There is a difference between a hug and an embrace. A hug is casual and often forgotten. An embrace is so much deeper. It’s hanging on in love and desperation. It’s an unforgettable exchange between two people that desire the same thing – a deep, long-lasting connection. The grip of an embrace is tighter. It’s longer. It’s felt deep within a person’s soul. That’s why the release of an embrace is that much more noticeable than the release of a hug.

We often I often hug God instead of embrace him. It’s forgettable. It’s casual. But I want to embrace God. I want to go to the grave embracing God. I don’t want there to be any gap between the first embrace and the second embrace when I meet my Savior face to face.

“Worship God in adoring embrace,
Celebrate in trembling awe.” Psalm 2:11(Msg)

Are you hugging God instead of embracing him?

What do you need to do to turn your hug into an embrace?

I woke up on Sunday incredibly excited about the days events. Mission breakfast at 9:15am. Worship at 10:30am. I was ready to go. I got up at 5:30am to put the final touches on my sermon and to pray. I was excited to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. I was excited to go to church.

My Father-in-law, two of my kids, and I got in the car and headed out. We made a quick stop at Starbucks for a Grande Christmas blend and a couple of hot chocolates. Everything was working out just how I imagined it would. Sipping on Christmas in a cup on my way to celebrate the Christ that came in a manger. Perfect.

As we made our way down the road, my picture of a picture perfect Sunday faded quickly. It had just started raining a few minutes earlier creating some icy roads. We began to see cars in ditches and wrapped around trees all over the place. There were stranded motorists on their cell phones calling for help. We drove by with our windows rolled down asking each person if they needed help secretly hoping they would say they were fine. Because we were on our way to church and that was important.

We drove a little further and approached a hill. At the bottom of the hill we saw an overturned car with a man walking away limping from it. He said he was fine and help was on the way. We continued on and watched in panic as car after car crested the top of the hill unaware of what they were about to face. Each car began their unplanned and out of control decent down the icy road that would end up in some sort of collision. We watched as if in slow motion an SUV begin to lose control, climb an embankment and crash head on into a tree. At that moment nothing else mattered. Someone needed us. The mission breakfast seemed unimportant. Unloading the trailer and setting up the church didn’t cross my mind. Preaching the sermon that I’d spent hours crafting seemed meaningless. The only thing that mattered was the people in that car. We pulled off the road and ran to the scene of the accident. Thankfully the woman and her two little girls were all ok. She recognized me as she had visited our church a couple of times, which I think comforted her to know that the person helping her was not a axe murderer or something. We didn’t do much other than give them a dry place to wait until the road was reopened. Then we drove them home.

After dropping off this family my 4 year old said, “Dad, are we going to church now?” To which I responded, “honey, we just did church. What we just did, in helping that family was church today.”

I tell this story not to make myself out to be some hero that swooped in to save the day. I wasn’t the hero. I was the student. God reminded me of something valuable. I re-learned that while going to church is a good thing that obviously we need to do, it’s not nearly as important as being the church. I never want to go to church at the expense of being the church. I never want to serve in a scheduled ministry at the expense of a God-directed appointment. I never want to be so focused on the good things that I miss out on the greater things. Instead I want to be ready at a moment’s notice to be the church. I want to carry out my day to day life with an asterisk(*) beside my to do list that reads…

*This To Do List is subject to change with or without notice

What recent event in your life triggered a re-learning experience for you? Please share it.

Today our church packed over 200 bags of groceries in our “Extra Mile Grocery Giveaway”. This year was a little different than years prior. This year we didn’t have addresses of people that we knew were going through a tough time. Instead, we asked our people to prayerfully consider who they would give the groceries to. For some people, someone immediately came to their mind. Maybe someone who recently lost their job or is going through a difficult time. For others, they approached complete strangers with the groceries believing that God led them to that person.

I’ve heard the same story from several different “Creekers” today. When they approached the recipient with the groceries, they immediately shared how the groceries came at just the right time. Someone just got laid off. Others just got some bad news from the doctors and needed to see God’s love. There were tears. There was shock. There was gratitude. Here is message that came in on the church line today from a grateful recipient…

A thankful Extra Mile Grocery recipient

I’m so proud of our church for going the “extra mile” in our community today.

We often underestimate the power of small things done in Jesus’ name. Jesus somehow takes the small things and turns them into BIG things! Our job is to freely give what we have to others in His name.

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Acts 3:6

“Small things done with great love can change the World!” – Mother Theresa

The natural response when being attacked is to defend. We don’t have to learn how to defend, we automatically do it. It’s comes standard in all human makes and models. When we know we’re in the wrong, we feel the need to defend ourselves by trying  to justify our actions. When we know we’re in the right, we feel the need to defend our reputation. We somehow have been taught that if we don’t defend ourselves we are admitting that we are in the wrong, that our silence is somehow an admission of our guilt.

Jesus certainly had every reason to defend himself in front of the inquisition and insurrection he was facing. He could have defended his actions and possibly avoided some of the beatings that he faced. But he remained silent. Choosing instead to trust his heavenly Father for the outcome.

Occasionally, defending ourselves might be the wise thing to do. Many times it’s wise to keep our mouth shut. Defending requires discernment as well as listening to the Holy Spirit. When should we defend ourselves and when should we remain silent? I think the answer is hidden in our motivation. If our desire is to elevate ourselves in a situation, it’s best to remain silent. If the situation elevates God and could potentially lead someone closer to God, it might be wise to defend your actions and explain why you did what you did.

Recently, I was in a situation where I could have easily defended my actions and was tempted to. I felt God telling me, “you don’t have to defend yourself, I got this one Mike.” I just made the conversation about listening and seeking to understand the other person. Sometimes, the other person isn’t looking for your defense, they are just looking to throw stones at you. By the way, you know a person is just wanting to throw stones when it is a one-sided conversation and there is not one question trying to understand your point of view. Proverbs 23:9 says this, “Don’t bother talking sense to fools; they’ll only poke fun at your words.(MSG)”

There is great freedom in not defending. There is freedom in allowing God to be in control and trusting him for the outcome. The next time you find yourself in a situation where you are tempted to defend yourself. Ask the question…will this elevate me or elevate God? Extend grace and trust your heavenly Father. He’s perfectly capable of handling it on his own.

Jesus always sees people through the lens of anticipated redemption. Seeing them for who He intended them to be, rather than seeing them for who they really are.

The Russian writer and philosopher Fyodor Dostoevsky said, “ To love someone means to see him as God intended him.“ It’s this idea of seeing every person and treating them as kingdom contributors before they even know what the kingdom is. It means treating people as if they are already functioning in the body of Christ, giving them a picture of what could be and should be.

God has expanded my view of prayer beyond a verbal exchange between God and I. This idea of anticipated redemption is living out a prayer for people far from God. I believe that God sees the faith of our anticipation for people and answers it by drawing these people to himself. It’s prayer with feet. It’s living out our prayer life with anticipation.

It’s not our job to arrest people with our judgment, but rather by grace. Being arrested by judgment produces guilt, shame, hostility, and hopelessness. Being arrested by grace produces repentance, hope, worth, and redemption.

Try seeing and treating those far from God as already followers of God, as to win them through anticipated redemption.