Welcome to Redeemer’s Church

Luke 23:34

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.

So Hunter recently had a birthday. We got him some Air Soft guns he had seen. Well the three boys were running rampant through the house when Jackson of course come out screaming like he had just been shot. Oh, wait a minute he had been. Apparently, Hunter didn’t realize that the gun still had a bullet in it, and didn’t even aim it at Jackson. But it ricocheted and hit Jackson in the back. Now Jackson wasn’t hurt badly. Barely had a red mark. Hunter was not the least bit bothered by it and my first thought was “maybe I should shoot him in the back”. You know Old Testament style. Then I got to thinking about what Jesus would do. Jesus was literally hanging on the cross and said “Forgive them they know not what they do.” Hunter had no idea that the gun was loaded (thank heavens it wasn’t a real gun). He was only trying to have some fun. I thought if Jesus can forgive the Romans for killing him then surely Jackson can forgive Hunter for shooting him with a Air Soft gun. So, we explained that the boys should always practice gun safety, Jack forgave Hunter, and all was right and good with the world at least in our house it was!

Colossians 3:13

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you much forgive others.

Okay, I don’t know about you but this is like getting a punch to the gut, isn’t it? I read this and thought how many times has my husband done something and I am instantly offended.

When Robbie and I were still in the newly wed stage of marriage, I remember we were in the kitchen and I was pregnant (as you can imagine big as a house) and Robbie was looking at a picture of me from our wedding. He said to me, “You sure made a beautiful bride.” Well instantly the tears began to fall. Now, he didn’t say anything wrong but what I heard was “Man you are huge and not near as pretty as the day we got married.” Now I forgave him pretty quickly and every now and again he will say, “You sure made a beautiful bride,” in jest and we laugh about it. If I wouldn’t have forgiven him and every time we argued I brought it up I wouldn’t be following what Jesus laid out for me to do.

My prayer and well challenge for God to soften our hearts toward those who have wronged us. And for us to have compassion for people who may offend us. Amen!

Matthew 5: 44

But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!

Okay! So this is a hard one for me. I am just saying that when I get it in my head I don’t like someone it is hard for me to let that stuff go. What I do in response to this is pray. I pray that God will take that anger and soften my heart toward those people.

Also if you have been keeping up with these posts I apologize for yesterday. I forgot to post when I got home from youth group.

Our Advent celebration this year is based on preparing to host the King of Kings. For the second Sunday of Advent we are cleaning. When special people are coming to my house, we have to clean the house so that they will feel welcome (and maybe so they won’t judge us for being dirty). As we prepare the King to come our cleaning should be internal, because He rules over an inside out kingdom. In Matthew 23 Jesus mourned the Pharisees and their misguided ideas of cleanliness.

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

When the Ellis family takes a trip to see family, we pray together in the car that we would be a blessing to the people that we are going to visit. It’s a way of cleaning up for our family, not so they will be impressed by us, but blessed by us.

Please take some time to confess your sins to God. He will forgive you. Take some time to get rid of stuff in your heart and mind that are not fitting for someone who hosts a king inside of them.

1 John 1: 9

But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Every weekday I do a bible study with a group of ladies that I work with. This morning we did this bible verse. One of the ladies has a 2 year old and she was telling me that this was exactly what she needed to hear this morning. Her and her son got in a power struggle last night and she lost my cool and yelled at him. She prayed about it and she knew she was forgiven and get a fresh start today, but she still felt guilty.

So part of my prayer this morning was to leave the guilt, anger, and sins at the foot of the cross. You see if we leave it then the only thing left is to believe that Jesus is faithful and just. He will forgive us our sin and take all the wickedness from out hearts. Shew that makes me burst with happiness to know “Jesus Got My Back!”

2Corinthians 8:1-2

Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.

This is such a cool verse. I think about third world countries and wonder, “how can these people be so happy with nothing?” And then I remember this verse. God will fill your heart so full if you are willing to let down your guard. Sometimes we build up this wall of insecurity and unbelief that does not allow us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. My challenge to you is to try to break down that wall and just watch what God can do with your heart.  Watch how much abundant joy can fill you.

Matthew 10:6-8

Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions: “Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, but only to the people of Israel–God’s lost sheep. Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!

So this morning in church we were asked to answer the question “What stops you from doing what God is asking you to do?” And so many of the answers as you can imagine were: fear, pride, second guessing, timing, fear of rejection, our own pain, anxiousness, tradition, trying to please man, and not seeking God to name a few.

I can remember one day I was walking around the Family Dollar and as I walked around I saw this older woman. She looked like perhaps she was having a hard day. As I walked around it struck me I needed to pray for her. Well as most of us do I second guessed what God had told me. Got in my car and began to leave. As I drove around Food Lion parking lot to turn around, there sat this lady. Then as I saw her I heard God say “Go pray for her!” It was fairly loud. Now I do not always receive this kind of “brick” in the head but that day I did. So I stopped my car, got out and prayed for her. Now if you ask me what I said or how it turned out I have no idea, mainly because I was so nervous I was going to mess up.  You see my pride got in the way. My fear of rejection got in the way. My second guessing got in the way. My anxiety got in the way.

I truly believe that God had given me this experience more for me than for this lady. I have never seen her again. You see God wanted me to get out of my own way. So my prayer is that you will be able to get out of your own way to find a sense of peace when praying for others.After all God has asked us to find his lost sheep. Tell them the great news that the Kingdom of heaven is within their grasp.