Sunday, April 27, 2014

Truth

Star Wars - A New Hope
Recently over the last few months, two of my girls have traded in Princess Cinderella for Princess Leia.  Yes, we have gone a bit Star Wars crazy over here.  We have seen all the movies (with parental supervision of course and with one finger on the fast forward button for those scary parts), checked out a bunch of books from the library, and thanks to Netflix – we have been caught up in watching the “Star Wars - The Clone Wars” animated series.

I’ve been enjoying watching this show with my girls mainly for the cool quotes that begin each episode.  While my kiddos are watching Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, I am pondering such gems as this…  “Searching for the truth is easy.  Accepting the truth is hard.”

How true that statement is for some of us!  You can search and search for the truth.  I know I sure did.  You can attend church after church, none of them one really feeling like it is the best “fit” for you.  You can join this group or that one.  Read book upon book.  Listen to this speaker or attend that conference.  Maybe dusting off the Bible and flipping through…  Genuinely searching for the truth, trying to find the answers your heart seeks can be so easy. But accepting the truth, that God loves YOU, well, that can be very hard.

If your heart is hurting, hearing that God loves you can be difficult to accept.  A wide range of feelings like pain, inadequacy, or worthlessness can block you from letting the light of Jesus in.  Sometimes you keep searching for that one thing that will make you feel whole or complete.  When you hear the Good News, that Jesus is that one thing you have been looking for, acceptance of Him can be difficult.  You wonder, is that it? Nothing I do, no good deed, not even being a “good person” will earn my salvation? Just accept Jesus as my Savior? That can’t be it!

If you are searching today, let me share some truth with you.  My friend, God does love you!  He chose you.  He sent his son to die for you.  I know that accepting that can be so hard.  You may feel unlovable or unworthy.  But God does not see you that way.  His love for you is deeply personal.  He created you (Psalm 139:13-14). His love for you is vast.  He thinks of you more than there are grains of sand by the sea (Psalm 139:17-18). God’s love for you is intricate. He knows the exact number of hairs your head (Matt. 10:30).

Stop searching.  Soften you heart and allow the truth to sink in.  Nothing you can do or have done will earn your salvation.  There is no sin that is too big for God to forgive.  God is not waiting for you to get your act together and become a perfect person.  All you need to do today is accept the truth.  You are saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (NIV)


We are always here for you, please email women@westridge.cc with questions or prayers.  We love you!

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Spring Has Sprung!


Well, we did it! We survived the long, COLD winter!  Spring has finally sprung in Pittsburgh!  As I write this, I am basking in the glow of having enjoyed a beautiful, sun -filled, seventy degree day.  The sun felt wonderfully WARM on my skin!

In my flower beds, I have yellow daffodils and deep purple hyacinths blooming.  The tulip leaves are breaking through the mud, soon to blossom as well. I like to call them my Easter flowers.  The hyacinths are my absolute favorite though.  The fragrance immediately brings spring to mind.  I recall growing up and having them in the house every year at Easter time.  They speak of Easter more to me than the lily or any other flower.

Every spring, my Easter flowers come up through the ground and bloom.  They remind me of renewal.  Spring is the time when the icy fingers of winter finally loosen their grasp and there is hope.  The ground softens.  The dead grass turns green and grows high after a dose of sun and few good April showers. 

This winter was especially rough in our region.  Bitter cold.  Snow.  Snow.  And then more snow.  Twenty below wind chills are old hat to us now.  Below zero, been there, done that! Let the water faucets drip overnight and add an extra layer!

That’s all (hopefully!) in the past now.  It won’t be long till everything is made new.  Outside it will burst with new life.  Gardens will begin to grow.  Trees will fill out once again with green, shady leaves.  We will be able shed our coats and trade them for short sleeves and flip-flops! How freeing!

Spring is special but Easter makes this season glorious!  We celebrate that Christ has risen! We rejoice that our Redeemer lives!  The tomb was empty. 

This can also be a great opportunity to allow Jesus to renew and free you. If you have gotten bogged down in the mud and muck of life, allow Christ to lift you up like the hyacinth that rests upon its thick and sturdy stem.  If you have been depressed or shut off from the world, allow Jesus to open you up and bloom you like the delicate daffodil.  If you have been hurt and feeling dead inside, allow the Lord to heal you like the tender blades of grass and bring new life to you again.

Jesus can and will do this for you. I have seen renewal in my backyard landscape, in my life, and I have witnessed it in the lives of others.  He can make ALL things new.  Give Christ the opportunity to bring the season of spring and restoration into your heart.  Allow Him to free you to grow and bloom!  Leave winter behind and take hold of His amazing renewal!  

“The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” Isaiah 58:11 (NKJV)

“See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.  Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” Song of Solomon 2:11-12 (NIV)