June the 28th

John 16: 22  So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

 

This was Christ’s message to his disciples before he was to die. Now is your time of grief…..He knew it was coming, His followers had a pretty good idea something bad was about to happen. Then as Christ always does, He gives comfort. I will return, and then no on will take away your joy. Joy is pretty important to Christ, it is a theme that runs throughout the Bible. God promises joy time and time again, and we know that God is not a liar. We know that He is a promise keeper. We know that Christ did defeat death, and the Disciples did in fact rejoice at His return. Then it only stands to reason that we have that joy, and no one can take it away. That is the truth. Today and everyday we have that joy, and no one can take it away.

 

So what gives? We sure do not seem very joyful day in and day out. I am convinced it is because we get too caught up in our time of grief. Not just our times of grief that are major ordeals, but cheap, insignificant, worthless times of grief. We forget just how big this world God created is, and just how small we really are. When I stand at the edge of the Gulf and look out, all I can see is water. On a clear day, you can actually see the curvature of the earth. As I stand there and ponder just how small of a speck I would be if I were to be dropped out in the middle of it, I start to understand why we deny ourselves joy. We spend our day in grief over not getting what we want, instead of celebrating  all of the joy that is around us. There is always some negative aspect of every day. The devil will always throw up a road block or two, just to try and trip you up. Often it seems that we spend a lot of time looking for the road block, and very little time living with the joy we have been given. As a result no one has taken our joy……we just decided to give it up. That is the way it works you know? No one can deny you salvation, but it is yours to give up. No one can take away a blessing, it is yours to give up, and no one can take your joy from you, but you can give it up, or pass it by.

 

So what do we do with that? We take the joy, all of it. The big joys in life, and every single small one. Christ did not hang on a cross, and defeat death, just so that we might “survive” this life. He did that so that we might have joy, not just in the eternal, but everyday. When Christ came back and showed Himself to his Disciples they did not just perk up a little bit….Could you imagine? “Oh hey Jesus, great to see you, but I am going to go on about my day. I have a tent to mend, fish to catch, taxes to collect”……  No by a long shot! They began to live a life full of JOY! They could not be contained, nor discouraged. Were there road blocks? Yes! Did the devil do his best to discourage, absolutely! They chose the joy. Instead of living an OK life, they chose to lead outstanding lives, full of the joy of the Lord. That is where we find ourselves today. How will we respond? Will we allow ourselves to think we are larger than life? Will we search for every little road block, or will we focus on the joy? Will we live our life in our small little world, or will we choose to live in the expansive joy that can only be found in the Christ Jesus?

 

No one can take your joy, so make sure that you do not give it away!

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

 

June the 23rd

Proverbs 17:22  A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

 

My Grandmother passed away last week, my mother in laws cancer is back, and my father in law looks to need open heart surgery to say that I have had less than a cheerful heart is an understatement. Things left unsaid, and undone over the period of 41 years, the “I should haves”, the “I could haves”, and all of the things that should have happened but never did. All of the things that you want to do, but now might not be able to. Reflecting on those moments  proves less than desirable. So it is no surprise that I opened my Bible this morning to this verse. You see, I have found myself in unfamiliar territory this week. I have felt my Spirit being crushed. The Joy slipping away, and remorse, and sorrow setting in. Funny enough, to describe myself as drying out, would be pretty accurate.  

 

So I find myself staring at this verse. A cheerful heart is good medicine. You know what, sometimes that is pretty hard to hear, and even harder to believe. However, having a cheerful heart is not just simply lying to yourself, and saying you are happy until you believe it. If it was as easy as that, I fear that it would only be a short lived reprieve, and we would find ourselves right back in a slump as soon as reality set it, or the next hardship reared its ugly head. No having a cheerful heart is having a heart that is full of the love of our sweet Savior Jesus Christ. Having a cheerful heart does not just make you feel better, the scripture tells us it is medicine. It heals, it repairs, it makes us better than we were. That does not come from a simple lie repeated over and over. It comes from the realization that in Christ we can find not just shelter, but actual joy in every situation. It is the realization that my loss is not my loss, but Christ’s gain. My Grandmother loved the Lord, and as of last week she joined Him in paradise. The trials, and the injustices I have seen are not barriers to keep me chained down, but opportunities to rely on my faith to free me.

