From The Crucible (by Pastor Linda Pugsley)

Have you ever seen the movie, “The Passion of the Christ”? If not, I urge you to do so and, if you have seen it, I urge you to watch it again! For me, it was an attitude-altering experience. It was like a bucket of cold water being poured on my own desires and thoughts. It put life in such a different and grounded perspective. It made me so sorry for my sins and so extremely sorry that I was one of the reasons Jesus had to suffer the way He suffered. It drew me closer and more intimately into a love relationship with Him.

Each one who sees that movie will walk away with a different reaction and result. That is how the Lord deals with us ... individually. Hopefully, one thing we can all reap from this movie’s message is to understand more clearly that God so greatly and wonderfully loves us and we must translate that into loving each other. May the word of God become so real, so deeply ingrained in our hearts, our thinking, our attitude and our behavior that we will hate all evil and practice and teach the truth.

As you reflect on the visual presentations from the movie, may you come to realize, as I have, that we have never loved as we have been loved by Him.  Endure the fire…it’s producing pure gold!

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