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Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Ephesians 5:11

Upon salvation God calls us to Holiness. This means that we put away our selfish attitudes and agendas and remold our patterns of thinking and behavior. In this passage of scripture, Paul does not waste time with generalities but points out that our behavior must mirror the likeness of our Savior.

The cultural background of Ephesus, the city to which this letter Ephesians is written, was a hub of the occult, black magic, spiritism….. These people understand the concept of darkness. Paul also wrote a letter to the people of Galatia that contains a familiar passage listing nine attributes of a Christian called, The Fruit of the Spirit. (5:22-23) They are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control and should permeate all relationships and actions of those who have experienced salvation.

Pursuing things of darkness is fruitless and leads to death. Your life is precious. Protect it against such things.

God and sin cannot….. will not coexist. You have to chose one or the other.

Chose joy, peace, love……

Gretchen

For Moses said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people, you must listen to everything He tells you.” Acts 3:22

Peter, accompanied by John, had just healed a crippled man sitting by the temple gate called Beautiful. As soon as word got around, people came rushing to the three men as if they were rock stars. Peter responds by reminding the crowd of recent events. Jesus, God’s son dwelt among them only to be unjustly executed, but rose from the grave. By His power the crippled man was made strong.

Peter turns this moment of spotlight into an opportunity to spread the Gospel. He reminds those listening that Jesus fulfilled the Prophecies of their forefathers. This audience of Jews knows the ancient stories. Their traditions and daily actions are guided by the words of Moses. They must connect the promises of the past to the grace and mercy of the present.

God is constantly at work in the world today, from global issues to the most intimate details of our lives. Thousands of years before Jesus walked as a man, Moses walked by faith to deliver God’s people, a nation, from the bondage of man’s selfish ambition.

From a nation, to a nameless cripple, God sent His beloved Son. You are loved and miracles still happen.

Love,

Gretchen

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 1 Corinthians 12:26

The people of the church in Corinth just couldn’t get along with each other. They argued and debated everything! Paul couldn’t return there immediately, so he pens a letter and sends it with Timothy. Chapter 12 very clearly speaks to the need for unity of heart with respect to differentiation of function.

In kindergarten the learning process goes like this: See things, define things, , learn names of things, then sort things. The sorting is actually organizing and categorizing. It is a very efficient way to prepare and store knowledge for fluent, usable retrieval.

This process refines itself as we grow older, but sometimes it becomes perverted. For instance, a child would not say that a ‘b’ is better than a ‘d’. But, eventually sorting leads to qualifying. Students may say that athletics are better than the arts, math is more important that literacy, one gender is superior to the other. Learning has stopped, fighting has ensued and everybody loses.

Paul is very specifically teaching that assigning value to each other’s contribution is toxic! Through salvation we become One Body and we cannot survive this difficult journey without each other! Through our diversity God’s light shines brightest.

Glad my world has a ‘YOU’ in it.

Love,

Gretchen

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7 and Luke 11:9

You may have noticed two references for the same verse. It is not a mistake. These words are found in both gospels, however, the setting for each is slightly different. Two men, telling the words of Jesus with slightly different verses before and after, delivering a powerful message.

This very familiar verse is quoted, memorized and sometimes misused like a spiritual American Express. Just ask, and it’s on the way. In Matthew’s gospel the scripture is found in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and Jesus concludes His words on seeking with, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” (vs. 12 The Golden rule.) The accumulation of material goods is not the promise these words deliver. Rather, as children of God we can afford to be incredibly generous because we have a loving Father that will abundantly provide for all our needs…… Remember, where He dwells they use gold bars for paving stones.

Luke narrates Jesus teaching His followers to pray. His words conclude with “How much more will your Father in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.!” Again, God will provide our needs, but always pray because praying begets spiritual strength, brings power and accesses the Glories of Heaven so that the faithful can share.

Ask, seek……God doesn’t play petty games so of course you will find…….plenty to share.

Love,

Gretchen

For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city. Acts 18:10

The missionary Paul had been speaking regularly in the synagogue in Corinth. However, his teaching about the risen Jesus upset the traditional Jews. So Paul ‘shook his clothes’ and decided he was going to take the gospel to the Gentiles. The Jews were still not satisfied and wanted an end to the gospel telling period! They took Paul to court, they beat him….generally made his life miserable by normal standards. In the midst of this struggle Paul has a vision from the LORD. “Do not be afraid, keep going, do not be silent!”

