😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you. A quick question to get things started and say your answer out loud. Are you a follower of Christ?

Brian and I shared some quality time with each other this past weekend driving 26 hours to FL and back, walking through parks, and feeling the thunder of NHRA drag races. Yesterday I was catching up on listen to a church service I typically listen to each week and they mentioned Romans 6:4-8 (NIV)

“We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection like His. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.”

What really struck me listening to this passage is how many times Paul said “with Him”. That got me to thinking about the question I asked you earlier. It would have been a very different situation if we had driven two cars and I followed Brian to FL. I know, that would have been a very silly thing to do…right? We would have missed a lot of conversations, looks, singing together, holding hands, and even just sitting quietly enjoying each other’s presence. Following Brian would have put distance between us and allowed for missed opportunities to experience each other and grow our relationship. So, are you a follower of Christ with that margin of distance between you; reading His words that were written many years ago, but never hearing His voice; seeing or hearing about other people experiencing His presence or hearing Him speak and thinking they must be special to experience that? OR are you WITH Christ, feeling and experiencing His presence; talking with Him and hearing His words; allowing Him to use you to be His presence? Do you want to be a follower of Christ or with Christ? The choice is yours. He’s already putting forth the effort to pursue you, now it’s your turn to let Him know by your actions what He means to you. Bless others and be blessed.

#DannyGokey – If You Ain’t In It

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you.  Saturday I had some events happen that I thought I would share with you…until Monday evening happened.  I would really rather be sharing something a little lighter, but I have to tell on myself a bit. I guess if we don’t learn from and share our mistakes, then they were made in vain.  So here goes. 

Sometimes we can be so focused on what we want, that we are blind by choice, to what God truly desires for us and knows is best for us.  Monday night I was whining about a situation with a friend and then about an hour and a half later I found myself whining to a different friend about the same situation. That’s when it happened. Right in the middle of our conversation, God said in a stern but hurt voice “Why are you complaining about a gift I gave you?”  I don’t know if it showed on my face or not, but it was a take a step back, pit in my stomach, hardcore reality check for me. There is a big difference between talking something through to receive wisdom and guidance, compared to whining and complaining.  I did apologize to Him for whining.  And you better believe if I head down that path again, I will remember the sound of His voice and put a stop to my useless actions. I don’t ever want to hear His voice sound like that again.  If you by chance find yourself heading down that road, maybe you too can think about His words and avoid the situation I put myself into, so that you don’t have to make the same mistake. Bless others and be blessed. 

#SanctusReal – Changed

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you.  For the past month I’ve had this pain in my left shoulder. It wasn’t until last Saturday that I thought about it enough to try to figure out why I was having the pain. Then the answer came very clearly, in more ways than one. God told me, “Quit carrying around the weight of your situation.”  You see, I have a situation going on for which I created a binder with all my notes, emails, etc. in it.  I carry it with me each day in a bag that I put on my left shoulder.  Yeah, no real surprise I have that pain. But God didn’t stop there.  He went on to remind me how we are so good about carrying around the weight and the physical and emotional pain of our burdens, thinking that we can handle them on our own. There’s no doubt we can be proud like that, thinking we can handle it on our own.  But He told me and He’s telling you, “Lay it down.”  On Sunday, I took that binder out of my bag and a ton of change out of my purse. What a difference it’s made. I know laying down the physical stuff can be much easier than the emotional, but none the less, we must lay it all down or that pain will never leave. Don’t allow pain to consume your thoughts and cripple your actions. 

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent and Christ’s journey to the cross. He paid the price so that you and I can lay our burdens down.  So why are we still holding onto them?  Seriously, take them to His cross, lay them down, and walk away.  I pray that you really reach out to the Lord this Lent and take a few steps with Him along this road. Talk with Him and listen for His response, then go forth and share with others what He took the time to share with you. Oh and if you see someone with ashes on their forehead today, don’t tell them they have dirt on their face or try to wipe it off. Say a prayer and thank God that person is not afraid to express their faith and devotion to Him.  Bless others and be blessed. 

