Prince of Peace!

Endless lists of presents to still get? Christmas cards that still need to go out? Have family that wants to see you? In the Christmas season many of us find it difficult to feel at peace! In our world many people associate Christmas time with stress and anxiety with gifts and family, and just cannot wait for it to be over. But the Lord tells us in Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus”. Being at peace is different for each person, but God tells us that all we need His peace to accomplish His purposes in our life, and the way to receive His peace is by focusing on Him. Christmas is a time for us to focus on Him and the gift that God gave us in sending His son! Jesus tells us in John 20:21, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” We are to worship Him as the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Prince of Peace! In thinking about what Peace means on earth, we can think of these as just a glimpse of achieving peace through our Lord and Savior:

P: Presence of Unity with Christ

E: Existence of healthy and newly healed relationships

A: Abandoning anxiety

C: Calling to God for help

E: Exercising peace towards others will help you find peace

It is important in this time of our busy lives to look to God for Peace and to in turn show that Peace towards others. Do not stress over the gifts you must still get or the gifts you want to receive and remember that we have already received our greatest gift of all, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

written by: Jenna Dineen

Is It Dark Enough?

I love to run. I love to run early in the morning when it is still dark. I wait each morning for my first glimpse of the light and the darkness begins to fade away.

I love to watch the sky go from its darkest point and in the next few passing hours the sun will rise and change everything from how it currently looks.

The dawn of a new day brings hope and anticipation for what will be but is currently not yet.

As I wait for the sun to rise and change what I can see, I am often reminded of a saying from a boss of mine many years ago. He would say “It is darkest before the dawn”. This expression had meaning for us as coworkers as we were facing obstacles and challenges we could not overcome or find a way around. He was resolute in the fact that we would get there we just had to keep going. Inevitably he was right. I have held on to his expression and seen it lived out over and over. Right now, I have many friends facing dark moments in life. I hope and pray for them that the light of a new day is near. It gives me hope to cling to when I remember that it is not always dark because light comes. It often does not come as quickly as we would like. It often does not come the way we would prefer it to come. Yet, if I wait upon God and surrender my ways and what I am clutching on to, He comes and brings a new dawn.

Isaiah55:8-9

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts..”

Psalm 145:13-21

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.14 The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. 16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. 17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.20 The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.

I will keep running in the dark along the road I cannot always see well, and wait upon the Lord to bring His light into the day. Remembering, it is often darkest before the light. God is faithful and near to all who call out to Him in the dark.

Praying at the Rose Bowl: 11 Things I learned on the 11th

11-11-11 @ 11am began the prayer event at the Rose Bowl called “Line in the Sand”.
11 is the number that represents transition in Hebrew.
I heard from people going how excited they were to go and to see what God was going to do.
This event started at 11am and went until 9pm.
I wanted to go and just be in the presence of all these people worshiping and praying.
I heard there would be angels there and being that I have never seen one, I wanted to see them! God revealed many things to me as I sat in the Rose Bowl. I did not get there until late afternoon, as I sat in my seat I was overwhelmed by God’s glorious presence that filled the stadium!

Here are my 11 take always:

1. He loves when His people come and worship Him.
2. He is present in worship where ever we gather…even a football stadium.
3. There were people of many different nations and ages there all to worship…snapshot of what heaven will be like. It was so humbling.
4. I felt loved by all the people around me. Everyone was so kind.
5. People came from Israel there to pray for us, to pray for our country.
6. God is speaking mighty words of prophecy over our state and is moving in our youth to create a revival.
7. God is not done with California and we are going to see many wonderful things happen here.
8. I was challenged to love more, they will know us by our love for others. Christians don’t love those around us or those in the church as God commands us to do.
9. Boldness is necessary. It was a bold move for the person to follow through and sign the contract on the Rose Bowl so we could all gather. Where do I need to be bolder?
10. It was said that God will answer more prayers in 2012 than He has in the past 5 years. What is it I should be praying for?
11. I asked God to show me the angels, as I was told they were there by someone who can see in the spiritual realm. God told me “I am Here”. I asked two more times to be able to see them and God again responded “I am Here”. We all have different gifts…I don’t see the spiritual realm, but I knew they were there, as was God.

As I walked into the Rose Bowl it was a moment I won’t soon forget. I have been there many times for football games, but never to meet God. God met me as I walked through the tunnel into the stadium in a powerful way. You could feel His presence in an overwhelming way that was too glorious to describe.
What an amazing day. I am so thankful for those that prayed and planned such an awesome event.
I keep pondering what should my response be? What can we do to continue what was started?

Taking a Risk

I am sitting in my office on this rainy evening not wanting to go outside and get wet. I hear the rain and am even less eager to go outside to get to my car. In a way I feel trapped between two places: where I am and where I want to be. As I ponder this I think of some of the conversations I have had with people lately. It seems a lot of people feel trapped in their circumstances. The feeling of being trapped is rarely good, because it often requires action on our part and we may not feel adventuresome enough to tackle it. Sometimes I find myself trapped in my thoughts, my fears, my desires…unable to unlock a situation that will lead me where I want to go. I find myself in this place with people I know who I want to have a relationship with, but for some reason don’t have a relationship with. Maybe this is because I never initiated it and now it just feels awkward. I recently watched a moving truck pull up to a neighboring house and then watched it pull away with half a household full of furniture that was moved in less than a year ago. I want to go and offer comfort and encouragement to my neighbor, but feel trapped by the distance of our relationship. This makes me think of people I hear about having illnesses, suffering losses, and those who have lost their jobs. Hearing about people in need whether physical, emotional or spiritual and wanting to reach out to them does none of us any good. They continue to hurt and I continue to feel isolated…trapped by my own fear, or trapped by my own complacency. I remember the words of James, “Faith without actions is dead.” Where is my faith?

As I look at my watch knowing it is time to go home I am wrestle with my feelings and relate them to other situations in life...the safe thing to do, the comfortable thing to do, is to stay inside and not go out and risk getting trapped in the rain. Why do I hesitate? Why am I concerned about feeling uncomfortable when I know it’s what I need to do? I want God to use me to bring hope and encouragement, so I must go. I must risk the fear of getting rained on, of being rejected, of embarrassment, of violating the superficial barrier that has been created. What if with my neighbor I just started with a hello, how are you?

“Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions.” 1 John 3:18

Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus replied “You must love the Lord your God and with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

I have been praying that God would use me in some new ways, that I could be a vessel filled with His hope and love to share. I must risk it and go what about you?

Blessings of God’s love,
Shelly Juskiewicz
Pastor to Women

Love!

I saw the movie Valentine’s Day over the weekend. I so loved it!

I love seeing people in love, love watching people peruse love and the adventure of love.
Love does not always work out, but the bottom line is we all desire to be loved. Even those that seem to avoid love, run from love or are unwilling to admit they want to be loved - somewhere inside want to be loved and accepted for who they are. Love brings great ups and downs and both joy and pain, just ask anyone who has been in love. If you really want a first hand look at the drama of love than talk with any teenager who is trying to figure out love and what it is and what it is not or just reflect back on your teenage experiences with love. I want to be known as someone who loves others and extends love graciously. What does that mean for today…I will have to wait and see!

Shelly