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“What is it?!!!”

The unknown!

Have you ever had something crawling on you and you had no idea what it was?  You brush it off and the next thing you know it is there again and again.

This is what happened to me recently.  We went to a creek with some newly made friends.  We were sitting there with our feet in the water when I felt something crawling on my foot.  I looked down and there was a rock on top of my foot.  Shoving the rock off, I went on listening to the conversation that was happening.  Then I felt something on my foot again.  I looked down and there was another rock on my foot.  And of course, I shoved it off again.  I did this a number of times.   You can see the video here:   IMG_1464

You might be saying, “Well, you have your feet in a creek and water is moving constantly.”  You’re exactly right.  As it kept happening I never gave it much thought but then I looked more closely.  I realized that it was something crawling up onto my foot.   We pulled out the rock and discovered it was not a rock at all, it was camouflaged like a rock but it was hollow inside and there was an animal in it.  I am not sure what it was but when it would come out it was black.  So it would go in to hide but when it thought it was safe it would start to crawl around on the bottom of the creek.  I could not believe how much it looked and felt like a rock.

Lesson

Camouflage can be a good thing.  God has made it a way of protection for creatures.  But there is a bad side to camouflage.  A creature can disguise itself so it is not seen and pounce on its victim when they are not expecting it.

So here is the question, is there a good side to camouflage in the Christian realm?  There are many Christians who just want to fit in with everybody else.  They will become like a Chameleon, act or be like whatever group they are in.  Being different is not what they want to do, they just camouflage right in.  They don’t want to stand out or be different because they are afraid of losing influence, friends, popularity, etc.  I think we have all been there at one time or another.  We don’t want to rock the boat so we just fit in.  What can make the difference?

There is only one thing that can make the difference, falling in love with Jesus Christ.  How can we really do that?  Spending time.  You don’t get to know someone without spending time with time.  You cannot truly fall in love without getting to know a person.  It is the same with Christ.  We have to spend time getting to know Him.  We need to realize what He has done for us.

Think of someone in your life that you would stand up for no matter whom you’re with.  You love them so much that when people start talking bad about them or just act certain ways, you would not just keep silent, and you would stand up.

The only way we can stand up for Christ and what He has done for us is to get to know Him and have such a personal relationship with Him that no one can tell the difference between us and Jesus.  We are camouflaged with Him.  When they have been with us they have felt as if they have been with Jesus.

Counterfeit

Then there is the camouflage we have to keep our eye out for.  The devil has the best camouflage for evil.  And just like this little creature kept creeping up onto my foot, the devil knows how to disguise things so that they look as innocent as the little rock looked to me, and it creeps in.  We start by reading, watching, or listening to something that is mostly good but just has a little taint of bad.  But slowly a creeping compromise happens and we are reading, watching, or listening to things we thought we never would do.

Getting back

Thank the Lord for the forgiveness that He has for us when we return to Him with a confession.  Confession is the beginning of getting back in right relation to Him.

We need to get back to the simplicity of God’s Word.  He makes things so simple but we complicate things.  A lot of times it can be because we just want to keep on doing the “little” things that we so enjoy.

What can we do?

  1. Spend a thoughtful hour each day contemplating the Life of Christ.  As we can come to realize what Christ has done for us so that we can spend eternity with Him, it can help to change our mindset.
  2. Spend time in prayer.  Having that communion with God is so important.  He longs to hear from us.  It doesn’t matter what, He wants to hear our worries as well as our victories or requests.  He is always there to guide us.
  3. Hide God’s Word in your heart.  It is always good to have scripture that we can draw from to guide us with our decisions each day.  Every time we need to make a decision about whether something we want to read, watch, or listen to is right or good, here are a couple good verses.  “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.” Psalms 101:3.  And another favorite is in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Dear Father,

You are our ever-present power if we will just reach out to You for strength to overcome.  Forgive us for all our shortcomings and help us to stay in Your Word.  Give us wisdom each day as we are on this journey of life.  Show us Your ways.  Thank You for always being there ready and able to help us as we allow You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Give your life in full to Jesus today so that you can reflect His character.  Stay so close to Him that you won’t get caught off guard with the devil’s camouflage, but that you will be fully reflecting Christ.

