Transitions remind us that nothing remains the same. Everything is constantly changing, including you and me. Transition means change. When we first came to Christ, there was a transition that took place. We were sinners in need of a Savior. Then we met Christ, and now we are sinners saved by grace. An artist uses oil paints to depict her picture. It begins with an empty canvas and then is transformed as her imagination is transferred to the canvas. The more she paints, the more vivid her picture. God is painting our lives. Some of us have only a few brush strokes, others are near masterpiece quality. But it is God who is the artist. He is the One giving us life and color, bringing out the uniqueness and vividness of each one of us with great detail. The Apostle Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 3.18 “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord…” We are in the process of transformation. From a worldly likeness to that of Christ. A transition from being self-centered and self-pleasing to Christ-centered and Christ-pleasing.
Like John the Baptist, God must increase, we must decrease. We are a people in transition.
Life is very real. It’s like we are living our own “reality tv show.“ It is full of joys as well as sorrows. The path we find ourselves often does not match our dreams or expectations. As we face the hardships of life, our world shouts out, “give up on God” or “why bother?” But because of God’s great love, we can still have hope for the future. God uses the tough times to mature us and enhance us for His use. When we go through the tough times, we cry and want to give up. But it is God who embraces us and is tender towards us, and as we heal, we become aware of those around us who have the same hurts, and God uses us to administer His grace to the hurting. Our hurt increased our sensitivity so that we might express tender love and mercy to those who hurt as we did. That is a transition of sorts as well.
The Bible also speaks of a transition that will happen in the twinkling of an eye, when the trumpet shall sound and we shall be with the Lord in the air. Whenever I see clouds up in the sky, I wonder if today could be the day that I stand in the clouds with my Savior, the Lord Jesus. This transition leaves behind the temporary and lays hold of the eternal. This is the hope of every follower of Christ since the disciples stood still, looking up at Jesus as He ascended to heaven. The angels present that day said that Jesus would return in the same way. So we look up and wonder when this wonderful day of transition will be.
Our lives take us from birth to death. Our life with God begins the moment we put our trust in Him and will never end. Transitions may come and go, yet it is God who remains the same. He is the One Constant in an ever changing universe. When all around us everything gives way, yet He is the Rock, the Corner Stone, the Foundation of our Faith. God will not change and His Word will not change. So God invites us to trust Him as we go through the ebb and flow of life. With Christ we do have strength for today and hope for the future. So don’t let any transition, whether good or bad, take that away from you, for you belong to God.
Blessings,
Pastor Pete
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
July 2009
Jeremiah 17.14 says, “Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.”
We often will pray for others to be healed or to be saved and forget that we too are in the need of God’s healing touch and deliverance. The word “heal” is translated from the Hebrew word “rapha” which comes from a word meaning “to mend.” It has the idea of making healthy and whole. Something is broken and needs to be repaired and mended. The word “saved” comes from the Hebrew word “yasha” which has the idea of deliverance, especially in battle. The word is often used in the context of saving us from moral troubles. When we put the two words together, we come to the realization that all of us are in the need for God’s healing and deliverance. Like the old spiritual, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer…”
Our lives are a lot like onions- we have many layers and we make those closest to us cry. When we peel back one layer, we discover another. We have surface deep hurts that are easier to mend than the ones that are found layers deep, often masked so well that its hard for us to identify what they are. But they are there just the same. Perhaps that is what the Psalmist was thinking when he wrote, “search me O God and know my heart” (Psalm 139.23). We have physical hurts as well as spiritual hurts. God uses doctors and medicine to heal our physical pains, but when it comes to our spiritual and deeper life issues, there is only One to whom we can find relief- Jesus. The prophet Isaiah (53) predicted that it was by his stripes that we are healed. It is only as we turn to the Lord that we discover a wholeness that we never thought possible. Perhaps that is why healing and deliverance are connected in thought in Jeremiah’s message.
There are some things that are so overpowering that we can not set ourselves free. We need a helping hand. Like a bear caught in a trap, we find it impossible to free ourselves. Every twist and turn only deepens the claws on our legs. Every noise only frightens us further. Life has many traps that we easily get into and rarely get out of without help. There is one trap that we can never free ourselves from outside of Divine help. I’m talking about the trap of sin. Once it takes hold, it holds on until death overtakes us. The good news is that through Jesus Christ, God has released the trap of sin and has given us the possibility of life lived in victory Jesus accomplished on the cross. I’m talking about true deliverance. And there’s only One who can truly deliver- God.
As we make our way through the lazy days of summer, enjoying sunshine, picnics and swimming, may we never forget that we are in need of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we find every spiritual blessing God has poured out for us to enjoy, and without whom we can never know what true wholeness and victory are all about. If you feel broken, turn to Jesus and He will make you whole. If you feel defeated, turn to Jesus and do what He says, and you will live in the victory that is ours through our Lord. If you need the ultimate refreshment, you won’t find it at a drive through window, but you will in Jesus.
Have a great summer.
Blessings,
Pastor Pete
We often will pray for others to be healed or to be saved and forget that we too are in the need of God’s healing touch and deliverance. The word “heal” is translated from the Hebrew word “rapha” which comes from a word meaning “to mend.” It has the idea of making healthy and whole. Something is broken and needs to be repaired and mended. The word “saved” comes from the Hebrew word “yasha” which has the idea of deliverance, especially in battle. The word is often used in the context of saving us from moral troubles. When we put the two words together, we come to the realization that all of us are in the need for God’s healing and deliverance. Like the old spiritual, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer…”
Our lives are a lot like onions- we have many layers and we make those closest to us cry. When we peel back one layer, we discover another. We have surface deep hurts that are easier to mend than the ones that are found layers deep, often masked so well that its hard for us to identify what they are. But they are there just the same. Perhaps that is what the Psalmist was thinking when he wrote, “search me O God and know my heart” (Psalm 139.23). We have physical hurts as well as spiritual hurts. God uses doctors and medicine to heal our physical pains, but when it comes to our spiritual and deeper life issues, there is only One to whom we can find relief- Jesus. The prophet Isaiah (53) predicted that it was by his stripes that we are healed. It is only as we turn to the Lord that we discover a wholeness that we never thought possible. Perhaps that is why healing and deliverance are connected in thought in Jeremiah’s message.
There are some things that are so overpowering that we can not set ourselves free. We need a helping hand. Like a bear caught in a trap, we find it impossible to free ourselves. Every twist and turn only deepens the claws on our legs. Every noise only frightens us further. Life has many traps that we easily get into and rarely get out of without help. There is one trap that we can never free ourselves from outside of Divine help. I’m talking about the trap of sin. Once it takes hold, it holds on until death overtakes us. The good news is that through Jesus Christ, God has released the trap of sin and has given us the possibility of life lived in victory Jesus accomplished on the cross. I’m talking about true deliverance. And there’s only One who can truly deliver- God.
As we make our way through the lazy days of summer, enjoying sunshine, picnics and swimming, may we never forget that we are in need of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we find every spiritual blessing God has poured out for us to enjoy, and without whom we can never know what true wholeness and victory are all about. If you feel broken, turn to Jesus and He will make you whole. If you feel defeated, turn to Jesus and do what He says, and you will live in the victory that is ours through our Lord. If you need the ultimate refreshment, you won’t find it at a drive through window, but you will in Jesus.
Have a great summer.
Blessings,
Pastor Pete
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