Thursday, May 1- Psalm 40:1-5

Hey guys!

These verses are over-the-top amazing!!!

First off- David, the author, mentions "I waited patiently for the Lord to help me." Well, I don't know about you- but, waiting is NOT one of my favorite things to do..let alone patiently. Let's camp out on patience here for a minute. I couldn't begin to tell you all the times when I needed patience the most and it was no where to be found. But, instead of dwelling on what a lack of patience can do to your character- let's focus on how patience can build you up.

Patience = Growth. When you are going through a tough time at school, with a friend, or at home- and you decide to wait patiently on God to help you instead of trying to handle it all by yourself- you WILL grow spiritually.
Patience = Strength. There is another verse in Isaiah that talks about waiting on the Lord, it says- "They that wait on the Lord will find new strength." I claim this promise almost daily. So, strength to make it through is cool, right?
Patience = Self-control. I know they kinda go hand in hand, but really, self-control is an awesome reward for someone with a patient heart.
Patience = Peace. That's seems obvious, but it's a beautiful truth. I know when I choose patience while dealing with my kids, for instance, my house is alot more peaceful!! Everyone loves a peaceful attitude.

So, yeah- waiting isn't easy- for any of us- but look at the benefits David received from waiting patiently on God...

He lifted him out of his despair. That means God reached down and pulled him out of his problems. What problems are you facing? Have you tried waiting on God to help? Or are you too impatient for God? God just wants to rescue you!

He set his feet on solid ground and steadied him as he walked. Basically, God didn't leave him hanging. Have you ever had someone help you with something and you still needed a little direction, but they just said- "K, see ya later, you're on your own now!" That's a terrible feeling. God will not only help you out, He will help you on your way to make sure your ok.

He put a new song of praise in his mouth. That sounds kinda silly, but think about it. Have you ever made it through something difficult or even seen someone else make it through something so tough? And through patience, prayer, and hard work they were a better person for it. It's like they are a different person- they feel better, look better, even sound better. That's what that verse means.

Lastly, these verses are a song of praise to God for what He did for David. Don't ever forget to thank God for helping you in your time of need. That's the easy part, but we often forget.


And keep in mind that many times good things cannot be received unless we go through the trials of waiting.

I love you guys,
Pam S.

Monday, April 28 - Psalm 143:7-9

Hello there, guys!

Here's my favorite verse from this passage:

Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning,
for I am trusting you.
Show me where to walk,
for I give myself to you.

Seriously, this would be a fantastic prayer to pray each morning! It's so basic, but it really covers it!

I think one of the really cool things about this verse is the idea that it really captures the "covenant nature" of our relationship with God. K, that's a big word, and you might be confused. Let me explain. Just like a married couple takes vows, promising what they will do to show their love and commitment to one another, that's kind of how it works with our relationship with God. It's a give and take, and that's what makes a real and beautiful relationship. We see this all through the Bible, and all through history. God says, "I value you and want to share in a promise with you. I promise to do this because I love you, and you promise to do this because you love me." So let's take a look at this verse again, only now from the perspective of what we want God to do, and what we promise to do in return:

GOD: Remind me that you love me and you're taking care of me.
ME: I'm going to trust in You, and believe that Your way is the best way. (I'm going to trust you in my heart and mind.)

GOD: Help me to figure out what I should do and how I should live.
ME: I'm going to surrender my life and my decisions to you (I'm going to trust you in my choices and actions.)

It's time we stop asking God to do everything for us, and we start by taking a step toward him. It's give and take. Remember the Bible says that when we move toward God, He will move toward us? What are you asking God for? What's your part of the promise? How are you moving toward him?

Example:

GOD: Help me in my relationship with my parents.
ME: I will do my best to honor them.

GOD: Help me forgive the person who hurt me.
ME: I'm surrendering the situation (and my right to be angry), to You, God.

GOD: Show me what to do about my college choice.
ME: I'm going to trust you with my future.

Are you starting to see how this whole give-and-take, promise thing works? So are you all "take" in your relationship with God? What are you giving? What are you promising?

Love you. Here for you.

Pastor Courtney

P.S. God ALWAYS keeps his promises. What is his promise to you? Find it in the Bible, in a prayer, in a sermon... Write it down. Cling to it. And then figure out how you can take a step TOWARD God and that promise.