Love you all.

What is the most unusual camouflage you have seen?  And what spiritual lesson can you share about it?

 

 

 

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“Yes! Backpacking!!”

Backpacking!

Have you ever been backpacking?  If you haven’t you ought to try it.  One of the great things about backpacking is that you can get into some areas that are so beautiful and there are not a lot of people.  I can’t say I am really experienced because I have only done it twice.  I am really grateful to a friend who got my boys interested.  They love it and are now sharing that love with the rest of the family.  Now I have to say that it is tough on me.  But what I can say is no matter how old you are you can learn something new.

Rain

One thing that I have never liked about tent camping is having the rain.  And when you go backpacking into the wilderness, tent camping is the only option.  When we headed to our spot it was beautiful but it was not long when things started looking suspicious.  We got to our camping spot, hurriedly set up our tents and barely made it inside before it started to thunder, lightning, and have pouring rain.

We went backpacking with friends and now we were all lined up in two-man tents.  And one of my son’s had a tarp tent, what good is that in the rain.  We ended up spending the evening and night huddled in our tents.

The next day did not look much better.  When we got up it was not raining.  So after having breakfast, we started thinking about how we could make this day fun despite the rain.  It is amazing what you can do with what you have if you put your mind to it.  We took the three two-man tents and put them together and cover the center part with my son’s tarp tent.  Then we were able to open the doors to our tents and sit around visiting and playing games.  It did let up a little so we could take a little hike.  It was such a beautiful place with lots of little lakes, flowers, and streams.

The big hike

The next day was still looking cloudy but there was some sun.  So we decided to take the risk of heading out hoping it would not pour rain.  Because at that point how would you get warm. It turned out to be a beautiful day.  Yes, we had a sprinkle here and there but nothing drastic.  We were actually thankful for the clouds.  The sun came out a few times, which made it really hot but for the most part, there was a cloud cover.  It was a long a grueling hike but the view was spectacular.

Sunscreen

It seems when there are clouds no one worries about protecting your skin from the scorching sun but WARNING.  When there are clouds it is a time when you can really get burned.  You think you don’t have a need to protect your skin but you do.  A lot of us got burned because we did not wear protection.

I really have not liked sunscreen over the years because they are so toxic but as of late I have been making my own with some more natural ingredients. Here is a general recipe that a person can try.

Natural Sunscreen

3/4 cup Coconut oil (antibacterial and antifungal, coconut oil for

skin is an excellent moisturizer)

1 T.  Bees Wax (helps soften and soothe skin.)

2 T. Zinc Oxide (zinc oxide protects against UVA and UVB light

rays and is often used as a natural, non-toxic

sunscreen to prevent burns)

2 T Shea Butter  (soothing to the skin)

12 drops of doTERRA Helichrysum essential oil (Helichrysum

keeps the skin looking young and healthy.)

You want a double boiler or I take a metal bowl put in my Bees Wax in and then put it in a pan so it is above a couple of inches of water.  As the water gets hot it melts the wax.  Then add the coconut oil and Shea butter. (It is harder to melt the wax.)  Make sure it is mixed well.  Take from the heat and add your Zinc Oxide.  If you want higher protection you can add more zinc oxide.

“Safest Baby Sunscreens For Your Baby” is a great article on some healthier options.  With all the toxic things out there we need healthier options.  To me, if it isn’t good for my baby it is not good for me.

Remember, no matter what sunscreen you use, you need to put it on several times a day as you are enjoying your day in the sun.

Nature

The most incredible thing about backpacking is the nature.  It is worth all the sore muscles and sleepless nights.  I have never been to a more incredible, beautiful place.  Pictures can’t even do it justice.

Imagine in your mind a meadow that is green with wildflowers everywhere of all different kinds.  And through the meadow, a stream is running.  Then you look up and there are incredible mountains of beauty that is not explainable.

And then there are the lakes.  The colors are unimaginable.  They are not full of pollution.  They are crisp and clean.  We filtered water out of the lake and it was so incredibly good.  There are little islands and greenery all around.  It is so beautiful it is hard to explain.