#Unspoken – Human Condition

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you.  Reading the second letter of John, his final words in verse 12 caused me both to ponder and smile. “I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.”  

How easy is it nowadays to “communicate” through text, tweets, chats, and posts?  It does make it easy, but the art, skills, and benefits of face to face visits and conversation are being forgotten and lost.  In John’s day it was no easy task to hike from town to city and city to country, but he was willing to put his words on hold and wait until he could have a face to face conversation “so that our joy may be complete.”  Sharing news, the Good News, with someone face to face is by far more exciting and inspiring than through written word. And don’t forget the actual exchange of expression; the sound of laughter; seeing a person so moved by what they are sharing/hearing that they get choked up; a handshake; a hug; watching tears fill your friend’s eyes and being there to hold and comfort them. After all, where two or more are gathered in His name, He too is there with us. 

John uses almost the same closing words in his third letter, as he did in his second letter. How many letters do you read about Jesus writing compared to how many journeys He took to have face to face conversations and relationships?  There is great importance in sharing of our lives and having conversations face to face.  Bless others and be blessed. 

#JamieGrace – With You

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you. This past weekend my daughter shared a story with me about her 1 year old daughter and 3 year old son. Her daughter had gotten sick on the way to school one morning, so when they arrived she asked her son to walk to his class while she cleaned her daughter up. When his teacher arrived she found him in his cubby, in the dark, crying. He was afraid of the dark. 1 John 1:5 tells us…”God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.”  At your age, I’m sure you won’t be sitting in a cubby, in a classroom, crying because you’re afraid of the dark. But think about it for a minute. How do you act when faced with fear? Just like my grandson, I imagine there’s some crying involved, maybe you lash out at others, get defensive, hide in your room.  Maybe fear paralyzes you and you’re unable to move forward, or maybe you overcompensate, act arrogantly and pretend nothing is wrong.  As childhood innocence fades away, we feel that we have to act strong and pretend that we can handle everything on our own. But that is the farthest from the truth. God created us to be in relationship first with him and second with others. He will never leave us to face fears alone.  1 John 4:16 “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”  Monday I heard this on a Christian radio station and thought it was worth sharing. “Satan knows your name, but calls you by your sins. The Lord knows your sins, but calls you by name.”  

The Lord’s light that overcomes ALL darkness is His radiant love. Allow His radiant love to penetrate and consume you as only the love of our Lord can. Bless others and be blessed. 

#BrandonHeath – Your Love

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you.  2 Peter 1:5-7 encourages us to “make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.” Peter goes on to tell us in verses 8-9, that if we possess these qualities, they will keep us from being ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if we don’t have them, Peter calls us nearsighted and blind, declaring that we have forgotten that we have been cleansed from our past sins.

What I’m hearing God telling me is that faith in Him must be our starting point. Remember, it only takes faith the size of a mustard seed to move mountains. From there you add goodness. But don’t just rush through that process. You need time to grow in His goodness before you should transition to the next God-centered, character building quality. The journey from faith to love is not a sprint. It truly is a marathon with all the aches, pains, doubts, victories, joys, and relationships along the way. It may only take you a couple steps to get from faith to goodness. But it may be a lot more involved, intense, and many more steps to get from self-control to perseverance. Sometimes we may even have to repeat a few steps. Wherever you are in your journey, don’t give up. God has an incredible plan for you and it’s all about the journey, not the destination. Don’t get me wrong, He definitely wants to share eternity with you in heaven; but we’ve got a lot of growing, in Him, to do before we will even come close to comprehending the incredible blessings that God so desires to give you. You are His beloved child and He delights in you. Bless others and be blessed. 

