So every night I get the pleasure of tucking my little princess in bed; and each night I get to be the last voice she hears so I make the most of it. I let her know how beautiful she is, how smart she is, how kind she is, and I always finish with telling her that god made her perfect with such a loving heart! See I do this because I know there will be a time when someone will hurt her feelings and say things to her out of ignorance because of her disability, but each day she can end it knowing the truth from her father about how amazing she is.... Not just me but the Father who created her knew her before she was in her mothers womb, the one who made her perfect from the beginning and has great plans for her, to show the world through her what beauty, perseverance, strength, love, faith, and true compassion is! Be on the side of encouragement today, love someone who is different and use your gifts to make this world a better place to live in.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
STAY TUNED!
Ok everyone so I think I decided that I am going to start implementing video blogs soon. I think it will help us see the picture Jesus is painting in my thoughts a little better. So with this there is good news and bad news. First the good news: first you won't have to read anymore, and second I feel I can go a little more in depth to what God is speaking through me. Now for the bad news: you have to look at my beautiful face and hear my wonderful voice, all of which you'll have to decide if it is true or not.
All joking aside I am looking forward to speaking with you all in the near future, in the meantime there are sermons uploaded on our website www.elkgrovechurchofchrist.org
Monday, February 3, 2014
If only
If only
There is a phrase that we use from time to time when something bad or tragic has happened in our lives, and that phrase is, "if only." You know, if only he wouldn't have gone to work today he wouldn't of got in that car accident, if only she would have been more careful, if only he would have eaten healthier, they would still be here. We use this thinking to help us live in some nostalgic fantasy of what could've been. This is common for us because death wasn't in our original plan, and through time have lost the big picture view. In John chapter 11 Jesus' friend Lazarus gets sick, word gets to Jesus and instead of coming immediately he waits a couple days. After a couple days Jesus lets his disciples know it was time to leave because Lazarus was dead. When word got to Mary and Martha (siblings of Lazarus) that Jesus was coming Mary stayed and Martha came to talk with Jesus, this is what she said, "“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” (John 11:21, 22 NIV) Martha drops an "if only" on Jesus! If only you were here my brother wouldn't have died! You can feel the grief and pain in her voice. Jesus gives her comfort by saying "Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” The words were good but you can almost feel her thoughts, "I know he will he loved you and served god I know he will, but what now." As Martha answered with , “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:23, 24 NIV) but Jesus brings the future to her present and lets her know, Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die...” (John 11:25, 26 NIV) he lets her know I am that resurrection day, I am the one who brings death to life, I AM! He calls out of the tomb to his friend and says Lazarus come out, after being dead a few days Jesus speaks life into him, he is showing prior to his own death and resurrection that He and only he has power over death! But wait there is even better news, Jesus brings life to our present also, he brings life that pulls us out of our own death, our spiritual death, our emotional death, our addictions, abuse, pain, discomfort, grief, whatever we are struggling with our God sends that same spirit that led both Lazarus and Christ to rise from their tombs to us, to rise out of our earthly physical and emotional tombs as well! In John 11:26 Jesus leaves Martha with a question, Jesus said to her. "Do you believe this?” (John 11:26 NIV) this is her response to the question, which came before Jesus brought back her brother, “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:27 NIV) I leave you with the same question, do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God that he came and conquered death so that you will not perish but have eternal life? If you said yes to this and have not yet been baptized find me lets talk, if you answered no to this and you are struggling to find where Jesus fits for you, find me, comment me, or email me ghavinn.crutcher@elkgrovechurchofchrist.org I would love to talk to you about this amazing gift of Christ!
May God lead you always, shining his blessings upon you, bringing you life, so you may live it to the full!
There is a phrase that we use from time to time when something bad or tragic has happened in our lives, and that phrase is, "if only." You know, if only he wouldn't have gone to work today he wouldn't of got in that car accident, if only she would have been more careful, if only he would have eaten healthier, they would still be here. We use this thinking to help us live in some nostalgic fantasy of what could've been. This is common for us because death wasn't in our original plan, and through time have lost the big picture view. In John chapter 11 Jesus' friend Lazarus gets sick, word gets to Jesus and instead of coming immediately he waits a couple days. After a couple days Jesus lets his disciples know it was time to leave because Lazarus was dead. When word got to Mary and Martha (siblings of Lazarus) that Jesus was coming Mary stayed and Martha came to talk with Jesus, this is what she said, "“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” (John 11:21, 22 NIV) Martha drops an "if only" on Jesus! If only you were here my brother wouldn't have died! You can feel the grief and pain in her voice. Jesus gives her comfort by saying "Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” The words were good but you can almost feel her thoughts, "I know he will he loved you and served god I know he will, but what now." As Martha answered with , “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:23, 24 NIV) but Jesus brings the future to her present and lets her know, Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die...” (John 11:25, 26 NIV) he lets her know I am that resurrection day, I am the one who brings death to life, I AM! He calls out of the tomb to his friend and says Lazarus come out, after being dead a few days Jesus speaks life into him, he is showing prior to his own death and resurrection that He and only he has power over death! But wait there is even better news, Jesus brings life to our present also, he brings life that pulls us out of our own death, our spiritual death, our emotional death, our addictions, abuse, pain, discomfort, grief, whatever we are struggling with our God sends that same spirit that led both Lazarus and Christ to rise from their tombs to us, to rise out of our earthly physical and emotional tombs as well! In John 11:26 Jesus leaves Martha with a question, Jesus said to her. "Do you believe this?” (John 11:26 NIV) this is her response to the question, which came before Jesus brought back her brother, “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:27 NIV) I leave you with the same question, do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God that he came and conquered death so that you will not perish but have eternal life? If you said yes to this and have not yet been baptized find me lets talk, if you answered no to this and you are struggling to find where Jesus fits for you, find me, comment me, or email me ghavinn.crutcher@elkgrovechurchofchrist.org I would love to talk to you about this amazing gift of Christ!
