“Put on your new nature, and be renewed
as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.” Colossians 3:10 NLT Summer is here and many are having to adapt their schedules and lives to fit the changes summer inevitably brings with it. Maybe you decided to walk in the mornings and put Bible study on hold during the summer. Maybe children’s activities are beginning to dominate your time. Still others, like many I know, are in a time of transition. Perhaps things are suddenly turned around, upside down, by an accident, a death, a sickness or a move, and you are grappling with finding a new “normal”. I get that. Just growing older can cause unplanned for changes. I suggest we don’t complain. Well, maybe a little! Let’s look at it as an opportunity. In searching for the reset button, we might remember that God is sovereign and in control of our circumstances, and knows everything about us. And since he is Creator, he is not governed by time. He knows the end from the beginning. We are not lost. We may feel lost, but God knows exactly where we are and wants us to get back to walking with him. He never went away. Maybe we just stopped looking for him. So, we might search the Word of God for direction and encouragement. We might be surprised at how God can use his inspired Word to help us regain solid ground and point us to the path where we belong. Let’s ask the Lord to help us to remember who we are in Christ, and why he chose us and called us. We may have been looking for those answers in the world where we will never find the truth to strengthen us. We are created in the image of God, and, whatever that looks like for each unique person, we are called and equipped to learn to grow more and more to be like the child of God we were designed to become. We won’t break, just bend under the weight of the spiritual battle raging around us. The storm is designed to make us more like Jesus, more and more beautiful, not battered! So, if you are feeling your life is off course, take a little time to reach out for Jesus, and let him help you reset your guidance system. Dear friends, be blessed as you trust the Holy Spirit to lead you and strengthen you. May you experience God in new ways this summer and grow in your understanding of who he created you to become. May you stay focused on Jesus and see his power and goodness reflected in your life. Smile and enjoy your summer. Amen. Mary Sumner ~ May 7, 2024
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“… I will bless you and make you famous,
and you will be a blessing to others.” Genesis 12:2 NLT Did you know that God chose you and blessed you so you could bless others? We frequently may hear a follower of Jesus say, “Bless you.” But did you know that it is our calling to bless others? What is a blessing? Blessings are words or actions that build up, encourage and strengthen another. As Christ’s ambassadors we have the authority, or legal right in Christ’s kingdom, to bless in Jesus’ name. When we do, expect there to be a change, an outcome, especially when we use God’s Word in a written or spoken blessing. When we use God’s Word we can be sure that the Holy Spirit, by whose inspiration the Bible was written, agrees with it and enforces it with his power and authority. Have you ever experienced that when someone blessed you? We can rejoice in our call to bless others, because in blessing, we partner with Jesus in bringing his will and Kingdom to earth, to our surroundings, families, friends, workplaces and schools. Rejoice with Paul in Ephesians 1:3, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.” Let’s agree with Paul and rejoice that the Father has released every spiritual blessing in Heaven to us because we are in Christ. You have everything you need today to be a blessing to others. Our spiritual blessing bucket is full! Let’s go splash some good deeds and encouraging words on others today. Dear friends, be blessed as you choose to do good and speak God’s will to others, and partner with Jesus in releasing the Kingdom around you. Smile. You are loved and have an important purpose in being alive today. Amen. Mary Sumner ~ April 23, 2023 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8,9 NLT We are told to seek God. In Jeremiah 29:13 God promises that if we look for him wholeheartedly we will find him. But how do we get to know a God who is not like us? In the beginning humankind was created to be in relationship with God. But our disobedience opened the door to sin and corrupted the earth. Our sin created a barrier to reaching God that we could not overcome alone. Since we were created for relationship with God, our spirits will not rest until we seek and find him. But God is holy, entirely different, perfect and totally pure. And we are not. He lives in a spiritual realm, far beyond our own in every way. The Father and Holy Spirit are invisible to human eyes. Since it was impossible for us to find God on our own, God would have to reveal himself to us. So, the Father sent his Spirit to awaken our spirits and enable us to discern our need for God and to stir in us the desire to be in relationship with our heavenly Father. The Father realized that in order to have the relationship with us that he desired, he would have to humble himself and come to us. So, the Father sent his Son Jesus to us in a human body. Colossians 1:15 says, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.” That is how Jesus could tell his disciples if they knew him, they would know the Father. There was still another barrier to be removed. God is holy, human disobedience, their sin, had to be removed before humankind could come into contact with their Creator. The Father’s answer was that his sinless Son Jesus would take on the penalty of sin in his own body for us, so we would be set free from our rebellion and death. In our union with Christ, we would receive his righteousness, thus enabling us to enter into Father God’s presence and come to know him. Father God has made the way back to himself so we can fulfill the purpose of our existence, to know God and enjoy him forever. Since the Father loves us that much. Enough so that he would send his beloved Son to die in our place. What will our response be? Will we seek God with all our hearts, so we can know him and be restored to our real identity as his children? Dear friends, be blessed as you choose to follow Jesus, coming to know him intimately as your Lord, Savior and Friend. Believe that he is the way for you to enter into the Father’s presence and align with his will. Be blessed to get to know your heavenly Father and receive his love, mercy and grace every day. May you rejoice in your new identity in Christ as you learn to trust him and receive more and more of his love. Amen. Mary Sumner ~ February 12, 2024 |
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