Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. – Revelation 3:20 (NKJV)
What does this image of Jesus standing and knocking mean to you? Do you believe Jesus is chasing after you? Have you opened the door to your heart and life? Are you willing to become a temple for the presence of God?
Last week I was attending a Presbytery meeting. After driving an hour and a half to the church where the meeting was being held I was not in much a mood to worship, but the first thing we do at such meetings is worship. My mind was wandering, I was thinking of things I had to do, I wasn’t worshipping God.
Then after the offering I went out to wash my hands and take a breather. Perhaps in the act of washing my hands some of my concerns washed away, or maybe it was that grace poured over me.
Whatever it was when I went back in the Prayers of the People started. People lifted up names that were heavy upon their hearts, and names that gave them reason to rejoice. They shared the reasons for naming each person and we held their names as a group. It felt holy.
The prayer itself wasn’t the normal kind of prayer prayer, as when a person stands before the rest of us and utters a prayer on our behalf. It was responsive where the leader read some and then the congregation read some. It also left time for silence after various groups of people were named. As we prayed for groups of people across the world I could feel them. Those people whose names I will never know and faces I will never see I could feel and I sensed them close in the Spirit. As I prayed for them I realized something else… I loved them.
In that moment I knew something had happened. Right then I was living in the heart of God.
Jesus pursues us hoping that we will open the door of our lives, so that he might enter into them and eat with us. In the Bible eating together is one of the highest forms of fellowship. He wants to fellowship with us so that we might experience life together. In our times of prayer and while we sit at the Communion table we open our hearts to God so that we might find ourselves living in the heart of God. It is there, within God’s heart, that we find out we can love as God loves. So pray on, it does in fact change things, it changes us.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Monday, November 21, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Confessions of Faith
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV 1984)
Why is the cross foolish? How is it also the power of God? When thinking of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus do you discover hope? Why?
The following is by Timothy George, “Delighted by Doctrine,” Christian History and Biography (Summer 2006):
Judaism has its shema and Islam its shahadah, but Christians, responding to Jesus’ question “Who do you say that I am?” have produced literally thousands of statements of faith across the centuries.
As a capstone to his lifelong interest in the central texts of the Christian faith, Jaroslav Pelikan edited (with Valerie Hotchkiss) Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition, a four-volume critical edition with a one-volume historical and theological guide called simply Credo.
Pelikan’s collection includes several hundred creeds, including the Masai Creed from Nigeria, which Africanizes Christianity by declaring that Jesus “was always on safari doing good.” It also declares that after Jesus had been “tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died, he lay buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, he rose from the grave. He ascended unto the skies. He is the Lord.”
This creed was brought to Pelikan’s attention by one of his students, a woman who had been a member of a religious order working in a hospital in East Nigeria. Pelikan wrote, “She brought it to me, and I just got shivers. Just the thought, you know, the hyenas did not touch him, and the act of defiance — God lives even in spite of the hyenas.”
Not only do we believe Jesus died, that God died, but we believe Jesus lives! Yes it is foolish! It is crazy to believe such a thing, but we defiantly proclaim it. Who do we say Jesus is? What parts of our culture does the Christ who changes culture change? Where does God live in spite of death dealers? Now let us proclaim who Jesus is each morning as a confession of faith. Within our confession we say something about the power of God!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Why is the cross foolish? How is it also the power of God? When thinking of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus do you discover hope? Why?
The following is by Timothy George, “Delighted by Doctrine,” Christian History and Biography (Summer 2006):
Judaism has its shema and Islam its shahadah, but Christians, responding to Jesus’ question “Who do you say that I am?” have produced literally thousands of statements of faith across the centuries.
As a capstone to his lifelong interest in the central texts of the Christian faith, Jaroslav Pelikan edited (with Valerie Hotchkiss) Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition, a four-volume critical edition with a one-volume historical and theological guide called simply Credo.
