Friday, March 23, 2012

Happy Thursday! (Written Thursday, posted Friday)

Last evening after preparing dinner for approximately 70 people prior to Lenten services I was exhausted and kept falling asleep while attempting to read the scripture passages. So I closed up shop and went to sleep.

Prayer alert: Bruce was stepping off a ladder a couple of days ago and has caused his sacroiliac to lock up. He is in terrible pain. He went to the chiropractor this morning and will go back tomorrow. We are hoping to go and spend a couple of days with Dad after this dr.’s visit. Please pray for his pain to ease and the doc to make the adjustments to unlock these joints. Thank you.

Prayer: “I surrender completely to You. May Your Spirit fill me, and may I be further transformed today in to the image of Your Son. In His name I pray. Amen.”

Acts 2: 38 “Then Peter said to them, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

This text is from Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost. Peter minces no words when he proclaims to his audience that in order for them to receive forgiveness of their sins and receive salvation they must repent of their sins and claim Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Repentance means turning away from sin, but turning way from sin is not possible without turning to Jesus in faith.

Peter tells this gathering that they must be baptized in Jesus’ name. At the moment of this confession they will receive the Holy Spirit. To be baptized in the name of Jesus means that one has responded to Jesus in faith and confessed Him as their personal Lord and Savior.

Another gift received at the moment of salvation is the gift of the Holy Spirit. This gift is for ALL who believe. This gift of the Holy Spirit unites us with other baptized believers empowering and transforming us, making us fit for God to use us in service to His call through Jesus. This transformation continues for the rest of our lives.

For this transformation to continue as we grow into the likeness of Christ we must surrender our wills each day. When we surrender daily the will of God grows in us and we are sanctified by Christ.

Take joy in the journey! Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Give thanks for the transforming power of the crucified Christ in our lives. Please pray for Bruce. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe and I believe God.

An extra prayer: We are planning to go to Dad’s house tomorrow. I have thought about this all day. I have thought about the empty closet that once was Mom’s. It was once filled with her clothes and filled with the fragrance of her perfume. That closet brought me comfort in the days immediately following her passing. And even though I helped clean out that closet I realized today that her presence will not be there. I have had some sad moments when I think about it. Please pray and help me go through this moment of grief. Thanks. Peace, gc

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Happy Tuesday!

Happy first day of spring!

In preparation for the Lenten dinner for Wednesday evening at Advent, I made 10 pies today! WOW!

I also heard from the VA Hospital CPE representative today. They are only looking for candidates who are applying for residencies. Residencies are yearlong internships. I can’t do that, so there are three more possibilities. Keep praying, please. Thank you.

Prayer: “Father, my time of prayer is often filled with personal desires. I pray that one of my greatest desires will be to fully enjoy the gift of the Holy Spirit. May I desire His influence over my life more than any possession, practice, or probability. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Luke 11: 13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

When our children were younger, at Christmas time, we attempted to give them things they needed and some of what they wanted. We know our children and I do not think we have ever disappointed them (or at least, I hope not). If we, as parents do these things for our children, can you imagine what the Father of all creation will do for all of His children? Our heavenly Father is perfect with all of His resources. He knows exactly what we need and desire. God even allowed His Son to die for me and you.

The most important gift God gave us was when the Holy Spirit remained when Jesus ascended to heaven. God gave us this gift so that God’s influence could be with us at all times. Even though we desire many earthly things (like me and Brighton Collectibles), they will pass away, but the Holy Spirit will remain with us forever. Our earthly possessions are not what are important, but being possessed by the Holy Spirit will always grant us eternal fulfillment. I know there are times it is difficult to resist the things of this world, but real satisfaction is a soul and life that is learning to enjoy the gift of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray for the desire for the influence of the Holy Spirit to daily guide our lives.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe and I believe God.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Happy Monday!

Prayer: “Father, I need the anointing presence of the Holy Spirit to fill my life. I want to be effective for You today. Therefore, I surrender completely to Your control. Fill me, Lord! In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Luke 3: 22 “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.”