 

I am reminded of the sinner that hung next to Christ in His final hours. Talk about turning a negative situation into a positive. How sweet it must have been for that sinner, whom in his dying moments turned to the Lord, to find that this is not the end, but only the beginning. How about Christ himself, if you want a picture of potential gloom and doom, how about knowing that you will be killed, it will be painful, and that even after such a sacrifice, many will still refuse to believe. Yet, after reading the Bible, and studying many other texts from Christian and non-Christian writers of the time, I have yet to read where Christ had a crushed Spirit. He did not walk around full of sorrow, He did not lead His life muttering under His breath “why me”.  No He had a cheerful heart. A heart full of His Fathers love. A heart that was bound and determined to live out His Father’s will every day, no matter what those that can only destroy the flesh might have in store. That is living with a cheerful heart!

 

I have to admit, I lost sight of that. I caved in, and listened to that liar that comes in to all of our lives. The liar that tells us all is lost, things will only get worse, and that only a fool believes in a better tomorrow. It has been a long week, and I know that there is more to come…..but I choose to praise the Lord in this time of struggle, I will praise Him for His blessings, and I will praise Him for the hardships. For it is through this struggle, and the ones to come that I will see and understand that His will is perfect, His timing is just, His plan is in progress, and as the old hymn reminds me….. it is well with my soul. I, and I encourage each of you today to live with a cheerful heart.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

 

June the 17th

Psalm 37:7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

 

I love God, there is not a day that goes by that I do not offer up thanks, and praises for all of the blessings that He has bestowed on this worthless sinner. I have to be honest though…..I sure have a hard time waiting on Him. You know the guy that is always irritating people by tapping their feet? Yeah that is me. The guy that gets worked up when I see injustice, to the point that I want to go shoot my mouth off, or go “tell them how the cow ate the cabbage” …yep, me again. A lot of my stories form my past are long stories, about quick decisions. I am usually ready to go…now….So this whole idea of waiting well, it is a struggle for me, and the more I talk to people the more I realize that it is a problem for many people. I find it no surprise that the Psalmist goes on to finish out the thought on waiting by pointing out that we should not worry when people succeed in their wicked schemes…just wait patiently for the Lord….. wow, you talk about hard to carry out! I have seen, as I am sure we all have, the evil of this world get away with far more than they deserve, and it makes me want to move, I must act, I must make it right. Sound familiar? We feel slighted, we feel left out, and left behind. We feel like they are getting all of the good stuff, and because of our faith, because of our quest to walk with Christ, we are left with nothing…….it is that line of thinking that will eat your soul away like a cancer. Nothing? We are never left with nothing. Even on a day that you lose your job, your family, your car, and your house, you still have far more than those who would turn their back on God, and pursue wickedness. A life built on lies, attracts liars, a group of liars attracts deception, and deception gives way to deceit. Success might come for a short time, but eventually the sun shines on everyone, and the shadows are cast away. The truth shines through, and the deception is seen for what it really is. Think that does not happen? I can give you the names of some fellas who became very powerful, very successful all built on lies. Enron, Tyco, Countless CEO’s of banks, owners of Cable companies…those are just some of the big ones. It happens on a smaller scale each and every day. There is a way that seems right to man, but it leads to death. All of these people had one thing in common, they could not wait. “I want it now” was their mantra. In the end they received far more than they bargained for.