Saturday, April 26 - Hebrews 13:15-16

When it comes to worship, have these thoughts ever crossed your mind?

"I just wasn't in the mood."
"I didn't feel like it."
"I had a long day."
"I wasn't feeling the songs."

Yes, yes, yes, and yes. I know that at some point in time, I've had these thoughts cross my mind. "Thoughts" is a nice word. It would be more accurate (although a bit harsh) to say they were lousy excuses for holding back from God everything he deserves. And I've been guilty MANY times. The truth is when I'm tired, God's still good and beautiful and worthy. When I don't like the music, God's still loving and powerful and deserving.

You're not always going to feel like worshipping God. When I say "worship," I'm not just talking about music (although this is one expression of our worship). I'm talking about the other things we do to show God we are living for him - like reading our Bible, praying, sharing our faith, giving a portion of our money (called "tithing"). You're not always going to FEEL like spending time with God or obeying what you know is right. But check out this verse in Hebrews. It's called a "sacrifice" of praise, and that's exactly what it is. When you sacrifice something, you give up the right to get your own way... you set aside what you want or feel or prefer for the benefit of someone else. Sacrificing is usually not easy. It's typically inconvenient, and sometimes it even hurts.

Sometimes we think worship is about getting good, warm, fuzzy feelings. I'd venture to say that when it comes to worship and our feelings, it's not always about the good feelings we get from it, but rather about the negative feelings we have to overcome for it.

QUESTION: How have your feelings kept you from giving God the worship he deserves? How can you overcome those feelings?

Love you. Here for you.

Pastor Courtney

Thursday, April 24 - 2 Corinthians 4:6

We did something a little different to select verses for the next two weeks... Each day, the verse comes from one of the songs that will be on the "No One Else" CD. Special thanks to Maurice for picking the verses that really capture the meaning and origin of the songs.

Today's verse goes with a song we sang tonight - "WE SHINE."

I LOVE this verse. It's basically saying that God, who is the creator of light, shines his light in us, which does two things...

1. His light illuminates the truth for us.
2. His light shines through us to other people (which then helps them see the truth).

A lot of us want to shine. We want to make a positive impact on the people in our world. I think sometimes we forget that without God in our lives, there's no light to shine through us. HE is the source of light and hope and goodness. He ALONE can transform lives, bring healing from painful hurts in our lives, bring freedom from the things that control us, and bring purpose for our future.

There are two kinds of people this verse speaks to:

1. People who have God's light and hope and truth in their lives but DON'T SHINE.
2. People who want to shine but are RELYING ON THEIR OWN GOODNESS AND STRENGTH rather than God's.

Something to think about: which one are you?

Love you. Here for you.

Pastor Courtney

Wednesday - Romans 14:13

This verse deals with one of those "hot" issues.  It's one of things that we all hate - it's when somebody "judges" us.  We all hate it.  We don't want people to judge or tell us what is right or wrong.  I think we all deal with this fear or irritation that people are always going to be "in our business".  

"Just let me live my life" is the attitude that most of us have.  

To get into this verse a little deeper and really understand what the Apostle Paul (the guy who wrote this) is trying to say you have to understand a little bit about the current "hot" issue in the church that day.  

People were fighting over what kind of food you should and should not eat.  The Jews, coming from a more traditional background were very strict with their diet because they followed the Old Testament diet rules.  The Greeks or Gentiles who had found Jesus, but weren't raise the same way the Jews were, would eat all kinds of stuff.  The Jews were judging and condemning the Gentiles because of what they ate.  

You have to understand that this kind of judging had to do with someone basically saying two things: 1. What you're doing is wrong and 2. God won't accept you if you keep doing that.  

We only have the right to offer the first of this two ingredients if what they are doing is clearly spelled out in the bible.  Very clearly spelled out.  The second is only ever God's job.  

Paul is telling them in this verse that our focus should not be judging the other person as much as making sure that we ourselves are not doing something that might be an issue for someone else.  It's a maturity issue.  People that like to judge want to draw the attention away from themselves and what they are doing that might be wrong.  

It's kinda like when somebody says, "Mind your own business."  That's kinda biblical.  Look out to make sure that you're living life like it should be and stop focusing so much on what someone else is doing.  

