What Are You Holding On To?

"Don't store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. Wherever your treasure is, there your hearts and thoughts will be also." Matthew 6:19-21(NLT)

As my family and I spent the better part of last week helping with the much needed disaster relief efforts that have been going on in our city as a result of the deadly storms and tornadoes that ripped through North Carolina on April 16th, I have once again found reason to pause and thank God for our many blessings.
One day, upon returning home from the clean-up effort, I walked up on my front porch, sank down into my fave rocker and just as I started to admire my surroundings and enjoy the warm sun on my face, my mind raced back to the wreckage I had just left behind..... moreso the faces of the many people that were so harshly affected by the storms...I began to try and imagine my home in the condition of those I had just left behind...some were left with only interior walls, some had trees sticking through walls...from the inside out while some had trees smack in the middle of them.
As I looked around my surroundings with these remembrances bouncing in my head and heart, I suddenly began to feel guitly that my home had been untouched while there were so many less than 3 miles away from me who were left with nothing....I also began to feel fear over how fragile life is and how quickly things can be forever altered in the blink of an eye!!!! In that same moment, a question and a prayer began forming within  me...."God, how does one survive/get past something like that?" And as He often does, He answered me back with another question which immediately formed in my spirit...."What are you holding on to?"
Right away I  knew what He was hinting at...I had also been re-playing in my mind the requests we had received from a few homeowners that day as they had asked for help in  searching for and salvaging such valuables as family photos, wedding rings, pianos,cards & letters from loved ones that they'd lost to death years ago, and refrigerators.......yes, refrigerators...
You see, I'd  just been surveying my "earthly possessions" and counting their worth in my heart...I knew immediately that my focus was off and His question was intended to draw me back to what is most important, the source of all my stregnth and the One true constant in my life....HIM!!!!
He wasn't saying that all those we had helped that morning and afternoon were wrong for trying to salvage their treasures, but He WAS checking me for holding so tightly to mine that I was actively worrying over, fearing and dreading at the thought of ever having to part with them....in an instant, I found myself seeking His forgiveness, thanking Him (once again) for His sovereign protection in the storm and asking for the strength to remember that He can be trusted in the midst of life's fiercest trials.....especially since I had witnessed with my own eyes so much of that trust in Him in action through many of the storm survivors......inspite of all of their losses ....
I hope to return to the disaster site with my family again this week, to love on those in need and offer our help and support through being the hands and feet of Jesus here on earth, but this time I will return to my home and sink back in my fave porch rocker with these words in mind...HIS words... " So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food or drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds, they don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are more valuable to Him than they are. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. " "Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern." So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring it's own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." Matthew 6:25-27 & 31-34 (NLT)

Coffee For Your Heart:The Hope of the Resurrection

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone was rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus." Luke 24:1-3 (NIV)


1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (NIV) "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

You may be wondering what’s so special that many, every year, talk on & on about the Resurrection of Christ….as I’ve pondered this again the last few weeks leading up to our yearly Resurrection Sunday Celebration, I’ve come to be inspired and encouraged once again by the hope I have in this blessed event.

Everything we as Christians hold dear and place our faith in is hinged in this one pivotal event in history. 1 Corinthians 15:13-14 (NIV) says “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” And there you have it in a nutshell, if this is all a lie then our faith is in vain and all for nothing…. The Apostle Paul then goes on to say in verse 15…”More than that we are found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead. But He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised.” Worse yet, as is stated in the text, if there is no resurrection, this would mean that Christians are a people without hope… because verse 17 says....  “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins....”


Well, there are quite a few things, or should I say, certainties that I have hung my faith and hope in the Resurrection on and I am most grateful that you will allow me to take time to quickly highlight just a few…The very fact that 11 terrified Disciples went from cowering in hiding at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, to boldly proclaiming His return from the dead (along with the truth of the gospel) to the point of martyrdom in most cases, has greatly convinced and inspired hope within me….how does one go from that type of terror; to being filled with such certainty that they are then moved to the point of being willing to die for what they believe; if they did not, in fact, experience something of which they were life-alteringly sure?

