BE A FRIEND

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Let me start by saying I love FACEBOOK. It is an amazing tool for my ministries. I can communicate quickly and succinctly to a lot of folks or send a private message. I can keep up with “what is happening” and keep folks informed. And don’t get me started about how helpful texting is and I can feel myself slowly being dragged into “twitterdom” as well.

Yet as helpful as these tools are, we must not let the technology trump our opportunities to be “relational”. GOD designed us for relationships and unfortunately thanks to the technology we have unknowingly traded fellowship for a tweet and relationships for a post. I am very guilty of this. I will admit it.

But what is that old saying?

“A friend in need is a friend in “deed”. In other words a true friend is a friend who “does”for another. A good friend is there for another. A good friend is relational.

But have we relegated our friendships to some “likes”, “hashtags”, and smiley faces? Let's be honest with ourselves.

Like I said, I love the tools, but I believe that GOD has called us to be more than a “follower” on TWITTER; He has called us to be relational.

And what does that mean?

It means that true friends are there for one another in the good times and the bad.

Just like GOD.

It means that true friends step up to the plate and lend a hand when needed.

Just like GOD.

It means true friends overlook the faults in another and love just for the sake of loving.

Just like GOD.

Are you that kind of friend?

Proverbs 17:17

Friends love through all kinds of weather…

GOD is that kind of friend to us, in fact HE calls us HIS friends.

2 Corinthians 5:20

…God...he’s already a friend with you.

The question is, are we that kind of a friend to others? This kind of friend?

John 15:12

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

And how does GOD love us as His friends?

Unconditionally, closely, intimately, and RELATIONALLY. Therefore we should be doing the same with our FRIENDS too, right?

Perhaps there is an old friend who you haven’t connected with in a while. Carve out an hour or two for them in the next week or so for a coffee or a conversation. Pick up the phone and give them a call.

See if there is a friend who could use a little hand or a little heart and extend it.

Be intentional. Be relational. Be a friend.

Just like GOD.

Have a blessed day!

I love you all!

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney

HOLDS YOUR HAND

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

As hard as we try, we do “stumble” sometimes don’t we. Like Monday’s DISPATCH reminded us, we are FALLIBLE. And sometimes our sinful stumbles are small like stubbing our tow on a bump in the sidewalk and other times they are more like slipping head over heels on the ice.

But regardless if we just miss a step or take a tumble isn’t it good to know GOD still has us by the hand and is there to pull us back up?

That is one of the beautiful elements of grace my friends.

For GOD knows I will sin. GOD knows I am not very sure in my footing.

Romans 3:23

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

And even though He vehemently hates the sin He deeply loves us, the sinner, so He hangs on to us because He wants us to get back up and take the next step toward Him!

2 Peter 3:9

…he is…patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed…

Psalm 37:23-24 even says that when we stumble, we won't fall down because God will be holding our hand.

Psalm 37:23-24

The steps of a good man (woman) are led by the Lord. And He is happy in his way. 24 When he falls, he/she will not be thrown down, because the Lord holds his/her hand.

What a picture! Just envision a father—a daddy—walking along with his young child. The child trips, but the father is holding tightly to the youngster's hand and holds him up, keeping him from falling to the ground.

That is GOD for us!

We stumble and slip in sin. We trip on temptations. We bobble in bad behavior yet there is GOD holding tightly, determined to pull us back to balance and back on track!

Perhaps you are like me yesterday and took a spill on the icy sidewalk of sin or maybe your walk was interrupted with a stumble or two. Take heart this morning.

GOD was holding on to you to keep you from falling and He, like he has for me, has picked you up and set us on our feet for this day!

Psalm 86

…you, O God, are both tender and kind, not easily angered, immense in love, and you never, never quit…you, God, gently and powerfully put me back on my feet.

So now that we have our “footing" again, let’s get to today’s walk shall we? Watch your step!

Proverbs 8:20

…walk in the way that is right with God

I love you all!

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney

LET'S GET TO LOVING

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“Yeah yeah yeah, I have heard that one before…”

“How does it go again? Oh yes, ‘Love the Lord your GOD…yadda yadda and love your neighbor, etc. etc. etc.’”

I got it.

Do you REALLY?

Last night at FREEDOM I put a little bow on February’s “Living Beyond Luck – Relationships” series by sharing and expanding a little on this familiar verse that was shared by Pastor Mark at AHOP on Sunday.

