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The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. I Timothy 1:5

Love, a pure heart, good conscience, sincere faith. These are the things that bring personal Holiness; a complete lack of personal agenda and total submission to God’s will.

Love what God loves, seek the goodness of His Kingdom, sleep well in the peace of doing good and know that God has your life in His Hands.

Timothy has been sent to teach the Truth in the face of false teaching. Their message was tainted with hidden agenda, but the world cannot argue with God’s perfect, selfless love.

When in doubt, and there will be times you will be, just love. Let God carry the burden of theology……who’s right, who’s wrong….. you just love. It will reveal who’s side you are on while cultivating a faith of perfect peace.

Happy All Saints Day,

Gretchen

You have searched me LORD, and you know me. Psalm 139:1

Here is a list of the top 10 things you will never hear God say:

1.) “Wow, I didn’t see that coming!”
2.) “Oh goodness! What are we going to do now?”
3.) “That’s a first!”
4.) “Oops!”
5.) “Wait, let me start all over.”
6.) “If only I’d listened to you.”
7.) “I give up satan, you can have this one.”
8.) “You can take if from here.”
9.) “You again?!”
10.) “Figure it out yourself.”

The greatest assurance to be found is knowing there isn’t any part of you that God, your creator, doesn’t know. He knows your secret anxieties and insecurities. He knows your hopes and aspirations. God knows you like no other, and He has found you worthy of redemption at a very great price.

Because God already knows what holds you together, what gets you up in the morning, trust Him and allow Him to perfect your will, your heart into the most wonderful version of ‘You’ that can ever possibly be.

Love,

Gretchen

Haughty to Humble

Human ingenuity and innovation has brought convenience to a time we proudly call “The Modern World.” I look around my house and think, “I’m so glad I have _____ .” (Fill in the blank). But of all the things I like and think I couldn’t live without, door hinges top my list. Don’t laugh. Consider, they bring living to a whole new plane. I have doors that swing in, out, up, down. Whatever I need a door to do, this genius of engineering makes possible. Best of all, when I bolt my exterior doors, the hinges on the inside assure the door isn’t going anywhere or letting anyone in except that I allow. Many years have come and gone and I have never had to oil, adjust or maintain any door hinges.

There was a time in my youth when I was an arrogant brat. It’s true. It has been confirmed by my older brother and two younger sisters and during holiday gatherings, evidence is once again presented lest I forget. (Don’t worry about me though, I’ve got the goods on them too.) However, there came a time for my pride to become humility, and for me to grow a servant’s heart.

One Sunday morning I was called to play the piano for hymn singing and offering. I thought I did an outstanding job but after worship no one, not a soul, acknowledged my talents or performance. Neither did anyone say, “Thank you.” I was appalled. Walking through the church with my pastor/father after the last parishioner left, turning off lights and picking up discarded bulletins, I announced that I was never again going to offer my musical talent to such an ungrateful people and I shared my disappointment in the absence of praise and adoration.

Dad stopped, raised his eyebrows and looked over his glasses at me. There was a very loud silence and then he pointed to the doors separatiing the sanctuary from the vestibule. He said, “Gretchen, do you see those doors?”

I quietly replied, “Yes dad.”

“Have you ever given thought to why they work so nicely providing the service we need?”

“No dad.”

Dad drew me closer and brought me into awareness of THE DOOR HINGE.
“Gretchen, no one ever gives a second thought to the hinge unless it fails, yet we couldn’t make it without them. The fact that no one noticed you, meant you did what you were supposed to do with great proficiency and brought worship to the place it was meant to be.”

“Yes dad.”

“Gretchen, God needs His people to be like door hinges.”

“Yes dad.”

Pride connects our hearts to the things of this world, unconditional, selfless love through service brings us into the presence of God.

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve
others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. Peter 4:10

Love,

Gretchen

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Psalm 32:1

We are Blessed! Eternal life has already begun for those whose sins are forgiven. Remember, Jesus died so we didn’t have to!!!

Have a great Day
Love,

Gretchen

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Mood celebration or a Sabbath day. Colossians 2:16

Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. – Jaroslav Pelikan.