Pelikan’s collection includes several hundred creeds, including the Masai Creed from Nigeria, which Africanizes Christianity by declaring that Jesus “was always on safari doing good.” It also declares that after Jesus had been “tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died, he lay buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, he rose from the grave. He ascended unto the skies. He is the Lord.”
This creed was brought to Pelikan’s attention by one of his students, a woman who had been a member of a religious order working in a hospital in East Nigeria. Pelikan wrote, “She brought it to me, and I just got shivers. Just the thought, you know, the hyenas did not touch him, and the act of defiance — God lives even in spite of the hyenas.”
Not only do we believe Jesus died, that God died, but we believe Jesus lives! Yes it is foolish! It is crazy to believe such a thing, but we defiantly proclaim it. Who do we say Jesus is? What parts of our culture does the Christ who changes culture change? Where does God live in spite of death dealers? Now let us proclaim who Jesus is each morning as a confession of faith. Within our confession we say something about the power of God!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Some Good Medicine
A cheerful heart is a good medicine,
but a downcast spirit dries up the bones. – Proverbs 17:22 (NRSV)
How do you know this is true? When have you been good medicine for someone who needs it? When have you dried up bones because of a downcast spirit? Can you give life?
The following is a story that came from LiveScience.com on May 26, 2006 and was written by Jim Fitzgerald.
Dr. Samuel Weinstein, chief of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery for Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, went to El Salvador in 2006 with Heart Care International to provide life-saving operations for poor children.
It would take more than expertise and advanced equipment to save the life of Francisco Calderon Anthony Fernandez, eight, however. After twelve hours of surgery, the boy began to bleed out of control. The hospital lacked both the medicines to stop the bleeding and the blood to give the boy transfusions. Francisco’s blood type was B-negative, which – according to the American Red Cross – is present in only 2 percent of the population.
Dr. Weinstein had the same blood type. So he set aside his scalpel, took off his gloves, and began washing his hands and forearm. Then he sat down and had his blood drawn.
When he had given his pint, Dr. Weinstein drank some bottled water and ate a Pop-Tart. Then – twenty minutes after stepping away from the table – he rejoined his colleagues, who watched as Weinstein’s blood began flowing into the boy’s small veins. Weinstein then completed the operation that saved Francisco’s life.
I am sure the good doctor could have given up hope after twelve hours of operation, but instead somewhere within he found the source of good medicine. Jesus said that whoever has faith in him will be able to do greater things than he did. I’ve heard that Christians built 90% of the schools and hospitals ever built. I’d say that is doing great things. We could look at the world and become downcast, or we could be cheerfully determined to be good medicine. Good medicine can save a life!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
but a downcast spirit dries up the bones. – Proverbs 17:22 (NRSV)
How do you know this is true? When have you been good medicine for someone who needs it? When have you dried up bones because of a downcast spirit? Can you give life?
The following is a story that came from LiveScience.com on May 26, 2006 and was written by Jim Fitzgerald.
Dr. Samuel Weinstein, chief of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery for Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, went to El Salvador in 2006 with Heart Care International to provide life-saving operations for poor children.
It would take more than expertise and advanced equipment to save the life of Francisco Calderon Anthony Fernandez, eight, however. After twelve hours of surgery, the boy began to bleed out of control. The hospital lacked both the medicines to stop the bleeding and the blood to give the boy transfusions. Francisco’s blood type was B-negative, which – according to the American Red Cross – is present in only 2 percent of the population.
Dr. Weinstein had the same blood type. So he set aside his scalpel, took off his gloves, and began washing his hands and forearm. Then he sat down and had his blood drawn.
When he had given his pint, Dr. Weinstein drank some bottled water and ate a Pop-Tart. Then – twenty minutes after stepping away from the table – he rejoined his colleagues, who watched as Weinstein’s blood began flowing into the boy’s small veins. Weinstein then completed the operation that saved Francisco’s life.
