by Pastor Jim Rovaggi
I apologize that I was unable to get my blog posted for a while. Thank you, to those of you who encouraged me with your impatience. So here is a tiny part of what’s been floating around in my thoughts lately.
Life is complicated. Deep huh? I imagine anyone older than nine years old fully agrees with me. In fact, the older we get the complicated-er life seems to become. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just want to shout at God. Do you ever feel like that? Have you ever just been tired enough, or frustrated enough, or angry enough to say “Why Me!?”, “It’s not fair!”, “Why are my days so complicated?!”
Even my, now famous, two year old has bad days. Let me describe a typical day in the life of my precious bundle of joy. He woke up crabby and flushed with fever from the molars coming up in his mouth. So already I knew it was going to be a complicated day. He decided that instead of sitting in his child-size rocking chair he would stand on it surfer style. Inevitably he came crashing down. I scooped him up as he wept pitifully to comfort him, and as I walked around I smelled something, um, odd. By now he had calmed down somewhat, right up until I hefted him up to get a better whiff and bonked his head on the low beam crossing the ceiling. Again the weeping commenced with renewed vigor. He finally quieted down enough for me to release him. In no time at all he was back to his normal self. Meaning he went back to surfing on the rocker. When that got old, he munched on several house plants till I spotted him. I gave chase, he ran away (dirt spilling from his mouth), he crashed over his gigantic 2 foot high Curious George…. and so the dance went on for the entire day. Happy, sad, mad, content, angry, giddy with joy and so on.
How does that compare to my own thirty-something life? Well, from birth we know life has its’ ups and downs and Christianity is no different. When we came to know the Lord we weren’t given the keys to immediate joy and perfection.
Matthew 5:45 says: “….that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” There will be good things and bad things that come our way. No we weren’t given the keys to euphoria, but we were given the algorithm to live in peace and joy.
Here is how Wikipedia describes an algorithm: In mathematics, computing, linguistics, and related subjects, an algorithm is a finite sequence of instructions, an explicit, step-by-step procedure for solving a problem, often used for calculation and data processing. It is formally a type of effective method in which a list of well-defined instructions for completing a task is utilized.
Algorithms are complicated, just like the Christian walk ….Do you recall calculus or algebra? A single problem that needed to be worked out consisted of multiple steps. One equation could cover several sheets of paper. I would get my equations so convoluted I could no longer follow my own reasoning! I would never have the patience to be a good mathematician! It’s a good thing I’m not a rocket scientist. I guess many of you knew that. In these long linear algebraic problems if you got any of the initial steps wrong, your final equation would be off. Solving those kinds of problems requires diligence and focus and concentration. Just like the Christian walk.
I know it can be infuriating when a well meaning brother or sister tells us to just “hang in there”. But the truth is that is Godly advice. James 1:2-6 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work (or its equation) so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
So today I’m asking that we look at our complications the way the apostle James would. We can choose to ask questions in frustration. (And they may be very valid questions.) Lord, why can’t I just have what I want?! Why shouldn’t I have a bigger house or a nicer car? Why am I blind? Why am I handicapped? Why am I sick? Why can’t I have children? Why am I alone? And so on. I’m asking that instead, we would ask of God what can I learn from this? In what way can I use my frustrations to bless the kingdom? What experiences, what knowledge can I use to bless someone else going through similar or worse situations?
You‘ve heard the term, “don’t be bitter be better”. That’s what a Christian’s perspective should be.
So sit back. Relax. Let the peace and wisdom of God lead you today, and if you should happen to see my son chewing on a plant let me know.
God Bless You and may He make us blessable.
Pastor Jimmy E. Rovaggi
Associate Pastor
West Hudson Christian Center
557 Kearny Avenue Kearny, NJ 07032
p 201-997-7762
c-973-600-8544
Showing posts with label encouragement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label encouragement. Show all posts
Friday, May 15, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
snow angels in the dirt
by Pastor Jim Rovaggi
I was speaking to a young man this past week that was struggling with discouragement. He is serving God to the best of his ability and there is no lack of gratitude to the Lord for the mess He brought him out of, yet he was discouraged. He allowed circumstances, family and old friends to remind him of the failure he was in the past. It’s funny how sometimes the people closest to us are the ones that harm us the most. Intimacy has a way of giving us license to tear down and wound. Oh it’s not always meant to be mean spirited or intentionally hurtful, none-the-less it causes us to feel devalued. I want to remind you of something today. When God looks at you He sees what He created you to be. He sees your value and your success at all the good works He prepared for you to do before you were even born as it says in Ephesians 2: 10!
