Posted on

How a New Covenant Motivates Us

 

 

 

 

862870_10200935200288520_1481892161_n

 

Day 26: Ate

889196_10200937827434197_1583117459_o

Day 27: Happy

 

Happiness is a word that I feel is drastically misunderstood. 

Mostly because I feel that this world that we live in is a word that drastically misunderstands things because of what it offers which actually is not even close to what God’s massive love and grace offers. Today I wanted to blog about two pictures actually. The first is a picture from yesterday that represents the word, “Ate.”  and the picture below is from today that represents the word, “Happy.”

Both of which have a lot to do with one another.

“After taking the bread and giving thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in rememberance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup after the meal and said, “This cup is the new covenant by my blood, which is poured out for you.” 

The first picture was taken as Amy was serving me this new covenant outside of the Garden Tomb (one of the places that is believed where Jesus rose from the grave). Just thinking about it gives me chills and warms my heart. This new covenant is a very important part of our faith because it is redemption and the moment where God came down and rescued us from the slavery of sin and gave us the answer. Through this practice of remembrance we remembered what Christ has done and what he continues to do on our behalf. We remember that He came for us to rescue us so that we could come home.

This for me is what leads me in all I do.

I desire for it to be known fully and intimately by my students so that they can know Jesus like I know him. Everyday I get to share this faith with the students at St. Philip’s UMC makes me so incredibly happy but that is just one of the perks of being rescued by my Savior Jesus Christ. This motivates me because Jesus calls us back to who we were made to be, who we were originally designed to be. He calls us and says that we belong to him and He will do anything to fight for us, he will even die for us, and that’s pretty flippin sweet!

That’s something that motivates all of us!

Awesome God,

Motivate us to be your children and to live as you have taught us to live.

Amen

Posted on

Day 25: Faithful

734367_10200923035464407_1696637513_n

(Amy and I in the Jordan River)

She makes me want to be a better man everyday and has taught me so much about being faithful to what God has started within me. My relationship with my wife, my best friend is a constant reminder to how awesomely faithful my Heavenly Father is to us. I wanted to share a quote with you from the book, “Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas.” This quote is not by Gary Thomas but is a quote that references at the beginning of chapter 3: Learning to Love.

If you treat a man as he is, he will stay as he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become the bigger and better man. (Johann Wolfgang con Goethe) 

This is exactly what I mean by the feeling that I get everyday. My wife and my best friend, Amy is always pushing me, encouraging me, empowering me to realize that I am more than I realize. I think it’s easy for us to get stagnant in what we expect of ourselves, or another word to represent this is we get content with who we are and where we are.

What Amy’s empowering of me has taught me is that God doesn’t have a feeling of content with us. He is continually teaches us that He is making us new and the way that he helps us realize this is by the Body of Christ. God has this Holy Discontent for us. He is always desiring for us to continue grow in His grace and to trust in His spirit. So, today commit to have Holy Discontent. It’s what He wants for us, to continually grow in His grace and love and to continually extend that grace and love to the world.

Awesome God,

Help us this day to continually embrace and grow in your grace and love. HOLD US in YOUR GRACE and WASH US  in YOUR SPIRIT.

Amen.

Posted on

Day 24: Find

855695_10200916358937498_2089163985_o

 

Today was just another day where we are blessed to be breathing and also a day where we (Amy and I) were enjoying our day off. As Amy was the Pastor at her that was “on call” she had to make some hospital visits she had to make we went to St. Davids Hospital in Georgetown. After her visits we were going to see a movie so I drove her and hung out in the waiting room. After she was done with her visits she took me to the Hospital chapel (pictured above).

It’s amazing what you find when you are not looking.

The butterfly is a beautiful part of creation for me, it represents what God does to something not so great and turns it into something amazing. We sat in the chapel and prayed together, and it was a great holy moment. Then I realized that I couldn’t recall the last time we did this. As ministers we live a life of service to the church and sometimes we can get so focused on that that we lose sight of where we are in our lives. Which brings something to mind.

How do we expect to love God and the world if we have not first recognized our need for time with Him?

I know for a fact that this is not just specific to our situation, but something we can all relate to. We all fall short. We get busy and the first thing that is put on the back burner when we are busy is our relationship with God. Then after time the relationship communication (prayer) starts to get a little stale and you almost forget how to do this. We wouldn’t do this with someone in our lives because if we did the relationship would suffer and usually there are hurt feelings on either side.

So why do we do this with God?

Honestly because we can.

He will let us.

But the good news is that He is always waiting and welcoming for us to return. God is just awesome like that. So, today I am thankful for the findings that God has helped us find.

Praise be to God.

Amen.

Posted on

Day 23: No

888923_10200910695995928_1265098302_o

 

What have you to fear? God is with you. Let the words of David’s thoughts from Psalm 139 be a reminder of how true this song is and shall be for now until the end of the age.

Lord, you have examined me.
You know me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up.
Even from far away, you comprehend my plans.
3 You study my traveling and resting.
You are thoroughly familiar with all my ways.
4 There isn’t a word on my tongue, Lord,
that you don’t already know completely.
5 You surround me—front and back.
You put your hand on me.
6 That kind of knowledge is too much for me;
it’s so high above me that I can’t fathom it.
7 Where could I go to get away from your spirit?
Where could I go to escape your presence?
8 If I went up to heaven, you would be there.
If I went down to the grave,[a] you would be there too!
9 If I could fly on the wings of dawn,
stopping to rest only on the far side of the ocean—
10 even there your hand would guide me;
even there your strong hand would hold me tight!
11 If I said, “The darkness will definitely hide me;
the light will become night around me,”
12 even then the darkness isn’t too dark for you!
Nighttime would shine bright as day,
because darkness is the same as light to you!

No amount of anything in this world will give you what you need. What you need comes from the Father. Only the love and grace of Jesus Christ can fill the needs of your desires of your heart and your very soul. It is quite comforting knowing that no matter what we go through in this life that God will never let go of us. NO! He wont! You are always in the palm of God’s hand.

Today Father in Heaven we pray that you hold us in your grace and wash us in your spirit and help us to know that you are always with us! Thank you Father for your faithful love and forgiveness in our lives. Help us to always praise you in all that we do.

Amen.

Posted on

Day 22: Shadow

889028_10200904423879129_420081606_o

“He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.”  (Psalm 103) 

Our shadow is always with us and for some of us this is an example of the feeling that sometimes our sins seem to follow us everywhere we go. Every time I think about this I think of this passage from Psalm 103 and how powerfully redemptive it is. Sometimes I think we forget that our Heavenly Father is just that a Father in all things. As a Father he shows compassion as a parent would, but the compassion that He shows is far more than we could ever fathom of giving.

Shadow is a term that is interpreted sometimes as a bad thing, but let us think that what Jesus has taught and the “Shadow” that followed him and as we follow him may we soak up all that was in him, and by the same token think of the shadow that you are leaving. The legacy that we are leaving for those that watch the way we live in the Lord Jesus Christ. Shadows do not always have to be a bad. Just like the Father has shown us let our shadows be filled with compassion.

And take heart and know that “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him.”

Amen.