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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 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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“Mommy, Wait, Mommy Wait!!”

Wait!

Remember back when you were a kid?  For some of us that is a lot farther back than others.  Remember how you would be almost running along to try and keep up with your mom, whose legs may have been two to three times longer than your own?  At times it may have seemed that mom was oblivious that we were even behind her.  But the reality is, she always knew we were there.  You probably remember the times where she would tell you to quit doing something and she hadn’t even turned her head to look at you.  It was like she had eyes on the back of her head.  I don’t know about you but there were times that I would say, “Mommy, wait, Mommy, wait.”  There was this fear that she would leave me behind.  But, of course, it was unfounded fear because my mom would never have left me behind.

Moms

We live in a world where there are moms that are not really moms but I am not going to address them here.  But what I am going to talk about is how moms should be and most of them are.

Being a mom myself, I realize the heart of a mom.  Once you are a mom life is never the same.  Everything about you is different, body shape, vitality, sleep, worry, love, etc.  When you have little ones and all the care it takes the thought is when they get older I will get some relief.  This is far from the truth but I guess it helps you get through the earlier years.  Even when we were young we wanted to get older because we thought life would get better.  Our perceptions are so wrong.

Then my children started getting older.  Worry set in even more.  They start to make some of their own choices, which are not always what we want for them as a parent.  Moms have to pray a lot.  And, unfortunately, we worry.  It seems to be our job to worry but God does not want us to worry.  He wants us to give our children to Him and pray daily, hourly, moment-by-moment for them.  Praying moms have been what has brought many a son or daughter back to Jesus.  Even if our children are compliant, compliance doesn’t bring salvation.  Compliance that is from a heart of love for God and a connection with Him is what brings about salvation.  We need to pray daily that our children gain that connection with Him that will bring about salvation.

Nature

I was away from home for a weekend and where I was staying they had a large beautiful yard.  Each of the three mornings I was there I would look out the window in the morning and see this family of quail.  The momma quail was running around eating and behind her was her brood.  There was a lot of them.  But the amazing part is that no matter where momma went they were following her.  She was going so fast they had to run to keep up.  It was so cute.  I imagined them saying with their little peeps, “Mommy, wait, Mommy, wait!”

The other thing that I realized, as I pondered what was happening, is the father quail.  He was the keeper of the gate, the watchtower, and the protector from the evils that surrounded them.  He was keeping the predators away.  The mother was not worried about the outside “world.”  She was fully concentrated on her children.  God shows his plan for the family, even through nature.  There has been many a worried mom because they don’t have the protection of a spiritual father.  They could be a single mom, living with a husband who is not a Christian, or living with a husband that is a “Christian” but has not taken up his duty as the spiritual protector and leader.  This can mean more worry for a mom and prayer becomes even more valuable.

God’s plan

I think God’s plan was for a mother to be able to be home with her children.  She was supposed to be the first teacher that they had.  She was to guide their minds toward God and teach them His ways.  But unfortunately, many mothers have to work.  Whether a single mom or a family that cannot financially make it on one income, it is the reality of the age in which we live.  Many children spend more time in daycare than with their parents.  Or once the children are legally old enough they are home alone.  This is a very sad fact.

The plan for the husband and father is to be the spiritual protector from all the things of this world that can trickle into our lives.  I had a father that did this and it was such a blessing.  Many fathers today are not the protector.  They either don’t have the backbone to stand up and do their duty, they have lack of knowledge to know how, or they love the things they love and don’t want to give up what they want to protect their families.

The things of this world can be so attractive.  And the thought may be, “Oh this is not so bad.”  What I like to call it is a creeping compromise.  A good example for me is the television.  How many people, back when television first started, would have accepted what is on television today?  I believe they would have thrown it out in a second.  But that is not how the devil works.  He starts things out as mostly good and maybe a little bad but it is so little people don’t pick up on it.  The things of today, that would not have been acceptable then, are accepted by the majority now.  That is how creeping compromise works.  We have to examine our lives to be sure that creeping compromise has not entered there.