Another example is found in the life of the writer of the above mentioned text taken from 1 Corinthians…The Apostle Paul, who began his journey in life as Saul, the greatest and most zealous pursuer and persecutor of the early church. Upon having his own personal encounter with the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus, is now known by many as  " The Apostle to the Gentiles" and in like fashion to many of the other disciples (except John), was also martyred for his faith in Christ….how again, does one go from persecuting a movement to then becoming one of it’s greatest advancers if something significant did not take place in the life of that individual that radically changed the course and direction of not only their life’s purpose but also their heart?

To give an example from my own life, on the night my mother passed away, I was led to 2 portions of Scripture….not by anything I heard audibly but rather by just a “knowing” in my heart to meditate on those scriptures…one of those is found in the book of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 which says…. “Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, (die) or to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage each other with these words.” Little did I know at the time this scripture reference was "given" to me, that I would have to re-visit these words again when my dad died 4 months...almost to the day later…. Believe me when I say….”they most assuredly have encouraged me, and I read them often."

Lastly, and for me the most important, is the example of Christ Himself ….many have said and still say that Jesus was a good man, a prophet and wise teacher but they readily doubt or flat out do not accept His Divinity…can I just tell you that if Jesus was not THE Son of God as He said He was, then He was neither a good man, prophet or wise teacher but rather a liar, false prophet and lunatic….He claimed with His own mouth to be the living, breathing Son of the One, True God and spoke of Himself when He raised Lazarus from the dead by saying…”I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26 (NIV)

So there you have them, just a few of the reasons and examples of why I have absolutely and completely placed my faith in the hope of the resurrection. Intertwined along with those examples is an offering of explanation as to why Christians all around the world will be celebrating Sunday once again; and why we do our best, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to live this life as followers and imitators of Christ Jesus.....but ultimately, it’s Jesus’ own words that matter the most and beg the greatest response from us……..”Do you believe this?”


 Remember to drop on over to http://holleygerth.com/ to give your heart a bit more lift! Also, remember to join me again on Monday, April 28th at 10 AM EST on Life On The Grow Blog Talk Radio when I'll return to begin my regularly scheduled broadcast! Have a safe and blessed Easter!

The Purpose of the Cross

John 3:16-17  (NIV) "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”


1 John 4: 8b-10 (NIV) "God is love. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

Let’s cut right to the chase…one of the things that makes Christianity different from every other world religion is the cross of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ….

Many ask, “Why would a loving God send His Son to die on a cross?” and the answer to that is… because not only is God Loving, He is also Holy and Just. We simply cannot separate those 3 qualities away from one another in our understanding of and approach toward God….

I, along with many of you, have often compared my own “goodness” to the “goodness” present (or lack thereof) in others….but that is an exercise in futility and certainly not the point….what is the point, is that when we compare ourselves in relationship to the goodness and holiness of Almighty God… we simply find that we do not and never will measure up…..Scripture tells us in Romans 3:23 "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...."

Many in today’s world, would simply rather focus only on God’s goodness…. separating, as I mentioned before, God’s justice and holiness from His Divinity; which despite of all of His goodness, require payment and accountability for our sin….these are the parts of God’s attributes that many choose to often just overlook or deny….but to do so, denies the very truth that we NEEDED Christ’s death on the cross and leaves out a very vital piece of the gospel message….To overlook the necessity of Jesus’ death on the cross, is to insinuate that we can somehow approach God on our own, apart from Jesus’sacrificial death….if this had ever been the case, then certainly God in His infinite wisdom, would never have allowed His only begotten Son to perish on a cross in the first place….

The Word tells us in Romans 6:23 a... “the wages of sin is death.” Therefore, a death was required by God to atone for the sin of all people… Why? well, Leviticus 17:11 explains this more clearly when it says....."For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's  life." In light of the explanation given in Lev. 17:11, God, in His great Love for all mankind, sought the solution for us, once and for all by coming to earth in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, shedding His blood and dying on our behalf for the payment of death that was required in response to our sin by none other than..... His Holiness and Justice…. and so, there we see them again, those 3 seemingly  unlikely companions…the Holiness, Justice and Love of God all intermingled on our behalf, accusing us and yet working to save us at the same time…

My Friends, as we remember the death of our Savior over the coming few weeks, may we also remember that the purpose of the cross was to ensure that "whosoever will"  can come to God, and do so through the atoning power of Christ’s death….My pastor once said “The cross was as bad as it was because our sin is as bad as it is and we won't recognize the value of the cross until we recognize that we caused it!"

