Mark Short Series W3 - Not My Strength

Jesus understood the necessity of trusting God's

plan over his own desires

"Clearing out the Unwanted"-

Easter Sunday Message

Paul teaches us to put on Love and Compassion. For this is the way that God's children should "dress" Compassion is the motivation behind our love for others. Yet it doesn't just take place in our minds but it is always evidenced in action. We can have a compassionate heart but it will always be reflected in our lifestyle. Compassion is displayed in and through who we are and what we do. Love is a choice. Compassion makes that choice easier. Therefore it would make sense that we would seek God so that we might put it on.

Being in harmony with our God and King is key to a life of joy and peace. We are forever His children by faith in Jesus, but there is ongoing growth and maturity that takes places within our heart as we journey with Him day by day. As our relationship develops God creates an integrity within us that draws us to desire a pure heart. It can be a difficult journey with some pain, but the joy that comes is beyond words.

Heaven is not something that we probably reflect on as much as we should. However, we do need to be balanced. On one hand our eternal home is the only thing that makes sense of this life on earth. The Bible tells us we are aliens here, our eternal home is our true destination. Yet the reality is, that while we are on this earth we make the most of it. We may only have a loose grip on this life, but we are still to take everything opportunity to serve God faithfully while we can.

We worship God with our lives every day. We come together in fellowship and offer our worship. Worship isn't limited to music and singing but is evident whenever we declare God's greatness - His limitless worth. Sometimes we get confused and consider worship through our own eyes. However, worship is to God and for God. If we build on that understanding our worship will be balanced.

Prayer is key to our Christian journey. Sometimes we don't always understand fully the characteristics of a healthy prayer life. Once we do, we might find ourselves enjoying a spiritual discipline that we often neglected. Who better to listen to than Jesus when he teaches us about prayer. We need to be both excited and expectant about what transformation will take place when we find the sweet spot of prayer in our life.

It is important for us to understand that we don't create Christian unity. We don't get to decide. We only maintain what Jesus put in place. In someone is in Christ they are in. Healthy unity is an appreciation of our differences but all the time acknowledging that we belong to the one family with the one and the same Lord.