Forgiving...

Have you ever been hurt? Are you quick to forgive, or do you hold a grudge? Most of the time how much forgiveness is given out, is directly proportionate to the amount of pain that was inflicted. When someone hurts us, we lose something; as a matter of fact it is more like they steal something from us. They steal joy, love, dignity, respect, or maybe some self worth. Whether it is directly through a divorce, abuse, cheating and the like, or maybe indirectly through backstabbing, gossip, or even neglect.

Whatever the pain, we believe that it creates a debt that they now owe us. And how much or even if we are willing to forgive depends mostly on the size of this debt we feel we are owed, right? I have heard it said some people are just “better” people and can be more forgiving…huh? If that is true, then forgiveness is an act of the will and the stronger your will power, the more you are able to forgive. Well, I think that is just what it sounds like – a load, and a load of something other than the truth.

I want you to consider something: forgiveness is not an act of the will, because forgiving is not based on us. To be perfectly honest, some things just seem to be unforgivable. All too often we look at forgiveness as some sort of release of responsibility to the offending party, and that the longer we go not forgiving them, the longer they will suffer…sorry, but that just is not true.

Forgiveness is not something that you give to someone else…like letting them off the hook for how they hurt you. Forgiveness is something that has its greatest impact on the one doing the forgiving. When we forgive we are the ones who are letting go of the anger to hurt the one who hurt us. Don’t race past this part…it is the key. When we forgive someone, we are the ones getting off the hook. It’s because that pain is a hook into our past that keeps on hurting only as long as we allow it, that keeps us looking back instead of moving forward, and it is a hook that has no hope for the future but only regret for the past.

How can we be more forgiving then? To keep it really simple, we can only give out forgiveness in the quantity to which we have experienced it. In other words you can’t give what you don’t have. God forgives us for all we have ever done or will ever do, and that is a powerful amount of forgiveness you need to experience. Look at what Paul told the church in Ephesus:

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

Stop holding on to these hurts so tightly, and let the experience of God’s forgiveness bring you to the place of being forgiving…it will change everything…

…just sayin’

In His Grip,

Pastor Pat

Is Your Light On...?

There seems to be some confusion about darkness. Darkness is not a “thing”. It does not exist on its own. Funny thing is, darkness only happens when you take away the light. Think about it, we can only make a room dark by shutting out all opportunities for light to get in.

This is true with ourselves as well. Just as plants need light to grow, so do we. Light is a source of life, and without it, life is almost impossible. Forget the scientific aspects and consider how life would be without artificial light? What would happen in your world if after the sun went down there was no other source of light? Things would have to change, right? It would be incredibly difficult to live.

This is what happens to our spirit when there is a lack of light. Where does this light come from, and where is the source? Look at this passage:

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5 (NIV)

The more God in your life, the more light there will be. And if you continue filling your life with God and His light, something amazing happens: you become a light for others. Go figure…when we start to focus inward and get all wrapped up in ourselves, the outside light has trouble getting in. But if you are able to look outside yourself there is hope and light enough to push and keep any and all darkness at bay. I guess it just depends on what you are looking at.

…just sayin’

In His Grip,
Pastor Pat

The Price for New...

What are you willing to pay to have new things? Will you excuse, I mean justify spending considerably more on an item because "new" will last longer or not come "used". New is just better, right? To be honest, I think it is.

In the United States, we spend more than 8.4 billion dollars annually on cosmetic surgery, some necessarily of course, but primarily in an attempt to re-claim some level of "newer" or "newness". I am not anti cosmetic surgery, just a little bewildered by how much we will pay to try and appear new or different.

So we think we have got our physical heath covered, but what about the rest? Our mental health - knowledge? What about our Spiritual health - faith? How much do we invest in what you don't see? Seems like a fair question if you ask me.

So what are you willing to pay for new knowledge, or new faith growing opportunities? Or do you feel what you have is enough? Heck, it has gotten you this far, right? I believe this is the area that has the most value, and investing in growing your knowledge and your Spiritual health will have lasting effects far beyond this lifetime...nothing else can claim that.

