By Pam Otto

I cozied up in my morning chair, grabbed my cup of Joe, and started to read one of my favorite devotionals. Some mornings I find a little nugget that I want to remember, so I jot it down in my journal. Other mornings I find myself going through the motions without sensing any specific direction, thumbing through the Bible, hoping for something to jump off the pages. But… I always stand amazed at the moments when I am deeply moved by the Words of God, when the verses that I’ve read countless times seem to jump off the page and into my heart! What a great reminder that the Word of God is living, powerful and active! (Heb. 4:12)

Today I “happened” upon two very familiar verses that convicted my spirit and allowed me to see into some stuck places in my own life. Don’t you love the way that God knows each of us so deeply, so intimately that He is able to gently lead us to a new place?

I ran across 1 Corinthians 13:5 which says, “Love keeps no record of wrongs.”  Then I read Romans 8:1 which states, “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”This is when I had my ‘Aha’ moment, my personal nudge from God.

I know these verses. They are familiar and I’m in full agreement. But, my heart was telling me that knowing these verses looks different than living them out. If I want to truly love the way that God loves, I need to stop keeping a record of wrong, and that includes to stop silently condemning others in my heart. I mean, I typically don’t condemn people out-loud…that would simply be mean, right?

God was revealing to me that I need to put to death the idea that I am somehow the judge of another. He wants me to start loving those challenging relationships without keeping score, without remembering past hurts, without rehashing old wounds and without any condemnation. The love that I am to freely extend to others in those sticky places comes to me through the Holy Spirit. It’s not my imperfect, selfish love that needs to grow but the perfect, life-giving love of God that needs to increase and be on display in me and through me.

My desire is to put away my childish ways of loving others, and to invite the Love of God into each and every relationship and watch how God continues to reshape and reveal His perfect love through my imperfect heart. Since God does not condemn those who belong to Him, shouldn’t I do the same?

What about you? Are you loving those difficult, prickly people in your life well? Have you ever kept records of wrongs done in the past that you pull up from time to time and let simmer in the corners of your heart? Let’s invite God into those places and begin loving others more generously with transformed hearts.

By Dawn Santos

I recently completed the Freedom study for the first time. I went into the study very open-minded though I knew exactly why I was drawn to join this small group. I wanted to hear God’s voice and I was seeking the peace of Christ.

I was hopeful that I would complete the journey and find the freedom that comes when you surrender to God’s will. Upon completion, I understood that what we had done together as a small group of women was just the beginning of a pursuit for true freedom. It was a much needed jumpstart in embracing a new way of life and in gaining a Biblical perspective of who God is.

Even though I left this much-needed fellowship with a lighter burden, the more powerful testimony I have to share is that the Freedom experience brought the Holy Spirit to life in a tangible way. I’ve always had difficulties wrapping my human mind around the Spirit of God but when the Word of God is used to explain Him, the once-perceived mysteries are unveiled quite perfectly.

2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

If I had read this verse before going through Freedom, I probably would have gone on a spiritual mission searching for the Spirit of the Lord. Will I find it in this 7-day devotional? Can a song on the JoyFM point me in the right direction? Will this sermon guide me toward Him? It does say that freedom is where the Spirit of the Lord is. It seemed as if my answers were always outside, hidden inside some puzzle I needed to solve with logic and academic study. 

I’m so thankful to God that I read it after going through Freedom because now I see that the Spirit is within me, alive, and transforming me as I surrender to Him daily. For as long as I have acknowledged the Spirit of God that dwells within me, I have had Freedom. I just wasn’t fully acknowledging the power of the Spirit. When I heard Kristin Bonham explain the Spirit, I realized that everything I was searching for was already available to me. God helped me look within, to pray, to confess, to empty myself of myself, and stop resisting His power and peace. I am grateful for the many revelations that were brought to life for me during this short time!

The Freedom Group may be perceived as something for those who are going through very difficult strongholds, but it would benefit ANYONE who is seeking God, His Spirit, His love, and His peace. Keep this scripture in mind: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:16 NLT

By Amy Hafner

By Debbie Altman

Have you ever felt a little hum-drum in your walk with God? Maybe you are going through the motions, but you’re not feeling much? Well first of all, our walk is certainly not about feelings only. Doing the things you know to do as a Christian… reading God’s Word, praying, and attending church are so important to do! It is like eating for the physical body…every meal may not be exciting or memorable, but if you don’t eat, you will become weak. It is the same for us spiritually. We must feed our spirit with these disciplines to stay strong.

Sometimes we need to stir the pot a little!  In 2 Timothy 1:6, Paul says, “This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.“ Some versions say “stir up the gift” that is in you. Now we may not have had the apostle Paul lay his hands on us, but the Lord Himself has laid His hands on us!

Craig and I usually attend Van Dyke campus, as this is where he preaches from. But regularly, we try to visit our four other campuses. I LOVE visiting all our other campuses and a couple of months ago I had the privilege of visiting our Ybor City campus. Oh my goodness. I walked in expecting to do what I do…to love on and encourage our staff and volunteers there. But the Lord had something he wanted to give me.  A stirring up! A fanning of my flame!

I am always moved when I attend the Dream Center, or our Ybor campus. It is just something different and special.  But this day I was overcome. The precious sight of these beautiful people from a difficult community attending, serving, laughing, welcoming, loving, and worshipping just “fanned my flames!” It felt like I sensed the heart and hope of God for this congregation. I wept, and even went up on the stage to speak a word of encouragement over the people. Now if you know me, I avoid the platform as much as possible! God truly moved on my heart and It’s hard to express what I felt that day.

I want to encourage you to step out of your ‘normal’ and do something different! Join a small group, lead a small group, visit another campus, participate in a Serve Saturday, take a missions trip. When we see the Lord moving in environments other than our own safe routines, our view of God is expanded and we are inspired to see His bigness and how far-reaching His love is. Our faith is lifted and strengthened! We are better able to see the possibilities of His power in our own lives and those we love.

 “Join God where He is working!” – Henry Blackaby

Fan the flames! Stir up the gifts within you! He is the one who has laid His hands on you and He wants to grow you and use you!

Thank you to all of the precious and amazing people who make Grace Family Church a joy to me, and a light to our world.

By Misty Umholtz

Trusting God with our children’s lives is a challenge for us Mama’s from the first day we hold that little life in our arms probably until the day we breathe our last breath and go to meet our Maker. I wonder in that moment if we will sigh the biggest relief as we embrace the One Who is perfectly capable of all of our trust.

As a Mom, I want to love my kids and give them the best of me. But the longer I have been “moming”, the more apparent it is how flawed I am. When I read the description of true love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, It is not rude, it is not self- seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…”

I know I am not able to provide all of that for my children. I am human, I am broken and I am limited. Can I trust that God’s love can make up for all my mistakes and all of my weaknesses? Can I trust God to protect my kids when I can’t? Can I trust Him to work everything out for their good when I can’t fix it for them or when they make bad choices? Can I trust God with their health, well being and future?

Recently, my husband and I met with our son’s tutor for school. She showed us his test scores from the beginning of the school year compared to now. He has made significant progress and I wanted to cry but I held it together for another few minutes as we talked. We asked her questions to the like of, will he ever be able to overcome these learning challenges? Can he catch up with his peers in the next couple of years? And as ridiculous as it might sound because he is only in second grade, we even voiced a long term concern regarding college.

While she could not answer those questions about the future. She asked us if all of that really matters as long as he ends up exactly where God wants him to be?

My son has to work very hard to accomplish normal tasks in school that come naturally for others. There is a lot of extra time, money, battles and tears that go into homework on a daily basis for both of us. As an adult, I know that adversity will ultimately make him stronger and better in the long run. As a mom, it is difficult to watch him struggle so much.

It was one of those moments I have heard other moms talk about, when I felt my heart outside of my body. I had entrusted my son to someone else, to a tutor who could help him in a way I could not. She had invested in him, enjoyed him and loved him well. I was overcome with gratitude to God for leading us to this school, to these teachers, to this program and to this woman sitting in front of me. That’s when I lost it. I wept from a deep ache inside of me that I didn’t even realize existed.

My son’s tutor is moving away. When we left the meeting, I didn’t allow myself to hug her because I was scared I would hang on and beg her not to leave. All I could manage to say was a simple thank you. She knows exactly what those tears and those two little words mean from the depths of my soul.

The answer to her question of me is yes. All I really want is for my son to fulfill the calling God has placed on his life whatever that looks like. I know this is part of the bigger plan God has for him. Slowly, I am learning to trust God more with my son’s life. One small step for a woman, one big leap for this Mama’s heart!