Are You Believing Your Own PR?

“Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.”

Galatians 6:4-5 (MSG)

 

"You are amazing!"

"You are the best student in the 10th grade!"

"You are the prettiest girl on the planet!"

"You are so stupid!"

"Why can't you be more like him?"

 

Have you ever heard any of these statements directed toward you?

Phrases that build you up...or bring you down?

 

In the world - even in the Christian world - we tend to idealize individuals - raise them up so high we almost cannot see them anymore. And on the flip side, we like to tear people down to the point that they never seem like they will be able to recover.

 

Why?

PR, baby.

 

Whether someone is described as too good or too awful has to do with the "spin" or the public relations given to him or her. Often the words people use to describe us - good or bad - are simply that...words.

 

Words are one of the most powerful weapons in the world.

They can be wielded for good and for evil.

But only you can choose to believe what the words say.

 

In Paul's letter to the Galatians he was reminding the new believers - and us - to be humble; to recognize that we are all parts of the Body of Christ - no one greater than the other - and no one worse than the other. We each must find our own purpose in God's plan and follow that plan to fruition - not allowing ourselves to be distracted by the lure of the world.

 

Each of us has an important role to play.

 

You are important!

 

Maybe today you are struggling with who you are supposed to be.

Maybe you are questioning what your mission in life is.

Maybe you are feeling a little like a fraud because people keep telling you that you are wonderful.

Maybe you feel a little lost starting a new school year.

Maybe you can't understand why God loves you as much as He does.

Or maybe you are struggling with something you can only share with God.

 

However you are feeling at this moment - know - above all else - you are LOVED.

 

You are loved because you are you.

 

For no other reason.

 

You are loved...just as you are.

 

God's love isn't conditional upon whether you are pretty, can dunk a basketball, make straight A's or are the most popular kid in school.

 

His love has no limits and no conditions.

 

His love just is.

 

The world will always try and label you with its own special brand of PR.

Your actions and reactions will be spun and re-spun until you almost forget who you really are.

But always know Whose you are.

 

You are a chosen child of the One True King.

You are beloved.

 

And that's no PR.

That's just truth.

 

Scripture

Galatians 6

 

Quote

 “If you have enough people sitting around telling you you're wonderful, then you start believing you're fabulous, then someone tells you, you stink and you believe that too!”

 Angelina Jolie

 

GUMY Challenge

 

Answers #9 & 10 -

MLK: Wants his children to be remembered for their Character

MT: "As long as you have done your best"

 

CLUE #11

 Here is a little letter to you...from a pretty GREAT ONE...

Question:

Who is this Love Letter From?

 

XOXO Courtney

Forever is Forever....Clue # 6 (Part 1 of 2 part challenge)

 

 

 

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Matthew 24:35

 

 

Forever.

The word holds so much.

 

When I was a kid, the time between the start of school in September until my birthday at the end of April seemed to stretch out before me like an endless carpeted pathway. One that was a little rough, a little twisty, and seemingly forever.

 

Now - the time between September and the end of April seems to jump as quickly as a grasshopper moving from plant to plant.

 

Forever seemed to get significantly shorter and I all I did was get significantly older.

 

But in reality, forever remains the same today as it did when I was eight.

 

By definition, forever means without ending, always, eternally.

Umm...that's a SUPER long time.

 

But - when we think about God...Jesus...heaven...and all that the promise of grace, the Trinity, salvation through Christ means....well, the only possible definition is FOREVER.

 

Love that is without end.

Love that is eternal.

Love that is always.

Love that is forever.

 

We are promised that the salvation granted to each of us through our acceptance of God's Grace and Jesus's sacrifice - FOREVER.

We are promised that heaven and its streets made of gold, angels singing and all around 24/7 worship of God - FOREVER.

 

Forever...God's love for you...

Forever.

 

What more could you ever want?

 

Scripture

Matthew 24:30-35

 

 

Quote
"Love is forever, and if it doesn't last forever it isn't love."
Dottie Kinealy

 

 

GUMY SUMMER CHALLENGE

Clue # 6 (Part One - TWO WEEK CHALLENGE)

This week's clue is in the sanctuary...it is the symbol of the United Methodist church... Here's a hint...it hang's behind Pastor Jay on Sunday mornings....

 

Note: This is a two week challenge! You will need to know this week's answer AND next week's answer to win...a $10 gift card (BIGGEST PRIZE OF THE SUMMER). The prize will be given to the first GUMY who finds me Sunday, July 14th.

 

Happy Sleuthing!

Are You Choosing Happily Ever After?

 

 

 

“We always believe our first love is our last, and our last love is our first.”

Unknown

As a writer the palette of love provides innumerable shades of color with which to paint a story.

Despite the rainbow of choices there is a preset pattern that all romance novels follow:

Boy Meets Girl.

Boy Falls for Girl.

Boy and Girl are Torn Apart.

Boy Wins Girl Back.

But romance novels aren’t real life, right?

I disagree.

I think we are all characters in the greatest romance novel of all time - the story of God and His Beloved Creation.

God in all of His infinite wisdom fell in love with us on the day of our creation and since that day He has been wooing us into a relationship with Him.

In turn how have we treated His love?

We run away – come back – run away – come back and run away again in a strange dance of courtship that must hurt Him with each rejection letter we send.

And yet, like a truly besotted lover, He continues to woo us with His love – giving us gifts of infinite and immeasurable value.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

God gave us His greatest treasure in an act of sacrificial love so great we cannot fathom how truly devastating the loss of His son by His side – even for a brief twinkle of time – was for Him.

But, like so many heroes and heroines in the great love stories throughout history – we turn away from our Suitor choosing to chase after things of destruction and brokenness, rather than seeing the love waiting for us in our own True Beloved.

