Independence Day

Millions of Americans will be celebrating the 4th of July holiday today. Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, and family reunions. I wonder how many don't even realize it really is Independence Day. A remembrance of the day we declared our independence from Great Britain. It represents our freedom as a nation. This freedom was bought with the sweat, toil and blood of countless Americans who initially fought to obtain it in the Revolutionary War, as well as those who have fought to secure it over the past 2 1/2 centuries.

As an American I am grateful for my freedom, but I shall be eternally grateful for my freedom in Christ. The freedom bought with the sweat, toil, and blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus' life, ministry, torture and death were planned before the creation of the world in order to redeem the hearts of mankind and demonstrate God's love for us. God in the person of Jesus Christ identified so closely with every human being who had ever lived or who ever would live that all of our pains, sicknesses, failures, sorrows, lies, rebellions, transgressions, hatreds and murders...all the brokenness of humanity...became Jesus'.

"... Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32. This truth brings us the ultimate freedom...freedom from sin and death. Freedom from the bondages of our flesh and the oppression of the devil. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" Galatians 5:1.

On this Independence Day, I am going to declare my freedom! My freedom from sin and death! I Declare my "Dependence" on The Lord, Jesus Christ. I Declare...

I am God’s child - for I am born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God, which lives and abides forever (I Peter 1:23)
I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ unto good works (Ephesians 2:10)
I am His elect, full of mercy, kindness, humility, and long suffering (Romans 8:33; Colossians 3:12)
I am a believer, and the light of the Gospel shines in my mind (II Corinthians 4:4)
I am a doer of the Word and blessed in my actions (James 1:22,25)
I am a joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17)
I am a new creature in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17)
I am a partaker of His divine nature (II Peter 1:3,4)
I am a spirit being - alive to God (I Thessalonians 5:23; Romans 6:11)
I am a tither, so I have the right to heavenly windows open and poured-out blessings! (Malachi 5:10)
I am alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5)
I am an ambassador for Christ (II Corinthians 5:20)
I am an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony (Revelation 12:11)
I am born of God, and the evil one does not touch me (I John 5:18)
I am called of God to be the voice of His praise (II Timothy 1:9; Psalm 66:8)
I am complete in Him Who is the Head of all principality and power (Colossians 2:10)
I am delivered from the power of darkness and translated into God’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13)
I am far from oppression, and fear does not come near me (Isaiah 54:14)
I am firmly rooted, built up, established in my faith and overflowing with gratitude (Colossians 2:7)
I am forgiven of all my sins and washed in the Blood (Ephesians 1:7)
I am free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2)
I am greatly loved by God (Colossians 3:12; Romans 1:7; I Thessalonians 1:4; Ephesians 2:4)
I am healed by the stripes of Jesus (I Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:5)
I am holy and without blame before Him in love (I Peter 1:16; Ephesians 1:4)
I am more than a conqueror through Him Who loves me (Romans 8:37)
I am part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people (I Peter 2:9)
I am raised up with Christ and seated in heavenly places (Colossians 2:12; Ephesians 2:6)
I am redeemed from the curse of sin, sickness, and poverty (Galatians 3:13; Deuteronomy 28:15-68)
I am strengthened with all might according to His glorious power (Colossians 1:11)
I am submitted to God, and the devil flees from me because I resist him in the Name of Jesus (James 4:7)
I am the head and not the tail; I am above only and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13)
I am the light of the world (Matthew 5:14)
I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 5:21)
I am the temple of the Holy Spirit; I am not my own (I Corinthians 6:19)

This is real freedom...freedom in Christ!

Happy Easter

Easter is a highly celebrated occasion all around the world. Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the secular trappings of bunnies, candies, and new dresses. Even traditional church attendance can be void of the very essence of what we are celebrating. Easter is the sacred celebration of Christ's resurrection from the dead. For the Christian, It is truly something to be happy about, it was the greatest expression of love in all of eternity. "For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only son." Jesus Christ is God fitted into human flesh to demonstrate God's love for us.

When the soldiers taking Jesus' body down from the cross stabbed him with a spear point, "blood and water came out". That rush of fluids revealed what may have been the actual final cause of death for Jesus...a burst aorta. Jesus died of a broken heart. The breaking of Jesus' heart was what "finished" Jesus' sacrifice. On Easter morning the great surprise is that sacrifice was not the end of Jesus' mission. Out of Jesus' broken heart there emerged a new heart, a resurrected heart, an unbreakable, unstoppable heart. A heart overflowing with love beyond our understanding.