Where there are water and mountains there are also waterfalls.  Everywhere you looked you could see a falls coming down from somewhere.  Some were so far away that you could not see them well but you could hear them as they crashed over the rocks falling hundreds of feet down the mountain.

It was the home to all kinds of creatures, large and small.  It is an incredible place for the creatures to live in.  Way out away from city life.  It is serene and peaceful.  To me, that is where they belong, instead of back at my house destroying my yard and coming into my house.  The mice were everywhere but it did not bother me because that is where they belong.  I am not sure the name of all the creatures but it was wonderful to watch them, chipmunks, ground squirrels, frogs, etc.  We did not see any really big animals like deer or bear, which is fine, especially the bear.

Thinking

This trip in nature started me thinking what an incredible God we serve.  I also started thinking about what spiritual lessons I could find from our adventure.

There were the rolling hills filled with beautiful greenery along with a multitude of different flowers scattered throughout.  You could have picked them and had a variety that would have made a beautiful bouquet.  This reminded me of how beautiful heaven will be but also the results of sin.  We could have picked those flowers and made a beautiful bouquet but the beauty would have lasted a short time because as soon as we picked them they would start to die.  It is the same with us as soon as we come into this world we start to slowly die because of sin.  But even though we may die physically if we have surrendered our lives to Jesus when He comes in the clouds, He will raise us up and take us home with Him and we will live eternally.  And then there will be no more death!  Praise the Lord!

Sunscreen

Whenever you are out in the sun it is always good to protect yourself with sunscreen, even when it is cloudy.  When the clouds are out you think your safe but really you are not.  A lot of the sunscreens are so toxic with chemicals that you wonder if they are safe to even use.

What sunscreen made me think of is how we need to protect ourselves from sin.  Sin can “burn” us and when we least expect it like we get sunburned when it is cloudy.  What is the best protection?  Can there be things out there that are “toxic”?  There are things out there that are toxic.  We can think that it will protect us spiritually but can it really.  Does it have some real truth mix with a little error?  It is like the sunscreen,  it can have a lot of good stuff to protect us from sin but then there are a few chemicals that can be toxic to us that really defeats the purpose of protection.  So what is the best spiritual protection?  Can we rely on men/women?  God uses men/women to share the protection of truth with us but how do we know it is not “toxic”?

The only safeguard is the Word of God.  We need to put on the whole armor of God as it says in Ephesians 6:11-17.  We also need to be as the Bereans and “search the scriptures daily,” to see if what we are being told or taught lines up with scripture.  See Acts 17:10-11.  And then “if they speak not according to this Word” we can know there is no light in them. See Isaiah 8:20.  We need to be sure we are using the nontoxic spiritual “sunscreen” to protect ourselves, God’s Word.

Rocks

We went for a climb up the mountain.  We climbed up the mountain an elevation of 2,000 feet.  Most of the way up it was big boulders and areas of smaller rocks.  We had to be careful when there were the smaller rocks because they could loosen and start to roll down the hill.  There were two things that could happen, if someone was below us those rocks could hit them and cause some real damage or we could slip and start sliding down the mountain.  There were a couple of things that we tried to do.  We wanted to stay on the big boulders as much as possible and if we did have to go through an area where there was no choice but the smaller rocks we did not want someone following us.  The best place for them to be was walking beside you.

This made me realize how important it is to stay on the Big Rock, Jesus Christ.  As we “hike” along in this life, there are so many loose “rocks”.  If we choose to get off the Solid Rock there are two things that can happen.  First, we can fall into sin and secondly if someone is following us we can lead them off the Sold Rock.  And they can get damaged by sin or even lose their eternal life.  We need to stay on the Solid Rock.

Rain

The rain reminds me of the trials we go through as Christians.  Just like we brought our tents together and covered the cap with a tarp tent, we as Christians need to draw together under the “Tarp Tent” Jesus and help each other through the difficult times.  It is so much better than trying to travel alone.  Travel together, pray together and study God’s Word together.

