It Is Well

I heard the sounds of faith.  Friends came together to share the grief of a young family facing the task of saying good-bye to their daughter. 

So.

We prayed. 

And, sang:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.

(~ Horatio Spafford)

We shared the awe of knowing something more than the circumstance.  An atmospheric work of God was evident. Peace. A peace that could be only described as perfect:

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you (Isaiah 26:3).

The realm of God’s power, is the realm of complete and perfect peace, where we know that it is well with our soul.

Step into the realm of peace.

Encounter the presence of God . . . and know it is well with your soul.

Learning with you to KICK START the day . . . with a soul that is well.

                                      Pastor Kerrie



 (written by Kerrie Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)
interactstudies/ ~ kpalmer@hillchurch.com ~Church on the Hill~700 N. Hill Rd.~McMinnville, OR 97128~503.472.8476 ~www.hillchurch.com~Archives & Daily Subscription: go to http://kickstarttoday.blogspot.com/

Move The Mountain

Hard stuff happens . . . the kind of stuff that nobody wants to have happen.  But it does.  Sometimes so quickly, that we are in shock.  

How can it be?  

What can we do? 

Jesus said to manage life through faith: He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20).

 Change occurs when we manage life through faith.  

Acts 16 records the story of Paul and Silas going to prison because they commanded a spirit of divination to come out of a young slave woman.  It must have been incredible to witness the transformation of the young girl in that moment . . .  who lived in spiritual darkness  and torment. . . but . . . at the name of Jesus was freed.    The atmosphere around them would have been energized and charged with the presence of the Spirit.

So.  They prayed and sang.  It would not have made sense to worry or stress over their circumstances after experiencing the power of God in their midst.  Luke records what happened as they prayed: About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.  Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose  (Acts  16: 25-26).

Being in prison was not a little thing; however, Paul and Silas prayed and worshipped rather than stressing and worrying about the impossibility of their situation.  They responded to their circumstance with faith.  And their mountain moved . . . God shifted every detail to free them . . . just as He released the young slave girl.

What is your mountain?

With faith, face  the mountain. God will shift every detail to move it.

Pray and worship.

Believe nothing is impossible with God.

Believe that God will move your mountain.

Learning with you to KICK START the day . . . believing God will move the mountains,

Pastor Kerrie

 (written by Kerrie Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)
interactstudies/ ~ kpalmer@hillchurch.com ~Church on the Hill~700 N. Hill Rd.~McMinnville, OR 97128~503.472.8476 ~www.hillchurch.com~Archives & Daily Subscription: go to http://kickstarttoday.blogspot.com/

Courage

I watched my friend be courageous when the diagnosis of invasive cancer came at her. She has become a strong warrior, one that is not content until the last cell of cancer is disseminated. There is an unrelenting power that is beyond human limitations within her, which will not be destroyed despite the violent disease. Through the darkness, she has seen the light and has certain hope . . . that the battle will be won.

Isaiah 40:31 says
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

We are empowered through the presence of Christ.  The Apostle Paul explained:  "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else” (Acts 17:24-25).

There is a power that is beyond imagination that God imparts to those who are open to Him.

Receive the power.

Face the battle with courage.

Win.

Celebrate.

Learning with you to KICK START the day . . . with courage,

                                      Pastor Kerrie

 (written by Kerrie Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)
interactstudies/ ~ kpalmer@hillchurch.com ~Church on the Hill~700 N. Hill Rd.~McMinnville, OR 97128~503.472.8476 ~www.hillchurch.com~Archives & Daily Subscription: go to http://kickstarttoday.blogspot.com/

Connection

So.  Several of our family and friends had a party for a little girl that we have not, yet, met.  It really does not make sense, our only contact has been a couple of reports and a few pictures from an orphanage; however, we have a deep connection with her . . . so . . . we celebrate.  The thing is . . . we all have been changed because of our connection with her.

How is a connection possible?

Put simply, we are created to connect.

