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But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. Luke 15:32

These are the final comments from the parable of the Prodigal Son, a story Jesus Himself told to teach a point. I encourage you to read verses 11-32. It is an illustration of the Heavenly Father’s response to a lost soul returning home. Jesus’ objective in this verbal painting is to give encouragement when we grow discouraged over sinfulness.

Jesus’ sole purpose was to forgive.  All else He has done is a residual of this one thing, FORGIVE! He was without sin, but His heart ached for those in bondage to death’s grip. The lost brother was found and freed.  The other brother, he who never rebelled and stood loyal and faithful to his father, was resentful.  Why was this added as a dimension to this narrative? Because the attitude exists in reality and is destructive. God doesn’t need our notches to assist Him in keeping track of who deserves what.

Jesus became man so that we could become eternal. It wasn’t an even trade. When we try to keep score, we lose every time. Take the win, then take as many as you can find with you!

Happy Monday,

Gretchen

I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

There is not a more intimate song of praise to our creator God.  This Psalm tells of God’s infinite knowledge of man’s soul and His universal presence in all things.

Fear, as it pertains to our relationship with God, is a profound respect, rooted in awe and wonder. We must honor and worship God alone, but the Psalmist recognizes that we also, are fearfully made, not from an assembly line of repeated parts that work together in synchrony, but each, a unique combination of God’s supreme creative power. 

We strive to become like each other.  It makes us comfortable and even in our rebellion toward some standards of acceptable behavior, we align ourselves with those of similar actions, thus getting lost once again in our alikeness. This is not all bad, as it makes the world run more smoothly most of the time. Just don’t get lost in man’s cookie cutter mentality and lose sight of how independent and original your were when God decided the world needed one of you. You were woven together with the greatest respect by the One who loves you most.

Love,

Gretchen

So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:21

God is the sovereign originator of all that is. The world, designed for man, was purposefully created in a logical, ordered fashion:

           Days 1-4. Inanimate creation, light, atmosphere, land, sea, vegetation, sun, moon and stars.

           Day 5. Animate creation, sea creatures, land animals.

           Day 6. Man, with moral conscience, the ability to share in a variety of relationships, an imagination, and a free choice.

By the word, the very breath of God, chaos, a formless void, came into perfect harmony.

God is a God of Wonder, which is the root word for wonderful……FULL OF WONDER! He delights in all that He did. Point your face toward His Heavens and rejoice in the things God calls good, and that includes yourself!

Love,

Gretchen

Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.  Daniel 5:17

While a youth, Daniel was carried away from Jerusalem and into exile by the Babylonian army. Well educated, handsome, and intelligent, Daniel became friend and advisor to King Nebuchadnezzar, a brilliant builder and administrator of the world’s greatest empire at the time.

On three occasions Daniel’s ministry caused Nebuchadnezzar to call the God of Daniel, God. Nebuchadnezzar died and Babylon was led by other kings. By the time Daniel was a very old man, Belshazzar was in power. In an act of deep wickedness, this king brought sacred things from the temple of God and used them in an orgy type feast. God was not amused and wrote Belshazzar a message of his doom on the wall of the banquet hall. Daniel was called to interpret the message. He did, and that very night the Babylonian empire fell to Persia.

This earthly king meant to disgrace and circumvent the power and ordinances of God. In a panic, Belshazzar promised greatness and security in his kingdom if Daniel could save him and give him peace of mind. Daniel let it be known that the only place in any kingdom he was interested in was that of the One True God. Belshazzar died that night. Daniel lived and continued to lead a life that brought glory to God.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday,

Gretchen

Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. I Peter 3:4

The world is always cruel about the things we have no control over. Think of prejudice. It is centered on skin color, geographical origin, gender, all things that were part of the original package, designed by God, when we were woven together in our mother’s womb. But soon after the exit, it begins, the sorting of who’s who and what will be tolerated.  The knee jerk reaction is a life time of searching to find a skin you’re comfortable in and so perfect no one could possibly find fault, all while proving one’s higher discernment by picking others apart.  This build’s fragile families that have little chance of surviving life’s stress.

Nero’s persecution was horrendous. Peter probably wrote this letter shortly after Paul’s martyrdom. Peter teaches, the things of strength and comfort begin in the home with the two people that founded the family. When the world becomes the enemy, wives should offer loving devotion.  A countenance of hope and faith trumps the torments of the world.  Then, the power of two becomes the winning majority.

Biblical tradition tells that Peter’s own wife, Concordia, was martyred in Peter’s presence shortly before his own life was taken. Together, they stood firm and changed the world of Christianity by their character, not their earthly gathering of baubles and bows.

