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“Stop Trying To Get Out!!!”

Have you ever felt like you are trapped?  May be it is a job, a relationship or circumstance that you are in.  May be you are feeling trapped as a Christian with the do’s and don’ts or a sin that has wrapped its’ tentacles around you and you feel you can’t get loose.  Whatever may be the situation it can seem overwhelming.  You feeling like there is this tall fence and you’re trying to get over it but you just keep running into it.  The fence is way too high for you to get over.

I remember a few years ago when a deer got into our garden.  I am not even sure how she got in there.  But she could not get out.  She kept running into the fence over and over again.  She even had some blood on her head.

My husband finally went out and opened the gate but trying to get her to go through there was difficult.  She still kept banging her body against the fence.  I think someone finally went around the backside of the fence to try to get her to go toward the opening.  It seemed that she was trying so hard to get out she was not looking for the most obvious solution.  It would not take any real effort on her part, she just needed to go toward the doorway and she would be able to get out.

This is exactly how we start to feel about different things.   We feel trapped within “restrictions”, a job, or relationship.  We also may be trapped within our own inclinations to sin.  We keep trying to get back over the “fence” but it is too high for us to get over.  We don’t want any help.  We are afraid of what we might have to give up or what we might lose out on.  We are trying to take all the solutions upon ourselves and we can’t seem to figure it out.  The crazy part is that there is an opening, a doorway, but we are too focused on getting free by jumping the “fence”.

When we get desperate enough, we are wounded and bleeding we finally start to look for other solutions and suddenly we see the Doorway.  Jesus said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 10:9  What a promise!

Jesus is the answer; He is the way out of all of our troubles.  But self wants its way.  It wants to get in the way.  But we do have the power of choice.  Sometimes we may need to agonize on our knees.  God will take control if we surrender to Him but surrendering can be hard work.  And surrendering is not just a one-time event.  Surrendering is done moment-by-moment.  Everything that comes to us we have a choice, am I going to surrender to the will of God or am I going to do my own thing.

I want to share some ideas to consider.

  1. Give up your rights. I want to put this into balance.  For someone who may be in an abusive relationship you need to get out.  This is not what I am talking about here.  But what I am talking about is just the normal everyday life.  We run into problems where we want to hold to what we want then fights ensue.  Whether it is with family members, friends or bosses.  Self rises and we want our way.  We need to head for the opening in the fence and let God help us through the “fence”.  We can’t do it on our own but He can help us give up our rights.  Jesus had every right to retaliate but He did not.  He gave up His rights so that we could be saved.
  2. Work as unto the Lord. I know I wrote another article more specifically to this subject if you would like to read it.  But the fact is whether it is a boss, family or friends, if we do all as if we are doing it for Christ or to Christ, it puts a whole new perspective on things.  Change the “why” of what you are doing and that can change your attitude.  This can even apply to every decision that we make in life.  Since our minds are always thinking of something I think spending a thoughtful hour each day thinking about Jesus life and what He has done for us can help us put a different perspective upon our choices. That leads to my next point.
  3. Fall in love with Jesus. This is really the key component.  We will feel trapped even in these steps unless we have fallen in love with Jesus.  We can only do this by spending time with Him.  You can’t love someone who you haven’t gotten to know.  Jesus is the only one that can help you out of whatever trap you are in.  But He is all love and He doesn’t force His way in.
  4. Keep moving moment by moment.  I would encourage you not to think about tomorrow, next week, month or year because it can be overwhelming.  Just take things a moment at a time.  Walking with Jesus by your side makes these things possible.  Stay connected with Him moment by moment.

Dear Father,

Thank You for Your Son Who is always a present help in trouble.  I am so grateful that we can come to You in our time of need.  Continue to guide us.  Thank You for Your patience with us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to fall in love with Jesus.  He is the opening and He is waiting to let you through so that you can be free from all the traps in life.  Surrender all today!  You will be glad you did.

Love you all.

I know what I have shared here is not exhaustive.  What have you found that has helped you in the surrendering process?

 

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“I Can’t See Where I’m Going!!”