Jesus' life, ministry, torture and death were planned before the creation of the world in order to redeem the hearts of mankind and demonstrate God's love for us. God in the person of Jesus Christ identified so closely with every human being who had ever lived or who ever would live that all of our pains, sicknesses, failures, sorrows, lies, rebellions, transgressions, hatreds and murders...all the brokenness of humanity...became Jesus' while He hung upon that Roman cross outside of Jerusalem.

So when you think about resurrection from now on, don't just think about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as historical facts that make your Christian faith possible. Please believe that the same God that raised Christ from the dead has not only raised you up from the death of separation from God, but this same power gave you a new heart and will live in you for all eternity.

The Wardrobe of Easter: Forgiveness

Forgiving: it’s a challenging practice—perhaps no other command of Jesus is more difficult to obey. And it’s so counter-intuitive. Why give anyone a fresh start after he’s hurt you deeply? Why not just retaliate by knocking his block off?

In recent weeks we have been highlighting the resurrection virtues which St. Paul commends as appropriate daily attire for those who have been raised with Jesus Christ. Taken together, these practices make up, as it were, the Christian community’s entire “wardrobe of Easter.”
In this week’s column we consider the Christ-like practice of forgiving others who have wronged us. It’s a challenging practice—perhaps no other command of Jesus is more difficult to obey. And it’s so counter-intuitive.  Why give anyone a fresh start after he’s hurt you deeply? Why not just retaliate by knocking his block off?

Forgiving is required
The act of forgiving involves letting the other person go free when she or he doesn’t deserve it.  Note that the Gospel of Jesus never calls one to do an end-run around justice when forgiving another. The Christian ethic calls for forgiveness to pass through justice and to go beyond it. That same Gospel does require Jesus’ followers to set their hearts toward not holding a grudge against another, not harboring ill-will, not desiring anything other—or less—than God’s best for the other.
So let’s be clear unequivocally clear: Jesus does require his followers to forgive their wrongdoers. When one of his disciples, Peter, asked Jesus about the proper limits of forgiving in the new kingdom—should we perhaps forgive up to more than twice as often as the standard three times recommended by the Jewish rabbis?—Jesus was adamantly and outrageously generous.
His reply: “I tell you, not seven times, but 77 times.” (Matthew 18.22). In other words:  Don’t even think about how often to forgive. Forgive others always, and without limit.

No exceptions
Nor does Jesus allow any wiggle room about who’s worth forgiving and who’s not. He doesn’t wade into the murkiness of when and under what circumstances it’s warranted to forgive or not forgive.
He didn’t say, for example: “Usually it’s your moral duty—and prudent, too—to forgive. But not always. Some wrongs are so great and the hurts they cause so grievous that forgiveness isn’t called for. So weigh carefully when to forgive and when to revenge.”
Jesus simply said in Matthew 6:15: “For if you forgive others when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Heavenly Father will not forgive your sins.”
Period. No exceptions allowed. No extenuating circumstances considered.

Three reasons to forgive
Why would Jesus call us to do something as preposterous as to forgive another, the very opposite of what we feel like doing when we’ve been wronged and hurt badly? Why does he ask us—no, commands us—to let go of tightly held grudges, to, in mercy, turn toward others rather than away from them?  The Gospel suggests at least three reasons. She who forgives:

1.  Imitates God. Find a person—or even a community of persons—who has flushed away the last, foul-smelling trace of animosity and ill-will from their heart, and you’ll see one who looks a lot like Jesus. For Jesus, while enduring at the hands of enemies a brutality and aggression he didn’t deserve, prayed: “Father, forgive them.” (Luke 23.34) That person looks a lot like the Father of Jesus Christ, too, who, when humanity rebelled against him, resolutely chose still to call them his children, to show them his mercy, to continue to lavish his goodness upon them. (cf. Ephesians 1.7)

2. Shows Christ-like care for others.When the act of forgiving takes place in human relationships, remembered hurts, though perhaps not forgotten, are treated as not counting any more. Thus, when a follower of Jesus, as the Lord himself did, determines to forgive another who has done him wrong, that act creates space for fellowship between the two to sprout and blossom again.  It gives the wrongdoer a gift he doesn’t justly deserve.

