Christian Writing #2
Changing the Calendar
The beginning of the month is a fun time; not because of the benefits and pay people normally receive at the start of the month that they’ve waited all month to get. The beginning of the month is a fun time, because it’s the one time of month that we can all turn the calendar to a new page, to a new beginning; something that everybody has in common. I’ve always felt a burst of positive energy in turning a new page; not only seeing a new picture of design, but seeing a whole new set of dates with which to give thanks to God for what he’s done and continues to do. Once a year we make New Years resolutions, which I confess to being bad about; as distractions of the year begin to hover overhead and shadow those resolutions. How about making “new month resolutions,” smaller resolutions that can help us reach those larger New Years resolutions?
As we turn the calendar to a new month, we may count the weeks or look at the number of days and ponder, “How am I going to make it?” Especially for those who live on limited resources, they may say “It’s impossible.” Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:34, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Often we forget about the greatest commandment to “love”, as we worry about what each day is going to bring to us. Each day is a gift, not a guarantee. When we change the pages of our calendars, we find the possibility for either 30 or 31 gifts with which to demonstrate Christ-like love to one another. It has been said that love is like a muscle; the more you use it, the more it strengthens.
Love comes in many ways; smiling as you pass someone who appears down- and offering them an encouraging word. Saying “God bless you” when you get on and off public transportation. Offering a word of prayer to your neighbor or going out of your way to help your neighbor when you see him or her in need. Leave encouraging notes or email for your friends and family. John 13:34 gives us the new command of love, “ A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Even though the calendar may show 31 opportunities for love in a month, or 365 opportunities for love in a year; love knows no bounds. Make it a goal to show at least 4 acts of love a day, 124 a month…but let that not be a limit, continue; let your love shine always! In Jesus name…AMEN
Wisdom
I spent a recent afternoon pulling weeds from flowerbeds; and thankfully I had retained some of my horticulture skills from school, because normally everything in sight would represent a weed to me. I was able, however, to decipher the pretty pink petals from the encumbering ropy green, ugly looking weeds. Normally, however, if you asked me to trim a bush or a tree- I would cut it down! We aren’t thrown on this earth like dice tossed across a table. We are lovingly placed here for a purpose; however, I doubt my purpose would be to work in a greenhouse. My purpose is to evangelize through my writing, or while I was pulling weeds, to talk with someone who was waiting for their ride at the next door clinic about Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He was in pain, and as he pointed out to me what the weeds were, I had the opportunity to stop and pray for this gentleman. That was such an awesome experience, and then to see the glimmer of hope on his face as the prayer ended and his ride pulled up. The prayer was for healing, and “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” ( Mark 11:24 ). Perhaps he said a silent prayer for my green thumb skills as well, time will surely tell!
I guess I could see wisdom for myself and read more about gardening. Do you seek wisdom for yourself? Of course you do! Wisdom can be an elusive commodity in today’s world. We live in a society filled with temptations and distractions; it’s easy for us to lose sight of the ultimate wisdom. The ultimate source of wisdom, of course, is the Word of God. When you begin a daily study of Gods Word and live according to His commandments, you will become wise. But if you expect a blanket of maturity to settle quietly across your life, you’ll be disappointed. Wisdom is like an oak tree, that starts as a tiny acorn, grows into a sapling, and eventually reaches up to the sky, tall and strong.
When you study Gods Word and live according to His commandments, you will become wise; and you will be a blessing to your friends, your family, and to the world. “For no one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar, or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.” ( Luke 8:16 ). Let your light shine for the world to see, you may indeed help bring transformation to someone in need through Christ—AMEN!!
Perseverance
The familiar saying is true: Life is a marathon, not sprint.” In a sprint, you quickly dash a short distance for the finish line; a marathon, however, takes longer. In a world filled with roadblocks and stumbling blocks, we need strength, courage, and perseverance. As an example of perfect perseverance, we need look no further than our Savior, Jesus Christ. Our Savior finished what he began, and so must we.
Perhaps you’re in a hurry for God to reveal his unfolding plans for your life. I am reminded of jig-saw puzzles, which I enjoy so much. The only frustration I find however, is that all the pieces are in front of you and yet, you can’t put it together right away. God operates on his own timetable, not ours; that jigsaw puzzle will be finished in its own time. Sometimes, God may answer your prayers with silence, and when he does, you must patiently persevere. In times of trouble, we all face trouble, your must remain steadfast and trust in the merciful goodness of our Heavenly Father. Whatever your challenge, God can handle it. Our job is to keep persevering until he does.
