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Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:15

Maturity is a choice. Growing older is not. You don’t necessarily get one with the other.

Chronological aging is just going along for the ride. We had no say in when and where we entered the world and we really have no say in when and where we leave, but in the mean time the choice is all ours. That brings us to the mental and emotional level we chose to dwell in.

Maturity is facing the truth and owning what is ours…….mistakes and failures, successes and blessings; to recognize other’s contributions to the above mentioned, show gratitude where it is due and grace and mercy in exchange for bitterness and defeat.

Believers become the body of Christ and He wants to perfect us so that we may grow and do His work on earth. The path for this progress is truth. In accepting Jesus as the only truth we submit our tainted perspectives, petty folly and selfish ambitions, to His perfect knowledge, patient love and final victory. Suddenly we are grown-up Christians and it’s a very nice thing to be.

Gretchen

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. John 17:20

Jesus is within hours of being crucified and He knows it. He also knows that His beloved disciples, the men He spent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with for the last three years have no clue about what is coming down. Yes, Jesus has prepared them, but they cannot comprehend what will prove to be the most mysterious, glorious and victorious event of all time.

So what does Jesus do? He prays. He sets things in perspective in a quiet talk with His dad. The entire seventeenth chapter of John is Jesus praying, first for Himself to focus on the big picture, eternal life. Then He prays for His disciples. Jesus is literally committing His friends into the care of His Father. How beautiful is that?! And Then……..drum roll please…….He prayed for you and I. Yes, Jesus has spoken, out loud, a prayer personally for you and for me.

What did Jesus ask the Father to give us? A oneness with Him and each other so that we may know the full extend of the Father’s love.

Oh How He Loves Us!

Gretchen

She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” Acts 16:17

This loud mouthed, fortune-telling young slave girl had become a regular aggravation to Paul as he made his daily trek to a place of prayer. After many days Paul turned and said to the spirit that possessed this woman, “In the name of Jesus Christ, come out of her!”

The story continues that things didn’t go well for Paul and Silas after this act of healing. There is no further record of the young woman that lost the lively hood of her owner and herself. BUT! A few hours later a wrongly flogged and imprisoned Paul and Silas experience the miracle of freedom from bondage and lead their jailer and his household to salvation.

In this narrative, sinful man acts predictably. The slave owner is outraged that his easy money is cut off, shows little respect for any other human and keeps his mouth going about his rights as a Roman citizen until he starts a riot that robs two other Roman citizens of their liberties.

Godly men make beautiful history. They are disciplined to daily prayer, they free a woman from an unwelcome spirit, they respond to their injustice with praise and prayer, when a natural disaster frees them, they remain in place to minister to the frightened, hopeless and lost. Finally, they use their ‘rights as Romans’ to further the gospel, not oppress others.

You get to chose. Which legacy do you want to embrace?

Have a great day!

Gretchen

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. I Corinthians 13:1

Sorry if I offend any percussionist, but there is no worse music on earth than an extended accapella snare drum solo, a gong sonata, or maybe a cymbal minuet! It’s just a bunch of noise that brings about one thought, “How soon will this end?”

Talk takes no effort, costs nothing and often brings the same response as the music I just spoke of, “When will it end?” Lip service is worthless if you do not bring your manpower to back it up. Love is the manpower this world needs.

Words just stir air molecules, love in action changes things.

Gretchen

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105

I know my yard well. The shrubbery is mapped in my head, the water features give themselves away, there are sidewalks to mark common thoroughfares to necessary places. I spend a great deal of daytime and dark in my little paradise. So why would I ever need a flashlight?

For the unexpected, the unforeseen! Dog pooh! A SNAKE!! Rogue patio chairs!

We are a mobile race. Our minds and bodies stay on the go constantly. For the most part we choose our routes, but even so, we know we will encounter the unexpected and we need light to avoid, detour or protect ourselves from the things we do not wish to step in or stumble over. God’s ‘Word’ is our only hope of a safe and secure sojourn.

The Psalmist is praising God for this ‘Word’ that indeed sheds brilliant, shadowless light. Let’s renew this praise also for this wonderful luminary that is our gift.

