Thought of the week June 28

Thought of the week comments for June7

This week I had the opportunity to exercise grace to my daughter. She was so excited about going to an event at church Friday night and spending some time with her friends. We had a falling out after school and I threatened to take away her Friday night activity. Her attitude surely did not warrant this privilege of spending time with her friends. After some time of cooling down, we sat on the couch and talked about what went wrong. She realized her attitude was not respectful and apologized up and down by writing her mom a love letter. She was doing everything possible to ask for forgiveness hoping it would relieve her of her consequence. At that moment, I had to make a decision. Do I stick to my word or do I extend grace. I decided to extend grace. It was a teachable moment for me to explain how God extends his grace when we ask for forgiveness. I asked her what she thought the meaning of grace was and she said it’s when God gives us second chances. As soon as I extended grace and told her she could participate in Friday night’s activity, she was overcome with great joy and excitement. She knew she didn’t deserve to attend and I believe she treasured this time with her friends more than a normal situation. Thank God we are saved by grace and don’t have to work for our salvation. Eph 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Have you experienced God’s grace in your life lately? I bet if you have, it’s given you a fresh perspective of how much God loves and cares for you despite your sin. Do you need to extend grace to someone in your own life? When you do, it can be a time of pure joy like it was for me knowing that my daughter fully accepted it. Walk in God's grace today.

Thought of the week comments for May 9

Deliverance what a refreshing word! I bet those of you who are going through some tough situations, at times doubt you will ever experience delivarance. When we are in the midst of the storm, deliverance seems unattainable or far fetched. The Israelites felt the same way when they were enslaved by the Egyptians. However, God promised deliverance to Israel and he commanded Moses to deliver this message to his people. It didnt happen right away, in fact it took 40 years. God delivers us at the right moment and for the right time so that some lessons can be learned along the way. What are some lessons you are learning as you may be wandering through a desert at this time in your life? Remember before deliverance happens, there will always be a delay, difficulty, and a dead end. If you stay true to your faith in God during these phases, He promises deliverance in your life. Get ready if you are at a dead end, deliverance is right around the corner. Most importantly, give God all the glory when you experience His divine deliverance. Amen!!

Thought of the week comments for April 19

Do you want more courage in your life? I would venture to say most of us wish we had more courage to do or say the right thing, break that addictive habit, or conquer a fear in our life. This past weekend I attended the MOPS annual Leadership Summit. The topic was simple courage in the everyday. Many moms gave their personal testimony of developing courage in their own lives. Fear is what grips our heart and keeps us in a state of dysfunction. We have to make a choice between living in comfortable chains or unfamiliar freedom (spoken from our pastor this morning). Obtaining courage in our life only happens when we can break free from the comfortable chains that keep us in bondage. By the way, breaking free from our comfortable chains is almost humanly impossible. We are not smart, capable, or strong enough to completely break those chains. It is only by God's strength, power, and will are we able to be free from bondage and move into unfamiliar freedom. Courage at its best is recognizing the fear that is paralyzing you, and allowing God to strip that fear so you can move past it. It's called daily surrender!!

Thought of the week commens for March 28th

God is Faithful... How many times have you heard that saying? What do you think when you hear it? It's difficult to believe He is faithful, especially in the midst of suffering. 1 John 1:9 says "He is faithful and just." A just God is hard to understand when we are facing betrayal, rejection, hostile environments, suffering and loss. It's during these circumstances when the rubber meets the road and our faith in God either is either real or not. We sometimes can get confused because we think our faith in God is to prevent us from loss, shield us from harm, and protect us from disappointment. The writers of the Bible saw evidence of God's faithfulness not in their comfort level or circumstance but in God's CONSTANT companionship. God was with them throught the trials, fires, and aches of life. God's faithfulness is not a passport out of trouble in this world. HIs faithfulness is a promise of his presence in this world and in the world to come!! I know God is faithful when I have a peace that surpasses all understanding in the midst of my pain and suffering. Our faithfulness in God does not keep us free from pain and suffering, but it focuses our life on an eternal perspective. Heb 10:23 says "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." In the midst of your suffering, rest on his CONSTANT companionship. This is what builds our faith in him!!

Thought of the week comments for March 21st

It's the first week of Spring. Wow dont you just love it!! As I am driving through our city, I cant help but notice the bright green hills. The winter barren trees are starting to bud. Beautiful, colorful lillies will soon be in bloom. Spring is a time for rebirth, regrowth, and a chance to get out and feel the warm sun after a long cold winter. For many of us, we feel we have been in a winter season for a long time, but its encouraging to know we don't stay there forever!!I love the parable of the sower. If we sow our seeds on good soil, at the proper time we will bear good fruit. However, WE must go through the winter season first so our soil is ready to bear good fruit. God wants us to bear good fruit in our lives, but its up to us where we scatter our seeds (on good soil or bad soil). Spring time is a testimony to our winter season. Have you planted your seeds (life) on good soil (God's word)? If so, get ready your Spring will be in full bloom. When we plant our lives on the word of God during the winter season, we are guaranteed to have regrowth and rebirth take root in our lives. Staying grounded in Him during the rough winter season will be the difference of good fruit in our lives. Happy Spring!!

Thought of the week comments for March 6

How many of you have heard the saying, "let go and let God"? Easier said than done right!! It's hard to let go because it's in our nature to take control of our life. It's uncomfortable to hand things over, we feel out of control when we do this. I know for myself, I am such a control freak so this is not an easy task for me. God has been pruning many areas in my life which has caused me to be on my knees and let go. I am seeing marriages heal because a spouse has chosen to let go of their control and put the marriage in God's hands. Regardless if they feel bitter, angry, or hurt, they are allowing God to be the healer instead of throwing in the towel. Life isnt easy and it takes work to let go and let God!! Sometimes God gets us to a point where we have no choice but to let go and let God. I believe in times like this he is testing our perseverance to see if we truly trust in him. James 1:3 says, "because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." If we are in a situation where we are forced to let go, try to look at the bigger picture. God wants to mature our faith so the next time life gets rocky, it is easier to put our trust in him. Life really is less stressful when we can come to a point of letting go and letting God!!