CLEANSE not CONDEMN

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)

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

We can be assured that each step deeper into the Lord's Presence will reveal areas in our hearts which need to be cleansed. Do not be afraid to see yourself as you are. For when the Holy Spirit shows you your sin, He comes not to condemn, but to cleanse and deliver. - Frangipane

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world… John 3:17 (NIV)

Then His Son said:

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper who will be with you forever. That helper is the Spirit of Truth. – John 14:16 (GW)

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I work and spend time with many folks who often cower at the presence of GOD and they mistake conviction for condemnation.  One of them stares back at me in the mirror.

They/we believe that even though they/we may have made some progress in an area or two that GOD is still frustrated with their/our remaining flaws and failures and it is just a matter of time before the whole house of cards comes crashing down again.

But that is just not the case.

Jesus didn’t come to continuously condemn.

He came to save us.

Save us from sin but also save us from our self-defeating attitudes and behaviors.  He took the sin at the cross and then provided the Holy Spirit to work with us on the obedience and the behaviors part.

Jesus wants to cover us completely; to give us the BEST of opportunities to walk in freshness every day, in newness constantly, in hope and possibility, never in condemnation or defeat.

Now is it always pleasant when we trust GOD’S presence and the Holy Spirit to reveal those areas where we “need work” so we can have all that?

No.

Is it needed? Yes!

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV)

For when we embrace the presence of GOD to refine us, He will do just that and where does that lead?

“In the WAY everlasting”.

The WAY we should want to go and live.

That is the way I want to go, that is the way I want to live regardless if sometimes it is convicting and uncomfortable, regardless if sometimes it is the more difficult route. 

For we know...

…small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life, and there are few who find it. - Matthew 7:14 (AMP)

Therefore, we should never FEAR condemnation in the presence of the LORD but rather WELCOME His conviction.  For the HOLY SPIRIT will search us and offer us constant opportunities to re-establish our footing on the narrow path.

He will offer fresh mercy and fresh grace when we ask for it. 

Remember the Holy Spirit is a HELPER not a HATER.

And while sometimes the conviction can be strong, it is always out of LOVE!

My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Hebrews 12:6-7 (MSG)

And…

…he who hates reproof is stupid. – Proverbs 12:1

So, enter willingly into the convicting but never condemning presence of the LORD today.  Take the HELP of the SPIRIT as you journey and navigate. 

Be aware of the SPIRIT’S promptings. 

Embrace the guidance. 

Welcome the cleansing opportunities. 

Encourage the searching.

For: “Conviction is a privilege! It means that God is working in you” - Chappell

I love you all!

Have a BLESSED DAY!!!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

TEACHER

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)

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

Yesterday I had the distinct pleasure to be a part of a selected team tapped by a United Methodist Counsel to begin constructing a HEALTH OFFICE focused on ways the CHURCH can continue and, in some cases, begin to help communities impacted by the addiction epidemic and its ramifications.  This team is charged with creating ENGAGEMENT opportunities for the CHURCH in the targeted region with a focus on mothers and children impacted by addiction.

And as this new kinship began to form the plan and strategy, Chad our leader offered an excerpt of 2 Corinthians 1 from GOD’S Word as one of the foundations for our efforts.

In this passage, Paul was sharing with the folks in Corinth about his struggles.  And yet despite the challenges, Paul was educating them, and us, that challenges were catalysts of comfort.  In other words, the tougher the challenge, the more faithful GOD to bring us the comfort, strength and endurance to make it through.

Part of the passage is below…

as we experience the abundance of Christ’s own sufferings, even more of God’s comfort will cascade upon us through our union with Christ.

If troubles weigh us down, that just means that we will receive even more comfort to pass on to you for your deliverance! For the comfort pouring into us empowers us to bring comfort to you. And with this comfort upholding you, you can endure victoriously - 2 Corinthians 1:5-6 (TPT)

And while currently I am the only one of the new consortium to have experienced addiction, each member brought a unique perspective on “suffering”. 

We have a mom whose son is still working his way through the challenge of substance use.  A chaplain who comforts so many each and every day at a Columbus hospital, an oncology nurse who has seen the worst of that challenge, a neonatal specialist whose faith has empowered her to take on the challenge of the hardest of cases, addicted mamas and their impacted infants, and my dear colleague who is a first of its kind, ADDICTION MINISTRIES Pastor.

And I believe Chad our leader chose this passage from Paul to remind us that our sufferings and experiences are never without purpose regardless of context.  And while they are often unpleasant and painful, they often press us to the breast of the FATHER as we seek understanding, deliverance and comfort. 

And when we are afforded those things in our challenge it validates the providence and caring nature of GOD in our toughest moments.  And those experiences are vital as we wade into the challenges of others, those experiences set the foundation of hope that is always so needed.

So why share this new effort, this passage?

It is to remind each of us that our pain is often a teacher and an impacting tool for ministry.  When GOD helps us to weather OUR storms of life, we are often presented with wonderful opportunities to SERVE others who may be in the throes of theirs.

Ovid said it this way,

Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you.

Remember friends,

this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison…2 Corinthians 4:17 (ESV)

I love you all.

Have a BLESSED DAY!!!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

TAKE NOTE

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)

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

Sorry I have been away a day or two.  Holiday and commitments kept my early mornings occupied.  But it is good to be back behind the keyboard this morning if anything just to reflect.

I don’t know about you, but I appreciate Thanksgiving more and more each year.  Beth and I were talking in the car on the way to my mother-in-law’s house on Thursday and I remarked this was my 53^rd Thanksgiving. That is hard to imagine.  And it is also a little sobering.  I have HAD more Thanksgivings than I am likely to HAVE.