 

The Lord has a way of bringing the proud down, and raising up the patient.  What we have to break free form is the thought that we are just that good on our own. “I can fix this”, “ I can make it right”, “something has to be done now”, and in the case of others success, “If they can do it I can do it” , these are thoughts that fill our hearts, and spur us on to action without thought, movement without faith, and  worldly justice, over heavenly righteousness. Good things do happen to bad people. We can go on and on about why God allows evil to prosper, sin to blossom, and terror to reign. The truth of the matter in my humble opinion, is so that we have even more reason to love. Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy right? I would ask, how do we know pleasure, without knowing pain, how do we know happiness, without knowing sadness? It only stands to reason that we cannot know love, without knowing wickedness. When we see wickedness for what it is we should chase after love more, not less. We should reach out with Love  that is in direct proportion to the amount of wickedness we see….and folks sometimes that means a lot of love is needed! Love for each other, can, and I believe will, conquer the wickedness of this world. It was with love that Christ gave us eternal life, that same love will be the undoing of the wickedness in our lives today. The curious thing about it is that we know sadness, and choose to search for happiness. We know pain, and chase after pleasure. Yet when we see wickedness and it is successful, we often feel drawn to the wickedness, even though we know in the end it brings sadness, and pain. It is now, versus later, it is I am in control, versus God is in control. It becomes us working for the Lord, or us working against Him. We must wait, we must not worry when we see the wicked succeed. We must realize that temporary happiness is not what we are here to pursue. This is what the Psalmist is warning about, wait. They might get ahead, but you are promised eternity. They might have what you want now, but you already have what they need now. They might hurt you today, but if you match that hurt with love, tomorrow the pain will be gone. Wait for the Lord, wait patiently, prayerfully, wait expectantly. The wicked might triumph today, but each one of us has the opportunity to triumph for eternity.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

 

June 13th

Romans 6:4   We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

 

I was watching a movie last night, at the end one character looked to the other, and in an attempt to apologize started to make the statement,  “my whole life..” the other character  stopped them, and said “not all of it”. That statement really resonated with me. How often do we do that? My whole life I have never had anything, my whole life I have just scraped by, my whole life people have treated me poorly, my whole life has been wasted. To all of those statements all I can think is…..well, not all of it.  We are given a new start, a chance to change what we are, where we are, and literally who we are up to that point. You see we cannot make the statement for my whole life, to do so is to condemn a part of our life that we have not lived yet. A whole is one, a full portion, start to finish, all of it. When we say  “my whole life”, we enslave ourselves to habits, viewpoints, and lies that have been whispered to us up to this point. To say “my whole life” is to say that this is my lot in life, and I have no chance, no hope, no path for a change. That is not the case at all! We have only lived up to this point. Today, right now, this moment, this breath. You choose what happens next. Up to this point you have been lost? DO you choose to stay lost, or will you start to search for a path. Up to this point you have been struggling, do you choose to continue on alone? Up to this point you have felt worthless, will you continue that self-depreciation, or will you take your place among your new family?

 

We have a new life, you have new life, we cannot make the statement “for my whole life” because our life has just started, we are just now getting to the good stuff. TO accept the “my whole life” mentality is to relegate yourself to the sidelines and watch others run the race. We are new creatures in Christ. We have a new family, we have a new path, we have a new goal. Christ conquered death so that we all might have eternal life. When you start talking about your whole life, you are talking about A LOT of life! We can only live up until this point. Then we have a choice to make. I believe it is one of the reasons we do not use that phrase that often. Until now means that a change is coming, until now means that we take responsibility for our past, and we are going to make a change. Until now starts the statement that will change your life forever. I thought I was worthless, until now. I thought I was unloved, until now. I thought I could not be forgiven, until now. I thought I could not succeed, until now. God did not send His Son to live and die amongst us, so that we could commit our lives to our past. That is what we do when we profess “for my whole life”

 

