Forgiveness

I want to remind you about God's forgiveness. God wants us to recognize when what we have done is wrong and that we don't want to do it again. That's called repentence. When we repent, He forgives us! He doesn't just sometimes forgive us, nor does he just forgive us when He's in a good mood, He forgives us! Totally and completely. He "remembers our sins no more!" It doesn't matter how often we do the same sin, if we truly want to stop doing this sin, He forgives us every time. He forgives you every time you ask! HE LOVES YOU! Say it, "God loves me totally!" No, really, say it! It is the one truth in our lives we can KNOW is true - all the time, in every way.

On Grief

"I don't know how someone gets through grief when they don't know God." Have you ever heard this statement? It is a recognition of the help God gives us as we walk through the difficult journey after the death of a loved one. We recently have lost 3 young people in our church. Over the last couple of months, a young father died suddenly after surgery, a young newlywed died of leukemia, and a baby died of heart problems. Each death was difficult in it's own way and there are many people at our church who are hurting.

Over the years I have had the experience of walking through the grief process with many people. It is clear to me that those who know God traverse the journey in a more healthy manner than those who don't. For a non-Christian, the death of a close loved one leaves a hole that doesn't heal and can breed bitterness and anger which lasts a long time. For a Christian, grief is still painful but as God heals us, we are left with a scar that is actually stronger than the original. I can attest to this in my own life, as well as other's lives. It is the fact that we have trusted God through the difficult times that we can help others through their difficult times.

Grief is not something anyone wants to have to go through but be assured, my friend, that if you have to go through it, God will be there. You will look back and see His healing presence at every turn, in every step. It is truly easier to go through holding His hand. If you don't know God already, ask Him for the help you need to get through whatever you are gong through. He loves you!

We ARE the church

Today I saw a t-shirt with a message that was insightful. On the front it said, "I don't go to church." On the back it said, "I AM the church." It reminded me of the statement of a pastor who was being interviewed by the media after his church burned down. The newsperson asked what he was going to do now that the church was burned. The pastor's responce was an incredulous, "All the church people were in the building?" The newsperson was confused until the pastor said something like, "that was just a building. The real church is the people. My church is just fine."

We go to the church building to worship, learn and be in the presence of the people of God. But we don't live there. We go out into the world where we are usually the only "church" people ever see. When we think the church is the building, it gives us permission to be one way at church and another way when we are not there. It lets us put forward a "church" face on Sundays and fit into the world the rest of the days. A Christian, by definition, is one who is a follower of God. That isn't something we can put on and take off. We ARE the church.

I know some folks who won't put a Christian sticker on their car because they don't want the way they drive to cast a bad light on Christians. Would you be willing to identify yourself as a Christian in such a visible way - with a bumper sticker on your car, or a t-shirt that proclaimed you as a Christian? If you did, would it change how you lived your life?