The maturity comes into play when you decide to restrain yourself from doing something that you know in good conscious you can do simply because you don't want it to be an issue for someone else.  Here's the example: you know that can enjoy listening to a variety of music both secular and christian, but one of your friends has really been struggling with this issue.  Your maturity comes into play when you choose to not flaunt your freedom in spite of their struggles.  

Question of the day:  Are you mature enough to deal with your own issues and stop judging others?  Are you mature enough to say no to yourself in order to keep someone else from stumbling?  

Love ya, 

PE

Tuesday - Mark 11:24-26

Well here's another one of those passages of Scripture that really rub me the wrong way.  I just don't really like this one that much, simply because (just being honest here) this is really tough to live out.  I like the easy ones, but this one is tough.  

Here's how this verse plays out in my life and yours.  So you're trying to work things out with God, serve him, pray, worship, live for God, etc... and all of the sudden it becomes apparent that you have some issues with someone - a person, friend, parent, etc...  Ultimately, the problem is that they've hurt or angered you in some way and so now you need to forgive them.  

Here's what we like to do in these situations.  Let's pray about it, think about it, talk to God about it, talk to some other friends about it, talk... think... talk... try to forget.... talk.... think... pray some more...., but basically none of those options really cut it according to this verse. Basically, Jesus is saying forget about all the worship and prayer stuff, forget about talking about it to others and then praying some more, it's time to just deal with it.  

In fact, this verse actually gives us a wake up call when it comes to our unforgiveness.  If you choose to not forgive you basically put God in a situation where he can't extend his forgiveness to you.  Scary thought here - what you're willing to do for someone else, God is willing to give to you, but what you're not willing to give to someone else God is not willing to give to you.  

There's a major disconnect in our lives when we choose to not forgive.  It comes in not understanding how much we've already been forgiven by God.  If we don't come to grips with how much love and forgiveness God has already poured on us it's really quite impossible for us to be willing to forgive others.  It's only when we begin to really see how much we've been forgiven that no amount of hurt or pain we've experienced can match up to how much hurt and pain we've caused God. 

Bottom Line: If you can't forgive others, God can't forgive you.  Think about it, why should He? You've done alot more to offend him than others have done to you.  You owe it to yourself, to others and to God to choose to forgive.  

This is a tough one.  Keep wrestling with it.  

PE

Monday, April 21 - 1 Peter 4:8

You know how when you don't like a person, it seems like EVERYTHING they do is annoying? It works the other way too. When you're best friends with a person, you put up with stuff that might bother you if someone else did it. For example, that girl you don't like annoys you because she is so loud... but so is your best friend. The difference is, you LOVE your best friend, so you're able to put up with more.... Check out this verse:

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sin."

The Message says it like this: Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything.

Does this sound familiar? It echoes the words of Jesus who says that the greatest commandment, the one we should live our entire lives by is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind AND to love your neighbor as yourself. We can't say we love God if we don't TRULY love each other. They go hand in hand.

So back to 1 Peter 4:8... love covers a multitude of sins.. That means that true, real, genuine love (that is not shallow and not faking it) is able to withstand some hurts and forgive sins and overlook flaws. If you "peace out" on your friends, and cut people off as soon as you are hurt or offended, you never really loved them... it was shallow. No one likes a fake, and no one wants to be a fake, but love like that IS fake.

Here's another way to look at it... When you are hurt, fall back on the love that you have for that person... remember that love, and remember WHY it is you love them - it will give you reason and grace to forgive.

Is your "love" fragile, and your relationships easily broken? Or are you loving like your life depended on it? THAT love "makes up for practically anything," and can withstand practically anything.

Love you. Here for you.

Pastor Courtney

Friday, April 18 - Matthew 5:38-42

These verses completely fly in the face of everything we are used to and everything we see in the culture around us. There are actually 2 extreme ideas here...

1. DON'T give people the payback or "cold shoulder" they might deserve. (pretty extreme)

But it doesn't end there...

2. DO give people kindness they don't deserve. (VERY extreme)

That's what Jesus is talking about when he tells us to go the second mile. Now, we can sort of understand this concept, but when you understand a little Bible history, Jesus' words are even MORE extreme. So let me fill you in...

