Month: November 2008

Leaves and Light

Posted on by Susan Panzica


Oh, how I LOVE autumn. Such a spectacular display of God’s design. When driving around, I can get so distracted by the vast array and brilliant colors.

“Autumn is spring where every leaf is a flower.”

But oh, how I HATE the leaves all over the ground! Augh! We have an abundance of leaves that cover the ground like a slippery carpet! My son has his work cut out for him 🙂 And the trees are looking so bare now.

Except one tree! There’s a tree right next to a streetlight. The bottom and left side of the tree are bare, but the upper right side has lots of leaves left, and many are still green! That’s because the streetlight is right there. As long as the leaves are near the light, they are vibrant and alive.

What a beautiful reminder to me to remain near the Light of the world! Jesus is the Light of the world. He makes us vibrant and alive. And yet He said that WE are also the Light of the world! We are not to hide under a bushel, but are to let our light (which is His light in us) shine before all, glorifying our Father. We are to walk in the light, surrounded by His light, radiating His light from within.
“If we walk in the light, as His is in the light, we will have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, will purify us from all sin.”
How wonderful when we are bathed in His light. But what about those times when it seems dark or cloudy? Stay tuned for the next post!!
Susan

Betrothed

Posted on by Susan Panzica

All over the country, men and women have just been elected to national, state, county and local government positions. However, none of these newly elected officials will take office for 2 – 3 months. They are legally committed to their new position, but are not officially serving in that office yet.

In the Bible, there was a betrothal period in which the bride and groom had made a binding legal commitment to each other, but were not officially married yet. This is why the Bible says that Joseph considered quietly “divorcing” Mary when she was found to be miraculously pregnant, even though the formal wedding had not yet occurred.

When we become Christians, we are in a betrothal period with our Bridegroom. We are committed to Him, bound to Him, serving Him until such time as our formal wedding to Him takes place. We represent Him here on earth. We are cared for by Him and are under His protection. One day, we will be completely united with Him in glory, but until that time we live this life with Him as our Bridegroom.

Let us keep Him in our thoughts throughout our day, each and every day. Let us experience Him beside us and inside us. Let us live with the joyous expectancy a bride feels as her wedding day approaches. It’s a time of preparation and work, but always keeping our focus on the joy set before us.


Susan

Election Day

Posted on by Susan Panzica

This message came from Harvest Christian Fellowship:

Today’s Featured Pastor/Teacher: Greg Laurie

2 Chronicles 7:14
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

I believe that as a Christian, I should vote. I believe that as a Christian, I should find out where candidates stand and vote for those whose views are closest to the biblical positions. I believe that as a Christian, I should do what I can to have a positive impact on my society. But I also see the great limitations of politics. I see that the only real hope for our nation is a change of heart.

Some years ago, I had the opportunity to give the invocation at a meeting where a number of local politicians were gathered to hear a well-known congressman speak. I don’t remember the exact content of my prayer that day, but it went something like along these lines: “Lord, we know that America cannot be great unless it is good. We cannot be good as a nation unless we are good as individual men and women. We cannot be good if we do not know You. You have told us in Your Word that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to the people. Lord, thank You for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us and to shed His blood for us. Only through Him can we be forgiven of our sins. That is what will change the direction of our country. Amen.”

I don’t know whether they liked that prayer. But I came representing another kingdom. These other pursuits have their place, but they are secondary. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. And what is the main thing? The main thing is knowing God and making Him known.

Susan

Stand Up!

Posted on by Susan Panzica
Today, my pastor’s message inspired us to stand up strong for what we believe.

In the book of Daniel, we saw 3 friends, believers in God, refuse to bow down to an idol. They were consequently thrown into the fiery furnace, a fire so hot it killed the soldiers who brought Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to it.

In the book of Acts, we saw that Peter and John were thrown into jail for sharing about Jesus and healing a man in Jesus’ name. Instructed by the rulers and elders to keep quiet about the name of Jesus upon their release, they refused to remain silent.

This, in itself, is inspiring, but I believe the key is this: in both cases, these men had experienced the very presence of God in their lives. When observers looked into the fiery furnace, they saw not 3, but 4 men walking around! And that 4th man is described by the king as looking like the “son of god”. And the observers of Peter and John said that “when they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” When we follow their example, we will stand because we stand with Jesus. We will fall if we stand in our own strength.

In our service today, we were encouraged to stand up for our faith. There will come a time when it will be at great sacrifice for us to do so. The church is growing most rapidly in countries where Christians suffer persecution, and the early church grew and spread because of persecution in Jerusalem. I pray that we will stand strong long before we are faced with formidable opposition, but sadly, history indicates that persecution is an effective means of growing the church.

Now, I do not mean that we are to behave in an assertive or aggressive manner. I don’t believe that we should trample unbelievers with our demands. What I do believe is that we must be salt and light in a dark world. We should appear to have been with Jesus. This means that His grace, peace and love are apparent in how we relate to others, but we will refuse to compromise that which dishonors God. And if we fall, if we should miss an opportunity to stand strong, remember our story about Peter. Previously, on 3 occasions, he had denied that he knew Jesus, yet God used him repeatedly in mighty ways after that.

Our service concluded rocking to that old Tom Petty song, “I Won’t Back Down”:

Well I won’t back down, no I won’t back down
You could stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won’t back down
Gonna stand my ground, won’t be turned around
And I’ll keep this world from draggin’ me down
Gonna stand my ground and I won’t back down
Hey, there ain’t no easy way out
Hey I will stand my ground
And I won’t back down
Well I know what’s right, I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin’ me around
But I’ll stand my ground and I won’t back down
Susan