Unfortunately,  we do not live in a perfect world and fathers and/or mothers may not be doing their part.  As a mother, you can do your part all you want and the Lord will help you but if the father is not doing his part it can destroy the family.  It doesn’t mean God is not working or He is giving up but He also gives freedom of choice.  And when compromise happens it is very difficult to gain back the ground you lost.

Dear Father,

The world in which we live is so worrisome.  I know we need to leave all our worries with You.  But Lord it is so hard.  We ask for Your love and grace to come and work in and through us.  Forgive us for compromises that we have made.  I pray that each mother and father will take up their duty with Your help and courage.  Give us strength and endurance to run the race that is set before us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Make a stand today to be the father and mother that God has intended for you to be.

Love you all.

I would love to hear your nature lesson.

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“It’s Too Painful!!”

It’s painful!

There are a lot of things in life that come along that are painful.  We may even feel that they are too painful.  I am sure we have all been there.  Maybe you have lost a spouse, a child, or even had some kind of misfortune yourself that has left you maimed in some way.  We live in this sinful world and none of us escape pain, there are different forms but we all have experienced it.

I can’t imagine the pain of family and friends to a young woman killed in an accident and just a few days have gone by and there has been another accident where another person died.  These are sad and tragic.  And things happen sad and tragic like this every day all over the world.  It becomes even more of a reality when it happens to someone you know or is a friend to one of your friends.  It makes you realize how fragile life is.  We never know when something like this can directly affect us.

My heart pains for those that were at fault as well.  Can you imagine living with the fact that you killed someone?  It was a moment of misjudgment that you can’t take back.  Who knows the reasons for the misjudgments?  Maybe they were doing something that is against the law, texting, speeding, etc.  It definitely makes me think every time I go to do something.  Even doing something not against the law can distract us, depending on what state you are in.  Whatever the reasons it is tragic.

Life is short

It made me think about a connection between the accidents and how this can apply to me as a Christian.  We need to really think about how short life really is.  When we walk out the door each day, we never know if we are coming home again.  We may lose a loved one today as well.  The question is, do you have everything right with each person in your life?  Whether you’re the victim or the one that loses someone you will never be able to make things right again.  Or tell them how much you love them.

The other question to ponder is am I really ready to go.  Have I made everything right with God?  Am I living according to every word that proceeds from the mouth of God?  Do I love God with all my heart, soul and mind and my neighbor as myself?  We need to be having a moment-by-moment connection with Christ so that we will be ready when tragic hits.  We need to be fully surrendered to Him allowing Him to work in our lives.

Stumbling block

As Christians, are we going through life paying attention to what we are reflecting to others?  What you reflect to others could mean their eternal life or eternal death.  Are you distracted by worldly things that are giving others the thought that it is an appropriate thing to be doing as a Christian?

If I am driving along and I break one of the laws of the land and someone is killed the judgment is more severe than if I did something unknowingly.  As a Christian, we are held accountable for being a stumbling block to others.  What we do as a Christian says to others that what you are doing is acceptable to God.  We have a great responsibility as Christians to be a Christ-like witness to others.  Everything we do is a reflection on Christ Himself.  We don’t want to get to heaven and realize someone is not there because of our misjudgment that caused a tragic “accident” in their lives and they were eternally lost.  I think all of us have been there and done things that have not been the right kind of witness to others.  And I praise the Lord for His forgiveness.  We need to stay so connected with Christ that we reflect Him perfectly.

Dear Father,

We are faulty human beings.  Forgive us for those failures that have caused others to stumble.  Help us to stay so connected to You that we will reflect You perfectly because without You we are nothing.  Thank You that You never leave us or forsake us.  Be with those we may have injured in this life and draw their hearts to You.  Bring someone into their lives that will show them a good example of You.  Give us an opportunity to be that person again, reflecting You in the right way.  Thank You for Your patience and everlasting love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Fully surrender your life to Him today so that you can perfectly reflect Him.  Remember He does that work; we just need to allow Him.

