When you feel like the world is ticked at you...

When you feel like the world is ticked at you...

by Rick Duncan
Cuyahoga Valley Church

"Am I really and truly a Beloved Child?" Most of us wonder about that. We struggle with shame and guilt. We struggle with feelings of worth and value. We are sure that God is ticked at us.

Why is that?

Some of us go to work everyday and we wonder if the people in charge really want us there. Others of us grew up in homes where our parents said, “You’ll never amount to anything.” And just this last week, someone heard, “I don’t know why I ever married you.”

You need – you really need – to know what God thinks.

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing (Zephaniah 3:17).

We are His Beloved Children. Jesus hasn’t just saved us. He’s actually delighting in us. Two words here: Rejoice (sus) means "exult" and gladness (simchah) means "mirth." It’s like God is at a party and He's dancing because of us.

Is that overstated? I don’t think so. "As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you" (Isaiah 62:5).
Does God delight in you because you are so lovable? No. The Bible says that we hated God and were His enemies. Does He delight in us because we are so “together”? No. We’re sinful through and through.

In spite of all that, Jesus brings us before the throne of grace and is proud of us. God delights in us because of Christ and what He’s made us to be. It’s with the blood of Jesus that we’ve been washed and made new.

"I will rejoice… and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more" (Isaiah 65:19, NLT).
Too many of us believe that God is a “ticked off” God. Yes, He’s just. Yes, He’s holy. And yes, He disciplines his children. And we should never presume upon His grace.

But at the end of the day, you’ve got to know that through Christ Jesus, God delights in His people. 

God not only loves you, He likes you. You are so loved that Jesus delights in you. And because He delights in you, you can delight in yourself... and someone else.

Question: How will you live new today because God rejoices over you?

The Value of a Sabbatical

by Shawn Lovejoy

Many of you know that my family and I were away on a Ministry Sabbatical. Why did we need a Sabbatical? The word Sabbath, of course, means rest. That's what we needed this month. I actually do believe that Senior Pastors need MORE of it, because of the tireless schedules and demands on us. Every year, as soon as school is out, my entire family pulls back a good bit for a few weeks. We use this time to rest, replenish, and re-energize for the Fall!

What did I do on Sabbatical?

• I rested. Truly rested.
• I played with my kids.
• I hung out with my wife.
• I read. A lot. I read three books while I was away and started two more.
• I still did some work. It was just more of the Strategic and futuristic stuff. I worked ON IT, not IN IT. This kind of work inspires me, not drains me!
• I actually exercised some!

What made it replenishing?

• I didn't teach for three weeks in a row. I finally miss it!
• I got away from home. When I'm at home, I can't relax like I want.
• I went to places where I wouldn't feel like we needed to "run" all the time (aka Disney World is not a great Sabbatical destination).
• I spent extended time with God each day. God and I had some great, unhurried, heart to heart'

What did I learn while on my Sabbatical?

• Jesus can run His church without me. HE is bigger than ME!
• We have a dream team of leaders on our Staff these days who can lead well in my stead!
• God is louder in my life when I am away from the daily grind!

Anyone around me will tell you that I work hard and move fast. One of the keys to sustaining my pace the last twelve years has also been learning to rest hard now and again. How do you rest, replenish and re-energize for the next phase of the harvest God wants to bring into your life?

Shawn Lovejoy

Shawn Lovejoy is Lead Pastor of Mountain Lake Church; Directional Leader of churchplanters.com; and
author of The Measure of Our Success: An Impassioned Plea To Pastors.