought about this for a minute, but in my mind, I came up with no clear answer. The reason for that is that when I think about who I am, and the way that I treat people, then yes, I would like to say that their response would be "Of course she is a Christian!" "She talks about God often, sharing the Good News, she helps people in need, and she goes to church regularly." But then I think about some other things that I do that may not be so "Christian Like", and then I'm not so sure of what they might say. Things like getting angry at other drivers on the road and speeding up to go around them, judging people who make poor choices like I haven't made poor choices myself, swearing, and not loving my actual neighbors who live right next door to me like I love myself because they frustrate me. So, am I a real Christian? Am I setting examples and living in a way that everybody that knows me can honestly say, "Yes, she is?" That I am not so sure of. Actually, I think that the answers would vary, depending on who you asked, and that is not something that I am proud of.

So, with that being said, let's make a conscious choice today to think about the examples that we are setting about being Christians, and what that really means. Are we being patient with others? Are we thinking before we speak? Are we taking the time to listen to others so that we can serve them in ways that are meaningful to their situations? And the hard one for me, Are we loving our neighbors as we love ourselves, or better yet, are we loving our neighbors the way that Jesus loves them? Now I know that none of these things are easy to do, but I think that if we make a conscious choice every day to be a better example of who God has called us to be, then we can most definitely do better today than we did yesterday, and each day after that!

A Reminder of God's Faithfulness

I had a thought this morning that crossed my mind and it went a little something like this...

The other day I saw that the National weather service predicted that we were going to get 16 inches of snow! Then yesterday, I saw that that prediction had changed to 6-8 inches, and then this morning I heard 3-6 inches, and I thought to myself, "Do they really know what they are talking about?" "I mean, how can we rely on them when they keep changing their minds and throwing different numbers out there every single day?'' and then I had another thought that came to mind, and that was, "God never changes." So, that means that if He says something, then we know that it is the truth." But is God predictable? Can we predict what He is going to do day to day, just like we try to do with the weather? Do we always know exactly what He is going to do next? No, we do not, but we do know that He is faithful!

So, with that being said family let's use these thoughts today as a reminder of His faithfulness, even in the midst of a snowstorm that may or may not be coming, and even when our hopes have been dashed for 80 degrees and sunny this week! Let's also use these thoughts today to remember that God's plan is not our plan, and even though we would like to tell Him what to do and how to do it, the most important thing to remember is to trust Him! Trust in His goodness, trust in His promises, and trust in His word that "In all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28 NIV).

Choose Joy by Seeking God's Face

Psalm 27:8, where God's word says, My heart says of you, “Seek His face!”
Your face, Lord, I will seek.

How do we choose joy? We do it by seeking God's face. We choose joy by seeking a relationship with Him, because when we walk closely with Him, He will place His own desires upon our hearts that will bring us joy. You see joy is provided by the Holy Spirit. Joy is found in answered prayer. Joy is also produced by hope in the anticipation that God is going to do something good and will continue to do good according to His promises. Joy also fills our hearts when we remember all of the good things that God has already done for us, and most of all, joy is found in God's presence as we think of His great kindness and celebrate how wonderful He is! Joy is something that God can restore, making our hearts smile, even when things seem to be falling apart, and joy comes when we trust in the Lord, knowing that He loves us more than we could ever even imagine! So, with that being said family and friends, I encourage you to choose joy today! Choose joy over worry, choose joy when you feel frustrated, and choose joy when you're feeling sad. Choose joy by seeking God's face every single day and let His Holy Spirit create in your heart the kind of joy that only He can give.

Things Our Parents Said to Us as Kids...

Things Our Parents Said to Us as Kids…

·        If you sit that close to the TV, you’ll hurt your eyes.

·        If you eat to much candy, your teeth are going to fall out.

·        If you don’t wear a jacket outside, you’ll catch pneumonia.

·        This hurts me more than it hurts you.

·        Santa is real and so is the Easter Bunny.

·        The tooth fairy only left dimes when I was a kid!

·        There are starving people in Africa who would love to eat your supper.

·        And my moms favorite, “I have eyes in the back of my head.”

Why did we believe our parents when they told us these things?  Because we trusted them right?  Because we believed that they knew what was best for us, and because we knew how much they loved us and always had our best interest at heart.  We had complete faith and trust that what our parents said was true because they were our parents, and that was the only reason that we needed to believe. 

Do you have this kind of faith in Jesus Christ?  Complete trust?  The kind of faith that we had in our parents when we were just children?

When I think about this, I think about how children function mostly on emotion, rather than reason.  When a child is upset, they automatically run to the adult that they love and trust the most.  Do we automatically run to God with our problems when we are upset?  Do we trust Him the most, or do we trust our best friend first?

When children are afraid in the middle of the night, they automatically call out for their mommy or daddy, do we automatically call out for our Daddy, God?

When children are happy, who is the first person that they want to tell?  Their parents.  Do we automatically tell God first when we are happy and thank Him for the circumstances that led up to it?

When children are sad, they automatically want to be held, and when a parent says, “It’s going to be OK”, they believe it.  Do you believe it?  Do you believe that God holds you when you are sad and feeling down?  Can you close your eyes and feel His arms around you?  Can you hear Him telling you that everything is going to be OK? 

Can you put your reasoning aside for just a moment, and concentrate on your childlike emotions?  How does this make you feel?