Read Acts 15. There was an argument . . . a parting . . . leaving Paul with the need for a traveling partner to spread the Message.  Study the result in Acts 15:40: “but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.”  

Paul, empowered to impact the church, made a connection with Silas, a leader in the Jerusalem church, who welcomed the Gentiles into the fellowship of believers.  (see Acts 15: 22-35 ).  The connection mattered for all of history.

We often fail to realize that we are experiencing a work of God when we have a connection with another human being.  And, the connection can be so powerful that every detail, including the atmosphere, changes.

Intentionally connect with others through the power of Christ.

Experience the power of the connection and celebrate. 

Learning with you to KICK START the day . . . connecting,

                                      Pastor Kerrie

 (written by Kerrie Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)
interactstudies/ ~ kpalmer@hillchurch.com ~Church on the Hill~700 N. Hill Rd.~McMinnville, OR 97128~503.472.8476 ~www.hillchurch.com~Archives & Daily Subscription: go to http://kickstarttoday.blogspot.com/

Abandoned

This is the second year that we have had a bird that flies into our windows . . . hard . . . knocking against the glass several times throughout the day.  Apparently, the bird sees its own reflection, fighting the image of the bird.  One thing is for sure, the bird is wasting time and energy. 

How many times do we waste our time and energy because we are self-absorbed? 

The thing is. . . God has a plan for us to live beyond self . . . and it is not reserved for a few . . . it is for all of humanity: He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith (Acts 15:9).

We should be stunned to think about how God is willing and wanting to purify the heart, the core of our being,  from the toxins that prevent us from living to the fullest . . . opening our life to the realm of divine possibilities . . . through the Spirit of God. 

How often  do we think about the fact that God really wants to give the desires that come from a pure heart?  

Psalm 37:4 says: “Take delight in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  In other words, we receive the desires of the heart when we abandon ourselves to Him.  

Abandon self to God.

Ask God to clear out the toxins.

Live to the fullest.

Receive the desires of your heart.

Learning with you to KICK START the day . . . abandoned to God,

                                      Pastor Kerrie

 (written by Kerrie Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)
interactstudies/ ~ kpalmer@hillchurch.com ~Church on the Hill~700 N. Hill Rd.~McMinnville, OR 97128~503.472.8476 ~www.hillchurch.com~Archives & Daily Subscription: go to http://kickstarttoday.blogspot.com/

See What God is Doing

I visited a family with a sick child.  Because of a head cold, I had to wear a mask to prevent spreading germs.  Though I tried to explain who I was, the mask just made me look different than usual; it was difficult for the youngest child to see that it was me. After about an hour, she held her arms out to me . . . and yelled out in recognition. . . “Pastor Kerrie!”

Isn’t that just like you and me?   Sometimes we fail to see reality.  God  always has something more to be seen, even in the tough times:  See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland  (Isaiah 43:19).

 Isaiah 43:19 tells us:

 1. See . . . observe . . .  take notice

2. God is doing a new thing . . . it does not say occasionally but “is” . . .  which is present tense.   

3. The new thing springs up . . . a spring is living water that refreshes and sustains life.

4.  God makes a way . . . in the wilderness of life.

5.  God makes streams in the wasteland . . .  desolation of life.

There were those in the Early Church that could not see that the presence of the Spirit identified the people of God rather than circumcision.   

Luke wrote in Acts 15:8: “God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.”

At the end of the day, the Spirit of God reveals true reality . . . it is a gift from God to His people. 

See reality through the Spirit  . . . see that God is doing a new thing . . .  in the wilderness and wasteland of life . . .  refreshing and sustaining you.

Learning with you to KICK START the day . . . by seeing what God is doing.

                                      Pastor Kerrie

 (written by Kerrie Palmer © 2010 All Rights Reserved)
interactstudies/ ~ kpalmer@hillchurch.com ~Church on the Hill~700 N. Hill Rd.~McMinnville, OR 97128~503.472.8476 ~www.hillchurch.com~Archives & Daily Subscription: go to http://kickstarttoday.blogspot.com/