Christ is at work right now in your life. I know many do not believe that, but it is the truth none the less. Christ is ready to make a change in your life, He is ready to start healing, HE is ready to start forgiving, He is ready to shower you with love. It comes down to have you already lived your “whole life”, or has it just been “until now”? Every day we make that choice, we can do more for Christ, we can be more for Christ, we can live more for Christ. We make the choice are we stuck with what we have done “our whole life” or has it just been “until now”?  If we have 1 hour or 100 years left, it has not been our whole life, do not make the mistake of living as if it has. You will miss out on so many blessings, so much faith, so much love, to the point of which you have never seen…….until now.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

 

Friday the 10th

Galatians 5: 1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

 

 

Free, we spend a lot of time talking about being free…..but are you? DO you allow yourself to fully be free? One of my favorite Bob Marley quotes (and if you think that Bob was just a ganja smoking musician, you might want to Google him) “some people feel the rain, others just get wet.”  This is the difference between a Christian being free, and a Christian just taking the name. If you are following Christ, you feel the rain, and you know what I mean. Think of it this way, there are usually two groups of people when it comes to rain. Those that welcome the rain, and those that curse it. The ones that welcome it know, rain brings life, it cleans the world, without it nothing can fully live. The one that curses it, knows that we need rain, but it is never at a good time, it is too much of an inconvenience, they know that they should be happy, but because it causes disruption to their life, they just get wet. They are truly slaves to their life.

 

Because of Christ we can dance in the rain, we can feel the rain, we can find joy in the dark storm clouds. Why? Because with Christ comes the knowledge that this moment, this time, this inconvenience, is but a moment in time, a spec of sand on a beach. You are free! Free from this world, free from the small box the world has tried to put you in. free from the lie that the only thing important in this world is what you have, and what you can get.  It is the slave that must impress, it is the slave that must conform, it is the slave that walks each day soaking wet, never seeing the beauty that comes with that down pour. Christ has given us freedom, freedom to choose, freedom to forgive, and freedom to love. You might at first glance think that everyone has these freedoms. You would be wrong, the slave does not choose, they follow. The slave only forgives those that are deemed worthy, and only loves those whom the world confirms to be good enough.

 

DO not allow yourself to be a slave, do not follow the crowd that speaks of Christianity, yet is full of hypocrisy. Be free, welcome the rain. Feel it, for with it comes the grace, the love, the forgiveness, and the blessing. Each rain storm is a Baptism of sorts. A renewal of your commitment to Christ, and all of the freedom that brings. One love, One heart. Bring on the rain.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

 

June 7th

Romans 14: 1 & 19  Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. ¹⁹ Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

 

Did you know that the world was created in 7 days? If you do not believe that, then you are not saved….Did you know that you should not drink even one beer, if you do you are not saved, did you know that the Sabbath is actually on Friday night to Sat night, and if you do not celebrate it then you are not saved, or if you use birth control, don’t speak in tongues, use real wine during the remembrance of the Last supper, smoke (even socially), cuss, don’t read your bible daily, wear too revealing of clothes,  and the list goes on and on and on….I think I hit the highlights, and most likely managed to get more than a couple people fired up and ready to scrap. How often do we hear things like this? How often do people we know spout this type of rhetoric, then in the next breath wonder why Christians are shunned, made fun of, attacked, and belittled? All of the things that I mentioned above, while some are bad habits, some might be choices we make, and others are actually tenants to some religions, they all have one thing in common, they all work to destroy our faith in each other. Imagine that you are on the outside looking in. There is this large group of the population, and they all lay claim to this belief in the Christ. If you talk to any of them, they will all agree the Christ is the Son of God, they will agree that He died for our sins, they will all tell you that sacrifice opened the gates of Heaven, and joined us forever to God, they will all tell you about forgiveness that is given, and how we too must forgive… but…(yep there is that word) but, the guys that say you can’t have a beer, will tell you that they are right, and the no birth control people are wrong, the people who speak in tongues, will tell you that both of them have missed the mark, but they are right, and none of them like the guys who hole Church on Sat instead of Sunday. Now looking at that  would you want to be a part of that group?

