Some of you reading this may have received that phone call. That phone call where the ring sounded just a little different. The phone call where you answer knowing something is wrong, but you hope for everything to be fine. It may have been in the middle of the night or the middle of the day, either way, it was devastating.

Upon answering the phone I heard her somber voice confirming my suspicions. My mom had been rushed to ICU and they called for the family to come as fast as we could. This was a wonderful, beautiful woman who just the day before, was handing out candy to the nurses, but kept all the peanut butter cups for herself because they were her favorite. A woman who was full of life and love for the Lord that she accepted people for who they were, and where they were. .

I knew she was a woman who loved God and loved telling others about her love for God, but it still hurt. It hurt knowing that I would never see her again. It hurt knowing that I would never hear her voice again. It hurt knowing that just the day before we had said goodbye I didn’t know that it would be the last time we would see each other for the rest of our lives.

It is often in these moments that we find ourselves on our knees. Our legs can’t hold the weight of our body as we cry out to God on the floor. We cry out for answers and for the ability to understand the circumstance. We cry out with demands for just one more chance to see or hear the person. We would give everything to go back and tell that person how much they mean to us or how we wish things would have been different.

We live comfortable lives, but we don’t realize that our lives are like a house of cards. We’re one breeze away from having everything we know being turned upside down. Our card house is made up of cards that are our friends and family, a job, or vehicle…remove the right card…and it all comes crashing down.

Blessings,

I have listed a few:

It takes effort and commitment to develop a strong prayer life, but the rewards are great. If your prayers have not been answered, consider which, if any, of the above issues may need correction or re-alignment in your life.  Then, start by personalizing the prayers you read in the Psalms or elsewhere in God’s Word.

Blessings,

Pastor Keith

You may never know the effect your actions have on others.  As long as your words and actions are bringing glory to God, you have nothing to worry about. This week pay close attention to your words and actions.  Do they accurately reflect the God we serve or might they be causing others to miss the mark?   
 

Seven weeks ago, I started running. Lots of insights have come my way in that time and this is one of them. Something I’ve been aware of nearly the whole seven weeks is that as my runs have gotten longer, my perception of rest has changed.  

At first, I didn’t “rest” until I was back home sitting on the couch. Then, “rest” happened while I walked between jogging intervals. As I spent less and less time walking, I had to learn to rest while jogging DOWNhill. And later to rest anytime I wasn’t going UPhill. Now that there’s no walking at all, I’m even learning to catch some rest while jogging uphill.  

Sometimes in life we get a chance to sit back and relax; to pass through seasons of life during which God pours into us- teaching us, affirming us, giving us new insight and wisdom. But for most of us, those seasons are few and far between. We have to learn to “rest on the run…” to catch our breath and discern what the Spirit is saying to renew us even when there’s no time for a spa day or a vacation or even a few moments to meditate.  Scripture gives us wisdom on how to do that. Here are just a couple of examples:

“The Lord is my Shepherd… He leads me beside still waters… He restores my soul.” -Psalm 23

Here we see God as a shepherd who takes good care of those in His care. While constantly on the move to find pasture on which to graze, the Good Shepherd is sure to give proper rest to His sheep and refreshes them with water. Here’s the catch though- the sheep have to actually be following the shepherd. There’s not much rest for a lost sheep wandering the rocky terrain alone. Would you say that the guidance and leadership of God is a constant in your daily life? Do you seek to go where the Shepherd leads or do you tend to wander off aimlessly and often find yourself far from the path you know you should be following?

“Let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. It’s how we set our hearts at rest in God’s presence.”- 1 John 3

Here, John gives super practical advice for experiencing “rest on the run.” He says that a sure fire way to set our hearts at rest is to practice (not just preach) real love. The most extreme experiences I have ever personally had where God refreshed my tired, burned out, fed up soul are those when I found myself actively loving another person. It seems counterintuitive- that serving someone would provide rest for the already tired- but try it. The next time you feel burned out and tired, find someone to serve a meal to, give a ride to, lend an ear or strong pair of hands to. There is something so refreshing and restorative about the practice of real love.  

Feeling spread too thin? Burned out? Just flat out tired? Maybe that spa day or worship retreat isn’t going to come for a while. Let’s learn to rest on the run. To allow God’s Spirit to refresh us in the middle of what feels like a wasteland, to restore us even in the middle of chaos.  I pray that you are refreshed in the presence of the Good Shepherd today and may you be refreshing (like a breath of fresh air) to those who meet you today!

C. Praise – Praise the name of God with a song in your heart!