Have you ever felt like you are going along in life and you really can’t see where you’re going? I believe we all feel that way at times. We maybe have made plans for our lives and things seem to be going as planned. But then things come into our lives and we don’t know where they came from and how we are going to make it through. We wish we could see as God sees so that we could understand the reason for our trouble.

I remember when I was around 20. I had a job that required me to drive around 45 minutes to work. We lived out in the country in a farming community. My drive was mostly on narrow, curvy roads. I recall one particular day when I was on my way home. It was dark and snowing really hard. The temperatures were just right for the snow to freeze to the window. I had the heat on full blast, hitting the window. And my wipers were going. But it would build up and I could not see. I would have to reach out the window, grab the wiper and bang it. I had to do this every few minutes. I did stop once to give it a more thorough cleaning but that did not last much longer. It was nerve-racking, exhausting, and dangerous. The car was a manual, adding to the difficulty. Thankfully I made it home safely. I do not enjoy times like this and I am always grateful to be on the other side of it.

I don’t know about you but sometimes I feel the same way in my Christian walk. I can be going a long and everything seems fine then a “snow storm” hits and I can’t see the way in front of me. The trials and temptations seem to stick to me. I keep reaching out and trying to “scrape” the effects away so that I can see clearly but it doesn’t seem to make any difference. It helps for a short time but then again I can’t see clearly. Then the frustration sets in. I am pouring on the “heat” (prayer) but it does not seem to be enough. I am putting forth the effort the “scrape” the temptations and trial away by spending time in God’s Word. What is going to make the difference?

I think there is good reason why God does not allow us to know what is coming. I think back to my drive home. If I would have known how bad of a drive it was going to be I might have stayed parked in town for an hour to see if it would pass over. Another words I would have stopped moving, at least for a time. I think the same is true of our lives. We would fail to keep moving forward if we could know what is going to happen. Maybe I would not have had children if I would have known that I would have lost one, maybe if we knew we were going to get in that car accident we would not leave home, or maybe we wouldn’t get that job if we knew what temptations we would in counter, etc. The problem is that if we always knew what was going to happen next we would live out of fear and we would never move or grow.

The question is what can we do about it. I have a 6 steps I would encourage you to do. They may seem elementary but sometimes I think we forget the simplicity of God.

  1. Spend time with God. You may be thinking, “I already do that and it doesn’t seem to be helping.” It may seem that it is not helping but it is foundational. Just like I needed to keep banging the ice off my windshield wiper, we need to keep in God’s Word.
  2. Spend time in prayer. We need to continue to pray, crying out to God. We need to keep the heat on that old devil and praying is a part of the formula.
  3. Memorize Scripture. Hide Scripture in your heart so that when the trials and temptations come you can quote His Word. Satan hates God’s Word and that will make him really start “melting”.
  4. Praise God. I have found that if I praise God through the trials I find blessings. This also turns the “heat” up on the devil.
  5. Ask God, “What are you wanting to teach me through this?” Everything that comes into our lives is for a purpose and as we ask Him, He will show us what refining we can gain through our situation. It may take time for us to see it but He will show us if our hearts are open to listen.
  6. Surrender all to Him. As we surrender to Him it will no longer just be us reaching out and banging off the windshield wiper. His hand will be over ours and His strength will be added to ours. As we cooperate together with Him we will have peace through the circumstances and trials. Things around might not change but God can help us live through these refining experiences with joy and peace. Remember His strength is made perfect through our weakness. (See 2 Corinthians 12:9)

Dear Father,

We struggle so much with giving all to You. We feel that if we give up our control that everything will go out of control. But the reality is that as we give all to You, giving up our rights and our control, we will have the peace that passeth all understanding. It is true that it does not make human sense but we want to trust You. Continue to prompt us with Your love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

I have had the peace of God when I have surrendered and it is so much easier. But I still have not learned to always give all to Him. I just encourage you do try it. No matter what you are going through, today, give these steps a try to see the blessing that comes.

Love you all.

These steps are definitely not exhaustive so I would love to hear from you. What have you done to help you through the trials and temptations of life?