God’s word in Matthew 18:1-3 says:

At the time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?’  He called a little child and had him stand among them and He said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.”

Being childlike means that you are content because you trust God, and you trust Him because You have complete faith in Him, no questions asked.  You just know that He loves you unconditionally and that He always has your best interests at heart. 

Here are some characteristics of childlike faith:

·        Forgives easily

·        Does not hold a grudge

·        Full of love

·        Worry free, not full of doubt

·        Marvels at creation (Butterflies, frogs, nature)

·        Dreams big dreams

·        Eager to learn new things

·        Creative

·        And uncomplicated

Now, apply these qualities to your Christian faith, and when adult life seems to be taking you down, revert back to this list, and to your childhood, and know that Jesus always has your back.  All you have to do is believe in Him, and unlike some of the things your parents may have told you, you can always trust that what He says is true!

God's Beauty and a Full Moon!

Did any of you stay up late last night and see the moon shining bright in all of its glory, or wake up early enough this morning to see it? If so, then you know how absolutely beautiful it was! As a matter of fact, as I was driving to work this morning, I felt like a kid again as I watched it follow me when I turned left and then right, and then I watched it disappear for a moment, and then reappear as I made my way on to the highway going west, and I was in awe!

As I drove, I thought about how so many people, even people who are thousands of miles away from me, could see the same beautiful moon, and I wondered to myself, "How is this even possible?" I also wondered how one minute I could see it shining bright right behind the 3 stacks as I passed by Moores Park, but when I got on the highway, it was directly in front of me and nowhere near the park. How is that possible? It's just something that I cannot explain any other way except for the fact that it is God's magic! I mean who else in the world could make a moon that so many people can see at the same time, and who else could make a moon that follows you and guides you no matter where you go? Only God! He is so amazing, and His beauty is awe inspiring!

I couldn't help but to cry out to Him this morning as I drove and thank Him! I thanked Him for the beauty that only He can create in this world. Nobody else can make a sunset so beautiful, or a rainbow shine bright after the rain. Nobody else can create a billion stars that twinkle in the night sky, or a full moon that follows us all the way to work on our morning commute, nobody but God.

So, with that being said, let's remember to thank Him today and every day for the things that cannot always be explained but fill us with childlike wonder and awe, and most of all, let's thank God for sharing His beauty with us this morning and in all of the days to follow.

Questions

What would the world look like today if every person followed your example? What if the words that they spoke carried the same tone and message as yours? What if their responses echoed your responses? What if their actions mimicked your actions? Would people look more like Jesus? Would relationships reflect His forgiveness and compassion? Would the world be any different?

These are all questions from a devotion discussed in our staff meeting this morning called "Like You", taken from leadlikejesus.com, and although we were talking about leadership qualities in our meeting, I think that these are good questions that we can ALL ask ourselves. Now I will be honest and admit that I cringed at some of these as Joey read them aloud to us. I imagined some people following my example when I get angry or frustrated in traffic. I imagined my tone when I speak to my kids sometimes and I've had it up to my wits end, and I imagined my responses when I am short with them because I am "busy". I also thought about my very close friend that I haven't talked to in months because we had a falling out and I'm just not ready to forgive her yet, and after thinking about all of these things, I certainly am not ready to compare myself to Jesus, but I want to.

So, with that being said, I think that these are questions that we should ask ourselves every single day, not because we are always going to have the right answers, but because they are a great reminder of who we want to be. They are a great reminder of who Jesus is, and they are great way to strive to do better. They are also a great start to making the world a better place, after all, as Christians, we lead by example, and pray that others will come to know Jesus because of how we do it!

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

My Church Family

When I think of my church family, these are just a few words that come to mind:

LOVING:  Supporting each other unconditionally.  My church family greets me with a smile, hugs me, and asks me how I am doing, and means it. Their creative notes and cards that are left on my desk are gifts of love. Their words of appreciation are like rays of sunshine that make my day brighter.

FAITHFUL:  Praying for each other during the good times and the bad, having faith that God hears us and will answer. Faithfully show up seeking to serve God in our community, our church, and the world that we live in, asking Him for wisdom and guidance.

SERVANT HEARTS:  Willing to go the extra mile, supporting each other.  Giving rides, doing yard-work, going on mission trips, and providing food.  Hosting events that bring us together alongside of our community, praying, and lifting needs up to God who is the Caretaker of all.

JOYFUL:  Happiness and Laughter. We experience joy when we share answered prayers. We weep happy tears when we listen to miraculous healing stories that those in our congregation have shared.  We celebrate milestone birthdays together with cake and fellowship.  We enjoy potlucks, bon fires, game nights, small groups, and serving together, all of which bring joy to our hearts and happiness to our souls.

PATIENT:  Growing, learning, imitating Christ.  Forgiving one another when we offend, hurt, or just don’t get it.

GENTLE:  A deep care for each other. Small groups meeting together to have conversations about God and life.  Cards of encouragement sent to those who may need their spirits lifted, or ones that say, “Get Well Soon”.  Phone calls that are made asking, “How are you doing?”, or “Do you need anything?”  Meals when somebody is not able to cook for themselves, and most of all prayer.