Dear Father,

Thank You for nature and what we can learn through it.  I thank You for being the Solid Rock that we can rely on.  Thank You also that when we do get off on the loose rocks You are there to pull us back onto the Solid Rock, all we have to do is reach out our hand.  I also thank You for Your patience and love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Put the spiritual “sunscreen” on today, stay on the Solid Rock, Jesus, and stay in fellowship with fellow believers.

Love you all!

Have you ever been camping, backpacking or just hiking?  What adventure do you have to share?  I would love to hear it.  Please share below.

 

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“I Think I’m Going To Be Sick!”

Sick!

Have you ever had this feeling in the pit of your stomach that you can’t explain?  Maybe as a kid, you realized that because you just made a bad choice your parents have decided to cancel something they had planned for you.  You have this sick feeling in the pit of your stomach realizing that you just missed out on the most amazing thing.  Maybe you’re like me when I got out to my car from a store and realized my daughter wasn’t with me.  She was young, maybe 6 or 7, at the time and it was the scariest feeling.  Talk about a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

My daughter

It was around Christmas time.  Our family was in a store in the mall browsing.  We didn’t find what we needed so we headed out to our vehicle.  When we got there we realized our daughter was not with us.  After losing a daughter that we only had with us for 5 weeks, I was in a panic.  I did not want to lose another daughter.  We went into the store and talked to the workers and we all started on a search.  I don’t remember how much time passed but it seemed like forever.  Finally, one of the workers found her hiding in some clothes.

It turns out she had been skipping the squares on the floor and had not turned with us toward the doors.  When she realized she was alone she tried to go out one door and realized it was the wrong one so she came back into the store and hid in the clothes.  It was a very happy reunion.  I remember how frustrated I would get when we would go anywhere after that.  She was so afraid of being left behind she would hang on to my clothing.  It was hard for me to even walk through a store because she stayed so close to me.  I would say she did that for the next couple of years at least.  It was a very frightening experience for her.  I can imagine the sick feeling she must have had in the pit of her stomach.

The worst sick feeling

So what is the worst sick feeling that a person could ever have in the pit of their stomach?  I have given much thought to this more than once.  It makes me cringe to think about it.  We can so often go through life and not really realize the seriousness of it.  But if you really take the time to give it some thought it can be awakening.

When I think about the worst sick feeling that I could possibly think of, I think of not being ready for the greatest event in all history, the event of Jesus soon coming.  For me, the most sickening feeling would be to hear the words, “…I never knew you:…” Matthew 7:23.  That sick feeling of realizing that I am lost.  I imagine my daughter had the most horrible sick feeling in her stomach when she realized she was lost.  Just like I had the sick feeling in my stomach when I realized my daughter was lost, God has even a greater sick feeling.  He loves us so much and when we don’t choose Him and His ways He suffers.  He has so many children that His suffering is indescribable.

Fear

The great news is that we have a forgiving God.  If we have gone astray and gotten lost there is still time to be found.  Now is the time to come to Him asking for forgiveness and He is ever waiting and longing to forgive.

There is only one thing that we need to fear and that is separation and that separation only happens as we choose it.  God doesn’t bring the separation, we do.  Just like my daughter clung to me thereafter, we need to cling to Jesus.  As we cling to Him there is nothing to fear. We need to walk with Him hand in hand.  We cannot let anything come between Him and ourselves otherwise we will get lost.  He will be constantly searching for us but if we don’t want to be found He doesn’t push His way in.  And if we continue not to listen to the pleadings of the Holy Spirit, His voice will get softer and softer until we can’t hear it anymore.

Cling to Jesus

The answer is to cling to Jesus.  We need to stay in full connection to Him.  Here are some ways to stay connected.