I am sure the good doctor could have given up hope after twelve hours of operation, but instead somewhere within he found the source of good medicine. Jesus said that whoever has faith in him will be able to do greater things than he did. I’ve heard that Christians built 90% of the schools and hospitals ever built. I’d say that is doing great things. We could look at the world and become downcast, or we could be cheerfully determined to be good medicine. Good medicine can save a life!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
A Blessed Life
Then he said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as 'Teacher' and 'Master,' and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other's feet. I've laid down a pattern for you. What I've done, you do. I'm only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn't give orders to the employer. If you understand what I'm telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.” – John 13:12-17 (The Message)
What does this say about Jesus? Have you washed anyone’s feet? What are other ways of serving others? Is Jesus concerned with the people around us? If so what does that say about how we are living?
I once heard a story about an astronomer who lived in an ancient time. He used to go out at night and observe the stars. One evening, as he wandered through the suburbs with his whole attention fixed on the sky, he accidently fell into a deep well. He whined and cried about his sores and bruises while yelling out for help. A neighbor ran to the well, and upon learning what had happened said, “Hey fellow, why in striving to pry into what is in heaven, do not you manage to see what is on earth?”
Jesus never lost sight of what was on earth! What a shame it is that we so often do. Often time it is good to remember the way Jesus lived. When he said, “I am the way and the truth and the life,” perhaps he didn’t mean it in a way we could stare into the heavens and wait for a life after death. Maybe he actually meant that the way he walked, the truth he spoke, and they life he lived were for us too, here on earth where our feet walk. “What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious.” “If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it – and live a blessed life.” A blessed life, that sounds good.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
What does this say about Jesus? Have you washed anyone’s feet? What are other ways of serving others? Is Jesus concerned with the people around us? If so what does that say about how we are living?
I once heard a story about an astronomer who lived in an ancient time. He used to go out at night and observe the stars. One evening, as he wandered through the suburbs with his whole attention fixed on the sky, he accidently fell into a deep well. He whined and cried about his sores and bruises while yelling out for help. A neighbor ran to the well, and upon learning what had happened said, “Hey fellow, why in striving to pry into what is in heaven, do not you manage to see what is on earth?”
Jesus never lost sight of what was on earth! What a shame it is that we so often do. Often time it is good to remember the way Jesus lived. When he said, “I am the way and the truth and the life,” perhaps he didn’t mean it in a way we could stare into the heavens and wait for a life after death. Maybe he actually meant that the way he walked, the truth he spoke, and they life he lived were for us too, here on earth where our feet walk. “What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious.” “If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it – and live a blessed life.” A blessed life, that sounds good.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Because He Lives
“Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.” – John 14:19 (NIV)
What does it mean to you that because Jesus lives you also will live? What kind of freedom does that offer you? How do you live in that freedom?
I’ve heard the following story about Frank Luke Jr. and it is often called, “The Day the Lilies Bloomed”
Frank Luke Jr. was an American fighter pilot in World War I and is considered one of the heroes of the Great War. He was twenty when he joined the army air corps and was accepted into flight training. After his training he was commissioned and given a brief leave before going off to war.
While at home he was going to leave with some friends one afternoon when his mother, Tillie, stopped him and asked, “Frank, I was hoping you would plant some lily bulbs for me. Would you mind doing that before you left?”
Frank did as his mother asked, and then went off with his friends. A couple of days later he went to join the war in France.
Quickly Frank became one of the stars of American fighter pilots. Between September 12 and September 29 Frank was credited with shooting down 18 German balloons and planes.
Back home in Phoenix, on September 29, Tillie stepped outside to discover that the lilies Frank planted were in full bloom. Lilies typically bloom much earlier in the year so this was strange. They had been planted in the shape of a cross, like one of the side of a fighter plane. Frank loved airplanes and was a devout Catholic. When his mother saw this she was nervous that something was wrong.
Two months later word reached America that Frank had been shot down and killed. He died on September 29, 1918, at the age of twenty-one, the day the lilies bloomed.
