Right = Right...Right?

More than once I have heard honest people, who are truly seeking to know and follow Christ, ask a question like this:  "It seems like the more I try to live my life according to Jesus teaching to love God with everything and to love my neighbor as myself, the more it seems I face obstacles, set backs, challenges and even ridicule and rejection.  Why is that?"

Behind this question I hear the assumption that right = right...right? 

So, here are three questions for you to ponder or, even better, respond to one or all:

1) Do you relate to that statement and question?
2) If that happens, why?
3) What do you do when that happens?

These are the questions we will wrestle with on Sunday.   Do you know someone who wrestles with questions like these?  Invite them to come with you to worship this week.  See you Sunday!

The Difference the Gap Makes

The gap between what is wrong and what God wills is no bigger than one person's intercessory prayer (see Ezekiel 22:30-31). When I step into that gap I see how much God cares.  When I see how much God cares, his love changes me.  When I am changed, others are changed.  Thank you for letting God touch you to touch others!

To all of you who donate food items or serve with to Food 2 Go, give to the Poured Out Fund or participate in GL Scrip or Kroger's rewards, here are just two stories of how God is using you to make a difference:

"I had to share my first heartwarming story of the year as today is the first Friday I have delivered the f2g bags to the children. Since many of my students are Kindergartners they have not participated in the program before. When I do the first delivery, I take the students out of class just for a moment to explain what the bag is and why their back packs will be heavier on Fridays.. This morning a student walked out to the hallway and saw the bag sitting in front of his locker. He recognized what it was immediately from older siblings who’ve brought bags home in previous years. He literally jumped up and down and said, “is that for me??” When I told him that it was, he excitedly said, “Aw man, I’ve really been wanting one of those!!!” Even his eyes were smiling!! Amazing that these kids see a white plastic bag all tied up and instantly know what it is.

Thanks again for all the work you do on behalf of our children. Please pass our message of thanks on to all those who help in this ministry."

Sincerely,

Lauren Ostberg (Centerville Schools Employee)

"It is wonderful to see the relief and delight that some of the kids experience when they get their bags.  We have a 6^th grader in our building and their family is considered homeless at this time and he was absolutely over the moon and truly grateful that we were giving him and his 7^th grade sister food to have over the weekend.  Centerville is fortunate to have such a wonderful program!!  Thank you!"

Arleen Petty (Centerville Schools Employee)

Praise God!

How's Your Bra-KHAH Going?

This week I have heard some great stories of how your Bra-KHAH prayers are going and I would love to hear more.  Every story you share will help me better incorporate this ancient prayer practice into the flow of my life. 

This prayer practice found its start in Moses words in Deuteronomy 8:10, "When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord for the good land he has given you."  The word for bless in Hebrew is Bra-KHAH.  It does not mean the gift or favor God bestows upon us, but to bless or praise or thank God.  It literally means, "kneeling down."  This prayer practice is about a mental kneeling from the time you wake until you return to bed with short, specific sentence prayers of blessing.  It means we allow all the circumstances of life--small and larger, good and bad--direct our attention to God's goodness.  Bra-KHAH prayers root our happiness in God's goodness rather than in the circumstances of life.

What if we have not learned to pray until we have first learned to pray for God?  Bra-KHAH is our teacher.  The Jewish people would pray, "Blessed is the Lord, King of the Universe, for...the food you provide...body parts that work...the colors of a sunrise..." They even had a prayer for the grief and pain of life: "Blessed is the Lord, King of the Universe, who is the one true judge."  This reminded them that even when it is bad, God is still good and he will ultimately bring justice; righting every wrong.

OK...enough with the recap, reminder.  It would be great to hear from you. Send some examples my way of how your Bra-KHAH is going? 

"Too Easily Pleased"

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses

 

 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled," says Jesus in Matthew 5:6. 

 

Are we left empty because we are too easily pleased? 

 

Are we unfulfilled because we are content playing in the mud?

 

Is the cruise ship sailing without us because we've assumed a life in the slums? 

 

Is our problem that our desires are too weak?  Are we settling for drink, sex and ambition, at the expense of infinite joy?

 

Why are we living a life of being far too easily pleased, when God has already made possible, through his Son, a freedom that reaches heights that we could never ask for or imagine on our own?

 

These very questions are what lies behind the reason we emphasize small groups for children, teens and adults.  Quit playing in the mud and jump on the ship.  There is a blessing of filling for those who refuse to be easily pleased.