James 1:2-3 tells us to “consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” This scripture doesn’t necessarily tell us that we should do cartwheels with bright smiling faces, when we face trials, but to count it joy that our perseverance is being built up. There is a quote by C.H. Spurgeon which tells us that “by perseverance, the snail reached the ark.”
The snail, one of nature’s slowest creatures held its strength that it would reach the ark and kept its eye upon the ark. Philippians 3:13-14 tells us that “one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Christ supplies the resources for us to press on toward the goal; the ultimate resource being the blood which he shed for the forgiveness of all our sins. By this act, we can forget what is behind, our sins have been wiped away; we’re a new creation. Our prize through that ultimate sacrifice, which Christ paid for us, is the award of everlasting glory.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Never give up, but always have faith and persevere.
Jesus Takes the Broken Pieces
We’ve all seen the show “Cops” and we’ve seen countless people raise their hands in surrender; they don’t have any other choice…well, they do if they chose! In reality they’d be shooting a cannon at a fly, because they’d have a much larger problem! We have a choice to raise our hands in surrender, as Christ freely did for us. It’s not forced against us, God won’t force himself upon us; in recovery however, we have to make amends. Park of making those amends is making amends with ourselves, forgiving ourselves, and allowing ourselves to reach out-surrender-and grasp a hold of new life….and become a new creation in God.
I always tell people that surrendering our lives can be a joyous time, and I believe that all the angels in heaven are high fiving one another with God. Once Christ was baptized, however, he went immediately into the wilderness to be tempted for 40 days and nights. We too, have to expect difficult times as Jesus did…..but always remember, Jesus takes the broken pieces of our lives and by his love makes them whole. Christ has claimed victory for us, all we have to do is raise our hands and reach out for that victory and say, I surrender to you Lord!
Encouragement-not Complacency
We should constantly reserve a daily time with God for self examination, bible reading and prayer in order to know God and His will for our life and to gain the power to follow his will. We desire to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ and others; however, sometimes we may become a little too complacent in our positions within our church bodies, or our daily routines- that the path forward which was once clear-can become blurred. The best way to describe this is taking a long distance drive and after so long those white lines which paint the ribbon of asphalt across our country become hypnotic and blend together….and we begin to drift.
1st Corinthians 10:12 tells us…”So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.”
The greatest commandment tells us to… “ Love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it. Love you neighbor as yourself. All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.” ( Matthew 22:37-40 )
James 1:22 encourages us… “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves”….this means not to sit and be complacent…. “Do what it says.” When we practice the Great Commandment, we become doers of Gods word, living examples of Christ. Our walk lines up with our talk! The apostle Paul lived that way. He says in 1st Thessalonians 1:5 that “Our lives were further proof to you of the truth of our message.” Before Christ ascended into heaven, he told the disciples to go into all nations, everywhere, teaching them as he has taught the disciples. The disciples were followers of Christ….we too, are followers of Christ….we try to follow by his example in our daily lives. Let you light shine for others to see.
Here are a few other encouraging words of scripture that tell us how to the word encourages others, when we allow it to flow through us and into the community.
- “A word of encouragement does wonders” Proverbs 12:25
- “A wise, mature person is known for his understanding. The more pleasant his words, the more persuasive he is.” Proverbs 16:21
- “Let not foul or polluting language nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk ( ever ) come out of your mouth, but only such ( speech ) as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others.” Ephesians 4:20
We can make a difference today!
Dear God, thank you for today. Thank you for giving me the tools to grow closer to you and live my life differently that what I may have been. Help me to be centered in your will. Help me I all my contact with others to do my part in helping to lead them to a healthy and growing life in Jesus, Our Lord and Savior….in Jesus name we pray….AMEN
Healing Hospitals
The church is a hospital; just as we may go to a physical hospital complete with its emergency room for physical healing- so the church is a hospital for spiritual healing. The “church” is the people, which meet in any kind of structure. I was blessed with the opportunity in church formation to have hosted close to 40 church members in my 2 bedroom apartment for nearly 3 months. Sometimes, peoples spiritual healing begins in a physical hospital through drug rehab or psychiatric stabilization to name a few; and even in those times there are hospital chaplains to help kick-start that spiritual renewal and rebirth.
For most of us, however, the church was our spiritual hospital. The closest word in scripture to the word “hospital” is “hospitality.” 1st Peter 4:8-9 tells us to “love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” We are the torchbearers of the one way, one truth, and one light; we are ambassadors and representatives of Jesus…Christ-like of “Christian.” We are the point of contact for a hurting world that needs hope, we are the hands and hearts which God has to reach out to others within our communities. There should be a sign at the exit of each church which reads that “you are now entering the mission field” and a sign at the entrance which reads “welcome to the home of healing.” It is God who works through us, to make everything that seems impossible, possible.