#Unspoken – If We Only Knew

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you.  The treadmill has become my friend this winter.  Although I find myself missing my nature walks and yearning for hiking weather. Exploring new places is great, but there is a comfort and depth in return to the same place time and again. When you visit a new hiking trail you typically focus on things at the surface and easy to see. You can call me a creature of habit, but what I like so much about returning to the same place is that each time you go, you look a little deeper. You see and experience the changes that are happening; deer prints in a new location; the flow of the stream; the subtleties in a decomposing log.  You can see and experience this same kind of change, growth and depth in relationships as well.  It’s like reading the Bible. The more you allow yourself time and again to return to God’s Word, the deeper you can focus and the greater the treasures you’ll find.  The greater the growth. The greater the depth of your wisdom and vision.  Allow yourself to be overwhelmed by Him. Bless others and be blessed. 

#BigDaddyWeave – Overwhelmed

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you. Reading Hebrews chapter 13 on Monday evening made me think of a grand finale at the end of a fireworks display. That final chapter of Hebrews was an explosion of wisdom nuggets. I wanted to share a few verses that really stuck out for me, but I would also encourage you to read the book of Hebrews for yourself. 

3″Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoner…”  We are all prisoners to our thoughts and actions. They hold us captive, can draw us away from where Christ is calling us, and can plunge you into a pit that feels impossible to escape from. But through it all, the Lord, Father, Son, and Spirit will never leave you.  He makes His love and grace available to us unconditionally.  Make Them the source of your thoughts and actions. God tells us 5…”never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  And I believe that with all my heart.  6″So we say with confidence, the Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”  In those moments when life starts slinging mud in your direction, let it fall where it may. Pause for a moment, then breath in the Words and wisdom of the Lord. Allow His Spirit to guide you and move forward in confidence. Bless others and be blessed. 

#TobyMac – The Elements

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you.  I would bet that Joshua wasn’t looking for a flight the day Moses told him to choose some men and go fight the Amalekites. Exodus 17: 8-16  Reading a little more into this scripture we find that Moses didn’t send Joshua and his chosen few out on their own. Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of a hill where they could see all the action and as long as Moses had his arms stretched towards the heavens and praying, they were winning. When his hands dropped, the enemy got the better of the fight. So Aaron and Hur gave Moses a rock to sit on and held his hands up, one on each side. This is what God has shown me to be true in my life lately. I’ve been placed in a fight that I didn’t choose. But God didn’t ask me to fight this battle alone.  He has placed a community of prayer warriors around me, with their arms stretched high. The power prayer has is overwhelming the enemy and helps to keep peace and focus as the battle rages on. 

I would guess you probably don’t go looking for fights either. But when you are asked to fight, how will you respond? Will you reach out to your community of prayer warriors?  Will you allow the Holy Spirit a front row seat and look to Him for guidance? Or, will you retreat and try to do it alone?  We’ve all heard “Choose your battles wisely.” It’s not just about choosing your battles, it’s more about whom you choose to have with you when battles come your way.  Bless others and be blessed. 

#Group1Crew – He Said

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you. “It may look like I’m surrounded, but I’m surrounded by You.” and Jeremiah 17:7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.”  These are a couple lines that could describe my past week. It has felt as if the spiritual forces of evil have been testing my trust in the Lord; just waiting for the slightest bit of doubt to bust open a crack that they could make a home in.  I really don’t recall ever repeating a scripture so much to myself as I have this past week with Jeremiah 17:7. More specially the last part of that “…whose trust IS THE LORD.”  From time to time we all find ourselves in situations that we don’t want to be in and wonder; How in the world did I get here?  As challenging as the moment may seem, take a deep breath and look for God’s undeniable fingerprints. Because of a human error, I find myself in a place “I should have never been”, if it hadn’t been for God’s hand in it.  Just as the Angel Gabriel encouraged Mary in Luke 1:37 when he presented her with God’s will for her to be the mother of Christ, we should also be encouraged, “For nothing is impossible with God.”  Looking back, there is no denying God’s presence all along the way.  So then, why should I start doubting His presence now?  “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.”  Bless others and be blessed. 

#MichaelWSmith – Surrounded