Love you all.

How has God worked in your life and showed you the way?  I would love to hear your reflections.

 

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“Perfect?!

Questions?

There are many questions that come to life.  I am sure as you read this you have already had some questions come to your mind.  There may be a question that you have thought about but maybe never asked.  And then there may be questions that you have asked many people and got a multitude of different answers so that in the long run you had to come to your own conclusion to what answer seemed right to you.

Here is a question that seems to hang around.  Since God knows the end from the beginning why did he create Lucifer or Adam and Eve?  After all, He knew they were going to sin.

God

It is so hard for our sinful human nature to comprehend the answers to some of these questions because we have a sinful nature and we can only speak or think from our sinful perspective.  But the reality is that God is perfect and there are things that are impossible for a Person Who is perfect to do.

God is perfect and has no bent to sin and because of this, He can do no wrong.  He has perfect love and perfect love cannot create only those that He knows will choose to serve Him.  He has to create all people and allow all people to make that choice.

Some say, “but no one would have ever known.”  God would have and His love is so perfect He cannot make this choice because that would be taking away the freedom of choice.

Comprehend

I know it is hard for our minds, in our human sinful nature, to comprehend such love.  But I am grateful to God for His perfect love.  Because of His perfect love, I am here and have the opportunity to choose Him.

There will always be skeptics, the devil will make sure of that.  But I choose to not listen to the skeptics and put my trust in a God Who loves me so much that He has done everything possible to save me.

Freedom of choice

Some say, “If God knows the end from the beginning then He already knows what choices everyone is going to make.”  And some seem to think because He knows that information that it somehow takes away the freedom of choice.

This problem made me think of one of our dogs.  We have a fenced in area for our dogs to be able to freely go out a doggy door and come and go as they please.  But I have pre-knowledge about something.  If there is any hole in the fence I know one of our dogs will go out that hole and run around the neighborhood.  But just because I know that information doesn’t make any difference in the fact that he will go out the hole.  Even though I have the knowledge he still has the freedom to stay in the fenced yard or to go outside of the fenced yard.

In the same way, God has given us freedom of choice.  And just because He knows whether or not we are going to go through the hole (choose sin or not) it is still our freedom to choose to go through or not.

Dear Father,

Your love is so incredible.  You are the One that has given everyone the chance to choose You.  Thank You for our right to choose and for sending Your Son to take my place, to take the penalty for sin.  As I keep my eyes on You and follow You wheresoever You go You will save me.  There is nothing that can really explain my gratitude to You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Choose God today.  Keep your eyes on the One that can save you.

Love you all.

I would love to hear from you.

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“Designated Driver”

Designated Driver

When you hear this term your mind probably immediately goes to someone drinking or doing drugs and their mind does not think clearly or even fast enough to drive.  But in this blog, I am going to be talking about this term in a different way.

One thing that I struggle with personally is falling asleep while driving.  This is not a very good thing to have happen.  I have tried different things to help me but alas they don’t work, I only have one answer.  Yes, it is true that I could drink caffeine but the damage it does to my body is not worth it to me.  I had to find other answers.  There are many little tricks that I can do but the one that works the most is communication.

Communication

One of the things that have helped me when I am driving to stay awake is communication.  My mom will often come with me and we will communicate back and forth and it keeps me alert. Now it has to be a two-way conversation because if my mom were doing all the talking I would still have trouble staying awake.  There have been times in the past where I am having such difficulty that I will stop and let her take over the driving.  As I sit in the passenger’s seat I no longer feel the pressure to stay awake.  I can be in full conversation and even be talking myself and I fall asleep in mid-sentence.