How do we become effective Christians? I mean Christians who make a difference in the lives of other people. We become effective Christians when we become like Jesus. When Jesus stepped out of those waters of baptism in obedience to God, God spoke not just to Jesus, but announced His pleasure with Jesus to the crowd. Jesus was now made fit for the ministry God had set before Him. There was no turning back - now all roads lead to the cross. Jesus completely surrendered His own earthly will to God and was anointed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

When the Holy Spirit embodies itself in every part of our lives then we become powerfully anointed for the ministry of God in Christ Jesus. We act like true sons and daughters of God and the evidence of God’s presence is in our lives. The world won’t be impressed with God until the world is impressed with us as they see us living under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Living a life under the control of the Holy Spirit is how we please God. We no longer live for personal pleasure but to please God. This is the deepest commitment we will ever make. Let us make this commitment and be effective Christians to all we meet, demonstrating the goodness of God’s love and a life “souled” out for His glory!

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Stay dry! Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe and I believe God.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Blessed Sunday to you all!

As one of my favorite characters from a Patricia Polocco children’s book says, “And when we have been all churched up…” I attended three worship services today. The first one at 8:30 at Rush Creek, the next one at Advent and the third one at Camp Copass (near Denton) at a closing worship for a Via De Cristo. We have a dear friend at church who was a participant and another who served on the team. It was so nice to renew friendships and be renewed ourselves as we remembered our own participant weekends on the Walk to Emmaus and the spiritual experience we both so enjoyed.

Prayer: “Lord, fill Your temple today and glorify Yourself through everything I do. Amen”

1 Corinthians 6: 19 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”

When I first read this verse I immediately thought “What a great verse for a Sunday!” But then I read the meditation about this verse. The true house of God is you and me. Those who live in relationship with Jesus and believe in His name are the saved and are the temple of God. When we enter our relationship with Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live with us and never leaves. We may make decisions that hinder the work of the Holy Spirit, but the Spirit remains. Because the Holy Spirit lives in us we must care for the temple- our body. The commission of the temple is to glorify God in all we say and do. Everything we do and say must glorify God. When we give way to the Holy Spirit or surrender ourselves, the Spirit is in control of the temple.

There is comfort knowing the Holy Spirit is within us-within His temple. We can never go anywhere or do anything without God being with us. When we work, play, fellowship, worship and minister, we do not do any of these things on our own power because the Holy Spirit empowers us to serve. God through the crucified Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit live in us and with us.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Love you, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe and I believe God.
Happy Saturday and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!

Did you wear your green today? I found a gray TCU Shirt with TCU Horned Frogs written in pink, white and green and wore it today. You know sometimes not wearing green on St. Paddy’s Day can leave you black and blue. Sad Day!

Kairos Team Meeting #3 was held today. Today we focused on our relationship with God. We were asked, “is our relationship with God only on Sunday, or on spiritual retreats or is our relationship one that is intimate and as near as our next breath?” It was a wonderful day.

Prayer: “Father, as I walk through this world and face the burdens of making a living as well as making a life, it seems as if at times the mountain gets higher, the burden gets heavier and the road gets longer. I confess that He is the Christ, the son of the living God. I face life today knowing that Your Son will guide me and guard me, and because of His presence I will overcome anything life brings to me every day. Amen.”

1 John 5: 5 “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

I am a Rocky fan. You know Rocky the boxer, played by Sylvester Stallone? I am not a boxing fan, but I love the story of Rocky. In Rocky I, Rocky goes to the arena the night before the fight. In the arena, the room size pictures of Apollo are overwhelming and Rocky declares to Adrian that he cannot win. Rocky is afraid he is outmatched and cannot defeat the reigning champion. There is this wonderful line in Rocky II when the manager of Apollo Creed (Rocky’s opponent) goes over to Apollo and says, “I saw you beat that man like I never saw you beat any other…and the man kept coming after you.” Rocky works hard, changes the way he fights and, with renewed belief in himself, had to believe he could win because if he quit he would neither win nor would he ever be able to live the life he wanted to live. When Rocky wins the fight he is proclaimed to be the undisputed champion boxer of the world.

As odd as this might sound this is the reason our faith is so important to us on a daily basis. We must realize that our faith has never failed to overcome anything, including death itself. When we put our faith in the undisputed champion of love, the ultimate overcomer, then we are given power the Holy Spirit, so that we, too, become overcomers.
So my friends, let us replace our doubts, fears, the lies that Satan tells us or anything that tries to steal our joy and replace it with faith. Let us find faith in God’s Son, and allow Him to make us the overcomers we were called to be.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe and I believe God.