New Life In Christ

Late one summer afternoon, I grabbed my camera and went outside with high hopes of capturing something to add to my photos and messages collection. As I toured the backyard, I noticed an unusual-looking crusty brownish-orange bug, with tiny black specks, on a shrub. I really wasn’t sure what kind it was, but the green leafy background created a colorful photo. Then, something very astonishing happened! Right after I took the first photo, the bug sat upright on its bottom side and I jokingly asked, “Are you posing for the camera?” I began taking numerous photos, and within less than a minute, it began shedding its exoskeleton. As my observation continued, I became excited about photographing a wonderful presentation of God’s creation. The little body eased its way out of the upper end, but it puzzled me. There were no spots and it was no longer orange, but a dull yellow color. It crawled to the edge of the empty skeleton, and then after a few seconds, it crawled onto the top of the hollow, crusty skin. It did this two times before traveling to the opposite side of the leaf, and at that moment, the message within began to unfold.

I lingered longer in observation of the metamorphic display and patiently watched as the outer layer became shiny and translucent. Faint evidence of little black dots slowly emerged as the pale yellow color mutated into a yellowish-orange, and within minutes, the black dots became increasingly prominent. What I had witnessed was the progression of an insect through the larvae and pupa stages. Surprisingly, it was a ladybug and new life had just begun!!

So much of God’s nature parallels life’s lessons and it leaves lasting impressions in my mind. Just like the ladybug returning to its old skin, oftentimes we lay down our heavy loads at the foot of the cross and then turn right back around to retrieve them. Like the ladybug returning to its exoskeleton, sometimes we are guilty of returning to lifestyles that are not pleasing to God. The bug traveled to the opposite side of the leaf to begin its new life, and so it is with us. Shedding the skins of our old nature allows us to make a one-hundred-eighty degree turn and live in peace and victory, as we begin our new life in Christ.

I’ll never forget that afternoon when God “step-by-step” unfolded a beautiful and extraordinary illustration of new life, not only for a tiny ladybug but for me, as well! What a forever memory it has created in my memory bank and I sure hope it will touch your life, too. The photos of that day still bring me joy, because of the intricately designed way that God created nature and He created us to also have new life in Him. If you’ve not already made the vital decision to surrender your heart to Jesus, I hope that you will do so while you still have breath and a heartbeat! It will be the most important decision you’ll ever make and YES, it’s a life or death decision! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Melinda Blair

Do I Know You?

There is an old story about two men arriving at the Pearly gates about the same time. One of the men was excited beyond measure and the other sullen and looking a little afraid. The excited man said, “Hey, friend what is the matter, you should be happy.” The sullen man said, “I don’t know where I am and what to be happy about.” “Well,” said the excited man, “You are at the Pearly gates of heaven and we as Christians are about to be invited in.” The sullen man was thoughtful for a moment, then said, “I don’t know anything about this heaven, or what being a Christian means nor what to expect.”

The excited man said, “I have spent my life sharing the gospel and living an exemplary life helping others and doing what is right, my life’s walk and work spoke volumes about being a Christian”, “Say, you look familiar do I know you?” The sullen man replied, “Well, I should look familiar, I was your next-door neighbor for 20 years.”

There have been many times over the course of my life when I had the perfect opportunity to share my faith with someone and was as quiet as a church mouse. I am unsure why I did not say anything, other than the fact I felt unsure of what I could say and if it would be received as a positive message of hope and unconditional love or be taken as me being a pushy, self-righteous Bible thumper. Either way, I failed to share the Good News with a neighbor. The odd thing is I can remember almost every time I had the opportunity to share and did nothing. I believe these memories are God’s gift to me as “teachable moments” meant to challenge me going forward and to build a vision off their values.

As I pondered over this challenge, I was led to Mark 8:34-36, it begins “…He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me…””. He was communicating how to lead and set an example for others to follow.  Leadership is servanthood. There is no other definition that better defines a leader. We as leaders, must let our purpose prioritize our life. As in the story at the beginning the exited man had the heart and knowledge of what he should have been doing but he was not focused with a purpose of reaching others. We must live the life before we can lead others. We cannot share what we do not know for ourselves and we cannot give away what we do not possess. 

Our impact, as leaders, comes from relationships, not positions. Anyone can have a position but building a relationship takes special people with a heart for others. Leaders must replenish themselves. Our pastor said it best one afternoon while he was visiting my office. He said, “I just came from a meeting with my pastor to get my tank refilled.” Yes, even good pastor’s need a mentor to help them stay focused and recharged. Therefore, we should surround ourselves with people who can and will offer support as a Christian mentor and are willing to be honest with us. As leaders, we must call for commitment. We as, “Shepherds” must be committed to protecting our “flock”, sharing our faith, offering hope, expressing joy, and providing unconditional love for others to set the example.

