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Join us from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm at Cornerstone Outreach Center

1111 N Buchanan St
Amarillo, TX 79107
(806) 381-2131

Get Directions

Join us from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm at Cornerstone Outreach Center

1111 N Buchanan St
Amarillo, TX 79107
(806) 381-2131

A few nights ago, I had a dream that left me changed. I won’t go into specifics, but as I was waking up, the verse, “This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.” (John 13:35 MSG) dropped into my heart with a crash. I’ve learned from past experiences that this was something God wanted me to study out and really get in me. I know we all think we know this. Heck… my initial thought was, “Duh.” But obviously I was missing something. My first stop was 1 Corinthians 13 (the love chapter) and I wanted to read it in a different translation than I had grown up on, so I grabbed The Message. I then began to list out the character traits of love.

Love:
1. never gives up.
2. cares more for others than for self.
3. doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
4. doesn’t strut.
5. doesn’t have a swelled head.
6. doesn’t force itself on others.
7. isn’t always “me first.”
8. doesn’t fly off the handle.
9. doesn’t keep score of the sins of others.
10. doesn’t revel when others grovel.
11. takes pleasure in the flowering of truth.
12. puts up with anything.
13. trusts God always.
14. always looks for the best.
15. never looks back.
16. keeps going to the end.
17. never dies

That list right there is the litmus test of a true disciple of Jesus. I understand slipping up and failing to show love in some instances. But can I just be really blunt? If our lives are not lining up with that list, we seriously need to begin looking at ourselves and questioning whether or not we truly are disciples of Jesus. There are so many people who are walking around labeling themselves as disciples of Jesus and all they do is criticize and judge and treat people badly. That is NOT Christianity. In fact, the Bible says that they are not His disciples. He has no relationship with them. That is some heavy stuff right there. We as followers of Jesus should be the most grace-filled people on the planet. We should be the ones who are not looking at everyone else and magnifying their faults and failures. Instead, we should be in constant self examination mode. “Where am I failing in my love walk? Where am I not submitting to the Spirit of God? How would Jesus handle this situation? Where would he go if He was walking in my city? How would he look at this person that is causing me such pain?” I know I have fallen dreadfully short of showing love way too often. The thing about true Godly love is that it is not something that I can make myself have or show. It is purely the work of the Holy Spirit. Only God can change a human heart to look and beat and be like His. There is no way a human can make themselves be sympathetic to another human being without the Spirit of God doing the work inside. We’re selfish by nature. We want it our way when we want it. True love looks at another person as valuable and loved by God and whom God can speak to and work in. This is one of the hardest things for we as Christians to grasp; I’m not the only one God has a relationship with… and He can and does speak to others… not just me. We are all just pieces of the puzzle. None of us has the whole picture… we just have parts of the picture. That’s why it is so vital for us to stop trying to compete with one another and trying to vie for position. We are each unique. And we each have something to offer the Kingdom of God. We need to give each other the grace to be and do and accomplish what each of us were called to do. It may not look like what you are called to do. And that’s BEAUTIFUL. Unity in our diversity… how BEAUTIFUL! I really believe that what God is saying to us all is to embrace who He created you to be. It doesn’t have to look like anyone else. You don’t have to sing or write or speak or paint or dance like anyone else. He created YOU to declare His glory to the world around you. Be you. You’re beautiful.

God, teach me the way of love. Do the work in my heart that only you can do. Help me to be Your hands and feet to the people around me. And as I obey You, let others see that it’s only through You that there is anything good in me. Work deep in every heart who reads this. May we be who You’ve called and created us to be.

Live Life Loud!
~Sandy

Our nation is in a crisis. We are in GREAT NEED of fathers in this nation. Last Monday morning as Jeremy and I walked on the grounds of Mt. Vernon, the land owned by George Washington, my heart trembled within me. I feel that God allowed us to find out more about this founding father of our country because He is raising up Godly fathers and mothers again in this nation. I found it incredibly interesting that George Washington never fathered a physical child, yet he is forever known as “the father of our country”. WE NEED SPIRITUAL FATHERS AND MOTHERS! It seems many of the fathers and mothers in the last generation have refused to step into this most honorable place. Whether it is because they didn’t feel qualified or they didn’t want to be tied down to responsibility or they simply refused to grow up and honestly don’t want to feel old enough to parent, they have left this HUGE void. Please hear my heart in this. Most of you know me well enough to know that I TRULY believe that this move of God is multi-generational, but I truly believe that there are too many mature disciples of Jesus who are refusing to step up into their calling to be mothers and fathers. We can see it well enough in the physical realm. Many men are getting women pregnant and abandoning them and forcing the government to provide for their children which was NEVER the responsibility of the government. We have falsely placed the responsibility of fathers on our government. Unfortunately, that is not where it ends. Jeremy and I have watched in horror as ones who have been called to be spiritual fathers have shirked that responsibility as well. This is something that has plagued Generation X! We are truly the motherless and fatherless generation. The youth of the ’60’s took on this “spirit of freedom” which is not from our Father’s heart but from the father of lies. My generation has suffered massively because of it; Many of us being murdered in our mother’s wombs before we even took our first breaths. BUT…. God is establishing himself as our Father! I can remember when I was pregnant with Caleb (our firstborn), Jeremy, who was raised in a fatherless home, plunged into “freak out mode” because he honestly had no idea how to be a father. I remember him praying, every chance he got, that God would teach him how to be a father. I believe God heard that prayer and answered it…. and I believe that an entire generation is being thrust into fatherhood that no man has taught them. It is the PERFECT FATHER who is teaching us how to parent! This is one of the biggest things that Jeremy and I took away from Washington, DC. It’s time for the next generation of mothers and fathers to arise from the ashes! Yes, many of us do not know how to parent because we’ve had none. But God is pouring into us RIGHT NOW! Don’t shy away from it!

Live Life Loud!
~Sandy