You Do the Dreaming....Let God be Your Guide (Double Bonus GUMY Week)

 

 

“We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.”

Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

Genesis 40:8

 

 

What is your dream?

 

Do you dream of being a professional athlete?

Do you dream of writing a novel or of winning an Oscar for acting?

Do you dream of going to college - of falling in love?

 

What is your dream?

 

Regardless of your age or level of maturity - you have a dream buried deep within your soul; one that pokes at the corners of your life and seeks to be fulfilled.

 

So, what are you doing about it?

 

Are you working toward fulfilling your dream: practicing daily your sport of choice, taking writing or acting classes, studying in school, identifying the qualities of a Christian partner?

 

Or are you just wishing after the dream...hoping that it may come true but not actively pursuing your dream?

 

The fulfillment of a dream takes bits of both points of view.

You must dedicate yourself to the hard work needed to drive toward your dream.

But, you also need to have hope - and not put pressure on yourself to barrel ahead toward your dream  - steamrolling everything and everyone in your path.

 

Dreams are a blessing from God.

They are a gift that can help guide us down the path He has destined for us to follow.

But they aren't a one-time deal: "Here's your dream - now go figure out how to make it come true."

 

Often, the dream God plants in you as a small child or a young adult start as a seed - an inkling toward what God plans for you. Those seeds act as a catalyst to move you in a direction. But, before you listen to the seeds - you must first seek God's direction on where the next seeds have been planted - and where your path is headed.

 

We must confirm our dreams - and the path they are leading us down - with the giver of dreams.

 

We all have dreams. Do not interpretations belong to God?

 

You have a dream - what is it?

Share it with God.

Allow Him to guide you down the path to what the fulfillment of that dream is.

 

The end of the road for the dream you have today is greater than even your wildest imagination can create. ...

 

You just have to let God interpret the meaning of your dream.

 

Scripture

Psalm 106:1-5

 

Quote

Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

GUMY SUMMER CHALLENGE

DOUBLE BONUS CLUES

 

hey gang - so this week is a double bonus since we missed last week...

 

There are TWO clues for this week's prize...which means you will need to give me BOTH on Sunday and keep track of BOTH for the final challenge.

 

Best Wishes, Courtney

 

Clue #1(click on this link): What is MLK's dream for how his children what his children will be judged in the future? by their....what?

 

 

Clue #2: Mother Teresa's final quote in this clip says that we should not be disheartened by failure as long as we have....what?http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Mother+Teresa+Quotes&view=detail&mid=6226EBA3CAEF21F7C9446226EBA3CAEF21F7C944&first=0&FORM=NVPFVR

Jesus is your friend ... Are you his? (Catch Up GUMY Challenge Week)

 

 

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

John 15:15

 

When I was about four years old I remember walking down the hall of the education wing of church and seeing a little girl with dark hair wearing a frilly white dress standing near the nursery. Being the shy girl I am – I made a beeline to her, shoved my hand in her direction, and said, “My name’s Courtney. What’s yours?” She placed her hand in mine and gave a shy smile and said, “Mandy.” With that clumsy handshake a friendship that has spanned three decades was born.

Over the last thirty years, Mandy and I have shared countless birthdays, sleep-overs, late night telephone calls, weeping hugs over heart brakes and weeping hugs over new loves. We’ve developed a deep understanding, respect, trust and unconditional love for each other.

 

We have friendship.

It wasn’t created in breath or overnight – but it has taken years of devotion, dedication and desire to

build.

 

Friendship – deep in your bones, call-you-at-3-in-the-morning-because-my-car-broke-down

friendship – is fostered through time.

Unfortunately, our culture has reduced friendship to a single click on a website. We talk about friends based on the number we have, rather than the relationship – I have 292 friends, 1,490 friends, 200,000 friends. Today, your friends are distinguished based on the quantity rather than the quality.

But, I wonder if Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of facebook, would call all of his 1.5 million friends if he found out his mother had cancer, or if his wife just announced she was pregnant with their first child, or if the business he created was crashing down around his ears? Or would he call one? 

In John 15:15 Jesus says, I know longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything that I have learned from my Father, I have made known to you.

Jesus calls us into friendship; not just the duty of servanthood, but a relationship that is deep and abiding. Before he sacrificed himself on the cross, he made a greater sacrifice in leaving heaven and his Father’s side just so he could be in a relationship with you and me. He gave up heaven just so he could be your friend.

