Light In This World

I love Sundays.  My life revolves around this day as being the big day of the week, when about 1,200 or more people in our small community come to our church. I try to stop for a brief moment when I enter the lobby of our building to see and hear the activity within the walls.  It's when you know that a building is not a church, but instead the people in it.  I know this has been said century after century and sounds like part of the Christianese language; however, when we grasp the truth of what it means for Christ followers to come together, we've glimpsed the purpose of the church in this world.

There's no other organization on earth like the Church; the sustaining power of it all is not through human effort but through the divine presence and power of Christ.

The dark forces of this world are seen more clearly each day; we all agree that something radical needs to happen to save us from  certain doom.  As people look for a way to escape from it all, the Church moves straight into it, not afraid but courageous, with the mission to be the light in the darkness, bringing hope to this hopeless, chaotic, dark world. The thing is . . . when we are connected to the source of Life . . . there's unmistakeable energy of being fully alive with a faith, hope, and love which just doesn't stop for anything or anyone.

Consider.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. either do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16, NIV).

Celebrate today.

Come together as the Church, moving forward with the courage to be Christ's light in the darkness, bringing hope to the world. 

Learning to Kickstart the day as light in this world,
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

Take The Walk

A visibly broken man stopped me after a church service on a gray and cloudy Oregon Sunday.  He wanted to know: Why her?  Why him?  Why me?  Why?  The questions that start with "why" often are missing a satisfactory answer.  But.  I've learned some important things about God that I'm able to share.

One thing I know by experience as well as from the Word:  God doesn't leave us stuck in the "whys" of life; however, we must be willing to move away from the questions.  

And.  It's not always easy to leave unanswered questions behind.  The "whys" of life often nag us, creating hurt, anger, and eventually bitterness that settles into deep places of our mind and spirit.  To move out of the stuff, we must agree to walk by faith rather than by sight, which of course makes sense for everyone else but ourselves.  

Seriously, walking by faith is not always the easiest route to take in life.  Even so. It's the most blessed way to live.

Consider. 
For we live by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7, NIV). 

When we follow Christ, we learn life is a walk of faith.  When we take the walk of faith, we choose to put our trust in Christ above anyone or anything else. When we're unable to see our way through a situation, we are enabled by the Spirit of Christ to take one step at a time, knowing He is present, powerful, and good.  The  things is . . . our God will shift every detail in the universe . . . breaking through the darkness, pain, and questions, transforming the places of hurt into healing, sorrow into joy, and the "whys" into peace.

 God is faithful and will take you on a walk of a lifetime when you choose to go forward.  There's always something more than you could ever imagined ahead of you when you go God's way.

Walk by faith, not by sight. 

Learning to Kickstart the day taking the walk of faith,
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

Anticipation

Miss Madelyn anticipates each day with exuberance.  The world is a place of discovery to her.  Currently she describes most everything as "DEE-licious."  There's nothing like a two-year-old teacher of life; through Madelyn's perspective I see some of the most ordinary things of life in a new and fresh way.   I smile thinking about her delight over a long list of first experiences, including when she picked and ate strawberries at a farm, when she saw a duck and heard its quacking sound in the wetlands, when she sat in the sand at the beach and made creations with her shovel, and when she built a snowman and made a snow angel one unusually cold and snowy day.

The thing is . . . it's easy to become tired and worn out from dealing with the stuff of life . . . failing to anticipate and experience the new creative work of God.

Consider. 
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here (I Corinthians 5: 17, NIV)

The process of being made new is ongoing rather than a one-time deal; however, there are times we become stuck in the stuff of the day, closing ourselves off from God’s fresh new creative work of life in and around us.

Even so, God is always at work.  It’s a holy work of love, grace, mercy, and peace.  It’s a transforming work.  It’s a powerful energizing work. But. It’s our choice to either enter into the work of God or to be weighed down by all of the stuff. 

Anticipate the new creative work God has for you today.
Refuse to allow the stuff distract you from God's work.
Intentionally pay attention to the work of God.
Seek what new thing you’re to experience.
Experience and enjoy being made new  . . . again.

Learning to Kickstart the day with anticipation of being made new,
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

Without Fear

Madelyn has decided fear and pain are the same thing.  When deer come into our yard she tells us, "Ow (Ouch), that hurts!"  In her perspective, the wandering creatures who break through our barricades to eat our plants, flowers, and grass are destructive and, therefore, scary.  There's reality in what she's communicating.

When we allow fear to invade our mind, we open ourselves up to pain, whether it's emotional, spiritual, or physical. 

Fear is a part of our life experience, so, it's crucial to lean how to face it.

The thing is . . . until we really believe God is continually with and for us . . . fear will have the upper hand, cheating us out of experiencing God's liberating power, weighing us down with the cares of this world, destroying hope and faith, leaving us with heartache and pain.  

If, we fail to address fear, it will explode within and around us.  In the end, fear is extremely painful.

Consider. 
 I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
      He freed me from all my fears.
  (Psalm 34: 4, NLT). 

Fear imprisons the body, mind, and soul.  But.  God will free us from whatever kind of fear grips us.  It's essential to turn from the fear and realize God is just that good and great to remove all of our fear. So. God doesn't just have good intentions but is continually doing a good work on our behalf.  If, we could see through the stuff of life, we would see more:  And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you (Philippians 1:6, AMP). 