Romans 12:13 tells us to “share with Gods people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” We all have needs. When we go to a physical hospital, we need physical healing. When we come to our places of worship, we need each other. Many may claim that they read the bible and don’t need to go to church; however, we need that witness of one another as we share not only in our joys, but in our pains and sorrows. We can learn from one another; and the lost, the lonely- they can begin to see transformation in their lives as they see what the Holy Spirit has done through others- and they realize that they can be part of that transformation too….and it’s something that they begin to strive for.
Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father, bless this day and forgive us all of our faults and weaknesses in judgment-we thank you for sending your only son Jesus, to shed his blood for our sins; and we give thanks that today is a new day and truly a gift from you-and that our sins have been forgiven as white as snow-we claim healing in Jesus’ name…..AMEN
About giving Thanks
This has definitely been a year of hard times with struggles in the economy; and it has tested the endurance and strength of the foundations of many families and individuals. We have had to give up many things, just to make it; and I wish that we could practice what Dorothy of the "Wizard of Oz" did, tap our feet three times and we'd be back in the best of times. Unfortunately we can't. In the worst times, however, we still have those things that we can embrace with thanksgiving. We have the encouraging words and support of families and friends. We can testify that we are a survivor; because by reading this, you made it through another year. We can give the most thanks for Our Higher Power, Our Comforter, Our Creator, Our Father...who gave his Son, that we may have eternal life.
Having Christ in our lives doesn't guarantee that we won't face the problems of life, the insecurities; but it does give us hope. I am thankful this holiday season for each of my family members, each of my friends, and for all of those mentors, teachers, and pastors who have helped to bring encouragement to me through the rough moments...and to share in the peace of the happy moments.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Making a U-Turn
When someone calls us by name as we’re walking, what is our first reaction? To stop and turn most often. As a child, when we would take family trips down the striped highways adorning our countryside in ribbon like fashion- and passed an antique sale; my mother was the first to exclaim “turn” as if that sale were the last before the end of time! When we’re lost, often we turn around and retrace our steps. Another word for turning is to “repent,” in which we were complacent in our hurts, habits, hang-ups, unhealthy ways of living and sin-things that turned us away from God; to repent, we turned back to God and away from those unsteady ways of life.
The bible has much to say about repentance. Ezekiel 18:30-31 tells us to, “Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and spirit.”
Yes, it’s easy to read about repentance in words; but how do we turn away from ways that we’ve become used to for so many weeks, months, or years perhaps? Many times it takes a monumental step of faith. Faith is not a sense, sight or reason. Faith is simply taking God, Our Higher Power at his word. The word tells us in Romans 10:9 that “If you declare with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” For some people, this faith is just way too simple, and they want to make faith and salvation much more difficult. But it isn’t! Our salvation, thank God, depends on Gods love for us, not our love for him. All we need to have is faith, and we demonstrate faith already in the most simplest of ways.
Most often, we sit in our seats or Lazy-Boys without checking them to see if they will hold us first. Most often, we feel the wind and declare with certainty that it’s windy, without seeing the wind. We survive by the air that we breathe, although we can’t see the air. We are constantly turning by a power greater than us, although we may not immediately realize it- we’re turning at this exact time at over a thousand miles an hour upon the globe on which we call “mother earth.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
The word “trust” means to trust, understand, repent, and have new life; in reverse, when we invite new life through repentance, we must begin to understand the word trust. We’ve often heard or seen the phrase “In God we Trust” or “Trust in God”-especially on currency; great evangelism I believe! To trust in God when as we repent, means to trust that he will make our paths straight. The way we begin to trust is to toss out those old ways, those old roadmaps that led us astray, and down the wrong paths to sin; and to pick up the bible- ground ourselves in the word. The way we begin to trust in to engage ourselves in activities such as bible studies, worship experiences, and support groups such as Celebrate Recovery, which open doors to greater understanding in the word, life and healing. To trust is to experience true repentance; true repentance is how you begin to enjoy freedom of your loving relationship with God. True repentance affects our whole person and changes our entire view of life. Repentance, or turning toward God and away from sin, is to take Gods point of view on our lives instead of our own. It is to seek and follow Gods will for our lives instead of what we want; because all too often what we wanted in life may have gotten us into trouble in the first place! Our understanding is earthbound, it’s human, limited; when we allow God to intervene, however, much is to be revealed that can amaze us and knock our socks off! God can begin to work in and through us in ways we never though possible, and what an awesome experience that is!
