Morganton Wesleyan Church

The other day I saw a car with a bumper-sticker that said “if it ain’t King James, it ain’t the Bible”.
Now, I’ve heard people say that before but something about that struck me funny this time.
See, Muslims believe that unless you are reading the Koran in its original language of Arabic this it isn’t really the Koran, you have to read it in its original language, a Koran in any other language would never be able to hold all of the true meaning held in the original. (I also thought about this because I had JUST had a conversation with a co-worker about the Koran)
But God speaks every language! FLUENTLY! As a matter of fact, He created every language! You don’t have to speak a certain tongue for you to understand him. He comes to each of us in ways we can relate to and understand; relevant to our culture and speech.
There’s a reason we are able to translate the Bible into so many dialects and languages, because His word is relevant and true all around the world
Acts 2:1-12 talks about the day of Pentecost and how the apostles preached the message of Jesus in the languages of all the people around them in Jerusalem. My favorite parts are vs. 7-8 “They were completely amazed. ‘How can this be?’ they exclaimed. ‘These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages!’” vs. 11b “And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” and vs. 6 “when they heard the loud noise, everyone came running and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers”.
One thing I always love to hear is people pray in another language. We Americans tend to forget that we really aren’t the big leaders in Christianity (hate to tell you this but Jesus wasn’t American) and it seems like we make American Christianity the standard for others to follow (how dare we).
But God speaks every language and is relevant in every culture! You don’t have to change who you are to be with him!! I LOVE it when I’m in a group of people praying and someone starts praying in another language! I have NO idea what they are saying but that doesn’t matter, they are talking to God and He understands them perfectly.
God desires to reach everyone in any way they understand and He can and does every day.
So if you ever think that God isn’t a big deal, you have no way to apply Him to your life, maybe you’re just reading the wrong translation

Well, yesterday was Ash Wednesday; if you didn’t celebrate this Christian holiday yourself you just might have seen a few people walking around with a spot on their forehead. One time I saw a lady and I honestly thought it was a bruise on her head. It’s actually ash and it’s supposed to be in the shape of a cross but after awhile it kind of becomes just a big smudge.

So what is Ash Wednesday? Why are people walking around with a spot on their forehead?

Ash Wednesday marks 40 days till Easter (minus the Sundays) and is a time of remembering the sacrifices and sufferings of Jesus. We celebrate this for 40 days because Jesus spent 40 days in the desert fasting a praying after He was baptized. During this time of Lent (the 40 days) we give up something like, one meal a day, chocolate, caffeine, video games, movies, facebook (sorry, it can’t be homework or brushing your teeth), it could be just about anything. Now since these 40 days don’t include Sundays you don’t have fast on Sundays but some people still choose to anyways.

Growing up I don’t think I ever heard of someone giving up something for 40 days before Easter; then when I did hear about Lent and tried to give up something I kept forgetting. It was usually something simple, like chocolate, but I would forget until I was already eating chocolate and then I would think “it’s already in my mouth, might as well go ahead and finish it”. This year I’m giving up sweat tea and it just might be 40 days of suffering unless I drink it on Sundays (I know, I’m pathetic).

Oh yeah, and you might have heard of Mardi gras? Or Fat Tuesday? yeah, that’s the day before Ash Wednesday and as the last day to do whatever it is you’re giving up for 40 days, people like to go a little overboard and have one last party.

Even if you didn’t go to an Ash Wednesday service, or choose to give up something, you can still do it. And every time you would be eating that pit of chocolate or getting on facebook, think about everything that Christ gave up for us, think of all the suffering He went through and how insignificant our sacrifice of sweat tea is in comparison. And take a moment to pray.

Are you up to it?

Think about yourself for a moment; think about what kind of family you have, what friends you have, where you live; they all have helped shape you. But they don’t define you, they’re just part of your story.

Now don’t say it, just think it to yourself, but if there was something you could change, just ONE thing you could change about yourself, what would it be? Now read Psalm 139:13-16, what did this Bible verse say about you? It says that God made you!

God has seen your life since the beginning and He knows every little detail of it. He hasn’t wanted bad things to happen but He knew they were going to happen and is working through them. God has an amazing ability to make good outcomes from bad situations.

But that’s not really what this post is about,

This passage that you just read says that God MADE YOU (read vs. 13-14 again). He knew that you were going to be the way you are right now and He knows what you’re going to be like when you’re 22, 62, and 102.

Have you ever made something? Made some pottery? Written a poem or a song? How did it turn out? Was it perfect? Was it exactly
like you wanted it to be? Unless you’re a professional, probably not, but that’s because we’re humans. But you know what? God doesn’t make mistakes. He loves you just the way you are.

What’s the line they always say at the end of VeggieTales movies? “God made you special and He loves you very much”.

God made each of us for a special reason. We each have different things we’re good at, and things we care about. What good would it do for us all to be the same? What good does it do for each of us to be different?

Now read 1 Corinthians 12: 12, 18-21, 27-30. Actually, just go ahead and read 12:12-30, the whole thing is good

God made each of us with different combinations of talents and passions because He made each of us to do different things. When we each do what we were created to do as a part of God’s body, it all works out. Just like our bodies work best when every part works like it’s supposed to. It wouldn’t do much good for your eyes to try and be your mouth hu? And it would look weird if your feet tried to be your hands. The body of Christ does best when we all do our part.

God made no mistakes when He made you and He loves you

Don’t try to be someone you aren’t, let God use you for what you were created to be and do

There is a poem by Marianne Williamson that says “our
deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are
powerful beyond measure”. I have heard this quote a lot and I love it, but my
personal reaction to it is actually the opposite. MY deepest fear is not that I
am powerful beyond measure, but that I am inadequate, that people expect me to
be powerful beyond measure and I am just not enough.

So, what do you
think about it?

Further on in the
poem it says that “you are a child of God” and “we were born to make manifest
the glory of God within us, It is not just in some, it is in everyone”. As I
was thinking about this today, and why I seem to have such a personal issue
with it, I realized something. Actually I realized 2 things, the first of which
is that I probably have higher expectations on myself than other people do on
me which is something that I need to work on. The other thing is realized is
that, we ARE powerful beyond measure but it is BECAUSE we are children of God! It
is God’s power within us that makes us powerful. He didn’t just put this stamp
of approval on us and walk away, He filled us and keeps filling us every day we
allow Him to with HIS power, to be used for HIS glory.

There is no greater loss in the world than when someone,
for one reason or another, never reaches their full potential.

So what is the ability (greatness) that God has put into
you? Are you using it? For what purpose? By all means, use your gifts; but we
were given these gifts to bring glory to God, not ourselves.

As we celebrate the birth of Christ (yes, I know
Christmas was last week, but it’s too great a holiday to only celebrate for a
day!) and look forward to the new year ahead, take some time to talk with God
and allow Him to show you where and how to use the gifts He has given you. And
shine as a child of God, “And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously
give other people permission to do the same”

A few days ago someone opened fire on the Virginia Tech. campus, killing someone and then killing himself. Something tells me this story won’t be in the news nearly as much as the last shooting at Virginia Tech. in 2007. Right now, around the world, there are people in Japan whose houses are under water from a tsunami; children in Uganda are walking miles every night to find a safe place to sleep, and then walk back at dawn to get to school, they do this so that they aren’t taken from their homes and made into soldiers or slaves. People are dying from starvation and dirty water while other people wonder when they can take a vacation to all five of their houses; does any of this bother us? It might bother us a little, but how many of us are upset enough about any of this to actually do something about it? How much do we value a human life? Not just our own or people we know and love, but everyone. What are you willing to do for another person?
In the Christmas season I think about how much Christ sacrificed for us. He gave up heaven to come to earth and be born in a barn and live His life totally misunderstood and then brutally killed while the people He came to save mocked Him. As His people, we are called to sacrifice for others and to show them God’s love just as Jesus did for us. It’s hard, and takes everything, but God is always with us and will help us.
So what are you willing to give to save a life?

Annual  Thanksgiving Dinner at MWC.  We had a Great time even the Youth Minister joined in.

I was talking with a pastor the other day about issues we
see happening in Church; people fighting about things that don’t even matter,
people refusing to work together; and it was annoying. Don’t get me wrong, it’s
good to be able to talk about real issues with someone, but these problems
shouldn’t even be there to talk about. And as I read the Bible I see that this
isn’t an old issues, you see it throughout Church history of people arguing
about things, refusing to bet a long, and acting like kids who would be
spanked. But why? Why do we say we have the spirit of Christ, who is holy and wants
to make us more like Him, and yet we act nothing like him at all! Why is that? Could
it be that we don’t really have the Spirit of Christ in us?

Real quick, read
Ephesians 4:3 and then 1 Corinthians 12, don’t worry, I’ll wait…

There is a quote that isn’t in the Bible but it just
about could be. It’s a song but Carolyn Arends that says “They well know we are
Christians by our Love”. I say it could be in the Bible because people quote it
enough and because there are multiple passages to support what it says. God has
called us to a life of love, as well as peace; and no matter how hard we try we
will never achieve these without the work of Christ in our hearts. Trying to
achieve true peace and love in your life is noble, but unachievable, it can
only be reached with total surrender to Christ.

What’s really amazing is that, not only is it impossible
to live in true peace with others without God’s help, but God WANTS to help us!
How easy is it to forget that God is LOVE and desires to fill us with that
love?

In the book of Acts it talks about the first Church in
the world, the Body of Believers, those first filled with the Holy Spirit after
Jesus returned to Heaven. This group of normal humans with an abnormal Love
lived in total unity, they gave of themselves so that no one in the group had
unmet needs, and they stayed focused on the reason they were there which was to
bring others to Christ. I love the book of Acts because it shows that this life
that God calls us to is actually reachable! It isn’t impossible with God’s help
and it is what God wants for all of us.

So when was the last time you asked God to fill you with
His Love and allowed Him to do as He wished with your life?

Happy Veterans Day Thank God for all the men and Women who have Served.

Church member joined in the Fun at our Halloween Festival. The Ladies Served Free Hot dogs to everyone that came out. There was prizes for the Dart throw and the Bean bag toss.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: “I am SO excited to be back in the mountains!” I am a nature person and I LOVE snow! Winter time in the valley where brown and dead is the norm just doesn’t cut it for me. The mountains really are my home.
Well it’s still fall outside and while watching the leaves change colors and fall I’ve been thinking about life and how perfectly nature seems to represent it. In Fall everything starts to die, leaves change into the brightest colors as if to say “I’m not going to just die, I’m going down with a fight” (and whoever decided that Fall was a time to wear dark colors hasn’t spent much time outside). In the winter every bit of earth gets covered in a giant, warm, white blanket of snow, putting everything in a peaceful sleep before the next big show. Spring time brings life and beauty, some of the most brilliant examples of new life displayed in baby animals, flowers and in plants coming back to life. And summer shows life moving on, things no longer really new but still very much alive.
It’s hard to decide which season is my favorite but I’m going to focus on Fall right now because a) we’re in it, and b) it shows how death is necessary for life. When a tree lets go of its leaves it is making room for new leaves, for growth, the old has to be let go of if something new is to grow. Remember the verse “the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17)? The Bible is full of examples of God making things new; new names, new life, new laws. God desires to make us new, but we have to let go of the old if we are truly going to embrace the new. Eph. 4: 22-24 says “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” I know that there are times when I know that God has something great in store for me and I’m excited and ready for the next thing, ready to move on. But I can’t move on to the new without first letting go of the old. Ever tried wearing 2 pair of pants at the same time? It just doesn’t work.
So what are we not letting go of? What is God calling you to let go of in order for Him to bring you to something new? Isn’t it funny how we want things to change, we want better things, but we have gotten so used to how things have been and we don’t know for sure what’s next; it’s like we’re so used to it that we don’t want to let go.
So this is my challenge to you: be like a tree in the Fall, let go of old and get ready for the New Life God just can’t wait to give you
~Know Love
Beth