 

Now I know most people are saying Brian, it is not that bad, we all try to get along. TO that I would say sure….we try to get along. I am sure glad that Christ tried to save the world, and I am glad that God tries to forget our sins. What’s that you say? God does not try to forget our sins, He promised He would, and Christ did not try to save the world, HE gave His life so that we all might live? Trying to get along amongst ourselves is not something we should try, we MUST DO IT. I know that we are all called to follow the path we have, I also understand that some need the ceremony that comes with the Catholic faith, some need the guidelines that come with the Baptist faith, some need the acceptance that comes with the Protestant faith. As a result we all have the same core beliefs, but the nuances of how we choose to show that faith to the world differ just a little bit from denomination to denomination. That does not make one right, and one wrong. It does not make one better than the other, or one closer to God that the other, it certainly does not make one saved, and one not. I say these things not because I believe them, or because I said so, but because Christ told us how to live, we read throughout the Scriptures about love, peace, forgiveness, and coming to each other’s aid.  This is not my concept, it is Christ’s. HE did not send us out, and call us the living body of Christ only to have the arm, fight the leg, while the foot kicks the back. I dare say that the body would be so busy fighting itself that there would be little time left to do His work!

 

Have you ever gone to an interdenominational event? It looks like the first dace at a Jr. High. All the girls are lined up on one side, and the boys on the other. Someone else always has to make the first move, someone else always has to be the one to reach out. Someone else has to be the one to take the risk; and when that happens ohhhh watch out. When you put a group of Christians together and someone makes that move, suddenly all of that fluff, all of that extra baggage goes away. The work that then can be done is unbelievable, the amount of faith in one place, at one time is unfathomable. When the disputable matters are laid to the side, then we not only can have peace amongst ourselves, we will edify not just each other, we will edify God.

 

So yeah great, we all need to get along, we know it, and great, we can talk about it again for the umpteenth time, what you are saying Brian has been said over and over again. That is true, but what I ask of all of us is to be that change, be the one in your group to not just choose to reach out across the aisle on a personal level; be the person who pushes for the change within your group. Seek out opportunities to not just commune with those that think like you, but find opportunities to bring as many groups together. Strive to bring others together, and erase the lines of division.

 

We are at a strange place in the world right now. The world is watching the Middle East, they see the division between the different types of Muslim faiths, they see the struggle, and strife that it brings. Then they look at us. Sure, you can say that we don’t kill each other, but do we not look a little like that? We are not killing each other, but when we hold us these dividing lines are we not killing the very loving nature of God, the forgiveness, and unconditional love of Christ? We will stand up and demand not to be painted with the same brush, but are we holding our brother at arm’s length when we make that demand? We are one body, we are one group, we have one Savior, there is one salvation, and one forgiveness. Let us show the world the unity, the goodness, the righteousness that Christians are capable of. We might not agree on every little nuance, but we do all agree on Christ. Let us then follow His command, and love one another, love Him, and His Father. Let us be the united, not the divided, the forgiving, not the Judge, and most of all let us be One. That is how He made us to work!

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

 

June 6th

Matthew: 17: 19-20 ¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” ²⁰ He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” 

 

Jesus gave the disciples the power to drive out demons, yet when faced with this one, they could not do it. When they ask why they can’t Jesus tells them that they do not have enough faith. There is something very important to take away from this.  What you say, what you profess, what you believe, and what you do, are sometimes two very different things. We know that it is no secret that the disciples had their share of problems, they were all human after all, and all were flawed, just as we are, but it is important to understand that even these guys, who were literally walking with Christ missed the mark. I am quite sure that they talked at great length about their faith, they talked about how Christ was the Son or God, they talked about how they would follow Him anywhere, and in fact did. Yet at crunch time Christ tells them that their talk is not lining up with their actions.