It makes sense that Frank’s mother was nervous. The bonds of love often will let us know that something is wrong with our beloved, even if oceans and continents separate us. However, the symbolism cannot be ignored. The Easter lilies stood bloomed in the shape of a cross. Paul remembering the prophet Hosea once wrote, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” And we recall that Jesus said, “Because I live, you also will live.” This Easter will be a day the lilies bloom. Go somewhere, anywhere and celebrate the victory of our Christ!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
What does it mean to you that because Jesus lives you also will live? What kind of freedom does that offer you? How do you live in that freedom?
I’ve heard the following story about Frank Luke Jr. and it is often called, “The Day the Lilies Bloomed”
Frank Luke Jr. was an American fighter pilot in World War I and is considered one of the heroes of the Great War. He was twenty when he joined the army air corps and was accepted into flight training. After his training he was commissioned and given a brief leave before going off to war.
While at home he was going to leave with some friends one afternoon when his mother, Tillie, stopped him and asked, “Frank, I was hoping you would plant some lily bulbs for me. Would you mind doing that before you left?”
Frank did as his mother asked, and then went off with his friends. A couple of days later he went to join the war in France.
Quickly Frank became one of the stars of American fighter pilots. Between September 12 and September 29 Frank was credited with shooting down 18 German balloons and planes.
Back home in Phoenix, on September 29, Tillie stepped outside to discover that the lilies Frank planted were in full bloom. Lilies typically bloom much earlier in the year so this was strange. They had been planted in the shape of a cross, like one of the side of a fighter plane. Frank loved airplanes and was a devout Catholic. When his mother saw this she was nervous that something was wrong.
Two months later word reached America that Frank had been shot down and killed. He died on September 29, 1918, at the age of twenty-one, the day the lilies bloomed.
It makes sense that Frank’s mother was nervous. The bonds of love often will let us know that something is wrong with our beloved, even if oceans and continents separate us. However, the symbolism cannot be ignored. The Easter lilies stood bloomed in the shape of a cross. Paul remembering the prophet Hosea once wrote, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” And we recall that Jesus said, “Because I live, you also will live.” This Easter will be a day the lilies bloom. Go somewhere, anywhere and celebrate the victory of our Christ!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Relationships Are Most Important
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. – John 19: 26-27 (NRSV)
What does it mean to you that even upon the cross Jesus was taking care of the people with him? Does this say anything about the importance of relationships? If so what does it say?
The following story was sent to me:
I sat next to the bed of old man, a friend for over twenty years, and held his hand. Hal was dying. We both knew these next few days would be his last.
We spent time reminiscing about his long and fruitful career as a church pastor. We talked about old friends. We chatted about his family. And I listened as he offered sage wisdom and advice to a member of a "younger generation."
At a lull in the conversation, Hal seemed to carefully consider what he was about to say next. Then he squeezed my hand, gazed intently into my eyes and whispered, just loud enough for me to hear, "Nothing is more important than relationships."
I knew that this was somehow near the pinnacle of his life's learnings. As he considered all of his experiences -- personal, professional, spiritual and family, this one ultimate observation surfaced above the rest: "Nothing is more important than relationships."
"Don't get overly caught up in your career," he seemed to be saying to me. "Likewise, don't use people in order to achieve your goals, then throw them away. No project, no program, no task should be pursued at the expense of friends and family. Remember," I heard him saying, as clearly as if he were speaking the words, "that in the end, only your relationships will truly matter. Tend them well."
Writer Og Mandino puts it this way: "Beginning today," he said, "treat everyone you meet as if he or she were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness, and understanding you can muster, and do so with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again."
At the end of a long life, my friend Hal would have agreed.
Even on the cross Jesus recognized the relationships right in front of him. Sure there was a great goal he was achieving, but not at the expense of the people who would live on without him physically present. If Jesus could take time out of saving the world to make sure people he loved were taken care of, I hope we can take time out of our days to remember that nothing is more important than relationships. That might have been Jesus’ whole point!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
What does it mean to you that even upon the cross Jesus was taking care of the people with him? Does this say anything about the importance of relationships? If so what does it say?
The following story was sent to me:
I sat next to the bed of old man, a friend for over twenty years, and held his hand. Hal was dying. We both knew these next few days would be his last.