KIND:  Loving connections.  Nurturing Children and Youth.  CONNECT Wednesday nights that bring families together, Mt. Vernon reading and food ministry, Cumberland Elementary School backpack food ministry, volunteers, flowers on Sunday, and simple “Hello’s”, these are all examples of the kindness that radiates here.

PEACEFUL:  Immanuel Community Reformed Church is a safe place where you can be just who you are. The passion and pain that we witness each week can sometimes be overwhelming, but our church family is understanding and there to lift you up with prayers and encouragement. We find peace in each other, but most of all, we find peace in God and in His promises. 

This is Why I Thank God for My Church Family Today!

Where is God?

I didn’t expect to wake up the other morning and have an argument with my daughter and I didn’t expect to go home last night and end up arguing with my sister either.  I didn’t know when I woke up this morning that I was going to lay in my bed all day feeling sorry for myself, and I had no idea that the difficult conversation that I had with my dad over the weekend would keep replaying in my head and hurting my heart.

I didn’t expect any of this to happen when I went to bed Saturday night, or when I woke up Sunday morning, but it did, so where do I go from here?

What do we do when unexpected things happen that weigh heavy on our hearts?  Do we turn to God right away, or do we first try to get through it on our own accord?  Where do we find peace and comfort in our afflictions?     

I have sometimes asked, “Where is God when I am hurting so bad?” “Where is God when my heart feels so heavy in my chest that I feel like I can’t breathe?”  “Where is God when I feel afraid or have questions that need to be answered?”, and “Where is God when I don’t feel Him near me?”  “Is He far from me, or have I moved away from Him?”  “Where is God when I need Him the most?”

Well let me tell you, HE IS HERE!  He is always here!  

God’s word in Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

And in Acts 17: 27, God’s word says, “God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us.”

You see friends and family, God is always close to us, and He never leaves our side.  So, why does He sometimes feel so very far away?  Well, it could be for many reasons…

Perhaps it is because of our behaviors.  There are times in our lives when God withdraws His presence because He wants us to pay attention to the destructive path that we are on. God loves us, but He’s a holy God and He’s not going to indulge us when we’re living in a way that contradicts His Word.

Or maybe we are not seeking Him the way that we should.  Have you ever wanted to pray, but you just couldn’t find the words or the focus to do so? I know there have been times that I wanted to pray, but all I could do is sit there in silence and hang my head.  Well, my advice to you is to keep trying!  Don’t give up, and if you can’t find the words, then just call out to Him, and hold on to the knowledge that He is there, He hears your cries, and He knows your heart. 

As a matter of fact, God’s word in  Psalm 56:8 says, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book.”  This  verse means to me that the Lord takes account of all of our sadness, all of our pain, all of the teardrops that have flowed from our eyes, and every silent groan from our hurting hearts because of His love for us. Remember He has scheduled every day of our lives and He knows the tears that will result from the afflictions of His people.

Our times are in His hands, and we have a God who knows and loves and cares for everything that causes His children pain, but like our Savior, we gain a closer intimacy with our Father through the things that we suffer in obedience to His will.  The wonderful thing is that through it all, we will gain a closeness to His heart of love, and a depth of understanding of our God that we never imagined possible, for God has promised that the day is coming when sorrow will be turned into joy and tears will be turned into laughter – a day when He Himself will wipe away every tear that has fallen from our eyes.  Thank You Jesus!

 Prayer

Abba, thank You for the hope that we have in You.  Thank You for loving us so much that You actually keep track of our tears and our sorrows.  Thank You for using these afflictions to make us stronger and to draw us closer to You.  Abba I pray today that You continue to remind us of our destructive behaviors when we are on the wrong path, and we thank You in advance for reaching out to bring us back from them.  Thank You also for hearing our cries when we cannot find the words to say what is wrong.  Thank You for being our healer and protector and thank You for Your promise that one day all of our sorrows will turn into joy and our tears into laughter.  We look forward to this day Abba, our hope is in You!  In Jesus Name, Amen.

Thank You for Reminding Me (A Prayer of Thanks)

Thank You for Your word today Abba.

Thank You for reminding me to be patient.

Thank You for reminding me to pursue my purpose, not so that I can earn my forgiveness, but to please You.

Thank You for reminding me to treat everybody as if they were You.

Thank You for asking me the question, “Would you treat Jesus that way?”

Thank You for reminding me that my rewards are not always here on earth, but they will always be in Heaven because You promised me that.

Thank You for this beautiful day Father and thank You for speaking to me this morning reminding me to “Get ready”, and to “Be prepared.”

I don’t know what is next Father, but my faith is in You.

Thank You for reminding me to keep my eyes on You and to never look away no matter what.

Thank You for reminding me to be persistent in my faith and to trust that I don’t have to be in control anymore.

Thank You for reminding me to let go and let God. It is the biggest relief that I have ever felt.

Thank You for reminding me that I am to look to You in any situation.

Thank You for showing me Your beauty: Your beauty in nature, Your beauty in relationships, Your beauty in the human spirit, and in children.

Thank You for making me laugh Abba. I love Your sense of humor and I love the way that I sob afterwards from pure joy when I FINALLY get answers to things that I have prayed about for so long.

Please keep revealing Yourself to me and through me Abba. I am forever grateful that Your Holy Spirit lives in me.

Thank You for Your grace. Please remind me to extend this same grace to everybody that I encounter in life, including those who hurt me.