Woke up by a semi

I have never had this happen but imagine yourself driving down the road having a struggle falling asleep at the wheel.  Your mind does not even think about the realization of your situation.  All you can think about is just relaxing and sleeping.  But suddenly you hear a horn blow and you look up and see a semi-truck coming at you.  You are no longer thinking of sleeping.  You are suddenly fully awake and swerve just in time to miss the semi-truck.  The adrenalin is running now and you are fully awake.  But as you drive on it start to not seem so worrisome to you anymore.  The drowsiness starts in again and you don’t feel the urgency to even worry about it.

You need a designated driver

It makes me think of the Christian road.  We “drive” along the road of life and things seem to get monotonous.  At that point, we start to get drowsy.  We keep on going along having conversations with God but tending to talk more than we listen.  As we keep talking the activeness of our minds become inebriated with ourselves.  And eventually, we start falling asleep to the reality around us.  All we care about is us.  We find ourselves drifting and a “semi-truck” is heading right for us and unless we veer back onto the right path we will be destroyed with selfishness.

The time has come, we need to “pullover” and allow the Lord be the “driver” in our lives.  We need to surrender all to Him.  He knows “road” very well, with all its potholes, curves, and supposed detours.  And as long as we allow Him to do the “driving”, He will navigate through all these things without a problem.

As He becomes our “designated” driver, He will change our lives so that we will no longer be inebriated with self.  But He does not force Himself in, we have to give Him the wheel.  And as soon as we don’t like the direction our lives are going and we grab that wheel back, He will give it to us.

Right decisions

There is a difference between my driving and allowing my mom to drive and Jesus being a spiritual driver.  He always needs to be in the driver’s seat and we better not relax and fall asleep.  We need to stay in active communication with Jesus and keep our minds active with making the right decisions.

If a “detour” comes up Jesus is not going to choose the right direction for us, we have to consent for Him to continue, “driving” or He will give us back the “wheel”.  We have to make the decision; He will not make it for us.  It is so easy to take the wheel of our lives back in any given situation.  “I want to get angry, He had no right to do that to me.”  I just took the wheel back.  Jesus will not force me to follow His ways.  But if I say, Lord, I am struggling with being angry I need you to continue, “driving” and I am going to choose to not be angry with Your power.”  He will give you the strength and He will stay in the driver’s seat.

“It’s too good to be true”

It sounds easy on paper but letting go of self and letting Jesus have full control is not easy.  This will take great effort.  We will have a battle with self.  It may take crying out to God on your knees, wrestling with self.  But the great news is, as long as we keep hanging on to Jesus, allowing Him full access to our lives, we can have the victory.  Hang on to the promises of God.

Hebrews 13:5,  “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have:  for he hath said, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’  So that we may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

God says we don’t have to have fear because He will help us.

Dear Father,

I want You to be the “driver” of my life, through the indwelling of Your Spirit.  Thank You for Your love for me.  And even if I fail and take back the wheel, You are just a call away.  Thank You for Your willingness to forgive.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all to Jesus today and let Him be the “driver” in your life.

Love you all.

I would love to hear your thoughts.  Is there an area that you have struggled with?  How did God give you the victory?

 

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“Follow Me!”

We are followers

It seems in the world in which we live it is hard to know whom to follow.  Our natural tendency is to follow someone or at least try to mimic the life of someone we admire.  Many people look up to celebrities, whether they are actors, singers, pastors, elders, parents, etc.  Even when they fail in some way they will either defend them with all they have or they will get angry and discouraged that this person disappointed them.  The sad news is humans will always disappoint.  They will fail.  We fail at times too.

So whom should we follow?

I am coming from a Christian perspective so what comes to my mind is something Jesus said when He was on earth.

Matthew 4:19,  “And He said unto them, ‘Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.’”

As a Christian, we should be following Jesus and as we follow Him, He will make us a witness for Him.  As I daily allow Christ to abide with me, He will give me the ability to attract others so that I can share the truth of God’s love.