We spent time reminiscing about his long and fruitful career as a church pastor. We talked about old friends. We chatted about his family. And I listened as he offered sage wisdom and advice to a member of a "younger generation."
At a lull in the conversation, Hal seemed to carefully consider what he was about to say next. Then he squeezed my hand, gazed intently into my eyes and whispered, just loud enough for me to hear, "Nothing is more important than relationships."
I knew that this was somehow near the pinnacle of his life's learnings. As he considered all of his experiences -- personal, professional, spiritual and family, this one ultimate observation surfaced above the rest: "Nothing is more important than relationships."
"Don't get overly caught up in your career," he seemed to be saying to me. "Likewise, don't use people in order to achieve your goals, then throw them away. No project, no program, no task should be pursued at the expense of friends and family. Remember," I heard him saying, as clearly as if he were speaking the words, "that in the end, only your relationships will truly matter. Tend them well."
Writer Og Mandino puts it this way: "Beginning today," he said, "treat everyone you meet as if he or she were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness, and understanding you can muster, and do so with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again."
At the end of a long life, my friend Hal would have agreed.
Even on the cross Jesus recognized the relationships right in front of him. Sure there was a great goal he was achieving, but not at the expense of the people who would live on without him physically present. If Jesus could take time out of saving the world to make sure people he loved were taken care of, I hope we can take time out of our days to remember that nothing is more important than relationships. That might have been Jesus’ whole point!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Monday, October 25, 2010
The Way Toward Life
There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death. – Proverbs 14:12 (NRSV)
What way seems right to you? How did you discover this as the way? Might the way that seems right to you lead to death? What way leads to life? What is life?
I’ve heard this story before.
A university professor went to visit a famous and important theologian. While the theologian quietly served tea, the professor talked about theology, God, and the like. The theologian poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. "It's overfull! No more will go in!" the professor blurted out.
"You are like this cup," the theologian replied, "How can I help you to see God unless you first empty your cup."
When it comes to life I think sometimes Jesus shouts out, “How can I show you God and give you life unless you first empty your cup!” We go about our days filling ourselves up with all kinds of things, and then calling that life. Then if we go to church, or if we pray, or if we pick up some sacred writing, we wonder why we do not seem to be filled with peace. Perhaps it is because we are too filled with things that are not God, or false ideas of God, to be filled with the presence of God, and to be filled with life and life abundant. If the way of Jesus isn’t our way, then even if our way seems right its end is death. In each of us something needs to be emptied in order that we might be filled. What in you do you need to empty? Jesus is waiting to fill that emptiness.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
What way seems right to you? How did you discover this as the way? Might the way that seems right to you lead to death? What way leads to life? What is life?
I’ve heard this story before.
A university professor went to visit a famous and important theologian. While the theologian quietly served tea, the professor talked about theology, God, and the like. The theologian poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. "It's overfull! No more will go in!" the professor blurted out.
"You are like this cup," the theologian replied, "How can I help you to see God unless you first empty your cup."
When it comes to life I think sometimes Jesus shouts out, “How can I show you God and give you life unless you first empty your cup!” We go about our days filling ourselves up with all kinds of things, and then calling that life. Then if we go to church, or if we pray, or if we pick up some sacred writing, we wonder why we do not seem to be filled with peace. Perhaps it is because we are too filled with things that are not God, or false ideas of God, to be filled with the presence of God, and to be filled with life and life abundant. If the way of Jesus isn’t our way, then even if our way seems right its end is death. In each of us something needs to be emptied in order that we might be filled. What in you do you need to empty? Jesus is waiting to fill that emptiness.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Slowing Down...
“Be still, and know that I am God!” – Psalm 46:10
What does it mean to you to be still? How often are you still? Why do you think God is telling us here to be still? What does it mean to know that God is God?
The following is a prayer by the late author Wilferd A. Peterson.
Slow me down, Lord!
Ease the pounding of my heart
By the quieting of my mind.
