Wonder

Paul exhorted the church at Thessalonica to walk according to the ways of Christ and to seek to be united with one another - we can read in 1st Thessalonians chapter 3:
11 Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you.
12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you,
13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

He goes on to say in 1st Thessalonians 4:
1 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God...

We have to be so careful to watch the way we walk. In all things, the Word of God should be our guide. If we are dependent on the Word, then we will experience its power - God provides us with the resources of His Holy Spirit so that we might be obedient to the Scriptures.  God's Word becomes the basis of our relationships within the Church and the standard we uphold to the world around us. We can grow in our sensitivity to follow the Lord's direction.

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We are called to model Christ by following His principles and displaying His love. Ephesians chapter 5 instructs us, stating:
1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

You could say that the Great Departure is in full swing with regard to family-friendly entertainment.  There has been a lot of focus on Disney and its embrace of the LGBTQ agenda.  And, to a lesser extent, the Hallmark Channel has also been swept up in thinking it has to promote this lifestyle, practiced by a very small percentage of the population.  Its commitment to depicting gay characters will likely have ramifications in the years to come. 

Meanwhile, a former Hallmark executive has repurposed the Great American Country cable channel to create Great American Channels, which consist of GAC Family and GAC Living.  And, GAC Family has already been successful in luring former Hallmark stars over to the new endeavor.  Most recently, outspoken Christian actress Candice Cameron Bure announced her affiliation with GAC Family.  Before that, it was announced that a familiar Hallmark face, former star of the original The Wonder Years, Danica McKeller, had signed a deal with GAC.

McKellar recently posted on Instagram, "I went live today to share the journey I’ve recently embarked on."  But, that announcement was not about a career move, rather, about a life move.  Movieguide reported on the post accompanying a video, in which she wrote:

I can tell you I’m experiencing a relationship with God and Jesus that I’ve never had before, and it feels miraculous. And it all started one evening when I was struggling with the idea of forgiveness and DM’d my good friend @candacecbure about a passage from the Bible she had read on her instastories, and then she sent me a Bible, and invited me to church… I am wishing all of you the love & freedom I feel in my heart on this journey, and a beautiful Sunday!!

In a previous story on the Movieguide website, it was reported that McKellar had received a gift from her friend Candice, a One Step Closer Bible, which was published last year.  At the time, she wrote: “I will tell you, I have not had much of a Bible education in my life, a little bit here and there, but it’s not part of how I was raised,” adding, “I’m looking forward to learning more about it because Candice is a really awesome person and she’s got her own notes and things in here to kind of guide you through. Since I don’t know a lot about it, I’m looking forward to using it in that way. So thank you, Candice.”

A CBN story about McKellar's apparent newfound faith quoted her, from the video: "I have been going to church and finding a lot of amazing love and peace and purpose and it's blowing my mind. I always had this other preconceived notion of what that was when people talked about Jesus and the Lord. I just didn't quite get it..."  She added:

"I feel a lot of joy in my heart and I always like to share that when I can with you guys. If in any way I can help you to embrace things that feel good because I believe we are put on this planet to experience joy and to spread joy. It just takes energy."

The article also related: "While holding up her Bible, McKellar emphasized that scripture is a likely source to find that energy." 

McKellar is 47 and waited so long to consider following Jesus because of misconceptions about Christianity.  As we began the week talking about: don't wait!  And, we can be challenged not to become one of "those" Christians who do not reflect the presence of Jesus in our lives, thereby helping to facilitate people's rejection of the Gospel.

According to the timeline, Danica's friend, Candice, gave her a Bible last year. That act came after Danica had reached out about forgiveness.  She attributes her newfound faith as the result of a process that was begun at that time. In the context of a friendship, God was able to show His love and truth. Candice responded by seizing the opportunity that God had given to her.  But, I would also contend that her friend knew who to go to in order to perhaps find answers.  We can stand ready and available to be used by God in someone's life.

I sense that there is weariness in the Church today - perhaps that's your story: the last two years have weighed on the consciousness of so many.  Maybe you don't feel rested and refreshed.  We need energy, a supernatural infusion of power, the right kind of power.  God invites us to experience the energy of the Holy Spirit.