world
Re-created My World
“I love you more than my clothes (dress, socks, shoes). I love you as a teacher and as a friend.” -Sylvia
“To someone who thinks not only for herself but thinks for everyone. And that person is you. You have re-created my world and made me a believer. My life is a more Holy and loving place than before. You have been my pillow of strength throughout this course. I appreciate you and I don’t know how life would’ve been possible without you. You have taught me a lot and I hope you’re gonna keep on changing many other lives as you changed my life.” -Malefu
Loved the cards that I got from my LaunchPad students today. They caused my heart to overflow with love and served as a reminder of how I want to live:
To let everyone know of the abundant life in Christ by living to glorify God through following Him, speaking words of life, and coming alive in order to do everything with love that overwhelms, empowers, and transforms.
Nothing Missing, Nothing Broken
To let the world see the difference.
He calls us to repentance.
To stand on the promise that we are chosen by God, holy and dearly loved.
He calls us to love and walk as a new creation in Christ.
To experience the Hands of the Healer.
He says “Follow Me.” Immediately.
To show us that he doesn’t run away from our needs, even needs wrongly met, because they reveal something about us that He wants to transform, to redeem, to deepen our roots through relationship with Him.
He looks at the Samaritan woman with love and maybe we should say: “Look at what potential she has for God. See how hard she’s trying to find the right thing in all the wrong places.”
To ask us if we looking at messy, real lives and saying “that’s wrong” or if we are penetrating the walls and masks to seek why they are in such trouble in order to love them where they are?
He reminds us that our message is not that we have it all together. Our message is that we know the one who does!
To let us rest in shalom שָׁלוֹם: nothing missing. nothing broken. life as it was meant to be.
Hello My Name is God, I like sunsets, lightning bolts, and when people listen to me
So, I didn’t quite get to go on a road trip today, but I did get to go rollerblading! I hadn’t even planned on going until I thought of going when I was waiting to be let back into my deadbolt locked house (yeah…fun story…I love getting locked out!). I definitely explored some new territory and got myself into a few “uphill” adventures, but still made my way back to my house in one piece. Well, we’ll see what my legs say tomorrow about that! Either way, I loved the feeling of the wind and the warm sunshine (finally!). I am so thankful for the warm weather! Now I just have to find some more trails.
In other news, I went to church (Substance) with a friend (Tiffany! One of my redheads! love her!) today. I enjoyed getting a glimpse into another church and seeing how they do things. I had fun being with new people and being let into her world. Plus, the sermon ended with a couple of great questions:
- Fall in love with the Promiser not the Promise
- Focus on God, not your circumstances
“Hello God did you lose your compass? I thought the Promised Land was over here??” My heart keeps wondering why I’m heading the direction I am when I want/ed to go a different way. God led the people into the desert so that they could worship Him. When the people were led out of Egypt they could have taken the “beach road” but instead they headed down into the desert and then back up. Sometimes the promise is delayed so that we can learn something in the “desert” and fall more in love with the Promiser before we get to the promise. In summation, the sermon served as a good reminder to seek and worship God in the times of “desert” and let Him bring me to the Promise Land according to His compass not mine.
Romans 12:1-2
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
—
Sermon Notes from Hope Community Church
I. “Total Transformation”
A. God’s mercy in Christ is the basis for our offering
-transformation begins at the cross.
-in light of what God has done in Christ…
B. True worship is a sacrifice of all we are to God
-an overflow of thanks and gratitude
-love so amazing, so divine demands my life, my soul, my all
II. We must be constantly transformed
A. Resisting conformity to this world
-passive verb
-personifies “world”–everything opposed to God, see 1 John 2:15-16
-no neutral ground–we are shaped by something
B. Renewing Our Minds
-also a passive verb
-Holy Spirit does the work–2 Corinthians 3:18
-put ourselves in transformation’s way
C. Recognizing and living out God’s will
-test, approve what God wants and then do it
Questions for Reflection
1. Is there something you need to sacrifice because it’s holding you back from a lifestyle of transformation?
2. What can you do in order to put yourself in transformation’s way this year?
3. What area in your life could you resolve to live out the implications of the Gospel in a more powerful way?
b'ahava 