Christ now depends on each one of us to be His tangible presence here on Earth. While we were not all given the power that was given to the disciples, we still have to make sure that our actions line up with our words. The more that this worlds drifts form Christ, the more compounded the problem becomes.   I can promise you that there are people in your circle, people in your office, and yes, people in your church have actions that do not align with what comes out of their mouth. For us today, it comes down to the appearance we project, and how caught up we are in that appearance, compared to the things we produce. I have met some of the most “righteous” men, men who speak of great things, great faith, and great love of fellow man. They have the right clothes, the right car, the right watch…they look the part. Yet upon getting to know them I found that their words ring hollow with their actions. I have also seen the lowliest of the low, the person that most would not give the time of day to, burn with the fire of Christ, and speak true to their actions.

The disciples had Christ walking with them every day. While they were not perfect, it was easy to see that they were working on it. Were they not, they would not have been with Christ. Today it is not so easy to see the works in progress, and differentiate from the ones who only talk the talk.  This is our challenge, this is our biggest obstacle when choosing whom we will surround ourselves with.. Matching our words with our actions, and filtering out those that have no intention of doing so. We live in some pretty crazy times. Things are not what they seem, people sometimes are not who they would have you believe they are. Now for the painful part……are we one of these people? Don’t get me wrong, I know we all struggle, I know that we are works in progress, but we must ask ourselves, are we still putting in the work, or have we found, like so many in the world today, that lip service can take you pretty far? Are we examining those around us, as scripture urges us to do, or are we just taking the short cut, and are believing whatever we are told? It has been said that Leaders are self-critical, and losers are critical of others. If we spend enough time, with ourselves, and with the Lord, we will find which column we fall into. AS much as I hate to say it, just like the disciples, I think we all find ourselves a little lacking in faith from time to time. The trick is to follow the lead of those that came before us. When we find ourselves in that situation, we double down. We put in the hard work, and find the faith that the Lord so readily holds out for us. The alternative is to fall even farther away, until we find ourselves talking a lot about faith, but walking straight to our death. Don’t worry if you are projecting the right image. Display your faith, let your action define your words, and the “look” will take care of itself.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

 

Friday the 3rd

Proverbs 18:4 The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.  

 

One thing you can count on in the Bible. When water is used for imagery, it is used to show life. Life giving water, the Word of God is life giving water for the soul. The words that come out of our mouth the Psalmist tells us are deep waters, and wise words are as a flowing brook. Life comes straight form our mouths. Honestly, this is something I need to be reminded of often…..sometimes daily. God is the creator, Christ is the healer. That is our family, and that means that through the death of Christ we too are now healers, not disease.  We are adopted into the family of life, and it is that life that we must send out into the world. You can heal people, I would even go as far as to say that part of God’s plan for each of us, is to help heal those around us.

 

How often does someone come to you, dejected, downtrodden, at the end of their rope? When we meet them, do we offer that life giving water, or do we get down and wallow with them? Worse yet, do we fan those flames until not only do they feel bad, but we have convinced ourselves that we are in the same boat? Our words are the life giving water that they need. They need to hear how this is only a season, they need to be reminded that God does not make junk, they need to be extended that adoptive invitation into the family of healers…..and that is our job. We build up, we heal, we encourage, we are the positive force in the lives around us. We can help heal those who think they are not good enough, we can show people that God thinks we are all beautiful, we can lead by example, and show them that there is nothing that is too hard, too big, or too daunting for God.

 

Decide today that you will be that positive force in the world, choose to show positive. I can promise you that there is enough people out there trying to showcase the bad. You can help heal the hopeless. Fill with faith the doubtful, and show God’s grace to the graceless. It all starts with what comes from our mouths. The words that we have worked so hard to sharpen so that they bite, sting, and cut, must be set to the side, and replaced with words that build, heal, and encourage. I have to admit, my vocabulary is quite extensive when it comes to biting criticism. I have had to work to develop a vocabulary of faith that will overcome. It is something that takes daily work, and it is something that we have to choose to do. As my mother would say on mornings when I was feeling less than loving. “I see that little devil sitting there on your shoulder, he is whispering in your ear to be hateful, hurtful, and mean……You have to knock him off!” The older I get the more I realize just how right that woman was…and is. It is far easier to tear down, but when we do, we dam off the life giving water that is inside of us.

