Genuine or Imitation?

We live in a world of fake news, fake body physiques, fake products and even fake identities.  So, my question is, "Do you like knock-offs (imitations) or the real (genuine) things?  

Let's do a quick survey of things you prefer:

• Eggs you shake & pour from a carton or real eggs? 
• Spam or real ham? 
• Miracle Whip or real mayonnaise? 
• Creme Betweens or real Oreos?
• Knock-off apparel, footwear, handbags, electronics; or the real thing?  Just imagine telling someone about your beautiful new "genuine imitation" leather/fur coat!

Too often, we settle for imitations, rather than striving for real aspects that strengthen and grow our marriages, friendships and even work relationships. Peter challenges Christ-followers to "up their game" and stop settling for cheap imitations such as...

• Manipulation is a cheap imitation for humility
• Outward appeal is an imitation for inward beauty
• Knowing right is a cheap imitation for doing right
• Providing a living is a cheap imitation for sharing a life
• Leverage is a cheap imitation for leading
• Jealousy is a cheap imitation for honor
• Sex is a cheap imitation for love
• Selfishness is a cheap imitation for sharing
• Security is a cheap imitation for satisfaction.
• Religion is a cheap imitation for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Peter challenges wives, husbands, and believers in general to raise the bar and stop "settling."  If we settle for imitations, we will find our relationships defined by division, irritation, resentment and bitterness. As believers, we should strive to be real and show others the joy in serving Jesus with a pure heart that wants to give God our best.

In today's world filled with cheap, fake, imitations; let's determine to be real followers of Jesus Christ!

February 2021 - Celebration & Praise Report

February was an amazing month at Grace!!!  I just have to give praise to God and tell you what HE has done!!

Did you grow-up in or ever attend a church that sang the Doxology?  The Doxology is a short hymn-like chorus that gives praise to God. In years past, churches of various denominations would conclude their services by singing it. Listen to the words:

        Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow

        Praise Him, all creatures here below

        Praise Him above, ye heavenly host

        Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost

That is exactly what I want to do... I want to give praise to God for the blessings HE brought to and through the ministries of Grace Church and Highlands Christian Academy during February 2021.

First, as you know, February is known as the “Love Month;” so Grace capitalized on that theme:

• Pastor Gary has been preaching through a marriage series titled, “LORD of the Rings” and offering biblical counsel for Christian marriages.
• On Sunday, Feb. 14, couples stood across our congregation and renewed their marriage vows. COVID has added much stress to marriage, but with a commitment to Christ and to each other, we are confident that Christian marriages can weather the storms of life.

Other “Love” opportunities were seen each Sunday in February:

• Feb. 7 - we loved-on our community – and collected food, clothing & toiletry items for “The Lord’s Gift House,” a ministry to the homeless in our community.
• Feb. 14 – we loved-on our spouse, family & widows in our congregation.
• Feb. 21 – we loved-on each other, as our Grace family gathered around fire pits; cooked hotdogs and enjoyed making s’mores under the stars.
• Feb. 28 – we loved others as we distributed bread and pastries to the homeless, our friends, and our neighbors. Each loaf/box had a Gospel tract telling people about the Bread of Life.

February also brought us a feeling of some normalcy as we hosted some larger “events.”

• Our children are now meeting in-person and started a new Bible program titled, “Eat this Book.” Dozens of children are attending in-person and Miss Julie is also making the program available online.
• Steve Merritt brought a trio from FBC of Ft. Lauderdale that blessed our church family. We saw many guests in attendance and had our largest 1^st service attendance since the pandemic started.
• Grace also hosted a Winter Bible Conference, which included:
  • Guy Melton from Oasis Church in Pembroke Pines, FL
  • Chris Lane from First Priority of South Florida
  • Michael Chin Quee from Food for the Poor

Each of these men challenged us to look past the pandemic and “renew our passion” to reach people in new, creative and personal ways with good news of the life-changing Gospel.

“Praise God from Whom all blessings flow” for the people who are were saved, baptized, returned to worship and were added to the Grace Church family in the month of February!

We also experienced wonderful blessings in our school ministry - Highlands Christian Academy.

We have truly been blessed under the leadership of Dr. Steve Lawrence and God is blessing us with new leadership for our 2021-2022 school year:

• Mr. Larry Smith with take the reins as our new Head of School
• Mr. Bill Canning will become our new Upper School Principal
• We are also blessed to be adding several new faculty to our staff, which will allow us to bring back several elective classes
  
• In addition, budgeting and recruiting are in warp-speed for next year and look forward to going post-pandemic and seeming growth and enhancements in every area of HCA.

Another BIG achievement was HCA’s celebration of 100 Days of School!

• While many schools have remained closed or online only, HCA started meeting in-person back in August. Our thanks to Dr. Lawrence for his courageous leadership and also to Governor DeSantis for keeping Florida open.

We also want to congratulate our Knights Varsity Boys Soccer Team as the Regional Runners-Up! They had a great season under the leadership of Coach Davidson Loristan and we are so proud of our boys’ performance during this difficult year. We also want to congratulate HCA Senior, Payton Caja, who was selected to the Atlantic Coaches Association Senior All-Star Game on March 13 at Bryant Stadium in Lakeland, FL.

We have so much to celebrate & praise God for!  As Ed Stetzer stated, “The moment we are in; does not pause the mission we are on.” The ministries of Grace Church continue strong and we thank God for protecting us during the pandemic and blessing our efforts to make HIM known across our community!

How to Fight Right

Marriage, like any other relationship, takes work and the road we travel is not always (if ever) easy. There are unexpected twists, unforeseen turns, slippery slopes, and even some very rocky terrain. Conflicts can make us sharper and they are sure to occur when two individuals have differing opinions. Sadly, we live in a world that does not teach conflict resolution. We find ourselves in a world that wants to "cancel" anyone who has a differing opinion. What happened to listening, gleaning, hearing-out, compromising, or coming to a win-win?

As Christ-followers, we follow the Bible as our model for conflict resolution. These biblical principles work and will make our marriages, neighborhoods, and workplaces better; IF we choose to implement them into our various relationships. Allow me to list a few below:

1. BE HONEST & RESPECTFUL

Honesty, integrity & respect are building blocks for relationships.  Dishonesty and a lack of respect will certainly drive a wedge in any relationship. Tell the truth, be transparent, and show respect; even when you disagree with someone -- especially your spouse.

Eph 4:25- Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another.

2. CHOOSE THE RIGHT WEAPONS

There are weapons for "hand-to-hand" combat (swords, bayonets, etc.); weapons of warfare (bombs, missiles, etc.); and spiritual weapons (Armor of God - Ephesians 6:10-18). In relationship conflicts, we must lay down the worldly "offensive" weapons and pickup the spiritual weapons. Too often, we forget who the real enemy is. Satan wants to steal, kill & destroy... and this includes your marriage & family.

Eph 4:26 - Be angry, and do not sin…  (guard your heart & actions)

Prov 18:14 - The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit?  (Don't destroy the spirit of those you love, as it will take MUCH time to rebuild.)

3. USE STRATEGIC TIMING

You've heard the statement that "timing is everything." Many fights are started because of bad timing (i.e. - in the last 2 minutes of the Super Bowl, etc.). Consider timing comments & conversations so you don't provoke a fight; BUT also consider the right timing to END the fight. Do not allow disagreements to go on and on. In fact, the Bible states that the matter should be settled before you go to bed. 

  

Eph 4:26-27 - …Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil.

4. RESOLVE & RESTORE

If a conflict ensues because of something you did, then fix it! Repent, restore, make restitution, etc. Confess your sin, come clean about your actions, own the problem you created. I'll never forget the lesson my dad taught me about confession, after breaking the neighbor's window with a baseball and then working to replace it. A broken window is easy to replace, but a broken spirit is MUCH more difficult. Take the time to heal the hurt and restore the relationship.

Prov. 18:14 - ...who can bear a broken spirit

Prov. 18:19 - A brother (or spouse) offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like bars of a castle.

5. CHOOSE YOUR WORDS WISELY

It is difficult to control our tongue, BUT it is even more difficult when you are angry.  Remember the statement, "Keep your words sweet, as you might have to eat them."  Jesus experienced righteous indignation with the money changers in the temple, but there is no record of him cussing, cursing or embarrassing Himself with careless words. He turned many people off by His positions, but never due to His disposition.

Eph 4:29-30 - Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 

6. FIGHT PRIVATELY, NOT PUBLICLY

The Bible is very clear that disagreements should be settled 1-to-1. We are not to make a matter public, unless it is unconfessed sin and it should be brought before the church with a heavy heart and for the purpose of restoration. In today's world of keyboard cowards, when people post every grievance on the internet; we as Christ-followers should NEVER be guilty of such actions. Keep our disagreements private and seek to resolve them privately.

Matt. 18:15 - Moreover, if your brother (or spouse) sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone... 

Eph 4:31 - Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

7. BANDAGE THE WOUNDS

In every fight, someone gets wounded. The frequently forgotten bandage that will heal almost all emotional wounds is forgiveness. It's too bad that the Church is more known for being "judgmental" rather than being "forgiving." Let strive for all of our relationship disputes to end with forgiveness.

Eph 4:32 - And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.

It is important to understand that disagreements are a normal part of any marriage and any human relationship. Disagreements can be opportunities for people to learn from each other and come to a compromise that strengthens their relationship. So, learn to "fight right" and recognize Satan as the real enemy... not your spouse!