Perhaps you have never quite considered the purpose of the cross from this perspective before, but I assure you that God did. It will well serve your life and the lives of those around you, if you make some time the next few weeks to consider and take seriously the fact that the invitation to "whosoever will" still freely stands…If you haven’t done so already, won’t you accept His invitation? The work was completed for you by Jesus...all you need do is come to Him as you are....


 Remember to drop on over to http://holleygerth.com/ to give your heart a bit more lift! Also, remember to join me again on Monday, April 28th at 10 AM EST on Life On The Grow Blog Talk Radio when I'll return to begin my regularly scheduled broadcast! Have a safe and blessed Easter!

God Works In Mysterious Ways

2 Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." (NIV)

The title to this week’s blog is a common, well known, quite cliché’ phrase that I recently heard used in the movie “Soul Surfer” which is an awesome story based on the real life experience of Bethany Hamilton, the World Class Pro Surfer who lost one of her arms in a shark attack back in 2003....

As I cried my way through the beautiful re-telling of Bethany’s story, my heart began to ponder a few questions…questions I have yet to shake loose as a matter of fact…..

Bethany’s story is one that would’ve drawn many to see it simply due to the inspirational nature of her dramatic comeback from such a tragic event, but the fact that the Hamilton family was so adamant to see to it that their obvious faith in God through Jesus Christ was shared throughout the telling of their story caused a few questions to rise up within me…. What if we tend to look at trials and difficulties that enter our lives incorrectly? What if, when tragedy enters our lives, God is literally entrusting it to us because He knows, as He looks on and searches our hearts, that He can entrust tragedy to some who will, in the midst of their altered lives, grief, pain and disappointment, allow their faith in Him to shine brighter; thereby allowing Him to glorify Himself and do a work in and through them that everyone around them will know was simply impossible for them to accomplish in their own strength apart from Him?

As I’ve pondered these questions and this way of looking at things over the past few days, I’ve found myself praying not for hardship or difficulty to enter my life, but rather that God will allow this new “perspective” to continue in my heart so that I might be able to remember, like the Hamilton's were faithful to do, that God has a plan and a “mysterious work” that He desires to accomplish in and through my life whenever He sovereignly allows difficulty and hardship to touch it….Dear Friends, as I write this, I am praying the very same for you as well.

The God of all Comfort

2 Corinthians. 1 : 3-4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (NIV)

We only need to look about us to see the pain and suffering that is prevalent everywhere in this world. Perhaps it’s only my perspective, but loss, illness, accidents and natural disasters seem to be touching our lives and the lives of those we know and love with a startlingly increased regularity….these tragedies often leave us reeling, filled with grief, questions and if we’re not careful, a sense of permanent despair….

Grief is a universal thread that runs through the tapestry of each of our lives from time to time. I experienced a pivotal season of deep grief which began in 1998 and continues on occasion, even now; as a result of losing both of my parents to cancer within a 4 month stretch of time. Actually, my grieving process began in 1993, when my mother was first diagnosed with her cancer and it just sort of continued on once my dad received his own diagnosis, up through the time frame of when they both passed away……When I tell you that that was the hardest, darkest season of my life up to that point, please also forgive me as I coin a very cliche' phrase and say, "that is an understatement."

In my journey through grief, I began to wrestle with God….I questioned His Sovereignty, I questioned His Wisdom, I questioned His Goodness and I questioned my faith and trust in Him….amidst all of my questioning, I one day found myself at a crossroads with Him….Suddenly, I knew in my spirit, that I had a choice to make…..either I could still choose to believe that God was everything His Word says that He is….press into Him and let Him heal me, or I could continue to push Him away and remain broken. As I’ve looked back on this period of time in my life, I’ve titled it…”The Great Paradox” because while this season was one that I would have never willingly signed up for and one I would’ve never asked for in a million years to be sure, it also proved to be the absolute sweetest time of intimacy that I’d ever experienced with God. As I made the choice to believe that everything I had heard about Him was true, He readily set about proving every ounce of that truth to my wounded heart and spirit…..

