Sunday’s Blessing – 12/15/2024 – Third Sunday of Advent – Joy

Sunday’s Blessing – 12/15/2024 – Third Sunday of Advent – Joy

May the joy of knowing you are loved and accepted by the Father overwhelm you

So you may know the limitless joy found by abiding in the glory of God

Until you accept joy as a lifestyle, not just a feeling

So your joyful light may shine to every corner of your world

May you experience the source of joy Himself, whom is Jesus-Messiah

By being emersed into Christ by the Spirit of Joy

Washing away all the debris of this world and its kingdom

So you may experience a new citizenship in the Kingdom of God

May you hear the joyous sound as the Creator and His heaven

Sing songs of deliverance over you, and bring joy close to you

So you may join in singing with the chorus

Declaring the joy of the Lord is your strength, brought through hope and peace

Sunday’s Blessing – 12/08/2024 – Second Week of Advent – Peace

Sunday’s Blessing – 12/08/2024 – Second Week of Advent – Peace

May you discover the Prince of Peace who came to earth as a human baby

So you may understand peace comes by being vulnerable

So you may remove the walls meant to protect, but actually make you a prisoner

So you can receive the precious gift of Peace, which is Jesus, the Messiah

May you sing the songs of the shepherds visited by the angel announcing the Savior’s birth

And believe and seek out the One sent to calm your soul

So you may bow down and worship Him, the Spotless Lamb sent to redeem you

And bring you back into fellowship with the Father

May you be engulfed by the Spirit of Peace whom Jesus sent when He ascended to heaven

To remain in you until Jesus returns

To give you strength to live in peace regardless of the storm you face

To allow you to find rest, even in the storm

Sunday’s Blessing – 12/01/2024 – First Week of Advent – Hope

Sunday’s Blessing – 12/01/2024 – First Week of Advent – Hope

May you embrace the hope brought to humanity through Jesus

May this hope sustain you in times of distress

May this hope comfort you in times of mourning

May this hope energize you in times of weakness

May you allow the hope found in the King empower you

To see the good in those around you

To share your life without reserve

To embrace your Kingdom purpose with resolve

Sunday’s Blessing – 11/24/2024 – Thanksgiving Week

Sunday’s Blessing – 11/24/2024 – Thanksgiving Week

May you find a place in your heart for giving thanks

May you remember the reasons to be thankful

May you never forget the reasons to be thankful

May you develop a language of gratitude

May you realize thanksgiving is not a holiday, but a way of life

May you understand when your blessings surpass your own efforts

May you never resist receiving help when you need it

May you become the help others are seeking

Sunday’s Blessing – 11/17/2024

Sunday’s Blessing – 11/17/2024

May you see who you really are by looking into God’s Word

For the more you read, the more you become like what it says about you

For when you worship Jesus you are transformed into His image

Until we see Him face to face, then we will be like Him

May your mind be renewed to believing you are a new creation

So you may begin to think the thoughts of the Holy Spirit

And be led by the peace of God, with your path illuminated by the Spirit

Until you are fully immersed in your God-given purpose

Sunday’s Blessing – 11/10/2024

Sunday’s Blessing – 11/10/2024

May today be the fulfillment of your faith – to see the essence of things hoped for

So that you will see the need to dream bigger

And understand that God has no limits

Until your own expectations have been exceeded beyond what you can even ask or think

May you come to know the great hope available in Christ

Since God has already given it to you – a future and a hope

Then you allow the wind of God’s Spirit to blow the flame into an inferno

Until there is no lack in your life at all

May you also experience the greatest of these three – love

The kind that has no shame, only acceptance and forgiveness

From, not only God, but others with whom you have a relationship

So you can beam with the glow of God’s glory to all who see you

God’s trifecta for you – Faith, Hope, Love – may you know all of them now, today, forever

60 Second Testimony

60 Second Testimony

I attend a Bible study on Thursday nights. We are currently working our way through a book on discipleship, focusing on sharing our faith; in common church vernacular - witnessing. For me, "witnessing," or as I call it, sharing my faith, is more a way of life than it is an intentional action. I share things about many relationships I have in my life. I never walk up to someone I do not know and say, "I would like to introduce you to my grandchildren!" Some do this. I'm not one of them.

In that same line of thought, nearly everyone I know are aware of my grandchildren. Many know their names, ages, and latest exploits. It's what you do when you are in relationship with someone. You share your heart ... all of it.

However, there may be an opportunity which may arise where you feel compelled to share what God has done in your life. You may see someone struggling to find their way through a difficult stretch of living. In those moments it would help to have something prepared to "break the ice" in order to get a conversation started. Our text for the current study suggests having a "60 Second Testimony." By having a concise opener memorized for easy recall, it takes some of the pressure off. It's simply sharing something about Someone you are in relationship with in order to help a fellow human cope with circumstances.

Below is what I've settled on for my 60 Second Testimony. It only took 65 years to come up with this. I weeded out a lot of jargon and confusing Christianese to get to this place. Take a look:

I spent much of my life confused about who God is. I never wondered if there was a God. I could see in nature there had to be a Creator. I just could not get my head around who He was by what I heard said about Him by those who claimed to be His children.

It wasn’t until I came to the end of myself that I cried out to Him, and from that experience began learning who He really is. Through this process I came to know Him, and the life-transformation He offered through all that Jesus did to provide a way back into fellowship with God, the Creator, the Father, the One who loves me most.

Now I spend my life trying to get others to see the God that I have come to know, so they, too, can have a relationship with Him. He stands ready to hear our cry and will move heaven and earth if necessary to bring you back home.

I would love to hear you comments. I won't argue with you. You may think it's the worst thing ever. You may think it's the best thing ever. Either way, I would not disagree with you. It's simply my way of verbalizing what I have come to know about God up to this point. But, I'm always trying to learn more. If you feel you have something which can help me see more of God, please share it with me.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Blessings!