Matthew 22:37-39

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.

The title of the talk was LOVE GOD REALly and REALly LOVE OTHERS.

And yes while Matthew 22:37-39 one of those tried and true passages that like John 3:16 gets passed over a little due to its familiarity, I want you to dig a little deeper this morning and grab hold of what GOD is asking of us for THIS DAY; forget the familiarity.

HE is asking, albeit commanding us to LOVE HIM FIRST.

So stop.

Pause!

Bow your head, close your eyes and let GOD know how much you love Him this morning. Don’t be shy. I know you are in your cubicle or just sat down to coffee. Take the verse at face value. Love HIM. Reach out and hug and kiss his neck.

He wants that first.

……..

Welcome back!

Now you are ready to do the rest and LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR. How do I know?

Because this love that you have just shown to GOD has opened the conduit for GOD to pour HIS supernatural love into you so that you CAN love your neighbor; even when he or she isn’t so lovable or when we don’t feel much like loving them.

So if you think the loving GOD part of this equation isn’t important? THINK AGAIN!

1 John 4:7

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God…

You see that?

GOD asked us to LOVE HIM FIRST because then we can love others with HIS LOVE.

You catch that?

GOD knows it is tough for us to love those unlovable neighbors on our own steam. So GOD solves the problem by allowing HIS SUPERNATURAL love to flow THROUGH us toward them when we love HIM first.

Therefore if you paused and let GOD know how much you love Him, He has now poured HIS love into you to get you ready for a day filled with loving others!

So what are we waiting for?

Let’s get to loving!

Have a blessed day!

I love you all!

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney

FALLIBLE

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

We all are fallible aren’t we? Come on admit it. No room for pride and arrogance this morning.

If we are honest with ourselves we know our weak points, we can pinpoint the blemishes in the mirror. We all have some scars and all have a wart or two I am sure. I know I do. There are some days I could bathe in COMPOUND W the warts are so pronounced.

That is why I so loved one the points Pastor made yesterday in his talk.

“Love calls us to forgive one another because we all are fallible.”

That is so true.

Yet isn’t it amazing how often we will quickly overlook our faults as we seek to find those in another?

Oh we will give it the “half-hearted” treatment from time to time.

“I’m not saying I am perfect, but if you knew what they did you would agree THAT was much much worse.”

Or we ignore our own role altogether and immediately play the “blame game”.

Come on I am not the only one.

I know it is easier to find the fault in others than it is to OWN our “flaws”; it is easier to deflect the conflict to the part played by someone else than it is to accept the blow ourselves.

But GOD calls us to be INTROSPECTIVE and not deflective; to be forgiving and forgetful.

1 Corinthians 13:

Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others…

Perhaps you woke up this morning with a garrison of grudges or armed with some bullets of bitterness.

Before you “go off”, pause. Pray and remember. We have been forgiven much.

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Perhaps we should offer that same forgiveness? GOD believes we should...

Galatians 6:1-2

Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out.

Have a blessed day.

I love you all!

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney

AC IRON

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

I don’t know how many of you folks are basketball fans.  I will say am not borderline psychotic like my friends JROB and DEEMOby any stretch, but I do like watching some hoops especially now that March is approaching.

And as many of you know I am Buckeye fan.  And OSU has a kid on their team named Aaron Craft.  He hails from Findlay Ohio, is 6’2’ an academic all-American and the topic of some distant infatuation of a couple of Hillary’s pals on campus.

And I will admit it. I am an Aaron Craft fan.

But you are not going to see Aaron Craft lighting up SportsCenter or in the highlight reels.  He won’t be the topic of a lot of talk shows or be participating in the NBA All-Star weekend down the road.  But Aaron is a great basketball player because he makes everyone around him better.

He is a wonderful point guard and a tenacious on-ball defender and a leader.  He inspires his teammates to work as hard as he does on the little things, the things that won’t make you famous but make the team better.

In other words he is unselfish.

That got me to thinking this morning.

GOD calls us to “make those around us better.”

Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

GOD calls us to be unselfish even when it hurts…

Luke 6:27-30

“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

That is a tough one huh?

So maybe you would like to join me and ask yourself these questions this morning.  I am bringing out the best in others or am I stuck and focused on “just me”?  Do I handle my opponents unselfishly and gracefully or am I more tit-for-tat?  Who can I encourage or inspire to “be better” today? Can I be generous when I am usually greedy?