The Gospel that we have didn’t come to us without tremendous sacrifice. From God that gave His only Son, to that Son Jesus, that died a horrendous death, to the many messengers that suffered and were martyred, our Holy Bible IS the greatest story ever told and IT should be our great treasure.

God provided for Paul as he boldly, without hesitation, took the story of salvation as far as his feet and voice would carry him. Someone that had as many personal encounters with God as Paul did seems invincible, yet he still needed a continuous, new touch from God. What did God do? He provided with great love!

Have an amazing week!

Gretchen

Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:13

The Testament of Joel is a short book of prophesy that gave early Christian Disciples the basis for the events of Pentecost (the coming of the Holy Spirit). It also tells of salvation to all who call on the name of the LORD. The people of Israel constantly struggled with disobedience, consequence and then a return to God. God never turned away a sincerely repentant people.

The focus of my comments is “Rend your heart and not your garments.” Tearing one’s garments was an ancient sign of grief or remorse. The problem with this outward sign is that it may not reflect an inwardly humble and contrite heart. God knows the difference! He’s not impressed with dramatic acts of emotion, He is the author of Truth.

Since the fall of man, we have all struggled with the cycle of sin, repentance, renewal and obedience. The good news is, you can’t sin enough to make God give up, and you can’t ask for forgiveness so many times He will eventually say, “Sorry, you’re out of chances.” God is slow to anger, compassionate, abounding in love. He relents and forgives!

You are loved so keep your seams intact and rejoice!

Love,

Gretchen

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

James the brother of Christ writes a very direct and straight forward letter to the Jews that did not live in Palestine, referred to as the twelve scattered tribes in chapter 1, vs. 1. He pulls no punches with his very direct instructions for Holy living.

Submitting yourself means to allow someone else to make decisions that directly effect you. You relinquish your power as an act of great faith. Easier said than done, I know……but, only God has the ‘know how,’ to do battle with satan. So, when we trade our insufficient power for God’s mighty strength, we are able to make the devil flee from us. What a fabulous word, ‘flee!’ It means to get away as fast and far as possible! The devil will put as much distance as he possibly can between himself and me if I simply allow God to lead and guide me. This sounds like a win/win opportunity!

No need for a lantern when the Son is shining!

Love,

Gretchen

For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I am not guilty of turning from my God. 2 Samuel 22:22

This verse is from David’s Victory song found also in Psalms 18. An accounting written at the end of David’s life, this song narrates David’s reign (Chapters 21-24) showing God’s faithfulness and justice.

David was not a perfect person. He was a person that humbled himself and always returned to God. This is the sum of David’s life.

I once refused to move past someone’s sin against me. It stood between us and my unforgiving attitude crippled our relationship. One day the person said to me, “Gretchen, God has forgiven me and chosen to forget what I did. If you can’t forgive and move on then that is your problem and you can take it up with Him.” This sounds brutal but it was what I needed to understand God’s forgiveness. It is the most powerful love we will ever know. David is declaring this power. Yes he sinned, but he stands righteous in the radiance of God’s grace.

Have a very blessed Wednesday!

Love,

Gretchen

So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. I Thessalonians 5:6

Thessalonica was a prosperous city along a major east/west trade route with a thriving seaport. Today its ruins are buried beneath modern day Thessaloniki, Greece, the second largest city after Athens. Paul and his fellow missionaries, Timothy and Silas, were not well received as they spread the Gospel and founded a church. They were run out of town, but Timothy and Silas were able to find news of the fledgling church and brought it to Paul who then wrote the two letters, I and II Thessalonians.

These words tell of our hope in Christ’s return to take believers who have remained ready and watchful. I encourage you to read the entire chapter. This type of scripture is called eschatology. It is meant to inform and prepare Christians what will happen at the end of this age and in the age to come, grounding them in the hope of eternity with their Savior.

Eternity is very overwhelming, but inevitable. These words give assurance and encouragement to persevere with faithfulness to the end of human life because that is just the beginning. The best is yet to come.

Have a perfect Tuesday!

Love,

Gretchen

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

At a time of great personal despair a friend invited me into her home. I was lonely and afraid. She let me cry and then cry some more. After a while I felt her hand on my back and she quietly said, “I know you will find your smile some day. The sun will come out and you’ll laugh again.”

I grabbed that lifeline of hope. It meant everything to me. She did not condemn, shame or advise. She offered assurance to the return of joy. She carried my burden and it altered the course of my life.

There’s no need to save the world, God already did. Just keep hope alive by lifting up your fellow man.

Love,

Gretchen