Father I pray that we all come to You, and if there is a way that I can help make this happen, thank You for reminding me….

In Jesus name,

Amen

Discipleship

1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect.

I chose this verse because I feel that it goes directly along with our mission statement here at ICRC, “Going into the community, imitating Christ by feeding body and soul.”  I feel this way because when we are out in our community, we are going to be asked questions about God. Therefore, we should be prepared to answer them. Here a just a few questions that might come up:

How do you know the bible is true?

How do you know Jesus is really who He claimed to be?

What is your answer?

Here are a few of mine:

Because when I saw myself through Jesus’ eyes, instead of my own, I saw my worth.

Because I can close my eyes and imagine my head on His shoulder when I feel sad and that is where I find my peace.  He is always there when nobody else is.

Because He continues to pick me up even when I make the same mistakes over and over again.

Because He gives me hope.

Because He taught me how to forgive others and let go of what hurts me.

Because He taught me the true meaning of love.

Because He IS love.

Because when everybody else leaves, He stays.

Because He gives me strength when I can’t stand on my own.

Because He saved me!

Because His grace is given to me and I don’t have to earn it.

Because I’m a hard one to break, but He did it…

 My Prayer

 Thank You Abba for breaking my heart for what breaks Yours

In Matthew chapter 9, verses 37-38, You said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”  “Ask the Lord of harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.”

So, Abba, we ask You today to do just that!  Send us, Your workers into Your harvest field.  Thank You for opening our hearts to Your missions and for showing us what needs to be done.  Thank You for providing us with the courage and the wisdom to get these things done and thank You for trusting us with these tasks.  Thank You also for encouraging us to be leaders and to lead by example so that others will see with their own eyes the Fruits Your Spirit, and in turn decide to become servants as well. 

And Abba, thank You for providing us with the answers to the questions that people may ask while out in the community, and thank You for helping us to be prepared.  Thank You for allowing us to be honest, genuine, and sincere with those that we strive to build relationships with, and most of all, help us to be a reflection of You.  Thank You for revealing our purpose to us, and then for helping us to carry it out.

In Jesus beautiful Name,

Amen

"Dying to Yourself"

What does it mean to “Die to Yourself”?  This is a question that a dear member of my church family asked me one Sunday morning when she mentioned that this would be a good topic to write about for my Blog, and she was correct!  This is an excellent topic because although I had an idea of what it means, I’m not completely sure that I could have put it into words at that time if somebody asked me.

So, I prayed about it a few times over the course of about a week, asking God to give me the answer, but it did not come right away.  I did my best to remain patient, although I will admit that I did ask God to speed it along just a little bit, because I really wanted to write about this topic, and then just a couple days ago, He gave it to me.

God showed me the answer to this question as I was scrolling through Facebook one afternoon, and I came across a post that said, “If the bible calls it a sin, your opinion doesn’t matter.”  This post caught my eye, but what really caught my attention was the name of the page that shared it and that was, “Women Made for His Glory.”  So, I clicked on the page to check it out a little further, and it was there that God showed me the answer that I had prayed about. This is what I read:

Do you know who you are in Christ?

You are forgiven.

You are chosen.

You are whole.

You are redeemed.

You are a new creation.

You are worth more than many sparrows.

You are set free from bondage.

You are God's workmanship.

You are an overcomer.

You are a child of God.

You are an heiress to the Kingdom.

You are wonderfully and fearfully made.

You are written on the palm of His hand.

You are a vessel of honor.

You are a crown of splendor.

You are worth more than rubies.

You are dead to sin.

You are alive in Christ.

You are the salt and the light.

You are a temple of the Holy Spirit and living God.

You are more than a conqueror.

You are healed by His stripes.

You are fearless and powerful.

You are more than your past.

You are more than what you wear.

You are more than who people say you are.

You are HIS.

You are MADE FOR HIS GLORY!

How is this the answer you might ask?  Well, I believe that this is the answer because to truly “Die to Yourself”, you must recognize and believe ALL of these things.  You ARE whole. You ARE chosen. You ARE more than your past, and if you know God well enough, then you know that He will use your past for a purpose.  He will use your past to strengthen you and to give you a deeper understanding of people so that you can connect with them on a more personal level.

I think dying to yourself means letting go of your ego.  It means that when people need help, we need to stop saying, “What’s in it for me?”, and just help them, and then give God ALL of the glory.

I think dying to yourself also means seeing yourself through God’s eyes instead of the worlds.  He is our Father, our Abba, and He is so proud of you so you should be proud of yourself too.  How do I know that He is proud of you?  Because I know that He sees us in complete perfection through His Son Jesus Christ.  After all, that is why He sent Him to die for us. In other words, God’s word in Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me, and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

And in John 3:30, God’s word says, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

So, my advice to you dear friends is to increase your opportunities to spend more time with God.  Schedule a time in your day that is just for Him.  Study His word and seek to understand it through prayer, research, and asking questions. Join a small group, attend worship services, praise Him often, and serve those in your community, in Jesus name, for His glory, not yours.  This my friends is how you “die to yourself”, by seeking Him first and trusting in Him more, and by opening yourself up so that He can work through you to meet the needs of others.”  We are His vessels, and once we recognize this, then we have truly “died to ourselves.”

