Hey Friends!

 I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything. A brief word of explanation might be helpful. You see, being somewhat technologically a dinosaur, I wasn't sure how to update the "reflections" section, etc. Well, a brother recently set this part of our website up as a blog that I can now get access to. Now I can share with you much easier than before. With that said, we can now look forward to more of a conversation feel to this area of our site. I'm not exactly sure how blogs work (!), if there is room to interact with my musings or not. If so, please do. If not, and you would like to "talk", please send me an email at IPastor@aol.com. I'd love to know who's reading this, and, what you're thinking. Anyway, before I log off, let me share a few questions/comments that might make you think a bit. (I'll write a bit more lengthier of a column soon)

- Does God really care who wins the Superbowl, unless, of course, that team is the Chicago Bears?

- Which gets me thinking, is this (2009) the Cubs year?

- What do you do if you're in Michigan, it's February, and you're being afflicted with "SAD", which is Seasonal Affective Disorder? Do you know/trust that it's okay to feel a little blue this time of year?

- Do you know, deep down inside, that God loves you? Not, "God loves you because . . ." But God loves you, period.

- Do you know His love sometimes expresses itself in anger, discipline and disappointment? We have so anesthetized the "love" of God, calling it always "unconditional" and such, that we have perhaps unwittingly de-clawed the Lion of Judah and made Him a pussycat. I won't harp on this too much more, but if I can encourage you over the love of God in any way at all, it would be this: "He loves you, period. Not because . . ."

Until next time, may you feel/think/live like the Apostle as he says: "The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that." (Gal.2:20, MSG)

- Pastor Bob