Do you know Jesus the friend? Or is he more of a facebook follower – one you click on Sundays but disregard Monday through Saturday?

Jesus desperately wants your friendship – he’s given the time and dedication to it – he’s given his very life for it. Are you willing to take the time to get to know him - as more than a savior - but also as your friend?

 

Quote

“The dearest friend on earth is a mere shadow compared to Jesus Christ.”
 Oswald Chambers

 

Scripture

John 15

 

GUMY Summer Challenge....

 

No challenge question this week...

 

Be sure to check through previous weeks to catch up.

 

Last Week's Answer: One Job - is to Love Everyone!

 

XOXO Courtney

 

Making a Beautiful Salad - John 4:7-12

Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.

John 4:11

I kind of think about a year like a salad – there are good parts and there are slimy parts and there are parts that you just want to throw away.  

As we close the book on 2012 and crack the spine on 2013 – what are the delicious moments you have had over the last twelve months? And what are the slimy ones?

At this time of the year we are often rushing to get to the end of the road so that we can start fresh and clean and new. We want to put the last twelve months behind us – and often because of those slimy pieces of lettuce in our lives we don’t want to look back or reflect we just want to throw the whole salad away and start with a brand new head of lettuce. But the reality is we can’t just wipe out the last twelve months. They happened. The good stuff – the bad stuff – and even the slimy stuff – It all happened.

How will we allow our 2012 salad shape our 2013 salad?

To me the first step is to pick through the salad – and specifically look for the slimy, old, rotten pieces. Maybe you lost someone you love dearly this year and the pain is excruciating. Maybe you lost your job – your house – your spouse – a friend – an election. Maybe your slimy lettuce is simply that your life is the same today on December 30th 2012 as it was on December 30th 2011 – and that makes you sad. Whatever your slimy pieces of lettuce are – pull them out of your salad and take a look at them…

 Our slimy pieces of lettuce don’t have to define us – yes they are a part of our past– they have impacted our lives but they will not nourish us into 2013. 

It is important to look back and remember the bad stuff so we can put it truly in the past – and it is also important to remember the very good parts of that salad of 2012 so that we can carry that through into 2013.

 

Last year you likely enjoyed moments of pure joy and happiness. Times of laughter and love that you wish you could have bottled up and stored forever. These are the ingredients in our salad that we want to focus on; these are the ingredients that will make our salads rich and delicious in the coming year.

And I am guessing that at the core of each of those moments of great delight was one four letter word: LOVE.

 God showed us what love is by sending Jesus to us in this perfect little baby’s birth we celebrated last Tuesday. Love is giving and love is sharing and love is a choice. God chose to love us. He didn’t have to – and we don’t have to love Him – it is our choice.

 As you enter 2013 you have a choice as to how you live your life - you can live it focused on the bad stuff - the gross parts of the salad - or you can live it focused on God's grace and sharing His love. And making the most beautiful salad of your life.

 

Scripture

1 John 4:7-12

 

 Quote

Though our feelings come and go, God's love for us does not.

C.S. Lewis

 

Question

 

How can you commit to loving God and His people better in 2013?

 

Being a Tree Firmly Rooted - Jude 17-24

 

 

"...keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt"

Jude 21-22

 

Do you ever doubt?

 

Do you ever have anyone in your life who makes you question what you believe or why you believe it?

 

As Christians, we are challenged daily with outside influences. We face the task of trying to filter out the ungodly and the evil from the godly and the good. And the task sounds simple when it is labeled - "good versus evil" but life is rarely that straight forward.

 

In this world - whether you live in the United States, Europe, Brazil, Vietnam, Liberia, Australia, Canada or even a remote island without electricity - temptations and compromises abound. And often, it can be difficult to discern what is the Jesus choice and what is the earthly choice.

 

Through out your life - and maybe even today - your faith will be challenged. Beliefs you hold tightly as truth will be shaken by the influences of those you trust and love. This will happen. It has happened to me and it will happen to you. And it will continue to happen through out your life. This challenge is part of being in this world. Our decision to hold on to what we know is true and right is part of our willingness to not be of this world.

 

Think of a tree.

When a tree is newly planted, the arborist supports the tree with rods and string to ensure that it begins to grow straight and develop a root system. Soon the tree has the support removed and it is allowed to begin growing on its own. But if a thunderstorm with wind passes through - that little tree will likely be toppled because the roots he has started are not deep enough to withstand the storm and he no longer has his outside support system to keep him upright.

