The Big Things

Did you ever have a day when the little things just seem to go right?  I had a day like that the other day. Everywhere I went, something little happened that let me know that my steps were ordered by God. That I was right where I was supposed to be right at that time. 

Nothing big happened. I was walking in to Walmart and another man was walking towards me pushing a cart. Right as we were getting ready to pass, his tub of blueberries fell, bursting open and scattered blueberries everywhere. The look on his face was a mixture of unbelief and dismay. I smiled because I've been there. Then I heard "Help him."  I stopped to help him pick them up.  He thanked me for helping and we both went on our way. 

I went on to the pharmacy to turn in my prescription for a cough syrup. But it was written wrong. So I was informed I had to have it rewritten. And of course it was Friday and the doctor was not in until Monday. But I smiled, said thank you and took the script back. 

Then I went through the drive through and the girl got my order wrong. I smiled and thanked her for fixing it. Then on the way back up to the office I passed by a black man in a delivery uniform.   I had never seen him before, but I thought of all the racial problems in our world today. I smiled and said hello. He looked relieved and said hello back. 

Ok, it wasn't anything spectacular. It was simple, everyday situations that I responded to.  But it made me feel significant in a world that I feel lost in sometimes. 

Some days I wonder what big thing God has for me to do. Then there are days like today when I realize that sometimes the little things are actually the big things. We live in a hurting world where people don't take time for others. Sometimes a kind action, word or smile can make a difference. 

If we profess to be a Christian, but are angry, mean and cussing all the time, non Christians are going to ask "Is that what a Christian looks like? Who wants to be like that?"  We are ambassadors of God's Kingdom. We should act like it. 

I've heard it said to preach the gospel continuously, and if necessary, use words. While I do feel that each one of us are to preach the gospel with words, I also feel that how we live is the biggest advertisement for a new life in Christ. If you're going to talk the talk, you must walk the walk. Only when others see us living a different life will they want to know why.   So stop to help a stranger, be kind when things don't go your way, and share a smile. 

Faith Without Borders

By Gayle Johnson

I've been learning a lot lately about faith. It's easy to have faith in things you see every day. I have faith the sun will come up tomorrow. After all, it has come up every day of my life.  

But having faith in something you can't see is not so easy. My experience tells me that I cannot walk on water. I sink. That is how the universe works.  And yet, I read about Peter walking on water. So why can't I?

A while back, I was reading in Matthew 9.
Two blind men approached Jesus, asking Him to have mercy on them. Jesus asked if they believed he could heal them. “Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”;”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭9:29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I've read this many times before and never noticed that he says "according to your faith."  Then I thought about what that meant. It says to me that they would receive what they are believing for. Nothing more, nothing less.

Why were there so many miracles performed in the bible?  Sure Jesus did a lot of them, but so did the apostles. Jesus sent them out and told them to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons. (Matthew 10) They came back amazed that even the demons obeyed their commands. Jesus had given them HIS power to do these things in His name.

So why don't we see so many miracles today? What did the disciples have that we don't? I'm thinking it is faith. They SAW Jesus work. They knew what could happen. I think we have lived so long in a desert that we don't expect miracles any more.

I believe God can do anything, in theory. But I am being called to step out of the boat. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us. "Take my hand," says Jesus. Come on.  Let's step out of the boat together.

Clean Closets

By Gayle Johnson

Cleaning out my closet is never easy. I'm always afraid if I get rid of something that I will need it later. Even if I haven't worn it in years, I can't seem to get rid of it. 

Lately, I have felt like God is cleaning out my spiritual closet. He is removing people who are gathering dust and taking up space in my life. I want to hang on to it, and so I get upset and angry about what I see as betrayal. I argue that God doesn't know what it is like to be betrayed by someone close to me. 

WHAT??? Did I really just say that???  Instantly Judas and Peter come to mind. And I realized just why God came to earth in human form. In addition to dying for my sins, He also came so I could be assured that He DOES know how I feel. Been there. Done that. Wrote the book on it. 

Still, prying things out of my hands is not pretty. Or easy. It hurts. I flash back to the lessons learned sitting by my mothers hospital bed while she was dying. As I held her hand, I asked God to end her suffering and take her hand.  I then heard a gentle voice inside me say, "I can't take hold of her hand until you let go."  BAM. Right between the eyes. Suddenly, it was my move. 

Surrender was my only option. Sure God could have taken my mother before that. He's God. He controls the universe. But He wanted ME to surrender. Yes, I still miss my mother. But she is in Paradise now. And I love her enough to let her go. 

I know that if God is removing something or someone from my life, it is to make room for something better. Joe cleaned some things out of our closet the other day. They were my fathers things. He said 3 years is long enough. It was time to move on. I don't know what God has in store for me, but I know He is making room for something. Help me to surrender, Lord. 

What time is it?

By Gayle Johnson

 I'm a procrastinator. It's a character flaw (one of many). Why do today what I can put off until tomorrow?  There's always more time. Until there isn't any more time.
By not making a decision, you ARE making a decision. And it is always NO.Some things don't really matter. Like where to eat dinner. Other times it can be life or death. And one decision can cost you your eternal soul. Or should I say, one LACK of a decision. The decision to follow, or not to follow, Christ.Sunday at church I saw the reality of this for some people. One minute my friend Linda is talking about thanking God after asking Him for something. "Claiming the Victory". The next minute she was slumped over the table and we were calling 911. Now, my friend, Linda, is a strong Christian woman, and I know if she were to be called home by God at that instant, that I would see her again in heaven. Of that, there is no doubt in my mind.But it got me to thinking. What about YOU?  If your heart were to stop in the next few seconds, do you know where you would spend eternity?John 14:6 NIVDid you see that? NO ONE. Jesus is the ONLY way. I'm not being "exclusionary".
God wants all people to come to him. If I am invited to a fabulous party, but I choose not to go, are the ones throwing the party being "exclusionary" because I choose not to go?  Absolutely not! It's my choice. And, it's your choice."Today is the day of salvation" 2 Corinthians 6:2"Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed wants to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Hebrews 9:27-28 NIV
The choice is yours. But time is running out. Make the wise decision. Our elders would be happy to talk to you about this, as would I.

x

A Mother's Forgiveness

By Gayle Johnson

Step between a momma bear and her cubs and you will wish you had never gotten out of bed that morning. It will ruin your whole day. Only, momma bears stop being so protective once the cubs grow up.

Not so with humans. This momma bear is not so forgiving. Threaten my children or grandchildren and fire will be in my eyes and smoke coming out of my ears. Game on.

This week, my daughter's life was threatened by a thug. He robbed her at gun point, stole her purse, cell phone, and threatened to kill her. He was attempting to to get her to open the store she manages in order to rob the store, when he noticed a man at a nearby bus stop watching him. After threatening to kill him also, he abandoned the idea and ran. I believe if he had gotten her in the store, he would have killed her.

Momma was not happy. I wanted this guy to pay. A lot. Right now. I was not in a forgiving mood. The longer the day went on, the more I realized how close my daughter was to loosing her life. But then God brought to mind the fact that she WAS alive and relatively unharmed. I pray daily for God's protection of my family. I realized that today and every day God has answered my prayers. While I would have preferred this not to happen at all, I realized that He is protecting us.

Ok, God. I AM thankful for your protection. But this guy must pay. Then I hear the song That was then, this is now by Josh Wilson.

"That was then, this is now. You're bought by the blood, saved by the Son the saints all sing about. That was lost, this is found, and it's time to say goodbye to the old you now. So Go ahead put the past in the past, box it up like an old photograph.  You don't have to go back.  Cause that was then, this is now".

If I expect The Lord to forgive MY sins, I NEED to forgive this man too. I am grateful that I can box up my old self like old photographs. Then this verse comes to mind. 

Jesus isn't really talking about giving money. He's talking about not judging people. Giving grace. Forgiving. The forgiveness I give will be returned to me. I must forgive. I am trying. Lord give me your strength. And your grace to forgive.

Inside Out

Disclosure: I might be on the wrong chapter. I fully admit that I've lost track... So today I read Matthew, chapter 23 and it reminded me of the movie inside out. I don't know if you seen it but it is adorable! It is the story of a little girl (that's the outside part). The inside part is the five main emotions that live inside her head and control her actions. LOL The emotions are Joy, sadness, disgust, anger, and fear. The movie explains at the beginning that Joy doesn't understand the purpose of sadness but sees how the other emotions as well as herself have a way of protecting Riley and making her life successful and happy. As the movie goes on you see how life changes for the little girl and how life changes inside her brain with the emotions that she goes through. By the end, Joy comes to understand that sadness has a purpose that she did not know (without sadness Riley wouldn't get help or comfort when she is overwhelmed.) I thought it was really cute and fun to watch. The way that this movie reminded me of Matthew 23 - when Jesus is scolding the scribes and Pharisees, we see that they are only concerned with their outside parts, the parts of their lives that other people see. They didn't understand that it is the inside that we need to deal with first and, it is our inside, our heart that will determine our ultimate character and actions. Also the scribes and Pharisees did not know themselves. They thought they were better off without Jesus. They truly thought they were superior and that Jesus was distructive and harmful. The hardest part about this is that we often look at the scribes and Pharisees and do not see ourselves. But Jesus did not put this passage in the Bible because it doesn't describe us, but rather because it does. We have to watch out that we don't become arrogant. We need the Bible to make us self aware of what we are. Just like in that cute little movie when the inside starts to become regulated the outside will have success. We need to have hearts that are seeking Christ on the inside and our outward actions will follow. :-)

ECC Services 2/28/2016

Sunday School - Taught by Dr. Merton Bobo, Genesis - Lesson Two

Special Music - Rachel Tolliver

Worship Service - Message by Kevin Russell

I've missed a few weeks of services, but don't worry - they aren't forgotten. I'll be getting them up later this week. In the meantime - Enjoy today's services! :)