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A good friend of mine and I were talking yesterday. She said that she's been thinking a lot about a concept that so much of the church embraces. It's the idea that when something goes wrong, some people say, "I don't know why this is happening; I thought I was walking in God's favor." She said to me that she's not comfortable throwing around the idea of being in God's favor or not when there are thousand upon thousands of African children who never did anything wrong but are still suffering. Doesn't this have to do with something other than God's favor?
I had to tell my friend, "I know what you're talking about." See I really believe that the church has believed a lie. The lie is that if I walk in God's favor then nothing will go wrong in my life. I believe there are examples in the Bible that we can look at. David, after being anointed as king of Israel, had many years of trouble. Yet God still meant for him to be the king. Joseph met many troubles which all led him to the place where he would be second in command after the Pharoah. Jesus Himself met many troubles as He walked on the Earth. The apostles after Him all faced many struggles and all walked in God's favor.
I don't think that hard times identify us as not being in God's favor. They simply will come. I believe that the hard times will force us to make choices which will either grow up godly character in us or grow up ungodly character in us. The choice is ours to make, and so I've learned that when troubles come, the best thing for me is to forsake my own desires and trust wholly in God. He always knows best and after all, "the steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord." This does become difficult when we think of losses suffered. I've lost loved ones and dear friends without being able to understand why. I think so much understanding is reserved for when we are in Heaven. I still think that in grief, our best response is to turn to God. He alone can be our help.
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Hello Church! I sit at home now after having attended the Shine Conference 2008 at Celebration Church. This year's ladies conference was so life-changing for so many women. I am so glad that I and some others from Canvas took time out of our schedule to position ourselves in God's house for what we received. You know, Celebration Church is one of the great churches in our nation. They are very supportive of Canvas Church and all that we are doing. So I am thrilled to support Pastor Kerri Weems and her vision to empower and value the women of our community.
Friday night's message proved to be one which will continue to affect God's Kingdom for generations to come. We who were present were positioned to be "locked in" to a worldwide movement. God has begun a movement in this time in history to have His daughters rise up and take their proper place in His Kingdom. We have a vital role to play in advancing God's Kingdom just as much as men do. The men cannot do this all on their own. Humanity needs to see a complete and perfect reflection of God's glory on this earth. When men and women of God take their places and work in unity - not in competition - the result is a beautiful reflection of what God originally intended.
I am so excited about what God is doing in me and in Aaron and in Canvas Church. Ladies I have to tell you that if you didn't go to Shine with us this year, mark your calendars for May 14-16, 2009. Make sure you don't miss it!!! We all have things we didn't get done so that we could be positioned in the right place at the right time to receive an impartation of God's power to connect with a movement on this Earth which will change the world! God is moving and I don't want to miss what He wants for me!
I love you all! See you on Sunday!
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Last week we spent Spring Break in the mountains of North Georgia. We found a beautiful cabin with plenty of space, and we were allowed to bring our dogs. It was really great and very relaxing. The first thing I noticed when we were there was that I am out of shape. I walked the dogs (two boxers) every morning just about two or three cabins from ours. The steep roads made it difficult to go very far. I was quite amazed at how quickly my heart was racing and I was huffing and puffing. My first thought was "as soon as we get home, I'm getting back into the workout routine."
So, I'd like you all to know that I've started that workout routine. I have squatted and lunged and lifted today so much that just lowering myself to the sitting position is very painful. I'm afraid of what I'll feel like tomorrow. However, it feels good to know that I've started to make a difference in my body. Here's to more strength and more endurance!
Enough of that! My family and I experienced a very nice vacation last week and I'm so thankful that we were able to get away for a few days (4 nights to be exact). Even the drive was beautiful. I hope that you all will be able to take some time with just you and your immediate family - even if it's just an entire Saturday at the beach or the park. It makes a huge difference in the family dynamic to just all get out and have fun together!
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Colossians 1:27 says, "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
The apostle, Paul, wrote this to the church in the city of Colosse in Greece. He said that God chose to make a mystery known among them. the mystery is this: Christ in you, the hope of glory.
You have to know something about other philosophies or worldviews to know why this is mystery or even why it was important that Paul mention it to them. There are seven different worldviews - what gives life meaning. They are: theism (One God), atheism (no god), pantheism (all is god, god is all), panentheism (all is in god, god is in all), polytheism (many gods), deism (one god, but he doesn't intervene in the world), and finite godism (one god who has limited power). There are religions which fit into each category. The Greeks were a polytheistic culture - they had many gods. Their gods had human-like characteristics and didn't always get along with each other and they didn't always get along with humans either.
So, Paul presents Christianity to this city and establishes a church. And he lets them know that God has chosen to reaveal a mystery to them: Christ in you, the hope of glory. Even today, Christianity is the only religion with a God who delights to dwell in His people. In other religions, there is no god to be worshiped because everything is equal to god, or there are many gods to be worshiped, or god is so far away and the follower never seems to attain a personal connection with god even with devoting oneself to strict standards of living. There are those who pray five times a day and dress a certain way and their prayers are simply reciting memorized scriptures. In the end they do not even have the assurance of heaven. It is up to their god to decide that when their life ends.
Our faith is not like that. If we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and confess that faith with our mouth, we shall be saved! Jesus, God Himself, made the way for us, and He said that He is preparing a place for us with His Father. Christianity gives us an assurance of where we will go when we die. In 2 Corinthians 6:16, it says, "...For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.'"
Imagine how shocking it must have been for the Greeks to hear about a God who would make His home in the human heart. How wonderful it is for us to consider what it all really means today! It's a great mystery we've been entrusted with. Let's not keep it to ourselves. With the celebration of Christ's resurrection at hand, let's remember all those who don't yet know Him and share this great mystery with them.
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I was reading a young man's blog very recently. This is a young man who has rediscovered faith recently and is attending our church. He mentioned how it had been difficult to get back into going to church because when he would go, people often stared at him since he's all tattooed. I cried as I read his words, knowing fully well that he feels completely at home and comfortable at Canvas Church. What a wonderful church!
So as I wondered to myself, "why do Christians pre-occupy themselves so much with judging others," I found a spot in the gospel of John that I'd like to share with you all.
"As for the person who hears My words but does not keep them (or believe), I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. He who rejects Me and does not receive My words has that which judges him - the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." Words of Jesus in John 12:47, 48 taken from both the NIV and NKJV translations.
Jesus Himself says that He did not come to judge anyone, but to save us all. Why do we humans concern ourselves so much with this business of judging each other? Maybe we do it to make ourselves feel better about our own failures. I don't know. What I do know is that each and every one of us makes mistakes and commits sins. As much as we think ourselves to be dedicated Christians, we know what it is to reject Jesus and His words and His ways. There is no one who is exempt from this; it is human nature. For this reason, we need Jesus to be our Savior.
So, we are all on the same playing field, whether we have been walking with the Lord for 20 years or 20 hours. We all know when we have done what is wrong or what is sin. We don't really need anyone to point it out for us. And the fact that someone doesn't dress like me or talk like me doesn't give me the right to think less of them or treat them like a lower class person. Someone's economic status doesn't give me the right to treat them differently from anyone else. We are all God's children.
Jesus came to be our Light. He came to save us and not judge us, and for that I'm truly grateful. I'm grateful because this pastor's wife has not received what she deserves. She's received God's grace instead! So I can freely show everyone who comes my way that same grace. I encourage you to do the same.
Much love to you all!
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