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February
2010
To The Point
I love quotes and sayings that get
to the point in a few concise words. On a church sign I read
this quote:
"Adversity
introduces us to ourselves."
Let's read it again:
"Adversity introduces us to ourselves."
When things don't go
well, who we are comes out, like it or not. The irony is we
almost always blame someone or something else for our behavior
and reaction. The bare naked truth is, when that happens we
are seeing ourself for who we really are.
Matthew 12:34
says:
For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
Do you like what you
see? If not, don't lose heart, and don't stop reading!
There is a message of
hope for each of us. There is One who can recreate and restore
us into the person God originally intended us to be. A person
who can be pleasing to God and pleasing to one's self.
One who reacts to life's
adversities with faith and confidence.
2 Corinthians
5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Often our responses to
life are based on fear and uncertainty. Christ came to
establish His kingdom in us. A kingdom not threatened with the
circumstances of this life.
This is a time when we
need to be filled with the Spirit of God and growing in our
relationship with God.
What we nurture and fill
ourselves with is what comes out of our life, conversation and
attitude.
Am I becoming more like
Christ? Is Christ what comes out when life bumps us?
What God
Gives Us to Face Life
2 Timothy 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of
power, of love and of self-discipline.
Through His Holy Spirit
God can and will empower us to be one who reacts to life's
adversities with faith and confidence.
The world around us
needs to see the manifestation of Christ-likeness when the
people of God are facing difficult times. That is the dynamic
of the Gospel being lived out. That is the impact of the hope
on those who know Christ in a real way.
And it is that kind of
hope that will make the people around us want to know Christ
for themselves.
What's
Happening?
Have of Hope
Ministries is reaching further each passing month. Since the
first of the year I have met with new contacts, preached in
Burlington, Colorado twice filling in for a pastor who has
been hospitalized, counseled other pastors, and have been a
pastor to still other.
The first week of
February I traveled over 1,400 miles, taking me from the
southwest border of the state to the eastern boarder on the
plains.
Being a pastor of a
church without walls is very fulfilling and adventurous.
Your prayers and
support have made this possible, and I am so thankful to the
Lord for the opportunity to continue to fulfill His call on
my life.
May God bless you with
His peace and presence. Continue to pray for this ministry
and your part in it.
Rick Messer / Pastor of a church
without walls/Matthew 6:33 |