Now imagine a tree that is 20 years old.

If the same storm passed by, the tree might bend  and loose a few leaves, but because his root system is deep there is no danger of him being uprooted by the storm.

 

We are the same as the trees. We need a deeply rooted faith to withstand the challenges of this life.  And we, like that new little tree, often need a support system to help us grow and to keep us from toppling in the storm.

 

As others challenge your beliefs - and you hold onto your faith and your relationship with Jesus - your goal (and my goal) is to try and share the love of God with the challenger. We are called to love everyone - even those who are trying to undermine the belief structure which is the very foundation of our lives. This is true mercy. And the way only you and I will be able to successfully hold fast to our faith while sharing that faith with the opposition is to be firmly rooted in our relationships with God.

 

With God's grace put love first in all of your relationships.

 Love helps those roots grow deep.

And love will help you weather any storm.

 

Scripture

Jude 17-24

 

Quote

 

A little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but a lot of faith will bring heaven to your soul.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Question

 

How can you help your roots to grow deeper in your faith?

Loving like Jesus

Digging Deeper - GUMY JR/SR Session Defining Love 2.12.12

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

1 John 3:16

Love.

Love is a word which gets overused in our English language.

I love hockey and I love my family.

But can I really love them the same way? Can I really love an inanimate object?

Love is the essence of who we are as Christians. Love is at the center of why Christ made the sacrifice of leaving Heaven and all of its Glory to walk amongst man and ultimately lay his life down so that we could one day be reconciled with God.

I have a hard time matching this kind of love with my love for hockey.

We throw the word love around loosely and without feeling, when we should recognize it for the power-filled word that it is...LOVE.

Loving someone - unconditionally with no strings attached - is the greatest most difficult gift to give another person. But, when you love this way - when you love the way Jesus loves each of us - you will find that the experience transcends mere words.

We are called to love each other the way Jesus loves us.

What an awesome responsibility...

Scripture

1 John 3

Quote of the Day

The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread

Mother Teresa

Question

When have you loved as Jesus loves?

Learning Love through Grandmas & Grandpas

Everyday, I miss my grandparents. I only knew three of four, but they all impacted my life in dramatically different ways.

My Grandma Hilbert was sweet and gentle. She was the kind of grandma who made you cookies and your favorite meal and showed her love through her actions.

My Grandpa Brownie was kindhearted. He was always quick with a hug and an "I love you, honey bunch". He taught me the most when I just sat beside him.

My Grandma Thelma was disciplined and strong. She was the grandma who told you when you were messing up and how you could do something better. And, she was pretty much always right. When she gave you praise, you felt like you'd won the Olympic Gold Medal, a Nobel Prize and an Oscar all in one.

I loved each of them - and still love them today. They all taught me how to love and showed me different facets of how God loves me.

When I think of each of them a smile always crosses my lips. I can still smell my Grandma Hilbert's scalloped corn and hear my Grandpa Brownie's laugh. But with Grandma Thelma I still feel her approval when I know I have done something to make her proud - and I still feel her disappointment when I have erred in judgement.

The same type of love emotion runs true for me when I think about God. His love is sweet and gentle and always quick with a hug and an "I love you"; But it also can be laced with sadness when I have disappointed Him by choosing against His will.

God's love for each of us transcends mere mortal love. He is every aspect and nature of love. He has high standards for each of us and He is disappointed when we do not meet them. But He is always quick to forgive, helping us to move past our mistakes.

We learn to love through the people around us, but they are only small tidbits of the grandiose love God has for us. When you are with those you love, remember that God is there too. He is loving you through your mom and dad; through your grandma and grandpa; through your aunts and uncles; through your friends.

God's love encompasses all of their love for you - and so much more.

Scripture

Deuteronomy7:8-10

Quote of the Day

Perhaps the feelings that we experience when we are in love represent a normal state. Being in love shows a person who he should be.

Anton Chekhov

Question of the Day

How have you experienced love?

The World's Most Powerful Sentence

I love you.

Three very powerful words which hold more weight than nearly any other combinations of words in the English language. I love you is bigger than the emotion you feel towards a favorite object or a subject in school.I love you transcends merely words spoken from one person to another, but implies true heartfelt emotion which is deeper than the simple passion between two people. 

Saying I love you translates to:

I love who you are...

I trust what you say...

I know you...

I will follow you...



