Many people today believe that absolute truth does not exist. If absolute truth does not exist, then certainly Christianity is not true. Jesus made unique claims about himself. For example, he said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) If this is true, it is true for everyone. If it is not true, it is not true for anyone. Truth is also exclusive. 1+2=3. That excludes lots of numbers: every number that is NOT “3”. Part of the problem many people have with Christianity is that it is exclusive; if Christianity is true, then any belief that contradicts Christianity is not true. But truth IS exclusive. The Christian faith is intellectually satisfying because it makes truth claims, and those claims are consistent with reality. If you want to take a look at a short (and humorous) video on truth, see below.
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I can only imagine how God must enjoy watching His children dance and sing in response to His love and goodness. When I look around I see all kinds of things to celebrate. Our Heavenly Father is the giver of good gifts.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 As children of a Father who gives good and perfect gifts, we have much to celebrate. He is working in our midst; around us, in us, and through us! He is planning an ultimate grand celebration unlike any the world has ever known, and we are invited! (Rev. 19:6-9) Until then, let’s thank Him for His gifts, large and small, and look for reasons to sing and dance, and celebrate all He is doing. What can you celebrate today? I’m celebrating the children who learned about Jesus this month at the Mission Placerville VBS service project ! I’m also celebrating our time together at the Pool Party Sunday! And I’m celebrating what God is doing every Sunday in the KidsWorld Elementary and Early Childhood areas, and in the rest of the church! Keep celebrating His goodness! -Charlotte “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:11 Have you ever wondered why God rested on the seventh day of creation? I have. After all, He is God, why would He need to rest? It seems He likes to stop and admire what He’s done. We see this when He stops to acknowledge what He made and proclaim it was good, every single day of creation. “God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25 And “God saw that it was very good.” Genesis 1:31 Looking back over time we see God is not in a hurry. He makes plans and patiently carries them out. He even takes time to rest! If rest is important enough for God to do it, then it stands to reason it’s important for us too. We can liken Him to a father knowing his child needs to take a nap. Does the child want to be still and rest? Usually not, but his body needs it. It’s good for him. Do you think God might like us to stop and look back over the week and what we’ve accomplished (like He did with creation) and see His hand in our days? To see the good He’s done in our lives and acknowledge it, and rest with Him (and in Him) on that seventh day? Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Faith is reason at rest in God.” When all our days run into each other without stopping to contemplate and acknowledge the good, we become weary and run down. We were made to need rest, both physically and mentally. Not just time to sleep, but time to rest in Him…to be still and know that He is God; to be renewed in strength and restored in spirit and reset for the week to come. It’s wise to remember that our Father really does know best, and sometimes we actually do need to take a nap! “Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength…It is wisdom to take occasional furlough. In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less.” -Charles Spurgeon Are you taking time to rest? In His grace, Charlotte For many, August is a time of gearing back up after a summer break. Kids go back to school and we start looking forward to cooler weather arriving. Along with the hot days, there are other things we will say goodby to until next summer.
Boats and kayaks will be stored away with life jackets and beach toys. Swimsuits will move to the back of our drawers, making room for sweaters to take their place in the front. Iced tea and the heat of summer will give way to crisp cool breezes, apple cider, and pumpkin lattes. It’s a time of changing seasons, moving from summer to autumn. Life groups will start meeting again and Women’s Bible Study will start a new session. It’s also a time of celebrating what God is doing in people’s lives as we join together at the river for baptisms in September. God is always doing a new thing in a new season as sure as the earth rotates around the sun. “For everything there is a season, A time for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 What are you looking forward to in this next season? I’m sure God has some amazing plans. -Charlotte “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Romans 12:15-18
Isn’t is interesting that the above passage urges us to share in the emotions of those around us right before it exhorts us to be harmonious, humble and honorable? What does one have to do with the other? Shared experiences unite us. Unity may lead to empathy. Empathy begets compassion. Compassion can result in humility. Humility breeds love. Love brings peace. These are important parts of following Jesus. Being part of God’s family. If ever there was a time to demonstrate our need of Jesus and one another, it is now. It is always now, isn’t it? Now is the proper time to weep with the grieving in our midst. Now is the time to celebrate with those rejoicing too. Now is definitely the time to glorify God through it all. Because this I know… These are gifts of grace. Grace that allows us to boast in the power of Christ resting upon us, in the good times and bad. Lately, we have seen Jesus show up in our community in mighty ways, in both wonderful and devastating moments. Yet we know… we absolutely know… we can lean into his strength. His presence is strength and grace. And we can better lean, when we do so together. “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 Love God and do what you want. -Saint Augustine This is one of my favorite quotes! I love the truth that it conveys: If I love God with all my heart, mind, soul and strength, then my desires will be in line with God's desires.