May God lead you always, shining his blessings upon you, bringing you life, so you may live it to the full!
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
I AM
We are all about to embark on a new year. For most of us this is usually a time of trying to figure out how to create a better us. We do things like: start a diet, read more books, exercise more, spend more time with loved ones, ETC… Most of these start with good intentions, we want to be healthier or smarter, we ultimately want to use our time wiser. However, more times than not these "resolutions" rarely make it to March. Why is that? My suggestion is that we are looking for change in all the wrong places; we are looking with in ourselves whom we already recognize are flawed and we are asking that same flawed person, "Hey why don't you get out there and fix yourself?" Things just don't work out that way, we need a great source for change, someone who knows us better than we know ourselves, someone who knows our strengths, our weaknesses, someone that IS. Here is my challenge for all of us, in the book of John Jesus comes out with some big time statements, some in which ruffled a lot of religious leaders feathers, these statements are the I AM statements, you know the same ones that the God in the old testament used. Starting this Sunday, January 4th, we are starting a series entitled, "I AM, so you can be.." starting with I AM the Bread of Life. We hope you can join us for great worship and fellowship, we also understand that this may not be possible for everyone so we have resources for that on our web site www.elkgrovechurchofchrist.org we have most of our Sunday sermons up for you, this is our way to help you feel part of our family, or if you are on the fence on coming in to visit this will give you a glimpse of what we are about.
May God Bless You in the New Year! My hope is that you allow God to be in your life and in that amazing transformation he will help you become that change that you have always wanted to see in your self. May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord make His face to shine upon you and give you PEACE!
Friday, December 27, 2013
Typos and errors
I am sorry if there are grammar and typos throughout my blog many times I write these on my phone or ipad. I will work hard to correct these in the future!
Monday, November 25, 2013
HAPPY THANKSLiving
We are in the time of year where our country celebrates a time of thanksgiving, a that we set aside to be grateful for what we have. I think that this is an awesome thing, but what if we we re able to find a way to be thankful everyday so instead of celebrating a day called thanksgiving, we live a lifestyle I call ThanksLiving! Here is how you get started,th e first thing you have to do is when you wake up make a choice, you have to choose whether or not you want to be in a good mood or a bad mood. This will determine how the rest of your day goes. Think about it, if you choose good, you will find yourself having a positive perspective and approach to all situations in your day. You will find yourself developing ways of breaking down barriers of resentment and anger and building bridges of forgiveness and thankfulness. It sounds easy when you say it but this is something that takes a lifetime to figure out, that is why it is called thanksLiving, a lifetime of learning how to have a grateful heart. Now if you wake up and choose to have a bad attitude you will find yourself creating mountains out of molehills, you will miss read people's body language and you will be building barriers of resentment and breaking down bridges of love and forgiveness, finding ways to be ungrateful for the life you have been given. This approach is the easier of the he two, because it is much easier to be the victim of life and find ways to loath the cards you have been given. To make excuses of why you can't be a better person, to find reasons to be mad at God, and to find reasons to be mediocre is an easier road than choosing to be the victor of your circumstances. ThanksLiving happens when you choose to not let the world defeat you but to take a stand with the help of Christ and say NO MORE! I choose life and I choose to live it to the full and be grateful for each day, and use the gift of each to to be not only a better person but to be a better spouse, a better son or daughter, parent, student, employee, boss, Christian, there are so many things that we could be better at if we see our role as a gift insteado f a burden. Today is Monday, many of you regret this day every week. You drag yourselves to work and you complain the whole day about having to be there, that is not having a grateful heart. Change your perspective, be grateful you have a job, you make an income and support your family, but even more importantly you have a forum where your positive attitude can impact the lives of others who are struggling, who don't know our savior, and who are just going through the motions of life aimlessly. God has placed you where you are so you can be the light to this world, the salt of the earth. With a grateful heart how much brighter will your light be, how much greater will your flavor of salt be, and how much happier will you be. Let's start today by being grateful for what God has given us,this is Called contentment, a definition I have heard that I liked for contentment is, "contentment is understanding that God has given me everything I need for my current happiness." We get caught in the comparison trap that leads to an ungrateful heart because we have a hard time measuring up to others around us. God wants us to know to that our worth is not base do n what we have but who created us. God made us so special that out of all of his creation we were the only think and he made with his hands and not just his voice. That he so intimately created us that he even are using in his own image. What makes our relationship even more amazing is that even when we were consumed in sin, and were at our absolute worst he sent his son to die for us! If you can't live a grateful life knowing this we will need to check your plus and make sure you are alive! Be grateful choose happiness over anger, choose love over hate, choose forgiveness over resentment, choose good over bad, choose life over death...basically choose God and allow him to lead your life and you will achieve thanksLiving
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