I am privileged to live on the East Coast of the United States, in the Mid-Atlantic state of Maryland, where we truly experience the full dimensions of the four seasons.  From our hot, humid Summer to the breath-taking colors of Fall, to Winter cold and occasional snows that eventually yield to the beautiful flowers and deep greens of Spring — we get it all!  There is something wonderful about seasons.

The changing seasons of nature teach great lessons to us.  They teach us lessons of hope, patience and passion.  Each season:

• Has its own specialness and its own greatness.

• Is to be embraced and enjoyed for the beauty and unique expression it brings.

• Is temporary, soon to be replaced by another in God’s ordained cycle of life.  If we don’t like one season, it is just a matter of time before another one comes along.  Patience in one season is eventually rewarded by the arrival of a new one.

In reality, some seasons are more pleasant than others.  I have my favorites, and I am sure you do too.   Some are more easily endured than others.  Some seasons draw us outside to experience the amazing smells, feels and displays of nature.  Others drive us inside waiting for dark, cold, dreary days to finally pass.

Just as there are seasons in the natural world, we experience seasons in our lives.  King Solomon reminded us of this:

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven … ”  –  Ecclesiastes 3:1

While there are many things I don’t know about your life, there is one thing I know for sure about you.  Right now you are in some “season.”  Maybe you are going through a really tough, painful and challenging season of life right now.  Perhaps you are in a season that is stretching you in ways you never dreamed you would be stretched.  It could be that your current life season is one of ceaseless activities, or for others, it might be one of dreadful boredom and purposelessness.

God wants to remind you that seasons don’t last forever.  Be patient.  Learn what you need to learn during this time in your life.  And get ready, another season of blessing is on its way for you.  God continually leads us through the seasons of life, from “glory to glory!”

Pastor Dale

Share this post

Hide Sites

What kind of help do you need?  If we are honest, we all need help with something.  It may be with a habit we are trying to overcome, a discipline we want to develop, a skill we would like to learn, or some assignment we need to finish.  The need for help is a common human experience.

I constantly meet people who are looking for help — help with their spiritual journey, their marriage, their kids — help with all sorts of life management issues.  Sadly, while asking for help some are not yet ready to receive it.  They are not spiritually, mentally and emotionally positioned to benefit from the very thing they are requesting.

The beginning point of getting help is humility — genuine humilty.  Humility is an often misunderstood concept.  We usually think of  humble folks as people who are apologetic for their existence, weak in personality and milk toast in temperament.  Real humility is quite different.

Humility is a genuine recognition of one’s personal need for God, and the grace only He can give.  It involves coming to a place of willingness to do life His way, even if it means making radical changes in the way we think and act.  Humility happens in us when we resign from being our own “god” and accept the authority and “Lordship” of the only true God, and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Humility is a very practical quality.  When it is present in a person’s life it is evident in the way they deal with problems.

Humility is seen in people who:

• Honesty admit their sins, weaknesses and failures without tainting their admission with blame, defensiveness, rationalization or justification of their attitudes or actions.  Humility owns issues.

• Willingly respond to instruction.  They are teachable.  A humble person doesn’t have to be cajoled or coerced to listen and apply instructions that will help them.  They hunger for input.  They eagerly receive and apply truth, without concern about the channel through which it is delivered.

• Are not trying to prove something to others.  They are not motivated by competition, or the need to upstage or out-do somebody else.  They simply seek to be the person God designed them to be — whole and holy.  Their goal is to lift others to higher levels.  They realize that putting others down is not their way up.

• Are ready to take specific and key steps of obedience in dealing with issues in their life, even if such steps are initially uncomfortable or painful.  They treasure wholeness and holiness more than they treasure their pride.

Take a look at one of the most amazing verses in the Bible — a verse that reveals the power and promise of humility:

“But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’”  –  James 4:6

The path of humility leads to the gift of God’s grace.  It leads to real help!

Pastor Dale

Share this post

Hide Sites

Several months ago I sustained a few broken bones after falling from a ladder.  Included in my list of fractures was a broken right shoulder.  This injury has proved to be the most challenging, in terms of recovery.  The scar tissue that grows in response to such a trauma restricts movement.  Getting back to normal requires a breakthrough of sorts.

Over the weeks since the accident, I have diligently worked to restore what doctors and physical therapists refer to as my pre-accident “full range of motion” with this shoulder.   Through regular physical therapy, and by doing the exercises assigned as homework, my goal is to get my reach back — to get rid of all restrictions to motion that resulted from the broken bone.  I  am working to break through scar tissue that currently hinders me from doing some of the things I used to do.

As I considered the physical challenges with my shoulder, I could not help but think about all the people who are in a similar situation; spiritually, emotionally and relationally.  How many folks have experienced some kind of trauma in their spiritual lives, their emotions or their relationships?  They are now left with “scar tissue” that hinders their “motion.”  Their injured spirit and soul have recoiled, seeking safety and protection from further pain.  They have pulled into themselves and have stopped reaching out to others.  For many, just the thought of reaching out again is unbearable.

One of the lessons I have been reminded of through my physical injury is that recovery itself can be painful.  The stretches that must be done to bring an injured area back to normal are not easy to do.  They hurt horribly.  Traumatized bones and bodies beg to be left alone.  But leaving them alone is the worse thing a person could do.  Forcing injured places to reach up and out again, move again, and engage again is a key part of the healing process.  If we fail to do this, scar tissue runs amok and permanently restricts function.

Maybe you have been terribly traumatized by a spiritual fall, a deep emotional hurt. a relational disappointment or disruption.  Perhaps “scar tissue” has formed at the point of your pain.  You have pulled into yourself and stopped reaching out, seeking to protect your injury.  It is time to stretch again.  It is time to reach out again.  While it’s a bit frightening to consider, and it will be painful to do, the results will be worth it.  It’s time to recover your reach!

Pastor Dale

Share this post

Hide Sites