I love you is a gift given from God to each of us to share in His grace, His mercy and His peace. The ability to love and feel emotions beyond what words can convey is something which only God can create and offer. When we say I love you, we are sharing the love God has for each of us with another.

 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

 2 John 1:4-6

Loving is more than simply saying three words. Loving is displaying grace to all of those around you. Loving others is walking in obedience to God's command on our lives.

Saying I love you is whispering a love letter from God.

I Love You...

Three little words which can transform the world.

Scripture

2 John 1

Quote of the Day

To love another person is to see the face of God.

Les Miserables

Question of the Day

How often do you tell your friends you love them?

Saving Our Treasures

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces."

Matthew 7:6

It's hard to know who to trust in this world.

Each of us has a tendency to want to trust everyone; to believe that all people come from a good place, with good hearts, but unfortunately not everyone is kind. Some people only are focused on what will benefit them as individuals - they do not care who they have to hurt to succeed. These persons will charm you and woo you into believing that they have your best interests at heart, but in reality they are just using you for what they need in the moment.

We are called to love everyone, regardless of who they are or what they have done, but we must be careful with the treasures God has given to each of us. He has gifted each of us with special and unique gifts...treasures... which when given to the right people, grow and expand, but when given to the wrong people, these treasures wither and waste away.

Share God's love with everyone, but be discerning about who you will give the treasures of your heart. When you give the treasures of your heart - your sacred pearls - to the right person, you will find your strand of pearls growing in beauty and luster, but when you give your pearls to the wrong people your pearls will become worn.

How will you know when the right person comes along to share your treasures with? Trust the One who gave you the treasure in the beginning. He has it all planned out...and the treasures He has in store for you are countless beyond measure.

Scripture
Matthew 7:5-6

Quote of the Day
Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them
T.S. Elliot

Question of the Day

Okay...fun question - - what is your favorite piece of clothing and why? 

Invitation in the Hands

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands

Isaiah 49:16

Our hands are amazing tools.

They can hold a hammer to pound nails. They can fly across a keyboard and type a novel. They can lift their fingers to a shoulder and offer unspoken comfort. We use our hands for nearly every activity in life.

Hands can create masterpieces, show love, offer nourishment and play games.

But one set of hands offered salvation.

When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals
Luke 22:33

Jesus gave his life; allowed himself to have nails driven into the palms of his hands so that we might be released from the burden of sin. With each pounding of the nails your name, my name, all of our names, written in the palms of his hands, were washed clean by the saving grace of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.

Our names are engraved on the palms of the LORD's hands. And with the nail scarred hand, Jesus reaches out to each of us and offers us a relationship of reconciliation with God the Father. Our invitation is engraved by a nail on his hands.

"I asked Jesus how much he loved me, and he said, "This much..." and he opened his arms wide as they nailed him to the cross..."

Jesus offers you an engraved invitation to spend your life with him. All you need to do is reach out your hand to his and accept the invitation of salvation.

Scripture
Isaiah 49:15-17

Quote of the Day
God loves us the way we are but too much to leave us that way.
Leighton Ford

Question of the Day

How are you going to use your hands today?



Love Family...Revere God...Respect Government...

“Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; they are God's emissaries for keeping order. It is God's will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you're a danger to society. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government.”

1 Peter 2:16 (MSG)

Love your family...Revere God...Respect the government...

Pretty solid advice from a man who was in and out of prison, left his business to follow a teacher and helped to organize a band of misfits in a new religious order...Oh, and he was also the one that Jesus said would hold the keys to the kingdom and he would be the rock on which the church would be built.

Peter's advice to all of us is central to the world trusting us and our faith.

The love we show those around us will reflect the love we can extend to those we do not know. Sometimes it is hardest to love those you know the best, because you know all of their flaws and they have likely hurt you the most. But, if we cannot love those who are at the center of our lives, how can we truly love those we do not know? Loving your "spiritual family" is a key component to the world trusting in the love God has to offer.

To revere God is to hold Him in high esteem. God is God. Although we talk to Him and have a personal one-on-one relationship with Him, we must always remember that He is the Master of the universe. He controls all things and He created all things. The respect we show to God will spill over into the respect we have for others and for ourselves because we are creations of the Master. In respecting God, we are called to respect all that He created.

Respecting God and His creation includes the governments under which He has placed us. As citizens of this country, this state and this community, we may not always like how "things are done" but God has put us under this specific authority for a purpose. Until God is ready to release us from this authority, we are called to respect the government and the rules and laws which it instates.

