renewal

Window Washing

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 ESV

As we were doing work in our kitchen I took down the curtains to wash them and noticed that our atrium window needed some big time cleaning. I started first with the inside panes but then I noticed that some of the dirt was on the outside. Okay so I went outside with the step-ladder and when I finished I saw that Lo and behold there was more on the inside I had missed! That reminded me of how God wants to clean up my ways of thinking.

He promises to give the mind of Christ but only if we will yield ourselves to Him. We cannot do this window washing on our own but the Holy Spirit can’t wait to come and wash our windows inside and out. (And He won’t miss any spots!) Only He can transform us but only we can choose to yield ourselves to Him today.

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For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16

Time for Some R & R

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Everywhere that Jesus went lives were transformed and very religious people – a lot like us were offended. Maybe what all of us are missing is a little R &R Repentance and Revival! Repentance is simply beginning to see ourselves as God sees us. Revival is loving others as He loves us!

When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Mark 2:17 NK

First Love

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But I have this against you that you have abandoned the love you had at first.   Revelation 2:4

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As Jesus spoke to the church in Ephesus He began by listing all the great things about them. They had been faithful, worked hard, held up under persecution and had stayed away from false teachers. Sounds like the best church in town! But then Jesus brings up the burden of His heart; they have left their first love for Him. It might seem as if He was being hard on them, but the Bible tells us that the church is the bride of Jesus Christ. He is the bridegroom, waiting at the altar in heaven, with His eyes focused on us. He has loved us and given us his very own life so we can live with Him forever. In His heart is a longing to be with His bride but when He looks down He sees something changing. His bride’s heart that once longed to run to spend time in His presence is now very busy. She still thinks from time to time of Jesus, but she is also quite involved in a lot of other things. Everything seems so important that soon her schedule is so full that there are only a few moments left for Jesus.

Then He looks and sees His people not only too busy for Him, but also too busy to bother much about telling others about their need for Him. His heart is longing to see us again totally living for him. What will it take for us to go back to our first love? How will we ever return to where we once were? Jesus tells us clearly. He does not say; “Feel really bad and cry and pray.” He does not add, “Give some more money to the church.” He doesn’t even say, “Go out and start feeding folks at the soup kitchen.”  All of those things are only a pale substitute for the “First Love” that Jesus has in mind.