About 600 years before Jesus' life on earth, the Romans, who were in power at the time, enacted a law saying that any Roman soldier could stop any Jewish guy in the middle of what they were doing, and make them carry their gear for an entire mile (and if the guy didn't, he would be thrown in jail). Now, the Romans and Jews didn't get along with to begin with. The Jews were oppressed and taken advantage of by the Romans... How frustrating would it be to have to stop in the middle of the day, and miss a few hours of work (and pay), to lug around the gear of one of your enemies who was simply to lazy to carry it?!? I would be SO mad! I obviously wouldn't want to go to jail, so I would have to carry it the full mile, but NOT A SINGLE INCH FURTHER!

But wait... according to Jesus, that's not going to fly. Don't just go another inch. Go another mile.

Let me try to put this into perspective on a small scale: Say there's a kid at school who is your classic "bully," a complete jerk who seems to go out of his way to make your life miserable. He happens to be an athlete, and the school takes great pride in their athletes. To show their support, the school has made a rule that any athlete can order another student to carry all their bags and books to their next class. If an athlete asks you, and you deny him, you automatically get a week of detention. So this jerk, who happens to be an athlete, orders you to carry his backpack AND gym bag AND jacket to his locker... which means you'll definitely have to run in order to get to class on time. Of course he doesn't ask politely... he gives you a shove because you're not going fast enough. You HATE him! You can't wait to get to his locker and throw his stuff to the ground...

But wait... according to Jesus, that's not going to fly. He's basically saying that you shouldn't just carry his books to the locker once, but instead, offer to carry his stuff around all week, regardless of how he treats you.

How RIDICULOUS is this idea?! How REVOLUTIONARY is this idea?!

So there's probably at least one person you can think of that you're not getting along with. Maybe you feel good about yourself because you're not mean to them- you just ignore them....Jesus says to take it one step further, always one step further. Go out of your way to help them. That's walking the second mile. Don't just avoid the person you hate... make an extra effort to be kind to them.

What would happen?! What kind of revolution would you see in your relationships?

Try it out, and let me know :)

Love you. Here for you.

Pastor Courtney

Wednesday, April 16 - Romans 12:18-21

This chapter is absolutely loaded with incredible teaching. Our lives and relationships would be completely turned around if we focused on living out just this one chapter! I want to highlight a couple of things that jumped out at me from these few verses:

1. The verse says that we are to get along with everyone, "AS FAR AS IT DEPENDS ON YOU." Here's two simple ideas... when there is a problem you and another person, there's a good chance that you both share some of the blame. However, even though you may both be at fault, YOU can only change YOU. While you can let the other person know how you would like to see them change, YOU can't actually change them, nor can you let your decision to change hinge on their decision to change. What in the world am I trying to say? If you're in a difficult situation with someone, focus on what YOU can change, and don't let it depend on them. Maybe you feel like your parents are "picking on you," but you've also had a bit of an attitude lately... The only thing you can change is YOU. Work on your attitude, whether or not your parents work on how they treat you. Don't let your parents' failure to change be an excuse for your failure to change. I know this can be hard... Really hard. But the amazing thing is, that if you focus on the changes YOU can make, other people often follow your lead.

2. "Don't be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good." So I was reading a couple of commentaries (the stuff scholars write about these verses), and this is a pretty powerful verse. Basically the first part of the verse says, don't hold on to the hurt and become the very thing you hate. The second part of the verse explains how we are to overcome those feelings of bitterness, anger, and hurt... "with good." The verses before it say that we are to be kind and helpful to our enemies, and we'll win them over ... kind of like the expression, "Kill them with kindness." It's hard for a person to stay mad at you or continue to treat you poorly when you are being kind to them.

K, those are just a couple of thoughts. Now for a couple of questions:

- Is there anyone you're not getting along with right now? Without waiting for them to change, what is something you could change?

- How can you show kindness to someone you are not getting along with? What if you are kind to them and they don't change- is it still worth it?

That's all for now. See you tonight!

We love you. We're here for you.

Pastor Courtney

Monday, April 14 - Romans 12:9-13

For the next few days, we'll be taking a look at Romans 12, because it has a lot of thought-provoking stuff to say about how we should treat one another.

I could write a lot about each of these verses, but I am going to narrow my thoughts down to 2 particular verses. "Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." We can really apply this to all of our decisions, but I want to specifically see what these verse means for our relationships. I know from experience that I have a hard time seeing the good in a person or in a relationship when I have been hurt. True for you, too? For this reason, in part, I think it is easy for us to abandon the relationship altogether, because we see no good and no value in it. What would happen if the next time we were hurt, we hated evil but clung to what is good? Example: Jill told some other people something you had told her in confidence, but she was also the only friend that really stood by you when your parents were getting divorced. What if you hated the gossip, but you clung to the love and support she showed you in tough times ? Do you think it might be easier to dig deep and find forgiveness for that person? Just a thought.