Out of our deep love for God, our love for our spiritual family, our reverence for God and our respect for the government should be a natural outgrowth. By focusing first on our love of God, we will naturally treat others with the dignity and respect God asks of us and in turn, "cure the ignorance of the fools." Now that is a mission we can all get behind.

Scripture

1 Peter 2:11-17

Quote of the Day

Ignorance is not innocence but sin.

Robert Browning

Question of the Day

How can you live out Peter's challenge to each of us (love others, revere God, respect the government)?



Pulling Weeds...

"I'm not smart enough."

"I'm not pretty enough."

"I will never be good enough..."

Does this sound like a conversation you have had with yourself? Maybe it varies and you have other self-destructive phrases which twist and turn through your head, making you doubt who you truly are.

This world will push and pull at you through TV shows and magazine photos telling you that you are less than everyone else. You might hear from a bully at school that you are ugly or stupid or weak. Maybe you have heard that from someone in your own family. Those words - those lies - begin to take root in the softest part of your soul...and the devil waters the seeds of lies and watches them grow and take root. The words of hate we hear from the world can bend and twist our views of ourselves...but only if we allow those weeds to grow and flourish in our spirits.

Words of hate, of disgust, of hurt, are not from God and as long as we allow the self-destructive language to reside in our hearts, eating away at the persons we were created to be, we cannot make room for the love God has for each of us - a love He intends for us to share.

^"My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves."

1 John 3: 18-20 (MSG)

For God is greater than our worried hearts... The lies and the self-doubt which is planted and nurtured in our hearts by the evil one can destroy our ability to be at peace at home with God, but God is greater than even our most destructive thought. He can pull the weed out by its roots and toss it to the winds, freeing us from the yoke of self-doubt and self-destruction. He is bigger than the boogie man who tries to overtake our lives.

A cycle of self-doubt talk and self-criticism will halt any of the good God has created you to do. You cannot be free to be God's light in this world if you are rooted in lies and deceit.

"God doesn't make junk..."

You are more than smart enough...

You are more than beautiful...

You are good...

You are wise...

You are brave...

You are a CONQUEROR!

You have it within your power to defeat the one who is trying to destroy you from the inside out...one name will make the devil run in fear...

Just call on Jesus - the Great Deliverer.

He will destroy the weeds that are growing in the garden of your heart so that you can make room for the abundant harvest the Father intends to plant in you.

Scripture

1 John 3:16-24 (MSG)

Quote of the Day

All that man achieves, and all that he fails to achieve is a direct result of his own thoughts.

James Allen

Question of the Day

What lies do you hear...What are the truths from God that can override the lies?

Today is Veteran's Day...Let us all take a moment and thank God for the brave men and women who are more than conquerors and who have sacrificed their lives for the freedom we enjoy.

Thank you!



Receiving God's Blessing

What does it mean to give a blessing?

We tend to think of a blessing as the time of grace before a meal or a kind word said from one person to another, but a blessing is truly a word from God.

As the nation of Israel was forming their traditions and practices based in direct instruction from God, He told Moses to have the priests bless the Israelites:

The LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;

the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

God was telling the Israelites that He loved each of them, that He was with each of them, that He was watching each of them and that He would give them His presence.

To know that the LORD loves you and that He wants to give you peace is truly an amazing gift. Knowing, above everything else, that the LORD only wishes good for you is a powerful notion. The Creator of all of the earth and everything in the entire universe, cares about you. He is watching you. He loves you. How could you not have a sense of peace even in the rockiest of storms with that knowledge residing in your head and in your heart.

God's love and blessing transcends any negative situation in our lives. Knowing that God's will is for your best interest in all things should create in you a peace which will ease even the most trying of circumstances.

A blessing is so much more than thanking God for the food we eat. A blessing is a message of God's peace in your every day life.

May the LORD bless you this day and may you always feel His face shining brightly toward you.

Scripture

Numbers 6:22-27

Quote of the Day

"When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedtly given in its place."

C.S. Lewis

Question of the Day

What is the biggest blessing in your life?

Being you in a world of haters...

Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,^[a] if the world hates you.

Some days it feels like the whole world is against you and you are fighting an uphill battle. You know in your heart that what you are doing is true and right, but every where you turn you face another obstacle. You fail a test or you upset your parents or your friends. You aren’t invited to a party or you lose an election or you feel like you have disappointed…everyone.