What does it mean to follow Jesus?

Have you ever known someone who is so obsessed with someone or something it seems that is all they ever talk about?  Or they may even do things just like the person as much as possible.  What would it be like if we would become more “obsessed” with Jesus more than the things of this world?

Matthew 7:21, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”

Matthew 16:24, “…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

In following Jesus we need to pursue Him and give up the things of this world, the things that will distract us from following Him.

As Christians, we have been given a commission and unless we are following Christ we cannot fulfill the commission that He has given us.  We have been commissioned to bring others to the truth as it is in Jesus.  To share His love and what He has done for us.  Jesus wants to make us “fishers of men.”

So how does fishing have anything to do with winning souls to Christ?

I did a little research to see what methods were used in Bible times for fishing.  They would do their fishing mostly at night, so the question would be why at night.  They would throw out their nets and the light from their torches would attract the fish.

How do we apply this analogy to “fishing” for people?

I love the night analogy.  As we allow the “torch” of God’s love to shine through us we will attract more people to us and then we can share the truth as it is in Jesus.  If we are trying to attract with a “lure” and “hook” it will not be as effective.  If we are shining, people will be drawn to us. They will be asking us why we have so much peace through the turmoil and why we are calm during the storms of life.  Then we have the opportunity to point them to the One that we are able to trust through every situation.

Matthew 5:16,  “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven.”

What is our light?

Our light is the bright presence of Jesus in our lives.  It is not from us but from Him.  And we can only have this light as we allow Him full access to our lives so that He can live in us through the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 4:6, 7  “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

Dear Father,

Thank You that it is all about You, not us.  Prompt our hearts, with every decision that we make, to do right.  I know that as we spend time with You, You will show us the path to life.  Thank You for Your love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Give all to Jesus today and let Him shine through you.

Love you all.

I would love to hear your thoughts.  Please share any thoughts below.

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“Are You Making Holes?”

Have you ever felt like you are being filled with holes?  As we go through life there are things that happen that feel like holes in our lives.  We all know the saying, “Sticks and stone may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”  But how true is this saying?  It sounds “good” but in reality, it is not true.

Reality is what people say to us can stick with us for the rest of our lives and give us the trend of our life as well.  We can also say things to ourselves as well that can destroy our effectiveness in life.  It can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Words do affect.  Not only do others words affect us we can also affect others with our words.  We tend at times to be so self-absorbed that we only focus on what others say to or about us rather than what we say to or about others.

It reminds me of a story I heard once.  There was this little boy who had a really bad temper. His dad gave him a bag of nails and a hammer. He told him that every time he lost his temper he wanted him to nail a nail into the back fence post. So the first day he nailed a lot. I can’t remember the number but it was a lot. He continued to do this every day. The boy decided that it was easier to hold his temper than to have to go and nail a nail. So after a while, he did not have to do it anymore. He told his dad and his dad told him, every day that you don’t lose your temper you can pull out a nail. Eventually, all the nails were pulled out and he went and told his dad. Then his dad took him to the post and showed him that even though the nails were gone the holes were still there. That is how it is with our words and actions. We leave holes in people and although we may apologize and they may forgive us, that can’t totally remove the wounds that it has caused, there will be scars.

We all have scars from what people have said or done throughout our lives.  And we have all caused scars in others as well.

This makes me think of the biggest scars that we have caused and it has been in our Savior.  Our sin has cost Him those scars.  The nails were put in His hands and feet because of the bad things that we have done.  And when the nails were pulled out the scars were still there and are still there.

The scars are not just still there; Jesus suffers more every time we sin.  Each time we choose to be unlike Him and sin and wound, we are also putting nails in Him. “If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” Hebrews 6:6. Christ feels the pain every time we choose to sin.

It is so easy to say or do things without thinking. We need God’s help.  Thank the Lord that He is forgiving when we come to Him in confession.

Dear Father,

We are a people who are desperately wicked and we need You. I pray that each one of us will surrender each day to You and I am asking You to prompt us by Your Holy Spirit every time we go to do or speak so that we only do or speak that which You would have us to.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

If you have hurt others confess and God will forgive.  If you have been wounded God is the healer.  Surrender all to Him today.

Love you all.

Do you have a story of pain and hurt that the Lord brought you through?  Maybe you hurt someone, how did God help you accomplish His will through your experience?

 

 

 

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“Become Like A What?!!!”

Babies!  Who doesn’t like a baby?  They are so cute and innocent.  They have no worries, really.  Yes, they get hungry and want food.  Or they get a messy diaper and want a change.  I think most of us would love to have the innocent life a baby or young child.

Now most of us can’t remember back when we were really young.  I do have a vague remembrance when I was around 2 years old.  As I reflect on that time, I wasn’t worried.  Of course, all of us that have children can remember how our little ones did not seem to be afraid of anything.

As I reflect on little ones it makes me think of about how Jesus said that we need to become as little children to enter into the kingdom.  What exactly does that mean?  I may not understand all of it but I am going to share what comes to my mind.

  • A baby/child is humble. A little child recognizes that they are dependent on those that care for him/her.  So they look outside of themselves for daily provisions.  We need to become as little children realizing that we need to depend on God for our daily needs.
  • A baby/child have a healthy appetite. Wow, do they ever!  All of us as moms can remember what it was like to nurse our babies and try to keep up with their ravaging appetite.  And we know as parents that as the child is developing we need to be careful what we feed them.  We want them to develop an appetite that wants healthy foods.  In turn in our spiritual lives, we need to be developing the right kind of appetite.  We need to have an appetite for the “sincere milk of the Word, that we may grow”. (1 Peter 2:2).  We need to be sure we take in the Word that is unadulterated with the world’s philosophies.
  • A baby/child is teachable. We know how children like to learn.  They start learning movements, like crawling and then walking.  They may fall over or fall down but they don’t give up, they are very anxious to walk.  So they keep trying again and again.  Then they learn to talk.  They want so eagerly to learn that they are constantly asking questions.  We need to be teachable.  As we study God’s Word we should be asking God specific questions just as a child would.  And He will show us the answers.
  • A baby/child is very dependent on the ones caring for them. A baby or child will cling to the one that cares for them when there is any trouble.  They may be afraid of something or even if they have fallen and gotten hurt they cling to their parents or someone they trust.  They feel safe with the one they trust no matter what the problem is.  In turn, as we recognize our needs we should be motivated to abide in Christ.  We should be clinging to Him in all our difficulties.  We should cling to His promises.  This should bring us a peace that passeth all understanding.
  • A baby/child wants to be with their parents. One thing that I noticed when my children were little, it didn’t matter where I was they wanted to be with me.  They were always underfoot and that was frustrating to me at times.  But they were at peace as long as they were with me.  They also would know what was pleasing to me and what was disappointing to me.  They would always try their best to please me.  If they did do something that displeased me they were quick to say I am sorry, when they could talk, but when they couldn’t they had their way of making up, because they did not want the relationship to be broken.  To enjoy our fellowship with Christ we should not allow anything to come between us.  We should not allow our relationship with Him to be broken by unconfessed sin.  When we know we have done wrong we should immediately admit our wrongs and ask God to forgive us.

Dear Father,

Forgive me for not staying connected with You as I should.  Forgive all my wrongs.  Lord, Come and fellowship with me today.  I want that unbroken fellowship.  Convict my heart of those things that come between You and me.  Thank You for Your love and forgiveness.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

It is never too late to become as little children.  Start today.  And if you fall, just like a child learning to walk, immediately get up and keep going.

Love you all.

What are your thoughts about becoming like a child?  How has having the faith of a child been a blessing in your life?  I would love to hear your comments.