Remember fear is present in this world; what we do with fear is key to how we live our life.  But.  The reality of the presence and power of God far exceeds whatever we fear.  So.  In order to deal with fear, we must make time to see where fear has invaded our life and face it.

Live without fear.
Begin with prayer, acknowledging God first.
Pray about any fear in you.  As you pray, believe God will answer and free you, enabling you to have faith not only in God's presence and power, but in the reality of His good and great work in you.
Thank God for continually being with you and for you!
Celebrate the goodness and greatness of God, which overpowers anything and anyone coming against you.

Learning to Kickstart the day without fear,
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

The Miracle of the Moment

There are days which remind us how important it's to count the moment as a miracle.   It happens when someone tells us the way we know life to be will end, when we want to change something but realize it's out of our control, when the normal of the day seems to be lost in the unknown of it all, when the stuff we've been consumed with seems irrelevant, when we realize we've held on to things which hold little or no value in the bigger picture, when we realize what's really important in each moment.

The thing is . . . at the end of it all, we discover the one thing, more important than anything else, is being in an interactive relationship with Jesus . . . which is the miracle of the moment. 

Consider the miracle of one moment in time:

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”  Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”  When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink (Luke 5: 4-6, TNIV)

The disciples were experienced fishermen; they knew what they were doing.  And, yet, their nets were empty after a full night of work.  Jesus, known as Rabbi, a carpenter by trade, intercepted the tired and desperate fishermen.  It did not make sense to do what Jesus said to do from their perspective.  No one would've thought him to have any expertise on fishing.  We need to remember the identity of Jesus had not been fully comprehended; yet, they changed what they were doing simply because Jesus said to do it.  Their relationship with Jesus was the most important part of the moment.  So, it makes sense the miracle began the moment they responded to Jesus.

They risked it all by letting go of what they had held on to, focused on what Jesus said.  God had so much more for them in the moment; however, they would've never experienced the miracle if they had refused to push out into the deep and let go of their nets.  When we do what Jesus says to do, the direction of the day changes and we experience a miracle in the moment.

Change the direction of your day:  Actively respond to Christ.  Push out into the deep and let go of your nets.  God has something more for you--a miracle in the moment.  

Learning to Kickstart the day in the miracle of the moment, 

Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

The Unstoppable Army

There's nothing like knowing people are praying for you, knowing they're asking God to release power on your behalf, knowing they've joined heaven's army, willing and ready to fight the battle.  I think it's why Matthew 6:10 has been one of my favorite verses to pray, repeating what Jesus said:  Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  

The thing is . . . when we pray what Jesus prayed . . . heaven and earth collide.  After all is said and done, the result of this simple prayer is supernatural. So. We might as well throw a party.  

Consider what Jesus said about asking:
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you  (John 15:7).

It's spelled out.   When we remain in Christ and His words remain in us, we are focused, engaged, and participative with Him, which in turn means we walk in faith, believing all things are possible, confident that what we are asking will be done.

In other words, prayer is about who Christ says He is and, if, a mountain needs to moved, it'll be moved.

The power of Christ is unstoppable, so powerful that not even death can overrule it. So.  When we come together, aligned with Christ and His word, united with the will of God on earth as it is in heaven, there’s no doubt but that great and mighty things will occur.

Remain in Christ.
Keep the Word in you.
Join the unstoppable army of prayer warriors.
Pray for God's will on earth as it is in heaven.
Be ready for the mountains to move.
Celebrate and throw a party!
Learning to Kickstart the day joining the unstoppable army,
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

Strong and Courageous

Have you ever had to believe for the impossible?   There's a few times in life that we come to the place where questions must be honestly answered:
Do I believe God?
Do I believe what God says?

When the stuff of life comes at us, when we face something that no one can fix, when we must make the choice to either have faith or make room for  fear, then, we discover what life with Christ is really about.  Living in Christ is not even close to the soft Christian stuff discussed on a nice sunny Sunday morning in a neat and tidy package, but about hard core take-a-leap-of-faith-kind-of-living.

The thing is . . . we must be turn away from weak faith which gets us no where . . . to live in Christ's peace, strength, and courage, flowing over and in us.  

I'm convinced God uses the stuff of life to form us into courageous Christ followers who believe, without doubt, all things are possible, who know God is the God of miracles, who stand firm, refusing to budge when the going gets tough.  But.  There's a sector of the people who want to believe, who hope what God says is true, but never discover the richness of living strong and courageously in Christ.  

Consider what God says:
 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9, NLT)

God makes it clear.  Faith, the kind that moves us forward, requires guts and determination.  There's not room for fear when it comes to immersing our life in the presence and power of God.  Fear is whatever turns our attention away from God.  It comes in all sizes and shapes, but it messes with us, making us feel powerless.

God has provided a pathway through Christ to live strong and courageously.

Christ does not give the spirit of fear, but gives power to the powerless, strength to the weak, and courage to the faint hearted.  In other words, through the indwelling presence of the Spirit, we can face all things and live in the realm of possibilities when it all seems impossible.  

Live in the realm of possibilities.
Be strong.
Be courageous.
Refuse fear and discouragement.
Remain in the presence and power of Christ.
Your God is with you wherever you go.

Learning to Kickstart the day strong and courageous,
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)