Love,

Gretchen

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! II Corinthians 5:17

Many animals outgrow their skin. A caterpillar comes into the world very small and very hungry, but as he chomps away and grows, his skin stays the same. He must shed this ‘crisis’ and move on, or he will die before he ever has an opportunity to become what he was designed to be. This process occurs multiple times before a final metamorphosis.

In this passage of scripture Paul speaks to the Corinthian congregation concerning their issues in everyday life. New Christians struggle to put away bad habits. They did in Paul’s day and they still do today! Those who have a little more wear and tear on their faith must still chose to soften their hearts and minds to Christ’s call in a lost and hurting world. Because Christ’s love compels us, (vs. 14) we must chose to be renewed. If we don’t we will die.

Growing uncomfortable with something is one of the many ways God shows us it’s time to grow a little, move on and become more like Jesus.

Chasing Butterflies.

Gretchen

“For by your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:37

Our words reveal our character. In fact, all our actions, both secret and public have an audience and are being written down. You can’t do one thing and say you believe another.  To do so means you are rewriting truth. There is only one Truth and He will not be amended or altered to suit man’s comfort. 

These words are Jesus’ own in context of the Pharisee’s questioning the origin of His powers. Every miracle Jesus performed was done in love and benevolence, for the purpose of healing and restoring the weak and broken, but He was accused of being in cahoots with the devil.  Why? The Jewish leaders hated Him and His threat to their authority. They wished to murder His character with their words. (Gossip at its very worst.) Their tongues revealed their soul’s darkness.

Calling evil, good, is a fast road to a place no one wants as their permanent address, but calling good, evil is the depth of wickedness because God is Good, He is the author of good and through His Holy Spirit we should recognize His works. All that we live and say should be witness to our trust in these things.

Love,

Gretchen

I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelations 7:14

Have you ever walked out onto a newly blanketed field of snow under a clear sky and bright sun? It is so perfectly white and sparkling, the glare blinding, but it’s radiant and beautiful. Whiter than white.

For every theologian there is a different interpretation and understanding of John’s vision of the things to come. It is indeed difficult to digest, but not to cling to when read for the promise it reveals. What will happen at the end of this age? Those who believe that Jesus died, not of a stroke, or a heart attack, or of the wearing down of the mortal body over time, but a brutal bloodbath of a murder, at the hands of those He would forgive if they asked. His life’s blood ran to wash away our black sin and make us as white as snow.

As a young person with my whole life ahead of me, I hated to hear or read of tribulations that I might someday suffer. On the other side of youth I have come to realize that struggles, sorrows, grief, disappointment, tragedy, and the list goes on……is universal. Every human that ever walks the earth will have to face down the gates of hell and find out who God really is.  And when you know, you believe or you don’t.

Heaven is a place of life, because the blood that was spilled didn’t end in death. 

Happy Friday!

Gretchen

Give us each day our daily bread. Luke 11:3

I’ve prayed the model prayer we’ve been given hundreds of times and I take each word very seriously, but this seven word request, Give us this day our daily bread, is the absolute hardest for me to utter with sincerity.  I want to improvise my own ‘New and Improved’ petition for help.  I stutter as I force myself not to say, “Give me this day my daily bread, and be mindful of all the days ahead too.” The urge to request more than my share so that I can nobly parcel it out to others is very strong as well. I’m not being facetious. I want to ask for so much more!!!!!

I am a worrier. I worry that I worry, and when I place everything at Jesus’ feet, I worry I forgot something.  So, to only ask and TRUST that my needs for a single day only will be met, is a test of self-control and faith. 

The things of this world wear and weigh us down. It is better to leave the future and its stockpile of provision in God’s hands. Preserving and storing things down here is a complete hassle anyway. There is great relief and rest in only today.  Yesterday is in the books, and God has tomorrow in His hands, so today is the moment to live in peace and joy, and bring Glory to God in all you do, beginning with your countenance of confidence and faith that your daily needs will be met, most likely with enough to spare and share.

Love,

Gretchen

And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death-even on a cross! Philippians 2:8

Paul is in prison awaiting sentencing as he writes this letter to the first church he established in Europe. They have been sorely persecuted from the beginning but they are known for their purity and generosity. However, many diverse people in one place sometimes struggle to see eye to eye, and this was one of the concerns Paul addresses in his epistle.

In a world full of opposing insights and opinions, there is one thing we can agree on, the character of Jesus while He walked on earth among us. From His model we can perfectly discern what we are expected to be, humble in life and obedient in all circumstances until death.

There is a lot wrong in the world today, but there is one thing we can do right. We can humble ourselves to one another in love and chose to get along, Christian to Christian. Jesus lived and died in a time of tremendous corruption and exploitation of those in authority, both religious and political, and in that time He loved. He came to show us the way to live and die.

Have a Wonderful Mid-Week,

Gretchen