Tag: God

Change = Growth

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die, 
a time to plant and a time to uproot, 
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a times to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to serach and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend, 
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Change. There sure is a lot changing all around us. The only things that seems constant is that everything is changing!

Here is the reason why change is so essential to life and particularly to the Christian life.

Think of the best version of who God wants you to be. Really. Take the time to think about the best version of you, that God wants you to be.

Got it?

Is that who you are today? If you said yes, let me know. I would love to meet that person!

God wants us to become that person. Every day, a little closer to the best version of who God wants us to be. But none of us are there yet. Some of us are closer. Some of us are just starting. But none of us are there.

Do you know what that means? God expects you to change. Resisting change is resisting growth, resisting maturity, resisting God.

God is up to something great! There is a season of renewal and growth ahead of the Little Church.

Ready to grow? Be open to the changes God is calling you to.

God’s Word

“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:2-3).

Those of us who grew up in church circles will be familiar with the first of these verses – Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. However, we may not be as familiar with the second verse.

There are two things:

  1. We are called to preach the word. Not our opinions, not our thoughts, not what we think is right. We are called to preach God’s word. God’s word dictates what is true and what is wrong, what is good and what is sin.
  2. There will be a time when people will reject God’s word and surround themselves with “teachers” who will say just what people want to hear.

Paul wrote these words two thousand years ago. Yet, these words are absolutely relevant today.

Our society has a hard time accepting the truth because the lies being uttered from some pulpits is exactly what they want to hear.

Friends, the word of God comforts and strengthens. AND if the word of God does not correct, rebuke, it’s probably not the word of God. If the word of God never corrects and rebukes, it would mean we are perfect just the way we are. And we all know that ain’t right.

The word of God absolutely comforts and strengths. AND it corrects and rebukes. And that’s a good thing.

Why Sleep?

Screenshot 2019-04-01 at 5.14.50 PMAll creatures sleep. Why? Why must we sleep?

Don’t get me wrong. I love good sleep.

Last night, my 13 year old son convinced me to join him in sleeping in the family room. Did I mention that the family room is not carpeted. It’s a wooden floor. Have you slept on a wooden floor before? I don’t recommend it. My son abandoned the sleeping on the cold wooden floor sometime in the middle of the night and went to his room to sleep on his warm comfy bed and left me on the cold wooden floor!

Needless to say, I did not sleep well. And to top it off, I am sore all over the place.

So I spent the good chunk of Monday napping…in my bed!

The sleep was so good.

Before the sleep, I was achy and my head was hazy. I was tired and irritable.

A good nap changed all that. It’s almost as if the sleep set the reset button. After the good sleep my body and mind was like, “Bring it on. Let’s do this thing!”

Why is that? Why do we need to sleep? Just think about all the stuff we could get done if we didn’t need to sleep.

Sleep was designed into all creatures from creation. God created us so with a rhythm. We rest, we work, we play. And we start again. And every seven days, we are to take a day of rest. It’s called the Sabbath.

God created the world with this rhythm.

Why, did God create us this way?

I think it’s a built in way to remind us that we are creatures. When we’re asleep, we are most vulnerable. There is nothing we can do to protect ourselves when we are asleep. We are completely vulnerable.

Sleep reminds us that we are creatures in need of a loving God.

Besides, I really like a good sleep.