HE TOUCHED ME... L1 and L2...

MEDITATION MONDAY

Yesterday was our church family's first Sunday in our new facilities. I think the most remarkable thing about it was that in that one auditorium were a group of people who have been truly touched by the love of God. In return, as repeated several times during the services, "we choose to L1 and L2:

• L1: LOVE GOD
• L2: LOVE OTHERS

Jesus replied:

"'Love the Lord your God

with all your heart and

with all your soul and

with all your mind.'

This is the first and greatest commandment.

And the second is like it:

'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Matthew 22:37-40

We've all been given a model. We've come face to face with our example of how to L1 and L2. We've seen it in the life of Jesus Christ.

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In fact, that is why we call ourselves The Pitman Road CHURCH OF CHRIST. Our coming in contact with Jesus Christ has changed us from the inside out. The words of our theme song, this week, ring true: He Touched Me!


On this blog, for the past two months, we've continued to return to the first 3 Be-attitudes. These are actually the first few sentences that Jesus speaks in His "sermon on the mount". Many refer to this sermon recorded in Matthew 5-7 as the Magna Carta of christianity.
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Jesus could say so much in so few words. Let's consider them again:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven..."

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"Blessed are those who mourn,

for they shall be comforted."

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"Blessed are the meek,

for they shall inherit the earth."

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Now that's a whole lot to meditate on. Wait! Read what E. Stanley Jones says about these verses on page 71 of his book THE CHRIST OF THE MOUNT:
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"The first 3 beatitudes strike at the aggressive attitudes of life. They show God's invasion of us, taking away our self-sufficiency, our very self-life, getting us ready for the most amazing offensive of love the world has ever seen. He disarms us in order to put entirely new weapons in our hands. Unless these first three verses become actual, the rest of the Sermon on the Mount becomes impossible. The rub is not at the place of turning the other cheek; the rub is at the place of letting go the essential self. Do that, and turning the other cheek is a necessary and natural outcome. "

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"To sum up:

• the renounced in spirit gain the kingdom of heaven
• the mourners gain the kingdom of inner comfort
• the meek gain the earth"

So, the world above, the world within, and the world around belong to this woman. Wanting nothing, she inherits all worlds.
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~BLESSED~

HE TOUCHED ME...

SUNDAY IN THE SON

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He Touched Me
Words and music by William J. Gaither

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Shackled by a heavy burden,
'Neath a load of guilt and shame.
Then the Hand of Jesus touched me,
And now I am no longer the same.
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Refrain
He touched me,
Oh, He touched me,
And oh the joy that floods my soul.
Something happened and now I know,
He touched me and made me whole.

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Since I met the Blessed Saviour,
Since He cleansed and made me whole,
I will never cease to Praise Him!
I'll shout it while eternity rolls.
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Refrain
He touched me,
Oh, He touched me,
And oh the joy that floods my soul.
Something happened and now I know,
He touched me and made me whole.

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(repeat the refrain 2 times)

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He touched me and made me whole.
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SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

as written and sung by The Gaithers

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Something beautiful, something good
All my confusion He understood
All I had to offer Him was brokeness and strife
But He made something beautiful of my life

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If there ever were dreams
That were lofty and noble
They were my dreams at the start
And hope for life's best were the hopes
That I harbor down deep in my heart
But my dreams turned to ashes
And my castles all crumbled, my fortune turned to loss
So I wrapped it all in the rags of life
And laid it at the cross.

ALL THE WAY MY SAVIOR LEADS ME... BLESSED IS THE NAME OF THE LORD...

Today's post is for two days:

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TRANSFORMING THURSDAY

and

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When we decide to be meek (not weak), we willingly allow God to lead us in His way and His timing. We accept His leading with thanksgiving and joy as we count our blessings and not our troubles.
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He will lead us through darkness, through valleys, through green pastures, by still waters, through the valley of the shadow of death... and into heavenly celebrations...
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In the past week, members of my physical family have experienced carbon monoxide poisoning, slurred speech, migraines, an ER visit, moving of offices/classrooms, job challenges, loss of housing, loss of income, deadlines, exams, surgery, grief, disappointment... this has not stopped us from counting our blessings... because BLESSED IS THE NAME OF OUR LORD!
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Over the past year, as our new building was being erected by many of our own church family members, they experienced financial stress, heart attacks, multiple "bizarre" family illnesses, one of them caught on fire and was in a burn unit, job challenges, deadlines, grief, disappointment... this has not stopped them from counting their blessings... because BLESSED IS THE NAME OF OUR LORD.
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Trusting God enough to choose JOY no matter what the circumstances is TRANSFORMATIONAL THINKING.
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Wednesday night as we met for the first time in our new facilities, there were many who could not be there for various reasons including sickness...

The words on the screen reminded us...
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We made our way into the auditorium for the first time as the body of Christ at the Pitman Road church of Christ.


We prayed and worshipped!
We sang songs, including:

1. You are the words to the music... You are the song that I sing...
2. You are holy... I will follow... I will listen... I will love You...
3. Shine, Jesus, shine!
4. Search me... try me... consume all my darkness...
5. It's all right... it's all right... just a little talk with Jesus makes it right...
6. Here in this place... lay your burdens down... every care you carry... and come to the table of grace where there is mercy...
7. Great are You, LORD!
8. LORD, reign in me!
9. Count your many blessings!