As leaders, we must show security when handling tough issues because credibility comes by meeting needs and solving problems. We must choose and develop key people. People with a heart for serving others, a gift of being able to communicate clearly and concisely, and a willingness to do what is right in difficult situations. Also, as leaders, we must understand there is no success without a successor. Which brings me to my point, if we, as leaders, do not take the time to share the Good News with others and go the extra mile to develop those around us, what will our leadership look like in the future? Just saying…

I encourage each of us as leaders, to understand, “Leadership IS servanthood” at its finest. Good leaders are the difference makers in our society. We must take the opportunity to make a difference and add value to all those around us, daily. Whether it is through our talk or our walk it is our responsibility to share the Good News about faith, hope, joy, and unconditional love. Mark 8:34-36

Have a wonderful day,

James Dodwell

A Follower's Thoughts - Scars In Our Lives

John 20: 27-29 says, "Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your fingers here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.' Thomas answered him, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him, 'Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.'"

Most, if not all, of us have scars. Whether it be emotional or physical, scars are there. They are a reminder of just how fragile we are. We tend to carry our emotional scars within our souls, locking them up and throwing away the key. Hurtful words, degrading comments, wrongful acts against us can create emotional scars. Our physical scars are visible on the outside. Physical scars remind us of the stupid mistakes we make. They remind us sometimes that we tend to do things before we think. And yes, physical scars make us ponder this question. Isn't this a disaster waiting to happen?

So, through all our emotional and physical scars that we may carry around in our lives, there is someone whose scars trump our scars. That someone is Jesus Christ. Jesus calls us to put our fingers in his hands and put our hand in his side, and do not doubt but believe. For it is by his wounds that we are healed. God Bless.

Correll

A Follower's Thought

My family and I went camping at Wind Creek this past Saturday a week ago. The weather that Saturday morning was wonderful! You could feel the cool air of the fall season, my favorite time of year. I got up early that morning, got me a cup of coffee and my Bible, and went down by the water to have my alone time with God.

I opened my Bible to James 4:13-15 and read. "Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money. Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.'" As I sat there contemplating what I had just read and watching the sunrise, I noticed the mist rising off the waters of Lake Martin. I thought about how we are like that mist rising. Then I asked myself this question. What is my life? James 4:14 said that my life is a mist that appears then vanishes. At that very moment, I watched as the mist danced across the water, rise above the waters, and vanish. I thought to myself, that is what my spirit will do one day when my time on Earth is done. My spirit will rise up to meet my Savior, Jesus Christ!

You know, we go out into the world and make all kinds of plans for our future. Yet, God's Word says, we are not promised tomorrow. I'm not saying it's a bad idea to plan for our future, but I do believe we need to consult Christ on our plans and put God at the front of our plans. I pray for guidance for myself and my family's future, as we all should. I ask myself this question. God, is this really what you want me to do, or is this really what I want you to do? So, I" ve learned to say, God, your will be done, not mine. After all, I'm just a mist rising off a lake. Here for a little while, then vanishing. Whether it be today, tomorrow, or anytime in the future, none of us knows when our time on Earth is up. I pray we all will rise like the mist into the Heavenly Realms to be with our Jesus.

God Bless. To him be the Glory!

Correll Pritchard

Living In A State of Gratefulness

What does it mean to live your life in a state of gratefulness? Do we hear the word “gratefulness” and immediately consider and remember the positive, good, rewarding things in our lives both now and from our past? Rarely do we consider hardships, struggles, and pain as something to be grateful for. Without fully realizing and honoring the past in all its glory and heartache, how do we fully live today and tomorrow in a true sense of gratefulness - of true spiritual gratefulness?

True spiritual gratefulness is to embrace and honor it ALL - the good, the bad, the ugly, the joy and sorrows in our lives, the mountaintop moments and the valleys of darkness. Unless we learn to do this, to recognize the entire journey, we fail to acknowledge God’s loving presence all along the way. All of life’s experiences happen in His presence and it’s only with His guidance we move fully into tomorrow.

In honoring and acknowledging and remembering the past with a heart of gratefulness, we can freely move forward to share God’s Kingdom with others. Don’t be bound by the restraints of less than the full story - count it all.

“Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:28

Tammy Wendling

Out of Control...Into the Water

Do you ever feel your life is out of control, spinning so fast that you cannot focus on one thing long enough to plant your foot and stop? What??? Yes, me, also. It happens too often these days with all the things happening in our lives, especially now during these times; even in the time way long ago, we now identify as the "pre-covid era", we called "normal" controlling a circumstance depended on the altitude of our attitude. After all, our attitude is controlled by our attitude, which gives us the ability to rise above a situation and review our options with a little more understanding. Lower altitudes inhibit our ability to look ahead or to see through all the stuff that is blocking our vision, on the other hand, higher altitudes allow us to see farther, "Granting us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference." 

Recently, our son's family came for a visit, and we went to the lake to enjoy the afternoon around the water. The water was extremely rough on that day due to wind and the number of other boaters enjoying their day. While on the boat the grans were stumbling around wanting to stand at the sides and watch the wake cast by the pontoons, but the bounce and rough ride cause them balance issues so we had to kind of subdue them and keep them still, impossible for a four and three year young full of energy, fueled by goldfish, grapes, fruit snacks along with a Capri sun juice packet or twelve. So, we decided to retire back to our friend's house to just get in the water, which was fine with our grandson because our friend's grandson was visiting them. He couldn't wait to share the afternoon playing in the sand and water with him.

It was a nice afternoon, chatting it up with good, longtime friends, talking about anything and everything, and watching the children entertain themselves. Once we begin to gather our belongings to leave, I was standing on the dock listening to the final conversations of the day when I stepped back to grab the cooler and begin to feel myself getting out of control. I could not move my feet fast enough to maintain my balance, and I started to fall backward off the dock. I wished I could have seen me from a different perspective. I bet I was a sight, arms flailing, legs and feet fighting for some solid surface, but to no avail, my body was out of control, falling like a tree being felled right into the shallow water. I remember thinking in those few seconds how out of control I felt, nothing I could do by then to prevent the fall and splash into the water. Oh, I was grabbing at everything, air, birds, dock post, but nothing was there to catch my fall, so I just gave in and patiently awaited my landing, which wasn't bad after I relinquished trying to maintain total control of the situation. It took a minute for everyone to realize what had happened, no harm, no foul, then the laughter began, and it was all good; wet and a little embarrassing; but refreshingly good. 

As leaders, we have been gifted an attitude of altitude to share with our followers. We are representatives of control and guidance for them in our walk and in our talk. It's God's gift to leaders who follow Him as we represent the hands and feet of Christ Jesus. Our vision has been cast, and we have an obligation as leaders in our homes, communities, and organizations to assist in maintaining some control to situations seemingly chaotic and hectic. As leaders, I believe it must do more with controlling self than controlling a situation or others. We walk among the people, share our hope, our faith, our joy, and our unconditional love. Jesus did not come and die for us to live a defeated life. He died to give us life everlasting, undefeated by the problems of the world. If we as leaders, retreat, our followers retreat, if we stand bold as lions (Proverbs 28:1), guess what, they will also.

The Bible warns us if we do not control self, first, we will be slaves to what controls us, food, lust, money, our words, our circumstances, and on and on. Controlling self is the very foundation for living a life of righteousness and selflessness that reflects Jesus and brings glory to God. He has gifted us the power to keep our life in control if we would only lean into Him and ask it in His name.

I encourage each of us to understand it is time to get into the word of God and allow Scripture to change our hearts and minds. Leaders reach out to others and help them understand that maintaining control starts with taking small steps each day to bring our thoughts and actions back in line with God's plan for our lives. After all, how do you eat an elephant, that is right, one bite at a time. Just saying… So today go out there, yes out there in a world of indecision and chaos, to make a difference and add value by sharing your faith, hope, joy, and the unconditional love of Jesus Christ with others. Galatians 5:22-23

Have a wonderful day,

James Dodwell

A Follower's Thoughts - The Glue That Holds Us Together

Colossians 1: 15-17 says, “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

What are Laminins? They are molecules that hold each cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. When seen under a microscope, a laminin molecule is basically shaped like a cross. No joke! Now, I would say that it’s not a perfect cross, but it’s a cross. If you look up Laminin in a scientific or medical book, they are drawn out as cross-shaped. So, I got to thinking. All of us, as human beings, are held together by a cross, connected to a cross, connected to a cross, and so on. That is so amazing!

Don’t we all have days that everything goes wrong? I know I have had my share of those kinds of days. Somedays, I tell myself, why did I ever get out of bed this morning. We are going to have days where everything seems to come unglued. Worries, anxieties, fears, jobs to do, deadlines to make, the lists go on and on. It starts to delaminate us little by little until we feel ourselves coming unglued. We get ill, frustrated, perhaps we say hurtful words to others, and God forbid, let foul language come from our lips! When we have those kinds of days, we need to take a step back, take a deep breath, and remember how we are truly made; in God’s image, connected by a cross! Remembering the cross that our savior Jesus Christ died on for us is all we need to hold us together, together as an individual and as the body of Christ. For in Jesus, ALL things hold together.

God Bless.

Correll

A Follower's Thought...

John 19:30 says, "When Jesus had received the wine, he said, 'It is finished.' Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." I got to thinking about this verse and especially his last three words, "It is finished." As I was reflecting on these three words, I said to myself, "What powerful words these are!" With these three words, Jesus fulfilled his mission on Earth. Jesus was born to die, to save us from our sins. Do we deserve it? No! None of us do.

We as humans, as I see it, have two problems that we have a hard time overcoming, and frankly can do nothing about. Those two problems are sin and death. No matter what we do or how hard we try, we can’t fix these problems by ourselves or with anyone’s help, except one, Jesus Christ! We are all born sinners. Romans 5:12 says, "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned." Romans 3:23 says "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord."

What I am saying is this, we will never get out of this world alive with sin and death looming over us. Only one can save us. Jesus! He conquered our sin by dying on a cross, and he conquered our death by rising on the third day. You want to conquer sin and death? Say yes to Jesus. I’m just saying, in my opinion, there is no other way out of this world alive. With those last three words, "It is finished", Jesus bowed to the world and ushered in the chance of eternal life. I pray we all bow our heads to Jesus and welcome his free gift of eternal life.

God bless,

Correll Pritchard