God With Us: Saturday Night Church Sermon Notes

Tonight's message was by a preacher on staff, Nathan Bean. This was actually his last message as he, his wife and children are moving back to Australia. I've always enjoyed him, his ability to delivery the Word with clarity and his quirky sense of humor.

The subject was: God With Us

The greatest gift of all that's been given to us is Jesus. 

Matthew 1:18-25

We often use God “in case of an emergency.” We tend to live life on our own until we need God in a crunch. Emergency seasons lead us to pray, “God be with me.” In busy seasons, praying God be with me is put a shelf but we still want to know that God is near. It’s easy for us to live life without an awareness of God’s abiding presence when we live life by our own power.

We are about to embark on a busy season—Christmas (which is the season where we celebrate God being with us). The best thing about Christmas is not presents but presence—God’s presence. As kids, Christmas was all about presents, but as you mature we are more concerned about whose presence we are going to be in during the holidays.

1.   GOD with us 1 John 1, 14 God Himself took on flesh. He came near to broken humanity in the form of a frail baby. In the world, the higher the honor a person has, the more glory they get. But Jesus didn’t send someone else to come down. He took on the form of a servant. The lengths God went through to be with you and I. It should blow us away. God doesn’t sit back and wait for us to rescue ourselves; He gets involved in our lives.

2.     2. God WITH us. We can confront anything when we know He’s with us. God does not start on us like a project and leave us unfinished. He brings everything to completion in our lives. Matthew opens with God with us and ends with Jesus saying, “I am with you.” When we go through  the hard parts of life, we are not alone. John 14:27 says we are given God’s peace. He leads us with His peace. It’s not just the absence of conflict but the presence of God’s blessings that equals peace. His presence changes us. We change as we are close to Him.

3.     God with US. In the Old Testament, God presented Himself as a burning bush, cloud, earthquake, a pillar of fire, thunder and lightning. His presence was scary and made people want to hide themselves. But in the New Testament, there is no fear in a baby. You can come near to the baby in the manger. In biblical times, shepherds were lowly members of society. But this is who God called to Himself. 

From Gratitude to Greed

The news stories on the Black Friday have been breaking my heart. A local news story reported two women fighting over a Barbie in Walmart. In another Walmart, there was a fight over a TV.  Even Gawker ran a story about the best Black Friday fights of 2014. 

What is in the heart of people that makes them go from saying grace and giving gratitude over Thanksgiving dinner to grabbing merchandise off of store shelves? It's greed. And left to our own devices, greed will grow like a wild weed in our lives.

For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” Mark 7:21-2 (NIV)

Ahab, a king of Israel, is a perfect example of greed run amuck. Ahab had just about everything character. And he had wife who was even worse than he was. He was very rich. He had one entire palace inlaid with ivory. And he had another palace in Jezreel. One day as he looked out the window of his Jezreel palace he saw a vineyard that he thought would make a nice vegetable garden for himself. The only problem was it belonged to someone else, a man named Naboth.

"Ahab said to Naboth, 'Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth" (1 Kings 21:2-3).

Naboth refused to sell because he was obedient to what God told him to do with the land. When Israel first took possession of the land, every family received their plot of ground. The land could never be permanently sold and was to remain in that family's possession forever. But instead of respecting Naboth's reasons for not selling, Ahad threw a fit.

"Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, 'I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers' He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat" (1 Kings 21:4).

Instead of focusing on everything he had, he wanted the one thing he didn't have. So his wife set out to make sure her husband's wants were satisfied. Jezebel came up with a plot to have Naboth murdered. And because she was queen, the plan went off without a hitch.

"When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth's vineyard" (1 Kings 21:16).

Rampant greed led to the murder of an innocent man and the confiscation of his property. But God saw it. Elijah the prophet met Ahab when he went to take possession of Naboth's vineyard, and he pronounced God's punishment upon Ahab for what he and Jezebel had done. His grim prophecy predicted that dogs would lick up the couple's blood and that God would wipe out their descendants from the face of the earth—the worst imaginable curse for an Israelite. God already had a great deal against Ahab and Jezebel, but their greed-inspired brutality against Naboth was the last straw.