Paul is speaking to a congregation of new converts, gentiles, not Jews. Up until the resurrection Jewish people depended on strict adherence to Levitical law for guidance in religious behavior. But Jesus taught that Loving God above all else and your neighbor as yourself, (Mark 12:28-34) was the key to the Kingdom of Heaven.

With the break from tradition, people were offended and arguments ensued. (Read all of Col. 2. It’s really good!)

Tradition can guide us forward, but Jesus did not sacrifice Himself on a cruel cross to assure that we worship twice on Sunday and once through the week with three songs each service, a forty minute sermon, an offering in the middle and pot roast for dinner. Yes, the Sabbath is Holy, it is a time set aside for the exclusive acknowledgement of the ONE that gave His Son, and the Son that gave His life. That is love! There’s nothing traditional about that!

Do not be held hostage by traditionalism. It is not faith. Instead be an advocate and conduit of unconditional love in action.

Have a great Friday!

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in 
you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own. 1 Corinthians 6:19

Corinth was a bustling metropolis, one of the top five busiest towns of the Roman empire at the time of Paul’s missionary trip there. Located between the Aegean and Adriatic seas with ports on each, Corinth was the crossroad of a diverse world. These people lived with gusto, they were on the move, pagan worship was the order of the day, they understood the significance and reverence of a temple.

Paul had been preaching a gospel of love rather than law. His listeners were converted gentiles with very little knowledge of God much less Holy living. ‘Anything goes’ was the extent of their ethical and moral teaching. So Paul explains, there is a tremendous difference between being free to do anything and having anything make free with you. Where is the balance between privilege and detriment?

God’s design for your life is beautiful and uncomplicated. Satan certainly wants to clutter things up with emotional, spiritual and physical baggage. However, God saves, sanctifies and makes Holy your body and soul thus creating a perfect dwelling place, a temple, for His Spirit.

Holiness is simply the absence of sin. God won’t, can’t dwell with sin as a housemate. If you long to live Holy then you are not your own. Let God’s Holiness fill the spaces of your life so completely that there is no room for anything but His precious, powerful Spirit.

Love,

Gretchen

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believer in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. I Timothy 4:12

The authority is in the Message, not the messenger. Verse 11 says, “Command and teach these things,” referring to the prior verse, “We have put our hope in the Living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially those who believe.”

Most people say, “I will help if someone else will take charge.” Leading is a difficult position whether you’re speaking of a flock of geese flying south, or the women’s auxiliary organizing a bazaar. Leaders are vulnerable to criticism and other’s willingness to follow. A great leader sets their eye on the goal, is confident in their mission and plan of action, then marches on undistracted. Age may grow a thicker skin and perseverance through practice, but age does NOT determine the message.

Do not let any excuse mute your voice. Live to the standard set before you: Holiness in speech, conduct, love, faith and all purity and then go boldly where others fear to tread.

Love from a not so youthful,

Gretchen

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. Colossians 1:9

Each of Paul’s epistles began with words of commendation and praise for those who have heard and accepted the Gospel. These particular words go out to the Christians in Colosse, an area located in what is now western Turkey, a place Paul was never able to visit personally but felt great connection to through their pastor and his student Epaphras.

Paul was an evangelist, pastor, missionary, friend and disciple. He was not God!!!! He knew where his power ended and God’s began. He prayed that this church, these people would find clear and perfect knowledge and grow in wisdom and understanding through the work of the Spirit. In faith he knew they would.

It is often difficult to do the work God calls us to, then step back and release the outcome to Him. Remember the same God that reached down into your deep pit of spiritual quicksand will reach down to those you pray for and minister to. Paul presented the Gospel. That’s all any of us can do. Don’t micro manage God!!! You be you, and let God be God.

Have a Peaceful Day!
Love,

Gretchen

Then from Heaven Your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their case. I Kings 8:49

As part of the dedication of the Jerusalem Temple, the first permanent House of Worship to the One True God, Solomon spoke these words. The request is very simple: Let this physical building be a symbol of Your long enduring patience with a human race that can’t seem to keep their eyes and hearts on You alone.

