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Do you ever have a week… or two… or five… where you wonder what went wrong?  Did the moon and stars forget to orbit? Was there a shift in the balance of nature that caused everything to go haywire?  My last two months I have felt as though satan is punching me in the head. Then I turn around and he kicks me in the crotch.  I also come to realize the change in my attitude as this happens.  What drives us to reach further and grow stronger?  What produces in us the ability to think outside the box and embrace the love of God?  Time in the valley?  Hardship? Challenges and times of despair?  Then and only then, do we turn to our better selves, we turn to God to bring the energy and tenacity we so desperately need.  If we continue to climb, and strive to move forward, we will reach a place where the valley turns into the mountain.  It’s so easy to forget that he is there. To forget that he cares and that his ways are bigger than ours.  As humans our first inclination is to wallow in self pity.  To think “why me”.  Did I do something wrong?  Has the sin in my life finally caught up with me?  Our father does not punish us because we sin.  He does not rain on our parade because he is disappointed.  He carries! He holds our hand! He wipes away the tears! So keep on climbing. Reach for the mountain.  You will discover that God is already there and he has been holding your hand thru the entire season.  Ephesians 2:18

I Love you!

Perry

Father today, use me, until you can’t use me any longer.  All I have to give, is my life in service to you.  I lift up my hands and I praise you… again and again.  I feel so weak, and so inadequate to be your child.  I struggle daily to understand the path… the reason… the world. I want nothing more than to reflect your love and kindness to those around me.  Give me the wisdom, the knowledge, and the tenacity, to stand for your love, regardless of what the world thinks.  Give me the strength to be a rock in this crazy storm called life.  A rock that is secure in your never ending love, when so much hatred abounds.  Give me strength to share your message of love for all, when so many seem to not understand.  Allow me to have the courage to stand against hatred, prejudice, and all kinds of tyranny against your children.  Open my eyes to the injustice that so many of your children show to each other.  Place in me the strength and faith of Peter, to stand up for those who can not stand up for themselves. I fall at your feet, and I offer my knowledge and my resources, when I know in my heart all you really desire is my love.  Allow my love for you to grow to new heights, and new depths.  I ask that you allow that love to grow to the point, that loving others is as natural as the breath I take.  Most of all allow your light to shine from my life.

I Love You!

Perry

Day to day I see people, who call themselves Christ followers, doing everything but reflecting the heart of Jesus.  As my day progresses I think:  Everything I do… everything I say… the way I conduct business… the way I treat others… is a direct reflection on the one I follow.  When I wear the name Christian.  When I profess to follow Christ.  Others look to me to see what HE is like.  Do I truly understand his heart?  Do others see him in me? Since 1974 I have walked side by side with Jesus.  So close that I long to be by his side.  I have been involved in churches and even as a worship pastor.  I deal daily with church leaders who are deceitful… hurtful… and self-serving… Is that Christ?  I work with Christian schools who claim to teach our children in the ways of Christ then turn around and throw the golden rule out the window.  I was asked by a fellow pastor “what needs to happen to fix the brokenness of Christianity”.  My answer was: “there are 4,000 religions world wide.  Basically divided into five groups.  Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism. I have studied and read most of the books of each religion and I find one common theme.  The Golden Rule.  “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.  If we lived by that one simple law. Practiced that one simple idea. How things would change.  It has to start now.  It has to start with Christ and his people. 

“Our lives begin to end, the day we become silent about things that matter”. – Dr. King.      I Love You! Perry

As his children… born in his image… we have in our DNA the ability to love and respect everyone around us.  Regardless of our differing views, differing beliefs or differing lifestyles, respect and love should always go hand in hand. Certain situations deserve, in fact demand, ultimate respect.  As I stood in the Lincoln Memorial I was appalled at the lack of respect for the monument, and for the meaning it holds.  People laughing and yelling.  Others letting their kids run around uncontrolled.  Still others sitting on parts of the monument not intended for human contact.  I was trying my best to let the full meaning of his existence sink in.  As I prayed a prayer of thanksgiving for God sharing him with us, I thought of the disrespect that is given to our God.  When you disrespect others.  When you call names.  When you degrade someone, you are really disrespecting their maker.  You are disrespecting the image of God that is in them.  Every human deserves ultimate respect and kindness.  You may not agree with their lifestyle.  You may not agree with their actions, but God lives in them, so things said in hatred reflect on the God that made us.  When you disrespect by talking when you should be silent.  Ignoring when you should be attentive.  All these things create a barrier to love for the children of God.  I will return to the Lincoln Memorial one day.  I pray others will come to the understanding of the importance of his presence. And thru God they will see the respect we all deserve.    Ephesians 5:21

I Love You!

Perry

We have come to believe that the “rules” in scripture are for God.  The rules have to be followed in order to please God, to create salvation.  Wars and certainly arguments among Christians seem to breakout daily, based on different interpretations of the rules.  Could it be that the rules we find in scripture are for us, and not for God?  Could it be that the directions of life he laid down, are for our benefit and not his?  God and Christ do not need us to perform, in order to be pleasing!  Their love for us could not be increased by anything we do!  The guidelines of life found in the bible are to help us create a better journey for ourselves.  A better path to happiness and joy.  I encounter many people who spend a tremendous amount of time, pointing to the sins of others.   “They are living a life that is not pleasing to God”.  What gives that person the audacity to believe that one persons life is more pleasing to God than the other.  What size ego do you need, to think that your lifestyle is better than that of another?  I have friends who have multiple children.  In some cases as different as night and day.  One cooperative…one defiant.  Ask them if they love one more than the other.  The answer will always be,  “I love them equally”.  Is God’s love not deeper than that of a parent? Currently there are 45,000 different denominations of Christian Churches.  Which is right? Which is wrong? God loves them all! 