Through repentance, through the act of turning from sin, from habits, from hurts and hang-ups and into life; God has declared us “not guilty” and we no longer have to live under the power of sin. Romans 3:22 tells us “Now God says he will accept and acquit us-declare us not guilty; declare us free-if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins.” Through repentance, through the act of turning from sin, from habits and hang-ups and into new life; we learn from 2 Corinthians 5:17 that “when anyone is joined in Christ, he is a new being, the old is gone, the new has come.”
Once you accept Christ into your life, it’s a done deal. You can’t lose it, it’s guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13 says it well, “our salvation is sealed!”
Repentance and turning is part of the process of recovery. Just as a football or basketball player may recover a ball; he or she may also fumble the play. Our recovery is a continual process, and in those moments that we drop the ball; of which there will be many, there’s only one thing to do, pick up the ball again and keep running forward. Keep running the race set before us, which leads to eternal life with Christ. Someday we’ll see Jesus face to face, and what a glorious day that will be; so don’t lose hope, keep journeying along that road to recovery with faith. Often, the road to recovery involves taking small steps, day by day, working up to larger steps; just as that football or basketball player trains step by step. Don’t be discouraged- the Lord is always with you- and may the Peace of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be with you in all you do on your road to recovery. AMEN
Kindness is Easier than Being Right
We men are living testimonies that it takes effort to be “right”; especially when we’re attempting to follow the directions on a map and convince ourselves or a “woman” that we’re absolutely positively right…when the road sign fifteen miles back read “Take a left.” When I bring home a new phone, I can’t resist burying the instruction manual still unwrapped in its “seal tight” plastic wrap, and attempt to turn it on and “lock” it up because I thought I was right! It takes a 45 minute conversation with a customer service agent to convince me that I was wrong; the instructions were right!
Granted, sometimes it can take a little effort to be “kind” on a grey rainy day when nothing seems to be going our way; but how much effort does it take to research whether or not you’re kind versus “right”? Many of us are discovering who we are, what we want in life, what our purpose is; and many of us are waiting. Waiting is not an easy thing; many times we want to be doing and discovering ourselves to the point of exhaustion…we sometimes forget that waiting is a verb. Many times it’s easier to step away and say that “Nothing is Happening”…change is a continual process. It doesn’t happen overnight, and there’s no instruction book that will tell us exactly how to transform in exactly the “right” way…kindness, however, can help in almost any transformation of life with little effort. Kindness can help bring change….it can bring rainbows to darkened storms of life, sweetness to a bitter upset, and encouragement to those moments of crossroads-in which one persons future can be greatly impacted by a small measure of kindness. So choose kindness, and it will help to pave the right direction…
LEAVING THE SHORE
“To discover new oceans, we have to leave the shore”
We all have burdens; some have a physical handicap, chronic sickness, or some abnormality you cannot change. We have emotional burdens like depression, anxiety, or loss; we all have problems and obstacles, and they can weigh down upon us like a burden on the back. Tragedy, sorrow, disappointment, depression, and grief will eventually visit the house of every person, if it hasn’t already; much like the big bad wolf testing to see if our home is made of sticks, straw or brick!
Imagine for a moment, rewinding hundreds of years back in time, that you were just elected to set sail on a mission. Now perhaps we all want to take a pleasure cruise someday, and you’d think that this is great; however, your mission is to prove that the world isn’t flat. Much more uncomforting, your voyage isn’t upon a famous cruise ship equipped with all the luxuries of home. You see, for the longest time, people thought the world was flat, and if you sailed too far into the horizon, you’d simply fall off the earth! This was perhaps one of this first questions that perplexed civilization; however, who would be brave enough to take the journey? We know today that the world isn’t flat; however, it took the bravery of someone to take a step away from the comforts of shore to show us that things were ok for man-kind!
Look back for a moment over all the obstacles and what seemed like mountains we’ve faced in life to this point. At the beginning, things may have seemed impossible; however, each one of us in our own way left the shore to test the waters. We faced the unknown, not knowing what to expect deep into the horizon. Today, each one of us has something that we can teach one another, because by either reading these words, or hearing these words-we are survivors. In school, we took lessons first and then we had tests; however, in life, we often find the tests first and then the lessons second. That’s an obstacle enough by itself, but wealth is what we experience in life and what we can teach one another. Our parents, our teachers, counselors, pastors, doctors, and friends; many of them have been down the same stretch of life-taking tests first and lessons second. They, like the first explorers who went to see if the world was round, went into the unknown; and returned with a testimony. We too, have a testimony to share, that can serve to help one another to leave shore, and to find new oceans of life and opportunities, healing, and faith….knowing that we’re not alone…..we have each other.