I am a steeple watcher. I was fortunate to travel to Europe several years ago. The trip involved touring many cathedrals and basilicas. Their magnificent size and beauty was indeed breath taking. Every town, even the smallest had a chapel at its center with sky scraping spires drawing the weary toward hope. So why did these walls cast a shadow on a lost world?

In America we have churches on every corner in every shape and size easily accessible to everyone. Yet, the world doesn’t come. That’s okay, because the building isn’t the sum of what God can or will do. You’ll find that in the glorious cross atop those ornate pinnacles, those spires drawing you toward the One True God.

Raise your face to the Son/sun today and you’ll probably see a steeple or two. Let each one you pass remind you that God still choses to dwell among us hearing our plea and upholding our case. Oh! What a wonderful promise.

Love,

Gretchen

The Gloomy Side of the Street

I struggle with depression. My cup is always half empty and leaking. I see the sunny side of the street, I admire it and those comfortably dwelling there. I take the occasional vacation into that blessed land, but I cannot manage to invest in a permanent residence. I do not wallow in my gloomy state. I hate it quite a lot.

I am not writing to diagnose anyone, prescribe a remedy or garner sympathy. I am telling you the story of God saving my life, over and over again. I’ve learned a few lessons as I’ve unwrapped His gift of love, mercy and grace. I wish for you the hope and joy I’ve found and cling to.

There is a standard, a quality of life that each person imagines and strives toward. I only wanted to be a perfect wife, mother, daughter, sister, Christian, church member, friend, financier, adviser, employee, teacher, mentor……If you think I might have a God complex, yes that too. I was young and naive and the only option was to grow old and wise or die. At times it was a difficult choice.

My story took me to a rural community with a small school where I served as music teacher. My classroom was a tiny outbuilding on the back forty. Students had to walk a short distance across a gravel drive to enter my room. I could hear them coming. One afternoon I was sitting at my piano, in the dark. I couldn’t find a song in my heart. My head was reeling with a multitude of failures and a full ‘To Do’ list I didn’t have the energy or resources to complete. If you think I sound whiny on paper, just imagine what God gets to hear!!! His shoulders are big though and I knew if He was real, hope was near and I could continue on. So I cried, “Dear Father, if You are there please speak!”

Within seconds I heard steps crunching across that dusty, rocky path and two beautiful baritone voices singing a praise riff, “I didn’t bring you this far to let you down now.” Over and over until one of the voices added, “God has smiled on me. He has set me free!” God spoke through two high school boys just bee-bopping along, bringing Heaven to earth. God heard my cry and He answered clearly.

I later heard the rest of this song during a visit to Solomon Grove Baptist Church for a student Sunday. I think these are the lines that layer one on top of the other as voices join in.

God has smiled on me,
He has set me free.
His love won’t let me be,
Yes God has smiled on me.

He didn’t bring this far to let me down now. (Repeated until you get it!)

If that isn’t enough, the words and traditional tune of Amazing Grace weave in and out like an intricate tapestry.

God is Good. He will answer. Seek first His Kingdom and everything else will work out! Matthew 6:33-34, paraphrased.

All my love,

Gretchen

And the rest of the story goes like this:
Sean Wright and Dwan Henderson were the two singing angels. Both have grown to be very fine men with amazing families of their own. Thanks guys, Mrs. Rooney loves you.

A few truths I’ve found helpful:

1. God doesn’t play games with your emotions and you shouldn’t either. Depression is deadly. Don’t go there. Get help. You are welcome to contact me but a professional is probably a good idea.

2. Practice random acts of kindness. Don’t spend money, just give encouragement or gratitude. You will be doing a great service to the world.

3. Distinguish between God’s call and the world’s unrealistic demands. God is loving and gentle. He protects and restores. He is NEVER cruel and abusive.

4. Make discipleship a priority, (devotionals and Bible study) especially when you don’t feel like it.

5. God thought the world needed one of you. I’m sure I do, so please take care of yourself!