Steady my harried pace
With a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me, admidst the confusions of my day,
The calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions of my nerves
With the soothing music of the sighing streams
That live in my memory.
Help me to know
The magical restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art
Of taking minute vacations of slowing down to look at a flower;
To chat with an old friend or to make a new one;
To pat a stray dog,
To watch a spider build a web;
To smile at a child;
Or to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day
That the race is not always to the swift;
That there is more to life than increasing its speed.
Let me look upward
Into the branches of the towering oak
And know that it grew slowly and well.
Slow me down, Lord,
And inspire me to send my roots deep
Into the soil of life's enduring values
That I may grow toward the stars
Of my great destiny.
Sometimes being still means just slowing down a little bit. The Hebrew verb translated “be still” also means something like letting go. We often try to keep pushing on in life in such a way that we forget that God is in control. Sometimes we just need to be still, to let go, to slow down, and let God be God so that we can rejoice in life’s little miracles.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
What does it mean to you to be still? How often are you still? Why do you think God is telling us here to be still? What does it mean to know that God is God?
The following is a prayer by the late author Wilferd A. Peterson.
Slow me down, Lord!
Ease the pounding of my heart
By the quieting of my mind.
Steady my harried pace
With a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me, admidst the confusions of my day,
The calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions of my nerves
With the soothing music of the sighing streams
That live in my memory.
Help me to know
The magical restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art
Of taking minute vacations of slowing down to look at a flower;
To chat with an old friend or to make a new one;
To pat a stray dog,
To watch a spider build a web;
To smile at a child;
Or to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day
That the race is not always to the swift;
That there is more to life than increasing its speed.
Let me look upward
Into the branches of the towering oak
And know that it grew slowly and well.
Slow me down, Lord,
And inspire me to send my roots deep
Into the soil of life's enduring values
That I may grow toward the stars
Of my great destiny.
Sometimes being still means just slowing down a little bit. The Hebrew verb translated “be still” also means something like letting go. We often try to keep pushing on in life in such a way that we forget that God is in control. Sometimes we just need to be still, to let go, to slow down, and let God be God so that we can rejoice in life’s little miracles.
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The Greatest Power on Earth
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” – Jeremiah 31:3 (NRSV)
How has God been faithful to you? Have you felt the everlasting love of your God? Have you experienced great love from others? How so? What did it feel like? What did it do for you as a person?
The following is a response from Warren Buffet after being asked the question, “What is the best advise you have ever received?” He begins by speaking of his father and then says:
"The power of unconditional love. I mean, there is no power on earth like unconditional love. And I think that if you offered that to your child, I mean, you’re 90 percent of the way home. There may be days when you don’t feel like it — it’s not uncritical love; that’s a different animal — but to know you can always come back, that is huge in life. That takes you a long, long way. And I would say that every parent out there that can extend that to their child at an early age, it’s going to make for a better human being."
Everlasting love, unconditional love, that love that loves us just because, that is the love that grabs us and lets us know that we can become great! God loves us with an unending, awe-inspiring love. Why? Because that is who God is. When we finally realize that it is then we get on living life the way we were meant to live, knowing that we have the greatest power on earth with us, unconditional love. Maybe someone is asking, “How are we meant to live?” Well giving unconditional love in return. Loving God and loving others, and how great would it be if we extended that to all we encountered?
With hope and joy,
Garrett
How has God been faithful to you? Have you felt the everlasting love of your God? Have you experienced great love from others? How so? What did it feel like? What did it do for you as a person?
The following is a response from Warren Buffet after being asked the question, “What is the best advise you have ever received?” He begins by speaking of his father and then says:
"The power of unconditional love. I mean, there is no power on earth like unconditional love. And I think that if you offered that to your child, I mean, you’re 90 percent of the way home. There may be days when you don’t feel like it — it’s not uncritical love; that’s a different animal — but to know you can always come back, that is huge in life. That takes you a long, long way. And I would say that every parent out there that can extend that to their child at an early age, it’s going to make for a better human being."