Prayer:

Thank You for creating in us a new heart Oh God.  Thank You for reminding us that we must “die to ourselves” every single day, due to our own ego, our own self-righteousness, and our pride.  Abba Your word in Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”  Help us to remember this Abba.  Help us to increase our opportunities to be with You and to move closer to You so that we can hear You when You speak.  And when You speak, help us to be ready to listen and to follow.  Help us to model our lives after Jesus and to be ready to do the work that You have set out for us to do.  Help us to surrender to Your will so that we can “die to ourselves” daily and serve the community in Your name; without hesitation, without fear, and without our own agendas. 

We ask all of these things in Jesus beautiful name,

Amen.

Spiritual Gifts

God’s word in 1 Corinthians 12:4-5 says, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.”

In the beginning of 2020, when Pastor Tom was our Transition Pastor at Immanuel, I was attending his Bible Study classes on Wednesday nights.  I really enjoyed all of these classes, but there was one class in particular that I was especially interested in, and that had to do with discovering our Spiritual gifts.  I had heard people talk before about Spiritual gifts, but I really had no idea what they were exactly, so I couldn’t wait to see about mine!

So, this particular Wednesday night, Pastor Tom passed out a “Spiritual Gifts” Survey taken from youngadults.lifeway.com. (You can find this survey by clicking on the link provided at the end of this devotion.) He passed the survey out towards the beginning of class so that we would have lots of time to work on it and answer the questions, and then we planned to talk about our answers and the gifts that we discovered about ourselves at our next meeting. Unfortunately, Covid 19 hit us soon after that, and the Wednesday night classes were cancelled indefinitely.

So, instead of talking about the gifts that I discovered with my classmates and Pastor Tom, I decided to look into them a little bit further by myself to get a better understanding.  For example, I scored the highest in the gift of “Mercy.”  After reading the definition of mercy on the “Gifts Explanation List” (also shared below from youngadults.lifeway.com), I decided to do a more extensive search on Google and look up what the strengths and weakness might be for someone with the gift of mercy.  I did this by going to the Google Search Bar, and then typing in “Spiritual Gift of Mercy, Strengths and Weakness”, and then I visited several of the websites that came up and I took notes. This is what I found:

About Mercies:

·        Those with the motivational gift of mercy have a divine ability to sense hurt and to respond to it with love and understanding.

·        Those with the gift of mercy are kind and gentle.

·        Prophets, organizers, and teachers have a tendency to project their attitude on others, whereas those who have the gift of mercy are more likely to sense how others are feeling.

·        Mercies are drawn to other sensitive people.

·        Mercies are the backbone of the prayer power in the church because they feel that they MUST pray. Nothing else can release their emotions or capture God’s heart better than prayer!

Strengths:

·        When Mercies are walking in the Spirit, this gift equips them to reach out to people who are suffering but would likely be reluctant to tell others about their needs.

·        Mercies are attracted to people in distress, people others might run away from.

·        Mercies love the unlovable: handicapped, seriously ill, elderly, the wounded in spirit, and the outcasts.

·        Mercies embrace humility because of their own weaknesses and failures.

Weaknesses:

·        Mercies need to be needed.  If they don’t get involved, they have a tendency to focus on their own hurts and fears.

·        Mercies are indecisive, tossed to and fro by their emotions.

·        Mercies often become rescuers, allowing others to depend on them instead of depending on God.

·        Mercies often avoid conflict that is sometimes necessary. They would rather hide from their enemies or avoid them than confront them, even when they are in authority over them.

·         Immature mercies tend to be smart and impatient, reflecting their own self-condemnation by lashing out at others who they consider to be as weak and sinful as they are.

So, Friends and Family, now that you know a little bit more about me (Stacia), wouldn’t you like to learn more about yourself too?  What are the Spiritual gifts that God has blessed you with?

I have to tell you that it was so exciting for me to learn and understand more about myself while doing this!  There were so many times while I was doing my research that I had an “AH HA!” moment, because I finally started to understand why I do some of the things that I do, and why I am drawn to the people that I am drawn to. Sometimes people have made me feel ashamed of my gift because they say that I allow people to take advantage of me, but in this study, I have learned that I have nothing to be ashamed of at all! God made me this way for a reason, and what some people might see as being taken advantage of, I see as loving like Jesus, unconditionally, and there is no shame in that!

In Ephesians 2:10, God’s word says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

With that being said Friends and Family, God is making us aware of the needs that He wants to meet, through us, for His glory, so take some time today to learn about your gifts, and then once you’ve identified them put them into action! Oh, and I would love to hear what you find out! God Bless you on your journey!

SpiritualGiftsSurvey.pdf

GiftsExplanationList.pdf

Here are a few things Scripture tells us about spiritual gifts taken from youngadults.lifeway.com.  Take some time to reflect on these verses today and then pray and ask God to reveal your special gifts to you.

·        Each believer is given at least one gift (1 Corinthians 12:7).

·        The Holy Spirit determines who receives which gifts (1 Corinthians 12:11).

·        Each gift is equally valuable (1 Corinthians 12:21-26).

·        We are to use our gifts to serve others for the benefit of the body (Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:12).

·        We are commanded to use our gifts (1 Peter 4:10).

·        Exercising our gifts will help us develop spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:13).

