Glimpses - Easter 2021
I observed two planes in the sky that from my vantage point on the ground seemed to cross paths in the sky just missing each other. As they traveled away from each other, I tried to keep my eyes on both planes at the same time but before long I could only watch one plane at a time. As the distance between the planes continued to increase, I had to pick just one to watch because I could no longer find the other plane as I looked back and forth. Before long I lost sight of that plane as well.
I often feel as a pastor I watch Easter and the lives of so many people drawing closer and closer to the story of Christ as Easter nears only to see near misses. I pray that all people will have an encounter with Jesus on Easter, and some do but others just seem to cross over Easter. I find many people balancing so many tasks that I am amazed they can even stay focused and survive the day. We have a word that we throw around to describe this activity as multitasking. Some people can multitask much better than others, but I have found that regardless of your capacity to multitask or not - whenever we focus on more than one thing something will be out of focus. One task will get less of our attention.
Matthew 22:37 (NIV) Jesus replied: "’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'”
One component of a vital congregation is described as engaged in growing your faith. That may look different for each person, but it starts daily with a deepening of your love for God. Accepting Jesus as your savior is only the start to a journey of loving God with all your heart, soul and mind.
It is easy to get our mind off and running each day on several tasks and leave our heart and soul far behind. Following Jesus requires a collective effort to get mind, heart and soul moving together with every part of your day focused on the movement of God. We all fall short, but what I have learned on my journey with God is that living out Matthew 22:37 requires focused lifestyle living for God. It is a huge challenge to let go of the things of this world that take our focus off God.
It is like those two planes and as the distance grows one will be harder and harder to find as we try to keep both in focus. God wants us to be captivated by the depths of His love which can only be discovered by letting go of things like pride, jealously and anger. Hurt and pain will come our way. However, moments of high impact when our lives seem to fall apart will happen and it is only then when we will be truly tested about our focus. When my focus is on God’s captivating love, I miraculously survive struggles of life with deeper perspective of God’s love.
Easter will be here soon, and we do not want it to be as those two planes crossing in the sky. We need to be captivated by God’s Love so as Easter passes, we are still focused on God’s plane and plan for our lives. Vital congregations grow because they are focused on God’s captivating love in all they do and speak. It is easy in the world we live to lose focus on where God is at work and the great things God is doing. Let God’s love captivate every moment of our day so we all stay focused and never lose sight of God’s work.
God’s Blessings! Pastor Tim Gravatt
I often feel as a pastor I watch Easter and the lives of so many people drawing closer and closer to the story of Christ as Easter nears only to see near misses. I pray that all people will have an encounter with Jesus on Easter, and some do but others just seem to cross over Easter. I find many people balancing so many tasks that I am amazed they can even stay focused and survive the day. We have a word that we throw around to describe this activity as multitasking. Some people can multitask much better than others, but I have found that regardless of your capacity to multitask or not - whenever we focus on more than one thing something will be out of focus. One task will get less of our attention.
Matthew 22:37 (NIV) Jesus replied: "’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'”
One component of a vital congregation is described as engaged in growing your faith. That may look different for each person, but it starts daily with a deepening of your love for God. Accepting Jesus as your savior is only the start to a journey of loving God with all your heart, soul and mind.
It is easy to get our mind off and running each day on several tasks and leave our heart and soul far behind. Following Jesus requires a collective effort to get mind, heart and soul moving together with every part of your day focused on the movement of God. We all fall short, but what I have learned on my journey with God is that living out Matthew 22:37 requires focused lifestyle living for God. It is a huge challenge to let go of the things of this world that take our focus off God.
It is like those two planes and as the distance grows one will be harder and harder to find as we try to keep both in focus. God wants us to be captivated by the depths of His love which can only be discovered by letting go of things like pride, jealously and anger. Hurt and pain will come our way. However, moments of high impact when our lives seem to fall apart will happen and it is only then when we will be truly tested about our focus. When my focus is on God’s captivating love, I miraculously survive struggles of life with deeper perspective of God’s love.
Easter will be here soon, and we do not want it to be as those two planes crossing in the sky. We need to be captivated by God’s Love so as Easter passes, we are still focused on God’s plane and plan for our lives. Vital congregations grow because they are focused on God’s captivating love in all they do and speak. It is easy in the world we live to lose focus on where God is at work and the great things God is doing. Let God’s love captivate every moment of our day so we all stay focused and never lose sight of God’s work.
God’s Blessings! Pastor Tim Gravatt
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Pastor Tim Gravatt, Centenary Church
(209) 527-5441 centenary@centenarychurch.net Pastor Tim Gravatt and his wife Gina have only been with Centenary since the beginning of July 2020, but have already endeared themselves to the congregation and community with their enthusiasm, openness, and genuine desire to care for the people of Centenary and Modesto. To get to know them better, check out their TGIF video series (Tim and Gina's "It's Friday") available on YouTube |
