Friday, January 2, 2018

JOHN Good Morning! I’m John Branning, the Lead Pastor of Central United Methodist Church. Why is it that we seem to notice every flaw, missed step, and wrong turn and never seem to appreciate what we do right? It’s as if we’re looking to put ourselves down before someone else gets a chance. Meanwhile, we put on labels we were never meant to wear. You’re not good enough. You’re too much. What a fool. Ugly. Rejected. We seem to be our worst critic. Of course, the enemy of God is right there affirming those false identity statements in an effort to hold us back from the abundant life God has promised. Imagine what would happen if we put an end to believing the enemy’s lies? What if we could see ourselves as God see’s us? The Holy Bible tells us that when God looks at us, he sees his creation with all its flaws but not unredeemable. In fact, that is why Jesus came to us as a human to teach us that we are worth more than we think. If we thought about ourselves in this way maybe then, the harshest critic within each of us would fade away, and we can truly start enjoying the fullness of this life God has promised.