Pathways Press.com

Written by John Warden, a contemporary pastor and writer.

How should my life (words, actions and decisions) reflect my relationship and pursuit of Christ? If a person is walking with God on the inside, then their life (words, decisions, and actions done out of obedience to God) should reflect a distinct character on the outside. The perfect expression of God’s love for others is found in the person of Jesus.  Jesus is our benchmark! Jesus does not require anything from us that He did not already live out in His own person and life.  The command to love one another and to love our neighbor as ourselves were given and modeled by Jesus and commanded of His followers… We learn from the biographies of Jesus (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) that all people were accepted and loved, especially those at the bottom of the social pyramid—poor people, women, outcasts, lepers, children, prostitutes, and tax collectors.  Jesus is the perfect model of loving your neighbor as yourself. Why should Christians have an active heart for serving the poor?  Because of Jesus, the perfect standard by which we live  The overflow of Jesus’s love for the Father was a life in constant service to others.  Our overflow and love for the Father (our seeking to conform to the character of Christ) should also result in a life of service and love to others… A life living in Christ  is a life that loves and serves others.  A service to the poor that listens, loves, encourages, respects and helps those in your midst—especially those from the bottom of the social class.  This is the heart of Jesus and should be our heart as well as we seek to live in fellowship with Him.

Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. [1 John 2:6]

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Written by St. Francis of Assisi (c1181-1226). an Italian friar, deacon and preacher. He founded the men’s Order of Friars Minor, the women’s Order of Saint Claire, the Third Order of Saint Francis, and the Custody of the Holy Land.

Dear God, please reveal to us
your sublime beauty
that is everywhere, everywhere, everywhere
so that we will never again
feel frightened.
My divine love, my love,
Please let us touch
your face.

Amen.

For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! [Zechariah 9:17]

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Written by Margot Wallace, from the Village Church

During Lent I try harder to make myself more godlike in my habits, thoughts, and, aspirations. Yet I often wonder at the disparity between knowing what it takes to be a Christian and actualizing that in fact. I know the perfection which Jesus represents in thought, word, and deed. How is it then, even as a Christian, that I fall short so often? It seems that agape love, the only love free of motives, does not come naturally at all. There is a very old Latin phrase recently discussed in Jack’s Kingdom Academy on Sunday: “homo incurvatus in se” translated from Latin: “Man/woman curved in on her/himself.” Essentially this means that we are born curved in on ourselves. While I was made from love, by love, for love, I was not spiritually aware of these origins at birth. Time, experience, education, and discipline are required to become open to God’s love which un-curves my spirit. Most importantly, I am God’s person, representative, messenger on Earth. In reflecting upon this concept, I turned to nature and the image of the budding California Poppy came to mind. Here we can witness what we know, with the right conditions, will become a magnificent blossom. While curved in on itself the bud rises from the ground with great potential to create a plethora of cascading color to decorate the hillside. This analogy from nature is all around us in different forms on our beautiful Earth!

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate…I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. [Romans 7:15]

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Written by Mark Brown, a contemporary monk and retreat leader.

So how can we come to know the love of God in our lives and in the lives of those around us? I start with the understanding that God is Himself love. God is love. And in a sense all love is God’s love and all love has its source, its ultimate source, in the heart of God. Like that very old hymn reminds us, “Wherever love is, God himself is there.” So we see God’s love all around us in the lives of those that we know, in their compassion, in their generosity, in their giving, in their acts of love and kindness, the way that they care for other people. It is all God’s love even though it is coming through those individuals. Even more immediately, we can come to know God’s love within ourselves because we too, like the people we admire and appreciate, we, too, are instruments of God’s love. We are Christ’s hands in the world, as it were. So God’s love is something that’s alive and present and active in and through us and so recognizing that in our giving, in our generosity, in our compassion, in our loving kindness and care for others, that that’s God living and active and working through us and through our lives.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. [1 John 4:7]

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Written by Doreen May, from the Village Church.

Just before dawn, in the dark of the night

The soul awakens in search of the light

Enduring heart break, struggles and strains

Tears overflow for the question remains

Why so much anguish and strife

As we travel the road on our way in this life?

Is God trying to tell us it’s time to let go?

Be content whatever the circumstances, go with the flow

What exactly is it God wants us to know?

Could it be that the journey right here on this earth

The one we have traveled from the day of our birth

Is His way to prepare us for our final destination?

As He shapes and refines us to His perfect creation

Will we stop long enough to give Him the chance?

Will we listen at last when He asks us to dance?

Is it true as it's stated that we reap what we sew?

Why do we test every limit and venture so low?

What exactly is it God wants us to know?

We have faith …or faith we have not…

We demand answers to all questions sought

Why is it so hard to accept and believe?

Believe in the promises God wants us to receive

For He sent us His Son, that we might have salvation

One and for all to each and every nation

Acknowledge Him now, He'll slay every foe

Yield to that yearning, let your faith build and grow

What exactly is it God wants us to know?

Rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus Christ is Savior and King

Sing Praise to His Glory and hear Heaven's bells ring!

Claim victory over evil, claim Grace as your gift

Let anguish be banished, may all dark clouds lift

Acknowledge Him now, let faith be your goal

Peace, Love and Blessings, will comfort your soul

What is it God wants us to know…

He wants us to…

“Be Still and Know that… “I …AM GOD”

Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.  [Psalm 46:10]

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Written by Victoria Riollano, a contemporary ministry leader and author.

Kindness is one way we can show genuine love. Kindness can be defined as an intentional action to be friendly or caring. Whether through a random act of kindness to a stranger, writing a thoughtful letter to a friend, making a meal for a new mother, or saying “thank you” we can choose kindness in an instant. Those who are unkind, hateful, or lack compassion for others may have a difficult time spreading the gospel. If we claim to be Christians but are inconsiderate, disgruntled, and selfish, we can expect that few nonbelievers will be interested in the God we serve! Kindness opens the door to us being able to share the Gospel with others.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. [Colossians 3:12]

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Written by Vickie Stone, from the Village Church.

Columbine High School, Colorado. Reading that can conjure up a horrific day, 25 years ago this April when tragically 13 lives were lost violently by two high school shooters. Rachel Scott was the first person to be shot that day. 3 weeks prior, she had witnessed personally of her faith, to the two shooters. They had been bullied and their hate kept them blinded. Rachel’s backpack from that day was returned to her parents and her diary inside revealed a sketch she had made of 13 tears coming from her eyes, down onto a single rose and turning to blood.  On the Columbine campus, a rose plant is now there, with a Bible verse underneath it that says, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man would lay his life down for his friends.” Many of her classmates would come forward to her parents and tell them of Rachel’s kindness toward them… Although her diary also contained how she had been bullied for her faith. Rachel’s life is a powerful testimony to the ways that God uses those who love Him. Her life was brief, but Rachel’s legacy touched millions. “I want you to use me to reach the unreached,” Rachel wrote to God in her diary. I sometimes wonder if I would have the faith, courage, and conviction Rachel had?  When asked “do you still believe in your God?” and she replied, “you know that I do”, she lost her life for it. John 11:25-26 – Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die…” This Lenten season, may we all be grateful for The Promise of life eternal with our Savior.

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. [1 Peter 3:15].

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Written by Tracy Kulwicki, a contemporary author, blogger, and podcaster.

Father God, thank you for sending Jesus to be our example of love. Thank you that He chose to surrender His rights and give up His life that I might be saved. Thank you for loving me that much. Lord, I pray that you would place within me a heart that loves others as much as you love me. Give me the strength to lay down my wants, my plans, and my very life to love the people around me. Grant me the wisdom to see your beloved people the way you do and to treat them with a sincere and compassionate heart. Teach me what real love is and what it looks like in my daily life. Help me to show your love in everything I do.

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So, we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.  [1 John 3:16]

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Written by Arlene Stamper, from the Village Church.

As a teenager living in Garden Grove California, I had a close friend Terry.  We were on our high school Rancheros Drill Team together, wearing “cowgirl” outfits that had leather fringed vests, cowboy boots and hats. We would practice our routines at her house after school and many times her mother would invite me to stay for dinner with their family. Terry had two siblings so it was a large family dinner, well, at least it was large for me as I had no siblings my age.  Also, I was missing family meals and family at my own home as my mother had died in my freshman year of high school.

Terry’s grandma owned a cabin in Big Bear mountains and they invited me to spend weekends up there. I had never been there.  It was springtime and as we spent time outdoors, I loved the tall pine trees and the woodland smell, the sun filtering through the trees and the blue jays chattering. I was so comforted by Gods beauty and majesty.  And also loved by the surrogate family that God had provided to comfort me.  Years later, those trips to the mountains were so impactful that I chose Big Bear Community Church as the place to be married at.  Jerry and I will celebrate our 57th anniversary this March!

For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.  [Psalm 26:3)

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Written by Lisa Bevere, a contemporary minister, author, and speaker.

God, who is Truth, cannot lie. He is wild about you! As daughters and sons of our Lord, we are under His rule, and His rule is love. One way we can honor His lordship is by choosing to accept how He feels about us. His love for us is not subject to how we feel about ourselves, no matter what we’ve done or how tempted we are to dwell on the past. His love is selfless. He is love. His love is independent of how we look, feel or act. We might as well surrender to this love that is beyond our comprehension. This revelation — that God, who is love, loves us — is exciting. If we are bored with the idea that God loves us, it could be because we’ve heard it but never experienced it. This realization that He constantly thinks of us is thrilling and should awaken a fresh enthusiasm in every aspect of our walk with the Father. He means what He has said about us. His heart is set on us, and nothing we do or say can remove His seal of love from us. In Christ, His love is forever settled. It is now time for us to settle it for ourselves.

He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sinsinto the depths of the sea. [Micah 7:19]

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