In the Image of God
September 2, 2024 by admin
Filed under Personal Growth
Slamming the front door, I'd march into the house shouting, "I hate you!” My sweet, even-tempered mother would calmly walk into my room, and say, "Now Cheri, I can see you are angry, but you really don't hate anyone. You may dislike or even hate what they do, but you don't hate them. After all, they, too, were created by God.” I hated that. She was right, but when you are really angry, it takes all of the punch out of your anger to admit you loved the person God created, but not who they have become. There are a lot of people today who fall into this category. They no longer are the people God created them to be. Some are even downright evil, yet we know from Scripture, God created everyone to live in union with Him. So how do we stop evil from overcoming the world, from overcoming us? I believe we begin with this premise, and then teach it to our children, and their children, and their children's children—that everything was and everyone is created by God.
The American Dream versus the God Dream
August 13, 2024 by admin
Filed under Personal Growth
Lately, many of our church people have been beset by foreclosures and financial problems beyond what you’d expect in this recession, plus losing a key person, identity theft, legal problems, citizenship problems, a car catching on fire on the freeway, a stroke, cancer—I don’t want to add any more. And we’re a small church!
Sea Shells
August 2, 2024 by admin
Filed under Personal Growth
Since childhood days I’ve enjoyed walking along the beach, hunting for seashells. The beauty and variety of shells still amazes me. God created such details in these miniature homes. Yet the animal that made the shell leaves it behind, making a larger home with no need of the old home. The shells left behind are so beautiful that children and collectors seek and treasure them. The sea creature simply abandons the shell, moving on to the newness of the present.
No Thornless Roses
July 22, 2024 by admin
Filed under Personal Growth
No one ever said being a Christian would guarantee us a bed of thornless roses. This week proved that point for me. How can so much heartache befall a people at one time without their hearts bursting from the pain? I could list several things that have afflicted us as a church family over the past two months, but I'll just mention the most recent—a close friend in church passed away quickly from ovarian cancer and septicemia. She was just 50 years old.
Doubting Faithful
July 11, 2024 by admin
Filed under Personal Growth
Have you ever felt like a hypocrite at church? I have. There are days when doubt overtakes me, when the mountains seem bigger than my faith, and the road is filled with more obstacles than I can imagine. Sometimes I feel so small. Then the voices of doubt are louder than my voice of faith. I hear the voices in my head say things like, “If He loved you that much, you wouldn’t be going through all of this”, and “Look at that person over there. At least she’s having fun.”
