Growing in the Spirit
Be Encouraged!
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13
Rev. Ed Sparkman, Pastor
HOPE IN THE MIDST OF OUR STRUGGLES
Hello family, I pray that your faith in our non-failing God has helped you to move forward as you continue to travel this road, we call life. It is not easy, especially when we look at all that is going on in us and around us during these trying times. The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us that “Therefore, we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight.” He was trying to remind and reassure us that when struggles come, we must be strengthened by our faith through the weakness of our struggle. While we are going through struggles, it is difficult for us to remember that God is with us and in us as we are going through. Regardless of how hard the struggle, we must always remind ourselves that He will work it all out for the good. We continue to be tried and tested everyday by the events that we see and or hear. Many times, these events become too hard for us to deal with or work our way through. It is at these time that we must let go and let God! Faith during these times of struggle does not always make it easier for us, but it allows Him to become stronger within us while we are in the midst of the struggle. Family, it is during those times when we tell ourselves that we can’t that He reminds us that He can.
He can turn our trials into triumphs, our battles into victories, and our knock downs into getting up. Edward Mote, the hymn writer wrote the hymn “On Christ the Solid Rock I stand.” The first line of the hymn says, “My Hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Blood and Righteousness.” During times of struggle, before we give up or give in, we need to ask ourselves “what is my hope built on?” Be encouraged family, God already knows the end of your struggle before it began. Remember, in order to have hope you have to have faith, in order to have faith, you have to have God!
-Rev-
Dr. Grace Miranda,
Ed.D, CSC
Living with God in Control: What a Difference!
Trusting in God and believing He is God has made a world of difference in my life. It is what spirituality means to me. Growing in the Lord as I pursued an intimate relationship with Him has allowed me to mature in ways that have amazed me. I have learned to practice love and obedience living the scriptures, “And you must love the Lord God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and strength” (Mark 12:30). and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31).
It was no longer enough to know about God or to believe that He exist. I discovered there was so much more when I decided to seek Him, build a relationship with Him, and accept His friendship. The declaration to be a Christ ambassador as Jesus asked, totally transformed my perspective on what dying to self and living for Christ looked like. Learning that nothing can change God’s love for me is everything!
God’s Blessings
I have seen Him come through repeatedly. When He allowed circumstances to shift in my life that resulted in my relocation to Chicago (my hometown) from Florida, I originally fought it. I had been in Tampa, Florida for over 40 years it had become home. Friends tried to encourage me by saying things like, “It’s a reset, a restart, a new beginning, or your next chapter”. They couldn’t understand how much I didn’t want to go. I said repeatedly throughout my life that I would never live in Chicago again. Never say “never,” especially after you tell God, “I will go where you send me.”
So, June 2019, I moved back to the house I grew up in. It was just as my mom left it. She had transitioned in March 2009 and my stepdad would not allow anything to be removed. He transitioned in January 2018 and left what I thought was a mess.
I had Jesus and a house stuck in the 70’s. I talked, fussed and cried daily for almost a year. I finally, started asking God what He wanted me to do. When I fixed my eyes on Him, the favor of God, the blessings started flowing. I retired in April 2020. This year I have begun making my parents’ home mine (Mortgage free). What a blessing in disguise!
Spring of this year I joined an online group of people that were looking to have a deeper relationship with God. We discuss Sunday’s Sermons and share what God is doing in our lives. I get to talk about Jesus and His word with millennials. I am seeing a generation of young adults on fire for the Lord. I am now a facilitator of a group and I know for sure I am on assignment.
It's been three plus years, and I can see what God was doing all the while. I have learned once you get into agreement with God’s assignment for you, it makes challenging times easier to process and embrace. This is when you learn there is growth and goodness on the other side of ‘through.’ I am on the other side of ‘through.’
Saying yes to the Lord, yielding to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and making Jesus Lord of my life has genuinely been the best thing that has ever happened to me. I have never been more content with my life. I have gained so much more than I lost.
-Dr. Grace-
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