Gretchen

Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it. 2 Cor. 8:24

Paul throughout his letters has preached the oneness of Christ across racial divides. Racial tensions between Jews and Gentiles were a reality and very deadly at this time. Paul taught that there was great virtue in doing good for those that persecute you and asked often for Gentile Christians to set aside money for oppressed Jews, They went above and beyond the call. As a result, Paul had to delegate Titus and two other associates to manage the churches of Macedonia and their offerings in an ethical and responsible way. This verse is a call to accept these emissaries in a way that will continue the work of the gospel.

However, there’s another subtle message. Paul says, “Love those I love…… If you love me, then love them too.” He is echoing Christ’s call to love one another….If you love Me, love those I love.

We have accepted His grace and we love Christ. So now we are asked to love those He loves. We didn’t earn Christ’s love upon Salvation. We were freely GIVEN salvation because of His love. It is our highest calling to LOVE those that Christ loves, basically…..everyone!

Accepting love is the first step toward salvation, so let’s offer it and lead the way!!!!

Gretchen

Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them. Hosea 14:9

The path of least resistance leads to crooked rivers and crooked men. – Henry David Thoreau.

I am a school teacher. I say a million times a day, “Make a good choice.” This is not a new concept. The entire book of Hosea is God saying make good choices or horrible consequences will rain down. Sometimes it’s tough to hear, but it is a very serious reality.

God is my creator and the lover of my soul, Jesus is my savior and has paid my redemption. I walk daily in the reality of my second chance……..and my third and fourth…….millionth. Through Christ’s blood we always have another chance. But there are two myths many people have bought into.

Myth 1. Human life gives you second chances.
Truth-IT DOES NOT! Time marches on, broken truth leaves fissures, moments/opportunities come and go quickly never to return, hurt people don’t hang around. Odds are you won’t get a second chance.

Myth 2. People are born with dispositions toward wisdom or rebellion. It’s just fate.
Truth-There’s a great deal of theology to be hashed out here but in simple terms, God Loves His Creation and that is YOU! He has gone to every extreme to redeem you and bring you to eternal life. It’s a choice NOT fate.

Wisdom is a choice. It is a good choice. God always honors your request for it.

Rebellion is a choice. It is easy, lazy and bad. Guaranteed, you won’t like the outcome.

Praying for you all because I love you too!!

Gretchen

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

The infinity of God is a truth that boggles the mind. God always was and always will be. He does not exist in linear time, He created it, therefore, it is His to administer as He pleases, to bring glory to Himself.

So what does an all powerful God do with time? He makes everything beautiful.

From the moment you became a being you entered into eternity. Eternal life doesn’t happen when you give your heart to Jesus, your residence just changes and you begin to grow more beautiful with each passing day.

Love,

Gretchen

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father-Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. I John 2:1

It is God’s desire for us to live Holy lives. It is possible because it says, “So that you will not sin.” but, then we are human and our Creator knows that. In His perfect love, perfect timing and Oh! so perfect wisdom He gave us a perfect advocate. Someone to stick up for us, to plead our case, to say, “Don’t hold it against them, I’ll take the consequence.” WOW!!!!!

As our Savior Jesus already took the blame, and as our advocate He stands before God as our defense lawyer.  He never loses a case.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Gretchen

If I go up to the Heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:8-10

I love traveling. The anticipation of seeing something for the first time is one of my favorite states of being, but I also love returning to places that hold treasured moments. I realize that sometimes I travel to find myself, and other times I travel to escape myself. Oh my what a mess!

But maybe not so much………………

No matter where we are, spiritually or physically God is there. Our minds constantly take us to the outer limits of our comprehension, much further than our physical bodies would ever dare to go, and so the Psalmist, who had the same mental, physical and spiritual content as you and I, put to words his realization that there is absolutely no where that God is not.

The presence of God is your choice, not a state of geography or zen. There are days when our spirits fly high and of course God is there, but when we crawl into our dark place, is He there too? Yes, He is your auto pilot when you are lost and can’t find your way or that firm grip on your hand when you are perilously close to the edge. All is well, He is there.

Gretchen