Pastor Dan Smyth
Associate Pastor
A BEAUTIFUL SEASON
The SEASON OF LENT is a wonderful time of the year! A time to GROW – spiritually. A time to REFLECT & RENEW our RELATIONSHIP with God. God is always doing SOMETHING NEW – among us & within us. And this time of year is a great time – TO LISTEN – to NEW CALLINGS – NEW CHALLENGES – NEW JOURNEY’S OF FAITH.
One way to listen to God is to MEMORIZE SCRIPTURE. Taking time – to pray & search, reflect and learn verses that ENCOURAGE – INSPIRE & OPEN OUR HEARTS – to GOD’S WAY FORWARD – for us.
Recently, I’ve been – REFLECTING & RE-LEARNING - the Scripture verses that have meant so much to me over the years – In a NEW translation – THE VOICE. It has brought – SO MUCH JOY & EXCITEMENT – into my devotional life – YOU SHOULD TRY IT TOO!
One of my FAVORITE VERSES – that I learned as a child – is:
PROVERBS 3:5&6. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy steps.” (KJV)
Here it is in THE VOICE translation:
“PLACE YOUR TRUST in the Eternal; rely on Him completely; never depend upon your own ideas and inventions. GIVE HIM THE CREDIT FOR EVERYTHING YOU ACCOMPLISH, and He will smooth out and straighten the road that lies ahead.”
RELATIONSHIPS ARE ALL ABOUT TRUST – If you don’t trust the one you are in a relationship with – your relationship – is GUARDED or DISTANT or BROKEN – it’s not what it could be. That’s a truth for both – human & divine relationships. THE VOICE translation helped me see more clearly – what it means to TRUST GOD MORE – in the RELATIONSHIP that God makes possible for all of us – through Jesus.
Placing YOUR TRUST in Jesus – begins by relaying on Him completely – as SAVIOR. And LENT is a good time to - ELEVATE THAT RELATIONSHIP - by TRUSTING GOD FIRST – in our daily lives. That’s what it means to GROW SPIRITUALLY.God does NOT give us a – ONE SIZE FITS ALL – pattern for life. God calls us to follow – in the steps of Jesus. So whatever you are facing in life - trust GOD’S WAY IS THE BEST WAY FOR YOU.
In your journey of life – LIVE LIFE GOD’S WAY – like Jesus does trusting God first & giving God credit. For your accomplishments. In other words, MORE JESUS & LESS ME.
Are you giving something up during lent? Try giving up – SELFISHNESS – DRAMA – BITTERNESS OR COMPLAINING. And GET MORE JESUS – FORGIVENESS – KINDNESS & CARING. If we all do that - the season of lent will be a beautiful season this year!
See you in Church,
Pastor Dan