This ties in with verse 10, which states that we are to be "devoted" to one another in "brotherly love." Unfortunately, I think very few of us have experienced or shown this kind of devotion. As I said earlier, when we are hurt by one friend, it's often easier to just move on to a new friend. We have all grown up in a culture of divorce- whether we've experienced it ourselves or have supported a friend through it- and we hate it for how it robs us, wounds us, and scars us. And yet, as much as we hate it, we're already practicing it every time we give up on a friend. The very thing that we despise is seeping into our friendships. And not only are you and your friends hurt every time you go through it, but you miss out on ever experiencing depth in a friendship. When your friendships only last a few months, you never give them a chance to take root, and so all you have are shallow relationships and friends who don't REALLY have your back.

So how do we reverse the cycle of friendship divorce? We commit to working through our struggles and hurts together rather than moving on so quickly. This will probably involve a bit of effort and some difficult conversations. But knowing that you have a friend that will stick by you through thick and thin is worth it.

K, those are just a couple of thoughts for now. Feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment (THANKS BRIT AND MOE FOR YOUR THOUGHTS :)

We love you. We're here for you.

Pastor Courtney

Sunday, April 13 - Proverbs 18:21

I LOVE to read the same verse from in the Bible in a bunch of different translations, and it is really easy to do this at www.biblegateway.com. I'll usually read 3-4, and there's usually one version that will make me think, "Okay, I totally get it now!"

This time, the "Aha!" version for me was The Message. Proverbs 18:21 in The Message version says it like this:

"Words kill, words give life. They're either poison or fruit - you choose."

Whether we realize it or not, most of what we say is either tearing someone down or picking someone up. This seems a little hard to believe, because we're really not TRYING to tear people down or lift them up most of the time... Usually, we're just...talking! Maybe you're not trashing someone directly, but you're constantly pointing out the bad stuff in a situation and fearing the worst. Your words are bringing the people around you down - even if you are not saying mean things about them.

If we were more careful about the things we say... if we CHOSE our words with careful thought rather than rambling on without thinking... we wouldn't hurt so many people, and we wouldn't BE hurt by so many people.

So often times, our failure to "choose our words" causes the hurt in the first place. To make matters worse, once we're involved in a hurtful situation, we're usually even MORE careless with our words (thinking that the other person deserves it, or that we're just "venting"), which just leads to more hurt on both sides. What would happen if the next time you were involved in a hurtful situation with someone and tried to work it out by approaching them, you chose words that give life, even if you don't feel like they deserve it?

Recognize the power of what you say. Choose words that make people feel good about themselves and their situation, and in turn they will feel good about you. If you are involved in a hurtful situation and have the opportunity to approach the person who hurt you, don't choose death just because they did. Break the cycle. Choose life.


Love you guys,

Pastor Courtney

Saturday, April 12 - James 4:7

I know the scripture card says to just read verse 7, but I read on and found some pretty good stuff. Check it out:

7So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

11 Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters.[d] If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. 12 God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?

This is often so far from the way we really live, which makes me wonder how things would be different if we lived this passage of scripture out.

How would your situation be different if you approached it with humility, not making judgments or assumptions about the other person, but considering them BETTER than you?

What would it look like if you submitted the whole situation and your attitude about it to God so that HIS will would be done?

What if, instead of judging other people for everything they do wrong, you put all that effort into figuring out how to live for God and obey him yourself?

The devil uses each of us, at different times, to hurt one another and tear one another down. He uses our hurts and offenses to divide us, because division makes a group weak and worthless. What if the next time we were about to get upset over something stupid, we chose to "resist the devil"?

Just a couple of late night thoughts and questions. Think about it...