3. Frees herself.Three options—three only—are open to us when another has hurt us: a. To hurt back, but harder. It’ll be our contribution to escalating the tension and lengthening the distance between us. b. To give the other the dreaded “silent treatment.” It’ll become like a beach ball shoved under the waters of our own heart. Eventually it’ll pop to the surface again and always with disastrous consequences. c. To forgive the other. It’s the only route open to ridding ourselves of the ravenous anger and hate that otherwise keeps gnawing us from within and eventually devours us.

Rehearsing in the sanctuary
Our heart’s natural inclination being otherwise, again and again we need to hear our Lord’s call to forgive and then to set our heart’s intention toward doing so. Our Lord rehearses us in this life-giving pattern and drill every Sunday morning “in the sanctuary.” There we plead for him to forgive us, and there, in turn, we make our pledge to forgive others.

There, too, amid the thronging worshippers, we sing:
“Breathe on me, Breath of God. Fill me with life anew,
That I may love the way you love, and do what you would do.”
To obey Christ’s call to forgive is not easy.  It’s nothing short of a miracle when a follower of Jesus does in fact forgive a fellow human being. But, with God’s Spirit to empower us and the Christian community to encourage us, we can forgive. And when the miracle does happen, it’s a wonder to behold.

Theological Reflection
 “Let us go to Calvary to learn how we may be forgiven. Let us linger there to learn how to forgive.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Hymn: Breathe on Me, Breath of God

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
fill me with life anew,
that I may love the way you love,
and do what you would do.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
until my heart is pure,
until my will is one with yours,
to do and to endure.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
so shall I never die,
but live with you the perfect life
for all eternity.

By: Dale Cooper

A Heart For God ♥

On this holiday celebrating love and the tradition of exchanging man made hearts are we exchanging our spiritual hearts with God. Do you have A Heart for God? We will send Valentines and post love notes on walls, but is that real. Is that the love that comes from the heart of God? How wonderful to have a holiday based on love, but we are bombarded by so many distractions, so many versions of love in our life and on the media, that I believe the enemy is trying to distort and pervert our concept of love.

God has created our hearts to be filled by Him. There is an empty place in all of our hearts that only can be filled by God. If it is not we start looking...looking for things to fill that void. It can be food, possessions, activities, cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, and anything else the world has to offer, but mostly relationships. Especially women, we are taught from an early age that our "Prince Charming" will sweep us away and our life will be a fairy tale. It sets us up to replace that void for the "love" of a man.

If you haven't experienced or been taught at an early age to fill that void with God you believe that is what love is. Especially on Valentines Day. We focus on... our man... looking for a man... depressed because we don't have a man... maybe I will just eat chocolate. Many people are turning to food to fill the void that only God can fill. Again the answer is love. Not only the love of God, but love for ourselves. Not the self center kind, but a wholesome acceptance of our strengths and weaknesses.

So, on this Valentines Day, may you receive the most priceless heart of all...A heart for God. May you have a desire for more of God in your life...just as you hunger for food and thirst for water. May the desires of your flesh be turned into an intimate relationship with Christ. May your pain be healed and the emptiness filled. May the words "I love you" turn into actions of love. 

With much love, wishing you a Happy Valentines Day!
May God Richly Bless You ~ ♥~ Brenda

Christmas Present

Emma took care of the class frog for the Christmas break. Coreyn loved it!

Bah! Humbug!

"Bah! Humbug!" is the famous line quoted by Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol declaring Christmas to be a fraud. Scrooge despised Christmas because of his cold heart and greed, but many people feel the disappointment and unmet expectations that Christmas brings.

For them Christmas was "humbug"...something designed to deceive and mislead. The problem is Christmas has been turned into a cornucopia of religious and secular traditions with a sprinkling of fairy dust on top. It has been turned into something designed to deceive and mislead.

It has been turned into something "magical"... where all your dreams may come true. In reality all your dreams rarely come true. This combination of fantasy and marketing leaves many disappointed when confronted with the reality of their personal experience. Some remember the magic of childhood, when the twinkling of lights took them to "Never Never Land," when the happiness from a new toy made life complete, and long to return.

That is not the message of Jesus, whose birth we are celebrating. His message is love. Not "magical" love, but love coming from a heart transformed by the cross. Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus say this is the day of my birth, let us rejoice and remember it. What Jesus does say in I Corinthians 11:24-25 is...

“...This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”25. In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

So, this Christmas season, let's remember the real message of Jesus and long for HIS return.