God looks at us through the filter of His son Jesus! Have you ever been discouraged? Have you ever been so overwhelmed with the pressures of life that made you truly question your faith?
This past week my wife and I were working in the garden. Our little boy ran around frolicking and squealing joyfully as only a two year old can, while we broke up the dirt, planted seeds, and raked weeds and dead branches that had collected over the winter. In faith, all this effort will produce lots of beautiful vegetables later this summer. I was battling a headache so I called it quits and went in the house. At one point I looked out the window to see my son playing in the dirt by laying flat in the garden flapping his limbs back and forth as if he were making a snow angel! Now my initial response was annoyance. I was annoyed that he was making a mess of the nice neat rows my wife had prepared. I was annoyed that he was covered from head to toe in dirt. I was annoyed that my wife wasn’t reprimanding him. But my feeling of annoyance turned to mushy love when I heard his giggles and saw his beautiful little expression. It made me think, this is what Jesus must feel when he looks down at us. Here we are struggling through our day to day, making mistakes, playing in the dirt as it were, and even though we deserve reprimand, Jesus pulls us up out of the dirt, brushes us off, and steers us in the right direction. Why? Because He feels warm mushy love for us far deeper than what we can feel for our own children. My friends we have every right to walk in joy and in victory today! God is faithful and true and will see us through to the end of this temporary path right into our eternal one. Don’t let misguided words ruin your day. Don’t allow memories of past failures immobilize you! When we walk in repentance and in relationship with the Lord we have the promises of God to depend on!
I leave you with these scriptures.
Romans 4:18-21 18Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, So shall your offspring be. 19Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
Jeremiah 29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Be encouraged! These scriptures are for every one of us today! Take some time to take out your bible and read these scriptures for yourself. Give God time to speak to your heart today and bring you peace and joy and encouragement.
God Bless You and may He make us blessable.
I was speaking to a young man this past week that was struggling with discouragement. He is serving God to the best of his ability and there is no lack of gratitude to the Lord for the mess He brought him out of, yet he was discouraged. He allowed circumstances, family and old friends to remind him of the failure he was in the past. It’s funny how sometimes the people closest to us are the ones that harm us the most. Intimacy has a way of giving us license to tear down and wound. Oh it’s not always meant to be mean spirited or intentionally hurtful, none-the-less it causes us to feel devalued. I want to remind you of something today. When God looks at you He sees what He created you to be. He sees your value and your success at all the good works He prepared for you to do before you were even born as it says in Ephesians 2: 10!
God looks at us through the filter of His son Jesus! Have you ever been discouraged? Have you ever been so overwhelmed with the pressures of life that made you truly question your faith?
This past week my wife and I were working in the garden. Our little boy ran around frolicking and squealing joyfully as only a two year old can, while we broke up the dirt, planted seeds, and raked weeds and dead branches that had collected over the winter. In faith, all this effort will produce lots of beautiful vegetables later this summer. I was battling a headache so I called it quits and went in the house. At one point I looked out the window to see my son playing in the dirt by laying flat in the garden flapping his limbs back and forth as if he were making a snow angel! Now my initial response was annoyance. I was annoyed that he was making a mess of the nice neat rows my wife had prepared. I was annoyed that he was covered from head to toe in dirt. I was annoyed that my wife wasn’t reprimanding him. But my feeling of annoyance turned to mushy love when I heard his giggles and saw his beautiful little expression. It made me think, this is what Jesus must feel when he looks down at us. Here we are struggling through our day to day, making mistakes, playing in the dirt as it were, and even though we deserve reprimand, Jesus pulls us up out of the dirt, brushes us off, and steers us in the right direction. Why? Because He feels warm mushy love for us far deeper than what we can feel for our own children. My friends we have every right to walk in joy and in victory today! God is faithful and true and will see us through to the end of this temporary path right into our eternal one. Don’t let misguided words ruin your day. Don’t allow memories of past failures immobilize you! When we walk in repentance and in relationship with the Lord we have the promises of God to depend on!
I leave you with these scriptures.
Romans 4:18-21 18Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, So shall your offspring be. 19Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
Jeremiah 29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Be encouraged! These scriptures are for every one of us today! Take some time to take out your bible and read these scriptures for yourself. Give God time to speak to your heart today and bring you peace and joy and encouragement.
God Bless You and may He make us blessable.
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