Oh the simplicity of life; if I love God, everything else will fall correctly into place. I was just on a walk…
And I met up with some neighbors. I had planned on turning right to start a jog but decided to turn left and join them on their walking loop. One of them asked how my mother-in-law was doing and I explained that she was recovering from the last hospital visit but we were given paperwork for discussing and making decisions about her wishes concerning the end of her life…The conversation turned serious and sad and I tried to change the subject to something lighter but was met by loving opposition. I was so grateful for this afterward because it resulted in a beautiful conversation about how to address this sensitive topic and I walked away equipped with resources for the conversation. This month, the freedom writers are writing about “Gearing up” because August seems to be the pivotal month where we savor the rest of summer and begin looking to Fall schedules and plans. While this story may not seem like an appropriate lead in to “gearing up” I want to share with you something that I learned to be important when things get added to the daily schedule. In her book The Monastic Heart,.. Author Joan Chittister talks about the monastic (monastery) practice of horarium which is the way that life in the monastery is divided. The monastic days are divided into periods of prayer, work, study and rest. She goes on to say that “The ordered life is a life that has time for growth, for leisure, for study, for community, for reflection built into it, not grabbed on the fly. It plots a purpose and pursues it. It determines the self it wants and needs to be. It establishes life on a principle of wholesome self-development.” Isaiah 64:4… The prophet tells us that “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait on him.” What does all of this even mean? I have learned that the important things in my day must be scheduled or they are overrun by the not so important things. When I made time with God yesterday morning, I saw my neighbors as friends and not distractions from the jog that I had scheduled. When I focused on God’s Spirit within me, I was able to receive instruction and lovingly respond. My pray for you is that when you start looking to the coming months and all of the activity, that you will “schedule” God time and experience all of the little gifts He will leave for you along your way…they usually come in the most ordinary activities. With Much Love, Christina Cynicism is sneaky. It can appear sophisticated while masking woundedness. I recall a friend steeped in it over matters of the heart; namely, men. Her cynicism bled her ex-husband’s betrayal. The man she trusted would love her forever, did not.
Age-old story. She built walls to ward off hurt. But those defenses didn’t allow healing to reach her either. Her perspective skewed all men as equal. A lonely, exhausting burden. Cynicism is sad, especially directed towards God. People blame God for myriad of things. Life doesn’t happen as expected, they conclude God failed. The Israelites did. You have wearied the Lord with your words… By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?” (Malachi 2:17) Notice the result. They “wearied” the Lord. Weary God? Isaiah says God “neither faints nor is weary” (40:28). Perhaps God was saddened by their persistent cynicism. Giving up on God brings the inclination to replace him with humanity. And let’s face it, we disappoint. When disillusioned, God’s accused again. Wearying, misplaced cynicism! Yet God understands our limitations. Fulfilling his promise to the Israelites, he provided for us through Jesus. Are you soul-weary, wondering when burdens will ease? Jesus invites: bring them! Learn from him. Rest in him. It’s easy to feel cynical. It’s life-changing to trust Jesus. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30) God’s Choices About the Creation of the World:
“God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong, but I can't. If a thing is free to be good, it's also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. - C.S. Lewis 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. - John 3:16-18 Man’s Choice About the World:
Other choices we have:
To be:
Is it more important to you to love God or to love yourself and the life you are creating? The choice really is yours to make. God loves you so much that He holds nothing back from you. He loves you enough to let you walk away. He loves you with an ever-burning passion to see you return to Him. You will always have the choice to love, serve, and obey the One who created you, the One who has nothing but the best in mind for you. But you will also always have the choice to walk away and try it your own way. The choice will always be yours but know the consequences will always result in God’s will or your own. |
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April 2024
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