Christmas Past

Independence Day

Millions of Americans will be celebrating the 4th of July holiday today. Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, and family reunions. I wonder how many don't even realize it really is Independence Day. A remembrance of the day we declared our independence from Great Britain. It represents our freedom as a nation. This freedom was bought with the sweat, toil and blood of countless Americans who initially fought to obtain it in the Revolutionary War, as well as those who have fought to secure it over the past 2 1/2 centuries.

As an American I am grateful for my freedom, but I shall be eternally grateful for my freedom in Christ. The freedom bought with the sweat, toil, and blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus' life, ministry, torture and death were planned before the creation of the world in order to redeem the hearts of mankind and demonstrate God's love for us. God in the person of Jesus Christ identified so closely with every human being who had ever lived or who ever would live that all of our pains, sicknesses, failures, sorrows, lies, rebellions, transgressions, hatreds and murders...all the brokenness of humanity...became Jesus'.

"... Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32. This truth brings us the ultimate freedom...freedom from sin and death. Freedom from the bondages of our flesh and the oppression of the devil. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" Galatians 5:1.

On this Independence Day, I am going to declare my freedom! My freedom from sin and death! I Declare my "Dependence" on The Lord, Jesus Christ. I Declare...

I am God’s child - for I am born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God, which lives and abides forever (I Peter 1:23)
I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ unto good works (Ephesians 2:10)
I am His elect, full of mercy, kindness, humility, and long suffering (Romans 8:33; Colossians 3:12)
I am a believer, and the light of the Gospel shines in my mind (II Corinthians 4:4)
I am a doer of the Word and blessed in my actions (James 1:22,25)
I am a joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17)
I am a new creature in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17)
I am a partaker of His divine nature (II Peter 1:3,4)
I am a spirit being - alive to God (I Thessalonians 5:23; Romans 6:11)
I am a tither, so I have the right to heavenly windows open and poured-out blessings! (Malachi 5:10)
I am alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5)
I am an ambassador for Christ (II Corinthians 5:20)
I am an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony (Revelation 12:11)
I am born of God, and the evil one does not touch me (I John 5:18)
I am called of God to be the voice of His praise (II Timothy 1:9; Psalm 66:8)
I am complete in Him Who is the Head of all principality and power (Colossians 2:10)
I am delivered from the power of darkness and translated into God’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13)
I am far from oppression, and fear does not come near me (Isaiah 54:14)
I am firmly rooted, built up, established in my faith and overflowing with gratitude (Colossians 2:7)
I am forgiven of all my sins and washed in the Blood (Ephesians 1:7)
I am free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2)
I am greatly loved by God (Colossians 3:12; Romans 1:7; I Thessalonians 1:4; Ephesians 2:4)
I am healed by the stripes of Jesus (I Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:5)
I am holy and without blame before Him in love (I Peter 1:16; Ephesians 1:4)
I am more than a conqueror through Him Who loves me (Romans 8:37)
I am part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people (I Peter 2:9)
I am raised up with Christ and seated in heavenly places (Colossians 2:12; Ephesians 2:6)
I am redeemed from the curse of sin, sickness, and poverty (Galatians 3:13; Deuteronomy 28:15-68)
I am strengthened with all might according to His glorious power (Colossians 1:11)
I am submitted to God, and the devil flees from me because I resist him in the Name of Jesus (James 4:7)
I am the head and not the tail; I am above only and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13)
I am the light of the world (Matthew 5:14)
I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 5:21)
I am the temple of the Holy Spirit; I am not my own (I Corinthians 6:19)

This is real freedom...freedom in Christ!

Father's Day

The third Sunday in June is the day set apart to celebrate and honor Fathers.

"Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise—" Ephesians 6:2.

Let us take this day to honor our fathers and remember we also have a Heavenly Father who is there regardless of whether we have our earthly father in our lives or not. Our Heavenly Father will never leave nor forsake us. He is there in our time of need. He is a father to the fatherless!

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling." Psalm 68:5

Every child, young and old, wants to be the apple of their father's eye...to be Daddy's little girl or boy. Every child wants a father they can admire...a father that will nourish and protect them.

For some of us, Fatherhood, from our earthly experience, may not have been as wonderful as God intended. For others it was beautiful, but is only a memory now with their passing.

Others have never known fatherhood at all. For those not so blessed, there is a Father that is always there for us, never judges us, and loves us more than anyone.

"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" Matthew 15:26

"How excellent [is] thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings." Psalm 36:7

"I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings." Psalm 61:4