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“What Planet Do You Want To Be?”

I have been reading Science with my daughter. It amazes me as I read how everything works within the solar system. How at first it was thought that all the planets revolved around the earth and then it was discovered that the planets actually revolve around the sun. They also came to understand that the sun is the center of our solar system and not Earth. Earth and all the other planets are all members of the same family and are held together by the pull of the sun. Every thing is perfectly designed.

Some planets are closer to the sun than others. The ones that are closer are void of any life because the heat is so hot nothing can live. Then there is earth. It is just the right distance from the sun and it doesn’t get too hot or too cold. It is just right for life to live. It is the planet of choice because you are able to live. On the other hand the farther you get away from the sun the colder it gets. The first planet farther out than earth has some ice that melts in summer but it does not appear to really have any form of life. But you get out beyond there and the planets become even colder and life cannot exist there. Because of the cold nothing can live.

As I was reading these things it made me really start to think. As a people living upon this earth we have been given a choice. We are all in the same family and the Son is shining on all of us. We each can choose Him or not, we are given that freedom. We have equal opportunity. The Son is just at the right distance. If He got too close to us we would not be able to handle the heat and we would die due to sin. If He pulls too far away from us we would become so cold that we would die. But we are left with the decision which direction we are going to go. He is stationary. He is not moving; it is us that can choose which direction we move.

The more we fill ourselves with earthly things the farther we get away from the Son. The farther we are from the Son the colder we become toward spiritual things, no longer do we having spiritual things living within us because we are too cold. Nothing can live in a really cold climate, everything dies.

But the more we fill our lives with the things God and empty ourselves of the things of this earth we can draw closer to the Son. Just as the planets, closer to the sun, have no life on them due to the extreme heat; if we fill our lives with God the things of this earth will be emptied out from the heat of the Son. Just like gold becomes more pure as it is put to the fire so we become more pure as we come closer to the Son. Just like the planets closer to the sun are empty of life, as we draw closer to the Son our lives will be empty of self and will be filled with His light. The closest we will be to the Son is when He comes in the clouds to take us home and if we are not empty of self and earthly things we will be consumed by the heat. But if we are empty of earthly things and dead to self, we will be able to live within His presence for eternity.

How do we draw closer to the Son? By getting to know Him and falling in love with Him. And you get to know Him by spending time with Him

Read His Word, meditate upon it, hiding it in your heart, and spending time communicating with Him through prayer.

Dear Father,

We want our lives to revolve around the Son. We want to become so empty of earthly things and self that we may come closer to Your Son. We cannot do this without You. As we surrender to You and spend time with You I ask for Your power to work within our lives. Thank You for Your love and Your power that will work within our lives to bring change.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Let’s spend that time with God that will draw us closer to the Son so that when He comes we will be so empty of self and earthly things we will not be consumed but be able to go Home and live for eternity with Him.

What has helped you draw closer to God? I would love to hear your story and ideas.

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“Happy Mother’s Day!”

Mothers, what does it mean to be a mother? I tried to look it up in the dictionary and I found that the definition of mother has changed over the years. There are many that take the role of a mother to someone. Just because a woman gives birth to a child doesn’t make them a true mother. By definition it may classify her as a mother but what is a true mother. I believe a true mother is any woman who gives of her time, love and energy to a child, teen or even grown up. There are many that are adults who have never really had the love of a mother.

I was very fortunate to have a mother that has given me her time, love and energy. She has been my mother all my life; she has never given that role up. I remember just a few years back when I was so sick some doctors thought I was going to die. The doctors could not figure out what was wrong with me. With a husband and five children I needed, not just assistance but all out help. My mother came lovingly every day and ran my household for over a year, fortunately she lived next door. I also would call her in the middle of the night because I was doing so poorly and she would come and sit with me massaging my feet until my fever would go down and I could fall asleep. She never once wavered. She was strong for me. She gave me love, time and complete support, running not only my household but her own as well. She was there for my children encouraging and comforting them. I thank God for my mother.

So what is the definition of mother? I cannot take the time to give everything but I am going to name a few. These are things that can be a struggle at times but we as mothers should strive for them. Here are five of many steps that I believe are important.

  1. Unconditional Love. Our children need to know that they are loved no matter what they do. We don’t have to love the behavior but they need to feel the love from us even when consequences have to be given. This can be a struggle at times but God can give us that love. God has given us unconditional love and we need to do the same.
  2. Speak Kind Words. I know I can struggle with this. Our children can be so frustrating to us at times that it can be hard to speak kind words. They come at us with unkind words and we can tend to send it right back to them. I heard a parent say, “Well they spoke this way to me.” I say, “Grow up.” We are supposed to be the example and when we take on the attitude, “Well they are doing it.” We are acting like children not adults. I guess some adults really don’t grow up.
  3. Saying, “I’m Sorry.” It is true that we are going to make mistakes, there is no question about it. It isn’t about the mistakes it is about what we do about it. We need to be able to admit we were wrong and ask forgiveness, with no strings attached. You might be saying, “What do you mean by that?” Some can have a tendency to make excuses when they say I am sorry. For example, “I am sorry but if you hadn’t yelled at me I would not have spoken to you in that manner.” We have to take full responsibility for our actions regardless of what the child has done. For example, “Son, I am sorry for speaking to you in a harsh way, you are special and you never deserve to be treated that way. Would you please forgive me?” Period, end of story. We never have an excuse for treating our children any differently than Jesus would treat them.
  4. Spend Time With Them. We need to spend time with our children. It doesn’t matter how old they are they need time. When they hit those teenage years spending more time with them may be necessary. How we spend time with them may change but time is still necessary. It may be just communicating with them or being involved with their interests. Showing that you care by being there for them, through the good, bad and the ugly.
  5. Pray With Them And For Them. This is an aspect that is so important. I try to make it a habit to go and pray with each child before they go to bed. I have a range from 25 all the way down to 12 still living at home and I do it with each one. There are some nights I forget but I do it fairly regular. I also try to make it a habit to pray with each one that is leaving for the day before they leave. It is well that we have secret prayer for them as well. We live in a world where our families are bombarded with so many things they need the protection of God. We never know when they walk out the door if we will see them again and we need to take advantage of every opportunity to pray with and for them.

You may be thinking, “Wow, she has it all together.” No, I really don’t, these are things I am striving for. I am not perfect at all these but with God’s help I am striving to make each one of these steps a part of my life.

Dear Father,

You know as a mother in this world today it can be more stressful and painful than ever. I ask for a blessing on each one of us as we strive to be more like You. Help us in being more loving and kind to our children and to lift them up to You in prayer. You are all-powerful and You can accomplish in our children those things that we are unable to do, thank You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Let’s draw closer to Jesus so that we can properly reflect His character to our children.

How was your mother been a blessing to you? I would love to hear your story. What have you learned to be helpful in your parenting? Ideas that will help us to be better mothers are what we strive for so please share your ideas with us.

 

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“Are You A Child?”

I am sure that you have seen these things as well as I have.  A while back I saw a little child holding the hand of her mother.  Her mother was walking fast compared to her little legs.  Her arm was stretched as far as possible to reach her mother’s hand and she was on her tiptoes.  The mother was moving so fast it was amazing to me that the child was not airborne.  But as I looked at the face of the child there was no concern or worry.  She was totally relaxed and happy.  I have seen little children with their mother or father sliding down a slide with absolutely no fear because at the bottom mommy or daddy was there.

There have been times when I am in a grocery store and I see a child in a cart, not where they are supposed to be sitting but in the actual cart.  It is a very young child and they are hanging over the edge having no fear whatsoever.  I am cringing in fear of them falling out on their heads, which has happened to children.  But they have no fear because their parent is close by and they are so trusting.  They just trust that everything is going to be fine no matter what because mommy or daddy is there.

It makes me think of the verse that says, “…Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3 What exactly does this verse mean?  When I think of becoming as a child, I think of full trust.  A small child doesn’t worry about where their next meal is coming from, or if they are going to have a place to sleep, or if things are going to work out.  They trust that their mommy and daddy are going to take care of everything.  They also have a simple faith in God.  They have no question that God is going to answer their prayer. They pray about something and then they have no worries.  They just know that God is going to take care of things.

It seems as adults we lose that faith.  We may pray about it but then we keep right on worrying.  We keep wondering when is He ever going to get around to answering our prayer.  We have a hard time trusting.  The fact is He loves us more than we can even imagine and He wants to work things out for our good.  We only think it is working out when it goes our way but God sees the end from the beginning and He knows what is really for our good.

I have been struggling with this lately myself.  Because of financial difficulty I have had to take a job away from home.  The Lord led me to a great place to work with wonderful people as well.  I am only called in when they have extra work.  So my prayer has been, “Lord, You provide the work that You know that I need and I will leave it in Your hands to provide it.”  I even told my boss that.  They did become very busy and I was called in a lot.  I was praising the Lord for the work.  But then things slowed down.  I was trusting God and not concerned knowing more would come.  It has not happened.  I found myself struggling with giving it to Him.  I need the money but also my daughter, who has been struggling with mommy being gone, needs me.  I was thanking God for some time to spend with her.  I was thinking a day here and there off but it has been longer than that and I have to admit I have struggled.  But here is what I have learned.  I need to have the trust of a child.  I know that God will take care of my family and me.  To fret and to worry only brings unhappiness and stress that wears on me.  But as I give it to God and take advantage of the time that He has given me I can see the blessings.  What is God trying to teach me through this?  He is trying to teach me to trust Him.

Dear Father,

As each of us go through our trials and struggles that come to us help us to surrender our lives fully to You and to trust Your plan.  As we surrender everything to You give us Your peace.  Chase away the evil one that wants to discourage us and have us look at ourselves for answers.  You are the answer.  Thank You for loving us more than we can ever imagine.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Are you struggling today with trusting God with a child like faith?  I challenge you to trust Him.  It will bring you more peace than you can imagine.  We have a part to play, just like me getting a job.  But then we need to trust Him with the rest.

Love you all.

What experience have you had that when you trusted God with the faith of a child the outcome was amazing?  I would love to hear stories about our amazing God.

 

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“Don’t Let Him Through!!”

I was thinking about the trials and temptations that we have everyday.  It seems like we are playing a Red Rover game at times.  We keep getting bombarded and we are so afraid of losing out or getting hurt that we let go of our Partners hand and give in to the temptations or trials.  The blessing in this game is that we won’t get hurt because our Partner has the strength to handle it all.  All we have to do is keep holding on.  It seems so hard for us to get.

At different times in my life I have gone through financial difficulty and it seems that instead of hanging on to the hand of Jesus I let go and try to do it all on my own.  There is also the other side where there are some that keep “hanging on” but don’t do anything either.  There is a part for us to play.  If I am having financial difficulty just hanging on to Jesus and sitting back and expecting Him to supply when I don’t even have a job is presumption.  We should be actively looking for a job.  If you are someone who has a job and you have made wrong financial decisions and gotten in way over your head, asking God to take care of the problem without actively doing your part to take care of it is presumption.  As Dave Ramsey says, “Get a second job, get a third job, do whatever it takes.”  When we put forth the effort to watch how we spend our money, doing every thing we can to cut corners and take on extra work to bring in more money, then God can bless our efforts.

We tend to think, “I am just going to do what ever I want in life and when I get into trouble I am going to ask God to get me out and He will.”  We may say, “I don’t think that way, that is ridiculous.”  Yes, we may not say this but we live that way a lot of times.  And then when we do come to God for help we get angry because He doesn’t do anything about it, at least we think He doesn’t.

The blessing is that when we have done things that were wrong and we are in trouble God is a forgiving God.  And He will help us, if we surrender all to Him and keep holding His hand no matter what comes our way.

Dear Father,

Thank You for Your willingness to forgive our foolishness.  Thank You that as we hang onto Your hand that You will lead and guide us as we stay totally surrendered to You.  Thank You for Your love and patience.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

No matter what your temptation is today hand onto the hand of Jesus, staying totally surrendered to Him and He will guide you through.

Love you all.

What trial or temptation have you had where God has led you through?  Share your experience I would love to hear it.

 

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“Are You Perfect?”

It seems like this is a question of debate al around the world.  Am I perfect?  Jesus said to be as perfect as God. (See Matthew 5:48).  When we think about it, it seems really overwhelming.  Some may say it is not me that has to be perfect it is God that covers me with His perfection.  Well, there is some truth to that but He does not cover unconfessed sin.  If we are consciously sinning God is not going to cover us with His righteousness and make us perfect and holy because we can’t be unless we are in a condition for Him to cover us.  So what does He mean when He says to be perfect.

I have been sick and when we get sick we tend to say that I got sick from so and so.  When in reality is we have set up our bodies for it.  When we know someone is sick around us and may need to minister to them (like I did my son, staying in his room because he was running a fever and he wanted me close).  When we are in this position we really need to watch ourselves.  We need to be doing things that will keep our immune systems up, knowing that we are being exposed very closely to sickness.  Everywhere we go we are bombarded with sickness.  It may be at where we work, where we shop, anywhere we go.  So we have to be on guard to keep our immune systems in peak condition.  There are things we know we should never eat, drink, or do because it is very damaging to our immune systems.  If we want to do these we can know that we have a risk of our immune systems not being “perfect” and we will eventually be affected by it.  Then there are those things that are not bad in and of themselves but they can affect our immune system in a negative way.  And if there is sickness going on around us, we put ourselves at high risk to do these things.  I had a wonderful pie.  It was a good healthy pie but any kind of sweets; even healthy sweets will lower your immune system.  I knew it was a risk because just a couple of days before I had been fighting something but I did it anyway.  That night I spent the night with my son who was running a fever and because I had lowered my immune system I could not fight it completely off.  I did not get as sick as some have because I still put up a fight, but sick is sick.

You might be thinking, “What does this have to do with being perfect?”  There are things in life that we need to choose not to do because we know that they lower our spiritual immune system.  It is things that God has said for us not to do.  It will take away our taste for spiritual things.  It will take away our desire to spend time with Him.  When we do these things our lives are susceptible to sin because our spiritual immune system is compromised and we have chosen to do it contrary to God’s Word.

There are things that are not wrong in and of themselves but at times we may need to stay away from them because they are compromising our spiritual immune system.  Just like there is nothing wrong with a healthy pie, there is nothing wrong with canoeing but if we go canoeing instead of having our time with God in His Word we are compromising our spiritual immune system.  It could be anything that gets in the way of our relationship with God.  We are bombarded everyday with things that can take us down if our spiritual immune system is not healthy.

It is true that we can only be perfect with God but it is not with God being beside us or covering us with perfection.  It is God having control of our lives, which we struggle with allowing Him to do.  The fact is there is only One Person that will know that we are perfect and that is God.  If we think we are perfect, forget it, we have already lost the battle.  We just need to take one step at a time allowing the Lord to lead our lives moment by moment.  Praise God that if we fail we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ.  Just like we can get our physical immune systems back in order when we fail, we can do the same with our spiritual lives.  I read something recently that I thought reflected true perfection, “Commitments are based on our control and conditions.  Total, unconditional surrender is based on God’s control.”  We need to let God have control and His perfection becomes ours.

Dear Father,

“Take my life, and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee; Take my hands, and let them move At the impulse of Thy love; At the impulse of Thy love. Take my feet, and let them be Swift and beautiful for Thee. Take my voice, and let me sing Always, only, for my King; Always, only, for my King. Take my lips, and let them be Filled with messages from Thee. Take my silver and my gold: Not a mite would I withhold; Not a mite would I withhold.  Take my will, and make it Thine, It shall be no longer mine; Take my heart, it is Thine own, It shall be Thy royal throne.  It shall be Thy royal throne.  Take my love, my Lord, I pour At Thy feet its treasure store; Take myself, and I will be, Ever, only, all for Thee.  Ever, only, all for Thee.” *

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all to Him today and let Him have full control.

Love you all.

What do you do to build your spiritual immune system?  I would love to hear your ideas.

*The hymn, “Take My Life, And Let it Be”

 

 

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“It’s Too Late!”

“It’s too late to say good-bye,” “It’s too late to say I am sorry,” “It’s too late to say how much I love you.”  These are just a few things that can be going through our heads when we lose a loved one or friend.  We never know when our last words will be spoken to someone who we care about.

I can’t help but think about a friend whose son was in a car accident recently where one person was killed.  There can be the feeling of guilt and the question, “What could I have done different?”  There is so much sorrow.  Families are hurting and the question is asked, “Why?”  “Why did God allow this?”  Why did this have to happen to me?”  “Why?”  “Why?”  “Why?”  I think these are questions that may never be answered in any trial or hardship we go through, until we get to heaven.  But how can we find comfort and peace in all this.

The question comes, “How can anything good come out of tragedy?”  “Is the one that lost their life connected to God, were they a Christian?”  This is where I am glad that God is the judge.  We may think we know someone but do we really.  We do not know what is going on in their hearts.  What struggles they may be having and they may even be crying out to God and we don’t even know.  God knows every heart and He is the most compassionate and loving God.  The devil brings evil things.  He wants to destroy each one of us before we can give our lives to God.  But God has the last say.  He is the one that decides.  No life can end without God allowing it and He will not allow it unless that person has made a definite decision one way or another.  I praise the Lord we don’t have to decide that.  But what we do know is God can work everything out for good.

When I lost my daughter I had to lay all things in His hands.  It was not easy but as I did it He gave me the peace that is not explainable, it is beyond our understanding.  Even to this day, after 21 years, I still don’t have the answer to the why question.  But I know that someday soon, I will have the answers.  And I know that when I see the reasons I will understand and would not have changed a thing.

Through the tragedies that happen it should make us think.  “Was that grudge really worth it?”  “Is being so busy that we don’t have time to spend with those we love worth it?”  We never know, when someone we love walks out the door, that it might be our last good-bye.  We need to really evaluate our lives and decide what the most important things are.

For those that are hurting, there are no words that I can say.  The pain is real and so hard for you.  My heart and prayers are with each one.  And remember that God was present through all things.  He is with you now and His tears are flowing.  He longs to comfort you and He loves you.

Dear Father,

Such tragedy is beyond words.  I ask that you wrap Your arms around each person that needs Your comforting touch.  I pray for a peace that passeth all understanding. Draw them all close to one another as they go through this together.  I pray that all will have a forgiving spirit and a heart of understanding and that this will draw all closer together.  Help each person to feel Your love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Love you all!!

Have you had a tragedy in your life that God has brought you through?  How did God help you?  And what advice can you give others, which want to be of help to the sorrowing?  What helped you the most?

 

 

 

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“Are You Taking God Out Of History?”

Our world is changing, there is no question about it and we can’t change it.  But the concern we should have is are we changing our thoughts right along with the world.  We are so bombarded by what is around us that we tend to forget the truth.  It is easy to just go with the flow.  We hear something and we are taken in by it and suddenly before we know it we have changed our views.  My biggest concern is that even as Christians we are allowing it to change us.  When a “Christian” shares, it sounds good so we go along with it and before we know it we also have changed how we think about history.  And along with the world, without even realizing it, we have taken God out of history.

I wonder how many people in Bible times looked at the history of the Israel and wondered whether God was really a part of any of it.  The wickedness of what some of the people did and what “clubs” or “societies” they might have been a part of might have made them question whether God had led or not.

Right now I am going through and reading, with my daughter, about the pilgrims coming to America, the setting up of the Constitution and such.  I am seeing, again, how the Lord was guiding in bringing them to the New World and how the Lord had His hand in it.  This is all being taken out of the History in our world now.  And there are Christians that are doing the same.  As a Christian they say, “Well so and so was in this “society” so this could not be led of God, it was being controlled by this “society”.”  There are Christians that are taking God out of History and they don’t even realize it.  Is anyone bigger than God?  If we want to question whether God was involved with the founding of this country we better watch ourselves because we can start to question if He was able to bring a pure Word through all the wickedness of this world and the wickedness of men.  Who really is in charge?

