Grateful

This past weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving.  I pray, however you celebrated it, you were able to take some time to  reflect on God’s generosity with gratitude.

Our children, along with their spouses and our grandpups, gathered together for a meal on Sunday.  I was so convicted by my own preaching that I used our fine china!  It was wonderful and liberating and oh so pretty. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about check out last weeks sermon). It felt like a very long time since we gathered around a table together for a holiday meal.  It felt somehow different, it seemed more special to me, and not just because of the china ;).  I was grateful.

The passage of time is a funny thing, isn’t it?  It felt like such a long time since last gathering for a Thanksgiving meal and yet it feels like yesterday that I came to Amberlea.  I started my ministry with this very special church made up of extraordinary people ten years ago this coming weekend!  10 years!  And so much has happened in that time and yet, it still feels fresh and exciting to be there. I am grateful that God called me to this place.

I am also grateful to work alongside a Godly session, and for almost all of those 10 years with my dear friend, Nancy Varga, who shares my heart for families, community and Jesus.

Above alI, I am grateful that God is merciful, trustworthy, loving, holy and constant!

Over the past 4 Sundays we have been talking about the attributes of God, there are certainly more attributes than weeks in a year, so we will conclude the series this week. Please join us in person, Sunday mornings at 11am. It would be wonderful to see you!!  Or join us anytime, online!

I am so grateful for each of you!

God is....loving!

Nothing can separate

Even if I run away

Your love never fails

I know I still make mistakes

But, You have new mercies for me everyday

Your love never fails

You stay the same through the ages

Your love never changes

There maybe pain in the night

But joy comes in the morning

And when the oceans rage

I don't have to be afraid

Because I know that You love me

Your love never fails

The wind is strong and the water's deep

But I'm not alone here in these open seas

'Cause Your love never fails

—Lyrics to Your Love Never Fails by Jesus Culture

Those are lyrics to the worship song I was listening to today, and as I was croaking along I wondered… how would our lives be different if we really believed that?

What would happen in our lives if we lived in absolute assurance that God loves us, and God’s love never fails?

I was talking with someone not that long ago who was sharing a litany of things that had gone wrong in recent months.  She began to weep and said, “Why is God doing this? I grew up singing Jesus loves me, but after all I have been through, clearly God doesn’t love me!”

And honestly, I get it. I have faced heartbreaking situations where I knew God could step in and change everything in an instant. And when God didn’t? It hurt. Deeply.

But here is what God continues to teach me — I need to process my disappointments through the filter of God’s love, and not through the tangled places of my heart.  Because when I do the outcome is often, “If God loves me so much, why would God let this happen?”

Instead, when I process things through the filter of the absolute assurance of God’s love; a love that never changes and never fails, the outcome is very different. I realize I have to trust God in the midst of what is happening.  Harder still is repositioning my circumstance and look for God’s protection, provision and possible opportunities for growth.

How would things be different for you if you really lived in the absolute assurance of God’s love?

The promise is clear:

Isaiah 54:10a “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet [God’s] unfailing love for you will not be shaken.”

Isaiah 55:8-9, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” (NIV)

Psalm 138:8a: “The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.” (ESV)

God is...trustworthy!

As Christians, we put our trust in God’s unending, unconditional love. But some days are harder than others, and sometimes we need to be reminded of the Lord’s character. Over the next several weeks we are looking at the attributes of God.  Last Sunday we looked at God is… trustworthy.

Most of us have lived long enough that as we reflect on our lives we can see that God has been faithful in the past.  We know that God is with us now and faithful today.  And throughout scripture we are promised that God will be faithful tomorrow.

We can also trust God because:

God is perfect in wisdom. God sees the big picture and knows every detail, so God has more wisdom than we do. When we trust God, God promises to make our paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6).

How often have we, from our limited perspective, taken action that’s equivalent to telling God, “I think You forgot something.” Only to discover that our solution was the wrong choice—all because we didn’t trust God’s infinite wisdom.

God is absolutely sovereign. We can’t see the future, but we can trust the One who is in control of everything. Jesus told His disciples that not even a sparrow would fall without God’s consent (Matt. 10:29). He also told Pilate, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11). Even that prominent Roman official was powerless to order the crucifixion without the Father’s approval.

God has always been sovereign over all things—from a little bird’s safety to the extraordinary events at the cross.

In those difficult times that life often brings, remember to look back, look around and look to God’s Word. In doing so, may you remember that our God is faithful and trustworthy to deal with it all!