Thanksgiving Verse and Message (Week of Nov 22-28, 2009) November 24, 2009

Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

  

Acts 20:35
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ “

I bet you were expecting me to write a message on being thankful. Being grateful for the remarkable blessings we have been given is simply….a “given.” (Pun intended) However, more than that…..the best way to show how thankful we are is to “give away” what we have received. Simply put…..we are BLESSED to be a BLESSING!

  

We are commanded and instructed to be the hands and feet of Christ. It’s easy to get caught up in our little world and take for granted the position Christ has placed us. We were born in the United States and God designed us to live in this place in history. We have been blessed with numerous resources and regardless of how we use it….we have been blessed with timing.

 

According to Pastor Chris Hodges, we need to recognize that in this time we should be careful not to squander or mismanage the clock. We should be living our life with a sense of urgency….FOR OTHERS.  If we seize the opportunities that are set up for us, God will grant us even more favor and blessing!

 

We are to be a funnel of what the Lord pours into us. It doesn’t have to be a monetary gift that we offer others. Instead we can offer a smile, offer our time, but most importantly….offer our love……the love we have because He lives in us!

   

As you count your blessings this week, ponder how He may be guiding you to be a blessing to someone else. Recognize, seize, and be obedient to follow through with the opportunities God drops in your lap. Pray, plan, and participate in what you feel led to do. There’s no question He wants to use you…..that’s why we are here. 

 

Talk to the Lord and do whatever He tells you to do. It’s not a myth that it is more blessed to give than receive. It’s fun to step out and love on others! 

 

Let’s challenge each other at the brink of this beautiful season of our Lord to be reflections and conduits of His love and passion for the world. JOY is guaranteed when we grab His perspective. Loving others and giving away for Him is the best investment we can make……..the return on the investment is incredible.

 

Don’t look for a miracle this Thanksgiving and upcoming Christmas….

BE THE MIRACLE!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

You are such a blessing to me!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!

SUSIE MC

Verse and Message (Week of Nov 15-21, 2009) November 19, 2009

Ephesians 4:15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.   Proverbs 9:9 Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.   Proverbs 16:20 Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.   Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.   The BLAME GAME….we have all been there.   We might have pointed a finger when we were children, possibly blaming our sibling for a broken glass.   We may have blamed another classmate when we got in trouble for laughing or talking.   We could have blamed a co-worker  for an incomplete project that a supervisor requested.   You might blame your spouse for a pouty attitude.   We might even blame the car in front of us for causing us to run a red light or causing us to speed on the freeway.   WE MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR OWN ACTIONS!   One time a friend brought to my attention a boundary I had crossed. This person came to me in Christlike love, and her intentions were to balance things and clear the air. I had been totally clueless of the mishap that my action caused which further snowballed into uncomfortable miscommunication. My first instinct was to blame her for what I thought was a careless misinterpretation. But……the Holy Spirit gave me a stillness and self-control as not to reply defensively by placing blame or making excuses.    Typically, we judge others based on their actions, but we tend to judge ourselves based on our best intentions. Oftentimes, we are unaware of our wrongdoing, or we might be oblivious to an offense, because we are in our own little world. It’s important to listen and respond in love when our brothers and sisters in Christ speak the truth in love.   Christ uses others to nudge us in order that we may recognize a sin or realize negligence in a relationship. When we acknowledge sin in our life, we point people to Christ and they receive the cleansing and growth that He so graciously offers. If we don’t acknowledge sin in our lives, we aren’t able to receive the forgiveness from it and grow in grace.    Sometimes God uses a friend or family member to approach us to guide us in seeing a different viewpoint. There are so many perspectives in different situations that take place. Instead of playing the blame game or responding defensively, God asks us to reflect His nature…..a response of humility and love.   God’s desire in bringing others across our paths to speak the truth in love is ALWAYS to reconcile people to Him and others. If we place the full focus on ourselves, we might mistake it as unwarranted criticism, however, when we direct the focus on Christ, He allows us to be grateful for it and learn from it!   Don’t be offended when another Christian approaches you about a matter. Set aside pride and self-centeredness, it’s the Lord’s correction nine times out of ten. Most of the time when you examine that person’s heart, you will find that their motives are pure. It’s called “Iron Sharpens Iron” and it’s a way the Holy Spirit molds us into His likeness. Be thankful that someone loves you enough to help you grow in Him.   Finally, I wanted to leave you with an excerpt from a devotion I read yesterday by Jon Courson. I posted it as my facebook update today……   “God puts us in fixes to fix us, He puts us with people and in situations He knows will shape us most effectively. So if I try to fix the fix God put me in, He will be faithful to put me in another fix to fix the fix He wanted to fix in the first place! I’m going to embrace and accept where You have me, because I know You’re doing a work on me, shaping me for eternity.” THANK YOU FOR FIXING US JESUS…..  He is the POTTER …we are the clay! SUSIE MC

Verse and Message (Week of Nov 8-14, 2009) November 12, 2009

 

 

 

Matthew 6:33

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

 

I was inspired to write today’s message after listening to a powerful message delivered by Pastor Josh Canizaro at last night’s service. He is the pastor of our Greystone Campus of Church of the Highlands. 