I think that we can say we all know people who did not grow up as a Christian and maybe didn’t even know about God.  But when they were introduced to God and they gave their life to Him, they can look back and see that God was leading them through their whole life.  They can even see how “All things worked together for good” took place in their lives.

What is my point?  We need to leave God in History.  It doesn’t matter who the people were through history, how good, wicked, or what society they may have belonged to, God led.  God leads through whom ever will do His bidding.  He is the One that is leading and is over all.  He is the one that puts kings in and takes them down.  He is leading and if we take Him out what do we have.

He led Peter to walk on the stormy sea but as soon as he took His eyes off of Jesus he started to sink.  We are living in stormy times and Jesus has bid us to following Him through these times but if we take our eyes off of Jesus we will sink.  The devil doesn’t care what he gets us caught up in, he just wants to get our eyes off of Jesus so that we will sink.

Dear Father,

I praise Your name that we can know that You have led in the past history and You continue to lead.  What peace we can have if we keep our eyes on You and know that You have everything under control.  Help us to stay so closely connected with You that we will not sink in the storm of life.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Remember if we take God out of History, as a Christian, what do we have to share.  He either has led in all History or no History.  We need to be careful what we are thinking.  If this has been an area that you have not really thought about I pray that you will think seriously about it.

Love you all.

If you did not grow up as a Christian but now you have given your heart to God, how can you see that He was leading you even when you did not know Him?

 

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“Have You Been Bitten?”

I don’t think there are too many people who really enjoy snakes.  There are those rare breeds that just love snakes but I think they are far and few between.  There are snakes that are not harmful but I don’t really enjoy any of them.  There are snakes that are more dangerous in different parts of the world; I want to keep my distance.  If you get bit by one that is very poisonous you better have a small unit that is used to give an electrical charge to the affected area, neutralizing the snake’s venom, otherwise you will probably die.  You have to have help right away and if you are out in the jungle you will never make it to medical help.

It makes me think of our tongues.  They can be a poison.  In James 3:8 it reads, “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”  When we say bitter words to someone the effect is the same as that of a poisonous snakebite.  Our venomous words will do their deadly work to the emotions of others.  “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” Proverbs 18:21.  We can destroy people with our words.  We need to be so connected with Jesus that we will be reflecting His character of love.

Some of us are the ones that have been on the receiving end of bitter words, whether it has been through our parents, a supposed friend, a spouse, children, or an enemy.  It will be more painful coming from those we thought loved us but it is all a poison and it can destroy our lives, if we allow it.  The truth is that we don’t have to allow the venom to destroy us, to kill our emotions.  But we have to neutralize the venom.  Jesus says in Matthew 5:44, “…Love you enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”  Our automatic response is to curse them.  I heard this saying that I believe is so profound, “Cursing our enemies is like drinking poison and waiting for our enemies to die!”  We are killing ourselves.  We have to have a neutralizer.  And the verse gives us the answer.  We need to love, bless and pray for them.  Are these easy to do?  No! But with the help of God we can do these things.  It is through the power of His word that can neutralize the poison.  And we need to understand and realize that we are worth the death of Jesus to God and what others think and say is not as important as what God thinks and says about us.

Dear Father,

Forgive us for our poisonous words.  Draw us close to Your heart.  It is only through our close connection with You that we can be what You would have us to be to others, whether it is never saying a poisonous word or being able to bless those who bite us with a venomous bite.  We cannot do or overcome anything without You.  We need You.  Thank You that You are always there as we call out to You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Always treat others, as you would want to be treated.  Don’t speak words that are like venom.  And if you have received venom words neutralize the poison with the promises of God and love, bless, and pray for your enemies.  Remember none of this can be done without the power of God in our lives, so draw close to Him.

Love you all!

Have you given venomous words to someone?  How did the Lord help you in correcting it?

Have you received a venomous bit?  What have you found to be the most effective way to neutralize the poison?