Our elders, deacons, and ministers led us.
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We chose to Count our Blessings!
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.The elementary children had prepared and written their blessings on index cards and taped them together in long strips... We met together, beforehand in their new classrooms, to get ready...






























We lined up, with our Blessings Lists in hand to enter the auditorium.

















Horatio introduced the elementary children....




Beginning with signs up front, including the blessings list of the ABC's of the names of Jesus, they hooked their strips together to encircle the entire auditorium with their blessings strips. The congegation sang, Count Your Many Blessings and God is so Good!

Many who lead us in following Jesus looked on...
And multiple generations BLESSED THE NAME OF THE LORD!

May our new building be used to Your glory LORD. BLESSED BE YOUR NAME!

~BLESSED~

ALL THE WAY MY SAVOR LEADS ME... OH, THE FULNESS OF HIS LOVE...

I've thought a lot this week about two women who had an amazing love relationship with their LORD. They were His followers who understood the fulness of His love. I've pondered how they talked to Him... how they desired to please Him... how He loved and delighted in them. These two women are:

1. Fanny Crosby - she wrote so many of our older hymns including our theme song this week - ALL THE WAY MY SAVIOR LEADS ME.
   
2. Mary - she was chosen to give birth to and be the mother of our LORD and Savior; what a contest to win! Mary wrote the words to our memory verses for this month:

• 46 And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the LORD
• 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
• 48 for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me BLESSED,
• 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me- HOLY is His name.
• 50 His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.
• 51 He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;
• He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
• 52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.

And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the LORD

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant.

From now on all generations will call me BLESSED,

49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me- HOLY is His name.

50 His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.

51 He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;

He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
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And Mary said: "My soul _________ the LORD

47 and my spirit ________ in God my Savior,

48 for He has been mindful of the _________ state of His servant.

From now on all generations will call me _________,

49 for the Mighty One has done _____ _______ for me-

________is His name.

50 ____ _______extends to those who fear Him,

from generation to _______________.

51 He has performed ________ ________ with His arm;

He has ____________ those who are _______

in their _______ thoughts.

52 He has ________ _______ rulers from their thrones

but has ________ up the humble.

~BLESSED~

ALL THE WAY MY SAVIOR LEADS ME... I'M GRATEFUL FOR HIS PATIENCE...

I am so grateful for the way my Jesus gently leads me.

To get a fuller understanding of my gratitude,

please scroll down and read my post from yesterday.

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Once you read it,

you'll understand why I'm so blessed

by the patience I receive from my LORD and Master...

because I am not there yet...

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~BLESSED~

ALL THE WAY MY SAVIOR LEADS ME... BEAUTFIFUL AND BLESSED...

MEDITATION MONDAY

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So who designs and carries out a butterfly's transformation? The butterfly? It's maker? Both? I'm not a butterfly expert. I have observed them. I have been to The Butterfly Palace in Branson, Missouri. What I do know about butterflies, I've used to make application to my own life:

• If at any time during this pre-designed transformation process the butterfly decides that she can't take it anymore, she's going to get hurt. Flapping her wings and "kicking and screaming" when she's only half way through the transformation cycle will only result in broken wings, severed appendages, and possibly death. If she survives the process while "kicking and screaming" she will most probably have life long scars.

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The butterfly that allows for the pre-designed transformation process to take it's course is wise!
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When it happens, the results are beautiful and blessed!
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So, who creates a piece of pottery designed for a specific purpose that will be sturdy enough to serve it's purpose well? What if that "pot in the making" could talk back?

• "Don't pinch me!"
• "What do you think you're doing to me?"
• "Do you know what you're doing?"
• "Leave me alone!"

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If the pot's cries were honored with no more pinching, no more work, no following wisdom to do what is best, then the pot would never be finished or be able to fulfll it's purpose. A wise pot will allow the designer to do His work.
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When it happens, the results are beautiful and blessed!

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So, who trains an amazing young horse to become a champion? How do the owner and trainer help the horse to be:

• spirited, yet obedient?
• unleashed, yet controlled?
• powerful, yet gentle?

When it happens, the results are beautiful and blessed!

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Our 8 month old grandson is so observant. He seems to be taking everything in as he quietly watches those around him. He studied Pops and me a lot last week when he visited. I pray that as he gets older that he will see that his "Gigi" lets God be God:

• She knows that life is not about her... life is about God! She gives up her will for the Father's will - (FATHER, INTO THY HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT!) "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
• She's sorry for her sins, begs and receives forgiveness, as she lovingly and longingly grieves for the souls of others. (FATHER FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO!) "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
• She has now given up her will for the Father's will. She's been convicted by His love and holiness and wants to follow Him. She's given Him her heart. Now, she's ready to give Him the reins of her life without kicking, screaming, and complaining. (NOT MY WILL, BUT THINE!) "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

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Let's meditate on the first 3 Be-attitudes. Here are 3 words to get us thinking more:

1. DEAD
2. BLED
3. LED

When it happens, the results are beautiful and blessed!
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~BLESSED~

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