Prayer:

Abba thank You for blessing us all with our own unique Spiritual gifts.  Thank You for providing us with the tools that we need to utilize these gifts, and for the wisdom to know how to use them in a way that glorifies You.  Thank You Abba for leading us to learn more about ourselves which in turn teaches us so much about You too.  You are just so amazing Abba!  I can’t even explain the feeling of joy that only You can give to us when we discover something new, or better yet, when You reveal these things to us. It is overwhelming, exciting, and life changing, and we thank You for it.

In Jesus Beautiful Name,

Amen.

The Gift

1 Samuel 5:1-4 “After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.  Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained.”

Reading this verse took me back a few years ago to a time when I was visiting a friend at her house and she gave me a gift.  The gift was a small, golden, Buddha statue.  Now, at the time, I didn’t really know much about Buddha and I don’t think that it even occurred to me that he was worshiped like a god by many.  I just remember being very excited about this gift because I was interested in mediation, healing, and finding inner peace, all of the things that Buddha was known to represent. 

So, when I made it home from my friend’s house, I decided to put this Buddha up on display in the windowsill of my dining room.  I placed the Buddha statute on top of a rock so that he would sit up high next to some pictures that I had up there and a cross, and then I went to bed. 

The next morning when I got up, I went downstairs, and I noticed that the statue had fallen off the rock and onto the floor.  I wondered how that happened. It couldn’t have been the cats because the window was up too high, but then I thought nothing more of it as I picked him up and placed him back up on top of the rock. 

Now I would like to take a moment to tell you that I had just started coming to church regularly at this time and I was beginning to learn more about God. I learned during some of our services and in my small group, that we are created in God’s image and that just as we are emotional beings, our Father is too.  God has feelings.  He is pleased when we praise Him and proud when we do good things.  He also gets angry, and He is a jealous God just as His word says in Deuteronomy 5:9, where we read, “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.”

So, with that being said, the Buddha statue fell a few more times over the next few days and I continued to pick it up and place it back up on that rock next to the pictures and the cross, and then one day, the statue went flying out of the windowsill and hit the floor right in front of me as I stood in the kitchen fixing breakfast. The head broke off when it fell and rolled right underneath the table and I was astonished! How in the world did that just happen when I was literally standing right there, and I knew that nothing had touched it?  Then suddenly something clicked inside my head and I understood!  Buddha was not to be worshiped and I had placed him high up on top of a rock for all to see and admire.  Suddenly I had a new understanding about what was happening right before my very eyes, and I was sorry.  I was sorry that I worshiped somebody other than God, and I was sorry that I had hurt my Father’s feelings, and/or made Him angry, so I immediately picked that Buddha statue up and threw it in the trash. 

Did I throw Buddha away because he is not good? No.  Did I throw him away because I don’t like what he represents? No.  I threw Buddha away because I am a Christian and it was made very clear to me that I shall worship no other than my Father in Heaven.

In Exodus 20:3, God’s word says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” and in 1 John 5:21, He says, “Therefore, My dear friends, flee from idolatry.”, and in 1 Corinthians 10:14, “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”  So, who will you choose to worship?  I choose God, and while I still have respect for Buddha and what he stands for, just as I do for other religions, I will never worship him again or place him high up on a rock.  God is my Rock, always was, always is, and always will be. 

Question

I’m sure that we have all known people who have done things like visit a psychic to learn about their future instead of trusting in God’s plan, or somebody who worships false idols such as Buddha, or another who may idolize money and material things more than God.  So, my question is, How do we approach these people respectfully and tell them that what they are doing is wrong?  How do we tell them that not only is God hurt by their actions, but that He may become jealous and angry about it as well?  

In my situation, I had no idea that what I was doing was wrong until I was taught that it was not OK.  I think that this may be true for others as well because when we do not know God personally, or have a relationship with Him, then we don’t take His feelings into consideration the way that we should.  So, how do we help others figure this out? Especially those who may not attend church or study God’s word?  Do we approach them with this information and hope that it is well received? What if it isn’t? Do we just pray for them, knowing that God will open their hearts in due time, when He feels that they are ready?, or do we do nothing at all? 

Prayer

Abba thank You for all of the ways that You teach us about what pleases You and what does not. Thank You for forgiving us every time that we have hurt You either intentionally or unintentionally and thank You for opening our hearts to understanding.  Thank You Abba for ripping off the blinders and for untangling the web of sin that has encapsulated our hearts and drawn us from You.  Thank You for helping us to teach others about You and for opening up their hearts so that they are ready to receive this message.  Thank You Abba for teaching us to put complete faith in You knowing that above all else, You are the one who will guide us and meet our every need and thank You for the comfort and the peace that this provides. 

In Jesus Beautiful Name, Amen.

Are You Ready for Your Bumper Sticker?

I wouldn’t necessarily say that I have a problem with road rage anymore, but I will shamefully admit that I have gotten angry and flipped somebody the bird a time or two, and yet here I am, calling myself a Christian. How can that possibly be?  Well let me tell you how my Father spoke to me in this situation, I’ll start from the beginning:

Thursday night I was driving home from my mom’s house to pick up my sister Chloe and my niece Tasha.  We were going to go to Aunties house for dinner.  As I’m driving down Mt. Hope in the left lane, the truck next to me in the right lane starts to move over into mine without looking first and almost sideswiped me.  So, I laid on my horn, and I mean LAID on it, and I’m sure it scared the bejeebies out of the guy because he moved right back over into his lane and then I sped past him shaking my head.  Instantly, I heard this voice inside of me say, “Did you really have to do that?”  “You could have just honked once and slowed down.”  Now some of you might argue and say that is my guilty conscience talking, but I knew exactly who it was when I heard it, so I said, “I’m sorry Abba I will try better next time.”