 

Let it flow today. Open the floodgates, and choose to let the wisdom of the Lord flow from your mouth. It is amazing the power that we are entrusted with. We can build, or we can demolish. We can heal, or we can cut. It all starts with the words that we choose. Choose to give life, choose to heal, choose to walk a little closer to Jesus today. Choose to Glorify God with your words. Choose to heal, so that you too might be healed.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

<((((><

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

 

Wednesday the 1st

Galatians 5: 7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?

 

I read a C.S. Lewis quote this morning that reminded me of this Scripture. “ The surest way of spoiling a pleasure is to start examining your satisfaction” . You were running a good race….who cut in on you? Often the answer is you cut in on yourself. If you are a runner then you know that the worst thing you can do is to start worrying about your breathing, you start to over think it, then you are all off rhythm. Better yet one we can all relate to, have you found yourself in the middle of one of the best times of your life, you are surrounded by friends, life is good….but then you cut in on yourself, you start thinking about how good of a time you are having, and what you could do to make it even better….the good time starts to slip away. What is someone were to ask you how things are going for you? Typically the answer is good, or even great….but…..I do not remember where I heard it, but someone once said that anything that comes before the word but, does not count. You start to examine, you start to pick, you start to convince yourself that yes life is good, times are great….but….you want more. It throws you off rhythm, it spoils the pleasure, you rob yourself of the gift.

 

So is our relationship with Christ. You can be running the good race, you can be having the time of your life, you can be the happiest you have ever been…..but. That little three letter word takes us form following Christ, to trying to get Christ to follow us. Could you imagine? Hey Lord, thanks for all you do,….. but. Man Lord, this is such a great moment In my life….but. God I know you want me to go here…..but. We go from enjoying the gift, the joy, or the happiness we have been given, and turn it in to want. We are no longer taking the blessings, we are running right over them, in a hurry to request more.   Make no mistake about it, yes, there are people in the world that will try to cut in on you and throw you off pace in this race; but none will interfere as often, or get tangled up with you as much, as you do with yourself.   There is an old cowboy saying that states “the person that that will give you the most trouble every day, watches you shave (or brush your teeth for the women) every morning. We keep ourselves form obeying the truth, by obeying our wants, and desires, instead of following, accepting, and enjoying the Lord’s wants, and desires. You might be thinking whoa whoa whoa Brian! I don’t get that crazy with it, it is not that big of a deal. It is not like I am requesting the world. It is not like I am turning my back on the Lord. To that I would say you are right, and Paul would agree.  Paul did not ask why are you turning your back on the Lord. He is asking why you are off pace. I would say that none of us are asking for the world, but I would say we sometimes ask for what the world wants. We want simply put, more. More money, more fun, more friends, more. Guess what? Sometimes, more…is just more.

 

Now I am not saying we should all just be happy with what we have, put ourselves in a little box, and call it a day. No, God has far more in store for us than a little box, on a shelf, that the world has created. What I am saying is we get ourselves off pace trying to show the Lord what we want, instead of searching for what He needs from us. We want more fun, He wants us to have more life. We want more friends, He wants to be our best friend. We would be happy if we just had……Christ has shown us with Him, we can be beyond happy no matter what we have. Run the race, and simply enjoy the run. Enjoy the blessing, the good time, the friends, the stuff, and leave the but out of the equation. Live in the right here, right now. Quit cutting in on yourself, quit spending the time examining your satisfaction, Live it. Each moment you waste thinking of “but if I just had” is a moment of right now you will never get back. This moment, right now, is something I do not think any of us really want to give up. Take it, use it, run the race.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

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The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22