Left unchecked, greed will drive us to do crazy and even wicked things. I'm sure those people who went out shopping didn't expect to be fighting over TV and Barbies for heaven's sake. Contentment helps to keep our hearts in check. 

Every day, we have to keep our desires gated up lest we fall victim to greed. It's a continual challenge to change greed to gratitude.

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

The Gift List: The Giving of Thanks

I thank my God every time I remember you. -Philippians 1:3

I adore this little quirky bunch of mine and the people they are growing into. Thankful for their health and happiness. So many things to offer up thanks for.

#236-255

236.  Family gathering around the dinner table.

237. Quiet mornings in the Word.

238. "I love you" and "Thanks you" from the kids.

239. An 11-year-old who still calls me mommy.

240. Friends calling to check in on my kids.

241. Our regular visits to Chick-fil-A after Saturday Night Church.

242. Provision

242.A fridge full of food.

242. The smell of Thanksgiving filling the house.

243. Hope against all hope 

244. Wisdom from above.

245. Worship music playing 

246. A Bible in my lap.

247. Prophetic words spoken over me rehearsed and remembered.

248. Family recipes passed down.

249. A warm bed on a chilly morning.

250. Alarm clock turned off during vacation.

251. Neighbors waving hi.

252. Toddler feet running through the house.

252. Lord Have Your Way

253. Persistent in prayer.

254. The Pacific Ocean....a 20 minute drive away.

255. My babies tucked into bed: safe,warm and loved.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

On the Mend

It's been six days since kid number 2 had his tonsils and adenoids removed. It's been more of a rocky recovery than I'd anticipated. He woke up in the middle of the night a day ago in pain. And this morning it was just rough. Nothing but tears at the breakfast table until his pain medication kicked in. 

Worst thing in the world is seeing your child in pain. Despite the pain, he's been a champ and is bummed that Thanksgiving is tomorrow and he's not fully recovered. 

The other day his class sent him a get well card that every one signed. His teacher really is a gem for mailing it. And his teacher from last year also sent a card. I so appreciate his teachers. Their involvement in the kids' lives is one of the many reasons that we are making the sacrifice to send the kids to a private school.  

Thankful for great teachers and a kid who is gradually on the mend.  

11:36 p.m.

This morning I dropped this little busy blur off at daycare so I could get some work done. I knew I couldn't manage work and constantly telling her to stop jumping on the couch. I'm off for the week because the boys are out of school but I had some loose ends to tie up. Then, I got the chance to mop the floors before picking her up. I managed to get to the grocery store to go Thanksgiving shopping at 6:00 p.m. (just in time for the Ferguson announcement.) I decided not to check for the outcome on Twitter because I was sure I already knew the outcome. I was right. Discovered the grocery store was clean out of turkeys. Sad. But as I was checking out I saw a man with a turkey. Turns out, there were about 8 turkeys that they'd missed and put out just as I was leaving. I snagged a $32 turkey for $11. Came home, avoided the news but can't avoid the ache in my heart that our black boys deserve better.

This is about all I can manage today.

Makes Me Happy Monday (number 8)

Sharing a little linky love from around the web to kick off this Monday of Thanksgiving week. 

Too many women have wife aspirations with side chick ways. Hard but necessary truths from Sandra Holton. 

In A Tight Place With Profanity: Hats off to the author for doing something I always want to do in this situation.

Jesus advocates illegal prayers. Good stuff from Bob Sorge: We Have Laws for This Kind of Behavior

What Women Need For Better Bible Study: a short quick video with great points.

Why It May Be Time To Dig  Out Those Old Prophetic Words: I did this recently. We all need reminders of what God has spoken over us through someone.

Six Tips To Lose Weight at Chipotle: Love Chiptole and need to drop a few pounds. Good info. 

As a new girl mom I love this: A Prayer for Our Daughters

And a few Pinterest pins I'm adoring: gingham and leopard? Yes!, and the techie in me is happy about this alarm system. Will be looking into it. 

