Maybe you have been greatly wounded in life.  Maybe you have undergone unimaginable spiritual and emotional injuries.  Maybe you even feel as though you have shot yourself by your life choices and the sin that follows.  What you need to know today is that “Grace Reigns.”  I want you to know that I am not giving up on you.  I want you to know that other people I know are not giving up on you.  I want to encourage you to not give up on yourself.  How can we do this?  Because with every breath you take, it is a reminder that God has not given up on you.  Because of Jesus death on the cross, Grace Reigns.

So whether you’ve done it to yourself or your wounds come from others, you are loved, you are not given up on, you have grace waiting on you right here, right now.

Let Grace Reign!!!

God’s Grace.

You’ll notice another thing about this photo and the quarterback. His eyes are focussed down field at his intended receiver target.

I hope you have some kind of goals in life that God has you pursuing that bring glory to him. What you need to know, is that opposition is a part of life. Whether you’re a pastor, teacher, politician, electrician or just trying to figure out life, opposition will be at your doorstep, because this is earth and not heaven.

When you go through life struggles and come up against obstacles, it’s what you do next that makes significant impact on you as well as others.

If you’re focussed on the goal, the purpose, the mission, the target, then you’re more likely to be able to put obstacles in proper perspective. In football, opponents are part of the game. On earth, obstacles and opposition are a part of life. But if you’ll stay focussed on the target, you’ll at least be able to say, “I stayed the course.”

If you don’t have targets,,,, get some.. and then……

…..Don’t look away!!

Luke 21:19, “By your endurance you will gain your lives.”

Maybe you’ve had glances cast at you for one reason or another. Maybe you’ve had people discuss, make decisions about you and formulate judgements about you before even getting to know you. I’d like to apologize on behalf of REAL people for your having to experience that.

I will make you a promise. Wherever I am, you’ll not go though that. Funny thing is…..most of the anti-chainsmoker types don’t seem to be anti-chaineater at the local buffet.

God loves you so much that he gave his only son for you (John 3:16). In the midst of whatever you are, Christ died for you. Chain smoker, chain eater, drunkard, divorced, tattooed, pierced, older, younger, glutton, stinky, mean, adulterer….whoever.

You may have some things God wants to work on, but we will let Him decide, so there will always be a seat next to us at FUEL & wherever I happen to be for that matter. If your dressed to the nines or didn’t come home til nine this morning, we will save a place for you. You just might have to sit by the chain smoker,, unless he’s out back smoking.

God loves you and so do I……no matter what your hurt, habit or hang up….. You are loved.

We do have local flocks, but since the bible says to. “shepherd the flock among you”, then I believe that this can mean those that are Christians in your community.

What an opportunity we have as pastors & Christians, to serve, work & love in the name of Christ. I believe if we will pull together, love each other more & more & keep the gospel in the front, it won’t matter who plants or waters, because God gets the glory. (1 Cor. 3)

I love my job & I pray you love yours too. If not, I would love the opportunity to pray for you.

I love my job!!!!

All that being said, I think there are a lot of people that are suppressing pain in their soul.  Whether it is relational, emotional, psychological, or spiritual,  it all revolves around the thriving of the soul.  The same  idea of pain tolerance can lead to problems in the realm of the soul.  If a person suppresses pain after pain, there will come a time where they are no longer sensitive to a major crisis of the soul.  If they always deflect the pains of life and never address personally OR professionally, the things that hurt them, then when the perfect storm comes, they aren’t even aware that their life is in turmoil.

James 5 tells us that if we are suffering, then we should talk to God about it.  If we are happy, we should sing to God about it.  If we are struggling with sin, we should talk to God and HIS people about it.  Pain tolerance CAN be good, but be careful about suppressing things so deep that you no longer feel the need to address them.  The results could be tragic.

Have an EPIC day!!!

“Sondra LaMar of Fort Smith keeps a very special memory that embodies the true spirit of Christmas.

It was a difficult Christmas time. Recently divorced, I was aching from shock and my 6-year-old son still didn’t understand how his world had been torn apart. I’d been told to reach out, to think of others rather than myself, so I did.

I called a local nursing home to see how many residents they had. I bought bookmarks from the Christian bookstore, and then my son and I selected candy Kisses and other small items. We sat at the kitchen table, making up individual tray gifts for the residents of the home as I explained that we wanted to bring a little Christmas cheer to the older people who couldn’t get out and shop, but more than that, I told him, Christmas was about giving to others. His small hands went down our assembly line and placed items on pieces of gift wrap. After I folded the wrap over them, he put on pieces of tape, and I tied yarn around each.

When we got to the home, we walked down one side of the entry way toward a central desk, but he kept falling behind. Wrinkled hands were reaching out to touch his shiny, straight blond hair that fell in bangs on his forehead. He’d grin as arthritic fingers patted him.

We got to the desk and my little boy reached up to help lift the box to the nurse, who directed her comments to my son on how much the men and women there would appreciate what he had done. As we went down the other side of the entry, we took our time as he stopped by each person, letting them touch him and rewarding them with grins.

He took my hand and looked up at me with his big blue eyes as we stepped outside, asking, “That was fun. Can we do this again?” And, we did, but that first time more than 30 years ago was extra special because of what it did for both of us.”

(copied with permission from The Arkansas Democrat Gazette by Associate Editor Meredith Oakley)