Matt. 23:4 / Acts 15:10 

I Love You!

Perry     

The light of Christ that shone from her, illuminated the room. We had a rather trying day. Airport mishaps and hotel mistakes. As we checked into yet another hotel, she greeted us with open arms. Her smile was contagious, and her first words to us were “I’ve been waiting for you”. She offered us love… kindness… and special treatment. She threw open her arms and embraced us as if to say: I know we have the same creator and that makes us family. She said “I am from Ethiopia and as we may be from two different worlds we have love for each other”. As I stood in the middle of such warmth, such goodwill God spoke to me. We are to treat our fellow man, no matter who, no matter where, with love such as this. A love that says: Don’t care where you came from. Don’t care what color your skin is. Don’t care if you are clean or dirty. Don’t care what your lifestyle preferences are. Don’t care. I am going to love you with all that is in me. I am going to show you respect and I am going to shine the light of Christ upon you. Being Christ followers, means we spend each day, trying to imitate our Savior. Being kind and loving, as he was. Being meek and lowly, as he was. Looking for those to help, as he did. As you do, you will start to see the holy spirit in everyone. And they will see Christ in you. Philippians 1:9

I Love You!
Perry

She looked at me as I sat staring out the window.  “Are you okay” she asked?  “I am weary”. I cry sometimes uncontrollably, as the burden and weight of that weariness sets in.  I want so badly for everyone to truly understand the heart of Jesus.  Sadly, so many that call themselves Christians do not. Christians who judge.  Christians who condemn. Christians who have contempt for others.  

Where is Jesus in your judgement? In your lack of love?  Where is Jesus when you degrade or demean someone because they live a life that you believe is wrong? Do you realize those are his children?  How would you feel if someone degraded one of your children?  How are we ever going to convince the world that a God they cannot see loves them, when the Christians they can see don’t even like them? When Christ said “don’t point to the spec in your brothers eye, when you have a log in yours”. He was talking of condemnation.  Some may think that they don’t have a log in their eye, but the judgement and contempt is what Christ was referring to. Christ lived… studied… and walked with people, that in his time were considered the worse sinners.  Today he would walk with all the people so many Christians want to condemn. LGBTQ community.  Drug users. Prostitutes. The list goes on. Let us look on each other, regardless of lifestyle, as children of God.  

Then nurture, help and comfort.  And simply love. Matt 10:21 (MSG)

I Love You!

Perry

He started with forty, and ended with three.  Forty days… alone… tempted… fighting… satan in his face each step of the way.  Each day was a battle and each step grew harder and harder. He wondered if his father had forsaken him.  After the forty days he came out of the desert having dealt with satan.  It was not over!  Three years later on a distant hill… a guards’ whip…  a wooden cross… a crown of thorns…death… again wondering if his father had forsaken him.  Satan thought he had his victory.  Wrong!  Three days.  Three days in a tomb, but not silenced.  He knocked on the doors of hell and defeated satan once and for all.  “You will not have my children.”  Three days he battled… knocking down the gates of hell, and pulling us to his side.  He could have left us there… but no!  He could have called every angel in heaven… but no!  He could have used the power of his father… but no.  He defeated the evil one with pure love.  Love for you… and love for me.  All it takes to defeat the liar, is love.  Our Savior is Pure. Perfect. Love.  Satan had no choice.  Want to defeat satan everyday?  LOVE like Jesus.   

What an amazing Savior!  What a perfect Lord!  He has RISEN!! 

Ephesians 5:1-2

I Love You!

Perry

One Friday… this Friday… as he hung in unthinkable pain he looked down, then lifted his voice to his Abba.  “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing”. Growing up I always believed that he was talking about his crucifixion. He was forgiving them for his torture, his humiliation, his pain.  Through contemplation I have come to know what he was surely saying;  I love them and I know they are unaware of who you truly are.  They are so lost in their own beliefs and in their own journey that they are stumbling. They don’t even realize what is true… what is right.  They are walking blind in the direction of you with no real knowledge of how to find you.  They have allowed themselves to be misguided, and deceived, by those claiming to know you. Those claiming your name, but not really knowing your heart. Not really knowing your compassion.  He was talking about me! He was talking about you!  I firmly believe Jesus was worried about not being here to teach further.  Not being here to let us learn from his example.  So the Holy Spirit was his way of continuing to teach us.  To influence us.  To lead us to his Father.  To help us understand the true nature and love of God.  Each day as we live, and breath in the spirit, direction is given. If we take time to be still… to rest in the spirit… the heart of God will shine thru.  Then we will know what direction to walk in. Then Jesus will no longer need to ask for our forgiveness.  

Matthew 17:27  

I Love You!

Perry

I could stay wrapped in your arms forever!   

Do you ever feel so close to our Savior that it feels like he is wrapping you in love?  There are days, after deep prayer, that I feel so close to him that everything else seems to fade away.  I can feel his presence…  I can feel his warmth…  I can feel his love.  During these times, as troubles fade and are replaced with his amazing love, I wonder why I would ever want to leave.  Father, let me hide in your embrace as close as a mortal heart can be.  Even if it is just on the fringes of your perfect love in this fallen world.  As I pray… as Christ and I become one in the spirit… I know in my heart that the trials of this earth will try to take me from him.  The problems of daily life will pull me in different directions.  At times I fall and his embrace slips from me.  Then I pray harder and his embrace comes back as if time stood still.  His light surrounds me as the world rushes by.  As I become closer… as I feel his love…  as I realize that no matter what this world does, his love is always there.  I start to catch a glimpse of what heaven will be. 

Matthew 6:6 (MSG)

I Love You!

Perry