March 2020

Little Things from Lisa

When you hear the expression, “give it up” what do you think of? Is it a positive thought?  Maybe in your heart and mind you thought about giving up troubles, worries, or burdens?  And the freedom that comes from giving away our problems to God.

For others of you, the thoughts were negative.  You may wonder, “Am I giving up something voluntarily or under duress? How much do I have to give up?  For how long? Will I get it back? And just who is going to get what I give up?”

Or perhaps you are getting to the age where more and more you have to give up some things for your health and welfare.  Maybe your thoughts went to “what now?” No more sugar? No more fatty foods? No more driving? No more independence?

Going into the Lenten season can bring all of these same thoughts to the foreground.  What is Pastor asking me to give up now? First, let me say, that your Pastor isn’t asking you to give up anything!  Don’t shoot the messenger! However….as we have talked about LOVE DOES and living out the Fruits of the Spirit, it seems there are some things we would do well to give up according to God and the scriptures.

If you are going to give something up for lent, be mindful of why.  Is what you are giving up making room for God in your life? That is what our Lenten series is about this year.  Giving up some of the stuff that gets in the way of us living out the Fruits of the Spirit and revealing God’s love to the world.  Things like control, expectations, popularity, or our enemies.  Would your life improve if you gave one of these up? More than one?

The good news is that we are not in this alone.  We are a fellowship of believers called to make the journey to the cross together.  So join us each week to be encouraged or to be an encourager to someone else.  It will be difficult for all of us to be convicted of where we make God compete for attention in our lives.  But together we can grow.