BIG LIFE COMMUNITY CHURCH
  • It's All About Jesus
    • Jesus' Story
    • Jesus Welcomes Everyone
    • Judgement-Free Faith
  • Come to Worship
    • What to Expect
    • Where We Meet
    • Nursery
    • Kids
  • About Us
    • Church Values
    • Church Rules
    • Contact the Pastor
    • Church History
    • Belief Statement of the Christian Church
    • F.A.Q.
  • Messages
  • For You
    • Baptism
    • Serve & Connect
    • Devotional / Bible Study >
      • Lent
      • Christmas Resources
    • Youth Ministry
    • Prayer Requests
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Easter Worship
    • Christmas Eve By Candlelight
  • Give Now

Forecast: Chilly with a Chance of Joy

4/28/2016

 
Picture
How do you beat the chill?

Days like these remind us to relish the sunny 70 degrees when we get it!

But the coldest moments in life have nothing to do with the weather.  They come when we are lonely, broken, feeling lost or attacked, and when we are lashing out in anger and hurt.

The enemy has a habit of false promises.  It feels like it will help to hunker down, vent and unload our bad thoughts, and wallow in our negativity.  But that just makes it colder, further breaks our relationships, and hurts our souls.

The book of James talks about how our tongues have the power to unleash hell itself on earth.  There is something about bringing the negativity we all experience into the world through our words that defeats God's plan for the Christian life.

God's hope for us is counter-intuitive.  When we experience negativity, God asks us to draw closer to Him.  Jesus assured us that when we bring Him our burdens, He can carry them on our behalf, so that we need not. Rather than living in our own feelings, God asks us to bring those to Him through prayer and spending time with the Word, and through God-centered relationships.  This lifts one another up, reminding us of joy, giving us peace, and staying focused on love.  This is God's kinder and gentler plan for the world... and it hinges on the self-control of His people.

So the next time something does not break your way, make a choice to move towards God.  Resist the temptation to wallow in the bad, and avoid verbalizing your hurt and bad feelings.  Instead, ask God for help - and for more of Him.  Go to James and remind yourself of the consequences of sin with our mouths, and turn to Mark, Matthew, Luke or John and spend some time with Jesus.  Even a few moments will transform your heart to look more like His peace, love, and joy.  

Next steps: be bold and speak using words full of His promises.  "God, I give this person to you."  "God will work all things together for my good." "God is my god, so I will not be afraid."  "God says no harm will come to me."  "The Lord delivers me from trouble." "God give me Your wisdom."  A quick Google search for God's promises yields hundreds of ways God assures us that He is ready to help - and we can affirm our belief in these things through our words.
 
Our hope for you is that your words start to shine light and give God's warmth to yourself and those around you.  Speak joy, peace, and kindness.  And they will know you are a Christ-follower by your love.  Just pause a moment and envision a world full of believers who live this!  Wow, what a difference that would make!

See you Sunday at 10!  We believe this one hour a week will change every other hour of our lives.  Invite a friend - you may never know the difference it will make in their life.

Picture

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    Devotionals

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    April 2019
    February 2018
    August 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    June 2015
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

Worship Sundays 9:45 AM        Midweek RePneual Bible  Study  - WED 7 PM Live stream 

197 E. Washington St. Oswego, IL 60543 
(630) 984-1010

Picture
Picture

Real Faith .  Real People . Real Freedom
Celebrating 200 years of independent, authentic faith in Jesus.

It's for you.
www.facebook.com/Biglifecc
Contact the Pastor
All content is copyright property of PneuProject and may not be extracted or downloaded.
  • It's All About Jesus
    • Jesus' Story
    • Jesus Welcomes Everyone
    • Judgement-Free Faith
  • Come to Worship
    • What to Expect
    • Where We Meet
    • Nursery
    • Kids
  • About Us
    • Church Values
    • Church Rules
    • Contact the Pastor
    • Church History
    • Belief Statement of the Christian Church
    • F.A.Q.
  • Messages
  • For You
    • Baptism
    • Serve & Connect
    • Devotional / Bible Study >
      • Lent
      • Christmas Resources
    • Youth Ministry
    • Prayer Requests
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Easter Worship
    • Christmas Eve By Candlelight
  • Give Now