 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
This is a picture of Julian butterflies from the western Amazon drinking a turtle’s tears. The water isn’t what they're after. It is the salt. It isn’t easy to find the minerals that butterflies need to reproduce. They find all of their calories in nectar which is fine if all you’re doing is flapping your wings, but to make more butterflies, you need salt. And so, you find yourself a nice wet turtle eye. This is how God’s provision works. God provides. Sometimes it comes from unexpected places and in surprising ways. Sometimes it isn’t even ideal and bountiful, simply enough. More often than not, God provides for his creation through the rest of his creation. Look around in your life for where God may have put turtle tears for you, and look out for times when God expects you to be the turtle. If you don't already have a church home, consider this my invitation to join Brightwood Christian Church on the journey to becoming the beloved community of God. We worship on Sundays at 11.  My dog, Sookie, has a sensitive stomach. It is so sensitive that she hasn’t had a food brand change in the several years we’ve had her. Even an off-brand snack can mean extra clean up on the sun room floor. In spite of all of that, she will eat anything that she can manage to get her grubby little paws on.
She's learned to open the kitchen door and the cabinet door that houses the trash. She has eaten chocolate advent calendars off of the dining room table and has sipped my iced coffee like a Starbucks pro. She stays directly under my feet as I cook and snatches anything I drop so quickly that I’m fairly certain it defies the laws of physics. She clearly hasn’t read her owner’s manual to know that dogs don’t do well with things like onion and cinnamon. Why would she continue to do something that makes her sick? Why would she keep listening to her nose instead of her years of sickening experience? I don’t know, but I have learned not to judge her because I’m no better at all. Unless we are very intentional, we, too, repeat what we know. But there is hope! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come”. 2 Corinthians 5:17 We don’t have to cling to those things that aren’t safe, physically or emotionally healthy, or holy. We don’t have to be run by anything but the Holy Spirit. This scripture may shrink the timeline a bit, though. It may take a long time to live the life God wants for us, but please begin. Piece by piece, God will recreate you into His Disciple; precious, whole, vibrant and Spirit-led. If you don't already have a church home, consider this my invitation to join Brightwood Christian Church on the journey to becoming the beloved community of God. We worship on Sundays at 11.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Today is the Feast Day of St. Patrick in those traditions that keep such feasts. For the rest of us, it is a day to either honor our Irish heritage or pretend to have one as we watch a parade and eat corned beef.
The real St. Patrick (387-461) was taken by Irish pirates from his home in Roman Britain to Ireland as a slave to tend sheep. At the time, the Irish were largely druids. Patrick escaped captivity after 20 years and returned to Britain. He received a vision from God, studied to be a priest, and went back to Ireland in 433 to bring the Gospel to the island. There, he set about sharing the love of God with the people of Ireland, even using three leaf clovers to explain the trinity. Imagine returning to where you’d been enslaved because you wanted to tell those folks how much God loved them. So, while you’re enjoying the luck O’the Irish today, remember those who have gone before us to hard places to share that love in any way they could. If you don't already have a church home, consider this my invitation to join Brightwood Christian Church on the journey to becoming the beloved community of God. We worship on Sundays at 11.
What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? Matthew 18:12
Today, be listen to this great live performance of the song, Reckless Love. Sit in the quiet after and be amazed by how far God will go to love you. That’s what Lent is, a time to connect to how undeserving we are of God’s love, and then to watch God love us all the way to the cross. If you don't already have a church home, consider this my invitation to join Brightwood Christian Church on the journey to becoming the beloved community of God. We worship on Sundays at 11. To digitally download this wonderful song, click on the link below: |
AuthorRev. Jana Quisenberry is the minister at Brightwood Christian Church. She's an ordained pastor in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). A graduate of Transylvania University in Lexington, KY and Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, IN, She now resides in Mt. Lebanon with her husband, two children, and dog, Sookie. Pastor Jana loves the church, science fiction, and coffee. Affiliate Links
Please note, links in the blog send you to Amazon, and a portion of the proceeds of the sale go to benefit the ministry of the church. Pastor Jana only includes those resources that she endorses and that can be of benefit to your faith life. Thank you for your support. Archives
June 2020
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed