faith

What is So Special About That?

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For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 NIV

The word, “Special” is so overused in our society, and its meaning so diluted that, well, it just isn’t very special anymore! For example, the lunch special at my diner, really is just the meal that almost everyone orders because it is cheaper than anything else on the menu. We call our friends, dreams, days and even moments special in our struggle to give them greater value. The phrases “You are special,” or “Everyone is special, have become so ingrained in us, that when experience shows us that we are just ordinary, we get depressed. Uncounted angry words are spoken, and violent acts are committed, demanding that others recognize our specialness. But in our insistence on being treated as special, we have lost sight of one of the greatest truths of all: God loves ordinary people.

The Bible is filled with stories of God dressing ordinary wildflowers in brilliant colors, feeding common ravens, and spending His time counting the hair on every person’s head. In fact, the greatest hope we have from today’s verse is that God is not looking for special people. God is interested in fat people, skinny minnies, wise guys and dummies, kids who are in trouble and adults whose lives lie in ruins. God is just as interested in listening to the elderly, no longer able to communicate as He is to children who seem to never stop talking. God welcomes ordinary people of all kinds, who have put their faith in His Son Jesus Christ. He loves sinful selfish people like you and me and freely forgives as we ask for it. He turns no one away, no matter how ordinary, and He washes feet no matter how dirty, because “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life!” And that, my friend is something that is truly special!

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The Jigsaw Puzzle of Faith

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments 
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[a] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

Faith can be like a jigsaw puzzle. If you are like me, there are some days when it feels like we are trying to put together a puzzle, which not only has no picture on the box, it also seems to be missing several pieces. We get depressed or angry, and wonder why everyone around us appears to be doing fine with their puzzles, while we are only able to piece together a few of the edge pieces. But our stressed-out attitude has the situation entirely backwards. God isn’t asking us to put together a 5,000-piece puzzle, because that isn’t our job. The reality is that we are God’s puzzle, and He sees the complete picture and is putting everything together perfectly according to His plan. We don’t need to see the picture on the box: He does! We aren’t missing any pieces, we are the missing piece, and our only job is to take the next step He is calling us to take. His call challenges us to either believe and trust Him, or to rely on and trust in what everybody else says. No one can take that step for us. We have to do it with our own faith. Obedience can be scary, dangerous and difficult, but it will be worth it all! Jesus is everything and the only thing we will ever need in every situation, in every place, and every single day! Faith asks the ultimate question: “Will I trust Him today with what He asks me to do!”

A Step of Faith

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? Luke 1:34 KJV

Today, as we begin the second week of Lent, we need to remind ourselves that though the resurrection of Jesus was unexpected on our part it fit in perfectly with God’s plan. This morning, I want us to remember that the journey towards Easter, began in the humble village of Nazareth, with a young woman named Mary. She had just heard from an angel about God’s plans for her to have a child, though to her it just didn’t make any sense. How could that possibly be, since she was a virgin, and no virgin had ever given birth to a child? So, she asked a question that every believer in Jesus has asked ever since. “How shall this be?” “How will this be that an old broken-down man, a young homeless woman, a middle-aged inmate serving out His time for burglary, can be included in God’s grace. The surprising answer that Mary received 2,000 years ago, is the same good news that He has for each one of us today. God’s part is to work out His plans. Our part is only to believe. As we journey on towards Easter, God wants us to begin just as Mary did: not with a full understanding, but with a trusting step of faith.

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38 KJV