COVERED
We all experience times in our life, when faced with challenges and obstacles, that they may seem impassable. Almost like an avalanche, they may seem to suddenly and overwhelmingly bury us. Take comfort, however, that all things are possible to those who love God and believe. It doesn't necessarily mean that they will suddenly disappear, but God will never give us more that we can handle. What this means is that although we may feel overwhelmed, there is relief and a chance to defeat the monsters that bog us down.
Whenever blessed with the opportunity to minister to children and teens alike; I often use the object lesson of fish sticks, mashed potatoes and peas. Growing up, I always loved fish sticks with tartar sauce, or ketchup; fish sticks were my favorite, next to hamburgers. I didn't particularly care for the peas, however, with mother in the background telling me to eat my vegetables. Sitting down to a fish stick, mashed and pea night; I quickly drenched my savory fish sticks in a pool of ketchup. As I scarfed down the fish sticks in record time, if there ever were a record, the ketchup eased across the mashed potatoes and on top of the peas. After I inhaled the fish sticks, I reached down for a heaping spoonful of mashed potatoes, which included two peas-covered in ketchup. I felt the small splash of pea juice in my mouth, and then I came to the realization that peas, when given flavor-aren’t that bad after all.
In the same regard as the peas, the peas representing that challenge that we felt unbearable on the surface; when covered with ketchup, or the blood of Christ; is a battle that we can overcome. I'm often amazed by how many people I observe who do not know Christ, or simply go to church alone feeling that they have fulfilled a purpose by filling a seat; that when their cars wont start or their computers crash, they suddenly cry for help. Two days later, they're back into their old routines until the next hair-raising event comes along. Our lives also resemble that pea, without ketchup, I thought that they were nasty. Before the birth of Christ, the world was dark; Christ’s birth brought light to the darkened world. Without Christ as our bridge across the canyon, when he shed his blood upon the cross for all sins; we were bound for the bottom of that canyon and beyond; a fall into death with sin. The blood of Christ covering that pea, covering our lives, made it allot easier for us.
When we turn our lives, we may experience more and more temptation as the devil tries to stop us from growing in faith. Recovery may not occur as quickly as we expect it to; I've seen many people in their faith journeys, give their lives to Christ, expecting that their problems will suddenly disappear. Then, as temptations hit them harder, they fall away from Christ and church. When we were small kids, we had dreams and aspirations of what we wanted to be. I wanted to be everything from a firefighter, carpenter and astronaut; to being the
O precious and Heavenly Father, I admit that I am weak without you, and that I am strong with you. My desire is to be healed and to find recovery of all weaknesses, and in your guidance all is possible. Today, I repent, I turn back from the road of destruction I was heading down, and I ask you to be my personal Lord and Savior in my recovery. AMEN
DEW UPON A WEB
I enjoy walking, not only because it's healthy, but it can be peaceful in places such as at parks, upon wilderness trails, or through gardens. Near downtown
I enjoy using the web as an object lesson, translated into our personal life journeys. We're not perfect, we all fall short into temptations and sin with a big "i." That I represents our attitude before we accepted Christ; thinking that we could do things on our own. We didn't have the proper guidance, which sent us into a wildlife safari without protection-as we carried a red cape screaming for the animals to bump us in the rear. Without Christ, it's easy to become misguided into bad beliefs and actions. Another term for this could be "spiritual blindness", for without Christ we don't know how to truly live; and we become easily tangled in things that could be detrimental or harmful to us. We see children playing violent video games, or watching violent movies, which further carries them away from God on the Day of Judgment, with no joyous eternal life. It is our job as men and women in Christ, as parents, as youth ministers; to guide Gods precious children back toward Christ. It's our job as men and women in Christ, as lay leaders, pastors, or members of our church homes, to guide the spiritually blinded back toward Christ.
We know that the water is a life, without it, we wouldn't live for long. During the morning sunrise, as we begin our daily journeys, perhaps we have seen dew along the spiderwebs. The dew glistens in the sun, and it's allot easier to step around-avoid-these webs. Christ is, indeed, our one way, one truth, and one light. With our lives grounded in Christ, it's allot easier for us to recognize those things that would draw us down into sin. Christ is symbolic of that dew upon the spider web, let us give thanks in everything we do, that we're not alone!
Thank you O Heavenly Father for your creations, which we stand in awe of; nothing else could compare to your majestical hands, which created us just the way we are. Thank you for sending your only Son, Jesus, to shed his blood for all our sins. Thank you for the source of life, water, which we often see upon the webs of our life; and which makes life barriers to freedom easier. Renew us today, forgive us, we surrender to those things in our lives which prevent us from being able to cross barriers or those challenges in our lives. AMEN
WILL OF LIFE
Recently I visited the emergency room as a patient, and the first question I was asked after giving my name-"Do you have a living will?" I was very perplexed by this question, considering all I had was a goose egg of a bruise! When we think of wills, we generally think of the last wills and testaments; although a living will is a treatment directive in the event we're unable to make decisions for ourselves. I was still perplexed, however, because all I had was a bruise, even though it may have been the size of
Having had time in the waiting room to count floor tiles and the spots in each tile, I came to the realization that we should have a living will -an advanced directive-for our spiritual walk of life. A directive that we write ourselves, of which God, Our Heavenly Father will honor. Yesterday is history and tomorrow is not a guarantee. Do we have a spiritual life directive for any moments in time that we may suffer a sudden heart attack, get struck by a speed bullet, or if the sky suddenly falls on us! If we don't make a personal life choice, a choice will be made for us. If we don't make a choice to take Christ into our lives and hearts, with the promise of eternal life everlasting-we have made a second choice. God doesn't force us to make a choice, although he yearns for his childen ( us ) to draw closer to him.
Mark 10:15 tells us in the words of Jesus, that I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter heaven. When we were children, there were choices that we couldn't make for ourselves; we had faith and trust, however in our parents. As we grew, we became stronger as we learned from our families; to the point that we could make our own choices. We see an example of this growth, by a baby being christened; the family vows to raise that child of God in christian values. Later in life that child ( young adult ) experiences baptism or confirmation; being able to make a personal decision. As a child, we found comfort and security in our parents; today we find comfort and security in God. We find guidance through Our Heavenly Father, and just like a child needs mommy and daddy, so we need God!
Do we have an eternal living will today, if not, pray:
Most Gracious and Heavenly Father, you are an awesome God and my comfort, security and guide. Thank you for your only Son, Jesus Christ, who took to the cross for my sins. In Christ, I can find promises of perfect peace; and through Christ, I may experience eternal life. Today, I give my life to Christ as my personal Lord and Savior; I surrender my weaknesses to Christ...this is the will of my life, as I seek the will of God. AMEN
SELF CHECK IN AND OUT......
There are so many books today entitled “The Idiots Guide to….” ; that often I look for a guide to operating the self-checkout stands at grocery stores. I often feel like an idiot when I go to a self-checkout stand, scan my items, and place them in the bag; only to hear the computerized voice tell me to bag my items-which I already did! Self-check out means that you are checking out on your own, but nearly nine times out of ten, I am somehow forced to ask for assistance; and thus, the term self-check out shouldn’t apply. It seems as technology advances like more and more each day, and I am still trying to learn how to operate a Commodore 64 computer in a Windows XP world!
Everywhere we go there seems to be some kind of self-check out or self-check in. At many libraries, you can check out your own books. At the airport, you can check yourself in. At the grocery store you can check yourself out. Except for me, of course, I still need an “Idiots Guide to” book. It seems that computers make our lives easier, but imagine if all the computers throughout the world suddenly broke down at the same time; we would certainly be lost! With all the self-check outs and ins, it seems that jobs of customer service representatives are being depleted. I recently read about churches conducting services online, so as to give people opportunities to worship from home, and I hope that doesn’t expand like technology has.
There is one place, however, that still has a representative to help us; thank God, and it is Gods only Son, Jesus Christ! Without Jesus in our life, we wouldn’t be able to check-in to heaven; we would be checking-in and checking out ( exploring ) someplace awful. Jesus shed his blood for everyone, that our sins may be forgiven. If you picture a canyon, and we are on one side and eternal life is on the other; if we tried to reach the other side on our own, we would be checking-out of life rather quickly! Jesus, our precious Lord and Savior provided the way on the cross, which became our bridge to salvation and eternal life. We need the fellowship of each other in church and in bible studies, so as not to relapse back across the bridge. We are needed to go into all nations everywhere to make disciples of Christ, teaching them what Jesus has taught us. It doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to travel to another nation, but to reach out from our own individual lives, and touch others, leading them to Christ….helping them to check-in. We have a book for that too, but it’s a precious and awesome book; our roadmap to life, the bible!
May Gods blessings of peace, hope, love and joy be with everyone!
Milk by the Gallon!
I am amazed by how much it costs for a gallon of milk, in many places reaching $4.50 per gallon. It almost makes gas prices look very cheap! What amazes me even greater is how many cows I see as I journey along the roads of northwest
I bring up the subject of powdered milk, however, because I have personally been blessed with the humble service of food banks when the going got rough. I give thanks for everyone that helps to make these food pantries a success for our communities. As many people know, one of the over-abundant items in a food bank, is the powdered milk. It's very simple to prepare, except for the unskilled like me!! It’s a product that doesn't spoil easy on the shelves, which is a God-send especially for the homeless....just add water, and presto! At one time, I had quite a collection of powdered milk that I would turn my nose up at, and pass on to someone else; and I felt blessed giving to others....I believe that the world would be a better place if everyone could give to everyone unconditionally.
Why am I interested in the subject of powdered milk you may ask. In my situation, it was something I didn't like, and so I gave to others. There's nothing wrong with that idea. Often times, though, when we turn from sin and toward Christ---when we repent, which means to go the other way; we have to give up things in our life that we've become used to. We have to put on a whole new lifestyle, being cleansed in the blood of Jesus. That can be especially hard for many, including myself, and we want to turn back the other way just so we'll feel comfortable again. At the same time, the devil will work harder and harder to pull us away from God. Sometimes the devil succeeds, and that's very distressing to see Gods children fall by the wayside. We are all children of God, and he loves us very much. If you can visualize that bag of powdered milk, or bags, for a moment; you see, I didn't like it, thus, giving it up. At the time, I had no idea that a golden cow was going to start producing milk at $4.50 a gallon. Things come unexpectedly. If we let our guard down in life, and decide to fall into sin, thinking all we have to do is go to church the following Sunday, and that all will be well again.....that day may never come again! And we'd be left in a world of hurt and pain! Tomorrow may never come, the next day after may never come....take Our Lord Jesus into your life today, knowing that struggles will come....."Be prepared" as the Boy Scout motto goes. You see, I was blessed to abundance with milk-even if it was the powdered kind. I let that go. Now, just like every other fellow brother and sister, I get to shell out $4.50........Our God is an awesome God, and I love him with all my heart....take him home today!
PROVERBS 11:26
"He that with-holds the corn, the people shall curse him, but blessing shall be upon the head of him that sells it"
Imagine waking up one Saturday morning with the radiant rays of another glorious day under clear blue skies and deciding today was a great day to get out and shop. Hey, sounds great-doesn't it; whip out those slivers of plastic and Master the swipe for this and that to liven up your home.
But...as you arrive at one department store you discover that they're not selling a single thing. So, you go to another, and they're not selling either. Businesses wouldn't last that long this way. We've most likely all held jobs which require a profit and sale to keep the store functional, and it can be tough at times...the seasons, the weather, special events, holidays.
We must extend a warm hand into our communities-to the lost, to the hurting, to the needy...we must extend the praise of our Heavenly Father and Our Savior Jesus Christ. We learn many valuable lessons through our bible studies, teachings of our pastors and scriptures read in bibles; we strengthen the lives of others, perhaps filling their hearts with the Blessed Holy Spirit and its trusting light. We can make a difference in our communities, within our families, and for the missionaries of our church, those nations afar-in turn, creating more harmony within these communities and peace.
If you like to draw, you can't do much by keeping it in and simply looking at a blank piece of paper..in the same respect, we can't keep the word of God and lessons of his saving grace only inside...lets go out and do work for Our Father.
PROVERBS 20:20
"Whosoever curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness"
There were many times as I was growing and maturing, that I'd want something, or not want to do something...I'm sure we've all been through those stages. One of the biggest things in my life was the yearning for independence as I hit the age of 18, and when I thought "Well, I'm an adult now!" My family and I would get into arguments over simple things such as "Who didn't turn out the lights" or the favorite line "Well, Jimmy can do this or that, why can't I?" There were times as a family that we thought things were all going to fall apart. Unfortunately, my mother and father eventually split over differences, but from a personal perspective...things quite haven't fallen apart.
Honor thy mother and thy father.
Our mother and fathers try their best to instill within us the facts and truths of life...and although some of you may be young and think-"Nah-they just want to be a pain...it's not fair"...believe it, your mother and father are teaching you. Unfortunately, there are some families that have fallen to bits and don't care...and I encourage each and every person to pray for peace of those families. If you know a friend or someone in that kind of situation, talk to them, let them know that God cares.
"I want to go out?" "Where" my mother would ask. "Just out" I would whine. "Where are you going" she'd ask more sternly, and then the argument would erupt.
She wanted to make sure that I wasn't wandering out aimlessly to allow for trouble, she was concerned for my safety in our world and society today. There are so many other scenarios similar to this--your mother and father care.
My mother and father continue to teach me in their own ways to this day although contact is more limited than when I lived with them...and with Gods guidance their dreams and aspirations while raising me for my future are becoming a reality. We don't know everything about life, we're all still learning...we weren't born as an infant with great knowledge.