So, I make it to the house, and I pick up Chloe and Tasha.  We go to Aunties and eat dinner.  We spend a little time there, and then we headed home. As we were heading home, this truck ran a stop sign and again I almost got hit.  So, what did I do?  Well, I didn’t get mad and yell at him, but I did lay on my horn again, and then I turned toward my sister and my niece, and I said, “What is wrong with people?”  “Is it a full moon or something?”, and by the way it was, and then once again as we made our way home, I heard that little whisper, “You did it again”, and I said, “Abba, please forgive me and give me another chance.”

So, now its Friday afternoon the next day, and I’m driving home from work on 496.  The sun is shining, the weather is beautiful for the first time in weeks, I’ve got the windows down and the music playing, and I’m feeling pretty good. Then all of the sudden, this little white car comes flying up behind me!  He is so close that I can’t even see his front bumper in my rearview mirror, and then we came into a construction zone.  Now I know he can’t see the traffic stopping in front of me because he is traveling so close to my behind, so I started to slow down way back to avoid him crashing into me at the last minute.  Well, he didn’t like the fact that I slowed down, so he decided to blow his horn and swerve around me into the left lane, and as he was doing that, I could see him screaming at me.  But then he looked forward and saw the stopped traffic and he had to slam on his breaks. So, what did I do you might ask?  Well, I laughed at him as I passed by, and that is when my middle finger went up, and yet I have failed once again.

So, I go home for a little bit and I do some things around the house, and I start to think about all of the sermons I have heard about having a bumper sticker on your car or a fish that represents Jesus, but then driving like you represent someone else, and I thought to myself, “I’m sure glad I don’t have a bumper sticker on my truck!” and then I laughed and I thanked God for pointing this out to me, and I asked Him once again to please Help me do better.

And This leads me to the park later that evening.  I went to pray and to write about the “Bumper sticker” story, but instead God took me in a different direction, and He reprimanded me in a way that only He can.  I’m not even sure that I would call it a reprimand because it was so gentle, yet effective, and it brought me such joy afterwards that I cried. 

So, like I said, I wanted to write about how God spoke to me about the bumper sticker, but first I wanted to find a bible verse that spoke to me directly about being more like Jesus so that I could focus on that in my writing.  To do that, I googled, “How to be more like Jesus”, and that led me to Ephesians chapter 4, verses 1-3, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

This verse jumped right out at me, but being somewhat new to reading the bible, I wasn’t sure who was speaking, so I decided to look that up too.  I found out that it was Paul, but while I was doing that, I also came across this really great devotion on redeeminggod.com called, “The Seven Attitudes of Unity”, and I just had to read it.  To sum it all up, I will define them below:

1.      Lowliness- is humility, seeing ourselves as small, regarding others as more important than ourselves, unworthy of attention.

2.      Gentleness- is great strength being withheld. Strength under control, and power restrained.

3.      Long Suffering- is a quality of self-restraint.  You do not hastily retaliate.  You have the power to take revenge, but you choose not to. 

4.      Bear with One Another- Put up with others shortcomings, just like you would with your own children, knowing that when they make mistakes, they are learning and maturing.

5.      In Love- Agape love defined as unconditional with no strings attached. Never ending, the kind of love that God has for us.  Agape love is not an emotional love, it is a love bound to the will of God. 

6.      Unity of the Spirit- In Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1, Paul is giving us instructions on how to walk as a Christian. His first instruction is to walk in unity.  So, when you have conflict with somebody, don’t expect them to change first just so that the two of you can get along.  Instead, examine your own heart first. What could you have done differently?  What can you do now to fix it? And remember, unity does not come from us, it is given to us by God when we become Christians. It is simply our task to maintain it in His Spirit for we all have the same Spirit living within us, and when we are in disunity, it is like we are trying to divide God.

7.     Bond of Peace- Peace with others begins with peace with God. “It is only when the peace of God rules in our hearts that we can build unity with another.” Colossians chapter 3 verse 15.

And last but not least, the author of this devotion goes on to say, “Gentleness does not mean never getting angry, even God got angry sometimes.” “Gentleness means getting angry at the right time, in the right measure, and for the right reasons.”  In Ephesians chapter 4 verse 26, God’s word says, “Be angry and do not sin.”

So, with that being said, I feel like God’s reprimand was to teach me what it means to be in unity with other Christians, even when I am doing something as simple as driving.  Am I still a Christian even though I flipped that man the bird?  Yes, I am, because I made a mistake and I am forgiven, and who knows, that guy might also be a Christian who made a mistake.  Maybe he had a bad day, maybe he was frustrated by other drivers like I was the day before, or maybe he doesn’t even know God yet, and that was my missed opportunity to reflect a Christian attitude towards him and be humble.  No matter what the situation may have been, I know that I am grateful for the lesson that I learned through it, and I pray that the next time I have an incident with another driver, I will do better, with God’s help. 

