are you????
there are so many reasons to get “unplugged” these days. to turn off the tv, shut down the computer, put the phone on silent….and there are reasons to run away, hide, disengage to deal with hurt, pain and suffering. sometimes it’s just easier to be unplugged.
i just LOVE our church. our message began this week with a very important announcement :: our pastor now tweets! yes my friends, my pastor of a different “vintage”so to say, was throwing out BTW’s during the message!
while i appreciate the technological advancement of our church, what i loved most this particular sunday was our message on “power in weakness” centered around Romans 8.
my heart right now is SO BURDENED for several dear friends of mine. they are going through some tough tough stuff. they are phenomenal women! and it’s times like these where you just want to ask God “why”? we often wonder why God “allows” stuff like this to happen to good people, people who have already been through SO MUCH. God did not create this stuff, this is man made and sin is to blame. we are NOT operating the way God had ever intended for us to because of sin. this is NOT what He created and thankfully our worldly home is just temporary.
Romans 8:28 says
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
i have prayed and prayed and PRAYED for these women. i’m at a point where i just don’t know what to pray for sometimes. thankfully, when you invite Jesus to be a part of your life, you also gain the Holy Spirit in your heart as well. the Holy Spirit grieves our grief and feels our pain with us. AND knows EXACTLY what to say when you just have no words to speak anymore….
Romans 8:26-27 says “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.”
And sometimes when we run out of words to say, we turn to anger, complaining and negative thoughts. have you been there? i have. many times.
i love the example our pastor used this morning…..he asked what came out if you squeezed a tube of toothpaste…..toothpaste of course! sometimes God allows different circumstances to squeeze my heart just to see what’s inside….am i speaking words of faith, hope and love or am i full of anger, negativity and pride? sometimes we become so overtaken by pride that maybe we need to be humbled. during these difficult times God is going to try and get us to go back to the fundamentals. to get plugged in.
friends, are you plugged in? maybe you don’t “need” to be plugged in right now because everything is going just fine in your life. or maybe things aren’t so great but you just don’t know where to begin.
i encourage you to get plugged in with a church that you can call home. not just a church where you go for an hour every sunday morning, go through the motions and check it off your list for the week. if that is you, YOU ARE MISSING OUT! that is not what this is all about, that’s what religions, fads, and trends are….something that probably won’t last or have true lifelong meaning.
i’m talking about a church where you can get CONNECTED and learn more about what God has already done for YOU, not what you need to do for Him. i also encourage you to find a “life group” within your church…..a core group of close friends who share the same values that you “do life with”. friends that you can call at 2am. we have just gotten plugged in with a new life group that is closer to home and we LOVE it!
i’ve got to run and get a few more things checked off my list for tonight, but i hope you all had a great weekend and have a great week!
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