Life Interrupted

How do you respond when you are interrupted; when things are not going as planned? 

Most of us are familiar with a story called "The Woman with the Issue of Blood... It comes from all three of the synoptic gospels (Matthew 9, Mark 5, and Luke 8).  In Matthew's telling Jesus is speaking, literally in the middle of what might be considered a sermon when He's interrupted by a father seeking healing for his daughter. Jesus' reaction was to stop preaching and go to the young girl…on the way there, He's interrupted again. This time by the 'woman with the issue of blood'. How does He react.. the bible illustrates that He looked on her with compassion.

I don't know about you, but that's stepping on my toes, driving down my street, and parking in my garage. I tend to closely guard my time, and may not always respond as kindly as our Lord Jesus does. Jesus was interrupted, while already attending to an interruption.. He left one engagement to help and while on the way to the other he paused, looked on her with compassion and sent her away in peace.  

Church, believers, followers... are we looking like Jesus? Acting like Jesus? An interruption is a great way to ascertain where we are in our walk with Christ because it is unexpected; a change in the regularly scheduled program- a curve ball. 

We love you, and we are praying for you,

~Pastor Erroyl and Sis. Pinky

SALT

Sis. Pinky's Prayer:

Lord, thank you for reminding me that I am an ambassador for you. Help me to be a willing vessel and to give myself away! Forgive me when I haven't had a mind to serve and have had a selfish mindset.

We love you Jesus and thank you for loving us!

In Jesus' name,

Amen

It’s About Time

My wife's favorite color is blue, her favorite movie (God bless her) is 'Coming to America", her favorite song changes with the season of life that she's in, but she has a special affinity for "He's Able", Her favorite scripture? "I will look to the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord." I could go on and on with her dress size, shoe size, (and because I'm smart) her ring size. That knowledge comes from putting in time with her; consistently. 

Can you really say that you love someone if you do not spend time with them? If other things steal your attention, focus, and commitment from the one you say you love, is that really love? Guess what? This applies for God too.

We say we love Him, but do we spend time with Him? Do we log hours watching Scandal, Real Housewives, SportsCenter, sporting events, but yet can't seem to find the 30 minutes to read the bible? Is the 20 second grace prior to eating a meal our only daily prayer? Do we check Facebook more than the bible? Be honest... You know that's a problem. 

So how then can we justify saying that we love Him? We've got to step our game up, and put in the time with Him. We must read more, pray more, praise and worship more, and LOVE more (and more consistently also).

Are there too many distractors and detractors in our lives vieing for HIS time? Are we putting time in with our Lord and Savior? Or, are we giving His time away to gods that we've made?

Jesus said that we should love God with everything that we have, are, AND above all else (Matt 22:37). Do our actions show that? Or, do we simply talk a good game?  1 John 3:18 says that we should love with ACTION and NOT with words!  Show God with your actions just how much you love Him. It's about time, that we give Him, His time.

I love you, and I am praying from you.
~Pastor Erroyl

SALT

Jesus is Real!

People want God to work like magic in their lives. It's funny how people think. Jesus is real, Jesus is NOT magic. He is not a mythical, man-created god. Most of the time, God chooses to work in your life through the experiences that you have. He chooses to show himself to you through movements within your circumstances. 

I've had people to ask me why doesn't God do miracles the "same" way He did in the days of the Bible. That is a valid question. And here's the answer... 1) He does...  Ask/Look around you'll see them. They are literally everywhere.   2) If you don't give honor to God when He does a small miracle in your life, like stretching your money til the end of the month-the next payday, why would you give him glory for something big (here's your biblical reference: read the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Luke 16:19-31). 

For some people, it wouldn't matter what miracle they saw, they have purposed in their hearts to be unconvinced, and unbelievers.

Sis Pinky's Prayer:

God, We know that You are omnipotent and sovereign. Forgive us for taking the small miracles You bless us with daily for granted. Help us to be grateful for all that You do for us.

In Jesus' name we pray,

Amen

Forgiveness: Accept it, Give It, Apply it.

When you understand that God loves you regardless of who you have become, you can forgive yourself, and begin working on who you are supposed to be. Too many times we allow our past failures to keep us in a perpetual state of failing. Or, our past successes to keep us in a perpetual state of disillusionment. Either way, we are not where God wants us to be. He loves you, despite what you've done. Forgive yourself, and turn away from the sin. 

I love you, and I am praying for you.

~Pastor Erroyl

Sis Pinky's Prayer:

I love you Jesus and thank you for taking my place on the cross. Your Word says, " whom the Son sets free is truly free indeed", so I stand in agreement with Your Word and declare that I am free! Thank you God for molding me into who You want me to be. Enable me with the ability to walk boldly in Your freedom.

In Jesus' name I pray,

Amen

Knowing God

Knowing who God is, and knowing God are two different things. There is going to come a time when Jesus will be separating people the way a shepherd separates goats from sheep.
Matthew 25:31-46And what that means is those who "know" Him will be with Him forever, and those who only know of Him, who only know about Him, will not. You have got to have a personal relationship with Him in order to know Him. 

So, do you "know" Him?

I love you, and I am praying for you. 

~Pastor Erroyl

SALT

Sis Pinky's Prayer,

Thank you God for placing a desire to know You intimately within me. I pray that our relationship will continue to blossom so I can tell others about my friend. Thank you for being my shepherd, and leading me in the path of righteousness.

In Jesus' name I pray, 

Amen