We worry so much about what we have or how we look, and yet one day those things will go away, and that is a fact of life. So why all the worry? Scripture asks a powerful question:

"Who of you can add a single hour to his life?" Matthew 6:27.

That being said, what are you willing to pay for new? Maybe the question shouldn't be about what you are willing to pay for new, but what are you willing to invest in? You and your stuff, or something that will make an eternal difference...well?

...just askin'

In His Grip,

Pastor Pat

Running Towards or Running Away…

I have found that running is a great analogy for life. As some of you may or may not know, I started to run this last year, something I swore I would never do. I also swore I could never run because of the condition of my knees. I was a baseball catcher that later turned to body building. Constant squatting and then pushing large amounts of weights with my legs was a recipe for knee damage, and mine hurt...a lot of the time.

Through the process of training for a half marathon (which is this weekend) I have become a runner, and that is a miracle in itself, but I will save that story for another time (I know, whew…). What I have noticed through this process is when you break it down, running is really just like life. First it’s the pace – we all want to run faster. We all want life to speed up so we can get to where we think we want (need) to be, right? But if you run like that, you only find out you can’t run very far at all, and you run out of gas.

Another part of running that is analogous with life is planning the route you will run. I have run less, more often times than I wanted to, because I miscalculated a route. Ever happen in life? Something I realized: we are all running in life, the question is only whether or not you realize it. Let me explain what I mean.

In life it would seem that we are either running away from something, or running towards something. We run away from things in our past we no longer want to be associated with, or we run towards a future where we have placed our belief that there is a destination ahead that will solve or change something.

Running away has no destination, and can leave us frustrated, confused, and eventually lost. Running towards “better” is a route without a destination, and will often leave us wanting as soon as we get to where we thought we wanted to be, right?

So what are we supposed to do? First, stop running from your past, just leave it where it is, and before you know it, you will be well beyond it. Second, is to do a route check: Where are you running to, and who are you running for? Are you running for a “better” life? More money? A bigger house? A better career? Who are you running for? These are powerful questions that need to be asked. The only question is, will you ask?

If you are running for you and towards your goals you may not get there or have the strength to finish the way you want to. So what and who do we run for? And what is the right goal?

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV)

The goal is eternal life with God in heaven, and we can run towards that as our goal. Then we can live for and experience the Kingdom of God now with Jesus in our hearts. This might sound simple, and it is, but it has proven successful over the last almost 2,000 years. You see, it is just like running…just choose to do it, put one foot in front of the other at a steady pace, and always be sure you know where you are going.

So where you running to? Just askin’…

In His Grip,

Pastor Pat

Sustainable

What the heck does that mean? Everything we use comes in a limited supply, and over time we run out. We understand this, and know that nothing we have lasts forever. A sustainable resource is one that has just that – it has the ability to sustain – or in other words to keep going on its own.

When it comes to anything new, if it is not sustainable, it simply just becomes old. We are constantly trying and doing new things with the hope of changing the way things are…and then thinking maybe this time the “new” will stay. I believe a lot of this comes from a culture that insists more is better, and that one can never really have “enough”.

Realistically, there is nothing sustainable in this world. The second law of thermodynamics states clearly that everything is in a state of decay (entropy is the scientific word if you want to know). So then it might seem somewhat hopeless…Au contraire mon ami!!! Hopeless only if you were to bet that this world is all there is… Only God could possibly solve this dilemma.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 (NIV)

How about that? Instead of investing in things that will not last…things that we think we need or want that really will only become old, we can be transformed…interested? The by-product of this transformation is eternal life with Jesus, and that is the only new that lasts.

What will it be: A life of seeking anything new to help us feel new for some period of time, or a life transformed by the renewing of our minds that promises we can and will live on with Jesus after everything we know has gone away…well?

…just sayin’

In His Grip,

Pastor Pat