  1. I look at prayer as a key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven’s storehouse, where are treasured boundless resources.  We need to be coming to God everyday and speaking to Him as well as listening to His voice.
  2. Be in the word.  We must be in the Word each day.  God’s Word is full of instructions and promises.  As we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us we can know which course to pursue.
  3. Memorize verses from God’s Word.  If we have promises memorized from God’s Word, we can bring them to mind when we are having struggles throughout the day or when we are tempted.
  4. Guard the avenues of the soul.  We need to guard our 5 senses.  Making choice that will keep us out of harms way.  We can protect ourselves from temptations by guarding ourselves.  We don’t want put ourselves in a position that will make it harder for us to stay connected.  My daughter was tempted to skip the squares on the floor and she took her eyes off of me and did not see me go in a different direction.  That is exactly what can happen to us if we don’t keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

Dear Father,

Thank You for always being there through every circumstance in life.  Continue to prompt our hearts to keep our eyes on You.  And help us to be ready when You come.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Keep your eyes fixed on the One that can lead and guide you through every circumstance.

Love you all.

What illustration can you share today?  I would love to hear it.

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“Light Up The Darkness”

Darkness

I don’t know what you think but it seems to me that the darkness is getting darker.  You may be saying, “What?!  How can darkness get darker?”  Well, it depends on what kind of darkness we’re talking about.  I believe there is more than one kind of darkness.  There is the physical darkness of night and then there is spiritual darkness.

When I look around at this world, which I see very little since I don’t read or watch the news, there is so much darkness.  Things have gotten so bad it is hard to believe any human being would do some of the things that people are doing.  There are also so many people who are suffering because they have no hope.

Light up the world.

For those of us that have Christ in our hearts need to become a light in the darkness.  We need to let our light shine.  As Christ said in Matthew 5:14-16, “Ye are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is a heaven.”

We are an influence on all people, whether good or bad.  God wants us to reflect His character to others through our obedience to Him.  When we are in full surrender to God the trials or bad things that take place will not have the same effect on us because we have a hope within us.  People will be attracted to us because they see peace in our lives.  As it says in Proverbs 4:18, “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

How does God form light?

What do I mean by this question?  Well, what I am really thinking about is the work that God does in our lives that prepares us for being able to be a light that shines.  “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” John 8:12.  We become reflectors as we follow Him.

Isaiah 45:7 says, “I form the light, and create darkness…”  I looked up the word form in the Hebrew translation and it carries with it the idea of ‘squeezing into shape’ and means to mold into a form, especially as a potter.  This is exactly what the Lord wants to do in our lives so that we can be a true light in the darkness of this world.  As we shine for Him, the darkness is created (revealed).  Without light, we don’t even know that there is darkness.  It is the light that reveals the darkness.  The process of becoming light is by allowing God to shape us.  “But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand”  Isaiah 64:8.

In what ways can we make our lights brighter?

  1. We need to be sure to turn away from darkness.  It makes me think of the story of Saul who became Paul.  He was exposed to the light and he realized his sin.  He confessed to God his wrongs and repented.  God was able to use him in a mighty way.  We cannot help others into the light unless we have the light ourselves.  And our job is, “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”  Acts 26:18
  2. Expose everything to the light.  When we are living according to God’s Word we expose everything to light.  Which we cannot do this unless…
  3. We are looking to Jesus.  When we are in full surrender to Jesus and our lives are clear of any known sin we can be a light in the darkness.  We have to stay connected.  Psalms 89:15, “Blessed is the people who know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.”
  4. We need to have a forgiving spirit.  If we are not forgiving others we will not be shining for God.  “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.  He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.  But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. 1 John 2: 9-11.
  5. We need God’s Word engrafted into our lives, which is done by memorizing.  “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.  The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.  Psalms 119: 105, 130.
  6. We need to put on the armor of light as it states in, Romans 13:11, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us, therefore, cast off the words of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”  We do not have time to spend in darkness, time is short.
  7. There are many more things that could be said on this subject.  What I have shared here are just a few things for us to think about.  We live in a very dark world at a very dark time.  There are so many in the darkness that need to know about the light.

Dear Father,

We need You.  Forgive us for where we have fallen short of glorifying Your name and being the light You would have us to be.  Continue to guide us as we surrender all to You.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Shine for Him today.

Love you all.

What have you found to help you in shining for Jesus?  I would love to hear your thoughts.

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“Are You Aligned Or Do You Need To Adjust?”