And as I pondered that, the LORD reminded me of the importance of GRATITUDE in the moment for you don’t know when those moments will arrest.  He whispered, “Be sure to appreciate today and all the things that come with it.”

For me it was the laughter of my kids and nieces as the basement was filled with a raucous game of “Heads Up”. For me it was the prayer around the table with all what GOD has blessed me with.  For me it was the brief tryptophan induced nap on the couch before another round of homemade pie.

You see there is a calming, almost warming effect to gratefulness.  That is why GOD encouraged us to always be engaging in it. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Tolle remarked:

What does gratefulness mean? It means you appreciate what is. You value, you give attention to, you honor whatever is here at this moment.

I tend to agree.

It is why the OFH opens with it.

For without the blessings of the day can get missed or ignored consumed by too many “what if’s” and “if only’s”.

Conley even once remarked that,

Social scientists have found that the fastest way to feel happiness is to practice gratitude.

I would agree.

For when I step back and PRACTICE gratefulness, a peace, a calm, a resetting takes place.  It clears the fog for me.  It returns me to center.  It washes discontentment from the equation. It reminds me that…

Every gift God freely gives us is good and perfect – James 1:17 (TPT)

So, here we are with another day FULL of gifts stretch out in front of us.  How will we embrace them?  With gratitude? Or will the busyness blind us to the blessings?

The choice is ours you know.

It's a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack. ― Germany Kent

I love you all.

Have a BLESSED DAY!!!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

GRATEFULNESS' GAIN

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)

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

“The very quality of your life, whether you love it or hate it, is based upon how thankful you are toward God. It is one's attitude that determines whether life unfolds into a place of blessedness or wretchedness. Indeed, looking at the same rose bush, some people complain that the roses have thorns while others rejoice that some thorns come with roses. It all depends on your perspective.

This is the only life you will have before you enter eternity. If you want to find joy, you must first find thankfulness. Indeed, the one who is thankful for even a little enjoys much. But the unappreciative soul is always miserable, always complaining. He lives outside the shelter of the Most High God. – Francis Frangipane

If you are “Facebook” person, then you have been seeing some folks posting their daily “thankfulness” to celebrate November and the pending Thanksgiving. 

I find that a great exercise.

The Lord does to.

…in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you…

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB)

That is also why I like Frangipane’s encouragement for us today.

Our QUALITY of life is tied to our THANKFULNESS!

Our perspective for the pending day or our circumstances is tied to our thankfulness!

Ask yourself, which side of that ROSE/THORN equation do you fall?

Is your glass trending toward half-full today or are you already starting to feel siphoned toward half-emptiness?

If you are the latter or if your view is a little more thorny than rosy, then take a step back and find something to be thankful for. 

There is always something.

The lights on?  Be thankful.

Cereal in the bowl? Be thankful.

Got a way from A to B today? Be thankful.

Frangipane makes it clear.  Want joy, start with thankfulness!

And don’t be afraid to start small.  In fact, that is often the best place to start to get a little momentum rolling.

But most importantly Frangipane reminds us today that to spend our time complaining, to allow ourselves to be filled with ungratefulness only serves to create a divide between GOD and us.  GOD will never separate Himself from us, but often when we are ungrateful, we separate ourselves from Him.

So, remedy that first thing!

Do all things without grumbling or questioning…

Philippians 2:14 (ESV)

Know and fully recognize with gratitude that the Lord Himself is God;

It is He who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His].

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving

And His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name.

Psalm 100:3-4 (AMP)

“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you” ~ Sarah Ban Breathnack

Have a thank-filled day!

I love you all…

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

ARM and EAR

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)

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

Got a good friend who is a FAITHFUL texter of “a scripture of the day”.  During her morning reflection and study, she reliably sends a word or a verse from the LORD to her band of good friends.  It is such a blessing.  And if you know WHERE this friend came from, you would find her diligence and reliability EXTRAORDINARY!

And like all mornings, I got a little text from her.  Today’s passage was Isaiah 59:1: “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.”

That is solid right?

Reassuring right?

Made me think of that little chorus with some “modification”.

He IS there all the time

He IS there all the time

Waiting patiently in line

He IS there all the time

Simple as it seems, that wonderful truth of the omnipresence of GOD gets lost in the clutter of life.  We get so preoccupied or so busy with the noise that we forget to INCLUDE Him.

And He never “short arms” us.  God is always waiting with ARMS open WIDE and accepting.  His HAND always outstretch to assist or better yet carry us through.  His ears are always perked and tuned to our voice, our needs, our challenges, our fears, and our call, never so busy or so distracted as to not hear from us with perfect precision.

Lord, you know everything there is to know about me.

2 You perceive every movement of my heart and soul,

    and you understand my every thought before it even enters my mind.

3–4 You are so intimately aware of me, Lord.

    You read my heart like an open book

    and you know all the words I’m about to speak

    before I even start a sentence!

    You know every step I will take before my journey even begins.

5 You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way,

    and in kindness you follow behind me

    to spare me from the harm of my past.

    With your hand of love upon my life,

    you impart a blessing to me.

6 This is just too wonderful, deep, and incomprehensible!

    Your understanding of me brings me wonder and strength…

Psalm 139:1-7 (TPT)

He IS there all the time friends.

Patiently waiting for us to REACH out or to call on His name.

So, don’t face today on your own.

Embrace GOD.

Grab His hand and His ear!

The day will be MUCH better if you do.

Living becomes an awesome business when you realize that you spend every moment of your life in the sight and company of an omniscient, omnipresent Creator. - J. I. Packer

I love you all.

Have a BLESSED WEEKEND!!!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE