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“It’s Broken?!!”

Is it really broken?

Have you ever had something quit working and you wondered if it was really broken?  You looked it all over but couldn’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be working.  Or may you drop something and you pick it up and looked it over very carefully and didn’t see any cracks or any evidence of a problem.  But the next day it falls apart in your hand.

I work at a print shop and run the big digital machine.  There are so many intricate parts and pieces, along with the fact that it is digital that many things can go wrong.  Recently, I came into work and started the process of doing all the things I need to do to prepare the machine for the day, cleaning, calibrating color, etc.  It wasn’t long into the process when the machine gave me an error code.  The error let me know that I need to change a part that is called the cleaning web.  It is a web that runs through its cycle and you have to take it out and put and new one in.

The company where we bought the machine leaves some parts there that are easy for me to change out and the webbing is one of them.  I have done it before and it is very easy to do.  I swapped out the parts but there was a problem.  When I put the new part in, the machine was not detecting it as a new part so it would not let me print.  I had to call the service department to come in and fix the problem.  Now when you call service and when you actually get someone to respond to your call it can be several hours before someone comes to fix it and that means not printing for several hours.

What else could I do?

I had another cleaning web.  It wasn’t brand new but a tech had replaced the webbing part of it so that I could reuse it.  So I decided to try it to see if it would work.  But it did not work either.

When I finally got a call from a tech guy to let me know when he could make it out, he told me that when you replace just the webbing of the part you need to make sure and wind past the blue strip before it will register.  I let him know that I did not replace the webbing part myself it was a whole brand new part, done by a tech.  Then he let me know he couldn’t come out but would try to find someone that could.  I had so much printing to do that it was hard to wait.

I went to the Bindery department and started helping them out.  The Lord gave me this idea.  We actually have two places in the machine that have this same part.  I thought that maybe if I swapped out the parts it would register.  So when I went to go try that I noticed that the cleaning web that I had used that the tech had put new webbing in was not wound past the blue line.  So I did I wound it and yay it registered with the machine and I was able to get on printing.  I still had the brand new one that wouldn’t work but I wasn’t concerned because I would have the tech figure that out when he came in.  Now I was up and running and that was all that mattered.

New Webbing

I was thinking about the cleaning web and how it relates to our relationship to God.  The brand new part reminds me of how God wants to give us a brand new heart.  Where the problem starts to happen is when we try to do things on our own.  We have come to God and given Him our heart and he has come in a given us a new heart but then we start to try to do things on our own.  And at that point, our new part is not registering with the “Machine”, the One that can keep our heart clean and keep our spiritual machine running correctly.

Then there is the side where we don’t really want God to replace our heart and give us a new one we just want to do a little cleaning.  So on our own, we try to replace the “webbing” but the problem, we have is that blue line and our lives are not registering with the “Great Machine” (God).  And the blue line is sins that we aren’t willing to give up and they are coming between God and us.  But the beauty is that if we confess the Lord will forgive and it will be just like winding the web forward, we will be able to connect with God.

What should we do?

Stay connected to God each day by prayer, the study of His Word, and putting His Word to memory.  Put your full trust in Him to do the work in your life.  He will lead you and when He shows you the path follow His leading.

The Lord is in no hurry.  A lot of times we begin to weave in our human threads to compose the pattern of the web.  But He waits until we lay down our own human inventions and will accept His way and will.  Then He can come in and do a marvelous work in us.

Dear Father,

Thank You that You will do the work in our lives if we allow You.  Lord, we need Your help in doing this.  We are so weak and feeble.

Lord, I give you permission to take my heart: for I cannot give it.  It is Your property.  Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for You.  Save me in spite of myself my weak, unchristlike self.  Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Your love can flow through my soul.  Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all to Jesus today and allow Him to weave the web of your life.

What has been a help to you in your walk with the Lord?  I would love to have you share about your experience.

 

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“Oh No, I’m Bleeding!!”

Open wounds

Have you ever cut yourself and you were bleeding all over?  It seems like a ridiculous question because of course, the answer is yes.  We all have had some time in our life where we have injured ourselves.

Whatever profession you have decided to take there are always risks.  When you are learning anything in life there is a time when more accidents happen.  And hopefully, you learn something in the process so that the next time you’ll remember what you don’t want to do.  But even if you are seasoned in your profession you never know everything.  You are always learning.  If you come to the place that you think you know everything there is to know in your profession, you really are not a blessing to anyone.  Know it all’s are not learners.  And just because your seasoned doesn’t mean you still don’t have accidents.

I have a young friend who is learning construction.  As my friend has been learning, he has had several accidents that have resulted in blood.  And some of his accidents could have been really bad.  There are other times where there could have been a serious accident but he was spared by the hand of God.  I think he may have two guardian angels.

It made me think

It made me start to think about how this is a good example of our spiritual lives.  When you become a real Christian, it is a process.  You may be wondering what I mean by a real Christian.  Well, you may have grown up in and around Christians but that does not make you a Christian.  What makes you a Christian is your own connection with God.  We cannot have a connection vicariously through our parents or anyone else, it has to become our own.  How would that work in your profession?  It would not!  You have to learn yourself with the help of the master teacher.

Spiritually speaking God should be our teacher.  He is that Master and can truly teach us how to be a Christian.  Can we learn from others?  Yes!  But ultimately we need to be learning from the Master.  When you get a job there may be others that know things within your profession that you can learn from but you better be sure it lines up with the master teacher (your boss) or later on there will be some repercussions.

I have followed what others said and it turned out to be wrong.  Or I have even given wrong advice that turned out to be wrong.  The one that gets the most reprimanded is the one that did it wrong, not the advice giver.  Why is that?  Because the master teacher (boss) says you should not rely on what others have told you but go to the one that knows, your boss, supervisor, etc.

So how does that look when it comes to our walk as a Christian?  We can learn from others but we always need to be sure that it lines up with the Master Teacher.  In the end, when we follow the advice of others and do not follow through with checking it out with the Master Teacher, we will receive the repercussions of our decisions.  We are responsible for our own decisions.

Growth takes time

Just like when your learning a profession it takes time, so does growing as a Christian.  In any profession, there are those times that we may choose to do something that we know isn’t the best thing but we know that we can get it done more quickly.  It may not be bad in and of itself but our master teacher (boss) has said he wants it done a certain way.  And most of the time, in the end, we may have made a mistake that could have caused us harm or someone else.  It is the same in the Christian walk.  Sometimes we choose deliberately to do something that we know is not pleasing to the Master Teacher (God) but we think we know best but in the end, we discover God always knows best.

Then there are those times that we are going along at work and after the fact, we realize we have made a wrong move.  Sometimes the consequences are minor but sometimes more severe.  In our Christian walk when we are walking along there are going to be times that we make a mistake that we did not even realize until after the fact.  It could be that we are still in the growth process and the Lord has not revealed it to us yet or it could be we did something without thinking.

In whatever case we find ourselves, I am so thankful for a God that is forgiving.  We can come to Him with a contrite heart and He will forgive.  And just like God is so merciful to us we should be merciful to others.

One of the faults that can break down the camaraderie in the workplace is to have a superior feeling.  If others around you feel like they can’t ever do anything right and that you feel superior to them it breaks down any relationship.  This happens within the Christian walk as well.  We have to be careful not to be pointing our fingers at others and thinking ourselves superior because we are following this rule and that rule.  The fact is we can be lost just because we have an attitude of superiority.  In the workplace, you can end up losing your job.  In the Christian walk, you can end up losing your salvation.

We need to allow everyone to grow as God leads them.  And God leads everyone on a different path because everyone’s journey is different.  The best thing we can do for someone is to love him or her and pray for them.

Growing

So how do we keep growing?  When we start in a profession there is definitely a learning curve and the same is in our Christian walk.  So do I eventually learn it all and don’t have to keep learning?  The answer is no.  This applies to the workplace as well as the Christian walk.  When we stop learning we become stagnate.  No matter what profession you have chosen there are always changes that take place due to new technology.  And if you don’t keep learning you’re going to fall behind and eventually probably lose your job.  The same is true in our Christian walk if we don’t keep learning we stop growing in our knowledge of the truth.

Some may say it isn’t really the same because our profession changes because of new technology but God’s truth has always been the same.  My question would be, has the technology always been there but we are just learning about it?  I would say the affirmative yes.  It has just taken someone to come along and discover the technology.  We all have the opportunity to discover the “technology” of truth from God’s Word but we all discover it differently because that is how God works.  We should not rely on people to discover the truths of the Bible and then tell us, we should be discovering it ourselves.  Because even if someone has discovered a truth in the Bible we are supposed to study for ourselves and see if those things are so.

Dear Father,

I am so grateful for Your saving grace.  As I cling to You and stay in Your Word You will lead me into all truth.  Keep us faithful to You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Stay connected to God each day.

Love you all.

What accidents have you had in life that you can draw a lesson from?  I would love to hear your story.  Share below in the comments.

 

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“Asleep, While Walking!”

My daughter (14) had a really good illustration and I want to share it with you.

Asleep!

“Our everyday lives are full of biblical illustrations.  Just recently, my eldest brother, mom, and I went for an afternoon hike up our mountain.  It is a fairly difficult hike.  And to make it worse there were a lot of dead and dry pine needles on the ground.  You would take a step and nearly start to slide down the hill.  It took a lot of effort to make it up.

I had just stopped to rest and I began to think.   I remember taking hikes life this when I was little.  When we would hike I would start out hiking along beside my parents but when I felt tired or just couldn’t make it any longer, my dad would pick me up and put me on his shoulders.  It was great to ride up high, I could see so much more.

Most of the time when I would ride on my dad’s shoulders I would fall asleep.  At this point, I was no long grueling up some hill or down some path. I could just relax.  As I had been walking it seemed that we would never get there and it took forever.  But as I rode on my father’s shoulders I had no fear or worry about getting to our destination, I had trust in my father that I would get there.  And the amazing part was when I would wake up from sleeping we would be there and it seemed such a short time.

Another thing that I was remembering is when we would be coming home from visiting someone.  I would always fall asleep on our way home.  I never sat there and worried about falling asleep, wondering how I would get in the house once we were home.   But I knew I could trust my father to carry me in the house once we got there.  And most of the time when I did wake up I was already in my bed.  I never knew how I got there except by the faith that I had in my father to accomplish it.

What about God?

These experiences made me start to think about God and how I need to have that kind of trust in Him.  No matter what situation that I am in He is always there.  I can trust Him through the grueling trials or whatever comes my way.  And if I can learn to trust Him as I did my earthly father, the next thing I will know is I will be on the other side of my trial or hardship and it will seem like it has been a short time.  My question will be, ‘How did I make it through so quickly?’  I will not know how I have gotten through the trials except by faith in God that He has accomplished what He has promised.”

—Rebekah

 

Get to know Him!

How can we learn to trust God as my daughter trusted her dad?  We have to come to the point that we don’t fear God.  And the kind of fear I am talking about is the fear that He won’t take care of us.  We have to come to the point that we trust Him fully and there is only one way.  In order for us to trust anyone, we have to get to know him or her.  We have to know that God has our best interest in mind and the only way that this can happen is to spend time in prayer and in His Word.

You may be saying, “That is what you always say.”  And you are right.  There is no other answer in life.  We have to have an intimate relationship with Him.  And the devil does everything in his power to keep us from spending time with God.  It doesn’t matter what he can distract us with, he will distract.  Often times he uses good things because we seem to be able to justify it more.

It may seem at times, as we go through difficulties that God is not there.  But what we need to realize is that when we are going through our most difficult times He is carrying us, and we can rest in Him.  At those times we have to claim His promises and not go by how we feel.

This is a poem that I have always loved.  It really brings it home.

 

FOOTPRINTS

“One night a man had a dream.

He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.

For each scene, he noticed two sets of

footprints in the sand: one belonging

to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,

he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of

his life there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very

lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he

questioned the LORD about it:

“LORD, you said that once I decided to follow

you, you’d walk with me all the way.

But I have noticed that during the most

troublesome times in my life,

there is only one set of footprints.

I don’t understand why when

I needed you most you would leave me.”

The LORD replied:

“My son, my precious child,

I love you and I would never leave you.

During your times of trial and suffering,

when you see only one set of footprints,

it was then that I carried you.”

Mary Stevenson

 

Dear Father,

Thank You that You are always there for us.  I pray that we will realize our need to stay so connected with You that You will carry us.  Forgive us for getting caught up with the things of this world and neglecting time with You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Give yourself to God each day and trust His leading.

Love you all!

Do you remember being carried by your dad, whether you were hiking or being brought in from the car after a trip?  What lesson can you draw from it?

 

 

 

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“40 Years?!!”

Life is short!

When you think about the average of lifespan on this earth it is a very short time.  The older I get the more I realize it.  The average is what?  Around 80 years, give or take a few.  There are so many factors but we know that it is short.  And the bottom line is that it can be even shorter than that.  We never know when we walk out the door in the morning if we are coming home.  So this day could be our last no matter what your age, 18…40…50, you name it.

Accident

It came to my mind more vividly one day as I was driving home from town.  At one of the lights, I was going through, there had been a recent accident.  One car had been really smashed on the driver’s side.  It appeared to me that they were working on cutting him out.  I was driving and wanting to make sure I didn’t cause another accident so I couldn’t take in what might have happened.  It appeared that he was alive and I pray that his injuries and all that were involved will heal quickly.

But it made me think.  All it takes is one accident and your life can be over or changed forever.  And the big question is, am I ready?  My judgment has been decided if I die and have allowed God to keep my heart connected to His.  I know that if I am permanently damaged that God will give me the strength for as I need it.  But if I am not staying closely connected with Him now it will be harder to stay connected through difficult times.  We need to stay focused on Christ and not lose that focus.

Distractions

There can be so many distractions that can keep us from keeping our eyes on our Savior and staying connected with Him.  There are many that I could address here but I am going to tackle one that I believe is a big one.

Taking our eyes off of Jesus and placing it on others distracts us.  It is so easy to get caught up in looking at others and seeing their wrongs.  As we point the finger or just have negative thoughts about their choices it draws our attention away from where it should be.  We are responsible for ourselves and no one else.  Now some may be saying, “We are responsible for others’ salvation.”  There is truth to that but where our focus is, determines whether we can help others.

When we keep our focus our Jesus and allow Him to work in our lives we then, and only then can we properly witness to others.  We need to have a Christ-like love for others and we cannot do that without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  We are the seed planters and the Holy Spirit is the One that makes it grow.  Somehow we think that we have to make it happen.  We plant seeds and love them even if they don’t accept what we have shared with them.  God is working with each person and He is the One that knows the right timing for each individual.  God doesn’t always bring change overnight.  He brings them through step by step.

How much time?

So how much time will it take for someone to see the truths of God’s Word?  I think one thing that we do is we forget what our own journey has been like.  We want to bring people to our level of knowledge and commitment overnight but how long did it take us to get to where we are.  And another thing, we should be realizing that we have a long ways to go and we have not arrived.  The Lord keeps growing us and we will be growing and learning how to walk the walk until He comes.  We need to give others the freedom to grow.

This reminds me of the story of Moses.  How long did it take for Moses to unlearn the ways of Egypt and to have such a walk with God that he would not waver?  God worked with him for 40 years to get him where He could use him to bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt.  This shows God’s patience and He knows what is needed in someone’s life to bring change.  God has perfect timing.  He is never late, rarely early but always on time.

We are only the seed planters and the only way those seeds can fall and maybe come to fruition is if we do it in love and let the Lord take it from there. We need to get out of His way and let Him work.   And as He works we continue to love and be there for the person through whatever difficulty, without condemnation.  This is a hard thing to do and it cannot be done in our own strength.

Human Nature

Our human nature tends to want people to be where we are in our spiritual journey and if they are not we tend to want to condemn and be critical.   We need God’s help in this area of our lives.  As we look at people we need to see them through the eyes of Christ, who came and died for them.  We can only do this as we stay connected with God.  This makes me realize how much we need to be in prayer and in the Word each and every day.  And spending time each day reading and/or thinking about the life of Christ, especially those last scenes.  If we can understand what He has done for us we can have more compassion for others.  We also need to reflect on where He has brought us from.  How long did it take for us?  We tend to forget how patient the Lord has been with us.  We need to have that same patience with others.

Dear Father,

Help us as we see others to see You as You hung bleeding on the cross for them.  Give us the ability to be earnest, broken and humbled as our petitions ascend to You for wisdom that we may have success in saving, not only our own souls but the souls of others as well.  We can only help in the saving of others as we stay surrendered to You and as we allow You to work through us so we can reflect You.

Forgive us where we have fallen short in reflecting You and work now in our lives that we can perfectly reflect Your character so that we can go home.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Commit today to not say anything negative about another person.  And commit to continue planting seeds in others lives, loving them, and not shunning them because their choices are not what you think they should be.

Love you all.

What thoughts have gone through your mind when you have seen an accident?  What lessons have you drawn?  Share below.

 

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“Trapped!!”

Trapped!

Have you ever felt trapped?  Maybe you feel trapped in an unhealthy marriage, friendship, family, or even your job.  What can make the difference?  We can’t always get out of situations that we are in but we can change how it feels.

I am reminded of something that just happened recently at my parents.  My mom called because a Bluebird had managed to make its way down their chimney into their stove.  Dad, who has a really bad shake, needed some help to get it out.  Mom is no help when it comes to things like this.  As a matter of fact, we told her to go outside while we did it.  She gets so freaked out.

My daughter (14) and I went over to help.  We took a plastic bag and taped it around the door and then opened the door with the bag.  We wanted to try to draw the bird into the bag.  But because the bag had to be black, in order to be big enough to go around the door, there was really no light to draw him.

So my daughter used the bag to go in and try to grab him.  The interesting part was that he did not try to fly all over to get away.  We thought that maybe he was injured or near death because he was not trying to get away.  It took a little bit because she could not see what she was doing, but she finally was able to get him.

Anticipation

We carefully closed the door and untapped the bag, closing it carefully in case the bird would get out of my daughter’s hand.  I was anticipating that we would have to maybe care for a bird that was injured or not well.

When we got outside and opened the bag and immediately he flew to the nearest tree.  As he flew out of the bag he started to sing.  Then he landed on a tree branch and sat there and sang and sang and sang.  We felt as if he was thanking us for helping him.  We realized that he had felt that we were trying to help him and that was why he cooperated with us.  And then to have him thank us with his singing was such a delight.

It made me long for heaven and the connection we will be able to have with the animals.  What it will be like to swim with the dolphins, pet and lay with the big lion, ride a horse without a saddle or reins, and even be able to have any bird sit on your finger or shoulder and sing and sing and sing.

Analogy

The trapped bird reminded me of how some of us feel trapped.  It doesn’t matter what it is.  It could be a debt hanging over your head, maybe you are trapped in yourself and can’t seem to reach out to others, but whatever, whenever, or where ever you feel trapped there is a solution.  Your situation may not change immediately but how you feel about it can.

Many times we are in the situations we are because of our own choices.  We may be in a bad marriage because we did not seek or even listen to the Lord or Godly counsel.  It also could be that we married before we gave our heart to the Lord and our spouse did not give their heart to God as we did.  Most of the time debt comes from our own bad choices and we have trapped ourselves in the “stove” of debt.  But even in our bad choices, there is a Helper.

When that bird went down the chimney she didn’t just happen to stumble in.  It has a special spark arrestor on the chimney so the bird would have had to actually go into it to fall down the chimney.  There are many times that we do the same thing.  We are walking along in life and we see a job, person, things that we feel we need or want and we don’t investigate thoroughly before we make the choice to dive in headfirst.  And then afterward, too late, we realize it was a big mistake, just like the bird realized too late.

There are other times that we are walking along and it is not something really obvious and we fall in.  But the solution for both is still the same.

I like to call it S U R R E N D E R

 

  • Start your day with God
  • Utter words in prayer
  • Read your Bible
  • Recite verses to memory
  • Encourage others
  • No criticizing words
  • Direct praise to God
  • End your day with God
  • Rest in God’s promises

 

The only way we can have success in our lives is to Start our day with God in Uttering words in prayer, Reading His Word, and Reciting His Word to memory.  When we have His Word in our hearts He can draw it to our memories in the day when we need encouragement or help with any temptation or decision.  Encouraging others always helps to get our minds off of ourselves.  And when we are speaking No words of criticism about people around us or even about ourselves, it draws us closer to God and away from that depressing feeling of being trapped.  It doesn’t help the other person or us when we criticize.  We should be Directing our praise to God each day for what He has done for us.  It may take some time for us to become grateful because we have been so negative but it can happen and what joy it brings.  Make sure to End your day with God.  Recite a verse you are memorizing and pray.  And then Rest in His promises.  If you do these things you will be able to sing a song of praise to God for His help of drawing you out of the “stove” (pit) of sin.

Excited

What I am most excited about is to be totally rescued from the “stove”.  Soon Jesus is coming to take us home, to take us out of this “stove” (world) of sin and sorrow.  When He comes and takes us to heaven that will be the ultimate joy.

I can just imagine myself singing as I ascend up to meet Him in the air, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.

And then when I am actually in the city the joy will be so overwhelming I will burst out with singing praises to the One that has made it possible for me to be there.  I will sing my gratitude of praise to Jesus, “…. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” Revelation 5:12.   What a glorious day that will be.  And I don’t know about you but I don’t want the things of this world to destroy that moment.  I want to surrender all my life to Jesus.

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.”

— Frances Ridley Havergal

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all to Jesus today.  He will help make your path straight and bring you joy and peace no matter what situation you face.

Love you all.

Do you have a nature story you can tell?  I love to hear nature stories.  Share what you learned from your experience.

 

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“I Will Never Speak to You Again!!!”

Have you ever…

Have you ever said or done something that you wish you could take back?  And whomever you said or did it to has made it very clear that they want nothing to do with you?  Or maybe someone has said or done something to you and you have let them know that you’re done.  You don’t want anything more to do with them.

This can also happen if a person feels like another person is not what they should be.  They don’t act like me or think the way I do so they must be mean or evil.  I want to feel comfortable with the person that I am with so I will shun anyone that takes me out of my comfort zone.  This doesn’t always come with words it can just be an obvious shunning.

Sad

Since we have had two recent deaths in my family this has hit close to home.  In both cases, we spent time with family, some of which we have not seen in years.  But one thing stood out is the division within the family.  Someone said or did something I didn’t like so, therefore, I do not want any more to do with them.  Or their lifestyle or how they think about things is different than me so I am just going to write them off.  The sad part is that some of these people claim to be Christians.

And what makes me even sadder is the fact that this takes place within the Christian church as well.  I see people that are struggling spiritually and others shun them because they don’t fit their criteria.  And what happens eventually to the ones that are struggling?  They leave the church and a lot of them give up Christianity altogether.  Why would they want to be a Christian?  They have gotten a false picture of what Christianity is all about through people who claim to be Christians.  But the reality is, if we are not being like Christ we are not Christians.  So what constitutes a true Christian?

Story

I want to share a story I recently read as an example of a true Christian. This story took place during the genocide in Rwanda.

“‘I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:9–11)

Several years after my family returned from mission service in Africa, I was working in the in Portland, Oregon. The genocide in Rwanda had taken place about four years before this. When we heard about it, we felt sick. We had been to Rwanda. We thought it was an amazing country and had many Christian friends there.

One day a visitor came to my office. Her name was Adele, and I noticed that she had a big scar on her forehead. Adele had just come from Rwanda to visit her daughter in the United States. She wanted to tell me her story.

Adele had been married to a pastor in Rwanda. When the genocide started, she, her son, and her husband ran to the church with many other church members, thinking they would be protected there. Similar attacks, but on a much smaller scale, had happened years before, and at that time the people had fled to the churches for safety. As the members were praying inside the church, thugs came and surrounded the building.

‘You have to come out!’ they yelled to the people inside.

They asked for the pastor, Adele’s husband, so he went out. ‘We’re going to kill you!’ they said.

‘Can I pray for you first?’ he asked.

They agreed, and he prayed for them. Then they took a machete and dealt him a deadly blow to the head. In a rain of terror, the machetes and other weapons began swinging upon the defenseless church members.

Adele looked over and saw her son raise his hand to wave goodbye to his mother. Just then, his arm was cut off. Moments later, he was hit and killed. All of a sudden, Adele went unconscious. She was hit in the head, and that is why she had the terrible scar.

Three days passed, and someone who was walking by saw a little movement among the piles of decaying bodies. The person went over, touched Adele’s body, and found that it was still warm. She was still alive!

He picked her up, put her in a little Toyota pickup, and took her to the dispensary. While she was recovering at this little hospital, she had a dream. In the dream, she was in heaven. Jesus spoke to her and said, ‘Look and see.’

She looked and saw her son and husband. Jesus said, ‘It’s going to be all right—you’re going to see your family in heaven.’

That assurance gave her such courage and hope. ‘It’s the only way I survived all this,’ she told me later.

Adele got well and returned home. About four years later, she was at the marketplace in her village. Looking down toward the end of the vendors’ tables, she saw a young man with long, matted hair. He had been hiding out in the jungle. As she looked at him carefully, she recognized him as a young man who her husband had baptized—the same young man who had killed her son!

Adele walked up to him, and he began to tremble. He thought, of course, that she had been killed in the genocide. ‘What are you going to do to me?’ he quivered. People were starting to turn around to look.

All Adele had to say was, ‘You killed my son,’ and they would have killed him right there. Instead, she said, ‘You come with me now.’ Trembling, the young man followed her to her house. ‘What are you going to do to me?’ he asked again.

‘Just sit down,’ Adele said.

She got some water and began to wash him and cut his hair and clean him up. She gave him some food. Then she took some of her son’s clothes and said, ‘Put these on.’

‘What are you going to do to me?’ the young man repeated, almost frantic.

With tears in her eyes, Adele said, ‘I have no one, and you have no one. You have killed my son, so now you must become my son.’

Then they had prayer together, and they wept together. About six months later, the young man was put in prison for killing other people. Every week Adele would go to see this young man in prison and take him food and clothes.

I have since been to Rwanda and visited Adele. She has told her story at my meetings there. It is an amazing story. Adele is a living example of the greatest miracle of all—the miracle of forgiveness. 

Through faith we receive the grace of God; but faith is not our Saviour. It earns nothing. It is the hand by which we lay hold upon Christ, and appropriate His merits, the remedy for sin. And we cannot even repent without the aid of the Spirit of God. The Scripture says of Christ, ‘Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.’ Acts 5:31. Repentance comes from Christ as truly as does pardon. (DA 175)”

— Elder Duane McKey

Forgive

This is an amazing story to me and really shows us the power of forgiveness.  This is not something that we can accomplish through our own strength.  It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us that we can accomplish this.  Probably a lot of us, after reading this story, have realized how small our trials are.  It can make us wonder why we have not forgiven.

One of the reasons that we find it so difficult to forgive is pride.  We feel that we have a right to feel the way that we do so we keep not forgiving.  We can think, “If I forgive them they aren’t going to change.”  It has nothing to do with them changing, it all has to do with us.  As it says in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”.  God does not forgive us if we do not forgive. (See Matthew 6 9-13)  We can’t edit His prayer to our liking.

It makes it even more clear in Matthew 6:14 & 15, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

We even deny that we have not forgiven.  We say we have forgiven but then we shun them.  This is not true forgiveness.  Does Christ shun us?  And as Christians, we need to be like Christ.

What makes me even sadder is what will happen within the Christian church.  People shun people because they do not think as they think, which is really a part of forgiving.  Their thoughts are that if you are a Christian you should be doing this, this and this.  And because you are not doing those things they sometimes politely, but others times not so politely, ignore you.  You suddenly are no longer their friend.  They may reason that they are trying to protect themselves from false but the reality is they are not being like Christ.

If we think a person is doing something that will keep them out of heaven should we shun them for fear of contamination?  The answer is a clear no.  We need to be their friend and be a living example while reflecting Christ.  Love them and when they see a reflection of Christ in our lives they will want what we have.  But if they only see a critical spirit they will run the other direction as fast as possible.  A critical spirit does not draw to God and is not of God.

There is something very important to remember.  The parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25, they were all doing the right things.  They were all good Christians, even the foolish virgins.  Many scholars today, which I agree, believe that the oil in the parable represents the Holy Spirit.  As I see it we can do all the right things but still be lost.   If we are not doing them with the power of the Holy Spirit working through us and we are just doing them on our own we are like the foolish virgins.  We are out of oil (The Holy Spirit).  And we are not any better off than the person we are critical of because they don’t do the things that we are, which to me is unforgiveness.

If we really grasp the meaning of all this, we will be on our knees praying for others and loving them instead of pointing fingers.  In our hearts, we will be forgiving them and being a living example of Christ-likeness.

But how can I…

The reality is we cannot forgive and be a Godly witness, without judging and pointing fingers unless we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

  • Prayer

Prayer is the key that unlocks heaven for us. We need to spend much time in prayer.  In order for God to hear us, we need to make sure that we do not have any iniquity (sin) in our lives.  Whether it is thoughts or actions.  “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” (Psalms 66:18).  So the first thing we need to do is confess before God specifically anything that we have done that has been displeasing to Him.  We may not even know what it is we have done.  Maybe we have forgotten or we are not aware of some things we are doing that are displeasing to Him.  We don’t need to worry.  We can ask Him to show us and He will reveal to us anything we need to confess.

As we come to God in confession He will forgive.  Then we are able to ask anything according to His will and He will hear and answer.  “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 John 5:14,15).  This is such a great promise.

Now we know that we can ask for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit so that God’s will can be worked out in our lives.  “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”  (See Luke 11:9-13)

We know that it is His will that we forgive others and that we have a love for one another.  So we can ask God to give us forgiveness through the power of the Holy Spirit.  And we can ask for His love to flow through us.  “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).  We need to power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this in our lives.

  • God’s Word

We need to spend time in God’s Word.  And we need to do more than just read the surface.  We can be on a schedule of reading the Bible through in a year but are we really getting something out of it.  Take the Word verse by verse and don’t move on until you understand what you are reading and how you can apply it to your life.

  • Memorize Scripture Verses

Memorizing Scripture verses, for when those times of temptation or discouragement come, can help you through.  I recently heard someone share about reading through the book of Psalms.  A lot of what is in Psalms are prayers.  The suggestion was to read a chapter a day or less splitting the longer ones into two or three days.  Choose a marker color for promises and as you read underline the ones that speak to you as a promise.  This may be different for each person.  Then when you are in a time of prayer you can claim those promises.  Start putting those promises to memory so when you are in need of prayer, no matter who you’re with or where you are, you have a verse to claim.

Conclusion

As I said earlier my heart aches.  We have but a short time upon this earth whether we die at the average age of 80 or the Lord comes.  Life is way to short to not forgive and love.  Others may not forgive or love us but it all starts with each one of us.  We have to look at ourselves and allow the Lord to change us.  And as we are changed there is a higher chance that those we love will also change.  But God gives everyone the freedom of choice to change or not to change and we have to have that same kind of love that God has.

The thing that is great about the forgiveness and love that God works in us through the power of the Holy Spirit, it brings us happiness.  It gives us a freedom that is so amazing.  The stress of holding on to unforgiveness is a heavyweight and when it is gone, what a relief.

Dear Father,

We need the power of Your Holy Spirit.  As we come to You with a heart that is open to Your forgiveness and Your will we ask for Your leading in our lives.  We ask You to give us Your Holy Spirit.  Give us forgiveness and love for others that only You can give.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Come to God today confessing and then asking for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit so that you can have the power to forgive and love others.

Love you all.

Have you had an unforgiving spirit that the Lord has helped you overcome?  Share the results below.