Have you ever planned your day?  You have everything lined up exactly in a way that should make everything go smoothly.  But then things start happening and your day is falling apart.  It can be so frustrating.  It may be so disastrous that you don’t even want to start another day.

I work at a print shop and run the digital.  We often have a two-sided card, flyer, postcard, etc. to print.  Most of the paper I run is too heavy to duplex.  Besides, it takes longer to print when you duplex.  So I run one side at a time.  Now when you are setting up for printing it is very important that you have a gutter and crop marks.  This makes it a lot easier for the guys that have to cut things out.  We may be printing a sheet of business cards 20 up on a sheet and they need to have the marks to know where to cut.

Once I am done printing the first side I take the paper and replace it back in the drawer for printing the second side.  You start by printing one so you can check to make sure you put the paper incorrectly.  You don’t want the picture on the second side to be upside down.  On the most part I know, now, how to put the paper in so it is rarely put in the wrong.  There are exceptions when designs are out of the ordinary.

The other thing that I am looking for is to see if my gutter and crop marks are aligned.  I take a utility knife and cut the crop mark on the front and look at the back and see if it came through at the crop mark on the back.  If not there is a problem.  If I sent it back for the guys to cut without it being aligned right there would be things cut off the back side that should not be cut off.  It may cut off words, pictures, logos, etc and it would not be acceptable to the client.

If my crop marks are not aligned I have to go onto my computer and make some adjustments until they are perfectly aligned.

It made me start to think about our spiritual lives.  We need to be aligned with God.  I picture myself on one side of the picture and Jesus and His Word on the other side.  The gutter and crop marks need to be aligned.  If they are not then I need to do some adjusting in my life.  When I am adjusting the alignment in the print shop sometimes it takes a couple or more times to get it just right.  I think in our spiritual walk it is the same way.  We do some adjusting in our lives thinking that we are aligned but then we realize we need even more adjusting.  In our walk with God, we will be always adjusting as we learn more and more.

In the print shop if I were to send something back to the cutters to cut without those gutters and crop marks it can be disastrous.  But a lot of times they can cut things out if they realize to start with that they are not aligned.  It takes painstaking time and a lot of times the objects may end up a little smaller than planned.  In our spiritual lives if we don’t stay aligned with God He works to reach our hearts with means that may not be so pleasant.  There will be a cutting away process that is painful.  And we may come out a little “smaller” than if we would have chosen His route to start with.  There will be wounds that He wanted us to be able to avoid.  But often we go on in our stubborn ways and think we know better.

The question is, “how do I get aligned with God?”  It starts with having a relationship with Him.  We can’t get to know someone and build a relationship with him or her without spending time.  We need to spend time with God so that we can get to know Him.  We need to spend time in His Word and in prayer with Him.  Prayer is a two-way conversation.  We often pour our hearts out to God but we forget to be silent and listen.

  • Spend time in His Word with much prayer. Reading God’s Word is the way to get to know Him.  I recently ran across some information that I believe can be helpful to you on how to study your Bible.  This can make it easy and fun.  It is “How to Study the Bible With the 5RS Method”, by Alicia Michelle.
    • Read the verse. This is pretty simple you just read whatever verse you have picked out.  I think starting with the book of Proverbs may be a good place to start.  Pick a chapter and go for it, starting with one verse each day.
    • Rewrite the verse. Then you write it down.
    • Restate the verse. Here you will restate the verse using different words that still convey the same message.  You are just expressing it in a different way that may make it more meaningful to you.  You can do this by taking each of the words and finding synonyms.
    • Relate the verse. Take a moment and really think about what this verse is about and how it can apply to your life.  What are you learning in this verse that you want to put in action?
    • Respond to the verse. This area involves prayer.  Responding to the verse through prayer.  Asking God’s help with what action you want to make in changing your life.

These are some easy things we can do that can help us get aligned with God.  As we learn and follow what the Lord teaches us we will grow in Him.

Dear Father,

As we study Your Word send Your Spirit to enlighten our hearts.  Convict us on what changes we need to make so that we can be aligned with You.  Thank You for Your love and forgiveness.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Get into the Word today.  Make it a daily habit.  You will draw closer to Him and be aligned with Him as You study the light and take heed to the light.

Love you all.

What is your method of connecting with God and becoming more aligned to Him?

 

 

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“You Can’t Trust Your Vision!!”

Have you ever looked at an example and everything seems so right so you followed it?  Your eyes, senses and every fiber of your being made it seem right but you discover after a time that it was totally wrong.

I am working at a print shop.  I run the digital copy.  You have to set everything up on the computer that speaks to the digital machine and thus you make your product.  It sounds easy but there are a lot of things you have to make sure you do right or it could turn out wrong.

One of the most important things is to read the jacket.  Every job comes with what we call a jacket.  Inside the jacket can be artwork or a sample of what the job is.  But the most important information is on the outside of the jacket.  It gives specific information.  For example, what kind of paper to use, what size the paper should be, whether your printing black and white or color, or whether it is printed on one side of the paper or two sides, just to name a few.

The other day I got the jacket and scanned over it.  I seen it was a spiral bound book.  In the jacket was a sample so I pulled it out and look at it.  I thought, “Great this is going to be an easy one because the pages are just one-sided.”  I was in a rush to get gone because I had an appointment to go to.  So I set it all up and started printing.

After it was done printing I had a question so I went to the guy that has been training me in and he looked at what I had failed to pay close attention to, the front of the jacket.  The sample was a one-sided print but the instructions on the jacket was a two-sided print.  I missed comparing the sample to the instructions.

I went to my boss about the mistake.  Here I had printed several pages and it was wrong.  When He looked at the jacket and the sample.  He even had some confusion on what it needed to be.  The jacket instructions seemed a little confusing.  But after looking things over thoroughly and talking to the one that had put the job together I figured it out.

This reminds me of our Christian walk. We have an instruction book, the Bible.  We need to be thoroughly studying the “jacket” (Word of God).  We cannot go by what we see or hear.

In this world today there can be so many things that we can get caught up in.  It can sound amazing and look amazing but is it really a true “sample” of truth.

There can be so many false things that are out there for us to get caught up in.  Some of those things may be perfectly harmless in and of themselves.  But is it keeping us from focusing on the things we really should be, the true directions for life (God’s Word).

It says in Matthew 24:24, “For there shall arise false Christ, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”  We are in a time where we need to keep our focus on the study of the Word of God.  So that we can be so grounded in the true information that we will not be thrown off by what we see or hear.

I don’t think we begin to realize how closely Satan can make things look so real and right that it is very deceiving.  We cannot go by our senses.  We have to go by the truth of God’s Word only.

I could have totally done the job correctly if I had just gone by the instructions written rather than looking at the sample.  I would have been way farther ahead.  If I had been thoroughly studied in the truth of the jacket I would not have been thrown off by the false of the sample.

In the same way if we stay focused on the truth of the Word of God we will not be thrown off by the counterfeits that come our way.  But if we are spending our time focusing on the world and it’s counterfeits we are going to be unknowingly swept in to untruth, which can lead to final disaster.  The devil doesn’t care what rabbit trail he gets us going down, just as long as we are not focused on what we should be.

I was grateful that my boss was so understanding.  When we come to God and admit our mistakes, asking forgiveness He is so understanding as well.

Just like I needed to look at all the aspects of the jacket to know the truth, here a little there a little.  The same is true of the Bible.  We can’t make our decision based on one verse.  We need to study it carefully, here a little and there a little.

I also could not have figured out the jacket unless I had gone to the one who had put it together.  We are not going to understand what we study in the Bible unless we go to God asking for guidance.  Then the Holy Spirit will come and enlighten our eyes.  And those things that have seemed confusing will become clear.

Dear Father,

Help us to realize how important it is to stay focused on Your Word.  Help us to realize the sensational things that we can get caught up in can lead us in a direction to take us off the focus we should have.  Thank You for Your love and Your patience with us.  Continue to guide us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Keep in the Word, it is the safest place to be.

Love you all.

Have you experienced a “rabbit trail” in your life at times?  What happened to help you get back on track?  What do you do to try to stay on track?