A Blog of Encouragement from our Pastors
The WEekly Word
Weekly Word – 5/16/24
- Get up in the morning,
- get dressed,
- feed the kids and/or ourselves,
- take care of the tasks before us.
- get in the car,
- and it’s off to work, or taking the kids to school,
- into the office, or work
- into meetings
- end of the day
- back to the house,
- dinner
- bed
WALK in the World
Do you take time to walk in the world and enjoy the pleasures of God?
Right! We live in it. We have to move from place to place by car or some sort of vehicle to get things done. How else could we accomplish anything?
The question is: Do we spend time taking in the world in which we live? The question is not do we move around in it.
I’m sure some of us do on occasion, but most of the time we:
And the next morning it begins all over.
Wow! That’s a great life!
Let me ask you another question. “Are you enjoying your life?” Did God put you here on this earth to live the kind of life that I just described?
I don’t think that that’s the life that He has for you. Certainly, we have to do things that are humdrum from time to time, but He created the world and put us in it for His pleasure. I don’t believe that He gets JOY from watching us beaten down by that kind of living.
C. S. Lewis said, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.”
Let me give you five reasons why we should be taking time to enjoy the pleasures of God’s creation.
1. It reminds us of His goodness.
2. It sustains us in adversity.
3. It honors Him as the source of our joy.
4. It connects our hearts to those we love.
5. It is how He renews us.
Good to great in God’s eyes : Chip Ingram
We, as a Board of Elders, meet once a month to discuss church business and our duties etc. Before we get into the business portion, we share a session where we hold one another accountable for a list of specific questions. One of the questions deals with taking a day off once a week. A day away from what we do in our roles as pastors or elders. Why is that question important? Because part of our responsibility as leaders is to have a good outlook on the things we are responsible for. There are pressures that we all face as we follow God’s directions for His body. To cope with those pressures, it’s imperative that we are brought to the reality of the five facts above.
We can work at our positions, bury ourselves in our work, and eventually burn out. Or we can stop and “smell the roses” and be renewed.
From a story about Susanna Wesley, A strong Christian Woman, By Sharon Glasgow:
Susanna was the mother of 19 children over the years -- not all of them lived, but there was always a passel of children needing attention.
“When Susanna was young, she promised the Lord that for every hour she spent in entertainment, she would also give the same to Him in prayer and in the Word. Taking care of the house and raising so many kids made this commitment nearly impossible to fulfill. She had no time for entertainment or long hours in prayer! She worked in the gardens, milked the cow, schooled the children, and managed the entire house herself. So, she decided to instead give the Lord two hours a day in prayer!
She struggled to find a secret place to get away with Him. So, she advised her children that when they saw her with her apron over her head, that meant she was in prayer and couldn’t be disturbed. She was devoted to her walk with Christ, praying for her children and knowledge in the Word no matter how hard life was.
That was her quiet time and her way of communing with Him. That was the way she was able to be renewed and refreshed. Could you commit that kind of time communing with Him each day? I know that I would like to, but that would create a problem in how I function daily. So, my answer to that is to spend my quiet time with Him at a special time and in a special place and then through the day, “Take a walk in His world.” Take a walk in His creation. Take time to be a great Christian, following the pathway He wants us to walk, but remembering, He also wants us to enjoy the time we spend on this alien planet that we are on.
I enjoy: a sunrise or a sunset, a walk on the beach, a hike, a walk in a park, out on the deck looking at the stars. We just had a fantastic opportunity to see the Northern Lights. Did you take time to see God painting the sky in the shimmering light show. Did you get refreshed by the experience?
It is those things that make us remember who He is and the powerful being we serve. It is those things that we as “Christians” can draw on when we need to be comforted and renewed.
Go out today and fellowship with Him in His world, be renewed and refreshed. Then say thank you to the One Who created us.
Ed Johanson
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9/17/20 – Stay the Course Continued – Bryan
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8/27/20 – All The More – David
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7/09/20 – Stir Up One Another – Bryan
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6/25/20 – The Gentle Correction That Changed Me – David
6/18/20 – Witnessing Like and For Christ – Bryan
6/04/20 – Resistance, Riots and Romans – David
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5/21/20 – The Church is Not a Building – Michael
5/14/20 – Proclaim Jesus at the Grocery Store – David
5/07/20 – Stay the Course – Bryan
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4/23/20 – Living With Certainty & Purpose in Uncertain Times –
4/16/20 – Binge-Praying – David
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Weekly word – 5/09/24
Choose Joy!
Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4
I'm pretty sure that I've written an article on joy sometime in the past. I think it's good to be reminded time and time again about choosing joy in our lives. We can approach difficulty and trials in different ways. We can either get disappointed, discouraged and even outright angry when things don't go our way, or we could choose to be joyful. I was reminded of this today because of a recent occurrence in the lives of family members of mine. I have 3 nieces who live in Oklahoma. I know, it's a far stretch from Hawaii. Nonetheless, the youngest of the 3 made one of her favorite sayings, "Choose Joy!" She was known for saying that about difficult circumstances in her life or as she comforted or counseled others. She even made a wall hanging with those words painted boldly in large letters.
She became seriously ill at an early age and God called her home in her early thirties. These words "Choose Joy" were put on her headstone and her older sister kept her painted sign and hung it in her guest house.
The recent tornado that swept through Oklahoma last month completely leveled this guest house and sent debris everywhere. Among the rubble of the guest house laid this painted sign in pristine condition. This was a great reminder for my niece who inherited that sign. Amongst the difficult situation they found themselves in and the loss of their guest house, she was reminded to choose joy and be thankful for the things that they had and how God continues to bless them. This same tornado went through the small town of Sulphur and caused significant damage. My niece and her husband own and operate a dental office and a pharmacy in Sulphur. Neither of their businesses were touched by the tornado.
Some of you know that I'm currently dealing with a vision problem in my left eye. While this is a nuisance and puts a damper on "my" life and plans, I find peace and comfort in knowing that God knows about it and can heal it if He chooses. Either way, I can choose to be joyful in knowing that this too, will, and has tested my faith. I can either get anxious, worried, or get upset, but none of that will cause my eye to heal. Instead, I will choose joy, and learn to trust. If this is something that becomes permanent, I need to remain faithful, be thankful and remain joyful in my circumstances.
All of our difficulties, trials, and testing, are part of a refining process that God uses to shape and transform us according to His purpose. Trials and difficulty in our lives may be minor irritations or it could be a major crisis that shakes us to the core. In all cases, God knows what we need, and when we cling to Him, we lack nothing. His ultimate goal is for us to become more like Christ.
Pastor Bryan