Have I told you how very much we love our church? There is so much to enjoy and appreciate about this community of believers. It all started only two years ago when our main church campus expanded to a location much closer to our house. We have been blessed to watch this location grow very fast and become an incredible place for people all over our part of town to worship. My prayer is that you have such a place to call your church home.
One of the most outstanding aspects of this church is the teaching staff. We are blessed to hear powerful messages each week from some of God’s most inspired and devoted Christian pastors. My husband and I often comment how the message we just heard has challenged us to learn more, be more and do more. Yesterday’s message was no exception. In fact, I’m sure I said, “this is one of the best sermons I’ve heard” (which I honestly say quite frequently). That is quite an accolade if you consider I’ve been attending church since I was born. (No need to do that math, ok?)
I don’t want to try and share the message with you here, but I will invite and encourage you to watch or listen to it for yourself. You can find it at:
http://my.ccv.church/watch/message?MessageId=2929
Don’t let the title of the message scare you away, or cause you to think this message won’t apply to you, because I guarantee you it will do just the opposite. How this subject is approached, explained and delivered will stay with you for some time. (There is also a Kleenex alert for this message, so beware!)
I share all the above with you to tell you that through this powerful message I have selected my Life Verse, as I promised you I would. (Please see the blog post “What’s Your Life Verse”, posted on 5/17/2017.) I spent quite a bit of time diving into Scripture looking for just that right verse for my life. My wise husband told me not to work so hard at it, that it would just appear and speak to me one day, well… that’s exactly what happened. Here it is…
…Freely you have received, [s0] Freely give.
-Matthew 10:8
The spirit of the message yesterday was about being able to freely give and receive forgiveness. But what touched me about this simple verse, was that I see this command to be an even broader, more inspiring and challenging implication to me. I need to be more aware of how very much I have been showered with God’s blessing and therefore, I need to give to others in that very same way. That means my time, my love, patience, kindness, generosity, yep… All of that and more.
I now have one more way to tether myself to God’s word and His vision for my life. So when I’m in doubt as to how I should act, or what decision to make, it should be fairly easy for me to be reminded how sharing what I’ve been given, (as unworthy as I am) with others, is my approach to being sure they can see Christ in me. As they say, I may be the only Bible someone sees.
Today, I’ve encouraged you to watch or listen to a sermon but I’m also going to invite you to listen or watch this live performance of Crowder’s song, “How He Loves Us”. It’s been recorded by several great artists, but what I love about this version is the simplicity and the fact that it was recorded live at a Passion event. When you watch it you can see how much the words and lyrics are touching those attending the event. Be sure to notice their smiles, their tears, their outstretched arms and their thankfulness as they are declaring just how many ways in which we are loved by Him.
*A side note today… over the past few days I’ve had people tell me they read a blog post of mine and I had no idea they were reading them. I was very pleased to hear it, but also sad that I cannot tell who is reading. I can only see IP addresses which doesn’t let me know you’ve stopped by. I plan to create a contact list of readers, but in the mean time would you please do me a BIG favor? If you read a post would you please let me know? The easiest way would be to leave a comment. It can only be one word if you like, but of course I’d appreciate your thoughts and feedback. You can also reach me through my email or Facebook page. Either way, thanks so much for being on this journey with me. It’s been three months now and I enjoy every minute of sharing this with you all.
In Christian Love-
Dede