Question

Do you think that the lessons that we are taught take root in us right away, or do we get it over time?  In my experience, it takes time. As a matter of fact, I am still learning this lesson as I just had another encounter on the road the other day, even after I wrote this devotion, and it did not go well at all.  So, how do we make sure that these lessons are implemented into our daily life so that we can truly live a life worthy of the calling that we have received?

 Prayer

Father thank You for Your very important lessons and Your gentle reprimands.  Thank You for being patient with us as we learn, grow, and mature.  Thank You for Your Spirit that lives in all of us and please forgive us when we try to divide You.  Thank You for speaking to us in a way that we can hear You and understand what You have to say.  Thank You for guiding us through the scripture and through life and thank You for helping us be an example to others.  Thank You Abba for self-control, lowliness, gentleness, long suffering, helping us to bear with one another in love, unity in the Spirit, and for a bond of peace.  

In Jesus Name,

Amen

"When Time Stands Still"

While worshiping at the park one evening, I encountered an experience that I could not explain.  I experienced a moment where I felt like time had stood still. 

I went to the park that day to read, pray, and meditate.  I started out by reading a couple chapters from my “Women of the Bible” book, and then after that, I turned on some meditation prayer music. 

Before I started to pray, I decided to praise God first for speaking to me so clearly through what I read, and I thanked Him for helping me understand it.  I also praised Him for His goodness and for always being there to listen to me and to lift me up.  I thanked Him for the peace in my heart that I feel after spending time with Him, I thanked Him for being my provider, I thanked Him for carrying me through all of the hard times in my life and for giving me His strength to get through them.  I thanked Him for loving me unconditionally, I told Him how amazing He is, and how beautiful His creations are, and as I went on and on from there, my eyes began to close, and the world around me began to slowly disappear.  I don’t even remember hearing the meditation music playing anymore, or anything else for that matter, I just remember feeling this overwhelming sense of peace and euphoria that I cannot explain.

After a while, I “woke” up, for lack of a better word, because I know for sure that I wasn’t actually sleeping, and I was still in the same place, but everything around me had changed.  There were different cars parked next to me that I never heard pull up, and a group of people standing just outside of my truck having a very loud conversation that I never heard until after I opened my eyes.  The mediation music was still playing, but the song had changed, and I remember feeling a little bit confused because what felt like just a few minutes to me, was actually over an hours’ time!

Well, needless to say, I spent lots of time trying to figure what actually happened that day, and then one day while I was in prayer, God gave me these 4 words, “When Time Stands Still”.  When I heard these words, I assumed that He wanted me to write about my experience, and that this would be the title of my devotion, but for some reason, every time I tried to write about it, I couldn’t find the words.

So, instead, I decided to do some research on Google to see if this had happened to anybody else, and what they thought about it, and that is how I came across an article written by Father Ron Rolheiser, titled, “When Time Stands Still”.  At that point, I knew immediately that God did not give me those 4 words so that I could write about my experience, but instead so that I would recognize this article when I saw it and then learn from it exactly what He wanted me to know!  It was so exciting! 

In this article, Father Ron suggests that time actually CAN stand still, and he quotes a German scripture scholar Gerhard Lohfink, who says that we can and sometimes do have an experience of time as it will be experienced in eternity. Lohfink says that we experience this whenever we are in adoration, which is the highest form of prayer, where we ask nothing of God, but instead just adore Him. 

He then goes on to say that lament, petition, and thanksgiving are also good forms of prayer, but in them, we are still focused in some manner on ourselves, our needs, and our joys.  However, in adoration, we look to God’s beauty, His goodness, His truth, and His oneness so strongly that everything else just drops away. We stand in pure wonder, pure admiration, ecstatic awe, entirely stripped of our own heartaches, headaches, and idiosyncratic focus.  God’s person, beauty, goodness, and truth overwhelm us so as to take our minds off of ourselves and leave us standing outside of ourselves, being free of our own selves, which is the very definition of ecstasy.

Thus, to be in adoration is to be in ecstasy – though, admittedly, that’s generally not how we imagine ecstasy today. For us, ecstasy is commonly imagined as an earthshaking standing inside of ourselves, idiosyncrasy in its peak expression. But true ecstasy is the opposite. It is adoration.

Moreover, for Lohfink, not only is adoration the only true form of ecstasy, but it is also a way of being in heaven right now, and of experiencing time as it will be there. Here’s how he puts it: “In the miracle of adoration we are already with God, entirely with God, and the boundary between time and eternity is removed.”

To quote Lohfink’s exact words, he says, “Time can stand still! And it stands still when we’re in pure admiration, in awe, in wonder, in adoration. In those moments we stand outside of ourselves, in the purest form of love that exists. At that moment too we are in heaven, not having a foretaste of heaven, but actually being in heaven. Eternity will be like that, one moment like a thousand years and a thousand years like one moment.”

“When we adore, time stands still – and we are in heaven!”

https://ost.edu/when-time-stands-still/  By Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI. This article originally appeared on ronrolheiser.com.

Prayer:

Abba thank You for the many ways that You lead us to the things that You want us to know.  Thank You for teaching us to seek you and for speaking to us along the way.  Thank You for showing us just a small glimpse of heaven, a place where we can worship and adore You forever. and Abba we thank You for Your word in Revelation chapter 22, verses 5-9 that says, “There will be no more night.  They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign forever!”  Thank You for this hope that we have in You and what You did for us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen