The first song I remember my mother and grandmother singing to me was, “Jesus Loves Me.”  As a three-year-old I sat on my grandmother’s lap in a lawn chair and I remember asking her to sing it over and over again.  I have heard our teachers sing, “Jesus Love the Little Children” and I myself still sing this song to my granddaughter. When we have her for the weekend she asks, “We going to church papa?”  We have a great influence on people by our actions in worship.  We sing these songs to our children and grandchildren today.  We hummed these songs to infants when they are sick, hungry or just crying. Why? Because we were made to worship.

To worship God is to walk through the shadows into a familiar welcoming place, where the fire never dies, and the light is soft and glowing. To worship God is to know we are truly home, acting on a desire deep in our souls. Long before we rationally understand the truth of Christ, we want to praise someone or something for bringing love, joy, and hope into the world.  We are made to be worshipers -- worshipers of God from the heart. Thinking worshipers. Working worshipers.

Teach us to worship, Lord. Not just to be emotionally ecstatic or to just feel good, but heart-based worship of You, my spirit with Your Spirit.  “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)  “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.” (Psalm 95:6-7).  “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him.” (Psalm 89:7) The text

stresses the need for reverence on the part of those who would draw nigh to God and the Bible commands this throughout.  “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  Worship literally means to kiss toward; the act of homage or adoration paid to God.  The concept of reverence raises certain questions which need to be answered for us to more fully understand its significance.  Read Psalm 89:7 again.  “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him.”   God is to be exalted above all else.  The natural question then is this:  Have you personally placed Him above everything? Have you worshipped Him reverently?  This is something we must ponder with ourselves and family.   

A study was done by a researcher in which he attended 18 different churches on successive Sundays to rate their friendliness and warmth factor. He sat near the front of the auditorium each time and walked slowly to the rear then returned to the front using another aisle. On each occasion, he was dressed neatly and with a smile asked at least one person to direct him to the fellowship hour or a Sunday School Class.

He used the following point scale to rate his reception: 

10 - for a smile from a worshiper 

10 - for a greeting from someone nearby

100 - for an exchange of names

200 - for an invitation to Bible Class or fellowship time 1000 - for an introduction to another worshiper

2000 - for an invitation to meet a church leader

 Each of the 18 churches earned less than 100 points. The researcher concluded: "The preaching may be biblical, the singing inspirational and the service uplifting but when a guest finds no one cares whether or not he is there, he is not likely to return.”

 Friends remember to be the gracious, hospitable smile of Jesus to everyone you meet when we gather together. Why? Because I know you care and because they will know we are Christians by our love!   (written by Gregg Lee)

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. (Psa. 136:1)

You know, mercy always precedes grace, but they always go hand in hand. Before God gives us what we do not deserve (grace), He first withholds from us the judgement we have coming (mercy). Our God is, by nature, merciful: He does not treat us as we rightfully deserve. Rather, in loving grace, Our Father pours out His forgiveness over us. For such mercy and grace, we can never praise Him enough.

Imagine if God’s mercy were to somehow expire. What if one day He’d had enough of forgiving our sins - those sins that we can’t seem to master or turn away from? What if He were to reach a point where He decided to mete out exactly what we deserve as punishment for our sins, our faithlessness, and our self-centered ways? This is something to really ponder.

Of course, that turn of events would violate His own gospel: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)  If God’s mercy were to expire, we would perish.

“Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever. (Psa. 136:26) God is the only doctor will never send you a bill.

Let us thank God for loving us unconditionally! Amen.

This past Tuesday Jonathan and Kathy Furlong drove to George Bush Intercontinental Airport to greet our new daughter and welcome her into our Fulshear Family. The Furlongs fought Houston traffic, bad weather, and time just to say “HELLO.” (Sorry for bringing attention to your kindness but this was beautiful!!). It was a moving and certainly a very appreciative response. 

They brought flowers, warm smiles, love, and kindness. The extension of love, support, and hugs were a special touch for an apprehensive soul, who wasn’t sure about the journey, the language or people. 

Love is a universal language that breaks down barriers. Kindness is a gift that has no parameters. You have heard that it actually takes fewer muscles to smile than to from — Well ...that may not be true. However, you would rather receive a smile than a frown because it’s a welcoming invite into a beautiful place. These are gracious gifts for all people, all times, genders and all places.

We have visitors who come into our presence here among our Fulshear Family who are just as apprehensive, nervous, and unsure about what to expect when they arrive. What these precious souls need is love, kindness, a smile, and a gentle warm embrace. It might very well be the response that helps them to understand this is a beautiful place!

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another…” Rom. 12:9-10

The day we finally met the girl we have prayed for and loved for two years (CIELO Milagro).  The day she met her parents that she heard of for the first time only 8 weeks before (let that sink in for a moment).  One of the traditions of Encuentro Day is the adoptive parents bring a special outfit, hand it over to the child’s caregiver, and then the child can get ready to meet her parents for the first time.  This broke my heart the first time I heard about it. It seems so humbling, almost sad, for them to rely on and wait for parents they had never met to bring them something to wear for this special day.   I cried about it for a while. Then I realized that this is exactly how I am before our awesome God.  Completely at His mercy, relying on Him to clothe me with the blood of His Son, before I can be presented to Him.  

 Adoption is a beautiful mirror of God’s redemption.  

 “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of ADOPTION by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." Not only that, but we also who have the first Fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the ADOPTION, the redemption of our body.”   Romans 8:15,23 

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have CLOTHED YOURSELVES WITH CHRIST. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”  Galatians 3:26-29