 

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“I Know I’m Right!!!”

I’m Right!

Have you ever felt like you are right about something?  You even feel that you are so right you may even argue about it.  You might even feel a little ticked off at someone who tries to tell you that you are wrong.  I have been there!  And it can be so embarrassing when I discover that I was wrong.  I thought I knew the facts but I didn’t.

My husband and I just went to MN where most of his family lives to attend a memorial service for his dad who passed away in July.  One of his aunts invited us to stay at her house.  And since we were flying her granddaughter loaned us her van.  It was so wonderful of them to be so giving.  It helped us save money.

Parking

Our aunt and her husband drove 2 hours to the airport to bring us the van.  They had to drive separate vehicles because we were not going to their house right away.  We had another family that lived south of them about 2 hours that we were going to visit first.

Our aunt met us at the luggage area and walked us to where she parked the van they were loaning us.  She had written down on a piece of paper the location of the van in the parking garage plus the license plate.  She emphasized to us the importance of not losing the key.  It is one of those new kinds of keys that don’t even look like a key.  The only way to get into the car is by pushing a button.

We finally found the aisle where it was parked and then she walked right to the van.  She gave the key to my husband and he went pushed the button to unlock it but it did not work.  She told him he needed to be pretty close to get it to work.  So he got closer but it still would not work.  She could not understand why it was not working.  I asked her if she was sure this was the correct van.  She told me yes and eventually pulled out the paper that she had written the license plate number on.  And sure enough, it was the right van.

She finally took the key and tried herself then called her husband, she told him she could not get the key to work.  She was looking for other ideas.  Then she decided to try the lock button and when she did she heard a beep.  The embarrassing part is that the beep was coming from a van a few cars over.  So we were at the wrong van.  Now the question is how did she get the wrong license plate written down.  She thought about writing down the license plate after she was already part way down the row.  She went back to write it down and chose the wrong van.  They were very similar.  One way she knew it was the wrong van also was the fact when she looked in the window she didn’t see familiar things, like her can of almonds.

Another story

This reminds me of another time I was at a grocery store.  I was with my son and we had just gotten out of our vehicle and headed for the store.  There was a lady walking from the cars parked on the right of us to go to the other side on the left.  She stopped us and said, “I just have to tell someone.”  She had come out of the grocery store and went to her car and loaded her groceries into her trunk.  She went to get into the vehicle and realized it was not her car.  In her case, her keys worked for another car.  I don’t believe it was an electronic lock but just the key.  When she talked to us she was headed to the cars parked on the left where her car really was.  An amazing story!  She did it without knowledge until the evidence presented itself.

Christians

This makes me think about the way the devil works.  He makes his ways look similar to God’s ways, especially from the outside.  It looks like it is safe and won’t harm us in any way.  He likes to catch us off guard.  And he wins almost every time when our guard is not up.  The outside of “the car” looks so similar that if we don’t pay close attention we may not pick God’s ways.  We cannot go through life lazily.  We have to be a diligent Christian.  As it says in Matthew 7:13, 14, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”  We have to be alert.

This verse may be discouraging to some.  But I know God wants us to know how serious it is to be alert.  It is meant to help us realize how easy it is to be lost if we are not alert.  But God is the one that does the work in us if we so allow it.  Now, this doesn’t mean if I am alert that I will never make a mistake because it is a growing process.  But I will be on the correct road journeying with Christ.

Alert

So what can I do to stay alert to the wiles of the devil so that I am not pulled in to his sophistries?  He is so good at what he does and we cannot combat him.  We cannot battle with him.  But we can allow God to battle him for us.  Here are some crucial steps for us.

  1.  Prayer.  We need to stay in communion with God.  We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 to pray without ceasing.  This is not meaning to be on our knees every hour of the day. It means that our minds need to be so in tune with God that our minds turn to prayer throughout the day as we encounter every circumstance.  I have found that if I am intentional about spending time with Christ each morning in prayer, the study of His Word, and memorizing scripture it becomes more of a habit to turn to God in prayer throughout the day.
  2. Study God’s Word.  There is such a need to spend time in God’s Word each day.  It is more about quality than quantity.  The bottom line, It is not about how many chapters you have read but how much you understand what you have read and can apply it to your life.  It is best to take a few verses and walk away with knowledge for the day than read a lot and walk away not even knowing what you read but you did your quota.
  3. Memorize Scripture.  We need to hide God’s Word in our hearts.  “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalms 119:11).  When we are tempted throughout the day we can draw from the scripture that we have placed in our hearts to combat Satan.

It is a heart work and Jesus will do it for us if we give Him consent.  He will identify Himself with our thoughts and aims and bring our hearts and minds in line with His will so that when obeying Him we will be carrying out our own impulses.  This will only happen as we draw closer to Him and allow Him to work.  And we can only get to know Him by spending much time in prayer and study of His Word and hiding it in our hearts.

Dear Father,

I want to recommit my time to You.  There is a time and season for everything and I am not good at regulating my time.  I can get so distracted and forget what the priorities of life are.  Continue to guide me in my journey of drawing closer to You and getting to know You better. I want to be lead by You and to surrender all my ways to You.  Thank You for Your love and compassion for me.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all to Him today and commit to spending time with Him.

Love you all.

Do you have a memory of being forgetful?  I would love to hear your story.  And what lesson can you draw from it?

 

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“I Blew It Again!!”

Explosion!

I am sure we have all had a blowout at some time in our lives.  I personally have never had a blow out while driving.  But I do remember driving one time and all of the sudden I heard an explosion.  I had no idea what it was but my first response was to break and go over to the side of the road.  It turned out that it was a semi truck in front of me that had the blowout.  If I had not responded the way that I had I could have been hit by a tire.

The tire that you see in the picture above was actually my son’s tire.  He is traveling all over the United States doing deliveries.  My son does what is referred to as Hotshot hauling or Hotshot trucking.  He does not drive a semi truck but hauls a trailer with a pickup.  It seems with all the heat and putting a lot of hours on the road has an effect on tires.  He has had more than one blowout.  It amazes me how shredded the tire was.

Christians

It reminded me of life as a Christian.  As we surrender our lives to Jesus each day and allow Him to have full control, life can get “hot”.  The devil does not like it when we allow Jesus to have full control of our lives.  So he turns up the heat.  The trials come.  And how we deal with the “heat” will determine whether we have a “blowout”.

When you are driving in the heat it is really important to keep the pressure of your tires where it needs to be.  You need to be sure to check them often because the heat causes them to expand and therefore can cause a blowout due to too much pressure.

In the same way in our Christian walk, we have to make sure that we are maintaining our connection with Christ through the study of His Word and prayer.  If we don’t have enough “air pressure” (God’s Spirit) filling our lives we will not handle the “heat”.  Although we can’t get too much of God’s Word or prayer like a tire can have too much air, it is true that we can spend so much time that we do not take care of the responsibilities God has given us to do.  We can use spending time with God as an excuse for laziness, which is just as detrimental.

We need to have balance in our lives.  Just like with a tire on your car, too much or too little air can cause a blowout, so spending too much time or too little time with God can cause us to spiritually have a blowout.  If we are just filling our lives with God and not sharing it we are going to have a “blowout”, just like too much air in a tire.

Trust

What it really boils down to is trust.  When my son is traveling he could be worrying all the time if he is going to have a blowout or he can trust that he has done what he can to keep it from happening and go on without worry.  Does not worrying about it mean he will never have a blowout?  No, but it does make life a lot more pleasant.  And in the event, he does have a blowout he just needs to fix it and get on with life.

It is the same in our Christian walk.  We know the devil is going to pour on the heat.  But if we are doing everything to keep our lives connected to Jesus we don’t need to worry or fret.  We just need to stay surrendered to Him.  We don’t need to worry about whether we are going to have a “blowout”.  And in the event we do, instead of wallowing in the “mud” get up and confess.  Do whatever it takes to make things right.  Fix the “tire” and keep going.  A lot of times we can start saying, “I blew it again”, “I am never going to get this”, “I’ll never make it”, etc.  But that is just where the devil wants us.  He is the one whispering those things into our minds.  Let’s just fix the “blowout” by getting back in connection with Jesus and keep going.

Leak

When we are in the heat of a trial we feel more of a need for Christ.  But the real danger is when we have a slow “leak”.  On our cars when a blowout happens it is like a major trial but there are times that we just have a slow leak and we don’t even notice until we hear or feel something not quite right.  It is the same with the Christian walk.  We can be slowly getting away from that time with God.  We spend less and less time each day, slowly allowing the “air” (power) out of our lives.  And before we know it we have a “flat tire” (discouragement, depression, anger feelings, etc.)

Keep Connected

The key to success is keeping connected with Jesus.  He is the One with the “air” (power) to keep us filled so that we can come through each trial with the victory, no blowouts.  It is when we start to focus on the “heat” of the trial that the friction gets to us and we end up with a “blowout”.

When we have little trials each day they can also draw us away from spending time with God because we are so busy putting out the “fires” that we don’t take the time we need.   I have found that as I spend time with God, no matter how much I need to accomplish in the day that I always have plenty of time with even time left over.  But when I don’t spend that time the day is chaos and I don’t get as much accomplished.  That is the miracle of God.  We work on addition and He works on multiplication.

Dear Father,

Help us to not forget the need to spend time with You, in study and prayer.  I want to recommit my time to You.  Thank You for Your patience and love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Commit to spending time with Jesus today in prayer and study of His Word.

Love you all.

Have you ever experienced a blowout like this one?  If so, how did it turn out and what spiritual lesson could you share?  Share below.

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“Pushy Peers!!”

What is the age limit for peer pressure?

Peer pressure touches all of us no matter how old we are.  If someone wants to say that they are older and have gotten over that problem they probably are blind to it.  Subconsciously we can respond to the pressure of others and then afterward realize what we did or we may even catch ourselves right in the middle of it.  No matter what your age I challenge you to take another look at peer pressure.

Driving

This really hit home a few days ago when I was driving.  On my way to work there was this truck that started following me not long after I had left home.  I live in the country so there were a couple of roads that we were on before hitting the main highway.  This truck was not allowing me my space, he/she was following me really close.  I think that you can all relate to that.  It is very nerve racking to have someone right on your tail.

After about 3 miles we entered the highway.  I got up to speed (55) and this person was still right behind me riding my tail.  On my way to work, I often sing so I was singing and I thought I was ignoring the truck.  I always check my speedometer now and then when I don’t have it on cruise control to make sure I am still on track.  When I looked down I was amazed to find that I was up to 65 and he/she was still riding my tail.  At that point, I slowed and put my cruise on.  What amazes me the most is how the peer pressure was affecting me even though I didn’t even realize it.

As I slowed and put my cruise on I noticed that there was another truck behind the one following me.  He/she in that truck was also in a hurry and passed me first and then the one behind me passed.  After they passed they were going so fast that the distance between us was quite a distance in seconds.  It is true that they didn’t make it far before there were more people going the speed limit.  I am old enough to be a grandma now but I have never been pulled over and I don’t plan on starting now.  But here’s the question, is that a good reason to go the speed limit?

Following the crowd

What came to my mind is how easy it is to follow the crowd; the truck behind me without even realizing it was pushing me.  He/she was so close that it made me automatically speed up without any thought.

It made me think about how it is as a Christian.  We are in a group at work, school, or even church and they may be doing something we know is displeasing to God but we don’t want to be different.  Sometimes we just don’t even think about it.  The next thing we know we are involved with some gossip, bad mouthing someone, or just listening in to an ungodly conversation.

When we start to feel the pressure we feel uneasy and we don’t like that uneasy feeling.  We are afraid about what others are going to think.  But we suddenly forget about what God thinks.  The question is why does it matter so much what others think?

Sin

My son is away at school and he called me the other day and asked, “What is sin?”  I replied, “Separation from God.”  He said, “It is the absence of Love.”  I agreed.  This is so true.  Who do we love?  Do we even have true love?

Without love, it is impossible to please God.  I was thinking after those trucks passed me how many try to avoid the law.  We can be Christians that believe that we are following God.  I mean we go to church, don’t kill, steal, etc.  But are we Christians.  I know people who claim to be Christians that have Fuzz Busters so that they can speed and not get a ticket.  There are many examples that could be cited here but this is just one.  Are we truly a Christian if we try to avoid the laws of the land?  And when we avoid the laws of the land does that affect our relationship with God?

I believe that as a Christian we need to obey the laws of the land or any law that we may be under, at our school, work etc.  “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,” Titus 3:1-4.

Some people may be asking how can that be, we can’t obey every law because it may be going against God.  And yes that is true.  We need to obey every law unless it goes against the laws of God.  “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him” Acts 5:29-32.

A lot of times we make excuses for not obeying laws that do not seem to go specifically against God’s law.  But the reality is if we disobey authority over us, whoever they may be, and what they are asking us to do does not go against God’s Law we are disobeying God.  We are not being a Godly witness.

Love

The thing that is amazing is it still goes back to love.  Our human love is full of frailties.  But God’s love is not and He will give us His love as we surrender our lives to Him.  No matter what choices we make, even if it seems that we are doing some wrong to others, we are really doing wrong to God.  It reminds me of Joseph in Genesis 39:7-9, “And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”  Every sin that we commit no matter who it is against is actually a sin against God.

Everything that we do goes back to whether we love.  And it is whether or not we love God supremely.  If we love God supremely we will love others.  If we try to love others without supreme love for God it is a selfish love.  We can only love selfishly.  But thank the Lord He will give us His love.

Here is a quote from one of my favorite authors.  It really sums it up perfectly.  “All true obedience comes from the heart. It was heart work with Christ. And if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing His service. When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us” {DA 668.3}. The bottom line, fall in love with Jesus.

The question is how?  Spend time to get to know Him.  Read about what He has done for you.  And then ask Him for that love.  And if we give all to Him He will make it happen.  Prayer is such a key, I am realizing this more and more.  And it is not just talking but also listening.  “Lord, what wilt thou have me do today?  Who can I serve today?”  We need to get our minds off of self.  If we can reach out to others it will change our perspective.  We may think life is tough but when we ask God for someone we can help or serve He will bring us to people and we will realize how great we really have it.  When we focus on self, our failures, people who have done us wrong, or anything that is of self, we become discouraged and depressed.  We need to keep our eyes on the One that loves us with so much love that He gave up His life so that we can live eternally with Him.  Now that is love.  That is the kind of love that He can give us.

Dear Father,

I want this love.  I want to surrender daily my life to You and be of service to others.  Give me Your love because my love is so full of self.  Show me today who I can serve and share Your love with.  Thank You for Your love and what You have done for me.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all to Him today, asking Him for His love.

Love you all!

Do you have a story about peer pressure?  A story where you stood your ground and did not give in to peer pressure or a story where you gave in to peer pressure and the results of it?  Share below I would love to hear your stories.

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“It’s Broken Down Again?!!!”

Machines!

If you work with machines at all you understand the frustration when it breaks down.  It may even be your car, a blown tire or something you use quite often in your home.  And usually, the timing is never good.

It seems we have breakdowns often at work and the timing is never convenient.  It seems like it happens when we are the busiest.  I work at a print shop and run the digital department.  I have two machines that I run, the full color and the black and white.  The full color we have had for almost a year so it is fairly new.  The black and white was there when I started working and I am told it is old, I believe it because it breaks down a lot.  They keep coming to clean and fix on it but it doesn’t seem to help and my conclusion is that they need to replace parts rather than continue to try and make the old parts work properly.

The digital color is used a lot and needs cleaning quite often and parts replaced now and then.  But when it does need a part replaced it has an effect on the whole shop.  The fact is regular maintenance is necessary if you don’t want a major break down.

Here is where I find the problem, in order to save money they just keep coming out and cleaning often instead of replacing parts.  This does not seem logical to me but they seem to be determined not to give new parts.  I guess it gives the repair guy something to do.

What about us?

This made me start to think about us as Christians.  Some of us are new to our faith in Christ and we are on fire for the Lord.  Some of us have been in the faith for a long time.  But no matter how long we have been in the faith we all go through trials.  Some days are worse than others.  We break down and need some cleaning and repairing.  And it seems the timing is never good.

God wants to not just clean us up but He wants to replace old parts with new parts.  “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean:  from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.  And I will put my spirit within you, and curse you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” Ezekiel 36:25-26.

But our tendency is to want to bypass the new stuff and just keep getting a cleaning.  Because a new heart means total surrender and we are not so sure we want that.  We still have little darling sins we want to hang on to and don’t want to let go and let God.  We think we want “new parts” but when it comes down to it we want to keep our old ways and  “parts”.

What do I do?

The question always comes, “What do I do?”  The Christian walk is not as easy as some may think.  Dying to self and giving up our control and letting God take control is not natural.  It can be our Gethsemane.  How many of us have sweat “as it were great drops of blood” (See Luke 22:44)?  I can say I haven’t.

It wasn’t easy for Christ in Gethsemane to drink the cup.  He took on the sins of the whole world for time and eternity.  Jesus knew it would separate Him from His Father.  He had such a love for His Father that He did not want to be separated from His Father with sin.  We are so drawn to sin that our agony is different.  We agonize over giving up or letting go of sin.  I want to get to the point that I want no sin to come between my Savior and me.  So what do I do?  Get to know Jesus, fall so in love with Him so that you would rather die than hurt Him.

  1. Spend time in prayer.  Don’t just spend time in prayer spend quality time in prayer.  When you are talking to God speak to Him as you would a friend.  Share everything that is on your heart.  Yes, it is true that God already knows but as we speak it to Him it changes us.  Communicate with Him.  For those of us that are married or dating, if we didn’t talk to the one that we say we love our relationship would fall apart.  But if we love them we want to spend time with them.  We don’t have to force ourselves we look forward to it.  If we just said a quick “hi” and “goodbye” to them each day we would be in serious trouble.  The same is true with God.  We need communication with him that is meaningful.
  2. Listen as He speaks to you.  Communication is not one-sided or it is not communication.  If you did all the talking in any relationship you had you probably would lose all your friends, spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. The same is true of our relationship with God.  If we do all the talking our relationship is dead.
  3. Read God’s Word.  God will talk to us through impressing our minds but the biggest way He communicates with us is through His Word.  But if we never open His Word He cannot speak to us through it.  Another way He often speaks to us is through nature.  The more time we spend out in nature the more He can speak to us.  I have been taught so many lessons through nature.  I also realize that if I was more attentive He could speak to me even more.

The reality is if we do not long or even enjoy spending time with Him now we will not enjoy heaven, therefore, we won’t be there.  God wants to enjoy fellowship with us.  He loves us with a never failing love.  His love is nothing like human love.  He is always there willing and ready to forgive and spend time with us.

Dear Father,

Forgive us for our lack of communication with You.  We want that close connection with You but many times we get distracted.  Thank You for Your patience and Your reminders that come in many different ways.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all the Him today, especially your time.  He longs to spend time with you and trust me it is worth it.

Love you all.

As you have spent time in prayer, God’s Word, or nature what has God shown you?  I would love to hear.  Share below.