Pastor Courtney

Thursday, April 10 - Tips for Approaching

Hey guys,

Here is a recap from last night:

1. Don’t approach the person until you've made a decision to forgive them.
2. You should have an attitude of humility and a desire to reconcile (work things out and restore your relationship). Your friendship to me is important so I really want to work this out. I want you to know what you’ve done that hurts me
3.. Be open-minded. Don’t attack the person with assumptions or accusations. Seek to clarify and find out what really happened and why the person did why they did. Don't assume you know it all or that you're completely right.
4. Remember: often we judge ourselves by our intentions and everyone else by their actions.
5. Pre-determine how you will respond if it goes bad or goes great:
- bad – I love you and forgive you and want to work this out when you’re ready.
- good – it mean a lot if you’d do this the next time.

Here are the three basic steps when you decide to approach them (remember and remind them that you are not there to attack, but rather because you care about the relationship and want to work things out). Tell them:

1. What they did.
2. How it hurt.
3. How we can fix it.

So those are just a few tips. We'll go into more detail later!

Love you guys!

Pastor Courtney

Friday, April 4 - Psalm 55:12-14

Hey all,

It's been a little while since I have chimed in here, and I have to give PE serious credit for faithfully sharing his thoughts here! But I have missed writing :)

Here's a little insight into my life and my coping methods. When someone hurts me, it can be easier for me to cut them off and just pretend I don't really care about them.

"I'm a tough girl, and they don't matter enough to me to hurt me. I'm done with them."

Right? Wrong. Total denial. A little while ago, I wrote about a person I was having a hard time forgiving. Well, during that whole struggle, I read this book called, "The Bait of Satan." Whoa, the title sounds totally scary, but it's actually an amazing book about how we let offenses come between people in the church and destroy us. Anyway, the author made this one statement that I absolutely hated and denied. He said, "Only those you care about can hurt you."

I remember thinking, "That's not true! This person hurt me more than anyone in the whole world, and I don't care if I never speak to them again!" Now this author is telling me I really must still care about them? I didn't want to believe it - it made me feel so vulnerable and weak, you know what I mean?

That's what David is talking about in this Psalm. Just to give you a little background, David's whole life is turned upside down because a friend and mentor, named Saul, became jealous of him, turned on him, and tried killing him. Now, on TOP of that, one of his wisest and most trusted counselors, Ahithophel, has joined in a rebellion against him. In Psalm 55, David is crying out saying, "If one of my enemies did this to me, I could handle it. BUT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE MY FRIEND! I thought I could trust you! I thought you cared about me!"

Have you ever been there? Have you ever had those kind of thoughts about someone? "Only those you care about can hurt you." Here's a thought: if you care about a person, then that relationship, or the memory or hope of that relationship, still has value to you. It might still be worth saving... or at least doing your part to try. Is there someone who has hurt you deeply that you have cut off? Is it possible you still care about them? Is it possible to restore the relationship? I'm not asking you to do anything just yet. Just think about it. It's okay to let your guard down and admit you care about the person who hurt you- it doesn't make you weak- it makes you real and honest.

Think about it.

Love you guys,

Pastor Courtney

Thursday, April 3 - Luke 17:1-4

I've been talking a bunch about the parts of the bible that I really like.  Now begins the week of dealing with Scriptures that I quite honestly don't like that much.  Just being real here.  It's easy for me to get a little excited about running and finishing my race, but it's not too exciting to read all the verses about how much I should love other people and forgive.  This is where our faith and our race are really tested.  Can I run the race and forgive those who have hurt me along the way?  

This passage just jumps right into it and throws it right in my face.  I struggle with the part about forgiving my friend 7 times in the same day if they wrong me and ask for forgiveness.  I'm sorry, this is just sticking tough.  Seven times in the same day!?!?!?!  Come on, let's be realistic here, I'm going to have a hard time doing that for a friend when it happens once or twice, let alone SEVEN TIMES!!!!

I find that sometimes even Jesus uses exaggeration to get His point across.  It's like what he's really saying here, and some of our other verses this week will confirm this, is that seven is not the magic number, like once the person hits offense #8 that we're off the hook and can now legally hate them.  I'm getting the impression from this verse and others that the expectation that Jesus has for us is that we learn to forgive no matter how many times a person wrongs us and offends us.  

So.... if it wasn't tough enough, now it's even worse.  We can't even get off the hook with saying that you've given that person enough chances and even God has said it's ok to not forgive them anymore.  

Let me add this thought in here.  Forgiveness doesn't mean, "Hey, we're best friends again and I totally trust you no matter what".  That's called friendship or relationship.  Forgiveness means I've made a choice (it's not a feeling) to forgive you for what you did or said.  That's what Jesus is talking about here.  

