Today
is Mother’s Day. As we worship, you are
encouraged to remember those who nurtured you as you developed, giving thanks
to God. One of the most groundbreaking aspects of
Jesus’ life and ministry is how he valued and treated women. It was much more honoring than the society of
his day and perhaps ours as well. May women
always be respected and honored, and may that respect and honor encourage and
inspire all women as you give your best to the Lord and to others!
It is
ironic that one of the most wonderful and one of the messiest places we grow is
in our families. It was once said that , “Families are places
where people are bound by blood or kinship who would otherwise have nothing to
do with each other.” While this is said
in jest, many people find themselves needing to process hurts and hang-ups in
their lives.
On
Saturday May 25 at 6 p.m., Juan Otero, will preach and give a program on the
topic of forgiveness for youth and adults. It is a time to
realize the vast and amazing power of God to relieve us of our resentments and
align us in a direction in which we too may be forgiving as well as experience
forgiveness and freedom in Christ. This
will be a wonderful time of healing and wholeness for many. Feel free to invite a friend and attend, even
if you regularly worship on Sunday.
In
terms of giving and receiving love, we can’t determine how others act, but we
can ask God to fill us with forgiveness and love. One very basic exercise is to take what is commonly known
as the “love chapter” in the Bible, I Corinthians 13 and put your name in the
places where the text says “love.” You
may try it here:
( your name) is patient; is kind; is not envious or boastful or arrogant or
rude. does not insist on his/her own way; is not irritable or resentful; does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices
in the truth. bears all things, believes all things, hopes
all things, endures all things.
As we consider God’s judgement in Revelations today,
don’t forsake the concepts of love and forgiveness as they are essential to God’s
plan. They are tied together. Remember “We love
because God first loved us” (I John 4:19) and “This is how we
know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. (I John 3:16).
Happy Mother’s
Day!
Love,
Pastor Tim
No comments:
Post a Comment