When I asked Him "How He could allow such a thing to take place in the life of my family?" I never heard His voice audibly, but He set about bringing to my heart and mind 1 Corinthians 15:26 which says that “Death is the last enemy to be destroyed.” (NIV), He lovingly reminded me that death itself was the ultimate culprit behind my crushed heart and struggle. He then gently helped me recall that it was the sin of man that ushered death into this world; which was never part of His original plan for us in the first place…..Lastly, He reminded me that He is the owner of all things….even those I love…..He reminded me that I no more “owned” my parents than did they ever “own” me….He reminded me that He had entrusted all of us to one another for a season of time and although He did not “license” death, it was still His place alone to decide when and how that season would end…..

When I accused Him of "not understanding my suffering" He reminded me that He had watched His own Son die a brutal, horrible death while He had simply had to turn His head and stand by and do nothing just so I, and anyone else who desires it, can have a personal relationship with Him in this life and for all eternity….His words resonated in my spirit and taught me that He perfectly understood my suffering….

When I told Him "I couldn’t fathom how I would ever again experience any joy in the future"….to help me avoid living the rest of my days with a permanent sense of hopelessness and despair, He reminded me that my joy is anchored in Christ and not my circumstances….He reminded me that because my parents knew His Son as their Savior, they were now with Him, just as He was still, and  always would be with me, simply because of my own personal relationship with Him......He reminded me that no experience is ever wasted in the lives of His children…He reminded me that He has promised in His Word to work everything in my life out for my good and He demonstrated to me over the fullnes of time, that He could be trusted to keep His promise. He has faithfully comforted me and given me a story to share with countless others when they are in the midst of life’s deepest hurts and disappointments…..So, if you find yourself traveling through the valley of grief today…I encourage you to seek His face….He is the only One who can redeem our hurts and in the process, give us a testimony to share with others that can aide them in their greatest times of sorrow and  need….our God is not careless and thoughtless in how He works…..if death has called someone dear to you from this life into the next, He does not take lightly the pain and brokenness this has caused in your heart…..How do I know? Because He has lovingly and faithfully shown me so……

Your “Great Paradox” may manifest itself in your life in an entirely different way than mine, nevertheless, He is and always will be the God of all comfort….won’t you purpose to meet Him at the center of your suffering? I promise you; He’ll prove Himself to be the God of all comfort for you as well …

Seasons of the Soul

Ecclesiastes 3:1 “There is a time for everything. A season for every activity under heaven.” NLT


The soul, just like life, has seasons, but unlike life, the seasons of the soul do not necessarily follow a natural order. In life, we readily expect the natural succession of Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn; but the seasons our souls experience often depend on the happenings in our lives…. and not on any natural order.

For instance, it need only take a sunny day, great phone conversation with a longtime friend or an unexpected blessing to cause us to experience the enjoyable pleasure of what one might call the “summer” of the soul…perhaps a new job or move to a new home might cause us to experience the newness and promise of a “spring-like” season of the soul...while reaping the rewards of hard work after a long period of study could epitomize Autumn in the life of one’s soul, while even still, the loss of a job, relationship or loved one could, and often does, plunge our soul into a dark winter of despair….

Although the cause behind each “season” every soul experiences may differ, the goal or outcome of each, in the life of every follower of Christ, should be the same….the goal being, our allowing God to glorify Himself through us to the rest of the world no matter the circumstance or occasion…Think of those you know personally or by example, who have faced unfathomable tragedy, with dignity, grace and strength that was simply unexplainable given the circumstances….that’s an example of taking a season of despair or "soul winter", turning it over to God and allowing His grace to abound in and through you so others may know that what they see taking place, originated with God and not yourself….

This principle can be true no matter the season of life….it’s all about taking every opportunity to magnify the Lord….as the scripture reference from Ecclesiastes tells us…"there is a season for every activity under heaven" but there is also a Kingdom purpose for each activity as well. In God’s firm grasp, there is never any waste….Although God may not render unto us an explanation for everything He allows, we can be assured according to Romans 8:28 (NLT) that somehow “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”

So, what season of the soul do you find yourself walking in today, My Friend? My prayer for each of us, as we are entering one season or leaving another, is that we would all determine to let the Light of Christ shine through us no matter the circumstance or season of our soul…..