In the days to come you'll see why forgiveness is so a big deal in God's eyes.  Stay tuned...  

For now, ask yourself this question:  Am I willing to forgive my brother/sister in the same way that Jesus has forgiven me?  

Love ya all.  Have a great day!!!  

PE

Wednesday, April 2 - Acts 20:24

This verse puts it all into perspective for me.  Basically, it's all about finishing the race that God has set out for you.  The Apostle Paul is the one talking here (he talks about running the race a lot in the Bible) and he's basically saying that his life is worth nothing, if he doesn't finish the race.  He's a man of great priority and conviction.  He knows what his race is all about, what his mission is and he's committed to doing it, no matter the cost.  

Often times when I read verses like this and talk to people about the whole issue of "What is my purpose in life?" the thought and conversation goes something like this...  "I'm not really sure what my mission is so I don't know what to do now or in the future."  

Here's some real simple advice if that's how you feel.  Focus all your might and energy on doing and accomplishing what you know, without a doubt, God would want you to do and all the questions that you have about the future of your life will work themselves out.  

Let me explain..  Here's a short list of things that God wants every Christ-follower to do.  These are not just for a handful, but for everyone.  

- Love Jesus with all your heart. 

- Spend time every day growing in your relationship with God. (aka - read the bible & pray)

- Share the love of God with other people and friends. (witness, invite to church, etc...)

- Worship God with all your heart, soul, and mind.  

So if you're struggling with what the exact purpose and mission of your life (your race) is, don't spend all your energy trying to answer that question.  Spend all your energy on doing the things that you know bring honor to God and he will take care of all the questions.  

Question for the day:  Am I doing the things I know I should be doing or am I worrying too much about what I don't know?  

Have a great day!  

CYA tonight at Real Life.  

PE

Tuesday, April 1 - Isaiah 40:31

Here's another passage of Scripture that's up there in my top 10.  I love eagles and I love anything that puts the imagine of sports or running a race into my mind.  Not sure why I love eagles, but I can honestly say that I've been fascinated with them all my life, ever since I was a boy.  I was always a sucker for a picture or wooden statue of an eagle.  There was always some mystical feature about the eagle that made me connect with it.  

Here is this passage we see Isaiah, an Old Testament prophet, using the imagery of the eagle to suggest that God wants us to learn to depend on his strength so we can rise up and soar above all the trials and struggles of this world.  

In one translation it says, "Those who wait upon the Lord..."  That word "wait" implies the idea of serving, like being a waiter or waitress who waits upon a group of people to serve them their food and drink.  In essence this verse is saying that when we choose to serve the Lord, to wait upon the Lord, to work for His benefit, that He will be responsible to renew our strength when we are tired.  Furthermore, not only will we get enough strength to continue serving, but we'll get enough to actually soar like an eagle.  Here's a couple thoughts: 

1. Everybody gets tired, even when you're working for God.  Don't buy into the myth that if you're going after God with all that you've got that you shouldn't or won't get tired.  In essence, God is saying, "It's OK to be tired".  It's almost like a sign that you're really going after God if you're tired.  

Question:  Are you going after God with enough love and energy that it's tiring?  

2. When you get tired, God wants to be the source of your strength.  I can't tell you how many times I've been tired, but I've tried to continue to do things with my own strength.  What does that mean?  It's means I'm not dependent on God, but trying to figure it all out on my own.  It's the pride of thinking that I could do it better without God's help, strength, wisdom, direction, etc....  

Question:  Are you trying to serve God with your own strength?  

3. That last section is a promise about how you will perform in the race.  Don't read it the wrong way, it's not a promise stating that you will never get tired.  That's impossible.  It's a promise stating that God will renew your strength, give you fresh energy and vision, and keep you from falling so far behind in the race that you want to quit.  In a race, when a runner gets tired, their pace starts to slow down, they lag behind and sometimes slow down to the put where they are barely moving forward.  God is simply telling us that his provision of strength is going to keep us from being that runner.  That's good news!  We're going to be soaring to new heights, like an eagle, when we rely on God's strength and provision.  

Question: Do I have faith to believe that God has the strength to lead me to new heights in my walk with God?   

There's a ton more I could say about eagles and some of the spiritual lessons that we can draw from their life and practices, but we'll have to save that for another time.  :)

Have a great day!  

PE