Tough questions I know, but the WORD says...

Colossians 4:6

…Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others…

 

So we better get to it right?  

Oh...and GO BUCKS!

I love you all!

Have a blessed weekend!

Freedom Church

 

Pastor GDelaney

TOUGH QUESTIONS

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Where is your weak spot?

Do you have a specific vulnerability? For me it is a “sweet tooth”.

I will be upfront I have a real penchant for refined sugar and eye candy.

I know what you are saying, “I get what refined sugar is, but eye candy?”

I will offer a little confession I struggle from time to time with not just a craving for sweet treats but a wandering eye as well. I am not proud to confess that, but I will own it and I continue to work on it.

You see last night we kicked off a new FREEDOM study called “FREEDOM BEGINS HERE”, it is an honest look at ourselves against the backdrop of a self-centered, self-focused, sexually charged society. And I will be honest it asks some tough, tough questions. It is going to be one of those revealing and perhaps a little painful little studies.

But the truth is we do need to look in the mirror from time to time and ask ourselves the tough questions right?

Am I being faithful to GOD with my body?

Am I being faithful to GOD with my mind and thoughts?

Am I being faithful to GOD in my actions and choices?

Am I growing to look more like Jesus today than I was yesterday?

Like I said tough questions. And like many “interrogations” it can get a little uncomfortable.

But GOD calls us to self-awareness and self-examination. We have to be honest with ourselves in order to be honest with GOD.

Psalm 139:23

Search me, God, and know my heart…

It is important for us to ask the tough questions of ourselves each day, but it is even more crucial that we pray for GOD to work and refine us each day.

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

GOD wants to refine us and grow us to look more like Jesus. He wants us to desire that for ourselves and in response to His amazing grace and love for us!

1 Thessalonians 4:1

…we ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus…

So take a minute to find a mirror and ask yourself those tough questions. Answer honestly. Then commit to clear away any debris and distractions that could potentially keep you from today’s objective which is simply TO BE MORE LIKE JESUS TODAY THAN YESTERDAY.

I love you all!

Freedom Church

WORSHIP?

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Just what is "worship" anyway? That is one of those "churchy" words isn't it?

Is worship “what we do” to open or close a service?

Just where does “worship” happen?

Is it reserved for those planned and rehearsed moments on a Sunday morning?

I mean what does that popular song say?

“Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down here I am to say that you’re my GOD”.

Is that a Sunday exclusive? Good question.

I was having just a casual chat with my dear friend Eric last night before choir and he said something that struck me. In a nutshell he said it is our “response to life” that allows others to see Jesus.

And he couldn’t be more right.

And the more I chewed on that on my way to pick up Sam from work the more I tried to put Eric’s passing comment in the context of him as a worship leader. And the comment got me to thinking.

Our response to life, our obedience to GOD in our daily decisions, our honoring Him with our choices and our thoughts IS WORSHIP.

Worship can and should be a CONSTANT “thing”.

Songs are great and musical sets are awesome vehicles for worship that is for sure, but we encouraged to be worshippers just by “doing, choosing and obeying” GOD throughout the day.

For when we do those things, we are acknowledging our love for Him; we are acknowledging our awareness of Him in our day.

When we do we are expressing worship.

In other words, worship isn't something we simply feel or sing or play. Worship isn't the name we give some experience that we seek while singing, lifting our hands, or closing our eyes. It's something we DO with our bodies and minds in all of life.

For when we accept Jesus, we automatically become worshipers of God. The rest of our life is simply a brief preparation for what will be an eternal occupation: giving God grateful, wholehearted worship.

Revelation 4:8

Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”

Paul even confirms this idea of “rest of life” and “all of life”worship in Romans.

Romans 12:1-2

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.

In others words, take ALL that you are going to do today and honor GOD with it.

Going to make and serve coffee today at the restaurant? Worship GOD by doing your best and serving with a smile.

Going to have lunch with a friend? Worship GOD with an honoring and pure conversation.

Going to tend to patients or clients? Do it with integrity and truth.

Worship GOD with whatever you do!

Now this isn’t a new thought. That is for sure. Because, I think Francis Havergal got it right over 125 years ago with this little lyric…

Take my life and let it be

Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

Take my moments and my days,

Let them flow in endless praise.

Therefore, if you are up and reading this, then it is time to worship.

I love you all!

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney