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THANK YOU LORD FOR THE GEMS YOU'VE SENT MY WAY, FOR......

11/4/2016

 
1.) Those who have left the deepest impressions in the clay of my soul, having graciously invested in my growth as a child of
God and who have genuinely modeled the character of Christ.


2.) Those whose grasp of personal service to the Lord and to others has been more than a well constructed but often discarded mission statement, a ladder to personal advancement, or a job title.


3.) Those who have laid down their lives that others would be strengthened and equipped for life and service in the fields of our savior.

4.) Those who have refused to frown over or conspire against Kingdom gains in which others have been instrumental, knowing that one plants, another waters, but God is the one who always brings about the increase for His Glory alone .

5.) Those, while focused on the Father’s pleasure, have embraced anonymity as a safeguard against vanity rather than an excuse for nursing a wounded ego.

6.) Those who have consistently been found nearing the second mile when only one was required.

7.) Those who have demonstrated that what one becomes is foundational to the quality of what one achieves - that character 
always matters.


8.) Those who have refused to chase the illusion of personal glory, knowing that such a kingdom of self, only serves as a prison of vanity and that the builder’s own ego guards against his escape.


9.) Those who have been more gracious than I have deserved and who have loved me on my worst days.

There are those who in life I will never forget and all I can think to say, is, “Thank you Lord, for revealing Yourself to me in the seasons of my life by those you sent my way.

THE VALUE OF AN ENEMY

11/1/2016

 
There have always been those in abundance who for varied reasons have chosen the path of opportunistic and insatiably hateful conflict, fiercely committed to such, or simply serving as gullible naifs enlisted by those who lead the weak of mind and character into godless warfare against others. Such persistent and egregious efforts seeking to bring the minds, and hearts of God’s children into bitter subjugation through personal offense, are what most believers would hope that God would eliminate completely from day to day life. The instrumentality of enemies within our lives is mostly loathed and passionately resisted.
What our lives come to look like, is not nearly as much the result of how we respond, if at all, to the things that we view with indifference or take for granted, but much more the product of what we allow the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to raise up from within the minced heart and brokenness that come through the wounds inflicted by an enemy.
Both scriptural and secular history clearly demonstrate that the church has never shone more brilliantly in the likeness of Christ than in times of ill treatment. The focused and calculated efforts of an enemy, in spite of Satan’s designs, serves to draw forth the character of Christ that indwells every born again believer.
The life of God flows powerfully through wounded-ness, even at the hands of an enemy. The Gospel has never been more compelling than when the character of Christ within triumphs over a sense of victimization and the love of God empowers personal forgiveness, affording grace and mercy where it it would not be due, if not for the Law of Grace being greater than the Law of retribution.
We ultimately have one enemy and we do not war in flesh and blood.
Matthew 5:44-46
44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that?…..

    Pastor Rick Ritenour
    Lead Pastor

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Bethel Assembly of God
1125 Frederick Pike
Littlestown,  PA 17340