This feeling is part of the push-pull we have as Christians. We often do and say things which do not marry to the world’s view of how life should be, making us appear different or off; but in reality we are simply being who God created us to be. We can’t please both the world and God.

We must rest in the knowledge of who God is calling us to be and trust Him to reveal each piece of the puzzle in the correct order. When life is not going “our way” we tend to want to push forward to the place we are going – to get out of the pit we find ourselves in and seek out the promised reward – but we have to go through that pit – to suffer through the world hating us….it is just a part of life. And yet, the beauty of being a Christian is that even though the world is hating you, and even though you feel like you can’t win, with Jesus as your guide you can share love with everyone you meet – because with Christ all things are possible.

Always remember that God created you to be you…don’t try and push yourself into a mold that was created for someone else just so you can fit in…It is okay to stand out – to be different – because you are living the life God created for you. And even when the whole world “hates” you…you can rest in the fact that God loves you. What more do you need!

Scripture

1 John 3:11-24

Quote of the Day

“It is better to be hated for who you are, than to be loved for someone you are not.”
Julie de Lespinasse

Question of the Day

This is more of a challenge...who could you tell you love so that they know that God loves them?

When Rules Aren't Meant to be Broken....

I am a rule follower. Rules keep life orderly. They spell out what one can and can't do. They also tell you what you have to do - what is part of your duty.  Rules make life simple. But following the rules is not always a guarantee for success.

Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? (Galatians 3:2)

Prior to Jesus coming, the Israelites lived under elaborate rules. They felt if they followed all of their rules to the letter they would surely enter heaven - they would be righteous in the sight of God. But their insistence on keeping the law made the law more important than God. They held the law up as something to achieve rather than living with a heart of faith.

We can allow this to happen to us, even today. We get caught up with the works - the duties - of the Christian life and we forget about the faith which should be motivating the actions. Our lives should be focused on God and from that devotion we will have a desire to live life by the rules God has given us.

Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? (Galatians 3:5)

God's spirit resides in each of us. He has given us the great tool to love Him. Obedience to His rules  - fulfilling our service to Him - is an outgrowth of that love. Rule following for Jesus isn't a burden but it is a joy.

People may say, "rules are meant to be broken" but as Christians breaking God's rules tells God that our love for Him isn't as important to us as our own desires. With love as our inspiration, following the rules God has for us gives us freedom to be who we are called to be.

Scripture

Galatians 3: 1-13

Fun Fact

There are some interesting laws on the books today...here are a couple for you to ponder...

In Michigan, it is illegal to chain an alligator to a fire hydrant.

It is against the law to whale hunt in Oklahoma.

In Fairbanks, Alaska it is illegal for a moose to walk on the side walk.

Question of the Day

If you could make one law, what would it be?

Don't forget to check out the "Digging Deeper" page with updates on this past week's GUMY Session and the "GUMY Photo Album" with updated pictures and videos from Session #2.

Digging Deeper

GUMY Photo Album

The Freedom to Love

You are free. Three simple words which hold so much power. Often we take for granted that we have freedom in this country - freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of profession, etc. In many places across the globe freedom of choice is a gift longed for and greatly desired.

But, regardless of where you live in the world we were all granted free will. God created us in His image to be in a relationship with Him. He could have made us into little pawns without any decision making ability, but then we wouldn't have been able to return the love God has showered upon us. Love without freedom is not love; it is bondage.

Truly loving another person is also allowing that person to make a choice to love you in return. To truly love another is to give that person freedom, just as God gave us the free will to love Him or to not love Him.

With freedom comes responsibility. As a person who is given the choice to love freely another person and to love God, you must make the choice to return that love or not return it. If you chose to return the love of another, that love must be returned in the same "no-strings-attached" manner. In returning the love given to you, you also return the freedom. You chose to love that person and commit to being in a relationship with that person. The same holds true for our relationships with God.

He has given us free will to choose His love or ignore it, but if we choose to accept it we also accept the commitment of being in that relationship with God which will define your whole life. In loving God or another person, we give up a little of our freedom, but what a beautiful sacrifice with tremendous rewards.

Scripture

Ephesians 1:4-10

Quote of the Day

Free will is not the liberty to do whatever one likes, but the power of doing whatever one sees ought to be done, even in the very face of otherwise overwhelming impulse. There lies freedom, indeed.

Unknown

Question of the Day

What freedom in this country are you most thankful for?