LAPS of LIFE
I used to run laps in elementary school and raise pledges for the "Feed the Children" foundation which helped feed the hungry in places such as Ethiopia; and it really touched my heart to see pictures of these humans both young and old dying, plagued with illness. I went to church back then like a good little boy, but didn't have God in my heart. To focus back on this same situation now with the Lord in my life, it makes things seem even more. I often have dreams having taken in the Lord that I'll be there some day to deliver the message of our heavenly Creator as a missionary.
In today’s society, we take many things for granted. We feel hungry, we open the fridge and grab a nice cold sub-sandwich. Our friends call us by telephone, we drive over in little time by car to our nearest friend. We feel sick so we venture down to the nearest hospital where trained staff are there to help us. As I prepare this message, I do so on a computer. We sleep at night in warm comfortable bunks under a secure roof, almost entirely free of bugs, flies and mosquitoes. We have the security knowing where our next meal is coming from, and that we have jobs and an education waiting for us.
I enjoy reading from the Psalms, such as the passage of Psalms 149 and 104...praising the Lord for his creations in our world and in our life, for his wonderful and heart felt spirit upon us; and then I look to missionaries such as Mother Theresa who just recently passed away. This is one great person who went to live in the poor with little conveniences and helped other to gain Christ in their hearts. It was a sacrifice to do what she did with her life, but it was for the Lord. I gain inspiration from anyone who travels from their homes, securities, and climates to voyage and spread the word of God to those people and nations that need our help. These individuals could've lived their lives in comfort and luxury...but they made a sacrifice.
It is my goal and dream having taken the Lord Jesus Christ into my life to make whatever sacrifice in my personal life to helping those in need, those who are empty of the Holy Spirit...of the Lord Jesus Christ, to bring the Lord into their hearts and souls. Seconds, minutes, hours, and days pass by...that’s of our life. There is so much to do for our Lord, for the lives of others. Faith doesn't stay at the chapel door when you leave each Sunday...it follows and yearns to move.
Things have taken a turn for religions, there have been in recent years burning of churches...some have died. Schools get giddy about religion on their premises, youths make fun of other youths and attach labels to religion. Our road through life and to heaven is not always flat..in the state of
If I had to live in a new environment without the luxuries we've come used to, they id in the biblical days which we read about...and to know that better things are to come through it all.....I'm ready to make that sacrifice. Praise God
PSALMS 121
Our nations highways are adorned with various kinds of road signs, we need to walk or drive only a few blocks from our homes to see a number of different kinds of these road and traffic signs. There are signs which tell us to do certain things, such as STOP or YEILD RIGHT OF WAY. There are RAILROAD CROSSING and other warning signs such as SLOW, DANGEROUS CURVE. There are also signs to inform us such as SIDE ROAD, JUNCTION 11, ONE WAY, TURN LEFT FOR ROUTE 81, etc. The shapes of signs are important too. Throughout the
Think of how dangerous our cities and highways would be without traffic signs. Road signs are not put up to annoy us. They are for our own safety and protection-set up to help us to travel without accident to our destination.
Did you know that Gods word, too, is full of signs placed there for our safety and protection? Gods signs may be compared to the warnings and instructions of road signs, for they help us travel safely through life and arrive at the destination of heaven. What are some of them? One of his signs are the words of Jesus..."I am the way, the truth and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me" ( John 14:6 ). The ONE WAY sign.....Jesus is the one and only way to heaven. Another very important sign is "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" ( Acts 16:31 ). Because Jesus is the way to heaven, we must obey Gods command to believe in him...to STOP our sins and wrong doings, in order to follow him as the WAY. Then God both reassures those who are on the right WAY, and warns those who aren’t.
To ignore or willfully disobey traffic signs is to invite trouble. If a policeman sees us, he can arrest us. We will have to appear before a judge to pay our fine as the penalty for breaking the law of our land. Even worse, we might injure or kill someone, or be killed ourselves.
Sometimes we're in a rush to get somewhere, such as that favorite park, store, or the beach. Driving down our nations highways, you may encounter flat stretches where everything is visible or those mountainous and hilly stretches. Road signs don't necessarily need to be upon the sides of the roads such as what we commonly see....STOP signs, YIELD, ONE WAY....some road signs are painted on the roadway.
Psalms 121 teaches us to stay ourselves upon God as God all-sufficient for us. "Shall I lift my eyes to the hills....Where does my help come from? Shall I depend upon the powers of the earth, upon the strength of princesses, who hold up their heads toward heaven? No, my confidence is in God-and I will look beyond the hill-I will look beyond the many challenges and obstacles which face me head on-I will look beyond these challenges to God...
We must encourage our confidence in God...that he made heaven and earth- and that he who did this, can do anything. He can guide us through those rough and bumpy moments of life...He is Our caring Father.