How often do we desire things that outweigh our desire for God? Guilty? I am. In fact, I can get so obsessed on getting the blessing that I totally bypass the BLESSER.

 

Abraham and Sarah are used as examples of who God had promised the world, but they wavered in their faith. Literally, God promised that Abraham’s descendants would outnumber the stars in the sky. It’s interesting to me to hear people say how impatient Sarah was to “help God out” with His promise to them by getting her maidservant Hagar to assist in speeding up the process.

 

Guess what folks? I don’t think I would have waited that long…..I would have tried my hand at manipulating and controlling the process sooner….look how old they were when the promised child, Isaac, finally came on the scene. Abraham and Sarah were not just old, they were ancient! They had more patience than I could possibly muster, but according to the lesson taught, their patience failed.

 

How many times do we get anxious and take it upon ourselves to force the fulfillment of God’s promises to us? When we believe our assumptions more than we believe in God’s promises, we have missed the mark on trusting Him. He is sovereign, and no matter what ….He will be Lord, whether we treat Him as Lord or not.

 

We have to get to a place in our faith where we are certain that Jesus is BETTER than anything and everything else….OR BETTER than anyone else!

 

We must not give worth to creative things…but rather the worth belongs to the CREATOR of things! Jesus is superior and He does not want the things He gives us to become counterfeit gods. That’s right…..things and people can and do become idols.

 

If our focus is more on the PROMISE in lieu of the PROMISER….then we can be assured that disappointment is on the horizon. Because….NOTHING or NO ONE can fulfill us. Only Jesus can COMPLETE us. Sadly, many people don’t realize that Jesus is all they need until He ends up being all that they have left. 

 

So, if you are struggling to keep God in first place where He belongs, ask Him to help you reorganize HIS priorities for you. He is the Author of Perfect Balance, and He wants to give us good things. Just like we want to give our children good things – He wants to spoil us too!

 

We must learn to submit our desires to God and be in check with our hearts. The minute that a gift from God becomes elevated, it will be knocked down.

 

The best way to stay focused on the REWARDER is to check our desires against the Word of God and to respond humbly to the Spirit’s guidance. And, we have to take on the fruit of patience and believe in His perfect timing for the promise He has for us.

 

Sounds easy as I write this, but it’s not. I would imagine a lot of you might agree. So, just remember to keep your eyes glued on the Savior……when we allow God to work out His perfect will for our lives, His power is made known!

 

Lastly, I wanted to share the refrain of the lyrics of a favorite old hymn that we sometimes sing at Highlands…..it seems fitting with this message:

 

“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”

Helen H. Lemmel (1922)

 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace

 

That precious hymn says it all…..

 

The Savior is SWEET!

Seek the BLESSER not the BLESSING!

EVERYTHING ELSE….will dim in comparison!

SUSIE MC

 

Verse and Message (Week of Nov 1-7, 2009) November 5, 2009

 **I was unable to include colors and graphics on my blog this week. The application failed when I pasted it and copied it. If you would like a copy of the original, Iwill be happy to send it to  you via email**

I am on the greeter team at Church of the Highlands. We are so very blessed to have an amazing Greeter Coordinator who oversees the greeter service teams. Her name is Ginny DeBardeleben, and she is a beautiful leader for the Lord. She is compassionate and encouraging, and I have witnessed her demonstrating nothing less than going the extra mile in every area of her ministry. She blesses me each week with the precious thoughts she sends to the greeter captains to sharpen us and strengthen us. Last week she sent us the poem below that truly spoke to me.   

Many times, God reveals things through other brothers and sisters in Christ. I know that God led me to share this with all of you. I hope it touches you as it has me. It’s expresses the genuine heart of God. Check it out, and feel free to pass it along to someone else who might need to be encouraged….   

Isaiah 40:31       

      But those who wait on the LORD
      Shall renew their strength;
      They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
      They shall run and not be weary,
      They shall walk and not faint.  

Wait
by Russell Kelfer  

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, “Wait.”

“Wait? you say wait?” my indignant reply.
“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming your Word.

“My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I’m needing a ‘yes’, a go-ahead sign,
Or even a ‘no’ to which I can resign.

“You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:
I’m weary of asking! I need a reply.”

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, “Wait.”
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting for what?”

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

“I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You’d have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me. You’d not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You’d not know the power that I give to the faint.

“You’d not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there.
You’d not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.

“You’d never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

“The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

“You’d never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I’m doing in you.

“So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait.”

© 1980 Russell Kelfer. All rights reserved.

Special thanks to Ginny for sharing this beautiful insight. I appreciate the reminder that we “wait” so that we might come to know HIM more…knowing HIM more intimately is a beautiful reason to “wait.” God bless you all……

SUSIE MC