A Little Housekeeping...

If you'd like to receive new posts from this blog in your email inbox click here. Or subscribe using Feedly or any other feed reader. To get the blog posts in your Facebook news feed “like” the Different Kinds of Happy page on Facebook.

Sometimes What We Think is the Greatest Reward Isn't

Sometimes we forget that our whole Christian walk is about one Person, and it's not ourselves...its Jesus. He is our great reward.

If you take a look around today, ministries and recognition seem to the reward. Wanting to influence and teach and have a platform take precedence over pointing people to Jesus. Sermons touting kindness, giving and love come first rather than messages about our need for Jesus. Often times those who say they love Jesus the most mention Him the least. Wanting influence and reach isn't a bad thing, but when we want those things more than we want God, then we fall into dangerous territory.

Genesis 15:1 says: After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

Abram had just come back from a battle where he had put his life on the line to rescue his nephew, Lot, but God protected him. Then he met the king of Sodom and was given one sweet offer: the choice to take some of the spoil of the battle. Before he could choose, Melchizedek (a type of Christ) came out and met him, and encouraged him by blessing him. He ended up deciding not  to take any of the spoils, lest the king of Sodom should say, I have made Abram rich.

God had just proven to Abram that He was his shield by protecting him in battle. God was also letting Him know that He wasn't just the avenue to riches, but He was indeed the riches. 

Makes me wonder how many times I've looked past God to what I think are riches when He's extending His arms to me letting me know that He is the reward I'm seeking. God promises to protect and provide for us, just as He did for Abram. 

How we short change ourselves when we simply seek things from God without realizing the treasure that lies in Him alone. 

All that we need is found in Him. I'm taking great comfort in this thought today.

Feeling Grateful vs. Living Grateful: Saturday Night Church Sermon Notes

Tonight, one of the ministers on staff shared tonight's message about living a life of gratefulness.

We sometimes think we are entitled to blessings instead of seeing them as gifts from God. Whatever state, we find ourselves in, we are to give thanks. This includes when life is miserable, when it's mundane and when God seems like He's missing. In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

When life is miserable do you still give thanks? Jesus gave thanks when He was about to go to the cross.  You will never miss God's  goodness if you stop looking at the bad. Even when life is miserable, God has a purpose. Point yourself to the God's goodness.

When life was mundane, Jesus gave thanks. Eating is trivial, but with Jesus nothing is trivial. Matthew 15:35-37 says that before feeding the four thousand, "He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when He had given thanks, He broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied." Jesus gave thanks for what He was about to give. We create God's goodness when we give.

When God seems like He's missing, we have to create a protocol: Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. No matter were you are or what you're going through start by saying thank you and not "please Gpd." When you ask first and then say thank you later, you lose the worship. Instead of asking "when God?" thank Him instead when in the middle of a hard situation. 

You will never ben an overcomer until you learn gratitude because gratitude builds faith. We must give thanks in the beginning and the middle. We to give thanks when we receive from God. But we must remember to give thanks at the end too instead of "What's next God?" 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Jesus always gave thanks publicly. We should too. How will people know what a great Father we have if we don't tell people?

Waiting Sucks

Waiting sucks. Waiting rooms sucks. 

It's especially sucky for a highly impatient person like myself.  

So I sit here with my husband and hurry up and wait.  

And it's the not knowing that makes me anxious. Is my child okay? Are there complications? 

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12

We sit and eat.  

We sit and chat.  

We sit and laugh.  

We sit and scroll through our cell phones.  

And just below the surface, we both are concerned about our baby boy.  

Then when we aren't even looking, we hear the news that all is well. Our baby is in recovery. The procedure done and behind us.  

Concern and worry give way to sighs of relief and smiles.  

We never knew that parenting would bring us such angst over a common outpatient procedure.  

But when your baby is whisked away to an operating room for what is common and routine, it suddenly seems much bigger than that and makes you appreciate little things like health and insurance and life. 

Thanking God for being on the other side of waiting and for desires fulfilled.