How can we change this behavior?

How do we find our ways out of the cycle of separation where we find ourselves?

We pull a Paul Harvey and read "the rest of the story".

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth.....I saw the Holy City...prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God...for the old order of things has passed away."

Revelation 21:1-4 (excerpt)

As all great romances end with:

Boy gets Girl.

Our love stories with God are no different.

He is wooing us with the knowledge that we will be completely and wholly together with Him –one day soon.

But how do we accept the love that is being offered to each of us in our own love story?

We choose to live in love rather than in loss.

We live like we read the last page of the novel.

We live with the knowledge that God is our great Beloved.

We live – learning each day – what love truly is from the Creator of love.

And we live in a life-long romance novel believing this truth...

And they lived happily ever after.

Now, that is a great way to end a story.

I guess God really is the Author of our lives.

 

 

 

Interested in trying a romance novel on for size?

 

Pick Up a Bible for You:

 

or

Pick Up: The Wooing of Jane Grey

The Miracle of Ordinary Days - John 21

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.

John 21:17

This story in the last chapter of John always breaks my heart.

The story begins after Jesus has already revealed himself to the ladies, his disciples and dozens of others after his resurrection. The disciples - who are likely still overwhelmed with the reality of their beloved teacher resurrecting and dealing with the fact that the majority of them had left him alone to die - are back doing what they know how to do. They are fishing.

Sometimes in the midst of great change and upheaval we need the stability of typical routines to make us feel safe and I believe this is what the disciples were doing. 

Imagine Peter and the guilt he must have been wrestling with? The man he loved was really God and he had denied him not once but three times. He probably felt awkward and uncomfortable and wondered when would Jesus reappear. And if he did, what could he possibly say?

What could he say to the one he loved but yet he had failed?

That night the men didn't catch any fish. As they are heading back in the morning, along comes a 'stranger' who tells them to fish on the other side of the boat. They follow his direction and they are miraculously laden with more fish than they can handle. It is this miracle that opens their eyes to the stranger - to Jesus.

Peter was so excited to see Jesus - Peter was always excited.

He jumped from the boat and swam-ran to shore. The rest of the disciples rowed the boat to shore and they found Jesus making breakfast - just like an ordinary day.

Jesus was back and they were enjoying the company of the one they thought had been lost to them forever.

As they relaxed after their meal, Jesus turned to Peter - the one who had been in his inner circle, the one of whom Jesus said he would give the keys to the kingdom, and the one who had denied him. He turned to Peter and asked him three questions:


“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Simon son of John, do you love me?” 
“Do you love me?”

Jesus is getting to the heart of the matter: Peter - my friend - do you love me?

Why would Jesus ask one of his most beloved disciples this question? He asked because he wanted Peter to know that he had forgiven him and he wanted Peter to forgive himself. He wanted Peter to know that he trusted him - regardless of his past mistakes.

Jesus didn't ask Peter three times if he loved him because Jesus needed to hear it. Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Jesus because he knew Peter needed to say it.

 

We don't always make decisions that make Jesus proud. These decisions can make us think that we aren't worthy to be in his presence - or worthy of his forgiveness. And in reality - we aren't worthy - we never were and never will be because we are flawed, sin-filled human beings. But being in Jesus' presence isn't about whether or not you are worthy it is about whether or not you are able to receive the love and hospitality he offers and if you are ready to return that love to him.

Those disciples may have caught tons of fish that day - but the miracle of miracles wasn't in the catch.

The miracle of that ordinary day was in the love showered by a forgiving Master to his very flawed disciple and the love the disciple returned to his Master.

The miracle of ordinary days truly is the love we share with an ever present God Who chose to love us first.

  Scripture

John 21

Quote
If you took the love of all the best mothers and fathers who ever lived (think about that for a moment)--all the goodness, kindness, patience, fidelity, wisdom, tenderness, strength and love--and united all those virtues in one person, that person would only be a faint shadow of the love and mercy in the heart of God for you and me.
-Brennan Manning

Question
How can you show God the love you have for Him today?


GUMY this Sunday November 18th - Time Change:
GUMY Prep (4th & 5th Grade)  - 4PM
GUMY Dinner (All Ages) - 4:45PM
GUMY JR/SR (6th -12th) - 5:15Pm   
 

God is...

 

God is grace. God is love. God is justice. God is peace. God is hope. God is joy. God is...

 

God is FORGIVENESS.

One of the greatest attributes God has is His willingness to forgive us when we go astray.

Each day we make mistakes: big mistakes and little mistakes. We sin against God and we sin against the people in our lives.

We could wallow in that sin and allow the guilt to overtake us as individuals - - many people have - - but instead we know that we can go to God and seek out forgiveness, and we can be confident in knowing that He will give it.

God is willing to grant us the freedom from our sins - to give us the forgiveness we need - we just need to go to Him and ask for it.

Being forgiven allows us to be open to the love God has for us. Forgiveness gives us the room in our soul to allow God's joy to seep into our being and it grants us the peace we need to live each day with hope for tomorrow. Forgiveness from God gives us a desire to see the rest of the world treated with justice and mercy; and to give grace to those who maybe do not deserve but who need it.

Forgiveness frees us from the bonds that Satan puts on us and allows us to look toward God free from the mistakes of our past.

Forgiveness is a mighty gift from God.

What sin are you holding on to from which God can release you?

He will set you free.

Scripture

Psalm 130

 

Quote of the Day

“At the moment at which I admitted my sin and asked for God's forgiveness, He gave me the deepest level of understanding of mercy that I could ever have imagined.” Penny Bragg

Question of the Day

How does knowing God will forgive you make you feel?