Everlasting love, unconditional love, that love that loves us just because, that is the love that grabs us and lets us know that we can become great! God loves us with an unending, awe-inspiring love. Why? Because that is who God is. When we finally realize that it is then we get on living life the way we were meant to live, knowing that we have the greatest power on earth with us, unconditional love. Maybe someone is asking, “How are we meant to live?” Well giving unconditional love in return. Loving God and loving others, and how great would it be if we extended that to all we encountered?
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tasting Life
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? – Romans 8:31-32 (NKJV)
What does this passage mean to you? Do you believe this? What does it mean to believe this? How does a person who believes this live life? Who have you seen who lives life this way?
Following story found at: http://www.inspirationpeak.com/cgi-bin/stories.cgi?record=145
Before the young man began his studies, he wanted assurance from the Master. "Can you teach me the goal of human life?"
"I cannot," replied the Master.
“Or at least its meaning?"
"I cannot."
"Can you indicate to me the nature of death and of life beyond the grave?"
"I cannot."
The young man walked away in scorn. The disciples were dismayed that their Master had been shown up in a poor light.
Said the Master soothingly, "Of what is it to comprehend life's nature and life's meaning if you have never tasted it? I'd rather you ate your pudding than speculated on it."
Because God is for us, nothing can be against us! We are free to live life, to taste all life has to offer without fear. We are not to be speculators of truth, but people who live lives of truth! Go taste the freedom of the Gospel truth knowing that God is for us!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
What does this passage mean to you? Do you believe this? What does it mean to believe this? How does a person who believes this live life? Who have you seen who lives life this way?
Following story found at: http://www.inspirationpeak.com/cgi-bin/stories.cgi?record=145
Before the young man began his studies, he wanted assurance from the Master. "Can you teach me the goal of human life?"
"I cannot," replied the Master.
“Or at least its meaning?"
"I cannot."
"Can you indicate to me the nature of death and of life beyond the grave?"
"I cannot."
The young man walked away in scorn. The disciples were dismayed that their Master had been shown up in a poor light.
Said the Master soothingly, "Of what is it to comprehend life's nature and life's meaning if you have never tasted it? I'd rather you ate your pudding than speculated on it."
Because God is for us, nothing can be against us! We are free to live life, to taste all life has to offer without fear. We are not to be speculators of truth, but people who live lives of truth! Go taste the freedom of the Gospel truth knowing that God is for us!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Enjoy Life!
So I decided it was more important to enjoy life. The best that people can do here on earth is to eat, drink, and enjoy life, because these joys will help them do the hard work God gives them here on earth. – Ecclesiastes 8:15 (NCV)
What kind of hard work has God given you? Have you decided it is more important to enjoy life? What about this last week was a joy to you? How is the best way to enjoy life? Are you doing it? Can you do the hard work without the joys?
The following story found at: http://www.rogerknapp.com/inspire/marbles.htm
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, of maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the kitchen, with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time.
Let me tell you about it. I turned the volume up on my radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning talk show. I heard an older sounding chap with a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business himself. He was talking about "a thousand marbles" to someone named "Tom". I was intrigued and sat down to listen to what he had to say. "Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital." He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities." And that's when he began to explain his theory of a "thousand marbles."
"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years."
"Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part. It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail", he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy.
"So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round-up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right here in my workshop next to the radio. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away.
"I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight. Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday then God has blessed me with a little extra time to be with my loved ones......
"It was nice to talk to you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your loved ones, and I hope to meet you again someday. Have a good morning!"
You could have heard a pin drop when he finished. Even the show's moderator didn't have anything to say for a few moments. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to do some work that morning, then go to the gym. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. "C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast." "What brought this on?" she asked with a smile. "Oh, nothing special," I said. " It has just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."
There is so much to enjoy about life! The moments that we do not take to enjoy will disappear soon enough. We have the choice as to whether or not we will take time for the joys to help us do the hard work God gives us. Of course God gives us the joys too! Today make the choice to enjoy life!
With hope and joy,
Garrett
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